Erny

I agree with Sandra777. Not that I'm an expert on what the dog's system is or does, but I'm not a fan of altering something that ain't broke. IE - the acidity balance of the dog's urine. Unless, of course, you need to do so for the sake of the dog's health. Just my opinion :). ETA: When I was a kid, we never saw any burn marks in our lawns from our dogs. Perhaps it was because we never fed our dogs commercial food. Or perhaps it was because they went and pee'd on someone else's lawn. :laugh:

Contact DOL Member Andisa. She used to get and supply it, although I'm not certain that she still does. She is located in South Eastern suburbs Melbourne.

Lead predominantly held in right hand - dog on left. This leaves the left hand free for use to encourage/pat/treat and does help in preventing the habit of dog curling across the front of handler's body. "Stand" hand signal given with left hand. "Drop" hand signal given with right hand - there's a switch lead to the left hand for this. "Sit" hand signal can be given with the right hand - switch lead to the left hand for this. Mind you, I use either hand with my own dog, if I'm using a hand signal - it depends on the position of the dog to me. Also, I reasonably quickly work the by then learnt verbal commands separately to the hand signals, so that the dogs understand each independently. *Note/question : are you permitted to switch lead hand in trials? Yes - I thought it would feel quite odd but when I tried it the improvement in my balance outweighed the "I'm not used to it" sensation. I just have to remind myself to do it though, as hand in and out of the way is what I've gotten in the habit of. The switching lead hand might sound cumbersome to some, but I find the absence of the left hand being available to help in the early teaching days is a bigger disadvantage. I also find that pet owners who hold the lead in the left hand tend to drag back on it more, as though they were pulling on the hand-brake of their car. Beg pardon for the . I don't intend to veer this thread off the track beyond what I have already. Hope this answers your question Jigsaw :). Well done to our Aussie Dog Team - what a great treck, effort and milestone just to compete at such a level. Safe trip home to you all .

Lovely to watch (nice looking Lab :) ) - the handler was great too (great footwork imho). I notice most handlers keep their left hand firmly on their left hip, something I've just started to do lately. Just out of interest, why? I tended to keep my left arm up to keep it out of the way because my dog is tall, but that makes me feel as though I'm walking awkwardly. I actually like and feel better balanced letting my arm swing, although because my dog is tall I swing it out a bit - got that little tip off Mia Skogster :D

Can't help you with that - it was a year ago since I last had my boy's teeth cleaned at a Vet. However, many people seem to have cottoned on to and are using "Proden Plaque Off" as a food additive to help get rid of plaque, with a good amount of success. I'm also using it and although I'd hoped for a faster result, I must admit that appeared to be a thick layer of plaque that had very quickly accumulated on my dog's teeth since the last clean, is appearing as a much thinner layer and white tooth is making itself apparent. This doesn't answer your query and I'm sorry if it is too off topic, but thought you might like to know about this option.

I don't think so Megan, although if conditions are humid and hot, it could have created a situation ripe for conjunctivitis perhaps? Others will know more on this than I though.

Yes, but the owner claimed it wasn't conjunctivitis but that the eye was red because of the heat and stuffy conditions at Crufts.

If it is healthy, why doesn't the ANKC permit it?

I used this as a part of my technique with my own boy whilst he was growing up and learning what a territory trespass was (and wasn't). If he barks now, it is usually only once (unless a trespass is still threatened) and then simply runs to see me, wherever I might be in the house. If you can improve things this way, I think that is a bonus. I like my dog to know that barking is ok under certain situations. However, unfortunately some dogs are way over the top and the pressure of the neighbourhood can be overwhelming for everyone. ETA: You are SPOT ON (refer my highlights). ETA: Try putting a word in to teach her to stop. I use the word "enough". It has a carry through to different things now, in different circumstances. In my instance (it might not suit yours) my boy is only "in trouble" if he barks beyond the word "enough". This doesn't work for dogs whose barking issues extend to times when owners are not home.

Not necessarily necessary, ZZ. Sometimes the barking is so irritating to the neighbourhood it needs to be worked on in the most efficient manner fairly quickly. Identify the causes as best as possible and acquire a bit of help with the use of an electronic anti-bark collar whilst applying other behaviour modification techniques/remedies. Even IF the anti-bark collar fixes the barking problem, if there remains a strong underlying cause for the behaviour, it has a very high chance of manifesting in other ways, such as destructiveness. That aside, it would be very frustrating for a dog to have a driving cause but then be prohibited from being able to relieve it. Fantastic that you worked through the problem with your dog - better late than never and we're all experts with the advantage of hindsight. And good for you for working to raise your other dog to steer away from excessive barking. :)

BUT .... If there is a Breed Standard that permits a health defect why allow it, especially at top level showing? Pardon me for thinking black and white on this - I'm not a breeder.

How come there is a discrepancy in the UK standard for the Clumbers which permits a bit of HAW yet ANKC do not? To me it does relate to a health issue so why would any country's standard permit it? And "not excessive" is a subjective description as well. The benchmark for that would be based on what one is used to seeing. I'm glad the ANKC doesn't permit HAW. And I'm glad to learn of the term "HAW" ..... saves me going back to check on the spelling for "entropia" .

Pro-K9 was at an official doggy event some time back and a stray dog was attracted to the sight because of all the other dogs there. Lovely dog. A bully breed, STRONG as an ox (tore my hands even with a good lead)but so friendly - didn't seem to have a vice in his body. I couldn't leave him to wander and merely hope he'd meander home so at the end of the event I took him to the local Vet for chip scanning. They scanned, found the owners' details and rang them. No answer. I had planned to hold the dog until the owners could be contacted. The Vets informed me that because they'd scanned the dog they were legally obliged to take the dog in AND that if the owner could not be contacted by the end of that day, they would have no option but to report to the pound and have the dog picked up. This dog was mature and as I said, strong as an ox .... and being a bully breed (mixed, I'd suggest - probably described as being a medium/large in size) I was sorely concerned that the dog mightn't make it through to adoption. But there was no way the Vets were letting me leave with the dog. Fair enough that they couldn't give ME the phone number/owners' details - that would be confidential. But is it really law that if they've scanned them, the Vets have to keep them for handing over to a pound if the owners can't be contacted? Just for those who might be curious : Happy ending to the story - they managed to get hold of the owners' friends. Turned out the owners were away and the friends were taking care of the dog. Anyway, they came, picked up the dog and saved it from a pound process.

Is it so infeasible to think that the pounds couldn't have a site where a description or notice of "found" dogs could be put up? Even for a nominal fee, if it is time and hence money they'd be concerned about. My preference, if something were to happen that my boy was able to venture out, would be for someone to take him in, have him scanned, and me be contacted without him having to go through and endure the pound system, at least for the first little while.

That would seem more sensible. There was a time when all entries were vet checked before exhibition. I suppose 28,000 would be too many to realistically check. Maybe entries in the 15 breeds could have been checked? And perhaps vet checking them after judging makes a greater statment about the KC's committment to health? Yeah - I mentioned this a page (or five) back. Agree with it making the task somewhat impractical and expensive if every exhibition had to be Vet checked but I definitely think it would be better done at the breed level rather than waiting to do it on a "Best of Breed". And Vet checking after judging rather than before might influence some judges to look a little more closely before they award. If the Vet did all the checking before show, most of everything would be dependant upon the Vet as to who could show, perhaps?

Nekh .... I am so sorry to hear this. I saw you write of it in another thread .... It was the first I knew of it and I came looking for another thread with info. I'm terribly sorry that I didn't know to offer my condolences. You've lost a few of your canine mates in a fairly short period of time - I can't imagine how hard that is on you. RIP Skoota. Find your way to the bridge and wait there for Nekh, and while you do, help some of the doggies there to learn from your wisdom. Frolic free, fella. from me, Nekh.

But I already spoke with them and was informed $188.10 for all 3 core diseases : 2 of which get forwarded to WA Lab and the other to a Lab in the UK. Refer Post #7.

And is does the lay out of your home permit you to put up a barricade to increase the distance between her and the neighbours she reacts towards whilst you're working on counter conditioning and desensitisation?

That sounds nasty, Jed,and certainly not what I thought the community here was like. Steve is not in favour of breeding mongrels, as you purport. Steve has a lot of good input to contribute and IMO she does. She can open eyes up to seeing things from different angles and not just from one sided points of view. She has foreseen stuff that others didn't. And she does get shut down very quickly. Don't see the point of that. She makes some very valid points and it is interesting to read all contributions. That is why DOL has been so popular over the years. And it would be helpful for all partipants not to turn an interesting thread into it being about the MDBA because those threads disappear, as we all know. You're the one that brought that up, Sheridan . I'm talking about people contributing to the thread with view points, some different and some with different slants on them.

That sounds nasty, Jed,and certainly not what I thought the community here was like. Steve is not in favour of breeding mongrels, as you purport. Steve has a lot of good input to contribute and IMO she does. She can open eyes up to seeing things from different angles and not just from one sided points of view. She has foreseen stuff that others didn't. And she does get shut down very quickly. Don't see the point of that. She makes some very valid points and it is interesting to read all contributions. That is why DOL has been so popular over the years.

You are not alone. And judges have been overlooking some of these things for years. I agree, provided and assuming, of course, that it is sound reasoning/opinion that is being made by the Vets. The question that spun around in my mind was that if these dogs have "defects" sufficient enough to expel them from a Best in Breed ..... how come they got as far as they did in the first place? Why aren't they inspected first up?

I agree with Huski. In addition, with a good quality anti-bark electronic collar, you can pretty much set the stim level at just what is needed - not more, nor less. Can't do that with sprays. Also, I'm not a fan of prescribing anti-bark collars to dogs without having been afforded the opportunity to observe the dog and determine if there is a subsisting cause that could do with a bit of help either instead of an anti-bark, or in conjunction with its use.

Thanks Nekhbet. Lol .... be careful - one day I might hold you to that invitation :D. I'm familiar (to an extent) with the partnership you're speaking about. It is a pity it is away from me far enough to make it difficult on a frequent basis. But I guess you never know - nothing's impossible :). Well, that's my optimistic motto, anyway :D. ETA: Nekhbet - were you talking to me? I don't think you were, somehow.

but speaking of Ballarat, I'm planning to head up there for a few days sometime in April, I think. Planning on bringing my dog. What are good walking areas?

Thats about what I currently pay. We need to compare apples with apples, though. Is $70.00 for a titre on all three diseases? IE Parvo, Distemper and Hepatitis?