ness

And just because I love this video of my old girl -

LOL interesting - lack of consistency there.

Bugger about the GoDog getting confiscated. Lucky I nearly grabbed a single serve one to try it out.

Sunnyy - my experience for what its worth. My youngster Kenz has been taking the RHVC for over 12 months now. Previously she was on Joint guard then Glyde along with fish oil. I switched her cold to the RHVC (and continued the fish oil) I had huge improvements in her over what I had her on previously. She has remained on the RHVC alone with the occasional dose of anti-inflams on a bad day. She is actually on a slightly higher "dose" of the RHVC on advice from the RHVC team and given the tolerance has been safety tested to 5 times loading dose its not a concern. Kenz has a multitude of fully unsubstantiated issues which we are still working through after a long time dealing with specialists. Nothing is going to be 100% in her situation but do I believe its helping yep I do. My now 13 year old BC Ness was started on the RHVC a few months after Kenz (roughly 10 months ago). She had been on Joint Guard for a number of years and still had some front end lameness which resolved once starting the RHVC. Enough that she went out at the age of 12 years 10 months and completed her Tracking Dog title. Nobody could believe she was as old as she was. She ruptured a cruciate and damaged the meniscus about 13 weeks ago now (just after she turned 13) and aside from the standard post surgery 10 days of anti-inflams she is not taking any other meds and is doing very well. I do have her on both Joint Guard and RHVC (and fish oil) since surgery as I had a tub of the joint guard which needed to be finished. Its perfectly safe to have them on both. Cost is the only real issue as there is no safety issue with having them on both. I have to say what impressed me with the RHV was the scientific literature and testing behind the product. Its a bit like any product what might work well for one dog or human may not necessarily work as well for another so there is a bit of trial and error in finding what your dog responds best to but so far I am happy with the product and my experience. Here is a link to the RHVC thread that I started I am sure others have asked about the other various joint products - http://www.dolforums.com.au/topic/245061-another-joint-supplement-rose-hip-vital-canine/

If you want reward based pet dog type training you could check out Scholars in Collars. http://www.scholarsincollars.com.au/home.html

Yes its interesting to watch them train it here - not sure its what I would do. However its really no different to training any long chain behavior where the reward isn't provided until the end eg a set of weave poles/an agility sequence etc.

Have to check all the blinds MRB but the person is always in the last blind and yes from watching them train a lot do try and short cut to the last blind.

The Sportdog club here in SA have been more then happy to have my fluffy BC come and train with them. I get teased for calling her the fluff though. We have been to a few sessions of tracking and normally end up back at the club grounds where I will run her through a bit of obedience. She has even played "blinds" and likes to pretend she is a black and white mal wannabe .

An absolutely awesome finish to 2013 for Kenz. Our final trial for the year was the NYE DWD trial and Kenz excelled herself. Not only did she finish her Heelwork to Music Starters title but she went on to win the class with a pretty nice scoring routine. She also finished up winning Novice Freestyle for her first pass with a somewhat OTT feral routine. Lots of marks off for barking but she had a blast doing what she loves doing and that is being out and back in the ring showing off. Love my girl - so many hardships to overcome and yet I can still reliably count on her to turn on the enthusiasm 100 fold when asked. Hopefully 2014 is a little kinder to us .

An absolutely awesome finish to 2013 for Kenz. Our final trial for the year was the NYE DWD trial and Kenz excelled herself. Not only did she finish her Heelwork to Music Starters title but she went on to win the class with a pretty nice scoring routine. She also finished up winning Novice Freestyle for her first pass with a somewhat OTT feral routine. Lots of marks off for barking but she had a blast doing what she loves doing and that is being out and back in the ring showing off. Love my girl - so many hardships to overcome and yet I can still reliably count on her to turn on the enthusiasm 100 fold when asked. Hopefully 2014 is a little kinder to us . Kenz is now better known as Winpara Dream Chaser CD RA DWDF.S HTM.S JD.

xena - so take it your not entered in DWD tomorrow night.

All the best with Stella BC Crazy - while its not easy to come to terms with I think epilepsy is a better diagnosis then the BC collapse. My understanding is that epilepsy can be well managed with medication if necessary.

Already have FR but I was good and only spent $25 :laugh:.

FalconRange.

Indoor tricks/hiding toys and having the dog go and find them?

The cooler runners chamois sort doesn't dry out quickly at all. They are meant to be stored wet and even left out of a bag to "dry" they are still damp a good few days later. I did do a comparison between the two and the Cool Champion was dry before the Cool Runners was.

Ah ok I thought you'd only used it for stays Ptolomy :laugh:. LOL RubyStar seemingly you just need to purchase every make and model and work out what is best for your dog through trial and error :laugh:. What I have done and I definitely am happy with my final choices :laugh:.

Having seen and experimented with Ptolomy's chamois coat I didn't like that as much as the Cool Runners one. I put it to the test at the park letting Kenz run and it moved around way to much whereas the Cool Runners one doesn't move at all. You don't use yours for ring work other than novice do you Ptolomy though? I think the CC would be a little difficult to jump a dog in for Open and UD. Fine for stays but not great for the more active tasks. The Cool Runners I think you could quite happily jump a dog in without having to many issues - and I have done so.

He would be no more work post-surgery then he is now and possibly less work if he is currently non-weight bearing on the rear. Definitely don't make any decision without first having a chat to a specialist.

Cool Runners - hands down as I said miss BC collapse dog lives in hers and yes you could quite easily trial in one . I know other owners who's dogs suffer from BC collapse who swear by the Cool Runners ones as well.

If you meant the video of the first one - it was deliberate for the purposes of documenting the condition and the women is a vet. Based on the age though I would wonder if it was the beginnings of a neurological problem in your case. Spinal issues can present as a weakness in the hind end.

It may not be given the later on set. Normally EIC type conditions are something which you see at a much younger age as far as I can tell. Here is a whippet collapse example on youtube - And a link to the website where they are doing the research - http://www.cvm.umn.edu/vbs/faculty/Mickelson/lab/WhippetEIH/index.htm

Having a BC with the BC version if EIC it sounds fairly similar to me. They are just starting to do research into the whippet version of the condition and I am aware of at least one whippet in SA who has episodes. I only found out when I was sending blood off to the states for the BC version and was put in touch with a vet who's whippet suffers. EIC type dogs do recover reasonably quickly without any lingering symptoms.

Marion small animal hospital use to do titre testing in SA - not sure if they still do. Link to the old SA thread - http://www.dolforums.com.au/topic/170550-titre-testing-in-sa/

I will add - I now have a 13 year old BC who is now 9 weeks post-op for a cruciate repair. We opted for a traditional/lateral suture repair in her circumstance and she is doing really well and not really looked back during the recovery process. I suspect in your case though it would be either a TPLO or TTA which you would need and definitely worth getting a specialist to perform the surgery. As far as pain is concerned they seem to bounce back through good pain management strategies and my oldie really wasn't ever in any great pain during the recovery.