Griffo

I am so sorry to hear about your boy. What a horrible decision to have to make. I went thru a similar thing with my Husky. He was only 7 years old tho. I made so many phone calls to so many specialists and found out that by the time that he had been flown to NSW (from NT) and had the surgery, the op would have been in excess of $7, 000. That was fine by me, but then there was the disclaimer at the end "there are no guarantees". All the crap I would have had to put my boy thru to even get into the operating theater i just could not bare the thought. And then at the end of all that, to have no guarentees that it would even help him?! So i ended up making the hard decision to have him PTS. It was the hardest decision of my life. Good Luck, I will be thinking of you.

I had the same problem over and over again with my prong, it kept coming apart when i needed it the most - so what I ended up doing for my own peace of mind (at the suggestion of K9 Force), was getting either a check chain or martingale and i clip the lead thru both of the active rings. Since these collars have give, it allows the prong to still effectively deliver it's corrections (the martingale and check dont give corrections when being used in this manner as they are not ever being pulled tight enough - unless of course the prong collar comes undone) Hope this helps.

As has probably been mentioned previously in this thread, curing a dog who is aggressive has no quick fix as their rehabilitation is an ongoing process. It does take patience, perseverance, hard work and there is often a lot of frustration involved. Although my dog is probably 85% better than what she was, her training is an ongoing process and i will be implementing K9 Forces' perscribed programs for the rest of her life. As soon as i slack off i notice it in her behaviour. One of the first changes made to our relationship involved the use of the prong collar...that horrible tool of torture, as i have been told so many times by people on the street, and even by people on DOL :shakehead: . The prong gave me back my control of Ellie instantly when i was walking her. I went away from my first lesson feeling very hopeful and enthusiastic. It allowed me to actually venture outside of our fence and gave me the confidence that i could control her and handle her - and i am not a small girl, but she is one very strong dog. This confidence seemed to spill over to her immediately as she began seeing me as her alpha who made decisions. It was not the prong alone which achieved this, but i can guarantee you, it helped a lot. It would have been pretty hard convincing her that i was the alpha when she was pulling me everywhere on our walks. However it was just a tool i was given which aided me with her training programs...the prong wasn't the program. Not even close to it. This is my "success" but mostly my hard work story... CLICK HERE!!

my idiot step father gave his maltese chocolate and the poor think was squealing in pain for the next day, i mean squealing like he had been hit or stepped on or something and vomiting everywhere. it was awful. needless to say he is NOT going to do that again. If you know something has the potential to hurt your dog then why risk it. i know i wouldnt.

Oh wow everyone, thanks so much for all the posts, it is helping me a heap. i had no idea that lenards would be so economical to buy chicken!! will be getting started within the month, as soon as this bag of food is gone.

Hey everyone...i hve decided to finally pull my finger out and start raw feeding. I know there are heaps of topics on how to raw feed etc but i want the most current info on prices etc, so that is why i thought i would start a new topic for this!! What i want to know is the CHEAPEST way to go about this lol. What are the most economic ways to buy meat (and what type of meat), where do i get it from (butchers, BiLo etc??). Blah blah blah Any tips you can give me would be GREATLY appreciated. Rachelle!!

well said

Submissions/stories by the general pet-dog owner - stories of their own use, including failures before use and successes after use (of the prong) i will write one if you need... doing good erny, thanks

perhaps before you make her stay all night in it, you should be getting her more used to it during the day when her whining is not going to be a problem. Just make the crate the most exciting place where all of the god stuff happens. Only feed her in the crate, give her treats, even pet her and play with her in there. When she enters her crate on her own accord then praise her like there is no tomorrow and give her a treat in there.

trust me, if she is hungry she will eat exactly what is put out in front of her - you are creating the problem by pandering to her fussiness - she knows how to play you. And you need to become smarter - it might take a few days but believe me when she is hungry she WILL eat ANYTHING!! Your dog will not starve herself. I had a fussy dog who would only eat a certain food when I first got him...it took 2 days of me not giving in, but he soon found out that if he didn't like what i put down in front of him then there wouldn't be any alternatives. No dog is going to dictate to me what they are going to eat. Anyways, good luck with whatever path you chose to take.

I don't think anyone knows for SURE whether early desexing increases the chances of cancer in males. I think it is similar to all the studies they have done on what does and does not cause cancer in humans. Yeah there are plenty of THEORIES with a bit of evidence to both prove and disprove each one of those theories. I believe the theories on early desexing of male dogs is in that same category. I really do not think it is known for sure...just suspected by some experts and not by others. If it had been proven beyond a doubt then there would be no way that vets would be recommending it. Until then, i guess it is just a matter of everyone weighing up the pros and cons individually - but not just weighing them up, also thinking about each and every pro and con critically and doing your own research on top of it all. Anyways, you have received some great advice from people on this forum and I believe you will make the decision which is right for you. Good luck and please let us know how he goes when the time comes!! Rachelle

IMO it will only be a benefit to get this boy desexed. It is a very simple operation and it will save you a lot of hassle in the future - especially in regards to them escaping to get to female dogs on heat. Male dogs can go to amazingly extraordinary lengths to get to a female dog on heat. You would not believe some of the stories I have heard - prison break at it's best lol Desexing can reduce male to male aggression and territorial behavior (marking territory) and the chance of getting diseases or cancers/tumors in reproductive organs. But most importantly it eliminates the chance of your dog causing an unwanted pregnancy. To me, this is one of the most important because it is helping to keep future dogs out of pounds and put to sleep. If you are not breeding your dog (which you should not be unless you are a registered breeder) then IMO there is no other responsible option but to get your dog desexed, male or female. Good luck and let us know how he goes, would love to see some more photos also!!

hey ruth, i am so sorry you had that experience, I have had the same experience about a year ago.They insisted I used a check collar as prongs were illegal in NSW (what a load of crap). Needless to say i walked out and never when back again. If they are that stupid and close minded then there is no way i want them anywhere near my dog. They are NOT illegal in NSW, this discussion has been had many times before, the RSPCA would like people to believe they are tho. They are way more humane than check collars and there is NO WAY i would ever use a check collar on my dog ever again. Good on you for standing up for yourself. You make sure you keep using the method that works for you and your dog. Stuff what those bastards at training said. ETA: You have had a really bad run in the last few days with idiots and your doggies, havent you ruthless. First the bike episode and now this. You poor thing...they say bad things come in threes...one more to go? :cool: You must be feeling very disheartened at the moment.

train him to recall. best you start now while he is young. do a search on the forum and there are heaps of articles on how to get a reliable recall from your dog. good luck

lol my dog is 2yo and still does that. "wake up mummy, come and get me, it is time for a ride!!" and she wont shut up till i do. then she is fine.

You will get much great advice on here about training a recall but my advice to you is DO NOT let your dog off lead outside a fenced area until his recall is 100%. Ever. Ever. Get yourself a long roap or a long lead and use that.

I have been correcting her for non immediate compliance as you suggested erny. I emailed K9 and he said to do the same thing also. It seems to be making a bit of a difference. we had a really good training session yesterday so i think that added to all the positiveness. So thanks a lot for all the feedback. I guess i am also feeling a lot better knowing that other people have gone thru the same thing with their dog.

she doesn't use the ecollar

lol hmm i dont think she is quite as spirited as your dallie sunds... well maybe at the moment she is, but usually she is very obedient. Just of late this has come about, which is why i am a bit freaked out lol...all my hard work...!!!! where has it gone?!?!?!?! lol

deleted because i double posted

yay, that's great to hear. I'm getting so much joy from all your problems hahaha. Thanks heaps for your experiences/opinions...so i am pretty sure now that she will grow out of it...lets hope soon!

yeah of course she understands it . she is just pretending to be dumb, she has known to sit and drop and stay since she was 10weeks old. and thanks again erny i will start doing that with her tomorrow. see how we go lol Kaz, I seem to remember a similar stage around that age too...but here it is again lol....maybe you'll have another to look forward to in 6 months time :rolleyes:

LOL oh god that is funny. nice to hear you are having problems too isaviz haha, she is driving me up the wall. eta, thanks for that Erny, I have also emailed steve for his expetrtise, but i am afraid he is probably clocked off at this time of night lol...i needed some advice desperately. And I haven't been giving her praise but i haven't been giving her a correction either. Wasn't quite sure which one to give lol - i mean she DID the right thing....eventually haha.

My little puppy has just turned 2 years old (today in fact)...yay, she's growing up...well i didnt know that maturity meant that she would turn into a horrible disobedient, obnoxious little cow. She gets trained daily, she is walked, fed, played with, petted....a very well looked after girl. Of late she has decided that obeying commands is optional and if she decides to do it then she will do it in her own time. I have not let her get away with this behaviour at all! I will give her a command - she looks at me and the second i go to physically put her in position, then she decides to do it. Otherwise she will just keep looking at me. However if i have a treat in my hand, she does it first go every time. I mean seriously it is insane. She will be outside the door and i will tell her to sit - she will just look at me, the second i open the door to make her do it she sits (without me requesting it again) - it is like she is thinking and contemplating whether she will do it or not. She never used to be like this and I have convinced myself that she is going thru a stage - i bloody hope so lol. :rolleyes: Now my question is, is there an "Obnixious Toad" stage of development that dogs go thru at around 2 years old? Please tell me it is simply a stage she is passing thru....!! Please if you have no advice to offer, then tell me a story of your own because it will make me feel better lol edited for typo

:rolleyes: