The Spotted Devil

What did you wash him with? I noticed the same thing following bathing my boy (approx 12 hours later) last weekend....changed to a gentle oatmeal, pH balanced shampoo this week and no problems at all

Thanks for the link Kelpie-i It makes for very interesting reading. As someone who uses a scientific approach to animal behaviour/welfare, I found this comment quite pertinent although, as I said, I haven't seen any of CM's work: "He has nice dog skills, but from a scientific point of view, what he says is, well ... different," says Dunbar. OT: Why do people so often think that all an animal needs is a "quick fix" ????? ETA: When Zig was younger we met another puppy owner in the street. We were discussing the personalities of our respective puppies - my lad is very, very bold and persistent. Puppy owner suggested I use the alpha role on him as that's what his breed club told him to do with his pup. Thanks, but no thanks, I said....I'd prefer my pup to trust me and respect me....with consistent, calm training we're on our way....although sometimes of course I feel like throttling the little rascal!

Not sure how old your puppy is, but I would suggest (in addition to what's already been mentioned) that it is all very well to exercise the body (and I would be very careful about over-exercising) but you need to exercise your puppy's brain a lot more.....training classes, clicker work, hunting for toys, scatter feeding/using a treat ball are all things that have worked wonders for my boy. Try hiding the chicken wings inside sealed boxes (as many as you like inside each other - lose any staples and seal with tape) so puppy has to rip the boxes up to get to the food. With a very "busy" pup, even a short walk to the local shopping strip to practice some obedience work or learning to sit nicely at a cafe can tire them out mentally and much more quickly than a long walk. The difficult thing is the act of digging itself is so rewarding that if you only catch the dog in the act when you are home, the inconsistent reward schedule can make the behaviour even stronger. I never leave my pup in the back yard alone....he would probably do some serious damage if left to his own devices Perhaps you could consider a dog run with a clam shell full of sand plus lots of toys - it will save not only your garden but your sanity too. Good luck!

I haven't had the opportunity to view CM in action (no pay TV for a start ) but was a little concerned when a novice (IMO) puppy owner decided to copy his technique. When the owner's young puppy (no more than 12 weeks) would not stop mouthing he performed an 'alpha roll' on it - just like CM apparently. This he did repeatedly - some of the behaviour the puppy then exhibited (as described by the owner) really concerned me - the owner thought it was a fabulous success because the puppy stopped biting. I tried explaining alternative approaches but they weren't interested. So, I don't know whether CM actually performed this or the owner simply took it out of context (anyone?) But, these 'quick fixes' on TV concern me as people really think they can suddenly have a well-behaved puppy/dog without putting in many hours of hard work. I'm not talking about the average DOLer either - it's the people who watch a 5 minute cure and decide they don't need a behaviourist or puppy training school because the "expert" has spoken. Just my thoughts.

My Dal thinks kibble is a training treat too! I tried a tiny piece of cheese as an 'extra special' treat and he played with it for about 10 minutes, by which time he'd forgotten what he'd done to deserve it

Well done, deltron! Just remember....if you don't give in, your pup (eventually) will. Those first few weeks are the hardest....I had in-laws to stay too :D but we survived....just

Hi pinnacle dts - who were you after a response from? SSS hasn't got her puppy yet.... ;)

Just a question with the crate. When they go to sleep or when they get put in it are the doors usually closed? SSS - I think most people train their dogs to have the crate door closed but I chose to leave the door off and the crate in the laundry. That way, Zig could access his water all night and use the newspaper to toilet on. It saved me from getting up in the middle of the night and worked really well for us

I feed my pup (now 8 months) a similar diet - he loves it! But, I did find when he was very young he would lose interest in his food quite regularly - sometimes he just needed a good half hour to wake up (loves his sleep ), at times other things were more interesting and sometimes I put it down to teething. I put any left over kibble in his puppy Kong and put it to bed with him in his crate - it worked very well, helping him to relax and to not fret. It amazed me how such a fast growing pup thrived on seemingly so little food! Unless you suspect something more serious, I'd be sticking to the current diet. They'll come round....they are Labs after all! ETA: Now my pup loves his kibble so much, it goes in a treat ball to slow him down.

Just responding to your specific questions.... I'm home a fair bit (studying for Uni) so Ziggy is with me in the house during the day. If I can't supervise him or need to go to Uni or out he goes in his crate - I always make sure he has 2 hours of activity (could include some training around the house or a short free run or a brief walk or hide/seek toys) before going in his crate, even if that means getting up at 5am if I have an early lecture. I also made sure he had some good "quiet time" before bed...and enforced the "3 yawn" rule....3 yawns and he's off to bed If I waited until he was asleep before putting him to bed, it would only disturb him and cause whining. Zig gets a snack to go to bed with but has his 2 main meals in a treat ball. The puppy Kong helped because he was often too tired to eat it when he went to bed but it was something to nibble on if he woke up. BTW, with regards to house training, Zig 'got it' relatively quickly - no puppy pads used at all - but every 30 minutes (for the first few days) and then every hour (plus after a snooze, eating or play) I'd take him outside to toilet. It does take time, though, and at 8 months of age, I can finally say that Ziggy is 100% reliable and whines now if he needs to go out. I think he had his last 'accident' at 6 months but that was our fault for not taking him out after a big play time. At 11 weeks, you've got a real baby still - be consistent, loads of praise for appropriate toileting, ignore the rest (if you're feeling annoyed with puppy, calmly remove him from the room while you clean up so he doesn't sense your frustration - it can make it worse) and enjoy him being a puppy - it doesn't last forever, although it can feel like it when you're trying to manage them!!!

My lad was full of whinges and whines when he was teething and seemed to need a lot of quiet time. The crate was wonderful - I'd just pop him in there like a cranky toddler and he'd have a good sleep for a few hours Once all his permanent teeth had well and truly broken through (age probably varies between dogs but I think Zig was around 5-6 months), he improved out of sight.....the softer Nylabones were fabulous for getting him through this stage.

I don't think all is lost with your crate training but it may take a bit of undoing. When you have placed your fingers through the cage to "calm" him, you have actually rewarded him for his behaviour (not to mention the one night in your bed!) It is normal for a puppy to become anxious when separated from his family but they need to learn it is safe and ok to be snuggled up in his crate. My boy now prefers his crate to sleeping in the lounge room, especially if he is really, really tired. Crate training is really handy - I love being able to put my lad in there for a few hours during the day when I can't watch him or he is giving the cats a hard time Plus, I know he is safe. I would first be teaching your puppy to toilet on command - I use 'quick, quick!' and have simply associated it with Ziggy toileting, and lots of praise (you can use a tasty treat of course). When teaching this, I made sure he could only access a small part of the garden which is rather dull - it therefore is better for him to toilet and get lots of praise. I now only have to stand on the back step (handy on a cold night) and send him off on his own. I use an open crate in the laundry (covered with a blanket to keep it cosy) and never got up to take Zig out during the night. He had some newspaper on which to toilet, a soft lamp so he could find his way around and a radio to provide some soothing sounds. Any whining was completely ignored - I always make sure I get him up when he is quiet so he is rewarded for this (even if you practice during the day for a few minutes at first). Every single time Zig goes into his crate he gets his puppy Kong with a few puppy biscuits in it (from his ration) and last thing at night (10.30pm) he also gets a raw chicken neck to munch on. He is in bed by 7 or 8pm and when I get him up for that last toilet session, he is so flipping fast out the door and back again because he knows he will get his very high value treat to go to bed with. I only have to say "time for bye, byes!" and he bolts to the crate. The most important thing in all this, no matter what approach you use, is CONSISTENCY! Otherwise your puppy will most definitely 'play' you - but they are not doing it on purpose, but because you allow them to. Good luck!

Pup and 2 (indoor) cats have their nails clipped approximately weekly. Pup and youngest cat, Bronte, love the attention while Lilly tolerates it with nothing more nasty than a pained expression

OH managed to break his wrist just rollerblading on his own No way is he getting near the dog with those things

I have one of those annoying puppies that stopped toileting overnight by 10 weeeks :rolleyes: He has access to a bowl of water all night and sleeps in an (open) crate in the laundry. I always gave him a few sheets of newspaper for the night time but he stopped using them within 2 weeks. Zig goes to bed at 7pm (I know it's early but he's such a sook and loves his bed) and I just got him up for his last toilet at around 10.30pm. Back to bed with a chicken neck, and will sleep through until about 9.30am if I let him. He's about 23kg at 8 months but has been in this routine since we first got him home. Good luck! I LOVE Standards - they really are the most gorgeous puppies :p

I think that humping can sometimes stem from excitement and then develop into a habit - once they start it can be difficult to stop them so I keep an eye out for warning signs - my lad will drag the blanket with his paws first.....at that point a firm, calm "Leave", followed by "Good Boy" does the trick and it's much less prevalent now I won't be encouraging him to use a humping pillow or similar.

I made the trip to Canberra to choose my puppy at 5 weeks (from 9)....barring BAER testing etc. Best thing I ever did! And the breeder was not only incredibly accommodating, but actively encouraged me to come and stay

Definitely not too late to crate train....do a search - there are probably heaps of threads on it - just remember to start slowly and always, always always associate positive things with the crate. As for 2 together, no experience here, sorry....but it probably depends on how well they get on - I think someone mentioned that they keep their 2 crated separately because they played too much! Someone will come along with some advice on that count, I'm sure.

Is this the same as 'Advane Growth Large Breed'? Thats what I feed and they are thriving on it. Yep...sorry! And for joelle....in general, the quickest growth rate is until about 5 months and then, if you double that, it's a fair approximation on what their fully grown weight will be. After that they really slow down - Zig puts on around a kilo a month and I barely notice him getting bigger any more. I keep him nice and lean and he gets a chicken neck each night for his bedtime treat Definitely get some large breed puppy food but remember to swap it over slowly...don't want yucky poos

Thanks :D My vet etc etc told me the puppy food generated growth too quick as it had too much calcium, protein etc for the large breed dogs???? Im totally confused Norwest Sydney Animal Hospital told me it DOES NOT encourage fast growth and actually contains ingredients or whatever to prevent fast growth from happening. Exactly right, IMO, as long as you are feeding a large breed puppy food rather than regular puppy food (which you are )

Thanks :D My vet etc etc told me the puppy food generated growth too quick as it had too much calcium, protein etc for the large breed dogs???? Im totally confused Well....a large breed puppy food should have the right quantities of calcium, phosphorus and protein - the calcium-phosphorus ratio is critical and the energy supplied by the food is also important. What breed of dog do you have?

I feed Advance Large Breed Puppy - it has less calories so as not to encourage rapid growth. He will be eating this until 18 months - 2 years of age and is looking fabulous on it.

Good luck with your Beagle puppy - they are ripper dogs I'm not sure if I was just lucky but I did not get up in the night once for my lad when he came home. He sleeps in his crate in the laundry BUT I leave the crate open with no door. He was paper trained when we got him at 8 weeks and I just left a soft lamp on and some newspaper near the entrance of the crate. I put him to bed at 7pm and then get him up at about 10pm for a final toilet and his chicken neck to help him settle. For 3-4 nights he toileted on the paper and then held on all night without a problem although I always got him up at 6am in the beginning. He always had a smallish bowl of water too. He is a fabulous sleeper now....he's 7 months and will sleep in until 9.30am if I let him...bliss :D

Hi Hazel My pup flew from Canberra to Melbourne at 8 weeks (he was a very strong pup - and was not going to leave until he was 10 weeks originally) to come from the breeder to me and I had no concerns. My concern with your situation is the number of changes for your pup within a short period of time....and stress increases the risk of disease because it can suppress the immune system. So....puppy leaves the litter/mother/familiar environment to come to you (big change), begins to settle in to its new environment and then is put on a plane (big change), is transported to a new environment (big change), begins to settle in and then is on another plane trip (big change) and returns home. So, for me, it is not so much the plane trip itself but the combination of a number of novel experiences...some of this depends on the personality of your pup too....a very bold pup would probably cope well but a more timid pup might struggle. If the pup was a bit younger when you were traveling I would consider leaving it with the breeder for an extra week....but that's difficult again because I prefer to get my pup at a younger age, and it depends on the breeder. Lots of considerations for you...I'm looking forward to reading other views.

I'm very careful when exercising my lad - he's 7 months and a mad Dally but he only gets two 20 minute free runs at the beach per week. On the other days we might go for a 10 minute walk to the shopping strip with LOTS of training - standing quietly walking on a loose lead and greeting everyone with 4 paws on the ground Seriously though, even spending time sitting outdoors at a cafe is good mental stimulation for him. Plus at home we do lots of 'hide and seek' games with his toys and more incidental training. It really is important that exercise is controlled because the growth plates in the front legs don't 'seal' until 18 months of age. I've seen the most awful malformed legs in overexercised large dogs and it just sets them up for problems with arthritis down the track.