MaggieDog

Me three. Adolescence is such a great time to take advantage of a developing brain. Adolescents often have the most personality and inquisitiveness at that time, which is one reason i think they can be hard for some people to deal with.

Most dogs will have some alien abductions of their brains between 7 and 10mo ime - Kes just turned 10mo and his is finally coming back a bit. I always tell my students to continue working with their dogs on the basics as normal, if not harder than usual, but don't be surprised if you have to go back and almost reteach something during one of the brain abductions.

((((hugs)))) I had a cat die from FIP at 9yo, so even though the diagnosis wasn't a happy one, at least she lived a good long life. FIP is awful.

I've heard of this being prescribed for MAJOR behavior issues (e.g. owner directed aggression), but never for something as seemingly mild as what you describe. They do market the GL as something that can be left on for up to 16 hours, but if it's having that big of a suppression effect on behavior, I'd seriously be questioning its appropriateness.

Our vet says her best guesstimate is 1/2 full weight at 4mo unless the dog is of a giant breed. I've kept records of Kes' growth so far and he's 9mo now. By his 4mo size (18lbs) he would be 36lbs full grown, but by the 80% figure at 9mo he'd be 41lbs full grown. Give us about 9 more months and i'll tell you which was most accurate. Nothing's fool proof though - Ziva was 26.2lbs at 5.5mo and at 2.5 years now she's 24.4lbs! She was a pudgy puppy.

IMO there is a risk of "too much exercise" in two areas: 1. If you get a dog used to 2 hours of heavy exercise/day he'll likely need 2 hours of exercise every day or you'll see behavior issues. You effectively are creating a super athlete at that point. This issue can be somewhat addressed by teaching an off-switch. You should be able to find threads on that by doing a search of the board as there have been a number of good discussions in the past. 2. If your dog is under 18 months to 2 years of age there is some thought that too much hard exercise can damage joints. To avoid this, the common suggestion is to allow free play, but do not force the dog to continue play/running/fetch if they show signs of tiring or wanting to stop. Let them dictate their activity. All three of my dogs are herding mixes (two are ACD crosses, one is a corgi cross) and none of them *require* two hours of exercise to be sane in the house because we've worked hard on instilling that wonderful "off switch". My two youngest dogs would be thrilled with hours and hours of exercise and often get it on nice days and weekends, but during the week, they are generally satisfied with one or two 1.5mile walks, some fetch in the house, and some mental activities (stuffed Kongs, training). Currently my youngest (and highest energy) dog is on crate rest - if he were used to 2 hours of exercise every day this would be a nightmare, but because he's been taught to settle and is used to some days where exercise is minimal it's been bearable with the help of lots of chewies and Kong toys.

IME, yes. Though the energy level is more likely to change as the dog ages, the basic personality should stay the same if not become even more confident. I've seen fearful dogs blossom in homes, but I've not seen confident dogs become more cautious unless their new home completely isolates them. Toy drive does fluctuate in some dogs after placement, but usually returns - Ziva had insane ball drive at the shelter, but once home with me she wasn't nearly as interested. She's now big into tug, still not as obsessed with balls.

COOL! Don't you just love it when the dog is ready, but you're left in the dust? Been there, done that myself.

Thanks guys! Paula - I highly suggest actually walking the Pairs course with something in your hand so you can figure out when you need to switch hands (i.e. if there's a cross) and you might want to practice with a stick in your hand during practice sessions before the trial so your dog doesn't look at you like you're insane lol. I used to carry treats in my hand when working Z, so I'm comfortable moving things from hand to hand while running and that really helped. It also helps to practice the hand off in the exchange area with your partner at least once so you can make sure your dog is placed right, as are you. Z's good stay is one of the main reasons we did so well in Pairs because most teams had to keep the dog leashed until they had the baton or risk the dog starting early and thus lost a lot of time. The scoring is time plus faults, so that can be a big deal if you end up with any faults.

More videos! Sun. Gamblers (about 30 seconds is just me waiting to start, the run itself was about 45s) - it was messy but it worked. Sun. Pairs (aka Relay) - Molly ran first, we got second for a total of 20 obstacles.

DH was wonderful and did some video for me. Sat. Jumpers: Sat. Snooker:

Ziva is now Stardog's Can't Take the Sky, AD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D This weekend was our 3rd trial (3rd and 4th days of trialling) and Z did just wonderfully. RESULTS Saturday Starters Snooker: 1st and Q, time of 42.73 and 40 points Grand Prix: NQ - handler error (I got lost big time lol) Starters Standard: 2nd and Q, time of 49.17, SCT of 71; we placed second to our Pairs partner by only .61s! Starters Gamblers: 1st and Q, time of 42.57 and 49 points, 24 points required for Q Sunday Starters Gamblers: 1st and Q, time of 43.33 and 38 points (17 points to Q) Starters Standard: 1st and Q, time of 48.2, SCT of 71 Starters Pairs: 1st and Q, time of 25.36 and no faults with required time+faults of 76! Our team was 1st out of ALL the Starters Pairs by almost 40 seconds! Starters Jumpers: 1st and Q, time of 22.55, SCT of 33 After I shower and eat dinner, I'll be posting video for you all. I'm just soooooooo proud of my girl!

Here are the pics! Car contains: 2 30" mesh crates, 36" varikennel, backpack of snacks and drinks, tote full of dog stuff, leash rack, 2 gal H2O, 2 duffles for human stuff, ground tarp, reflective sheet, 3 towels, laptop, purse, extra shoes, rainsuit, 2 camp chairs, two stacking containers for miscellaneous small stuff, and a regular size pillow. Passenger side: Via back hatch: Front: Exterior side:

So we just finished our first day of the trial and I was able to get everything and everyone into the car for the trip last night. Pics are currently uploading - we packed the car *full* but didn't need to use the rooftop carrier I bought just in case. This trial is smaller than most of PBH's as I understand - we were all done by 3:30pm today. I'll post the final results tomorrow evening or Monday morning, but for now I'll just say that Z's doing great.

Pull it - I tried to repair Maggie's slab fracture of the upper carnassial molar last year and really regretted it. 1. The repair held for almost exactly a *year* yet cost $500 and 2. after the repair failed and the tooth was removed Maggie was MUCH happier - the slowing down I'd attributed to aging (she's 10) apparently was due to the fact that she wasn't allowed to chew on anything after the repair and depression/stress related to that. She's also stopped licking her feet so much. I will forever remember to ask about restrictions after surgery BEFORE deciding on a plan of action - the vet didn't tell me about the chewing restrictions until discharge and it obviously seriously impacted her quality of life for a year. I'm almost happy the pricey repair failed because at least the welfare issue only lasted 12 months vs. the rest of her life. She's just over one month post extraction and is happy as a clam.

I found a nifty thing that may be rather helpful at Target: a back of the car seat organizer for, of all things, baby stuff that includes a cooler section and lots of pockets and straps *and* turns into a messenger bag style tote when not on a car seat back! The best thing: $20! I'm looking at diaper bags for toting my agility class supplies now too lol!

The premium did mention loading/unloading (limited to 15 mins per car), so they must be improving a bit lol. Thanks for the heads up about the game - will check on that. Any idea when that exit/entrance would be clogged if there was a game?

EEK! No wonder you didn't want to go back! I've gotten pretty good at setting up my area in as few trips as possible and I always bring H2O to avoid tummy issues, but now I'm wondering if I should go ahead and bring a canopy and reflective mesh stuff (which I'd have to buy since we haven;t needed those in the past). At least I've got the heads up tho - fingers crossed!

Where'd you live near PBH Rave? I've always been curious about the Triangle/Triad areas in NC. I'll be sure to bring some of my "things to read" pile lol. Thanks for the heads up. Quick question - do you think it would be safe to leave two camp chairs, our floor tarp, and a wire crate at the site overnight? We're driving up Friday evening so I might take advantage of their set up hours then if you don't think my stuff would get stolen. Otherwise I'll plan to be there at 7am on Saturday.

hehe - I'm already shopping for the next vehicle (should be actually purchasing one in a year or less). I'm going to try and get a smaller SUV, but we'll see. My top picks right now are the Honda Pilot and Toyota Highlander (and the Subaru Tribeca if it weren't so expensive), but I also have the CRV, RAV4, 4Runner, Equinox, Outlander, and Santa Fe on my list as well, pending the crates fitting. I'm looking at some behind the seat storage things online right now in the hopes that it might keep me from having to unpack the whole car to find one thing; dunno if they are worth the price though. I'll be checking out roof bags tomorrow. Luckily I already pack fairly light (I took a grand total of 13lbs of luggage for 3 weeks in Europe lol), so it's the bulky stuff like our camp chairs that will be toughest I'm thinking.

I didn't know you could get a roof top bag for so cheap!! I already have a roof rack to anchor to as my Impreza came with one standard. Great idea!! I have gotten pretty good about packing for single day trials by using footwells, but usually I don't have another human so the front passenger seat works as storage, too. Oliva, the trial is hosted by PBH Agility and is being held the 5th through the 7th at the PBH Training Center in Chapel Hill. Entries close on Tuesday at 6pm. I'd love to meet up with a fellow BC-Board-er if you might come!

I need some good suggestions!! Up 'til now I've only been able to attend agility trials close to home and only for 1 day due to my schedule, but over Labor Day weekend we'll be trialing in Chapel Hill, NC. Only two are entered (and ouch did those entries add up fast), but I'm bringing Kes for the socialization since he'll be trial ready in a year. I'm hoping Maggie can finish up her USDAA P1 title this trip as she really isn't too "into" the agility trial scene, but does a great job of humoring me. I've told myself that once she gets her final legs for it I'll retire her, but I want to get it because it would be a great tribute to all she and I have learned from each other (and a good culmination of 8 years of very infrequent trialling)! I honestly have no idea how I'm fitting 2 adult humans, 3 dogs, and all our stuff for a two day trial into my Subaru Impreza. Helpful hints are welcome and you can be sure I'll be posting pics of our packing job at some point lol. I do generally like to crate the pups while traveling, but the only way to do that in this car will be to crate Maggie and Z in once crate and Kes in the other as I have no space for more than 2 assembled crates in the car, so I am open to other suggestions. We do have a hotel room (yay) and covered crating (also yay!), so that will help cut down on some stuff, but not a whole lot. Car pics with one of my crating setups (36" wire crate for two girls, 30" mesh for Kes), are below. Side view: Wire crate in position, mesh out Wire and mesh crates in position

I xrayed Z before adoption because I knew I wanted a performance prospect and her background is unknown. The vet I used did her hip xrays without sedation and I got out for under $50! I doubt I would have wanted to pay for anesthesia, but I got enough info from the one unsedated view that I went ahead with her adoption. Now that I have an awesome vet who knows what I'm looking for in a dog structure-wise, I doubt I'll do xrays unless I see something that indicates the need. My vet has done full range of motion manipulations on Kes (at 7mo) and is very happy with what she feels and sees. I did ask her about xrays and she said she wouldn't spend the money on it as she feels his joints are just where they need to be.

Wonderful news! Yay for a happy, healthy Lu, even if she is a bit wobbly right now.

Maggie had a molar out just about 3 weeks ago and she's back to chewing things as normal already. We got clindamycin antibiotics, metacam for pain relief and anti-inflammatory, and she was on soft food for 3-5 days before going back to kibble. She's sooooooo much happier without that tooth and was trying to chew on things at a week post extraction (we waited 10 days to let her chew).