Henrietta

Hi everyone. I did a search for this topic and found nothing, so I do hope that it hasn't been done before. Does anyone know why a puppy (or a dog for that matter) seems to enjoy rolling in poo? My 5 month old Chi will, if I turn my back for long enough, run off and find the nearest dog poo and roll in it. I have started picking it up daily (I only have 2 dogs and a large yard so I could probably get away with doing it less often otherwise) but obviously I miss some, because she rolls in old stuff. Does anyone know why? Is it a territorial thing? When I desex her, will the urge to do this stop or will she quite possibly want to do this for the rest of her life (if given the chance). Would it be anyway health related? (I can't see why though, because she is in great health but I am just trying to keep all possibilities open) My staffy has never rolled in poo at all so it can't have been learnt of the older dog. Incidentally, this always seems to happen when I am getting ready to go somewhere with her, obedience or the vets. Because no one wants a dog smelling of poo, she goes and rolls in it for me! Thanks poppet ;) I normally have to bath her on these occasions, but once I was running so late I had to grab a wet cloth, scrub the poo off and dry her off and then put some leave in Aloveen condition on her so she wouldn't smell. She had to have a bath when she came home though.

I play a silly little game with my Chi. I have an assortment of toys out and I show her what they are. The tug things is called 'rope' the squeaker is called 'squeaker' and the bear is called 'bear' etc. As if you couldn't have understood that lol Well what I do, after showing her what they are we play a game where I tell her which toy I want and when she picks the right run we have a muck around with it. She goes absolutely nuts!!

Why am I not surprised! You should see the welcome I get when I come home though, very enthusiastic. Maybe because she is so small the excitement vibes have to go somewhere?

My Chi, when very excited will do little pees. She is just over 5 months old now. I have been told it will pass, just young week bladder + excitement = peeing puppy

Offtopic - those are my cockatiel's favourite treat Yeh Schmackos are junk food, as if you hadn't gathered that already lol.

Thanks Shihzoo! How did I know Cibo would love his baths and all the pampering that goes with it :D I'll keep that in mind when I go to use the dryer on Abby, she adores having her belly rubbed. In fact I haven't met too many dogs that don't like having their bellies rubbed I'll keep you informed :p Oh, and say hi too Cibo for me Cheers, Em

Thanks guys! I'll get myself one of them too. I didn't even realise there was a such a thing on the market. Sounds like a good product.

Thanks everyone! All the signs point to me trying the hair dryer :p Thanks guys!

Thanks Miranda, I do live in a pretty humid climate. Even though I was worried about not drying completely or quickly enough, I certainly hadn't thought of fungal infections, so thanks for pointing that out. I use Aloveen Oatmeal Shampoo and Conditioner at the moment.

Thanks guys! Sounds like I'm on the right track, but it may be worth getting Abby used to a hairdryer as well, especially for winter. Lol Koolietas, I live nowhere near Tassie. At least the weather her is warm enough for me to allow my dogs outside to dry off (really all year round if need be) so I am very lucky in that respect. I glad to hear that your sheltie enjoys grooming more now! I'm like you, I do like to make it fun for them, neither of them really likes baths, Gracie (staffy) tolerates it, Abby squirms and protests, but we always get the job done. Amazing really because they both enjoy playing in water :p Like you said, long hair = lots of grooming, so I like to make it a fun process for all involved. Abby needs no encouragement in that department, she enjoys being brushed and fussed over . Gracie just loves the big game it turns into lol Amiedoll thanks too. Glad to hear about your experience with the hair dryer, even with a dog with sensitive skin. It's good to know I'm not the only one who dries my dogs like that lol. It's how I've always done it but I admit I have never asked about what others do! Cheers guys!

Hi all, Just a question about drying your dogs after a bath. Ok, this is my routine. I bath her when there is no wind, especially now that it is getting cooler. Today was a perfect day for it :p I wrap her in a towel and take her outside in the sun and towel dry her. I make a game out of it too and run around a bit, makes it a bit fun for her. I then towel her again, making sure I get the hard to reach places like under the arms, paws and behind the ears. After that, she settles down nicely and I comb and brush her and attend to any other things she needs done (paw hair trimming, nail trimming etc) This is all well and good, but it seems to take a while (the drying bit, the grooming bit is meant to take a bit of time lol) and I'm worried that I am keeping her too wet for too long. I don't want to use a hairdryer because I have heard it is too hot for them and it tends to dry the hair and skin out. Is this correct? The above techniques have always worked with my shorthaired dogs, they seem to dry very quickly. Another question, maybe I shouldn't make it into a game for them I haven't completely ruled out having her professionally groomed in the future, although she is a breed with grooming needs that I believe I can handle myself if you know what I mean. My main concern is that she spends too much time out in the sun, but unless I make the process as quick as possible (ie play and then dry, play and then dry) she will remain damp for too long. Anyway thanks guys, look forward to knowing what you all do

So sorry Elise I hope you and OH are doing ok. It is hard to have to make that desicion, but you know in the end that you made the right one. RIP Bonzai I had to laugh when you mention Bonzai chasing the pencil - what a character!! Him and Otto are so beautiful!

So sorry for your lose, Charmbug. She's very beautiful. RIP Clementine

Sorry to hear about Squid. Thanks for having the courage to let us all know about the Hemangiosarcoma, understandably it must be very hard to talk about. Hugs to you and RIP Squid

Thank BC and Dogdude!! Hehe, DD my dog doesn't actually know heel yet When I take her out for her daily walks it's for her enjoyment, especially at the moment because I am still trying to get her confidence up. She is doing really well though now, which is great. The only thing I get her to do is sit and wait at the curb until I say ok. I am now trying to leave with my left foot. It is probably more for my benefit then hers I'm justing trying to get the basic footwork under control for me, so it is second nature (hopefully :p ) Yes it does make sense about the whole body posture as a package rather than just concentrating on the footwork for sure! Thanks very much for the imput Dogdude and everyone else, I really do appreciate it :rolleyes: Hehe, sounds like I'll be having to do a fair bit of work on my coordination right across the board!

Wow that is pretty amazing! Such subtle movements, yet they can pick it up so well. I knew that they picked up on body language, but not to that degree! Vehs - it sound like things might get even more complicated

Oh no! I hope they don't try that one on me. Allerzeit, that makes me feel better! I always thought I was just very odd The worst thing I can do is just lead the whole class astray...

Thanks Shoey! It would have been a disaster if I had have gone in blind not realising the importance of footwork. I'm bad enough as it is without being clueless! Yeah they are pretty amazing, I was so excited and impressed when I heard this I told anyone who would listen

We starting obedience next week and I attended orientation the other day. I am new to formal obedience training and I was really impressed to hear that dogs will eventually know that if you move off with your left leg you mean for them to follow and if you move off with your right you mean for them to stay! Now, it's not that I don't think dogs are intelligent and highly trainable - I do. I think I was impressed because I sometimes have trouble with my left and rights. I then figured out that it isn't the concept of left and right they learn, but the body language. Isn't it the same principle involved in learning a hand signal? I'm sure that most of you don't have trouble with your left and rights, it's just that I happen to be a little uncoordinated and unobservant myself. I will be practising my footwork so it becomes second nature and when I take her for walks I am being consistant with this as well. Having said all that, I'm still impressed because I feel that it is a very subtle distinction in movement. The instructor seemed to say that dogs seem to pick this up rather quickly whereas I would have thought it might have taken quite a while to master this. What are all your experiences? Yes, this is a very newbie-type question!

So sorry to hear about this Shoey RIP Nettie

Wow, Milo is gorgeous GSPs are beautiful dogs, we had two when I was growing up. Very sweet temperaments and very active! I'm really glad he is on the mend now. I have never heard of HOD before, it's sounds terrible. I know what you mean, you get too attached to give them back, especially having bonded to them whilst being sick. Welcome to DOL, it's full of great info and people who are only too happy to help you out or just discuss anything dog related Keep the piccies of Milo coming

Since reading this thread, I have given my dogs some sardines. I didn't realise that fish was good for them They absolutely love it. I am very popular at the moment with them. I'm going to start giving them 1 tin twice a week, over their dry food.

Smudge definitely ended up in doggy heaven Hiedig Doggy treats at night!!?? There is way too much pampering going on there Lol, sometimes I find it hard to keep a straight face too when I'm training, but at least we aren't getting frustrated, that's a plus! I have learnt so so much about patience It's wierd you mentioned Cibo being so enthusiastic he won't stay. I had the same issue with our staffy, she just had to be at my side, couldn't have been there any faster It was a challenge to teach her to stay and even now it's not one of her reliable commands I'm afraid. Abby is bit different. She is very focused on the treats, and sometimes (hopefully) me and she doesn't mind staying. Don't get me wrong, she is far from perfect but for some reason she picked the basic stay command up without too much hassle. But it started out on a very short leash and only staying for two seconds max. We have slowly worked our way up to staying for about 5 or 6 seconds but about 5m away from me. I am no expert on training so I am hoping to get some great tips at obedience when we start early April. Very, very excited I try and train in the late morning (unless it like 35 degrees of course). It works for me because she Abby hasn't eaten recently so she really wants those treats. Also the morning before brekky or before dinner would be great but she is a bit excitable and won't focus as well. That's when I take her for walkies and playtime. At least in the middle of the day she is in between siesta's and isn't quite as nutty Update on shaking hands lol. We are still at the very very basic levels with this one. But it's something fun to do and you can almost see her brain ticking over... :rolleyes: There should be some pics in this thread, I can't remember what page though. I'd quite happily stick some more up for you but I'm pretty sure people are sick of looking at her lol. Major overkill - I have posted in the Photo - Chi thread and the Cutest Dog Contest Thread. Ooh I know I'll stick a pic in my avatar for you! Keep me updated with Cibo's training. He sounds like such a crack up:)

Lol, poor Cibo, it must be hard to balance with two legs up in the air whilst peeing I figured High 5 might be a natural progression of shake. At this stage Abby thinks shake is about jumping up to get the treat (even though I'm on the floor for this one) I show her shake for a number of repetitions and then see if she has picked it up, but she always jumps up. I always try ending a session with her getting it 'right' even if I have to show her :D About stay and come - Abby can stay alright in the sit position, drop is a bit harder for her as yet. It's funny because come is ok when we have our little training sessions and she is concentrating, but when she is just outside exploring she will not come when called very often. She will just ignore you, or stand there and look at you as if you are stupid :D We will have to work on that one For safety's sake as well as general doggy manners' sake. I had never thought about it like that, but I can understand how rescue and foster would make you bond quicker to the dog. They really rely on you. Even though all dogs rely on their owners for their care, it's different because rescues mostly have had bad experiences and have been seriously let down by humans in the past. You want to make it up to them and see them happy again. It's what they deserve like you said. Wow, you must be so thrilled with your foster boy - it must be very rewarding to see them undergo such a transformation for the better. I'd be worried that if I fostered I'd get very attached to them and they'd all end up 'foster failures' and end up living with me! But then again, you would be sooo happy when you find them the perfect forever home! It must be so great that you get updates and photos of your foster boy :D

Hiedig, so sorry to hear about your Pietro :D He must have been so special. The photo of him is gorgeous. :D I'm sorry that you only got to spend so little time with him. Congrats on Cibo. That's really awesome what you have been teaching him. I am trying to teach shake to Abby, but so far she hasn't picked it up. I'm sure she will though, just a matter of time. High 5 would be great too She can sit, drop and also stay (but not very full on stays if you know what I mean) If you ever need some one to brag to about Cibo - I'm your girl :D I won't mind at all, you'll just have to put up with me inundating you with my brags as well And, I think it's great how you rescue. :rolleyes: When the time is right for me to get another dog, I will be rescuing. And I'd love to be a foster mum one day too.