mita

Yay, that's great. I wonder why it works...only the dog's ears can hear it...comfort it, give it a mystery 'noise' to listen to? But who'd care about the 'why', when it works Please let's know where you go it.

I stay right away from artificial colourings & preservatives. Also have to take care of amount of fat because the 10 yr old & 13 yr old Tibbie girls can easily run to fat. And one has a tendency to hot-spot skin allergy, since coming to the heat of Qld. So, the basics are... Science Diet Dry (for littlies) as a sprinkling, Tuckertime Dog Roll (chicken, rice & veggies) which is only available from vets as a staple, couple tins of tuna in springwater each week added, also sometimes a raw egg yolk (not white). When younger the girls had some Flaxseed (Linseed) Oil added, too. I also put in a 1/4 to 1/2 Metameucil (spelling?), because vet recommended that after one Tib in particular had trouble with impacted anal glands. For teeth, I give chicken wings with as much fat taken off as possible. But vet warned me there's fat in the bone itself, so I have to watch that because of weight problems. Lately I've added a Dentabone each week. For occasional treats & rewards, they had Eukaneuba Treats for Small Dogs...& pieces of dry liver treat.

My opinion only, based on my experience owning a related, double-coated breed (as pets) Tibetan Spaniels. I shied away from even considering clipping their beautiful double-coated coats (both ex-showgirls & Australian Champions). The appalling heat of last summer was too much...& one of the girls had developed a skin allergy after coming from the south to Qld (vet said not uncommon). I discovered that keeping her skin cool & not damp was one of the things that helped. Took the plunge & made careful enquiries before getting them clipped. I was recommended to a highly experienced dog-groomer here in Brisbane. Yes, she'd clipped Tibbies before. With heart in mouth, I passed the 2 girls over....the intended clip would be similar to the summer clips often given Shih-Tzus. When I went to pick them up, I couldn't believe it. I'd expected little stripped rabbits. They looked astoundingly beautiful...lovely shapes of solid little bodies, with gorgeous tails just trimmed a tiny bit across at the end. For weeks later, the 2 blondes attracted even more attention from strangers than usual...which says a lot. And they even looked blonder! Best of all, their spirits lifted... & they literally gambolled (sp?) around like little shorn sheep. And it contributed enormously to better skin health for the one with a skin allergy. If I owned a Peke as a pet here in Brisbane...speaking only for myself...I'd do the same. As to the question of age....that would be one of the things I'd discuss re suitability for clipping, or extent of clipping, with that experienced groomer.

I'd try a sequence of things. First the Nothing In Life is Free approach. Train Murdock to obey 'Sit' to get all good things from you or the rest of the family. If he makes a noise while doing so...turn back & ignore. He needs to get the message the Sit & being quiet earn good things. That would help cover his barking for his dinner. Second look at any possibilities of boredom...barking is 'something to do'. Enourage him to play with any toys he likes...& hopefullly carries around or chews (like a kong). Bit hard to bark with something in mouth. Third look at any stimulus outside. Can he see passing pedestrians...dog next door...whatever. Cut off his view from any of these (plasic weed matting makes a good 'block') Fourth try the Hell Of a Mystery Noise approach. Get someone to be in another room. Soon as Murdock starts to bark, that person gives one hell of a bang on the wall or door...or one hell of a crash of 2 pans. Gradually dogs get the message...this spooky, scarey sound seems to be triggered by their barking. No bark...no scarey noise.

That was such a lovely thing to say, 'God needed you more.' What much-loved & very special babies. And will be so for eternity.

Muttly, with all the ideas you're putting into practice, you'll become the DOL barking/howling tipster

Yes, that's the hedge where the cat hides. You can drive a car between the neighbours fence and the rock wall which the hedge (lillypillies) is growing on. It's about 10-12 feet high, but that doesn't help when the cat is actually in it . I was thinking of the tall lillypillies more in terms of a noise-barrier...& a privacy barrier...which would give you some 'distance' from the neighbours & their problems. So you have that already. Good. Only way to totally deal with the straying cat, is by trapping (which you've done). Some deterrent ideas: If there's a car-wide space between their fence & your rock-wall... cats don't like walking on prickly stuff. Is it possible to lay some chicken wire along there? Also you seem to have noted the spots where the cat lurks in. Sprinkle one of the garden products to deter cats (& dogs) there (doesn't harm animals). Like Skedaddle (available in garden shops). I've used the Skedaddle granules to keep our small dogs away from a fenceline where construction was happening next door. Info on this website: http://www.multicrop.com.au/animal.htm

Some suggestions...re the facts that the barking/howling happens in response to folk walking by...& to visits from people they like. 1. If the dogs use their voices in any way to get your attention in the course of everyday life, turn your back on them. Total ignore. Only give them anything they like...attention, eye contact, pats, treats...when they are quiet. Intelligent dogs soon get the message. It's quiet, not noise that brings good things...as a general rule. That could be applied by the people the dogs like when they visit. So get their cooperation. 2. Can you get the cooperation of a neighbour to do the following...or allow you on their property next door to do it? Someone (you or a cooperative neighbour) hidden from sight, uses something that makes one hell of a clanging noise, at first sound of the dog's barking. No human voices. Just a hell of a crashing noise, at first peep or howl. You might have to get other neighbours understanding & cooperation in doing so. 3. Can you close off the part of your yard that allows the dogs to see the people going by? The dogs are using their voices to 'herd' those passing 'sheep' along. So, if they can't see them... Also can you leave a radio playing (talking station) out of chewing range near the dogs? Sound of human voices may divert their attention from being on the alert for passing 'sheep' to organzie. 4. You seen to have covered the territory with activities for the dogs to do when you're out. Keep looking for new things like that. Their own sandpit with buried treat pieces to do some digging. Also daily exercise really seems to help tremendously. 5. Get advice from someone that knows, how to teach the dogs to bark only on command. I've never done that...but I've heard dog behaviourists describe it.

There's a classic one-liner in relation to solving a problem. ' Who owns the problem?' In this case, the dog's barking is caused by the neighbour's cat being allowed to stray. Every other problem becomes secondary to that...gsdog2's visits from council & stress about fate of their own dogs & being put in position of having to trap cat, neighbour's asperges-affected daughter maybe being affected by loss of cat etc etc. The basic problem is the failure of neighbour's to make the cat an inside one only...& allowing it to stray. And contrary to the the council regulations quoted, concerning containment of cats. Those neighbours own the problem....possibly exacerbated by the nature of the daughter's disability (which can go along with related or consequential problems in the parents re social-relational matters). Which means that gsdog's left with options of removing the cat, staying in positive communication with council & other neighbours, & keeping distance from the neighbours with the problem. (Any high fencing possibilites, planting tall lillypillies along boundary but well back from fenceline???). I understand Rusky's point of making overtures to the neighbours & thereby trying to understand their problems. In most circumstances, I'd be thinking of that. But not in this one...gsdog's not their social worker. There's also little support possible from mental health services...first, because of privacy issues, & second, disorders like asperges don't tend to come under mental health services (it's not a mental illness.) Only suggestion I can make is to check if the council has a community worker who looks into social problems in the area.

Thank you for those recipes. They're brilliant.

There are specially forumlated products to keep dogs...& other creatures...off gardens. None harm the animals. All made by Multicrop...set out on their website. Have a look & see which one best fits your situation. I use the Skedaddle granules to keep the 2 tibbie girls from hanging around a side fence where a lot of building is going on next door. Products are available in places like the garden section of KMart. http://www.multicrop.com.au/animal.htm

Give him an OK digging site....a special area full of the sand suitable for children's sandpits. Keep burying bits of treats there....& let him have all the fun digging in his special spot. And he'll know it's his spot...because only place where treats are available.

I get Nil Odor (from the Supermarket) & put a few drops in a little tepid water (it's highly concentrated)...& rub & then comb it thro' the coat.

One of our tibbie girls has a tendency to hot-spots...& the 2 of them are in their senior years (but don't look it...even a vet queried if Gracie really could be 10 yrs...she is!). I put 4 dried Goji berries in their food each day. Goji berries come from the lands of the Himalayas & have been tested at Tufts Uni in Boston to determine they have the highest anti-oxidant or any fruit of vegetable (which is why I give a small dog only 4 per day). The berries also have properties good for skin health. Yes...I've mentioned this to the vet. Here's a website that explains...& which also gives cautions re supply...especially in relation to the product in the form of juice. http://www.health-report.co.uk/goji_berry.html I get the Goji berries from a health food shop...but only buy those which are marketed thro' an Authentic Tibetan Medicine products company located in Melbourne...& which follows standards. I also feed the tibs on TuckerTime dog roll (only available thro' vets)...& mix in quality dry food that has no artificial colourings or preservatives. With all of this, Gracie hasn't had a hot spot for ages.

Our Gracie was in agony for 3 nights after an op to relieve an impacted anal gland. Her main pain came from the shaven area around her bottom which reacted with a chemical burn from whatever antiseptic she'd been swabbed with. The only meds she's been given for home was a topical cream....containing a local anaesthetic. But, at first, the cream might have well been water. Her pain was so severe. I finally got her to a vet I trust...& he said the pain arises from severe inflammation...so he gave Gracie tablets that were a powerful anti-inflammatory. For the first time in 3 days/nights, she got some sleep between doses. I can't remember the name of these pills...but this vet said, in these circumstances, this kind of med would be more effective than a straight pain-killer. (It might have been Metacam...because they gave her 20mg injectable after the op in hosptial but they didn't give any pill-form to take home....only the cream.) Please find a vet you trust...& enquire about the use of a powerful anti-inflammatory. ADDITION: Checked...it was Metacam that the 2nd vet prescribed in pill form for home care. I recall this vet strongly stated it had to be short-term use. Fortunately it worked out so...& along with the topical cream...there was improvement. Here's info: http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&A=1752

I'm so sorry for your loss. How precious your memories will be of such a beautiful girl. There must be something in the name...our beautiful natured tib girl's call name was Chance.

Brilliant move to clean up...& leave the thought-provoking posts about a situation that could happen for any of us in a less than perfect world. The different opinions are really useful...(but getting personal is not!)

LM, I found the first opinion you wrote clear, stating that there were people who did not use the spray in training. You were giving a general over-view on such use. There's no law that says you then had to state your own personal position...and were in some way remiss in not doing so at first... when you were just making a general statement. When I posted, I supported your view that there were differing opinions. And chose to give a personal position. Nothing mandatory about having to do that. Just my 'reading'...I didn't see anything unclear in what you originally wrote, I have no problem with your writing style in this thread (it's clear and not abusive), and I respect that you chose to defend yourself when things turned personal. That last choice wouldn't have been mine. If I reviewed what I'd written & it was clear and not abusive, I'd have left the responses with anyone who wanted to argue with it in such personal terms. Life's too short! That's not a criticism of you or those who responded to you...just an opinion on what my own choice tends to be.

Is she going back to the same corner/s to pee? If so, dogs go to the toot on top of where the 'toot scent' is. Even when we clean up the spot, a dog's super-sensitive nose can spot the 'spot'. Special effort needed to get rid of the odours of 'mistakes'. I first clean-up with Sunlight Soap suds. Then drop spots of Nilodor on the place (available from the getting rid of smells shelves at Supermarket.) (An added thing I've done when one spot's been attracting a dog back to do some 'totting'...is to sprinkle some of those granules that are used to keep dogs off garden beds. You'd have to check tho' if they'd stain your floor covering....or sprinkle them on a thick layer of newspaper.) Have I got it right that she tends to go into a corner to pee just after you start a game with her inside the house? Getting excited can stimulate urge to go to the toot (folk with young children know that). How about starting all play games outside the house...note when she goes to the toot...& then move the game inside.

Yay! I found a way around our tibbie girls eating any new dry food for a week at most...& then total rejection. They like an excellent dog roll called Tuckertime (only available from vets). So I cut each Tib girl's portion of Tuckertime into squares, sprinkled the latest rejected dry food on top...then pushed those kibble bits in with my palms & fingers. Didn't take long....just like putting raisins or almonds on top of some baking. They ate every scrap of the Tuckertime with the dry food imbedded.

Candy, a vet nurse just recommended Eagle Pack to me today. I'd been saying how our tibbies eat any new dry food for a week at the most...then carry on as if they're being asked to eat pebbles. I was wondering if I could mix it with any liquid. That's when the vet nurse said that her fussy small dog consistently likes one of the Eagle Pack dry foods (I got the impression there were various kinds).

Yes, my suspicion would be some discomfort coming from the anal gland (s), too. And then maybe scouring bottom along trying to relieve it. Very important to check with vet...because even the rawness at that end alone, is a breeding ground for infection. (When our tib girl had raw, inflammed skin from hotspots...apart from prescribing antibiotics, the vet also gave some Neotopic Lotion to be applied...contains local anesthetic & anti-inflammatory.)

I use Melrose brand Flaxseed (Linseed) Oil. From health food stores & pharmacies.

I'd be trying gradual desensitization myself. Breaking down the scarey stimulus...anything that sounds like a hiss...into small manageable steps that are rewarded. Softy, sotly, little by little. Someone once posted how they'd done this, successfully, with a dog that was scared witless of a vacuum cleaner. On the side topic. Personal choice only... I don't tend to use a spray bottle . Not from political correctness...but it's not in accord with a basic tenet I have for shaping behaviour. But it's important that other people develop their own methods. If everyone thought the same as me...or each other...there'd be no progress. So right now...I don't use a spray bottle, but I listen to people who do & the circumstances they have used it successfully in. Who knows...the day may come!