New member of the family ....

[Char]

I'm glad he's settling in OK, it's lovely getting a welcome when you come home isn't it.

He looks very proud of himself on the beach, lovely looking dog.

[Blaze]

it's lovely getting a welcome when you come home isn't it.

He's transformed the feeling in the house. When I came back from working all day yesterday, he was so excited, squeaking and rushing about.
The other thing we've noticed is that he's just started to wag his tail and there are other signs that he seems to be feeling more at home.
It's only a week ago today that he arrived

[Blaze]

We took him to a kiné yesterday to give him the once over. Having not discovered that one of our previous dogs had elbow dysplasia until she was 6 has taught us that regular check ups are worth doing from a young age, even more so in an active dog. Our kiné has an instinct/touch and works with the vets we use. She found a couple of vertebrae weren't quite right in his back and neck, and he has tendonitis in his right front leg. We'd noticed something not quite right in his back which prompted the check up.
Two other observations confirmed our thoughts : he is a little bit underweight and he clearly hasn't had regular or the right sort of exercise.
We're going to change his food for something more appetising - he clearly prefers Hills to Royal Canin !

Why is it people seem to think that a dog needs to be exercised like an athlete ? I see so many dogs running on hard ground/roads beside someone on a bicycle - unnecessary, and can shorten the life of the dog. It's a bit of a hobby horse of mine, but dogs, like humans, need regular exercise, but not over-exercising.
Rafal has not had much basic training but his owner did cani-cross with him. That probably explains why he's dreadful on the lead, which induced the problem in his neck.

[L Austin France]

He's a very lucky chap to have found an owner who not only 'knows' & cares about dog's health but actually does something about it.
Too many animals left to suffer these days.
Dunno who said it but it was something like ; "It's not man's inhumanity to animals that upsets me but his indifference".

[Char]

He's a very lucky chap to have found an owner who not only 'knows' & cares about dog's health but actually does something about it.
Too many animals left to suffer these days.
Dunno who said it but it was something like ; "It's not man's inhumanity to animals that upsets me but his indifference".

+1

[Mangetout]

I think I'll suggest my sister takes her dog to a kine. From what she says when he jumps down, or gets a sudden jerk on the lead, it causes him to have what she calls a fit. I think he has a vertebrae problem, probably pressing on the spinal cord.

[Blaze]

@L Austin France @Mangetout
I used kinés for years on our horses and dogs - a good one is worth their weight in gold. The animals enjoy the session too !
I can generally spot that something's not right even if I can't put my finger on it. Even sheep can have a "look" that tells you something's wrong.

@Mangetout That sounds a good idea - the dog sounds as if it's in great pain. The kiné should be able to give some sort of diagnosis and refer the dog to a vet for x-rays or further diagnosis if necessary.

A check up of some sort is always worth while because the sooner a problem is spotted, the sooner something can be done. The cursory once over by vets at the time of their injections isn't generally enough unless you ask him to check something specific. A kiné will check skeletal and muscular movement which can be very revealing.

[Liz]

So agree re the wrong type of exercise for the dog, or too much/little.
For young and elderly dogs a couple of shorter walks a day are much better than one long for example.

[Char]

How's Rafal the big ball of fluff coping with the heat Blaze?