Erny

PM me if you want, PoochMad.

From anything I have said, Poochmad, it wasn't "criticism". More a 'I implore you to get on top of this now' ..... probably because of my work I see how so much of this behaviour escalates to other things. So please don't be shame-faced about it. You enquired here. You know it is a problem. You want to do something about it. That's a great start. Ya just need to get on to it lickity split .

"Hent" Nekhbet. "Hent". You'll have to start working on changing your accent. Oh. And your name. It will become "Nikhbit".

Agree, Perse.

"Puppy Power" are wholesale and retail distributors who sell on ebay (although they also have a warehouse/store you can purchase from for those who are in Victoria and like to 'see before they buy'). I have purchased a metal crate, an outside dog kennel and just recently, a soft-crate (that's the term you're looking for, RubyStar) from them. Not to mention, dog mattresses. They are fantastic to deal with and IMO very reasonable. Their products are quality brands as well. PuppyPower Pet Products. Telephone 03 9791 9222. Ask for Marina or Glenn. And no .... I have no allegance other than they've proved great to deal with. RubyStar .... when you purchase a soft crate, make sure to purchase one with a solid frame (you'll still be able to collapse it) rather than some others where the frame is 'bendy' type material. I just purchased one of the Puppy Power ones and what I like is that it has screen windows that can also be covered by the canvas window flaps. I think it also has a pocket on the outside of it somewhere (not sure .... haven't even taken it out of the car yet) and also has a spot where you can supposedly hook up a drinking thing (one of those lick/drink bottles). My other soft crate - barely used (maybe a dozen times, maximum) proved to be too small for my growing boy, which is why I've replaced it with the size bigger. So I'll be selling mine (through here or ebay) at some stage soon. A DOLer here did express interest in it, although she didn't email me so not sure that she still wants it though. Have to check. Soft crates are great in that they are FAR easier to move around. But you need to be sure your dog is very happy to be in a crate and for this reason, the metal ones are the ones you should crate train with.

So .... ya gonna join me when I move to NZ? I'd be going for the same reason, Nekhbet.

So do I. The dog is no longer a puppy. He is a young dog. This behaviour should not be continuing and you are obviously having trouble mastering techniques that will work sufficiently and efficiently. This isn't something to muck around with. It's not a 'phase' anymore.

.... spit my coffee at the screen just imagining him in the driver's seat, all tatted up. He's not allowed to get his license until he's 12 months old, didn cha know? ............................. So he's doing an IT course to fill in the time. PS .... Jeff - eat your heart out.

I have used the "Canine Lullaby" CD on two pups and one dog. I know of two other people who have also used it. One on a pup. Another on a young dog. So far, the CD has worked a treat on all pups and one of the older dogs. It has made a bit of a difference (but not complete) on the young dog. One exception. My pup. Didn't do a dang thing. But overall, I think it works. This CD has the sound of a human heart (amplified) beating in the background to the music. Gets on my nerves after a while. But the pups seem to go soundo to it. I don't believe it is hypnosis. Just soothing and relaxing.

Hey! All pups are pups. Trainers' dogs aren't the robots some people think they might be (not that you suggested this). They still try on behaviours. Our advantage is that perhaps we 'spot' it that bit quicker and are able to efficiently respond to it that bit quicker. And therefore they might not try on as many 'behaviours' or as often. (Or perhaps we do, but we don't need to ask what to do about it so you don't hear about it. Or they do, and we don't do what we should do about it, so you ain't gonna hear about it. ). But that's only an "experience" thing, and an "education" thing. And you ain't "wee people". I'm quite often very impressed with the knowledge and understanding many of you who are not professional trainers, actually have. My young pup came from a litter who bullied him a fair bit. So his early behaviour/s were much learnt before he came to me. But just like anyone else, I gotta work through them too . Walking down the hallway in the mornings (which was the worst time, because he was so full of beans especially after the long sleep) was almost a nightmare . I couldn't walk normally, 'cause I'd be dragging the puppy who was self-attached to the bottom of my jeans along with me. That's IF I'd got to the point of getting my jeans on. If not, it was my dressing gown. I used to have to corner myself strategically where I got dress, elsewise he'd be making a grab for my socks as I tried to put them on, or thought one leg of my jeans (that I hadn't yet managed to get my other leg into) was some sort of new dog tug toy. I used to call him "Monster Head" back then. Unless he was asleep. Then I called him "my little man" ;) . And if his mouth wasn't on a part of my body or my clothes, then it was ripping the edges of carpet pieces (which I used as mats in some spots) to pieces. If it wasn't that, then he was weeing or pooping. And if I had managed to get too ahead of him along the hallway, that's when I'd hear the kathump kathump of his somewhat unco-ordinated big paws and before I'd know it, feel the sinking feeling of needlepoint puppy teeth in the back of my knee. I can laugh now, but it hurt back then and I did let a few expletives drop at the time . What you don't know is that a few of those times I'd be on the phone to a client ..... could well have been a DOLer even, and I'd try to 'suck it up' for the sake of telephone professionality. 'Sucking it up' wasn't always possible though . They were the times when he was very quickly whisked to his puppy pen. But please don't tell Jeff Jones. As far as he is aware, he thinks my boy is already putting out the garbage; washing dishes; and polishing the silverware. ..........

Sorry ..... I didn't read every post.

My current boy exhibited this behaviour when he was a young pup and like the OP, we 'worked' through it and he no longer displays the behaviour. He's now 7mo. He now KNOWS it is not on, so I can tell you now that if he so much as hinted at the behaviour again I won't be doing the 'soft sell' like I did in his earlier puppy days. He's older and I can expect more from him than that now. I would go for immediate correction. What form of correction depends on the situation and circumstance. But it won't be the old casual "no/ah ah" thing. That was baby stuff, and IMO he knows better than that now. The way things are going, I have my doubts that he'll try it on. But I guess time will tell on that score. The worst he's 'trying on' at the moment, is bringing his bones inside. He knows he isn't to, but I note that bones originally left just on the outside of the door step are being left just on the inside of the door step, if not on the door step itself. Sometimes he does it while I'm looking and I get that "it'll be alright if I just leave it here, won't it?" look from him. I give him the stern look until he picks it up and takes it back out the other side, then I turn around where he can't see my face and quietly laugh.

In research I did for some papers I wrote up (for a massage (?) course I part way completed) some time ago, I gathered information pertaining to food 'labels' and optimum percentage intake on certain minerals/proteins etc. From my notes I see that the "optimum percentage intake of salt for dogs is 0.4% on a dry-matter basis". Reference source for this info was "Raw Meaty Bones" by Tom Lonsdale. IMO, I think 1% is somewhat high and I think you could do better. But as you say, sometimes finances get a bit thin. What about raw feeding? Can prove cheaper all round.

Why a "double" dose? Wouldn't one dose do it?

Charles .... thank you for posting. It is always very interesting to read the information and advice from a professional in the 'field'. I've had a knee reconstruction done on my own leg. Took hamstring, doubled it, bored a hole a tad larger than was already there so the thickness could thread through. By doing it this way, the loss of 'fibre' due to initial loss of blood flow did not affect the overall strength of the new 'cruciate'. In fact, it is stronger than my other 'original' cruciate in my other leg. I'm supposing it might be done differently on dogs given structural differences, and apart from the fact that the surgeon who did mine is somewhat unique in his method. For dogs who have had cruciate surgery, what's the strength of the new cruciate compared to beforehand? ETA: And please pardon my ignorance. What is "TPLO" and "TTA".

For that matter, bird feathers can be classed as "animal protein". Whether it is digestible or not, is another matter.

Well done :rolleyes:. It's great when you see your prior efforts come to fruition. A real milestone .

Di ..... sorry you little girl is having these issues. Although not a 'cure all', I can't advocate enough the use of Active Manuka Honey as a natural immune booster. Go for the stuff from the Health Food Store and if your area still stocks the AMH with the UFL labels on it (I believe that is being cut out) go for the highest "+" you can (eg. 30+). It's pricey, but I've used it for various things (for both myself and my dogs) and I do strongly believe that it helps.

Having discussed this matter with Dr. Dodds (although not specific to 'pregnancy'), I have to say that I strongly disagree with this. Not to mention that it treats a wider range of things that might not even need treating, so "less is more" kind of goes out the window. Why do you say it is "one of the safest ones to use in pregnancy"? Perhaps my understanding is incorrect.

Dr. Jean Dodds, who is actively involved in the research on dogs and vaccines, does "NOT recommend vaccinating bitches during estrus, pregnancy or lactation". Link : Vaccination Schedule Recommendation Reading further on her writings, I've copy/pasted part of a response she gave to someone who reported a reaction in her dog. Link : Ask the Doctor

Hi Samoyedman. Honestly, I'm not the expert on this. I hope I have made it clear that the view I've expressed is merely my own opinion, not necessarily a learned one. If it were me, I'd probably only give ACV as a supplement if I were to give it at all, but not necessarily on an every day occurrence. Depending on the dog but assuming it was otherwise healthy, just every now and again - probably not frequently enough to make any or much difference to the burning of the lawn. But please know that I'm not suggesting anyone follow my lead. My main reason for entering this thread was because the focus seemed to be on changing something within the dog for the sake of the lawn and I haven't been able to find any info to tell me what this does to the dog's system and whether there is the potential (small or otherwise) for long term harm (mild or otherwise). And I really only raised it as 'food for thought' (no pun intended). So would I ..... my lawn is sufferring somewhat as well. And if I could find something that shows me that dog rocks and/or the constant supply of ACV does not and cannot have any adverse affect on the dog, then I would probably go for it. But all I've really heard is along the lines of 'my dog has it and is ok' and me being a bit of a stickler for detail sometimes, it's not enough to make me feel comfortable about it. As I said, I'm going to try the "wee post" idea. Not sure how well or otherwise it will work though. Might only serve to give him one MORE place to pee, rather than him learning to center the majority of his pee in that spot.

Genuine question, but why "fast"? Wouldn't giving some (eg) mushy food (as opposed to sloppy) actually help by 'cushioning' the process of the cooked bone through the system?

That's an excellent result ..... although have in your mind that any 'trauma' Zero may have felt from the incident might set him back a little - so I'd go back a step or two in your training by going to a place where the environment is controlled (eg. dog school) and work at some distance, just to try to counter balance any lasting memory Zero might have from this recent event. And I'd do this asap.

As Midol said .... collar on, collar off. Randomise it. Sometimes with the flat collar on as well. Sometimes not. Collar on .... go play. Collar on .... don't necessarily do anything. Collar on .... feed the dog. Collar off ..... feed the dog. IOW, randomise everything and do it over a period of at least two weeks. And I'd keep it up, even once you've begun activating the fence. IOW, when you go for a walk, have the containment system off (make SURE it's off) but keep the collar on. Your aim in this respect is for your dog to understand that it's ok if she goes through with you (perhaps with a 'word'), that it's ABOUT being with you - NOT about the collar. Make sense? Like others, I'm not confident that a containment system is 'everything' and that it should not substitute good fencing.

Abdominal pain; pain on defecation; blood in stools. I'm not a Vet so there might be other symptoms that I don't know about, but these would be IMO the general ones to look out for. Hopefully you'll find there are no problems. Agree that cooked bones are not good to give for the reason we are all aware of, however when I was young and this information was not so well known, we gave cooked bones all the time and never had a problem. I'm not saying it's therefore ok to give cooked bones, just saying that you can be lucky . Hope everything proves to be ok.