poodlefan

As I said in the Sibe 101 thread, this may not be a breed related issue. Damaged growth plates may be caused by stress or injury too. A visit to an orthopedic vet would be a good starting point I think. Was this present at 8 weeks?

I'm not a Sibe person but your answer may not lie in the breed or breeding. Growth plate damage can be caused by trauma. Too much exercise or an injury are two causes.

It makes me wonder why you'd want to name your dog after a someone convicted of rape, criminal assault and with a history of spousal abuse and very poor record of dog ownership.

I hear very good things from a groomer friend of mine about Cowboy Magic detangler.. not cheap but she says pretty good. You buy it at horse shops.

So a dog that is never allowed to exercise leadership over a person is expected to take the lead in defensive situation? Dogs that have been socialised from puppyhood never to put teeth on a human are expected to "naturally" take a person on? Unlike past times, we generally socialise our dogs to greet strangers positively, not tear strips off them. We've had plenty of discussion on alpha wolf theory on this forum. Most of those discussions note that the original research that developed the theory was conducted on captive wolves and was fundamentally flawed. None of that theory has ever been tested in an inter species context. Dogs know we ain't dogs. If they do protect us, are we a resource to them? Professional protection dog trainers have said time and again on this forum that people are deluding themselves if they genuinely expect an untrained dog, even of a guarding/protection breed, to step up when required. Those views have been poo pooed by many owners. I'd say this thread proves the pros right. You may get lucky.. but then again.. why put your safety down to luck?

You need to use an aversive to stop this. Ask yourself whether there are negative consequences for what she's doing now. If there aren't, why would she stop? You could try yelling "BAH" or use a spray bottle to deter her. Ask yourself how an adult dog would handle a puppy playing tug of war with its flews or tail.

Perhaps people might also ponder the irony of all the talk about being "alpha" to your dog but expecting it to step up to protect you when the going gets rough.. isn't pack protection the alpha's job??

Hi All, Was talking to a visiting friend from Adelaide the other day. She'd tried out the hydrobath at her local car wash. Her dog got a bacterial skin infection. Her sisters dog picked up a fungal infection from the same place. Do ask about how often they are cleaned.. they are clearly not without risk to use.

In some wild dog packs the pups eat first. Injured pack members are not excluded but are cared for by others. The alpha role is far more flexible. Personally I think the whole "alpha wolf" comparison has limited application to an inter species relationship between man and a domesticated animal. What matters to a dog is consistency, routine and boundaries. Personally I don't think it matters when your dog eats provided you control the food.

I hope you are aware that triggering dogs to bite lowers their bite thresholds more often than not. I"d be mightily unimpressed by anyone who wanted to test themselves on my HA dog. All actions have consequences.. for the owners of those dogs, your actions may very well have negative ones.

Poodlefan Dachshunds are Not Terriers..I can assure you as a breeder and show of jack russell terriers, I have never seen a dachshund in the terrier group!!lol Dachshunds belong in the hound group 4... Yep.. lesson learned. They hunt above and below ground. I still wonder what happened to Justin.

On your own property? No In a public place? I'm not sure

My honest advice? Don't rely on a dog for your personal security - take responsibility for it yourself. Buy a personal alarm and avoid areas where your personal security may be at risk. Unless you have a trained protection dog ANY dog's protectiveness is a big question mark. If you do own a trained protection dog, it's automatically a dangerous dog with all the restrictions that imposes.

I went the other way.. from obedience to showing. I dont' think comparisons are all that helpful going either way. Each activity requires different handling skills to get the best out of the dog. Most people on one side of the fence seem to think the other one will be easy.. and often it's not. Just see how you go and good luck!

Not every breed IS a mess Tony. A balanced view would make that point.

I'm glad you feel ready to publicly say goodbye ILDD. Run free Memphis - taken far too soon.

Run free Cujo - you were a beautiful boy.

Fence off the pebbles with chicken wire or similar. Pups live in the moment. They use their mouth to explore their surroundings. He isn't running because he think what he's doing is "wrong". Always give a treat when you take something from your pup. That way he wont' run away because he thinks you're taking his "treasure". If you reward him for giving you things, it will be easier to teach him to offer them up. Telling a pup "NO" doesn't teach them much. Far better to teach "give" and reward him for doing it.

I'd probably try to glue it back together with superglue.

I would be very cautious about adding calcium to a pup's diet. Tomas, if your friends aren't going to feed an appropriate (ie containing bone) raw diet, their pup will do better on a good quality kibble. I would suggest they seek advice about whether to feed a "puppy" or an "adult" formula as many giant dog breeders are cautious about the high levels of calcium found in such formulas.

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Agility is also a good option. Where are you located? Someone may know a good local trainer/club. We are located in the Maitland area of NSW. I though of agility but need to wait until he is at least 18mts I have been told. 14-18 months for agility.. .and I'd recommend the same for flyball. That leaves obedience or herding (which can be hard on a young dog)

I am hopeful they will give him some bones....it has been a struggle to get get them sorted,first time puppy owners. I just want their baby to have the best possible start as he is a large breed and I said no matter what they do,they just need to do it right as joint issues could arise if they don't! Damn right! If they bought from a responsible breeder, that person is probably the best source of information on this topic. You only get one chance to get it right with a growing pup.

Agility is also a good option. Where are you located? Someone may know a good local trainer/club.

All I know is really basic operant conditioning theory: Behaviours that result in positive consequences tend to increase in frequency Behaviours that result in negative consequences tend to decrease in frequency Examples in the recall context for the second proposition include calling your dog to punish it or calling it in the offlead park only when you're putting them back on lead to leave.