BittyMooPeeb

So sorry to hear that Bronte is no longer with you, but glad that he was with you all that time to share the ups and downs of life with you.

Thanks everyone! I've got weave poles at home (only enough room for 4) and he still does the same thing - 'I cant hear you, I cant hear you'. He is great at everything else now, though he used to do the 'avoidance' thing (glad to hear it has a name!) with all the obstacles if he got one wrong. Once he made a mistake (which I just ignore but dont treat) he refused to even try next time Persistance paid off in the end with the other obstacles, so I will - as suggested - keep trying with the weavers. I like the idea of the guides if ithey make it easier for him to get it right. Hi Poodlefan I didnt know you would be taking the class too! Yay I knew that FHR was an instructor, which is why I am trying to get better at weavers before we embarass ourselves in front of you next week Thanks for the links too Tassie, I'll read them over the weekend. and thanks Sidoney and Hannahb for letting me know that it is a problem that others have too - and that it has a name! I like 'avoidance' rather than some of the things previous instructors have called it (insert derogatory comment about spoilt small fluffy dog here )

Peebs has just finished his third session of agility, and he is still no better at weavers than he was at lesson 1 . In fact he is worse now, as when I set him up at the start of the weave poles (with a channel big enough to drive a semi-trailer through) and call him through, he just stays still and turns his head as far to the side as he can in an 'I cant hear you' gesture . Does anyone have any tips? (or similar stories to make me feel better ). We are about to go into the next level, so I am getting desparate! I haven't tried guides. Some people I've talked to say they are great, others say they are no good, expecially for small dogs

This is a wonderful tribute to Sam, CodyD. He sounds very special. I'm glad to hear that he is still with you in spirit. Gail

Hi Mel, I knew from talking to you that Misty had gone, but I just found this beatiful tribute to her It sounds like she had a wonderful life, full of love and friends, and all the things a kitty holds dear (a hammock in the sun and the occasional chance to attack the crap out of someone :D ) My Jazz went in the same way - his brain tumour was signalled by violent outbursts too (which took me to the emergency dept in the middle of the night once). I now look in the mirror at my scar and smile, thinking about my beautiful Jazz, and all the good times we had, and being glad that I was able to be there for him during those bad times. In time, your reminders of Misty will bring you comfort and happiness too - I know it probably doesnt feel like it now (and I would never have believed it if anyone told me either) but in the future all your thoughts of Misty will be happy ones. It's hard not having been given the chance to say 'goodbye'. Maybe you could plant a tribute to Misty in your garden and look after it in memory of her as a way of saying goodbye and thankyou to her. Gail

Not on the net unfortunately. If she is interested I'll see if I can find some for her if this is the cheapest way. (have PM'd you Paul and Lis) Gail

Thanks everyone for your advice. I'll see if I can find out where the one speed Andis clippers can be purchased around Gundagai, and pass all of the information on to Pearl's mum. She'd said to me on the phone 'they must be OK mustn't they, if they are endorsed by Dr Harry?'. It's a shame that this isn't the case

So that is not the one that Poodlefan recommended? Or it is the one but you dont like it? Or there was a joke somewhere that I just didn't get? This person is elderly, and adopted Pearl who came into DAS a matted clump of pain. She has a soft, dense, slightly wavy coat. She (the owner) lives in Gundagai and so has limited shopping options. She has just clipped Pearl and says she did it with hand clippers . We had these for our Schnauzer when we were kids - this poor womans hand must be about to drop off! Does anyone have a link to the clippers already mentioned?

A lady who adopted one of my fosters rang me the other day to ask if the dog clippers she had seen in Woolies would be any good. All I know is that they are 'endorsed' by Dr Harry and cost around $100. Has anyone had experience with these?

Can anyone answer this question for me? KismetKat, The claim is, that a dog's skin has a different pH to a human's skin, so the shampoo needs be different to match the pH of the dog's skin. A quote from a web site selling dog shampoo: "Never use people shampoos since our skin pH level is much more acidic than our canine friends and could irritate your dog's skin" A dog's skin has an average pH of 7.4 (says one source, another says 5.5 to 7.2), while human skin pH averages 4.8. This varies quite a bit amongst dog breeds though (one *small* sample gave GSD as 8.6 and Lab 6.8) What I *dont* know is whether having a so-called "pH balanced" cleanser is important. You see the phrase on people soaps/shampoo's etc too.

Hi everyone and thanks for all your advice. The problem turned out to be the tension - I had stuffed it up by taking the cutting blade out entirely (WHY doesn't the manual even mention this???). I took my blades to a place in Canberra (I heard about nicestman on the day I got BACK from a holiday to Moruya area - luck wasn't on my side with this one ). I got them back today and will use them on the weekend. They had better work! (ps thankyou too to the lovely DOLer who has been tirelessly lending me her clippers and blades while I got mine sorted :D )

Thanks for the tips everyone. I *love* the DIY suggestions and will look at both getting hot water outside and using a table/flexi shower head on bath tap and see which I can do. My back will love you :D (cant speak for the dogs though - they are not fond of bathtime ) Sorry for the silly questions in the first place - i had no idea a hydrobath was so expensive :D

I was just reading the thread on dog washing, and it has inspired me to ask about hydrobaths. I wash my dogs and the fosters in my bath, and it causes me back problems (cause I'm such a weakie). I then sit them on my knee and dry them with the hairdryer My laundry tub is too small, so I dont have other options. I was wondering ....: 1. Do pet small dog owners have hydrobaths? Or are they more for people who show dogs, or have big or very hairy dogs? 2. What do they actually do? From past posts I gather that there are different functions depending on how much you pay? 3. Are they portable (can you move them around to say, store in the garage and bring out when you use them)? 4. Do you use them inside or outside? 5. And finally ...... how much are they :rolleyes: (this could be the killer question!) Gail

Mine get a full bath normally about once a month. They get a foot/tummy bath after being in the mud at obedience/agility (so weekly in Winter). If they are smelly or uncomfortable though, into the tub they go! This can be after pooing/weeing on themselves (Peebs has a big willy and a short body so often wees all down his *front* legs ), rolling in dead fish or spilt milk (a current favourite - the primary school is accross the road so there is plenty of it about). If we are at the coast they get bathed daily as I cant get the sand out otherwise, and it irritates them (and me when it gets on the furniture). I bath Nessie more often than Peebs because (apart from being a big, boofy, dirty girl ) she smells funny. They all eat the same food, but on her the smell of what she has eaten seems to ooze out of the pores on top of her head . I gave them a smoked pigs ear strip earlier in the week (from Coles so the smokey flavour could be additives??) and a day later her head stank (like a bad smokey curry). Any ideas? I want to ask questions about hydrobaths too, after reading this thread, but will post separately :rolleyes:

Thanks everyone for your advice, and sorry for taking so long to reply - I've been away for xmas in a computer free zone ;) :D I think the 'too much oil' and the 'tension incorrect' problems are the most likely. I didnt realise that you dont need to oil the blades very often - I think my instruction manual says to oil them every use, which I diligently have done (and once mid use just for good measure ). I had *heaps* of trouble getting the top blade back in, so maybe did stuff up the tension. I'll take everyones advice and not take them all the way out in future (I only took them apart cause the instruction book said too ;) ). I'll see if a de-oiling works, and if not will send them off to get sharpened. :p

Yay. Go Minty ;) I've been anxiously waiting for and update and am so pleased that she is doing well now.

Hi Pampa, the blades do seem to run smoothly before being put to fur. I didnt think that the problem was with the clippers, as when my no 10 blade stopped working, I switched to my new no 30 blade, which was fine until I cleaned it, then it stopped working too . I suppose this plastic bit you mention could have deteriorated - would that happen after only 8 uses over one year? Hi dragondancer, I do reattach the blade while the clippers are running, so that part is OK . I've removed and put on the blades heaps of times, so dont think I am doing this wrong. I just didnt take them apart to clean them till recently (when I read this in the instruction book ;) ). So ... I am still looking for more help/advice

I am hoping someone can help solve the mystery of my now-useless clipper blades. I have Thrive 900 clippers and size 10 and 30 blades, purchased Jan 2005 and lovingly cared for (used abour 5 times each). They got some fir stuck under the top part of the blade, so I slid (slud?) it out, removed the fur and slid it back in as per instructions. Now neither blade will work :D :p :D . They just sit there, stuck in the fur and dont cut through it. :p I oil them whenever I use them, only clip clean (just bathed) dogs, and took them apart and put them back together according to the manufacturers instructions. ARGGGGHHHH. Does anyone know what might be going on?? This is what my clipper blades look like. You can see how the top cutting bit slides out for cleaning .....

Bye bye Flynn. So sorry it didn't work out for you little man

yeah - it doesn't say how to progress to the 'stop barking' part though

My 2yr old has just started to bark at other dogs when he wants their attention and they are ignoring him. Very embarrasing especially in obedience classes or meeting another dog on a walk. My RSPCA traing book says that to teach a dog to stop barking on command, you first have to teach them to bark on command. So I am very happy to find this thread! Does this sound like a reasonable thing??

Oh no. It was such a shock to have to do this the first time (PTS). I thought my lovely Jazz would slip away quietly but was naive - so I made the decision later than I should have. Then with his brother Jonesy, I didnt want to repeat my past mistake so maybe made the decision a few days too early Both had cancer. Jazz's cancer left him paralyzed and his tumour was huge, but I took a couple of weeks off work to care for him and hope for a miracle before I could come to terms with the fact that he was going to go, no matter what. I still get a feeling like being punched in the stomach when I think about making those decisions. And wet eyes too ;)

Oooh poor Angus You must be managing him well as he seems happy. The second vet twiddled and stretched Ruperts hips a lot without any problems, but when he pressed on a certain spot on his lower back - Youch! I've realised that the first vet I saw (a newbie at my clinic and one I wont be returning too) pulled up on Rupert's back half and reverse-arched his back while checking his hips, which probably explains his discomfort during this process.

Rupert just got a second opinion from a different vet and it turns out he doesn't have hip pain, so I can breathe a sigh of relief there He does have a sore back though, so his enthusiastic jumping will be curtailed for a while!

I watched the little guy carefully this morning and noticed that he (especially at the start of his walk) swings his back half from side to side to walk instead of lifting his legs. So it seems like something is indeed up with his hips, so it's off to the vet for Rupert I had a look at the Greyshaft posts too. Very interesting and disheartening. I'm not sure it applies here though as the new owners will be told everything about Rupert's state of health, whether it's just a possibility or definite What sort of life do dogs with hip dysplasia have????