poodlefan

Most "lite" or "weight loss" formulas are good for senior dogs. I see that the new to the Australian market Canidae does a Platinum kibble that might suit. I've not tried it on my dogs though.

How do you cook it - on its own or in stews etc?

I was reading up on Quinoa the other day. Although a seed, it contains complete amino acids and is gluten free. I wish someone would make a kibble using quinoa instead of cereals. Here's a linky on Quinoa for anyone interested. As I posted in another thread, it could be useful for elimination diets too.

Carrot, sweet potato etc don't contain protein. Have you tried rice as the filler? One other thing you might try is Quinoa. Although a vegetable, it actually does contain complete protein and would be a novel food for nearly all dogs.

How does a pup being intimidated by other dogs (if true) explain it running from people and biting any human who approaches it (if true)? In the end we are both speculating. Someone who knows their arse from their elbow in terms of dog behaviour needs to see this dog but frankly I don't think that's going to happen.

Chewbacca: Correct. But "dozens" recommended its owner have it assesssed by a professional so that its prospects for rehabilitation could be assessed. The advice was not as simple as PTS and a lot of folk noted that there was a young child in the house. The OP posted seeking help. Gutsy call by someone who hasn't met the dog either Chewy. You have no more knowledge of what's motivating this dog's aggression than the next person. Without professional assessment and help this dog might well be an accident waiting to happen. No one knows and that's the whole point.

KTB: "Someone" has no idea at all. Rule of thumb - five minutes exercise per month of the dog's life. Personally I don't exercise my pups on lead AT ALL until they are six months old.

I have mine. See you there!

You tried your best Danielle. For some folk easy come means easy go. I'd ask this person how she'll sleep nights if this pup harms a child. Might give her some pause for thought.

Join a dog training club or get some private lessons MM. Whilst pulling on the lead and sniffing may be 'normal' its not desireable and the more you allow it, the harder it will be to fix. This is bread and butter stuff for dog trainers and the sooner you get onto these issues, the easier they will be to resolve.

Danielle: I think a lot of folk have difficulty believing a young pup CAN be truly aggressive. So disbelief and guilt go into the mix. Such pups are out there sadly.

Lappiemum: Very nice

No. Can't say I'm all that sorry about it either. I do not support the warehousing of dogs that are unsuitable to live in the community. Ah, thanks for updating your comment. I was about to post and ask for your reasons - because I was curious. I sounded terse KTB. I wanted to explain why I hold that view. I find it ironic that the sorts of animal welfare groups who campaign against animals in zoos will propose exactly the same (or worse) conditions for dogs who cannot be safely homed. There are worse fates than a green dream and spending your days in a shelter run has to be one of them. EFS

No. Can't say I'm all that sorry about it either. I do not support the warehousing of dogs that are unsuitable to live in the community.

And those options are? The issue with any kind of biting is that once a dog has engaged in the behaviour, it learns that biting ends unwanted HUMAN behaviour. Its bite threshold plummets and generally speaking won't improve. You might accustom the dog to tolerate more behaviour than it currently does but when it wants to stop someone from doing something, it will do what it knows works. That is why you NEVER put a dog in a situation or confront it and provoke it to defend itself. Alpha rolling is the classic example of 'training' that can have severe unintended consquences. I'm all for having someone who knows what they're doing assess the dog but it needs to be gone from that home ASAP.

1. The pup is biting, not snapping. It is of little comfort when your 4 year old child undergoes facial reconstruction that the pup only bit because it was scared. ALL bites have the same effect, regardless of what motivates them 2. Many posters (myself included) recommended a behavioural assessment to determine chances for rehabilitation. If the current owner, can't or won't pay and rescue won't take the pup, then IMO the only responsible option is PTS.

Call up in a really deep voice and use a fake name And wear sunglasses.

It is easy to make any scared dog bite if your behaviour around them empowers them. It also dead easy if you cut a dog off from an opportunity to flee and force it into defence mode, especially if it has a low bite threshold anyway. The current owner and her husband should give the dog space. Let it eat and let it be. Give it time to become accustomed to surroundings and don't present a threat. Sadly, conveying that message to a 4 year old is more challenging.

You can't turn back time. The critical periods for this pup to have learned to bond with people have passed. Picture the stress this animal is under.

I owned a mare that would attack dogs. I've seen a horse pick a dog up in its teeth and toss it 10 metres. My big old horse also kicked a dog clean across a yard after its owner repeatedly ignored my requests to leash it and keep it clear. He also kicked a farrier clean across a stable in his younger days but that's a whole 'nother story

Wait and see if any offers come up but the odds arent' great. If she IS PTS, its probably a better option than living on a chain being a 'guard dog" for some low life. The tragedy is what she might have been given a decent start in life.

He's crate trained and loves his crate - he sleeps in it at night and goes in there at various times during the day for a rest. He also goes there to hide from the vacuum cleaner I'm not sure how far we will take him with obedience etc. He is going well and a lot of people have said that he would be very good at agility but we're a bit uncertain about that given that it was unfortunately necessary to have him desexed at 10 weeks, thus his bones probably aren't as strong as they would be in a dog that was desexed later. Hopefully we can find him a nice active activity that won't be too hard on his bones. His bones will be strong enough for agility.. its how they fit together that's the issue. No reason why he should be unsound though. Lots of early desexed dogs compete. The issue then becomes one of husbandry.

Heh, ok mostly kelpie then. With the extra bits of border collie (and any other bits) he's still supposed to be a tough old boot of a working dog As to his bonding issues, I fear he's just going to have to deal with it. He's being left alone for increasing periods of time and is doing well. From what we can tell from the webcam, when left alone he only whinges for half a minute at most before going off to chase his orange juice bottle so the sookiness is probably just him being a spoiiled brat rather than any real distress. As to the monkey noises he makes when we leave a room, we'll just keep ignoring him. Given that he only bleats for a few moments, we suspect it's not serious - we just always thought that a male kelpie x wouldn't be quite so sooky. Being left alone in a strange place is very different to being left alone at home. If he's to be a dog sports dog, he's going to need coping skills for that. Have you been crate training him. If not, I'd recommend you commence immediately.

Danielle: Sounds completely unsocialised, of extremely poor temperament or both. They have two choices: 1. Pay for someone experienced to do a consult on the pup, and advise prospects of rehabilitation/rehoming 2. Take the pup to the vet and have it PTS. Lovely outgoing young working breed pups die every day in pounds because they can't find homes. I'd be advising PTS. She should stay with the pup and reflect on what this has taught her while its done.