Cosmolo

Do you want the dog not to follow the child? Or just not to try to take the food?

My dog has been diagnosed with both hip and elbow dysplasia an we opted not to have surgery after research and talking to different specialists. Dexter has been doing underwater treadmill/ physio/ swimming as well as having ester c tablets, cartrophen injections, glucosamine and fish oil tablets and has had 2-3 sore days in the last 2 1/2 months. We do restrict his exercise a little but he still does most of the puppy things he wants to. He is currently 10 months old. ETA we were warned about the elbow dysplasia though and told that if it gets worse it can be very problematic. Thankfully his limp went away quickly after starting physio/ hydro therapy. I really feel for you- i know its just a horrible thing to go through.

Group classes are often not suitable for highly reactive dogs- depending on the class. Ideally you would look into one on one training straight away but if thats not possible, i would avoid situations where the dog practices the behaviour until you can get professional help.

As long as you don't keep the pup awake when they're exhausted, i don't think it would be a problem to take yor pup in for a visit. Would be good from a socilisation point of view- just need to make sure he is not crowded by too many people all at the one time. Enjoy your puppy!!

There is a difference between a veterinary behaviour specialist and a qualified trainer/ behaviourist- i assume your vet is referring to a veterinary behaviour specialist? Veterinary behaviourists can dispense medication to assist in behaviour modification (trainers/ behaiourists can not) and every client i have seen who has been to a veterinary specialist has been described some kind of medication. There are some cases where a vet behaviour specialist will diagnose and then refer on to a trainer for the practical side of things. Depending on the problem and dog in question- a qualified and experienced trainer (experienced with the issue you are experiencing, not just obedience) can be just as good as a veterinary behaviour specialist and the fees are usually less expensive. ETA- just read your last post. A veterinary behaviour specialist can do the testing themselves (as they are a vet), it is possible for a good behaviour specialist to request that testing be done if so required. May i ask what leads you to think there is a chemical imbalance at play?

Congrats on your new pup! Do you have photos? We run puppy schools that allow dogs up until 16 weeks. Its important that you make sure your puppy school is well run, preferably by a qualified trainer who has experience with young dogs and is open to a range of techniques depending on the puppy. It should not be a puppy free for all and controlled play is an absolute must! If you are new to dog ownership, a one on one session can also be very beneficial to run you through any teething problems and answer any questions without the distraction of the group class. With regards to food, i feed a raw diet to my dogs but this does take some preparation. I'm sure someone else will come along and recommend some dry foods for you

Whats considered too bad though? Do you have to wait until there is serious damage and then try to rehome? If the dogs do serious damage to each other- will the home thats lined up still take one of them? In my experience, i do find that an objective 3rd party can sometimes convince the stubborn that things need o be done a little differently.

Your instructor should be able to assist with this during the puppy school. While training and socialisation is great- it is no good if the puppy is practicing the unwanted behaviour the whole time! Did you have high value treats with you at puppy school?

Kathy is excellent and could recommend someone if she wasn't able to help

My advice would be to seek out a reputable private trainer or puppy class who can show you how to properly implement a correction. No probs Willow- i didn't mean it as having a go, just wanted to present a different point of view. Agree that the owner walking away will not damage the pup- but may damage the owner- or their clothes as the puppy chases them! While there are plenty of people who can't apply a correction with perfect timing- there are also many who- when instructed properly- can be very close to spot on

Willow i have to disagree that the theory only applies to a water spray- any correction INCLUDING a time out can have fallout if not timed appropriately and if the dog can't connect the correction to the behaviour. But if it is well timed and executed, there is absolutely no reason why a puppy would become fearful of the person. The few times a water spray (for example) is used is not the only input into the puppy from that person- the training, attention, food and socialisation maintains the bond and relationship. For a correction to be effective it needs to be - well timed - at an appropriate level for the puppy involved - be of an appropiate type for the puppy involved - be balanced with positive reward when the pup gets it right - be followed by assistance with regards to alternate behaviours- eg sit to get attention, grab a toy when you want to bite etc The dog needs to be taught what the correction is for, how to respond to the correction and how to avoid it with different behaviours. Mouthing can in some dogs lead to biting and i have seen adult dogs with aggression/ biting issues that have developed over time as a result of mouthing being ignored or the owner hoping the dog will 'grow out of it'. If you have a pup who goes into drive when mouthing, be aware that they get chemical rewards in their brain at that point so simply ignoring them or redirecting them will often not work. I see this most often in the gundog and herding breeds.

poochmad- "whats another couple of weeks"- the end of a dogs critical period for socialisation

Thats terrible She looks so sweet..

I just use a release word- never a stay command for my guys. And they have excellent reliable stays

Try Woofpurnay with Julia Kinghorn- she would run a very good puppy school.

I will see if i can find a link with the info and post for you spotty And to the OP- there are many people who could provide you with examples where not desexing the dog created issues so its about awareness and doing whats right for your pup and situation. I have never heard of early desexing increasing the likelihood of fear based behavioural issues though

Having spoken to a specialist recently re hip dysplasia- it is true that if HD is detected before 5 mths that they can resolve it much more easily than waiting. There are many dogs desexed early who have no problems so i wouldn't beat yourself up about it.

KK- there is no way to know or be sure without seeing the dog and the training. :D Someone over the internet saying yes would be nothing more than a guess.

Impossible to say with any certainty without seeing how she is using and training with the e collar. It can be done but there are lots of training variables and it needs to be done properly.

Please don't expect your puppy to grow out of it as there are many dogs who don't. I like to teach puppies that they are never allowed to put their mouth around a person so will correct the mouthing. You need to find what works best for your puppy- anything from a verbal correction, time out, scruffing, water spray, loud noise etc can be used to correct the mouthing but you need to be clear, consistent and have good timing. Are you going to puppy school? It is always better if someone can show you what to do and determine what works best for your dog- the type of correction, level of correction and timing of the correction are vital in determining whether it will be effective and varies from puppy to puppy. You then need to provide high value rewards for not mouthing- teaching some basic obedience (sit etc) can help the puppy to understand what alternative behaviours to try. Make sure you have plenty of chew toys and encourage the puppy to chew these- while you can redirect from mouthing to a toy, i generally correct the mouthing first, wait 30 seconds or so and then provide a toy to engage in a game. Thw time delay is important so the dog doesn't perceive the toy as a reward for mouthing.

We work in the eastern suburbs As does Erny

If they want to call us, i'm happy to give them some general pointers over the phone?

One thing that would concern me is the long recovery time from Molly- the fact that she is hiding in her kennel for hours at a time is not a promising sign. I would set up lots of interactions with both dogs on leads so that Logan can be abruptly stopped from pushing Molly around AND so that Molly learns that her owners will not allow Logan to bully her and will 'protect her' as such. Logan should only be rewarded when he is not being pushy. Its not about the owners supporting or trying to choose their own hierarchy- but about leadership showing both dogs what the rules are when the owner/ leader is present. Is there any way they can set up a camera to see how the dogs are interacting when they are not present? I assume they are in NSW? Otherwise i would offer to go and have a look!

Whereabouts in the western suburbs are you? We run puppy school at Sth Melbourne- not sure if this would be too far? You are welcome to come along and look at the current class to give you an idea about what we cover- its quite in depth in comparison to other puppy schools and the puppy play is heavily supervised with lots of instruction about dog body language and if, when and how to intervene! Alternately i would contact Four Paws K9 Training and find out the locations of puppy classes run by them. :D

Agree with the sentiments of the others- does the dog still have ringworm clareL? Its definitely something that you need to get on top of straight away and one on one training would be more beneficial than a group class given the situation and problem at hand.