Take5 Australian Terriers

13/08/2024

Xylitol poisoning is an emergency that will not wait and requires immediate veterinary care to resolve xylitol toxicity.

08/08/2024

They currently have openings for this clinic.

04/08/2024

No, it's not your dog's brain when you're training a stubborn dog.

Anti-Fatigue floor mats have become de-rigueur in offices, kitchens, and work shops, but dogs don’t have the option of picking the surfaces on which they walk. Nature provided our dogs with heavily pigmented skin on their digital pads (torus digitalis, for you dog geeks) that happens to be the thickest region of their skin.

Ever notice how baby-bottom smooth the paws of a cat are? You won’t find that texture on the paws of an adult dog because of the presence of many conical projections that have heavily keratinized, unless……

…the dog is kept on a rough or concrete surface, and then the projections can be worn smooth so that they’re rounded instead of conical in shape. Paw pads also have a thick layer of fatty tissue that insulates the inner foot tissues from extreme temperatures, and that’s why your dog can walk in the snow “barefooted” while we would fall to our knees from frozen feet. That fatty tissue doesn’t conduct cold as quickly, plus arteries transfer the chilled blood back to the body where it warms up again. Scientists believe that because of these traits, domestic dogs most likely originally evolved in colder environments before migrating into other climates.

Lest you think that dog pads are pretty much the same for all breeds, au contraire! The mechanics of how they work may be similar among all breeds, but several standards address their breed’s pads with specificity. The Australian Cattle Dog’s standard calls for pads that are hard and deep, while the Aussie’s standard requires pads that are thick and resilient. The Cirneco dell’Etna should have pads that are same color as the nails which can be brown or flesh colored, while the Canaan Dog’s hard pads should have pigmentation that’s harmonious with its nose and eye rims. The Dutch Shepherd, however, should have pads that are elastic and dark, and the Maltese, Brussels Griffon, and Affenpinscher don’t just want dark pads, their standards calls for black pads. The Havanese standard is less exacting. The pads and nails can be any color.

The Silky Terrier should have “springy” pads, while the Puli should stand well up on his pads, most probably to better plan a bit of larceny. Just saying. A Bedlington Terrier should have smooth pads, but the Irish Terrier standard goes further by indicating that the pads should be deep, and must be perfectly sound and free from corns. Cracks alone do not necessarily indicate unsound feet. In fact, all breeds have cracked pads occasionally, from various causes. Someone alert the Kerry Blue Terrier, it’s standard reads, ” good depth of pad free free from cracks.” An Entlebucher Mountain Dog’s pads should be “robust,” and a Finnish Lapphund’s pads should be “elastic.”

Suffice it to say that breed standards tend to be specific about the pads in their breeds. Do you know what your breed’s standard allows?

Image of a scanning electron micrograph of conical projections on the surface of a dog’s pad

24/07/2024

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Training Tip Thursday

Let's call it exposure...
Dog Owners are concerned about ensuring their dog is well socialized but what is actual socialization?

Socialization is neutrality!

This means not getting so excited they cannot follow simple directions, or so scared they are trying to hide or reactive.

Take your dog places and have them just relax beside you and take in the environment. Exposure helps develop neutrality.

23/07/2024

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The CDC says dogs coming from ‘low risk’ countries like Canada will be able to fill out an online form instead of providing a certificate signed by a veterinarian when changes take effect Aug. 1

08/06/2024

07/06/2024

06/06/2024

When I am old...
I will wear soft gray sweatshirts...
and a bandana over my silver hair...
and I will spend my social security checks on my dogs.
I will sit in my house on my well-worn chair
and listen to my dogs breathing.
I will sneak out in the middle of a warm summer night
and take my dogs for a run, if my old bones will allow...
When people come to call, I will smile and nod
as I show them my dogs...
and talk of them and about them.....the ones so beloved of the past
and the ones so beloved of today...
I will still work hard cleaning after them,
mopping and feeding them and whispering their names
in a soft loving way.
I will wear the gleaming sweat on my throat,
like a jewel, and I will be an embarrassment to all...
especially my family...
who have not yet found the peace in being free
to have dogs as your best friends...
These friends who always wait, at any hour, for your footfall...
and eagerly jump to their feet out of a sound sleep,
to greet you as if you are a God,
with warm eyes full of adoring love and hope
that you will always stay,
I'll hug their big strong necks...
I'll kiss their dear sweet heads...
and whisper in their very special company....
I look in the mirror... and see I am getting old....
this is the kind of person I am...
and have always been.
Loving dogs is easy, they are part of me.
Please accept me for who I am.
My dogs appreciate my presence in their lives...
they love my presence in their lives...
When I am old this will be important to me...
you will understand when you are old,
if you have dogs to love too.

-Author Unknown

29/05/2024

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Read and re-read!!

29/05/2024

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14/05/2024

Congratulations to Alexa, Claudia and Fudgie!! Whoohooo!!

11/05/2024

Collecting interest for summer classes!
Please fill out the form at the link below.
Classes will begin the week of July 8th. All classes will be taught by Mike Hughson.

https://form.jotform.com/241274635300044

08/05/2024

Please mark your calendars for our May AKC Fit Dog walk!

03/05/2024

02/05/2024

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Happy National Purebred Dog Day!

20/04/2024

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Brooches and showclips
Custom made from photos too

18/04/2024

My big stud boy is 9 years old today. Thank you to Heather Rife and Eva Campbell for bringing Australian
Terriers into my life.
Happy Birthday Trueman!

17/04/2024

Do you think Aussies came from unicorns?

‘Siberian unicorn’ once roamed among humans, surviving in Eastern Europe and western Asia until at least 39,000 years ago, around the same time of Neanderthals and early modern humans.

More details/photos: http://bit.ly/3v77jek

17/04/2024

May 1, 2024 is National Purebred Dog Day – Photo Challenges
While the ATCA’s challenge is open to All Breeds, lovers of the Australian Terrier breed should enter and show off our breed. Make sure to Read the Fine Print to Enter this contest or any other challenge. Chance to win prizes or money.
Australian Terrier Club of America’s “Down Under” Photo Challenge
https://nationalpurebreddogday.com/australian-terrier.../
Many other Photo Challenges on the National Purebred Dog Day website:
https://nationalpurebreddogday.com/photo-contest/

25/02/2024

Is anyone planning on showing at the Doswell VA Shows (blue crab cluster) in late March?

16/02/2024

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