ellz

If this is the case, then you have confused her totally by allowing her her freedom way too soon. They need to be reliably trained to hold on before being allowed their freedom, unless you are there to take them outside yourself and supervise their toileting. Easy, don't allow her up there in the first place. As I said, you will probably be surprised the use that you WILL get from it if you keep an open mind and lose the prejudice about it looking like a cage. And no, 4.5 months is not too old to start.

Would like to add a couple of things. Firstly, completely endorse the advice to go back a step and put her back in the pen. Obviously the training she has had thus far is working, but she is apparently a little confused at having complete "liberty" so young. Secondly, I would be concerned about allowing her to jump off the bed at this age. She could do untold damage to her joints or even worse, could sustain a greenstick or torus fracture in young bones. Lastly, even if you think you'd never use a crate again, they aren't an expense, they are an investment. You never know if you will need one in the future. You may be travelling and need to confine her. You may have a non-doggy visitor and wish to keep her out of criticism's way. You may visit a non-doggy person who is willing to allow her to visit as long as she is kept in her crate. Anf many dogs actually LIKE their crates which they come to see as their own little den away from the traffic of everyday life. Just a few occasions where crate training and a handy crate can be of immense benefit.

Add mine pretty please Ellz Truyank

Get them to check the patella and stifle area carefully. It is possible with heavy breeds for a jump, slip or knock to cause an injury that basically pulls the ligaments and tendons off the bones at the top and bottom of the patella. It can be hard to diagnose and can sometimes require surgery to repair. I sent a puppy to the USA a few years ago which was as sound as a bell when it went into the crate in Australia and the same way when she came out of the crate in LA for her "comfort stop". Next day she got out of her crate in Michigan with a sore leg that she was favouring off and on but which wasn't obviously sore to touch most of the time. After investigation and questions it turned out she had slipped in a wet kennel run at the kennels in LA and done the damage I have mentioned above. It cost her owner nearly $2k (USD) to have it repaired.

I can ask them when they come back. I thought though that with pancreatic deficiencies they can't digest the fat in foods so the feaces are white and they lose weight and condition?? This guy is massive...in fact, he is the biggest Pug I have ever seen (size wise not fat..although he is portly too) and must wieght about 17kilos! He has feet the size of grizzly bears. There is a pic of him in the Pug thread. Not always apparently. My boy maintained a reasonable weight, in fact, we were showing him even before he was diagnosed. The main symptom was just this brown slurry that he constantly passed.

Can you find out if the vet checked for pancreatic enzyme deficiencies? It isn't often routinely tested for but is quite often responsible for the kind of things you are describing. Addition of an artificial enzyme can be incredibly beneficial in cases like this. Just a thought as it sounds similar to what an older dog of mine had many years ago.

Ummmmmm....type, delete, type, delete. OK...to be blunt...WHY? This is the last dry food I'd be feeding growing puppies. I used to be a diehard supporter but the formulation changed a couple of years ago and the results were very, very different. If you have to feed a cheaper dry food, IMHO you'd be better off going with something like Optimum.

Horse meat is very lean. It is still widely used for racing greyhounds as well as in pet food. Hence the term "dogging" a horse.

doG yes! Ring the owner first and foremost to advise what has happened. Take the dog to the vet, either their own or the owners' if they prefer. And then either take some lessons in dog handling or give up grooming until they are a lot more experienced if the dog DOES have behavioural issues in a grooming environment.

It was a recurrent thing. He never completely recovered from it although it didn't really affect him much other than the fact that he had lumpy ears whenever he was clipped. We just kept treating it with Ilium cream prescribed by the vet and it didn't really do much in the long run.

Two things spring to mind for me. Sebaceous cyst or staph infection. Many moons ago I had an American Cocker who would get pimple-like lumps on his ears after he was clipped. Turned out it was a staph infection in the hair roots.

If you feed kangaroo on a regular basis, don't forget to add extra calcium.

Like junk food for kids. OK as a treat, or if you are travelling or run out of time to defrost "real" food or whatever but I certainly wouldn't feed them on an every-day basis.

I wouldn't say they are harder to rear, it's just that the human part of the equation has to put more of themselves (and their time) into it to ensure that the puppy gets proper socialisation and not all humans are up to the task.

Oh and MooBoo, with regards to my last comment. Probably a good time to remind you not to let your boy lick your face any time soon!

I feel slightly ill Would it make you feel better if I mentioned that generally it's the dog licking itself that makes the problem flare up?

Sounds like balanitis to me too. I'd flush with warm saline.

I don't deliberately feed coconut oil, however I do feed my horses Copra and the dogs fall over each other to try to steal it from the buckets. It brings the horses up beautifully. Great shine to their coats and good for fattening them up too. I'd imagine it would do the same for dogs and so would the oil.

Google "winter nose". Very common for noses to fade at this time of the year. Vitamin D and exposure to sunlight will help as well as kelp and if you can get it, some Ironcyclen.

Basically yes. They do heat up slightly with use, but that is just from the air temperature around them. Many of the forced air dryers are used by horse and cattle people. I use a forced air dryer on the Yank feet and to blow the water (with the direction of growth) out of the saddle and neck areas and finish the rest with the heated dryer. Also use the forced air dryer on the Staffords and the Greyhound to blast the water out and loosen any dead hair. Also very good for directing between toes to completely dry if you have a dog that is prone to toe crud.

Hang about...you're the one who started to get nasty with the little crack about worry pills. But whatever.....you obviously know what you're doing which is why you are asking so many questions. This is a public forum so those of us who read it are as entitled to post as you are. If you don't like the replies, then don't read them, put us on ignore, or just don't respond. It's your choice to accept what you are offered or not. But just as you are not willing to accept the responses, there are people out there who are. Good luck. Hope all goes well with your puppy.

Surely you Jest If we did that, then there would be no need for worry pills I know, I know. We're just meant to carry on oblivious and then moan when something goes wrong because nobody warned us that it could happen! *sigh* Dare I warn them about the dangers of bloat with a large breed of dog or am I worrying unneccessarily about that too?

Listen sweetie, I've been around dogs all my life and have been breeding and exhibiting dogs for 22 years. I SAW the aftermath of a major accident involving dogs about 5 years ago and I changed all of my transport practices then. Until then, I was oblivious to the possibilities. Haven't you ever heard the saying "better to be safe than sorry"?

That's not the point. Not every other driver on the road is a smooth driver like you. What would happen if you were in an accident and the side of the car where your dog was sitting in a harness was the site of impact? Or your dog escaped but you were in an ambulance on your way to hospital and had no way of catching it? Or if you were trapped or unconscious and your dog escaped and ran into the path of other traffic? Or if you were trapped inside your car and your dog wouldn't allow emergency services to attend to you? A crate is a far safer method of transport which affords safety during travel as well as during any unplanned (or planned) stops. If your dog is crated in the car and your car breaks down, you can get the crate out of the car to cool it down (or warm it up if need be) safely or if necessary can leave your dog in an otherwise "no dogs" zone as it is contained and not a nuisance. There are many reasons why a crate is the best option.