poodlefan

What has led you to conclude your dog has food allergies? What's in the kibble you feed now? What brand is it? All dogs benefit from having Omega Fatty Acids in their diet and fish is a good source. But yes, canned mackeral is as good a source as any. I don't see the link between your boy's apparent lack of size/maturity and his diet - is that what you're thinking?

Have you? Or are you relying entirely on one side of the story. The truth is out there LED but most of us can't access it. Seems to me that the child was bitten. We're only arguing about how that occured and who was responsible. Because in the absence of personal knowledge of the event, that's all that's available. Seems to me that ignorance (not lack of intelligence) was the culprit here. Anyone who knows a damn thing about dogs would NEVER put dog, food and a child into a scenario and not take into account the chance of resource guarding. Strange dog + food + toddler = recipe for disaster. That's what played out. Dogs described by their owners as loving family pets kill children. Any dog will bite if sufficiently provoked. Our duty as adults is to protect dogs and children by preventing accidents such as these. A dog unused to children (if that was the case here) is even more reason for preventative action. Your average member of the public knows sweet FA about dog behaviour or body language. A quick browse of bite statistics makes that glaringly obvious. This incident is now one of those cases reported. He won't be charged.. ever. If anyone is charged it will be his owner. Does that mean the child wasn't bitten? Of course not. Its not her fault. Its not the dogs fault. That only leaves the adults who were there. Those of us who like our dogs to remain out of the clutches of the authorities act in their best interests by keeping them safe. That means never exposing them to situations where they may be provoked to bite. Its up to dog owners to protect their pets from the unwanted attention of children, other dogs and fools. Kids are quick - they can be somewhere before you turn around. Foresight is a wonderful thing.

Agreed. Growling is a warning. Fail to heed the warning and you may be bitten. Better to deal with the underlying cause of the aggression - and that requires a home visit from someone who knows what they're doing. In the meantime, call her off the bed or whereever and reward her for complying. No need to provoke confrontation when a bit of planning can avoid it.

Have a really good look - especially forward of the shoulders. If you see any weakness in his hind legs, there is vomitting, staggering or you notice a change is the pitch of his bark.. break the land speed record to the nearest open vet.

Not all seizures have an identifiable cause. When they don't your dog is epileptic. It is often controllable with drugs. If further seizures occur, in the absence of an identifiable cause discuss this with your vet. He's mighty young to be experiencing seizures. Has a tick been ruled out?

Adl Rotties: One day you will have to close that crate door. It might be at the vets or when a non dog loving person or children are in your home. It might be to rest him after injury or surgery. But it will happen. Tolerating confinement is a an important skill for a pup to learn. Buy yourself a pair of ear defenders and have another go. Start by feeding in the crate with the door closed. The door does not open until the dog is sitting quietly. You can play crate games to help train acceptance of confinment.

One nail at a time, at home, you do the clipping.

The other reason I like appointments is that its less stressful for the dog. Most of mine don't enjoy being at the vets so any way of lessening time in the waiting room is a good thing for them.

I can hold his paw but when I try to examine or clip his dew claws he struggles, moans, and mouths my hand. Yes I did consider having his dew claws removed as he ripped them several times within a relatively short period of time. However with regular clipping he hasn't ripped a nail since. Seriously, I think its a case of muzzle him, get someone to hold him and clip those nails or have them removed. The only other option is to take him to a new place like a grooming salon, muzzle him and see how he goes there. You can work at desensitising him by doing only one nail a day and rewarding like hell afterwards but they have to get done somehow. Any further 'ripping out' of nails needs to done under GA. It probably should have been done that way to begin with.

How does he display his fear of you clipping his nails Kayla.. does he become aggressive or does he just struggle? If the dew claws are an ongoing issue, have you considered him having them out under general anaesthetic?

I'm a little confused by your post Kayla.. is the fear of vets, or of nail clipping or of both. Is he fearful of you clipping his nails?

Trot down to your local horse supplies shop and get yourself some silicon based Show Sheen or Show Silk. Spray it liberally over her body and legs every couple of days. Not only will it make her nice and shiney, it will help stop grass seeds adhering to her coat. Pesky things aren't the?

I also prefer the ability to get to see the vet that I want to see - not just who's free next. Sometimes it doesn't matter but for certain issues I prefer to see my dogs regular vet.

I ticked "prefer appointment" but if an issue is urgent, I appreciate being able to be squeezed in.

You can get rabbit fur tugs Diva - that might be the go for your girl. How is she with a ball?

This dog is 12 months old Erny. I think its possible that PP's OH either revved her up to the point of senseless biting or triggered her into self defence.

If that's not the case, what other things could possibly be wrong? I am so worried! It could be something related to the leg, to a hip or shoulder or even to her spine. The main thing is to get her to a vet as soon as you can. Most of us need to work to pay bills. My vet is open from 8.00 to 6.30. I'm sure there are vets around you with longer hours.. see if you can find one.

You could try another exercise like "drop". If she can learn to lie down, you may have more success luring her up to a sit. Sometimes you really have to work at the luring.. don't give up easily. Most dogs will try to offer behaviour if they know you have a treat. It may help to have her standing in front of a wall and luring her head back.. she can't back up for the treat then.

Skin condition often comes from diet. What do you feed her?

The first thing I would eliminate from your vocabulary is the term "alpha". You are not a dog and Pete knows it. What you want to be is the leader of the team. An effective leader is: * One who sets boundaries and enforces them * One who makes his/her expectations clear and consistently expects results * One who decides where the team is going and how. * One who can't be manipulated for concessions to rules. Good leaders come in all shapes, sizes and tones of voice. If you have not done any formal obedience training with Pete, I highly recommend it. It establishes patterns of requiring focus and compliance with your requirements. It also establishes patterns of request and reward. The key to me is boundaries and consistency. Next time you take Pete for a walk, act like a leader does.. walk purposefully and expect him to keep up. You go where you want, he follows. He does not sniff unless you stop and allow it. He stops and sits beside you at curbs and only proceeds forward when you say "ok". Don't follow his lead.. he follows you. Ask him to do something, don't beg. Ask only once and obtain compliance. So many folk I see keep up a running dialogue.. "rover sit.. sit rover.. rover sit.. cmon now rover we know how to sit.. .. sit boy".. it becomes white noise which the dog soon learns to ignore.. and there are no consquences for doing so. Leadership to me is more about everyday interactions than a "manner". Tone matters less than behaviour. Act like you expect him to comply and do things on your terms, not his.

You can always try a vet with longer hours. Doesn't sound like a rib to me, not with a limp. I think the sooner you get her to a vet the better.

It's never too early to start researching. Can I suggest you take yourself out to a large show at Durack or similar and have a look at the local breeders' dogs. You'll be able to tell plenty about temperament just from watching them in the ring - confidence is as important in a sports dog as it is in a show dog. Brisbane Royal is an excellent opportunity to see dogs too - including out of state dogs.

Its always great if you can go and see the pups and meet the breeder in person. That said, two of my dogs came from interstate.

Yep, that'll be my poor mite. I'm in Qld. I don't know anyone in minis up there. Perhaps you could ask in the poodle thread for recommendations for a breeder for a dog sports dog. In NSW, I'd be talking to Elire.

Your pup may have to wear a paper bag on its head after the first few 'home grooms' but the good thing about hair is that mistakes grow out. Where are you? There are good breeders in all States and some breeders have a record of producing good sports dogs.