tdierikx

The lovely Canterbury staff are wondering if we can try working our magic for 2 more dogs they have in care... Celine and Bruiser... Will try to get over there during a break in the weather and see what we can do... T.

I'll try to get there on your day Tapua... if I have any leave left with work... I would so love to meet you and your dogs. Sammy is such a wonderful little ambassador for your breeding program... *grin* T.

I'm thinking along the lines of a gradual desensitisation to the object of the dog's aggression - just having a skateboard sitting there doing nothing and letting the dog get used to it on his own terms. T.

This is actually the last thing a dog so heavily into habits needs, and Roo has those habits. That and Roo is panicking before you leave :laugh: yeah people's advice ... yeaaaah ... please don't go following a million different things, we will make Roo better just don't worry and be patient. I told you your behaviorist will not like me and my ideas, not because they don't work it's because of idealistic rivalries that tend to exist in dog training. It's your dog, your money, your life, if you're not happy don't feel guilty or pressured to do something you dont like or doesnt work. If she chews the crate give her something to chew on in there then. Put her squeaker in there remember in the car she started squeaking away to placate herself? A couple of toys or a sacrificial one you dont mind chewed to bits will help redirect her onto that instead. My 10 year old bitch still needs something to chew on in the car so I gave her sacrificial toys, no more whinging and carnage :laugh: If she hasn't burst out of that crate she's doing fine, actually the fact she's chewing and pawing means she's trying to find a productive way to release her anxiety. So, nothing else to do in there, chew crate. Give her a toy to redirect that on like a huge cheap rope smeared with peanut butter to get her started etc. And you can keep opinions like this to yourself. Jelly has given up her entire life for this dog so far, it's time she takes it back and the dog settles down into a nice, calm, state. If you want to speak like this direct it to me and see what reply you really get. Well said Nekh! T.

Awww... isn't she purty! T.

Damned if you do, and damned if you don't... errr! It's nice to see a study that looked at both extremes and what issues could possibly arise from each. T.

I had a Rotti once with Von Willebrands... and now I insist on a scrape test on all of my dogs before they have any surgery. Probably not the best indicator of actual Von Willebrands, but definitely lets the vets know if they need to use different anaesthetics for a bad clotting factor in the dog. T.

Is it bad of me to think of Cazstaff when I look at Annie? t.

We got an introduction letter too... and I'm still not convinced... T.

lokelani - have you tried putting some tinned sardines or mackerel in oil in Bosco's dinner? That can help with dry skin... and you don't need a lot of it... T.

So which of your dogs are going to the Royal Easter Show Tapua? And what day are they on? I have to go on Easter Sunday to see my friend's Weim compete, but could stretch to coming to see your lovely dogs on the day they are showing as well. T.

If the dog has issues with skateboards, I'm wondering whether it might be an idea to buy him a skateboard and see if he can learn that they aren't scary or in need of killing. Maybe just put one down in his house and let the dog have his way with it until he realises that it's not going to do him any harm. Worth a try? What I'd do is just put the skateboard down in a hall or room and then walk the dog into the room/hall, and see what he does when he sees a stationary skateboard. Let him sniff it, push it around, whatever. Don't push him near it or indicate that it's there, just see how he reacts to it being there and see how his curiosity at the "new thing" develops. Who knows, maybe the dog can be taught to ride a skateboard himself eventually... *grin* T.

Jelly - please just follow Nekhbet's advice re Roo, OK? Too many opinions here, and Nekh has actually been the only one to step up and physically give you help. The more trainers with different approaches you listen to, the more confused you and Roo will become. Nekh's advice hasn't steered you or Roo wrong yet, has it? It's taken some time fo Roo to get where she is right now, and it's going to take time to undo her learned behaviours - but I reckon you'll get there faster without involving different trainers with different methods. Give Nekh's advice some time, and I'm willing to bet that you will see the best results with Roo. Training Roo is as much about training you as it is about training her. T.

I've always found that training usually means training the human moreso than the dog. A trainer friend of mine told me once that a dog already knows how to sit, but YOU have to learn how to ask him/her to do it when YOU want him/her to. T.

Email the article to our council Katdogs... *grin* T.

I couldn't think of anything worse than not being able to have my dogs. T.

Cesar Milan has a lot to answer for... and not always in a good way. His TV show is edited heavily to show only his successes... we'll never know about the ones he couldn't "fix"... If you tried to apply his techniques with 2 of my dogs, you'd be bitten - badly. Being calm is a good thing... but try being assertive at your own risk. If you have no real clue about actual dog body language, then don't be promoting anything Cesar Milan to a novice... especially one with a large dog displaying the behaviours you are describing. T.

1. Do you have to feed tons of food or hardly anything in order to keep your dog at a decent weight? If you have to shovel food into the dog or its constantly hungry (yeah I know that's nearly all dogs all the time) I'd say the fat content of the diet needs tweaking up or down. I have 4 dogs, and have them all on the same brand of kibble - Nutro Adult Lamb and Rice Zeddy - 13 year old Rotti/Pittie mix, 28kgs - 2 cups once a day Trouble - 7 year old Lab, 28kgs - 2 cups once a day Pickles - 2 year old Camp Dog, 14 kgs - 2 cups once a day Harper - 5.5 month old Staffy/Dane mix, 24-25 kgs and growing - 2 cups three times a day Pickles is a very "busy" dog and has obvious sighthound somewhere in the mix - feeding her the same as the larger dogs keeps her weight and tone stable. She is also mobility challenged, and has to work harder to get around, so extra food helps even that all out and keeps her healthy. 2. Is your dog at the vets a fair bit for minor skin irritations, ear or other infections or hot spots? If so, I'd say that avoiding some types of food in the diet is worth trying. A lot of dogs are gluten intolerant and changing the diet can help with these issues. Nope - my vet "hates" me because they don't see my dogs often enough... *grin* 3. What's going on at the back end? Does your dog produce firm stools? Or are they large mounds of mousse like poo (see this quite a bit) and are they foul smelling? I'd say a diet that sees your dog produce masses of soft smelly stools on a regular basis isn't ideal. Lovely firm stools from all 4 dogs - not stinky or nasty... but Pickles will "supplement" her diet with things like bedding, so we get "interesting" things passing through on a regular basis. 4. Does your dog smell? Teeth, anal glands, general odour? Diet can be frequent cause of these issues and making sure that your dog gets a decent amount of tooth cleaning via its diet and a decent amount of fibre can help with some of these issues. Trouble, Pickles, and Harper have gorgeous white healthy looking teeth. Zeddy has always been prone to tartar build up (even when fed bones and the like at regular intervals), but when cleaned, none of the teeth are actually manky or damaged underneath - and she's the only one who actually chews every mouthful of food at every meal. None of my dogs have a "doggy" smell - and Pickles has never had a bath in her whole 2 years living with me. I'd be lucky to bother bathing any of my dogs even once a year - that only happens if they decide to roll in a mud puddle or something nasty. 5. Does your dog LIKE its food? Some dogs are just picky but what you feed should be enjoyed by the dog. If you're constantly having to spice up the main part of your dog's diet with additives, I'd say its time to try something else. All 4 of mine will happily eat anything put in front of them - no problems there. Thoughts?? Over the years I've fed my dogs pretty much everything from Pal/Pedigree, to the higher end premium kibble, to raw meaty bones, etc... maybe I've been lucky, but all bar one dog years ago have been just perfect (vet's opinion) on pretty much whatever they were fed. The one dog that wasn't was actually allergic to beef products, so we just eliminated beef products from her diet and all was fine. T.

Must have been bad aiming methinks... T.

Those inaccurate DNA tests available on the market could work in some dogs' favour with regards to stupid BSL methinks... T.

What a gorgeous looking dog... T.

Stevie taught him how to eat the spinach... it's not entirely his fault... *grin* T.

The eyes on Troy when they were trying to coax him out from under the bushes... pure trust... my eyes started leaking at that point... T.

Canterbury pound have advised that both Oscar and Lulu now have rescue... yay for Oscar and Lulu!!! T.

I love pics of your gorgeous boys with your fosters Rach... you can just see the dogs/pups thriving under their care. T.