mita

Tashnsw, the point made by showdog is a very relevant. It's all very true what she's said.

A lot of us have had to relook at pets we've had...their needs & what we can provide for them.

I hope it helps you think thro' where the problem is coming from.

Motivate with something other than food?

Yes...that's what I do with my small breed dogs, tibbies. I get them to obey commands to get ALL the good things they like....a treat is just one. Pardon my soppiness...but even to get a pat or cuddle, they have to obey 'Sit' first. Before getting into the car for a drive (they love it!), they have to obey a command first. Before getting their leads on (they love going for walks)...yep, must obey a command first.

This approach has a backhander, tho'. The tibs get to know that 'good' behaviours, like Sitting, lead to something good happening for them . So when I'm walking past them... one after another does a smart 'Sit' of its own accord. It looks like they're curtseying as the queen goes by! And I can hear the bottoms hitting the ground.

Wear cricket pads

Seriously, I'd go back to reteaching 'Come'...using a treat reward when he comes. BUT hold the treat against the side of your leg, so he learns 'Come' means to come right up to you...BESIDE your leg. Get him really good at this.

Then when you throw something for him to fetch...give the 'Come' command & he'll be used to coming right up beside your leg, with whatever. Rather than stopping a couple of feet away & chucking the whatever at you.

...what Toohey said

I was told this week about a Tibbie girl who, in her first visit to puppy pre-school took a chunk out of some bloke's boot. Which apparently made her unwelcome from then on...but she got a certificate sent to her at the end.

She's gone on to be a wonderful pet with her family which includes children...but a steely 'defender' against all strange people & dogs. Now...at 4 yrs...that family's been directed to a responsible dog trainer to sort this.

So I think it's important to deal with any marked response by a pup in the pre-school setting. It's good you're asking for advice how to help your pup who seems to be getting a bit overwhemed by it all.

A vet nurse at my local vet clinic has skills in clipping/grooming. Every time I take one of the Tibetan Spaniels to her, she discusses thoroughly what is wanted. She does a lovely job...& also expresses their anal glands. The Tibbie girls think she's marvellous & happily trot away with her...not a glance back at mum.

I think you have to search around for the groomer who suits your dog's needs...& word of mouth is a good way to do some sussing out.

A single, loud, high-pitched squeal whenever a youngster bites or nips, usually turns it off doing that to humans.

I've heard of 2 things that can help a new puppy settle at night.

First get a few cotton socks...& stuff them with other cotton socks...& knot the top so they're like sausage shapes...about same size as the pup.

Arrrange for whoever bred your puppy, to rub & rub those shapes over the mother dog & the other puppies...to get their scents on them.

Then put a couple of those shapes in the pup's new bed at their new home. Then the pup has something to snuggle up among...which feels & smells like its littermates & mother.

Second, put the pup's bed right beside your bed at first. Then gradually, as pup settles, move the bed back to where you eventually want it to be.

The vet told me to give our Tibbie with the chronic itches/hotspots, Polaramine antihistamine tablets.

Also found good info about the Hexal Konazol shampoo.

http://www.eknowhow.com/ekh_drugdatabase/h...id=56&dsa=0

yes that is a good description - de-fleaing behaviour. Just never had a dog in the late hours of the evening looming towards me doing that Looking soooo enthusiastic at me with the Hannibal Lector touch.

Being a little dog, Gracie would do it when I held her in my arms.

Funny, because I used to think it made her look as if she was so enthusiastic about being close to a 'new' person that this was the only way in her excitability (or nervousness, or combination of both) she could express it.

But it wore off as other ways of relating took over.

The other thing she does which is disconcerting is the Belgian type smile - full front teeth displays and chatter her jaws....

I was trying to find words to describe what my Gracie did with her mouth when she first came...& your description fits her funny jaw chatter.

And the lips back over front teeth... looking like how dogs do that funny 'de-fleaing' behaviour with their front teeth. Certainly not aggressive. Just over excitability & not yet being sure how to relate to the 'new' person.

Gracie was almost manic when she first came...from a background of changes due to her original breeder-owner being very ill for some time. Good thing is that, with time & adjustment & the most basic training, Gracie's now the most sensible, calm dog I've had. Extremely responsive.

Usually I see the stress levels decrease each days and I am seeing a more manic and active dog. I left her when she nipped after telling her 'bad dog'. She is ultra submissive so am not seeing it as aggression, just ill-informed bite inhibition. She will be a brilliant dog in the right hands.

I find a low-pitched but strong growly 'No'...works for the physical things like jumping up. But for any 'teeth' contact, like mouthing or that nip on the chin, I find a loud high-pitched squeal works...seems to be a more unpleasant & scarey sound to a dog.

I've also found that a basically submissive dog can react in the early days of fostering...when there's a lot of attention via training, feeding, grooming etc...with letting totally letting loose &.becoming highly excitable.

Maybe that's the manic, highly active behaviour you're seeing. I've sometimes thought of it as a dog 'overdosing' on attention.

If so, I've found 2 things useful....first, using some of the strategies that 'soothe' an underconfident dog. And second, aim at rewarding only the calmer behaviours. Like getting the 'Sit' command in place...when that becomes the only time, all the good things come for the dog. Also the 'Down' command. When penny drops that good things only follow when bottom or tummy is firmly on the ground...a lot of the excitability seems to wane.

In rare but extreme cases, the vet's prescribed a mild dose of valium for the first week or so...while the new learning kicks in.

And I agree with you...when all finally gets into place with a little time & training...these dogs can turn out to be brilliant. Because they're basically so responsive. It's just that , in the untrained state, this can come out as excitability.

Look up an emergency Vet in the Yellow Pages. Take the pup to a vet.

I just noticed your status is given as ON reading the Puppy Problems forum. Suggest you go do, as above.

ADDED: Now noticed your status is OFF, Hope you soon get a vet's opinion.

Ivy, what a wonderful 21 yrs your family & Mindi had together. Her spirit is so much part of you, she'll be with your forever.

I know what it feels like. Our dear little black dog, Grandma, was helped to Heaven at much the same age.

My thoughts are with you.

The thread in question presented a problem being experienced by a family with their dog.

They did not post the problem...someone else did, in order to test the waters on such a situation.

Which means the problem was being presented 'second-hand' (no offence to the person who started the thread...I or anyone else could have done the same thing in a similar situation.)

Which then means, there's no opportunity to ask the affected family further questions to flesh out what the actual details & history are. So , basically, it turned into a discussion where people used their own experience & knowledge...& beliefs...to fill in the considerable gaps. Naturally, there was variety in responses. Thank goodness for that...my broken record is.... if we all thought the same, there'd be no progress.

If someone wants to turn such a discussion into personal warfare, then that person owns that problem (no aspersions on anyone). Only serves to deflect the real issues people want to discuss.

Strong beliefs came from 2 ends...those who strongly felt the issue of child safety was/is the major factor...& those, like K9, who strongly felt that 'unpicking' a/the dog's behaviour was the starting point (while keeping the dog & child separate.)

Having strong beliefs, however, does not mean the holder is automatically 'right'. No, it's simply a strongly held position...among others. (There's something called an Hegelian tragedy...where, in a conflict...two points of view have some degree of 'rightness' about them.)

No need to trigger off personal warfare and/or demeaning other people...which most folk don't do anyway...& didn't do in that thread.

i can tell you from a vet nurses experience a hot spot is a localised bacterial skin infection. dogs with allergies and thick coats are prone to them especially when it is hot, humid & damp outside. sometimes you can't even see them until they get to the point of ulceration and puss cuz of the dog's coat & it is the dog that makes it get to that point by scratching at it and introducing more bacteria.

best thing to do is to clip the hair away from the spot, scrub it with antibacterial wash & if it is really pussy the dog will need a short course of antibiotics, possibly some antihistamines or anti-inflammatories too. if you catch it early enough you can clip or snip the hair away, wash it with some antibacterial liquid handsoap or a mild salt + water solution. rinse thoroughly and pat dry and then TRY to stop the dog from licking/scratching. if it is a small early hot spot that is just pink and not ulcerated i think the nappy rash powder could help, but don't let the dog lick at it!

but if it is pussy and infected please take your dog to the vet! they can rapidly grow and spread and be uncomfortable for the poor pooch!

Lynne

This advice is what I've learned works best for hot-spots that flare up on our Tibbie, Gracie. The vet even gives me some antibiotics to have on hand to give her at the first sign inflammation is setting in. But with all those previous steps Lynne's described, I've been able to mainly nip the spots in the bud.

Re the coat heating up the skin in hot weather.

I get Gracie clipped in summer & keep it so.

Also I do everything to keep her skin cool...put the airconditioning or fan on. Also I give her only short walks (rather than a long one)....because I've noticed when she gets over-heated from exercise, a hot-spot will follow.

Have found, too, I can't leave her with damp hair...it seems to produce a humidity that encourages hot-spots.

Also diet's helped her...NO preservatives & artificial colourings.

And STRICT flea control. Advantix, (Capstar table is a flea appears just before next Advantix is due), Fido's Fre-Itch Rinse.

My first-aid kit consists of Pyohex Medicated Lotion to kill bacteria on a pink area, Neotopic Lotion (contains a local anaesthetic) for when a spot erupts, Polaramine antihistamines (suggested by vet for when skin's getting pink) & antibiotics from vet at first sign on infection.

I did a Google search & found this article about how a dog's peeing on an owner's or a visitor's belongings or bed or even tyres of a car...is marking behaviour. Seems both the confident dog & the fearful dog do it...communicates that, in dog 'thinking', it's being protective. Apparently, that's what marking behaviour is all about.

http://www.paw-rescue.org/PAW/PETTIPS/DogTip_Marking.php

Good advice about putting the clothes out of harm's way.

Your clothes strongly (to a dog's excellent scent) has your 'smell' on them. Maybe someone more expert about dog behaviour could give reason for this kind of behaviour. Like, I've known of some dogs that deliberately wee on owner's pillow or bedclothes...other places where owner's 'scent' is strong. Like LilyW said, maybe there's some kind of dominance issue involved? Perhaps ask the question in the Behaviour Forum.

I can't say so....because I didn't see it. But could it just be the older dog 'correcting' the youngster? So the young one learns what the limits are...?

Our Sheltie, Danny, developed pancreatitis...& I had to watch his diet like a hawk until he died at 14 yrs of age.

No fat...not even the lowest-fat mince. A uni vet even warned me against giving him bones. She said, just to show me why, boil a raw bone with no meat on it...then watch all the fat come to the surface.

Danny was managed with strict diet. Each time he got an attack....it was always because somehow he'd gotten a piece of food with fat.

Wow, a quandry. If the dog isn't in pain then perhaps it is best to leave it on.... better the devil you know (particularly after reading steve's post).

I can understand your concern though, 4 breaks is a lot of damage!

Yes, I also think they're not easy options to decide on....without expert vet advice. The amount of breaks, likelihood of further damage, any spinal consequences from current condition, extent of pain & suffering for dog...all add up to serious medical problem. Not cosmetic... so it's outside the anti-docking legislation. Important to find a vet who'll work from that basis.

Are you near a University Vet Centre? When I have a complicated problem with the pets...where there are no easy current answers...I head for the University of Qld Vet Clinic.

Thanks, Puggles. I stand (er...sit) corrected. ;)

Reminds me of the convulsions that some human babies & toddlers can have. What Jed & Puggles said about fits in dogs....matches those, too.

At this stage where cause is still unknown...'convulsion' is a useful label.

Have a look at this info on convulsions in dogs...has good first-aid tips if it occurs again.

http://www.seefido.com/canine-dog-health/h...og_or_puppy.htm

The third bit of this suggestion is going to sound silly...but I've seen it work for dogs who won't come.

1. Get down low & put your arms out to the side when you call the puppy.

2. Gently teach him 'Come' by putting a longish lead on him & doing 1 above. Hold the treat against your leg so he follows the urge to come right up to touching range when he 'Comes'.

3. For some practice to get him into the habit of coming, because he wants to, lie down on the ground, cover your face in your hands & make high-pitched squeaky sounds. A nose should soon arrive burrowing in to see what's going on. Reward with treat.

I've heard several people here in Brissie say their dogs eat the possum poo that falls on the ground from the mango trees in the backyards. Someone told me why...but I can't remember what it was.

What sas said makes sense...they just DO eat poo, because it's what some dogs do.