The Spotted Devil

Good on you! If parvo is prevalent in your area, have a talk to your vet about 6 monthly vaccinations specifically for Parvo - I know we are all trying to get away from over-vaccination but this is often recommended for dogs in high risk areas. I don't know what else to suggest :rolleyes: especially as this dog is so close and you'll have to walk your dogs at some point. ETA: It might be worth putting your dogs in the car and driving somewhere for a walk.

:rolleyes: :laugh: Please be really careful - your dogs and you can transfer the virus to your young pup. The virus is highly contagious and is excreted in the faeces of the infected dog (or a carrier). Because your dogs are at risk look out for any diarrohoea (especially with blood in it and it has a distinctive smell that I can't describe) or listlessness. Dehydration is a real risk and it can eventually lead to heart failure. How awful - very irresponsible of the vet too - makes you wonder if they bothered to disinfect the surgery properly I hope your dogs are ok.

Arolf, join us in the Cat Forum under Off Topic but.....I can tell you that a lot of the commercial cat foods overestimate the amount of food cats require. Many cats will guts themselves stupid and put on weight without any effort My cats get (each, per day split into 3 meals): one quarter of a cup of Eukanuba dry, 3 small chunks of chicken/beef/lamb plus one quarter of a tin of Fancy Feast OR a chicken neck (every other night) - they are inside cats (pretty active) and are in mint condition ;) At 8 or 9 your girl will not be particularly active so, like a dog, ensure she has a nice, visible "waist". If she is bolting her food, get a kitty treat ball to slow her down....I use one for my youngest cat and she loves it!!!

For just something to munch on in the house I like giving Zig a Nylabone - as long as you get one strong enough not to be destroyed. It really helped him through the teething stage too. I've heard varying reports about Greenies....I won't feed them just in case

It's just me that will struggle

Hazz - I know exactly what you mean - I don't like the idea of straight out manipulation and was a bit hesitant initially. But she spent quite some time massaging and stretching and everything just appeared to fall into place. The amazing thing was that I could visually see the difference in his top line and he moved much more freely. Thanks...I'm glad he feels better too

I've just had a home visit by a qualified animal chiropractor - I'm so impressed with the results. Zig wasn't in any obvious pain but I had noticed that he looked a little stiff through his mid spinal region. The practitioner was very gentle with Zig (who just wanted to play ) and the difference in him was immediately obvious. Well worth the money spent and pretty reasonable at that!

No it's normal....and very funny I find ;) My pup hiccuped a lot when he was younger - several times a day - they tend to grow out of it. Enjoy him

Just as well she didn't have the very much entire Mad Zig in her class....she'd probably be on valium by now ETA: What rot Some of the best trialling dogs I've ever seen were entire!!!

The only problem I had with my dearly departed ACD and "shake hands" was that she was strongly "left-pawed". She used to give me these 'sad' and 'confused' looks as I tried to teach her. When I finally twigged and asked for her LEFT paw you could see her go then and we never had another problem. Nor did she ever do it unless she was asked

I got one too The whole day at a show Zig whines and whines and whines....trots into the ring...no problem! Same at show training.....does not stop until he gets to trot around and show off Sorry - I'm working on it just using calming commands but it's a long, noisy road

A brag so minor that only a Dally owner would truly understand Last Wednesday night at show training, we were outside on the grass for the first time in ages.....young Zig went completely nuts as only a teenage Dal can - nose in the air, nose on the ground, rearing up on his hind legs, trying to play with the other dogs, constant wining He chucked a huge wobbly and tried to nick off and sniff something - I stood my ground and ignored his antics and the little bugger managed to slip his show lead and take off across the oval Ok...so not much to be proud of yet but I simply crouched down and called brightly "Ziggy, come!" and the little lad turned immediately and bolted back to me like a greyhound All that training paid off! I kept patiently asking him to 'work' all night and he really did get it together....even our trainer was impressed :D My last dog was an ACD - her whole life revolved around being close to me so training a dog that tends towards the opposite is a whole new experience

Yes, it's difficult to be patient....I know! One thing I forgot to mention - I make the kitchen (which has a separate breakfast bar area that we don't use) completely out of bounds to the puppy - if I was organised I would get a baby gate but I'm not so I just have to be vigilant. In the kitchen are the cats' favourite things - scratching tower, heaps of toys, fun cardboard boxes, they are always fed in there plus the litter tray. The girls can escape to that room whenever they please and laze in the sun safe from marauding puppy paws. Zig sleeps in the laundry (in his crate) - before I get him up in the morning I have some good fun with the cats - lots of cuddles and playtime. In the evening, Zig is in bed by 8pm and then we bring all the cat toys into the lounge room so we have some good interactive sessions. They are Burmese so love this time dearly. I would feed your puppy and cat completely separately - even if puppy behaves it can be quite stressful for a cat. Spend lots of time with your cat when puppy is sleeping and Mocha will soon get used to the 'intruder'. My dearly departed dog and cat grew old together and were the best of mates - I'm hoping the same will happen with the current felines and puppy. I've been at this since the day Zig arrived home.....that is 7 months ago!!! Be patient This was taken on Zig's first day....if only he had remained in awe of the cats :D ETA: When you are trying to teach puppy not to do something you have to give him a better reason other than you saying so! At least to start with anyway....try keeping a few tiny treats on you so you are prepared. Ask him to "Leave" (try not to get angry or raise your voice - just firmly and calmly ask him) - keep persisting and the second he stops tell him "Good Boy!!!" and reward him with a tiny treat. He'll get the message much more quickly (and remember!) if you combine positive reinforcement with negative reinforcement

As a cat lover with a very active Dally puppy in the house....I can only tell you what I have done. My lad is desperate to play with the cats - he play bows and yips and does everything possible to encourage them. He is also around 25kg at 9 months of age so could easily injure them without even meaning to. Firstly I've worked on a good, solid "Leave" command (generally works for anything he is doing) - he's by no means perfect with this in terms of the cats but we are making progress. You must be 100% consistent and persistent!!! I always ask him to "Leave" followed by an enthusiastic "Good Boy!" when he does so (even as little as losing eye contact with the cat at first). Secondly, I never ever leave puppy unsupervised with the cats. Ever. One of them will give him a hard time (I don't encourage this as eye injuries can occur) but the other will make a dash across the room, which doesn't help. He has to learn they are not to be chased no matter what. If I cannot reinforce his behaviour (positively or otherwise) I don't have them in the same room. Thirdly, I always have a water spray bottle on hand for emergencies as sometimes the little rascal just can't help himself. Also make sure pup has enough toys to play with (and interaction with you) so they are more interesting (or at least as interesting ) than the cat. It's hard work with some pups, especially if they are very active. We are getting there - I can sit at the computer with 2 cats snoring on my lap and Zig curled up in his bed on the floor nearby. I also identify times that aren't good for interactions.....especially for the half hour prior to the evening meal....pup is getting excited and the cats are restlessly prowling, waiting for their dinner :D and keep them separated. Good luck

I use a range of treats - for low distraction some tiny puppy biscuits and the odd Nature's Gift chicken treat thrown in. For very high distraction (e.g. recall training at the beach) I use steamed chicken - Zig goes completely nuts for it......now I'm reducing the number of 'chicken' rewards and adding some low value treats in occasionally...it makes him even keener because he's never quite sure what he's going to get! We do 6-8 recalls per free run session so the rewards are very small...he gets a bonus when his lead goes on to go to the car and a bonus when getting in the car.....now I have a pup that loves to go home

Takes one to know one, hey Bel I'm very patient with Zig in terms of realising he will be late to mature - I love the 'zing' though....my old ACD had an extreme 'zing' and I had to learn to channel it into something constructive - we ended up doing obedience, agiity and tricks. Captain Mad is quick to learn, though....in 3 two minute lessons this week (initially with a lure, then a clicker) I have him doing a 'finish' and added a sit today as well - a bit far away but a really good start...he thought he was soooo clever so I had to mix a few stays in there to stop him preempting me. I'm working on 'watch' at home - he will now look me in the eye while he drools over his food cube or chicken wing until he is released...he does it automatically for the cube but still needs prompting for the chicken wing Luckily the way to his brain is definitely through his stomach

I've taught my pup (only at home so far....look out when we hit distractions ) with no collar and toys.....he has to sit or drop while I dance and hop and skip and jump around like an idiot...then I return to his side, release him and throw a favourite toy to play with....sometimes he gallops round and round with it in his great gob or we have a gentle game of tug (and release on command). It's taught him a lot of self control and he really enjoys doing them! If your dog is breaking, I would go right back to square one and reward really small achievements.....like standing directly in front of your dog. JMHO

That dog has the most amazing physical self-awareness. Zig doesn't even know where his front feet are when he lifts his leg :rolleyes:

Brilliant!!!! My immediate reaction was a combination of with some and a lot of :rolleyes:

Thanks Arya and everyone for your responses - really, really appreciated. I will definitely check out Frankston as it's a 30-40 minute drive which is very reasonable and sounds like a set-up that may suit us. I've got a bit on at the moment but look out for Captain Mad and me in a few weeks time....and lock up your well behaved puppies 'cause he'll lead them all astray With all the distractions, it will be a huge step for him so I'm not expecting too much to start with

Will do Maloo! I've got a few weeks study leave coming up soon so I will get out and about (in between the Royal Show :D ) and take the lad to a few different training set ups and see what (if anything) suits us. I'm really looking forward to it I don't mind that the clubs focus on the 'average' dog owner as they probably need more guidance....I know I certainly did when I first started. The only reason I am hesitant to work through heavily structured classes is because after a few minutes of working on an exercise, Zig will either need a break to mentally digest what we were doing (if it's a big step) OR will start preempting behaviours (if it's something he knows) so I need to really mix it up, keep him guessing and work on small steps of advanced work. I suppose I really need an instructor that will trust me to make the right decisions. As I like to say...a busy Dally is a tired Dally is a good Dally

PW - a similar thing happened to Zig a few months ago after a free run with another dog who was just a little too boisterous (and very solid too) - Zig turned awkwardly and pulled up limping......had a quick check up at the vet on the way home - he was much better by then but seems he had strained a muscle. I rested him for about 3 days (lots of training to keep him occupied in the mean time) despite him having no further signs of a limp - I find that young dogs, being what they are, will often continue to run amok even if they are a little sore. Hope your lad is feeling better soon :D N.B. Having learned my lesson about off-leash parks, now I only take him to the beach early in the morning where he gets to catch up with the "regulars" - all tiny dogs, actually, who are very tolerant of his puppy ways and are firm but gentle.

I knew you lot would come up with some ideas! Thank you :rolleyes:

Thanks Nytewynd

Brilliant