AK dog doc

Well, I hope people DON'T go around deciding to off their dogs because they've reached some number of years that the owner thinks is "old", particularly because "some expert" said it was. Age is not a disease. Hopefully their vet will tell them so. I'm with Bill on the longevity thing... every dog ages at its own pace, but generally speaking it's only giant breed dogs that are really old at eight, although I had one Saint Bernard patient that died at 17 (euthanised due to severe hip disease, but the rest of him might have gone on longer if not for his unremitting pain), and currently a Dane who is 12 and much to his owner's delight hasn't a clue that he should have died 4 years ago. This is to say nothing of the many and many who are smaller breeds and therefore longer lived in general, who have been kept fit and given good care and will therefore live longer for that as well, who are happy as little clams at 11 and 13 and 16 and more. As long as they have good quality of life, who are WE to say they should be dead by now? Fortunately, the dogs didn't read that book. I just hope that the owners who do don't put too much stock in that 8-year-lifespan thing. Most of MY clients, at least, are looking for things to do to extend the good years of their dogs, not excuses to kill them if they've slowed down a bit or are less convenient than when they were four and needed less care. Loved your words about Molly, Bill. Maybe you should join Julie and Melanie in writing the end-all best seller of dogdom. I'd buy a copy of THAT one!

Actually it could be, but an xray would tell you for sure. But it could also be anything else that causes inflammation - a pulled muscle, an infection, etc. Is she sensitive there?

Glad she's better - and thx for the info on basketball, I did not know about the suat and dribble move - I guess I'd better get ESPN so I can keep current!

I'll see if Finn has any application forms! And glad to be of help.

Well, now I'm going to have to read Winterdance. Any book that makes me laugh til I can't breathe is okay by me. At the risk of annoying people... I actually DID like the Clothier book - not becasue it was a fun little read, though I wouldn't say I found it dreary so much as kind of slow reading - but for a couple of other reasons. One, she pointed out training mistakes she made right up front, and owned up intead of blaming it on the dog. Two, it was philosophical, which makes me think, in general (regardless of what the subject is), and tends to point out where I've made assumptions that I haven't even realised I made. I like this. Three, I think she makes a good point - which will doubtless be obvious to most everyone on these boards, but is NOT obvious to the majority of my clients who have training problems - that dogs are masters of body language and we are nothing like as good at it, so quite often owners are misunderstanding the majority of what their dog is saying AND what they are saying back. That isn't probably applicable to most of the people on the board here (well, to me sometimes!), but when I read the book I was thinking a lot more in terms of the ordinary everyday dog owner who has a lot less of an idea what they're doing in training the dog than most people here do. And four, though this will no doubt mark me as some sort of nut case, for some reason it struck me as hilarious when she licked her Aunt's knee while sitting under the table pretending to be a dog. Maybe I was just in one of those moods that day - but it was offbeat enough to catch my attention and make me read a bit more. What I didn't like about The Hidden Life of Dogs is that I see all too many hit by car, shot by neighbor, kicked by moose, leg-hold trap, antifreeze, dogfight wound (etc) dogs who would not have some to greif except that the owners want them to live a "natural" life - which means they let them run all over the place with no supervision and then are all suprised and upset when something happens to the pet. Many can't understand why we want to charge them MONEY to treat their dogs - don't we love dogs? Shouldn't we just do it for free? Are we just going to let their dogs DIE because the owner can't afford to fix a problem they could have prevented for free? What's wrong with us, anyway? Unfortunately the fact of having a book published lends a certain credibility to the content - at least for some people. They figure it had to be at least good enough to be published, so it can't be TOTAL crap - and that section of the population will tend to take this kind of book as vindication for their own irresponsibility. I don't think they need to be given any encouragement in this regard. I actually had 2 different clients tell me at different times - while I was stemming the blood loss from their dogs, who were panting and groaning in pain from their injuries, gums white and eyes rolling in distress and shock - that they let their dogs run loose so they could have a natural life "like in that book". The author never intended it as a "how to" book, in my view, but she also (so far as I recall) never pointed out that BTW, this is a totally irresponsible way to manage your dog and don't do this at home. But it's been a long time since I read that book, so I might not recall it accurately. And in any case, there are plenty of people who never even heard of that book who tell us they want their dog to "be free" (which often means "be road kill") and that their dog "never leaves the yard" (Oh, really? Someone came into your yard and shot your dog/ran over your dog/poisoned your dog/trapped your dog in a leg hold trap? No? well, then your dog DID leave your yard, and I'd bet it isn't the first time.) So the problem exists anyway... I just didn't think that book was any help at all in discouraging it. Okay. I'm shutting up now.

Hi, Hector Probably Baily is doing himself no harm at all, in general. The body does strengthen in response to the demands made on it, so long as those demands allow the body TIME to strengthen, and so long as they don't exceed the structural capability of the tissues. So probably Bailey has been in training for some mysterious doggie stair-descending competition (I'll have to see if Finn has some secret literature on this sport hidden under his bed - I'll let you know, shall I? ) and has practised up enough that he can handle the stresses. Also, at 9 months of age, if his growth plates aren't closed by now, they soon will be, and some of the injuries that come from puppy recklessness are due to damage to the open growth plates, which are a weak spot in the bone until they fuse (generally at pubety, slightly later in animals neutered before puberty). This is probably no longer an issue with Bailey. Also, he sounds athletic, which means that he's less likely to take a header than if he were a klutz. Your footing is good, so less chance of a slip-and-fall. And, the descent itself, even if swift, isn't the biggest stressor on the joint for a dog his size - it's the stopping that might strain something, if he were to do it in an uncoordinated or abrupt way. (A little dog for whom the steps are still pretty big compared to his body size would be more likely to ding himself up.) Over time and repeated stresses, a dog can develop a use injury - like old sled dogs who have sore shoulders and so on - but racing down the stairs a few times a day shouldn't do it. We're talking dogs that run 80 miles a day and 1049 miles in 8 or 9 days, here, on snow and ice - to say nothing of the thousands of miles they do in training, year in and year out. I don't think puppies sould be running marathons and I don't think they should be doing a lot of jumping down from high places. But I DO think they should be able to play and roughhouse and run around and be puppies. These activities strengthen their tissues and improve their coordination. As they get bigger, stronger and more coordinated, they can gradually take on bigger challenges. When Finn was really little he tired a lot more easily, so I let him goof around on reasonably level footing for 30 minutes to an hour 2 or 3 times a day. By about the age of 16 weeks (when his vaccines were done) we were going for hour-long hikes in the woods, where he ran with his mother and father and my other dogs (fenced area, but some hilly terrain). We gradually worked up to now, when it is not possible to tire him with a four hour hike and him running essentially the entire time. I'd say he could have handled that by 10 months to a year, maybe sooner (didn't test him on it 'til he was 13 months). The best liklihood of having a sound dog in old age is to keep them trim, keep them fit (not necessary to have them at the level of extreme performance dogs, just reasonable amounts of activity several times a week), and give them good nutritional support (glucosamine and chondroitin have been proven to improve cartilage regeneration in dogs, and there are several antioxidant food substances which generally help repair damage to all tissues.) Any dog can get an injury, but that's life. Most everyone on the boards seems to have good common sense - that's a great place to start, as it sound like you have. BC's are made to move. We should let them. Reasonable precautions in puppies are a great idea, but it sounds like you got Bailey past his most vulnerable stage in fine shape, so you're doing great so far. You aren't encouraging reckless behavior, and while good stair manners are nice to have (partly so YOU don't go flying down the stairs at the same rate of speed, only on your head), the twice a day he sprints them is probably a non-issue. So that was pretty long-winded... did I answer your question? (Everyone else groaning and saying, "Please god say YES!" )

Actually, closer to the ground has nothing to do with it. (Human females are also more prone to UTI's than males, and I doubt most of us are "closer to the ground" in this way... but maybe I don't want to know... ) What it DOES have to do with was also mentioned here: the urethra - which is the tube which empties the bladder - is shorter and wider in females than males, so it's a lot easier for bacteria to get in. (On the plus side, it's a lot easier for stones to get OUT, so females rarely get urinary obstruction, which can be painful and life-threatening... not too many animals die of a plain old bladder infection, so maybe that's a decent trade.) Also, anatomically, in dogs the urethra empties into the vaginal vault, not directly to the outside world, so there may be some "backwash" of urine in the vaginal vault (which is called "urine pooling"), which may wash bacteria into the bladder. If there's an anatomical abnormality (like a vaginal stricture), that may worsen the problem. Some of those are outgrown as the pup matures, others not. Urine pooling may also be a contributor to puppy vaginitis, and vice cersa. The frequency and dribbling are related to "urge incontinence", which means that she does have control of her bladder but she does NOT have control of her urgency, which overwhelms her and makes her need to go RIGHT THIS SECOND! - so she does. That should go away as soon as the infection is under control. Puppy vaginitis is fairly common, and often resolves with antibiotics (so should a UTI). The pustules (and good spelling, Denise! ) can be treated topically with a little Neosporin (or the generic equivalent - original formula, not pain-control) applied twice daily, if you like. That is probably puppy pyoderma, which is also fairly common... little pimple-like and/or rash-like spots on the tummy, inner thighs and peri-vulvar area, mostly. Usually not too big a deal. I think the "R" and "negative" are for "gram-negative", which just describes what color the bacteria turn in Gram stain. Certain groups are negative, others positive, and there is some difference in antibiotic sensitivity between the two groups. However, Ceph is a good drug (I usually go for amoxicillin for UTI's as a first choice, but that's doctor preference, so whatever works in their hands). You should see an improvement in 48 to 72 hours (possibly sooner, but don't decide it isn't working til you give it at least 2 days, unless Marzipan is getting worse, in which case call your vet.) She may not be completely asymptomatic by then, but if she's improved, you're on the right track. You should finish out the meds, though, as I'm sure you know. Cranberry does help in many cases - it inhibits the bacteria from forming little grappling hooks that they can use to stick to the bladder wall to prevent themselves from washing out to sea when she urinates. No grappling hooks (which are called pilli) = not so easy to stay put in the bladder. Some animals also seem to have symptomatic relief from cranberry, and it may acidify the urine, which makes life more difficult for bacteria. You can get the cranberry capsules at the health food store or see if she'll drink the juice for you... I advise NOT using the ones with high fructose corn syrup; try to get one of the all-juice kind (Knudsen's makes one, and there are other "natural" types with pear or grape juice to sweeten.) As far as maintaining health of the bladder and related areas (or, the "naughty bits" as they like to say on Monty Python ), let her have as much water as she wants (most dogs with UTI's have an increased thirst), and unless she shows recurrence or persistence of this episode, you probably don't need to do anything special. Her little vulva is probably all tucked up still because of her youth; that usually straitens out as they mature. Many pups outgrow the tendency to bladder infections as the structures mature and take on a more adult form. If she doesn't, ask your vet to work her up for it... stones are rare in young dogs, but they can have abnormal shapes of the bladder which can contribute (this is uncommon and usually readily corrected with surgery when it occurs.) Most likely all will be well after this round of meds and you can go back to the normal puppy urinations frequency of approximately 85 million times a day, or more if you're busy with something that can't be interrupted. Anyway, enough of my soapbox/mini dissertation on UTI's... Hope she's feeling better soon, and hope you get some sleep!

That IS a stressful event. Usually they do pass if they make it to the stomach and if there isn't a big long length of fishing line on them - but not always. So you were smart to check. We had one recently that came in stuck in the esophagus (a bit trickier, since they have to be removed surgically), and two weeks ago I had a puppy with a nice treble hook embedded in his lip, from which was dangling a big orange cigar-shaped lure. The pup thought he was quite something, trotting around with his big fancy lure swinging jauntily from his lower lip (I guess by then the dismay had worn off for him... and what the hey, it was a chow mix, maybe he didn't notice there was a hook in his lip! Or maybe he thought it was some trendy new fad in piercing...)

Bearing in mind I can't see her or her test results... She could have mammary development from doing a false pregnancy (all dogs do a false pregnancy, but not all dogs are symptomatic with it.) A few dogs will have morning sickness with either a real or false pregnancy, and some that have a false pregnancy also gain weight. However, usually they don't develop a big abdomen, fever or pain. If there is any possibilty that she may be pregnant, I'd advise pursuing that a little - over here I'd do an ultrasound (or do you call them sonograms over there?) to rule out pregnancy or another possibilty, pyometra (uterine infection). These are unusual in young dogs, but I've seen them in bitches less than a year of age. They generally occur anywhere from 2 to 8 weeks after the heat is over, though 4 to 6 weeks is average. The other advantage of ultrasound is that it would detect free fulid in the abdomen from other causes, and you can assess the bladder (sometimes dogs with bladder stones are painful). If she is pregnant, Xrays can count pups 6 weeks after implantation (I usually go 7 weeks, though, because there's more calcium in the skeletons then and they're easier to count.) Two or three Xrays should not harm the puppies. I don't know what antibiotic she's on, but many of them are safe in pregnancy. (BTW, a sonogram can detect the presence of pups and tell if there are beating hearts, but it's a lousy way to try to count how many puppies. They are very non-invasive, though you may have to shave a little belly hair.) If she is pregnant, she might be uncomfortable (and tired!) from that (especially if it's a big litter); but it's also possible that the signs of pregnancy are independant of the pain and fever, and that the two have nothing to do with each other. If it is just fatigue and nausea associated with pregnancy, it probably isn't too serious. Some of the other stuff maybe a bit more so, but there's lots that can be done. Has she had any vaginal discharge? is she drinking or urinating more than usual (either volume or frequency)? is there any discharge from her nipples? is the mammary tissue pliant, or is it hard and hot? Dogs do have a sciatic nerve, but it runs sort of from the top of the hip joint parallel to the spine and then down the back of the hind leg; I doubt that's the problem, though, because sciatic injury is uncommon in dogs unless there's been some kind of trauma like being hit by a car or stomped on by a moose or kicked by a horse or something. If there were a spinal injury (which could cause sciatic injury) probably either you'd know about a traumatic episode, or some spinal changes would have been seen on the Xrays. Good luck with this, and I hope the tests turn up something concrete (although they don't always - that's the nature of medicine, alas.) I'll keep an eye on the thread for developments.

Sadly, the cats are wise to his tricks and either make themselves scarce, or sit in the Sphinx position and refuse to be budged. Spoilsports. Glad folks are entertained... Finn is a comedy act in three parts pretty much daily (ably assisted by his sidekicks Buddy and MacKenzie)...

Now I'm going to have to read this book, just to see what he says. But never fear, I won't buy it (thus adding to the royalties)... I have a friend who has it. I'll ask to borrow it. Eileen, if you keep your dogs to a dull roar, you're doing better than I am! The North American Inter-Breed Dog Wrestling Championships are evidently held under my bed almost nightly, much to my suprise. (Who knew when I bought the joint that it was a sporting venue?) Apparantly the warm-up for this event requires approximately 237 mandatory laps around the bedposts, although it appears the rule book does not specify whether the laps should be performed by going UNDER the bed or OVER it (and any current occupants) and it looks like carrying dog toys in the mouth during the laps may earn extra points in the scoring, as this mode appears popular. Oh, well... the body strengthens in response to the stresses laid upon it, and so far no injuries despite the extreme enthusiasm of the participants...

I think what Tassie is referring to in the "shouldn't do stairs" thing is the concern many people have about injury to the joints and bones. Puppies ARE more vulnerable to that - partly because they still have open growth plates, partly because they ARE still uncoordinated - but normal stair climbing and descending shouldn't be an issue. If they FELL down the stairs, that could be more of an issue, and I personally (to the extent that I can stop them!) won't let my little puppies (like, under 6 months of age) jump down off of anything high, which would increase the risk of injury. But unless the stairs are very steep with poor footing (like bare wood or linoleum) or unless the puppy is a real maniac about racing down them, it should be okay. Eileen has a good point about it being a physical challenge that will help the pup gain coordination and strength. It's always good to be cautious and guard the pup against injury, but if he's being careful in his descents it should be okay. Finn was VERY cautious when he frist learned stairs, especially going down. Also, my bed is quite high and I lifted him on and off it til he was about 5 months old (he physically couldn't jump up on it due to height til maybe 4 months, and then had to learn HOW to do it.) I still lifted him off for a while but between 5 nd 6 months he learned how to jump off of it and was too fast for me to always grab him and lift him down. Then he developed this thing where instead of just jumping off the bed he would first leap upward into the air like a jackrabbit, effectively increasing his fall distance by about 18 inches. :eek: This did not thrill me. However, he is still completely sound despite his best efforts. We do see puppies in with "fall" injuries - often fractures and dislocations, which can be quite serious - but usually (unless it is a very tiny breed) they have to descend a greater distance than a stair. So far as I know there are no studies that prove that doing stairs in a reasonable fashion in puppyhood leads to other injuries. Just my opinion, though, so do what's comfortable to you.

Hi Buddybear An umbilical hernia is usually not a big deal in terms of repair. Basically it's a failure of the body wall to close comepletely at the bellybutton. Small ones may scar down to the point that repair is optional, and although the hernia may constitute a potentially weak spot in the body wall, in practical reality little ones rarely present a problem. Larger hernias should be repaired. This is easily done at the time of neutering (if you neuter), or you can do it in puppyhood if you don't plan to neuter (we usually do them around four to six months of age unless it's a pretty big one). Your vet can advise you if it is likely to need repair and how soon it should be done. The risk with what's called an "open" hernia - in other words, things can move back and forth through the hernia - is that if a loop of gut slipped through it could strangulate and then you have a big problem on your hands (most of the time all that can fit through is a little bit of fat, though). If it's a REALLY big hernia, you could risk evisceration if there were an abdominal trauma - but I've only seen this happen once and we see uncomplicated hernias probably every week, so it's pretty rare to hve a really bad one. The vast majority of umbilical hernias in puppies are not a serious problem in terms of the pup's health. Either they scar down on their own, or we repair them. There is a hereditary componant, so if you breed you might try to avoid that problem with the female's genetics. You might ask the breeder if they would allow you to get a pre-purchase exam for the pup at your own vet so s/he can advise you, and/or if they would decrease their fee in view of the fact that you would have to spend money on the hernia. (They may prefer to sell you the other pup, though, and find someone who won't ask them for a financial consideration based on a hernia to buy the hernia pup - depends on the breeder.) Naturally I can't tell you what it would cost at your vet to do the hernia, but at our place it would approximately double the cost of a neuter IF it was done at the same time as the neuter; if it was done without the neuter, it would cost more. If you really like THIS pup as opposed to wanting A pup from this litter, I'd get the prepurchase exam to see what your vet thinks first (be sure to ask if both testicles are descended, as this is another thing that can cost money later on), then make whatever decision seems reasonable from there. Good luck, and too fun you're getting a puppy!

Sue's right on on the "kennel cough" thing... that term is used as a catch-all for the many types of coughs that dogs can get when in contact with other dogs - as in a kennel situation, a show, an obedience class, etc. Generally when people mention the "kennel cough vaccine" they are referring to one particular type of kennel cough, a bacterial infection caused by the bacterium Bordatella bronchiseptica. However, there are a great many other infectious causes of "kennel cough", and most of them don't have vaccines. For the sake of clarity, what most of my clients mean when they talk about the dog having a cold is that the dog has an upper respiratory infection of some type (in humans, this is generally caused by a virus, of which there are a great many). We don't see this nearly as often in dogs - but we do see it. As Sue mentions, usually allergies produce a clear watery discharge of the nose and/or eyes, and itching (at the face and elsewhere) is common. Uncomplicated viral infections of the upper respiratory system may ALSO produce a clear watery discharge, though generally not itching. Most viral infections clear on their own, and at any rate we have a lot fewer anti-viral meds than we do anti-bacterial ones, so we don't have a drug that would help get rid of them anyway. So, with a clear discharge, if the animal is otherwise stable, nursing care is the ticket. But good advice from Sue on seeing the vet if the discharge develops a color, since that usually indicates a bacterial infection has gotten a grip (sometimes the virus sort of opens the door for that, by making the system vulnerable). We DO have a lot of meds for bacterial infections, and unlike most upper respiratory viruses, bacterial infections sometimes will NOT clear without medication (we've had a couple of life-threatening pneumonias develop this way). However, some dogs (maybe a lot of dogs?) will nail these down just fine without our help, so use persistence or progression of signs as your indicator that it's time to get medical help. I can't say what the incedence of "colds" (ie upper respiratoy viruses) in dogs is in other parts of the country - it's been a while since I practised anywhere but AK - so this is all just a general point of information. Up here, we tend to see them in waves - small surges in incedence - maybe 2 or 3 times a year, and I probably see what my clients would call a "cold" maybe 4 to 8 times with each wave, depending. That isn't very many compared to the number of patients in a year. We may see a bit more up here than elsewhere due to the weather. And of course I have no idea how many dogs have the signs but are not brought in and get better on their own. Tassie is right that sometimes you have a dog with a weak immunity to some infection; the immunity wouldn't entirely prevent infection, but it would usually produce only a mild illness. A weak immunity could be just to a given germ, or it could be from a weak immune system in general. Many ways this could occur and this is toooo long already , so I won't go into it unless you think it's relevant. You're probably all snoozing by now anyway! (Sorry!) Anyway, so far it sounds like Iris is fighting the good fight - so, good for her and her sturdy BC immune system!

Trailrider is right about both allergies and colds, though bear in mind that some viruses can be airborne (meaning direct contact with infected animals is not always required for transmission), and secondary bacterial infections may 'ride the coattails' of the virus and settle in. Typically an uncomplicated upper respiratory virus will clear on its own in 7 to 10 days with only common-sense care by the owner - back off the athletics for a few days, keep them reasonably warm and so on; if appetite is off (since they may not have a good sense of smell if their noses are stuffy), tempt them a little with slightly warmed food or something with a strong aroma (like the juice from water-packed tuna). If the illness is progressing, if there are new symptoms popping up, if you see a colored (green or yellow) discharge from eyes or nose, if the dog develops a productive cough (like when a person has a heavy chest cold and is coughing up goo) or if the signs are not abating in 7 to 10 days, see your vet. And as always, I can't see the dog, so use your best judgement, and if in doubt, call the doc. BTW, since dogs are constantly licking their noses, you may only see the colored discharges by looking at the corner of the nostril, to the side of the nose, not directly in front. Hope Iris feels better soon!

I'm about 50 miles out of Anchorage in the Mat-Su valley. Small world, eh? Grew up in Fort Collins. Truthfully I don't recall if there was a fall shedding season in CO - but there is one up here (the weather here is more extreme, though.)

Hi Jill Well, it could be a coincidence, actually, but it also could be related to the diet change. (My, I'm helpful, aren't I? ) What diet was he on before? And has he had a stool sample checked? We sometimes get an unthrifty patient who's just wormy. As a general diet thing, there are dogs who do great on the worst crap diets around, and others who have to be on something soooo premium and restricted that it's astonishing, and everything in between. I generally feel that the proof is in the puppy... if the dog does well on it, it's a good diet *for that dog* - though not necessarily the next one down (within reason, of course... a really crappy diet is still a really crappy diet.) Your choices are to either: 1) stick with that diet through a shedding cycle (up here I usually see a spring shed and a fall shed, the fall shed in prep for the winter coat and the spring one in prep for the summer coat) and see if his winter coat comes in well; 2) switch back to the previous diet to see if the shedding stops (though THAT could be conincedental as well, just to make this more fun!); or 3) get him worked up for underlying problems. Bear in mind this may be part of him maturing his coat - a lot of dogs don't have an adult coat til 2 years old or later. So maybe he's just reorganizing (althogh I didn't see this in my BC - maybe other people have...?). As long as his skin looks good, he's comfortable and he's not itchy, smelly or balding, you have some leeway. Where in Colorado are you? (My home state). Just curious.

Actually, you can use Beano if you want. Some people swear by chlorophyll capsules as well as the acidophilus. Never heard of the corriander seed, but I'm intrigued. All the home remedies are inexpensive and have the dual advantage that if you keep the food constant and change only one other thing at a time, you know what thing caused any changes you observe. And then if nothing works you can change foods or pursue other workup when you get nearer the end of the bag. (I have the same Scottish thing about wasting stuff... never even been to Scottland, though - d'you suppose it's genetic?)

Usually they do regrow their coat after blowing it for hormonal reasons (heat, pregnancy, false pregnancy). This will sometimes take 6 to 8 months, though. All my females have been spayed so here I'm talking about my patients, who I know less intimately... maybe someone who has a female who went through a similar process (heat, blow coat, spay) can reassure you on a more personal-exeriential basis, though...? Hey - at least she had a coat to blow! I'm still waiting for Finn to grow one...

Libby You've gotten some very astute, thoughtful and well-considered answers... I can only add a small bit (pretty much in agreement with what's been said so far)... Where I see problems for my clients and patients with BC-as-pet situations is in those who do not keep their BC mentally stimulated and physically excersised - in whatever way. I also have to advise many people that a BC is NOT the dog for them - in fact, I rarely recommend the breed as an appropriate one, since *most* people have no idea what they're getting into (as someone pointed out in a different thread - most people DON'T want a smart dog - they only think they do.) In fairness, though, I will say that some people DO 'get it' about what this is going to be like, and many people who discover to their suprise that this is NOT what they were expecting, do indeed rise to the occasion, if slightly belatedly, and find ways to keep their BC happy and stimulated. I don't know that that constitutes a "lesser" life... different, certainly, but my personal take is that intelligence confers options, so this is not a breed wherein every individual dog can only be happy at one task in the universe. As a whole, the breed is meant to herd. On an individual basis, I feel a given dog can be very happy at different tasks and in a variety of situations. Herding is a complex task, and as others have illustrated in this thread, it does require MANY different skills and talents to do it well. If you employ those talents in another way besides herding, they're still employed, and the dog still has an outlet for its natural drives. I see nothing wrong with that. The reason we have breeds is that we are selecting for certain traits, so we breed like-talented animals together to magnify the traits in following generations. This is why I think that out-crossing (breeding BC to something else) would be likley to diminish the herding ability of the offspring, and trying to get a good herding dog in that way would be highly unpredictable. By the same token, puppy-milling (which has "ruined" many breeds by the introduction of large numbers of indifferently-bred pups and caused untold misery for countless dogs and a great many owners as well) is a significant threat to the genetic well-being of the breed as a whole - not because of out-crossing but because selection toward valued traits - intelligence, soundness, stable temperament, herding ability, etc - is absent, as is selecting away from undesirable traits. In a puppy mill, all they want is live puppies, perferably cute (though many go through brokers and are bought sight unseen via internet and other sources), which can be sold with a "purebred" tag on them. So, that was a long-winded way to say that I do think that the only way intelligence, soundness and other BC traits will be maintained is to breed judiciously - not that every breeder has to be part of a professional kennel situation, more that it should be CAREFULLY considered before undertaken. But there ARE going to be puppies who don't love the work or who do love it but love other things as well, and who don't have working homes as options, and these either need to have good homes of be euthanised (guess which one I prefer?) So, no, I don't think it wrong to have a BC and not work it on sheep, and yes, I do think that if the traits the BC is known for are to be maintained, we have to breed for them - which means breeding for working dogs. As a BTW, good point that even temperament-testing a litter is not a sure-fire prediction of the pup's working ability later in life... too much goes into being good at herding to know for sure that young, I think (although I do think that temperament testing has some utility... having done temperament testing on two litters from which I have pups, and seeing how the littermates turned out, I can say in both cases the temperament test helped me select the right pup from the litter. However, it wasn't so much predictive of how each pup would turn out, more it was an assist to ME in selecting from the array.) Sometimes you just have to wait and see how that particular array of inborn traits ends up gelling together. Many good points from Bill, Mark, MR, JGreen and others, sorry my 2 cents' worth turned out so long. Complicated issue, many sides to it, and the fact that you asked about it at all, Libby, indicates that you're not as 'ignorant' as you say....

Actually (and correct me if I'm wrong), I think the "crap-shoot" statement was made in regard to whether or not a mixed-breed dog could be a good herding dog. Given that there may be considerable variation even amongst litter mates, let alone "unrelated" members of a given breed, I would say that a mixed-breed would indeed be a bit of an unknown quantity (hence the crap-shoot) when it came to *predicting* working ability.... but that doesn't mean an individual animal might not have a better gift for it than a given pure-bred. It's just that it's (considerably) more likely to show up in the animal bred for that purpose. But there's never a guarantee that all the pups will be as good or better than the parents... there are way too many factors genetically, environmentally, developmentally, nutritionally and so on. Genetics are only part of the picture, athough a very important part of it. It's a complex question, and I certainly don't have the definitive answer. (Sigh).

Yay for hairy! (although I frequently curse this while vacuuming...) You sound like you have good start... the foot-chewing could certainly be behavioral, but I did have one food-allergic patient for whom that was the cardinal sign, so I'll be interested to hear if he smooths out after a couple of months on good food, limited diet, excersise and TLC. Also curious about the hormone test, though that may be a dead end. And yes, pred is kind of the court of last resort, but steroids sometimes do have their place (and are excellent tools to have, if they are necessary)... I'll X my fingers that their place just isn't with this particular dog!

Most pups DO outgrow carsickness, but a few don't; excellent suggestions all around from other members (the seatbelt does keep a dog safer, and the "seatbelt dance" story is hilarious - I can just see it!) If the dog is truly motion sick you can use dramamine for that, as in humans, but I'd maybe hold off on that just a little longer, unless the pup doesn't get over it or is getting worse. I've also heard of candied ginger as a home remedy, but have never tried it (ginger and licorice are both home remedies for nausea - although I hate licorice, so I'm pretty sure I'll never try THAT one! - but the ginger does work on me, in tea form or otherwise. My dogs will eat candied ginger - as I found out by accident :mad: - but I don't think they'd try the tea...) The short trips/fun trips all are good ideas too, so she deosn't learn, "Hey, every time I get in there I get sick, so I'll save time and start right now instead of waiting til we've been driving for 3 hours..." Sigh. The great thing about smart dogs is that they're smart. The bad thing about smart dogs is that... they're smart.

Hi, Marley! This will be a bit long, sorry... I'll preface my remarks by saying that if you have a behaviorist in the area that you can consult, that might be of value, and also that if your vet or trainer is interested in behavior (not just training), that might be another good place to start, since all those people can see your dog, and I can't. Also, if you are uncomfortable with a training method, always seek a second opinion. Dianne is right about some dogs (not just BC's) going through a fear stage at a certain phase of social development. She's also right that if you "coddle" the fear - ie, comfort the dog - you can inadvertantly encourage it - the dog may read your actions as praise or reward for the behavior. Since even the smartest dog doesn't really speak English - it just understands our cue and the action we are asking for with that cue - they will take a huge amount of meaning from the REST of your communication, which would be your tone and your body language as well as overt actions. So if you show concern and try to comfort the dog - which any compassionate person has a powerful urge to do - the dog may think either that YOU (his leader) think this is a big problem, too, so he should be even MORE worried; or that you love it when he acts like that so he should up-regulate that behavior. Complicating your circumstances is the fact that there are only two fears that are considered innate by most behaviorists: one is fear of falling, and the other is loud noises (including thunderstorms, construction, fireworks, gunshots, etc.) But, as you've noted the behavior early, you've got options. And, depending on the dog's age, some of this may ease up with maturity, but right now it sounds as if it's getting worse, so you may need to intervene. I have three dogs, two BC's and a terrier. The terrier is the only dog completely at ease with the loud noises. She was trained in puppy class to ignore a popping balloon (a major food-hound, she was easily distracted with treats and didn't care how many balloons exploded so long as she had her Yummy Chummies). To this day she is the only dog I have who runs from window to window during the fireworks, evidently happily excited by all the noise and light. My puppy, a 17-month BC, didn't get the same training (the instructor was unavailable for his puppy class), so I worked him at home on this. He's not as bomb-proof, but he's not bad, and getting better. I attribute this in part to his age when we did the work, and in part to the fact that my third dog (my recue BC) is a total basket case on fireworks, and the puppy takes some of his cues from the older BC (the terrier is FAR too independant to do so). Also, I won't claim to be anything like as good a trainer as my coach is. So, that said (and sorry for the length, but usually this works better if you know why you're doing what you do), you might start with desensitization first, if the dog is not at risk of hurting himself. To desensitize, you play a recording of the scary noise, but you play it VERY softly at first. You would want to begin by getting the dog in a relaxed frame of mind, and having some really good treats or something really interesting - my one BC will ignore the implosion of the universe if I have his squeaky turtle in my hand. While the dog is getting positive reinforcement, play the tape at a very very quiet level, until he no longer reacts to it. Gradually you can increase the volume; but if he gets to a level where he is reactive, hold at that level (or if need be, back it down a notch on volume) and continue to reward ONLY calm behavior (or behavior that ignores the noise) until he is comfortable. It is important not to move on until he is COMFORTABLE, in my opinion, becaue the goal here is not just to keep him from acting out his fear, it's to keep him from HAVING fear. I try to keep my other cues calm and upbeat. If Finn (the pup) is acting uncertain, I give him a cheerful "No, no, honey, come do this" or something like it and start something fun - treats, a toy, fetch, etc. If he shows ANY inclination to do as I've asked and ignore the noise for the game, he gets a TON of praise. In Finn, at least, this usually builds confidence - he has a job now - and pretty soon he's jaunty and upbeat and uninterested in the disturbance. This may take several weeks or longer, and working daily is preferred by most trainers, even if only for 5 minutes. The one problem I see here is that it is usually important that during re-training, the bad thing not happen to the dog - in this case, the bad noise. Since you have no control over the weather (or if you do, please let me in on it!) your dog may have to deal with thunder during the re-training phase (ditto the loud traffic). Is there somehwere the dog can go during re-training where he's comfortable and/or the noise isn't present? Some of my clients report that a pet with a problem like this is fine at their mother's house, or in the car at work (weather and break-time at work permitting), etc. I think the "Environments" tapes have a thunderstorm you can use; you can probably make a fireworks tape using a friend and some popping balloons. One last caveat... if this doesn't make sense the way I've said it, get a behavior consult with a trainer, vet or specialist, and ditto if the dog seems not to respond. I personally veer away from using drugs to retrain, and I would not use them as a substitute for retrainng, but there are some cases in which this is helpful. (Since I have yet to put a dog on drugs as an adjunct to retraining, though, my experience with that is limited to my academic knowledge). We have a behavoirist we work with long-distance, though he requires a competent trainer to work with the team and go to the house for some of the sessions. To be honest, I have no idea how much that costs since he bills his stuff independantly and so does the trainer. Good luck with this... it IS important, since some dogs put their own lives at risk by freaking out at the wrong moment. Let me know if I need to clarify... this was a ton of info to dump on you, hope it's not TMI in that sense.

Hi RDM Yikes, poor dog. I don't think the endocrine testing is out of line - one of the forms of dwarfism in dogs is related to congenital hypothroidism, so that *might* have something to do not just with the skin, but also with the short stature - although that could also be genetic, developmental or nutritional in origin. Typically endocrine diseases don't cause itchiness by themselves - but they CAN predispose to other skin problems (like infection) which CAN cause itchiness. As far as hypoallergenic diets, food allergy is a slow responder, so the animal may have to be on the diet for a good 8 weeks before you can see if it improves anything. So whatever diet you have him on, I'd stick to it for a while, so you can see if it helps. A skin impression smear might be of value - that's meant to tell what sorts of pathogens are living on the skin (ie, is there a bacterial &/or yeast infection). Certain types of mites are notoriously difficult to find on a skin scrape, especially if the skin is thickend and has that elephant-hide look to it - so if I'm suspicious enough, I'll sometimes treat presumptively. Is his skin oily/flaky or dry/flaky? You said it wasn't moist... that's one mercy, anyway. Antihistamines in dogs can be like in people... sometimes you have to try several different ones before you find one that works well for a given dog. It seems like in my patients, antihistamines may help, but are rarely enough by themselves. You could try the metacam, though I wouldn't mix that with steroids, should he ever be on any... it's possible that it might help if he's ouchy (and he could be, given the description... it sure SOUNDS like it hurts, anyway). But that also might NOT help; no way to know but to try. The other nutritional supplements you might try are some vitamin E and some omega-3 fatty acids, which are usually easily found at health food stores - although some of the omegas are of fish oil origin, so if you're trying to keep fish out of the diet, look for a plant source instead.