imported_Kat

If I throw more than one tennis ball, Meg does her best to try and gather them all up in her mouth :lol:

Bullsh*t about removing the signs :evil: !!! I have a Border Collie and Golden Retriever who certainly are not aggressive in any form, but the signs are up so people like burglars are warned and think twice about trying to burgle us. We had the signs before we even had dogs for heavens sake!

Yep Winter here in Northern Ireland too, already had a spattering of snow and going to around -7 degrees celcius at night. Can't believe its going to be Christmas soon. where I live they put the xmas decorations up before halloween..how sad is that :roll:

[i][b][size=6][color=violet]HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO CHAOS! :bday: :bday: :bday: [/color][/size][/b][/i]Agility lessons are a great gift; any dog would wish for such a great pressie :D

Doh I didn't even notice the date... my brain is frazzled at the moment :-?

Most human shampoos are not suitable for dogs' skin as dogs' skin has a different pH in comparison to us. In saying that however some of the more natural tea tree oils and oatmeal shampoos are fine. I bath Meg in Johnstons baby shampoo, so she is a Johnstons baby puppy :D

Aww Star this will be difficult for you, but you have all of us here and I'm certain you will be permitted to visit Zebra every day. I'll be thinking of you :wink:

What crap! Since when did Shar-peis look like pits?! :evil: Besides its her property and after being through what she went through recently, she has a right to bark! :evil: Geeze some asswangs would debark dogs if they got the chance, and stop a dog communicating :evil: :evil:

Did you draw up a written agreement? Its a bit dodgy releasing the puppy but you did everything possible including having the pup checked by the vet, and usualy colitis is caused by bird droppings licked from puppies feet and clears in a few days, sometimes aided with antibiotics.

[url]http://www.lcanimal.org/media/baird_l.asf[/url] This exemplifies animal cruelty at its peak.... I have just watched this and have seen so much cruelty in my time working at the Vets but never so much in the same place at once...its just sickening and makes my blood boil :evil:

Hi there Star, just to echo the others you will be stood by regardless of what decision you make. Working at a veterinary practice we see a lot of HD dogs. If you can cope and your dog can cope with up to 4 months of cage confinement, followed by intense physiotherapy and further continuous xrays, then accept the operation. Your dog is young, but just bear in mind that 4 or 5 years down the line you could be into the same money if not more again, as this sort of surgery is not guaranteed. Minor surgeries may also have to be done as your dog finishes growing, or perhaps your vet will be sensible and ensure that no further significant growth will occur with Zebra. it IS expensive and it isn't guaranteed, but if you have tried combinations of anti-inflammatorys (Phenoleucotrophin, phenylbutazone, *rimadyl isn't recommended by our practice as the effect wears off very quickly and dogs also become immune to it*) and injections of cartrophen or ketofen, and are prepared to take a chance then do it. A great semi herbal treatment is Artphyton which is given for 10 days every month in the food, its in a pellet form and we have seen tremendous results with it. We are very hesitant to launch into surgery as are most other vets that I know of, as success rates are variable. Whatever you decide, everyone will stand by you. Please keep us updated. :wink:

How long has she been finished her season? If she has just finished it within 2/3 weeks, then this is a pseudo-pregnancy I'm sure. Mammary glands usually don't swell in a pregnant bitch until the last few weeks of the 9 week gestation period of a bitch. Also the toy gathering behaviour is typical of a pseudo-pregnancy, as is a sudden behavioural change. A course of tablets will disperse the "false milk" and these can be obtained from your veterinary surgeon.

Thats really super to hear. Major achievment :D Just tell your son to keep that confidence because it sounds now that Laurel at first was genuinely not confident and showing fear aggression but now that she has settled with you, from what you were describing before, the growling and baying sounded like dominance aggression. Tell Kyle to keep confident so that Laurel gets the message that she is not intimidating Kyle. Brilliant progress :wink:

Of course you need two K! It would be crazy not to have two...one for each knee when they try and sneakily sit on you! :P

Its a big move for such a little boy, suddenly being confronted with strange people when he was used to having his siblings nearby and his Mum. The best thing to do is just give him quiet time in a separate room for 10 mins or more a few times every day. He will thrive on this too and will learn that you will always come back to him. Good luck :wink:

Nice one! well done to you pair! :fadein:

Hi folks, I need a bit of brain storming here for a literature review I'm doing. Tell me what thoughts come immediately to mind with the title of "The evolution of canine social behaviour"? I think I'm working at this computer too much, cos my brain actually hurts :-?

How that could be evolved from a wolf is amazing, but thats selection for you! Think hes the wrinkliest that I've ever seen actually :P

This is very random but I came across a website a few days ago that stated there were 400 dog breeds recognised in the world but could be up to double that number. I need it for my thesis literature review and can't find the darn site. Anyone by any chance know of a site that states something similar? Thanks in advance, A very frazzled Kat :-?

Yeah stupid UK tradition! This year there was supposed to be a ban on illegal fireworks but it sounded like it was just as bad last night! Anyway we had a crazy night but all lost dogs reunited with their owners and the Border Collie who we now know is called Tag will be taking part in my research too :D Zoe was a basket case, and peed, crapped, and boked last night when I was called out again. When I checked on Meg she was curled up wondering what all the fuss was about! :lol: Thank goodness its over for another year!

Many congrats Nea and have lots of fun with your new puppy :D

I think its cool, but cats being solitary creatures wouldn't be as reliable as a dog so in that case I think I'll stick to Meg :P

Here ya go HB, These are the two puppers I petsit. Daisy is the Grey and is 3y.o and Oliver is the cream fawn and is nearly 2 y.o [img]http://sander.servehttp.com/kat/DCP_0090.JPG[/img] [img]http://sander.servehttp.com/kat/DCP_0098.JPG[/img]

Well so far into work we have had a terrified Border Collie bitch who ran to seek refuge at a petrol station. No vice about her, she is such a sweety and I've just sent a message out over the radio to try find her owner. A lakeland terrier dog also found his way to us and was brought in by kids who found him. And..the worst so far asswangs that threw a firework they thought was dud to a dog. :roll: Dog who is a Collie x GSD caught it and bang the firework went off, so Boris is also at work with a severely damaged jaw which will require surgery tomorrow. We have to first leave him to allow the burns to heal. I'm just home now as it was quiet but am on call for the remainder of the night. I came home to find that a frightened sh*t scared Zoe had torn half the door frame down..LITERALLY! :o The radio was turned up very loud but still she has heard them go off...what a night! [img]http://sander.servehttp.com/kat/Dcp_0468.jpg[/img] The culprit looking like butter wouldn't melt! :evil: [img]http://sander.servehttp.com/kat/DCP_0464.JPG[/img]

In response to Guest: I believe that the term "hybrid" is too tightly classified. Red wolves which carry the same number of chromosomes as Grey wolves and Coyotes are the result of a hybridisation, yet are classified as a separate species. Additionally mitochondrial DNA which is only derived maternally is identical in both Coyotes and red wolves, and to a lesser extent in Grey wolves. This IS classified as hybridisation even though both parents had the same number of chromosomes. It should also be pointed out that most species were created before the invention of chromosome mapping techniques like FISH, and therefore the word hybrid came later in evolution. Yes they are from a common ancestor but where does it stop and how can we really judge to classify separate species? It is an intriguing subject, but I believe that the term "hybrid" will in the future be re-classified. All members of the Canidae family diverged along different lines and the genetic constitution of these animals has only changed ever so slightly, with the exception of the new world [i]vulpes[/i].