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As others have said - you need a vet who investigates more or a specialist. Once your dog is no longer scratching ( if you have not already done so ) shave the ears clean inside and out with a 10 or 15 blade and get rid of the "teddy bear" face - try a moustache if you like hairy - but hair needs to be gone from around the ears to assist air flow.

Esky - those photos are inspiring - you obviously devote so much time to your dogs and have created a home where they are truly loved. To take dogs from so many different circumstances and turn them into a "pack" where there is love, respect and enjoyment is something wonderful - it is, indeed, a sacred circle!!!!!! Glad to hear some positive news for Penny.

A huge poodle hug for you as a care giver to oldies - takes a special person and prayers for little Penny.

Ring Clipperworld - they are very helpful - don't do poochie with the 10 blade - poor dog would be butt naked if it doesn't have a really thick coat.

Personally, I never give the full dosage of scourban as it is very effective - you need to speak to your vet about how to proceed.

Thanks for posting this. The little dog is very cute but his 16 year old owner is awesome !!!!! Love to see great kids doing well - she and the dog adore each other - fabulous to see.

Thanks Alkhe - really cool video. That dog was concentrating sooo much

If I had a dog that was going 5 days without eating regularly like you say yours is I would make a vet appointment for tomorrow and get off to the specialist and I am not a person who hops off to the vet everytime a dog vomits.

Seriously, non shedding, intelligent and friendly breed of medium to large size is a standard poodle. We have owned 4 standards and met many others. Quite a few weigh around the 19 to 23 kg mark (our current brown girl weighs 21 kgs) and our male is bigger boned and he weighs between 29 to 31 kg. I find that for their size standard poodles are very light on their feet and what I call "body aware" they are very agile - they can run around in the house and not nock anything over - not my experience with some other retrieving breeds LOL. How a poodle looks is all in the clipping and like any of the crosses leaving a poodle coat "shaggy" is a lot of work - It must be brushed/combed at least twice per week and be matt free - that is why many people opt to shave them off - and yes all over is an option it is called "retriever trim"

Googled the Australian Cobba Dog (yes they have found a name) and going on the health tests that they say they undertake the mind boggles - much longer than a piece of string. Just get a standard poodle and give it a teddy bear clip - husband will never know :laugh:

I would actually make an appointment and see your new vet. For an elimination diet you need a novel protein - but there is nothing to say that it has to be in the form of kibble - if you think that your dog would eat fish then I would be tempted to go natural - chat with your vet about this. You could use fish and veggies.

I had a standard poodle that would eat paperbacks but she prefered trashy novels :rofl: Glad your friend is enjoying Maggie - sometimes a little mayhem can be a good thing

:thumbsup: Come on over to the poodle thread and say giday - it has been a bit slow so we need new pics

Your silver puppy was actually born black and as Darkrai has indicated the coat "clears" to silver and may take some time to do this. This is a quote from John Armstrong who did extensive work on clour genetics in poodles. "In silver dogs, as in blues, the transition from black to white for each hair is gradual, but occurs at an earlier age. A substantial proportion of the outer coat is medium to light brown, but they have virtually no black in their undercoat." So your puppies coat colour is quite normal (including the brown bits). Cowlicks in coats are not uncommon and your puppy's coat will have a different texture when it has gone through coat change - some coats are more open (not tight curls) and the colours can also have a softer coat. Your breeder should have been able to tell you all this. There is a great deal of variation in both blue and silver coats and shading is normal. The pic is from the same article and shows a blue puppy an 18 month silver standard (which has not finished clearing) and a 3 yr old silver. http://www.dolforums.com.au/uploads/monthly_03_2012/post-11765-0-01322500-1332217827_thumb.jpg

Cattle were tresspassing The dog was on its own fully fenced property It was out with its owner It is in the house when they are not home There is a house yard Gate is now padlocked to prevent future accidents Sound like very responsible owners to me The only thing I would do is suggest they work on making Max a little more obedient under distraction. I would also regularly check the fence line as stock will push through and worry away at weak areas. As someone suggested - touch base with the local ranger about what happened including the threat.

Poodles in show trim have their tummy and privated (girls and boys) shaved with a 40 blade with no probs. Most pet poodles are shaved in this region with at least a 10 blade. I actually think it would be safe to shave than to scissor.

What a fantastic breeder

Thank you to all those people who have replied with helpful comments You have made my research much easier

Tralee - can you put up the link to the doc you are quoting from - not sure if it is DPI or RSPCA - I can't find anything similar. The DPI Rural Residential pdf says nothing helpful. Thanks to everyone for all the suggestions - it at least gives us some ideas! So far electric containment is out - poodles in show coats and collars don't mix and it doesn't stop dogs getting in Has to be a solid fence Our dogs are not escape artists or bored - they are generally not outside without us anyway so I think many of the mesh/ ringlock fences suggested would work for us - we will look at the more sturdy versions Will look at completely removing the barbed wire

Spoke to local counil this morning and they do not have a problem with leaving the existing fence and putting chainlock or other over the top - they also said we did not need to seek approval or come under the guidlines of any other body such as DPI . I would be interested in further info too please, Tralee. The only things I could find were suggestions about making fencing more kangaroo/wallaby friendly and will certainly look at this (so goat fencing is out)

I had a "google" and couldn't find the graduated deer fencing which Dancinbc described - anyone got a link

Thanks Tralee, will contact council tomorrow to see what restrictions apply - our 2.6 acres is actually within the town boundary of a very small village

Thankfully none of our 3 are diggers ( we live on very sandy soil at the moment which is easy to dig and never had a problem). I am worried about other dogs pushing under when my girls are in season (of course, they will only be outside when someone is with them). They are basically inside dogs but it is hard moving from a very secure backyard to wire fencing but the extra space will be great. Our dogs are inside when we are not at home.

I did think about electric but I would prefer the security of a physical fence and want to be sure other dogs cannot get in as well as ours not getting out.

Thanks Smooch - that does sound like what we want to do. Off to investigate deer wire - that sounds like it would stop the mini wriggling through the bottom and be tall enough to keep the standards in. These guys have always lived behind a 6 ft paling fence so being able to see through the fence will be a huge change - they are mad about chasing birds out of our yard (magpies mostly) and we are going to a place that abounds in roos, wallabies and emus (yikes) Training will comence upon arrival! :D