Kissindra

have you weighed him, could be that the weight gain is slight and not yet noticeable just from looking. Try a puppy food and feeding by hand to encourage him. The satin balls are great, you can also offer raw fatty offcuts of lamb or beef which you can get at the grocery or the butcher. Some dogs are hesitant to eat with another dog around so see if keeping them seperate and allowing him time leads to eating more. Also up the amount of times he's fed a day a dog will usually get a bit more down with two daily feeds rather than one big one. Hope this helps!

Boo started off with a premium dry food, some VIP puppy roll, uncooked chicken breast or steak (organic and free range of course ;) )and a little bit of scrambled egg - this was what his breeder was feeding in different rotations and he did fine on it although transitioned to primarily Barf patties and bones easily. I do tend to feed a big variety and like to have a scotty's or VIP puppy roll in the fridge as it's like junkfood night for Boo and with fosters sometimes being picky but needing to put the weight on it's good to have lots of options. I feed a combination of barf patty, royan canin, raw/half cooked meats and organs, egg and veggies, VIP or scotty's roll and whatever else Boo is having chicken necks, wings or other meaty bones make up a third to half his daily food intake. I wouldn't feed it to Boo all the time but I have reccomended it for foster pups going to their new homes in combination with raw bones and/or royan canin because either they still needed a bit of weight on or it was the better alternative out of the things they were willing to eat ;)

have you tried any wet foods? Avoid anything in a can but there are some decent rolls (scotty's premium) and BARF patties are another good option.

have you been teaching him the "leave it" (or drop it) command?

Thanks for your replies everyone, from what I saw yesterday it doesn't seem to be causing him any difficulties getting about and the matting is all hair (not hair + filth) so there is no real urgency and I'll wait until he's fully recovered from the de-sexing. He's a sweet young boy and I'm not going to risk him being uncomfortable and making life hard for the groomer when it can wait. Thanks all!

yup, knew about the bathing ;) thankfully he's not whiffy! will have to post asking for some recommendations - sorry about the short reply and lack of capitals - have a very content fat cat who has plonked herself on my arm/chest meaning i have to type one handed while she purrs in my ear ;)

Picking up a rescue poodle cross tomorrow who has been in to be de-sexed and is quite matted. Just wondering if I can get his coat delt with sooner rather than later? Would a mobile groomer be able to come clip him prior to the ten days recovery time?

I do believe this person has come here to seek out advice and find an answer to his/her problem. Surely that qualfies as trying to find info ie: researching? Noone can forsee every problem that may occur when they buy a pup, that is why this thread "puppy problems" is here, so that people can ask questions and get help when they are stuck for ideas.

Name: Cat (Catherine) Age (optional): 26 Location: Clayfield, Brisbane Rescue Groups: Save a pound Dog QLD(may 2008 - 2009, no longer fostering for this group) & Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Rescue QLD Inc. Time in Rescue: since May 2008 Who can vouch for: Varicool Preferred Breed: small breeds, companion breeds, puppies, kittens Experience (if any):dog owner, cat owner, been through Delta puppy preschool and primary classes Microchip Yes Vaccination Yes Desexing Yes Heartworm test Yes worming Yes flea treatment Yes vet work if required Yes basic training/teach manners. Yes house train dogs If needed Yes Dogs inside the home or outside. Inside Are you prepared to give extra care for a submissive nervous dog. Yes

;) :shakehead: Are You Serious! La la la laaaa! ;) Dogs love em!

fish oil tablet,make a hole with a pin and squeeze it over their food once a day while things are really itchy, aparently helps SOMEHOW

If you are talking about what I THINK you are talking about, and if you also mean dried, then try Pet Centro on sandgate road Clayfield

If you mean cooking BARF... then please take care. It contains bone. We always advise never to even thaw in a microwave, let alone actually cook the product. Keep it frozen - more than likely his tastes will change again and you'll use them. Sags hrm well I only lightly cooked half (still mostly pink) but if even that could cook the bones I'll steer clear of it and try adding some cooked chicken to it instead.

well Boo has gone off it too, and we have two boxes to get through *sigh* I've resorted to cooking half of it to get him to eat it, not my ideal but better than wasting it all. I think once this lot is gone I'll make my own.

awww well *I* think she's special anywho

Well Boo's puppy canine had a tiny bit of plaque build up on it because food got stuck in there. Personally I wouldn't want to chance progressively worse tooth problems, not to mention the fact that they can push the adult teeth crooked if there isn't enough room for them.

goodness, sounds like a pain of a job! I'd first come across the term when reading about Airedale terriers I think, given they are not tiny it would be one hell of an effort to do, yet needs to be done for show condition.

hope she's ok, fingers crossed for you

just got a call from the vet, turns out he had an incisor still retained as well but thankfully his teeth are sitting nicely and it hasn't caused any problems. They checked his eyes, no scratches on them, a tiny bit inflamed and she said it looks more like irritation from dust than an infection of any sort. No ingrown eyelashes but as it's not coming down his nose the ducts could be a bit blocked so he has eye drops for the next few weeks and we'll see how that goes. Could be a chance his ducts just don't do what they are supposed to and he's just "one of those dogs" but soon we'll know for sure. Thanks Dolers, without you I wouldn't have asked about it.

try teaching the "leave it" command Start by holding something fairly boring (like a plastic peg) in a fist, let your dog investigate it and as soon as he leaves it alone reward him with lots of praise and a treat. Keep repeating till you dog has the idea and slowly work up with each training sessions using more interesting objects like toys then move onto food items. We've found this an invaluable command as Boo being a puppy always manages to find stuff he's not supposed to chew and on walks if there is dog poo some owner hasn't bothered to pick up or flowers/plants that can be poisonous or just gross rubbish he'll leave it alone straight away.

Boo growls when playing tug of war or shaking some of his toys (only with particular ones) just normal vocalisation during some types of play.

so true! I love our little ritual, Boo isn't overly fond of being groomed but since we started doing it every night just before going to sleep with my OH there to give him scritches and massage his ears and treats ready beside the bed for when we finish he's gotten much happier. It's our nightime routine and it's very soothing and rewarding to spend that time making sure he's free of cobblers pegs, dirt, the odd ant () and snags in his feathering, checking his dew claws and making his ears all foofy ;) And it takes such a small amount of time!

I am pretty sure turkey and roo is leaner meat than chicken, definitely leaner than beef.

oh that's good, saves you the cost of another general!

Thanks for your replies! what does hand stripping involve, I gather it's for wire coated breeds?