The Spotted Devil

Great results everyone Zig and I are still working on the basics....I've wanted to wait until his brain catches up with his body (still waiting actually) I love seeing that look of comprehension on his face when he knows 100% what I'm asking him to do. Today at the park on his long line he did the most sensational recall......bolted in at 100mph, put on the breaks hard as he got close (kicking up a huge cloud of grey dust in my face ), then sat perfectly straight and true in front of me.....with an expectant look as if to say: "Where's my damn click and treat?????" I'm so delighted with him and can't believe how much fun he is to train! Who said training Dallies was difficult

It's ok, my Dally was a shocker when he was surprisingly young too :rolleyes: He is a very intense, bolshy young lad but is maturing beautifully after a lot of guidance. I tend to think humping in a young pup is an excitement issue that, if left unchecked, turns into a habit. My approach was to teach Zig a "leave" command that basically means "stop being a git and stop doing what you are doing". Plus I removed everything that was worth humping from the room i.e. his bedding, cushions etc. Plus I supervise him all the time so I can correct and praise as appropriate. However, the most important thing I did was WATCH the body language.....when I did that, I could pick the humping behaviour a few minutes before it happened and ask him to "steady" or "leave" or simply stop playing. Just the scraping of a paw on a blanket was enough to warn me. I have tried a water pistol (when I was out of sight) and that also worked a treat. Also, when I am playing with Zig, it is all on my terms. So, to have the toy thrown for him he must bring it back, give it nicely, then perform a behaviour (e.g. sit, drop, heel, touch my hand etc) before the toy is thrown. Same with tug toys. I didn't encourage "rough" play when Zig was young because he would get too silly, but now we can have a gentle play because I have developed a solid "off" switch I would channel that mad energy into lots of "brain" work and avoid the rough and tumble with people until she has a bit more self-control. Be very persistent and very consistent! I really hope that helps

I have an entire male 15 month old Dally here and he doesn't hump or lift his leg inside either because he knows the boundaries and hasn't been allowed to form bad habits (he tried humping cushions from a surprisingly young age!) He is a bit of a handful but who's to say he wouldn't be without the hormones coursing through his veins...he was a bolshy bugger the day he came home Basically, if you are going to desex him between 6 and 8 months you may as well do it as early as 12 weeks as the studies show there to be no difference. However, the absence of testosterone after desexing delays growth plate closure in the long bones....therefore if you desex prior to growth plate closure you end up with a slightly taller dog (emphasised by less muscle development usually too). Whether this leads to joint problems down the track is a whole other story......there is no conclusive evidence.....probably because there are so many confounding factors, such as nutrition, being overweight, excessive exercise during growth etc etc. So in short, given the choice I would wait until the dog had finished growing before desexing. It comes down to priorities.....so you'll notice that rescue dogs and some pure-breeds (especially those that are 'fashionable') undergo early desexing because the most important thing is that these dogs don't breed. I hope that helps and hasn't confused the daylights out of you

How much is he drinking all at once? Can you just offer him one 'lap' at a time then pick the bowl up? Hope he's much better soon ETA: Is he on anything for the nausea?

I like the i-clicker.....it's ergonomic and the sound is a little softer...I bought the wrist i-clicker from Black Dog. Having the wrist strap is very handy and the product was delivered in double quick time Have fun!

That is exactly what Zig did with his first one.....I think it's a novel food so it can take the curious ones a while to work it out. After half an hour of playing, I ended up popping it down his throat....after which he spent 10 minutes looking for it Idiot He's fine with it now and just loves it - I actually use it as a training treat. He takes it off to his bed and quietly chomps it up

I agree with BC & persephone.....for cat urine (which is darn strong!) I usually recommend something like BIOZET from the supermarket to clean with and then spray with a product such as Urine-Off. How old is your puppy? While Zig was quick to toilet train, I didn't give him a chance to make a mistake......outside every 30 mins and after waking, playing or eating. Lots of praise when they toilet and use a command too....set puppy up to succeed :rolleyes: I kept this up for a number of months (obviously left the time longer and longer) as he didn't make much fuss when he needed to go outside....just a little restless and whiny which is no different from usual Once and only once I arrived home, then a few minutes later caught him lifting his leg in the hallway when he was about 7 months old I growled briskly at him, took him straight outside and praised the daylights out of him when he toileted. I looked back at what had gone wrong - it turned out that OH was day dreaming while arranging a piece of music on the computer and completely missed all the signs that Zig had needed to go out for the past 2 hours He got some training too Good luck!

Glad he's on the mend, though Zig sounded like he was going to heave up the Titantic this morning but nothing came of it except a bad case of the hiccups - he's such a drama queen :D

Sas, I wonder whether you'll notice any behaviour changes too.....? The very first thing I was taught in my animal nutrition lectures was that animals do not have a specific requirement for specific feeds and that the feeds consumed are less important than the quantity and supply of nutrients derived from the feed during digestion. Taurine is not considered an EAA for dogs as far as I knew but if you think about it makes sense. It's destroyed by high temperatures, which is why it is vital for cats as they cannot synthesise it....but for dogs, perhaps some is better than none. Very interesting. I'll be watching this space with interest ;)

There are Dals definitely being fed BARF or raw diets but some of us feed a mix of dry food and raw meaty bones - which is what I do. If you want to try a different food, I can recommend Eagle Pack (make sure you get one with chicken or pork NOT lamb or beef as the latter is too high in purines). I also feed raw chicken wings. Be careful what you feed as treats too - Dals don't tend to do well with colourings etc. I use cooked chicken, 4 legs dog food chopped up small, Natures Gift chicken treats and similar stuff. If you want to go down the BARF or raw track, do your research (lots of suggestions in this forum on books/websites), remembering that Dallies require a low protein (around 20% is good), low purine diet (avoid lamb, beef and all offal). Good luck ;) ETA: Yes, Dals have excellent coats that clean up well without that 'doggy smell' but that doesn't exclude them from wanting to roll in stinky stuff (eau de dead fox is a favourite with Zig)

Hi Jacqueline I had my pup on Advance and he did really well on it, although I've now switched him to Eagle Pack (low-fat I think???) to get the ideal protein level for Dalmatians of around 20%. I don't wash Zig more than once every few months (even when showing) - Aloveen works well for us (I think that is what you were using?) but just make sure you rinse it out really well. As for fleas, I don't know much about Advantage...might be worth doing a search on the forum for it. I've been treating Zig with Sentinel Spectrum monthly - I was a few days late and the inside of his flanks flared up really quickly, then settled down once I'd given his tablet. Apparently there is quite a problem with fleas this year, judging from a few posts lately. Is the skin around his scrotum white? It may be much more sensitive if so.....Zig's is black so any flare ups tend to show up first on the inside of his flanks. Have you spoken to your Dal's breeder at all? It may well be worth while as, quite often, an allergy etc can be something the breeder has come across before in their dogs. Otherwise, if you are having no luck, it may be worth getting a second veterinary opinion. When you're ready, come and post some pictures of your boy in the Dalmatian breed thread We're a friendly lot, although you do have to watch those Dane people that keep trying to take our thread over Edited for grammar gremlins

That's a shame....I was about to suggest the same thing plus a G&T for you Hope the lad is on the mend soon!

I also use Georgia from Optimal Chiropractic - she is qualified to treat both humans and animals, travels to your home, is very gentle and young Zig just loves her

Poor little mite - hope he feels better soon. I probably would withhold all food for 12-24 hours even if he's looking brighter. Good luck!

Hmmm.....does sound a little odd. Dals can have sensitive skin issues......but I'm surprised it's so specific - AthenaGSD's idea of a contact allergy makes sense. Other ideas....what diet is he fed on? How often do you bath him? What flea treatment is he on? Does he lick the area obsessively?

That is what I was thinking.....my Dal was coming straight to me but then doing a huge shuffle backwards when he sat :rolleyes: I went back to basics and re-trained on the command "front" (pretty much what PF described a few posts back) and it has worked a treat. Today I took him out on the long line in the park - mostly he did really, really well but did overshoot once...I gave him a NRM ("Ah well"), tried again and he was spot on and very happy to get his steamed chicken reward

A few things to consider with Dallies due to their propensity to form a unique type of urinary stone. They require a low purine diet (i.e chicken and pork are the best protein sources; avoid red meat and all organ meat) and a relatively low protein diet (15-20%) - finally found what I was looking for in the Eagle Pack range. Dry food constitutes about 90% of his diet, with the rest being made up of the odd chicken wing and training treats (cooked chicken, Natures Gift chicken treats). I want to keep that constant for a while before taking a urine sample to see the effect on stone forming. ETA: As to who I took advice from - I took on board input from the breeder, the vet, DOL forums, the latest science based research and combined all that with my own understanding of animal nutrition from Uni and specific advice from one of my lecturers.

Too old? Definitely not!!!!! I didn't start training my last dog (a very hyperactive ACD) until she was 2 years old....we fumbled along in our training and still managed to get a CDX obedience title and 2 legs of her agility title. We would have been much better if I had been a better trainer She absolutely loved it though, despite my incompetence As long as your boy is fit and healthy (esp. for agility) I think you should go for it!

Thanks Miranda :D I'll have to look into that further.....might check your setup out at a show one day if that's ok....I've been meaning to come and meet your Gordons for ages - got a terrible soft spot for them :D

Miranda, is that expensive? We're looking at getting a wagon or similar (for the dog of course ) and I'd like to do have a built in crate or 2 (must plan for the next addition!) - did you build them yourself or have someone do it? TIA :p

I aim to please

Where are you based? There are some excellent professionals on this forum....I'm sure a recommendation could be given As for BB - I've heard nothing positive about them (apart from the previous post by ruthless).

A poor excuse for a cricket match :rolleyes:

I absolutely know what you mean, Erny! He uses the same crate to sleep in when we travel and at shows so I wouldn't want him to associate it with a punishing experience. Perhaps it is more of a neutral effect for him? I *think* for Ziggy, it gives him a chance to calm down (because crate = sleep, relax) away from the stimulation - which may be something like the cats going beserk. I put him in there with no fuss and no corrections....just calmly and quietly and he comes out with so much more self-control.

LOL - how do you think I came up with my DOL user name Zig is so excited in the ring he just about bursts! I love that energy, though, and therefore have been patient with him. He's a dog that will physically mature much later too. At our last show for '07, a handler behind me had a squeaky toy to hype her dog up. Zig needed that like a hole in the head He was trying to run forward with his head twisted about to get the squeaky toy but I just kept calmly asking and asking him to work. Eventually he got it together, won his class and RDCC - made my day You're right - it's a brilliant learning curve. My last dog (ACD) was OTT too but in a very different way - she was like a jack in the box on red cordial and speed but was simply desperate to work for me....quite easy to focus her - I just wish I had been a better trainer!!!!!!