Erny

"Thyroid levels are excellent". Of course, there's all the data included in the test results given, but the above was her comment.

So it works out at almost no difference in price in getting the full blood panel test done by Dr. Dodds. I think the difference would end up only being the Vet's consult fee for drawing the bloods.

In amongst the test results I have got, my boy's T4 came in at 2.13 (with the 'reference range' being 0.50 - 3.80). His T3 came in at 48 (with the 'reference range' being 30 - 70). These were just two of the tests of course, but it was reported overall as being excellent. His breed, age, size (and I think, gender and sexual status - eg. neutered or entire) are all taken into account, as the ideal reference range changes with these factors. Out here, I understand the chart for analysis is based mainly (if not totally) on size of dog : ie small, medium, large.

Yes - TSH & T4 is about the best you can get in Australia. I've just had bloods done via Dr. Dodds. $65 (USA) plus $111.00 (AUS) for the FedEx courier. The combo expense is not completely cheap I admit, but certainly not $400 (USA). More like $200 (AUS) total. Oh - and the local Vet fee for drawing the bloods. If the T4 & TSH done out here showed thyroid abnormalities, then yes, perhaps that would be the cheaper way of doing it. (What is the cost vet/pathology combo out here anyway?) But if it showed no abnormalities, IMO it would not necessarily rule out thyroid issues.

TSH & T4 is not a full thyroid blood panel test though.

I didn't use such 'high value' food treat rewards, although admittedly any food was good enough for my boy when he was a wee pup. I never made a point of bringing to his attention the fact that I had any food either, as that in itself could make him want to hurry up enough to not complete a 'wee'. Perhaps this is what your pup is doing? Also, when are you praising him and at what intensity? Make sure you use a very quiet, low level/soft praise until he's finished urinating. Some pups are actually better if you don't say anything at all until the very second they've finished the stream of urination as they so easily become distracted by it. In the very early days with my boy I kept my praise for the end bit, because any murmur from me had his mind off the job and him running back over in excitement for the treat. This bit is where you're not quite "by the book". How come he gets to "sneak away"? Keep him in your sight - to make this easier I set up my boy's "adult size" crate (one that I had for when he was grown) and I attached his puppy play pen in such a fashion as to form a 'yard'. I surfaced the floor of the yard with waterproof tarp. Although I tried for no accidents (the more accidents inside, the longer house-training will take to accomplish), at least if there was to be one, he was not developing a substrate preference for carpet. His crate/pen combo was where he went when I needed some peace (eg. for eating my dinner) or when I needed to be distracted from him (eg. when I was cooking; having a shower; toilet; etc.) Note : the crate/pen was always a 'happy place' to be and he often received a treat in there, and sometimes a little play with a ball or some such. He always happily and willingly (and when it came to sleep times, quite voluntarily) went into his crate, so please don't use it as any form of punishment. He was out of his crate/pen more than he was in, but when he was out, my eye was on him and I made a point of knowing where he was and what he was up to. Twenty minutes, in the very early days, isn't necessarily very long. In the first several days of his toilet training, it was nothing for me to be outside waiting for a minimum of half an hour - and sometimes longer. The trick is to take your pup out when you are reasonably certain a pee is imminent. It won't take so long then. And when you're outside, be quiet (ie boring). And don't pay your pup any attention. I did encourage my pup to sniff areas where I knew he had 'been' just previously - the smell enourages them to let down their bladders. I wouldn't. Doing this is still paying attention to your pup and for some, ANY attention is appreciated. I found that cleaning up in the absence of the pup was the best. That way, the ONLY time he received attention for toileting was when he did it outside. When are you using your "happy voice"?

They all know you, Oonga. 'Cause Jeff and I talk about you to everyone . Mainly JJ does the talking, though.

This is the problem with the tests and the analysis we have out here (assuming it was done in Australia, Cowanbree?). Aside from the fact that our laboratories don't have the facilities to conduct a full blood panel test (T4 and TSH are just the basic ones), the analysis chart is too broad for starters and for the results to fall out of the "normal" bracket, the thyroid tissue is already considerably destroyed. Glad you found the source of the problem :rolleyes:. My understanding is that generally improvement is seen fairly quickly when a thyroid condition is appropriately treated.

That, IMO, about sums it up :rolleyes:.

I have and I do. Seriously. For my dog's sake as well as for courtesy to others (whether they expect it or not). Not that I hang around heavily populated off-lead dog parks anyway. I tend to look for quite spots at quiet times. The advantage of having a job that isn't exactly 9-5.

Even my boy's grip is better on the tugs that I use, rather than the fire hose material. And there's nothing wrong with his teeth. He just doesn't hold on with as much vigour as other dogs might. And of course, typical wussy RR that he is, if it is a bit uncomfortable, he'll give it up.

GG - give him that steamed pumpkin. It helps bowel movements.

Try giving him some cooked pumpkin. I steam mine. Has he been eating a lot of bones recently?

I find these ones are easier for the dog to grip than the fire hose material (is that what you mean), but that's not to say the fire hose material ones aren't great for many dogs with high drive and grip. Measuring across (width) with a straight ruler, they are about 6cm in width. The complete circumference is about 19cm. So take a 19cm piece of string and put it in a circle and that'll give you an idea of the size. The stuffing is full, yet it is soft, so it flattens out a bit under bite grip. The long tug is about 33cm long (great for early training where dog is just learning not to accidentally bite the handler's hands but aren't quite precise yet) and the smaller length one is about 20cm long.

Pictures of the tugs I have : The two with the green handle loops are the ones I frequently use. The one with the yellow loop is the 'squeaky' one. I haven't used this as by the time I did get it, I decided that my boy's 'tug' inclination was on the increase. When I first thought of it, I was in the stage of just building drive, encouraging him to play the game. I didn't use it after that as I have felt the squeaky might cause mouthiness. However, my boy's drive tends to drop considerably under distraction and although I'm working on that, I have thought the squeaky might be a good stand-by to at least keep him interested in those times. This one that follows is a close up, to try to give you some idea of the material that is used. It's not a great shot (I've forgotten how to set the camera for really close up work) but it might give you an idea of the weave. The material is really strong.

Grabonsam .... this is more a bit of a 'guess' until someone else comes in to offer advice, than something I have tried and tested, but what about a lubricant like K-Y jelly? Or better still perhaps some bepanthen which is a nappy rash cream. I used some of the latter through the inside of my boy's legs recently when they first showed up with a rash/sores . It seemed to help and it did stay a bit oily but not overly so (although I only applied it once - a build up of it could be worse). I'd only be concerned about it attracting dirt and by the sounds of it your boy's skin sounds considerably worse. I wouldn't apply it around any wound sites though, for this reason.

It's hard to describe I guess because what is soft to one might not be to another. However, IMO they are soft - easily squeezable, yet they are firm (ie fully stuffed) if that makes any sense. When I spoke to him I explained that having a RR is not like having a Rotty or a GSD in terms of drive and that (especially back then) needed something that would neither fall apart nor be uncomfortable for his teeth (his adult teeth were only just down). At the same time, I needed something he felt he could get his teeth into and score 'wins'. If you would like, tomorrow I'll take a photo of the tugs I got and post them up here. It would at least give you an idea of the material used. Tilly - I'm sorry. I didn't look at his site before I linked it here. I am certain that he used to display more sample photo's of tugs (including puppy tugs). If you give him a call though, perhaps he can email you some pictures of them, assuming he still has them. Can't imagine why he wouldn't have. Haven - what does "shaped" mean? Is that a new trendy word for "broke" ? or "confused/haven't a clue/stumped"? or "reached download limit"? Or what?

I got my tugs from DogEquip in South Australia. I'm looking for the link to his website, but for some reason I can't find it. I'm fairly sure I have the name right. Still checking, but in the meantime, someone else here might know it. Gentleman's name is Kurt. ETA: Ahhh .... here it is. I had the name slightly wrong. : DogQuip He supplied me with a few tugs that would most suit my Rhodesian Ridgeback. Two I use regularly - one is smaller in length (I used that to take out with me) and the other is longer (which was the most suitable while my boy was learning). The third one he supplied to help me promote drive - it has a squeaky in it. Admittedly I haven't used that one yet but it might come into good use for working under distraction, to help motivate and keep his interest. They're soft (which I specifically requested for my boy) yet hard wearing and not the type of material that teeth get stuck in. There are no signs of them wearing (aside from slobber marks :laugh) and we've worked with them for nigh on 6 months now (although I never leave the tug out with him to play with - it's strctly a training toy). There are other more rugged types if you need them. He also has the puppy rag leather tugs, if I remember correctly. ETA: ..... I'm sure you didn't need that 'blurb' at the end, but there you go. Jeff Jones suggested I talk a lot .

Whadayamean? I've always loved Maia !!! Mandala is so strong and his version of "gentle" includes a head butt to the chin, or a body-slam in full flight. I'm working on both. The second one takes a bit of courage mustering, but so far I have managed to bluff him . I should have named him "Crash and Bash". But daresn't you even hint at stepping on his toe.

Hey Oonga ..... seeing as Maia took a pass in her Bh test today, perhaps I could borrow her on the day and pretend she's "one I prepared earlier" .

Maybe I could dress him up as a SBWF. Surely no-one would guess?

you're gonna hide Little (Big) Man behind midget Molly? Between Molly, Maia and Diesel, I think we have a fair small chance of being inconspicuous. And I might come in disguise so no one knows me. Mandela is being such a 'thinks he knows it all obnoxious push your buttons (whether you're a dog or a human) teenager' at the moment . No-one's gonna believe he is capable of great moments of lucidity .

Oi !!! I missed this one!!! I don't talk much. Much. ETA: It's Oonga that does all the talking. Shush up, Oonga, I say!

Kavik - all I can say is that I have absolutely no regrets in spending the money and making the effort in getting my boy's thyroid levels tested. They've come in as having "excellent" levels and I at least know that thyroid is not the culprit for the troubles I've been having with my boy. But if you do have them tested, I'd strongly recommend the tests be sent via Dr. Jean Dodds in the USA. We don't have the full blood panel tests out here and if my boy's had come back 'normal' with our Aussie tests, I'd still be wondering if it was an accurate result or not. Let me know if you end up wanting the paperwork and some help in how to arrange it. It's not that hard. The most difficult was understanding how Fed-Ex work. ETA: Tomas - Perhaps this has been said and I've missed the post, but what tests are done for "yeast"? Is it bloods, or skin scrapings, or swabs? ETA: The thyroid panel test cost me $65.00 (US) and FedEx cost $111.00 (AU). It took 5 days for the bloods to reach Dr. Dodds (that included a weekend, as it turned out) and test results were known in about 24 hours after that.

Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm ..... nup. .... but thanks for trying to make me feel better .