Danois

Wow - that was pretty unfortunate IR - I was not aware that a dog could get baited through having a baited mouse in its mouth.

There is no way that this will ever be interpreted to include prohibition of tug games. There is very specific ways in which statutes are interpreted and there is even an Act on exactly that. You will note that that Section 34A is within the context of training a dog to attack. A game of tug is not training a dog to attack. Horus was also correct regarding the 'attached' part. This suggests a connection between the item and the person - not simply holding a tug toy or even having it clipped to a belt. You have not trained the dog to attack the orbee ball on the belt. I think those concerned are unnecessarily worried and reading way too much into something.

It can also be called over-servicing. I don't read that the dog died 'suddenly' - just that it died overnight. It could have gone peacefully in its sleep - sometimes that just happens for no rhyme or reason and not sure why they rushed to the vet for an autopsy. If there is nothing obviously wrong with my dog other than gastro symptoms then I would prefer to observe and leave invasive tests and then if no improvement then look at further steps/ testing. OT - did Gracie eat the mouse?

TB - I would be worried about pancreatitis in the long term. Personally I would feed lamb flaps and chicken carcasses.

Personally I would not even push them down before turning away as that is giving them the contact - I would step back and then turn away. You need to 'train' the other people in the dog park - tell them as she approaches to ignore her and turn away from her jumping. Hopefully she will soon get the idea. With regards to a dog jumping as you approach, I was taught this approach. Have one person holding the dog on a lead and you walk up and approach the dog. As soon as they start to strain, jump etc you stop - you will still be out of their reach. They should eventually sit - reward this and move off. Come back again and repeat. Do this numerous times. The dog will be learning to sit as you approach it and learning that jumping will not get it the attention/ reward it wants. If the jumping is happening as you come home (ie no one there to hold them) then place a babygate in the hall between you and them. Wait until they sit behind the babygate and then reward. Personally I do not think an extender lead is a good idea on dogs who do not know loose lead walking etc as they teach the dog to pull. There is also a risk that it could snap suddenly and dog will be loose.

Satin balls should be used wisely. My vet was not overly impressed by the ingredients list due to the richness of them which could cause upset stomach/ diaorreha etc

Thanks for the explanation - silly me on not knowing how to post on this forum. OP, I would not recommend that you adopt this approach when introducing your new puppy to the car. This is teaching a puppy that it is okay to be scared/ frightening of such noises and you are condoning/ reinforcing the behaviour and rewarding it (pats/ praise etc). You will find that every dog trainer worth their salt will advise you that you completely ignore such noises etc and ignore any reaction the puppy has to it.

TSD - very very dangerous! Mine had faded and they have now all come flooding back!

I must have been lucky with Angs - he must have been on rimadyl about a dozen times and had no side effects despite having immune mediate problems.

There was no indication that these dogs were suffering in any way. What the??? OP says dog is PARALYSED You say - no indicaton the dogs were suffering. Is there a part of paralysed that is not understood? What about paralysis of airways? bowels? bladder? How about pyschological effect on the dog? How is this not suffering?? IMO this is straight out abuse.

Its called having a discussion - setting outside different view points on the same topic so other people can consider what is being said...

A dog should always have access to fresh water. I, and others in this forum who suggested it to me and 'The Puppy Whisperer' book (who said to prepare the pup for it's first night by removing all food and water after 8pm) disagree. This is working for us and he's not dying from thirst in the morning. At 10 weeks he now sleeps through the night after going to bed at 9pm then does pees n poos at 6.15am when he wakes. Throughout the day he has access to fresh, filtered water. The vet said he is doing great, weighs 10 kilos and will be a big boy. He'll get another check at 12 wks with his vaccs. I agree with the no access to food bit in the sense that I do not agree with free feeding so puppy would not have access to food after 8pm - which is somewhat artificial time as surely this depends on your own bedtime? He may not be "dying of thirst" but certainly there would have to be dehydration - does the Puppy Whisperer advocate this approach too on warmer/hot nights? My 15 week old puppy has numerous drinks between 8pm and 11pm (or so) as he is active during this time. He generally sleeps from my bedtime through to around 7 unless I get up in the night and then make him get up too.

A dog should always have access to fresh water.

Thanks Snowysal. Angs - I had hoped with all of my heart that we would see your 2nd birthday but it was not meant to be - Happy Birthday my Wangus.

I would not wait 2 weeks to start the toilet training - this needs to be done from day 1. This is a lot easier than trying to unbreak 2 weeks of habit. Toilet training is not hard - it just requires vigilance and patience. Train him to pee on those absorbent training pads not newspaper otherwise he will learn to associate newspaper with peeing and you will get nasty surprises if you leave the papers on the bed for example. Personally I would leave him at the breeders til 10 weeks when you take your holiday or at least take several days to settle them in.

Personally I would not feed Hills to a giant breed and do not know anyone who does- you need a giant breed specific food like Large Breed Euk, Giant Breed Royal Canin or Large/Giant Eagle Pack. Look at the first ingredients - there is no proper protein source there and it is bulked out with grains. Go to www.urbananimal.com.au and look at the past issues - starting around issue 10 is a series on what is in dog food and is really interesting (it was a 5 part series). You need to be careful about calcium levels with giant breeds. Here are some ingredient lists for giant breed specific food: Large Breed Science Diet Ground Whole Grain Corn, Chicken By-Product Meal, Corn Gluten Meal, Dried Beet Pulp, Chicken Liver Flavor, Pork Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), Fish Oil, Flaxseed, Soybean Oil, Iodized Salt, Potassium Chloride, L-Lysine, vitamins (L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin, Folic Acid, Vitamin D3 Supplement), Choline Chloride, Vitamin E Supplement, L-Tryptophan, minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), preserved with Mixed Tocopherols and Citric Acid, L-Carnitine, Calcium Carbonate, Beta-Carotene, Rosemary Extract. Royal Canin Giant Breed Ingredients: dehydrated poultry meat, rice, vegetable protein isolate*, maize, animal fats, hydrolysed animal proteins, beet pulp, minerals, soya oil, fish oil, yeasts, fructo-oligo-saccharides, psyllium husks and seeds, L-lysine, yeast extract (source of manno-oligosaccharides), DL-methionine, egg powder, taurine, hydrolysed crustaceans (source of glucosamine), L-carnitine, hydrolysed cartilage (source of chondroitin), marigold extract (source of lutein). Eukanuba Large Breed Chicken, Corn Meal, Ground Whole Grain Sorghum, Chicken By-Product Meal, Fish Meal (source of fish oil), Brewers Rice, Chicken Digest, Dried Beet Pulp (sugar removed), Dried Egg Product, Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E, and Citric Acid), Brewers Dried Yeast, Salt, Potassium Chloride, Vitamins [Vitamin E Supplement, Ascorbic Acid, Beta-Carotene, Vitamin A Acetate, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate (source of vitamin B1), Niacin, Riboflavin Supplement (source of vitamin B2), Inositol, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride source of vitamin B6), Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid], Calcium Carbonate, Choline Chloride, Minerals [Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Potassium Iodide, Cobalt Carbonate], Dicalcium Phosphate, DL-Methionine, Glucosamine Hydrochloride, Marigold Extract (source of lutein), Chondroitin Sulfate, Rosemary Extract. Eagle Pack Giant Lamb Meal, Ground Brown Rice, Ground Yellow Corn, Oatmeal, Chicken Meal, Dried Beet Pulp, Chicken Fat (Preserved with Natural Mixed Tocopherols and Citric Acid), Corn Germ Meal (Dry Milled), Brewers Dried Yeast, Anchovy & Sardine Meal, Flaxseed, Dried Egg Product, Salt, Potassium Chloride, Inulin, Glucosamine Hydrochloride, Beta-Carotene, DL-Methionine, Vitamin A Acetate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, d-Pantothenic Acid, Niacin Supplement, Choline Chloride, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, Folic Acid, Ascorbic Acid, Biotin, Rosemary Extract, Inositol, Dehydrated Kelp, Polysaccharide Complexes (sequestered) of Zinc, Iron, Manganese, Copper and Cobalt, Potassium Iodate, Sodium Selenite, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus casei, Enterococcus faecium, B. Subtillus, Bacillus lichenformis, Bacillus coagulins, Aspergillus oryzae and Aspergillus niger.

With no luck. I'm going crazy. The vet has already ruled out no illnesses, like I said, everytime we go and mention it, there is no sign anything is wrong. She won't even eat meaty bones. Keep going - don't give her anything different as you are againr reinforcing that if she holds out long enough something else with come along.

Sorry to hear about Roggie Dog MJ Hopefully Angs knows his way around at the Bridge now and he can show Roggie all the best places to play and sleep. Massive hugs to you and your family.

Agree with not tempting her. This is teaching her that if she refuses food and holds out long enough then she will get something better than what was first offered. Feed her the same thing every meal. If it is kibble then try dampening it with water and then stirring it with a smidge of vegemite on the fork. If she does not eat it within 15-20 mins - put it away - don't free feed her. Repeat at next meal time. She will not let herself starve but it can be hard watching them not eat. I went through 3 days of this with my new pup but in the end he was hungry enough. Should add - would recommend getting a vet check to rule out any illness/ health probs.

Christ - I have had my 13 week old puppy for 2 weeks now and I am still working on the bite inhibition but it is improving. Yeah I get frustrated as less than 18 months ago I trained Angs not to bite in a couple of days. However there is no way in hell I would give Baloo up because of the fact he is still mouthing me. I actually recognise that ME, MYSELF and I are solely responsible for this - I have not been as consistent with it as I should have been which means I have given confusing signals. However I think the difference in my case is that I can recognise that the responsibility lies with me. I know there is no point in comparing him to Angs even though they are the same breed they have their own personalities. I am loathe to say this as I think that you need to learn to take responsibility for your actions and not simply give up because you perceive it is too hard but perhaps in fairness to the puppy it is best you rehome it now. Poor thing already has had 3 homes in 5 months and deserves to be with a family who wants it. Unfortunately I can see this puppy being confined to the backyard to live out a bored lonely existence (and no doubt you would post about a lab with barks and digs) if you don't.

I believe the reference to a 'gun dog' was a reference to the Group that Labs are in under the ANKC.

I found my solution in Orijien food. No bones. No grains.

http://www.bowhouse.com.au/p/514053/joint-...ufus-coco-.html Is this the range? But I think there is another - there was someone at Barktoberfest here in Sydney that had a stall. Maybe look on www.muttspace.com.au?

Damp kitchen sponge

Hi IR - I have seen you post this a number of times. Is it really appropriate to be telling everyone on here to contact him by PM for free advice? I know that it certainly annoys me when people PM me wanting free advice. Its even more so in the case of a vet as they cannot see the animal which is critical to any advice. Maybe it would be better to allow him to come in and respond if he believes it is appropriate for him to do so.