Erny

Yeah - I understand (vaguely) that there is a difference between "allergy" and "intolerance". I must admit that what I have read in terms to the differences confuses me somewhat and so I'm not entirely clear on how they are so divided. In fact, I get the impression that there is somehow a link between the two. Whether it is that the intolerance can develop to an allergy (which is the only way I am so far able to understand it) or not, I'm not sure. But still, IF there is a link between the two, then the saliva test result would surely give some direction??? Where is Rappie and/or Staranais .... c'mon over here you two!! ..(haven't seen Star for ages .... hope she is ok and assume she is busy being a Vet ). They are both really great at explaining things to me in ways I can usually understand. ETA: Not sure I haven't already read the study you refer to, MG, but more than happy to receive it to read/re-read. Pro-K9's Email Addy Cheers Erny

I agree with Perse that you do need to give consideration towards not keeping the tail perpetually wet. BUT .... I would treat it with a fairly strong solution of Calendula Tea. Leave in. Allow to dry. Repeat as necessary, but judiciously - from the point of view of trying to give the area a chance to be dry. I'd go with the Cetrigen suggestion as a random alternative between Calendula treatment but as Perse says .... avoid being inside for a good while because that stuff sure does stain ..... EVERYTHING. (Even stained my polished floor boards ).

Yep - that's the one. And I agree - watching them 'see' the invisible is fascinating and a marvel, all rolled into one .

In the absence of finding anything obvious as far as an exterior cause (ie contact allergy) is concerned, I tend to back track to work out whether it could be relating to what I put ON the dog and/or what I put IN the dog. One of the first things I like to do is back of from all chemical drugs (as far as I safely can). This includes shampoos and where practical, flea treatments; worming; frequent/regular vaccinations; and more. And use Calendula Tea as a wash on your dog's skin. Pour through/saturate the skin with it and leave in (don't rinse). Antibacterial, anti-inflamatory. Yet isn't going to upset the dog's skin's pH level, which is what often happens when we go crazy with washes. You may find, as I did, that with the use of the Calendula Tea, the use of any medication (anti-histamines inclusive) becomes uneccessary. From what I'm reading, experiencing and hearing, chicken seems to more and more be causing allergy related problems in our dogs. It is helpful, however, if you stick to organically grown human grade meats. You might be interested in the relatively new Food Intolerance Saliva Test that is now available in the USA. You get the test kit, use the rope supplied to soak saliva from your dog's mouth, package it as directed and return it to the laboratory in USA. From this test I do have the results showing my dog is intolerant to beef; corn; and soy. Takes away some of the guess work :). But, if you are inclined to have this test done, I'd wait until May - by then the test is expected to have advanced to include additional protein sources. Nutriscan - Dog Food Intolerance Test. I like to go the least invasive way first where I can. That's what I'd do, anyway :D. Either way, I hope the info helps :).

This, in my humble opinion, is another reason why NOT teaching the dog 'handler-source' and instead teaching the dog to source the reward itself, could be a bigger problem. I think that for pet-dogs there will be the additional side-benefit of having the dogs gravitating to their handlers, rather than creating an idea of independence by sourcing away from their handlers. It is merely my opinion though as we all know there are numerous different ways of training and preference to one or another develops for individual reasons. Thanks Dasha - I too enjoy your explanations. I've completed the Scent Detection Course run by NDTF. I think perhaps it was the same one as Kavik did (when it was a course of its own and went for a good 3 or 4 days, from memory). Apart from watching and doing some minimal work in assisting with scent detection training, I've not done much in the last few years. So it is very good to refresh the memory and test one's 'resolve' (for want of better words). For the real-life working scent dog, I can very much appreciate where sourcing the reward at the target could provide the advantage of inspiring the dog where other training styles did not. A little bit like getting a food driven dog into tug by using a tug that contains food, and then weaning off once you'd managed to get the dog's instinct to bloom and an addiction for the enjoyment of the game itself had taken hold. Thanks for mentioning about that dog whose working life was extended for the benefit of having this additional way of training. Another for the trainer's tool-box :D.

That's what I mean by "discrimination training". The PP dog is trained that a cue to taking a perp down is when the handler is being threatened/attacked. No?

Sorry to hear this. Would your friend like to add a photo and perhaps we could add it, along with the information to FB? Or does your friend have Facebook where s/he could put up the info and we could 'share' it on our Walls/pages?

I'm not sure I like the dog learning to get the reward from the target odour box. If it is to be faded out, which it needs to be, then it is possibly an extra in between step to the ultimate training goal. Not as though I know it all, of course - because I don't. And I can see how this might overcome some hurdles for getting some dogs 'going'. But as a standard approach, I'm not sure it is absolutely necessary as I've seen some excellent scent work that to my knowledge was not attained by that method. If training was done right though, wouldn't it be the case that the dog would learn that more focus on the odour source will achieve the reward faster?

Is that why drug dogs are housed in kennels Dasha : Nekhbet : But what about the on/off switch for drive? Don't you think a dog would know a game can only be won if a game is "on"? Otherwise, what about protection training .... I mean, you can't reward a dog for biting someone when it wasn't commanded. ETA: Save for extenuating circumstances where the dog needs to use discretion ... but then, discretion is what the dog is trained for as well.

Hold back on giving him any belly rubs for the time being. If he rolls over ... "ah ah" and withdraw/wait. When he rights himself, start again with the paw shake. Sometimes, to give a dog a hint of what we are looking for, I might use a finger to tap at the back of the paw and the instance the dog moves his paw in any forwards fashion, I 'mark' the behaviour and reward. This can help kick start the dog into thinking that it might just be about him moving his paw and with his mind on that, he might just do it, which means you can return to 'shaping' for the behaviour.

This is something I've been thinking of introducing to Pro-K9's training as well. 2011 has been a bit of a tough year with other unavoidable necessaries getting in the way, so haven't been able to put it into place as yet, but I too think it is a great idea for people to do as an alternative fun thing for them and their dogs. I like the idea of scenting becoming a sport. Thanks for the post and link, Kavik.

Hi Staffyluv - that would have freaked me a little too, so don't think you're alone in feeling that way. Whether it is necessary to be freaked or not is another matter. Probably not - as Dogbesotted () pointed out, if he had evil intentions it would be less likely that he'd come to your door. However yes ... padlocks. Also one or two (depending on your house layout) automatic night lights that come on when someone reaches a gateway to your home/yard. Preferably something that you could detect from inside as well. A friend of mine had a prowler around her place for a while but since she put up auto flood lights, whoever it was has gone. Can be quite off-putting to have the spot light on you at night and this might give you some re-assurance at night time. Though I bet Ziggy would set up an alert if someone was around who shouldn't be :D.

I have tried a Health Food Store plus 2 x Homeopathic Therapy places. The first Homeopathic place didn't return my call. The second said they'd not heard of Frageria Vesca. Any idea, Ellz, if and where it can be obtained here in Australia? I will, of course, google - but I feel more comfortable being guided by the experience of others.

That's fair enough Jumabaar. You would know more than I on the topic as it is certainly not one in which I have studied. I understand the puppy teeth root is quite shallow and that any surgery has to be careful about damaging the canine that is directly underneath it .... that would be my concern as I'd expect damage to the adult one would likely be permanent. But that would probably be the reason you would suggest a dental specialist attend to it.

Maybe that would be for the Vet + Owner to determine? (genuine question mark). I've had a broken tooth and it was not painful. I too thought "why do surgery if there isn't going to be a problem?" and was in the mind-set of let it be, keep an eye on it. But admittedly, I'm no expert in this respect, so it is just my unprofessional thoughts.

Relax, and enjoy your new dog :). Just let him work out his place within his new pack and begin to feel at home. That's about simply setting guidelines (have a good think about that one - how you want him to behave even when people are over and/or when he might need to go to someone else's house for a stay-over). Give that a good week at least. In the meantime, feed him but don't sweat over his weight. He might be a bit under but you might find his metabolism will improve once he begins to relax and understands where he is and with who. If you stress and fuss over him, he's only going to pick up your tension. So kick back, relax and enjoy him. And if it helps any - sure, it's nice to have a dog at optimum weight. BUT, if optimum can't be had, I'd generally rather a dog be a tad on the under weight side than over as it is better on their heart and joints than it would be if they were over. So take it easy, and don't rush too much to try to whack weight on quickly ..... or you might wake up one morning and foooomph!, he's a fatty boombah! Sounds to me this dog has landed a good home

I'm afraid to say, Pat, that you're not alone in that department. I might try to fiddle something but not sure what I'm doing and IF I am successful, might take me a while. I'm "BC" (before computers). There might be people much quicker and smarter than I am in the PC department, so if anyone would like to take up this task please post here to let us know.

If you put up a FB link I'll add it to mine. Networking helps a lot. Good luck - I hope she is found safe and sound.

Kiwiflier. And good for you for taking in a dog who needed a home. How long since he came home to you?

Thanks Oakway. I've been irrigating his gums with Calendula Tea several times a day and I admit that seems to have taken some of the redness down. Lordy knows I love the Calendula Tea - it has helped myself and Mandela out in oh so many different application uses. I've added a drop of Tea Tree oil to the Calendula Tea irrigation but only made one application with it - want to see how that goes as to whether I keep that up. I figure that if I can keep the ulcers at bay and get rid of the plaque in the mean time, we might be lucky in beating this just as we have done his hive and cyst outbreaks and "touch wood". I'm also REALLY praying that "The Transfer Factor" supplementation will proove a mini-miracle.

Hi ellz, I have used both and this is a far superior product. edited to say that this a very naturel product as it is seaweed and I have my suspicions as to where it may come from :) and that it make's it an easy guess for your and me. I'm having a bit of trouble with Mandela. He's been on the Proden for about 4 weeks and there is very little improvement in the plaque that has built up on his teeth. I'm anxious to be rid of it for his teeth/gum sake, but also because I'm not sure his auto-immune system isn't having a bit of a hissy fit at the presence of the plaque. I'm continuing with the Proden and would expect that I should see obvious improvement given another four weeks. But might try Ellz's suggestion as well - except that I won't administer the Fragaria Vesca in his water ... rather, I intend to dissolve it and use it to wipe on his teeth. Maybe combating it with both will get things going a bit faster. Anyone know of/think that what I'd be doing in this respect is wrong/detrimental?

+1

Ah .... phew! Please accept my apologies for my misunderstanding . And thanks - I'll look forward to hearing from you to let me know the product has arrived :D. Cheers, and thanks again :).

But wasn't it you who was going to email me when it came in? I initially contacted you on FB and then we shared an email each. I've been waiting but never heard anything. I'll be running out soon and my sister needs it now. How long until you expect next delivery? Judi Pro-K9