Kelpie-i

Vet Behaviourist???? What the hell for??? They will put him on calming drugs and then give you the exact same advice as most here have already. :rolleyes: He's a dog that's bred to work and is simply not getting enough of it. Busy-minded and lots of drive as Nekhbet said. Find a good herding clinic/school/club and see the difference. ETA..in the words of Paul McPhail "you should always give a busy dog too much to do"...gotta love those herding breeds hey!

My old boy was on regular cartrophen injections before he passed to rainbow bridge last month. Initially it was yearly but his arthritis worsened due to his age so it was changed to monthly with additional anti-inflam tabs if the pain was bad. I did notice a big difference about 2 days after the injections with his mobility and it helped him a lot. I also supplemented with human grade glucosamine/msm/condroitin powder. Much cheaper than the brands sold at the pet supplies and did the same thing I reckon.

Oh gillbear, I am so sorry to hear I know exactly how you are feeling and all's I can do is send you a great big They certainly leave huge footprints in our hearts don't they! RIP little Angel...

I'd like to share a small vid clip that I put together in memory of my boy who passed 2 weeks ago. I miss him so much!

Thanks everyone for your kind words of support. It's the first day in a long time without him around...having a really hard time coming to terms with it.

Thank you Erny for posting this lovely tribute to Bud and thank you for your kind words of support over the phone. I believe that Buddy and Kal will become very good friends at Rainbow Bridge...just as we are here on earth. As Stuart (my OH) wrote, he was (and still is) my saviour and will be forever in my heart and mind. Thanks to everyone too for their lovely messages. I am still trying to come to terms with the events of today that led to Bud's passing..it was all too quick. As much as my heart is hurting at the moment, I know he has gone to a better place and I know he will be waiting for me when my time comes with wagging tail and kisses. RIP my boy, my Angel and my companion...there will never, ever be another you. You were one of a kind. I love you forever.

Buddy passed away at around 5pm today after a 3rd seizure that took his life. Too upset to type anything else but I will come back later. Sorry and thanks to everyone for their well wishes. He has his wings now RIP my love

He had another turn this afternoon, albeit much smaller than the first one. Vet coming out tomorrow to take some blood and run another test. We did a full blood work up last year and all was fine. He hasn't moved off his bed all day, should I be trying to get him up for a stretch etc? I am feeling a little confused/anxious at the moment....hasn't been a good day overall

I've heard about them, seen them on TV docco's but never actually experienced one of my own having one. I was woken at just after 2am this morning hearing a strange noise coming from the lounge where my 4 dogs sleep. I could hear the dogs moving around but also a sound like one of them was in some sort of pain. In my half sleep stupor I reached the lounge to see 3 of my dogs standing around Buddy (16yo GSD) whilst he was convulsing. I was the most horrific thing I have ever seen. It probably only last for a minute but it seemed an eternity. During his seizure, my OH was on the phone with the emergency vet and was told it could be a one-off incident an to watch him over the next few days. I spoke with my regular vet this morning who told me the same thing but I am not comfortable just waiting to see IF another seizure occurs. At the moment he seems okay and resting on his bed but is occassionally letting out a moaning/groaning sound. I've cancelled my appointments for the day as I don't want to leave him alone. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

If no x-rays were done, demand them! I know exactly how you feel, although my old GSD boy's deterioration has been progressive. He struggles to sit and get up, cannot stand properly as he is extremely unsteady on his feet and drags his back legs when he walks. It breaks my heart each time I look at him as I feel so useless. He is currently on monthly cartrophen injections as well as daily anti-inflam tabs (rimadyl) and swims once a week. It helps but like your boy, he has good days and really bad days. I am having him x-rayed for spondylosis as he was diagnosed some 6 years ago with this but it was very mild at the time. I am now wondering if the spondylosis has progressed and could be what is causing his condition and not just arthritis. I feel for you and your boy and apart from getting the correct diagnosis, the only advice I can give you is make him as comfortable as possible and spoil him to bits

Yes we had a standard poodle that came and did one of our herding workshops many years ago. Very different sytle to Kelpies and BC's but hey, he did it!

PF, yes of course I agree...probably should have written "some" instead of "any". What I should have said was that you can nuture (from young and to a degree), provided they are sound both physcially and mentally and the owners have a good idea of dogs and training. I have seen a pitbull herding sheep!

Any dog will make a good sport dog if the instinct is nurtured correctly from the onset. Woofenpup is correct in that Kelpies have 2 speeds, on and off. Ours are couch potatoes until you introduce games or work. They have the tenacity, the will, the drive and most importantly the stamina for prolonged high energy work. I speak of the working lines as I am not too familiar with the bench Kelpie. Working line BC's are also excellent and don't come with all the furry long hair that needs a heap of management. They are sleek and slender in build and are of similar size to kelpies.

luvsdogs, could you PM me the details too!! It's been on my list of books to buy so figure..what the hey, there's no time like the present. fuzzy_dragonfly, chances are your club is teaching you obedience work like sits, drops and heeling etc but may not be addressing problem behaviours like jumping, obnoxioussnes/excitement etc. If this is the case then it's no-one's fault and you simply have not been able to address the issues you mention. This is probably why in 10 months you have not seen any improvement with the problem behaviours....but I bet she sits and drops on a dime :p A few things to consider: - Most of the behaviour you are seeing has been reinforced and/or continues to be reinforced which is why it is occurring. Reinforcement can be inadvertent on your part or what we call a 'life rewards' which are things in and around the environment that you cannot control - Excitable behaviour creates excitable behaviour. If your dog jumps and carries on with visitors etc, this is because this behaviour is being reinforced somehow, either by you or your visitors. - Your answers lie in the clues you give: Going by the highighted parts, it seems you are reacting rather than being pro-active. Focus is wonderful but useless if you are not paying attention to everything around you and your dog.... and/or your dog has not been proofed correctly/enough. I think some private sessions with a trainer who is able to show you some re-directive type training, proofing focus in all situations as well as some good solid leadership skills will help you. Proofing the focus is the only thing that should take you longer than the others to achieve, only because you have to set up and proof each new criterion for focus... but the others should not take too long at all. Good luck

Yes there is PF, it's the Working Kelpie Council.

Aaah, a person after my own heart......I WUV YOOO

Isn't this what I posted earlier

I like cross breeds....you know the "accidental mating" type (my bad I know ). A friend of mine bought his Border Collie x Kelpie for $70 and he's a fantastic dog. My corgi x heeler cost me the desexing charge, she's nearly 12 years old and still keeps up with the kelpies. I have to bite my tongue each time I speak with a person who tells me they own a Groodle, Spoodle etc with papers. I merely continue referring to the dog by it's actual breeding ie Golden x Poodle, hoping they get the message. Although....ALL of our purebreeds today are a product of cross breeding way back when.

It would certainly make the legislation fairer, yes.

I'd prefer the vet nurses to be interested in my dogs but not lovey, dovey and smoochy mushy wooo Grassed, outdoor areas as alternatives to indoor waiting rooms Good looking male vet who doesn't think that every dog owner has no clue about dogs and who doesn't push their SPIV'd (sales person jargon) dog food every time Good reading material Pictures of their clients (animal variety)

When I registered by dogs initially (many years ago) desexing wasn't compulsury and you were charged a higher rate of registration if your dog was entire. Today you need to produce a desexing certificate before registration is accepted (I believe this is the case). Some councils handle both suburban and semi-rural areas like ours. It might be rare as hen's teeth to see a working dog in a suburban area, but there are plenty of working dogs on large hobby farms in semi-rural areas. If once council introduces legislation, there is a good chance other councils will too. Like Erny, I am over the power play coming from the hierarchy and it's extremely unfair to place blanket legislations when there can be so many variables. But I do agree with where you are coming from, I just cannot see it being effected as correctly as it should be.

Not all farmers register their dogs with local council. A working dog works best entire. These days most councils charge higher rates for undesexed dogs or you need to produce proof of desexing. You get the picture.

This is but one person's view on it Corvus, pretty much the way Uta Bindells and Susan Garrett have differing views. Dog training is not an exact science, it's usually based on the beliefs of the trainer and what works for them. It is very possible to teach a pause (an increase in time between the command, marker and the treat), especially if you are doing distance work. Just because you've taught the dog to sit doesn't mean you've taught the dog to sit and stay as you move away. This is but another criterion to the exercise that you need to teach. Therefore why the hell would you want to release the dog? If the dog succeeds in staying in position whilst you move say 2 metres away, you are able to click, walk back and treat the dog. You can then release the dog when you're ready.....simple. Therefore you've conditioned to click to mean 'do something else', as opposed to click means treat. You've merely used a different approach. Because, as mentioned, it makes it easier for teaching distance and duration work WITHOUT releasing the dog. Remember, I am using the clicker very differently to you. You can still rapid fire, but this will happen upon your return. Not at all, it actually builds anticipation.

Mandatory with the owner's consent yeah sure. I dont like stray dogs and all the issues that come with it, but for local councils to be playing "God" with, for example, a working dog that happens to get out one day, is not on. Sorry! Working dogs (dogs that work on the land and/or are used for working dog trials) are not registered with the canine council, most are registered with working dog councils. Does this make them less relevant than dogs registered with ANKC? Probably a biased opinion but that's my opinion.

How is this going to get unwanted strays down in numbers?? Any captured/desexed dog could be a repeat offender time and time again. It's not his balls that he uses to escape with Agreed, silly idea.