persephone

My pig..definitely NOT a mini...was bought up with the dogs and his constant companion, a kitten...and until he was too big, wore a chain collar and lead sometimes. he was trained with food , mostly. He would sit, and kiss, and fetch, was housetrained ( did it himself after 2 days!! ) and did food refusal. he would ring a bell on the porch when he wanted to come inside, and knew that the 'ting' of the microwave meant food! When small , he travelled well in the car, too. do some reading of piggy society..and enjoy :D they are very similar to dogs, yet SO very different!! Much more human in their reactions to things.... If I thought about them too much I would never enjoy my bacon again . My boy got red icypoles when he was sick...he lay there and cried with a tummy upset... he used to throw up when badly scared by something....then come for a cuddle... BUt...he defended himself just like a pig..with head-tossing, shoulder bumping, and teeth When he grew up I couldn't have him around the dogs..he was a couple hundred kilo of piggy!! he was a feral, too, 'rescued' after his mother was shot.,which made his trainability and wonderful temperament all the sweeter ;) I miss him a lot...it is about 7 years since he died.... with a young fan waiting to eat his first birthday chocolate cake !! Grunt,With his friend, Frank ( they were on Funniest Home Videos once..we didn't win anything, but it was fun :D

The dog was being a dog. he was reacting on instinct...NOT deliberately deciding to bite a human!! he should have somewhere of 'his own'where he can sleep UNDISTURBED by the toddler, and toddler should be told that this is Kirby's special spot...just for him, blah blah blah...it will eventually sink in

I would suggest a vet check to rule out any disorders affecting his appetite. THEN....he gets what's on offer, or nothing. I'm afraid I don't believe in mixing up treats or human food with the dog's food as an incentive....(unless it is for an ill or very elderly 'patient' ) . A lot of exercise and not a lot of food choice would be my way of trying to get him leaping with glee at the bowl

Instead of telling him off..how about just telling him if he touches the dog while she is on her bed, he will probably get bitten...it will hurt, and he will cry.

Letting the dog have a KID free time when she is on her bed is a great idea! Our dogs are used to that, and visitors are told...when dogs are on their beds..NO TOUCHEEE! Only thing is...make sure little fingers ,toys etc.cannot be poked into crate!!

Hamlet slept ouside in a flyscreened, tin roof shed..made him a little draught-proof 'cubby' with lots of bedding.He had 2 bricks(heated all day on the slow-combustion heater) wrapped in an old jumper, and he never made a sound, or chewed anything. ( or kept me awake) Sleeping oudoors is fine! Both puppies will be fluffy, and well- covered by coat..if they play with other they will warm up...buy/build a solid draught free kennel, face the door away from the south, and they will be fine. Another thing...I am hoping your pergola cover can not be reached by the pups? With long nights , and two ratbags...all sorts of damage will be done!!!

our puppies never get wetted food..maybe she likes crunchy?

Hi..have a look at this little online book. Karen has a lot of good ideas and routines. Well done for trying to sort this out before it gets worse! Do you know the history of your new dog? Maybe it has never been with kids, or maybe , if a rescue the problem may have been why its owners rehomed it? http://www.safekidssafedogs.com/html/online_book.html

I use a plastic 'basket' muzzle! The dogs can drink with it on...and it is removed for food time there is no problems with not being able to see properly. or getting caught on furniture, either.

TNS.. nasty. I just googled this. http://www.bryningbordercollies.com/TNS Hopefully your puppy is just suffering from too much of a good thing.

Ohh...what a lovely old face. Sorry, rozzie and Mr Rozzie.

Hi..Not sure if feeding Chi's is any different to other pups... but I would be NOT using rice, using raw human grade chicken necks, not mince, and the raw veges/fruit can be a very small amount, pureed or juiced, I guess Make any changes gradually to avoid upset tummy...and enjoy reading advice from others here who know more about chi's and diet than me

Hi....if you can afford it..find a friendly skin specialist, and see what their opinion is. You may want to also find a vet who does 'alternative ' treatments...my old Mitch had horrible skin...grass and food colouring allergies, etc. Injections of vitamin C helped a bit. Best of luck.

Cause they LOVE it The worst is when they come back from being somehwere in a park etc, and you just KNOW the smell is NOT any 4 legged animal !!!!!!!!!! URK!!

Bonnie Working Dog ;)

Which is why I will never have a deep chested breed again Lost Kieran to bloat/torsion... read up..and did the right things....soaked food, fed elevated, rested... then the day he died, he had scoffed no more than a mouthful of dry bikkies of the ground....that was all. Normally, after eating 'illicit' food, I used to make him vomit..but as the quantity was so small, I didn't worry Later, when the vet told me to make him vomit..and he couldn't......then I knew , and we went for our final car ride. I feel for your friend.

Oh..you poor thing. What sort of puppy...and what age? Do you walk it before work? A tired puppy will sleep have you seen these toys? http://www.aussiedog.com.au/catalogue/c1

sounds a good idea Acupuncture may help in sit's like this !

Don't forget to sterilise/throw out brushes, combs, coats,blankets etc store away for the past few weeks, and collars. Spores will be dropped with hairs..so vacuum, clean vac bag/body and leave in sun, too. Hmm..just googled this ! http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_ringworm.html

On Hamlet and the others with not heaps of undercoat..those $2 grooming mitts do a good job, with a human comb on the longer bits. They love it!!

he doesn't know it's wrong, because he hasn't been taught that it iS wrong;) he needs to be told at the FIRST sign of roughness.EVERYTHING has to stop...the kids especially have to understand that how they behave affects the way the pup behaves! Each has to learn to react appropriately. have a read here...I have a lot of respect for Karen's trying to lessen the bites etc on kids. http://www.paw-rescue.org/PAW/PETTIPS/DogT...sSafeDogs_1.php

Frank..there will probably be much better ideas than mine along soon...I would suggest that your daughter does some leash work with young Baley! Show her how to walk him around, and get him to sit, etc. yelling and shouting at a dog/pup is natural..but I see them interpreting it as you 'barking' and joining in!!! have him around her only on a long lead..and do NOT let her play with him, or talk to him unless he is sitting quietly, and she is approaching him calmly! As for your method of getting him submissive...while it may work..you would look a trifle ridiculous doing it whilst out walking ...and it does put you awfully near the pointy end, and possible danger. None of our dogs have ever attacked anyone...and we have never had to resort to the method you use.... May I also suggest he gets some tough interactive toys...kongs, and a soccer ball, for starters, so he can wear off some energy. That, and his 2 walks each day should help...he will be maybe be a bit less excitable. edit to say "snap, " kavik

Hope she continues along the road now !

we use milk arrowroot biscuit bits instead ....

ours get them as part of their normal food