Kirty

Don't get too excited kazzakanary - girl dogs do it too! Some dogs are just more humpy that others. Desexing might help, but if he is a born humper, he may continue to do it anyway. Is there any reason you don't want to desex him? Don't smack him either - he is only doing what is natural. Perhaps just try ignoring it.

I always supervise feeds at my place but my dogs are not the kind to challenge a newcomer. Its very strange but if I have a dominant foster, my dogs will let it be the boss, or if I have a very submissive foster, they just leave it alone. Maybe its because they know it will be gone in a few weeks! But my dogs also don't seem to have a 'pack order' - they seem to be very evenly ranked, never fight and let each other steal each others food! I really couldn't say who was the top dog. I have had a couple of foster dogs that had been neglected and they were so protective of their food. But surprisingly (or probably not) it was usually the fat, spoilt dogs who were most aggressive with their food! I guess because they had been allowed to be pack leader their entire life.

Its not really advice, but I always let my own dogs and foster dogs protect their food from OTHER DOGS. In a multi dog home, if you don't allow them to protect their food, the bottom of the pack will lose their dinner. When I say protect, I mean growl, not be aggressive. However, all of my dogs (and fosters) must allow people to pat them while eating, take their food away, etc. Good luck solving your problem!

I try and train my dogs every day - we walk to the park, they do about 5 mins of training each, then they get to race around and chase the ball like idiots. I usually don't see anyone when I'm out with them, although there was an older couple at the park the other day and they commented on how well behaved my dogs were. It made me feel good! I also make my dogs sit at every curb and if I see someone approaching, I move to the side of the path and put both dogs in a sit-stay. Some people feel threatened by my dogs (both black med size) so I think they feel more comfortable when I do that. It also stops my boy from leaping all over people, which he loves to do but which I feel is not appropriate! I think its important to train regularly and if other people think you're weird, then they obviously have no idea about dogs.

Thanks for that info Erny and PossumCorner. Champa has not shown ANY lameness or stiffness or anything for well over a year (probably closer to 2 years now). At the time when he started to become lame fairly often (every few months), we basically cut back his exercise to backyard only. But since then we have slowly built up to back to normal, and he has been fine. He has about half an hour of free running every day and even leaps off the quite high playground equipment much to my horror (oops, I mean, what playground equipment? My dogs don't go near playgrounds...) and has still shown no signs of lameness. I think he might have grown out of it. My agility instructor is happy to let me give Champa a try at agility and just see how he goes (once he reaches Class 3 which could be a looooong way away!!). Thanks again!! Here's my silly boy:

KismetKat, do you know where I could find out more about lure coursing?? Thanks. Erny, I will ask the vet next time I take him in and see if they can recommend a physio.

The trouble is that we don't know what Champa's shoulder problem is. It first showed itself when he was probably about 6-8 months old, and has has happened again randomly. It is just one shoulder that does it, and when he goes lame it can last for up to 2 weeks. It is caused by odd things - swimming is often the worst surprisingly. He can race around the oval for an hour, and not go lame, but then when he goes swimming, he often ends up lame. It has not happened for well over a year, so maybe he has grown out of it (he will be 4 this year)? We had X-rays done the second time he went lame, and the vets could find nothing wrong. They had no idea what it was either. I will contact Croydon and I guess I'll just play it by ear, try a few things, see what he likes and if they make him lame.

I think I will have to get in touch with Croydon - they seem to do everything!! I think tracking sounds good - is the dog onlead when tracking??

Hehe I must have edited while you were typing! Yes, Champa lives for food. What is tracking and how would I join a club??

Well Champa has been doing fairly well at training (now in Class 2 after only two months at obedience ) and Maisie (my little hero) is now in Class 3. She started agility this morning and was so good!! She absolutely loved it and did so well! I have decided not to progress any further with obdience with Maisie, and will just do agility and hopefully Flyball. My question is about Champa. He hates obedience - he does it, but he nearly falls asleep the whole time. He has no interest in pleasing me and knows all the basics, so I don't see much point in pushing the obedience with him (although I want to get him into Class 3 first). I want to find something for him that he will enjoy to continue his training. He can't do agility because he has problems with his shoulder. I was thinking I could try flyball if the jumps were small, but I don't think it would be his "thing". He is a 4 year old (extremely stubborn and pig headed) Labrador X GSP. Any suggestions on sports or activities that I could try with him that he would enjoy?? ETA: He loves food and also loves toys. Thanks!!

It could be bloat. Does he seem uncomfortable or is he dry-wretching at all? Big-chested dogs (and especially dogs who hoover their food) are very prone to bloat. My Great Dane died from it, and so did my Grandparent's Dalmation. However I have another dog (Lab cross) who looks bloated after almost every meal, but never actually gets bloat. I would take him to the vet just in case. ETA: I just saw that you are in QLD. In warmer states, its more important to keep worming/flea treatment up to date as they are more common. Worm him ASAP.

I can't stand people who want a perfect dog, but can't be bothered putting in the work. Both of my dogs have been trained, and have just re-started school. One of them is a VERY challenging dog, but there is no way I'd give up on him. I know if I work hard, I will see the benefits eventually. If he is naughty, chances are its my fault! And it was POURING rain and freezing cold on Sunday - but we still turned up to school! Actually, I was amazed at how many people showed. It was good to see!

I was just wondering something. Are pups born dog aggressive, or do they become it? Or can it happen both or either way? For example, if you brought home a 10 week old puppy who had been raised with its mother and siblings, could it be dog aggressive? If so, could you train it out of them? Through regular, and positive socialisation can you train a dog to be social with other dogs?

Thanks everyone for the advice, and even more for the encouragement! Sometimes I just feel like throwing the towel in with this dog, but I love him and I am not the sort of person to just give up on my pets, or offload them onto someone else. I will persist with the training and be more strict. I will work extra hard at dog obedience with him and make sure I practise lots at home. I so desperately want to spoil my dogs (my cats have every toy, bed, treat, etc available!) but I can't because anything nice I get them, gets destroyed. I hope one day I will be able to buy them gorgeous coats and collars, and know they can wear them without ruining them. Also, what is training in drive? Praise, pats and food don't seem to work with this dog. Do you think training in drive would?

Just to confirm - CHAMPA DOES NOT STEAL MY SHOES! He steals OTHER PEOPLE'S shoes and EATS them! I mean completely gone, except for the rubber sole! I have started obedience and will be attending every Sunday. He has been trained at home and knows sit, drop, stay, come and heel, but will only do them when he feels like it. He will do them in a 'fake' situation. I practise almost every day at the park and he is perfect. Also perfect at obedience, but in real life situations, he ignores everything I say. I have always used praise but not food - he gets too excited when food is around and can't concentrate. I only ever tell him off when he has done something naughty, which is why he hides when he has been naughty (like when he destroyed MIL's plants, he hid when I came outside. As soon as he hides, I know he has done something wrong! Any other time I go outside, he is right there, all happy). I have never told him off after recalling him. I also honestly don't think this dog is trying to please me! He doesn't care what I want, he cares about what he wants - which is why he is perfect at meal times and never any other time! Food is the only thing he cares about.

Thanks for all the advice. I must sound like an idiot - I love my dogs, and have raised them exactly the same way, but Maisie is a great, and Champa is shocking! It really upsets me because like I said, I am finding it really hard to like him right now! I would like to do agility with both of my dogs, but Champa has a problem with his shoulder where he goes lame every now and then (we spent hundreds on x-rays which showed nothing, and the vets have no idea what it is). He can only do so much running or jumping before he goes lame, and surprisingly swimming seems to aggravate it the worst? Maisie will be doing agility as soon as we get to Class 3.

This is Champa - see how innocent he looks? He fools everyone! And Champa and Maisie. You can sort of see the evil glint in his eye in this pic...

He is a desexed male Labrador cross German S/H Pointer. And apparently he exhibits the WORST traits of both breeds! Anyone want a good model for why its not a good idea to cross breeds? HAVE CHAMPA! When I ask him to sit at the curb, I say "SIT" in a firm voice, and he does what I said above. I then pull up on the lead, push his bottom down and say "SIT" again, then "good dog" in a happy voice. But it makes no difference. He still does it at EVERY curb. And with the shoes, we never left them in his reach - he would jump our six foot fence, go up the street, steal them from someone's front porch, carry them home, jump back over the fence, and eat them. The only thing he is good with is meal time. I say "SIT" "STAY" (which he does) and wait for him to look at me - which he does every time without fail - then after a varying amount of time with him looking at me, I say "OK". And so far at obedience (we have only been once) he was PERFECT! Walked at a perfect heel, sat first time every time, wagged his tail and looked like the loveliest, most willing, obedient dog. ETA: Just had a quick look at the NILIF page, and I pretty much do all of that already. They have to sit and stay before they get food, when entering of exiting the car they must wait until I say OK, when putting on their leads they have to sit quietly or they don't go for a walk, when I let them off at the park they have to sit and stay until I say OK.

I am at my wits end with my dog Champa. He is just the most un-loving, un-caring, selfish dog I have ever come across. Every time I try and do something nice for the dogs, he ruins it. This morning I was trying to get them into the car to take them to the park. I had both dogs sitting next to the car and said "Wait" - he knows what this means. As soon as I opened the car door he tried to leap in, knocking everything out of my hands (my son's breakfast). So I yelled at him, pushed him back down and said "WAIT!". I then said "OK" to Maisie to let her in. I turn around and Champa has run off, trying to get all the food off the ground. I yelled at him again but he ignored me - if there is food and you say "NO" or "LEAVE IT" he will keep eating until you physically pull him away, even though he knows he is not allowed to be eating it. So I ended up cracking it and putting him back inside, and just taking Maisie to the park. He is so sneaky too - he will do things which he knows are wrong if he thinks he can get away with it. At our old house he used to escape during the day and steal peoples shoes. We would come home, and find him in the backyard with someone's shoe. One day, we came home early before he had a chance to get back in the yard - he knew he was going to be in trouble for being out, so he hid in our neighbours garden for about 4 hours. I was beside myself with worry, walking up and down the street calling him, drove around the area, called all the pounds, shelters, vets, etc. I finally found him hiding in the garden. He could hear us calling him but knew he would be in trouble, so he kept hiding. Maisie though - if she knows she is not allowed to do something, she won't. Like when I had her in the car this morning, I had some food on the front seat. I told her "LEAVE IT", went to put Champa inside, came back and the food was still there, Maisie was sitting perfectly in the back seat. Champa would have eaten it. I just don't know what to do anymore. I have enrolled him in dog school, but I really don't think it is going to help. He knows all the commands and he is very sociable, but he has absolutely no desire to work for me. At obedience last week he worked perfectly. But get him home or anywhere else and its a different story. All he cares about is food - but he won't even work for that. As I have said in previous posts, I can't put coats or collars on them because he chews them off. When we are walking, I always make my dogs sit at the curb before crossing the road. Maisie does it first time, but Champa looks at me and slowly, slowly half-sits - its like he is trying to get one over on me. He thinks if he half sits, he has won. He KNOWS what sit means! I end up in tears almost every day over things he has done. When we let him inside, the first thing he does is run to the bin or the pantry and start eating - again, he won't stop until you physically remove him. He destroyed all of my mother-in-laws pot plants. This dog is almost 4 years old and has been this way since we got him. What can I do? I feel like I can't love him anymore because of his behaviour. It is breaking my heart and I just don't know what to do.

I hand reared 8 BC cross puppies from 14 days old onwards, and that was about all they would have. I was feeding them every 3-4 hours and they would have 200ml at a time. The smallest one had even less. Good luck with the puppy, but I agree that it would probably be better to have at least one other pup as well.

Hot spots are very common in dogs with thick hair, but I have never seen one on a dogs face. Perhaps it is a bite or allergy that the dog has scratched at, making it raw. Malamutes, huskies and GR's are the most common dogs that I see hot spots on and they are usually on the rump, neck or upper legs. If it is a hot spot, you need to keep the area clean and dry - bathing with salt water can be very beneficial. But I think the vet will be able to help you more - it doesn't sound like a hot spot to me.

I have been looking into this recently and decided to vacc my pets every three years. However, now that I have joined obedience, will I have to vacc every year?

Just thought I would add my experience. We have an almost 5 year old BC cross and when she was little, she was CRAZY! I was living with my parents at the time and we all wanted Maisie to be inside with us, but she would race around, rev up my mum's dog, and just generally be a nut case! So we put her bed next to the lounge and tied her lead to it. We attached the lead to her and said "On your bed". I think the first few times, she jumped around a bit, but she worked out it was much more comfy just to lay on her bed. She learnt very quickly what that command meant, but she was still able to see us and feel part of the family. We also let her have a toy to chew on, so it wasn't like a punishment. It worked really well for us. Of course, you could tie her to a table or whatever, in whatever room you are in. Just don't leave her tied up unattended. Good luck. Oh and the barking when you make her do something is an act of defiance I believe (she is telling you off for making her do something she doesn't want to). So once you have the pack order worked out, it should settle down. Barking outside is boredom I'm afraid. A few food-stuffed toys and maybe a big bone might help her. My dogs also have one of those clam shell things which they LOVE - one side has water to splash in and the other has sand to dig in!

I don't mean to sound rude, but I am assuming you aren't expecting Ginger to come back if you have already bought two new puppies? Please make sure you get them desexed and microchipped ASAP so that if they happen to disappear, they will be of no value to anyone and be promptly returned to you.

I wish I had that option, but right now I am just too busy. I like to take them for a long walk and then a free run, otherwise I feel bad. They are active dogs and they love their walks/runs. I could always use a halti but I really don't think they teach the dog anything.