haven

Plenty of people give their dogs Pigs ears without any problems. Personally I've never been game as I can imagin Nova swallowing hers whole and god knows what would happen then If it is a real pigs ear though I don't think it would be able to swell as much as a rawhide would.

I don't care about your personal circumstances and quite frankly I think it's disgraceful they were even brought into it This is what concerns me: Please, DO NOT attempt to fix this yourself from watching a video or reading a book or something online. DO NOT take the advice of anyone less than qualified and experienced with these specific issues. As I said in my earlier reply, the worst thing that can happen now is some idiot who thinks they know what to do comes along and gives you some crap like "oh you just need to disciplne him when he does that and show him you're the boss, here I'll show you how to alpha roll him" or something along those lines Discipline may not be appropriate at all in this situation and punishment could make the situation a whole lot worse. What you do now will stay with your dog for life, make sure it is the right thing, don't try it and see or hope for the best. Also, while ADT have Melbourne based training centres the trainers who attend their private consults live all over Melbourne and some in country Vic so they may still have someone who can travel to your area without an increased cost. You could also contact the NDTF and see if they have a listing for a qualified trainer in your area.

Weight baring bones are a lot harder than other types of bones and can actually cause teeth damage. Some people choose not to feed them at all, others are happy to give them once in awhile. The entire bone cannot be consumed, so you may need to chuck the remaining piece(s) if you don't want them lying around the house or garden (which I wouldn't recommend) or buried somewhere. I'm personally not a fan of leg bones as I've had them crack in half on more than one occaision and lodge over my dogs gums and teeth. I've also had a splinter of bone break off and lodge itself between Nova's teeth across the width of her mouth. If you are going to feed them, I would recommend that you supervise them the entire time.

You can't afford not to if you want to ensure that your pup and your family can live together in harmony. Otherwise you ought to reconsider if you can have a dog at all and I say that not to be nasty, it's a reality. This is exactly the kind of situation that can very quickly become and accident waiting to happen, especially when you add some dipshit 'dog trainer' or friend who thinks they know it all about dogs that gives you the wrong information about how to deal with this! This is not something you should be feeling your way through and hoping for the best. Seeing an experienced trainer or behaviourist doesn't have to be expensive either, although it certainly can be. If you can be more specific about your location perhaps someine here can recommend someone for you?

Guys, try to respect the OPs request. Why don't you start a new thread if you want to continue arguing?

Ok I had to reply for both my dogs but could only answer the poll once so I'll explain. Nova (Rotti) rarely gets allergies. Usually it's only when she does something stupid like repeatedly rubbing her face on her outdoor bed (hessian) or when she gets bitten or stung by something. She gets all drooly and swollen and shakes her head a lot. The first time this happened I rushed her to the Vet and they gave her a shot of something (I can't recall what). Now I just give her a Phenergan tablet when I notice the onset of symptoms and she's fine after about 5-10 minutes. Loki has constant allergies which the Vet diagnosed as atopy. He hasn't always had it, it started about 2 years ago after a hydrobath at a dog wash but has been constant ever since. He gets supplements, a medicated wash and a Phenergan tablet when it is particularly bad. Sometimes I'll wipe his skin down (he gets it on his paws, legs and belly) with colloidal silver which I keep in the fridge. I believe for him a large part of it is stress related, he suffers a lot with anxiety and has always had acral lick granulomas on his legs . Changing his food and things like his bedding and what I use to wash it doesn't seem to make a difference.

I have used a few different types of antihistimines on my dogs for their allergies as recommended by my Vet. The first few I tried didn't work and my Vet suggested I try Phenergan, which works well. I have larger dogs (about 40kg) and give them a kids dose, which is one 10mg tablet, as required. I haven't used Claratyne. I assume you have seen a Vet for your dog's allergy problems? As with any medications I would still recommend that you get your Vet's ok before use.

I'm a big fan of Imperial Leather myself

DAP also comes in a spray, whether or not you can easily get it at the moment I don't know. Vet that got me onto it also suggested you could simply open up the plug in canister and use it on your dogs fur, or on a bandana around their neck etc. Never has the necessity to try it personally though, so I don't know if it would still be as successful.

I've very much skimmed over this thread and haven't anything to add about the topic. Just wanted to point out to Tonymc that he might like to consider that people actually do achieve stuff without him being all knowing about it Saying something like this to someone like Tess32 is just laughable to anyone who has any idea what she has achieved and what she can do, which is probably everyone on DOL except you Tonymc ETA: Going back, the comment didn't seem to me to be a dig at you at all, more a comment on the repercussions of the show. Looks like the only one with a shovel making things personal is YOU.

Phenergan is fine according to my Vet who recommended I try it for my dogs when their allergies flare up (works a treat, never had any problems). I agree with your summation of the likely result though.

What kind of soap? Many soaps are made with animal fat and plenty that are available these days are made with lots of yummy natural ingredients like oatmeal, honey, fruits, cocoa etc. Must smell and taste pretty good for dogs It wouldn't hurt to consider any dietary inadequacies just in case, what do you feed? You can prevent this being a problem by simply moving the soap out of reach or finding a brand he doesn't fancy, or if you want more than a management solution you could try coating the soap with something your dog doesn't like the taste of to put him off.

Supplementing with B Vitamins may also help, although not on an empty stomach. Vitamin B6 deficiency is linked with travel sickness and other forms of nausea.

I'd forget the Clomicalm and I'm not sure an antihistimie would do you any good either although for a few days it wouldn't hurt. DAP is probably your best option. The other stuff you have planned is great also. It wouldn't hurt to start supplementing now with things like Magnesium, Copper, B and C Vitamins, all of which are important in how the body deals with stress. Theres a spray caled Nervatona made by Brauer (also comes in tablet form) that I've had a lot of success with also, very handy to have around as it's easy to administer, safe to use and works very quickly. I often carry some at training and offer it to owners who dogs are particularly excited, anxious or stressed and almost all of the owners who have used it for their dogs have reported good results. If you currently spend a lot of time with your dogs while on holidays it's probably a good idea to start getting them used to you being away or at least unavailable for short -> longer periods of time now. If you can get someone to check in on the dogs and play with or walk them a little on the first few days you might find it helps to keep them out of trouble. If your neighbours are reasonable (as so few seem to be), pay them a visit and let them know you anticipate some trouble just for the first few days. Let them know what you are doing to prevent it and they will hopefully be a little more understanding of any barking that does occur.

Sorry :rolleyes: I'm not up with Schutzhund lingo, but wanted to answer the OP's question. Although if the dog IS being trained to attack then I don't see why it's a terrible thing to refer to it as such. That's why.

If you're using Valerian be very aware of the correct dosage. In larger amounts it can have the opposite of the desired effect! In humans it can have mild side effects such as headaches, stomach cramps, dizziness, anxiety and mental apathy. There isn't a great deal of scientific information to prove that Valerian is effective for treating anxiety and some studies seem to indicate that it is more effective when given in a regular dose over a period of days or weeks rather than as a once off. How effective it is is also largely going to depend on your dog. I've used Valium for anxiety on one of mine without success but found that things like DAP and natural therapies such as bach flower remedies and various herbal, vitamin and mineral supplements to be extremely effective. The problem with Valium is that it has a very short life, the effects are only going to last a couple of hours at most.

Happy Birthday ROM, I hope you have a great day :rolleyes:

You don't need 'attack training', just teach the dog to stand and speak on command and use a command like guard instead of speak. I doubt anyone is going to test the dog and find out if he knows more than that :D

they told me different Every single dog in existance? Except my Nova of course, because if she told you that she would be pulling your leg

did they tell you that? Yes, actually. Don't you read and interpret canine body language in 'positive only' training? How did they tell you that they prefer otherwise?

Twasn't Tess...Twas me. It is my understanding that you can't get a -R without first applying a +P apologies to Tess so? did you fall asleep? And... it wasn't me who brought up the horses, was someone else. I was just responding.... I do that. I didn't read any of Monty Roberts books. I just watched and listened to him doing a training session from a DVD brought to the course.I have however just been talking on the phone with my mate... who breaks in like Monty, not because of him just because there was a better way....... I train dogs using positive reinforcement because I knew there was a better way than positive punishment. You can't see that, thats ok. I just agree with the RSPCA and disagree with Mark. I don't like the RSPCA , but I like their stance on training. I've said it before and I will always ask the question "better for whom"? People love to throw around training terms such a positive only and natural horsemanship because it gives them the warm and fuzzies but at the end of the day it is your human perception that is colouring the method to make it seem 'better'. What one animal finds aversive is often completely different to what another does, in fact what's aversive to one may just be another's reinforcer and what one finds appetetive may be aversive to the next. As people have said natural horsemanship uses almost exclusively negative reinforcement by way of removal from the 'herd'. This is a flight animal, being isolated screams against it's very existance and banishment from the herd equals certain death in the wild. Do you honestly think that doesn't cause the horse any psychological pain or stress? Again, with so called 'purely positive' training, you are still using negative punishment in the form of withheld reinforcers, isolation, restriction etc. Many dogs would find those options far more aversive than a physical correction. So, is it better for the dog or do you just think that it is because of your human perception that "corrections are bad mkay"?

When one of my dogs is panting what I think is an excessive amount for the situation I always check their pulse a few times, spread out over an hour or so and then again a few hours later, as increased respiration and heartrate (where its not appropriate, like after exercise) can be a sign that they are in pain. It's not something I panic about, but as my two are getting older it's always something I keep in mind.

Seeing that I edited most of the post ......... I edit most of my posts as I make dozens of typos or change some wording. But they were not edited NOW, they were edited couple of minutes after I first posted them, and before GBs comment. Are you refering to me haven? Usually if posts are edited for spelling or gramatical errors they're done right away, where as yours were edited more than 'a few minutes' later. It wouldn't be the first time you've targeted K9 for a slanging match and later edited so I made an assumption. If that was incorrect then I appologise. I did notice the posts had been edited before GB's comment and no I didn't see whatever was there before they were altered, it was the only explanation I could think of for Oonga's and GB's comments about nastiness and personal attacks, which is why I said "I believe" aka I guess, I think etc.

Huh?! I don't think this is a personal dispute gillbear.... I believe GB refers to the now edited posts....

Haha, glad I'm not the only one! I hate washing them in the bath because I have to lean over and my back gets really sore. I'd never washed them in the shower before because I'd always thought they were too big, but I tried it recently and it was sooooooo much easier. I imagine it would be a bit trickier if you didn't have a detatchable shower head though, unless you're able to pick your dog up in the shower. Mine weigh about 40kg each, so that's not happening