poodlefan

I would never recommend that a family with young children adopt a dog directly from a pound or shelter. A responsible, knowledgeable foster carer from a rescue that does extensive temperament testing is the way to go. A child's safety needs to be guarded by obtaining as much information about a dog BEFORE it enters the family. That can only be done by adopting a dog that has been observed for some time in, and in a home environment if possible. So, you think a puppy adopted from a shelter is going to kill 3 boys? LOL I used shelter as where I come from, most "shelters" test the dogs before rehoming, as opposed to pounds who don't. Nice qualification after the fact there LB. You didn't specify whether you were talking about a puppy or a dog . You gave a recommendation to a person with no knowledge of how the local pound operates where they come from. The devil is always in the detail and as at least one DOLer has found out the hard way, even pups from rescue can grow into unsuitable dogs for youngsters to own. Better safe than sorry where child safety is concerned.

Puppy dehydration ain't puppy education Wizzle. When the summer temps rise, most of my dogs will drink after 8pm. Free access to water doesn't necessarily mean more accidents provided the OWNER is doing the right thing.

Removing the urge to toilet via denying water is also not teaching the pup what to do when the urge hits. It's managing an issue, not educating a puppy about the right thing to do.

Ooops - forgot to add, I'd recommend feeding him in his pen. Then whisk him straight outside for a visit!

OK, not sure what sort of "breeder" would ever send a pup via a petshop but I can guess. I'd imagine your pup has been whelped and raised outside of a domestic environment and the idea of not eliminating whereever it wants is new. A 1m square pen is too big to get your puppy to worry about eliminating in its sleeping area. Can you partition it off or get a crate that's much smaller (big enough to turn around and lie down in but not so big that it can wander away from its sleeping area). Put it right by your bed and every time that puppy stirs, take it outside. Set an alarm if need be for a middle of the night trip. If you cannot watch him constantly at the moment either put him outside or confine him where he can access the dog door. Sounds to me like what's creating some of your issues is lack of access outside.

I would never recommend that a family with young children adopt a dog directly from a pound or shelter. A responsible, knowledgeable foster carer from a rescue that does extensive temperament testing is the way to go. A child's safety needs to be guarded by obtaining as much information about a dog BEFORE it enters the family. That can only be done by adopting a dog that has been observed for some time in, and in a home environment if possible.

Sorry, but I don't believe that denying a pup water is a good substitute for training. Its also a recipe for repeated bladder infections. A pup shouldn't be asked to hold its bladder for hours both day and night. I'd highly recommend you get a dog door or make her a safe and warm place outside when you are at work. This is good general advice (a much better idea than hourly toileting) but routines don't always work with pups who have had their instinct not to eliminate where they eat or sleep eroded by being confined 24/7 in crates or pet shop windows. This is why people are asking where the pup came from.. and the OP has read those questions and isn't answering. It took a friend of mine months to toilet train her pet shop pup.

Are you sure he can swim? I'd avoid surf beaches for a while and find reasonably shallow water where he can be encouraged to retrieve a toy or follow you in. Safe deeper water and surf for when he's bigger and more confident in the water.

Where did you get him from? How big is the pen you keep him in?

I'd be having a veterinary/chiropractic check and then consulting a behaviourist. Best to eliminate pain as a source of the problem but if the dog has been grabbed to be disciplined or booted out of the house, there's a lot of work to be done overcoming his perception that he needs to defend himself.

How's that freshly washed Afghan bearing up Keshwar??? God knows how I'll keep Howie's coat straight till tomorrow.

we can't get the crate to sit flat in our car. It would be tilted on an angle even if we put the back seat down. Stick a towel under one end. It won't kill him to travel on an angle anyway. Sounds to me like he's panicking or fighting when restrained and that's something that needs to be worked on outside of the vehicle. I only know Heike from the dog club years ago but she seemed to offer practical effective advice.

Why can't he be crated in the car? Sounds to me like you've got some quite fundamental issues to work through in additon to car travel.

I've always fed them to pups. I bash them a bit with a mallet for the babies but feed the whole thing.

Do you want the Nigerian, Antillean or Armenian BSB. I wonder if spikes can replace wool coat as the new big thing in DDs. Those hedgedogs are pretty cute.

Not sure the blokes will go for it but with the aid of the wonderful scientists at the Ponds Institute, I'm sure we can do it. Although cyclamen Guiness?? Are you sure???

I can't help but thinking that one creature would fit all these requirements.

Oh yeah nice try. Do you think I'm stuiped? Plenty of others will pay if you don't want one Raz.

My cheque is in the mail when I finally get my Black Maltese Terrior. I dont trust you bitches. I ordered that years ago...I didnt get the Caffeine Kitty I paid for, either Talk to Shonks.. I don't do Kitties. Price went up on the BMTs.. still awaiting another $2K to secure your pup Raz.

See, put your heart and soul into a breeding program and this is the thanks you get from some buyers.

If you want someone who cares about what happens after sales, you need to deal with those ANKC types. Of course they'll ask you questions about your suitability to own a dog. Nothing invasive like that happens with Deshonko. Show me the money and I'll show you a pup!

If your OH opened the ferretdoodle package at crutch height, that's hardly our fault. Listen here SBT.. you're only miffed because as an ANKC registered breeder you have to abide by a code of ethics. No need to take it out on breeders like Shonks and I that can let our entrepreneurial spirit run free. You're simply jealous I bet your Mum's present hasn't let a single intruder into her house (or out if the yard for that matter). If its properly chained to the engine block as I recommended and the chain is kept short she's perfectly safe. If she failed to socialise it properly, you can hardly blame us.

What colour did you say you wanted.. ? Tassie will definitely throw orange and black... (after some help from Decore anyway).

Refund? Best laugh I've had all week.