Erny

Oooooh ..... thank you for that info JulesP. There's a Horseland store not far from me. Must visit to check them out .

Ditto.

I went to the one hosted by EagleHeights Sport Dog Club. If I have the time, I wouldn't mind re-attending her workshop. Wonder if she'd bring out one of the jackets - the same as that which she was wearing - for me. She sent me a link for where I could get one sent over, but it was all written in German and I couldn't understand a word.

Ahhh ... ok. Thanks, and sorry for misinterpreting. No wonder it didn't make sense to me .

Yes - I'm thinking this myself. If we wait until December, who knows where our Aussie Dollar will be. We might save on shipping but lose on the dollar value. Or ...... we might win on shipping as well as win on the dollar value. Who here has a crystal ball ????? :D ETA: I'm looking at purchasing a couple of different shoe types. A bit nervy about that though as I do prefer to try them on for size beforehand (even though I know these can be returned but then there's more shipping costs to take into account). Their shoes do look good though. Anyone bought shoes through them before and what did you think? I'm thinking the : AgileGear Qualifiers Ariat Terrain H2O or Ariat Telluride H20 Inov-8 Roclite 390 GTX or Inov-8 Roclite 318 GTX

Add to that the excessive salivating that my boy does, accompanied with a far-away glazed look. Boys

I think it carries the capacity to heighten the reward value and hence the reinforcement. Combine not only that the dog's reward continues for longer, but the fairly natural accompaniment of the joy/pleasure in the handler's face and voice whilst delivering the 'jackpot'.

I'm by what you've said here, JulesP. If you think something's good enough to earn a jackpot, you finish the training session instead of giving the jackpot? But what if your dog is enjoying the training (which I like to think he/she is)? When, then, would you consider something to be "super special" if there are other things that are good enough to earn a jackpot (but don't deliver it). I'm only curious - perhaps I am mis-reading.

They have better anaesthetic now - talk to your Vet about it. I'm not an expert (there are others here who would be able to explain better than I) but there are certain anaesthetic that is more kinder to older dogs. It's more expensive but I think worth it.

I think that would depend on whom you are purchasing the 2nd hand crate from. If it is from a known and reliable source (eg a friend) who knows the history and can confirm no seriously ill (eg Parvo) puppy has used it, that would probably be ok (I'd disinfect well, regardless). But otherwise I think I'd be inclined to purchase new - sure, they are non-porous objects and should disinfect well, but I'm a bit on the fussy side in these things.

Chocobo ..... going strictly by the information you've given in this thread, I would not be comfortable or confident with the treatment and 'diagnosis' by your Vet. The Vet has prescribed treatment on the basis of "it might be" and has failed to even take a swab to determine whether that treatment is the right one or not. That this is getting worse, by your account, is not a good sign and I agree with Persephone that I would not be waiting for 10 days for a re-visit. I partly wonder if the bloody wax you see is a mixture of dark wax and the ointment you are applying to your dog's ear canal, but only a visual would determine this and IMO that visual would be best seen by a Vet who knows what he/she is about. I am disturbed that a Vet thinks it "could be" a yeast infection but didn't take the swab required to determine this in the first place. An infection in the ear can lead to worse issues and even to a burst ear drum (which in itself is excruciatingly painful). I'd be going for a second opinion and perhaps to a specialist, especially if this is as bad as it sounds. I also agree with the suggestion that ear infections can be diet related and especially if ear infections keep returning it would do well to consider feeding a hypo-allergenic diet.

Did the Vet swab for yeast and if not, do you know why not?

I don't know your dog so I couldn't say. But I know mine and if he was shying away and crying when I scratch behind or touch any part of him, I'd not be satisfied at putting it down to a behaviour issue. Perhaps your Vet is right and is a very good Vet at reading dogs, but if I were in your shoes with my boy, I think I'd be inclined to seek a second opinion. ETA: What's your dog like at touching any other part of him? What's he like when you restrain him by holding him? Does he "cry" like he did/does when you scratched behind his ears, even if he is trying to move away from you? If he does, then it is not an absolute that the ear issue relates to behaviour, but if he doesn't then I would even more strongly suggest that it is not a behavioural issue.

I meant for 'some dogs' Perse. At 6 or 7mo my own boy sprung a 'crazy' behaviour when in the car. It related to me leaving the car and also to when I returned to it. Ever since the day I could no longer crate him in the car (due to size restrictions), he's been harnessed, so the actual wearing of a harness is not an issue. But he'd strain against it with all his might and the straining against it razzed him up even more, whenever I left the car and whenever I returned. I since put in a barrier which confines his space somewhat more. Doing that alone made a tremendous difference to his behaviour. With the behaviour that remained I used sound aversion therapy (carefully) and that made a difference yet again on that remaining issue. Opposition Reflex (ie going into pressure) had a big part to play in not helping his issue and I suspect it could prove the same in the case of the OP's dog's behaviour.

I'm not keen on removing it now. Yes I did mean instead of the canopy. I thought you were saying you were getting another Ute and didn't want an "ugly" canopy on the next one. But that's really beside the point. Obviously your dog has the freedom of space within the canopy to exhibit the behaviour. You need to limit that. IMO a crate is the way to go and as Kelpie-i has already suggested, you would then be able to cover the crate to limit view, at least at first to stop him practicing and therefore ingraining this behaviour more than he already has. If you use something like a harness, that sort of restriction can serve to frustrate more than if in a crate, which doesn't help the situation as much as a crate might. With that in place (ie confinement) I might also try something like a sound aversion therapy, but I don't know your dog and it is very much an individualistic thing as to whether it will work. It is LESS likely to work though, if your dog is too aroused. This is where confining/restricting his movement would be helpful. And if you try the sound aversion therapy beforehand you might find that by the time you relent to following the confinement advice, you have desensitised him to the sound aversion, so it will be of lesser effect if of any effect at all. I guess you need to decide what you hate most. The thought of the solutions that have been offered, or your dog's behaviour.

Why would you use antibiotic ointment if there was no infection? I reluctantly used a wash that the Vet gave me - reluctant because it struck me that his skin needed to be soothed, yet this 'wash' was a bit on the stringent side. As it turned out, the 'wash' upset his skin more (one use only) so I returned to the Vet. There were lesions developing on the inside of his ear flap in amongst the hot/redness and the Vet was concerned about infection. I wasn't confident but it was a case of doing something to soothe the skin. At the time there were also other things happening with my boy and I had raised the subject of possible yeast infection (not just in his ears) with the Vet I was seeing at the time. The antibiotic solution seemed to be the only thing (other than the stringent wash) that the Vet could suggest for me. Since then though, I have been able to investigate further with another Vet and we've concentrated on diet and organ function (my words). This method of addressing the health concerns has helped greatly and my boy hasn't suffered the severe discomfort to his ear flaps since. Generally speaking, we're not out of the woods yet, but things are improving. What I meant by "no infection" (in the part of my comment that you've quoted above) was that there was no infection in the ear canal. My point to the OP is that a red/hot/painful ear flap does not have to only be related to the ear canal, but I know from experience that's where some Vets and people centre their attention to the exclusion of other possibilities.

Steroids and antibiotics as an automatic 'must have' ? I wonder. Do they really? Or has this just become a common place standard prescription? There are more natural treatments that can be used that are also anti-bacterial. Sure - in some major cases these sorts of this just might be necessary, but in this case we don't know how bad (or not) it is, so there's a chance that the application and administration of drugs may not be necessary, do you not think? Maybe I'm wrong, but I am really becoming very concerned about how swiftly (especially) anti-biotics are suggested and administered without question.

No, i refuse to put the dogs in the cabin anymore. They destroyed my last car doing that. This time i went out and spent close to $2800 on a canopy, on top of the cost of a new ute, and he still carries on like a moron in the back. I want to upgrade to another ute now, but i really don't want an ugly canopy on the back. I just don't know how to calm him down. I feel like an idiot driving around with him acting like he does everytime we take off from lights or a stop. It's also not a good image for the breed. So go for the crate as suggested by cavNrott. You need to be in a position to stop the behaviour to cure it. Is this your boy that you had the behaviour issues with? My guess is that you moving off and adding distance to the car behind is akin to the dog that chases after a dog or person has passed by. From his point of view the car behind is running away. Can only guess at that, though.

My boy has suffered this and was so bad that he yelped badly when I ever so gently even tried to lift an ear flap. His ear flaps were flaming hot. The redness was more on the inside of the ear flaps than they were down into the ear canal. There was no infection and I did what I could to ease the problem by applying anti-biotic ointment (from the Vet) - not IN the ear canal, but just smoothed on the ear flap. This eased it (only by degrees) but did not resolve it. Further down the track (about 4 weeks, I think) my boy broke out into hives over his body. It is believed that his ear flap issue is connected to his other skin issue and I am treating him as an 'allergy' dog. This involves Vets' All Natural Allerblend, Omega 3, Skin Support powder additive and a couple of Chinese Herbal Medicines. I avoid giving him any drugs and any assistance to get over the skin irritation/discomfort are based in natural remedies. So what I'm saying is that the problem you are having with your dog's ear flaps may not in fact be a direct ear related issue, if that makes sense. Think about things such as the diet he is on and maybe explore with some different foods. For the most part my boy has been improving (including his ear flaps) although I notice in the last couple of weeks that his ears are returning a bit on the sensitve side, a bit too warm and a bit too pink. But *touch wood* nothing on the pain he has had in the past. Regardless, we're due a progress check with Dr. Bruce Syme so will be making an appointment to see him in the next week. ETA: I use the Calendula tea to help his skin (to prevent secondary infection) but I've not found that this reduces the heat and redness on the inside of his ear flaps. At his worst time I have taken a cold pack, wrapped it in a towel and held that to the outside of his ear flaps for a few minutes. I did this without any Veterinary direction so not sure if I did right, but his ears at that time were so incredibly painful that he shivered, so I felt I needed to do something. I've done that a couple of times and I do notice that it does help to relieve some heat and takes the colour away a bit.

Hhhmmm. Sounds like a dominance issue to me. Ok .... you are no longer allowed up on your bed and you must go through door ways before yourself !!!

..... I actually CHARGE big time for human rehabilitation. In fact though, I think the remedy is the same. STOP yourself from doing something and reward yourself (ie indulge) because you did.

For a puppy, just the sound of the click (whether pup is clicker trained or not) would often be enough to distract. Heavens, I remember being out with my pup in the dead of winter, freezing my little bawootzies off, wishing he'd hurry up with it. Finally, he sniffed around and began to squat ..... when a leaf blew in the wind. I cursed that leaf (even though I love the innocent curiosity of pups) because my boy forgot about pee'ing and I had to spend the next 5 minutes or so (felt like a lifetime) attracting him to 'used' patches to encourage him to get his busy little mind back on the job. IF you really want to use the clicker for this, then yes. Personally, I didn't find I needed the use of a clicker for this. I had plenty of time to prepare to tell my pup he was good and offer him a treat, so I didn't need anything to improve my timing for that. Also there is a very good chance you're going to get caught out without the clicker on you in those unpredictable and unexpected circumstances.

It was a similar set up that the dog that I 'saved' had. Ordinary lead to which was tied the cord. The dog had broken its stay from behind me and all I saw was it streak past next to me. Instinct had me grabbing the lead as it shot through from behind me which was ok even though it at first slid through my hand. My hand tightened grip and that's when the cord came through and did the damage. By that stage, it had plenty of speed up and it all happened in the blink of an eye. So much blood that I wasn't sure at first how much of my finger tip was missing. I remember staring at my hand as though it didn't belong to me. But after a minute the numbing gave way to the pain and I very much knew then the hand was definitely mine . I shudder at the use of anything cord-like (or for that matter, rope-like) in the way of leads for whatever reason or convenience they might have for the person who owns them.

Would it not cut into your hands if it slipped through fast enough? I had a cord line do that to me when I unexpectedly had to make a grab for someone else's dog's lead to stop it from running to the road. Sliced deep into my hand and sliced off a corner tip of my finger. Pain was unreal.

If "attention seeking" is the cause behind this behaviour, then give her attention and reinforce when the cat's around but well before she shows interest in the cat. Teach her to come over to you when the cat is around, and reward her well for doing this. This is in similar vein to what I prescribe in an 'infant/dog' situation, where the infant cries and the dog is taught to seek out the adult owner in response, rather than focusing attention towards or on the child.