sandgrubber

Deed not breed. Lab pups . . . and pups of most breeds . . . tend to be submissive and generally get along with older dogs. . . but there are exceptions. Cattle dogs vary greatly in how they get along with puppies and other dogs. If the vaccinations are ok, I'd say it comes down to knowing the individual behaviour of both dogs . . . and having time to supervise during the first few days (and ability to separate the dogs if problems show up).

No, I think there are two of us now. ;) Try google on dog foot smell. It isn't just labs and it isn't just you. eg http://www.oes.org/page2/1797~My_dogs_feet...corn_chips.html Someone told me that this was a smell that was released through the feet, and indicated good mood. Jeez I wish I could remember the details.

What is called 'crittering' with an e-collar would work if you want to establish a 'leave the cats alone' as an absolute rule. see http://www.loucastle.com/critter.htm You might try something like squirting her with a squirt gun or spray bottle (perhaps using a scented water that she doesn't like, eg perfume or citronella) when she goes for the cat. I think that would get across the concept of 'leave the cat alone when I'm in the room'.

We get loads of bobtail lizards in early summer. The dogs have always barked at them and harassed them, but usually I've been able to rescue them before they are harmed. This year I have two puppies (Labrador) aged 3 and 5 months, who have taken to catching them and eating them alive. I have a Dogtra e-collar and have no problem with doing aversion training on the older dogs. They've done e-collar for recall, and I don't expect any real problems. I don't like the idea of using an e-collar on a young pup. Does anyone have any suggestions? p.s. Just tried aversion training on the adult dogs. Of course they weren't interested in the game and showed no interest in the lizard while we were watching. Put the lizard on the ground and let the puppies out to try just telling them off. The 3 mo old had a go . . . as she approached the lizard and he managed to bite her good on the face (very quick . . . we think he got her eyelid). She screeched and ran away and wouldn't come back out. Lucky outcome. Don't think she'll be bothering lizards again. Back to the adults. A friend came up to the dog wearing the e-collar carrying the lizard. When they showed interest they got zapped. If approached by someone carrying a lizard they now back off.

Imagine what chaos would be unleashed if they started doing titre testing on children for measles, mumps and polio!!!!

I'm a breeder who lives next door to a rescue organisation, and KC of various forms seems to hang overhead all the time. I have one of my own pups (12 weeks) who has it now . . . a rather nasty, persistent strain. Another pup from the litter came down with KC two weeks after going to a new home . . . no way to know where it came from . . . whether it was picked up here and had a long incubation period or was picked up in the new home environment. I offered to pay some vet consult fees, but they haven't taken me up on the offer. My general experience with KC in puppies is that it passes . . . . sometimes rapidly, sometimes very slowly. In a slow case, there are no magic bullets. It tugs at your heart strings to see a puppy miserable with a cough, etc. You want to do something. It would be easy to run up a very large vet bill going from vet to vet, and create a lot of bad karma looking for who to blame. But it does generally pass naturally. When it's simply a virus (KC) there's not much you can do other than keep the pup warm and give it nutritional support plus cough meds of some sort. If there are bacterial infections on top of the virus ('pneumonia'), antibiotics. Of course you need to monitor. If your vet doesn't give you a list of danger signs, and doesn't explain the virus vs bacteria question to you, I would change vets.

I was talking with a local vet who said that the theory about human allergies . .. that over-hygenic upbringing can result in an ill-equipped immune system . . . is also valid with respect to domestic animals. Ie, eating dirt of various forms, chewing well aged bones, coping with fleas, rolling in yuck, etc. are natural for puppies, and leave their immune systems better prepared to cope with what the world throws at them. None of my mob have skin problems or allergies: could just be luck. It would be interesting to know if letting them grow up, relatively 'free range' in a two acre paddock has contributed . . . and whether it might be a bad thing to start using flea control measures from early on. Anyone have anyone has stories that either support or contradict the idea that 'too clean' results in allergies and sentitivities.

The fila was bred to chase runaway slaves and adapted to hunt jaguars and cattle rustlers . . . in a frontier environment where GBH to trespassers is widely accepted. They are expected to be aggressive to strangers, and it's taken as true to breed if they bite the judge at a dog show. They may be graded for proper aggressive behaviour while their age is counted in weeks, with the 'friendly' pups being rejected. If this is a 'real dog', then I think 'real dogs' are too dangerous to be kept as pets. If working rottis, shephards and dobes were this extreme, I think there would be a basis for banning them from built-up areas -- or requiring the owner to have a license to keep them. If people and dogs are to live together in urban and suburban areas, I think that restrictions on breeds selected for extremely aggressive temperament are warranted: particularly given the volume of evidence that there are a lot of idiots out there who think it's cool to have a vicious dog and see it draw blood.

Don't know Vic at all . . . why not call the nearest decent pet store and ask them if they can order it. All of them get goods from Troy. It's not a big deal to add something to the order . . . alternatively, try online purchase .. . . if the mark ups are high in your local store that may be cheaper.

?? According to the label on the bottle the Troy product has 22 mg/mL calcium in the form of Calcium Glubionate and Calcium Lactobionate. I don't have a Sandoz bottle handy, but I compared them in the store and I'm pretty sure the active ingredients were the same.

I've been training a ~16 wk Labrador pup on lead. She is a strong show prospect, so I decided to try her on a lovely snake chain I have for show . . . just to get her used to a different collar. She immediately clicked into line . .. no need to use the thing for corrections, she kept the line extended but a little bit slack, just as I like it. If I do want to give a correction, eg to say "time to turn now", a tiny very mild tug seems to make her understand. She shows no sign of fearing the thing . . . comes to have it put on . . . I thought snake chains were a no no on pups. Curious as to why. I think the smooth surface allows instant transmission of signals given by the lead. Seems to me that so long as you're gentle, this is good and not harmful. Interested to know if others have different opinions. . . or have had similar experiences.

There's a bloke in Perth NOR who refits human ones (second hand, good condition) for dogs. I think they cost around $180. They aren't as good as the dog ones . . . eg, they're too narrow to let you walk side by side with the dog for training. But given the $1000+ price difference, who cares. There may be similar options in other places. [i found this guy through the Quokka . . . he still advertises there].

Tracking is wonderful fun for the dogs, and the feel is great. But the set-up of tracks is very time consuming, especially when you get past the beginner stage and tracks need to be laid several hours in advance. The need for the track layer to be at the end of the track when the search begins further adds to the time required. The way scent behaves makes some hours better than others. Early morning is often the preferred time cause tracks can be set the evening before and they're still pretty strong the next morning. If you want to do tracking, be prepared to do early morning work . . . and, in time, to help set up tracks for others.

If you have a couple dogs, I'd say do the ear thing on both. If one feels warmer than the other, then it's worth getting out the thermometer. I once owned a dog who deeply resented the 'rectal' approach . . . temperature taking was the only time she ever bit anyone. Guess what, the vet got it. If you have a similar dog, a muzzle may be a useful prelude to the thermometer.

TROY is now putting out a calcium syrup that is chemically very similar to the Sandoz product . . . half the price at our local pets and gardens shop (~$30/litre).

Asbestos is dangerous to the lungs, not the digestive system. The time required for asbestos diseaseas to appear is generally long in comparison with a dog's lifetime. So I wouldn't panic. I would, however, look for informed advice . . . and get rid of the worry cause it's better to have a worry-free environment.

I avoid early prog tests by waiting until the girls get really serious about mounting eachother . . . generally end out with a first prog reading > 5. But the method isn't 100%. I have missed the peak once or twice.

The change in AVA presents canine service providers with complex decisions. If the AVA recommends annual vaccinations, our backsides are exposed if we accept another vaccination regime. Now that the AVA has backed off, we have to re-examine our policies. Pro-titre testing people have been loud on this forum. In broad terms, my posts aim for a balanced perspective on titre testing . . . informed by scientific understanding, legal understanding, and understanding of what clients know and want.

My vet showed me how to do the microscope method. She said a cheap 100 X scope would do, but of course, more expensive binocular scopes are easier to use. All you need to see is the general pattern and shape of cells. I still do prog testing. I didn't find it easy to get the hang of it. But I didn't try very hard.

Wrong . . . quoting from the article cited in my last post . . . 'A "titer" is a measurement of how much antibody to a certain virus (or other antigen) is circulating in the blood at that moment. Titers are usually expressed in a ratio, which is how many times they could dilute the blood until they couldn't find antibodies anymore. So let's say they could dilute it two times only and then they didn't find anymore, that would be a titer of 1:2. If they could dilute it a thousand times before they couldn't find any antibody, then that would be a titer of 1:1000. A titer test does not and cannot measure immunity, because immunity to specific viruses is reliant not on antibodies, but on memory cells, which we have no way to measure. Memory cells are what prompt the immune system to create antibodies and dispatch them to an infection caused by the virus it "remembers." Memory cells don't need "reminders" in the form of re-vaccination to keep producing antibodies. (Science, 1999; "Immune system's memory does not need reminders.") If the animal recently encountered the virus, their level of antibody might be quite high, but that doesn't mean they are more immune than an animal with a lower titer. ' My vet says that KC (or BB, as the vets call it) vaccination doesn't work for very long, and that if people really want their dogs to be protected, they should take them in for a KC vaccination about two weeks before taking them to kennels. He says the annual KC is nonsense. Not all kennels require KC vaccination . . . I'm not sure but I think maybe you didn't get what Cavandra was saying and I don't think what she said was wrong at all. What you quoted says this "Memory cells are what prompt the immune system to create antibodies and dispatch them to an infection caused by the virus it "remembers." Which is basically the same thing - it sounded like she was saying that the presence of antibodies is reasonable proof that the dog has memory cells that ARE and WILL prompt the immune system to fight the virus. It's the only way we have of testing that the dog responds approopriately to the threat of that virus. Vaccination proves nothing, you could be revaccinating a non responder for years... The level of antibodies IMO, are mostly irrelevant.....a TT just proves as much as we can, that the dog mounts a proper response to the threat of the disease. Let's say a pup is vaccinated with the baby series of jabs, and a follow-up at one year, ending up with well primed memory cells. It is then not vaccinated for many years. If I understand the material I quoted correctly, one would expect TT to show a good response (many dilutions required) at one year. But at five years, the antibodies would probably be way down and TT would show poor immune response. The dog's memory cells, however, would be able to identify the virus and set off production of antibodies, thus conferring full immunity if the dog were exposed to the disease.

I would be interested to hear what this vet says about the difference between human and canine vaccinations. Can anyone think of a human disease that requires an annual vaccination (apart from the 'flu because of mutation) ?? In my experience human vaccinations last a minimum three years and often 10. Why does this not apply to dogs ? The vet in question says annual vaccination is neither necessary nor healthy. He says the ideal would be puppy shots at 12 and something like 18 weeks, and then a 14 month jab, then no need to vaccinate for many years. .. . perhaps for life, but 5 years would be reasonable.

On the agility question . . . as a Lab breeder, I think it's more a reflection on agility than on Labs. No . . . Labs were not bred for jumping and the are, according to the standard, powerful dogs. They are agile at the things they are bred for, and many of them love the sorts of things that are done in formal agility competitions. But the Labs who do well in competitive agility work are likely to be lighter and lankier than those who win conformation contests.

In choosing a stud dog for a maiden bitch, when just getting started, unless you're loaded with cash, I'd look for the best dog within a 200 km radius (or an N-hour drive), and let the bitch's breeder advise me about choices. If you have time and money to spare, you can look through the entire list of Gordons in Oz, and check out NZ, and dream about importing frozen semen. But I'd just aim for 'improviing the breed' on the first litter, and go for finding the perfect mate if you're still in the game come the next round. Chilled semen is not that expensive, so if you're a bit more daring you could widen your search to Oz-wide, assuming the stud isn't that far from an airport. Your breeder will know the relatively-local dogs, and it shouldn't be too hard to decide on a very good, if not fantastic, match. I personally look for a dog that complements what I think could be improved in the bitch, plus . 1) health 2) temperament; and 3) type and let my selection be affected by any information about how one line goes with another line . . . or how peripotent the dog is.

Can I take a stab in the dark and ask if it was Steve at Applecross Vets that you asked????? Yes, why?

Wrong . . . quoting from the article cited in my last post . . . 'A "titer" is a measurement of how much antibody to a certain virus (or other antigen) is circulating in the blood at that moment. Titers are usually expressed in a ratio, which is how many times they could dilute the blood until they couldn't find antibodies anymore. So let's say they could dilute it two times only and then they didn't find anymore, that would be a titer of 1:2. If they could dilute it a thousand times before they couldn't find any antibody, then that would be a titer of 1:1000. A titer test does not and cannot measure immunity, because immunity to specific viruses is reliant not on antibodies, but on memory cells, which we have no way to measure. Memory cells are what prompt the immune system to create antibodies and dispatch them to an infection caused by the virus it "remembers." Memory cells don't need "reminders" in the form of re-vaccination to keep producing antibodies. (Science, 1999; "Immune system's memory does not need reminders.") If the animal recently encountered the virus, their level of antibody might be quite high, but that doesn't mean they are more immune than an animal with a lower titer. ' My vet says that KC (or BB, as the vets call it) vaccination doesn't work for very long, and that if people really want their dogs to be protected, they should take them in for a KC vaccination about two weeks before taking them to kennels. He says the annual KC is nonsense. Not all kennels require KC vaccination . . .