badboyz

My biggest worry, especially with puppies, is them seriously injuring themselves if for some reason they decide to jump off during the night. I have chi's in the house and my male spent the first year sleeping in a crate in my sons room, and now he is fully grown, sleeps on my sons bed with him. My baby chi sleeps in the laundry in her own bed for now. When she is fully grown she may be allowed on a bed too. I prefer them to sleep apart, as I do not want them too reliant on each other, as there will be times when they will need to be separated. Chi's do tend to jump at strange noises, so could be inclined to jump off the bed at night. They do not realize how small they are. IMO strict rules in a puppy create a well balanced well behaved dog, and the rules can be relaxed later as an adult. A dog that can sleep on its own will be much less stressed if they need to sleep elsewhere (eg. vet/boarding kennel/holiday houseing).

At that age I would also say it was territorial. I used to have trouble with this when I had beagles. They too were mostly outdoor dogs. I do have a cat that sleeps on our bed, so that probably had something to do with it too. Never had a shar pei do it ever, for some reason, or the chi's, who are allowed on the beds when we are on them. I still have a cat. As said earlier, try to keep the bedroom doors closed when you are not in there.

Gone up to $26 in my local Bunnings. I think they are on to us!

Thanks Charles. I really feel he is perfectly healthy, so will just monitor the heart rate every so often to be sure it stays regular.

Actually a couple of weeks ago I believe he had a run in with a cane toad. He came in from outside (in the evening) frothing rubbing his face madly and vomitted quite a few times. I washed his mouth out a few times after doing an online search. He seemed to settle after a while and slept normally on my sons bed. Seemed fine in the morning. Could this have caused an issue with his heart?

Thanks for the advice Rappie. My vet did advise the same, counting the heartrate as you described. When resting it seems to be around the 90 mark and when playing around 120. No clinical sypmptoms of a problem at all.

Wondering if anyone can advise me here. I took my chi boy (15mths) to the vet for his vaccination. The vet listened to his heart and commented that she considered it slow for a dog his size and age, and more normal for a large breed. It was about 90 bpm. She did relate a story about a dog she had whose heart rate was very slow and slowed down to about 36 bpm. The dog died not long after. My boy was very subdued from the moment we walked in the door. He is usually bouncy and lively and interested in everything, but today he just sat very still and practically flopped on the steel examination table. Possibly did not like the whole surgery smell and feel. Is she just being paranoid due to her own experience or should I be concerned?

She sounds perfect to me! If you are concerned about her health, have her checked by your vet (heart, etc). Otherwise consider yourself lucky!

What a sweetie Moosepup. Make sure you join the "chi forum" in the general/breeds area: http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?showtopic=105948

I know what you mean with having a dog that would suit agilty/obedience training. I have a 4mth old shar pei pup and would love that sort of home for him as he is so switched on and focused, just like his dad is. He is screaming out to be trained and to use his brain. So wish I had the time and energy, but I have a chi pup to show in conformation and this pup's dad has just started agility (@ 4yrs). First day and he took everything like a pro he is so smart (so proud of my boy). I would have thought a foxie would be a great agilty dog. He's sure a nice looking fellow.

Only thing this thread proves is that every dog is different. I change my dog food regularly between the premium brands. Does not do them any harm at all. I think I prefer Pro Plan though, as a first choice. Did Nutrience for a while and output a bit sloppier than preferred. Nutro proved nothing special for my dogs and too hard to get reliably. Generally I buy whatever has the best special/promo. Dry food is less than half of their diet anyway. My cat though is much better on Eukanuba (hairball) than any other. Nutrience made her very sloppy. Have used Hill's also, but she still had hairball issues. Same with the better supermarket brands. Euk definately for her.

I had a 10mth old shar pei returned to me late last year. Owners dumped on me before Xmas, saying that 2 vets said he would need ear canal operation costing $1500. I took him back, put him firstly on a course of antibiotics, changed his food from bonnie to mostly raw and later introduced a small amount of super premium diet. I used canestan cream diluted with saline (as recommended by Peibe) on a cotton bud and in his ear every day at first. He improved very quickly, infection cleared up and he has gone to a new home, with a recommendation to maintain a high quality diet and to use the Canestan once a week. So far so good and no more infections. I have used Malaseb in the past, but find the Canestan much gentler and more effective. I do believe the diet change is the most important though. If you have to get you dogs different diets, then so be it.

The issues are not just about training the dogs. It is about natural sibling rivalry. Siblings, and pups of the similar age raised as siblings, can really love each other to the point of dependancy, but also, and at the same time, see themselves as complete rivals. If you have siblings yourself, though you may love them, could you really live with them peacefully. Sometimes it can work if you are fortunate enough to have 2 dogs of complementary natures, but more often than not it ends in tears (and sometimes bloodshed).

I would absolutely not recommend getting 2 pups together, but especially not siblings. Definately double trouble, especially when they hit puberty! If you want 2 dogs at about the same time, I would suggest you first look for a young adult around the 12mth age (breeders will often have dogs that have not worked out for showing), give him/her time to settle in and get to know you, then find a pup to be it's companion.

Aspley Pet Centre apparantly has a good supply (according to distributors).

Another who always feeds twice a day. Usually just a chicken wing/turkey neck in the am and then a main meal at night of dry and dog mince. Better for their digestion I think.

Wow that's a really good price - might try it myself, though Narangba a little bit far. I will email aquatopia for stockists. Meeka's coat does look lovely.

If as you say "one hyper dog is enough" then perhaps you should reconsider the breed you intend to purchase. From my understanding, lab puppies are pretty full on! I have medium shar pei and tiny chihuahuas. The chi's are mostly indoors and the pei out, but they do interact daily. The pei are not overly boisterous dogs though, even as pups. The male chi tends to bite the pei alot in play - he is very annoying. They pretty much just ignore his nonsense. I am constantly aware of the size difference and never forget that one quick burst of anger from one of the pei's could result in a dead or badly injured chi. Also while it is normal and healthy for 2 dogs to form a close bond, it is also vitally important that they can survive happily without each other. Now I have a second chi baby and as easy it would be to let them sleep together and be together always, it is better for them to have time apart and learn to be individuals. That way they will not be so stressed if the need arises for them to be separated for any length of time (eg, when one is at a vet for some reason, or in my case a dog show, or in season). The adult boy sleeps on my sons bed, while the girl is in her own bed her own area (I don't believe baby pups should sleep on a high human bed - too risky and dangerous).

Also would make a difference which state you are in. In Qld, the breeder registers the pup straight into the new owners name, so regn's are often not sent off till after all pups are sold.

I usually advise boiled or bottled water for the first few days if puppies are going to live in different areas, as a change of water can upset tummies. Has happened to me whenever I've been to Sydney - so no doubt would bother a baby pup. But that is only for the first week while puppy settles. As I said earlier - if you whack the chicken necks with a mallet and/or cut them up into smaller pieces with scissors, puppy will soon learn to chew. If a 10wk old chi can handle it so can a cav. I would not feed wings till puppy was at least 4mths old - and that is for my shar pei. Have never given my chi a wing.

Why don't you giver her chicken necks in the am and royal canin in the pm. Simple and uncomplicated. She should already be used to the RC so should not need too much weaning. Just increase the quantity of RC in your current mix until the other dry is used up.

If it were me I would totally drop the farex with milk - not needed and a waste of a meal in my opinion. I feed my 12wk chi baby 1 chicken neck (crushed with mallet and chopped up into about 3/4 peices) for breakfast. Maybe a little premium dry food for lunch, raw pet mince with fruit & veg mix (bought frozen from a pet food supplier) for dinner. This is basically the same diet for all my dogs, but tweeked for size/age. For example my shar pei pup of the same age gets 3 chicken necks (chopped not crushed) for breakfast and dry/mince mix for dinner. My adult chi gets the same as the pup - generally they steal each others. My adult pei get a chicken wing/frame/turkey neck for breakfast and the dry/mince combined for dinner. Once or twice a week I will add in some tinned fish or the occasional egg. Not at all sure why she would recommend mixing all those different brands of dry food. Mine will only get an occasional tin of Natures Gift if I run out of mince - I usually keep a tin for emergencies only.

Start training her straight away cara. She can go outside in your own property, just not around the streets and parks till after 2nd vacc. My little girl (12wks) is a ratbag too, but I have got her walking well on a show lead now using roast chicken as bribery. I prefer to growl at naughtly puppies or "Arrgh!" rather than use the word NO. It is what their mother's would do and they understand that. I wouldn't tap her nose either - that is more of a play gesture. I would either take hands right away (denying contact) or maybe pinch the cheek with a slight shake (with the low quiet growl) to mimick an adult dog's correction. I am having trouble getting my little one to stand still (though I have not done too much training really). Her first show is in 2 weeks so I better get onto it! Basically you want her to be comfortable following you on a light lead and be able to stand still on a table, preferably without any shyness with the judge. Babies are forgiven alot so don't worry. I could not even get Tazer to walk on a lead at home, he would just lay on the floor. At his first show, to my delight, he trotted along perfectly as there was too much else to take his attention then worrying about a lead. He won his class too.

Kelpiepup, if neither of you have had a male than you do not know what you are missing. For a pet I would choose a male over a female anytime, but particularly if you already have a female.

Brisbane supplier: https://www.classicshowsupplies.com.au/catalog/index.php