aquaticmalamute

Mel, We do TOT, he is at the point where I can leave him off his tie out and walk out of sight and he still won't touch the food till I say so. He is the type that is obsessive about food to a point where his pupils dialate and drools excessively - he is incredibly food driven. We impliment NILIF and have been doing it since Kodi came home 8 years ago. Having a previous mal that I taught to sit and also showed I would never do it again, if you talk to other showies they agree not to teach a show dog to sit. The time that the dog has to stack for (and the short attention span of a mal) they will try out other things to get that treat, including sitting. I know dogs aren't stupid! I know that they can differentiate between a show lead and flat collar, but he is a 5.5month old puppy for goodness sakes - I don't expect that of him yet. Well that's what i'm doing here, no? As for bringing Kodi inside? No way no how, she has killed one of our cats before and i'm not risking it again.

He is already crate trained, do you mean crated time outs? As with the obedience training what would you suggest? He gets training in 10 minute stints twice a day, any longer and he loses intrest. I refuse to go to our local obedience club and the next nearest is an hour away - OH only just tolerates the money and driving distance that I have put into this dog so far, he wouldn't appreciate the time and money spent travelling that far to obedience every week, I do train at home and with my friend down at the park. I won't do weave poles just yet then, i'd love to get him into agility but obviously not till he is older. I figured weave poles were one of the least impact exercises I could start training him on, i'll put it off for 6 more months

Nekhbet - his breeder asked me to up his food to 3 cups a feed because she wants more weight on him, he was previously on 2 cups per feed. I agree that it is alot of food, my girl gets 500grams of raw a day. Point taken on the weave poles. I've never used them before and thought it would be a good way to get him thinking about something different - I wouldn't expect him to do it at speed, just a walk. I know he is bored/frustrated and too full of energy, thus the reason I came here to ask about anything I can do to activate his mind. I can't spend all day with him going over obedience - he gets bored with it easily too. He does alot of travelling with me, every weekend we are going somewhere in NSW to show, he gets play dates with his half sister every week and comes out with me to feed the horses every day. My problem is he gets bored at home and takes it out on my old girl. I'm not sure how to keep him occupied while i'm not there....

Oops, sorry PF there I go generalizing! True he is not technically a giant breed but he is from the old australian lines with his relatives around the 30 inch mark. I tend to refer to my dogs as giant because they are quite above the breed standard Do you have any tips to teach self control and boundaries? I whole-heartedly agree that he thinks he is in charge, which is half the reason i'm having problems with encountering aggressive dogs on walks. Kavik - Boh has all of his obedience commands down pat (though isn't 100%) he however doesn't do sit as I don't want him using it in the showring. I am interested in teaching him target training (must find my clicker!) and would like to teach him some agility

Hi, i'm Nikki and I have a problem...... a Malamute sized problem..... Where to start? geez.. how about I start with a little background then move onto each issue. Background: I have a very outgoing and oozing confidence, almost 6 month old Malamute problem child named Boh. He is undesexed and learning about the cocky manly things in life (as they do). He is entering his terrible pre-teens. He has been very well socialized and is swamped with dogs and commotion every weekend when I take him to dog shows where he struts around like he owns the place, lets everyone knows he is there and needs patting and fussing over (apparently). He makes this well known with ALOT of loud Malamute vocalist noise - imagine a little kid tugging at your pants going "mum, mum, mum, mum, mum, MUM,MUM,MUM,MUM, MUUUUUUUM! This gets either ignored or a correction on his show leash which gets very little responce. He IS getting better with not being quite so vocal.... But that's the least of out problems! Lets start at home. I have an older Malamute female (desexed) named Kodi and she is almost 8 years old (in a week). She is quite happy being the Beta in our little pack, walks calmly by my side on walks and is pretty much the little angel that all dogs should be. She has never put Boh in his place unless there is food involved. Boh pushes her and pushes her, she will growl at him and the harshest thing she will do is a quick snap and bark till he stops - which he respects instantly, if only for a second, before hounding her again. He barks at her at 5:55am, 10:20pm and 1:10am on the dot without fail every day/night. I temporarily fixed this by putting Kodi in the pool yard when we go to bed and letting her out in the morning, she and the neighbours appreciate the peace and quiet overnight. I however do not want to do this for the rest of her life. Any suggestions? Next issue: Boh's harassment of Kodi is getting steadily worse, for example, he will put his head down and charge at her (sideswiping) He gets his head under her belly and forcefully pushes her till she loses balance - he likes to catch her offguard when he does this. He also insists on putting his front paws on her back and pushing off her before racing off - much to Kodi's annoyance! He also insists on pulling on her ears (and hers aren't all that big!) pulling out her long coat (this she retaliates with a bark) he bites her feet and gets in her face while she is trying to sleep. We have thought about seperating them permanantly. He has NO respect for her whatsoever (if you haven't figured that out yet ) I can't keep him occupied. He digs holes in the yard (I expected this anyway so not really a big problem) He has learnt the joys of hanging off the clothesline (Kodi litterally dobs on him for doing this lol!) He digs the water out of their waterbowl at least twice a day - I put a brick in there and he just pulls it out. He barks at anyone/dogs passing the front gate. He barks at people when they don't pay attention to him. He spends half the day running from one end of the property to the other. If given the chance he will jump into the pool. The list is endless and is starting to stress me to a point that I don't sleep well worrying about it.... I hear you asking about exercise, treat balls and the like? Don't forget that he is 5.5 months old and classed as a giant breed dog. I walk him 8km a day I break it up so we to 4km in the morning and 4km at night. We get home from the walk and he is still full of beans and starts to pummel Kodi while she is trying to do her ritual pee (she refuses to toilet on a walk) I swear he is the Energizer Bunny. Any ideas how to burn that energy besides walking him, playing ball and all the other things i've tried to settle him down? I'm thinking of making up some weave poles, anything else? He gets breakfast at 9am which consists of 3 cups of Eukanuba, a large dollop of yoghurt, fish oil, vitamin C, half a can of fish and a large turkey neck. Lunchtime he gets a large knuckle bone. Dinner is 3 cups of Eukanuba, a large dollop of yoghurt, fish oil, vit C and a large chicken frame. He doesn't put on weight (gee I wonder why!) and is a ball of muscle. He gets frozen fish/bone/beef stock ice cubs (frozen in 2L ice cream tubs) to play with which don't last long. Kongs go missing so I stopped buying them, too expensive! One last issue, I promise! On walks Mr Confidence turns into Mr Anxious. He has learnt where the scary dogs live (ones that rush the fence barking madly) and starts this whine way before we get there, and continues after we have passed the scary houses. While passing them he doesn't know what to do, he dances around whining and runs into me. I have stopped him before and tried to make him ignore them, doesn't work - he is too paranoid. I have tried checking him (he has a thick rope check collar) which diverts his attention for all of a split second. I have tried the whole blaze past the scary house, not stopping for nuthin' focus on going forward - doesn't work. He flips around and whines like he is about to get eaten. Meanwhile Kodi and I are walking calmly side by side trying to set a good example to Boh - he pays no attention to us whatsoever. I've tried mixing up our walks but the instant we go somewhere he hasn't been before he whines the whole way, glancing down driveways and expecting to be rushed at - not fun! when I first started walking him he would charge back at the offending dog, barking and carrying on. I do not accept this behaviour and roused on him intantly, he then went from Mr Cocky to Mr Insecure. Apologies about the long post but this puppy is driving me bonkers! He is literally bouncing off the walls and annoying everyone - i'm sure it's not good for his mental state either! I can't wait till he is old enough to be hitched up to the scooter and do what he was bred for

Me too, me too! Canon EOS 20D Lens EFS 18-55mm Focal length 52.0mm ISO 400 Not all that creative, and instinct told me not to put a fork in my saltwater fishtank No photoshopping except to put on a border and re-size - heh I didn't even crop it

Thanks for that BB I did ring the vet and they said he should be OK but to watch out for signs of him being 'unwell' I too have heard horror stories about overdosing and thought i'd check here to see if anyone had a similar experience and what to look out for

Well I must have been having the worst memory lapse and accidently gave my 5 month old pup two tablets instead of one! He is 21.9kg and I gave him two of the 11kg-22kg tablets instead of one (don't ask me how I managed to stuff that up!) Just wondering if he is going to be ok and what (if any) signs I should be looking out for? Cheers!

I would go with the weatherbeeta too - They are good strong rugs, easy to care for and not too badly priced.

I have always been reccomended to start feeding joint supplements at around 5 years of age. My girl was started on glucosamine/chondroiton when she was 6yo and at almost 8 years old she still races around like a younger dog. She is fed a very similar diet to your your boy

I waited 18 months :D About a year for me I don't mean to offend and my comment is not aimed at anyone, just an obsevation, but I find it amusing the amount of people that find waiting a couple of months for a pup is a long time. What happens when they decide to wait on a planned litter, wait anxiously for conformation of pregnancy, whelping and when your puppy is finally picked out for you? Now that is stressful! As for if a female is worth more than a male? I find most people asking for more for a bitch is not ethical. It costs the same to raise a bitch as it does a dog, unless it's show/breeding quality then I wouldn't expect the bitch to cost anymore than her male littermates. To add, just because a bitch is "more 'worthy' and capable of breeding" doesn't mean that she should! I'm glad you changed your mind on that litter, the "breeder" doesn't sound like she has her dogs health/best interests at heart.

I feed my guys chicken necks when they first come home, within a few weeks they go on to turkey necks. I also feed lamb offcuts from the start, when they get their adult teeth in I feed small chicken frames as well. I avoid wings as their bones splinter easily. The general rule of thumb for sleeping hours is your pups age in months plus one hour. So a 2 month old puppy should sleep 3hrs before needing to go out, a 3 month old pup should go out every 4hrs and so on. When you are house training a new pup they should go out every hour, after waking, after eating and after play/exciting activity. My current pup is the first one that I havn't taken to puppy pre-school. With plenty of socialization with other dogs each week he has turned out fine - I stressed over it too but it was worry for nothing

Cataracts are an opacity in the eye lens, giving it a pearly appearance - yes it can have a blueish hugh to it. By the descriptions that Storm has provided it sound like the actual iris is turning blue, which certainly isn't uncommon in her dog's breed. Granted my last sentance may have been a little strong, but since she has had the vet look at her dog's eyes I don't think my comment was too out of place. And I agree that any change in the eye should be checked by a vet

Congratulations on your new bundle of fluff - how exciting! I agree with Persephone, keep feeding what the breeder has been feeding to avoid an upset tummy and the runs, it will also help her transition into her new home if she is eating what she is used to. Sometimes breeders will give you a small amount of food that the pups are currently on to tide you over till you can get some yourself - this is usually in the puppy pack along with a care sheet, pedigree papers and any other tid bits like a collar etc. Personally I wouldn't feed canned pedigree puppy food, it is mostly made up of water and is pretty good at upsetting tummies. By all means add plain youghurt to the diet, the non-flavoured type My pup is getting Eukanuba Lare Breed Puppy, two Vit C tablets, a fish oil tablet, a dribble of olive oil and yoghurt twice a day. His lunch meal is made up of lamb offcuts from Woolies or canned fish. Goodluck with your new pup, and don't forget to post pictures

My first boy didn't lift untill he was 5 months old. My current boy is 4 months and hasn't lifted yet (touch wood). Frankly, i'd be happy if he never lifted however he has kicked his scent around since 8 weeks. I'm not sure what's worse, peeing all over the car wheels or getting pee soaked grass kicked on your feet My friend has a boy who is nearly 3 and has never lifted - ahh the joys

Puppies are strange sometimes aren't they? At the minute mine has a thing for the split logs we store behind our garage - he drags them back to the house to chew on them. Which isn't all bad, at least I don't need to trek up the yard to get more wood for the fire As for other naughty things he does? Well! He has an annoying habbit of launching himself at his mattress (canvas covered foam) and 'riding' it as far as it will slide, then drags it at high speeds up and down the driveway - not the best noise to hear at 10pm every night

Mine get brewers yeast, kelp, fish oil, ester C, olive oil and apple cider vinegar along with their raw diet.

Mine are all on fish oil daily, one 1000mg capsule twice a day - the brand I use is 'Nature's Way' They also get canned fish once a day :D

Eye color is obviously determined by genes. By about 6 months of age, the eyes produce and store enough melanin to indicate their natural color. A change in eye colour is due to exposure to sunlight - Sunlight triggers melanin production in the eye, either lightening the eye or darkening it with too much, or lack of sunlight. It is similar to the 'Snow Nose' often occuring in northern breeds during Winter. Less sunlight penetrating the skin leads to a lightening of the nose pigment during winter (the nose turns pink). So there is absolutely no need to worry about your bullies eyes lightening - it's completely natural :D

K9: I too have a question, however I admit I haven't read the whole thread so apologise if it has been brought up already I have a 14 week old Alaskan Malamute pup who demands food the instant he sees me in the morning (through the back glass sliding door) or around dusk at dinner time. He will literally throw himself against the door screaming and demanding his breakfast. How do you deal with this stage? I have been actively ignoring him by pulling up a chair at the back door and reading a book or doing housework while he screams to his hearts content. When he gives up and goes away I will tie him out and start to prepare his food, at which point he will start the screaming and lungeing on his tie out all over again. I have been doing this for a few weeks now to no avail, I also feed him at irregular times to try and break the cycle. What am I doing wrong? My old girl gets fed first and out of sight of the pup, she will sit and wait for the OK, giving me perfect eye contact for as long as I ask, I then go and feed the pup. Since he is a show dog in training I ask for a 'stand' instead of a sit, place the bowl within reach so that his tie out is slack, ask for eye contact and give the OK to eat after he holds it for a bit longer each day. Am I tempting him too much by having the food so close to him? He won't touch the food untill I say OK but he is torn between looking at me and staring down his food - he knows that looking at me means that he can eat once given the ok, but tries to predict me and dives toward his food once he has glanced at me, but stops before getting to the food because I have said "AH" letting him know that I don't approve of his actions (this doesn't work when he is being loud). We also have another problem at dog shows, however i'm not sure how traingle of temptaion could help it? He is fine in his crate, being groomed on the table and being left alone. It's the few minutes before going into the ring that he starts screaming and generally voicing his opinion! He isn't anxious or excited as far as i'm aware, he will happily sit next to me and make noise just for the sake of it. I have tried, holding his muzzle, staring him in the eyes and loudly saying QUIET, he stops for a few seconds before starting up again. I can't squirt him with water because we are about to go in the ring and giving leash corrections doesn't help either. Short of de-barking him i'm at a loss as in how to quiet him down?

I used to use Aloveen as well, then I brought some Kelco Puppy Tears back from the USA and I must say that I am in love! It smells divine, does a fantastic job on the coat (and brings out the whites!) it's all natural and best of all it doesn't hurt pups eyes if you get it in them

Fantastic! Actually it's reminded me to get off my butt and buy a dremmel - amazingly my Malamutes don't need their nails trimmed very often, probably twice a year, so it's easy to forget to buy a dremmel. But boy would I love one simply for the ease and the nice job that they do

I also bought mine off eBay, the seller I used is allpethomes - excellent price, super fast postage and they sell very sturdy crates to boot! Alot of crates that I have seen, such as PetOne, are flimsy and over priced. The crate that I have is escape proof and excellent quality, however that also means that it is very heavy (I have a 48 inch XXL), it has a metal handle so no breakages there It was also half the price of the lesser quality versions that you see in pet shops. The only other place I have seen my style of crate for sale is at dog shows, but again, more expensive than the same crates off eBay. Persoanlly I prefer the wire crates (two door) as opposed to the plastic ones, mainly due to durability, portability and air flow. Another thing to consider is the tray in the bottom of the crate, I prefer the plastic liners over the metal (metal leaves black marks on my dogs elbows etc) however that said, plastic ones are destroyed easier

Congratulations on the new pup! Where are you getting him/her from? I have a 9 week old Mal pup here at the moment and really he isn't much trouble at all, I'd say 1-2 weeks off work should be fine. At 10 weeks they are pretty robust and can handle being outside all day, that is of course if your yard is puppy proof and they have alot of stimulation to prevent unwanted mally behaviours :D I would highly reccomend a sandpitt for your new pup, bury all sorts of goodies in it and he/she will be entertained for hours, plus it prevents your yard looking like the surface of the moon as they have somewhere positive to dig. Oh, and don't forget to add photos of your new bundle of furr

My second hand dryer (used only 3 or 4 times when I bought it) is a Liberty stand dryer with hose kit. Cost $450, has two speed settings and two heat settings (warm and cool), it's fantastic for my Malamutes and i'm more than pleased with it! But my bargain of the century is my Conmurra Hydrobath. Also second hand when I bought it, it had average use but is still in excellent condition. It's a single tank, heated and cost the grand total of $400