Staff'n'Toller

Just bear in mind that small yard doesn't have to mean small dog. A lot of smaller dogs are terriers or derive from workig breeds so they are yappier and have higher energy requirements than hound breeds and others who are quieter and have lower energy requirements. She is not old, but in 10-14 years she will be 10-14 years older which is why a medium/larger breed is worth considering they can be trained to assist also.

I was going to suggest a greyhound as well, sounded perfect until the rough and tumble bit with the kids. My two greys love kids but would hate to be roughed up. Thanks for the extra info, I will save it away in my memory bank. :)

Female Greyhound. Why: Less likely to get caught up 'under feet'. Generally quiet. A dark coloured one might help her feel safe. Calm demeanour.

That doesn't work here, I have way too many cats. LOL What are you treating your cats with? Program injections?

I'm not nursing currently, so I drive 35 mins to go there. If the reason he is more expensive has anything to do with paying nurses well and keeping staff, and hiring well-experienced vets when he is not there, then I will happily pay the extra. Starting a practice from scratch is insanely expensive. I am just stoked he is still practicing and will hopefully always remain independant. He's the type of 'old-fashioned values' vet we need to support as there is much more money in non-practicing areas of veterinary science. Greencross have plans to buy 8-10 practices in Vic this year.

This is the clinic.

I talk to my neighbours. I appeared in Court to give evidence against one of them in a DV matter. Now there's a fun situation to be in. But I stil don't want their dogs unsupervised in my back yard. I'm not asking you to. The OP already is though, so it's a moot point. :)

I don't give a toss what the neighbours think which is probably just as well because its clear they aren't thinking much. I care about the impact of the all of this on a young dog. And as for Richard Stubbs - yeesh, where do I start??? What do you think the odds are that this dog is vaccinated? It may be that her relative isolation is offering her partial protection from diseases that dogs that get out more will bring home. And what obligation is an owner who meets their dogs social and physical needs under to provide a companion to their neighbours dog?? Other people's dogs left unsupervised with mine with access to my house? Ah, no. Like most simple solutions the devil is in the detail and there's no way Im having my neighbour's dogs loose in my yard when Im not home - who's responsible for the vet bills if there are incidents?? I don't care what individuals think about the idea. My example was to emphasise that people should talk to their neighbours, something that is sorely lacking in today's society. But you missed the point.

For what it's worth I think everyone's getting wound up over what the neighbours *might* be thinking when it's fairly clear they don't think much at all if they are not coming over to collect their dog. I was in the car yesterday and caught Richard Stubbs saying "there's no reason 2 dogs in yards next door to each other need to be miserable while their owners work 9-5 all day, talk to your neighbour, say, hey, how about our dogs have play dates while we're out working? (after all the right introductions etc etc.)." I was cheering! Talk to your neighbours, explain what is happening, tell them you like her and now she would prefer to be at your place full time. Because she is a dog and because she is a Staffy and they crave companionship. Offer to buy the dog if you sincerely want another dog. Don't offer her purchase price, offer half. Get them to sign a receipt that you have handwritten. End.

I can remember talking to Dr Bob Cavey about it at Stud Park - so that must have been 5+ years ago and he nodded and smiled and replied "yes, we should be doing more of that". I will ask him next time I'm at his practice how many he's done since then. :laugh: There are definitely low socio-economic areas of Melbourne where Parvo is still a massive problem, and there's obviously very little herd immunity, I can imagine those clinics have enough trouble getting clients to finish puppy vacc schedules. They are probably reluctant to discourage yearly vacc or triennial vacc at this time.

You have to remember too, owners of breeds susceptible to immune system disease; dog sports and the well informed such as on this board are a tiny minority of the dog owning population and it's difficult to teach vaccine immunity, and sell a service for 3 times the previous price when the dog is now not receiving an injection, without offending the owner, appearing as though we have been flogging vaccines for no reason all this time and do it in a 10 or 15 minute timeslot. It will take time...:p (This was just an addendum to my previous post).

Last year the price was ~200 for us to send the blood to Gribbles then on-send to WA. We couldn't spin it because we didn't have a centrifuge. Then there would be a consult fee +\- a blood draw fee depending on the clinic protocol. Cert IV nurses can certainly draw blood but at the direction of a Vet so this needs to be a policy within the clinic. Again, there would most likely be a blood draw fee as you need to account for the time of the staff member to draw it. I don't think vets are reluctant to change, I think they are widely not requested. When we sent a letter to our clients about the new WSAVA recommendations people were more confused than anything, have never had an over vaccination related disease with their pets, ever, so used that basis to stick to what they knew. I would say less than five clients chose to pick it up and one or two of those were already on a different schedule due to liver or immune related probs i.e. Dog has extreme symptoms of vaccine uptake. It would be interesting to know if any of the other vets and nurses on this board are ever asked by their clients.

Vets can spin it if they have a centrifuge in-house, not all clinics have them. The clinic that said they send it locally probably don't realise where it goes, although it would tell them in their handbook! Unless the Greencross lab is doing them??

Are you planning to do IPO Huski? :)

From what you say now. I don't think she is comfortable at all. You need to work it up ASAP. I understand what it's like to have your dog sick and feel helpless, but there is a chance it's not a brain tumour and you are not helping by doing nothing. If money is an issue there's a few companies that offer payment plan finance and the specialist vet can help you arrange this if you mention it when booking. Please take this further, she is still a young dog. She is not just phobic.

In my experience, sometimes breeders with quite a few dogs, that don't necessarily have any dogs for adoption, who receive a nice email can make them consider a young dog they have in their yard that would be better off in a family home. It wouldn't hurt sending a few paragraphs about yourself, your family and what you can offer a young dog, along with some info about your previous dog experience. Maybe send to a handful of breeders on DOL whose advertisements resonate with you. :) Breeders are often friends with other select breeders and might spread the word a bit too.

I think it's a good point about the Prozac, but please speak to your Vet about tapering the dose down slowly, as stopping the medication without slowly weaning her off may create other symptoms. A lot of what you describe could be noise phobia, which can show itself in middle-old age. Some of what you describe sounds very strange but I will go against the grain and say I would spend the day in Melbourne, get full bloods done (particularly on the liver) and have the MRI done. You'll never know if it's her brain or her eyes otherwise. Unfortunately MRI's will never be cheap but thankfully now we have animal scanners that are readily accessible. You do need a specialist. For me, I wouldn't put her to sleep without finding out, I would always wonder whether I'd made the right decision. You are under no obligation to do further treatment or surgery, other than your obligations as a pet owner to alleviate undue suffering.

Don't over think it, they'll be fine. :) My dogs prefer separate crates much more than they ever did sleeping on the floor close by to each other - and they actually sleep with the crate doors open. I'm certain both dogs will be happier with some 'walls' as artificial barriers. :)

If you have children visit, and you are going to have children in the future, choose a breed that is great with kids. Then find a breeder whose dogs are calm and have good temperaments, who socialise their pups well - before 8 weeks - and go from there. A GSD is not a medium breed, if you have 2-3 kids and you want to take the dog on holiday with you, will you upgrade your car so everyone can fit? How much intensive training and continuous socialisation (with kids) are you prepared to put in now, so that your dog is very used to children when you have your own? The kids will want the dog to come inside, the dog will want to come inside with the kids. You will need a biddable dog that is not a pain to have in the house. Housing is much higher in density, even in the 'burbs, than it was, and neighbours are much less tolerant of problem barking/escaping these days. A few things to think about... :)

You should be able to buy wholesale through ABS..?

Is that just post-surgery? Yes. After any anaesthesia.

Dogs that can't walk out of the clinic are not sent home from surgery. They are sent to an emergency centre for further monitoring overnight - on IV fluids. Your vet is grossly negligent if she did not keep your dog under observation for a minimum of four hours post surgery end time, and she is still negligent sending home a dog that clearly had not roused from his anaesthetic, with NO instructions, particularly a brachy breed.

The acting up might be anxiety based due to 'not knowing which dog is going to rush him next'. I didn't know how much an entire dog with an upright stance and trotty gait with tail up can be a target for other dogs. Seems very common in Aussies and also Tollers. You may need to reconsider which situations you place him in training wise, certainly while he remains intact. Since you have a BVSc. you should be able to get into the AVA Behaviour Special Interest Group - I think they have a forum?

For the record, Veterinary Behaviourists will prescribe meds that they think appropriate to help with a behaviour modification program, and generally recommend to continue with obedience training if they feel it benefits the dog. This is because they often see the most severe of anxiety, phobic behaviours, OCD and aggression issues. They also provide follow-up by way of email or phone communication to advise on further tweaking of meds AND the behaviour mod program. Surprisingly, they will also work with owners who decide medication is not the route they want to take, or just not 'for now'. :)

It should't, which is the point - why are the grants for some $50k, some $20k and some $10k? The individual orgs apply for what they think they require in dollar terms. :)