Optimus

If you are in Victoria, Keilor Obedience Club in Fullerton Road, Keilor (East?) just off Tullamarine Freeway is completely positive based training - NO CHOKER CHAINS ALLOWED

Hi W2S I was searching through the forum for information on orthopedic surgeons and lame dogs. I am in a similar situation, my dog landed awkwardly from a fall, and his back leg had been hippity-hop ever since. 3 months now. We have also tried a course of Pentosan and rimydal, and even anti-biotics for a another condition. Nothing, and a complete personality change. I am seeing Dr Wing Tip Wong tomorrow, and hope that his injury can be resolved without major surgery. It's really great to hear your story, and experiences. Hope your dog recovers fast. Opyimus

Just an update, the company told me that it is not approved for use in Australia yet. I did a little more research and found an anti-inflammatory injection called Adequan which in a slightly different compound is branded CARTROPHEN here (not products, this is medication). I have read a lot of scientific studies on it and ot seems effective for hip injuries. I have him booked in for this week. I only wish the vet told me about it earlier themselves. My little one is getting glucosamine and fish oil daily too, so I hope he gets better real soon because I cant stand to see his little Charlie Chaplain hops. Olly, hope yours is fine now too?

Hi Olly, I have been reading about this product on the net. I dont think it is available in Australia yet. I am going to try it on my little one. I am searching for user information on it too.

Let your dog knows it hurts or behaviour is unacceptable by yelping loudly 'Ouch!", stop play and walk away until she calms down - a minute or so. Keep reinforcing for different behaviours. My little one goes through episodes of being on speed and utter exhaustion. I dont think their personalities change much, especially if not neutered. Mine's not neutered and is 7 months and is male. Lots of patience! He is well behaved but excitable. Playing fetch is a good idea. Dont use your body as a play thing, so use toys, chew sticks, squeeky toys - not your arms waving around as stimulation. Hope this helps!

Biozet mixed with lots of white vinegar, especially for cloth or lino. Urine-off covered with a plastic bag or similar for 2 days for carpet. I have dark carpet so not sure if it removes discoloration but removes smell and tendancy to remark the same place.

Hi Gomez, sorry for the late reply. I havent had much luck with photos but have managed, with some croping and resolution down sizing to upload a picture of Optimus on my profile page. It was taken with my phone camera at night so it is not very clear. He looks a lot like your little one. By the way, I have changed his diet to half Advance and half Eagle Pack Holistic. He gobbles it up but I think it is very rich because he vomited some of it up today. I am thinking of changing to Eagle Pack normal puppy kibble instead. Does this happen sometimes? He has been eating it for a week now. Maybe he liked it so much that he ate tooo much at once.

Great news

Hi Deltron, I read your last post - later than this one and I am glad he is sleeping. To answer your query, I dont have wooden floors so I am not sure if Biozet is OK. I have read on many places on this forum that vinegar is safe. Do a search on the forum for 'Biozet' 'wood floors'. There were lots of hits, I didnt paste any threads for you as there were lots of info. It removes the smell and dissolves the scent completely from carpets. My puppy doesnt return to the same place. Just goes somewhere new. I had a similar experience to you when I first received my puppy. Can I just quickly ask whether his poo is healthy, as in firm can pick up without leaving a mess? If he is not eating, vomiting, weeing and pooing (poo OK sometimes and somtimes running and yellow) non-stop, it could be a stomach bug like giardia. The first two days when I had my puppy, I was a dishevelled mess on the floor, watching him like a hawk for peeing and he was nearly always quicker than me. Seriously, every 5-10mins! The more stressed I got, the more stressed he got - the more he peed. That's when I covered the floor with plastic and towels. I worked out that what he needed to be touched and hugged, a lot because he ws distressed and also, that he had giardia. Gave him some Fagisyn (anti-biotic), cleared up his ill health and then we started making progress with the toilet training. He is best placed in the crate only when you need some space and at night. In the day, he will want to be touched, to bond with you. You're his pack leader now. If he is healthy and weeing after 2 weeks of being good, and if he is in his crate much of the time - then it does sound like nerves (when he sees new people) or attention seeking behaviour (he pees, you open crate amd clean). A night or two left to act up in his crate, somewhere where he cant see you will do him a world of good. By the way, I find it helps to put puppy on a leash when taking to the puppy pad or outside to pee. Repeat your word (mine's 'hurry up') continuously. Without the leash, he may prefer to spend the time playing. The smells outside are distracting. Be on grass, it seems to be the surface they most like to pee on. On a leash, he knows you mean business. If Optimus doesnt want to pee, then he will stand or sit still and wait, looking at me. I hope these tips help. I find doing searches and reading info on this forum really helpful. You've done the right thing with making his crate comfortable and removing the water bowl at night. By the way, Charlie is adorable. I hope you get some sleep tonight. You sound like you could do with a vacation

Yes, I meant Advance dry. I was advised to buy by the pet store. Corn is the second ingredient. I do supplement his food with vitamins, flaxseed oil and probiotics. Tonight for the first time, I gave him some minced chicken roast and cooked beans, carrot, mixed with kibble and canned food. He loved it! Licked the empty bowl for about 3 mins afterwards. He also seems a lot more placid on a part natural diet. Will see what his poo looks like. I think I will continue to supplement his food with some extras from my meals before I add seasoning to them. I called Eagle Pack for some samples today. I read on this forum that their poo is not as firm with Eagle Pack, but the forum post didnt indicate Holistic or normal range Eagle Pack. By the way, your little Gomez is a cutie. You've got some great advice.

The website was really helpful. I always read the protein cotent, now knowing that protein can be poor quality protein from corn helps with choosing. I have a huge bag of Advance I mix with canned Eagle Pack. I am going to start mixing with some cooked mince now.

I agree with Terrorbull, especially the too hot part. The hot water bottle is better down the side of the crate. I used a doggy basinet in the bathroom and found that he stopped weeing on the wee pad in the night after less than a week (no water bowl inside!). He treated the whole bathroom like a giant crate. I think locking them away helps teach them whose boss. I use crate training in the car. He has only weed once. Just increasing durations of time between car stops, with play and wee stops in between. Optimus is a regular Houdini. Manages to get out of soft crate by moving the zip on the inside uless it's locked. I thought he was going to pass out from trying to destroy the crate in the first week when I used it in the house. Acted like a ferrel animal. It may be a breed thing with my dog, hates being away from owner. Once I was assured there would be no 'accidents' at night, a few more weeks! I let him roam the house at night. Although he has a doogy bed and can sleep comfortabley in the loungeroom, he prefers to sleep in a small gap under my bed. Not allowed on my bed, no bed action. He doesnt seem to have accidents at night or when we are out of the house. The accidents happen when we are at home. He's either over excited or uses toilet training as an attention getting exercise. Still ironing out a few accidents. Using vinegar and Biozet solution, then covering area with a plastic garbage bag. Optimus doesnt like to poo on shifting ground. Keep it up with the crate training, it's early days yet! I spent the first week, with the washing machine going full-time. I have quite a wee towel collection now. I used garbage bags on the floors with towels on top in the loungeroom. I realised much of the weeing was nerves. It will work out, keep positive. Consistancy builds trust ;)

Deltron, try putting an item of your clothing and a hot water bottle inside. Even a clock too for the sound of a heartbeat. Mine would whine too, but only for about 10 mins in the first week.

Try a different word like "wrong". Sometimes the word NO does not mean much to a dog as it is used in general conversation heaps. If you change the word, and say it with a stern voice, maybe the reaction will change? Or when it happens just walk away. cant play nice, dont play at all I hope you have a bit more luck. Optimus, as already said, if you dont like the behaviour try and discourage it now so it is not a problem when the dog is older. Some puppies may grow out of it, and it could be long term for some if the behaviour is not modified early. Mine dont hump any objects, but sometimes try to hump each other when playing, which I dont do anything about. I just let them go and play, and hump each other, and wrestle etc. If it was an object or a leg however, I would discourage it, but just IMO. BC, I agree. Dry humping only an issue for me is it is anything but his toy. I took his toy away for a day to wash and he didnt do it to anything else. Just played and chewed. I think it is a play thing at this stage. My dog understand 'NO'. He stops straight away. I clap my hands loudly and yell 'NO'. He is a good puppy. He stopped trying to bite my stockings this morning when I said 'NO'. Thanks everyone for the input.

Thanks everyone. I have done so much research. Everyone seems to love Sentinel but I think it may be because the brand is pushed by vets, as Revolution / Canex or Advocate seems to do everything. No need to supplement with tapeworm or heartworm. I thought perhaps Revolution and Advocate may not work well so thats why people were using alternative multi-combo mixes. I know that Revolution is a invertim ? derivative and Collies cant use it. I ran into an owner who said that they give a tablet of Dimmitrol a day and their dog is 15 years old and looks like it is 3. Out lived all other dogs the family knows. My vet says is it is a liver cleanser which would explain the anti-oxidant properties. It looks incredibley cheap so I am going to supplement with Dimmitrol. Not keen on dealing with heartworms for such a small daily effort. Thanks everyone for the input!

The pet store reccommended Revolution (purple) for fleas. It comes with Canex tablexts for worms which seems to do a large variety of worms. Does anyone use this combination? Has it been effective? I am thinking about supplementing his worming treatment with Dimmitrol daily for heartworms, and perhaps a 3 month tapeworm treatment. Is this overkill? Any help would be appreciated. I have a little 14 week old.

My little 14 week old likes to dry hump a stuffed toy dog. He does it after meals. He doesnt have an erection, just dry humps for 20 mins and rests at a time. Is this problem behaviour or just a play/dominance thing? Should I stop him from doing this?

Thanks everyone. I have been using them and they are absorbant. Wee turns to gel and dries. I found some pads on www.vetshed.com.au that are $38 for 50 pads. About $10 cheaper than Masterpet. Trying those and seeing how they go. I think they might be as absorbant as they are designed for adult dogs http://www.thevetshed.com/catalog/product_...roducts_id=1398 I have some feedback. They look thinner than the Masterpet ones. They dont dry as quickly, so his paws get wet walking on it but they are as absorbant and best thing, they work better on the odour. Tiny bit smaller in size. They only thing which is a bit odd, is that my puppy will only pee in a circular area, avoiding the centre. Dont know what's up there. But the vetshed one is pretty good for the price. Someone told me about "No More Puddles" from www.vetproductsdirect.com.au who has tried Masterpet but I havent tried them myself. My favourite after some trial and error are Masterpet Little Stinkers because the gel absorbancy. I am using Ruddocks puppy drops and I am finding the combination very effective. Keep an eye on Petstock for sales. I ended up buying 350 of the Little Stinkers stocked up in the garage! My puppy is virtually toilet trained about from wanting to poo in a differet location. Just putting him on a lead after he eats and waiting till he tugs (about 2 mins after!) then leading him to the preferred spot. Hopefully, will not poo in my room soon!

Thanks everyone. I have been using them and they are absorbant. Wee turns to gel and dries. I found some pads on www.vetshed.com.au that are $38 for 50 pads. About $10 cheaper than Masterpet. Trying those and seeing how they go. I think they might be as absorbant as they are designed for adult dogs http://www.thevetshed.com/catalog/product_...roducts_id=1398

Thanks for the tip. I buy them from a pet store at the Vic Market for a similar price (there are two pet stores at the market). I have just bought a different Simple Solutions version for adult dogs from ww.petshed.com.au Not sure if they are as absorbant but read some reviews on amazon.com which were favourable. They were only $38 for 50 pads

Your post was nice. I had to buy a poodle cross because of the hair and allergy thing. In an apartment too So had to be small as humanely possible. Personally, I love pedigrees and big dogs. German Shepards are my favourite breed. My last dog was beautiful.

Hello Trya Just some tips, not sure if they will work for you. The training pad has to far away from the place they eat, sleep and socialise. They go to remote places, its instinctual. Training drops might help. Praise lavishly when they do it, with a treat and ignore when they dont. I find tossing the paper towels I use to clean the floor on the training mat helps too. Watch like a HAWK when they get up from sleeping and after eating. Wash places they wee on with Biozet, vinegar and bi-carb on top. Wash towels and thing soaked at least overnight in Biozet. Urine-off on the carpet worked for me too. Mine's 90% after 5 days. I am very proud of him. Can finally sleep and have a meal sitting down May

That's excellent to know, thanks. Saved me some time and money.

What are people's thoughts on the best training mats? I have heard great things about Masterpet but have not tried them yet. I have tried Simple Solutions and Little Stinkers - both were good. Little Stinkers felt a bit thicker. I would really like to but Nature's Miracle from the US, but cannot find someone who ships to Australia on Amazon or otherwise. I only have a little puppy but these mats are adding up $1 each x at least 2 per day.

Sorry, didnt mean to hijack! Just a bit desperate but he is all sorted now. Toilet trained in 3 days