Erny

I was going to suggest Mark, although I'm not sure I remember what his stance is on the PPCollar. His phone number is 1300 255 364

SK - I know exactly how strong our dogs can be. Try a PPCollar. What I like about them is that they don't jar the throat, muscle or skeleton as other tools can and do. I also like the fact that the handler doesn't need to move as much to apply any correction and this leads to your body language appearing very calm and sedate. This in itself has a bearing on the dog's behaviour. Get some instruction in it if you're not sure or familiar with them (as I would advise to anyone for any training tool). You're not in Victoria so you should not have any problems.

Try not to bath him with shampoos. Give him a bath in Calendula Tea. This is just marigold flowers (dried) and you can purchase it for around $8 a packet from your health food store. From my own experience you should see a reduction in the redness of the skin and itchiness within 24 hours. If it remains (albeit reduced) treat him again. Of course the redness and itchiness will keep coming back if the cause for this skin irritation is still there. But the tea/wash should help to ease the discomfort to his skin. You can use a spray bottle to wet him up with it and/or a cloth soaked in it. I presume you haven't changed diet or anything in recent times? Even food treats?

For what period of time have you ignored his behaviour? As an aside - whilst one could possibly think "abuse", that's not necessarily the case. However in the absence of not really knowing, think of the dog in terms of what he is now rather than what you think he might have experienced. By the sounds of it he needs more self confidence. Training (tricks and obedience); sports such as agility; and the like, can help with that. Avoid giving him attentions which can serve to (inadvertantly) encourage/reinforce his lack of confidence and/or anxious behaviour. Train him up into enjoying games such as chase ball/tug. When you have a dog that is addicted to games such as this, it helps in 'snapping' them out of what might otherwise be for them anxious moments. These games should ideally be structured - that is, YOU begin them and YOU end them, all on your terms. Similarly, other things should be on your terms as well. Give him jobs to do - IOW he doesn't get anything he likes unless he does something for you (on your terms) that you like, first. ("NILIF"). Be happy when Chris leaves (you better explain this one to Chris first, or he might think something is 'up' LOL) and play a game with your dog. Exercise - get him out and about walking. Routines aren't always good things - it builds expectations and one day when those expectations inevitably cannot be met, that can be most upsetting to the dog. Randomisation in certain and many instances is a good thing. Be calm. Be assertive. He needs to be able to feed off your 'matter of factness' and your lack of concern. Whlst your concern would of course be for him, he may interpret that concern to be for the same thing he is concerned about. He'll 'read' that from your body language; fussing and tone of voice. Block him from being able to sit/lay at the door. It's not HIS job to be concerned about HIS pack members. It is YOUR job to be concerned about YOUR pack members. That's the message you need to get across to him and this generally comes by being matter of fact and having that "get on with something else" attitude. Dogs need exercise (mental and physical) first; discipline; with affection last. You need to avoid nurturing those 'dependant/anxious' emotions. Dogs are engineered for autonomy. We need to help them be what they are supposed to be.

Four Paws K9 Training is in Keilor - only about 30 minutes from you. Trish (also "Kelpie-i" on this forum) is the person you need to speak with. She has classes catering for puppies through to advance level. She'll steer you in the right direction. . It is the socialisation/habituation that you should be (and should have been) "pushing for". Your pup is inside his critical period of development. This period doesn't last long (up to 16 weeks) and there is so much you can fit in it is difficult to cover it all inside that period, especially when you work or have other commitments. So make the most of the 5 weeks you have left. Get together with Trish and she'll show/explain the proper way to socialise/habituate so that you can do more of it during the weeks in between training. But yes - beginning with some basic training at this early age is easier for people to manage especially when they don't have prior experience. For all of this I agree that you would do well to arrange something with a training school asap .

Me neither.

I began my boy's "inside house" training from the first day he came home. A good part of it back then was "prevention" when I couldn't be immediately on hand to supervise. The other part of it was observing those things he paid attention to (that I didn't want him to) and using a variety of things/methods to discourage him, depending on what they were and what was the most suitable to use. This included verbal admonishments (ranging in different intensities); distraction away from and then re-direction to something more suitable; spraying the 'forbidden' object of interest with commercially prepared 'bad tastes'. In the meanwhile I also taught him the game of "relinquish" (using toys/items he was allowed to have) and not too far down the track was able to use this in events where he did pick up things he shouldn't have. Through being very watchful over him and my household objects, I've never had to chase him with anything he might have managed to put his mouth on, knowing that I'd not want to anyway because yes, as you've recognised, this becomes a game the dogs quickly learn how to instigate. Only a couple of days ago, my (now 15 month old) boy banged his exuberantly wagging tail on a cupboard, which succeeded in knocking off one of my vacuum cleaner attachments to the ground. I didn't realise this but took note when I heard him with something in his mouth. I called him to me and asked for "give', which he did - knowing that there was reward in it for him. As to the latter (ie reward) - that's something you do have to be aware of. For many dogs, if the reward for giving up 'forbidden' objects is high it can lead to them looking for those forbidden objects, so it can prove problematic in itself. The general rule is to give the higher reward for getting and then giving 'permitted' items, with just a (eg) pat as a reward for relinquishing the 'forbidden' objects. I don't have a huge problem with my boy so I'm not quite so observant of the variation in reward, but it is something you might want to keep in mind, especially as you have a Lab and knowing that it is part of their strong genetic make-up to explore things with their mouths. For now though, given your boy has already developed 'stealing' as a learnt behaviour (and knows of the benefits it can reap him), I would suggest that you keep him well supervised when in the home. This can be by being on lead; in a crate; in a pen/restricted access area; off-lead but under your nose where you can prevent him from stealing; where all 'forbidden' items are out of his reach; or a combination/variation/randomisation of all (recommended). I'd suggest you reward him for grabbing 'permitted' items and keep all 'forbidden' items from his reach for the time being. Preventing by keeping all 'forbidden' objects away from his reach will help by giving you time to encourage him to his 'permitted' items (and for him to learn the rewards of that), but for practicality reasons you will eventually want/need to not have a home where everything is located high up on shelves. And this is where your supervision; the stop-chew (which helps to serve as a self-correction) spray comes in. After a good while and knowing he's quite "in" to his 'permitted' items, you can begin to allow him access to 'forbidden' items under your VERY watchful eye, but I'd suggest you spray them with an anti-chew spray as well as use your voice to admonish BEFORE he even so much as opens his mouth to take it. The important part in all of this is to also let him know how good he is for taking a 'permitted' item. In addition, ensure that the mental stimulation and exercise you give him is sufficient for his needs.

I agree - this seems to happen a lot. Dog doesn't show strong interest, so human shoves tug into the face of the dog. That would be enough to put me off too! Better to use the tug to engage the chase instinct (pull away) and entice the dog to want to chase and catch/bite it. I run classes using motivational techniques - tug being one of them. In each class there are always dogs who aren't into the tug but with coaching (the humans) and them continuing their efforts, I've seen dogs 2 or 3 weeks later well and truly into the tug game when it would previously never have been thought possible by their owners.

Not necessarily.

Has she passed a stool? My concern would be a bowel blockage.

Let him *win* the tug in that 3 second time period and tell him how clever he is. Also, make the *win* happen when he is actually tugging. Doesn't have to be a really hard tug in the early stages - just the best tug he gives you. Build it up that way. Keep sessions very short.

Not sure who you are asking Corvus. And are you asking for someone to make a blanket statement/answer for all dogs who don't tug? If you are, then my answer is "no".

My dog are almost 3 years Ah. Thanks Kezzzza. I was only concerned that he might have been very young and teething - that time of their life is a period to not play tug as it can hurt their mouth (and put them off the game) and damage new teeth.

Sorry - I keep forgetting to look at people's locations when I recommend AMH. Seems WA is the only State that does not permit it across its boarder (pest control, I believe). I don't understand what's in it that could cause or would be considered to be a potential cause of parasite contamination. Not heard of any problems associated with it anywhere else. ETA: Sorry AF. Just read your post. AMH is produced in Australia as well. At least it was some time back.

Get "Active Manuka Honey". NOT from the supermarket, but from a health food store. Get one with UMF 20+. Much less than that isn't worth it. AMH has properties that boost the immune system. Also heals. And yes, would soothe/heal the throat. Be prepared - it isn't cheap. A 250g jar is likely to set you back $50 or so. But I am never without a jar of this in the pantry/medicine cabinet. I've used it when my boy came down with CC as a pup and it helped him immensely. I use it for myself as well. And I dose my boy with it even when he might not have caught anything but perhaps has been around areas where 'bugs' have been. Good for settling upset tummies. So on and so forth. Ordinary honey will help to soothe a throat, but it doesn't have the qualities/properties that AMH has.

...unless it is necessary for some sort of training, perhaps? Wish mine DIDN"T want to tug all the time It's one thing I dislike my dogs doing. How so, Perse? Do you mean they try to grab things that or when they shouldn't, to tug?

What about a good solid concrete water bowl/trough?

How old is your dog?

I think this is a perfect opportunity for you to show us how well your dog is trained and have him prepare a three course meal for everyone. I trust that you will have your dog at the ready with the dish cloth and tea towel, for the washing and tidying up process? In all seriousness though, I won't be bringing him up to Sydney. So yours will be the one who will also need to be in charge of culinary preparations

Hey Jeff!! You get to meet me!! Your shout for lunch.

My name should already be down . But I will contact NDTF to confirm my very strong and serious interest and intentions to go.

Oh .... here you go. From another forum (oops! Am I breaking rules here?) and an answer to a question similar to yours, answered by Vets All Natural. I was going to put the link up because it discusses other foods as well (including tripe, chicken, beef), but not sure I haven't already crossed the line too far. Troy - if that is the case please let me know and I will delete. Or you can . "8. KANGAROO : We now come to my preferred choice of meats - kangaroo. Fresh kangaroo meat has been widely used in Australia as fresh pet meat for over 30 years, and more recently, it has made significant in-roads into the pet food industry, with sales of roo meat in supermarkets escalating dramatically over the past 5 years. Kangaroo meat is widely available in Australia at most pet supply outlets, and in supermarkets. Due to increasing demand, the price of kangaroo has unfortunately increased significantly over the past 2 years, now retailing for $4.00 + per kg. Roo meat has never really been used in processed canned and dry foods, most likely due to cost and price levels, as the beef by-products they do use are cheaper for the major can manufacturers to source. Nutritionally, kangaroo meat is superior to all the farmed meats. It is low in fat (3 - 4%), high in protein, and high in vitamins and minerals. Because kangaroo is not farmed, the meat is truly free range, and organic. Kangaroos graze on a very wide variety of pastures, wild grasses, shrubs and trees, and as a result of this variety, they enjoy excellent health, and their meat has a wide array of macro and micro nutrients. Kangaroo is a highly suitable meat source, and is a natural prey animal of the wild Australian dogs - the Dingo. Kangaroo is considered a "cooling" meat, as it lives in a very dry and arid environment, and as such, is ideal for treating pets with food allergies. Also, because it has never been widely used in processed pet foods, it is also a very unique source of animal protein, and is very valuable when formulating a diet for pets with food allergies. Kangaroo is not farmed in Australia, hence the meat itself is considered "wild game" meat, and is, by nature, free range and organic. Kangaroo numbers have escalated in Australia since the 19th Century, with modern farming practices opening up large areas of grazing land. Culling of kangaroos is vital, both to prevent over-competition with domesticated farm animals (primarily sheep and cattle), but also to prevent massive overpopulation in good seasons, where kangaroo numbers can escalate out of control. Culling of Kangaroos is a very closely controlled, government regulated, exercise. Every year, aerial surveillance is undertaken to record accurate population numbers, and a cull quota is established for each state, to maintain an appropriate sustainable base population. Kangaroos are shot in the wild by professionally accredited shooters; every shooter is licensed and must purchase government issued ear tags, which are immediately attached to any kangaroo that is taken. It is the specific number of tags issued that, in turn, control the cull numbers. Kangaroos must be killed with a single clean head shot. There is no stressful period of mustering, handling or transport involved at all. The kangaroos are transported to a local chilled container, which is then transported to the local processing plant. Every animal is inspected by a government appointed meat inspector, and then approved for processing. Carcasses to be used for human consumption are processed in separate production areas, and have a second inspection before being cleared for HC. The quality of meat used for HC is no different to that harvested for pet food, and differs only in the processing and inspection stages. SUMMARY - KANGAROO Without a doubt, the best fresh meat available for pets, anywhere in the world. We are indeed fortunate in this country to have such a high quality meat source, correctly handled and inspected, that is available at a price where the choice cuts of meat itself can be used for pet food. Perfectly suited for both dogs and cats - rates as THE BEST."

Thanks SK. Yes - I am seeing signs of improvement and am very pleased with them, although cautious not to celebrate too soon. And I do know what you mean by "too skinny". Been there. Seen that. I'm sorry yet again to have dragged your thread OT. My knowledge/understanding of roo (vs beef) is that it is better for digestion. I believe most of the 'game' meats are. I tell you who would be able to give you a more detailed and precise answer to your query would be Dr. Bruce Syme at Vets All Natural. He's a big believer in feeding roo and would know of its effects on the canine digestive tract by comparison to other meats such as beef, better than anyone I know. I'm sure he wouldn't mind you shooting him an email to ask. He's OS at the moment though.

Yes - he's a thspethal dog . And I promise you, he is no where near fat (not that you suggested he might be, but just to reassure). I am actually quite happy with his weight at the moment. He can't afford to lose any, but I think it is almost on perfect. Other people (perhaps more used to seeing dogs with fat on them) have a tendency to think he is skinny but I don't think he is. More like lean. But yes - that's on 2000g per day at the moment. Plus roo tail bones, although I have run out of those and need to get some more in. Oh - and plus his special medi-treats, which in themselves wouldn't count for much in the 'putting on weight' department. Plus additives. Apologies for the OT.

!! I want your butcher down here!! My local butchers used to supply roo mince which I fed to my previous girl, but now they only stock the premium roo. I ran out for a couple of days and had to buy that. At $15 or $16 per kilogram and with my boy eating 2 kilograms a day it proved to be an expensive weekend meals-wise. But not to worry. I made up for that by having toast.