mum24dog

Actually the KC are pretty dumb as far as internal admin is concerned. I'm quite prepared to believe that they ratified the breed club rules without even reading them. As for Ronnie Irving - the dog world could do a lot worse than him in charge of the KC. He's far from perfect but he seems to understand the real world better than many of his dinosaur colleagues at the KC. He does have a very difficult job balancing all the vested interests and I do think he is trying in his own way to bring the KC into the 20th century, if not the 21st. He may go about it the wrong way or more slowly and carefully than many of us would like to see, but he must be in a vulnerable position. Upset too many people and who knows who would replace him? Now Jeff Sampson the KC vet - he should be disposed of as quickly as possible. This is the guy who ignored the weight of opinion of behaviourists and independent vets as to the value of socialisation versus health risks and persuaded the KC to reject a move to allow pups under 4 months to tag along at shows. I'm please to say that the rule is widely ignored at agility shows at least. Pam

Ironic isn't it? The KC trying to take credit for trying to fix the problems that it has allowed to develop in the first place. Pam

Don't start me on HIPs. They are the biggest con going and don't speed up the process of buying and selling houses by one second. I've been in the conveyancing business for 35 years and they are a huge pain in the neck. And we still end up doing searches that are needed but aren't compulsory for HIP purposes. Plus the info in them rarely covers everything you need to know. If a solicitor doesn't want to do searches before the deal looks reasonably certain, she is trying to protect her client from wasting money. They are only taking 2 or 3 days at most to come through so it's not an issue when they are done. Believe it or not, we don't make it our business to spin matters out as long as we can. And it's not our business to make life difficult for our clients. We are paid to ask questions that the client wouldn't know to ask - that's what we're paid for. Even when we do and tell the clients the info they need to know, there is a chance that they will come back years later and try to sue us if they forget/ignore the advice they have been given. Sorry for the rant but 35 years of always being blamed when we sweat blood to get clients what they want take their toll. Once upon a time we could used professional and informed discretyion - that went out the window years ago. As for having a mortgage agreed before you even view a house - you can't. All you can do is get agreement in principle that a lender may be prepared to lend you up to a certain amount, based on your income, on a suitable house. The specific house will still have to pass the lender's survey/valuation and pass legal examination as to planning, titlle, and all the other rules and regulations that are dumped on us on a regular basis. Pam

Snap to everything. I do prefer dogs (not very bright but more affectionate) but don't mind having just one bitch to keep them in order. Pam

I never open my husband's snail mail and vice versa, unless he is away, in which case I tell him what has arrived and he tells me if he needs it opened. I think that's only polite and just because we are together doesn't mean we don't have to respect each other's privacy. I think the fact that we do has contributed to the length of time we have been together - 38 years now. Email is a different matter - I read his because they're usually business related and could be urgent when he's working away. He has other email addresses I leave alone though. He doesn't read mine , partly because they are private, but mostly because he isn't in the slightest bit interested. Pam

But by being asked and agreeing it can help them take a little bit of good out of tragedy and make it easier to come to terms with in time. The alternative is for the state to come stomping in and make them feel powerless at a time they are very vulnerable. It's up to all of us to make sure our next of kin know exactly what we want, even our children. Pam

Just to put the other side of the Catholic coin - a cousin of my husband took herself off to a home in Jersey to have a baby in secret in the 1960s. She was so aafraid that her parents would be devasted. The baby was born disabled and when my husband's aunt and uncle heard about it they went straight over to pick both of them up and take them home, where they both stayed. They didn't care what the rest of their fellow parishoners thought. They loved their daughter and grandchild and that was all that mattered. Some people do understand the true message of the religion, others unfortunately distort it. It doesn't mean the message itself is wrong. Pam

Quite a few people I know go over once or twice a year to dog shows on the IOM and some make a week of it with multiple dogs. Must be OK or they wouldn't keep going back. The one time we did it we found fantastic beaches (or more like one extremely long one) on the NW side. Just don't go when the TT races are on. We're near where the ferries go from Heysham and, unless it has changed, you usually have to leave your dogs in the car (about 4 hrs). There is (was) a small part of the main deck where dogs are allowed but you have to pay a bit extra and TBH it's cramped and most dogs would probably be better on the car deck. Pam

Just what an A&E nurse told me a couple of weeks ago. (Noone had actually been bitten at the time.) Me too, but I think he's not a bad bloke at heart - just ill informed and not very bright sometimes. (Not as dim as Fogle though.) See him around quite a bit at Crufts and he always seems very pleasant. Pam

Been there, Sandra. Although my Mum was only 82 when she died, she had suffered from dementia for over 20 years and had multiple health problems. In the latter years there were things I suspected should have been investigated but the fact was that her quality of life was so poor that treatment for whatever it was would not have been fair and hospital visits were extremely distressing for her. As long as she wasn't apparently in pain, that was enough, and she did eventually slip away peacefully. I don't feel guilty and you mustn't either. Pam

Not a competition - just trying to save anyone who might buy one money. The Agility Warehouse does tend to be on the pricey side for all sorts of things. Pam

Those are just the TugTastic ones in my link only more expensive. Pam

Here http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/borderstorm/Tug-tastic.htm Pam

Or even the number of cases diagnosed by vets when reported? There did seem to be a worrying number of vets who weren't aware of the danger of grapes and raisins fairly recently. Chocolate I think has been common knowledge for a long time. Pam

I'm not sure that the link accurately reflects the Purdue findings in all respects. AFAIR the study established no direct like between GDV and exercise and the majority of cases studied had no significant amount of food in the stomach. Certainly dogs I have known that have had it have shown symptoms in the late evening (also noted by Purdue) and hadn't been exercising beforehand. Our dogs compete in agility and are fed beforehand. I follow the advice of the GB Team vet who feeds his own dog 3 small meals on competition days, although it must be admitted that his is not a breed that is at high risk. I wouldn't feed a big bowl of dried but they do get some tinned meat. A lot of other competitors I know do the same without ill effects for their dogs. Still, it's personal choice and many people like to play it safe if there is any doubt and not feed before exercise. It can't do any harm and none of us would like to run about much on a full stomach. Pam

Yes - a woman not a girl. He is 900 years old after all. Pam

All right as a sidekick but nothing special. Too immature to carry of the role as the Doctor's love interest IMO. Pam

I just don't buy the idea that he could be in love with such a nonentity. Good riddance. Pam

Only 2 dogs on my list - Another collie because the only one we've had is my daughter's and I've got a pet name and KC name lined up. I just need one more dog to fill in time before I really am too decrepit for agility. And a trailhound - just because. Pam

There are kinder ways of getting his attention than punishing him with a squirt of cold air just because he is deaf. They are designed to startle a dog out of an unwanted behaviour and can upset some dogs quite badly. There's nothing unwanted about simply not knowing you want him to come back because he can't hear you. A vibrating collar would be better. Pam

I'm with you. Use the dog training principle - ignore unwanted behaviour - reward good. Pam

Just a word of warning - if you are thinking of competing in agility, being really tough on him (as recommended by Mary Ray) can get you eliminated for harsh handling, or even fined by the KC. You might not think you're being cruel but the judge might and the judge's decision counts. I'm not sure you do need to be tough - just consistent. We have one that was just the same. My daughter is tougher on him than I am but we both get the same results. Any training failure on our part is purely as a result of inconsistency. If you have an obsessive collie you need to channel the obsession into something more acceptable to us. Once you understand how their brains are hard wired, you can work out how best to direct their instincts. Nearly 2 years on and there's still a good way to go, but we now have a dog that can safely compete in agility without triggering his chase instinct - as long as we don't expect him to spectate from too close. I remember Hizzy when he was looking for a home. Some dogs just stick in your mind. A family of club members has a Wiccaweys collie that seemed rather quiet when they saw it and, ironically, she was suggested to them in preference for one deemed too worky for them. They got her home and she has turned out as worky as they come and they're really having a hard time. So behaviour in rescue can fool anyone. (We'll get them through it, though. They're not the sort to give up.) Pam

Pugs http://www.qualitydogs.com/Pug/information.html Dachshund http://www.qualitydogs.com/Dachshund/information.html

I believe that in this country blood testing for thyroid function is based on the human test which isn't entirely applicable to dogs and can therefore give misleading results. Vets don't always realise that. Jean Dodds in the US is the one to refer to for a full test and I don't think it costs any more than a lab test here. Pam

I can't see anything in the CSJ range with less than 8% oil. It does sound as if it's not just overfeeding though. I've never had to have my dogs tested for thyroid funtion, but if I did, I'get the blood test done here- http://www.canine-epilepsy-guardian-angels...nstructions.htm Pam