chloebear

My four month old puppy has started digging holes in our yard. I fill the holes in and she digs them out again. I was told to put pepper in them, but that hasn't stopped her. What else can I do?

Closest location Mackay, How do I find a good trainer?

Closest puppy and obiedence is about one hour away and of a night. I have a four year old and two year old, the two year old at that time is in bed, and if not over tried and playing up (so he would distract everyone). My husband works away in a field service position so it is a case of now you see him and now you don't depends on when the phone rings. I was hoping to complete puppy school , obiendence and get into aggility but unfortuntely till the kids are older it is not practical I just wish it was. So I have to try and do the best that I can.

She is 4 months old - educated guess by my vet

Yes! There are rocks you can buy that neutralise the urine and should stop your lawn from dying - I pruchase mine through PetStock, you can also get them on ebay though Thanks, do I just throw these onto the patch that I see her unrinate on.

With my previous dog I never notice big dead patches in my yard, but with this puppy where ever she passes urine the grass dies. Is their anything I can do to reduce the impact on my yard? She mainly eats, dog biscuits, chicken necks, fruit and veg, sardines and yoghurt.

:rolleyes: I have adopted a rescue pound puppy that was previously abused and badley neglected. With only the best of intentions I welcomed her into my family. But I think I have gotten carried away trying to help the puppy and I am starting to just confuse her by trying to teach her too much to soon. I have very little experience in training a dog. I have had one dog since leaving home and she recently passed away from a snake (we had her for 8 years). I have know had the puppy for approx 3 weeks, when we first got her, she was terrified of people and would cringe and wet herself (she now trusts my family). When presented with a leash/walking past her with object in hand/presents of another dog, she will also cringe and wet herself. We can now walk past her with objects in our hands, plus I can put her onto leash and take up to 5 steps with her plus I have managed to get her to play with a mini foxy. She is still afraid of strangers, loud noises and strange dogs. Orginally she didn't know what grass was, afraid to walk on it now she will walk on grass, but not when it has dew on it. I have starting to teach her sit - does wonderfully if she smells food - without food she will test limits Drop- only with food, and with the food guiding her down Come-she does about 50% of the time (100% when she knows food is on offer) but my husband uses "here" so I am thinking maybe I should change what I am saying so she doesn't get confused. Jumping- trying to get her to stop this - young children aged 2 and 4 Mouthing- trying to get her to stop, I say no and give her no attention (like bitting but no pressure) Premission to eat - put her into sit - say okay then let her go to eat. I have asked many questions regarding training my puppy, sorry . But I live in a rural location and need to train her myself. So I need all the help I can get, as my husband trained our last dog and he often works away. Unfortuntely I can't take her to obiedence classes, so I am really on the help from you guys out there. So Please be patiene with me. Currently I am training her twice a day, for approx 10 minutes at a time. We play both tug of war with her and throw a ball for her to reteive. What other games can i play with her (yes I don't know how to play with a puppy). Please be assured that any time you give me advice, I take it one board and give it ago. But I am having trouble putting it all together and working out what order I should be doing things in, and when to expect what.

Barkon - Thanks sounds like good advice to me, and I will give it a go :rolleyes: I just wish people who don't want to take good care of pets wouldn't get them in the first place.

:rolleyes: My dog does the same, I have been wondering what is meant........thanks

Every Sunday we have bacon and eggs, and I feed the bacon fat and other left overs to puppy, which she loves. Is this bad for her?

I am not sure of what to do, I have a four month old puppy which is a rescue dog. From what I was advised she was very badly treated and neglected. I just had a visitor call in, and she was barking as if guarding, but sitting behind a piece of furniture cringing. Once I went outside, she ran to me and settled. I live out of town on acreage so she doesn't have much of an opportunity to socialise with both people and dogs. Help please? Unfortunately I more than likely won't be able to take her to obiedence classes so I need to address the issue myself.

Puppy biscuits are continued till 12 months (vet advised), first choice in biscuit Royal Canin, second choice (less expensive supermarket available) Purina One, but with the purina take care they also make Lucky Dog which is full of cereal. I use the purina in the purple bag. I do supplement my dogs diet with sardines, chicken necks, yoghurt, cheese, raw meat and fresh fruit and vegetables. I must admit at times I think the dog eats better than me.

Frank, I was only trying to be helpful, I believe I was sympathic to your time constraints and provided suggestions as to how my family overcome this. As a parent my first concern was to the safety of your child as I am sure was most people's. But I must admit yes you have hit a raw nerve with me, in regards to the time I spend on my computer. The only reason I have been using my computer so much latterly is to get advice from everyday people that have or are dealing with the same issues as I am with my dog, but in saying that perhaps I should take some of my own advice and spend less time on the computer and more in the yard with my kids and dog. I may have come across very blunt at times, but I am currently working with a rescue dog that has been very badley treated and neglected so I am passionate about dogs getting the care that they need (I am in no way saying that you are neglecting or badly treating your dog) this is not a personal attack. I would just like to wish you and your cocker all the best, and yes I am crossing my fingers for a happy ending.

K9Force .... was it suggested by someone that you do an internet consult? Is that what the OP has expected? Genuine question as your post seems to have sprung up out of the blue here. For my own information (I have a timid adused pound puppy that I have taken) K9 do you just train the dog, or do you teach the owner of the dog how to train their dog.

Holly 4 month old, when patting her, she keeps putting her teeth around my hand, not trying to put but like she is trying to show affection but I am wanting to teach her that this is not okay. I am not sure how to handle this. She is a rescue dog, was very timid, still is, but has made a lot of progress (if that makes any sense) she was very badley abused and neglected. She also has started to jump alot, at obiendence previously I was told to bring my knee up when she is doing this, but I am finding that is seeming to make her cringe away. I know I have been asking alot of questions in realation to my puppy, please be patient with me and help me out. I knew when I took her that she would be a challenge (and yes I am not really experience enough but I have a lot of love to give), I didn't have the heart to leave her where she was, she was due to be put down that afternoon. Once again Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to help me out, we are making progress but still a long way to go. She has put on weight and started to learn what playing is.

I have been asking heaps of questions regarding feeding puppy, as I have never given my previous dog anything but commercial prepared food. Some suggestions I have had are - natural yoghurt, fresh fruit and vegetables, raw meat, sardines, fish oil for omega 3 (I just use the sardines instead of oil). But please remember some foods are toxic. In the puppy section of the forum their was a thread about what is BARF ( linked website) their is also a thread about "all you things you wanted to know" (i think this was the name) in another section of the forum, which someone was nice enough to link for me, sorry I don't have that level of computer skills.l Hope that this helps some what.

Thank you so much, I have always wondered what "heel" meant. I shall start using "heel" tomorrow. I am using food rewards but I haven't even considered factoring it into the overal intake, plus I do the bulk of my training after dinner (when kids in bed) - I think I need to rethink my time table dog is training on a full stomach. (good thing she loves food)

I am currently teaching my puppy to walk on leash, I put her into a sit to clip leash on, but what command do I say so she knows it is time to walk, do I just say "walk"?

Recently there was a thread called "take it away and give it back" in this puppy section of the forum, Sorry I can't attach the link for you - I am not that talented with computers only learning. But I just had a quick look and found it on the second page of listed threads. Hope this helps, good luck.

Thanks, I didn't even think about needing to get the stiches taken out. I guess because when I had my last c-section I was taped together (what a shock) no stiches to come out I didn't even give the stiches a second thought.

My vet is wanting to complete second vaccination and then week later desex my 4 month old female puppy does anyone know if this can be done at the same time? we live out of town so I would prefer to make one trip than two. I don't know if this makes a difference but Holly is a rescue dog, and I have assumed that prior to getting her so had none of her vaccinations so I treated her as a new puppy with no previous vet treatments.

My vet explained to me that the way you talk to a dog has a lot to do with how the dog reacts to you. A dog makes three main noises, barking, whimping and growling. If you talk to a dog like you would a child you sound like you are whimping - ie dog takes no notice and gets anxious (this is what I was doing). Changed my tone, started to talk to dog like I would a fellow adult and yes I got a lot further. I only pat Holly when she sits, so she has quickly worked out that if she wants my attention she must sit to be patted, and she is starting to understand the same with my children, this only works with consistency. When I first let her out of the kennel of a morning she is very jumpy, a perfect time to play a ball game with her, run out the energy before she comes into contact with my children, so then she is happy to be patted and play nicely with the kids. Your dog has kelpie in it, a very active breed, have you tried throwing balls/frisbies. Maybe check out the training section of the forum, and see what activities are good for active breeds.

My puppy is now 4mths old, should I still be feeding her lunch each day. I have been giving her two chicken necks or one large turkey neck for lunch. I can't tell you her breed because I don't know, rescue puppy. She is expected to be about 30-40 kg when fully grown. She has gained wieght since I have had her and she is looking to be in good condition now so I am no longer trying to put weight on her but I am trying to keep her healthy. She has a mixed diet, cup of biscuits with sardines for breakfeast, lunch chicken/turkey neck, dinner cup of biscuits plus some raw meat and vegetables. Through the day when the kids have left over fruit I also give her that.

When a puppy is brought into a family home it needs to be a decision that the whole family make together, and yes I beleive the whole family is reasonble for the training of the puppy. In my house I take the most domiant role in training but the whole family including my children who are young take part in a small way so that they learn how to handle puppy and puppy learns to respect them. My partner works long hours often out of town but when home also takes active role in training and playing with puppy even if only for a short period. So far we have heard your view of the situtation but what does you wife think and is she prepared to put some time into the puppy or has she reached the point where she would prefer to have the dog removed. Consistency is important when trying to correct behaviours and yes the family in whole need to be united on the approach........You need to make a decision before this situation gets worse. I have recently adopted a rescue puppy and let me tell you the longer that the situation goes on the harder it is for the new owner to correct the problems it is not fair on the puppy. The way I see it, you have three (3) choices 1- Re House the puppy If you decide to do this than hurry up and do it, don't let the situation continue contact the breeder etc explain what is happening and why to the kids. 2- Train the dog Seek professional help, come up with an action plan, the whole family need to role up your selves and get stuck in, instead of using your computer to complain about the dog, take on board the advice you have been given, find a trainer or obiendence club. How much time do you spend at home on the computer that could be used to train your dog. 3- 30day action plan and than decide Seek professional help, put in the hard work for 30 days and then decide what you are going to do. Please take care to ensure that your son and the dog aren't left unsupervisored by an adult. If need be take the time to build an enclosure for the dog for the times when either your wife or yourself can't be outside with the children and dog. I am not saying to cage the dog but to build an enclosure large enough for the dog to be comfortable have toys etc. It doesn't need to cost a fortune, mine is 6x3metres made with star pickets and covered with chicken mesh with tent pegs to hold the mesh down. My pup uses this enclosure like a crate, sleeps, eat and when worried has some where to go of her own. This should only be used for the dog to sleep in or when the children are outside with out supervision, not to just cage the dog up. I may seem to be very blunt in what I am saying but I don't see the sense in nothing being done untill the situation reaches crisis point. I have taken advice from people on this forum on what to do with my rescue pup and I can say from experience it has made a positive difference. I am the first person to admit I am not an experience trainer.

Over the past 12 months I have tried fad diet after fad diet, but since have my puppy and spending time with her training and playing I have managed to lose over 3kg and we haven't even made enough progress to start going for walks. I must admit I am really enjoying spending time just having fun with my puppy.