Tilly

MyRani where you looking for one-on-one training or more of a group thing?

When our 6 month old rottie pup died of parvo he was absolutely fine the Thursday night - playful, bright , eating etc. The Friday morning he was just a little slow getting up in the morning and just seemed a little off. He was taken to the vet straight away that morning (only because I was a paranoid mum) and by the early hours of Sunday morning he was dead. There was no bloody stools or excessive vomiting.

We had some trouble teaching one of our dogs to heal (sit close on the left side).... as he used to sit about half a metre away. Well he has now learnt to sit closer ... basically he sits on your foot with his body plastered up against you and this nose pointing up at you and also resting again you. Unfortunately he also does it at high speed which involves 60kg hurtling towards you and knocking you over if you are not prepared. It is basically brace yourself and then call "heal"....

Is this vet actually right down in Foote St or just at the end of the little shops on Mortimer Rd? Years ago I lived down in Coopers Plains & had to take my mini foxie to a Vet near the corner of Mortimer Rd - they did a great job with her & they were really reasonably priced but really gave me the third degree about how she got hurt in the 1st place. Turns out she was kicked by my horse (I wasnt home at the time, but someone else saw it), but they really gave me a hard time about how it happened & made veiled hints that a person had kicked her (I can only assume they meant me! ) & I never felt comfortable there again. Yes it is... I think part of them questioning you like that was because they do care very much about the animals. A few years ago my mothers cat went missing for over a week and when we eventually found it the poor cat had a massive swelling on the side of its body. Mum noticed the swelling but was running late for work so she locked it up in the bathroom and rang me at work asking if I could take it to the vet when I got home - I left work early and took it to the vet. I got the third degree as to why the cat wasn't brought to the surgery sooner but the care that cat received was outstanding. It turns out it was attacked by another cat and had some massive internal injuries. We got a phone call later that afternoon to say the cat was in intensive care and may not make it through the night. The staff took the cat home with them and nursed it through the night and during its recovery they totally spoilt it rotten. The cat was at the vets for 2 weeks with my mother visiting 3 times a day (before work, lunch time and after work) - most times my mother found the cat being cuddled by the staff and being hand fed to build up its strength.

We used to use the Acacia Ridge Vet Surgery on Foote Street and found them to be really friendly and thorough with their examinations and treatment. We only stopped using them because we got a very aggressive security dog and they continually failed to listen when we asked them not to touch the dog unless we had a firm hold of him first. After the vet was nearly knocked through the wall a few times we decided to looked for another vet. We now take our security dogs to Algester Vet Surgery on Algester Road. This vet deals with Police and RAAF dogs so he understands security dogs. Most of our guys actually look forward to going to the vets because they love the staff. I have been sitting outside the vets a few times due to "emergencies" and the vet has quickly fitted them in. On one occassion our regular vet was called in from his holidays to do emergency surgery on our elderly rottie after he was injured - all because our dog didn't like his replacement and wouldn't let him into the surgery. I also take my cockatiels to the Wishart Road Veterinary Surgery. I have only been there once but the vet was absolutely fantastic. They fitted me in without an appointment and he took his time to thoroughly check the birds - they even rang the next day to see how they were going.

If you dog isn't chewing or digesting bones properly then I wouldn't give Greenies - friends complain that their dogs either get the runs or throw up green goo after eating them. They are something I wouldn't feed my dogs. Have you tried chicken wings or chicken necks?

My guys love lamb flaps - they are usually fatty so we mainly give them in winter because that is when out boys seem to drop more weight.

I sit the dog and then stand behind him. I open his mouth and hold on to the top of this mouth and just drop it down the back of his throat. Once I have the tablet down the back of the throat I then close their mouth but keep the head up and back - I give their throat a little rub until they swallow it. If they decide to be difficult I threaten them with "do you want %%%% to give them to you"... to which they swallow the tablets quickly. %%%% = handlers name (they aren't so "nice" about giving tablets)

Our Rotties and GSD are on the monthly Heartgard Chews. At one stage we considered using the yearly injections but while I was looking into them I heard reports of dogs dying within days of being given the injection - decided it was safer to stick to what we were already using.

When we first got our GSD he used to itch a lot and had red welts on his tummy. I dosed him up on Omega 3 (dose on the bottle was 1 pump per 7kg) - for the first three days I double dosed him and then used the recommended rate for about 2 or 3 months. I then started to reduced the dose and included sardines in oil in his diet. I don't give him Omega 3 as a supplement any more but he gets about 2 or 3 tins of sardines a week (they love sardines with a raw egg).

My GSD boy is now a fully trained security dog. I took him to various "obedience clubs" for socialisation and basic training but didn't find a single one that I could recommend - which I think is really sad. We did find him a wonderful private trainer but I was disappointed because I felt he missed out on an important aspect of socialisation.

I would not recommend the Obedience Dog Club of Brisbane at Oxley. I took my 4 month old GSD there for one night only. That night we arrived all excited, my boy was all excited about lots of other doggies to play with. I didn't get too close and stood away from the group (was warned to not get too close to dogs that were pegged out). My boy got a little excited and while sitting beside me he gave an excited little yap. I immediately corrected him but the "president" rushed over and screamed "no" in his face and slapped him on the nose while reaching for his lead to give him a sharp correction. I was totally stunned and should have walked away immediately but this was my first experience of an "obedience club". That night for our lesson, we walked around and around in circles with the pups healing, sitting and dropping. After about an hour or so my boy was getting very tired and just wanted to lay down. He would lay down when he should have been sitting and was loosing focus (an hour is just too long for his first night of "formal" training). The instructor just demanded I continue walking and drag him if necessary. I just picked my boy up and left.

Depends on the dog..... With my old boy we basically jog to the end of the street and then he likes to stop and sniff every few steps. Being an entire boy - he has just got to lift his leg to every tree, pole, tall blade of grass we pass. I allow him the constant stopping because I think it is his way of taking a bit of a break. We don't really walk him for the exercise but more of the variety from the back yard. I don't make him sit before we cross the roads but he is expected to stand in the heal position. When the others are taken out for exercise, they are expected to toe the line more. While I don't mind if they walk in front, side or behind but they must stay to the left and walk on a loose lead. They must always sit when I stop and they are to stick close or leave then they are told. They aren't allowed to stop constantly for sniffing and peeing but I will give them the occassional chance to do so.

Our dog went through a stage of chewing his feet. Is there any smell to the paws? You could try wetting the paws and then rubbing in some "Malaseb Medicated Foam" (available at pet shops and vets) for about 10 minutes before rinsing thoroughly. If there is any bacteria or micro-organisms on the paws then this should help clear them up.

Our guys don't drink out of water bowls - they prefer the fish pond (much to the disgust of the fish). If the dogs are confined then they just get a bucket of water but half the time they end up playing in it and tipping it over - it never gets a chance to turn green.... :D

Good luck at the vets - I hope it isn't anything serious. Our GSD boy had a hard lump about the size of a large marble removed from his side recently - he was in for stitches on a leg cut and so the vet took it off while he was under. I didn't want to know if it was bad news so I told the vet not to tell me. When I went to pick my boy up the vet didn't mention it .... so I worried for the next few days as whether or not to ask for more details. When I took my boy back to have the stitches removed - I mentioned it to the vet and it turned out to be a fatty lump. Thank goodness.

I used to buy the Heartgard combo packs for my boys until I realised the paragard all wormer tablets don't match the weight of the heartgard chewables. For example: Chewables (Blue) for dog up to 11kg - the all wormer tablets only go up to 10kg Chewables (Green) for dogs 12-22kg - the all wormer tablets only go up to 20kg Chewables (Brown) for dogs 23-45kg - the all wormer tablets only go up to 35kg With our boys we usually buy the green and brown packs - but while they fit within the weight range for the heartgard chews they are over the weight range of the all-wormers. Now I just buy my all wormer tablets through my vet.

we wash our dogs weekly but only with a flea and tick rinse so sometimes we use the same water for two dogs but only if they aren't really dirty. Most of the time they get clean water for each dog. If I was paying to have my dog washed I would expect the water to be changed after each dogs and disinfected between each dog. I find a number of dog washes in my local area change the water after about 4 or 5 dogs - I would never use them and certain discourage people from using them... wonder what diseases get pasted along....

Julie I also know what you are going through. I use a Prong/Pinch collar on my GSD - he was extremely difficult to control and is very strong. The collar made a big difference to him and occassionally he still tries to push him luck but I definately have much better control over him. I had multiple dislocated shoulders, dislocated and broken fingers, cracked bones etc - it got to the stage were I refused to even walk him and almost hated him. Now - most of the time he is great to walk - the collar is just there for the times he decides to difficult and loses his brain. You said you did the K9 Force workshop - I believe they also sell the collars K9 Force Website. We brought one of our collars from NSW and the other from a Qld local pet shop. Edited for spelling...

A tin of pal usually is the quickest and easiest way to get the dog going - it always goes straight through our boys.

We paid $150 for a full dental check, clean and polish on a 55kg rottie - and that was expensive because they had a hard time knocking him out. Even when they were cleaning his teeth he was growling at them. Normally our dogs don't need their teeth cleaned but he had a bad bite at work so we wanted his mouth checked out fully before returning him to work.

If it is a actually gas - a quick fix is charcoal tablets from the chemist/health food shop. The charcoal removes the smell very quickly while you are working on the cause of the problem (eg diet).

I don't punish my dogs unless I catch them in the act and then they get a sharp "NO" or "BAD DOG". Excessive barking gets them 30 minutes of time out - away from human contact. When we lived out west the old farmers used to tie the dead chicken to the dog but I am not sure how effective that was - I wouldn't do it to my dog. It would be like rubbing their nose in a mess they have made as an attempt to toilet training them. You dog probably knows you are mad at it but at this point it may not know why. I think your dogs behaviour doesn't show he is learning anything other then to be scared of you. Definately time to forgive and move on to a more positive training method.

My boys love cheerios ... and carrot sticks

Poor Molly - that looks very uncomfortable.... Do you also treat the cat for flea? When we had a flea problem - due to our cats (they bring them in from the neighbouring yards) - I used Malawash (or Malaban) which I mix up in a garden sprayer and did the whole yard (lawn, gardens and concrete area) at the same time I treat the dogs and cats - total saturation of the whole area. I used to also keep a small hand sprayer handy to spray the usually areas (eg favourite napping places) on a daily basis. Let us know how Molly goes. Edited: We also flea bombed the house and garage on a regular basis until the fleas were eliminated from the area.