aussielover

The specialist dermatologists I have spoken to said the HESKA blood allergy test tends to correlate quite well with skin testing and they thought it was fairly accurate. It was their recommendation if for some reason skin testing is not an option. Have you actually done a food elimination trial? It's probably the best way to diagnose food allergy although in many cases dogs can have both food allergy and environmental allergy. I second the recommendation fur referral to a Derm specialist.

Cavalier or cocker spaniel The right Golden retriever could also suit. A labrador might be too energetic and they usual drool around food!

I don't know, some of the most biddable breeds also have to be independent and think for themselves. Sheepdogs are often expected to work out of sight of their handler for longish periods when collecting sheep. Gundogs are away from their handlers while collecting game.

I love biddable, eager to please breeds! I wouldnt enjoy working with a "stubborn" dog. But to be stubborn a dog has to understand what is asked of it and then choose not to do it. I think a lot of people mistake lack of training for stubbornness. I know with my dog, if she doesn't do do something it is more than likely because she doesn't fully understand the task rather than because she doesn't want to or can't be bothered.

Put her somewhere that you can lock up so there is no chance of others annoying her.

There was a segment on 7 news about puppy farming. There was a story about a 15 year old girl who got a chi pup from the petstore which had to be put to sleep 9 days later. Sad, but who sells a puppy to a 15 year old girl. Additionally it sounded like the puppy got euthanized due to lack of funds for treatment. Another puppy with the same symptoms survived but required intensive care and a huge vet Bill. Hopefully their stories will put people off buying from pet shops though. RSPCA were only interested in a crack down if they received additional funding Isn't their job that they already receive gov funding for to deal with animal welfare issues? I used to be an rspca supporter but am becoming increasingly disillusioned with many parts of the organisation.

That's pretty cheap!

I'm renting at the moment so if I got another puppy I would invest in a dog pen or dog run setup in the garden. Also I wouldnt want the puppy annoying the crap out of my older dog. She is overly tolerant and wouldn't discipline the puppy so would be up to me to make sure she had her own space. I also wouldn't want the puppy to bond more with my dog than myself which I've seen all too often when people get a second dog.

I also replied in the other thread but these are the things I tried with my lab puppy before I gave up and let her sleep with me. They may or may not help your situation: -Make sure the pup is warm enough, use blankets, heat packs etc to keep him warm - give him a toy with a heartbeat, these are easily available online or at places like petbarn - tire him out before bed with a big play and training session - leave him with a kong or pigs ear - wait until he falls asleep and then sneak away (I once got through a whole Harry Potter book before my pup fell sleep then tripped over and woke her up when I was leaving lol) I hope he settles down for you! I also support those saying let him temporarily sleep in your room. You will find it less stressful and there will be no problem moving him out when he is older, more settled and better able to learn/understand.

If you do not temporarily relent, you may be in for a sleepless month. I also persisted with my lab pup sleeping in the laundary for about a month, the amount of stress it created was unbelievable (she howled and cried for several hours and would wet herself and sometimes vomit because she was so worked up each night). I had heaters, toys with a heartbeat thingy, I would stay with her until she fell asleep and then try to sneak out lol. It was exhausting. And so simply fixed by allowing her to sleep in the bedroom. The first night in my bedroom she slept through, never had an accident in my room and was perfectly behaved. She still sleeps with me but on occasion when we visit others she sleeps in the laundary or outside with no issues. Also having multiple dogs does make it easier for new puppies to adjust- they are never really alone. However you don't tend to get the same bond with pup (they tend to bind to the other dogs more than you) unless you make that extra effort to spend time alone with them and building the relationship, which in itself can be very time consuming when you also have to spend time with the other dogs. Judging by the responses in this thread it seems like lab puppies are particularly needy! Glad I'm not the only one that relented and now has a dog on the bed at night lol!

It all comes down to how you define intelligence. It's definitely easier to showcase a border collie or labradors intelligence as they are bred to be biddable and willing to please (and very greedy in the case of labs!) But if you think about, perhaps the most intelligent dogs are the ones that do very little, but still have their owners wrapped around their little fingers! I do not think a truly intelligent dog would regularly perform 10 tricks in a row or run an agility course for a few pieces of dry kibble lol It actually doesn't make sense in terms of survival to expend so much energy for such little reward.

Definitely go with the recommendations and advice with regards to breeders. The right aussie from a good breeder could definitely suit you. My old aussie would have been fine in your situation. I personally wouldn't get another aussie but she was a great dog and the right dog for that time of our lives.

Do you think Greyhounds are becoming more popular as pets? What would help promote their image as a suitable pet? Why are they much more popular in the US than in australia? What is the realistic percentage of ex-racers that are safe and would make a good pet? They aren't a breed that would suit me at the moment but I know plenty of people who would like a low maintenance, couch potato type of dog. I

What kind of dog are you looking for? Perhaps someone here can suggest a good rescue group for you to try? My experience with rescues has been mixed, some are great, some borderline crazy. If there are so many happy, well adjusted and healthy dogs looking for homes, I struggle to see why some rescues will reject people for seemingly trivial reasons- like having a job, not having a dog door, wearing pyjamas around the house etc. I know quite a few people that applied for multiple rescue dogs and were rejected who ended up getting pet shop or gumtree dogs, and they are great owners.

Not all dogs actually enjoy the company of another dog. The OP is better off Rehoming the pup now when it is young and cute. Sounds like they have a lot going on, it's not like they're dumping the dog, just trying to find it a more suitable home where it can get the attention it needs.

A great reward experience is important but dogs have also evolved, and we have selected for dogs that bond closely with their owner and actually care about human attention and praise. Some dogs more so than others... Dogs and humans have been amazingly co-dependent for years, it's only recently people starting keeping them as companionS only. There are new studies that show dogs can read our facial expressions and pick out their owners by only looking at a photo of their eyes!!! Pretty amazing.

But the difference between other sport dogs and pet dogs is that they receive treatment and rehab for their injuries instead of being disposed of. In many instances a greyhound won't be afforded the same care, unless they have some value as a breeding animal. I don't know what the answer is, but I think abruptly shutting the industry down, isn't the way to go. We don't yet have the demand for pet greyhounds to ensure that most suitable dogs will be rehomed. there definitely needs to be better regulation of the industry though.

Resource guarding is not restricted to food Have you not see dog fights caused by resource guarding at dog parks etc? What happens if a child tries to take away the dogs toy at a off leash area Resource guarding can also include guarding of owners so a dog may snap or attack if someone else approaches the owner. Reasons which I assume it is included in green collar testing.

Why is there need for an enquiry with regard to rehoming blooded greys? If they pass an appropriate assessment (eg the ones GAP have been doing for years) what relevance does their past history hold?

You only want to train/play with your pup whilst they are enthusiastic. Any drop in energy or enthusiasm would be a cue to stop, however ideally you wouldn't actually get to this point. The pup should always be left wanting more rather than glad for a break! For such a young puppy of that breed (I tend to find they lose focus quite easily as puppies!) I think that would mean only a few minutes of training at a time.

There's nothing wrong with charging more for puppies- what I find disturbing is their response to your reasonable questions. If they have nothing to hide they shouldn't mind explaining why they charge certain prices and ask for donations etc. Puppies are cute and people are usually willing to pay more. This makes up for the cases that they lose money on- like old sick dogs that need to be in care for longer. By having a realistic price on puppies, this means they can often help more dogs and some of the more unfortunate ones that may get overlooked. I know one rescue group charges up to $800 for puppies. Personally I would not be willing to pay that much for an untested puppy with uncertain history but puppies of that breed often sell for around that price from breeders or pet shops. If people are willing to pay $800 for a pet shop dog, why shouldn't rescues benefit from that? This group actually has a FAQ that explains the differenc ein prices of different dogs which is useful imo. Unfortunately money doesn't usually go far in rescue and different groups have different focus. Some concentrate on rehoming a larger volume of younger, healthy animals, whilst others may want to focus their energies and money on only helping a few sick oldies. But as others have said, trust your instinct, it's your money and you should feel good about donating it.

I tend to agree. Most robust dogs are equipped to deal with a variety of food sources. Dogs are not wolves and I think it's fair to suggest their digestion has probably developed slightly differently from when they began to diverge from wolves. I like the idea of a raw diet but I have better things to do with my time than running around getting offal and blending vegetables. I have tried it and I just found it was taking too much time and effort. I believe on minimizing processed foods for both myself and my dog- but I don't cut them out altogether. My dogs diet currently is based on chicken frames, table scraps, fresh mince, sardines, frozen Veges (as a filler only- these usually come out the other end whole!) and a small amount of kibble (usually free samples from work or prizes from trials). She also gets the vets all natural mix a few times a week. I'm thinking of giving K9 natural a try after hearing good reports from other people.

I think most labs don't take punishment seriously. Especially if the reward is worth it (that usually means food). You could kick, whack, scream etc at my dog but if she had a hamburger in her mouth she'd just wag her tail at you and still be delighted with herself. Can be difficult if you're used to a more sensitive breed. Teaching them an alternate behaviour is much more useful. And I find prevention is also key, once they self reward with the undesirable behaviour it can be difficult to get their attention back on you. Definitely not a breed for those without a sense of humor!!!

There's really not that much you can do to prevent pyometra, close monitoring won't prevent it. I'd do as others suggested and leave her entire until 3, then desex. I believe it is common Europe to perform ovariectomy only. Without the influence of the ovarian hormones the risk of pyo is greatly reduced so removing the uterus isn't thought to be necessary.

There's quite a few in UK working lines. Haven't seen many in Australia though. It's a colour you see more commonly in spaniel x lab Personally I'd be going for temperament before colour