BigBen

Since it's only gotten worse in the last couple of weeks, I would have her checked out by a vet, just to rule out any medical conditions...

Please read up on clicker training... My daughter thought it was 1 click for sit, 2 clicks for down etc... Karen Pryer has a great site... Just google clicker training... Lots of info out there...

Did you teach her to leave the object on her nose first...?? I would probably have back chained this exercise...

Ben wasn't reliable untill 5 months old... I think it was because I left the door open to the outside, so he never learned the difference between inside and outside... When it started to get warm, I closed the door to put on the aircon, and he got it within a couple of days..

Yep, turn your back... It's no fun for the dogs, when there's no reaction (positive or negative)... When the dog has all four paws on the ground, or is sitting, give a treat along with a quiet 'good dog'.. Good luck..

Maybe 'firm' just means to be consistent?

I've had a few dogs, who weren't interested in treats... I handfed them for 2 weeks, which taught them that food comes from my hand... Also just throwing a treat on the floor in front of them works... they'll explore it and then eat it...

Have you notified your breeder of the problem...?? Are any of the other puppies affected? It's frightening, when you notice something wrong with your puppies legs... Glad you have it under control...

Well done for changing his feeding regime... Now close the door! Ben was not reliable until it was time to close the doors and put the aircon on... and I think the fact that he could walk in and out as he pleased made inside and outside seem the same to him. I was very frustrated...

I would NOT send my dog anywhere... I would want to see how he's being trained, and learn from the trainers myself...

I see this behaviour in my grand children, because the oldest is NOT allowed to be the boss... Like, if he/she has something, and the little one wants it... the little one starts screaming, parents can't handle the noise, and the little one gets whatever he/she wanted... Puppies are quite clever, too...

As others have said, I would just put down the food, and if he doesn't eat it, you take it back till next feeding... If you keep on trying different things, your puppy will become a very fussy eater, indeed... Yes, you can feed raw chicken wings and necks... You can feed those from as soon as they start chewing. Never give him cooked bones, chocolate, avocado, onions etc... Teaching him to give something up to you, have a very valuable treat in your hand (such as cooked chicken, sausage, cheese). When he drops the item for the treat, say 'drop it' or 'leave' and give him the treat... It'll take a while for him to get the cue... In fact, the first few times I wouldn't use the cue, just heaps of praise... If he refuses to swap, keep the treat and turn you back (no more interaction)

I paid $195 for Ben and that included micro chipping...

I think they want you to try to eliminate one food at a time... If that stops the runnies, you've found the problem.

"Can't" or "won't"? If the boys know you're going to be there to help them out, it's kind of positive reinforcement for them NOT to do anything?????

Puppies can learn all sorts of things.... But things you teach them, have to be ongoing... If you think your puppy has learnt 'stay', keep practicing until the puppy has grown up... and then more...

I wouldn't worry too much about the neighbours at this stage... Worry about the puppy, who has NO idea what's happening... He was secure with his mum and litter mates, and then gets taken away, put in a cold laundry, with no contacts of anything, like warmth from other bodies, heart beats, snoring, sighing, fluffing etc. etc. You have had the 8 week old puppy for 2 days. He's crying in the laundry, and you go and sit with him... you have just reinforced the crying .. You're both going back to work tomorrow, and plan to leave the puppy in the laundry for the day, and the working days here after? Later you're going to leave him outside... Will he have a secure place, like a run, kennel etc? How old will he be, when you want to leave him outside?

Oh, Ben is fine... Thank you for asking... I think one walk is enough for him - he's a big dog, and still only 7.5 months old..

Just on the highlighted sentence... IMO, if you click, you pay... This is the rule the animal has learned.

I think worming her 3 times in 2 weeks without veterinary consult, may have resulted in the runny poo..

Yes 2-3% of the projected adult weight is right... If her weight is just right at 30kg feed 2%... if she should weight less or more, feed 2% of that weight... If she loses weight on the 2%, up it to 3%... Weigh the kipple...

There are a huge amount of training sites on the web (Google dog training) - I like this one: http://www.dogstardaily.com/ Whether your dog is going to be a hunting dog or not, it'll still need a lot obedience training, and Karen Prior's clicker training site is great... Even a hunting dog doesn't know what it's supposed to do, or how it's supposed to behave, unless taught.

Whenever I walk Ben in a different area, he often has his tail tucked in... People then ask me, if he's a greyhound... No, he's a Great Dane X, just hasn't been in this area before... Second time we go through that area, he's fine... I think there are also fear periods, you'd need to take into consideration...

Yep, puppies sleep a lot... It's only if their heart stops beating you have to worry... Gosh.. how bad is that!

Ben does great on it... I had someone leave a full bag of Advance Dental on my doorstep (Thanks!), but Ben seems to vomit on that food.. The ants love it, though...