Obedience classes (December 29th)

I will be holding obedience classes again this year at the Head of Saint Margarets Bay. We will have an information and registration meeting in the community room of the Sobeys store in the Westwood Shopping Center, Upper Tantallon at 8PM Monday 29th December.

Don

Nash's first birthday

Hey Don,

Nash just had his first birthday. It was a quiet day but he did get a bone (not like he knows what it's for but ah well). The obedience classes are going very well, next week is the last week. Sheryl is actually quite good, but the class is more for creating a good family dog and not geared towards obedience trials. I am off work until the 22nd of December for Medical reasons and I have all the time in the world to work with him. I have been working mostly on healing off leash and keeping his focus on me. I was wondering if you could provide me with a full list of test that he will have to pass for obedience trials or better yet a copy of an obedience score sheet so that I can practice the specific exercises with him. I'm going to be entering him in the Show in Moncton in early May or we may travel to Halifax or Saint John to an earlier show if him and I are both ready. I would also appreciate any training videos you may be able to send me that might give me some tips for showing him. I would like to show him myself rather than paying someone to show him. I would like to be involved in every aspect of it. I've been revisiting the videos you sent me and I know you stressed the importance of the "hold"command. I'm rigging the exact setup in my barn that is in the video to train him on the hold command. I've also enclosed a couple pictures of Nash that Carrie took the other day, it has both Nash and Cassie (our Border Collie).


Charles Green

Ruby

Hi Don,

Here’s a nice shot of Ruby waiting for the geese on Saturday (they came in droves – 100 yards in the air!)

-Dave

Joint Success (TPLO surgery)

Two veterinarians team together to perform a modern procedure called TPLO to help dogs with ACL injuries regain an active lifestyle.



image left: Veterinary Team of Dr. Don Rushton and Dr. Ernie Prowse.

What is happening to my dog? He seems to have aged recently and has difficulty doing things he did before. He is also favouring one of his hind legs and seems to only touch his toes to the ground when he walks or stands. What could be the problem? If your first thought is hip dysplasia, you are likely wrong. Over 80% of ALL orthopaedic problems found in dogs involves a ligament in their leg which helps to stabilize the knee joint. This ligament is called the Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL). For unexplained reasons, there seems to be an epidemic of ACL problems. These problems are showing up in all breeds of dogs, but are especially prevalent in Labrador Retrievers, Golden Retrievers, Newfoundlands, Bull Mastiffs and Rottweilers.

Read more of the Article, here

Kia Two

Hi Don,

Thanks for the invitation but I made my appointment for 6:30pm on the 24th. Maybe I could bring Kai (two) over for a visit some time though. He is getting big but is doing really well walking on the lead and with house training. I don't have any newer pictures downloaded, but here he is two weekends ago and he is twice the size now.

Karen

Dangerous Dog Toy




On Sunday, June 22, 2008 my 1 0-year old lab mix, Chai, sustained a severe injury from a product that the company Four Paws Inc, produces. The toy I'm referencing is the pimple ball with bell. (Item #20227-001, UPC Code 0 4566320227 9)





While chewing on the toy, a vacuum was created and it effectively sucked his tongue into the hole in the ball. From speaking with my vet, this likely occurred because there is not a second hole in the ball preventing the vacuum effect from happening. I became aware of this when Chai approached a friend at my home whimpering with the ball in his mouth. She tried unsuccessfully to remove the ball but the tongue had swollen and could not be released.






Chai was taken to the Animal Medical Center (an emergency care facility in New York City ) and was treated by Dr. Nicole Spurlock to have the ball removed. Because the size of the opening on the ball was so small, all circulation to his tongue was cut off. The doctors had to sedate him in ord er to remove it. Once the ball was removed, his tongue swelled to the point that he could no longer put it in his mouth. Chai was sent home with care instructions and to be observed overnight for any changes.





By the following morning Chai¢s tongue had swollen even more.





He was taken to his regular vet, Dr. Timnah Lee, for treatment. He was admitted and kept sedated for a period of three days during which time they were treating his wounds and waiting to determine how much of his tongue could be saved. On June 26, 2008 Chai had his tongue amputated.





He was kept in after-care for an additional three days. On Sunday June 29th I brought Chai home from the vet with a barrage of home care instructions, to last for an additional 7 days. His next visit was to have his mouth re-examined and have the feeding tube in his neck removed.





On the way home from the vet we stopped at Petland Discount where I purchased their product to speak to the manager on duty. Upon meeting Chai and seeing his condition, he removed all of the balls in question from the shelves. He also gave me the customer service number to their corporate headquarters to request that they refuse to continue purchasing all Four Paws products, but I have not called them as of yet.







Additionally, I shared my story with friends who have a French Bulldog named Petunia. Upon hearing my story their eyes widened. They explained that the same thing happened twice in one night with a smaller version of the same ball to their dog. Fortunately, they were able to pull it off before the tongue swelled, but not without tremendous effort and pain to the dog. They recalled how horrific it was to hear their dog screaming while they had to pry the ball from her tongue.





To date, my veterinary bills total over $5000.00 and I will have regular follow up appointments for some time. Additionally, Chai now requires a much more expensive form of food because of this injury, averaging approximately $200 per month.





Also - I am Chai¢s sole caretaker and the regime required to care for him following his surgery has forced me to lose a great deal of business. I am a hair stylist and my salon is in my home. Given that Chai needs constant attention, and given that he has bee n wailing in pain, I have not been able to see clients.





Additionally, I now have to re-teach my dog to eat, drink and adjust to life without his tongue. Just walking him requires about 30min twice a day and we only make it three blocks. Feeding him takes me about 90 minutes twice a day and for at least this first week he is no t to be unattended for more than 20 minutes at a time





I sent this information along with the reference to Petunia the french bulldog to Four Paws Inc, and it is their position that there just aren't enough instances to do anything about this. I told their Insurance company's case manager that was not a good enough excuse, It was inferred that my dogs value wasn't much and that his pain and suffering don't count as he is just a piece of property.

Reference snopes.com

Pulled pork goose sandwiches

Hi Don,

What a great meal we had last night – put goose breasts into the slow-cooker for a day on low in onion-soup mix. Then pulled the goose apart with forks, mixed with BBQ sauce and served on toasted garlic-buns with mozzarella and coleslaw. It was a HIT! Check out Ruby licking her lips!

-Dave

Obedience Class

Hi Don.

I would like to bring Flint along to the obedience class starting Jan 2nd. If you could let me know how many weeks the class will run for, where it is to be held and the cost that would be great.

Flint is doing great, he already sits, stays, heels, but fetch and let go need fine tuning. People are still stopping me in the street and asking where I got him from and a guy actually stopped his truck to ask my husband, Andy where we got Flint.

Thanks.
Gill.

Tate at 4 Months

Hi Don,

Here are some recent photos of Tate. She's doing just great, full of
badness and goodness.

Leigh Ann

No ducks so why not take a nap

new pup "It"

I have decided to keep a pup from the Mutt/Teddy litter and call her “It”. I will be taking her to Bangor this Saturday to have her eyes checked.

Don

Darby

HI Don,

Thanks for sending the registration.

Darby is doing really well. The house training has gone fairly smoothly. She still has accidents, but she generally asks to go out. She is up to 18 pounds. She and I seem to be having a power struggle - I hope I win :) There is no question that she listens to Greg more than me. She is fairly head strong, but I'm sure that is just part of being a puppy.

I have attached a couple of picture of her. She is very cute!

DAWN

MUD!

Hi Don,

I know you must have seen some dirty labs in your day, but Ruby’s condition by the end of our Fundy hunt yesterday was hilarious! After a face-plant she ended up looking like the phantom of the opera (first pic). One of her favourite pastimes during slow hunting is to pick up empty shell casings and carry them around. When I saw her sitting on the bank “smoking” a Kent 3.5” to pass the time I just had to get a pic – what a mess! We did get a goose, two teal and a mallard. We had tried for pheasant in the morning but the damp windless conditions were difficult for her. She put up a hen that held until she nipped its tail to get it in the air, then a rooster slightly out of range. Looking forward to some cooler weather!

Cheers,

-Dave

Chelsea Marie

These belong to Gary FALOON, the chocolate is Chelsea Marie from Rose’s last litter. Chelsea has her eye exam last weekend in Fredericton and all “normal”.

Trained Dog

Tucker after hunting for the day (pic)

Hey Don,

I would still like to get together for that pheasant hunt you mentioned. Unfortunately I am tied up with work until after the 22nd of Nov. And have a commitment the weekend of the 29th.

After that point I could get away on weekends. For the most part I would be able to get any day of the week if I had notice.

I did go out for pheasant once so far and did get one. I have also seen 4 hens. They were no good except for giving Tucker a chance to flush them.

We have done OK on the Ducks I was out on the 31st and got five - Tucker retrieved all of them. The week before that we got six, five retrieved, one landed at my brothers feet so there was no need for him to get it.

The most important part was that he got 2 that I would not have found. He has a long way to go but I am happy with his progress so far.

The last time I brought his leash out again as the previous trip he broke when a shot duck hit the water. Having his leash on was enough I did not have to hold it. He is improving every hunt.

Let me know if we can make the hunt work. If not I guess we will have to wait until next year. You can give me a call at home if you like..

Here is a pic of Tucker after hunting for the day.

Evan