Scrappi&Monty

Thought everyone could share any tips or advice for preparing for tomorrow’s festivities. Monty has become quite anxious of storms lately, each time there is one we do some counter conditioning training games and he climbs up for cuddles, but he is obviously still unsure of them. Nothing too bad yet, but I better help while it’s only a little fear, lip licking, yawning, pacing, only settling if he is on me etc. I’ve been thinking about getting an adaptil collar but they’re really quite expensive for only 3-4 weeks effectiveness... So not too sure how the fireworks will go down. If we ever hear “surprise” ones at local events I grab some high value treats and play training games. I was thinking we could leave them inside the house, with their beds, a good long lasting treat to focus on, blinds drawn, lights on & TV playing quite loudly to drown noise? Or would it be best to make sure someone was home with them. We’d only be gone 45 mins most, and he couldn’t possibly escape but I don’t want him to have to get panicked. Scrappi (who is his K9 security blanket) will be with him of course. Would it be best to duck over to the pet shop and get some anxiety stuff? What does everyone think of adaptil & thundershirts? Any other products that are really effective? Thanks for reading this ramble haha

I haven’t watched the video yet, but that reminds me of Dr Noel Fitzpatrick in the UK. He does amazing things, modern medicine is amazing.

I second this! Some DOLers might be able to point you in the right direction in terms of great local trainers who can actually come in and address the issue in person. It’ll save all of your sanities!

You are right here, he needs to learn to happily and calmly walk loose leash regardless of distractions. To train this you have to ensure you are setting him up for success not failure. Also you have to ensure YOU don’t get anxious when seeing other dogs on the street (in anticipation that your dog will go off at them) because YOUR MOOD will rub off on him and he’ll learn to feel the same! I learned this the hard way when first dealing with my dog reactive dog. I have a rescue staffy I got at 6mths old who is Leash reactive when he sees other dogs on a walk. It has been slow, but with counter conditioning, training to walk loose leash etc he has progressed a lot. Other DOLers correct me if I’m wrong, but you need to train this in “steps” as intertwining but separate components. You need to teach him to walk loose leash / heel. Do this first at home in a distraction free environment until he can do it really well at home, then in the backyard, then on a quiet street etc, gradually allowing distractions. Long story short it’s a bit hard for me to explain, some much better trainers on here will hopefully be able to help, but since I’ve been through a similar thing I thought I’d share the resources I’ve found helpful. Here are some great resources: - Grisha Stewart BAT 2.0 book (deals with teaching nice polite walking and teaches the dog to be well adjusted and calm with good decision making skills.) - https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCTzA3s_dO0FCVcdmbW6WEHg - https://m.youtube.com/user/zakgeorge21 Zak George has videos about all sorts of behaviour and training, but he has several about walking on loose leash etc. - https://m.youtube.com/user/kikopup Kikopup also has videos on walking.

I think he’s a cute little mystery mutt like mine! As gillybob said, it doesn’t really matter, he’s cute nonetheless. My Monty is similar, he’s fully grown, and looks like a petite amstaff. He’s only 22kg whereas purebred amstaffs should be a fair bit bigger.

Hi, are you at the Phu Quoc dog race and farm and museum centre?

@Kirislin, apparently they have been used for carting, escort, hunting, and guard dog throughout its history. Similar to other ridgebacks and only 700 registered in Vietnam let alone the world!

I’ve never heard of them either! Here is a wikipedia Page... https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phu_Quoc_Ridgeback

It’s not spam/trolling, it’s just someone who is passionate about dogs, they’re just from Vietnam not Australia. You don’t need to dismiss them just because they are from a different country (with a different culture), a better idea is to educate them and share info to help Vietnam’s attitude towards dogs shift to a more modern and ethical one! I’m sure the OP would be keen to learn about the caring of puppies and dogs in Australia.

Hope you all had a very merry Christmas!

Awesome news! Thats funny cheeky girl, jumping on the bowl. I was woken about 7am by Monty, I thought he needed to go to the loo, but someone had already let them out, he just wanted Xmas breakie! (Or maybe he knew Santa-paws had come...)

Sending hugs and thoughts, very sad to hear.

Oh no, wishing you luck with finding someone better.

Oh cool, didn’t know that. I have used the original muesli type stuff and the new rehydratable Balanced Life one but that STINKS

Some brands are certainly much better than others. Embark looks awesome, but a lot of them look dodgy. Just like anything.

Oh that’s not nice news

Yeah supercoat isn’t great, especially the weight management one since it’s low fat (therefore probably low meat)

Doing that will probably scare them and get water in their ears (which can lead to issues and a sad pup.) I usually just wipe with a wet face washer as mentioned above. I don’t use shampoo on their faces either.

Oh also have you been feeding a different type of bone by any chance? Scrappi ALWAYS vomits bile a few hours after I have tried him with necks. (So I don’t anymore) He used to do it with chicken necks as a pup, and did it when we got some turkey necks. Perhaps a similar situation?

I feed kibble for breakfast and raw for dinner, you could possibly do that if need be. A lot of you on dol don’t really like Black Hawk, but it seems to work really well for our dogs. You really kind of just need to know with kibble, some brands are more expensive but still cheap quality (e.g IMO Hills, Royal Canin, Eukanaba, Advance etc). Hills Science Diet has so much “maize”/corn in. Monty was on it when we got him, it smells like Doritos it’s got so much corn! I’d have a look at this website if worst comes to worst and you want to try some kibble: http://www.petfoodreviews.com.au/

Maybe if it’s not too expensive at Christmas, take her for a 2nd opinion??

In my opinion Royal Canin isn’t actually that good, it’s a bit hyped up and overpriced for the quality of the ingredients. We usually get Black Hawk as our dogs do well on that, we buy a 20kg bag for about $90-$120 depending on where we buy it and if it’s on special. Its $90 from Budget Pet Products. $23 for 3kg. Or Meals For Mutts seems great; around $25 for 3kg or $120 for 20kg. Or SavourLife, our dogs did well on that and half the profits go to rescue. Loads of great options! Depends on what suits your dog & your budget.

I had a peek on petrescue, not loads of cavvies but if you keep an eye out and contact the cavalier rescues. I found these sweethearts: https://www.petrescue.com.au/listings/565942 https://www.petrescue.com.au/listings/591623 https://www.petrescue.com.au/listings/584857 https://www.petrescue.com.au/listings/591291 And a maltese x tibbie for good luck: https://www.petrescue.com.au/listings/591846 And a gorgeous cocker but she’s $1500.... https://www.petrescue.com.au/listings/591703 There are probably more if you have a good look Most of the rescues will be a lot cheaper to adopt (probably $100-&$600) and they need a new home! Oh and a shih tzu x cavalier https://www.petrescue.com.au/listings/592153

Oh that’s a shame, hopefully it will open soon enough and be an awesome park. Do you think it will be really busy for the first while?

They’re both adorable! Nice to hear she’s settled in