sas

I have a kennel here he could stay in whilst alternative options are found but he'd have to stay outside in the day pen as I have a dominant male.

Probably just call your Vet and ask in regards to what you have in the house. We have been told Nurofen is ok by a previous vet.

I've had a coffee cup whacked into my front teeth by a Dane...was chipped. I've had a Blood nose from a Dane when teaching him to sit close for obedience work where I would spit food to him - he thought I was spitting food when I was simply bending forward and we collided. I've had a Dane unexpectantly take off after cats in a front yard on a walk and I went flying into a colour bond fence and badly sprained my fingers. This is my favourite, this is my OH who got a tooth puncture wound to the eyebrow when playing with a Dane on his hands and knees and turned his head at the wrong moment...

Used to, made the dog worse, used it for 8 weeks.

The curt "seek the help of a behaviourist" is usually given when dog aggression is the problem. It can be very dangerous to try to solve an aggression problem by taking advice from people on a public forum. That's just a cop out half the time as aggression is not always a poor or unpredictable behaviour or a problem with the dog's temperament or character at all. Aggression is often only a behaviour deemed a serious issue on the basis of socitey protocol. People often buy a GSD or working breed for their protective instinct and good examples of these breeds should have the genetics for territorial aggression in the back yard and most like to think if someone came over the back fence the dog will defend it's property and a good dog will. Take the same dog out in the street, he/she doesn't know where the fence line ends, sees the bloke across the road and fires up on the end of the leash, then automatically the dog has an aggression issue and needs a behaviourist which is nonesense. The dog needs to learn when to aggress and when not to which can be easily achieved by competent training. With breed experience and providing the owner can describe particular behaviours and reactions, you can easily provide a training guide or something to try and from a danger perspective, you can always use a muzzle in the process to keep everything safe. This standard answer to get a behaviourist does more harm than good half the time. There would be more experienced people here if dog owners did regularly discuss their problems openly who would have better practical solutions than half the behaviourists all put together IMHO. I have seen so many behaviourists assess the same dog and all have a different answer and approach anyway How in earth is that a cop out. Someone coming to a public forum to ask for help on aggression does not have the skill to deal with it themselves and nor do the majority of people on a forum. An experienced Behaviourist should be sought to help them. Whether or not aggression in canines is 'normal' is irrelevant because we have dogs live in domestication and aggression within the family is not accepted. However, you're more than welcome to say "Canine Aggression is normal" when a dog bites a child or nearly kills a dog it lives with. You can also be the liable one when your huge amount of breed experience stops someone from contacting a professional and the dog goes on to do more damage.

We usually run on 2 resident Great Dane and 1 foster dog that can be of any breed. Walking: My partner will usually take the 2 Danes out together and I'll take the foster dog. I have walked them seperately before however it's better time wise to go out together where possible. Play: Individual play time, put other dogs away so we can have one on one. Training: As per above. Even the 10 year old gets a training session - not because she needs to learn but I believe training sessions keep the mind active and more balanced. Vet Bills: 2 Resident dogs have Insurance, 1 of those dogs is at the Vets alot which one of his conditions isn't covered by Insurance. I guess to me, if you need to be able to afford to Vet care the dogs you have, you shouldn't add dogs to your family if you can't afford it. Food: 2 resident dogs on BARF which costs about $240.00 every 3-4 weeks. Foster dogs are usually fed kibble as this is usually what new owners will feed. Bedding: Snooza Dane sized beds, they're around $200 each and those are for the lounge, in the bedroom we have a human futon matress on the floor, scattered Snooza futon beds around and one Dane Size crate.

I so agree!

Dante would be Ozzie Osbourne - a wee bit mentally challenged. Leila would be Lady Gaga - nutty in a good way but a sense of zen as well.

I've let my dog tell of another dog for humping it - I wouldn't accept my dog humping another dog. I've been at a dog park where an entire staffy ran around humping everything which the owner thought was funny - we asked him to keep his dog away from ours as it wasn't funny and was not allowing our dog to enjoy its time. All it takes is the humping dog to hump the wrong dog and it's all on. I think you handled the situation fine.

I'm so sorry to hear about your Foxie. It's not 'just' a fight though when such damage is caused that one dog needs serious medical treatment and may die. Time for a Behaviourist I think if you want to have the dogs living together if the Foxie pulls through.

Thanks SAS, but we are not first time dog owners....have had dogs all our lives. Yes, we have read up on crate training, I have contacted the breeder but as yet no reply and have a vet appointment next week. I fully understand how the puppy feels about leaving his mum and littermates. As I said, we have been ignoring. Ignoring is not the problem, it is simply not working. We have also not been looking at him or interacting, but when pooh needs to be cleaned up you have to move the dog away from it and do what is necessary. I am trying to move him away from me little by little and as I said, praising him in the rare moments he's quiet, but it's still necessary to leave the house to buy dog food etc. He and I are the only ones home during the day. I take him outside for regular toilet breaks and a bit of play, but I am concerned the yapping, howling etc. is going to turn into a neighbour issue soon. My question was really about whether this could be separation anxiety and is that the reason he won't let me out of his sight without getting distressed. I will look into the DAP spray. You may not be first time owners but you are struggling with a very basic and common situation - if you read what I typed you'd understand that I was trying to help you understand how your puppy is feeling so you better know how to deal with it.

Separation anxiety is a long term fix, with or without the help of anxiety relieving products. Yeah I understand that, every foster dog we have ever taken has seperation anxiety to start with, it's a normal thing for us to deal with, I was simply giving feedback on the Dap in this situation - I wasn't expecting it be a success however some others have had success with it with seperation anxiety. It's not neccessarily a long term fix, given boundaries and treated accordingly they can get through it fairly quickly, others can take longer.

Ok, new foster in today who does not like to be seperated from her humans.... Rescue Remedy - Fail De-Stress Drops - Fail DAP on Bandana - Fail DAP plug in - Fail DAP spray in room - Fail That's just the first day, so we'll see how it goes.

Some do.....some don't.

http://stores.ebay.com.au/Dog-Food-2-U

I did have the DAP defuser plugged in for a foster but the unit heated up so much that it concerned me and I unplugged it.

Lot's of dog lovers aren't responsible for saving animals lives....

No.....it's because he's an idiot

Yep, used on a Dane foster with general anxiety - liked it alot, I have lent it to a friend who has a dog with anxiety as well and it seems to assist.

I'd say that is your main problem. You're assuming she shoudl know what to do. She doesn't, you need to show her and you need to be there the moment she starts to toilet. Straight after waking, playing and eating, take the puppy to the toileting pad and give your toileting command and keep the puppy on the pad but not in an intimidating way.....then wait.

I have it in my foster dog cupboard but haven't used it yet, I'll let you know this weekend. I also have the DAP stray to test out too.

Good girl Delta, we're so proud of you!

Sounds like very bark worthy stimuli!

Some dogs are natural retrievers and some are not. You could train the dog to do it, if it is that important to you.

Consider that he may have not been whelped and kept in a very clean area and was forced to toilet where he ate and slept like Petshop dogs - they are a continual struggle to toilet train.