Tilly

I make up a mince mix for my boy which he loves - this was given to me by a breeder. It is a mix of about 6kg of mince (mainly beef but also a little liver and/or heart), 4 kg of chicken mince (minced frames not all the fatty stuff but I do get some skin/fat added in winter), 3 or 4 tins of mackerel, a little garlic and then a mix of vegies (if I am lazy then it is just frozen vegie mix). This is all mixed together with a little hot water and then divided up into portions and frozen. (You don't need to make this much but this is just to give an idea of the ratio/proportions) When I serve it up I then mix it in with the dry food and occassionally top with an egg or extra sardines. My elderly rottie used to go crazy for it and would only eat his dry food if it was mixed up with the mince. My GSD didn't care how it came as long as it was in his bowl. Edited to add: They also used to get other things like chicken necks, chicken frames, turkey necks, brisket bones etc ... but not all in the same day Also my boys where given set meal times. It was either eat it within 30 minutes or it is gone. After my GSD tried the fussy stage he quickly learnt that it wasn't tollerated and if he didn't eat it then it was taken away and he went without. I never left food out for them to pick at.

You can check for signs of dehydration by picking up the scruffy behind the neck and then releasing it. It is is slow to return to normal then that is a sign of dehydration. Also look inside the mouth/gum area and check colouring. The nose should also be a bit moist. If you are concerned then definately take him to the vet for a check up.

She might just be a little piglet :rolleyes: but another worming won't hurt her. Depending on her background she might have had to struggle to get food so now when food is around her first instinct is to gobble it down before she misses out. My 5 year old GSD still does the "I am totally starving mum" thing - even after he has had a big breakfast.

I will have to look for that one ... my brat also loves Fourlegs but then again he eats anything

Leerburgs has some good information - you could also try their free dowloadable podcasts at http://www.leerburg.com/dogtrainingpodcasts.htm. They also have a very good range of DVD's.

Instead of yoghurt maybe try adding "Inner Health Plus" available from chemists/health food shops. I regularly give my boy a dose and I find it helps maintain a healthy gut. Edited: because I keep forgetting I don't have boys but have only one boy.... ;)

Some people have an increased yeast problem (if they are prone to that) so you might need to look out for that type of thing.

Slightly off topic but I have had to take my GSD off nutro because it seems to have a high salt content. He got a beautiful glossy black coat from it (the green large breed one) but also smelly pee and became very thirsty (was going through about 15 to 20 litres of water every 8 hours). Since taking him off it he is fine and tests have returned to normal. Not sure if we got a bad batch but I am not going to take the risk - he is too important.

I would suggest getting her to sit before you feed her and only allow her to eat when you give the food word (maybe on-leash will give more control). Start by adding only a very small quality of food to the bowl and pat her while she is eating. Any growling/snarling results in the bowl being instantly removed and you walk away. Leave her for a reasonable period of time and repeat the process. After she eats, remove the bowl, add some more food, get her to sit, give food word and then pat her while eating. Her behavour could stem from the fact she had to fight off others to get her share of food - so while it is understandable it is not acceptable. I did something similar with one of our security dogs. He would growl at me when he was told to sit before his meal. Any growling resulted in me just turning my back and walking away. After 7 days without food he quickly learned that he is not to growl at me when I tell him to sit at meal times. He learnt that his food comes from me and any growling resulted in no food.

As far as water restrictions go - she can hose the crate with a hand held hose. It is preferable that she use something like a pressure cleaner that uses less water or a bucket but a quick hose is definitely allowed. Water restrictions do not apply when related to the care and maintenance of domestic pets. When we had our elderly rottie who squirted a lot - I checked with the councils and we were allowed to hose out the garage and back veranda because that was his primary sleeping places and it was due to hygiene reasons.

I had trouble finding a qood quality agitation collar in Australia. I ended up buying mine from Canine Outfitters in the US and I found the quality to be outstanding. I got the 2" and I couldn't be more pleased with the feel and quality of the collar.

I use a prong on my 60kg high drive GSD and it had never come undone. The collar had a scissor clip to make taking on and off easier because I just couldn't squeeze the links together enough to pull them apart - because it is a very heavy quality collar.

Our boy also loves the occassional bit of milk but I usually dilute it with water - mainly more water then milk. For our elderly rottie I used to use the powdered animal milk (can't remember the name but it starts with D) with an egg and some extra supplements to help him with his weight loss. I just beat it all together and he loved it.

Our GSD hurt his foot after getting it caught in the fence... he was limping badly on it for a few days until I decided to take him to the vet to be checked out. Once I got him into the vet surgery he was walking fine!!!!! The little brat walked fine after that ... the vet was laughing when I told him I thought he was just after attention. If it doesn't appear to be painful to touch then it is probably just a little bruised. Give him a few days...

I had no trouble using a muzzle on our GSD at an obedience class I attended. It wasn't so much because I expected him to be trouble but I do know that he can get a little upset at dogs who get in his face. I thought it was better to be safe then sorry and it allowed me to concentrate on the class rather then having to constantly watch for possible dangers. As it was we were having a theory part of the class with him in a drop to my side when someone allowed their young dog to wander over (still on a lead but far to close to my boy) - despite being repeatedly been told to keep their dog close. If you don't feel comfortable and they won't allow you to use a muzzle then I would seriously be looking elsewhere.

Also spray around the yard in case there are any still in his environment. I use Malawash (also called Malaban). Just mix it up in a garden sprayer and go over the yard particularly around the areas he sleeps.

The vet hasn't run any tests at the moment. The problem is our dog is working most days so I haven't been able to get him to the vet just yet. I have taken a sample of urine to the vet for testing and they have ruled out an infection. Given that we lost our rottie on the 18th of June ... our GSD has just started to return to "normal" ... in fact he is even being a bit naughty by stealing items (such as opening the back door and steal a new shoe and taking other items from the garage) and hiding them in the garden. He has a healthy appetite and appears to be normal in every way. What tests are required to check his kidneys? Does it require a urine sample or is there more involved? I am realling starting to worry...

Lately we have noticed our GSD is drinking a lot of water and has strong smelling urine ... my brother thinks it smells salty. The urine test has shown no sign of infection. We have another appointment later in the week but has anyone got any ideas what is causing this?

Weekly washes???? Why? I always thought dogs' skins were better off with more brushing and very little soap . . . which strips out the oils. I own a hydrobath, but only bathe the dogs every few months, or when they find something delightful to roll in, or before shows. Our boys work and they get really dirty from laying on concrete, bitumen, rolling in dirty etc. If they aren't washed weekly then they get a build up of black grime on their skin which leads to skin problems. They don't get washed with shampoo but a conditioning rinse and the pressure of the hydrobath ... which gets their skin and coat clean.

Take a few towels/blankets with you and get the breeder to give the mum and pups a rub down. Then use the towel/blanket in the pups bed. The first night way from mum and litter mates can be scary but familiar smell of mum and pup should help her settle in.

It is not impossible to teach a dog to leave the chickens along but I would never leave them unsupervised. I have taught our high prey drive GSD to leave birds alone ... I was trying to teach him to leave my cockatiels alone when I put them outside but now he allows any bird to land in our yard. I started by putting him on a lead and having him sit or lay near the cockatiels (with me). When he showed no interest in them he was praised. I ignored him looking at them but if he made a move to go near them he was corrected (verbally initially). I also taught him the leave command. Now I trust him enough that I can put the birds outside on the back table without worring about him jumping up and knocking them off. Not that I would leave them outside for the day without me being around (mainly because of the wild birds) but I know that his main focus is not on having cockatiel for lunch. The only time he has even chased a bird was when it stole food from his bowl.

We ended up buying a hydrobath. Our problem was our original security dog - he wouldn't allow anyone near him so we were using the DIY hydrobaths next door to the vets ... then they decided that you couldn't wash your own dog anymore and the staff had to do it. With our dog that just wasn't possible. We couldn't find another DIY in our area and with the colder weather we decided to buy a basic hydrobath (heater and single water tub). After getting a second dog ... it has now paid for itself ($10 per dog per week - for a basic wash and towel dry). It is easy on the back and makes the job much easier.

My entire male GSD is 5 years old and only lifts his leg when there is other dogs looking. At home he pees like a little girl

Try and take a sample of pee with you on Friday - they can do a quick test to rule out any infection.

I use a prong collar on my 60kg high prey drive GSD and I think it is fantastic. From 6 months of age my GSD was a complete handful. I had dislocated collarbones, broken wrists, broken fingers and various other injuries from trying to walk him in flat collars, check chains, halti's and any other style of collar I could find. It got to the stage where I wouldn't walk him in public at all because he was too difficult to control (not that he was always difficult but when he was I had no control over him at all). Flat collars and check chains would leave him gasping for breath and my arm feeling like it had been ripped out of the socket. He had broken many tie out cables, collars and harnesses/halti's during his puppy years - items which were rated for dogs twice his size (he is very strong). From day one of using the prong collar I had complete control. He actually became a pleasure to walk and when he became difficult I could quickly and easierly bring him back under control. The only problem I have found with the prong collar was that it excluded us from many training clubs. Apart from that I would highly recommend the collar for a strong willed dog - with suitable instructions on use (of course).