Erny

Hope it works for you Loraine. I'm continuing with my bathing of Mandela's ear tip daily and the scab on it seems to be more healthy than I've managed before. I believe you can use the CS to spray/dropper into the ear canal, but I've not ever done this so don't wish to advise. I have read of it though. Same with eyes. However, I'm not quite game to use it for this because I'm not 100% confident of its sterility. Again, don't wish to intrude/confuse, but I use the Calendula Tea Wash. My boy tends to get an oily/yeasty sort of coat in between hive outbreaks and I find the Calendula Tea excellent for reducing hives, staving off secondary infection and dealing with infection that might already be present. It really cleans his coat and skin up and scurf also disappears. But, as someone (Zadar Asher, from memory, I think) pointed out to me, caution should be given in case skin reactions are through pollen allergy as some dogs might react to the Calendula Tea wash itself. Of the numbers I have recommended the Calendula to and who have used it, no one's come back to say they had any problems with it though, and I understand that quite a number have found it to be quite helpful. I consider it something to use to stop things becoming worse and to ease the symptoms whilst I'm trying to work on the cause. Calendula Tea Wash can be used in ears and eyes as well, but for the same reasons as I've already expressed above, I haven't used it for that, save for wiping around that part of the ear that I can see. In my boy's case, it sort of helped, although the inner ear flaps were still a bit too pink for my liking. The CS does a better job of that for my boy - I think it is more mild, not to suggest less effective. Whilst things like Malaseb are really helpful and sometimes 'fix' the issue at hand, I think that sometimes we jump to these sort of chemical based substances too soon/quickly and that it sends the dog's natural skin PH too far out of balance so that it over-tries to correct itself, causing problems of its own and making it hard to get off the Merry-Go-Round, so to speak. ETA: I use the CS for the very sensitive areas, such as ears as well as for the 'boy bit' when it looks as though it might do with a little bit of cleaning. I only clean when it is necessary - not as something regular for the sake of it. ETA: I use "Suttons" Colloidal Silver. I asked at my Health Food Store (they know me very well now .... my boy serves to keep them in business LOL) for the "best quality" CS. That was the one they gave me. I am presuming it is "up there" in the good quality range. I believe that makes a big difference in effectiveness, as there are some solutions you can get which are cheaper but don't have much in the way of silver ion suspension.

There are many enough training clubs around who teach you to walk your dog to heel ie being on a loose lead AND walking next to you at the left. Personally, I disagree with this because of the fact that there are many people out there with dogs who aren't interested in having their dog stuck to their left all the time and don't particularly need the "heel" command. I'm an advocate of teaching lead manners (ie Loose Lead Walking) first. This of course solves the problem of dogs pulling on lead but also permits the freedom of not needing to be so conscientious about "position, position, postion". It permits the dog to sniff along the way as well. So to the OP, I presume this is why you ask the question? Look around for a dog training school that teaches both LLW and Heel. You can then make the choice as to whether you wish to continue on with teaching "heel" as a separate exercise to LLW. The way I teach, LLW bears no command. Heel does.

Here's a link to a site that I've put up here on DOL before. There's been a few discussions on it and these should come up if you search the forum. I don't know if there's been any updates from those who have dogs with this condition though, so I'm not sure of the treatments followed, and their success. Mutant Hairy Dog Feet (Nasodigital Hyperkeratosis) . This talks about dremmelling the dog's paw pads to rid it of the growth. But I would be extremely cautious about doing this yourself as I could you could easily go beyond the Keratosis and into the pad itself. If you google "Nasodigital Hyperkeratosis" there are many links that come up for it and a bit of sifting through them might give you an idea.

Here's another link to Parks Victoria. It gives a list of dog friendly camping areas in Victoria. They aren't necessarily all or mostly coastal though :

Haven't been there myself, but here's a link to Parks Victoria : Gippsland Lakes Coastal Camping Site. Looks nice. Not sure if it is what you are after. Scroll down - it gives info on where dogs are not allowed to be. Might take a bit more looking into to see if it would suit. ETA: I see dogs are permitted in certain areas, but on-lead only.

Good news, Wilderblu. My heart sank a couple of times throughout. Pleased to hear things are improving and I hope they continue that way. Yes - I would imagine anyone in SA would be wanting to know what location you are talking about, for their own dogs' sakes. I hope the cause can be determined soon so that steps might be taken to safeguard against further occurrences.

Colloidal Silver can be used to help things such as ear problems. I wouldn't want to step in between what you're doing under the advisement of your Vet, because I haven't gone down the path of using CS for an ear infection. I will say, however, that the outer of my boy's ear canal was a bit sore looking (and bothering him) and also that he has a wound at the tip of his ear that has refused to properly heal because he flaps his head whenever he has a collar on, and that opens it up. I've tried lots of things on that, from disinfectants; anti-biotic ointments; paw paw ointment; and so on. I'm now using colloidal silver and the wound seems to be improving. I also wiped out his ear with the coloidal silver and that seems to have done the trick for that too. Not forgetting that you can give CS to them orally to help 'boost' from the inside as well. I'm going to start taking it myself for CFS and see how I go. Just a thought that you might wish to keep in the back of your mind.

New hope resumes . for a full recovery.

Cosmolo - To my knowledge (and as at yesterday) the program/agenda is not 'out' yet.

The Melbourne one-day thing is apparently mainly for those who also go to the Sydney conference, so I understand and yes it is invitation only. The AVA are running a one-day event with Steven Lindsay as well. I think that relates more to the welfare side of behaviour rather than behaviour problem solving, or so I'm to understand.

Wilderblu - I know you didn't like to hassle your friends about it too much, but I presume you would have some idea of how the dog is fairing and whether it was 1080 poisoning? I've been thinking of this poor dog over the last couple of days.

Actually, that's an interesting question. I have no idea of dog-owning number stats, but if it all came down to puppy supply via registered or ethical breeders, would could supply meet demand?

:rolleyes: Please don't *back away*. I can imagine how you drew to that picture in your head . I am not exactly innocent at drawing to the wrong *image* in my head. That's what imagination does and what we produce when we read text.

Congratulations, Cosmolo and OH ! :rolleyes: What a cutey!! The joy of a puppy is unsurpassed, IMO . Enjoy, as I know that you will .

Yet some people have these without necessarily the luxury that you have for the choices you'd make. And they could well be impacted, if push came to shove. Apart from which, if a property is well and suitably fenced, I don't see, regardless of our own personal reasons for perhaps not doing so, why people should not be able to make use of their own property for what they want in terms of space for their dog's use. It certainly remains our own choice whether we for our own reasons have our dogs to the backyard when we are not around. But this law is yet just another that will remove that choice, regardless of circumstance. And this is where our laws are becoming ridiculous. Kal, my avatar girl, used to take up her most favourite place on my front verandah. Because of my house site position, it could be argued that that is in my front yard. Very well fenced and secure. She used to love just watching life go by, whether I was home or not. It was the most favourite place for her and in the early years when my house and yard was only new, the front afforded the best protection from weather (sun, wind and rain). She was never a nuisance. I had really cranky neighbours at the time. It would have been nothing for them to have placed a complaint to council to force me to keep her to the rear yard, where she got to see nothing.

So you wouldn't have your dog have access to a well-fenced secure front yard, even when you might be inside the home? I'm not asking you personally to your OWN circumstances, because perhaps your back yard is sufficient. But if a front yard comprised a good part of your dog's exercise area, do you think the dog being out the front yard when you were simply home would not be ok?

Remember that it will be a blanket law. Not all yards are created equally. Even front yards boarded by 6 foot high non-see through solid fences wouldn't be an excuse under the law, unless acceptable fence designs are written into the law. Also, I wonder what constitutes a "front yard"? And what about corner properties? It is not as simple as it might seem and when a blanket law is being entertained, whether we think it is good or not needs to be thought out not only on behalf of ourselves but also for the circumstances of others.

Yes - and it is an easy way out for Council to be 'seen' to have done something (potentially about nothing ). Neighbour complains? Easy - make dog owner keep dog in back yard. Job done. Easy money.

Well, it was written up on DOL not so long ago, about this proposed animal by-law and it seems that the City of Wyndham are now seriously considering implementing it. Interview by Neil Mitchell (3AW) with Mr. Attley (sp?) of the City of Wyndham (summary : my words) .... Mr. Attley (City of Wyndham) : It is only a proposed by-law at this stage but the effect will be that dogs are not to be permitted in front yards unless supervised or under the control of the owner. City of Wyndham won't police the law (ie they aren't going to go driving around looking for unsupervised dogs in front yard ..... although I wonder if THAT will be in writing?) unless there was a complaint. Neil Mitchell : Graeme Smith LDH says, in response to this proposed law that it is "madness" and "over the top". Mr. Attley (City of Wyndham) : Residents feel unsafe with dog barking and hitting the fence. Callers invited : the less dogs have contact with people/passer byers the less sociable they will be with them ludicrous - yards are small enough as it is. children need to be accustomed to dogs (Policeman) complained about council non-response to calls about a dog at large unless an attack has occurred and suggested if people want council to respond they need to say there has been an attack. (Council Animal Management person) - objects to (above) policeman's suggestion as 'crying wolf' will only create apathy. Don't know if there will be more said on 3AW about it, but that's what I heard so far.

Thanks Aidan.

Are you referring to the OP's friend's dog? We don't know yet that it is 1080 poisoning. We're waiting to hear AFAIK.

Any news this morning?

And what do you do with the rest of your spare time? Hhhmmm ? Emailing the nominations when you get a chance would be fantastic, thank you. It is great to see the interest in the MDBA Choice Awards increasing so much. I can imagine in the not too distant future that it's going to become a Nation wide well known event, perhaps with the paparazzi following your trail, clicking their flash light cameras everywhere .

Until you mentioned, I had no idea that I'd received more than one nomination, and to see that I've received 5 nominations is truly humbling. Thank you to those who nominated me - I don't know who you are, but I appreciate it, very much. . Well done to all the other nominees in my category, and in all the other categories, as well Steve - I don't think I'll be able to get up to Sydney at all, that weekend. A number of factors that are pulling me back, one of which is my boy's health (not yet stable) and also that we had a behaviour break-through recently and I'm just not sure it will be the right time to kennel him. The other reason relates to Pro-K9's classes that we have running and I think will be too hectic for me to be able to get away at that time. I'm hoping that maybe MDBA Annual awards might be in Melbourne next year? :D. Mind you, I'd still need a day off the next day, for all the celebrating the night before .

More to it than this, but I find it helpful to take on the "you're a silly billy" attitude with dogs that have these behaviour issues. Sometimes WE want things for our dogs SO much that it actually makes things worse. Relax. What is, is. I'm not saying don't try to seek help from a trainer/behaviourist, but I'm saying stop stressing so intensely for how much YOU want for her. Once you've seen a good trainer/behaviourist, you'll be able to adopt the attitude of "oh well, I KNOW I'm doing the best I can ..... the rest is up to you, dog". This will help you begin to relax about how much you WANT for your dog, and just concentrate on showing her another way .