Amadeus

My last GSP was INCREDIBLY whiney - I feel your pain. You're not alone, some dogs are just whingy, many grow out of it - my other GSPs did, but the last one would whine while he was laying inside by the fire with us!! I just kept thinking "what else do you want!!" It was almost as though he didn't even know he was doing it, it had become such an ingrained habit.

AND - you get to desex your dogs if that is causing any problems !!!!! LOL

I feed my danes on Advance, and they are both very healthy and doing great. There are other options that are also good, but I'd recommend staying with Advance if the breeder recommended it. They do eat ENORMOUS quantities at times through growth. My 4 month old puppy eats more than her 3 yo mother. Don't let your puppy get too well covered, its important for his growth not to have too much weight through a critical growth period.

Casowner - I live in Inglewood.

Hi Casowner,

I think I live near you. We have had lamb casualties due to foxes, but NEVER adults. This sounds like a big dog to me. I have seen large dog damage to sheep, and it definitely involved neck and stomach.

I'd like to think that a dog destined to die on an operating table in a veterinary school gets a silent thank you from the student that learned from it as it dies. My guess is some of those students will never forget that dog.

I have done many a dissection on dead animals, and particularly dogs at university. Some quite horrid, but very educational. We were always told and taught to respect the animal, and anyone who didn't in these sessions was jumped on by both peers and lecturers. I absolutely remember 2 dogs in particular by what they taught me, and I always spent a moment to wonder about their life. Yes, they all got silent and not so silent thank you's.

poor boy! You must be beside yourself.

When my boy wasn't eating at all, while we were waiting for him to be diagnosed, the vet recommended putting some vegemite on his tongue. It has some good vitamins and electrolytes in it, and is probably a bit like Nutrigel if you don't have any. He did pick up a little after that.

Good luck with the vet, and hope you get answers for him soon. He definitely looks like he needs intervention to me.

Thanks for your responses! I seem to be on the right track,

and some great new suggestions for me to look into

Hi,

I have my first litter of Great Dane pups at the moment. There are only 3 of them, and they are 5 weeks old tomorrow. I'm just wondering what type of handling/training do you all do with pups at this age. I have been doing some general stuff like playing with ears, mouth, tail etc etc - but curious to know what others start to do between now and when they leave for their new homes.

We are on a rural property, and I had 2 GSPs to contain. I built a run for night and when we weren't home, and used the invisible fencing when we were home. Can't emphasise enough how important following the training guide is, as I could see it all turning bad if you didn't. However, it was fabulous at keeping our dogs in our house block, and we eventually got to the point where we could leave them in it without going in their runs through the day.

I think it works well when there is additional fencing, which is what we did. They can't just 'take a deep breath and run for it'. To get through even rural fencing they need to squeeze, slide, dig or jump. This gives extra time for the warning beep to kick in. I recommend using it.

Is she eating? upset in any other way?

I would ring the vet and discuss with them - prob needs a visit to be on the safe side.

yep - she won't starve herself to death!!!

(perhaps try some light gravy on top???)

I have had the 12 monthly injection - havent had any probs.

NORMAL HEALTH PARAMETERS FOR A DOG

Temperature: 37.9 - 39.9 (rectal)

Resting Respiration Rate: 18-25 (sleeping), 20-34 (standing, rest)

Heart Rate: 70-120 beats/min

Capillary Refill Time: less than or equal to 2 seconds

Can be useful if your not sure on general health, or monitoring a sick animal.

Spanner - I feed my 5yo GSP on Advance, and always have. People are always commenting about his health, coat etc. He goes very well on plain adult chicken, with some dental thrown in. (and it is Aussie made)

I wouldn't put him on adult yet, but maybe in a couple of months?? Ask your breeder as well.

I feed advance to my dogs as well. Always seems to keep weight on, keep their coat shiny and keep poo to a minimum.

Ive been feeding Advance for a while now, and I have a very healthy, shiny coated dog. I don't believe there is anything 'wrong' with it.

Remember Australian made, means that it is put together here - does not necessarily mean that all ingredients have been sourced in Australia. I have no idea what the true story is with Advance, other than it is MADE in Australia.

I had the same problem with my dog (but he is a GSP), and the only way to slow him down was to scatter his dry food around the concrete. I'm sure people would think I was a horrible owner if they saw!!!