TashaBailey

Thanks for the suggestions - looking at all the options at the moment. Until I can work out where to go with this we have just halved his dry food and are filling out his meal with rice , pasta and vegies but given that he is still young I need to ensure that he still gets all the nutrients that a dog that has not yet reached maturity needs. TB

A few more facts. The dog has been itching for several weeks. We found 1 flea on him and treated accordingly - no other signs of fleas. Vet said he had had a reaction to the flea and put him on a short dose of antibiotics and a cortisone injection. There has been no change to the itching. We tried treating with 1/2 a Claryntine tablet - still no change. The dog gets a fish oil capsule plus vitamin e capsule every second day. He also gets 1/2 teaspoon of an Omega blend oil on his food. Out of desperation I sent a hair sample down to a well known person in Victoria who does Hair Analysis on Dogs, horses and humans. I have heard of several people who have had a great success with his treatment. He treats holistically. When he analyzed the hair the following came back Efficiency of My Dog Ideal Affected by Immune System 80% 85% Kidneys 60% 65% Lactic Acids 6% Ideal 5% Liver 55% 65% Uric Acids 8% Ideal 4% Digestive System 60% 65% I have left out the results for Heart, Lung, Thyroid, Muscular System and Skeletal System which were all normal The results indicated a Food Allergy to High Protein, Kidney Infection (Congestion), Liver Infection (very congested), Gut Infection (Congested) and a residual infection of 7% ( ideal 5%). The results indicated that the dogs system was stressed. I have been prescribed some homeopathic tablets to assist with detoxing plus a tonic. It has been recommended that I reduce the level of proteins in the dogs diet which was 1/2 cup of high quality super premium food plus tablespoon of minced chicken frames. It was suggested that a number of shelties have this weakness in liver function ( apparently he comes across it quite a bit) that cannot handle the high protein diets that we are feeding). He suggested that I needed to be targeting a protein level of 12% which is half of what my current dry food has ( it seems most dry food even the cheap supermarket brands have protein levels of between 22 to 26%). I am to send another sample back in 2 weeks time to see if there has been an improvement in his results. TB

I have been advised that the protein level in the food that I am currently feeding is too high for one of my dogs. The Current Protein level is 25%. I need to try to get his protein level down to nearly half this 12%. The dog has had a major case of the itches for several weeks now and nothing else has worked so I sent away a sample of hair for analysis. What brands available in Australia have lower protein levels. TB

Rachael For your grooming and show supplies you are best getting them from the show vans - Show Equipment or Petcetera who are always at the Erskine Park Shows. They will be able to assist you with various check chains, leads, scissors, brushes, chalks, shampoos etc. Much better than what you will get from the local petshops ans usually a lot cheaper for better quality. Once you know what you are looking for then you can start searching for bargains on the internet. If you are wanting to look at a number of shelties together our specialty show is on Sunday 1 April at Erskine Park - entries are still open on Oz Entries and you would still be OK to post as well. I would recommend trying to go to some show training before you start. There is training out at Castle Hill on a Tuesday and Wednesday night. Getting someone to show you how to trim your dog for the show ring is very important as I sometimes see new exhibitors who have been a bit brutal with the trimming of the ears and also of the hocks. Work on the adage of less is more. You can always take more off later however if you take too much off you have to wait for it to grow back. I would suggest that if you are not going to use a trolley or the like that you may need a grooming table as it is difficult to groom on the ground at a show. I would suggest however that before going overboard with your purchases that you try showing out first - have seen a few people in recent years go and buy all the stuff only to disapper after a few weeks because the dog that they had was not up to the standard for the show ring. Shelties are not an easy breed for people starting out in showing particularly in Sydney. TB

I'll be there both days on the Sheltie Stand TB

How sad. The old terrier cross that we have with us was the result of the fire brigade finding him beside his deceased owners body. The firies kept shooing him away but he kept coming back to lay at his owners feet. When the station that attended the call found out that the dog had nowhere to go and was being surrendered to the pound the station decided to adopt him as the station mascot. Unfortunately the poor dog did not cope with the men on rotating shifts so he was going to end up back at the pound until my OH who was doing a relieving shift at the station heard about it and said if he was going to be surrendered to the pound that he could come and stay with us and the sheltie puppy that we had recently bought. Wags - who had to have a name change before he came to live with us ( did not want a dog called Riga although the OH tried to convince me it was the name of a glove that the fireman used and that the dog liked to play with). Wags has now been with us for 11 years and he is the most loyal dog imaginable - he has his quirks - does not like loud noises ie fireworks and storms. If I go away a for a few days Wags sits by the door waiting for me to return.

I also had good results with my old sheltie. It is expensive but you can shop around on the internet and get a better price. I found the variation in price was considerable. TB

Where do you get the Calendula tea from. I have s young sheltie that is itching at the moment - no sign of fleas or bites just persistant scatching and chewing TB

Many people including myself split the Sentinal or Interceptor chews on a regular basis ( I do 4 shelties with 1 large chew). I would not imagine that they are measuring each ingredient for each individual chew separately so the theory that the ingredient may not be evenly distributed seems a bit stretched. If this was in fact trues then would we not be running the risk that some of the chews that we are using may not have the right levels of ingredients. TB

Donny, In relation to what product to use depends on what you want to cover ( this can be dependent on the area you live in) and also what best suits your breed. I know for shelties (my breed) I am limited in what products I can use because of potential ivervectim sensitivity that can affect the Collie breeds. This effectively rules out any products containing ivermectim ( in some of the Heartworm meds) or any of the other products (such as Revolution) using any of the mectin ( ie selamectin) derivatives The product you have been using - Sentinal covers Heartworm, Fleas and some intestinal worms. Interceptor only covers heartworm and some intestinal worms. If you do not need to cover for fleas then Interceptor may be the cheaper option for you. If you are in a tick area and are already using a product such as Frontline for ticks - this also covers fleas so you would be able to swap to the Interceptor as you be doubling up on the flea treatment. TB

My old very arthritic sheltie prefers the memory foam bath mat that I purchased from Costco for $15.90. Easy to wash, non slip on timber and tile floors and the perfect size for the show trolley. I started off with two and they have multiplied as all my other dogs love them as well. TB

My goodies arrived today - very pleased with the silver mesh sides, the Cool mat - one of the pups has already commandeered that, water buckets ( about half the price that I pay for them here) , the slip leads, Rainsuit, food bowls and the pups love the the skinnees. They do not think much of the Isqueaks although will give them a few days to see how they go with them. TB

BIS was an American Cocker owned by Hanley/Brown/Gray ( a UK Import) RUIS was a Jack Russell if I remember correctly.

Just typical for your area Shelby. I know I will not be going anywhere New Years Eve because we always have someone in the street behind me let them off and we have an older dog who is petrified of them and will grab the nearest thing to him - usually one of the younger shelties. Seems pointless letting them off during the day though!!!!1.

Is anyone having trouble getting into the website. I could get in last night for a while but now while I can get to the homepage I cannot access the store front - I am getting a Forbidden Access message. TB

Gabby (Sheltie) was still jumping on and off my bed with seven pups on board until two days before she whelped. My bed is a reasonably high bed. She was also trying to jump onto the single bed in the whelping room when she was about to drop the pups. I think she thought that because I would not let her stay in the bathroom - which had become her favourite place in the last week she was going to have them on the bed. TB

Hope your little boy picks up soon. We said goodbye to our tiny boy this morning he just was not gaining weight, despite topping him up. Decided that a trip to the vet was in order to get him injected with some extra fluids however he died on the way there. He was half the size of his littermates. The remaining 5 pups are thriving. TB

My sheltie litter arrived a few days early. The Xray proved to be correct with a count of 7 unfortunately we could not revive the last pup. Final Count 5 Sable and White Boys ( full white collars) 1 Sable and white girl And of course I was wanting a girl to run on and the girl is the plainest of the 6 pups. Gabby is being a good first time mum and is being very attentive to her new tribe. Will try to get some pictures tomorrow. First Pup ( the bitch) was born at 3pm closely followed by the first of the boys By 4pm we had a total of 4 pups and with each passing pup my comment of another bloody boy. After a small rest of about and hour and a half she whelped another 2 boys by 6pm. At 7pm she whelped the final pup a still born girl/ TB

Congrats to everyone on the safe arrivals. Less than a week to go with Gabby the sheltie now. Xrayed this morning showed 6 possibly 7 pups on board. Do not exopect ehr to go to Day 63 which is the 7th July. TB

Do any any the distributors have the Light variety available yet? Have been feeding Black Hawk to mine for a few months now but I need to get a few of the oldies onto the light version as they are doing a little too well on it. TB

We now have confirmation that Gabby is in Whelp. Sheltie Litter due around 7th July. TB

I have Shelties and mine are generally off Puppy food by 12 weeks. Mine then switch to the Premium adult kibble. My vet was the one who told me to get them off the puppy food early. I suppose it really depends on the breed though. TB

We are hoping for a Sheltie litter around the 7th July. Off to the vets on Saturday to confirm that Gabby is in whelp. TB

I am the show secretary for a small breed club and we are offering the Neuter class for the first time tomorrow. Just wanted to confirm that the Challenge is 6 pts plus one point for every dog they beat. BOB Neuter will also get the points for each entry of the opposite sex. Just wanted to confirm this was the case. TB

Michelle, I have sent you a PM. I have used Glyde on my sheltie who has arthritis. Decide on which product you want to use and shop around online. My vet charged me $130 to $140 for the first lot of Glyde that I purchased however I was able to get from my online supplier for less than $90. To save on postage I was buying 2 at a time. TB