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Erny

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Everything posted by Erny

  1. You want things that have a long shelf life. I have : Calendula Tea (lasts for ages and you brew it on an "as needs" basis. Paw Paw Ointment Cetrigen Wound Spray (purple). Betadine. Saline Solution - in the vials for sterility reasons. Some other stuff - looks like F10 wash. Got it from the Vet way back when my boy had a wound that needed attention and had it left over.
  2. You're in Victoria? The penalties went up with the new laws that were passed last September/October. A number of us tried to stop the stupid laws that went through (lots of threads in General Forum) but I don't think there was enough public support and they were pushed through by the then Labor Government regardless.
  3. Yes - my heart goes out to farmers often. Droughts, Locust Plagues, Floods. One thing, then another. I am really trying to support them by purchasing Aussie goods rather than imports. I am also trying to avoid the big supermarkets for vegies/fruit and instead visiting the local grocer. I have also lodged a "Feedback Form" at our local major supermarket (not the for the first time) telling them I want to see more Aussie product and that I don't want to have to search for it as though it were a needle in a hay stack. If more of us could do that. Anyway, this goes to OT and I don't mean to. I hope the people of QLD and Victoria who are affected know how much our thoughts are with them and how much in our hearts we encourage them to find the strength to move forward and onwards.
  4. I need to take my "professional cap" off for this one as I've tried this with only one dog and its behaviour, although related to chasing its tail, didn't seem to be as chronic or intense as your dog's behaviour. What I did was had the dog wear a T-shirt, knotted/adjusted so that it fitted firm. To mimic an anxiety wrap. This seemed to provide some assistance in distracting the dog from its tail. I can only presume that the feeling it received from the wrap had its mind conscious of its body, rather than merely centred on its tail. As I mentioned though, the tail chasing in this instance wasn't as intense as your dog's behaviour sounds and it was for different reasons (ie excitement; had been inadvertently reinforced for the behaviour in the past). We addressed those causes as well, of course so it could have been that our home-made "anxiety wrap" was more of an initial distraction that gave us time to employ the other things we needed to lower excitement and to stop inadvertently reinforcing the behaviour. It may make absolutely no inroads towards helping your dog in your instance but I can't see it hurting to give it a try.
  5. Perrin that is great and for all of us further out who sometimes feel a bit useless it is really overwhelming and heart warming to see so many people come to the aid of those in need. In this world of what seems to be becoming 'dog eat dog' (pardon the pun - it is not intended) it certainly restores faith in human kind and clearly shows that humans are capable of so, so much in terms of generosity of physical and financial help and of course, in spirit. As you are closer to the affects of the floods than I am and therefore would understand the needs more first hand than I can, you should also know (perhaps you already do?) that MDBA Pacers are sorting supply assistance to the flood victims in both Queensland and Victoria. Crates; blankets; leads; dog bowls; dog food; and other such items including cases of personal items and food. So if you know people who need this support it would do well to contact MDBA Pacers. They're organising another delivery early next week for those in Victoria and also for those in Queensland. Well done to all those who have been able to reach out to those who suffer the immediate affects of the floods around the Country. Keep safe and keep strong.
  6. I so do not understand this. With people, the Doctors can't give the xrays to the patient fast enough so that they will keep them rather than them bulking up their record keeping space. Why so different for Vets? IMO you should have rights to the xrays particularly as they would serve well as reference for your dog's ongoing care.
  7. When my dog (who has digestive issues and is on special food diet at the moment) isn't too 'in' to his food, he too will leave it in preference to sticking around with me and what I'm doing. The power of me being off somewhere and doing something else that he thinks he might be missing out on is too great. Sometimes if I stick in the room with him, he'll eat his meal - or at least more of it. Because of his health issues, I sometimes do this, but I try to avoid it where I think it is unnecessary as this can fairly easily become a learnt behaviour. On other occasions however, when he is more hungry and 'in' to his food, he will eat without me needing to be present. So I agree with others - the dry food is a lower value food and not worth sticking around for by comparison to hanging around to see what you are doing.
  8. I'd be inclined to visit Dr Bruce Syme, although he is in Castlemaine which would represent a 1.5 hour drive from Ivanhoe. He's not a specialist but he does deal with many skin issues. What I like most is that he is a Vet who will use drugs if he feels drugs are the best thing for the dog and the situation, but he is a Vet who doesn't like to use drugs if it is not necessary and will err towards treating as naturally as possible if he thinks that is viable. I've been to see Bruce a few times now, between my previous girl and my current boy. It is a 3 hour each way trip for me but not once did I ever feel that the visit was not worth it. In fact, if it wasn't for him, my current boy (bad skin issues) will probably have had cortisone administered more than once, twice or thrice by now, instead of none. One of the things I did though, even before I went to see Bruce was have a thyroid test done. And I wouldn't have it tested and analysed over here - I'd send it to the USA. Their testing facilities are better than ours which means that if you had it done here and it proved negative, I still wouldn't trust it. Thyroid issues can very much be connected with skin (and many other) issues. ETA: Castlemaine is affected by the current floods so right at this point of time it would be doubtful that you would get through and even recommended that you stay clear. I don't even know how badly Castlemaine is affected and whether it is so bad that businesses have ceased to run for the time being. I don't know of anyone else that I could steer you towards in your area but perhaps other DOLers will have some ideas.
  9. Yeah - I love the puppy hiccups. They become less and less as the dog grows older. Mandela gets them only very occasionally now. He's 2.5yo.
  10. I'm not a poodle person per se, but I really like standard poodles. They are great to train and they are brilliant once you have them working with you. Not sure about sports though - haven't seen too many standard poodles in fly-ball or agility. But that could be because I don't watch a great deal of either of these activities.
  11. Do you really think not moving will help relieve discomfort from arthritis? I would have thought it would be better to be able to keep moving in one shape or form, just gently. I'm not sure, but that is my thoughts.
  12. Calendula Tea. If this begins to resolve it you might not need the visit to the Vet. I'm sorry Catherine.b .... I don't think I'd use salt water as it might sting and aggravate it, don't you think?
  13. The two dogs (sisters) I mentioned? One of them I basically all but gave up on the target exercise with her. It wasn't important for what I was doing and I only have the dogs for a short period of time with a lot to teach them, so I don't have a lot of time to waste on an exercise that is not part of what people necessarily want, even if it can be handy for the essence of learning. But as it turned out, I'd haphazardly give the exercise a go, quitting almost straight away if the dog showed no interest. Then there just happened that on one try (by this time me expecting it to be unsuccessful anyway) and the dog did it. After that, the dog would do a few repeats but I found I needed to keep the exercise really short with very few repetitions, but she did at least cotton on and did show enthusiasm at least for those first few reps. So another thing I'd try (with all else apparently failing) is to quit the exercise rather than to keep trying in the one session and when you get a win, quit before you think the dog might. Similar to tug. Quit whilst the dog wants more. But I think that's the essence of training any way.
  14. IME that technique can make it harder for a dog to learn what it is that s/he did that triggered the treat. For all the dog knows and is thinking s/he simply ate the treat rather than being aware of contact with the target being a major component of the exercise. I agree with starting with the target so close to the dog's nose. Even to the point of you touching the dog's nose with the target. I prefer not to do this if I can help it but it can start off the association and get the dog thinking on it a little sooner, if it is having trouble with the concept. The other thing is to rub the food on the target so that you are leaving behind a delicious fresh scent (wet meat; cooked chicken; something like that). Often dogs will initially touch because they are smelling the scent. Then of course, you reward (very high value food reward to begin with). I still don't think "dumb". I think technique. Oh - and are you being very very specific about touching with "nose"? There was a period there for a while where I saw some Boxers with nosers getting shorter and shorter to the point that the nose was set quite back by comparison to the front of the dog's muzzle. I presume you would be satisfied if this dog even just touched with its muzzle?
  15. I titred at the one year point rather than boostered. Titre came back with satisfactory immunity levels.
  16. I teach touch target with nose to most of my boarding/training dogs. It's an exercise that can be useful later if the owners want to keep it up and expand on it once they pick their dog up but I mainly use it to help get the dog thinking or "learning to learn". It is usually a really fun and easy exercise for most dogs so once learnt it acts like a sorbet between meals to clean the palet, except this is a sorbet to break up the training session exercises. Anyway, I have found there are a few dogs who just don't cotton to it, but might excel in something else more quickly than another dog. I actually had two same litter sisters in at one stage and it was really interesting to note how one would pick up on something really fast, but not something else, whereas the other could be completely the opposite. This was the case for targeting as well. One loved it and caught on quickly. The other took a while but eventually and suddenly became enthused for it. They both proved to be really good dogs - once they'd learnt to learn it was as though they couldn't soak up enough training and they really learnt in leaps and bounds after the first somewhat slower start. But they did learn different things at different rates.
  17. Thanks Muttaburra. That is interesting, especially as my boy is having issues that may be pancreatic related. I'd be interested to know if anyone knows any more of this?
  18. Same here. For me, a leash 'talks' to me through my hand and vice versa. Perhaps that's a bit reminiscent of my horse riding days and reins. I couldn't 'talk' with a lead that has stretch in it.
  19. I'm glad to see one of our State Dogs Orgs stepping in to help but I really would like to think that it could extend itself to helping anyone who has a dog and not to discriminate on whether the dog is purebred or not. They're canines. They all need help and I think a generosity of spirit is needed across the board regardless of breeding background. But yes, it is a good thing that they are doing something. However, I'd rather give my funds to someone like MDBA for example - the only discrimination there is based on who needs what the most, when and how. Not by what sort of dog the people own. This is only a reflection of my thoughts. I'm not saying others shouldn't donate through DogsQld. It's personal preference. Have been watching the TV news and the flood footage. It brings tears to the eyes and I wish for everyone in QLD and for that matter anywhere that is affected by flooding to keep safe and sound.
  20. Nor was I when I had to make the greatest sacrifice, so I know what you mean. Cry. Grieve. Give yourself time to wallow, to remember, to hurt. And then you need to do what Jordan did. You need to rally. Your wounded heart is so very very raw right now. It hurts like nothing else. Although the hurt won't go away, with time it will get softer and it won't be as hard to bear. I promise. RIP Jordan ;) .
  21. This has been what has surprised me too, Bertie.
  22. Just commenting on this, when the MDBA started up I don't think its' goal was to start it's own registry, it had other agenda's. This discussion is about the registry, not the MDBA. I would be saying the same thing if XXX wanted to do the same thing. I realise this, SwaY. But didn't things have to change when it was met with opposition and resistance? I don't want to be speaking out of turn here and I may well have my understanding all wrong, so please feel free to step in Steve to correct me. ETA: But I will also add that I too would be saying what I'm saying if "XXX" wanted to do the same thing and was being met with such resistance and negativity. I've been hanging out for an organisation to step up to the plate to help work through the bureaucratic red tape; to help try to make sense of some of the gooply gock nonsense talk that so often prevents us from understanding what we read (ie government laws and how they REALLY affect us); to help try to identify different ways of making headway rather than banging on about more and more laws when we know that more and more laws is the rotten path to nowhere that we all seem to be going (and that counts for anyone in the dog breeding/training/rescue industry). I wouldn't want to look a gift horse in the mouth (and at $55 per year for one person or $77 per year for two people, that's almost a steal) if someone presented an organisation to me that was willing and academically able to take on the lead position for such a job.
  23. But it's not a case of one or the other, is it? I thought I read earlier that it is about dual membership. Which basically means that for a whole $55 per year you have another organisation filling voids that the other one (which you still need to belong to for the reasons you mention) can't, won't or doesn't. When I was in the legal industry, I paid a fee to two organisations. One membership ensured that I was legally able to sign as witness to certain legal documents. The other membership provided me with educational opportunities; status (ie competence assurity to the public). I didn't begrudge either. They each provided me with a service. In this instance we have an organisation that provides you with certain services; world wide recognition/acceptance etc. on the one hand but is lacking in another area (eg. support and leadership against laws which are non-productive and unfair to the world of ethical breeders etc.) Then we have an organisation (MDBA) which is offering an additional option to work in and around these issues. There's a fee (the person has to live, after all and the organisation needs to be able to pay its overheads and incidental expenses), but it is only $55 for a year. Take it or leave it. But of course if you leave it then it will be a matter of accept and be satisfied with what you have if you can't change it yourself when others before you have made the contribution to try. If too many of you (meaning 'breeders') don't embrace the opportunity and if you don't get to change, fix, improve what needs to be changed, fixed and improved so that matters such as puppy farms; pet shop puppy sales; etc can be sorted out and ethical breeders be more easily identifiable to the public than is at present, then you risk missing out on that opportunity.
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