Crisovar

Could be any number of things from poor enamel to wear from chewing tennis balls, fences, rocks, she could have broken them in an accident.

AS already said there are no Best brands, the best brand is the one that your dog does best on, and that will vary from dog to dog. No use paying $100 for a bag of food if the dog does not tolerate it and has diarrhoea all the time or spends most of time scratching and chewing at itself, or quite simply wont eat it. If the Breeder of the dog raises healthy litters and has healthy adult dogs they are the best to guide the process initially. Whilst it seems popular at the moment to spend as much of the family budget as you can on feeding the dog, it really isn't necessary in most cases.

Whilst it is very sad for your stepdaughter, dogs do see GPs as prey items and most dogs are fascinated by them. Those endearing little GP noises are just too attractive to dogs. SO as already suggested either no more GPs or fort knox to keep them in. Of course keeping both is possible but it means everyone being vigilant, very secure housing for the GPs and ensuring that children understand fully that the GPs need to be safely away from the Dog. Personally I found it easier not have GPs and such, although I understand the attraction for kids. If the dog has lived happily with the cats till now I wouldn't be too worried.

Two crates, and qualified help from a reputable trainer. It sounds as if you have several issues here.

I have had the Heavy blue mesh beds from Great Rugs, still going strong after more than 12-13 yrs with heavy use. Hose them off iand they dry very fast, throw a blanket on top on cold nights if you need to, best heavy duty beds I have used. Hessian bags last about 1 week here and leave hessian fluff everywhere.

It is important to remember that not all males will carry on like pork chops over bitches in season, it is a massive generalisation that they all lose their minds. It is a very individual thing. Keeping them totally separate has always worked for me and I mean totally. No swapping them around so one is in and one is out, total segregation. Of course many people do not have the facilities to do this so removing one of them may be necessary.

If you are trying to find out what the dog is allergic too don't go adding things. It doesn't matter how "natural" an ingredient is if your dog is allergic to it.

I get up at 5am to see to my animals before work, so I understand that you need to exercise at a certain time. I don't understand that you feel it is acceptable for dogs to create a ruckus to do so. Mine don't. It isn't acceptable for me to disturb my neighbours. Dogs can be exercised trained and play quietly.

What happens if you work in the city and have to leave at 7am? 6:30am is one of the busiest times at our local dog park. We regularly turn up before 7 because OH leaves for work at 7:30am. If we happen to meet some of our friends in the parking lot, it can be very noisy for a few minutes. There's not much any of us can do about it. We have several excited dogs, some of them possibly way over threshold because they can see their friends and are waiting to be let out of the car or off leash so they can go and play. Our dogs don't get to be let off until they are calm again, but it's just not going to be instant. Sorry. I'm sure it's annoying, but our dogs need to be exercised and they inevitably get over-aroused and bark. I think that's a reasonable expectation if you live next to a dog park. I think being considerate of others is a reasonable expectation too.

What's an 'extended period'? I'd go insane if my dogs barked for an hour. Two minutes feels like an extended period to me. And apparently 30 seconds feels like an extended period to my neighbours. I've timed how long it takes me to lose it when my dogs are barking and it's not even a minute. If it's on and off, I crack at about 3 or 4 minutes. Given my dogs make noise when they are having a lot of fun, IMO they need to make noise sometimes. If they make noise for a few minutes, and then another dog comes through a few minutes later and makes noise, and then another dog... What's the difference between that and one dog making noise for half an hour straight? I stayed in a hotel in the States once for a week that had a dog park behind it. I kid you not, there were dogs barking out there at 11pm and at 4am. During peak times it was non-stop noise for a couple of hours. I counted fights at one point because I couldn't believe how often they were happening. Said to OH "Let's never live next door to a dog park." Yes, it's noisy, but it's a dog park. I wouldn't move in next to a train line and complain about the noise. Yes, we live in a society where certain behaviour is expected of our dogs. I don't think silence is one of them. I'd probably throttle my dog before they got to a full hour of barking, but I don't know what other people live with and what other people's dogs are like. I would hate to condemn someone on the grounds that their dog barks constantly at the dog park. For all you know that's THE ONLY time the dog is ever allowed to bark. Maybe it's hysterical about balls and this is the only place it can chase them. Maybe the owner knows how to make them really enthusiastic about training and is just training them. I just think it's acceptable for dogs to make a lot of noise in a dog park. Surely they should be allowed to let loose somewhere? Where else if not a dog park? Before 7am and after 9pm are not acceptable hours for noise IMO. Dogs can actually play quietly too and it is possible to exercise them in such a way that they play and are not disturbing the peace. On and off switches can be trained for.

And you know he hasn't treated the leg how???

Really :D :p I groom some pretty stinky black ones.

Bleach, VirkonS or F10, and a few days in the sunshine.

Yep, but they come in damn handy for some things. Focus on what tails are doing And just to contrast is a docked corgi doing extremely well at flyball and in my opinion, her turn on the box is a lot better than a lot of the dogs in that video.ETA: the turns these dogs are doing may be worse or better than others, due to factors such as how they were trained, their size, their speed, or as Souff mentioned, their physical construction. Tail may have very little to do with it (or it could have lots to do with it, I don't know I haven't read any research on it). What a little ripper that corgi is!!

I have had blood splattered all up my walls too by my sons nose bleeds but I am not going to push for the removal at birth of all boys noses. Lock him outside it is what has happened to many dogs of previously docked breeds.

In my experience pups in discomfort or pain, do not settle, they cry and often circle in the box and do not feed, they are obviously distressed. My pups when docked were straight back on the boob with mum and went back to feeding until they fell off the boob asleep.

Do you own a docked breed Anne??? What has owning a docked breed got to do with my thoughts on docking? I don't know Anne ask the OP she was the one that requested only breeders or owners.

Do you own a docked breed Anne???

The race industry in this country is worth too much money to upset the apple cart there, but dog breeders and exhibitors boost to the economy is not so visible.

I have had the blood splattered up my walls from the tail injuries, and I won't be doing it again. Docking a newborn pup is not cruel. Docking a damaged adult tail is a nightmare. It really shits me though that the experiences of those that have lived with and have a depth of knowledge and understanding of the breeds and are experienced enough to know how to dock quickly, cleanly and with no distress to the whelps are totally ignored and drowned out by cries of mutilation and cruelty. I cannot understand those that have decided a dog is difficult to read if docked. Are they serious? Apparently because we hear it over and over. There is more to a dog than its tail people, you are ones that keep saying it. I have never lived with a Rottie but I could sure tell if one was happy or riled. It is not ok to dock, but it is ok to rip out the reproductive organs of young pups before they have even had a chance to mature. If a tail is an import and vital part of a dog how can reproductive organs not be.

My dogs are both docked and funnily enough, their tails still wag. Even a docked rotti's tail wags. Funny that isn't it, and I am sure you can read their mood as well.

I did not mean never bathed, but a double coated breed that is properly groomed out should not need frequent bathing, nor should many breeds.

I am very happy with tails on my dogs,tho' I would have prefered it be left to personal choice.I think the arguement that no-one asked for tails be left alone before legislation is irrelevent since a)it has taken time for people to get used to in some breeds. b)How can you pick a pup at 3 days old to say"hold the docking on that one". Many breeders would have refused to sell with out docking. I once had a woman tell me it would be cruel to leave tails on her boxers since she saw one once with a tail and it could not sit properly Though I don't like that we have legislation to force the issue,it has made it easier for those who prefer tails...they would have had a hard time before legislation to make that call and still be taken seriously should they want to show or breed with tails. Nothing against the practice at all if its done correctly,but I prefer my own dogs with tails now I am used to it and if their increased agility is due to the tail,all the more reason to be happy. I don't think it is irrelevent, If people felt strongly about the issue they would have raised it, not blindly accepted that all pups came docked. It appears to me that they gave it little or no thought.

The main reason the pups carry on is they are removed from the warm whelping box, away from their litter mates and mum, held by a stranger in an awkward position and they get cold and distressed. In the box at home with the breeder, straight back on the boob, no worries no stress no crying. I would NEVER take a litter to the Vet to be docked or dew clawed EVER.

They don't need to be bathed, they need to be groomed out just like any double coated breed.