sandgrubber

Over my lifetime most limping owes to tendonitis and bursitis. I notice lots of people dogs who suffer from mysterious lameness. I can't remember anyone implicating inflammation of tendons or bursae. Is that because dogs don't have the same problems we do (maybe because they don't wear shoes. . . or walk on four feet)? Or because these things escape diagnosis?

you might try the health/nutrition forum . . .

People often recommend trainers or behaviouralists to dog owners who are having problems. I have seen a few cases where owners have tried and gotten nowehere. In some cases, I know the owner didn't follow through, but in other cases I know they owner worked hard and the recommendations didn't work. Am I correct in thinkng that anyone can call themself a behaviouralist or a dog trainer? Or does this vary between states / countries? How do you identify a good (high chance of success) practitioner in an area where there are no standards?

Confused. Conscious and subconscious are a bit murky even with humans. Freud vs Skinner and all that. Or for that matter, Luther vs the Pope. But in dogs? I think this is a great thread. What I think I'm hearing is that the concept of free will, developed for humans, doesn't map onto dogs very well. We are -- intentionally or unintentionally -- always conditioning or preconditioning our dogs to respond in one way or another. Pragmatically, I'd say the goal is to set up conditioning that leads to behaviour that doesn't drive the dog crazy and gets the dog to do what we want -- providing that what we want is within the dog's range of semi-natural behaviours. Different trainers do this differently .. . with varying rates of success.

Applecross, in my experience, is good at reading the literature . . . and listening to any substantiated literature references you might wish them to consider. But make sure to discuss it with them first. I'd ask for a senior vet when discussing the procedure. They also tend to be a lot cheaper for speys and Ceasars than many vets. I have Labbies, so I don't know much about low body fat problems I have used them several times for Ceasars, and have been very impressed by how they handled the anaesthetic and painkillers to make the bitch comfortable during the procedure, but bring her about as soon as possible after the stitches are in. I know they see many greys.

The 2% figure is best treated as a guideline. Dogs vary enormously in their metabolic requirements. Also, "raw" varies greatly in its energy value. A lean chicken carcass with little meat, for example, has a lot less energy than fatty trimmings from the butcher. Roo mince is generally lower fat and lower energy than mutton mince. As others state, it's best to "learn" your dog's needs by starting somewhere . . . feeding more it the dog seems to be loosing weight and less if it seems to be putting on weight.

I had a look at this site but can't find any description of how they do their ratings. I notice that their book offerings are oriented to one or another trendy diet, and that Orijen is getting six stars. Can you point me toward any indication that their recommendations are based on evidence, rather than someone's beliefs about what is a good diet? It may just be a way to get you to pay $8/kg for pet food when you could be paying half that much. Or . . . to be completely cynical . . . is there any evidence that the ratings are essentially bought? Ie, one or more companies may be supporting a site that rates them highly because it shares the same bias as the people who design their product and their marketing strategy.

In my reading, Omega's are only part of the picture. Daily selenium and zinc (both trace nutrients that are scarce in Australias well-weathered landmass and widely defiecient in animal diets; neither is stored in the body) intake can have a big effect on coat.

Are e-collars waterproof? If so, I would think they would be great for this situation. I spent awhile on a Chessapeake Bay Retriever discussion group and there was consensus that e-collar was the way to go for distance recall, especially where the dog was in pursuit. corrected typo

. . . she told me that Vetpath charges them $118.00 which I do not necessarily believe. I don't have the facts, but it's quite possible that VetPath gives low rates to regular users of their service and high rates to occasionals. That is, everyone may be telling the truth.

There are many sorts of cataracts. Not all of them cause blindness; some worsen vision but don't blind. It is a good idea to get a diagnosis from a veterinary opthamologist.

Depends on your definition of "poison". If particle size is very small (sub micron) a powder can do real lung damage in the long term. I have yet to find a natural remedy that works for fleas here . . . .and some of the commercial remedies don't work all that well either. I don't really care about fleas. The issue is what to do when you have dogs that get flea allergy dermstitus. In my experience, neem doesn't work.

Personally, I don't know if cat pooh is tasty or not. I've never tried it :p :p

Not to mention that girls in whelp and nursing are given special considerations -- as must be. My dogs do not seem to expect equal treatment. I think this "all created equal" stuff is a human invention that we need not teach to our dogs.

I run a boarding kennel and don't like noise. I don't find an easy solution. Some things that help: - if some dog likes to bark at some other dog, park them far apart - make sure dogs aren't barking out of some distress (eg separation anxiety . . . sometimes pairing a barking dog with another dog they like stops the barking) - if you can identify a culprit/ringleader -- in consultation with the owner -- use a bark collar. I used to think this was a no-no in a boarding kennel, but I've found that most owners are happy to have you use the device once you explain how it works. I think it wrong to use one without asking the owner, however. - make sure everybody has a full stomach at meal time. Hungry dogs bark more. I feed my mob and let them out before sunrise as the worst barking is between sunrise and when they arefed/ let out. The best solution may simply be a good set of ear plugs.

I'm sure there are confrontational people who select for confrontational temperament and bring out the aggressive side of their dog's nature. But just as many who tire of their tough front and who view their dogs as outside all the human nastyness . . . someone to play with or someone who gives unconditional love. And in the boarding kennel I also get softies who allow their dogs to go feral and end up with much more aggression than they bargained for.

good advice above. Note that the vet bill will get much higher if you postpone treatment. If infection gets into the inner ear it can mean big trouble. I know someone who made that mistake and if I remember right they ended out with a three figure vet bill.

Well stated. I was going to say something similar . . . though I am not clear why, say, a four year old dog who has had rabies vaccine annually still requires a month of quarantine. I grew up in the US. Annual rabies vaccine was required (dogs have to wear rabies tags . . . not ID tags and council registration.). Record keeping is good. I would think that a regime in which breeders do some sort of verifiable annual vaccination might be an adequate substitute for quarantine. might add that other rabies free zones have similar restrictions, eg Hawaii. Also that our rabies free status puts Oz in a position of being able to export without quarantine to many places. I have a worried feeling that the Hansa virus might compromise Oz' position in the quarantine game.

lots of good advice above. May also be worth noting that puking for a dog isn't the same as puking for a human. Some are natural regurgitators . . . some bitches puke up food for their pups . . . if energy levels and other signs of health are ok, I wouldn't worry about a little vomit. It may just be part of a digestive system learning to deal with new things.

Eating grass is very common and there are a hundred theories about why dogs do it. Personally, I think it's part of being a dog and I'm not sure it means anything. I don't know much about Japanese Spitzes or "biscuit" marks, but doubt if the veggie thing is breed specific. My dogs like carrots, cabbage, broccoli, and a lot of other veggies. I don't know if it does them any good, hope it does. At least it seems to do no harm. They still eat grass, though.

out of curiosity, is keeping dog off the counter considered a dog sport my little devil doesn't get on the counter . . . she just takes knives and spatulas off of it and takes them into the garden for proper cleaning.

It could be argued that most dogs are pups for their whole lives. The evolution of Canis domesticus out of wild Canid stock seems to have involved neotony . . . that is prolongation of infantile characteristics into adult life . . . particularly with respect to behaviour.

Agreed, Corvus. My four girls lick one another's mouths back and forth with no clear hierarchy. They are a tightly bonded lot . . . when one whelps others get milk and will share in feeding the pups. Mouth and ear licking seems to be part of the bonding. Why? Whether or not something is scientific depends on the quality of the observations and questions asked, the rigour of the testing, the openness of the mind, the honesty applied to in attempting to falsify the hypothesis. Not to the pomposity of the language used. Fear of appearing to be anthropromorphising is likely to lead to pretentious words and closed minds.. . . and timid and boring research papers. We are animals, and it is to be expected that we will share many attributes with other animals. Affection is a reasonable word to use for bonding, and few would doubt that bonding of various sorts is found in mammals and birds. Granted, many people do try to map human emotions onto their dogs, often with bad outcomes. But I got no sense that this was happening in this thread. Sorry if I'm overreacting . . . but I spent many years teaching in the sciences, and few things get up my nose more than people trying to be scientific by using jargon and scientific sounding phrases . . . rather than by asking questions and gathering facts to try and answer those questions.

Sounds like the collar had him well trained :laugh:

Thanks everybody. I've been in touch with K9 force and am still trying to figure out what the best strategy is. I'll probably end up doing the correspondence thing. It amazes me that people will yank a dog around with a choke chain and think it's humane, but a bit of a tingle with an electronic gadget is viewed as cruel . . . or cheating.