poodlefan

Greentea: Never under estimate the motivational power of hunger... give him the wing, if he plays with it, remove it and offer it again at the next meal. Smashing them up with a mallet or hammer (put it plastic bag first) can help get them started and so can making sure they are at room temperature. Edited to add: Henry is very cute.

Not to mention causing wind in many dogs.

I was a vegetarian for many years but decided that my pets should eat as natural a diet as possible. For that reason, my dogs eat meat, but prepared by me according to BARF principles. In the book, Give A Dog A Bone, Dr Ian Billinghurst discusses the difficulties of dogs obtaining protein via a vegetarian diet. Soy products are not easily digested by dogs and vegetarian protein lacks key amino acids (I think). His conclusion was that any soley vegetarian diet would be unbalanced. Dr B's suggestion was to balance the diet via the addition of raw meaty bones. Perhaps if you want to go to the most ethically appropriate animal protein source, you could investigate organic chicken which is more readily available these days. I have certainly fed my dogs organic meat and offal before. My personal view is that animals are not philosophers. I give my dogs the diet that nature intended. George, I think your philosophy is admirable. However, do your homework very carefully as there is a chance that if you don't get this right, your dog will suffer for it.

Greentea I'd recommend you feed your little guy less mince and more meat on the bone. Mince on its own does not have the calcium/phosphorus mix that pups need to grow well. Perhaps more chicken wings/necks in place of the mince? You will also need to add some vegetables to his diet if you want to feed all raw. If not, then kibble and chicken wings would be the way to go.

Greentea I'd recommend you feed your little guy less mince and more meat on the bone. Mince on its own does not have the calcium/phosphorus mix that pups need to grow well. Perhaps more chicken wings/necks in place of the mince? You will also need to add some vegetables to his diet if you want to feed all raw. If not, then kibble and chicken wings would be the way to go.

I hope he didn't say there was no risk of it Pugwombat. A friend of mine's dog was Canberra born and raised. She hadn't ever treated for it (same vet advice) but when she changed her mind and finally got the dog tested - it returned a positive result. If you take your dogs to the coast or travel with them at all, the risk will increase of course.

Find another trainer. A "one size fits all" approach to training IMHO demonstrates a lack of experience and/or knowledge. Its is the trainer's job to help the handler find what motivates the dog and to use that to develop the dog's focus. Some dogs are simply not motivated by food and some handlers simply don't want to use it. Having toys in class is a class management issue - and it can be done. Unfortunately, it is the kind of attitude demonstrated by your trainer that gives 'positive motivational trainers' a bad name.

Very cute! I'll confess I have a bit of a preference for the solid colour Cockers and black ones in particular.

Kewl! I'd like to know what all the pics in the Calender will be.

Maverick: I feel your pain. I did the commentary for an all Cocker obedience and agility demo at their Nationals a couple of years ago. Afterwards the participants had BREEDERS coming up to them and saying they didn't know that the breed was capable of such activities.

hape2cu: Banish that thought from your head. Like many dog owners (and dare I say some parents) you've confused love with the absence of discipline or boundaries (gee I sound like Super Nanny - is that asseptable? ) Every dog owner goes through learning curves. Sometimes your first dog is such an easy going, amenable type that you think all dogs are like this. You don't need to set up many boundaries or exercise overt disipline because your dog is quite happy to live within unspoken ones. Then along comes the puppy to shatter those illusions. Many of us can relate to your experiences - I know I can! Multiple dog households also bring challenges but I'm sure you'll agree the rewards for you and your first dog are worth it. I'd still HIGHLY recommend you find a good dog training club and take both your girls along. Cockers, contrary to the opinions of many people, are very smart and trainable - they have achieved at the highest levels in every dog sport they compete in. Furthermore, you gain from the experience of people who've been through many of the issues you are now dealing with. Can't wait for the pics!

On the treats/bones issue? Put two out, and take anything away after Millie has finished eating. Jess will soon learn not to wait.

Many people let their dogs sleep on the bed and get on the couch. That only becomes an issue if the dog displays exactly the kind of behaviour you are talking about. Teach your dogs you are the boss and they can sleep whereever you like. "Spoiling" a dog is fine. However dogs are pack animals and they NEED a leader. If you don't take on the role one of them will - any guesses as to who in your family might be stepping up? Yup, I'd say Jess is. You can still pamper a dog but set boundaries at the same time. Your dogs will actually be happier for it. Treat a dog like a person and you are begging for behavioural issues to develop. I really think that some positively based obedience training would help out here.

Put it in 'child' terms for your hubby. If a child peed itself because it was fearful of you, how would smacking it help cure the problem? The more he growls and smacks her the worse it will get. Another tip, do not go overboard with greetings or bend over her when you get home - both tend to trigger peeing. Quiet, calm, kind... that's the mantra that will help this issue.

Welcome to DOL! I totally agree on the submissive urination - especially that reacting adversely will make it worse. Have you taken either of these dogs to obedience training? Dominance like Jess is displaying can be helped a lot by teaching your dog (nicely) that YOU are the leader. Read the recent thread on a growling puppy for an explanation. Digging holes and eating plants sound like the behaviours of bored and underexercised dogs - how much exercise are they getting? Do they have toys to occupy them while you are away? A kong or bone to chew on will help.

Greentea, chicken necks and wing tips are good raw meaty bones for the littlies... You can alway smash the necks with a mallet if he can't manage them - but I'll bet he will.

The dog who was diagnosed was a rehomer who hadn't had a lot of exercise.. I would restrict exercise to just off lead play until the pup is 6 months or so in age and then build up to a reasonable distance walk each day. At your pups age, its too early for any 'body building'. :rolleyes: I don't know much about GBs but they seem to be hardy little dogs. Again, hopefully someone knowledgeable about the breed can advise.

At the very least Greentea, get a second opinion before committing to any surgery. Let nature take its course and give your new baby the best start you can. Luxating patella don't bar a dog from the showring, but if the gait is affected you wouldn't do well. You certainly shouldn't breed from an affected dog. One of my dogs was diagnosed at 8 months with a mild luxation. An improvement in fitness and muscle mass eliminated the problem. :rolleyes: I think there is at least one other GB owner here - hopefully you can get some advice from people knowledgeable about the breed.

Greentea A quick surf of the internet will inform your breeder that patella luxation, while not common in the breed, is hardly unknown. Very few small breeds are immune from this problem but some pups diagosed early with slipping patella lose the problem with age and muscle mass. Here's one example from the net on breed health - try to find a vet that knows something about the breed if you can: Ailments There are some general health concerns for all small breeds such as subluxating patellas (slipping kneecaps) and collapsing tracheas. Some can have such problems with the trachea that pulmonary hypertension and then congestive heart failure can develop. Abnormally small specimens of Griffons are prone to hydrocephalus, thus the breeding of mini Griffons should not be encouraged. Griffons have other problems particularly associated with their facial anatomy. An elongated soft palate, which can inhibit breathing, occurs in the breed, as do stenotic nares (narrowed nostrils.) Both of these conditions can be corrected surgically and can be identified quite early on by veterinary examination. Protopsis (expulsion of the eye from the socket) can occur in the breed if the head is restrained too vigorously. Webbed feet can occur in the breed and while this is a defect, it does not cause any health problems and the dog can get on completely fine with this distinctive anatomy.

If its a Golden Retriever we are talking about, the breed average is 16. Most breed clubs will have a general policy that dogs who score above the breed average should not be bred from. The 'evenness' of the score is also important. 10:10 would be a better score than 15:5

In my limited experience, the loudest screams about the cruelty of E-collars come from people who have never seen one, never felt the level of stimulation one provides and are the most unlikely to have seen one used correctly. The same people also scream loudly about prong collars while cheerfully advocating use of the halti - another training tool capable of inflicting great (and permanent) injury on a dog. I do not use an e-collar or an electronic containment system on my dogs. However, I would not reject the prospect of using one if I felt it necessary or desirable. I rate the stimulation provided as akin to sticking your tongue on a big battery. My view is don't knock it till you've tried it - or at least seen one in action. I advocate the use of positive training methods. However I am not a 'purely positive' trainer. When an advocate of purely positive methods can tell me how to train a dog not to do something in my absence (eg. bark, dig, fence jump), I'll be very interested.

I think they are a much better option than a Halti! The safety issues you need to be aware of are that that should not be left on a dog as a 'general' collar due to their capacity to tighten and that they are not an ideal collar for tieing a dog up to anything (same reason) Blackdog make a nice one if I remember correctly.

I go to Sandra Hasset at the Phillip Animal Medical Centre.. she's not the cheapest in town but she is extremely knowledgeable about dogs, is an obedience instructor and does dog sports herself. Her love of dogs also shines though. She will give you do's and don'ts on how to raise a pup and keep it sound. She tends to be the vet of choice for dog sports people and breeders I know.

George MD, I think that should read.. Herding and working breeds, most poodles and gundogs learn very fast. I'm afraid my youngest dog was not a quick learner in the toilet training department. However, he's made up for that shortfall by mastering climbing onto the laundry bench, opening up the overhead cupboard and helping himself to the dog snacks kept in the top shelf. Little &%&$&%

I use both methods. I praise the pup for doing the right thing. I slap MYSELF in the forehead if there's an accident inside - because I'VE stuffed up by not being vigilant or taking the pup outside regularly. Rubbing dogs noses in poo belongs to a time when teachers beat children in schools. Both were stupid, cruel and ineffective in teaching desired behaviour. I've trained a dog in two weeks and another took two months - to some degree it depends on the dog.