Post and Rail

I believe Addison's will. Addison's is difficult to diagnose because the symptoms can mimic so many other problems. Just something to look into if your friends are confident their dog wasn't exposted to AF.

Addison's Disease. We had a pup diagnosed with antifreeze poisoning and we knew she hadn't been near any antifreeze. It turned out to be Addison's.

I can see very easily where outsiders (newcomers) would feel that it is "cliquey" and an fact, in some instances, it truly is. But by and large, I've found the trialing community (both U.S. and Canada) to be open and friendly. Yes, it took quite some time, and in the beginning I spent a lot of time just listening and taking things in rather than jousting with the "in" crowd, but over time, as people came to recognize me, this changed. Give it some time and don't be discouraged. There will always be people you don't care to hang out with, but you also have that in other aspects of your life. Not many are truly shunned......unless they allow their dogs to bark uncontrollably edited to add: And if you don't have thick skin to begin with, you'll develop it if you stick around long enough. Usually the trials that are the most fun are those where no one is immune.........

A., Right, I agree, but what would be the point? It's entirely possible that I'm missing something, but is there any practical reason to do it, even if you could?

There really is no reason to register another breed with the ABCA unless someone was trying to prove a point. I have a spayed, unregistered Border Collie bitch that people frequently tell me I should ROM..... until they learn she is spayed and that there is no practical advantage to doing so. The same would go for any other breed or any altered border collie. If registration was a requirement for running - especially in National Finals - I'd ROM her, but as it stands there's no reason to unless I simply wanted a piece of paper. I go to about 20 trials a year plus visit a fair number of ranches and have yet to see a Kelpie that was trained to the standard that I think would merit ROM. There may be a few, but I think they are the very rare exception, and not the rule. In fact, I've never seen a kelpie run an open class. They're usually in Open Ranch or Novice, and I suspect there's a reason for that. P.R.

One of the Vets on the board may be able to expand on this, but couldn't those symptoms be Canine Addison's? I may be mixed up, but the description of it happening after flyball tournaments reminds me of how Addisons symptoms are often exaggerated by stress (travel, hard work, etc). Just a thought, and I apologize if I'm way off, but something here rings a bell with me and it might be worth looking into. It is very difficult to diagnose because there are so many symptoms that could also be something else. P.R.

I believe this is true. My old (as in aged and retiring), trusted vet told me *in confidence* that spaying can add to weight gain but that most vets won't tell clients that because they'd rather see a fat dog than more unwanted puppies. I agree on both counts but would add that exercise and diet easily counteract the minimal weight gain caused by spaying. Most people simply feed too much and exercise too little. PR

Just as a point of reference, the dog in the photo I posted above stands 20" at the shoulder and weighs 37 pounds.

I agree with Bill 100%. In fact, all of the photos posted previously in this thread show overweight dogs in my opinion. Of all the medical concerns, I worry most about what I would be doing to their joints if I allowed them to carry too much weight. Here's a pic of how - in my opinion - a border collie should look. This dog happens to be smooth coated, but all of our 8 are in roughly this shape - including an 11 year-old and two spayed bitches. PR

Hang Tough, Charlie. You should demand to know how much money is at stake and make your cut worthwhile: (A free clinic comes to mind......).

If CGT has collge-aged children my assessment is that he got started young, indeed. How about it Charlie? You're not gonna let these idle minds age you, are you?

Thanks for the clarification, Denise. PR

I don't think working ability would positively effect it's right to registration. A conformation champion is a conformation champion - even in the unlikely case that it met the requirements to ROM. It's a highly unlikely scenario, anyway. To my knowledge there have been only four dogs registered on merit and the chances that a conformation champion could attain that status seem miniscule, at best.

I've heard that unless you have the surgery done at a young(er) age that the dog is no more likely to be better off - plus you've taken the surgical/anaesthesia risk. I agree with Bill. Do a TON of research and get at least one more opinion. I have no first-hand experience, though....... PR

.....or families, I suppose. What's so intoxicating about this argument is that we (I) can make a difference. For me, that includes NOT breeding (there are too many good dogs out there already) and opposing much of which the AKC represents. I know many people who breed for the right reasons and avoid those who breed out of greed.