Staff'n'Toller

No probs, good luck with it. :)

We found with our Stafford, that even though she had a Chilly Dogs coat on all night, she was still waking from the cold - on her extremities perhaps..?? We don't run our central heating at night, so we just ran a small fin oil heater in the laundry - the dogs room.

It helped for a couple of cold seasons, then she seemed to be needing the toilet a few times through the night.

It's worth a good shot westiemum. A DAP diffuser could be very helpful also. Is he on arthritis meds?

Try giving the valium earlier too. :)

Perhaps look at those soft crate puppy pens for him so he is restricted to your room where he won't lose you. I also used a nightlight for a period, near the dog so they could orient themselves overnight. Kmart sell really cool ones that cost cents to run per hour and just plug in.

Play time...one guess who the instigator is!!! He is a MOST unusual cat :laugh:

Not a cat, just a dog with pointy fingers. :laugh:

How many other dogs do you have?

If you decide to PTS this dog, then you need a veterinary behaviourist consultation on how to manage the other dogs with your child.

You cannot keep dogs separate from children, in the same home, indefinitely. You must help your other dogs integrate safely with the baby as well, not just assume they will be OK.

No-one here should be giving you advice on whether or not to PTS your dog, that's between you and your trusted vet.

I adopted a dog from a well-known and very respected interstate rescue group. One of the few requirements I had was that the dog be good with children. It didn't have to love them, as long as it was okay. The dog arrived and not only was he not okay with kids, attempts by them at approaching him would be met with snarls and if they got close enough, air snaps (which I assume would progress to actual bites, if he was pushed too far). I didn't want to send him back, not with "seems very likely to bite children" hanging over his head so we kept him and yes, have kept him separated from our children ever since (more than six years). We have two other dogs who are fine with children so they have free access to all the house except kids' bedrooms. The dog who is not fine with kids has his own area where he is safe from children and they are safe from him. It works well and he's a happier dog for having his own safe place- we have actually seen small improvements over the years in his reactions towards kids.

Hats off to you for keeping the dog and implementing a good management system for the dog and your children.

I am not trying to bait here, this is an honest question - do you have public liability insurance in case the worst happens and he bites someone else's child? Or is he covered under his own pet insurance policy for public liability?

It sounds like you have done as much as you could.

I'm sorry that all the things you have put in place has not helped the transition for this particular dog.

How many other dogs do you have?

If you decide to PTS this dog, then you need a veterinary behaviourist consultation on how to manage the other dogs with your child.

You cannot keep dogs separate from children, in the same home, indefinitely. You must help your other dogs integrate safely with the baby as well, not just assume they will be OK.

No-one here should be giving you advice on whether or not to PTS your dog, that's between you and your trusted vet.

I've used quite a few black dog products. That's our fave limited slip collar. I am assuming the walking harness would be a similar design to the car harness which I have for my girl. I found that the little adjusting slider that sits in the middle of the chest kept slipping on her as she is such a wriggler but even when it's not right she seems to find it comfortable.

Nuh, it's different in design and very different in how it works.

Thanks Justrace, I'll let her know.

I like how this thread has 142 views already...everyone's like "OooOOoohhh...someone doing a Clean Run order?!?!?" :laugh:

It must be so depressing to be chronically /seriously ill and living alone without a great support network .

I can understand why she feels a need to have other living beings in the home , and also how these very beings are causing her more stress

While it's probably in the dogs' interests to be rehomed , it will not help her situation ... I hope she can get some professional help from an attuned and pragmatic social worker /support person before someone decides to remove animals from her home .

but somehow she has to wake up to the fact that the best thing she can do for her animals is to rehome them.

Agree.

Maybe the Lab would be suitable for the AQIS program? Or police sniffer dogs? At least then she would feel that the dog needed a job to do and that it wasn't getting that at her home.

The other option is to perhaps get it out through the NDTF and the Delta Society network, perhaps there is a trainer that requires a dog to work while they do their course, they could train it to do some assistance tasks and she could have the dog back in 12 months time...as an example.

At least then if her situation changes and gets worse - the dog will have had some obedience work put into it and be more re-homeable than it is now.

She obviously still needs the companionship. The smaller dog could stay, with perhaps some fence fixing. Feeding it whilst she is away could be as easy as giving it a few stuffed kongs, or in my case at the moment with a single dog at home, he eats out of a kong wobbler - keeps him occupied for ages!

FYI, there is some contention about harnesses designed to pass over the front of the dog's breast bone and then low over the shoulders as it's possible the design restricts proper shoulder movement. It's probably no big deal, but they are easy enough to avoid if you're uneasy about them, which I personally am. Recently went through the harness hunt again after the Web Masters both started wearing out, and ended up squarely back at Web Masters. They are really a top notch harness, and the balanced handle is amazingly useful. The Walkeez harnesses are also quite good, and Alpine Outfitters in the US custom make a nice flyball harness and an urban trail harness that both look great for everyday use and are easier on the bank account.

Blackdog Wear manufacture theirs with sliders on each end of the chest strap so the strap can easily be moved up or down depending on the individual conformation. :)

:laugh: Maybe that's good financial preservation.

Thanks guys, she actually wants the biscuit buddy.

The doggone one is great, and Blackdog Wear are doing a similar design now, while it's my choice of treat pouch it's too big for what she wants. :)

Just wondered if anyone's planning to do a Clean Run order soon? One of the staff here would like a small treat pouch but doesn't need anything else. Will help with postage costs.

:)

Thanks for the reply mackiemad. :) I'd be keen to hear her speak about recent studies but it does indicate that it's not really for veterinary/behaviour professionals so might give it a miss this time around.

A good price though - hope she gets some good numbers attending. :)

What aspects were talked about?

I've seen her speak at a veterinary behaviour seminar. I can't say I was particularly impressed with how she describes dealing with a multi-dog household. I had my 'training' hat on though.

Oh and this is a good laugh! > The Types of People that Do Agility

This made me laugh.... I wonder if I fall into the ex conformation type.... Hemi is a failed showdog so I am determined to get some titles on the other end of his name :)

Hilarious! "We refuse to believe anyone actually enjoys Border Collies." :laugh:

Google search until you find a glazier that specialises in pet doors.

They should be able to supply and fit. You may have to consider the thickness of the glass though, as others have said but the glazier can advise.

Do you purchase his meat from the same place every time or different suppliers?

Wonder if it could be a preservative or something...a long shot I know.

If I wait a few weeks after her heat and if the mastiff did get her in pup

Wouldnt there be more complications for her. With pups being bigger?

Not particularly, they are teeny at 2-3 weeks gestation. A slightly bigger wound perhaps, that's about all. Do you know the first day of the heat?

I've assisted in many close to term pregnancy speys (camp dogs) and they're generally fine. :)

Forgot to say, if you want to on-lead exercise her - drive her to another location, otherwise you leave a good scent trail all the way to/from your home for male dogs. :)

On which day/date did she start with bloody discharge? I think it's basically 9/9/9? Nine days bloody discharge, 9 days straw coloured, 9 days coming off heat?

I would wait a couple of weeks as your vet has advised. You want the skin scratches to heal first, and a couple of weeks on AB's will help with the demodex whilst going through surgery.

If you can keep her in, there's less haemorrhage risk once she is starting to come off heat - next 2-3 weeks. :)

I run non-affiliated classes, they're more expensive than an affiliated club, however, the big things that affect whether a dog gets trained or not is that:

People are generally very time-poor. If they have kids they are also battling weekend sport etc.

They want quick results - if you told most new puppy owners with no dog sport aspirations that they need to be at X place every Sunday 9am for the next 6/8/12 months their eyes pop out of their heads. They need the location to be as close by as possible and they need a class at a time that suits their schedule.

For many new owners training a dog can be stressful, confusing and a battle with their dog where they feel out of their depth if they've never trained a dog before.

I charge more because I limit my class size to 6, my classes are indoors, we can get much more completed in a 6 week course with 6 handlers than we could with 15 or 20, I'm available via email/phone/facebook between class times for advice, if you miss a class we can meet at an agreeable time for a catch-up lesson.

Most pet dog owners want their dogs to stay, recall and walk nicely on lead, much of the rest is superfluous. That being said, I teach grooming, crate games and a few other things I consider very important. But I get to set the curriculum. :D

Myself, I've trained at one affiliated club and would probably go back there for with any new pups as much for the socialisation benefits of a huge club with agility/obed/flyball running concurrently as much as anything else. However, I'll remove my pups from class if they are bored, if I see an uncontrolled dog in class that is too much of a risk and if there are socialisation exercises being done that I'm unhappy with. I'm also quite happy to stand up for myself and my dog in that regard, and I have the skills to assess what might be too much for my dog in any instance.

You can have your own dog tested through Lort Smith Erny, and then do visits. Or if you have a good dog and handler from your business that was keen you could send them to be tested.

Alternatively send an email through to Lort Smith and see if there is someone available out that way.

The health food shop type were the ones I used on my old Stafford girl. Considering she was getting more than enough because I could only quarter them I figured the other ingredients might be beneficial or help absorption.

I'm not sure there's any need to get it in pure form.

However, you could try a compunding pharmacy who would place exactly the correct dosage into capsules or possibly into a flavoured paste. We use Compoundia in Melbourne. They have done some great stuff for us.

Not a groomer but using chlorhex handwash all day - my hands turn awful during winter.

I use moogoo milk wash for my hands at home and have taken it to work when bad on occasions. I also use akin unscented hand and cuticle moisturiser as it's soothing and no perfume means no extra irritants. :)

- Crate Games DVD.

- Talk to The Spotted Devil about the sorts of things she does with Ziggy.

- Invest in some brainwork toys that the dogs can do separately whilst in crates if they involve food.

- Swimming.

- Running alongside a bike.

- Look at his diet and see if there's any potential factors increasing hyperactivity.

- Remove his food bowl and drip feed his food to him making it contingent on good calm behaviour only.