Erny

You shouldn't need to use two leads. So long as the back-up collar (eg. check chain; martingale; whatever) is longer than it should normally be so that it does not come into operation when applying the PPCollar, you can hook the lead rings of each the PPCollar and the Back-up collar to the lead snaphook.

Looks normal to me and I would suggest this is your pup's colouring. The colouring does change from summer to winter coat in that it will be lighter for one and darker for another

I'm in Melbourne South Eastern suburbs. It is difficult to find a Vet whose only solution doesn't end with "cortisone" and "antibiotics". I've dotted around a bit and I've worked very hard and long and working through my boy's digestive issues. I seem to have similar issue to yours in that certain foods work for a while, and then everything turns downhill again. I don't really have the answer for you but I can tell you that I expect shortly to receive a test kit from Dr Jean Dodds. Apparently she has made a breakthrough in testing for food allergies. The first level begins with the home-kit for the dog owner, then steps up to Veterinary Level, depending on the result, I presume. I don't know much about it save for that but I expect that I will soon, once it is received and I've had a chance to work it. I am very hopeful of having it help shortcut to finding out what affects my dog as, as it stands at the moment, almost every protein source I've tried him on causes him stomach upset. Although I've tried plenty, I think to accurately try every protein source possible would take me his lifetime. I can only but let DOL readers know once I know more myself.

Oh ..... I think he'd be taking it in good spirit, just as I think it was intended. Good on the bloke. I agree, Leelaa17 .... heaven please forbid me to find myself and/or my dog in such a situation, but I'd like to think someone might guess how much my dog means to me and be willing to give him the kiss of life if he should need it.

You don't think a dog suffering pain from having its kwik cut would be more distressed rather than desensitising gradually without the pain?? Why would you expect the dog to trust you the next time around its nails were due a trim? If you did human nails, I don't think I'd want to come to you for a manicure, Rottifan. Ouch!!

This is wonderful news. I'm slipping behind the times and only just now read of this in the Berwick Leader (Wednesday 27th April edition). Linky "Do you think the 28-day kill law should be abolished?" You can have your say if you visit the website link. I don't wish to be a party-pooper, but I do wonder what the impact to other domestic pets are going to be. Will this be a back-handed reprieve? Pardon my cynicism, but the Shelters already don't have enough space (so they tell us). So something will have to 'give'. Will they become more open to working with rescuers and foster carers perhaps?

That's a great result, JackieW. Saved your dog a lot of chemical insult .

I'm on my way out so not long for a proper post. But in your message I couldn't help wondering where you fit amongst the pack? Being pack leader won't necessarily stop the shananikans between your two dogs, but IMO it goes a long way to being able to stop something before it starts. You know your dogs where I do not, but my attitude is that I will deal with whichever of the dogs I happen to have at the time in whatever order I want and this will be random - no particular pattern. I think it is fair enough that your boy will go back at your girl when your girl goes so OT that she hurts him. That's not necessarily a 'movement up the ladder' attempt, but more a protection and objection. I'd do the same. What are the ages of your two dogs? At some stage the heirarchy is likely to change order. ETA: Your avatar says you live on the Gold Coast - I think that is a default thing when you register, if you don't otherwise say anything.

Like others have said - get a pup if it's what you want, not because it's what you think Boonie would want. To add, though - you'll need to NOT think of either of your dogs (assuming you get a second one) as "Number One". You'll need to think of yourselves as "Number One" and the dogs will find their own 'order'. As for age - I think ideally it is better to have the dogs with a bigger age gap between them. Thinking more later on when one is in prime and one is reaching prime. That can be when the conflict begins. But many people have 2 or more dogs who are close in age without issues - I just think it has a greater potential for problem than if the ages were further apart. The other thing you need to ask and answer for yourselves - will you be up for all the training of both? Boonie has not reached maturity and his training would still be very much ongoing. And your new pup, well of course she will be just beginning. Trying to train 2 dogs together generally doesn't go well, which means until the training has kicked in, you're likely to need to walk each one separately. Also, when you have a mature, well behaved and trained dog 'on the go', your new younger pup is likely to pick up from him and this would make training all the easier. Personally, I think you'd be better off waiting until Boonie's behaviour (and training - not that I know Boonie nor where you are up to with that) is more settled and that comes with maturity.

Yes - if it's just a matter of penis out of the sheath, that is normal. I got the impression there was more to it though. Or perhaps I wasn't 'listening' properly, lol.

Perhaps try conditioning your dog to someone other than yourself calling his name and also "pup pup" to look to you? So basically, someone calls name or puppy puppy and YOU give a high reward. It would be tricky - it's asking the dog to not respond or at least check in to see who's calling, to see if s/he should respond or not. The show world can be so unsportsmanlike, can't it? I got out of horse 'roundy roundy' showing for the same reasons and ventured into eventing instead. There could still be a bit of skulduggery but it was much much nicer than the other.

Lol. so this is normal behaviour then? It's just I have always had male dogs and never seen this? No - not necessarily. I just didn't have any other advice I could give you, sorry. My boy doesn't do these things .... unless he keeps it for more private times when I'm not around lol. Mind you, the end of my boy's 'bit' looks a bit odd to me and so I'm going to be up for asking my own embarrassing question of the Vet in the not too distant future. I hunted around for a picture of a normal dog's penis and I'm embarrassed with some of the sites my computer data base would now have a history of me looking at. Some were completely NOT what I was looking for!!

"Doggy Boot Camp" (IOW, Boarding & Training) isn't what these dogs need. The behaviour issue is occurring at home. It's a relationship issue. Chances are your dogs would go to B&T Kennels, be trained (which, if the kennels are reputable, won't do them any harm) and then they'd go back to your home, to what they're used to, with nothing much changed and consequently go back to their usual behaviour, albeit that they might sit a little faster or that their stay work might be better. Not to mention that there's even a very high chance that their behaviour won't be exhibited whilst their in the kennels, simply for the fact that it is a new and completely different environment - even IF what the trainer would do would have any bearing on what their behaviour is likely to be like when they return home (which, in all probability, it won't). I'd recommend you consult a trainer/behaviourist to see you regards the issues you are witnessing. Jane Harper tends to be a well liked and popular choice for those in Queensland. She would be able to work with you at your home, get you to change things you might be doing that could be done differently and better, make suggestions for you and also give her opinion on what's occurring between the two dogs - which is probably normal, but what you might do to keep each other safe from harm.

Get rid of all the "Play Dog" magazines and remove all the "Pin Up Bitches" from your house. That should fix it.

I didn't think she intended it either.

Brew up about 2 tablespoons worth into a cup, as though you are making a cup of tea (which in essence, you are). I use one of these : Before I thought of using the plunger (much easier), I used the toe of a cut off stocking and put the Calendula tea in that, and hung it over the side of the cup as you would a tea bag. Someone else here has simply brewed as they would for a cup of tea from a tea pot, and used a strainer when pouring. Leave the tea brewing until the water (which was initially boiling) has completely cooled. You can spray on, but many dogs don't like this. I have a big dog and used a flannel which I saturated in the brewed tea and rubbed/dabbed through the coat to the skin. This was the method I used when I was only treating certain areas and not the full body. As things have been pretty bad, you could do the bath. For that, about 2 inches of the hottest water from the tap. Take a lump (fist full) of Calendula and put it in the toe of a cut off stocking. Tie the open end of the stocking off and let it float/bob around in the hot water. When the water has completely cooled it is ready to use. Pop your dog in (have a non-slip base for your dog) and use the Calendula in the stocking like you would a sponge, to wet him all over. Don't rinse it off - leave it to dry. Give a gentle towel dry just to remove the excess water, but not to mop it all off.

That's excellent advice, Vetrg - and something I will also take on board as I didn't think of that aspect of it.

I think "should" is the operative word. As I remember reading, it might not in cases where the nail has always been left long. Is it that bad that a Vet would need to see it? I prefer Dremel when I'm really pushing to get the kwik (thought it was spelt 'quick' ) back. It is easier to see how close you are getting and you can get there bit by bit. For black nails, a trick is to wet the end of the nail you've been working on. I tend to use a bit of spit. It tends to show up the kwik better when it is wet.

Whilst it is worth noting, especially for OS readers, my understanding is that we don't permit the sale of ProMeris in Australia.

I can't answer for the clipping of nails, but I do understand that when you Dremel (grind) them, the heat produced from the friction (not that you should permit the nail to become painfully hot) causes the quick to shrink back. I also understand, though, that the longer a dog has been sporting long nails, the less chance there is of the quick moving back. So sometimes it is a case of having to trim frequently but only always back to a certain point. As to this, for me with my previous adopted girl who had not only long nails but they were like tree trunks, I just kept watching them and would trim them as soon as I could identify growth having returned. As mentioned, I could only ever take off the same small amount again, though, as her quicks would not shrink back. Hhhhmm .... I'm not sure any of this answers your question. But for my girl, if I could find the time to get to her nails, then I liked to do them once every 1.5 weeks. I found any earlier was too soon. But I'm not a groomer and I only have my previous girl to go by.

Hi Staffyluv - I'm glad Ollie settled and seems now comfortable. I am hoping it is a one-off event or that if it does occur again it is a long time coming. I wrote about this in my first post, but deleted it as I felt it might only serve to increase your panic and as I could have been (and could still be) way off the mark and wanted first to see if you were able to conclusively pinpoint the problem. I am still hesitant about posting this but I will, in the hope that you will accept it only as food for thought, should you not be able to come up with any other conclusion and should it occur again. The symptoms you posted were very reminiscent to me of Kal's (bhcs) symptoms when she had what I called "panic attacks". These were the result of tumour activity affecting her adrenal gland. It wasn't Cushings nor was it Addison's, in case you might wonder or not be able to recall (as I remember you were 'with' me during that horrid period of not knowing). The events would occur in the early hours of the morning, generally during sleep - it would wake her up. I'm not sure but I think the timing might have been relevant to what time we went to bed - I know I had a theory in my mind that it related to her biological clock, the sequence or cycle of her hormones. The one symptom I'm not sure of as it seems even my own memory has blocked some of the unpleasantries of her symptoms (probably natural survival in remembering more potently the good times we shared) is the pale gums. However one of the symptoms of an adrenal gland tumour is the hypertension and, although I query it as I'm not certain, I would expect that would or could cause pale gums??? The reason I share this with you is because I know how much worrying, testing, wondering, worrying, testing, testing, wondering, worrying, worrying and so on that both Kal and I went through before a Vet finally had a look beyond the common. We found it through ultra sound. I trust this is not the cause of Ollie's discomfort and I truly do hope that Ollie gives whatever it is the (we don't have a 'birdy' emoticon) just as he has for the cancer he has (with your enormous help) so valiantly fought and staved off.

Don't know about your area but over here there's been a couple of (what I presume to be) illegal fire works. Barely close enough to hear, but certainly audible to the dog. Presume it was an Easter thing. Perhaps that could be the same for you?

Yay!!! I've become relunctant to mention this as I can't help people just passing it over because I mention it so much (same goes for the Calendula Tea) lol. Yes! Yes! A thyroid test via Dr Jean Dodds .

Hi Dastardlyboo. I think you've taken the content of the posts very well, but that's not to suggest the posts have been wrong or nasty (as some might be thinking) but perhaps simply not the opinions you might have been hoping for. I would very strongly assert that you are absolutely wrong in this instance. Catching him in the act would have been a different kettle of fish. Your dog would be clever enough to know your partner was angry though. And generous enough to forgive him . RIP GP's - as PF suggests, their ending was probably very swift and in that thought we can be thankful.

I would punish the break in the sit by having the person turn and walk away immediately the sit started to look like it would be broken. It's not a "training harness" as such. It is a harness (that can be used for some types of training) that has "IN TRAINING" written on each side of it. You could do similar with a coat that has those words on it, although the harness does appear more formal. I found that sometimes the distractions in the immediate environment that we can't avoid are too strong for the dog to resist, even when a stim is being delivered. If you dog is young (how old?) then expecting him to be able to think clearly enough when he is in excitement mode might be too tall an order. Which is where us taking control can be helpful by showing the dog exactly what we want him to do for him to 'win' the moment. Neutralisation (my preference, although even I don't take it to its fullest degree, but I am judicious about it) is one way. A different way would be to stand on the lead to prevent the jumping up. But if you are taking your advice from the person I think you are (K9 Pro?) then I expect you're in very good hands and I would be inclined to suggest that you follow his advice. If he doesn't know that you are still having difficulties, then he can't know to adjust anything. No one dog is the same and so we do need to give a process that is generally successful, and then fine tune it to suit the individual dog. It's not about being "disappointed in [your]self" - it's about the learning curve you are on. Enjoy the journey . It's not about "despise" nor about "failure". You haven't failed - your journey is simply not over yet. It's not about "combatting" anything. It's about taking what is there and moulding it, working it, kneeding it as you might bread dough (sometimes really tough bread dough, at that ). Try to look at things in a more positive light - your glass is half full, not half empty. And again - how old is your dog? Is he young? If he is, then you are journeying together. Enjoy it, even though it might be difficult at times. Enjoy the ups and value the downs for the lessons they teach us .