Erny

Which makes the common suggestion/recommendation of "Go speak to your Breed's Club for recommendations" a bit of a fallacy then? And possibly why when I asked about the breeder I was (back then) planning to get my boy from that I got no help/advice/comment/direction.

Lol ..... I think that's gorgeous. Knowing Ridgies as I do, they tend to feel the hard ground on their knobbly bones. A piece of cardboard is a great idea and I think it is lovely that the Emerald bakery accommodate him by keeping it ready for him.

Why, when we know the heartworm cycle is something like 6 months? (I need to go find the info I printed out on this.)?

But it is, it is :laugh: .

As far as my knowledge extends (and I asked about this more than once or twice, when my boy was a pup) you don't need to commence heart worm medication until your pup is 6 months old (the time period relates to the time it takes for the heart worm lava to develop). My Vets confirmed this ...... but only after they'd given me the puppy pack and mentioned about giving heart worm when my boy was only 8 weeks of age and then me going back to ask if it was necessary to do so. I don't treat for heart worm due to our climatic conditions. The heart worm lava that starts its development in the mozzie (ie so a mozzie first needs to be infected by the heart worm) needs temperatures constantly 14 degrees celcius and above for the development to continue to the stage where it can be transmitted from mozzie to dog. If the temperature (even night time temperature) drops below the 14C then development is halted and the process needs to start again. You may be in a heart worm mozzie area in which case heartworm medication is warranted (perhaps night right now with your pup being so young). I tend to keep an eye on the constant temperatures around here and also keep an ear to the wall by periodically asking the Vets in my area whether they've had any cases of heart worm come in. To date the answer has been "no". And you don't need to administer drugs to kill fleas unless you have a flea problem.

It is where the dog is taught to touch the handler's hand on cue. Commonly this is taught so the 'touch' comes from the dog's nose and this is generally the easiest to teach, although some will teach their dogs 'touch' using different areas of the dog's body. Eg. Hip; paw; etc. Targeting can prove to be a very handy exercise/skill/trick to teach a dog for very many varied purposes. Sometimes it can be used just as a mental exercise for the dog to learn/perform. But it can also be used to improve obedience skills (eg heel; recall) and also some behaviour problems.

My previous girl Kal (avatar dog - bhcs) was spayed when she was 4yo and had bouts of incontinence at around age 11 or 12. However I very strongly suggest that the incontinence was a symptom of another illness which in itself eventually was her demise, and naught to do with her being spayed when she was more mature.

Because to use a 12month vaccine and sign off for three years is contrary to the labelling insructions so if a dog contracts the disease the vet could be liable. The Trienniel vaccine is registered and tested for three years therefore can be signed off on for 3 years and therefore the vets backside is covered. I wonder why they would 'invent' a new vaccine and test it so they could sign off on it for 3 years, rather than testing the existing annual vaccines for the same thing.

I'm afraid I still don't fully understand this "3-yearly vaccine" (which is often confused with the concept of annual vaccine being given once every 3 years). My understanding is that with the vaccines we generally use annually, the new concept is that using these any more frequently than once every 3 years is over-vaccinating. That being the case, why does anyone (Vet or otherwise) recommend the "3-yearly" vaccine? And I don't mean for political/financial gain reasons.

Conjunctivits that gets out of hand can damage the eye so I think, particularly as it is bad enough to glue his eye together, it is worth getting a Vet to look at it. If you need to, a rinse using Saline Solution (sterilised Saline Solution can be purchased from your chemist) to rid the eye of the junk conjunctivitis produces might help. Wetting it up a fair bit with the Saline Solution helps to soften the dried stuff and this makes it more comfortable on your dog for it to be wiped away. My boy used to get the beginnings of conjunctivitis when his immune system was down. For one example : when he had Canine Cough as a pup. It was only a bit of gunk in the corner of his eye so I used the Saline to keep it clean and this was sufficient. I always treated both eyes as if it is conjunctivitis it easily travels from one eye to the other. Be careful to try to not contaminate the good eye in your handling and cleaning process though.

I'd be very happy to take this (at least some of it) off your hands. Not sure I can organise the trailer or the muscle though (save for my own, but that might do ). I'll see what I can do and contact you.

The stim level will possibly feel higher to the dog because of increased conductivity.

Even then be careful. Wilson Botanic Park, Berwick, Victoria (on-lead only) near us has a heap of road width gravel and paved tracks and the snakes (which always live there) are being seen out on the tracks. Normally they keep to the edges or to the grassed, more sheltered terrain.

erny, how would the tea be made...i bought some calendula tea but don't know the quantities to use. TY I made up my own quantities, so I can only tell you what I do. Generally I use a heaped tablespoon of the stuff to a cup of boiling water. If the skin issue is really bad I might make it a little stronger (up to 2 x tablespoons to same quantity of boiling water). Lol .... don't know if the extra makes any difference, but it makes me feel better when you are at your wits end to help ease discomfort. I put the quantity of the tea inside the toe end of a cut off stocking and I use that just as I would a tea bag. Let it steep in the boiling water until the water cools to tepid. I have used things such as spray bottle, flannel saturated in the tea ... to wet my boy up with it. When I want to give him a really good soak to get into all sorts of crevices as well as body, I make up a huge amount, completely tie off the stocking at both ends and let that float in a bath tub of hot water (about 2 inches deep) until the water cools down to tepid. I then use the stocking with the tea in it like I would a sponge. But this latter method uses a good deal of the tea up so it's not the 'norm' and isn't always necessary. But it is the method I might use when I'm really desperate and want to give my dog a good going over and soak. Please let me know how it goes.

Even trainers who aren't technically labelled "positive trainers" often know and use clickers to assist in training .

He's been of this earth for a total of 10 weeks and with you for (I assume) a total of 1 whole week. New home. New family. New noises. No litter mates. Everything is different. His brain and his senses are developing. Be happy with extremely short bursts of training - a minute or two at a time and don't expect him to hold focus at this stage. Practice the "Triangle of Temptation" (this is great for teaching focus) and be just work within the capabilities of the pup. Reward for that very short moment of focus. Expecting even two minutes of focus is a long time for a 10 week old pup, IMO. And worry more about habituating your pup to the world with all its noises, sights and sensations. This by itself should keep you and puppy very busy if you think of all the things you might want your pup to be "ok" about as an adult dog. If you understand that your expectations of your pup are a bit too unrealistic, you might find the conflict you are feeling will disappear and that your pup's training will progress faster than you realise.

Children on holidays?

As above. And just to provide you with some comfort so that you don't worry yourself into a sleepless sweat overnight ..... when I was a kid our family dog (Labrador "Prince") used to get raw red meat (don't know why chicken didn't seem to be a staple part of most dogs diets back then as it seems to be now ). He also used to get excema. I think this was mainly due to flea bite allergy (didn't have the stuff to guard against fleas as we do now) but the Vet at the time told us red meat made the blood hot and this would increase the itchiness. He told us that from that day forth we had to cook all his meat (bones included). ..... We didn't know any better back then and maybe even the Vets didn't know any better back then. But the point of this post is to tell you that for many years to come we cooked all Prince's meat, including lamb shanks and lamb necks, which he ate daily alongside some cooked vegies and whatever of the table scraps we might have had left over. We also used to give him the bones from the roast ( :D yummmmm, did he love that!!) and we never had an issue with splintered bones. I am not saying that people should now get slack and feed their dogs cooked bones, even occasionally - because yes, unfortunate incidences can occur. But I wanted to help ease your mind a bit by suggesting there is a good chance your dog will be fine and will not suffer any injury as a result of eating the cooked bone. Obviously just keep an eye on him over the next 12-24 hours and if you think things are not right, get him to a Vet. At least you know what he's done and can be on the look out.

Lol .... just remember that you'll get there faster if you take it slower and steadier.

I think you're still going at it too far too fast. Let him become a bit more reliably successful at the first step before you proceed with the next.

.... Poor Vets. All those years at Vet School just to squeeze butts whilst Stormie saves the doggy world.

Well you get a gold star from me, Stormie, because from the quality of your informative posts I thought you were a Vet.

Try a Calendula Tea wash.

Why would anyone want to "hide" something like that (whether it be a "normal process" of development or not)? It can't be that embarrassing??? Surely this not for show-ring purposes? That's not the purpose of showing ....... . ETA: Using your quote, Showdog, but not directed to you. Asking OP .

If he is so motivated to his toy .... have you tried 'quitting the game' if he refuses to concentrate on his training? Keep it really easy and simple (like the others, it also sounds to me that the training has progressed too far too fast) even to the point of guiding him so that he gets to understand that it is possible for him to 'win' his toy for the first good number of repeats.