poodlefan

*coughs* Bullshit! Any trainer worth their salt knows that a baby puppy lacks the control to go without toileting through the night initially. All not getting up teaches the dog to do is to eliminate inside. And hasn't she learned it well. Some trainers need a good smack up the back of the head. That advice has set you back a month. Find another trainer Meeche.. one that knows a thing or two about dogs.

Microchips move.. sometimes out of reach of a scanner. The dog might have been roaming for weeks. Owners could be frantic - you have no way of knowing what her story is. Once she's lawfully back with you, that's the time to focus on her behaviour. I'm glad you're doing the right thing and surrendering her.

Take her out when she wakes, after playing, eating or when she looks sniffy. Take her out some more when you can. Reward all eliminations outside. Ignore all the others.. unless you want to punish yourself or OH for failing to get her outside on time. You've got a smart breed and they want to please. I would buy a crate and move it to beside your bed at night. The minute you hear her stir, get up and take her out. Praise her if she goes, pop her back in the crate and go back to sleep. You and the OH can debate on which side of the bed the crate goes and who gets up but someone has to. Two weeks of sleep deprivation and total supervision will see most pups well on the way to being successfully toilet trained. The rule of thumb is that every accident inside will encourage about 5 more. You've got a month of bad toileting habits to undo now. That's not her fault either.

Take her to the pound or at least notify them that you have found her. Legally she doesn't belong to you. If you put your name down for her she can serve her time and be legally adopted by you. Once she is legally yours, I'd be calling in a professional trainer. How old is she? She may never have worn a lead or have been handled before.

yeah I googled it as I didn't know what it was... I was never a fan when people suggested a muzzle for him but that collar seems like a good idea, just in case he does have a minor freak out and pull back while walking. They are pretty good with the stop command so if they are running away from us we just yell out STOP and they stop dead in their tracks. It rained as soon as I got home so no walk last night but I did look out in the back yard to work out a solution. We are going to move the gate to behind the Gas Metre so we can keep it locked and make it a solid gate. We are also thinking of fencing off half the yard so they still have a huge area but just cant access the fences next door where there are other dogs and a shift working man sleeping. Yeah some people have tried to give us tips for how to stop him barking but they never differentiated between excited barking and acceptable barking and naughty barking. I don't want to confuse Locky I am a fan of positive training I don't like to punish them I just don't reward bad behaviour. Thank you all for your advice :D it really does help!!! Sounds like a good plan Bubbley. SBT is right about rain.. and even five minutes walking is better than none at all.

No, it's not too late but crate training is not going to work unless you provide regular access to your preferred toileting spot. That includes during the night. If she's jumping out of her pen to go elsewhere then she's trying not to to soil her bedding. If she's having to jump out, you aren't taking her out often enough. You have to make sure she's always supervised inside unless she's crated and that she's taken outside regularly when she is. Few pups will make it through the night at her age without a toilet stop. I'm sorry to say it but it's not the puppy's responsiblity to "get it' at her age but your responsibility to make sure she cannot fail. Leaving her in the crate for longer will train her to soil it, not hold her bladder. She's a baby. Every accident she has is your fault, not hers.

Just to make sure we're both talking about the right thing, I'm talking about a limited slip collar, not a head halter. Locky probably barks because he's either over excited or frightened. Punishing him is not the answer. Getting him used to new sights and sounds (including oher dogs at a distance) will help. Don't force him to meet other dogs - let him see and then move on. All brown poodles fade. Better that they get some exercise outside and lose a bit of colour. They are desexed and therefore of little interest to thieves. Put in a dog door and let them work off some energy in the yard.

How confident are your dogs on lead Bubbley? If pulling out of collars in fright is likely to be an issue, you might want to invest in small martingales that won't pull off over their heads.

Wait for the cool of the evening Bubbley - or do it at a ridiculously early hour of the morning.. or both.

Yep, take them for a walk. It doesn' have to be huge.. half an hour would be a good length to start. Let them explore new smells, sights and sounds.

Bubbley, if these dogs aren't getting out of the yard, my guess is that they are understimulated (read bored) You've got one of the worlds smartest breeds and they need to have both physical AND mental stimulation. They need to get out and about and to have some regular training. Enrolling at your local obedience club and doing 5 minutes of training a day would be a good way to go. I would start walking them daily outside the yard AND provide more chewables like Kongs. You may not like seeing the Kongs destroyed (try the black ones, they are harder) but I bet it beats seeing the door frames chewed. How much time every day do they spend with you?

How much exercise and training do they get on a daily basis outside your home and yard?\ What do you feed them? Do they have access to bones or other chewables?

Congratulations - he was my favourite in the litter. Are you going to show him? I don't know how you can be calling him anything other than Bubba! I love the Dixie Chicks song "Earl"... even if Earl gets knocked off in it.. Sing along with me.. "goodbye Eeearrrrl" :D

JJ, you need to accustom Jet to being handled and groomed, every day, AT HOME. If he'd been going to the groomers since he was a bub, this would be old hat to him. As it was, he was stressed and my guess is pushed into defending himself in the situation. Now its up to you do get him used to being brushed and having his nails clipped. Muzzle him if necessary. Spend 5 minutes every day with a slicker and do one nail a day. Reward heavily. Properly groomed out (all loose hair removed) he should not need clipping. You'll wreck his coat and expose him to the risk of sunburn by clipping it off. Lots of handling and lots of rewards is the way to go. He doesn't need to be bullied into it.. show him that tolerance from him brings rewards from you.

Tell her to leave the fat ON. Dogs need more fat in their diet than we do - they get most of their energy from fat, not carbohydrates. My guess is that your boy is not too fat. As as already been said, you should be able to feel his ribs.

Groomers Friend sell a tub with ramp and drainage. Linky here

What a gorgeous boy - I love the oldies

Please explain your theory. How what a parent animal eats (especially the male) would influence the digestive system of a pup initially fed on milk sure defeats me. Changing the diet does NOT change the anatomy of an animal's digestive system. Until we breed a dog with 4 stomachs, a lip that can grasp grasses and molars to grind them, I'll be feeding my dogs some meat. It would change the milk just as diet effects human milk but the male probably doesn't matter It would not change it from an animal based protein source into anything else.

C&S: Please explain your theory. How what a parent animal eats (especially the male) would influence the digestive system of a pup initially fed on milk sure defeats me. Changing the diet does NOT change the anatomy of an animal's digestive system. Until we breed a dog with 4 stomachs, a lip that can grasp grasses and molars to grind them, I'll be feeding my dogs some meat. Those keen to champion the rights of oppressed animals might like to question what most dogs would eat given the choice. That fact that we have the ability to entirely control our dogs diet should not give us the right to inflict our dietary philosophies on them or treat them like nutritional guinea pigs.

Maybe some people consider aggression to be "cured" when the dog no longer displays it in situations it previously did. Yes, training can raise the threshold point to aggression or desensitize to certain triggers but my view is that it is always there as others have suggested. When it might re-emerge is unpredictable. This is why issues like resource aggression need to be taken seriously, particularly by those who temperament test rescue dogs.

Anyone advocating soy as a suitable source of vegetable protein for dogs should do their homework on phytin and its ability to block calcium absorbtion. :D Soy contains phytin - as do most cereals. A soy rich diet for a growing puppy = trouble. TVP is soy based. Anyone advocating an all vegetarian diet for dogs needs to be very well read on canine nutrition and frankly there are still going to be issues. No wild dog exists on vegetable matter all the time. All wild dogs will scavenge or eat fruit etc but they hunt when they can.

You could do what many owners of dogs with long hairy ears do and fit a snood for meals.

If she wants a vegetarian pet, she should buy a herbivore. Vegetarian diets lack key enzymes that can only be obtained from animal protein. I shudder to think of a puppy raised on one. She'd kill a cat with a vegetarian diet. :D

What's 'qualified' though? You don't have to be qualified to work in a salon either. Although I agree the quality of work is rarely there from mobiles. Someone I work with said that a friend of hers was going to buy one of the grooming franchise vans but not only didn't have a dog herself, also knew nothing about them. Franchisees are given training.. I'm just not sure how much. But for a wash and blow dry and nail trim (which is the bulk of their business), how much do they need?

Sorry, I can't help then.