Good to know that Lana is ok after all.

Did you ever find out what the problem was?

Yep, if they can't get what they want by brute force they study the situation, formulate a plan and in due time they carry out their plan. They always win!

We just got back from 5 days in Maui. Had to put our Laika in a kennel which we found after a long search. It was not easy to leave her there, she did ok we think. But was so glad to see us. We really hated to do this as we adopted her from a kennel 6 month ago. All our travel will now be by car only so we can take her. My husband had to pat everydog he saw in Maui. She is his baby.
Marli

So funny..Pippin can't walk past my big new shiny stove without prancing and running up to it and look at himself in the reflection..so funny..

sending you good vibes, and so sorry to hear about the seizures.

You have a very kind heart and bless you for giving this guy a home. Sounds like he has it made now love and a home thank you. Good luck and have lots of fun.

Rita Jean

Fran, are you sure she wasn't a Basenji in disguise!!!!!

TEXAS: Bell County Relaxes Rabies Shots Requirements Temple Daily Telegram 2/8/11 http://www.tdtnews.com/story/2011/02/08/72249/

"the county has essentially adopted the state standard, which allows an attending veterinarian to determine, together with the pet owner, how often the shots are needed. "

@sharronhurlbut:

If you want to see your dogs really play, get down on the ground with your elbows on the floor and your butt in the air..
At first, my 2 stopped, shocked, where they stood..when I pounded my arms on the floor they just began to play…just joyous...
don't do this with company, however, they will think your as odd as I am!!!

I once told somebody that if you're neighbors don't think you're crazy when you're training you dog, you're doing it wrong. Yes, you do need to be that animated with independent pups

thank you all, i will post some photos when i get them on the net 🙂 life has started to return back to normal and im back at work. Power is back on to most of the city but the water is still a tight issue (outside waterban).

@saba:

Hi Lysh,

Just incredible weather we are experiencing in Aust at the moment…

Glad to hear that you were all ok, if not VERY frightened... Wasn't Hope a trouper, sleeping through it all !!! As someone mentioned, a testament to her breeding... I believe that both Lou and Chris are all ok, but both had some damage to their yards ??? Do you know how they are ???

Hoping you get the power on ASAP...

Yeah Australia is taking it hard atm. Bush fires, floods and cyclones. argh.

Louise is fine, they only got power on the day before yesterday. I think the majority of Townsville has lost its trees (they are saying about 75%) so alot of damage everywhere but not much to houses thankfully. I dont know about Chris though.

@dmey:

Glad you are all ok… Is your house wooden.. We have lots of hurricanes here, but luckilyu most of our construction is concrete. I would really be scared to live thru a category five in a wooden house!!!!....

Unfortunatly, my house is wooden, its also a highset. Not such a great combination. Thankfully, i only rent and when it comes to buying a house in the near future - it will be in much better construction. The cyclone was originally sposed to hit Cairns which we would only get cat 2 winds but it then tracked south later that night before crossing (mission beach) there was several times once we started receiving cat 3 winds with gusts of a cat 4 that i thought we had stuffed up very badly in making the decision to stay (there was no evacuation in place) next time we will be going somewhere that is a bit better cyclone proof rather than a fibro highset house. When the cyclone was crossing i had my heart in my throat several times. I went from worrying about the roof going to just worrying the house was going to rip off its stilts.

@crystalncody:

I'm so glad you are all ok and had minimal damage!
I hope that you get water and power back soon. Growing up in hurricane-prone areas, I know how rough it can be after a while. I've always thought that going through those kinds of storms at night were so much worse than if they were to blow through during the day. I always felt a little safer during the day since I could see what was going on.

Hope's adorable! I can't believe she slept through the whole thing. Cody would have been so nosy and trying to figure out what was making all that noise! Moe, our family mix, was like that when he was younger. He was fearless too; he would run outside when the winds would briefly calm to do his business and save his favorite pinecone. Now he hates storms of any kinds and will either hide under the coffee table or tremble in my dad's lap.

lol thank you, i think its probably cos we tired her out playing with her all afternoon and evening by trying to destract ourselfs (the storm started about 11am weds and went through til 8am thursday). Unfortunatly the worst part was through the night sadface. It would have been a bit better through the day i think lol

There's an intermediate class but it's full right now. If I'm able to get the days off I'm going to try for it later.

@sharronhurlbut:

Fran, use baby wipes on his feet.
I use it on my b's.

Sharron - glad to see your reference to baby wipes - I have often wondered if I could use them on my girls when they get their feet and legs nasty at the park - I thought if I could get most of the mess off them it would be easier for them to keep themselves sparkly white - but - then I thought maybe it would be bad for them to lick whatever baby wipes leave on - what do you think?😕

How exciting for you Chealsie508.

I would like to comment on the old wives tale about calcium.
Supplementing a puppies diet with extra calcium in the hope that it will build up the ear cartilage is not scientifically or biochemically valid. Adding calcium above the usual balance of that mineral in the diet has actually been shown to cause growth problems in some dogs. Do not add calcium to the diet in the misguided hope that it will strengthen the cartilage.

EVERY PUPPY IS DIFFERENT. For example, the two extremes of my native imported pups were my boy's ears were standing straight up when he was ~10 weeks old; and one of my females had one ear flopping until she was ~5 months old. But, it did go up on its own and stayed up. So, look at your pups pedigree and don't sweat it.

As I have come to understand, the general rule is that if the ears are standing or have been standing by between 3-5 months (the time teething starts), they will come back up after the adult teeth are in.

Yes, calcium is one of the building blocks of cartilage growth. The body uses calcium as needed and when teeth and bone growth are developing, the calcium isn't being used for nonessentials like the cartilage at the base of the ear frame.
Supplementing calcium is NOT a good idea and can actually be harmful. Be forewarned that most over-the-counter calcium supplements are NOT absorbed by the body and are a waste of money and time. With calcium that is absorbed, too much is given. Calcium will settle in joints when there is too much in the body, setting your pup up for bone spurs, hip problems, arthritis and other problems when they are older.
If you really feel that you need to do something, provide natural calcium found in bones.

I would strongly advise that you talk this over with your veterinarian.
To be fair, you really need to give your dog until the age of 8-9 month range before you even think about the ears.

I've come to this thread pretty late and all the advice has been given but I would like to say Fran that I think you've come to the right decison to wait a while until growth is complete.

There are many myths about neutering that are accepted even by vets. I've seen neutering at 6 months reccommended as routine.

Kirsten, absoloutely…a play date would be great...pending all this darn snow. Thanks everyone, its 8am here and I am getting all the last minute stuff done and charging my camera!

I've got some really cute basenji puppy pictures. I'll email them to you tomorrow.

Just received and read my copy. I loved it, but I want more stories! There are not many stories, but they are funny, had me laughing out loud, and so true about Basenjis. Definately worth it.

@tanza:

Just an FYI, most of us start letting our pups lure practice even as young as 10 to 12 wks…. granted it is just a short straight away, but gives them some sense of the game. And usually by 7 to 8 months most all B pups can do a full course.

Pat, thanks very much for that info. I trust your comments. I know Kipawa would love luring. There is a club that does luring that is about a 40 minute drive from where we are. They don't have any events planned yet - not even 'fun days'. I will keep an eye on their website.

http://www.meetup.com/Tri-Cities-Dog-Coursing-AgilityTraining/