Stitch

I agree with Dancinbcs - I would never sell a puppy with a heart murmur. I would however offer it free of charge to the prospective owner if they were willing to take the risk on the vet bills that may or may not occur later on in life.

Ummmm..............he REALLY likes bones??

Sheer Magic blades which are half ceramic on an Oster clipper are what I use. IMO they stay sharper for longer.

I was told by my vet that Hills I/D makes the dog bloated and I proved it myself by substituting home made food for a while. So it is not that bigger stretch to think that dry dogfood in general could make the dog bloated. Of course there may be other reasons the dog is thinner looking when it has just been at boarding kennels for a while. It may have been more active in the kennels because of all the stimulation and noise in a kennel situation.

I tried feeding our Dobe the Pedigree Natural and it was certainly better for him than the Supercoat however when I went to buy it again they said it had been discontinued. I don't know if it was discontinued just at that retailer or overall but I switched him onto a combination of Uncle Albers and Advance and it is working well. I have some of my show dogs that just can't eat Advance, they throw up and others that are OK on it. I don't make dry food the main diet for my showies, their main diet is raw with just a bit of dry at breakfast time for those that can eat it. Results really seem to vary from dog to dog so use what works best for you. I have found that Royal Canin is very well tolerated by all but it is expensive if it is the only thing you feed.

I have only tried the Virbac one on one of my dogs. When I found out the active ingredient was a low grade poison to dogs I decided not to continue with it, even though it must be pretty safe for them to sell it. I love my girl to bits and I don't want to take any risks with her has she has ongoing gut problems. My dog also wasn't keen on drinking the water with it in it, and she doesn't drink alot in the first place so I decided that the dog knew best!! Now I give her Nylabones to chew which she loves (first dog I have had that likes them) PLUS the thing that made the biggest difference was to give her a course of Angels Eyes. It really made a BIG difference to the type of bacteria in her mouth which really lessened the tartar build up and so eliminated the bad breath. Having said all that, and if you really want to give the dog something to rinse its mouth with, I think that a spray on would have to be the easiest and most effective way of doing it.

That makes sense! All I have to do now is create an activity. I think with this one I need to be very busy myself, almost entertaining her so that she doesn't have the opportunity to get wary. Although sometimes I suspect my positive up-there-ness won't override her insecurities in some situations........but I can sure try!!! Thank you for that, it has given me something to think of!!

One of my young girls (8mths) has always had quite a soft temperament however she is improving. I would like to get your opinion on her current behaviour which is when I take her to dog training or a show she will be OK in one part of the grounds but wary in other areas. I have tried just sitting quietly in the area that she has not been confident in but the wariness has not worn off and short of staying in that spot all night or day until she feels more confident I am at a loss of how to get her to relax there. It is difficult to describe her behaviour & I can give you more info but if you have any ideas I would appreciate it.

Definitely write a formal letter of complaint! I have used that company for years but last time things went wrong with their organisation and it was very stressful!! I will be using another company next time for sure!!!

Just a suggestion - feed 1/3rd to 1/2 LESS food than you normally do each day for 2 weeks. During this period give NO SNACKS, NO TREATS - then see if she will eat the food with pumpkin, psyllium or whatever added. Then gradually increase the amount you feed, if she rejects food then feed less next time until you find the right level. This tends to convert princesses to well adjusted doggy citizens!! Surgical removal of the anal glands may seem like the easy option BUT it really should be thought of as the last resort. There are 3 alternatives to this - #1 you keep expressing the anal glands yourself, #2 you get the dog to eat a diet that will express the anal glands without you having to do so, #3 you feed the diet and also express the anal glands. I know which one I would choose!

Malaseb is good for that kind of thing.

Could be anything from just a sprain to Legg Perthes disease - best to see your vet if it continues.

Yes, I have looked at his website, he does sound good - thanks for that!!

Thank you for that recommendation. I didn't have a happy experience with the big Sydney company.

Does anyone know where the best place is to get Oster Clippers repaired?? I already tried one place in Sydney, had to pay for the postage down and back and then they came back with the same problem - supposedly fixed!!! Somewhere in Brisbane would be good???

I presume it is Bowen Massage Therapy. I can't say how effective it is on dogs however I found it to be totally useless for me and just a waste of money! I would be going for a dog chiropractor/physiotherapist preferably someone who treats greyhounds and therefore has a lot of experience & genuine expertise.

This is where having a crate trained dog is a big bonus plus of course lots of chew toys etc.!!! You can then just let them out for toilet breaks and small walks or whatever.

Breeders will of course have to pass the extra expense of paying for all the associated testing of their breeding stock along to our puppy buyers who will have to take out a loan in order to buy a puppy!!

I have never had any problems desexing at that age. Just watch out that she doesn't have any pain after the op. Manifests itself as shaking or the dog not wanting to move etc. Some dogs do - I always request something for them for the pain. I know I would need it after an invasive op like that. Watch out that she doesn't over lick or chew the stitches - restrict exercise, running etc. until after the stitches come out. That's about it - takes about 2-3 days and they are pretty much back to their old selves.

We HATE toads here. The only good toad is a DEAD toad!!! They do untold damage to our wildlife plus they can kill a dog within 30minutes. Some dogs will leave them alone but any dog with a tendency to chase things runs the risk of poisoning. We have avian wire around all our kennels & exercise yards BUT if there are baby toads in the dam and it coincides with a rainy period, very small toads can more easily move from place to place and fit between the wires. We look for egg strings in the dam and remove them. We spray any emerging small toads with Phenyl - it kills within seconds. Then we go spotlighting toads late at night several times a week with a landing net and bucket to put the dead ones in. Best method of killing toads is anything that kills them quickly, our preferred method is multiple strikes with a hoe - dettol etc. works very slowly on larger toads and I think really is quite cruel, even though I hate toads!!! They are well and truely dead by the time we have finished with them.

You don't have to follow Cesar Millans methods, after all dogs were being successfully trained before he came along. Just trying to help by giving you that example. We have no control over other people or their dogs and so just have to do what gets results with our own dogs - you try a method and if it doesn't suit your dog or get results after giving it a good try, you move on. Keeping an open mind and actually trying to 'fix' unwanted behaviours is IMO what puts the majority of Dolers ahead of the uninformed dog owners out there that we all meet occasionally.... but I can say that a dog that is exhibiting aggressive behaviour will get very little sympathy from the general public and councils, etc. The point is that you have a goal in your mind that you personally want to achieve - in your case, what is it??? Is having to stop your walk and sit your dog every time you meet another dog your goal??? If so you have achieved it.

I have to agree with Poodlefan, the exercise should be done walking at heel not in a sit position. If you want an example of this exercise, just watch a few episodes of Cesar Millan where he has to deal with a dog-aggressive dog on a walk.

Many thanks for those links Wuffles, I have ordered Control Unleashed from Wagschool Books and look forward to reading it and trying the exercises. Thanks again for all the positive helpful replies!

I have yet to get to fully investigate the TT touch but I have heard of it. Staffntoller, have you used the harness on a hyperactive dog that really pulls?? If so, can you describe your experience?

OK, I haven't seen that one. Can you tell me how it prevents the dog from pulling??