Jim Kling

I would encourage you to think in terms of managing, rather than treating. Trooper sounds an awful lot like Rodeo, who has immune problems as well (IBD, a chronically inflamed nail that had to be removed). I know that you're an advocate of raw feeding, but I'll just put it out there that we've had great luck feeding him Hills Z/D and similar brands, along with a supplement of psyllium powder (the main ingredient in metamucil). He also has severe reactions to flea bites, and based on observations I think it may trigger his IBD, so I'd encourage you to be diligent about flea preventives. Those steps have basically eliminated his auto-immune problems for the past few years. I honestly don't expect him to live a full life given his history, but he's healthy now and we're grateful for every day.

I think chronic versus acute is a matter of waiting to find out which one it is. My vet just told us that we'd need to bring him back in for blood tests once a month. If the blood values returned to the normal range, then it was acute kidney failure and this was good news because the kidney disease was not ongoing. If they didn't return to normal, then it was chronic and I had the impression that the prognosis was worse in that case. We were lucky and his blood values returned to normal. Since then we've had his values tested a few times again in preparation of a couple of minor surgeries, and they have continued to be just fine. Of course you should ask your vet, and you might also consider a second opinion if it's not completely clear what caused the kidney problems (in our case we never found out). I also wouldn't necessarily rule out the ultrasound -- ask the vet: what would this tell us that we don't know already? How would the results help guide treatment/management? If the answer is that it wouldn't have any impact, then I agree it would be best to just skip it. You have my sympathies, I know too well how difficult this is to go through. Jim

I'm so sorry to hear about this, and I know how frustrating this is. Do you know yet if the renal failure is chronic, or acute? My Rodeo was diagnosed with acute kidney failure at around 2 years old. He's 8 today and doing fine, despite the fact that he was also diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease a year or so after that. Rodeo's kidney failure was acute, and the ultrasound showed damage to the cells that concentrate his urine. The vet estimated he had 30% or so of his function left, which sounded terrible, but they assured us he could live a full life if no more damage occurred. Acute kidney failure turns out to be good, because it means that kidney function returns to normal (as defined by blood work). Chronic is worse because it means it's ongoing and could well shorten your dog's life. Rodeo's blood results got back into the normal range in about 2 months, if I recall correctly. The most important thing for Rodeo was to prevent urinary tract infections, since they can cause more kidney damage. I bought urine test strips that show whether your dog has an infection, identical to the ones vets use, and I tested his urine once a month for awhile to be sure he was okay. He developed one or 2 over the following year and we caught them and treated them, and he hasn't had another one in years. Turned out (I think) that the diarrhea assocaited with his IBD flareups was getting into his long fur and creating a bacterial breeding ground that then colonized his urinary tract from the outside. When I got a lot more diligent about keeping him groomed, the infections stopped. Hang in there.

Sounds interesting. Is there a way to buy in the US? Amazon US doesn't seem to carry it. I see you're offering signed copies, but do you ship internationally?

They do make baby gates with doors in them, so you can just open the gate and walk through. A bit more expensive but worth it in the long run if the other suggestions don't work for you.

Is there a way to organize financial assistance, so at least that barrier might be reduced? If USBCHA or local groups had funds that could assist with upfront costs, it might improve matters. Could even be repayable after the trial -- effectively an interest-free loan. Looking forward to hearing more about your trial, Tea!

Sheepherding videos? I think my dogs would watch enraptured for hours...

GentleLake, I couldn't say about Ronald Schultz's research, but the article you linked to was, indeed, crap. I'm not particularly pro- or anti- bordetella vaccines -- I get them when a kennel requires me to, and not otherwise. My objection is to the anti-vaccine hysteria and mis-information campaign, which that article contributed to. Sounds like that wasn't your intent and if that's the case I hope you'll take no offense.

Sorry, but those links are anti-vaccine crap. Here's a quote from the first one: "What is interesting is that when you bring your dog to the vet for his Bordetella vaccination, he will have already been exposed to the natural flora: all animals are exposed to both Bordetella and Parainfluenza prior to vaccination. It makes little sense to vaccinate an animal for something he has already been exposed to." It makes total sense. It's why you get boosters to vaccines. Immunity can wear off over time. Checked out the author of the article, and she also advocates homeopathy. And here's this quote from her website: "Mercury is underlying all the disease that we are suffering." Which wins the prize as the most absurd thing I've read this month. We can have legitimate discussions about whether the cost of a bordetella vaccine is worth it given the nature of the disease, but this kind of anti-vaccine BS is dangerous.

We're going through this with our two house border collies and our now 16-month old daughter. Your dog's reaction sounds much like ours. Good advice to let him deal with the baby on his own schedule. Also, I second the idea that gates are critical, but don't wait until baby is walking. We had our first snapping incident when our daughter backed a dog into a corner while she was crawling! You'll have to keep a close eye on things. It won't go perfectly (note snapping incident above), but with vigilance you should be okay. Hugging and grabbing will occasionally happen (the suggestion to never let it happen, while well-intentioned, just isn't very realistic. It'll happen). But start by showing the baby how to pet the dog when he/she starts to show interest. Our daughter imitated our gentle pets and is pretty good about it. Oh, and keep the baby well away from the dog food, water, toys, etc., to avoid any resource guarding. Good luck!

At around 4 months, my pup started lunging at passing cars while we were on walks. I came down on her hard when she did this, with a very forceful 'NO!' You do need to decide what is acceptable behavior and what is achievable so that you can give an appropriate correction. For example, you could try to discourage staring at cars at all, and therefore correct the pup for even staring. Or you could decide that staring is okay, but correct at the moment the dogs starts to go after the car. I chose the latter, in part because I thought it would be easier to time the correction,and in part because philosophically I like to give my dogs some leeway in their behavior, but your choice might depend on the personality of the dog and the degree of temptation/danger that is presented by cars. The lunging stopped within a couple of days with my pup.

Glad to hear it was a good experience. As a fellow Northwest Washingtonian, I've been eyeing that program for the past several years, but there always seems to be a conflict that prevents me from going.

As did I. Here's how. Click on the flag icon below the video on the right. Select 'violent or repulsive content' and 'animal abuse' in the drop down menu below that.

Mr. McCaig's original post was a bit sparse, so I imagined the dogs roaming about long enough to seek out and partake of the odd carcass, which was what prompted my response. He has since posted more detail and demonstrated a sensible management strategy for his dogs, and an example that myself and others can learn from. Mark Billadeau: If you're ever in my neck of the woods (north of Seattle), I invite you join me and the dogs for a (off-leash) hike in the Cascade Mountains. The heavens are visible from Bellingham, too.

Also appreciative of the warning and sorry to hear about Peg. I'm a bit surprised that dogs would be roaming unsupervised at all -- hunting season or no. There's lots of hazards out there and dogs can get into mischief with other people's livestock.