Staffyluv

The more you run a dog, the fitter it gets and the more physical exercise it needs. How about mind games, teaching the dog to search for things and learning new tricks. I have a fit and active bull breed and the only way to wear him out is with training. He would literally run all day if given half a chance. I didn't even realise that constantly running him was actually having the opposite effect to what I wanted until our trainer pointed it out. Now he gets 45 minutes of good physical exercise and equal to 45-60 minutes of training. Sits, stays, drops, waits, look at that, find this, fetch etc... It is a shame you are not closer to us. My boy would love another dog to play with and I work from home. I would have been happy to daycare sit for you.. I wish you all the best with Roo. I know you said you had absolute faith in your trainer/behaviourist but maybe a different opinion from a different trainer might be an option?

I tried cooking him some mince, I have offered him cook steak before. He might take one or two nibbles but that's it. He used to get barf but went totally off it. I have offered him just kibble but again he has no real interest in it. He is not underweight at all and at 27kg he could probably lose a kilo to be at peak weight. He is quite fit and healthy in himself and has plenty of energy.. I am at a bit of a loss with him and hoping it is just a phase and he will slip back into his old self any day now. I think more formal training for him and I will be good for us. Maybe I am not as vigilant with his training as I have been in the past. Taking for granted that he knows what I want. He is a big, strong dog and like all of them, if given an inch he will take it an dog for a bit more. I am going to be more strict and not let him get away with anything.

He has a chook carcass (or brisket bone or lamb ribs) in the morning and gets some raw kangaroo of a night but he has not been eating that for the last few weeks. He always has about half a cup of kibble there a day as well but again, doesn't eat it. He will take brisket bones or lamb ribs as well, he loves them but It seems that the chook carcass (or raw bones) is more than enough food for him. He doesn't even look for food. If I am going out for most of the day, I will freeze him a kong that has his half cup of kibble with about a tablespoon of cottage cheese and he will always eat that while I am gone. ETA I have tried just about everything I can think of. Sometimes he will take one or two bits of something but then he is to interested. Even putting something right at his nose, he will just ignore it. At training I used turkey and cheese for a few weeks and it was working but now he won't even look at it. We also tried ham in place of the turkey and that only worked for about half a lesson. I have tried bits of raw chook and different types of mince meat and he won't take it. I don't know what has happened with him. Nothing has changed that I can think of apart from the fact that he doesn't get the dog to dog interaction that he used to get. I used to take him to the leash free park and let him have a good old run and play but as soon as I noticed him being to over the top I would pack him up and take him home. We still see plenty of dogs and he still gets to say hi and have a play bow etc, just not at the over the top level of excitement that he seems to love.

For antihistamines to be effective in seasonal cases it is best to give a dose a day to keep the itch controlled. Letting the dog get to the stage where she scratches herself to bleeding can make her prone to secondary infections. When you go to the park, can you keep her off the grass? Don't allow her to scratch her tummy in the grass. If she has a red tummy, I wouldn't think it was mozzies. If it was them, you would just see the odd bite and redness, not a whole tummy rash. I wouldn't use the ACV on open rash. Stick with the calendula tea if that works. Diluted malaseb shampoo was also successful for us years ago with our old Stafford. Dilute 1ml to 50ml and use in a spray bottle to spray on the itchy bits. Malaseb is a good shampoo for itchy dogs but it is strong and is good diluted a bit. My old Stafford used to take 1x 4mg polaramine tablet every day in spring and summer.. They made a huge difference to his itchiness.

Not that I approve of what the child did but we have to remeber that in many places dogs are not seen as the precious pets we view them as. In some places they are nothing more than pests.. When we visited Vanuatu I was shocked at the way dogs were treated, I believe it is much the same in Bali and many other countries.

These were taken at the park on Saturday. But he spends heaps of time in the rain and his clam shell Zig wet dog 2 by Jodie Moore Photos, on Flickr Zig wet dog by Jodie Moore Photos, on Flickr

The hardest part about training with Zig is he has no interest in food at all. He doesn't like any treats, cheese, cabanossi, turkey - anything.. He tends to take it sometimes but just spits it back out again. A squeaky ball is about the only thing that gets his attention. Sadly, most people at training don't like you using this as it distracts their dogs as well (I completely understand this and that is why I have done private training and at home training). The problem I have is he is so easily distracted and once he is, that is the end of it most times. I try and block him (putting myself between him and what has his attention) and sometimes that works. Walking in the opposite direction works as well. We did start with clicker training but as there is no reward that he was interested in, (after the click), it made it hard. Because you click and treat. He was doing so well and has been for ages. He is nearly 2 years old (at the end of March) and I have to be honest, some days he frustrates the hell out of me. I know I shouldn't compare but he is so much harder to work with than my old stafford was. I just keep telling myself that he had no training whatsoever when we got him and he was at least 6 months old. Losing the chance to learn basic stuff before 6 months old must have some effect on him.. I am looking at a few different training clubs.

Snook these are just fantastic!! Too cute for words! I've literally just come back from Hailey's Mum and Dads place and we were only talking about you!!! Must catch up again soon! Sounds good! :) I love the look on his face in his easter ears..

I love your two huga - they are always in the most amazing pictures.

Malaseb is really strong and could be to strong for her skin. Maybe try diluting it, from memory the dilution rate that was suggested to us was 30ml to 100ml of water. If it is seasonal (and it sounds like it from what you have said) give Ernys calendula tea a try. Steep tea bags and use the cooled water to bathe the itchy areas..

Human anit-histamine use in dogs: 1. NAME 2. FORMULATION 3. DOSAGE 1. POLARAMINE (dexchlorhenrinamine) 2. 2mg and 6mg tablets also 0.4mg/ml elixir 3. dogs <10kg give 2mg dogs 10.1-30kg give 4mg dogs over 30kg give 6mg 1. PHENERGAN (promethazine) 2. 10mg and 25mg tablets 1mg/ml elixir 3. 1mg per 10kg of bodyweight 1. TELFAST (fexofenadine) 2. 60mg, 120mg and 180mg tablets 3. 2mg per kg bodyweight NOTE:TABLET SIZE MAKES DOSING FOR SMALL DOGS IMPOSSIBLE 1. CLARYTYNE (Ioratadine) 2. 10mg tablets (also comes in a elixir now not sure of stregth just yet!) 3. for dogs less then 20kg give 1/2 tablet for dogs over 20kgs give 1 tablet 1. ZYRTEC (Cetirizne) 2. 10mg tablets and 1mg/ml and 10mg/ml elixirs 3. for dogs up tp 20kgs give 5mg for dogs over 20kgs give 10mg

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an elimination diet requires you to not give any other food than one pure protein (say kangaroo, beef etc) and only feeding that for a few weeks to see if there is an improvement. Then you start to reintroduce other things. Your vet is the best person to discuss this with. It is a long drawn out process but often times, if it isn't an environmental issue and it is food related you will see what she reacts to. Brisket bones can be very fatty in my experience and I don't tend to use them anymore due to Zig having issues with to much fat in his diet makes him sick. You could also see an holistic vet with regard to her dry skin - I used to give Ollie a fish oil tablet once a day and that fixed his dry skin. His coat was awesome once I started this. They are all very different (just like kids), so it is better to do what is best for your dog. See the vet, talk to an holistic vet and then decide which avenue you want to take. Good luck

First I would remove the pasta. I use polarmine as an antihistamine and have had good results (but it only treats the symptoms, you need to find the cause). Erny makes calendula tea and uses that to bathe itchy areas with success - I have seen a few have a good result. Maybe take the pup back to an elimination diet if you have ruled out environmental issues. Can you keep the pup off all grass for a few days and see if it makes a difference? If so it might be some grass that is making it itchy. Good luck - sometimes it seems an impossible challenge to find what makes them itchy..

Just wanted to add a couple more of photos that I think are cute.. Zig didn't want Pippy (foster girl) to have the ball - he fell asleep with his head in it and she fell asleep waiting for him to give it up Playing is hard work by Jodie Moore Photos, on Flickr Gussy was our first foster boy - approx 2 year old Kelpie cross Gussy smiling by Jodie Moore Photos, on Flickr One more of Pip because she was adorable - about 5 months old here Not the camera again by Jodie Moore Photos, on Flickr

Stafford Rescue in Vic might be able to help - even if they advertise the dog over the weekend and Monday. Maybe contact all the local rescue groups - someone might have a space or be able to take on as an urgent until something else can be organised.

I have no idea but he was so bad yesterday that I didn't walk him at all today. We did some training here at home and he hasn't had any food unless it come from me today (trying to get him to make me the focus of his attention again - which isn't easy with a dog that really doesn't seem to care if he eats or not). I have been working really hard on getting Zig to ignore other dogs and the last couple of months he hasn't been doing to badly with it. Our leave it command on a walk was pretty successful in getting him to not try to run directly at another dog he saw. He would look and I would say leave it - he would look but not walk toward the other dog. When we first started he would pull on lead, scream and carry on like a dog totally out of control if he couldn't get to the other dog sometimes. It was quite embarrassing to be honest. But our squeaky tennis ball as a reward for the leave it command worked a treat. Now we are just down to the command without the ball as reward. So that has to be progress. Thanks for the advice. I think we are going to look at obedience training instead of going back to our usual trainer.

Thanks, so do I but he is such a boof head it can be hard to see some days. He definitely does his 'cuteness' stuff when he is sleeping. IMG_0247 by Jodie Moore Photos, on Flickr

Very cute.. This is about as cute as Zig gets.. cute boy Jan 2013 by Jodie Moore Photos, on Flickr

I am not sure what has happened with Zig - I haven't changed anything but he is reverting back to full on pulling, ignoring commands etc.. You think you have it all under control but then he goes and has a day like yesterday. We were at the park - he got to meet 3 other dogs (all met before). He doesn't get to barge in (we turn around and walk the other way as soon as he starts to pull on the lead) - he only gets to meet if he walks in calmly. I spent most of the walk yesterday changing direction - this just does not work anymore. Neither does the wait or slow down command. I have never been able to get him to walk with his head beside my leg - he has always been head and shoulders in front. We have tried walking against a fence, so that I can keep in front of him and this works but as soon as there is no fence, he pulls back out the front. He will be 2 at the end of March. His recall is still good (not outstanding but he does come when called). Sits and stays are fine as is drop and wait. At home before we go for a walk, I put his collar and lead on and then we wait until he calms a bit before leaving (he always waits for people to go in and out of doors before him - always has). Then we get in the car and go to the park. I open the car door and he doesn't get out until invited to come out. Then we start walking and he was immediately pulling, so I change direction or stop and won't go until he comes back (which he does and then waits for me to go again). As soon as I start to walk again, he is pulling out front. I don't know what happened in the last week or so to make this change in behaviour yesterday - the day before he was great, no lead pulling and just cruising head and shoulders in front of me.. Why do they test us so?? He is a big strong dog - I cannot have him reacting like this. I have done 2 classes with a behaviorist and trainer. I was wondering if it is to late for basic obedience classes because I think that is what he needs - we need to go back to basics AGAIN!

What a beautiful boy he was... They are lovely photos, thanks for sharing them with us.

Happy double figures.. What a gorgeous girl.

I am so very sorry to hear about Tess.. Bloody horrible disease. If you still have doubts, it probably isn't 'the look'.. My old stafford had MCT for 6 years and there were a few times I thought he gave me the look - but let me tell you this much - you will know. That look is definitely unmistakeable. Have you considered an holistic vet? We had great success this way and so did cavNrott (PM her as her girl Sophie had the same thing as Tess, even in the jaw). It is heartbreaking but I wish you lots of hugs and cuddles with your girl.

There should be no breeder vs rescue. After all they are all for dogs. Some pure/pedigree and some not so much. We all want the best for the dogs in our care. (I know I saw a few homes before I let my last foster go). There will always be those that want to buy from a registered breeder because they want a particular breed. For showing or even just because they want a pet with particular traits. There will always be those that are just want a dog for the family and are happy with a general mutt. I also loathe the us v them attitude of some. We all want them to have a good life in a good home..

Little short spiky whippet hairs seem to embed themselves and become part of the fabric, that would have been fine if they had coats the same colour as the carpets. Yep same as staffy type hair.. It is a menace.. I tend to buy clothing and furnishings the same colour as the canines in the house :)