Sam&Saki

Thanks Rysup, great helpful tips there However I'm still not sure how they apply to Saki...? She had a recessed / inverted vulva - the specialist said having a heat should fix this. So yes, her vulva is now an 'outtie' rather than the 'innie' is was before going on heat, and looks much more enlarged than it did before it went on heat. However considering I am comparing to a previously inverted vulva to a now normal vulva, isn't it going to look larger to me now anyway, even if her heat has finished? Just tried this a few times and she just looked at me funny, heh She didn't move her tail to the side. However she is an akita, she has a double curled tail held completely over her back, it is never held dropped down over her bits anyway, so does this apply to her? Heehee thanks :p Is there a way to tell if it has gone down and is not open apart from the two questions you asked above? x

Oh ok, that's been exactly my experience! Not what I thought was meant to happen though? Thankyou! x

Heehee I know, it's crazy how fast they grow! Doesn't seem right that she's old enough to be on heat, she's still so small (err, for an akita anyhoo) and puppy-ish! Never fear, she still acts like a silly little pup

Hi all My beloved Saki, a 9 month old Akita pup, is the first dog I've owned and not had desexed at six months (due to vulval involution among other things - never fear, I am not breeding her.) She's just had / having her first heat and it has not followed the expected routine of 9 - 14 days of proesterus with bloody discharge followed by 9 - 14 days of estrus with non-bloody discharge. Instead she had 21 days of bloody discharge, which stopped around a week ago and there is now no discharge. I'm assuming being her first heat, and seeing she's still very much a puppy and nowhere near full grow, maybe it's not so unusual for her heat to not be textbook the first time...? However I am wondering how to know when it's safe to assume her heat is over - so I can take her back to training, and walk her around other dogs etc? Any advice much appreciated x

Mine is washed in the bathtub She loves it so much she hops in there herself - even when she's not being bathed, she just sits in the bathtub looking hopeful whenever I'm in the bathroom, lol :D She's hydrobathed when need be though

When I have difficulty with Saki at our dog obedience place I always get the "what do you expect - you have an akita! At least you don't have a huskie!" line, heh I don't think this means they're untrainable though - just that they're very smart and not interested in doing what they're told unless you use something really awesome to motivate them - which can be tricky sometimes when even extra yummy foods aren't more appealing to them than going and jumping on another dog in the class hehe Our training class can help any dog owner with any breed get through basic obedience, but they do encourage huskie, malamute and akita owners to get into agility or sledding rather than advanced obedience - they are just better suited to other things. Again, not untrainable, just different strengths. Good luck x

Wow that is amazing Seems there's a few DOLers interested in this topic x http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?show...=144447&hl=

Isn't 7 months of age ish generally the second rebellious period? My pup's been through two very obvious 'terrible twos' type bratty phases and come good again after each, heh x

Can we have a pinned thread on which to add links to scientific studies, research and other resources on dog health? That would be really great if we could.

http://www.caninesports.com/SpayNeuter.html This one?

I've posted this twice in other threads... Hang on...

Put her into a 'stand' on the coffee table and feed her treats the whole time - ok yeah she's spoilt but works for me :rolleyes: x

No, I would let him be. Non-invasive tests, yes, spare no expense; but investigative surgery? Not on an elderly dog. That's been more personal choice in the past, anyway. Blood tests, ultrasounds, all fine - anything requiring a general anaesthetic, no way. Just do what you feel and think is right for your dog and be at peace with that ;) x

why wont the pup be registered ;) This happened to me too, saw the parents, saw the parents pedigrees, put the deposit down on a 'pet' pup (as opposed to a show or breeding pup) knowing it wouldn't be mains registered but thinking it would be on limited registration... But no, breeder didn't register the pet pups at all. Couldn't really do much about it, was already in love with the pup... You don't get the deposit back, such is the nature of a deposit.

I don't use them as regular food but great for treat food x

Welcome to DOL SearchJane, I love how immensely huge the collar is on your pup :rolleyes: Never seen a brindle blue before, gorgeous! All the pups here are such cuties, dawww x

Heehee What an odd coincidence, my baby went on heat for the first time today too, after tell-tale signs for almost a week... Heard too many amazing on heat escape stories, my girl is staying inside!

I have the same problem - I'd really like to teach Saki to bark on command but how to do this when she just never barks? She's seriously barked maybe 6 or 8 times in her life. I like the 'rewarding any groan or noise' idea of building up to a bark, but she never makes any other noise either! Any tips or do I just need to give up? :D

Oooh good luck, fingers crossed this is the right trainer for you and the pup x

I don't know where you're based, but K9 Kompany run by Animal Aid runs specific classes for dogs like this, called Reactive Rovers, if you can get to Lilydale for dog classes. ie, these classes are for dogs who aren't necessarily aggressive to other dogs, but are so distracted by them they lose interest in all else and pay no attention to their owner/handler. Strangely, this is something that apparently does happen to even well socialised dogs, so I don't really understand what causes it either! So don't let people tell you that you haven't socialised your dog well enough (which is what I would have assumed prior to speaking to the woman who runs these classes too.) However overcoming it does require socialisation - but of the, 'gradually getting your dog closer to other dogs while teaching it to remain focused on you' type of socialisation, rather than the 'let your dogs all run round together like maniacs' type of socialisation. Good luck with it all

Spanx for the info Hmmm Saki enjoys crowds and people and dogs but she is rather excitable so we shall see, heh.

Hi, excuse my newbie-ness but I've never been to one of these, I take it this is in Melbourne, when and where is it on? Can you go just to watch? Can you bring your dog just to watch? Sorry these are probably incredibly stupid questions

Animal Aid runs an excellent dog training company called K9 Kompany. They offer puppy class, basic obedience right through to advanced obedience trialling, agility, flyball, private one-on-one training, etc. It is all very reasonably priced and all the profits go to Animal Aid. Classes are run every day of the week & weekend at all different times of the day & evening. All classes are indoors in a huge centre fully decked out with all sorts of doggy equipment - inside the Lilydale Showgrounds I go there, I think they're fab ;)

And you've stopped now??? ;) Errr, ummm... Valid point

"Rambo"? Hahaha oh dear :cool: I can imagine how excited you must be, the time must be crawling for you... I remember the last 2 days before I picked up Saki, I was just so impatient and couldn't think or talk about anything else at all! ;) I filled in my time buying ridiculous amounts of dog beds, toys, food, bowls, leads, etc etc etc... I'm sure the staff of Mega Pet Warehouse got very sick of hearing about my pup... But feel free to rant away on here