Flaves

I feed my two NUTRO. I give them raw mince, yoghurt and the NUtro daily. THey also have raw chicken wings, bones and sardines throughout the week. Their coats are glossy, they lose very little hair and their teeth are really clean. AND WE HAVE NO FARTING!!!!!!! My cats are also on Nutro and are doing brilliantly on it.

Maybe ask the question in tehbreeders forum. I asked about getting it done on my female JRT. My vet strongly advised me against it due to a few reasons: Chances of cancer higher The cost The size of the operation - is is longer and more involved especially is everything is very close or entwined as it can be. I know i have not answered your question, i have just passed on some relevant infor from my vet.

To teach the 'leave it' command i used 2 techniques. When in the backyard and Mitch went up toi her poo, yes she was a poo eater, i would growl at her 'agh' and when she looked would say leave it. Kept repeating that and rewarding her when she did leave it. If she went towards it, i would be within reach to redirect her. When on walks and she was attached to the lead, i would use the same technique but would reinforce it with a quick jerk on her lead. THe jerk was a correction not a massive head jerking thing. SHe learnt pretty quick, although when walking hse will try and sneak up to something but usually a growl and a leave it will work and she will ignore it

I started washing my two straight away once they came home. They get washed weekly and they now stand in teh bath. They are 9 and 8 months old. I have a hand help shower attachement that i use, i haev also taught them to ;stand' in the bath. They will both stand until i have squished the water off them and rub them down then they will shake and get out. Try the laundry trough if she still fits, i now use th ebath cause Barker is too big for the trough. But as has been suggested run the water first or get the bucket of rinse water ready and then put the dog in the bath. I wouldn't use the outside tap unless it was a really hot day - although with water restrictions you shouldn't use the hose anyway.

Flycow, Fantastic that you have found a dramatic change in you lab with the food change. We feed Nutro at our place, with raw meat, bones, sardines, eggs, and yoghurt. I swapped over form Science Diet and noticed a massive difference in their performance, coats behaviour adn poo etc. I pay $95.00 for a 15kg bag of Nutro that lasts me 3 months feeding 2 dogs. It works out to about $1.00 a day plus the meat so, realistically i feed the 2 of them for 1.50 a day. I am pretty sure from what i have seen in the pet supply that EP and Nutrience are fairly similar in price to Nutro. It seems that EP didn;t work for you, and each dog is different with food as is each person. See how Nutrience goes for however long the bag lasts for. If you are completely happy, stick with it but if you think that there is still room for improvement then give Mutro a go.

Don't mum dog lick their pups around the bottom to encourage pooing and weeing? Maybe try wiping his bottom with a warn cloth every now and then, that may help him to poo.

I taught Mitchell and Barker the 'leave it' command. I tauight this because Mitchi was eating poo. Now if i tell them to leave it when they are snuffling at something 'yummy' on the ground they will.

THis thread is hilarious. It made me snort my red cordial on my computer screen. What a cack!

I know with my 2, because we are in Melbourne and there does not seem to be the epidemic of parvo that is in nsw, i took Mitchi EVERYWHERE with me. am lucky cause she is a jack russell that i could carry her until her shots were finished. Puppy pplaygroup is great as it is at the vet and they have all had one if not 2 shots. Friends comiing over are okay but you MUST make sure they have been vaccinated. I would wait until the pup has had at least one shot and wait a week before any socialising outside your home, ie with any other pet you have. Maybe ask Haven or Erny or Herr Rottweiller about the socialisation as they are all Australian Dog Trainers and would have more f an idea. Hope i have helped. Kristie

Suz, i am so very sorry for your loss. RIP Bob. Look out for the boys form th ebridge.

THanks IDWT. We both love her dearly. She is great an di know she will improve with age with making sure she does not rule the roost.

Thanks for your replies Sas and IDWT. Mitchi is going on 8 months now. I ignored her, except for feeding her and walking her and did not let her get away with anything. She has had a change in attitude that is for sure! When i said sleep on the floor i meant in a basket or her crate not actually on the floor. I could not do that to her. She is still a little annoyed if someone gets too close to her when she is eating. Maybe i am expectng too much cause she is pretty good with Barker, my other pup, it is more with Bellas' 2 when they come over. If she has food in her bowl or they go to close to the water she can get cranky - and i know it is fair ebough cause it is her food, i suppose i just thought she would continue how she was being really good with everyone around food. it could be she is growing up and realises she has more power. I know that with her behaviour towards me, she pushed too far and there was no way in the world i was letting her get away with that. I don;t approach her each adn every time she has food but i firmly believe that i should be able to approach her when the need arises and calls for it without being worried that she will snap and carry on. None of my dogs have EVER shown the slightest behaviour like this except when they were small pups, they were all told once and then i never had an issue again. IDWT: Is it a JRT thing that they are more domineering and bossy? Or is it just mine? She is such a contradiction: She will roll on her back when you approach adn when another dog goes up to her or she will go up to another dog and roll on her back in a submissive pose but then acts like this or get snotty adn cranky when they want to play with her. She does it with people too. He body language is saying one thing but her snapping says another, it is lke she is passive aggressive. How do i help change this behaviour or at least redirect it?

I have discovered that it is 'higher pecking' order syndrome on her behalf. So we have gone back to basic and are being very strict withg her. She growled and snapped at me last night when i went to move her off the leather couch, she is not allowed on it, so her pig ear was removed and she was put outside. We are back to tough love, no bed to sleep on, she will be sleeping on the mat on teh floor, no couch to sit on. I am really annoyed at myself because it is my fault she has become like this. But it is not on. Any other suggestions?

I have a jack russell and a SHepx. THe shepx is far more careful with the jrt than the other way around. She is definitely the boss. I introduced them slowly an ddid not let them alone until i had had the shep cross for 10 weeks. By this stage Mitchi was 5mo and Barker was 6.5month (shepx). I would separate them. Can you divide the yard? We did and it worked great for us. I would introduce them slowly as it may be a negative for your Goldie and his confidence. Barker was very unconfident due to his life before us. He has gained confidence slowly, but steadily. I did this with training and having separate time for each of them. Hope i have helped.

Okay, Mitchi my jrt is great. She plays nicely with others, she shares toys, she loves playing rough, she listens..... BUT SHe does not like to share her food. SHe will growl and snap at other dogs if they get to close to her. I can pat her, put my hands in her food and everything. She just does not like other dogs near her food. I would prefer it if she just ignored them as Barker does, he makes a face but thats it. I can feed her and other dogs treats at the same time. Last night for example i had Bella nd her two over, i gave them al;l treats, the four of them, at the same time, one after the other - no problems. Nothing not a sound. She has a bone or food in her bowl and if they walk passed she cracks it. I do step in early adn tell her off or remove the other dog but how can i get her to stop being food aggresive? EDITED: 4th entry.

I feed 50/50. They get feed at about 7am and then about 7pm. Have had no accidents inside at all and they will hold until we get out of bed if we havea sleep in. They are brilliant.

My 2 are fed Nutro. I cannot recommend it enough. Since they have been eating it, they have less poo, better coats, no farting, love the dry food. I mix it with yoghurt, raw meat, sardines and they also get bones. I have my cats on Nutro as well and am VERy happy with it.

I m bringing Barker but may bring Mitchi as well. Not sure as she would ge rather excited by all the dogs but it could be good for her.

We had a toy poodle who got mouth cancer. They couldn't operate because it was under her tongue from the join to the bottom of her mouth right back towards the back of her throat. We medicated her and as soon as she was in pain that medication could not help we let her go. A hard decision but the fairest. Good luck, i truly hope that the vets can do something to help this little one.

Mitchi, the jrt, gets 200gr NUTRO ans 2tbs yoghurt and 2/3 cups mince divided into 2 meals cause she is a pup. Barker the shepxkelpie, gets 360gr NUTRo, 3tbs yoghurt and 1.5cups of mince divided into 2 meals cause he is a pup too. I add rice sometimes, chicken, and eggs, i also want tostart adding sardines once a week instead of mince

Pandii your dogs are STUNNING! Caspian is a doll! How cute is he? No way he could have been naughty enough to chew his bed up...lol Mine like plants, sigh, i wish they like to chew their beds instead then my mum, who supplied my plants, wouldn;t get so cranky at me!!! We are getting an electric fence in the next 3 weeks to stop the garden theives. For bed go boring, old towels, blankets no actual bed. He will learn pretty quick.

THankyou all so much. I after reading this i HAVE been making mistakes. Lifting him when he is already sitting instead of catching him before his butt hts the ground. I will try from drop to stand so he does not confuse the too. i knew it couldn't be him that was slow it had to be me!!!!!! Poor love. I probably also made the mistake of lifting him form the middle of his tummy instead of to the side closer to his flank. That may be why he doesn't like my hands there, i was squishing bits that should be squish free! lol

I tried to quote but my computer at home is stupid.... Not the user lol With the hand shy stuff he is inconsistent with it. Soome days and in some instances he will be fine, in others not so god. We can do the same thing 10 times and 7 of the times he will be fine and the other 3 he will panic. But that is another issue i am working on. he comes to us voluntarily for affection and attention, we have never had to make him do it. He also will come as soon as he hears my voice, so i KNOW he wants to do what i say, maybe he doesn't understand? Is that possible even though i say stand and put him in position? CNR and TD, i will try both of those, especially the foot thing. I think it would help with the hand shy issues. I have tried the food lure, and he sit...cause he usually does for food. The move forward he drags himself in a sit. CNR, lift him between his ribs and his willy? I use a hand signal for sit an upside down hand going up, he sees that and does it without the word 80% of the time !!!!!, he does the drop one too i will try and implement a stand signal and see if that helps also. Thanks for allyour help. It is appreciated.

Barker has an issue, or rather i have an issue teaching him stand. Because he is still a little head shy (from before me but he is heaps better than he was), i can say the command and put my hand under his ribs and put him in the stand but he will try and sit because he is freaked/uncomfortable. Micthi knows it but prefers not to do it cause she is a brat, if i say it i make her do it. I asked at training, and was told what i was doing was right. i also tried how i taught my other dogs, taking a fake step forward to get him to rise but he goes forward and sit again. Any suggestions? Thanks

That was a brilliant read. Thoroughly made sense. fantastic.