BCNut

Did you introduce the kong slowly, as in make it really easy, successful and rewarding to start with? If the food inside isn't tasty enough or too difficult to get out pup can get frustrated and give up. I 'invested' in 7 kongs for my BC pup. He is the most anti food dog I have ever witnessed. When I go out I get his daily food amount and distribute it amongst them all leaving one with something more 'treaty' in one. They're always cleaned out when I get back. Wobblers are also awesome - feeding one piece of kibble at a time. And buster cubes, same deal. It is an expensive initial capital outlay but you will end up with a much calmer and entertained dog. I don't think she peed near you for the sake of spite. I believe dogs cant comprehend spite - its a human emotion. Its well documented in the literature that toilet training can deteriorate during adolesence (along with other things). I know I have returned to basics and foundation in some areas with my previously well trained dog. Luckily toilet training is not one of them, that must be frustrating. But all this certainly just sounds like teen spirit. Keep her occupied, interested and train through it you should get your perfect adult dog on the other side :) Edit: link to kong video

Thanks Tassie i'll check it out :)

You can always try pawpaw on it which wouldn't hurt. Calv had a lesion similar in between his eyes of all places - red, scabby and hair was thinning out around it. Not particularly itchy but every now and then he'd have a go at it. It looked to me like eczema. The vet said it was probably dermatitis or an insect bite that he hadn't left alone enough to properly heal. The treatment options were to either try pawpaw or go straight to a steroid/antibiotic/antiinflammatory medicated cream. I went the cream and it cleared it within 2 days and hair has thickened back up. If these home remedies don't work maybe take Cookie in to the vet?

Yes I'm just hoping they have actually been scored. The rest of the papers were all there. Thanks for the opinions and recommendations.

Hi all I wanted to bump this again as there has been some developments and wanted to get opinion; and if nothing else raise awareness of the potential problems caused by over exercise as this topic has been getting more discussion of late. Calvin went in for a vet checkup day before last on a completely unrelated matter where he was found to be quite tender in the hips on palpation. I explained to the vet how extensive his exercise regime had been at one stage - and it is clear now that I completely misinterpreted what she had recommended in terms of exercise. Vet believed his discomfort is probably being caused by this period of over activity. However this overactivity was eliminated completely about 4 weeks ago. We explored other historical and environmental factors and determined Calvin has not been and is not currently exposed to any other risks with regard to his hips. He is otherwise asymptomatic. I have emailed his breeder just now requesting hip and elbow scores for his parents as I do not have them, and am unsure if they have ever been obtained - in order to rule out a genetic predisposition. Calvin is now to be rested for 6 weeks and vet also instructed me to recommence jointguard immediately which I have. Currently the most strenous exercise he gets is a few ~10 minute fetch sessions a week with no jumping. The rest is just trotting around the block on grass. As mentioned earlier there has been no forced exercise for 4 weeks. Vet advised to continue at this level of exercise for now. I am considering seeing another vet for 2nd opinion. Not because I disagree in anyway with vet's assessment and management plan, but simply because I want the best for him and want him to grow up happy and healthy and rule out any serious health problems. I would be interested to see other's opinions and perhaps what they would do if faced with the same/similar situation. Thanks in advance

Bob-a-lot/kong wobbler/buster cube type things. They feed 1 piece of kibble at a time :) Cardboard bit of toilet rolls or glad wrap rolls with peanut butter in them. Tissue boxes with a couple of treats in (this can get messy). If you cant find your kong when you get home she may have buried it if theres still food inside. Calvin has done this twice before

+1. Look at the dog and its owner to start with. We shouldn't need our dogs to defend us anymore; they should be socialised to the point where they are safe and feel safe around all populations in the community. Unfortunately not all populations have good intentions but it's not up to our dogs to pick up the slack for that - they're our best mates and companions not our personal bodyguards. Yes, it would be hard. It would be unreasonable to expect every police resource to carry a catch pole. Sorry but thats lunacy...they already struggle to house the tools and devices they currently have that might actually make a difference - flakjackets for example.

Hi Niki I just asked a very similar (if not the same) question over on the puppy forum recently about my BC pup. http://www.dolforums.com.au/topic/239745-how-much-do-you-exercise-your-bc-pup/ Hopefully you can pick up some extra info there too. I have found that mental exercise is just as effective (if not more effective) at tiring them out. But as far as physical exercise goes, what has already been said; consider the surface you're on, avoid jumping and 'forced' exercise.

Agree with all the above, don't be worried if he was having a rough time at the vet. Strange place, people etc. Calvin (also a BC) was quite reserved at that age too - he would have days where he was confident and happy go lucky and others where he was quite uncertain of some things. Keep socialising him in a controlled manner and show him the things that make him uneasy will bring no harm. Little bits at a time and it wont be long before he's a social savvy confident young man. As the puppy calender already linked in here says, fears continue for a while; Calvin has a phobia of gym balls at the moment of all things! Just work through it with plenty of distance, touching the object can sometimes make things more comfortable. When he was about that 4mth age, Calvin was frightened of metal grates, so I would pat them with my hand and run up and down on them having a great time and soon he joined in :) Now he's obsessed with standing on them and trying to squeeze his nose through them to see whats under I found this video useful too: Hope this helps!

There's a trainer that blogs on DogStarDaily that does something fairly similar I think, Drayton Michaels: http://www.dogstardaily.com/blogger/992 If you go back through his stuff (theres a few pages) theres a few studies on reactivity in some pitbulls which yielded good results, these were filmed and put on youtube. I tried a bit of counterconditioning, not for reactivity but for keeping focus on me in distracting environments and found it very effective :) Not sure if this is exactly the same methodology but similar and interesting nonetheless :) Whats the name of the author of your book?

Yeah i'm totally against cheap crap - it always dies a miserable death before long Good to hear it will last when I do eventually part with the dough :) Maybe I could rent Calvin out aswell to make it a bit more cost neutral

:laugh: Thanks, i'll put the slicker away. Thats an expensive brush. I wish I could get one at 1984 prices! I might have to invest when I get off my backside and get my tax happening :laugh: Yes, thanks, I googled greyhound combs - they look a lot sturdier and easier to work with than the plastic piece of crap i've got here, will keep an eye out for one. I'm going to have a look at some conditioners too! Thanks again!

Hi all Was wondering if anyone else has managed to fix this before? Have a 7 & 1/2mth old BC who's parents were medium length coat, and it seems as soon as I have finished brushing him, these matty/dreadlocky bits pop up again behind his ears! I currently use a long tooth brush to go over him first to get all the matts/tangles out, then a 2 sided brush (pin brush I think?), and finish with a slicker. I do this once or twice a week and washing with aloveen is monthly or bimonthly. Thanks for any help!

Thanks again!

I've taken my BC to the Scholars Basics course and thought it was great, just enrolled in a 2nd course - 'Meeting Manners'. Would highly recommend Alexis. If you think there is too much focus on food in Delta, just remember you need to work a method to phase it out!

Thanks!!

Has anyone else been having trouble getting on the agility SA website? I haven't been able to get on for almost a week now, with an error message saying the website has exceeded bandwidth quota. Maybe they don't even know this is happening Cheers

My BC pup is only young but will have a play first thing in the morning and after breakfast. Then snooze over lunchtime into the mid-late arvo when its playtime again before dinner. After dinner more snoozing until evening play at 8:30ish. After that he's out cold for the night :)

Avoid drippers

This. I'm personally working through some issues I had around mealtime with my pup. I would return to where he is eats and encourage him to eat more if he wasn't; this turned mealtime into an attention seeking fiasco 'if I dont eat, daddy will come and we play a silly game'. So put the food down, wait 10-15 minutes and if its not eaten in that time, too bad, just calmly chuck it out and move on. Dogs wont starve themselves. As for the content of the food, I made another mistake here by changing what was in the bowl if he didn't eat it the first go. This trained me marvellously to go to great lengths to provide all sorts of variety which ended up being a major rigmarole. So avoid doing this...they get what they're given. But I also agree that you should (in due course - and when you make the change, stick to it, to avoid the above scenario) reconsider what you are feeding - mine loves the BlackHawk kibble - it actually smells like a lamb dinner instead of chemicals. 6 wks is way too young to be leaving the litter; such a crucial development age IMO. Anyhoo just a little piece of advice so you dont make the same mistakes i did :laugh:

Great story......good dog :) Is this Roger's story or has he reposted it also?

Yes. It's for this very reason that puppyhood presents a prime opportunity to teach this important skill

Holistic by definition means entire and complete I think. So yeah I guess it means no further supplementation etc required. Speaking of holistic foods...recently switched to BH...does anyone know what 'lamb meal' actually means? As in the meal part? Sorry to hijack the thread.

I would agree with what others are saying; Luna is your pup and you should take charge of what you deem apporpriate behaviours/interactions for her as this time now will dictate how she behaves for the rest of her life. I'd just like to point out that this does provide an opportunity for Luna to practice her bite inhibition - this is very important for any pup, especially a staffy with a strong jaw. If you don't this kind of activity to take place whatsoever, thats fine of course but i'm just saying its not the end of the world either if you use it as a training opportuntiy. I find the current amount of dog owners with nil knowledge of bite inhibition alarming, especially after my pup had a chunk of fluff ripped out at the dog park last week. http://www.dogstardaily.com/training/teaching-bite-inhibition Would love to see a pic too!

I think all dogs have scuffles at the park, its part of growing up, like we did at school etc. The important part is paying close attention (especially in their early months/years) and being able to intervene in order to prevent too traumatic an event occuring. That doesn't mean picking up your pup and coddling him...just get inbetween the scuffle, move the dogs apart and walk over to a different dog/group of dogs - have a breather. You can't expect your dog to get along with everyone. Because dog parks are riddled with clueless owners, and dogs with all sorts of backgrounds you really do need to be vigilant and watchful there - at least until you're 100% confident of how your dog reacts in a variety of situations. Don't go there to read the paper Go there to watch your dog have a ball hanging out with his mates and yourself talk dog with like minded people...I personally think its a great way to spend an hour or two :D