Tilly

We paid about $150 for the cleaning of our rottie's teeth ... most of that was for the anaesthetic. I am sure they also charge me danger money for having to get near his mouth ... even when he is under

I give my guys the Heartgard chews ... it is so easy because they think they are getting a treat and fight over who gets their first. Now if only they made the all wormers in chews..... my life would be so much simpler

When our GSD started so show fear of things while out walking ... I would go back and make a game of it. For example one night we were walking down the street when he suddenly got fearful of a letterbox ... so I turned around and in an excited voice I would ask him"whats this" and would touch it and look at it. He responded almost instantly and come up to see what was happening - I would then praise him when he checked it out. I then walked up the street a little and then come back to it - then praised him when he either ignored it or checked it out. With louds sounds (eg fireworks) I found when things scared him, he might jump but then he would look at me to see what my reaction was. Depending on his initial reaction I would either completely ignore it or I would ask him in an excited voice "what was that". Now with loud "scary" noises - my boy goes to check it out rather then runs from it. The other night as I was leaving the garage when few items fell off the shelf - instead of running away from the loud noise ... my GSD ran over to see what had fallen.

Take heart Bullygirl ... my GSD was a complete disobedient, destructive, willful dog until he was about 2 years old. Then one day he just seem to get it... He still has the occassional moment but he is a pleasure to own. The big thing I found was I had to be very strict with him. When I went outside he was put on a lead and kept by my side. The lead gave me control over him and allowed me to re-enforce my commands. If I was gardening or hanging out the washing he was put in a drop position. When he was quiet and calm he was rewarded with a small food treat and/or verbal praise. He was never given a command twice - if he didn't immediately obey he was made to do it. If he moved from the sit or drop before he was released - he wasn't spoken too but put straight back in the position and ignored ... until I released him. Any attention he got from me was on my terms and only good behaviour received any attention at all.

I walk our elderly rottie about once or twice a week. The problem I found with him is that he gets soooo excited about the idea of a walk that he has exhausted himself by the end of the street. He likes the idea of the walk but the actual event gets too much for him. I just walk him slowly and let him take his time. He likes to stop and sniff a lot because that is his way of resting. A walk to the end of the street and across the road to an off-leash area and home again can take us at least an hour - I can walk it in about 6 minutes.

I occassionally buy a box of home ice-cream ice-blocks - the ones with vanilla ice-cream centre and chocolate coating. I get to eat the chocolate off the outside (on two ice-creams) and the boys get their own ice-cream to lick off the stick. They only get them once in a while otherwise they can cause a little tummy upset and give them the runs ... but that wouldn't stop them at all. They love their ice-creams ....

Maybe a doggy chiropractor might help.... where are you located?

Try contacting a few butchers. If you are only looking at 10kg most butchers will be able to supply - particularly if it is a regular order. Some kennel mixes are a bit fatty so you may need to talk to them and discuss what they will mince up. Our butcher makes up a 10kg mix for me which is mix of lean beef, chicken mince (frames only) and heart & liver. I then mix up the mince with veges and tins of mackeral before freezing it in chinese take-away containers. My guys love it.

I have been teaching my dog the drop in motion. I started by jogging around with him and then dropping him. I had to make the hand movement big and over the top and then praised lots and lots. I continued by giving a drop command when he was just coming back to me (without a recall command). He don't "love" dropping and makes it look like an effort but he will now drop when he is told .... just have to work out how to get him to stay in the drop position until he is told otherwise

I think this is a bit harsh.... Gsdogs2 was left with no option but to trap and prove the cat was on their property. The neighbours are being unrealistic and are demanding that their dog be removed. They are not willing to discuss or sort out the issue. If any cat was entering my property and causing a problem - I would do the same.

Or you can just grow mint in the garden and the dogs can help themselves ... like my boys do. But then again ... they help themselves to ALL my plants

I have taken most of our boys stitches out myself. I usually take them to the vet for a checkup first and then take them home and remove the stitches. I do it this way because the vet would need to sedate my guys before they could get close enough with a blade to removed them. It is much easier for all concerned if the vet gives me a blade and I do the job myself.

You can also try: Vet Products Direct or Vet n Pet Direct

I don't think the pup is trying to dominate them - it would be more likely the pup is wanting to play. Pups enjoy a bit of rough and tumble with their litter mates.

I have also heard that Livamol is excellent for their coat. I haven't tried it yet (it is on order) but it might be worth a try. I have used Omega 3 on my GSD boy - which was dosed at 1 pump per 7kg of body weight.

He could have scratched the eye - they can do a stain test to see if there is any damage. They will probably give you some antibiotic cream or drops. It can be painful and lead to further damage to the eye if not treated. Definately see the vet.

When we started walking our GSD pup he showed signed of being scared of various things. One biggy was baby prams so I stopped a woman one day and explained that the pup was scared of prams. She stopped the pram and we both actively encorouged the pup to sniff the pram (even the bub with mum's blessing). The mum also gave him a treat and made a big fuss of him. Soon he was looking forward to prams and got over his fear in about 2 days. Another thing I found was sometimes he would get scared of nothing (eg something in a garden or on the ground) - so we would turn around and walk past in again while I would make a games of it .... "all excited" ... what in here with me looking around... he would join in the game and also look. Noises were something he wasn't particularly worried about.

You might have to stay a few days ... I don't think we are sitting through 11 hours of DVD's in one sitting

He looks like he has found something he loves ... must be his way of telling you to move faster and lets do some more Definately a very cute boy :D

So it is movies and Pizza at KitKat's .....

I would be giving a yelp and then either walking away or putting your pup away (eg another room or outside) until they settle down. Pushing them away just makes them get excited and they just don't seem to get it. If you can see they are starting to get a little over excited and about to bite then definately redirect to a toy. It is best to remove yourself and give them a bit of time out. They will quickly learn that if they want to play then they need to curb the biting.

Our rottie (was 55kg but now down to 45kg) gets a kilo of meat (either chicken frames, chicken necks, heart & liver, beef & roo, Scottys Roll etc) per day plus about 4 cups of Eukanuba Performance. If he is getting just dry food then he will get up to 5 or 6 cups. The rottie will also get offered more dry food at night - this is usually up to 3 cups. Our GSD (60kg) gets the same kilo of meat but he gets only 1 cup of Eukanuba. If he is getting just dry food then he will get 2.5 cups of eukanuba. This boy only gets one meal a day. I don't give the same amount of food all the time - a lot of time it depends on the dogs condition and what they have been doing. They have days were they will get just dry food. In summer they will have a day were they will just get a couple of bones or a few chicken frames.

I am absolutely no help to you ... other then suggest to just get a black one They seem to stay a little cleaner... only because you can't see the dirt :D

Chicken stock can be a little salty - I usually just freeze water with chicken necks or other treats inside... during summer my guys get most of their food still frozen. Chicken frames last an extra 1/2 second when frozen...

Just hand sew a bandana on the prong collar ... that way you don't have to tie the bandana on and the collar won't slip out from under it...