tryamartimmy

Nope. I checked yesterday and they don't stock anything but Science Diet. They have a mini puppy variety in this- should I try it? Is any one else's dog on Science Diet? I had a look at the ingredients and the first ingredient is corn meal..... that doesn't sound right to me.

Yay!!!! Puppy is doing it! I got her water bottle out and started teaching the down on that for a little while, then moved to the floor. Now she's downing almost every time I ask her. Thanks for your help everyone!

Nutro... Ok, I'll go see if the vet has any. What do you guys think of those meat packs (you know, the ones that look like big knobs of polony) that they sell at the vets? Do little dogs need specific ones or are they more of a one meat feeds all thing?

But she's already on Royal Canin. I thought that was good for them???

Glad she's doing better and it's nothing too serious. Go the big wags!

I can just imagine. Gaetana steals the cat's bikkies. I have to keep moving them up higher so she can't get to them.

She's 19 weeks old this Sunday. I've tried adding a little cheese with the bikkies too, and she does like that, but I use cheese as a training treat, so want to limit how much she gets out of training time....

Tahni was brought up on Royal Canin Mini Jr, but lately, she's just been turning her nose up at it. She wasn't overly eager to eat it before, but she flat out refuses to eat it now. I've tried mashing a little sardine through it, or some yoghurt, but she still doesnt' seem keen. We're only part way through a 3kg pack and I just don't know what to do. What else can I add to make her interested in her bikkies? Any suggestions for bikkies for fussy chis?

Haha. That would have been funny (after examining the poppet for bumps and bruises of course!) I've lost count of how many times I've woken up with an alien object across my face, panicked and smacked out at it, only to discover it was attached to my other arm!!! Just imagine a dog's puzzlement at this!

Oh dear. That doesn't sound good at all... Perhaps she knocked it and has some bruising which you can't see through the hair? Hope she's ok. Keep us posted.

My fingers are crossed for your boy. Hope he makes it through. Losing a dog is hard at the best of times- losing them before their time is just awful. My thoughts are with your pup.

Haha. Now I feel like a right grot for jumping down OH's throat. Hehe.

So I have a question for you.... Have any of your dogs ever eaten chocolate? Have any of them actually died from it- you've seen it first hand? The only reason I'm asking is that I think my in-laws have a freak for a dog. It's been given chocolate (crunchies, bikkies, cake, cadbury pieces - everything!) for its entire life and is still going strong at 16 years. The other night, my other half offered a piece of chocolate from his icecream cone to my pooch and I really have to feel sorry for him- I pretty much smacked it out of his hand and started yelling. In hindsight, I can understand why he didn't think anything of it, having had a dog that can stomach chocolate without a fuss and all, but I certainly don't want to tempt fate with MY dog. Aside from that, I really don't want her to be eating 'human' food like that. What experiences have other DOLers had with this? Do you get the same reaction as I did? Did I over-react?

What does the glucosamine do???

Hi All.... Just thought I would give you an update on Tahni. I got home on Friday, very anxious about her, but found that the big sloppy poos my housemate had described were in fact small splotches from where Tahni had taken her signature 'poo totter' around on the newspaper. They were squishy, but not terribly worrying. She had eaten her chicken neck (left for lunch by the HM) afterall- had just waited to be alone to eat it lovingly apparently. She was her usual bouncy self all afternoon and had done a decent poo that night before bed, so I quit worrying pretty quickly. All I can put it down to is me giving her a small sample of the cheesecake I cooked the night before. By small, I mean not even pinky fingernail size... but I think the fact that it was full cream, rather than low fat product that I usually would use, was enough to give her a sore tummy. Note to self, stop giving baby goodies!!! Thanks for your help everyone!

Scourban? That sounds like a cleaning product? Poor baby. Wish I could go home, but I'm one of only two in the office today..... Wah~ Hopefully I'm just being dramatic. So rice is good for them when they're sick?

Yeah, I was thinking that too (the migraine thing).... It must have come on quite sudden, because her poo was normal this morning. I'm racking my brains as to what it could be.... I think I'll call the vet and see if I can get her seen today. Fingers crossed!

Just got a call from my housemate saying that my puppy is sick. She didn't get up this morning to eat her breakfast, but I didn't think anything of it because I had just refilled her hot water bottle and she was tucked up on top of that.... Then at lunch, HM went home to eat and give Tahni her chicken neck. She didn't even so much as sniff at it- and chicken neck is something she will wolf down even when she's chockers.... She's weeing and doing squishy diahorria all at the same time. HM informs me that she didn't even bother to leave her bed to run around when let out of her play pen like she usually would. So now I'm really worried and having all sorts of nasty stuff run through my head. Is there anything I should check for or do as soon as I get home before ringing the vets??? I've got two hours to sit here and stew now....

It may just be a case of sensitive skin too.... Probably not something to worry about, but I'd definitely ask the vet about it.

I wonder if this is an instance where a calming paste may come in useful while she's adjusting. I think vets can also prescribe/supply calmatives to help with this sort of thing, but it's definitely not a permanent fix. Maybe speak to a behaviourist?

My puppy flew over to Port Hedland (my home) all the way from Sydney (the breeder) when she was just 13 weeks old. She was a very strong puppy and considering she'd crossed the entire country in one day, she acted like nothing unusual had happened! In regards to parvo and other pet related diseases.... I have been told that most airlines require you to present a current health certificate from the vet prior to travelling anyway, so the risk of your pup getting parvo is minimal I would think. If you bring your own crate, then your pup shouldn't come into contact with any other animals along the way OR contract anything any other dog may have left in the hired crate. Hope this helps you!

That advise was fantastic! I'm also doing something similar with my pup, but a little different. She's a puller (or was, and is now slowly coming around to my way of walking). Currently, she's too little for a harness (even an XS) so I have to be very careful of her little throat as collars aren't recommended for walking Chihuahuas. What I do is start walking with her and as soon as she reaches the end of her lead, I stop and wait for her to look around at me. It sometimes takes her a while, up to 20 seconds (especially at the start of the training session- we've only been doing this a couple of times), but she will eventually look around when she realises that by pulling, she's not going anywhere. I also figure, by not turning around and walking the opposite direction, I'm not exerting any pressure of my own on her and there's less chance of doing damage to her sensitive neck. Once she's looking at me, I ask her to heel (offering a treat in the right position works wonders), then start to walk with the treat still in my hand, between her nose and my face, so I can see she's watching. When we've done a few metres, she gets the treat. As soon as she starts to pull again, we repeat the process. Like I said, this is just my technique, but it does seem to work well with my dog and I.

Oh my goodness!!! Brainwave..... She loves her hot waterbottle. And by love, I mean absolutely ADORES it. She lies on that as soon as it's put on the floor. Maybe I'll adapt this for my initial training. Gosh you guys are good!

Ok- I haven't tried having my palm down over the treat and just waiting. Maybe I'll have some success this way.... Thanks guys!!! I'm looking into the availability of puppy school at the moment, but am unsure of if we even have one here in Port Hedland. Hope so!!!!

Hi all, I've taught Tahni (Chi, 17wks) how to sit and stay. She waits for 'OK' before coming for treats and she really seems to be getting it. We're even starting on leash etiquette (and I must say, it's surprising how much she picks up and how quickly)... but we just don't seem to be having any success in the 'Down'. So far, I've tried to lure her from the sit position, into a down using her favourite treats. She absolutely refuses to lower her hind quarters, even with a gentle nudge. I've tried luring her under my leg so she gets into position to get to the treat... but she short-circuits me by just going over.... I'm at a loss. What can I do to get Tahni to do this?