CLW1

It's not true that once your dog tests positive for Lyme (or other TBDs) that they will always test positive. I've never had a dog stay positive on the SNAP4DX test after treatment. For me, the Preventic collar (on 2 dogs) and the Seresto collar (on one dog) worked great this year - everyone is negative so far.

He looks like a really sweet guy and he was well loved. I'm glad that your wife made it home and was with him.

I had a dog that I put on Prozac for about a year. We had moved from a fairly rural house to a tightly packed suburban house and he was scared of certain noises - he'd get a panicked look, shake, sometimes try to hide. Sometimes the noises were things I couldn't even hear and there was no real pattern to it. He also started breaking out of crates which resulted in some broken teeth. The vet and I hoped that the Prozac would help him deal with the sounds and stop the destructive behavior. It took about 6-8 weeks but he did stop being so sound sensitive and he was able to be crated again. As for side effects, he definitely lost some of his spark (that's the best way I can describe it). He was always great at catching a frisbee but on the Prozac he'd still try to catch it but would miss more than usual and sometimes when he'd land after jumping for it he'd lose his footing. After about a year I decided to wean him off the Prozac to see if he would be ok without it and he was. I didn't like the dog he was while on it but it definitely broke the cycle of the behavior.

A few garlic? Garlic is toxic to dogs.

I have a Creekside dog, Abe. He's been a successful sheepdog for me (and we dabbled in a little bit of agility - he was brilliant). Great temperament, lots of drive, very talented. He's a littermate to the dam of her most recent litter. I've got nothing but good things to say about Fiona, her dogs, her breeding plans. Definitely contact her and get on her list and be prepared for her to be very thorough in her puppy-buyer vetting process. She doesn't breed very often but if you are willing to wait, you'll end up with a really nice puppy.

I have two males who do not get along - 6 years old and 11 years old. The younger male, Abe, was a typical young jerk and the older male, Dash, put up with it until Abe was about 1.5 years old and since then they need to be separated much of the time. Abe was neutered at 2.5 and Dash when he was young so not an example of two intact males. Abe's behavior with Dash was about 50% of why he got neutered. Since Abe I've had 3 other dogs - 1 male and 2 females. Abe and the male got along fine but I sold him when he was about a year and a half so I'm not sure if that might have changed as he got older (I think it wouldn't have) and he's gotten along fine with the females. Abe, like Nick, will get his hackes up with intact, dominant acting males. I love males and prefer them to females but have been hesitant to have an intact male while Abe's still around.

Donald- The trial was wonderful and I really enjoyed the musicians. We were the last sheepdog handlers there (except for Alice playing her drum), though Tom Wilson nearly stayed until the end too. They ended at 10:30 (or at least they packed up their instruments then) but perhaps they took them out again later. It was a real treat to sit in on what was basically a jam session by some very talented musicians. I wish more of the sheepdoggers would have stayed to listen! The hospitality is top notch, thank you so much. Looking forward to next year...or the next time you host the trial. Carolyn

I have one who at 5 months looked like he'd have hardly any coat at all. He ended up with a huge amount of coat by the time he was 2!

I have a dog I use one on. He's scared of thunder, fireworks, etc. It definitely seems to make him less anxious and worried. I've been using it for about 4 years now.

Or her liver enzymes are high because there's something else going on. Just a thought. Did the vets do any other blood work? At 39 lbs I'd treat with 400mg doxy a day (200 am and pm) for 8 weeks. As Julie mentioned the tick-l list is a great resource. Join and post there and you will get good advice.

What test did you do? A SNAP4 or did you send blood out for antibody testing? What antibiotic is she on and what dosage?

Go to www.cleanrun.com and go to events. There's a tab there to search for a trainer or club. Also you can google agiledogs which is an l-soft list. Join it and post looking for a recommendation near you. Clean Run also has a yahoo group and you might be able to ask there for a training recommendation.

It is a great opportunity. I've been twice and learned a lot. The only bummer is if no lambs are both the day you're there. The first time I went only one ewe lambed and the second time no ewes lambed. That said, it was still very, very informative with some great speakers and great topics. You get to be very hands on with the lambs already born.

Are you on Facebook? You could join the NEBCA handlers tent and ask for recommendations. I think the closest people to you might be in Quebec. Check the breeders directory for NEBCA and just email or call. If they can't help you they will point you to someone who can.

I understand how you feel. If I were you, rather than risk injury to dog/sheep/human, I'd go about making memories that are less dangerous to all concerned. My 12 year old isn't a couch potato either. He was a successful agility dog and had more than a few turns on sheep when he was young and I was starting out in herding but now he's so precious to me I'd never risk injuring him by putting him on sheep. Your original question was "Is it too late?". My opinion is yes.

I don't think I'd take a 12 year old dog to sheep for fear of the dog getting hurt. I've got a 12 year old who is very keen and would love to work sheep but it would be way to hard on his body. it's just not worth it.

Oh, I saw those puppies a couple of weekends ago! They were cute and very happy. They should be really nice dogs!

Here's what I think - Christina isn't as obtuse as she appears and she's enjoying this. Good luck to her. I'd sure never sell her a puppy or recommend her to anyone based on what I've seen here. Oh, and I have a dog from Creekside...you'd never get one. Btw, I did ENS with the 2 litters that I bred. It wasn't hard to do and didn't take a ton of time and I have no idea if it added to the super temperaments that the pups ended up having. I don't know if I'd do it again because I think just lots of plain old handling of the puppies that I did anyway would have been sufficient.

For foot injuries I usually take a sock (as small as possible, kids work great) and put the sock on the foot and then vet wrap the sock on. I use the vet wrap around the top of the foot. It works great and usually stays on well - I've worked dogs with it on.

I've got a now 12 year old BC that I gave Prozac for about a year (2010-2011). He developed anxiety from noises that he heard. I could never tell exactly what he was hearing and it seemed to change (one time it was the tv, sometimes a door closing at a neighbors house, etc...but tornado sirens didn't phase him a bit). I'd moved to an area that was tightly packed suburbia and that's when the anxiety started. He was on the Prozac for about 6 weeks before I saw a change in his behavior re: anxiety. I didn't like the fact that the Prozac sort of took away his spark though. When I took him off the Prozac he didn't regress but I also moved and he wasn't living among all of the suburban noise any more. Now we're back in suburbia and he's once again reacting to sounds but he's not to the point where I'm going to put him back on any meds.

KV Vet, Valley Vet, etc....all are out of stock. I've been checking periodically. I stocked up late last fall when I heard that there was a shortage and was lucky enough to get some at the normal price (less than $50 for a bottle of 500).

The NEBCA classifieds get a lot of traffic (you need to become a member). Maybe you can have a friend who is on Facebook post for you?

Christina- There are 3 upcoming trials at Carol Campion's in Hampton - Feb 23rd (guessing it might be cancelled due to snow), March 23rd and April ?. You can check dates for the trials and other trials near you on the NEBCA calendar at www.nebca.net. I'll be at all 3 of Carol's trials and I'm happy to answer any questions. Feel free to ask for me. There will be others there who I'm sure will be willing to talk to you too. Bring a chair and dress for the weather. Did you ever go and take a lesson with Carol or anyone else in CT? I think I gave you a recommendation in the last year or so. It was said earlier in this thread that you don't know what you don't know. It's so very true in this case - it took me many years to start to know what I didn't know and I'm still learning. Hope to see you at the trials. Carolyn

Yes, Claudia Frank does breed occasionally and works some of her shelties on ducks and sheep. If you google Finelia Farm you should be able to find her website. She's in Ohio.

I've got a dog that has injured his on both sides. I was lazy in the first rehab and it took way longer than it should have. I did it right the 2nd time (less serious pull). Carefully rehab and your dog will be fine and back to agility. Mine was both times. I think there were some good articles in Clean Run a few years ago about iliopsoas strains.