Erny

I think I should start a campaign in my electorate where all even number households for Liberal, and the odd numbers vote Labor. Nothing like a very close poll and a marginal electorate to attract lots of political attention/govt funding. And those who live in houses with numbers that are lettered (eg "3A and 3B") can be the Greenie votes. Vote PF for Beloved Supreme Leader

What is the skin like where there is hair loss? Is there any darkening of the skin?

Kyliegirl .... apart from what I've already posted, re-read what you've written. Everything is about what you do for Echo, not about what you share together. I still stick by the 'training' as working out how their minds tick; how to make training as fun and motivating as you can; how to make it as easy as possible for your dog to understand what you want, really does go a good way towards teaching you how their minds tick. But you could also try to see past what you are seeing at the moment - look at what Echo provides you; what he does for you; what little daft ways he might have; and so on. Perhaps there's a bit of 'glass half empty' instead of 'half full' there. Looking in a different light, from a different angle, might help you. ETA: Oh - I like to keep training sessions really quite short (most of the time). I think I spend more time playing motivation games/reward in between commands than I do on the commands themselves. So whilst I might be 'working' with my dog for half an hour, only 5 or 10 minutes of that might be actively lumped as my boy being under any formal command or performing any particular trick. I like to keep training fast and fun. Save for when I'm working in the teaching phase .... the training is kept calm and steady. But still fun :p.

Yes.

What time do you spend training with him? I think working with a dog, having a goal (eg. to teach stay work; improve drops; etc. etc) and working to achieve these things in such a way that your dog is enthusiastic, happy and willing, really helps in connecting. Because when you think about it, "connecting" is really about understanding one another - knowing how they tick and think. In the dog/human relationship, you need to work out what works best for the dog and the dog needs to work you out to better understand what you want (and ergo, what gets him what he wants, the fastest). In my Boarding & Training, there are some dogs who take a bit longer than others might, for us to 'click' or 'connect', but I do believe that we do so fairly quickly because of the fact that my job with them is to train them and consequently that is my mainstream time spent with them. ETA: I have had that "instant" connection - it has happened to me three times in my life time. Twice with horses and once with a dog (Kal, my avatar girl and soul mate .... bhcs). But it doesn't necessarily happen instantly with every animal/pet that I have owned or come across in my lifetime.

I'd like to know this too, because very recently in my immediate neighbourhood there has been a report of sexual assault by a man wearing a turban and robe. In fact, I believe I have seen this man myself, in the not so distant past, along one of my walks. This is in Victoria. What a rotten day. Well, when you think about it ...... no it wasn't.

I'm still a bit lost on specifically how these proposed regs will affect rescuers/fosters.

Pro-K9 ask for minimum C3 and will accept Titre tests in lieu of current vaccination certificate. Erny is that a yearly C3/titer or triennial in line with the AVA protocol? That's a good question, SK. I seek annual - at this stage only because I'm not entirely sure where I stand (legally) to seek anything less. When I've had clients joining/re-joining, they've already had vaccinations done so I've not yet had an incident where someone has opted for triennial. If a certificate is signed off by a Vet for the triennial, I would not have a problem with that. ETA: If someone provided me with a positive Titre Test result in lieu of a vaccination certificate, I think I'd be inclined to accept that as sufficient for a triennial period - mainly because it would show that sero-conversion had occurred. Unless I have everything misunderstood and upside down, I'd be more comfortable with that than a certificate simply saying vaccination has been administered. But I do reserve the right to change my mind on this once I've had a chance to consider further.

Pro-K9 ask for minimum C3 and will accept Titre tests in lieu of current vaccination certificate.

This is about rounding up support for the RSPCA to encourage (enforce?) desexing of all undesexed domestic animals (dogs and cats, presumably). "Sign or don't" would be an ignorant approach when there are reasonable questions that remain unanswered. The most portent question being what has been asked here but yet remains unanswered : Where is the RSPCA's evidence that mass desexing will reduce shelter numbers? Surely, if the RSPCA is condoning, encouraging and/or even seeking to enforce this, some sort of research on statistics will have been done before they spend our hard-earned money on a venture such as this?

Hey Liath ..... have you tried bathing her with Calendula Tea? I'd give that a go - you should know fairly quickly if it is likely to assist. The Calendula Tea helps the skin pH balance. It also has antibacterial and anti-inflammatory qualities. A DOLer here reported that it turned her dog's white hair yellow. I never experienced that and I know of no-one else who has either. I sent her some of my Calendula Tea and she reported that was much better (which made me think the Calendula she bought had been dyed to intesify its colour and make it more attractive - but that's sheer hypothesis on my part). The point of telling you this is so that you will purchase from a Health Food Store and ask them to give you organic/natural Calendula Tea.

Dogs don't usually smell (to the point of "stink") unless there is something wrong (refer Poodlefan's post questions), or unless they are rolling in putrid smelly substances (which they would only be able to do if they have access to them. So I agree that you need to look first at why they might be carrying this objectionable odour and fix that, rather than leaving the cause in place and using chemicals (ie shampoos) to constantly wash away the smell. Washing too much can become a cause for the smell as well - the body is stripped of its natural oils, the skin pH balance is altered, and so the body goes into overdrive to correct the imbalance, sending the pendulum swing way too far in the other direction.

Dietary supplements designed to calm a dog. There are different versions of this style of supplement, each probably with a slight variation in one shape or form, but essentially they are based in the Vitamin B complexes, or more particularly Vitamin B3 (I think) and/or tryptophan. Anyway, the effects of these vitamins and tryptophan promote conversion to serotonin, which is a blood brain calming chemical. Of course, they won't have any effect if the cause of the problem doesn't relate to serotonin deficiency anyway.

I had my boy titred more than 1 year past his last puppy vacc and he had sufficient antibody levels for at least two of the core diseases. The Vet I had this done through agreed there was no need to re-vaccinate. Immune is Immune. It is not about being *more* immune. You either are immune. Or you're not. I agree with Sandra777. "You may as well do them all" ..... even if it is more chemical than your dog needs? As is his perogative. Yes, although if you're then running on the basis of 3 years rather than every year, I think it would work out cheaper. But that aside, for me and my dog it isn't about the money. Again, his prerogative. But then why would the AVA have the vaccination policy that suggests differently? You (and others) might find Dr Jean Dodds articles helpful and interesting to read. The link to at least one of them is : Dr Jean Dodds (USA) Vaccination Protocol Scroll down about half way - that's where it begins to talk of Titre Testing. There are some links to other articles contained in that article as well. Yes it is. And look at all the decades we've believed in the necessity for annual vaccinations. Heck - at least I can remember the days when we never used to vaccinate our dogs past puppy-dom. There will be many of you who were born to the practice of yearly vaccinations and know no different. It goes outside our comfort zone to think that we could have been wrong and that we might actually be harming our pets, unintentionally, of course. It's pretty scary when you first take the leap of change. But the more I read, the more I become more comfortable with the notion of not vaccinating beyond puppy-dom.

This is where I begin to run out of knowledge and understanding, but I think this is the point where I either say to myself "I will re-vaccinate now" (even though I know it might rock my dog's immune system around a bit) or that I trust my reading and research and accept that once there have been antibodies, cell memory would be sufficient. This is also the point where I say someone more knowledgeable about this end of things than I am needs to explain it. It's a pity dogs don't turn green when they were running out of immunity for these things.

That's (sort of) what I was thinking (wondering). I would go the "thyroid" track too - and like I said, I'd run them through Dr Jean Dodds in the USA for testing and analysis. Didn't realise that Cushings could result in weight loss or weight gain .... thought it was just the latter. Thanks for clarifying.

My first thought was thyroid issue too. With Cushings, doesn't the belly distend, making the dog look bloated and weight gained? Would the test for Cushings show up thyroid issues if it wasn't Cushings? If not, I'd be venturing that track. And if you know me well enough I'd be using Dr Jean Dodds for the testing and analysis. Is the hair loss symmetrical?

There is another way, though. I wormed my boy when he was a puppy (the usual puppy wormer routine). After that, I simply have a stool sample tested by the Vet. My boy is now rising 3yo and not one of those tests have shown that he has worms and so I have not needed to administer the drugs that kill these parasites. As I mentioned - it depends on your Vet as to whether they will speak contrary to what the drug manufacturers prescribe on their labels. Many Vets are not following AVA policy when it comes to vaccinations :p .

Yes - my understanding is that after a while, the antibodies in the blood recede. It is not that they disappear but more that the body, if not exposed to the diseases, recognises it doesn't need to spend time creating and maintaining antibodies for those diseases. And so the 'memory' of what those diseases 'look' like, retreats to a cellular level. But once the dog is exposed to any one or more of the diseases again, the body very quickly 'remembers' and it gets fast to work to re-creat the anti-bodies necessary to ward off the disease. A titre test at that later point might potentially show "negative" but it doesn't prove your dog didn't have the wherewithal to fight off the disease.

Wow ..... who wants to answer this one . Sorry Leelaa ..... not having a go at you but once you realise the answer to your questions, you'll see how BIG the subject actually is. In short though, "titre testing" is where the Vet draws blood and tests it to measure the antibodies that are present for at least 2 of the core diseases for which your dog has previously been vaccinated. The presence and number of antibodies indicates the dog has immunity - or more particularly (because people thing of "immunity" as meaning "can't catch it") the dog has the defence mechanism ready in its body to help fight off those diseases should it come into contact with them. Titre testing is a good way to confirm sero-conversion (Staranais taught me that term ) has occurred from the original vaccinations. In other words, that the dog's body has developed the antibodies necessary to fight off such diseases. When your dog has the immunity necessary, there's no point in adding more and more (of the same) chemicals to its body. Every time you do, you stress the animal's immune system. Too much/unnecessary stress can actually cause it to not operate to its optimum and potentially weaken it - which is NOT what we want. There is much talk, murmuring and conjecture (I don't think it has been proven but it is hypothesised) that this could be a contributor to the dog's body turning on itself; developing other problems such as cancer; more prevalence of other illnesses. So the argument is, why load your dog up with chemicals year in year out, unnecessarily and potentially tax its system bringing about other ills/problems along the way? Even the AVA (Australian Veterinary Association) agree that vaccinating more than once every 3 years is vaccinating more than is necessary. The hitch seems to be that the drug manufacturers prescribe their vaccinations for 12 monthly use. It would apparently cost a lot of money (and would necessitate much re-experimentation on animals) for the manufacturers to be able to confidently put in writing that "once every 3 years is ok". If the Vets prescribe the medication for use outside of the label requirements, Vets could be held accountable if something were to go wrong for the person who didn't vaccinate yearly in accordance with their Vet's advice. Some suggest that it is also the recognition by both the drug company and some vets that they will see a reduction of income if people aren't coming to them for their dogs' yearly vaccinations. Whether it's the drug company hiding behind the vets or vice versa ..... I don't know :p . So for anyone who has read and believes that we are over doing it with drugs on our dogs, it has to be your own educated and common sense decision about how you think the best care for your dog should be administrated. I am not for vaccinating yearly. With what I have read and heard, I think we could afford to be much more discerning than we have been for the past several decades. When you stop to think about it, this is commonly what we apply on our dogs in the way of chemicals inside one year : 1 x C3 or C5 vaccination 4 x wormer dose (whether the dog has worms or not) 12 x spot ons to ward off/kill fleas (whether the dog has flea issues or not) 12 x chews for heart worm protection (if it isn't included as an additional chemical in the aforementioned spot-on).. Heart worm protection in some areas is necessary and warranted. But not necessarily in all areas of Australia (the colder climates are generally not congenial to the development of the heart worm to infectious stage). 12 x shampoo baths 12 x tick preventative (granted necessary for some environments). Multiply each of those out by the amount of years we expect our dogs to live and that will give you an idea of how much chemical we fill our dogs bodies up with. And then put all of that out on a table and you'd really get a grasp of just what we are doing. Then of course there's the frequent administration of antibiotics and/or cortisone when our dogs sport an injury; skin condition (which might be because of any of the above). These are great drugs, but IMO should be used judiciously rather than "just in case" as they frequently are these days. I've gone further than just answering your immediate question and I hope I've made sense to you in my answer. I'm not a Vet and I am happy to stand corrected by any of our more learned DOLvets who (and I take my hat off to them) are always a fantastic wealth of information and education to us all here. This is just my personal opinion based on my own reading and experiences, expressed in my own layperson's manner of understanding.

I think she might be confused between DAP (dog appeasing pheramone) diffusers/sprays/or collars and natural medications such as "Canine Calm". The two are completely different things.

I haven't been through it word by word either and at first glance it kind of reads ok to me too. But a couple of things stood out (if I've read them correctly). One of those things (for example) is the requirement for weekly visits to the Vet. Would this be at an "at cost" basis to the average rescuer/foster carer? Even if it was a discounted price, I could imagine the expense building up. Is it the financial burden side of things that will see the average rescuer/foster carer squeezed out? I'd like a bit of an explanation too, if someone wouldn't mind. Save me reading through things one word at a time, especially when I already don't fully understand the current rules and regulations pertaining to rescue/foster.

Good onya, Suz . Great effort, great success. You deserve it .

Teach your dog that receiving a 'pill' in the manual way (ie you opening his mouth and popping pill in) isn't always unpleasant. Do it often, but use a very small piece of yummy wet treat (ie not with pills). Conversly, we tend to only do this when we really need to give them an actual tablet. Also, when you've given a real pill, follow up with a food treat reward. I've done these things with my boy, who is on meds twice a day for the rest of his life. He runs to the kitchen when I'm fixing his tablets and usually enthusiastically sits before I'm even ready. (Mind you, sometimes when he's in a jolly but silly mood, he wiggles his head like one of those fairground clown head games. But for him it is just that, a game - not avoidance.) I only have to rest the web part that's between my thumb and index finger on his muzzle and he opens his mouth for me. I always use the words (with word association has become a command) "take a tablet" as I do this. I have to give his thyroid tablets one hour before dinner, so I think he's come to realise the pattern that tablets indicates dinner in a while. I've known him to sometimes remind me that I haven't given his meds. I tend to treat meds time as a bit of a game - not so much that he can think he can play me, but enough for him to feel special and clever about the fact that he takes his tablets.

Does your dog have fleas? Does your dog have worms? If not, I wouldn't bother re-administering either of them, and I'd think twice before administering them the next time.