Salukifan

The other great way to entertain a recuperating dog is to take them for a drive in the car if they like that. All mine do.

I'm not going to get into the discussion up front of where puppy should sleep. That's for you to determine. However, you should determine where you want puppy to sleep as an adult and start there on Day 1. All howling and panicking must be ignored. If you're going to a howling pup you're reinforcing that howling works. If that means riding out however many days of noise then you have no choice but to harden up and do it. Otherwise you are making a rod for your back. As to where puppy should sleep? It's a social animal that until the day it arrived at your place, never slept alone. You bought a breed selectively bred for generations for people focus and companionship. It's also pretty determined - you need that in a good retriever. You've gotten precisely the reaction I'd expect. Laundries are cold sterile places. VERY cold in winter. So sit down with the family, determine where you want your ADULT dog to sleep and move the crate there is that is what you want her to sleep in. Then weather the storm. You can reinforce the crate by putting her in there for short periods of time durng the day and leaving her alone. Give her a nice chicken wing or something to occupy her. She needs to learn about down time and being by herself. Cover the crate with a sheet (and in winter a blanket) to make it more den like. I suggest all treats be fed in the crate and a nice big soft cuddly toy be added - it will give her something to snuggle into. And buy some ear plugs if you must. And get working on loose lead walking - that determined attitude will see 25+ Kilos of dog wrecking your shoulder if you don't get that going now. NO PULLING ON THE LEAD. Ever.

Take the collar off. Only put it back on if she chews the leg. Is she actually showing any signs she WANTS to chew the leg? That level of restriction seems like overkill to me. Talk to your vet about allowing her room rest (confined to room, not pen) and outside on leash. If she were a person, the physios would be insisting on more exercise than than in three weeks Oh and if your vet won't give you sedation because they "don't think its necessary" then perhaps its time to shop for another vet. Must have been one hell of a surgery. My dog came home without plaster.

I'm not sure this Mareema will have any kind of a herd. I can't give advice about LGDs beyond the fact that they will roam and that they are still dogs. I do know that knowledgeable LGD people don't expect pups to cope on their own or to respect boundaries until they are older. If now is not a great time to add a pup to the family then all I can say is do the right thing by you and the pup and don't get it. I wouldn't trust an eight week old pup of ANY breed to stay within ring lock fencing by itself. It would be better off in the run with the Sharpei when you are not at home.

I think the elephant in the room that wasn't articulated in the article or by Franklin's supporters is that the reality of his capture will be that he will have to be euthanaised. I hope folk are ready for that when the time comes that Franklin becomes sick, injured or too old and frail to live rough. This dog has gone feral. If you cannot handle him safely, then there really is only one option in the end. I suspect short of a humane trap, the only way he will be captured is by tranquilser dart.

The "absolute twit" may simply be ignorant of the etiquette for breeding pedigreed dogs. As we all were once. I prefer to educate rather than alienate. If a quick email asking a few questions and explaining how the pedigree system and showing works doesn't do the trick then a polite "I don't have any suitable breeding prospects available" would suffice. We don't have reputations as snobby stuck up aholes for nothing.

Every person who walks their dog off leash along the road will bewail and mourn when said dog ends up under a car. Point out the risk and you'll get a range of excuses as to why this will never happen. And yet, it does. You can't fix stupid. Drives me insane. If they can't keep their dogs away from yours, what chance have they got when you are on the other side of the road. I've already witnessed one dog hit in precisely such circumstances

My general advice would be "not before six months". If you can hold off a little longer, that's great but if a bitch in season would be a major headache, I'd go now.

1. Get his hips checked. A dog that reluctant to sit might well have a good reason for it. 2. Whatever you've been doing isn't working. You need to find another way to approach the issue. The first thing I'd do is go hands off. Luring usually works and I also wonder if technique is the problem. SLOW DOWN THE LURE. You want the dog's head to tilt back, not for him to do gopher impressions to get to it. Put the food just out of reach and back over the dog's head, not raise it higher. You want him to raise his muzzle up and back - that should put put pressure on him to drop his bum. Do not use a cue until the dog can reliably sit when lured. 3. You don't have to be in front of the dog for this. if he can stand beside you, you can lure from there. 4. You basically train a show dog to do something the way you'd train any other dog. Unless he's been corrected for sitting (which is possible), in which case it may take longer - if that is the case, find another place to do it and don't do it with the dog on lead. Point 3 may help.

Better insulation than a drum or a plastic kennel.

Skip: Pass the puppy and food thrown on the ground would be two things I'd be less than happy with.

I would suggest you make "don't pull on the lead" and heel work different exercises. Marking and rewarding the loose lead should help you achieve that without having the dog heeling at your side.

Probably not ideal in terms of location but the Carrum Downs Holiday Park has motel rooms that allow dogs inside. They also have a fenced toileting area for the dogs.

Leah82: I think it helps to see the issue for what it is if you remember that they are not protecting you from anything. They are guarding access TO you. Like you're a bone or a toy. Its possessive behaviour, not protective behaviour. They are big enough to do some serious damage if they bite. I support suggetions for a consult. I'd be starting with NILIF. Cockers were an active working gundog. They need exercise, boundaries and to be treated like a "real" dog, not a lap dog. I'd not be leaving the room. I'd be removing the dog from the room or only allowing the dog restricted access to a mat or crate. I work on the principle that if you're having to change your behaviour rather than your dog's undesirable behaviour you need to rethink. Perhaps its time to draw the boundaries a more distinctly for this dog.

It is exceptionally difficult to train a dog not to follow its instincts and indulge in self rewarding behaviour when you are not around. Stock chasing generally would involve the use of strong aversives to extinguish. Even then it's no sure thing. I don't care how good the training is, with the exception of livestock guardian dogs, no one I know trusts a dogs to their own devices in the country. Spend the money on a decent run. Most are portable. Your dog's live may depend on it. Stock chasers often get shot.

Most people I know living rurally have a house yard with more secure fencing and/or a run. Otherwise the dog live on chains when not working or with their owners and that's not an option I favour. If he gets out (and there's a good chance he will) its likely to be a death sentence for the sheep and him.

Judging by the number of dogs roaming in the local rural subdivisions, a lot of people do. I'd not trust my dogs lives to it.

Yes, they are but outside the OP's budget.

Not for that budget but do recommend, whatever you do, that you don't leave a collar on the pup.

The difference of course is that first group are guilty of lack of research. The second group, on the other hand, are also cursed by lack of predictability in the dogs they bought.

I reckon it's very similar. small to medium affectionate dog loves people, won't do what it's told if you don't train it with some dedication, LOVES FOOD (so ought to be easy to train). Doesn't mind being a lap dog. Usually great with children. Even naughty children. Clearly it's a matter of perspective. I've yet to see a Toy Breed that has the pack drive or the desire to scent to match a Beagle. They are a much larger dog than either a Pug or a CKCS (who are extremely trainable by the way) and neither of those toy breeds has the voice or the escape capacity of the larger dog. To me there's a huge difference between breeds developed for solely for companionship and those developed for pack hunting - and it shows in their behaviour.

Your first problem is that you're chosing the purebred substitutes based on appearance. Many of the dogs chosen are quite different terms of temperament to one or both of the breeds used to crossbreed - and they are often quite different from each other. A Beagle is a very different dog to a Pug or a CKCS. This is part of the problem with intentional crossbreeding - you can end up with VERY different results from what was intended - if the intention was to produce anything other than $$$

I use Valueplus Stable Disinfectant from the rural supplier

Has the vet considered toxoplasmosis? Has the puppy eaten cat poo? All symptoms described fit that diagnosis.

Andis 2 speed Pros. Mine are 6 years old and going strong Both Wahl and Oster need servicing. I find the Wahls run very hot.