Sorry this is off topic, but Natalya what kind of ecollar is that??
But on topic, I do get the rabies shot.

Here is another option. I would contact the person who owns your dogs parents and see if they want the dog back. I know many reputable breeders that would rather their dog come back to them than be re-homed, and it's the law with almost all licenced rescues. This may or may not be the case with the people who bred Garm, but I would definitely check. He might be better off back on the farm as a working dog with a job to do.

 Quote: steve strom

Sorry this is off topic, but Natalya what kind of ecollar is that??
But on topic, I do get the rabies shot.

It works using a new method I like to call "visual stim".
It also creates a nice half radius of contained movement, based at the wall socket of course... all hands free!!

~Natalya

Sorry, I couldn't resist, back on topic...

 Quote: Angela Burrell

Here is another option. I would contact the person who owns your dogs parents and see if they want the dog back. I know many reputable breeders that would rather their dog come back to them than be re-homed, and it's the law with almost all licenced rescues. This may or may not be the case with the people who bred Garm, but I would definitely check. He might be better off back on the farm as a working dog with a job to do.

I really wish that were an option. Unfortunately we did not get Garm from a reputable breeder. I wanted a Border Collie mutt with the talent for agility, so I just found one in the newspaper that looked like a likely match- a Catahoula Border Collie mix. The place we drove to get him seemed to be just a cattle farm that had some working dogs living there that had puppies. I went to the farm, picked up the cutest, friendliest puppy that was left and fell in love with him. I probably should have asked more questions about his heritage, but they showed me mom and dad and said that he should have all the right qualities I'm looking for. I didn't suspect that Garm was from a mixed father litter until later when he started to look really different and was getting really big. Those people even decided not to charge me the fee that was listed in the paper and said they had only listed a fee so that it would detour people from getting a dog without giving it much thought. They seemed like nice enough people, but not breeders. Anyway, I didn't save the newspaper that had the phone number listed, so I wouldn't know how to get hold of them anyway.

On another topic, I called my vets office today. My Veterinarian had never heard of the Rabies miasm and told me I shouldn't believe everything I hear on the internet. He did however say that he would like to see this information that I've been reading and asked that I either fax or print out the info. for him to look over. I plan to take those things over to his office tomorrow and hopefully after he has reviewed it he can talk to me more about it when I go in with Vidar on Wednesday.

If he is a conventional vet things like vaccine reactions and diet connections wont probably be viable to him.
If you can find a holistic vet close enough to see and get some sceond opinions. They can often find avenues of treatment or actual causes rather than simply treating seemingly/traditionally unrelated symptoms.

Hmm, I'm having some trouble finding a holistic or alternative vet in my area. I could be misjudging it I guess. My area is very traditional and conventional in everything, not just vets, so it doesn't surprise me that there isn't more around me. My vet has already noted that my dog has behavioral problems, so he can't deny that at least. If he can't think of a way to deal with it medically then I'll be taking Garm to another vet for a second opinion for sure. There are some other good vets in the area, in fact I'm thinking the one I took my mice to once might be a good start. He specialized in exotic and pocket pets, so there's a strong chance he is thinking outside of the box. He had some very creative ways of helping me deal with my sick tiny mice, when most people would just scoff and tell me to set them free in a field and get some healthy ones for two dollars. He works with several other vets in one building and they each have their specialty among the animal world, so even if he won't see my dog, maybe he as a partner that will.

Hi Juliana,

Here's a link to Cindy's holistic vet list by state:

http://www.leerburg.com/holisticvets.htm

If you are at all within driving distance of the Monterey peninsula there is a new holistic vet who has just hung out her shingle and I hear she is fantastic. She totally supports raw feeding and minimal vaccines...doesn't even carry vaccines! She will be my vet from now on.

There is also a "purely positive" behaviorist/trainer in this area who is excellent.

Shoot me a PM if you'd like contact information.

 Quote: juliana mckenzie

I went to the farm, picked up the cutest, friendliest puppy that was left and fell in love with him. I probably should have asked more questions about his heritage, but they showed me mom and dad and said that he should have all the right qualities I'm looking for.

IMO (although it's probaby "bs" too :grin, the "friendliest" puppy is generally not the one in the litter who grows up to be a fear biter...

 Quote: juliana mckenzie

My Veterinarian had never heard of the Rabies miasm and told me I shouldn't believe everything I hear on the internet.

Not to sound cynical, but he probably wouldn't tell you if he DID hear about it. How much money do you think he makes on vaccines and all the allerigies, etc. that they cause??? I wouldn't even bother. Get the dog to someone who has opened a book in the last 15 years and has an open mind, regardless of the money it may lose them. I,too, was told that my Chi's sudden-onset epilepsy had nothing to do with his vaccines, even after he spent the 3 days following curled up in a shaking ball, screaming if you went near him to touch him. I treated him homeopathically, he has had no more shots, is 8 yrs old now, eats raw, and only has a seizure every 6 mos or so, unmedicated. I really don't believe that they have never heard of it after all the publicity vaccinosis has been getting the past several years.

Another thought-Dr. Pitcairn's site may help you. I think Jen Marshall posted it on a previous page. He is an immunologist, and I think there's a contact page where you can consult w/him directly. He may at least be able to tell you where to go for help locally.

Edited by Jenni Williams (01/11/2008 12:00 PM)
Edit reason: Another thought...

An update: Today we saw our trainer and we discussed the question of Garm's dominance, as well as the rabies miasm idea. He had not heard of it either, but he was not immediately skeptical of it. He said that he would do some research on it himself and ask some of his colleagues about it. He said that we probably would not be training Garm any differently if he were a fear biter than if he were dominant, because mostly we are working on obedience in general, so I don't have to worry that I've ruined my dog since he had the wrong label. I was glad to hear that. He said that in his experience, medication is only a short term solution for a lot of dogs and continued medication for prolonged periods can have some bad side effects, but he would look into it also. He also said that he has a colleague that is really good at re-homing dogs with problems, so if that ends up having to be the only way to deal with it then he will help with that. In the mean time, I've got plenty of time to keep working with him, so it's not like there's a lot of time pressure yet.

An update: After talking with my vet, he thought that the idea of Garm having seizures might not be too far fetched. Sometimes dogs act out in all sorts of ways when they have seizures, so he told me to watch him closely and see if I can find anything that is triggering these episodes of aggression and weird nightmare behavior. Well, I have been watching him very closely and I think I’ve figured out what the problem is. It isn’t at all what I thought it was and I'm actually feeling very stupid for not recognizing it sooner. I just wasn't looking for it, I guess. I thought he was way too young to be having problems like this, so my mind wasn't linking things together. I noticed that when Garm lays down and when he gets up again he does it in a particular fashion that is distinctly different than the way Vidar (I assume Vidar is normal) does it. Garm will sometimes flat out refuse to lay down on command and when I try to correct him for it he will snarl or growl at me. Other times he will ignore me at first and then eventually he will reluctantly lay down slowly, taking his time. Garm had started refusing to lay down when he hit adolescence and our trainer at the time had just said that sometimes dogs just start testing you to see if you will enforce your commands. So, I just thought he was being rebellious. I didn't think it was because he was in pain. After noticing this, my husband and I started handled his legs and found that when we pull on them he cries out in pain and will try to bite us. He has always hated to have his paws touched in the past. Maybe this is why? I watched the way he runs, and now that I am looking for it I can see that he has a very odd gate. He doesn't run at all the same as Vidar. Vidar has a very clear alternation of footing. Garm runs with his back legs in unison, almost like a hop, and he doesn’t appear to be putting much weight on his rear right leg, as though he is compensating for something. He doesn’t act like he’s in pain and this strange gate doesn't really seem to slow him down, but what if it is a chronic pain that has been steadily getting worse?

I starting thinking about my last big dog, Samson, who had to be put to sleep for hip dysplasia, because back then technology wasn't as high tech as it is now and we didn't have the money to try anything experimental. But Samson was much older than Garm and it seemed to hit him much faster. Maybe my family just wasn't as observant of the early signs because Samson wasn't reacting to the pain with aggression the way that Garm is. I never noticed any weird biting behavior with Samson, that is for sure. I guess I shouldn't expect Garm to deal with the pain in the same way though and it really would explain everything. It would even explain why he gets aggressive when he wakes up startled. He's probably moving his hips in a way that is very painful at that moment and since he is just waking up he is just striking out wildly to make whatever is hurting him stop.

I found out that most dogs who are genetically prone to it start getting the symptoms before 18 months old. They just get worse and are more apparent later in age. So, that means Garm is the right age for it to be starting to affect him if he is going to have it. Having difficulty laying down and getting up is definately a sign of it, as well as the hopping thing. I feel so bad for not recognizing it sooner! I’m going to have him X-rayed as soon as possible. If he does have hip dysplasia, then he might have to have a very expensive operation. I really don't want Garm to end up like Samson. I even deliberately got a hybrid dog this time so that he wouldn't have these sort of health problems.

Well, I read that they have ways of replacing the hip joints now, although I don't know how movable and functional they are after that. He probably couldn't do agility with that condition. He is such an active dog that loves to run. It's so sad! I really hope I'm wrong and Garm has something that can be more easily corrected. I almost wish it was rabies miasm instead.