sandgrubber

I breed Labs. A pup I bred went deaf. He went through obedience training without having anyone notice the problem. Just picked up on the ques. You may not need any particular support other than a trainer who uses hand signals as well as voice. Depends on what you're after for results. The big problem with deaf dogs is that they 'loose contact' when they don't see you . . . so off line may be a problem. It may be helpful to find a 'hearing ear' companion to provide your deaf pup with canine guidance in situations where auditory information is important.

I'm having recall problems with a small pack of Labradors who would enter the gates of hell if there was a dead rotting rabbit corpse on the other side. Not to mention ducking the fence of a neighbour who doesn't like dogs and has a rabbit warren in his yard. I'm not a training nut. I don't care if they sit properly at my left side . . . I'm not doing obedience competition. . . I just want them to be safe and not cause problems by going into the wrong places or bothering the wrong animal, eg, Mr Tiger Snake. Bottom line: I need a method that will work under high distraction for multiple dogs at distance, and being an impatient sort, I don't want to spend years of regular training to get a result. Months is ok if I see progress from the start. If it costs a few bucks, it costs a few bucks. Better than having a big vet bill or a major heartache cause the dogs took off in the wrong direction. After some study, I conclude that e-collar is probably the method of choice. Does anyone know of a trainer in Perth metro area that would be helpful? Or might the distance education route be equally satisfactory?

Do you have the numbers from X-rays? Mild ED commonly translates to a score of 2 . . . which isn't pretty on the Xray but often shows no clinical signs (ie, no limping), especially if the dog is kept lean. In any case, keep the dog on the underweight side and encourage muscle development that will compensate for joint weakness -- swimming is great. Excercise on soft sand is also good. Stay away from running on hard surfaces, jumping, and exercise that is likely to involve twisting at a running pace -- eg, fetch.

I'm a Lab breeder. I don't have problems with overly mouthy/biting pups of my own, but do get a few calls from puppy buyers about pups that like to bite. Labs are mouthy dogs. They play with other Labs for hours in mouth-mouth games . . . I've never been able to figure out the rules of the game, but they love it. The pups I raise do this with the older dogs and everybody is happy. I think it likely that a pup on its own will try to fulfill this mouth-contact drive with people . . . with bad effect. This thread will be a great resource for people who have the same problem as you . . .thanks for putting it out there . . . and thanks to everyone who has contributed. edited after reading thread further.. .

PLEASE ADD LOCATIONAL INFORMATION TO YOUR QUESTION. (ie, Where the hell are you?) I don't think you want information about supplies in Perth

I don't know if there's any link, but I've had similar problems with two Labradors in Perth SOR. Severe itchyness as well. The bald spots appear where they scratch (either by chewing or scratching with hind feet). I think there's something particularly nasty in the saliva of the fleas we've got this year or something. I hope I can get a handle on it by giving flea treatment more frequently, but Murphy previals: My bulk order (jeez that stuff is expensive when you've got a lot of dogs) has gotten delayed by Xmas postal mess. Aloe vera (fresh from the plant) seems to ease the itching. Prednisolone seems to help, but it's not something you want to use regularly or long term.

I go through a 20 kg bag of carrots in about a fortnight . . . between myself and four Labradors. I chop the carrots coarsely. Take the better ones out for cooking. Highly recommended as a food for weight reduction . . . the dogs don't seem to get a lot out of them .. . . but they enjoy the chew.

Hard question. I wish we had something definitive to go on, but it all seems to be opinions based on small sets of observations taken from one person's perspective. I've gotten good/excellent hip/elbow scores on the last several Lab pups I've raised. These are the concepts I use. 1. exercise isn't bad, and straight, as opposed to twisting, jumping, or jarring motions, build up muscle, which will tend to build a balanced frame for bone growth. Soft sand and/or water are great because they make the pup do a lot of pushing while cushioning impact. Ball chasing can be dangerous because it tends to lead to twisting. 2. never force the pup to do anything, and never rev up its enthusiasm for chase, play, etc. to a high pitch where it will let its drive overcome its natural caution 3. build up distance with walks. Mine will go a few kilometers at six months, at a slowish walk, on lead. At nine weeks you don't want to do walks at all . . . by 14 weeks you might start little ones. Self-paced exercise is best for the first four months or so. 4. if a pup's bones are so fragile that it can't endure normal puppy play, we are doing something very wrong as breeders. As a breeder I decided to avoid the kid gloves approach and take anything that couldn't stand normal puppy play out of breeding. I don't know what the shaking behaviour you're describing is. I don't recall seeing such a thing. I look forward to seeing how others answer. I would recommend putting the question into the health section, however, as I suspect a lot of people who might have useful answers don't read the puppy problems section.

Xmas ham is bad for humans too!

I pay 80 cents per kilo for whole carcasses and 88 cents per kilo for nicely ground chicken. I wouldn't dream of grinding it myself. It's not worth 8 cents a kilo. Very messy process. A good grinder will expensive. A cheap one will be a pain in the neck.

After doing a bit of reading, I would be cautious about using Permoxin .. . anywhere. Permoxin's active ingredient is Permethrin. The following was copied from Wikipedia . . . an article that appears to to be well documented: eg Toxicity Permethrin is extremely toxic to fish. Extreme care must be taken when using products containing permethrin near water sources. Permethrin is also highly toxic to cats.[4] Flea and tick repellent formulas intended (and labeled) for dogs may contain permethrin (like k-9 Advantix and Advantage Multi for Dogs) and cause feline permethrin toxicosis in cats: specific flea and tick control formulas intended for feline use, such as those containing fipronil, should therefore be used for cats instead. Permethrin is classified by the US EPA a likely human carcinogen, based on reproducible studies in which mice fed permethrin developed liver and lung tumors.[5] Carcinogenic action in nasal mucosal cells for inhalation exposure is suspected due to observed genotoxicity in human tissue samples, and in rat livers the evidence of increased preneoplastic lesions lends concern over oral exposure.[6][7]

DON'T PANIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Each Lennards outlet has its own way of dealing with the stuff that becomes pet food. Sure, they may have some guidlines or even rules, but there's no enforcement. So don't bag ALL Lennards for what happened in one outlet. And disgusting as it seems, it's not very serious. My dogs love catching and eating flies. They like food with maggots in it. Fly eggs aren't quite as nice, but they're happy eating them. Yes . . . I have Labbies . . . who are known indiscriminate eaters. But can you point me to one case of a dog that was harmed by eating maggots?????

I don't think that our opinions count for diddly-squat. Lots of opinions about feeding dogs are heresay and not much more than old wives tales. I feed twice daily, with lots of raw (meat and a few veg, plus supplements). I like more contact with may dogs and they enjoy eating. But until I see well constructed trials, based on scientific principles, I regard all opinions on the once/twice, raw/processed, supplements/as-it-comes debates as opinions and speculation . . . that is rubbish based on no concrete evidence. In my days as a practicing scientist, I've seen many theories disproved by evidence, and many cases where evidence in a controlled lab experiment proved to be bunk when confronted with field conditions. I'd say we all need to be skeptical . . . and collectively seek rigorous testing.

Possible. But equally possible, a scam or an incomplete truth (eg, they kill fleas but only under certain conditions). I'm frequently reminded of a story my grandfather told me . . . must have happened around 1915 when he was a kid . . . about a product guaranteed to kill every bug in your garden. Cost a whole dollar -- pricey back then. His father ordered it and received two pieces of wood, with instructions "Put bug between pieces of wood. Squish." Good luck. I wish there were better regulation of pet products. Please let us know how it goes. edited to add story and good wishes.

No. Fido's flea rinse -- said to be for cats and dogs and other animals -- is a Pyrethrum products and a quick Google search on Pyrethrum, cats turns up no warnings. I seem to remember one fo the flea treatments (Permoxin?) has a big warning "DO NOT USE ON CATS". But I'm pretty sure phrethrum is ok for all mammals.

My vet says bacteria are not a problem for dogs over four months . . . their immune systems + acid gut can handle even salmonella. You freeze the bone. The dog buries it for a few days to get a good group of bacteria and god only knows what else going on it. then eats it . . . Most of the bones I feed are chicken frames + some beef / pork from the butcher. I feed frozen / fresh indiscriminately and have never had a problem.

Also note whether he's bright and alert or acting sick. Dogs vomit easily and some of them do it far more often than one would like. Often it means nothing. If the pup is acting sick, then I'd see a vet. Otherwise, I agree with the previous post . . .

Logic could have it either way . .. the stuff may or may not be detoxified in passing through a dog's gut. And assuming the wormers are still toxic when they come out the other end, for how many days after the dog is wormed is the pooh toxic? As for people making declarations about what you can and can't put in the worm farm . . . are they just churning the same rumors around in the rumor mill? I don't have much faith in opinions. I was hoping for evidence based answers when I posted this . . . . maybe no one has done the experiments????

There have been a few recent posts that have touched on the question of whether wormers make dog pooh toxic to worms, eg, in a worm farm, or in the garden. I was told that the wormers make the pooh toxic for several weeks, making it unreasonable to use worm farm to process dog pooh. I have never seen any real evidence that this is true. Does anyone have hard evidence, either way?

If you have no success with neem, you may want to try Pyrethrum . . . also plant derived and relatively non-toxic . . . tests have shown that you have to make dogs drink huge amounts before they show any damage. It commonly comes in combination with piperonyl butoxide -- which is non toxic but increases the effect of pyrethrum on insects. You should find these in a good garden store. Go for concentrates rather than premixed solution.

If you cannot get rid of the fleas -- eg, they are dispersed across an acre of land -- and they come on as occasional outbreaks it may be helpful to manage the allergic reaction as well as the fleas. Your vet should be able to provide Prednisolone tablets. . . or an antihistimine injection in the case of an extreme reaction.

The more information you have to work on, the better your decision. On a wild guess, I'd say that you have something like a 1/20 chance of a horrid outcome . . . but it might be 1/1000 and it might be 1/3, depending on what other dogs have been around the yard and whether or not the pup's first jabs developed an immune response. As others have said, parvo is truly horrid, and it is worth asking the breeder if they'd be willing to look after the pup for a little while. Another bit of research you could do is to call a vet near the holiday house and ask if the area has had parvo.

I've had a few dogs in my boarding kennel who get frozen portions of weird foods, eg, camel and sweet potato. These have something to do with elimination diets, but in some cases, the owner is not doing an elimination diet but just doing the quick and easy option of looking for something that will make a rash go away. I have some links with a game meat exporter who gets various sorts of unusual meat. I sense that there may be an opportunity to provide "convenience" food for people wanting to do elimination diets. I'd love to hear from people who have done the elimination diet routine. Did it work? Was it a nuisance? Was it expensive? Was it worth it? Would you like to see other supply options for the foods used?

If I were you I'd be keeping my pup indoors until 10 days or so after the second parvo vaccination. . . . and keeping the kids and dogs out of the yard.

Generally, if you buy a pedigree pup of a breed that is affected by HD, the parents will have been tested. There may be exceptions, but in a large number of cases it's required by the Canine authorities. In some cases (eg Labradors in WA) the requirement is only that tests are done and results filed with the Canine Association, there is no specific threshold in the regulations. Thus it is not sufficient to know that the dogs were tested . . . you also have to ask what the scores are.