Erny

Gosh .... I have never met nor heard of your Grandfather until this worrying, and now sad thread, yet my eyes are ready to spring a well of tears for him and also for you and your family. This is indeed tragic and shocking all at once. RIP Grandfather, and may you check in on all others whom we cherish but who are lost to us in this lifetime and await us on the other side of the rainbow bridge, and may you find comfort there. To the OP and OP's family - my most sincere condolences. Grandfathers are special people - I'm sure he surrounds you even now.

Hi Erny. I can not remember that thread? I have done some searching but nothing useful turned up. I will have another scroll through later. ...and hi Danois. Hi Jeff . Thanks for popping in . Perhaps it wasn't your good self who posted what I thought I read. I'll have a look for the thread myself as well, but it was a while ago.

If there is infection, I agree that antibiotics are likely to help. But if it is Canine Cough only, the antibiotics don't do anything for it because CC is viral. OT : Is it just me, or do I see Vets dishing out antibiotics as "just in case" measures, too quickly, easily and frequently?

Oh gosh ..... I can only imagine what a nightmare you would be going through right now. I so hope he is found safe and well. I don't know what procedures are taken by the authorities to locate missing people in these circumstances, but I wonder if search dogs would be of some help?

What you would be doing would only then be a matter of highlighting training methods, not highlighting the unprofessionalism of those who exhibited these responses (I can't call them "training methods") to the dogs. I agree with Cosmolo - these people are not professionals and from what I have read, have no qualifications. It is not that they use aversives that is the problem, it is that from what has been said here, their application of aversives is not appropriate nor beneficial to training and is bordering (if not actual) abuse. So don't, by implication, knock training methods - that says nothing of the instructors in question and has the ability to tarr other (good) instructors with the same brush you are using to draw attention to these few. I agree with the comments of some others - report them if they are being as abusive and contra-indicated to dog training as they sound.

Kal (my avatar girl who awaits me at the rainbow bridge) swallowed a large piece of bone once. It lodged in the oesophagus at the stomach entrance as well. Due to a calamity of errors and mishaps by the attending Vets, it was 3 days before the bone could be removed. As it could not be dislodged and brought up via the throat, open stomach surgery was necessary. But I digress .... all of that led to another bunch of dramas and several ops before I was able to get her past that ordeal. Not suggesting that this will be the case with your girl. The bone caused damage to the nerves in that section of the oesophagus at which it was wedged and as a result, there was no muscle reflex at that point, which meant that she had difficulties passing the food down to her stomach. In itself, this was fairly easily resolved by ensuring that any food she received was mushy, so that it would slide its way down. Not being able to eat food that would ordinarily assist in keeping her teeth clean and gums healthy, I needed to regularly brush her teeth. Again - not something that was insurmountable. I too am surprised your dog lasted as long as she has .... 2 months and also surprised that the Vets did not take her in sooner. That would have been so painful, assuming it is a bone/object lodged there, but it is good that she is now receiving veterinary attention and will be relieved of the discomfort tomorrow. I will be thinking of her and hoping that any complications ensuing will be minimal and easily manageable. Best wishes for her coming from over here.

SnT .... I didn't see Resamith's post (above) as advertising .

Yes - I agree. Sometimes it never rains but it pours and whilst we know we'll get through the 'high finance' periods, one can't help but hope that there won't be those 'unexpecteds' during that time. If that comes up though, unless the credit card is already maxed out, that's where it comes in handy, knowing it will get you through and you can pay it back within a certain time frame. It's more ideal if this 'back stop' can be avoided of course, because after all, we pay the penalties (interest) for it. Hope everything stays on an even keel for you . There are many veterinary costs covered by pet insurance, should probably have a look at benefits But if you read the posts to which my post relates, you'll see that it is about the fact that the owner still must be able to source the money to pay the Vet in the first place. And then hope that the claim won't be knocked back and made laborious to dispute or for the money to come through. I have made 3 x claims. Each was related (or at least 2 were) but I was made to make separate claims for them. This means that I had to pay the excess of 3 x $100.00. Each claim was denied (even though one claim was denied due to a clerical error in reading a date incorrectly) and even when that was pointed out, it was insisted the same be processed by the insurance company's review board. In the end, the claims were honoured, but it took a good 2 or 3 months for the process to conclude. Yes - having insurance there can be a godsend, but it isn't always necessarily easy as it sounds to be compensated for the veterinary expenses and until the claim is processed, there is always that "what if they don't" (for whatever unfathomable reason) niggle in the back of one's mind. And yes, my insurance premium went up by $100.00 in the space of 12 months also.

This is the point that was argued (against) here on DOL a while back (refer my earlier post). Another thought, though, is to perhaps ring your insurance company and ask if they have any advice on this.

Without reading through the whole letter (in the midst of something else just atm) I would suggest that you DON'T make reference to your dog being territorial; growling etc. There i no need to justify why you don't want people trespassing, IMO. Perhaps instead you might put in simply that their trespass disturbs the members of your family and your dog (or leave out reference to the dog altogether). But hang on a minute ..... there was a discussion ages ago about the "dog warning" signs. I think it was Jeff (DOL member) (not sure) who mentioned that if someone is told what could happen and that person still, knowingly, continues to do what they did, then there is NO argument against the dog. Something along those lines ................... Check on this point first, before you finalise your letter.

Congrats Rozzie !! Have a great time at the awards. I know when I went on the first year, we had a wonderful time, a real hoot .

Done

Have you had storms up there recently, as we have here in Melbourne? Is he responding the way you describe at places other than your home yard?

..... Troy's still keeping you all on your toes, I see.

It is quite energetic, once the introductory/initial 'explanation' process is done. I quite fall in a heap after classes - instructors need to be even more 'energised' than the handlers do, to keep the handlers energised. After 3 hours or so of classes, it is quite exhausting. But it is so liberating when you see dogs and their owners getting things together and seeing them have fun doing it, that tends to keep myself and my fellow trainers sparked up long enough until classes are finished.

Like what? Not sure if you're referring to the OP's school regime, or mine. You need an hour for the class - to teach the people. It's only (generally) once a week and they need to know the basics of skills to be able to practice with their dogs for the other 6 days of the week. I'd love to be able to teach people just one little facet of training at a time. It would be easier for me and easier for the people. But trampsing backwards and forwards to school daily just wouldn't be practical nor economical. So you have to be able to give them enough to be able to move on with during the week, and that takes time to explain, show, and to adjust them when they don't quite have it right. If the people knew what they were doing, how to manage, handle and train it, you'd only need 15 or 20 minutes. But then, if the people knew what they were doing, they wouldn't need dog schools.

We use motivational play a lot in class. Well, putting it another way, we encourage motivational play a lot in class ..... sometimes it is a matter of generating some energy from some handlers to get them activated with their dogs, LOL. But most end up doing well. Anyway, we use tug, running around, and stuff like that - depending on what the individual dog actually sees as enjoyable interaction with their respective owners. We run it as though it was an exercise in itself and of course the purpose is to get people and their dogs into the swing of it as it is an exercise that we use in between and to celebrate with the dog after an obedience skill is executed. We have people working as a group, not waiting for a turn each. There is 'down' time for the dogs in those parts where we've called the group in because we need to demonstrate or explain something, or as part of the 'coaching' (reminding) them on how to do something. In our classes, there is a lot of explanation and demonstration on the first lesson, a bit less on the second. After that, it is a matter of the handlers mainly doing the "doing" and us reminding them of things we've explained to them and adding in tips to help overcome difficulties. Much of the time, we are singing out these reminders whilst they are doing their practice with their dogs. But for things we feel they haven't really grasped or need a bit more concentration on, we call them back in to explain again, then send them back out to put into practice whatever was explained. When people are in class, it is the people that are doing the learning, as someone else said. IMO, it's not good training for the dogs if the people are busy concentrating on what's being said and shown and therefore can't continue concentrating on their dog's training - inconsistencies slip in when people aren't focused on their dogs and what the dogs are doing. During that time, we have the handlers' dogs in 'release' mode, as do the other places that I've worked with and been to.

Health Food Stores?

What class drills the dogs for a full hour? In my classes and indeed other classes I have seen or worked with, it has been about explanation, sending the class out for practice, pulling back in if necessary to reiterate or add extra information, sending back out, pulling back in to move on to the next skill, sending out etc. etc. with much motivational exercise in between. If one actually collated how much "do", how much "motivational exercise" and how much "handler coaching/explanation" was involved at class time during that one hour, are there many schools where the "do" factor (ie the actual obedience exercises) outweighed even the "motivational exercise" and "handler coaching/explanation"? How could a school insist on handlers having the dogs' focus 100% of the whole hour if the instructors are going to be speaking, explaining, demonstrating? If someone was coming with their dog and already had the class level skills, but just wanted to maintain training in the presence of other dogs, then yes, the amount of time spent on the actual obedience exercises would be more concentrated and I would have no problems with them coming for a short time and leaving early. I've done the same with my boy when I took him to doggy school.

I wouldn't waste more time for either of your sakes. Get Noopy to the specialist - at least for the consult appointment - post haste and explain to the specialist what has been going on. The specialist will better able to determine the urgency of treatment. But waiting back at hoping that she can "hang in there" for a few days or more, isn't going to help either of you. If you've made your appointment and "a few days" is the earliest you could get in, I'd be ringing them back and explaining what's been going on over the telephone, requesting an earlier appointment. The fact that she is vomiting and that it smells, "is dark brown liquid" and is staining her teeth indicates to me that there is potentially some bowel material coming up. I wouldn't be waiting around spending time worrying - better to act and act immediately, IMO. No worries with the emoticon mix up. Just had me cock an eyebrow for a moment.

I don't think the dog will mind - they aren't sentimental like we are. A name for a dog is only a command for attention. It would be similar to changing the command "drop" to "down", for example. The new owners will just have that bit more work to do. If they train it right, it might even be better as often owners use their dogs' names far to frequently without any expectation for anything, and then wonder why the dog takes no notice when it is interested in other things.

I agree with Puggy_Puggy. Sounds very serious and does sound as though it relates to perforation either from the bone or, if initial surgery involved open stomach, perhaps the internal wound has not closed? I presume xrays were done to confirm all the bone (blockage) was removed? If it were me, I'd be classing this as urgent (especially as it's been going on for 8 weeks already and getting worse) and seeking earlier attention, mentioning that payment would be forthcoming in a few days. You never know, the specialist might find they need to keep her in for that period of time anyway. I'm not sure why you think this is funny ..... or perhaps the wrong emoticon was used? I hope everything works out ok for your dog, poor mite .... she's been through a lot.

It is not a shampoo. It is a tea. "Calendula" are marigold flowers (dried). You would brew up a tea from them (I put a couple of tablespoons in the toe of a stocking) and brew it like I would as though it is a tea bag. If the dog is long haired, I'd use a spray bottle, lift the coat, spray as close in to the skin as possible and give it a rub in with your hands, to get it to the skin. I do similar with short coated dogs, although with them I don't have to lift the coat and sometimes I use a flannel saturated in the tea instead of the spray bottle. I tend to find I notice improvement inside 24 hours. Treat again if redness remains, but don't treat again if it is any worse. You purchase Calendula from a Health Food Store. I have found that I have been able to avoid use of antibiotics by using this as a treatment for the symptom. But you still need to work out and remedy the cause for any skin irritation - it is not a 'cure' for that.

Wow .... that was great. Got to hand it to Pedigree ..... their advertising is exceptional. They'd want to hold on to whoever has been behind it in the last 1 or 2 years - I think the person is a genious.