Mboat7

I have a dog that loves agility and has hip dysplasia. I give him cosequin and previcox daily. You can not tell by looking at him while he is running agility that he has hip dysplasia. But if I do not keep him on meds then at night after he has been laying down when he gets up he is stiff and sometimes limps. The human cosequin is cheaper and my vet said it would be okay to use. It is called Cosamin DS - it is made by the same manufacturer. And you can get it at Costco and most drug stores. Anyway, the agility has helped Baxter stay fit and avoid hip surgery for several years. He is almost five years old and was diagnosed at 8 months. He does jump at a lower height of 16 inches instead of 22 inches. I had hoped he would be interested in herding as he would be able to participate in that longer, but he just sniffed the sheep and ate poo. They found him to be no threat at all - should have been an LGD. I think with arthritis that some exercise is good and keeps everything moving well, but it is important not to over do it. Mel

I make a kong stuffing recipe that you could probably freeze in the bones. I mix the following together then stuff the kongs and freeze - one jar of lowfat peanut butter, one large tub of all natural nonfat plain or vanilla yogurt (I use Dannon), and couple tablespoons of honey. My dogs are a little heavier than I want for agility right now so they get the lowfat stuff. But if you want to add weight then get the regular yogurt and peanut butter. Mel

When I adopted my BC mix from the Humane Society he was only 3 months. The contract specified that he be neutered before 1 year of age and a copy of the neuter certificate sent back to the Humane Society. That might be one option for you. I personally do not believe in pediatric spays or neuters because of the risk of hip dysplasia. My BC mix was neutered at 4 months because the vet needed to fix and increasing abdominal hernia and suggested doing the neuter at the same time. Unfortunately, he now has severe hip dysplasia. If I knew then what I know now I would have done the hernia repair at 4 months and the neuter at 1.5 years to allow for adequate and proper bone growth. Of course, my dogs are house dogs and supervised at all times when outside, at agility, or the dogpark so reproductive activities are not an issue. Mel

I am so sorry to hear about Jin. Good thoughts and prayers for a speedy recovery. Hang in there. Mel

My BC mix takes prozac for his global fear. It has helped tremendously. It has also helped to keep him busy, trained, and socialized. We do agility. He had no interest in the sheep and I think the sheep knew it. He takes the generic prozac that I purchase for $4.00 or $6.00 a month at Target pharmacy. The vet brand is very expensive - ask for a generic prescription that you can have filled at your pharmacy. I give the pill to my pup on a spoon in a yogurt/peanut butter mixture for easy administration. He takes Xanax for really scary things like storms/fireworks. Prozac is also used in the human prison population for people with problems controlling anger and aggression - works very well. It was one of the first SSRIs developed initially used for depression, but treats a variety of psychological problems by increasing serotonin levels in the brain. A vet behaviorist is a good idea. Mel

Take him to the opthalmologist vet and do it soon. Many red eye conditions can cause blindness. There is a big difference between the experience and knowledge level regarding the eyes of the opthalmologist and the regular vet. This goes for people doctors too. It is a specialty where you need to practice all the time to master it. Mel

I have a dog who has global fear and extreme noise sensitivity. He does agility. The fears did not start until he was two years old at an indoor agility trial. And the teeter seems to be his biggest noise fear. We still have issues, but he is much improved. The things that have worked the best included the following. 1. Go to the indoor arena and play without all the noise. You can play fetch or whatever. The one I used allowed you to rent it for individual use an hour at a time. Small indoor horse arena - $25.00/hour. 2. The clean run tape is excellent. Start with the volume very very low and click and treat. I would ask for simple calm behaviors like sit and down after a while. Unfortunately, I tried with a whistle tape and he could hear the whistles before I could - he is afraid of whistles too. 3. Avoid flooding. It makes noise anxiety worse. In mine, he shuts down and flattens himself on the ground when flooded. 4. Take the pup to trials and start a good way away from the noise and click and treat. Gradually, move closer. Baby steps. 5. The teeter - I finally got him to like the teeter again when I started training my new pup. Her foundation training is different from my first agility dog. Rather than just learning to run across the teeter, we practice banging the end on the ground. Initially low to the ground then gradually raise it. You still run up and down on the teeter some, but you make a big party of the banging and noise. And you train the end separately then put it together. It gives them a sense of control. The other thing we do is race to the end while I hold it then drop suddenly - you build this up gradually. It decreases the hesitation in the middle/tip point. Anyway, as I was training her I retrained him with the new methods. They both run to the teeter now when they see it. A huge change for the noise phobic one. 6. Click and treat when other dogs go over the teeter in class. Hope this helps some. Mel

I have two rescues. The first (BC/Aussie/GSD - best guess) has all the herding instinct of a Maremma - sniffs the sheep, wanders around, and eats poop. Tried five or so times with no improvement. The second (BC possibly a little aussie) is a lot of dog in a little package. She has been out about three times in the round pen - once on the leash due to her being fairly new to me and very submissive. We were not sure how much correction she could take. She showed a lot of interest, stalk, and eye. The other two times dragging a long line. She repeatedly separated one sheep and grabbed at wool and underneath the sheep. The last time she completedly ignored the stock stick except once it hit the ground right in front of her and she backed off about two feet - then right back in. She was about a year old last time. The plan is to wait about 6 months, work on her commands off sheep, and let her mature a little. Any ideas for when we try her again? Has anyone used a stock stick with a feed bag taped to the end? I am wondering if that is visible enough to get her attention when she gets so fixated. I emptied their food into the storage bin last night and she seems to back away from the empty feed bag in the kitchen. It is still hard for me to believe that she ignored the stick (but I did see it) - when I first got her she would roll over if you looked at her wrong. It is like her eyes glaze over and she morphs into another dog when she sees the sheep. The white one is the Maremma wannabe and the Red one is the Coyote wannabe. Mel

If you have a cheesy odor and it rains a lot - He may have a fungal skin infection. Fungus likes moist warm places. My friend has a westie and was bathing her almost weekly until they complained to the vet about her funny odor. They treated her with some shampoo and the odor went away. Mel, Amber, and the Baxter Bonnie playing in the tunnels at Rainbow Bridge.

Hello, I think it is a good idea to take your little pup to the vet. These episodes sound like seizures. Arching of the back and the stiffness of the limbs is common in seizures. In addition, the body heats up during a seizure and the breathing usually increases. Many seizures having a jerky/shaking motion, but not all of them. Fatigue and excessive activities can increase seizures in a dog that is prone to them. If he is having a seizure this often (daily) then he will need medication. It is important to control it early because with each seizure the dog is at risk to have more frequent and longer seizures. Mel

I am so sorry to hear about Fergus. It is so hard when it happens unexpectantly. Life and accidents happen. You never know what fate has in store for you and your family. Know that he was loved and you provided a good life for him. He will be waiting for you in Heaven. Whatever was good in this world will be 100 times better in the next. Mel, Baxter, and Amber Bonnie - playing in the tunnels on the clouds.

Oh, I am so sorry. It is always difficult to say good bye to them. Ben will be waiting for you with a halo and flying sheep. Hang in there and focus on the many good times you two had together. Mel, Amber, and the Baxter. Bonnie playing in the tunnels at Rainbow Bridge.

Hi, sorry to hear about Huck's hips. I have a BC mix who has severe hip dysplasia diagnosed at about 8 months of age. I was told to start saving for hip replacements. I am hoping we will not need the surgery. Currently, we do glucosamine chondrontoin and previcox (he was a little stiff a night getting up - much better now). And we have done some water treadmill therapy at the rehab vet to build his muscles up. He is almost four years old now and still running agility. I think the muscles developed from jumping have helped take pressure off the joints. In agility they land on the front paws first so it does not aggrevate the hips. And the ortho vet said it was okay for him to participate. It keeps his mind and body active. Anyway, my trainer said he would be able to participate in herding longer than agility. However, we have only been in the round pen once and there was only one moment of interest. The rest of the time he looked like a Maremma. I know the herding intincts are there, he just doesn't seem to connect them to the sheep. On the positive side, I have trained him out of herding cars and other dogs. Perhaps I should have taken him to sheep before I worked so hard on controlling some of those instincts. Welcome! Mel, Amber, and the Baxter. Bonnie playing in the tunnels at Rainbow Bridge.

My Baxter likes to herd cars which makes off leash near any roads impossible. We have come a long way with walking through the neighborhood on leash and downing when a car approaches. He use to spin and attempt to get to the car. He also would spin and bark in his crate while riding. (Riding without a crate is out of the question - he would lunge at the windows trying to get to the cars). I now drape a silver mesh sunshade over the back and sides of the crate. I leave the front so I can see him in my mirror. And when he would start to bark and spin at cars I showed him the water spray bottle and threatened to spray him. (It probably helps if your dog respects the spray bottle). Anyway, he rides quietly now and often sleeps in the crate on trips. Good Luck. Mel.

Alprazolam works well for my thunderphobic dog with storms. I do not give it to him everyday. However, I think valium would probably give you better seizure coverage than the alprazolam. It would also help with anxiety. They are both benzodiazepines. May also help to see a neuro vet. Mel