joelle

I have added an update on page one for anyone interested. Its worth reading

Following on from my 'curbing houdini' post, which some of you may or may not have read, I am thinking of introducing Mollie and I to agility. I have absolutely no experience in agility whatsoever and I dont think Mollie has had any formal obedience training although she does sit, shake and recall (most times). Anyhow, she is 3 1/2 yrs old staffy x amstaff with a temdency for adventure i think - hence the wandering What I am wondering is, do you think she is too old to start this - am I wasting my time or can they pick it up fairly good? She seems to pick up on most basic skills, however, she is struggling with 'drop' Im hoping if we do agility it will give her the added adventure she appears to crave. Will the people at agility have patience with us We are near to the CAWA so would prob go there. I would maybe need to do thier basic obedience first? Any advice, previous expereince would be appreciated. Thanks

Ok I need some solid advice please. Ill try my best to explain the situ in full here. Mollie is a rescue who I have had for 3 months now. SHe is a staffy x am staff. She lives with her dogie sister Ellie who is 8 and 1/2 months and not really part of this problem, however is being affected by it. Mollie is a perfect dog in every way. except........... She loves going for walks.........without me...... She escaped by jumping the fence in the first couple of weeks we had her, we fixed the fence problem, she can no longer jump them. We have also built the dogs a run in the garden, so they are not destructing the garden when we are out. No problem there. However, in the house, if ANYONE doesnt make sure the fly screen shuts and clicks, she will be off. I work 50 hours week sometimes and unfortunately not all the rest of my family members and their visiting friends are any where near as vigilant as I am. If the wooden front door is open, you have to make sure the fly screen is locked... Sound Easy??? yeah right, when theres 4 and 5 teenagers walking in and out and a 4 yr old and 9 yr old and their friends too its a nightmare. What it has resorted to is both dogs are locked in the run unless they go for a walk, be fed, play or the kids are in bed and OH land I let them in to have nice time. Ellie doesnt need to be out there as she has never escaped, but Mollie cries so much out there on her own that I feel awful for her so Ellie gets kicked out too Not my idea of what I wanted for a couple of pet dogs. I want them to hang round the house with us, be part of the family, lounge around with the kids etc. The confusing part is that Mollie loves to hang around with everyone, she loves to be in the middle of it all, she loves jumping in the car to go to the shop and waits patiently, she loves sitting in front garden with eldest son and his mates just chilling, she doesnt wander then. Am I painting a clear enough picture of her? SHe really is a fantastic family pet. Why oh why does she wander then??? It is causing friction as she has been caught by the ranger 3 times which is an $80 fine each time, next time it is $160. (Despite her name tag and being found 100 yds away, the ranger here likes to take her to the pound then ring us. Prob to teach us a lesson and get some easy cash:( OH is mightily pissed off about this and says she must go find a home with a fully fenced garden - front and back. I am also very worried that she will either cause an accident or be hurt herself. In saying this, she appears to be very roadworthy and will walk on the inside of me when we are out, she shies away from cars. Although I know this is beside the point, she shouldnt be out there. I am wondering if this problem is long stemmed in her, I am her 6th owner and the first 2 or 3 we dont know the history, other than one of them actually rescued her from the pound so she appears to have always done it What are we not giving her, what are we missing? She appears to love us but then goes off on her own. Last weekend, we were getting ready to go for a walk and getting shoes, leads etc. With OH, myself and 2 littlies as well as the dogs it is a bit hectic getting ready, however, Mollie knew we were going out WITH HER, she was dancing and prancing round the lead, next thing, she had gone. We searched for 3 hours with no luck and the next day no luck. 7pm next evening, up the drive runs Mollie happy as a lark to be home. We think someone took her in and first chance she got, she escaped and came home, so she does want to be with us. Can anyone please help, I dont want to rehome her (OH DOES ;) ) I dont want her to be hurt or anyone else and I dont want to keep paying pound fees - bloody ridiculous ons at that Do I have to keep her in the run all the bllody time, I think it would be to hard to train ALL MY VISITORS to click the fly screen EVERY time. especially when it is kids running in an out (Big kids mostly) BTW, the dogs are walked at least 2 x daily 30 min on lead and 1 hour off lead in dog field, they run and run and run its great fun. theres usually only us there SOmetimes they are walked a 3rd time if one of is is going to the shop or just doesnt realise that they have been out. Extras include a trip to the beach in the evening or weekend (weather permitting) They get lots of play time in the garden with the boys, footy, tennis balls etc.They are fed good food, lots of water, toys readily available in the garden and the dog run, 2 comfy beds and kennel in the run. Is she searching for her original owners? I just would really appreciate some well meaning advice or suggestions please, eg, had anyone else experienced this, did anything work? WHy wont she just lie content on the couch (she does sometimes) but that one time she doesnt could be her last ;)

Shit, Bacchus, Im so sorry for you. Cant help with any advice unfortunately just letting you know Im thinking of you. I am in training tomorrow and will be thinking of you as Im supposed to be learning I wont have access to my puter tomorrow until 6pm but I will be checking to see what happend in the vets team meeting. We are all thinking of you at this sad time when you have to make some real tough decisions. Whatever you decide will be for the best, Im sure, you obviously love the old boy dearly :p

I had heard all about crate training but never actually got around to doing it.....until a couple of weeks ago when my 7 month old needed to rest, the only way of assuring that a 7 month old scooby doo rests is.............. in a crate. I only bought one for Ellie, not Mollie, but they both love it, Its the best thing Ive ever bought, in fact Im buying another as soon as I can afford it Its not cruel, its their own little place and gives me great peace of mind when I need to have a shower or nip out somewhere. Also in this shocking weather, they are in there during the day when Im at work. Saves them being out in the rain and cold, they get to snuggle each other all day. Well its only about an hour or two from I go out til OH is in. At first I didnt leave them in there unsupervised together but I can now, they just go to sleep Its also good (as I discovered) for when friends with small children visit (for the dogs..not the kids honest :cool: )

Forgive my ignorance but how do they go with the fish bones? my dogs love sardines, but I would be cautious of giving raw fish with bones. Unless you guys say you have tried it of course :D

My sister in law had a cross bred dog (cant remember if it was here or in UK ) she was desexed in season and didnt make it off the operating table This was approx 15 yrs ago, I THINK it may have been here in Australia. The risks were known to be larger uterus, more bleeding, bigger risk of blood loss, shock etc. I'm not sure if death was actually named as a risk though?? I dont think she would have gone ahead with it had that been the case? There was a reason why she went ahead with it but I cant remember. Maybe the dog was pregnant too??? I'm waffling now coz I really cant remember too much other than it was yrs and yrs ago, and the poor girl died. SIL was distraught. As Im sure you can imagine, she was very anxious yrs later when her boxers (male and female) went in for desexing. I'm sure the risks are more highlighted nowadays?

Im off to get some, I hope it works, wish me luck. OH might stop being a narky old git about his grass

My 2 were pulling, so we just stopped and turned around. Once they realised what was actually expected of them they learned really quickly. They still sometimes (well nearly every time to be honest we are all still learning) forget the rules and pull. A quick stop usually reminds them, if it doesnt, I turn around and head for home, thats usually enough to remind them, theres nothing worse than going for a walk and having to stop and turn round every minute to see why mum and dad have stopped walking. They soon get sick of it, as I said, once they realise what it is you are actually asking them to do. BTW I did them one at a time which was easier. it was also more convenient as Ellie was confined to rest anyhow so her walks were severly restricted. Good luck, I really enjoy the feeling of walking with 2 dogs having 4 of them to walk must be fantastic

Does that work? If so i am off to buy me some ACV OMG OMG OMG OMG----------DOES THIS REALLY REALLY WORK?????? Sorry for shouting but as much as OH loves my (sorry,--our ) dogs he has one major gripe. burnt grass from urine. He is even threatening to build them a run so they cant wee on his grass. :D I dont want the dogs locked in a run so Im off to buy this tomorrow. How much is it? I also dont want him whinging that Im spending even more money on the dogs - every time I go out I come in with a treat / gadget or something for them PUULLLEEEEEASE TELL ME THIS WORKS It would mean sooooo much in this house.

Wer had the C5 too, we had all 3 vaccinations up to 16 weeks but Ellie was allowed to meet other (known vaccinated)dogs 10 days after the 2nd one (12 weeks) To contradict myself, we took her to puppy class from aged 8 - 11 weeks with 4 other pups of roughly the same age but the vet knew they had all had at least their 1st vaccination.

We got Ellie at 6 weeks, but were told she was 8 Same situation, no vaccination, worming tabs or anything. She was VERY quiet and UN interactive for a good few days. I remember following her every movement (lol no pun intended there ) to check for worms as she was really quite sick and I wanted confirmation that the little blighters were coming out, we did the happy dance when we found them 2 days later If you have done the worm treatment, just hang in there, a bit of food and a bit of play combined with the worm tab, you should see some movement! Im not sure how long to wait but most def by tomorrow I should think??? Good luck ETA: I personally wouldnt bath for a while yet, let him settle first. You can buy pet cologne at the shops that smells really nice, just spray that and brush him through. Not sure how long to wait, perhaps someone else can help??

I have tried it with my two, but they had a major case of the runs and I havent given them it since.

Thanks for all your replies :rolleyes: Ellie is improving drastically day by day. We had her on anti inflams for 10 days, combined with 2 fish oil tabs and 1 glucosamine tab daily and 1 aspirin every 2 days. Also bought a crate and crated her regularly to force rest upon her throughout the day. SHe is going great guns now. Still a bit stiff when first getting up but can run around as normal (which we do not encourage but.. pups will be pups and we crate her as soon as we catch her My question is now, how long should I contiune with the current amount of fish oil, glucosaminen and aspirin? Do I cut the amount down or keep her on that for a while? My plan is to keep the current amount for the next few weeks then re assess. Does this sound OK?

Ok shoot me for being dumb..... :rolleyes: but what is a BARF patty? I have read about them and want to try my dogs on them. How do I make them. BTW I have had my dogs on royal canine (vomited for 2 days even with slow change) supercoat (loved it but I felt guilty it wasnt the 'best' food), advance (very good they loved it, solid poos, so I loved it too) now going to try eukanuba. If they ok on that I will then choose between euk and advance for on going feeding (depending on their reaction, cost, coats, eyes etc and poos) They also get a couple of chicken frames every couple of days. But back to the BARF pattys, any helpers?? thanks

My sisters 13 yr old boxer girl does this too. We were advised dementia / old age. She is now deaf as a post and her eyesight is failing too. Sometimes she appears very cofused in her surroundings (only at night) although they have lived in that house for about 8 yrs now. Ill follow this with interest to see if any different view points.

DOes it say what age puppies? If it just says puppies, then probably up to 18 months?

Good, thank you, its something I have never thought of buying and have never looked when I do my 'dog' shopping, I will look today when I go

I had my two bathed yesterday and the smell off them is divine My question is, does anyone know where I can buy some of that perfumey stuff they put on them at the end of the bath? That smell only lasts a few days and although I know they dont need more than a monthly bath, I would love to be able to spray that stuff on each couple of weeks or however often is safe enough to use, its lovely Thanks

WHere do I buy shark cartilage and joint guard? never heard of either of them?

Never heard of a devon roll so I cant compare Mine alternate between a pigs ear, chicken wing or chicken neck. Sometimes a special bone to chew on. They dont complain ;) BTW I was gonna say and they are healthy but Ellies not at the mo - but I dont think thats a contributing factor

sounds much better than full on x rays and test, test test,. Ellie is on anti inflammatories for 10 days "until we make a decision"

Where do I get this? I am also going to try fish oil vitamins. Thanks everyone for replying, it is all appreciated keep it coming as much info as poss pls everyone I dont have a crate but she is confined now and resting. ;)

ellie is... large breed... ;) thats all I can tell you, 30 kgs at 6 n half months so prob same size as bull mastiff - she does have a look of one of these too Other friends have suggested Pano too, so poss a 2nd opinion you think? thank you anyone else?

Been to the vets and she thinks its OCD. 1, Ellie is on large adult food and vet told me she should def be on puppy food, despite the fact it was her puppy kindy leader who told me to put her on adult food ASAP 2. Ellie is 6 n half mths and 30 kgs so def a larger breed 3. Cant pinpoint the site of pain despite poking and prodding - Ellie just lay down and went to sleep SHe is pretty sure it is OCD without an x ray but will do one just to confirm She is so sure because of points no: 1 and 2 and the fact that she has a limp HAs anyone experienced this before? If so what did you do? Is there an option other than surgery? Can we be certain its OCD? We would value some input before making decisions, thanks