happystarz

I live in South Yarra would love to find an obedience club nearish to where I live. I am happy to drive up to 15 mins or so, but I suppose in the end, the most important thing is to find a good place to go to. I've got a one year old cavalier who I unfortunately haven't trained very well. So my basic needs are basic obedience, leash walking, recall etc. Any suggestions of a good obedience club?

My 14 week old cav used to have a really good appetitite, but as of a few weeks ago, he hasnt been as keen on his food as usual. I have changed his food around recently, Advance to eaglepack, but he had been kinda rejecting his food even before we had moved on from advance. He will eat...but only if i put it in my hands and put the food infront of his face. Sometimes he might eat wen i put the kibbles on the ground, but he hardly ever touches the kibbles in his bowl anymore. It's so frustrating...it takes hours for me to get one meal into him and i'm worried that he's not getting enough nutrition during this growth period. He's now only really eating two meals a day and that's with me spending two hours trying to get him to eat!

I've recently began to walk my 14 week old cavalier puppy around the block (he's had his 12 week vaccination) and am looking for some tips on walking him. I often look around and see dogs obediently sitting waiting for red lights to turn green, or other dogs walking peacefully and at a pace that is equal to that of the owner, and in some cases even off leash! However, my puppy is often distracted, he attempt to run towards any person who comes near us, and may not necessarily walk in the direction i want him to (ie, he will turn around and want to follow the person who has just walked past us). I've only walked my cav about 4 times so far, in quite areas as well as along streets where there may be quite a lot of people. i just want to know what teh best approach is to teaching him to walk on a leash. On a side note, my cav also went to his first puppy school class last week. While all the puppies were off leash and interacting with each other, i found that my cav did not seem to engage with the other puppies as much (although he loved the people in the class and would often go up to owners for a snuggle) and engage in "puppy fights" as much? He did sniffed around and was willing to sniff other puppies noses though...Overall, he was just very quiet compare to all the other puppies. We had some labradors, a border collie, a few crosses (maltese x shitz zhu, golden retriever x labrador), cocker spaniel and a little terrier etc in the class. He also cowered in the doorway after the terrier attempted to pick a fight with him. LOL. Just wanted to know if this behaviour is normal for a cav, or whether it should be an issue i need to do something about.

thanks flying penguin, but they charge 100 dollars for postage! Ridiculous.

Do you think spraying a liquid on the toilet training pad would perhaps be indicating to your puppy not to toilet on it or go near it as what you're actually doing is creating a bad association with the toileting pad. I'd probably go for a litter tray or something like this: Click here For puppy to really understand toilet training, you need to be watching puppy like a hawk and taking them to the toilet spot at specific times such as soon as waking, after eating, after playing etc etc. Remember, a firm "No" (not yelling or hitting) when you catch the dog doing an 'accident' and then putting puppy in the place you want them to toilet and then laying on the praise big time when they do it right helps your puppy understand what you want. Be 100% consistent so puppy understands faster Dogs do not 'forget' once they are toilet trained there are always specific reasons why they regress. Thanks for ur suggestion Sas. I had a look at teh indoor wizdog toilet ($89.95) thing that you suggested. Seems like it might be teh way to go. Does anyone know if it can be purchased from a shop in melb somewhere, so that i don't have to pay for shipping? I don't think a litter tray will work because my dog will just eat teh stuff in it.

I got a packet of Eagle pack and some royal canin samples at the Pet expo, so will trial my cavalier on them soon. also have a small sample packet of Hill's at home which i got from the vet. So many choices...

No we don't have a balcony.

If i am to use a litter tray to train mypuppy, do i just buy the cat litter to fill the tray with? I don't think i'll be able to place a pad a there, cos he'll just chew on it.

I think as a new pet owner, though we wish to obtain as much information as possible regarding what is best for our pets, it is often difficult for someone like me who has never had a pet before to be able to necessarily cover all the pros and cons regarding vaccinations, especially if we've had no previous experience in the area. Visiting the vet alone is a stressful experience for some like me. Owning a pet for the first time, learning about the breed, health of the breed, nutrition, training etc is overwhelming enough. I did ask the vet what proheart was and whether there were any side effects, but he said that it was the best prevention in the field at the moment. At the time, though reality may differ, i believed that the vet, as the health professional should have offered me the the cons as well as the pros. anyway, thank you guys for your information. I will certainly take your advise into account and be a smarter visitor next time i take Scooby to the vet.

oh...and does 197 sound reasonable for all the "treatment" scooby had?

Yes...that was a c5, proheart and a dose of frontline plus. I think i will definately go and change vets next time for Scooby's next vaccination in a month. Thank goodness Scooby didn't have a reaction. At least i am more informed now regarding vaccinations etc for my pup. I'll give Prahran vet hospital a go, MonsterPup, thanks for your PM. :rolleyes: Btw, i read that Nicole is on maternity leave at the moment.

oh no...what should i do next time i go to the vet then for his next vacination in a month. Should i ask for oral stuff? Scooby's fine at the moment...doesn't seem to have had any side effect from it.

Thanks harrison. Anymore suggestions??

I'm lost...i know there have been a lot of threads started on toilet training but it's hard to find one that fits my current criteria. I have a 11 week old cavalier who i am having trouble toilet training. We live in an apartment (so we can't really take him outside to do his business) and have chosen a designated spot in the kitchen for him to go. We've tried training pads which kinda worked for a while but he has started to chew and tear them apart (even if i spray anti chewing liquid on it). I suspect newspaper will end up the same way with him. Any more suggestions on toilet training a puppy indoors?

My 11 week old cavalier got vaccinated today with C5. The vets also offered pro heart...actually they kinda make it sound like it was necessary and the "best" prevention there is available now for heart worms? Anyway so that was a general check up, two injections, plus a packet of frontline plus, and a worming tablet which came to $197. Oh and he threw in a puppy pack too with some pamplet and a sample of Hill's diet. Anyway, just wanted to know if Pro heart is a usual thing for puppies to have? Is it necessary? I'm happy to pay the price (though it was very expensive) but just wanted to know if it's the norm, or something the vet was trying to give Scooby (my cavalier) for some extra money.