skycat
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Everything posted by skycat
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Indorex or Acclaim 2000: both household sprays which kills fleas etc. If you know a pest controller get some Ficam W: its what the professionals use: stays on the surface and kills for up to 3 months.
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She is probably in the middle of teething: when a pup is losing its milk teeth and growin adult teeth their gums can become quite sore. Also, it is a mistake to do too much retrieving training at an early age. Less is more when it comes to retrieving unless you have an obsessive retriever: some Collie types are like this. Lay off the retrieving until she has finished getting her adult teeth through (or use a very soft and light weight object) and then don't do more than one retrieve per session. Look at it from the dog's point of view: when its learning something if it does it well the
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Isn't it strange how some people judge a lurcher by the sighthound 'standard'. In other words, if it doesn't look like a Whippet, Saluki or Greyhound etc, then its 'ugly'. Give me a dog with good thick legs, a sturdy body and a brain any day: look forward to seeing how he comes on. Keep us posted.
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fittness for 10 months old dog
skycat replied to david mc's topic in Working Dog Health & Training Talk
Large dogs don't finish their skeletal growth until they are at least 14 months old, some breeds not until 18 months. They then need to bulk up over the next year. Even then, an 18 month old large lurcher won't be properly mature until it is 3 years old. I'd keep biking to a couple of miles per session at the moment, at a steady, not fast, trot. Trotting on roads is jarring to the joints as well and his growth plates (the spongy bits at the ends of his leg bones where the bone growth comes from) won't have grown out and hardened off. Also, too much biking can build up the wrong sort of -
Deep cuts to the pad can take up to a month to heal properly. Keep foot clean: wash in salt water every day. Apply something like Padsanol (from the Greyhound Megastore) to keep skin supple and stop it drying out. Keep dog on lead until healed.
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Some dogs find it difficult to digest cereals: these can ferment in the stomach causing bad breath and wind. Try removing all cereals bar rice from the diet. Rice is usually tolerated by dogs with no problem. Soya, beet pulp, wheat, barley etc are often used as 'fillers' in cheap foods: go for a meat and rice no cereal food and see if it makes a difference. Alternatively, stop feeding commercial food altogether and feed raw: I've not had a healthy dog with stinky breath if they are fed raw: its what dogs are designed to eat and their digestive system isn't put under stress by trying to diges
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If the dog limps after resting it could well be a torn or pulled muscle, or possibly tendon damage. I'm afraid most general small animal vets aren't able to assess muscle injuries: they'll probably just give anti-inflammatories and pain killers and suggest rest. Yes, this does sort out minor problems but if you want a correct diagnosis, treatment plan etc then go to a Greyhound vet.
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Be prepared for a Caesarian if it is a first litter. Even if the bitch has had a litter before sometimes at that age the uterus just doesn't have the necessary 'push' left in it. I've bred from old and tried bitches one last time and had to have a Caesar. Just make sure you know what the danger signs are if she goes into whelp and can't pass the pups: better to get her to the vet too early rather than too late when all they can do is extract a litter of dead and dying pups. I'd reccomend a book called The Book of the Bitch which tells you pretty much everything you need to know about breedi
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Diatomaceous Earth: google it. Brilliant, non toxic, use on chickens, coops etc. Even kills harvest mite on dogs, but not burrowing mites like sarcoptic and demodex.
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Dogs can develop allergies later in life just like humans. A lot of dogs are wheat intolerant though it might not show for a few years. Ditto soya, even beet pulp: that sort of stuff is used to bulk out cheap dog food. Anything that sells for under £30 per 15kg bag is likely to be cereal based: check the ingredients on the side of the bag. If the first ingredients on the list are cereals then the meat content will be low. A lot of dogs can manage on what is essentially a herbivore diet, but it isn't as good for them as meat based food, and sometimes this shows as itchy skin, over dry or
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I've found that a lack of animal fat in the diet can lead to dry, cracked and sore pads. Sorry to harp on about raw feeding, but many cheaper complete dog foods are very lacking in fat content. My dogs spend a lot of time working with their feet in freezing water in the winter and never have a problem. Plenty of lamb fat (apparently the best utilised by dogs), failing that, chicken then beef fat. Not cooked fat, as it comes off the animal. Fat content needs to be high in hard working dogs, but its not just a question of slopping in vegetable oil: animal fat is completely different. Dry,
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Stung by a wasp?
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That is a beautiful lurcher: excellent news and well done for sticking with her. Look forward to seeing some pics of her working this winter: I bet you can't wait!
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Get her to a Greyhound vet.
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I honestly believe that a Saluki brain develops slightly differently to that of the average dog. Its as though they are feral creatures which cannot respond to the same kind of training we'd put into a non Saluki blooded lurcher. All the Saluki crosses I've had seem to live in a world of their own when they are young. Its as though their whole beings are purely concentrated on hunting: as puppies they hunt mice and butterlifes down the garden: they are completely absorbed in what they are doing. They don't even seem to hear you call them sometimes, and if they do, its just an unimportant n
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My OH has two. Both very high prey drive. One is brilliant on the lamp, headstrong and committed. The other is still a big pup but coming on well. He is easy to train, very biddable and intelligent. She is a bit of a nutter, not that bright, but a brilliant worker. Like any types of lurcher you'll get some which are better than others, some more intelligent than others. All the Picardy crosses I've seen are very determined on their prey, and as tough as old boots with very good feet indeed.
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When you call the dog to you sit down first. Don't ever bend over her, looming over her like a huge threat. Sit or crouch whenever you are with her: make yourself as small and harmless as possible. Spend a lot of time just sitting with her, talking to her. If she is frightened of being touched don't ever put your hand on top of her head or back: always stroke under her chin to begin with, then the front of her chest, then the sides of the shoulders. Never pat, always stroke, small gentle movements. Don't move quickly when your'e near her: slow movements. Talk quietly, and don't be afraid of
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Zheng Gu Shui is specifically aimed at ligament and tendon problems: that is what the canine chiropractor told me. It doesn't do a huge amount on muscle damage, even less on bones. I use it on my own arms with tendon damage so I know it works wonders on tendon problems. Ditto my dogs with that sort of damage. With anything, even a natural/herbal product: do not over use. A greyhound vet told me he had seen a dog with weird skin changes due to excessive use of ZGS: it hadn't helped the dog at all because the toe was broken but the owner hadn't bothered to get a professional diagnosis. DO
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his spine is the only thing that doesnt hurt. The vet was pushing down on each vertabrea really hard and got no reaction at all but if you touch his muscles he screams! Massage would be hard right now he is way too sensitive for that, we will see once he is through the worst of the pain. Never had to put a injured dog on morphine before, even when he broke his leg earlier this year he didnt need it. I take it the weather was very warm? Sounds as though it could be a case of azoturia. Old fashioned name for what is often called cramp, but its not an instant cramp like when your calf mu
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What a tragedy. Can't understand why people don't use animal friendly slug pellets these days. Those other ones should be banned outright. What a waste of a fine dog: so sorry for you.
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It's still a pup, but one that is now aware of 'pack'. A lot of terriers go through the stage where they see any strange dogs as things to be warned off: tribal thing, not unheard of in humans either LOL or actually not at all LOL if you see what I mean. Plenty of socialising with different dogs and a firm NO! from you if he shows anti-social behaviour. Get him out to meet sensible steady dogs and keep him on the lead initially. If he charges at the other dog stop him short with a jerk on the lead, saying NO very sharply at the same time. Some terriers are just wired up to try and kill a
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Superb looking pup: and parents. I've had some with coats like that in the past. Some lose the really fluffy coat as they get to about 8-9 months. Others have kept those fluffy coats: bit of a pain in muddy conditions and some don't keep the wet out but it certainly didn't affect their working ability!
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It won't hurt if she just licks the wound: it is a normal and natural thing to do. Just so long as she doesn't pull at the stitches with her teeth. I've never known one of my dogs chew at stitches. Leave the collar off her whilst your'e there and just watch to see what she does. If she just licks for a while then leaves it that is fine. Licking the wound site will also calm her down: it releases endorphins which calm and make an animal feel better in itself. Dog saliva also contains an enzyme which breaks down the cell walls of bacteria so it really does help if they lick their wounds.
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Very true!
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There's a bloke who has just started walking his dogs round 'my lakes, (LOL): one is a dishmop fluffy white thing and the other two are show bred beagles: totally unsocialised, 8 months old and have no recall whatsoever. I don't even think this bloke owns a dog lead, but he's taken to sitting by the edge of a lake in a public place along with his girlfriend/wife, whatever: so when I take my mutts down to the lake for a swim these two nut job beagles go ballistic, barking and carrying on, one, the dog, coming away from the owner and menacing my pack. Well, its hardly menacing is it: an 8 mont