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I really hope you people that don't give heartworm preventative to your dogs never end up with it. We have had tons of dogs in the rescue have to go through treatment. It is not fun for the dogs I'll tell you that. Most were extremely healthy dogs also. To say otherwise is just silly. A dogs natural defenses cannot get rid of the heartworm parasite on their own. You most likely live in an area where it's not common or may be even non-existent. I know in Wisconsin, the southern half of the state has tons of heartworm cases, and up north hardly any. While I agree Proheart 6 is not the way to go, I choose to put the poison pills in my dogs systems vs. risking one of them getting heartworm because I have dealt first hand with the treatment and effects it has on a dog. Cathy PS - Would love to know the natural way to get rid of heartworms, although I'd have to say I'm a skeptic and don't believe there is one.

I just can't see it working with an extremely strong dog that a correction hardly phases. One myth about the prong collar - you'd have to hang the dog in order to do any damage to a dog. Try one out on your arm next time your in a store that sells them, all it does is give an uncomfortable pinch. The exact same method bitches use on their puppies, that's why prong collars are extremely effective in correcting any unwanted behavior. I'm sure it would eventually work with a flat buckle (and you do phase out the prong after just a few days to a flat buckle), but 6 weeks is way too long for me, when I can get the same results in 15 minutes and have the same happy, unharmed dog. And the same thing applies with the praise, when the dog corrects himself by going to the end of the leash, and the only way he can get the discomfort to stop is by turning toward you, he gets verbal praise from you when he's near you. This entire method is actually based on Koehler, however Koehler used choke chains which are becoming far less common because a prong is much more effective and cannot do any damage to a dog. Choke chains can do tons of damage. And it works on all dogs (soft, stubborn, hyper, fearful, etc). It took me years to get anyone to convince me to even try one and when I was finally demonstrated in person on a hyper rescue lab that I was fostering, and the fact that the dog was not hurt and remained happy and cheerful and learned in literally 15 minutes, I was sold. Cathy

Well, the only thing I read that works (if you want a quick and effective way to get your dog to walk on a loose leash) is what Janet wrote. Except that a buckle collar is not going to correct a lot of dogs. I agree never to use any type of halti, gentle leader or choke collar with this method, but do use a prong collar. Janet - this method is the exact same method Adam Katz uses. Except he'd never recommend a flat buckle collar. I'm assuming you got this from his books/videos. And she's right that the dog should learn in about 10-15 minutes never to pull on the leash again and always have slack in and focus 50% on you and where you're going and doing. I'd highly recommend visiting this website and purchasing the video "How to Walk on a Loose Leash", it's saved my life with fostering labs, instead of spending days and days on training a dog to walk on a leash, I can spend 15 minutes and just a couple of sessions throughout that week and that dog will never pull on a leash again. And the best part, the dog is still happy and wagging his tail, the best part is they aren't choking themselves on the end of the leash anymore. His website is www.dogproblems.com Cathy

I do not like rawhides, I can't believe they still sell them even. They're dirty, you're supposed to wash your hands after you touch them. All it is is a piece of leather that they chew up, it gets all moist and gross and IF they chew off a large enough piece and swallow it, it can expand in their stomach and then you get to go to the vet and pay a big huge bill for them to cut your dog open and get it out. I only give my dogs real cow bones, either cooked or raw I like, never had a problem with them. And the dogs that do spend a lot of time chewing on them have all white teeth. The only thing you need to watch for is when the bones get too small then throw them out. They last for weeks too! Cathy ------------------

I'd say the distinction between back yard breeder and puppymill has to be made. To me, most are backyard breeders. Here's a prime example of one: Friday night we were at the local tavern where we can bring a dog with us. We brought our lab/great dane mix. He's striking - looks like a huge yellow lab with bright blue eyes. Immediately this idiot starts talking to us about breeding him to his golden! My husband said why the heck would we breed him to a golden? He's a mix and anyways he's neutered. Well, the guy thought he was a blue eyed lab and proceeded to tell us all the money we could have made off him. Just like how his golden's last litter made him $3000. One sentence that he said that fits perfectly with all backyard breeders mentality is "if you have a purebred it's money in the bank" - referring to breeding them. As for a puppymill, being in rescue, I think of puppymills only as the large commercial breeding facilities. Doesn't matter how great the conditions are, if there are multiple breeds and many dogs (I'm talking in the hundreds), it's a puppymill. Everything else is a backyard breeder. Cathy ------------------

You'll be very happy with the FHO. In a few months she should be running and keeping up with the other dogs. I don't know about 6' fence jumping, but she will be just as athletic as before. We've had 1 of our dogs get it done and any rescue dogs that need hip surgery only get FHO's and all are back to normal within a few short months. Cathy ------------------

I have a dog with front and rear dew claws that seem to be hanging by a thread also. He's never had a problem and he has 40 acres to romp in and he's always climbing on things and under things to hunt. I have 3 other dogs with front dew claws, one has never hurt them. My border collie always gets them hurt on things, but they heal back to normal. My lab sliced both his clean off somehow, it hurt him for about 2 days, but they're gone now. ------------------

There is the University of Wisconsin in Madison vet school, which is supposed to be the second best in the nation (behind Ohio state). Set up an appt to bring your dog there. Cathy ------------------

That's the one I saw, with the ducks. I could probably train my beagle to do that if I tried hard enough! ------------------

I'd have to disagree. They did a good job on showing what the general public thinks a border collie is according to the AKC on Animal Planet. They showed AKC herding events, and then crazy border collies barking their heads off at flyball I think it was. I haven't seen it for awhile, but it was a far cry from the reality of the border collie really is like they showed on NGC. ------------------

Bill, the host did clearly point out that they just breed for working ability, not for looks, and showed about 20 different dogs, half a which some people probably don't even think are a border collie. Even if I wasn't clear, the show was clear, and never ever mentioned the AKC, just mentioned these are not bred like show dogs for appearance and height and weight and color, but ONLY for working ability. Also, pointed out was that the dogs were not barking. None of them. Quite a bit different than the border collies most people see on TV at flyball and agility trials where they're barking their heads off the entire time! It was on the National Geographic Channel and the show was actually called "National Geographic Today." I caught it by luck when my husband was flipping through channels. I missed the beginning. Hopefully it will be on again. It was about 9pm cst. ------------------

I finally saw the first real sheepdog trial on TV. All that's ever been on TV before is barbie collies in small pens usually herding ducks through what looks like a putt putt course. This was on the national geographic channel. It was a perfect example of a trial. All dogs that weren't in the field, we're patiently waiting their turn, watching the sheep. No barking, or playing or going crazy. Also, the host pointed out that the dogs look incredibly different because there is no standard in breeding a real sheepdog, like their is in showdogs. They stressed they are only bred for working ability, never ever anything else. And at the end, the said if you want a pet, DON'T get a border collie. I thought it was a great program. Too bad Animal Planet can't show what a real border collie is for, I'm sure more people watch that channel than NGC. ------------------

I personally find the silly water jumping thing much more interesting than flyball and agility. But I like the swimming contests even more. What I'd most like to see on Animal Planet some day is a real herding trial. Pushing ducks around a small fenced in area with bridges and other silly things is ridiculous. I could probably teach my cat to do that! ------------------

I got right to it! It looks like so much fun, but unfortunately, there's no time in my busy schedule to do agility - I spend way too much time fostering rescue dogs. My BC's agility consists of hurdling the Labs when I tell her too and some fancy footwork on the picnic table!

Julie, Puppies do only have on average a week in the pound, because there are time limits as to how long they can stay in a pound - usually a week. When their time's up, they're put to sleep. Joy, Perhaps I misread your post. But when the first line reads "I have a 6 month old BC that was on his way to the pound!", I interpreted it as meaning you were at your wits end with this puppy and ready to get rid of it. Sorry if I miss understood.