Erny

Oh darn. You're right though - accidents can always be just around the corner, no matter how much care is taken. Perhaps she has torn a muscle or ligament and just needs more time to mend? Whatever the case, I hope it is a simple matter of some rest and easy exercise (dang hard to manage when they are young and silly). Let us know how you go on Monday. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.

4 Paws. I don't really know, sorry. However in the absence of a quick (pun intended ) answer (because it's fairly quiet in here with the MDBA Choice Awards happening), I'd be inclined to wrap it once the nail comes away - assuming that won't be very long away - to save it from further damage and pain. When you wrap it though, you don't want to have the bandage sticking to it when you need to change it. So perhaps a bit of gauze?? Sounds very ouchy. Poor dog. ETA: Oh good. I see TB has given an answer . Cheers!

Thanks Huski. I hope so too. I am really uncomfortable with the idea of GA and invasive exploration - I feel that has the very real potention to start a snow ball rolling in the wrong direction. If things can be righted without that, then all the better for Mandela in the long term. I will be very glad when this bout of trouble is behind us. Having said that, I am lucky. I have something that to the best of our knowledge at least, can be treated and in all likelihood, overcome. I remember wishing that circumstance for Kal (bless her cotton socks), rather than the opposite, so I am very conscious that other people have it much more difficult with their dogs, with little to no hope. So, as I said, I'm quite fortunate, really.

Andisa - what about you? How did Pink go? And BD - I was still there when you rang Carol. You just ring for a chat, or you got current probs too?

Sorry for the delay everyone (and thanks for thinking of us). Well! Carol spent a whole THREE hours (just shy of) with Mandela and I. Asking lots of questions. Spending lots of time 'checking' him out. What Carol said makes plenty of sense, although with 3 hours worth, I'm not so sure I can relate it all in a fashion that could be well understood. Upshot is that Mandela probably has ulcers which are suspected to have come about as a result of malabsorption and dietary imbalances from his baby baby days. No - that's not quite right. The imbalances/malabsorption has upset his system and the product of that has been the onslaught of anxiety which has also added to the probable cause for the suspected ulcers. Hhhhmmm ... I think I have that right. Or close enough. She also picked up that he was 'out' in his neck and withers and manipulated them whilst we were there (I guess it would be hard to do when we weren't ). I must admit that once she'd done that he did appear to be a bit less uptight around those areas. He is on 4 different types of tablets (for malabsorption and for his stomach); 3 different types of drops (for same); Bi-carb (until tablets come in - they were out of stock) to settle stomach acidity. I've also got some Colloidal Silver. The reason? Because Carol suggests Mandela may be, ummmmm .... 'getting off' by licking his personal bits and that this has caused some irritation. So I get to clean him once a day with the Colloidal Silver. Yay. Not. Not funny. Bl#@dy boys . If he gets sexy with me cleaning him, I'm out'a here .... fast!!!!! Although of course no-one can guarantee, but Carol was fairly confident that I should see good improvement in about 10 days. Once his appetite picks up I should be able to extend his diet to a return to bones etc. and hopefully that is when things will balance to some normality and he'll begin to show more weight than he is carrying at the moment. Mandela was such a good lad while we were there. Three hours is a long time for a young dog and when Carol was busy writing up notes and fixing medications, I kept him busy with some obedience skills, which he was very good at. So - in a nut shell, I think that is it. Carol has given me much hope that many of the symptoms I have seen (both physical and behavioural) may all be connected. The treatment at the moment is for his stomach and digestive issue. That is the priority at this stage. Once that appears to be well on the road to recovery, we'll address the other things that seem to be going on. I go back to see Carol when all the meds are finished, which will be in 2 weeks' time. Or sooner, of course, should Mandela's appetite not have improved before then.

Boarding establishments insist on C5 cover. Don't know why - even many of the Vets I am speaking to suggest C5 not necessary. To vaccinate C5 just for the sake of observing rules set by the Kennel Board is IMO mere bureacracy and it is high time they caught up with the times. That will include, of course, speaking with their insurance companies, who also have to agree.

Hi Andisa. My appointment is after yours. So I'll be posting in a couple of hours. I need another bottle of goat's milk, I think. At the moment, the goat's milk, yogurt, cottage cheese and egg yolks are sustaining my boy. I think he finds these things gentle and soothing to his stomach. I give the occasional sardines as well. Once I see Carol, I'm hoping that whatever she recommends for him soon sees him eating anything and everything with vigour, as he used to. It will be good to see some weight coming back on him too. Hope it goes well with Pink . Bokezu - thank you for your good wishes. I am very hopeful.

On her website under "services" she has reference to a couple of emergency places. Perhaps call them - they might know her home/clinic address. Have you left a message on her phone number/s?

Smart . I will certainly update. Once I can get my boy's health issues sorted and back on track, I will be able to concentrate on training. Unfortunately, although it does occur, training has been almost as erratic as my boy's eating habits of late. We DEFINITELY need to do some catch-up in that department. Look forward to seeing you down there .

Megan ..... have a read of my thread ROUGH PAW PADS. If you live in Victoria maybe you too would benefit by contacting Carol Freeman?

Vet rang today - 2nd faecal test results reveal (still) the presence of blood. So something is definitely amiss. Thanks Bernadette, for Carol's contact info. Must say that another DOLer also recommended Carol to me (thanks Andisa ), but I've been so busy with getting blood and faecal test results I hadn't contacted her. My bad, I think. But I have spoken to Carol this evening and having been very patient with listening to me recounting ALL the things that are physically wrong with my boy (including of course, things that I have felt are symptomatic), seems to have an idea of what it is that is wrong. I have an appointment for 3.30pm tomorrow to see her. My conversation with Carol has given me much hope that I may be able to resolve the issue/s that have been ever present ever since I brought my 'little man' home with me when he was 8 wo, without the necessity for invasive exploratory procedures. I have an appointment with the Melbourne Vet Centre for Monday morning (Vet referral) but with any luck I will be confident enough to cancel it after I have met with Carol and she's had the chance to check my boy out to confirm her thoughts. Fingers crossed. ETA: You know - having spoken with Carol, I feel more sane than I have felt over the past couple of days. There have been so many things that I have 'felt' were symptomatic but couldn't work out whether they were all of one thing or whether they were pointing to numerous things that could be wrong. I've mentioned them to the Vets that I have seen but they didn't seem to me to have taken every one of those things as pointing to anything in particular, or having any meaning at all. That led me to wondering if it is just me conjuring these things in my mind, and all of this guess work and doubting myself has been driving me to distraction over the past couple of days. Carol, however, took heed of each detail I gave and what she has suggested as what might be the problem, makes sense of ALL of the symptoms I have been seeing (even those things that I saw in my boy at 8wo). I think my sanity might have just been saved.

Hi Bernadette - the info you recite is interesting. Would the lady's name be Carol? If it is, I haven't seen her yet but a visit to her was on the cards, all the more so if you too recommend it. And yes - I know you well enough to know you don't muck around with your dogs. If you wouldn't mind posting details (or PM me) I will be interested. My boy's eating habits are really quite erratic and I am struggling to get a full quota of meals into him. And I'm unhappy with some of the body postural signs that I occasionally see while he is eating. When he is eating, that is. Partial blockage is not something I've ruled out. In fact, when the troubles all began, he was initially constipated and I had wondered then, for a while, whether blockage was an issue. I've delivered another faecal sample to the Vets' (this morning) and they'll run it again to check for the presence of blood. Not sure what I or they will make of it if there is no blood in that lot as I'm not sure it would prove anything conclusively anyway. There are other 'things' too .... which also compel me to run the blood work for auto-immune disease. I'd rather rule it out and be done with it anyway. I have an appointment with the Vet to draw the bloods on Monday. Will be sending them OS for testing and analysis. There seem to be all these little 'signs' all over the place - I feel they are like tiny pieces of a thousand piece jigsaw puzzle and it sometimes does my head in trying to fit them together in a way that makes sense. That's if any or all of them are connected at all. If this lady that you're referring to can help me correct what is wrong, I'd be so much more the happier. Thanks for your post.

As promised, have added FT pouch to website .... refer "Services". Not sure that I'll keep it published for too long there, so if anyone is interested, worth visiting there fairly soon.

Thanks DBS. I was trying not to sound frustrated .... there are many who are presently in a far worse position than I. But appreciate that you understand and yes, it is frustrating. Will keep you informed.

Good to see people becoming more and more aware of what they are vaccinating their dogs for, why and what might and might not be necessary or even best for them. You might be interested to read the info at this link : Dr. Jean Dodds Vaccine Protocol

Update : Results of faecal tests show negative (I was driving at the time of speaking so was unable to make a list) to all except for the presence of blood. Vet suggested referral to specialist for an endoscopy to be done. I suggested a 2nd faecal test (only for presence of blood) as his stools were runny>very loose when I had them tested and have since firmed up to anywhere between being very good > not too bad (if poo qualifies as having a rating LOL). My point being that perhaps there was blood present because of the runny stools (eg irritated bowel). If 2nd faecal test shows presence of blood then I guess we'll go for the endoscopy. Mind you, although he is better than he was, he is still not right and specialist will probably be the track we'll go down anyway. However, I am seriously contemplating a full blood panel test for thyroid/auto immune disease, which I would have tested and analysed via Dr. Jean Dodds. I said to Vet today that this is like Kal (avatar girl - bless her cotton socks) as though she's been reincarnated.

Have you contacted K9 Force? He sells them and perhaps has the size you require for your dog?

Thanks Squeak, but people can contact me direct. I don't wish to exploit DOL by advertising my wares here. (Troy is good enough to allow me my signature website link.) I will try to find some time tomorrow to perhaps put the pouches up on my website. I generally don't advertise them strongly as they go fast enough, although I do intend to increase the size of my stock numbers yet again, on the next order. I still have some in stock from my recent order though.

Theresa emailed me in response to my email. Since then, I've sent my cheque and assume I'm booked in. Cheque only sent a couple of days ago, so expect booking confirmation will be sent to me in due course . LukeW ..... I don't know if you've caused me any offence at any stage. But I tend to 'move on' and forget about things via the posts, unless it has been quite a personal affront and insult. See you there .

IMO by the description you've given, it was all just a part of play invitation. There was no "force" to sniff. And the action may not have been intended for "sniffing" purposes. Possibly just to gain the attention/interaction Daina wanted so that play would commence. Or Daina may have introduced the "play" posturing as a signal that her "front on" position was not intended to be confrontational. Your presence probably served to merely interrupt the potential for "play" at that moment. Hard to tell properly on someone's written description as so much posturing information is omitted.

If a person is breed specific in their attitude when they train, it leaves out the very real and high potential for individuality, as each dog within each breed can be and often are different. But when training I will bear in mind the breed I'm working with - (eg) its potential genetics and inclination to sensitivies etc. and approach training and behaviour in that way. But I don't have in my mind "it's a xxx breed and therefore I train in a yyy fashion". To approach training and behaviour with 'breed' uppermost in your mind IMO serves only to narrow the field of thinking. Approach it more open-mindedly but certainly with a knowledge of the breed you're working with ever in the back of your mind.

Midol - for some people and with some dogs and in certain situations it is, but not always. And do you consider it fair on the dog to move the goal posts part way through the 'game' ? IMO, it is fairer on the dog and easier for it to understand us and what is expected of him/her if rules and boundaries are shown and made to be adhered to first up. As a trainer, I don't set out to train a dog in one way thinking at the time that I will change my training aim or goal to something totally different later on. That would be uneconomical from my energy and time point of view and I would have purposely put the dog through a period of unnecessary confusion, which would equate to a degree of stress as well. If you fail to plan you plan to fail. Train with your end goal in mind.

If you're going to do this, set the situation up so that it can be easily altered at some later date. Only have puppy up on the bed IF you have given a 'command/word' that says she may get up (even though you might be picking her up to do so at this stage) and have a word that also means to get off. And randomise the situation. Eg. Don't have her on the bed routinely nor necessarily every day. Regularity and being systematic breeds anticipation (which is good in some things, not in others). One day you don't have pup (young dog?) on your bed in the routine she is accustomed to and that can lead to difficulties. Always on "your terms". Not hers. Rules and Boundaries - something that many dogs aren't taught or taught well to our dogs by us humans.

Really sorry that Misty is having these troubles - yes, they are very worrisome and heart-wrenching to say the least. On the up-side, for what it is worth, I believe that whilst they are not a magic cure, the heart medications that are now available do a very good job. I wish for you both the very best of outcomes and much time for happiness and joy that you can both continue to share together.

Yeah, well you only need to worry if the golf buggy hugs you back!