sandgrubber

You'll get a better answer if you specify what sort of Lab you want. Show? Assistance dog? Generalist family pet? Working retriever? Agility?

Done. I did my old girl. I responded assuming you want answers for 'as the dog is now'. She was more reactive and energet when younger, though has always been a calm girl. I say she's not energetic, but she's still quite happy to run for 3 miles.

Worth adding, my girls don't just tolerate eachother, they are close friends. They play together, lie on one another when it's cool, groom each other, cooperate in hunting squirrels and other small game, and will share food . .. eg, if I pour some sour milk in a bowl, they'll all lap it from the same bowl with no conflict. One of the reasons I have three is so the middle girl won't end out bereft when the old girl goes . . . hopefully many years down the line.

<br/><br/><br/>Ditto depends on breed. Have had no problems with multiple Labrador bitches together. I think I've had as many as five. It may also depend on how they relate . . . mother daughter pairs may be different to old bitch and new bitch bought in as adult.

They seem to be available, but expensive, via eBay http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/231182610949?clk_rvr_id=630235848815&crlp=1_262691&mt_id=641&sdc_id=1399488073z916506z42073b0a10771z&mid=428969&fitem=231182610949&linkin_id=8080378&kw=%7Bquery%7D&crdt=0&sortbid=21 Can buy the same product for $US40 at FosterSmith . . . http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=25802 I'm sending them an email to see if they can ship to Oz and what they'd charge.

I've been having horrid flea problems here and am trying something new that the vet recommended. Did some reading on the product. Thought Aussies in paralysis tick areas might be interested in this journal article (says excellent control for 16 weeks . . . but the lead author works for the drug company). Parasitol Res. 2013 Aug;112 Suppl 1:1-10. doi: 10.1007/s00436-013-3276-8. Long-term efficacy of an imidacloprid 10 % / flumethrin 4.5 % polymer matrix collar (Seresto®, Bayer) against the Australian paralysis tick (Ixodes holocyclus) in dogs. Smith WM1, Ahlstrom LA, Rees R. Author information Abstract Two placebo-controlled pen studies were conducted to assess the efficacy of an imidacloprid 10 %/flumethrin 4.5 % polymer matrix collar (Seresto®, Bayer; Investigational Veterinary Product (IVP)) against the Australian paralysis tick (Ixodes holocyclus). Dogs assigned to the placebo (n = 8) or IVP (n ≥ 8) groups had collars (placebo or IVP) attached on Day 0 and were infested with 30 unfed, adult, female I. holocyclus at 14–28 day intervals over 227 days. Ticks were counted 24, 48 and 72 h post infestation to determine the acaricidal efficacy of the IVP. The acaricidal efficacy of the IVP 72 h post infestation exceeded 95 % on Days 17 (99.3 %), 59 (99.7 %), 73 (96.6 %), 87 (100.0 %), 101 (96.4 %), 115 (99.1 %) and 171 (95.8 %), but dropped on Days 45 (94.0 %) and 143 (77.8 %), and declined from Day 199 (79.9 %) to 227 (65.5 %). No adverse events related to treatment were observed. This study has demonstrated the excellent acaricidal efficacy (97.9 %) of the IVP collar against I. holocyclus 72 h post infestation over 16 weeks.

If it smells like yeast (my dogs ears always do), use 50% diluted vinegar to change the pH. You could dilute with calendula tea. Worth a try. Ditto the makeup remover pad. Much better if the dog thinks "something wet got in my ear while my ears were being rubbed" than "I've been attacked and liquid forced into my ear".

Are there any documented cases of silicosis in dogs? Silicosis in humans typically shows up 15 to 20 years after regular exposure to crystalline silicon, eg., in daily work in mines. It seems unlikely that dogs would be at risk because (1) they don't live long enough to develop the disease; and (2) the exposure would most likely be for a few minutes a day and could be minimized by careful administration. P.s. I tried to do a casual lit search on silicosis in dogs. The only recent article I could find was a Chinese article where they were trying to use dogs as an animal model for human silicosis. They did this by blowing ground glass, with color markers, directly into the lungs of dogs and then doing CT scans. Talk about animal cruelty! http://aammt.tmmu.ed...ew&id=201202200 p.p.s. I think DE is worth exploring more broadly as a control for arthropod-parasitism, including the mites that cause mange. if there's a way to control a broad spectrum of parasites through physical abrasion of the exoskeleton, dog owners need to exploit it. The drug companies would prefer concocted poisons that kill fleas, ticks, mites, etc., but if there is an old fashioned remedy that does this without poison, it's worth looking at, and improving that remedy. DE has lots of variants, It's not just food grade vs. livestock grade. Could be produced, eg.., in various size classes, with sorting to avoid the sub-micron particles that get into the lungs, with high yield of the particle sizes that kill parasites. I agree DE has its uses but given its mechanism of action, it would need to be reapplied very frequently and any grooming by the dog is not only going to remove it but also expose the dog to inhalation. Using it outdoors.. now that's another matter and one worth looking into further. In a cattle study (involving GI coccidiosis), DE was added to feed and even though it obviously became wet, it continued to work. So.. it could be used outdoors on long shrubs, longer grass, etc (and kept moist) and in theory, should still be able to cut the ticks' exoskeletons and damage their eggs. The obvious downside to this is that DE is not selective so it would also kill beneficial insects that came into contact with it, like bees. DE is not selective, but gravity is. The stuff settles to low spots, which tend to be preferred by earth-dwelling mites and instaars and is unlikely to remain in place on flowers visited by bees. Does anyone know what beneficial insects who go through larval stage in the earth? I don't think the predatory wasps do, nor ladybugs. I agree, it would not be nice to use topically as a miticide. But some dogs can't tolerate ivomectin, and amatraz isn't the friendliest of chemicals. Mange treatments involve high doses over several weeks, sometimes with complex grooming routines.

Silly question, no. I'd say dremel little-by-little so as to avoid hitting the quick. I suspect that the live tissue grows outward toward the end of the nail, so will have grown further out where nails have been long for a long time. Little-by-little should allow filing back as the live tissue recedes. This is a guess. If anyone knows different, please say.

Vet advice required. If they're not willing to go to a vet for these symptoms, they shouldn't have a dog.

Are there any documented cases of silicosis in dogs? Silicosis in humans typically shows up 15 to 20 years after regular exposure to crystalline silicon, eg., in daily work in mines. It seems unlikely that dogs would be at risk because (1) they don't live long enough to develop the disease; and (2) the exposure would most likely be for a few minutes a day and could be minimized by careful administration. P.s. I tried to do a casual lit search on silicosis in dogs. The only recent article I could find was a Chinese article where they were trying to use dogs as an animal model for human silicosis. They did this by blowing ground glass, with color markers, directly into the lungs of dogs and then doing CT scans. Talk about animal cruelty! http://aammt.tmmu.ed...ew&id=201202200 p.p.s. I think DE is worth exploring more broadly as a control for arthropod-parasitism, including the mites that cause mange. if there's a way to control a broad spectrum of parasites through physical abrasion of the exoskeleton, dog owners need to exploit it. The drug companies would prefer concocted poisons that kill fleas, ticks, mites, etc., but if there is an old fashioned remedy that does this without poison, it's worth looking at, and improving that remedy. DE has lots of variants, It's not just food grade vs. livestock grade. Could be produced, eg.., in various size classes, with sorting to avoid the sub-micron particles that get into the lungs, with high yield of the particle sizes that kill parasites.

The rule of thumb in biology is a doubling of decay rates for each 10C. Reality is much more complicated, of course. But bottom line is that rates of decomposition depend on temperature. If you leave it at outdoor temperatures in the summer, especially if it's humid, it may not be so nice by the use by date. You may go well beyond the use by date at winter temperatures, or with indoor storage under a good air con.

Fair enough, so what do you use...or do you not get ticks overseas in Florida?? Fortunately my dogs don't lick each other. We get lots of ticks, though they are more annoying than lethal. When the ticks got real bad I tried tick collars - Preventic which contains amatraz but no premetherins. It worked well and had no side effects. I was careful to keep the tick collar buried under the leather collar so the dogs wouldn't chew them. At the moment, ticks aren't bad, so I'm not using anything. Keeping the lawn short and getting rid of underbrush on my property seems to reduce both flea and tick problems . . . and chiggars . .. I don't think you have them in Oz. Be grateful. (Chiggars bother people not dogs and head straight for the crotch. The bites itch furiously for weeks.)

I've had trouble with spot ons, not because the dog licked itself but because my dogs lick eachother. In particular, my older bitch licks her grown puppy. I don't know about Advantage, but this can be very serious with premetherin-based products. My girl ended out with horrible cluster seizures that might have killed her if they'd gone untreated, and she has had occasional focal seizures ever since. Bottom line: it may not taste good, but if your dogs lick one another, spot-on products may end up being ingested.

In chain stores you have to realize that the person asking you has no influence on the system . . . they are at the bottom of the pile, minimum wage employees. They may or may not like the RSPCA, but their understanding of the situation is irrelevant. Some boss has told them to ask. No point going on and on. If you want to have an influence, better to contact the company HQ and voice your opinion there.

How would a JRT selected for agility differ from one selected for the ring? Larger, perhaps? With Labradors, show conformation is generally too heavily built for competitive agility, but there are enough people breeding for field work or other dog work that you wouldn't have much trouble finding a breeder who would shift a good performer to Main. My impression is that the working terrier crowd is small in Oz. But because a good earth dog is small and fierce in a hole, the ideal working dog may not be well-selected for agility. Silence from the terrier crowd? It would be good if someone could offer leads for specific breeders.

It seems possible that nails change with age. My almost-10 year old still walks with the other dogs, but her nails get too long now. They never used to. Sad thing is that exercise has always kept them short before, and she hates to have her feet worked on. My own nails have changed with age . . .

I'd say your first priority would be a breeder who values performance more than showing. If you find such a breeder, and you demonstrate the dog can perform, you shouldn't have trouble getting to Main register with a dog selected for performance and breeding for performance. Shows are not necessarily a good way to determine sound conformation. In some breeds, shows select for exaggerated features that interfere with athleticism . . . or even health. With Labradors (my breed), particularly in the US, the show and field lines have quite different looks (some show dogs do well in field trials, but dogs bred for field have no hope in a confirmation show). German shepherds are even more extreme in split between working and field lines. The working line people don't much care about conformation show results. I don't know the Australian scene for terriers. If you were in the US I'd suggest looking for a rat terrier or feist . . . . those crowds tend to be more keen on hunting and agility than showing.

I think some of this depends on the breed. In breeds like Labs and flatties, (exception: extreme sport lines, bred for high drive competition) where most individuals are outgoing, biddable, and playful with good nerves and most puppy buyers have chosen the breed for its temperament as much as looks, I suspect most of the litter will be suitable for most of the puppy buyers. I'm not saying there aren't exceptions, or that a given litter won't have it's more and less outgoing pups. It's my impression that herding dogs and terriers tend to have more variation in nerves and drive, making some pups difficult choices for some families.

Diatomaceous earth, because it mechanically destroys the exoskeleton, should kill ticks if you could expose them to it, but I don't think their lifecycle involves a lot of time in the soil or in places where a powder will adhere to them. It would probably work topically, but I doubt it's going to give a high enough kill rate to be satisfactory for paralysis tick, and it isn't nice for the dog's coat.

That sounds like it would be perfect for me! The mozzies by pass the dogs and latch right onto me... It does seem like an interesting idea and would love to give it a try. Actually, it's Canadian. I don't know anyone who uses it and given the reviews by the skeptics community, I wouldn't bother. However, there are three positive reviews on Amazon . . . one claiming it does wonders for preventing spider bites. http://www.amazon.com/Mozi-q-All-natural-Homeopathic-Repellent-Tablets/product-reviews/B00IZGPJFM/ref=dpx_acr_txt?showViewpoints=1

Would be good to write Laura Hegarty and thank her for the article . . . and let the ABC know that Guide Dogs are in a sense, the coal mine canary. Attacks of other dogs by free ranging dogs is a widespread problem in Australia. This problem needs to be addressed, not only to protect the blind, but also to predict anyone taking their dog for a walk!

Research done at the University of Barcelona has not helped the Cocker's reputation . . .looks like there have been other studies of the same. http://www.journalve...e/S1558-7878(08)00140-8/abstract. ... Sandgrubber your link doesnt work,,,,,, but I do know the paper and it's been around for a while. It actually hit the press under the heading of "the Worlds nastiest dog breed" or something to that effect..... typical of the press and their journalistic hype. As a scientist, Sandgrubber, I expect that you would know that there are limitations and faults in every research report. This one has several, but of course the main one is that the study was conducted over a small area of Spain and many of the dogs were closely related to each other or came from the same human families. This paper has not attempted to analyse the family relationships ie the pegigrees of the dogs involved nor are they clear about the basic facts of the dogs in the study, originating from a small regional area. It's unfortunate that this piece of information has been excluded form the report. They do note that the majority of cockers with aggression were golden in colour. World-wide this is the colour most frequently bred by puppy farmers and BYB's and sold in retail outlets as it is the colour most in demand from the pet buyer. I think that the important thing is to remember that temperament in a breed is often different from place to place, region to region and country to country and is often influenced by regional breeding programmes. Many years ago there was a temperament problem in cockers in the UK. This was dubbed "Rage Syndrome" and there was a lot of research into the problem. UK breeders worked very hard to eliminate this problem and it has largely disappeared from the breed in that country. However, it seems that any cranky cocker spaniel that has a less than desirable temperament is now said to have rage syndrome, simply because people have heard the term used. Around the time that this isse was first noted in UK there were many cockers exported from UK all over the world and there has been high percentage sent to Spain where they were bred from extensively. The breed is immensley popular in Spain and of course this means that there is also a lot of indiscriminant breeding by those who simply want to supply the pet market.... buyer beware ! Australian breeders have worked really hard to ensure that the temperament of the cockers produced from kennels that are seriously involved in the breed are as the breed standard requires.... and the majority are sweet, gentle, happy and trustworthy. Perhaps things might be different in the breed in Spain and so I dont think that such a paper as this should be used to colour the opinions of people who are considering a cocker in Australia ! Many years ago, and long before your time in the breed Sandgrubber, there was a line of Labradors in Western Australia that were known to produce less than desirable temperament. The people who bred these dogs were either oblivious to the problems being encountered by the owners or just didnt care and they continued to chug out litter after litter of labs that were dubious in behaviour. The breed began to develop a poor reputation here and its popularity declined among the pet buyers. It made it difficult for those who were doing the right thing and I'm sure that if there was an internet and forums in those days the issues would have been debated heavily and many people would have had their horror stories of yellow labs with bad temperament !!! Thankfully, the kennels concerned are no longer breeding and the labs in this stae have a reputation for sweet and gentle natures..... as they should. Please read what I wrote. I did not endorse the paper, I merely said the paper has not helped the Cocker's reputation. Ie, the opinion that Cockers are snappy, voiced by someone in the discussion above, may be related to this set of findings which got a bit of publicity five years ago. As a scientist, it is appropriate to use Occum's razor and assume, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, that breed temperament is the same from one region to another. You are producing evidence to the contrary. Good. IF the link doesn't work, the paper is easy to find using Google . . . .just use an author's name and Cocker spaniel. You'll have to pay to read the full text.

Research done at the University of Barcelona has not helped the Cocker's reputation . . .looks like there have been other studies of the same. http://www.journalve...e/S1558-7878(08)00140-8/abstract. Aggressive behavior in the English cocker spaniel Marta Amat, DVM, Dip. ECVBM-CA, Xavier Manteca, DVM, MSc, PhD, Dip. ECVBM-CA, Valentina M. Mariotti, DVM, Msc, José Luís Ruiz de la Torre, DVM, PhD, Jaume Fatjó, DVM, PhD, Dip. ECVBM-CA School of Veterinary Medicine, Universitat Autónoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra (Cerdanyola del Vallés), Spain Abstract Full Text PDF Images References Abstract A high percentage of aggression problems and a tendency to display noninhibited aggression in the English cocker spaniel (ECS) have been suggested by many authors. The authors of this paper designed a retrospective study to analyze the aggressive behavior of 145 ECSs presented for aggression problems to the Animal Behavior Service at the Barcelona School of Veterinary Medicine's veterinary teaching hospital. Aggressive ECSs were compared with a population of dogs of the same breed presented for a behavior problem other than aggression and with a population of aggressive dogs of other breeds. The most common forms of aggression in the ECS were owner-directed aggression (67.6%), aggression toward unfamiliar people (18.4%), aggression toward unfamiliar dogs (10.1%), and aggression toward family dogs (3.3%).Owner-directed aggression was more common in the ECS than in other breeds, although in similar contexts. In the ECS, the golden coat color was more common in the aggressive dogs than in nonaggressive dogs. ECSs showed impulsive aggression more frequently than aggressive dogs of other breeds. The aim of the study was to analyze cases of aggressive ECSs seen in a referral practice.

The science here is complicated. X-breeds -> more potentially problematic genes, but and much reduced frequencies due to dilution effects. Yes, it's a mess for genetic testing. But lets face it, the genetic testing available to us now isn't all that hot. For the most part we pay separately for each individual test, and not tests are available for many serious or very common concerns (HD, OCD, patellas, epilepsy, skin problems, cancer . .. name your breed and pick your problem). The big potential gains via the genetic testing route will come when we have reliable ensemble tests applicable to all breeds. Anyone have links for this? I've heard of it, and had a link once, but not heard much about outcomes and can no longer find the link. . If an ensemble test were returning useful results at a reasonable price, I'd think it would be getting a lot of press. I haven't heard of it being done in Australia, but you can do DNA sequencing and look for all the currently known disease causing genes and also look for things like colour genes. There's been a price drop in human DNA sequencing but I wonder if it's a good price in dogs now. Does anyone have links for the ensemble DNA test for dogs? Does it work for multiple breeds? Is there any indication of its reliability? Edited cause the system somehow dropped my reply