poodlemum

Definitely agree about the "growth" food and vigorous prolonged exercise - puppies don't realise they have limits - even when older they can run themselves ragged & be stiff & sore the next day.

Have you got an antiseptic such as Savlon or Betadine (not Dettol) - wouldn't hurt to put some on the ear. As far as the eye goes, I think you have done the right thing with the saline. Hope it heals well & doesn't cause your Lab too much discomfort!

Agree with the other posters - NOTHING can stop a puppy chewing on things he shouldn't chew! You just have to keep him away from wires etc. When I had the puppies in the the house a couple of months ago I brought 2 of them into the office to show someone and within a couple of minutes they had chewed through the mouse cord of my computer!

Have you tried a "Mattbreaker"? Can thin the coat out -so not recommended for show dogs, but really gets through those nasty tenacious knots

Husky - Harrison recently had a very mucky sore ear - turned out to be a yeast infection - the vet sedated him & cleaned it right out & then we treated it with Surolan (he had a perforated ear drum as well) After about a week and a half of treatment the ear was clean & the ear drum healed. Harrison hated me touching his ear when he had the infection but, now that it is clean, doesn't mind at all - I check it out every day & he is quite happy for me to do so. I'm sure your vet would have mentioned it if your dog had a perforated ear drum, but it's not the end of the world - they do heal.

Not sure what other groomers do, but at my shop we don't charge for nail clipping - I have seen my partner (Sharon, the groomer) clip my dogs' nailsl - they don't object at all - if I tried to do it , it would be mayhem!!

Hayls - I would be taking him to the vet asap - better to go & have the Vet tell you it's nothing than to let it go longer & it gets serious

Poor LOU - he IS having a bad run - hope you have changed vets!!

Do you know a groomer you can trust and who your dog trusts? Sometime dogs will play up for their owners but let a trusted groomer clean their ears etc ( I have seen this in my grooming shop with my own dogs - they hate me going anywhere near their ears but are quite ok for Sharon (the groomer) to clean their ears. I am ok for Sharon to clean their ears as well, she has been grooming my dogs for 20+ years & knows what she's doing!

My boy, Niki, had back problems, but after I took him to a guy who did canine manipulation he was much better- preferable to huge doses of anti-inflammatories, I would guess that massage would be just as beneficial

One of my boys used to get clay stains regularly - he was a white poodle and the stains washed out with ordinary shampoo

All Dogs go to Heaven Ratty - say hello to Niki, Lennon, Sascha & Wings for me

Yes, we got the biggest one, with double doors - it also has a grooming table attached. Our shop colour is pink, so Jose is having the bath made in light & dark pink for this - should look great.

We just leased a fantastic one for our grooming shop from www.hydrobaths.com.au. The person we dealt with was Jose Navarro. He also hay fibreglass whelping boxes - much easier to clean!

jennibella - I have tears in my eyes after reading you eulogy of Chocky - he sounds like a beautiful dog, you were very lucky to have such a special boy & he was lucky to have you.

openarms - at my Dog Grooming Salon you could pay a lot of money for this look!!

Try this link to look for Ecopet stockists: http://www.ecopet.com.au/index2.html I have found that the fussiest dogs (& even cats) like ecopet

Second that!! Eco Pet almost smells like something you would eat yourself - is quite dense, not full of gelatin like many other rolls. I think it is made in Melbourne, so might be hard to get in other states - I've also found that now I can only get it at Ritchie's IGA, although a lady at South Melbourne Market used to sell it.

The part of your quote I have bolded has me confused. You stalk and catch her without calling herand then smack her for not coming when called. How so? You said you didn't call her. If you mean you called her before the stalking and catching, why are you smacking her after the event? Since you've been obedience training for 15 years you should surely know how futile it is to correct, (or in the case of smacking, to punish) a dog after the event. In fact I'm surprised you would think smacking a dog is being fair. She's actually being smacked because you managed to get near enough to catch her, not because she didn't recall so maybe she's apprehensive. Smacking a dog plays no part in obedience training. It's simply a sign of owner frustration and teaches the dog nothing other than the owner is not to be trusted. Perhaps that's why she doesn't always come back to you...maybe she's not sure whether or not you'll smack her. I suggest using a horse lunge lead or some type of long line and calling the dog to you. If she's reluctanct to come you can reel her in. At least that way she won't be able to run away from you and you'll have no need to smack her. Doesn't matter what I say - I'm going to be in the wrong!! Was hoping I'd get helpful advice - not abuse!

The part of your quote I have bolded has me confused. You stalk and catch her without calling herand then smack her for not coming when called. How so? You said you didn't call her. If you mean you called her before the stalking and catching, why are you smacking her after the event? Since you've been obedience training for 15 years you should surely know how futile it is to correct, (or in the case of smacking, to punish) a dog after the event. In fact I'm surprised you would think smacking a dog is being fair. She's actually being smacked because you managed to get near enough to catch her, not because she didn't recall so maybe she's apprehensive. Smacking a dog plays no part in obedience training. It's simply a sign of owner frustration and teaches the dog nothing other than the owner is not to be trusted. Perhaps that's why she doesn't always come back to you...maybe she's not sure whether or not you'll smack her. I suggest using a horse lunge lead or some type of long line and calling the dog to you. If she's reluctanct to come you can reel her in. At least that way she won't be able to run away from you and you'll have no need to smack her. Doesn't matter what I say - I'm going to be in the wrong!!

That's what I thought - I used to work for a Veterinary Supply co. & I can assure you that the Vets make an enormous mark-up on the dry food they sell! That job really opened my eyes to vets - before I worked there I thought all vets became vets because they loved animals!. My boss had a theory that many of them were would-be doctors who did not want to deal with people!

Whoa!! some of you have got the wrong idea as to what I was saying - I have been obedience training dogs for 15 years, so I know that you DON"T punish a dog who comes back to you (no matter how p***ed off you are). Sometimes I can "stalk" my dog & catch her without calling her - then I tell her off & smack her for not coming back when called. If she DOES come back when I call her, even if it's the tenth time, she gets a reward (treat or cuddle) She is a very affectionate girl & very loving to me, not scared at all, just wants to do what she wants to do! It may just be a hereditary thing, her Great-Grandfather was exactly the same, pig-headed ,exasperating and totally lovable.

I never punish her if she eventually comes back when I call - only if I have to chase & catch her- I certainly don't want her to assocaite coming back with punishment! I have also tried the call back & release - she is just SO stubborn.

I feed mine 3 times a day till 6 months, then twice a day till 12 months. After 12 months, it's down to once a day. As my current 2 are 11 months and 9 months they are getting dry food (Royal Canin) in the morning., usually with some leftover veges mixed in, and raw bones or chicken wings in the evening.

HI. - I have an 11 month old Standard Poodle Bitch (and I DO mean bitch!). We have been doing obedience training for about 6 months now - she does reasonable well, apart from not dropping sometime. When we do a recall in class she's always comes to me. However, when I let her out in the morning she takes off (I am on 5 acres) and NOTHING will get her to come back till she's good & ready. I have tried bribing her, catching & punishing her, nothing works. Has anyone else had this problem & how did they solve it - all suggestions gratefully received.