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Two Best Dogs!

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Posts posted by Two Best Dogs!

  1. Perhaps as a go between - teach him to nose touch your hand for this walk bouncing challenge?
     

    Once understood as a trick. Hold your hand out low to the side when he gets the bounces and encourage him to burn his energy on high fiving your hand with his nose, versus your face. 
     

    Not really a solution so much as a way to angle his enthusiasm into less hazardous movement for you.
     

    He does sound very passionate so stationary and calm will be harder for him - Thyme has this challenge except I am in favour of his demented pogo stick behaviour. So lots of redirections and showing him appropriate bouncing as stationary behaviours will never be his strong skill. Even when stationary I can see him vibrating and ready to explode :laugh:

     

    For the lead situation - perhaps teach him how to put his head through a collar already attached to a lead. That will likely be easier for him (movement/action) over holding himself stationary. 
     

    For calm cuddles - I have no real advice. Thyme decided in his second year they are “okay”. But most of our physical bonding is a bit of nightly wrestling which ends up with a rigorous butt rub (his one true weakness). Perhaps experiment with different ways to touch him? Will he slow down for a butt rub? For some lazy bitey face bitey hands?

     

    i would be cautious on using the absence of your presence to correct him, because it sounds like he is very frustrated in his enthusiasm of you. Better to find ways for you two to meet in the middle to get some success and negotiate (lol!) where you can both get some relief in your relationship.

     

    • Like 1
  2. Keep forgetting to share this one for you guys - open access!

     

    https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2020.00388/full

     

    Assisting Decision-Making on Age of Neutering for 35 Breeds of Dogs: Associated Joint Disorders, Cancers, and Urinary Incontinence

     

    Quote

    Neutering (including spaying) of male and female dogs in the first year after birth has become routine in the U.S. and much of Europe, but recent research reveals that for some dog breeds, neutering may be associated with increased risks of debilitating joint disorders and some cancers, complicating pet owners' decisions on neutering.

    [snip]

    There were major breed differences in vulnerability to neutering, both with regard to joint disorders and cancers. In most cases, the caregiver can choose the age of neutering without increasing the risks of these joint disorders or cancers.

     

    Small-dog breeds seemed to have no increased risks of joint disorders associated with neutering, and in only two small breeds (Boston Terrier and Shih Tzu) was there a significant increase in cancers.

     

    To assist pet owners and veterinarians in deciding on the age of neutering a specific dog, guidelines that avoid increasing the risks of a dog acquiring these joint disorders or cancers are laid out for neutering ages on a breed-by-breed and sex basis.

     

    In the results section they split the results out by each breed so you can go straight to the breed you care about most:

     

    Quote

    English Springer Spaniel

    The study population was 52 intact males, 57 neutered males, 37 intact females, and 66 spayed females for a total sample of 212 cases. In males and females left intact, the occurrence of one or more joint disorders was 5 and 8 percent, respectively. Among males and females neutered at various ages, there were no noteworthy increases in joint disorders. The cancers followed occurred in the intact males and females at a 6 percent level, and neutering at any age was not associated with any evident increase in this measure in either sex. In intact females, MC was diagnosed in 6 percent, and for those spayed at 2–8 years, 15 percent. PYO was not reported in any of the intact females. Spaying females at 6–11 mo. was associated with a 13 percent occurrence of UI, which may have reached significance with a larger sample size. Lacking a noticeable occurrence of increased joint disorders or cancers in neutered males, those wishing to neuter should decide on the appropriate age. For females, given the increased risk of UI in those spayed before 1 year, the suggested guideline is to delay spaying until a year of age.

     

    • Like 2
  3. No risks any different to any other female dog, except the risk of a long happy life ;) 

     

    Terriers are resilient little things! Would probably desex to get any ovary/in season concerns out of the way and then off you go with your new friend :)

    • Like 6
  4. It may be your sister struggles with letting go - it's hard to know when the time is right versus too late with someone you love.

     

    There is an online calculator to help you work out if your dog has a decent quality of life or is "just existing"

     

    https://journeyspet.com/pet-quality-of-life-scale-calculator/

     

    and you may find this blog post helpful to read, on knowing when it is time to let your pet go while letting it be a peaceful end.

    https://www.chronofhorse.com/article/death-with-dignity-why-i-chose-to-put-my-horse-down-on-a-good-day

    • Like 3
  5. 3 hours ago, Rozzie said:

    My daughter and family adopted a dog through SEQ K9 rescue Inc. They worked well with her to ensure the right fit for them all. Jax is now living his best life. 

     

    Thanks Rozzie, I'll send this rescue name through to them!

    • Like 1
  6. 22 minutes ago, stellnme said:

    How long would the dog be alone in the apartment every day?

    Not very long as my sister and partner work different hours. 
     

    Got to exercise details: they live across from a park and said exercise would be 30 mins+ evening walk but also outings throughout the day as her partner is home during the day. 
     

    they’re okay for mature dogs (4-5 years) but nothing that’s too old or has health complications that prevent daily walkies and weekend wanderings 

  7. 17 minutes ago, Scratch said:

    2 breeds come to my mind are Iggy and Crestie. No breed will tick all the boxes so they need to put their most important wants at the top of the list and be prepared to compromise on some lesser wants. I’d add wire coated Griffon but of course they’re brachy 

    Waiting for them to get back to me, but I get the distinct impression their current main wants are:

     

    Under 10kg so the apartment lets them keep the dog

    Available to purchase now

    Adult

     

    and the allergies are an afterthought :laugh:

  8. I have been going through victoria checkpoints to continue hydrotherapy for  my dog. I know other customers from outside the restricted areas have entered the restricted areas for same dog services. 
     

    We have letters explaining and saying where we are going/rehab centre details etc. My checkpoint guy was equally happy to view receipts instead of letters but the letter was what I used. 
     

    Then it’s just a matter of following the safety guidelines eg I hand the dog over and wait in the car park. 

    • Like 1
  9. To be honest, I did have to dedicate a lot of time to specifically teaching Thyme to settle in the house - otherwise he would make me dizzy with constant movement. He would sniff one thing, run through the house to sniff something else, run back, crawl all over the couch, go sniff the corner of idk a book. Then he'd get cranky like a toddler from being so scatter brained and not resting himself. I swear he was that shark saying in another life ;) "if it stops moving forward it dies". Lots of reassuring him that if he stops moving he won't die  :laugh:

    I don't mind, but I can see it being a thing people get annoyed to have to concentrate on teaching.

    But that is just Thyme - his cousin on the otherhand settles perfectly and is super laid back. Very varied personalities!

     

    Maybe keep an eye out for adults where upfront on if they're the settle or circle kind of dog?

  10. Thyme can trot along for quite awhile, although we haven’t done a steady flat 2 hours. My attention span is too short for that. Multihours Hikes are normal tho. 
     

    I think 1 Hour 30 On a flat path was our longest steady pace so far with some sniff/pee breaks here and there. I kickscooter with him so he’s usually pulling a bit too. 
     

    we are training for the ANKC endurance test one day which is a 2 hour 30 min bike ride. So I am working him up to it slowly (plus my own fitness needs work!). 
     

    (thyme is The springer spaniel)

    There are other spaniels who do the endurance test as well - including cavaliers! Among other more typical breeds like kelpies, huskies, pointers. I like looking at the photos. Terriers present too!

     

    would just be mindful to have a healthy dog and to work them up to it steadily like you do with your own health.
     

    And be mindful of the weather and surfaces. Eg I usually stick to dirt trails for long running with the odd bike path here and there. 

     

    Spaniels are cool :) I am only a little biased ;) 

  11. The dog attack would have been covered. e.g. I got 80% back when one of my dogs (accidentally!) injured the other.

    (my plan pays me back on 80% of claims. I've yet to be declined)

     

    When getting insurance, you just need to be very mindful of what is and isn't covered.

     

    My main concerns were to be covered for: activity injuries, snake bite, emergency boarding if *I* am hospitalised, cancers/chemo. So far this has held true (so many activity injuries including a dreaded grass seed and one mystery tummy bug)

     

    I am not covered for our rehab physio as the leg injury is pre-existing and ongoing to getting the insurance. But I have been covered when that leg got injured by a certain enthusiastic springing spaniel landing on that leg and injuring it further (to my dismay).

    • Like 1
    • Thanks 1
  12. I’m rather partial to the circle method - lunge then around in a circle like an over excited horse but dont go forwards until they lunge loosely. 
     

    or lunge them towards something to m reward with. 
     

    I find all the practice in circling - they get very practiced in recognising when the lead tension is tense enough to start turning back to you . And when they start turning - that is a movement into following you over pulling. 
     

    gentler on both your bodies too. 
     

    their are YouTube videos showing it and the like. Just search: loose lead circle method

    • Thanks 1
  13. Even if she adores the pup - she may still be feeling out of sorts from the routine disruption. Less sleep, changed hours, changed routine - all those can make for a dog to feel less tolerant and feel overwhelmed. And overwhelmed dogs stressing out get cranky and won't be able to listen as well as normal.

     

    It may also be, now that she has her own companion, she no longer enjoys the dog parks as she's already getting her "social quota" from her very own home.

     

    Try sticking to nice and quiet walks (without the puppy), avoiding triggers and looking for things to sniff. Giving yourselves both a break while new routines are worked out.

    • Like 1
  14. I like fenzi dog sports academy - their next “semester” of courses open next week. It’s got a huge variety of options (multiple sports, behaviour, grooming etc) all ranging from beginner basics to technical specifics. All taught by a variety of qualified professionals. 
     

    inbetween courses (they go for 6 weeks or so) they have webinars (2 hour lessons) and mini courses (go for a week). 



    https://www.fenzidogsportsacademy.com/schedule-and-syllabus

     

    sign ups open for next semester on May 22 for a 1 June start


     

    • Like 2
  15. You are near me!

     

    I use four trainers across two dogs lol - but I think these two are closest to you:

     

    So Canine Clubhouse has a great young dog program on working on both socialising -puppy playing with the training skills: https://www.canineclubhouse.com.au/

    - their classes are currently running with social distancing in place. you might like that, because they rotate between puppy playing manners and obedience stuff multiple times in classes. Lots of introducing your young dogs to novel objects and noises. He also has a teenage dog socialising course for those of us who want to help our dogs be dog park dogs (I did this with thyme, it was very helpful!)

    ((bonus is the daycare service they run as well)

    Edit: Link to the puppy classes and the socialisation classes - these particular classes are still running over social iso

     

    Next closest is Dog Solutions

    https://www.dogsolutions.com.au/

    - i haven't seen this one's puppy classes, but their adult classes are really well run for teaching life manners, calmness around other dogs and listening to owners  - i've observed a few group sessions before signing up. Edit: Currently running social iso puppy classes with in person classes organised for transition out of iso

     

    For this trainer, I use them for one on one fear behaviroual challenges and they've been really great for that. So training sessions out in the street, where they have demo dogs going past and tell us what to do and help us practice things in a controlled safe environment. You might like something more like that.

     

    Both of those above work with quite challenging dogs - so you won't be kicked out of any puppy schools for having a terrier act like a terrier. They're both super nice and understanding people. One of them is doing a social iso separation anxiety course I think, I'll go look over fb to link you. (Edit: they both have social iso things going on, so i've added a link each to their pages above so you can see which one you might like more. Or be a two-timer like me and get both lol)

     

     

     

     

    Then I have two obedience trainers, but I don't think that's what you're looking for, from the sounds of it? One is pro dog parks but ANKC run so won't be open for awhile and the other is anti dog parks and does group classes so prob won't be open for awhile.
     

    • Like 2
  16. Dog's don't demonstrate pain the way people do :) under the hardened numb skin is likely an infection growing - get him into the vet now to save yourself a giant vet bill in a couple of weeks. You don't want the chronic infections and the behavioural changes that will follow.

    • Like 4
  17. Step 1. Your friend who brought the chickens in needs to invest in a better coop fence - ideally a double fence set up with an enclosed roof. Or you're going to just keep losing the chickens to staffies, foxes, cats, birds of prey etc. Management of environment is the utmost importance and electric fences are frankly pretty useless on worked up dogs.

     

    Can you show us a photo of the coop/run set up and we can provide resources on how to improve it?

     

    • Like 1
  18. Same reason I assume my breeders had me fill out a 4 page form - to be reassured the dog is going to a home with an income.

     

    Have you tried directly messaging them ? Or are you contacting by way of applying to a dog first up?

     

    It might make your way easier if you have your initial contact to be super open ended. e.g. "do you have time for a phone call to discuss a couple of your dogs?"

  19. I use hello fresh :) it’s kind of food delivery? a friend gave me a discount code a few months ago and it was so convenient I never cancelled. 
     

    it’s a recipe food delivery. So I pick my recipes for the upcoming week from a selection.  And how many serves.I get the groceries to make them delivered on a nominated day. Then I cook it myself. 
     

    cons:

    more plastic packaging  than I’d like

     

    theyre a bit stingy on the herbs. So now I have a herb garden to supplement :laugh:

     

    overall, pretty pleased. I have discount codes if anyone wants to test it out. 
     

    oh I still need to buy things like milk, butter, eggs, oil, vinegar. 

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