BittyMooPeeb

Thanks Carabelle, I didnt (at first) see that you had posted with a dosage, so was looking it up on the web as well. This is what I'd found: To give internally, mix about 1/4 teaspoon of Slippery Elm bark powder with cold water for every 10 pounds (4.5kg) of body weight. For very small dogs, it is fine to use the same 1/4 teaspoon dose. The bulk powder may be very fluffy, so pack it down as much as possible to measure it. Author Anitra Frazier gives the following recipe for Slippery Elm Bark syrup in her book, The New Natural Cat, which applies equally well to our canine companions when adjusted for weight: Into a small saucepan place 1/2 cup cold water and 1 teaspoon powdered slippery elm bark. Whip with a fork. Bring to simmer over low flame, stirring constantly. Simmer 1 or 2 minutes or until slightly thickened. Cool and refrigerate. Keeps 7 or 8 days. Give a teaspoon of syrup (5 cc) for an average-size cat (again, about 10 pounds (4.5kg) ) 5 minutes before a meal to minimize diarrhea, or to soothe and heal mouth ulcers. The dosage sounds similar (I imagine a heaped loose tsp would equal a packed 1/4tsp)

She hasn't vomited since she's been here - so hopefully that's not what is happening. Her breath smells all of the time (not just when burping etc) - would gas be coming out continually? It's the worst dog breath I have ever smelled - sort of like acrid poo - and you only need to be within about 20cm of her to smell it. I've been out this afternoon and bought the ingredients for a special mix for her (as advised by everyone - thanks ) and will see how she goes on it. I also bought slippery elm powder (does anyone know the dose for this?). I looked at powdered probiotics but it was $30 for a very small bottle, so will try yoghurt instead.

The smell is getting worse She'd already been vet checked, and the vet said (on the smell issue) that the worms must have really mucked her up. But he didn't say how to fix it. (and I dont actually know if it is caused by her past condition or by what I am feeding her now). I'll try the suggestions given and see how it goes: - feeding yoghurt - just chicken (no beef) - another worming - no 'vets all natural' (I hadn't thought about fermemation). Should I mix vegies etc in her mix instead? She's such a honey. When she sleeps she lies on my lap, belly-up and suckles the air . (which then gives her the hiccups when she wakes ) People walk up and say "isnt she cute" then get within 30cm and reel back saying 'gee she smells' (she doesnt eat her own poo - she just leaves it in her bed/my bed/under my bed for me to clean up )

I have a 6-8 wk old BC in care, who was found dumped in a plastic bag. She was malnourised and full of worms. Since she's been wormed and started being fed by me instead of her mum (last Saturday), her breath has started to *stink*. It smells like poo - and indeed she occasionally farts the same smell (but the smell from her mouth is stronger ). I'm not sure what is going on, but it seems to indicate that something is amiss/unbalanced in her gut I feed her puppy dry food and a barf mix made with chicken carcass, beef mince and Vets All Natural Complete Mix (Adult) (URL is here). She also gets chicken necks and the occasional liver treat. Does anyone have an idea of what might be wrong and how to fix it? This is Lulu the day she arrived (one day after being dumped): And looking a bit better two days later:

Sounds like a plan Mooper! I'll PM you and we can work something out

Thanks - I'll keep an eye on the web site. Do the dogs go the the seminars too?

I hope it's OK to ask Newbie questions here ... I've been following some of your threads about prey drive control and focus, and would love to try this with one of my dogs (one of her favourite things is chasing cats and pretending that inanimate objects are 'prey' but I dont have a clue as to how I can provide this for her as a motivator (as she doesnt play with people - ie me - or other dogs - just herself)). So far I've gathered that the way to start is to attend one of your seminars? Is that correct? And if so, do you have them in Canberra, or do I need to go to an interstate one? Sorry for the vege questions

I'm so sad to hear about Tony.

Run free now Winter My mum had bulldogs when we were younger. Only one made it to 10 and beyond, so Winter had a nice long life. If Winter wants someone to laze around and snore with (a bulldogs favourite pastime ) tell her to look up Buster and Rolly

you must have a tough test for intermediate. We only have to get a certain amount of points - it doesnt matter if we get 0 for some exercises, as long as the total is enough. I checked our score on Friday .... 5 less than at our first attempt . Lets just say that is was under two thirds of a pass mark ;) How do you find out what is available, and what is suitable for your dog?

Yes, Nessie was one of the puppy farm dogs. Thanks for the kind words everyone . I think I built myself up to be 'Super Puppy Farm Dog Trainer' and obviously I'm not , so I will take a few steps back and take it even slower with Ness. She's still more nervous than usual today, which would be due partly to *my* behaviour at the test . I'll need to work on some trust building again.

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. Nessie is pretty flat and jumpy today, so I definately need to look at my own 'behaviour' when I am with her so that I dont pass on any stress. I'm always recommending rescue remedy to people on DOL - I just didnt think of taking my own advice

Nessie just failed intermediate for the second time . She has been going well (considering) in class, and has been doing all the exercises OK with me, but once we hit the test, she didn't know basic commands, didn't know me, didn't even know her *name* . By the time we got to the down-stay part of the test (where she declined to either 'down' *or* 'stay') my nerves were shot and I started to get all teary so we left without even finding out how badly we failed I've been considering medication for her timidness - but dont know if I am expecting too much, too soon. Everyone I mention medication to is horrified that I am even thinking about it - but I am really at a loss as to how to continue with her, and am *really* worried that I am cementing her timidness into her character by not improving over time. Does anyone have an idea as to whether it is better to continue to let her be timid until I work out how to train her out of it, or am I putting her at risk of never overcoming her fears by being a bad trainer, and should look at medication to help her?? She was under two yrs old when I got her (Sept last year), so I am scared that my best opportunities to help her overcome her shyness - why she is still youngish - are passing us by) (I hope this make sense - I'm still a bit teary ) BMP ps I have oodles of books on working with timid dogs. Only some of the techniques work with Ness, and even the ones that have worked have only done so to a degree, and I cant seem to improve her any further. (eg strangers can now come to within 2m of her but I havent been able to reduce this to under 2m over the last 6 months). Her *greatest* fear is strangers trying to give her food (which is why a lot of the techniques described in the literature dont work!)

Hi Lilysmum, I hope Lilly is feeling better now, and that you also are feeling better now that you know what is happening and have a treatment plan. It was a horrible evening at the vet's wasnt it? The dog was either and Akita or an Elkhound, and the owners called both the police and the rangers, so hopefully the attacker was identified. You forgot to mention that Lilly had her first 'taste' of small white fluffies in the waiting room that day. Three of them all running around Lilly :D . I wished I had a camera when Blossom stood up on her back legs and gave Lilly a 'kiss' Best wishes for the lovely Lilly's recover

I keep my pantry stocked with a few tins of Natures Gift for the dogs, and Dine singles for the cats, for emergencies (normally all are on a BARF diet). Whenever I get my emergency supplies from the supermarket, I get comments from people looking in my trolley that my pets are 'really spoilt' and why dont I just buy Pal/Homebrand? Errrghhhhh If I ever feel brave enough to explain my pets 'normal' diet to them, I *always* get 'but bones are bad for dogs/cats" and "raw meat makes them sick" (plus a look of amazement at the fruit/veg/grains element). I always think that the Pal etc advertisers must have done a great job to make people believe that real food is "bad" for your pets, while "mush-in-a-can" is "good". I expect they've won many awards for deceiving a nation ....

Hi Ashlea, For dinners, I use raw minced chicken carcasses combined with raw beef mince or roo mince, then add either - a commercial product (grains etc), or - my own mix of raw fruit, veg, grains Breakfasts are one of: - dry food (eaglepack) - chicken neck - beef or lamb bone (small, with as little fat as possible) Peebs has allergies, so I try to keep his diet as additive free as possible. The only food I have problems with is: - chicken wings - Peebs is too small/lazy to eat them (too much crunching required) - bones that are swallowable - Nessie is a bit of a guts so I have to make sure that bones are not too small or she swallows them whole - canned food - pooooeeeyy - the farts that this produces (I use Natures gift cans for emergencies) Good luck with your studies :rolleyes:

Hi K9 Is is possible for me to do this check, or does the vet have to do it? And if I can ... how do I go about it? I dont have carpet so dont get the usual scooting evidence (unless I visit someone with carpet of course :rolleyes: maybe I should get a rug ...) (she's been wormed twice so should be ok there now) ps I found and printed off your 'triangle of temptation' the other day - thank's for posting it! It will be great for the more troublesome fosters

I agree with Sidoney. You shouldn't need to slow her down - just each her the contacts then put the two together. I made the mistake of doing this and haven't managed to get my dog to speed up again yet.

That would be funny if she was just asking for a scratch! She must be a bit confused, asking my other pets for a back rub I'll try it out and see if she gives me an 'about time!' look Not sure why she'd lift her leg up though - maybe she actually wants a tummy rub ???

I hadn't thought of the funny side - but yes it is quite a sight :cool:. Luckily she has a pretty bum My Nessie also lifts her leg to wee - just like you've described with Molly (right leg angled forward). I've also seen female dogs at the dog club do the same thing. Someone told me it was dominant behaviour . Not sure about this assessment, I'll have to do some more research. It might be correct though as Nessie also kicks to spread her wee far and wide which is supposed to help with marking (or something like that) and she *does* mark .... only low things though Now, what about my puppies bum?

I have a 3month old Maltese pup in my care. She came from a pound underweight and with worms. She has this bizarre habit of backing up to us (me, my female dog and my male cat ) and lifting one of her legs up, then just waiting .... and waiting ...... and waiting ...... She keeps looking around with a 'well, hurry up' expression on her face (with my pets, she backs up to their faces). She obviously wants us to *do* something, but I cant for the life of me think what. Is she hoping that someone will clean her bum (maybe like her Mum used to)? She must try it about 20 times a day, so whatever it is, she want it a lot Any ideas?

There's also an article in this quarter's Dogs Life magazine on 'Teaching an Old Dog New Tricks'. I haven't read it yet so am not sure if it would be useful to you .... you could always skim through in the newsagents before you buy!

Thought I'd update .... we started our new class on Wednesday, and tried the weavers with guides. What a difference! He loved it and was swishing through them in no time - I'm just happy that he even approached the weavers after the last few weeks. I took one of the guides off too, and he noticed, but then kept going through (thankyou too, to our wonderful instructors :banghead:) I have an appt. at Bunnings tomorrow to buy some plastic trellis ....

Wow - fantastic work Jack and Mooper! I love the bit about Jack needing to show you more respect . Now you can pass on the secret and I wont have to put up with Peebs giving me the hairy eyeball any more I dont really know anything about herding, but it sounds hard. Did Jack understand basically what he had to do already? Well done, and next time, it's your turn for the camera

Such beatiful photos, and how lucky for Pippin to be snuggled up to his special friend when his time came Thankyou K9 for giving him a wonderful, loved filled time when he needed it most.