Dju

When Hugo was a puppy he literally would not let us be out of our sight. If I went to the bathroom, he'd bang on the door with his head until we opened it a crack and he could keep an eye on me while I shower :rolleyes: . He started to get better around the 5 month mark, we had taught him a really strong "stay" and we could say it and go do our thing and he'd nap in the place we ordered him to "stay" in. Of course, if we were away from him for more than 15 and making a racket on top of that, he'd naturally go see what we're doing, he's only human dog!

I was told not to feed cheese because he'd get fat We're not feeding $30 a week in treats but from how many times a day we train him, we can easily see how it would get there! We were also told not to feed him kibble for training treats because by the time he's finished chewing a piece, he'd forget what he's being treated for? Or something like that? Thanks for the suggestions guys, I'll put a few to use--my boy loves carrots too haha.

After long last, I've started to really get into hardcore clicker training with Hugo to correct a few issues that have come up with his behavior, and after only an hour of training and constant click-and-treat-ing, I find I've gone through a large chunk of the Schmackos that I just bought for him! If I continue to keep training him like this, I'm going to be going through $30 of treats a week and it's not sustainable. I've tried to cook up some liver (on special at Woolies, yay!) and cut it into little cubes but it's so frigging messy, the meat gets into my nails and I need to scrub under my nails for 10 minutes before I can get rid of the smell (as much as he loves it). Does anyone have some cheap suggestions for what I can use as budget-friendly treats (that also won't make a horrible mess like chopped liver)? :D

I'd take the $10 million.. and then buy a dozen dogs.

The thought of how much money I'm spend on Hugo makes me ill so I don't think about it

Had a look at that Ebay page - do not take his advice and put it in the washing machine to get rid of urine smells - It will destroy the rubber hoses. Didn't read the page other than the discount for combined orders at the bottom. I only need it for Hugo's fur, haha. If that works, then hoorah!

If you compare the two photos, they're slightly different, I was just pointing out that somebody had either Photoshopped blood onto or off his face.

Haha, looks like someone even photoshopped blood on the fireman's face! :D

Found one! Just put an order in, hopefully I can get his belly and crotch white again soon, gah! With the turning it into toothpaste consistency, do you "go by ear" or is there a certain ratio between water and powder I need? edit: while I'm waiting for the powder to arrive I'll try the lemon juice thing to stop him from licking. I was briefly, in a moment of insanity, considering putting "Tru Blu" on his crotch area (an antiseptic that discourages licking because it apparently tastes gross) but then Hugo would have a blue crotch..

Is this the same thing? I couldn't tell because it said Boric and not Boracic, but it's what came up when I typed in Boracic, so I thought it might be the same thing?? It is the same thing but it may not be fine enough for your purpose. You are also better off purchasing from Australia as customs is highly likely to seize any fine white powder in parcels ;) That's an excellent point I found an Aussie listing on eBay just as you said that haha.

If it is just the legs then it might be easier to stop him licking his legs- there are products that you spray on that taste yucky. In time he will realise that leg licking when bored has negative consequences. Be warned that the main problem with the sprays is that if you stroke the fur and forget to wash your hands you will tranfer the foul taste to your hands... Hopefully you wont need to use the sprays for long. They wont do anything for the existing stains but they will hopefully prevent the staining in the first place. Oop didn't see your post. I don't particularly notice that he licks too much.. Could be wrong, maybe he's licking when I'm not watching. I'm not sure what to spray on him to stop the licking, my mother is afraid that everything has chemicals in them and it might hurt him. Would lemon juice be a good idea? We have a lemon and a grapefruit tree in the backyard and I heard dogs don't like citrus (or was that chickens? ).

Is this the same thing? I couldn't tell because it said Boric and not Boracic, but it's what came up when I typed in Boracic, so I thought it might be the same thing??

Sorry DJU Here are some pro-active steps you could take to reduce the incidence of staining: http://www.dolforums.com.au/topic/220444-tear-stains/page__view__findpost__p__5362724 As mentioned elsewhere you can use boric acid to kill the bacteria. There are a number of diy pastes you can make- I would recommend against any with hydrogen peroxide- look for the ones with boric acid and natural bleaching agents such as lemon juice or vinegar. Ooohhh, super helpful, thanks muchly! Hugo has red staining on the fur between his legs and antibiotics cleared it up for a while but we can't keep him on a diet of antibiotics so we were looking for other things we can do to get rid of the stainage.

I joined because I was buying a puppy from one of the breeders listed on DOL but little did I know about how crazy some people here are.

I think these competitions are kind of sad. All these dogs usually possess some sort of deformity from birth by the looks of it (and also quite old--let's not even get into how they should be respecting these old darlings!)--it's like putting someone with Down Syndrome, Elephantitus, or some other disfiguring condition into an "Ugliest Person Competition". I dunno, I find it odd that they claim to love their pets, but enter them into freakshows like this. Am I the only one who thinks these kinds of competitions are a bit.. off?

Spraying with water works extremely well and it's not cruel (cruel would be holding his head in a bowl full of water or something lol, you're just giving him a spritz which is unpleasant at best). When he barks, spray his face with a bit of water and ignore him. I agree with what Nekhbet says about the biting too, sometimes you just have to show him that you're the boss around there, not him! I recommend training him, a well trained poodle puppy looks super cool to guests :p I recommend Kyra Sundance's books, either the 51 puppy tricks book or the 101 dog tricks, they're really fun to go through a new trick every day. I also find that bouncing a ball against the ground and making Hugo hit it with his nose and then chases it as it bounces everywhere is a surprisingly strenuous exercise, Hugo pants like he's run a marathon after about ten minutes of it.

Some breeders do list females as more expensive than males, but any breeder who raises or lowers a price because of different-colored puppies in a litter I would personally never buy from. Though, I don't think $700 is a crazy amount of money for a puppy, even if it is a pet. How much did your first puppy cost, and where did you get him from?

What, even when the attacking dog has a muzzle on? Or am I confusing the function of a muzzle with something else?

I find it frustrating for the breed that people are always on about how rare the disease is when chances are, they own or know of a Cav that had this disease.I too only ever met two Cavs, with the owners having a Cav a few years ago that passed away from the disease. It's like insisting that brunette humans are rare despite the fact that you are one or at least know of someone who is. Is it always just a coincidence?

Yes. The Koko eye conditioner works pretty well. ETA: its the first product on this page Cool, thank you!

Nothing that works as well as Angel Eyes. As this product is available off the shelves of the pet stores and appears to be available in most countries so I shall be using it. So you can rub angel eyes on the fur and it gets rid of the staining? I thought it needed to be ingested orally??

I read this whole thread but I couldn't find any recommendation for tear staining other than angel eyes.. Is there any whitening product available that you can use on the fur itself that someone could recommend me?

Apart from the large kibble, what breeds wouldn't benefit from these suggestions? I am a bit skeptical about these breed specific foods. Are dogs really that different to require special breed specific diets? (aprt from dogs with medical conditions of course) I'm a bit skeptical about that sort of "specialised" food too. I remember when Panadol came out with "different" types of pain medication that was supposed to "target" back, period pain, headaches etc in each different box. They were different prices too, but when you look at the back of the box, what is the only ingredient in the pain medication? Paracetamol Some people are gullible/naive about those sorts of things and there's no doubt an industry out there who will milk that for all it's worth to make a buck.That being said, I can't really say much about the range of dog food that caters to specific breeds, I guess because they haven't released a "Swedish Vallhund" variety :p

Thanks for the warning, I was thinking about buying some training treats from them but I definitely want my treats to be smaller than a five cent piece!

Oh thank God! I was horrified so many people were telling you to rehome Harper! I knew he'd settle down when he was ready A lot of puppies go through a crying stage but it doesn't mean it will last their whole lives, so I'm so glad you get to keep your best friend :D