pipppy

We have had huge eating problems with our boy. (along with separation anxiety and fence jumping when we are not there and extreme thunderstorm phobia, but that is probably a whole other post. lol) For months and months I would buy special things, chicken, raw meat, pasta, tuna etc etc to make sure we had something he would eat.....then he stopped eating all of that as well and the only thing he would he was BBQ chicken meat or sausages. That was not good for him at all!!! Then he wouldn't eat out of his bowl, only off the floor or ground, then he would only eat if we were standing right there with him!!! I have to say that I have had tears also over the situation, and constant worry, it got so that the whole family were just consumed with getting the dog to eat, no matter what, I use to get a text msg from my daughter, did the dog eat today? Anyway, some one I trusted regarding our dog, told me in no uncertain terms that he was playing games with us and manipulating us to give him what he wanted and was all part of his anxiety. So under much duress I followed what I was told I needed to do. Basically gave him kibble only, (and don't change brands every 2nd week because he wouldn't eat that brand anymore), give him 15 minutes to eat a small amount, take it away for 30 minutes, give him another 15 minutes to eat and then that was it, no more chances until the next day when he got less if he didn't eat the lot the day before. He didn't eat a thing for the first 4 days, i was beside myself but kept going under threat of mutiny by the rest of the family. once he started to eat we increased the amount. (very similar to a teach to eat link that was posted in a previous post, only not quite so strict) Anyways he still has his days when he turns his nose up and walks away, and I am pretty much OK with that now as I can see in hindsight that i was not doing him or us any favours in tempting him with everything i could imagine. It just made him rely on us to provide him with gourmet food. He is just not a big eater, but we have managed to put some decent weight on him now, I think about 5kgs in a few months, which he badly needed. He only gets a bone or special treat if he has eaten all his kibble now. Looking at the pics of your girl, she looks ok, our boy got soooo skinny, to the point of it was embarrassing when visitors would comment how skinny is your dog!! So I am just trying to say, I have really been in the same situation, Its obvious you love her very much, just like we love our Billy and thought we were doing the right thing. Our vet said there was no reason he wasn't eating, except that he knew it would get him what he wanted. Turns out it was true, it wasn't easy, and still isn't sometimes, but we have had success and I don't stress nearly as much. Good luck.

Nekhbet, could you tell me where you purchase something like this and also the brand that yours is. I have spent the morning on the internet looking for fences just like the one in your pic and am a bit confused, so many brands and different things available. Then I saw your picture and that is EXACTLY what i am looking for. If you could point me in the right direction of brand or what to look for that would be great. I can relate to the first post, our boy has gone off the rails, we think he was traumatised somehow by installation of a new fence two houses up.....lots of banging and clanging installing the fence, we wernt home and he escaped, not for the first time, but for the last 3 weeks we have not been able to let him outside un watched. we extended the gate to six foot and up and over he went. now he has started jumping into our neighbours yard in the blink of an eye, this is totally not ok as neighbours are elderly and already making noises of "ÿou will have to get rid of that dog". We only need to fence off a small area accross our back fence and also a small area along the side fence as the rest either has 8 foot latice or grage etc stopping him jumping. We are in consultation with a trainer trying to sort him out but in the short term his jumping is going to get him into serious trouble, last time he got out he went for a dog being walked past and also a neighbours cat was lucky to escape. Thanks.

Thanks Mel, gees i just cant remember the name of the drug, clomicalm, hmm i am just not sure if that was it, i was a bit overloaded with info last night and am due to go back to see the vet in a few weeks to review the situation and discuss options. Your comments are exactly what i am looking for, i need to here views and suggestions as i am in a bit over my head with this and want to make an informed desicion, i will pm you for some more info. thanks!

Our 16mth germ shep x had a very nasty time in a storm here yesterday, he injured himself in quite a few places and on top of that ran himself so exhausted that his muscle started breaking down and he was peeing blood and his kidneys were not in great shape. After a trip to the vet, a drip, steroids and antibotics injection whe had a long discussion with the vet on what we can now do to help our boy. He is currently on valium in the short term and the vet has suggested a long term course of treatment with a different drug ( which i am now struggling to remember the name of.) However she has suggested that as we are rapidly approaching/in the middle of storm season and fireworks season and the long term meds will take some weeks to kick in we should use valium or xanax as the need arises (she has given us detailed dosages and instructions) and start long term meds when storms and fireworks have settled a bit. His anxiety has been increasing steadily over the last few months and we have done everything suggested....no fussing or rewarding anxious behaviour, distraction etc. We have been very aware of not making the problem worse. It was just that no one was here yesterday when the storm hit, and it was a particularly nasty one, and so all hell broke lose. We had tried desensitisation also but he wasnt at all phased by recorded thunder/fireworks. We have now started using Dog appeasing pheromone in the house, ( he spends afternons and evenings inside) vet has also suggested vitamin B and camomile tea in his drinking water but thinks his problem is now so severe he will need long term medication. Anyway, sorry about the waffling on but basicly i am very interested in hearing from people who have had success from medicating for this problem when it is very severe.

I am thinking he doesnt necesarily need to be the biggest pup to be the dominant one, also he may be doing it to you as it was done to him in his litter and you are his new litter and he wants to see if you want to play like his litter mates did. You can firmly tell him no and stop him each time, ours did it for a few months on and off but he is 6.5 mths old now and hasnt done it for a while now.

Our boy was desexed at 9 weeks, we got him at ten weeks and yes he was a humper, I think its a dominance thing.....puppy school was interesting he humped everything and everone, vveeerrryyy embarrasing.

Billy isnt too much of a chewer, he has chewed a few things, the hose and stuff if we leave it laying around, but not too much of anything, however he uses the swinging chair often as his bed and one day after months of no trouble he half destroyed one of the cushions.......so dont get too complacent, he may have some big random chewing act up his sleave yet, just when you dont expect it

Billy is perfectly house trained when he is inside, he will actually go and sit at the back door to go out to toilet, alternativley if he has not been out for a while i will just say come and do a wee, he comes out with me does a wee and waits at the door to come back in with me. We trained him just like normal when he was spending time inside. We were out all morning, we filled his shell with water, he has lots of shade and toys and nice places to rest, He has been inside here all afternoon in the aircon, he is now outside as we are going to eat out there, and he will probably come back in later. Sometimes he doesnt want to come in if he has a particularly fun thing to keep him busy. We love Billy to death, spoil him rotten, i dont feel at all guilty if he is outside when we are at work or sleeping as he seems perfectly happy and is well sheltered and entertained, and he never barks or whines. I understand having dogs sleeping inside, but i dont think its the only option and i would hate people to feel guilty about it when it can work well with some thought and preperation.

our boy sleeps outside, for the first few weeks he slept in the laundry, we set up his kennel outside, with mattress outside, and it is all under a large very protected shelter. We gradually got him use to spending time outside and he would sleep in his kennel in the day. We would put treats in there for him to entice him in, and we left the top off for a while until he got use to it, then, One night he fell asleep in his kennel and i woke him and brought him in, the next night he fell asleep out there i left him, i got no sleep but everytime i checked on him he was fast asleep all snug in his kennel. Now he either sleeps in his kennel, on the swining chair or on one of the out door chairs, these are all under shelter and he doesnt seem to mind one bit. I often check on him during the night and he rarely even lifts his head when he sees me, just opens his eyes and goes straight back to sleep, he gives us no trouble at all.....he is not a beagle so i cant comment on beagles specificaly. He is mainly an outside dog but spends time inside during the day if we are home and of a night he is usually in for a couple of hours. He is played with every day, walked every day and spends lots of time with us either inside or out. Sometimes i think the term outside dog has a certain negative connitation to it, but not all "outside dogs" are just left out there and ignored.

Whilst i dont have a daschie i think the basic technique is the same with most pups and you have been given good advice about ignoring its cries. Beleive me i know how hard it is, the first night our boy cried quite a bit, and boy was it hard, the 2nd night he hardly cried at all and after that he only cried to go out to toilet. Definately totally ignore, dont sit with it, dont make a fuss, its very difficult at first but it really does work, the first time he settles on his own you will want to open the door and check he is ok!!! (but dont LOL). We also found this sort of set him up for future tantrums as he knew from the start that whinging wouldnt get him anything. Lots of people swear by crate training and have great succsess but, as our boy was going to be an outside sleeper (and is now) we didnt worry about it, we just used the laundry for the first few weeks. If your pup is going to be inside all the time a crate may be the way to go.

We are going through teething here also, seems to be going forever LOL. Try giving him something cold. Our pup has kibble and sometimes I put his lunch in a small container, just cover it with water and freeze it, he loves it, if you have a kong for him you can also freeze peanut butter in it to give to him, or even normal icecubes made up with chicken or beef stock to add some flavour. We have had a fair bit of blood, one night he was playing with his favourit chew toy in the house and he managed to smear blood all over the carpet before i realised what was happening. Yikes.

Its interesting that there are currently a my dog never barks, and a my dog barks too much thread running on here at the moment. Ahh dogs gotta love em! I have a non barker so far, and i am in no means an expert, but from reading many posts on the forum i often hear that a tired, stimulated dog is less likely to bark, does he get much exercise, is he walked?

Billy is 6mths old and appart from barking as a small pup to go out to the toilet in the middle of the night he has barked maybe 10 times and then its just one or two woofs and its done. We have a VERY yappy dog 2 houses down that use to run up and down our back fence all day (no back neighbours), which would then set off the dalmation next door and sometimes the barking would go on and off for most of the day ggggrrrr, but Billy never caught on, it actually use to scare the poor little bugger, and mysteriously the little yappy dog two houses down has been completely quiet lately, which i think has something to do with some of the other neighbours complaining. I would never complain about a non barking dog. LOL. I dont care for Billy to even bark as a warning, i would just prefer no barking at all.

ohhhhhhhhh how cute!

That is the funniest thing I have heard all day! I tell you he is obsessed, he is an outside/inside dog and he comes in everynight for a few hours and will generally hang around the back door dropping hints to come in, but, when i take him out for the toilet i cant get him to come back in when the beatles are about he just cant drag himself away.

It is very true that you should not give into every cry or whimper for attention. When we first got our boy at 10 weeks he would sleep in the laundry, he only really carried on the first few times and after that he was very good only crying in the night if he needed to go to the toilet. We have never done crate training but many here swear by it and you should definately check it out. We used the laundry at night or when he needed time out and for sleeping during the day. After a while he got use to spending time outside on his own, for the first little while he wouldnt leave the back steps and if he whimpered and cried we would actualy shut the door....sounds mean and it killed us but he soon learnt that crying and scratching at the door made things worse. As a recent member here with a new pup and needing to know lots of things its a good idea to spend a while just browsing some of the topics, you will pick up heaps of tips. Do you have any pictures?

Our boy has been pretty good.....but here are a few small indiscretions. Has slowly been chewing away the cover off the BBQ destroyed a couple of pot plants, but hey not all of hem. Has a strong urge to rid our back yard of the evil green garden hose. Gets up on the outside glass table after weh have eaten and gone inside to check we didnt leave anything edible on there. His main aim at the moment is to wipe out the xmas beatle population, the other night i went outside and there were at least 20 beatles on the ground in different states of desmemberment, some half ones, some without legs, many either dead or stunned just laying on the pavers. Billy was slowly munching his way through them. eeewww.

Hi Sas, yes your 1st parragraph sums up the situation nicely, and on top of that when she does try to do the right thing and it doesnt work the first time she gets frustrated and says she just cant do it. We have definatley explained the importance of being the leader to the dog, i actualy asked our oldest daughter to read the chapter in the dog whisperer on walking and the improtance of doing it right as she walks the dog a bit. I think Jess would be a bit lost with that style of book though so i am going to see what i can find around that might be more suitable for her to read. I came home today and our middle daughter aged 15 had spent the whole day with billy inside and she said she had no trouble with him, (apart from the usual puppy hijinx which she handled fine.) I really think a big part of it is the dog not wanting to be the bottom of the pack, he is strong headed and Jess (13yr old) is quite a softy.

Wheres my rock...thanks for the offer but sadly I am in NSW. I think daughter will benefit from training with the dog, i am sure she will listen there, its only me she doesnt listen to. LOL An example of her i know everything attitude was the other day the two of us took him for a walk, hubby and i have been working hard with him to improve his manners when walking and have had great success, but as soon as she had him she was letting him stop and sniff everything, and he was pulling, when i made a few suggestions to her about controling him it all ended in tears with her stomping back off home in a huff, needless to say she has not been out walking with him again, oh and the neighbours thought it was a great show!!!!! I have to laugh about it now but it is an indication of her not wanting to listen. Thanks for the book tips i will investigate those suggestions further. It is true that the dog and the daughter are both looking for leadership, she is the baby of our 3 daughters so I know all about teenagers looking for boundries to be set but not wanting to stick to them! I am concerned that the pup will go too far with her, although he has never shown any aggression just nipping, but as this is all new to us i am keen to get things under control and get things back on track with the dog and the daughter. As I said he is generally quite well behaved, although he is very strong headed and does need a firm hand. I will let you all know if i have any luck getting her to toughen up with him and take control in an appropriate manner between now and when we start formal training in feb.......wish me luck and thanks for all your advice and suggestions.

Well we are starting obedience training in Feb and she is deffinately comming along to that with us, she is excited about it, and she was handling him fine until recently, i think he is having a stage and so is she! I am hoping obedience training will help also.....but until then i guess i just keep running to her rescue ????

Arrgg dont know if its a problem with my daughter or the dog....well both really, I know she does all the wrong things with the dog, cuddles him to death, plays with him and can no longer discipline him. He jumps all over her, cirlcles her, nips her, all the bad things that he would never ever do with me, he is very well behaved for hubby and I and he guess he doesnt like being right at the bottom of the pack. I have been trying to take daughter back to basics with the dog but as all girls of that age SHE KNOWS EVERYTHING She was excelent with him up until a few weeks ago and she is very soft in nature, i am not exactly sure why the change has taken place. My question is am i making it worse by stepping in, as he stops his antics as soon as he sees me or hears me?(or should i ban her from any alone time with him until she actually listens to me and keep in mind this could be until she is through the i know everything stage in oh say another 10 years!) No seriously I know exactly what she is doing wrong but cant get her to listen to me at the moment ( i am working on her and making progress slowly ) but i am really not sure if i am making it worse by running to her defense all the time.

It is very frustrating, but we also contained our dog to the front yard for leash training before fully vacinated, and even that was a bit of a risk as a dog walking past could of left the virus there as i beleive it lasts in the ground for some considerable time. I decided that if it was there we were going to trek it in on our feet anyways so we took the risk of letting him out the front. Its worth waiting a bit longer just to be sure but i totally understand your frustration.

We also used food to teach the command, we taught it at home with no distractions as out walking food rewards dont really interest him. Now he still wants to sniff and mouth everything and often walks for ever with his nose to the ground but instead of pulling madly to get at something his head will turn in interest waiting for us to give him the ok but a small tug on the lead and a firm no will keep him on track. A month ago I thought we would never get to this point so whatever you try it will take time, and patience and consitancy. I also anticipate when we are comming up to something of interest and tell him no as soon as i see him notice it in the distance. Out walking now we reward him by letting him have the occasional stop, sniff and lick and then its off again.

We bath Billy in the laundry tub. I run the water first, and fill a bucket with enough water to rinse him off using a big jug rather than run the tap when he is actually in the tub. The first few times were disastourous, however he is getting much improved, I dont have a lead on him, i just hold him very firmly under his neck, when he starts to squirm a stern no and some reasuring words seem to calm him down and he gives in and tolerates it. I am not saying we still dont end up with water everywhere but over time he is getting much better with the whole process and I end up with the floor cleaned in the laundry as a bonus!. I wouldnt use the outside tap as i think the cold water would freak him out more, i use warm water. The only problem with the tub is lifting him in and out, he may outgrow being able to lift him in, but for now it works for us and i will probably change to the bath tub when he is too big to lift so high. On the upside it is a small contained area and it is easier to control him in such a small space, and i am standing and not bending or kneeling so i have more contol. At the end i pull the plug, wait for the water to drain, wrap a towel around him and dry him off a bit........and then he runs outside and rolls around on the grass for about 4 hours. LOL

Mine LOVES crunching christmas beetles. I tried taking them away from him, but he has just learnt to chomp them down quicker now! Doesn't seem to harm him - extra protein perhaps?? At first Billy would just flick them around with his paws, he would put them in his mouth and he would spit them out because they were still buzzing in there, but now the buzzing in his mouth doesnt even bother him, crunch crunch, yuk