sarahjane

i ahve the same problem too with my 6 mth old staffie. all i can say is PERSISTENCE! PERSISTENCE! PERSISTENCE! He still does it from time to time, but a stern 'NO' followed by placing him on the grass usually does the trick. i know he knows where to go - he's just a bloody lazy staffie! but i love him all the same!

I have a 5 1/2 month old staffie, and he does the exact same thing - he barks at me if he's extra-excited and not getting his own way. I give him a stern 'No', ignore him, or put him outside (calmly) for a while until he calms down. This works for me, and he's slowly getting out of the habit of challenging. Staffies are stubborn, though!

thanks everyone for your suggestions! hopefully the smell will be gone before my xmas party!

We've had our gorgeous 5 month old staffie since August, and he is finally getting the hang of going outside to the toliet. The problem is, our backyard is mostly paved, and we both work, so are unable to stop him from going to the loo on it during the day. We have been diligent with him, and take him out after his breakfast, dinner, and every hour or two and put him on the strip of grass to tinkle - but he must be doing it on the pavement when we are not there! It's coming into warmer weather now, and it is starting to smell like a horse stable! Can anyone suggest what cleaning products work best to remove the awful smell? How do I get our head-strong staffie to only wee (an poop!) on the grass???

Just wondering.... is there anyone in Sydney who's wanting to sell their crate? ...for a Staffie...

thanks for the replies everyone we're going to the pet warehouse to get all our doggie supplies - we'll check out the crates for sure - they sound like a great idea - used for so many purposes! I have done some reading on them, but just wanted to know what other ppl think. btw: this is the best place for lightning-fast advice!!!

Hi all, just wondering if it is absolutely necessary to crate-train your pup. We're getting our little staffie home on the weekend, and we are wondering if we should invest in a crate for him. Cheers, Sarah.

Good to hear that your dog is stink-free! We are going to bring our new Staff pup home from the breeders in a few weeks, and I really want to feed him food that I have made myself - my past dog had problems with processed food, and I want to make sure our new dog has a natural diet. Any recipes would be greatly appreciated!

I wouldn't worry too much - you've received great advice already. Our Shar-Pei used to get 'bored' of her food from time to time, and wouldn't eat it if she didn't want to . But eventually hunger got the better of her - we tried to spice it up as much as possible! Sometimes they're just not hungry! On the other hnd, my parents dog will eat pretty much anything he can sink his teeth into, so it really just depends on the dog. It's when they don't eat for a few days that you should begin to wonder why... Well the number of meals sounds right..... I wonder if scaling back a little on quantity and (if you are willing) increasing variety might be the trick.. They also get the odd pig's ear and they are on Advance large breed growth. What else would you suggest? I am willing to try most things that aren't too time consuming. I don't think they are being over fed as they dont look over weight, they have a nice defined waist.

Hi there, This may not have anything to do with your dogs limp, but my Shar-Pei recently died of Hock Syndrome, commonly known as "Shar-Pei Fever" - where her hind legs used to swell and she used to limp for a couple of days. She died of kidney failure due to the disease. We treated her, but it got her in the end ;) The disease is caused by the body not being able to break down protein efficiently - could it be caused by too much protein? I know it's a long shot, and it's probably not related, but you could ask your vet about it. I think there is a test they can do...?

PLEASE be VERY CAREFUL when feeding raw chicken necks to your pups/dogs! When we got our first Shar-Pei, the vet reccommended raw chicken necks. She was around 4 months old? and my partner and I went to the gym, and was minded by a friend in their backyard. She gave her a chicken neck and went about her house work, and our poor pup chocked to death on it! She thoguht she was sleeping when she went to check on her, and it was too late when she finally realised something was wrong. ;) I don't blame her at all - she has a dog and feeds her raw chicken necks all the time without any problems. We are getting a little staffie soon, and after that horiffic experience, there's NO WAY I'll ever feed any of my dogs chicken necks again! There are other bones they can saftely eat. Always supervise them!