DistinctivelyTish

It could be a form of separation anxiety? My pup is 10 months old, and she's been an angel (only ONE shoe nibbled at!, lol). BUT she does try to destroy the place when I leave the apartment without her. My boyfriend watched her the other day after I left the place and he said it was like a dog possessed. She went nuts as soon as I shut the door and went around picking things up, flinging it around, pushing things over for a good 5 minutes. Seemed like she was trying to take out her frustration on being left behind on things lying around. Perhaps you could work on leaving her outside for a few minutes, then work on it until she can leave things undisturbed for longer?

What a cute pup! I agree, pups make a different sound when they need to go to the toilet. It sounds more 'urgent' if that makes sense. With us, it was a bit of trial and error before I could recognise it. Morgan would whine for attention (we kept her in the laundry) for ages, and after a while, if she needed to go to the toilet, the whining would somehow sound different. You can usually pick up on it. Waking him up depends on your schedule as well. With Morgan, I woke her up twice but only because I am a late-riser (also read as lazy). So I let her go to the toilet before putting her to bed. Then woke her up once in the middle of the night, say around 4-5 hours after putting her to bed. Then once again in the early morning (around 7-8am). If you wake up early, then you probably only need to get her up once in the middle of the night. That way, she didn't have to 'go' in the crate and start a bad habit of doing so.

Hortfurball, did you ever find out what Ella had? And is she better now? Reason I'm asking is because my girl seems to be presenting similar symptoms with no apparent cause. She does this wheezing/dry retching thing which sounds like she's trying to expel something from her throat (i.e. something stuck in there) but nothing comes out. Took her to the vet about a couple of weeks ago and the vet couldn't find anything wrong (I had the X-Rays done too, as well as the massive bill! ). Morgan was sent home with antibiotics and Benadryl (cough syrup). Today, she had a very bad case of it, this time she was salivating and looking very distressed. She's both listless and not interested in food, which are alarm bells ringing in my opinion. I rushed her to the vet again, only to be sent home with more antibiotics and Benadryl. I'm at my wits end!

Thanks for all the helpful replies! I'm certain it's not the heat because the first time it happened was in winter and I remember last night being particularly cold. I took note of that because the first thought that came to mind was heat = panting. So heat is definitely out. I'm in Melbourne by the way Not sure what the humidity was like though. No rat bait etc lying around the apartment. She eats the same thing every night (Optimum puppy kibble). Doubt she would've eaten anything out of sorts as it is a fairly small apartment and she shadows me everywhere so I would've noticed if she ate something other than dinner. But you're right, she might've picked something up at the park in the afternoon, herbicide on the grass or something? Nonetheless, I'll probably schedule her in for a vet's visit just to rule out health issues.

Duncan+Dougal, my boyfriend mentioned it could be a heart problem, but the vet hasn't picked anything up prior to this. Always been given the clean bill of health. I think maybe a visit to the vet might help. Would I have to bring her in during the episode (to catch any irregularities)? Or would trouble show up easily? Poodlewrangler, yes, she was desexed at around 6 months. I think she had her first episode before being desexed.

Hi all. I was just wondering if anyone could shed some light on this... Last night, my girl (Brittany cross, 8 months+ at the moment) was panting excessively. She does not usually pant (only lots of running will make her pant, and even then it lasts for only a few minutes) but she had her mouth open throughout the night yesterday. Not hard breathing, just a slight pant if that makes sense? That was coupled with hyperactivity (zoomies around the apartment, digging at the couch etc). Even after a rest, she would still be panting, so I doubt she was panting because of the hyperactivity. She seemed bothered and would hardly settle down which is unlike her at night. She's usually sleepy at night and would much prefer to doze off on the couch than do anything else. When we put her to bed in her crate, she whined and fussed. She's usually quiet and is happy to go to bed. It took her a long time before she stopped whining and fell asleep. This episode has happened once before, a few months ago. I put dismissed it as an isolated incident, and kept a keen eye on her all night (and the next day), but she seemed to be her normal self the next morning. But when it happened again last night, I can't help thinking there might be something underlying this behaviour. She's normal again this morning. Nothing was distressing her on either occassions, and it was a cold night so I can't attribute the panting to the heat. She had water and was drinking so dehydration's ruled out. What else could it be? She's up to date on worming and vaccinations. Suggestions would be much appreciated. I was going to take her to the vet this morning, but she's been alert and happy - seems like last night never happened! Edited to add that she appeared restless (even though she had a couple of walks yesterday).

Thanks for the suggestions so far guys! Unfortunately, I don't have a car so it needs to be walking distance from where we live (on Swanston St, Carlton) or maybe on a public transport route.

Hi all. I was thinking of enrolling my girl (currently 6+ months) in an obedience class. Is there any around Melbourne CBD? I was thinking maybe at Princes Park, or Carlton Gardens or surrounding areas? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Poor Jak! If it is an esophagus problem, what is she being fed? Maybe a more liquid-based meal will go down a bit more easily? My girl had her op on Friday and is back to normal already. It's so hard keeping her still... I worry about her stitches but she doesn't seem to be too fussed by it.

My puppy grazed at her crystal kitty litter when we first started toilet training her to use it. No side effects whatsoever, but then again she does eat everything with no trouble. 4-5 little crystals shouldn't have an impact.

That's good to hear all went well! I know what you mean about the zoomies and legs not catching up thing! lol. Morgan does the same thing and falls over because her legs can't keep up. The poor dear is getting desexed on Friday, so it'll be my turn to fret next! ;)

It's certainly do-able! As I live in a city apartment, taking her out to a patch of grass every hour was not really an option. So I did the next best thing and bought a couple of understorage bed boxes without lids (as normal kitty litter trays are too small) and filled these up with crystal kitty litter. Use it as you would use a pee pad. It helped that Morgan learned the "Toilet" command; remember to praise and praise and praise when she does the right thing.

Is it OK for dogs to eat the WHOLE rabbit, guts and all? My boyfriend shot a rabbit yesterday and my almost 6-month-old girl had her first taste of live (almost) prey. Needless to say, she loved it. I'm just worried about her eating the liver (my boyfriend's previous dog used to get sick if he ate it) as I'm not sure that she knows to leave that. Bf's dog will eat the whole rabbit and leave just the guts.

Haha. Sounds like my Morgan. She's got oodles and oodles of energy though, so we hardly ever get that problem. But when I walk her to the local offlead park and she's done with her zoomies and wants to go home, she will sit in front of me and look up with begging eyes. If I ignore her and keep walking, she will keep running in front of me and cutting me off by sitting still in my path whilst looking up at me. She won't stop till I put the lead back on and take her home, lol. I think I over-mother her too! In fact, I've been told many times that I do (mainly by the boyfriend who now gets less mothering since the pup, ).

I'm not sure if anyone is aware of this, but in Victoria, you can get desexing vouchers from council. I believe it provides pet owners with a 33% reduction in the cost of desexing. http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/info.cfm?t...=523&pg=530

Morgan lost her teeth about a week ago (she's almost 6 months now) and I saved it! haha. I rang my boyfriend up whilst he was at work and he couldn't believe I'd interrupt him at work just to let him know she lost a tooth! She's still got a bloody mouth and that funny blood-breath... I miss fresh puppy breath

Not a big fan of it. My pup was on Innova initially - poor weight gain, dull coat. Then I swapped her to Optimum after reading the discussions on this forum. I realise there are better choices out there, but on a student budget, I need to make realistic choices. Optimum's been great, she's got a good coat now and firm dark stools (minimal). I bought a 2kg bag of Supercoat Puppy the other day (on a friend's recommendation), and instantly regretted it. Much larger stools, soft, light coloured and it stinked to high heaven. Needless to say I've got her back on Optimum.

She has been smacked a grand total of two times, lol. Light ones mind you, I know she is a baby. I intended it to distract her rather than hurt her. And she is already crate trained. I'll get the bed for her asap. The weather's so horrible at the moment, I really don't want to venture out of my warm apartment! lol.

Thanks for all the suggestions so far. My boyfriend has said on multiple occassions he will get a bin with a lid so she can't get into it, but then the pictures of all the lovely DOL dogs with the bin lids on their heads came to mind! lol. I might have to relocate the bin (into a cupboard perhaps). We're already playing the "Find It" game, and she's honing in on the scent a lot more quicker as she gets older. She'll probably enjoy the other games on the website too. She already has a spot on the beanbag, but because we use it sometimes as well, she might not see it as her 'space'. She has a crate, but prefers lounging around with us rather than be in the corner of the room. I'll get her a doggie bed and see if that helps as well. She is very smart, and she inadvertantly 'trained' me to give her cuddles when she wanted. She would zip around the room and grab items she wasn't allowed to chew on (i.e. shoes), it was unusual behaviour in that she is not usually 'naughty' and after a while of this, would come to me and put her paws up on my lap (I'd be working on an assignment or studying for an exam, thereby ignoring her). The only way to stop her rampage was to cuddle her and she'd fall asleep within minutes. So zip around, grab as much forbidden stuff as possible = attention + cuddle time. lol. I've stopped that now that I see what that cunning little thing is up to! However, with the couch and bed, it seems to be motivated by her comfort instead of a ploy for attention. Reason being that once she's on the couch, all she wants is to be left alone to sleep. No more bratty behaviour once she is there, she's calm and settled. She has had negative consequences for disobeying couch/bed rules - being put out on the balcony, put into another room, smacked etc. Neither positive nor negative reinforcements work, which is why I'm so frustrated. I am definitely going to get her a bed of her own and see how that goes; maybe all she wants is a comfy spot for herself. She sure knows where all the good spots are, lol.

Hello to all. I have a 5 month old Brittany crossbreed and whilst she's lovely to have around, we do have some issues with 'obedience'. She is generally a well behaved girl, but not 100%. For example, she likes to get into the bin but knows she is not to do it - she will sneak off to rummage through the bin when we are out of the room, or when we turn our attention away for a moment. Yet when I catch her, one look or a stern "Leave it" is enough to make her stop. Sometimes she will anticipate me telling her off and run off from it as soon as she realizes that I have caught her redhanded. It is the same with jumping onto the couch (she used to be allowed on, but not anymore to reinforce her position in the 'pack'). When I see she is about to jump on it, I say "Ah Ah" and she won't do it, but a few minutes later she will try again (and again, and again). When she gets on the couch without me noticing and has settled down to sleep, I tell her to get off but she will just look at me until I make a move towards her. Only then (when she realizes I am coming over to get her off the couch) she will jump off it. Sometimes she will get off the bed or couch when I say "Get off" (and I make sure to reward her after she does it so it is clear to her what I want). But sometimes, she will refuse to budge until I make a move toward her. It's as if she were testing me. I ran a search on the forum to see if anyone has sought help for this issue before. In doing so, I came across and read the 'Triangle of Temptation' thread. With Morgan, I trained her to Sit and Stay until I give her the "OK" command before she can eat her food. She has done this reliably since 3 months of age; she will look at me until I say "OK". I'm assuming this would be a variation of the TOT method since it is still withholding her rewards until she is looking to me for the go ahead. I also make her Sit and Stay before entering rooms, or before she is allowed certain things. I realise she is still a puppy, but I want to establish the ground rules early. Could this possibly be a leadership issue? I'm not sure how to interpret it as she knows what she is not allowed to do, but does it anyway (yet at the same time, runs off when caught red-handed). Any help would be appreciated!

I'm not so sure about putting the artificial turf through the washing machine though. I'd feel like I was 'dirtying' my washing machine if I chuck it in to wash, and even though it won't be washed with my clothes, my clothes do go through the same machine. It doesn't feel right somehow. Just flushing it with water won't help?

I never thought it'd be OK to go through the washing machine. Thanks for the suggestions!

Deltron, count me in for the experiment! lol. I think I will have to give up on ever getting the grass to grow to desired thickness. Where would you get the synthetic grass?

I was looking into the PetLoo for my pup as we live in an apartment. However, I can't justify $400 for one! I began thinking about alternatives, like making my own petloo. I ended up trying to grow grass in large trays on the balcony, lol. In the meantime, I'm using crystallized kitty litter (it seems like it absorbs things quicker) in a large shallow container I picked up from Big W for $6. Morgan tried digging at first, but she knows the "toilet" command, so it didn't take long for her to use it solely for that purpose. It's located outside on the balcony, so she just heads over to the door everytime she needs to go (I have it shut in winter, it's too cold to leave it open now!). I was using newspaper and pee pads before the kitty litter but newspaper doesn't absorb very well and pee pads are a bit pricey over the long run.

Going through this too! I've found with my pup that a stern, sharp voice will do. I've had her a week and now she stops biting/drops the out-of-bounds-object-in-her-mouth when I tell her to "Leave it". When I started out I had to stand over her and glare whilst telling her. But then again, being a Brittany spaniel mix, maybe she's just sensitive, lol. You need to make sure that she knows you're the boss though. My girl views my boyfriend as a playmate and doesn't obey his orders... poor guy cops a lot of nips throughout the day. I tried squirting with water, it only seems to have a short-term effect. Plus, she tries to get away with things if the bottle can't be seen. Maybe try squirting the body/neck area instead of face to avoid them becoming bottle-shy? It achieves the same results usually.