sandgrubber

I am sure others will have recommendations for a vet. But it may not be the vet's not wanting to deal with Musky, but rather, not having a silver bullet and feeling awkward because he/she doesn't have an elegant way to deal with a distressing situation. There are some things that veterinary medicine doesn't have down pat. So you may have to do the hardest thing of all, hang in there with the uncertainty and worry and keep your fingers crossed. In the little experience I've had with seizures, the diagnosis can be difficult, and figuring out the medication can take some trial and error. Some of the meds make the dog so groggy they can't do anything, though they get through that in time. Sometimes the meds work. Sometimes not. I hope it all works out for you and you get down to a stable regime.

It must always remembered that "kennel cough" isn't one virus, but a bunch of viruses lumped together by a couple words. There are many strains, and the disease landscape is always changing. Some strains are best untreated, though the vet may be happy to take your money for some antibiotics that don't work. Others may give way to bacterial infections that respond well to treatment. Some last three days. Some go on for months. It is possible that your dog has a virus, but the symptoms are not classic "kennel cough".

not to mention what would happen if you trained a dog to walk behind and then took it into the show ring I walk my four together on lines. Having them go behind would be a nightmare.

Someone once told me that in training guide dogs, you MUST develop the dog's ability to choose, eg. to ignore commands that may result in danger. If a dog is given a command to walk out in front of a train and it obeys, it would endanger its blind owner. I'd be curious to know if this is true . . . .am I correct in assuming that drive training is a better approach for achieving this . . . that is, at an advanced level, the natural instinct to respond to danger may be allowed to over-ride the response to commands? ps, I really don't know . . . there's no agenda in the question.

deleted . . . accidentally posted twice

No problem. Although something about the way the thread is behaving reminds me of how my mob do recall when they go out as a pack

Do watch the pup and make sure he can't get to the garbage. Silica gel won't kill her, but some things can do damage. One to watch out for is those thin spongy absorbant sheets that they often put into wrapped meat packs in the supermarket. Another (yuuukkkk, gross!) is tampax.

I wouldn't count a Uni degree in animal behaviour as much of a qualification. Theory, maybe, but not practice. I am told that one of our local prominent Uni-trained behaviouralists (I think he call himself that) stated to a Ranger's conference that pound dogs should be euthanised, not rescued, because many of them were in the pound because of unresolvable behaviour problems. This is heresay . . . but having BS, MS and PhD myself and spent a lot of time around the highly educated, I find it entirely plausible.

I think they think it sounds more scientifical

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.