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Dante has had this appearance for a while, went on anti-biotics because the Vets felt it was a secondary skin infection as he has allergies. Sometimes it's not so noticeable and at other times it's really noticeable. The skin in those spots turns scabby and then the scab can come off with the hair and we end up with bald patches. They seem to be pustuals. He does have the odd random patch of these on other parts of his body by his neck is the worst. He doesn't seem to itch them but doesn't appreciate me poking around with them. Tried all sorts on it and can't seem to budge it. I read about a condition in Dalmatians called Bronzed neck or something like that and I wondered if this was similar? The condition seems common in Harlequin Great Danes, Breeders feel it is a fungal thing brought on by humidity, however Dante has flared up during the recent cold weather we're having in Sydney, Malaseb and Pyohex isn't working, neither is Listerine or White Vinegar. We've tried a whole range of miracle cures for skin problems and haven't found one yet. He's currently on an anti-inflam. dose of cortisone and has been for about 4 months.

Yes you can, there are different dossage rates, so just phone your Vet and ask what they are. Unfortunately dogs don't react to them the same as we do, some dogs benefit from them and in others they do nothing for them. It may not be the grass. I'd reccomend popping her off to the Vet for an examination just in-case it's not the grass, it could be yeast or bacteria or fleas even if you can't see them on her and she does get flea preventative.

To me it's fairly normal for a dog who has moved to bark at the new noises in the neighbourhood, mine take about a week or 2 to get used to the noises. I'll usually take them out to see what the noise is about. I ignore small barks, they seem to be the barks of a dog not very confident who looks to you to see what your reaction to the noise is.

That doesn't sound like much fun, there are other methods which some people may be ok with and some may be totally against, I'll put them out there, you can do the research and see what you think. I did know someone whose puppy screamed non-stop in the crate for months and months. With a dog flipping out in a crate, some people will bang the top of the crate in a firm manner. I think though, if your puppy is still being nutty in the crate is there a possiblity you've given it a reason to do so, when they cry, scream etc, you just have to put up with it, totally ignore it, don't rouse at them, telling them to shut up etc, don't go to them, dogs typically only carry on this type of routine when they know they're going to get some form of attention whether it be negative or positive. I'd always say go for a crate, the crate should only be big enough to stand and turn around in, you can put a chew toy in there and a heat pad or one of those special toys with a heat pad and heart beat. Puppy pens I would not reccomend. I personaly reccomend that the crate should be in your bedroom with a cover over at least part of it, over time when the puppy is ok with the crate you can move it inch by inch out of your room if that's what you want.

Am I becoming predictable? Edited to add some words. LOL no more just hoping you would, us mere mortals can only assume with what we've experienced with our dogs so we need you LOL

Erny will probably pop in here to advise. From memory when dogs growl in play such as tug or war it means that the challenge is on. Being around a number of different puppies I know they have all been rather vocal in play. To me as long as the dog isn't snarling and resource guarding, being vocal in play isn't terrible it's all part of who they are....a dog. With Dante whatever we do with him we have to start off with the end result in mind as he's a bit of a terror so that means winning & teaching him something during the play session. Dante was vocal in play as a puppy but not now, he is a death shake the toy kinda dog, where as my girl is very vocal in play, we don't have any issues with her. When the game ends the game ends, so I just drop the toy and walk away.

Just love the whole scare dog owners without any actual facts. Have fed our dogs a diet with Garlic in it for nearly 30 years, never lost any of our dogs young, never had any scary health problems.

I'm sorry if I come across more blunt than others, I hope you see my good meaning behind it. It's not about trying, it's about taking them out. If they are being destructive then you need to get up in the morning earlier and take them for a walk to calm their minds, then again in the evening. The majority of us here all work but we get out of bed or give up TV/Computer time to attend to our dogs needs. The walk needs to be the right amount dependent on their age and fitness level. Would you be comfortable sleeping on those rocks? It's really not appropriate for a dogs sleeping area, just walking on it would not be comfortable. Have you considered concreting their kennel area? Be consistent with the dogs, they either sleep inside or they sleep outside. My opinion is that packs sleep together, so if you don't like them shedding all over the place you could consider A) Looking into a more high quality kibble B) Grooming them daily C) Getting them Hydro bathed D) Get crates for both of them for sleeping inside at night. We're about to hit winter, is their outside area suitable for Winter? Bedding generally won't be destroyed if the dogs are getting enough physical and mental stimulation. Understand what mental stimulation is, it's obedience training, scent games, games and training that makes them think. I wouldn't be supply them with a whole heap of toys, it's like giving kids 100 toys, they'll pick out their favourites and leave the rest. I would more reccomend giving them 2-4 toys a day and then rotate the toys so these become special and interesting. Give them something to do for when they're awake in the day, a sandpit (teach them how to dig and play in it), a paddling pool, Kong & Treat balls, frozen treats, granted the dogs won't fight over food. Good Luck.

Just buy the book. We applied the methods to all the foster dogs, worked well on them.

We give an Inner Health Tablet daily. Have found some dogs get loose stools on them so we don't give it to those dogs. Inner Health is bloody expensive though.

Dante does it after every meal, always has done. He looks to be rubbing his jowls not his eyes though.

Peter Schofield - Canine Muscle Manipulation in Berkshire Park - 0411 353 130 Not a massage, but no bone crunching either, I think the guy is brilliant, very gentle, dogs love him and he gets the job done.

I'm drawn to: Has the dog never had a bad experience with another dog or it has had experiences but not bad enough in your opinion to cause aggression? The smallest thing can set it off. My puppy was yelled at by 2 dogs at a show, pounced on by another dog when he was in a drop position and a strange dog stole his treat at a dog show.....no attack happened but he's not 100% confident around other dogs now.

persephone, I think they give different types of vaccinations these days where you have to wait 16-18 weeks. I had Dante out and about early on, took the risk, but didn't go to dog parks etc.

CONGRATS! You must post some photos! mmm it's not what I would feed my dog, if you're on a budget Optimum is better. Generally with puppies you soak their kibble in some water and add a handful of mince. Hopefully a Staffy person will pop into this thread to advise what is the best diet for a growing Staffy. You did the right thing. Him crying is normal. It may last a week but it will last longer if you give in. Puppy will need to toilet once or twice during the night so make sure you take him out. Crating a puppy is a great way to toilet train them and keep them in a safe environment, many people keep the crate in their room so the new puppy can see them. Dogs jump to get at eye level, a normal canine behaviour, just one we don't like. I wouldn't tell your daughter to push the dog off as this can be a game to the dog. I suggest you have your dog tethered (lead attached and connected to you or a hook in the wall or piece of furniture) when your daughter is around and praise the dog for calm behaviour. As an adult we turn our backs on dogs who jump, although I think this would be difficult for a toddler to grasp the concept of and I don't think they should be put in that position, as the adult and the leader you need to be the one controlling the sitution. You can give a gruff growl to the puppy when it jumps as well although I just don't think the puppy should be given the opportunity to jump at your daughter. Puppy pre-school is something that is highly reccomended, I hope you can attend one and then carry it on with general dog obedience classes.

LOL Puppies are fun aren't they. Anyone who has had a nippy puppy will tell you that you need to get this under control now otherwise you could end up with a 12 monthd old nipper....not fun at all. There are many different methods to try and prevent nipping, some work on some dogs and not on others, it's a bit of trial and error. You said: I don't have to remind you that she's a puppy not a child, so just one word is all you should be using, not a whole sentence, the dog has no ideal what you're going on about. As a reminder, any repremand needs to be followed up with praise as soon as the puppy is doing what it is meant to be doing....i.e. not biting you. Here's some different methods, some people will agree with these and some people won't, I started out with the soft methods on my own puppy but ended up having to be rather firm when he didn't comply.: 1) In a basey voice give a GROWL when she nips you, men are much better at this than woman, if you're a lady, you'll need to practice, it'll probably hurt your throat. 2) Yelp like she really hurt you even if she didn't and then ignore the puppy until such a time you can give praise. 3) Walk away and shut yourself in another room for a minute....granted the puppy won't chase after you and bite you......you've probably already learned that running away can make it worse. When you renter the room, ignore the puppy until such a time you can give praise. 4) Firmly grab the muzzle and GROWL (you don't want to hurt puppy though, so be careful here). 5) Wrap the dogs jowels/lips over its' own teeth so it's effectively biting itself and Growl. - Short not long and drawn out otherwise you'll just have the puppy fighting with you. 6) Put the puppy outside for 2 minute time out, don't say anything, just excourt the puppy outside and shut the door, you may end up doing this 100 times a day, when you let the puppy back in, ignore the puppy until such a time you can give it praise. 7) Re-direct the puppy to a toy and then praise....you're stuffed if you don't have a toy handy. 8) Get yourself a water pistol and squirt the puppy when it bites, be careful though, if the puppy actually sees the water pistol it'll only behave when the water pistol is present. If your Puppy like the water, put some Apply Cider Vinegar in it. 9) Spray yourself with yucky tasting spray you can get from the Vet or Petstore. 10) Completely ignore the puppy for 24 hours, no talking, no touching, no walks, just feed & water it, then after the 24 hours implement the Nothing in life is free (NILIF) method as well as the Triangle of Temptation (TOT). 11) Ask the dog for a command if it knows one such as sit and be ready to give praise of a treat, you may need to carry a bum-bag around with you to dispense the treats. Be careful with this one, you don't want to end up rewarding the puppy for biting, so much sure you ask for a command and then give the treat, don't just lure the dog into a sit. When the above fails you need to step up the level of dicipline, it is advised that you speak to a qualifed trainer or behaviourist in this regard as you don't want to over step the mark in regards to the dicipline. Your breed is an active one that requires plenty of mental & physical stimulation, if you didn't get your dog from a Breeder, give the Koolie Rescue a buzz and ask for their advice in regards to how much exercse you can give your puppy.

Dante does it when you give him a treat he hasn't had before and Leila does it after a poo with a zoomie thrown in for good measure.

i put Bonnie in the came class as Pal and Chum That's a bit harsh. If you look at the side panel and so-forth you'll see that there is a difference. I wouldn't call them prem. Kibble but they're not junk food like Pal & Chum etc.

If you're purchasing a Kibble especially for Giant breeds then the protein ratio is suited to the Giant Breed. For my Great Dane puppy we started on Eukanuba, we found that it heated him up too much as some prem. brand kibbles can do, he also wasn't getting quite enough calicum during teething and his pasterns started to slope quite badly. We switched to Eagle Pack, this grows Giant Breeds very slowly, we didn't actually go through the ugly period where they are all leggy and weird looking and only went bum high for about a week and his pasterns came right in about a month. We always put a bit of water in the bowl and a handful of mince and made a gravy which we'd mix the kibble through. At 10 months (At the end of the major growth period) we switched foods again as he was having allergy issues.

It's not unusual for a puppy to do this, sometimes it can take a couple of months for them to ease into a new environment. Most importantly don't give in and give the puppy something different so it will eat, don't hand feed it etc. If it hasn't eaten everything in the bowl in 15 minutes, take the bowl away, the dog won't starve. Some people are really into the whole dog eats last thing, it's up to you. You can always eat a biscuit infront of the dog before giving the dog its' meal if you want to.

Sounds to me like he probably just came across a rat or a mouse or a possum, some small creature and he as the impression that it's still somewhere around. They probably would be best off totally ignoring the behaviour because if they react to it, the dog is getting a reward for doing it and will continue to do it. If anything, would probably chuck the dog on some type of calmer such as rescue remedy to take the edge off.

The crusty spots sound like what Dante gets from time to time, Vets call them a secondary skin infection from an allergy. It's believed it's Fungi and I put White Vinegar on it as Malaseb doesn't work for us Dante is on high quality kibble, we have changed foods to try it out, but it's not the food as far as we can see, we have also supplemented with Zinc without success.

I personaly feel the only harsh thing about Jan Fennels methods are that it can be emotionaly harsh on the owner who is used to giving free attention out all the time. The simple act of ignoring a dog is next to impossible for some people. I think her methods are fine, tried them with a number of foster dogs without any issues.

It's unlikely another dog would fix the situation. Seperation Aniexty is usually pegged to Leadership issues and so the dog is focussed on you not another dog. It is thought: The dog sees itself as a Leader, when you leave the home it becomes stressed because it doesn't know where you're going, what's going on, when you'll be back etc etc. Liken it to the sitution of having your 2 year old child walk out the front door and you can't go after it. I would reccomend the Jan Fennel method, pretty much ignore your dog for a period of 24 hours (you still feed it but say nothing), after this 24 hours you call the dog to you, if the dog comes immediately you calmly give short praise and go on about your day. If the dog does not come immediately you ignore the dog for another 24 hours and repeat the above process. Granted the dog came to you immediately you can cease ignoring the dog, however no free pats or attention to the dog at all. If the dog wants something it must work for it, you ask it for a sit or a drop etc etc. If it start presenting you with that behaviour i.e. it approaches you and sits before you ask for it, then you up the ante on the behaviour you want. In the meantime whilst you're working this out, can the dog stay with a family or friend, or perhaps go to doggy day care or go to work with you? Find an accredited Behaviourist from NDTF in Sydney and book in an appointment ;) Good Luck

Taurine has been a present element in cat food due to its vital properties and just recently pet food manufacturers have been implementing Taurine into dog foods also realizing that this A.A. can be very beneficial to dogs as well as cats.