poodlefan

I'd imagine the only way you're going to find out what the pups are dying is to have the vet perform a necropsy on one of the pups that has passed on. Parvo can be identified by a blood test can't it? I think you need less guess work but more testing. Whatever the reason, I'm sorry for the loss of the pups.

Sounds like he's got a strong startle reflex. Socialise him generally, exposing to as many different sights and sounds as possible. He's not old enough yet but walking him with an older dog that gives him the "no big deal" message when things like that happen will help. I would not be walking with him in your arms. You holding him still won't be teaching him to cope.

So sorry Ellz.

Howard the Whippet was started in a crate beside the bed and now sleeps in a soft basket there. The poodles are on the bed unless its really hot - then they bail out and sleep on the bedroom floor.

Yeah, she said it was about to rain. The weather radar confirms it. Can't complain - we need it badly.

News to hand from EPIC. Pink and purple palace will be located at on the main road side of the ring closest to the Shell servo. Hounds are Ring 8. [yes folks, my trusty sidekick is out staking me a spot as we speak - gotta love showies - many folk out there jostling for gazebo positions atm. ]

I don't treat their ears afterwards and have never had a problem but if your dogs are prone to ear issues, it wouldn't hurt. Frankly around Canberra, I've had more issues with water quality and do always rinse them off in fresh water after a swim. I had all three develop a mild bacterial skin infection after a swim in LBG once. You won't miss me at the shows- look for the pink and purple gazebo somewhere around the lower rings. If I'm not in it, I won't be far away. I won't have any of my poodles with me due to the heat so you'll have to content yourself with being mugged by the Whippet. Come in the morning, I'm hoping to be home by lunchtime both days.

It is sad. They are lovely dogs, a good size ( a tiny bit bigger than my mini's) and these 2 were great with my girls (including the baby). As for their coat. There were mats that had grass seeds in them that had started to sprout and they couldnt see properly because their hair was in there eyes oh and I cant forget the huge lumps of poo stuck around their bums - it broke my heart. I helped clip them and to be honest I didnt know where to start. In the end it was from the top of the head then down - the coat came off in one piece. My friend was embarressed and rightfully so. If they get to that state again Shells, don't mince your words. Tell her that's RSPCA report material - pure neglect. If nothing else will motivate her to either care for the dogs properly or rehome them, maybe shame will.

Glad to hear things are improving Poochie. From her perspective, coming from the breeder to you, my guess is she's not had a lot of experience as the only dog in a situation. You'll need to work on her confidence to encourage some independence. Over bonded dogs are a nightmare if the older dog has to go to the vet or spend time away from the youngster.

Without training, she won't back off. If they run, she's programmed by instinct to chase. You need to teach the pup to leave the cats alone and not to respond to the triggers to chase. Start with interactions on leash so you can control her. Reward her for the behaviour you want eg. igorning cats, behaving quietly.

I had to google PF as I have thrown out bag as we store any food in a feed bin. Ingredient list: Chicken, Corn Meal, Ground Whole Grain Sorghum, Chicken By-Product Meal (Natural source of Glucosamine), Ground Whole Grain Barley, Dried Beet Pulp, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Dried Egg Product, Fish Meal, Chicken Flavor, Potassium Chloride, Brewers Dried Yeast, Dicalcium Phosphate, Salt, Flax Meal, Caramel, Choline Chloride, Fish Oil (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Potassium Iodide, Cobalt Carbonate), Dried Chicken Cartilage (Natural source of Glucosamine), Calcium Carbonate, Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Ascorbic Acid, Vitamin A Acetate, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Thiamine Mononitrate (source of vitamin B1), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Niacin, Riboflavin Supplement (source of vitamin B2), Inositol, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (source of vitamin B6), Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid), DL-Methionine, L-Tryptophan, Rosemary Extract. The store has said they wil accept a return without the bag and it gets sent back to Iams. I can understand if you swap foods and the consistency of the stools changes slightly whilst they adjust to it. But this was violent explosive and noisy ;) I have read that some dogs react strongly to beet pulp when it is first introduced. If that's a novel fibre source for them, that may be the culprit.

Ted has NEVER made it through the night without a pee. When he doesn't have access to a dog door, he wakes me up to take him outside. This initially involves some tap dancing beside the bed and if that doesn't work he'll whine. Good boy Ted. ;)

What's the source of fibre in it WP?

The others don't care and Ted didn't when he was younger. He gets stressed easily these days by changes from routine. I can recall coming home from work one night, dashing around, taking a dog to the club for training and ending up in bed late. All I could hear was one of the dogs stomachs rumbling.. then I realised they'd not been fed that night. They'd all just settled in to go to sleep. VERY bad Poodlefan. ;) And yes, they were all happy to tuck in and go back to bed.

Ted my oldest boy will stand some distance away and stare at me when he thinks its dinner time. This is accompanied by much shuffling of feet. If I fail to respond to this cue, he elevates to barking at me. This would happen a couple of times a month. He's 12.. he wants his dinner.. he gets it. I am well trained. Bad Poodlefan. ;)

No to both but my dogs are bathed regularly anyway and we don't have a flea issue where I live.

Thanks for help and advice to date - I just want to make sure I do the right thing here to ensure we end up with a happy family pet! I haven't discussed as yet with the breeder - she wasn't keen on me doing puppy school until after next vaccinations. As far as I am aware, the dogs lived outside but were coming into the house in the last couple of weeks before going to their new homes. From what I could see she was affectionate with the dogs - not sure how many other people would have been with them other than breeder and her husband. I know westies can be feisty - My 11 yr old has always been independent but don't remember her growling much at us. Anyway I think I will give Jane Harper a call - she was recommended in my other thread. Yep, talking to Jane sounds like a great idea. She's helped quite a few DOLers. It's great you've gotten on to this early - so much easier to work with behaviour that isn't ingrained.

Judy, have you discussed this with pup's breeder. It tends to make me wonder how much the litter was handled too.

Yep. As that breed summary says - you have to mean what you say. That means being firm but fair.. and always consistent. Establishing and maintaining a pattern of behaviour that sees the dog rewarded for doing what you want is the way to go. This is a pup I'd be doing obedience training with for at least 12 months.

Is this the trainer who told you to stare directly into her eyes to establish your dominance? If it is, I'll repeat my advice from the other thread - find a better trainer. Cesar Milan wannabes are not what you need. Leadership is about the relationship between you and your pup, not a physical position. You need to be training her that doing what you want brings rewards. If she doesn't like being handled, then she needs to be encouraged to tolerate it, not punished for objecting. If you want to encourage her to accept handling, establish the trust and reward her IN A NORMAL POSITION for the dog and work from there. If she is stroked and rewarded in a more normal position, you can work up to more handling from there. She's a terrier, not a toy breed. Her ancestors until recently were bred to kill vermin, not as a lap dogs. Terriers tend to be quick to react and some can be quite touch sensitive. Read what it says about defensive reactions in a breed summary here. For what it's worth, serious aggression in a 10 week old pup would be pretty unusual. Sounds like you've got a feisty one and she will need to be trained accordingly. Push and she's likely to push back. Force her to defend herself by getting physical with her and she probably will. You've already witnessed that when the trainer became forceful at puppy preschool. Encourage her to do the right thing and you're likely to have more success. You need decent training advice to get on top of this NOW.

What do you do with her away from your boy? Do you walk them or train them individually? If you don't I'd start. I'd also be escorting her outside regularly for the moment.

Try dry baking the pumpkin - all my dogs love it!

Just make sure you take the excess water off their coats. Leaving coats soaking wet actually encourages the water to retain heat. Same with racehorses - which is why you see them slicked off after a hose down. Yes should have mentioned that! I drop a towel over their backs and run my hands up and down their backs and sides to soak up most of the water. oh shi%* - I hosdd pete down this morning but didn't realise I had to towel up the excess!! It was still coolish then so hopefully dried off before heated up :S Go to a saddlery and buy a plastic water scraper... looks like a gigantic shoe horn and you run it over the sides of the dog to pull off the excess water - they work a treat on the larger dogs.

I'd suggest using horse stuff. It tends to be well priced given how much you use on the big lugs.

Just make sure you take the excess water off their coats. Leaving coats soaking wet actually encourages the water to retain heat. Same with racehorses - which is why you see them slicked off after a hose down.