Erny

Consider there to be snakes everywhere there is natural space (and even sometimes when there is not natural space). Snakes have and do get seen down at KCC Park and you would ESPECIALLY (but not only) need to watch around the dam where near on perfect conditions exist for snakes. Whilst it is not a guarantee, it is less likely to see a snake in high traffic areas, so they are the spots to stick to so long as they are also spots where visibility is better and you have a chance of spotting a snake in sufficient time.

Literally.

I think it is very insulting that the person did not address the email with "Dear One ...... ". Hhhmph. How very dare they.

Agree.

Mandela's poop went from brilliant (best I've seen for months and months and months) back to sloppy . Happens every time. The only variation seems to be how long it takes to happen. Dang it. Although I've not quit trying on the food side of things, I'm very close to my next step, which (I think) will be endoscopy.

She is quite a stunner. I don't think she needs weight - at least not too much extra. Must admit I like my dogs on the lean side if not exactly perfect. OH looks and sounds as though he might be in love all over again with another body ...... lol. Good luck and happy training .

With liver (for example) I freeze for a MINIMUM of 2 weeks. Defrost to use and this takes care of the nasties. I was told that by more than a couple of professional people. I can't remember whom, but I think one was a naturopath and 1 was a vet.

Agree - I find that even a change in weather (hot to cold or vice versa) can have me looking for a loo a little sooner and more often than I ordinarily might. And/Or perhaps I drink more on some days than I do on others - this would also have a bearing on what my bladder requirements would be.

Not a breeder, so no expert on the intricate details of requirement specifics. But isn't there an official 'list' of what you need to satisfy the law and Dogs Victoria requirements? Is it at all helpful to have someone to come out to say "yes, that satisfies requirements"? Will the sanctioning of this Dogs Victoria appointed person serve to provide Dogs Vic Members with any additional security than one might have if they weren't endorsed by this person? IOW, if you get a tick of approval from this person but then get picked on for something by some BAW Officer, will the Dogs Victoria Field Officer's "tick of approval" provide you with any recognised defence? I guess what I'm trying to get at is, what will the expense of this person actually gain you that you would not be able to easily gain through simply reading the list of requirement criteria? What will the appointed field officer's experience/credentials be?

I agree with Diva. Teaching the game of tug takes a bit of time. The first phase is building the dog's drive for it. During this phase there is no way you want to issue a correction in any shape or form during the game. So yes .... gloves are the way to go. I copped quite a number of accidental dental injuries on my hands from my boy's teeth way back in the very early days. Of course you use your hand placement as best as you can to avoid them, but that just doesn't always happen. The second phase is the beginning of letting your dog know that the accidental tooth connection to skin is not desirable. I started by at first ignoring the very slight accidents and reacting only to the more obvious ones. A squeel; a hurt look/crying on my face; "finish" and me going inside was all it took (a few times) for my dog to begin to realise that teeth + skin = game over. By this phase, my boy was well and truly hooked on the game and well understood the word "finish". I don't know about others, but when I "finish" on a good note, he gets a food treat and we're still bestest friends. When I "finish" on a not so good note, there are no food treats and I ignore for a bit. From there we progressed to even a slight accidental tooth on skin being enough to end the game. I then pushed it further - I began to close the gap in on the tug with my hands. I can now release him to the tug but once he realises that my hands are in the way - even if he realises at the last minute, he'll refuse the tug. Gloves helped me during the early times of this training. I still need to get some as I am constantly helping other people and their dogs teach/learn the game of tug. But I don't need them for my own dog any more. I wouldn't give up on the game of tug because of a few knocks - my dog and myself have benefited incredibly because of the game of tug as training reward. But that's me.

Although I'd be inclined to bandage/protect it, during exercise time - only so that it gets a chance to heal over. :D Was Nurse Feather wearing her Nurse's cap?

Go back to my earlier (first one or two posts) - you'll see there that I said there are too many assumptions that need to be made due to the lack of information from that video footage. So yes .... you could guess on and on about why the dog is behaving as he is and at what. What I've suggested and why is merely my suggestive thoughts based on assumption of what I think could have occurred.

That would depend on numerous factors, Donegal. How the dog was trained in the first place (too much too fast ???); what and how much the dog receives by way of drive satisfaction and so on. If the historical training can be faulted, then IMO that needs to be re-addressed first, before addressing the actual mouthing which does seem to be re-direction out of frustration. There is so much assumption in the watching of that video footage, but I saw a dog that was not balanced and I do strongly suspect that to be the result of training fault. So rather than singling out the mouthing, I'd be inclined to back up with the training a bit. Making sure the dog received drive satisfaction and making sure the dog knew the rules of the game to achieve drive satisfaction would be one of the things I'd like to investigate. If all checked out and/or was re-addressed and fixed, but the re-direction continued, I'd probably use any one of "correct" and/or "quit the dog". This would depend on the dog and how it responded to one or the other. Don't know if Jeff would agree with me and he does have far more experience than I in the training of protection work (of which my experience is fairly close to nothing other than observation and a smidge of practical), so my apologies to him for stepping in here as I see your question, Donegal, was addressed to him.

It would be unlikely to be heartworm, Borderfan. Only you know you're dog, but if the cough has been the only symptom (and that's disappeared anyway??) and he's otherwise his normal happy self, I would not panic and I'd keep an eye on it over the next couple of days or so.

I'm cautious of using meat/meat-based products .... or even sweet foods, in things such as kongs in the summer months. In fact, I'm cautious about leaving any bones out as well. Only for the fact that we have European Wasp problems in the area I live in and the things absolutely swarm around these foods. So take care.

And remember - that's the Controlling Body's stance on them, not the law's. The only place in the World where the use of the PPCollar has been made illegal is here in Victoria. Even though no evidence of harm with the use of the PPCollar has been recorded. Even though one can't say the same for just about any other collar (save for the e-collar, I think).

I'm getting a little lost with all the food names mentioned here (not that I mind - just means I'll need to re-fresh by re-reading) so perhaps it has already been mentioned, but does Natural Balance have no Wheat, Corn or Soy either?

You can see the dog mouth the handlers arm in the first 4 seconds of the video. It is something that can be fixed quite easily and by using a lot less effort than what the handler is using / being told to use. Yeah - I thought handler mouthing at first too. But then it seemed the dog 'got it' for so much as shrill whining at whatever was out of view-finder shot. Not a defence to the so called "method". Just still puzzling on what the dog was supposedly doing wrong. I was quite surprised to see the dog hardly worried about the treatment, once all was said and done. Seems it was ineffective one way or the other (dog did seem to ease up on the shrill whining towards end of footage, but who knows why .... could have been that the environment changed - seemed to me the dog didn't really take any or much learning on board), although I can't imagine it helping bonds between handler and dog. And one way or the other, the manoeuvres were quite violent. IMO, just for the way it was repeatedly administrated and with such discord, it gave the impression of the handler being unstable and could well imagine the dog perceiving that as well.

Actually, it depends which strain. Bordetella Bronchiseptica (a common strain and one we vacc against) is bacterial. Parainfluenza is the most commonly seen viral strain. A good way to think of KC is like Whooping Cough - same family (Bordetella Pertussis) - a bit more serious than just a common cold. Many cases will go away on their own without AB's - I think the best thing to do is to discuss it with your vet. If you get the KC diagnosis, perhaps suggest to wait it out a few days and see how you go and if things get worse, then come back for AB's. Most vets should dispense them to you a few days later without another visit. Thanks Stormie, for clarifying my error. Wish more Vets had attitude such as yours. I'm a bit too used to having Vets throw antibiotics into our dogs just as easily and regularly as they might give a food treat.

There is a condition that to my knowledge tends to affect some breeds of dogs (I could be wrong but memory tells me labradors and possibly kelpies being just two) called "exercise induced collapse". I don't know much about it. I think Lablover knows a reasonable amount on it. But I haven't seen Lablover here on DOL much in a long time. I am off to our training classes right now, but if you google it you might come up with some info on it. Just as an additional something to consider as maybe a possibility, if other things don't give you indication of cause.

:D I disagree....there is no reasonable reason for that kind of treatment of a dog in training, the guy wasn't achieving anything, looked like he was making the situation worse. Yes - I agree. I said I didn't like it. Do admit from my post it could read as though I'm sitting on the fence. Didn't intend to, but I would like to know what the point of it was and why that particular 'move' (won't call it "technique") was used and not something else. It was done lousy anyway and from what could be seen from the footage, didn't have any good effect in any hurry.

Lol ..... I did the same when my boy contracted it as a puppy. I have only ever been able to find the very low UMF (eg 5+) at the Supermarket - not really worth it. I purchase the higher UMF Manuka Honey at the health food store. There's no harm if you want to give your dog a teaspoon of ordinary honey from your pantry tonight - it just doesn't have the healing, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory qualities that the Active Manuka Honey does. But I'm sure your dog will love the treat anyway, and it will probably still help with a tickley throat. It might get a bit worse before it gets better. Perhaps a bit off his food. Perhaps a bit lethargic. But if the symptoms persist and/or you're just not sure or alarmed, then yes .... go to the Vet. If the Vet confirms Canine Cough and prescribes antibiotics ask your Vet if there is a secondary infection present for the antibiotics to treat.

Canine Cough takes approximately 10 days to incubate before becoming symptomatic, so yes .... it is possible that he contracted it during his kennel stay. Canine Cough generally sounds like a dry; hacking; unproductive cough. You can normally induce the cough by placing pressure (eg from a flat collar) on the throat and/or exercise. This is when the dogs will often cough the most, but not only. If you are uncertain whether what he has is CC or not, then a visit to the Vet would be suggested. I tend to find however that many Vets will jump straight onto antibiotic medication even though Canine Cough is a virus and the antibiotics will help diddly squat with that. Antibiotics are only required in cases where a secondary infection is likely. It is similar to watching out for anyone who has a cold. They don't always immediately rush off to the Doctor's at the first sign, but do tend to migrate there if things begin to feel very much worse and heading into (eg) chest infection. So, if it does prove to be Canine Cough, going to the Vet isn't really necessary. Administer some Active Manuka Honey (highest strength possible - at least 15+ but preferably 25+ or more .... it isn't cheap, so be prepared) either from the teaspoon and/or mixed in a small amount of warmish water. The honey will help sooth a sore throat. Mixed with water helps to make sure your dog remains hydrated (important). Watch for signs of sore throat and if there are any, feed mushy food to make it easier and more comfortable to swallow down. Keep your dog inside and away from drafts. Avoid taking him/her for walks etc. as not only will these tax the system, it will serve only to spread the virus. ETA: I'm not a Vet.

Wow. You leave your dog outside cause you're too lazy to vacuum? Lol. Nice... That's not nice nor necessarily fair, LMS. Person's choice. Some dogs who are kept outside receive more attention; training; mental and physical exercise with their owners than some others I have met over the years who have their dogs inside. If the dog is well looked after; receives the care and attention it requires - there is nothing wrong with a dog being kept outside. It is not my choice - but my choice doesn't have to be someone else's.

I agree.