Erny

Wow! This is some thread. My heart was beating hard just reading it, even though I knew it wasn't in real time. Glad the dog made it through so far. Hope his organs haven't sustained damage. Must be one hardy dog.

Not even sure what you mean by this question to me. Where did I say I have a problem? The problem as I'm seeing it is that no Breeder/s is coming forth with what they want that they believe will work. They've only canned anything that's been put up as either not working or against their principals (eg paying extra fee). ....

Actually I think the problem will lie with Joe Public who believe accredited = good and end up finding out this is not always automatically true. But if they don't have a prior bench mark, then what would they know/learn? Do you think they'd stop to think "oohhhhh .... it's the breeders who are not in the Accreditation Scheme who are the good ones"? The Breeders do need to do something about something if they are going to have any chance of separating the flowers from the weeds. But that is up to the breeders. From what I have read of their comments/objections nothing offered or proposed has been good enough to suit them.

There are breeders already accredited who have ethics and standards that would draw the mobs baying for blood here, yet you say if Dogs Qld says they are ok then that's ok I don't think that's what JB is saying at all and I'm not sure why the point that's being made (by Steve and by JB) is being ignored. I think JB and Steve are talking from the pov of the fact that this Accreditation Scheme IS in. Not that they are saying it should be in .... that it IS in. And the fact that it is in leaves breeders with a decision to make, and they need to be aware that the result of that decision will be judged by the government and the public, not necessarily by DOL people who get to read the back ground to it all (although that in itself is not an impossibility).

Yes you're right .... it is dried Marigold flowers. I purchase mine from my local Health Food Store (although they're out of stock of it at the moment). You make it as you would tea. I usually use a stocking and dunk it as though it was a tea bag in boiling water - leave it steep until the water is tepid - cool. Discard the used Calendula and use the liquid tea to wet up on the dog's skin where s/he is affected. When things are at their worst I normally make a strong brew but generally speaking about 1-2 tablespoons (max) to a cup of hot water. I grew Marigolds as well, when I was a kid. I'm not sure that I'd try to make my own tea for these medicinal uses though. Perhaps I'm being overly careful, but seeing as I'm trying to cleanse the skin from secondary infection I'd rather use the commercially provided stuff. I'm not sure what processes they use for sterility, but I've not had any problems so I'll stick with buying it rather than making it. If the hives don't noticeably reduce in 24 hours (a few applications of the Calendula tea inside that initial period) and/or get worse, then definitely visit your Vet. Whilst every condition, dog, situation is different, I will say (as I've said many other times before) that I've been able to avoid having to administer anti-biotics and cortisone with the use of the Calendula. Of course I've also spent a great deal of time, money and effort in working to try to find the cause/s for my boy's condition in the mean time.

Look like hives. I'd do the Calendula Tea treatment and give it 24 hours. If they reappear you'll need to investigate the cause. Could be related to your dog's digestive system, or not. My boy has had hives (plenty of them) in the past and sometimes they'd work in patterns ..... down each side of his spine was one such pattern. The hives aren't so much the problem (although they are a symptom of something). It's more that you want to avoid them turning to a secondary skin infection. This is what the Calendula Tea helps with (anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial qualities) as well as reducing the itch that can be accompanied by them.

It can be and is confusing, I agree. They thyroid is responsible for the proper function of almost every organ in the body. I guess I'm wishing for this dog that his problem is thyroid related because if it is they generally respond very well and quickly with medication, the medication is not overly expensive and it can fix a multitude of symptoms rather than the very hard yacka of investigating and treating each one individually. Good luck. One way or the other I hope you can track to the actual reason this dog has skin issues and find that it is easy to remedy.

I have a dog who has suffered frequent periodic bouts of hives (I'm talking hives in numbers enough to cover his body), a period of inter digital cysts and also a lesion on the inner side of his ear tip which then refused to heal and slowly but progressively became bigger. I cannot attest that his problems are all over now, but testing and finding him hypothyroidic (OS tests) and medicating for that seems to have made huge inroads to his improved health. The ear lesion, which was an open wound for over 1 year, healed within 2 weeks of thyroid medication. For that matter, he used to whack and open up the end of his tail frequently as well. I haven't seen that happen since medicating either. And that's not only great for my dog, but also for my walls which were continually blood splattered. Puberty could have something to do with it - his problems began at 6-7 months of age and he's now 2.5 years old, but I think detecting the thyroid issue and medicating for that has provided resolution to the main issue.

Thanks JB and Goldchow. I'm a bit puzzled about the behaviour I've seen coming through in this thread. I'm even a bit puzzled about what it is that breeders do or don't want, making the huge assumption that the majority of people who have posted here are representative of the majority of breeders.

Perhaps your Vet is better than some Vets I've seen. I had one lot who were very sceptical that my boy's issues could even in part be thyroid related and essentially just humoured me by agreeing to draw the bloods for the test. But it turned out this was a part of his problem and although not the total answer (yet, at least .... with more time, it could well prove to be the most if not the whole answer) he has been much better since medication. I have bloods sent OS to Dr Jean Dodds as their testing facilities and analysis are better (more thorough) than ours. When I sent the bloods OS I sent them with the attitude that I was spending the money to rule out thyroid.

Good post Jed. Short but sweet. eta not that short but still sweet ;) And by the way Erny and JB. No where in this thread have I mentioned another registry. If you would like to think I am talking about Steve and try to read something into that,then sorry, you are mistaken. I was talking about people in general. I am allowed to. Apology...wont hold my breathe. I don't know what you are talking about at all, now :D . Why do you have to be not nice? I do apologise if I misunderstood your earlier post where you said about getting to learn who didn't matter (not quoting the words - would need to back track for that). Why do you suggest here of me that you would not or could not expect an apology? I don't think you were particularly clear with your previous post that did appear to be quite disparaging. I'm not even sure what I'm apologising for :D .

Is it? When I joined back in 2004 I wasn't asked if I was a breeder, let alone if I was a breeder of pure breeds. I thought that was why breeders had their own forum on DOL at which the others of us are not allowed to join in .... or is it that we can join in but not start? Sorry - I'm not sure because I usually don't venture there. I tend to stay here in General and Training and Health. I do think that precluding everyone other than those who breed pure breed dogs from DOL would make for a pretty narrow-minded mode of conversation as it would cut a lot of good ideas, experiences and help to others out, but I didn't know that me not being a breeder precluded me (or others) from being a member of DOL nor in partaking in any conversations.

Dang it. I wanted to go through that doorway.

Hey Huski. Is that your dog all dressed up ready for K9 Pro's workshop?

Oooohhh ..... size? Style? Hand knitteds are special. Aidan's into sewing.

Hey! Aidan has put lots of threads all into just his one post!! Clever! Seeeeeeeeewwwwwwww ..... let's discuss them, shall we?

..... who are you referring to in that potentially collective statement, Stonebridge? Am I "just not worth it"? Is that what you are meaning? Why dont you "read" my post properly Erny. And then get back to me. Ok - not a direct answer so I'm only presuming you are talking about Julie. But I see nothing in this thread from Julie that warrants such a disparaging comment - which is probably why I wasn't entirely sure who you were running down. ETA: The comments in this thread have a nasty feel to them again :D. Are you breeders?

Oh, shut up Jeff. Hey ..... let's run a book on how many 'hits' this thread gets :D.

..... who are you referring to in that potentially collective statement, Stonebridge? Am I "just not worth it"? Is that what you are meaning?

... Posted in wrong forum - sorry.

PM - this is where the waters get a bit muddy (so to speak). The titre test done soon after vaccination (not to suggest that a later titre won't show anything) will confirm whether your dog has sero-conversion of the antibodies for which s/he has been vaccinated. This is a test you can have done for peace of mind. Some places will accept these as a form of immunity evidence as well. As time moves on, especially if your dog has not been exposed to any of the core diseases for which s/he has been vaccinated, the antibodies can disappear from the blood. But that doesn't necessarily mean your dog's body doesn't know how to fight off the said diseases should it be exposed to them one day. Things I have read tell me that there is such as thing as "cell memory". When the cell's memory of the disease/s is jogged by exposure to the said diseases, the body triggers to defence and produces the antibodies needed to aid in protection. If this is the case, there'd really be no need to re-vaccinate. I always forget the veterinary technically correct way of wording/describing this so I might be slightly wrong in the usage of some of my words, but this is how I recall and understand it.

Lol .... we are multi-cultural Country, Stonebridge. I very much doubt that being a Kiwi would be enough for anyone rejecting some excellent assistance and re-direction. But then, if not yourself ..... then who? I don't mean to be putting you personally on the spot, but it seems to me that there is a lot of discussion about what could be done and/or what should be done, but nobody/s who will put up their hands to take it on .... at least to start it off. Like (for example) someone who will provide precedents in the way of letters or whatever else it is that you (and others) suggest need to be done to get CC's to begin functioning at optimum. Of course, there is more to it than just letter writing, but I'm only giving a basic example.

I can well imagine it would be a huge task. Who would be able to start it? You? Would you begin the ball rolling Stonebridge?

Have you read ANY of the posts here from people who have said they have tried to expose those doing the wrong things? Almost without exception the canine controls will do nothing. How are people meant to act if those with the responsibility to police these things won't??? Hhhhhmmmmm ..... Then what can be done? What is needed?

For the most part this only really proves conformation though.