poodlefan

Oh, one more thing.. don't drill a baby. If you say sit, and he sits immediately.. reward and end that little session. Don't ask him to do it again and again.. its the fastest way I know to demotivate a dog. You can train, play, and train again but avoid the drilling.

I'd do shorter sessions followed by play. 5 minutes is plenty long enough for a baby. The more you can incorporate "training" into the daily routine, the better.

Jesskah: How?

Great minds Huski.. ;)

Join a dog club. The chances of your pup being scared or harmed by a strange offlead dog in a dog park shouldn't be underestimated. You only get one chance to give him good experiences. What he learns now will stay with him for life. He needs to learn confidence and that means controlled socialisation with dogs who's behaviour you know want be over the top.

Why? Because it can. Same reason some kids eat dirt. My dogs occasionally will have a snuffle in the stuff. If you're feeding a balanced diet, don't worry about it.

Ah, the joys of boys. Thank God the expert ( Teebs) was quickly on hand to take charge of the situation.

If NattyLou's experience with her dog is anything to go by, a visit to a canine chiropractor might be an idea. Apparently anal gland issues can be a result of pelvic misalignment.

Yes, it's normal for a pup to be submissive but not something I'd want happening with my pup with any great frequency. He's not learning a heck of a lot getting rolled and pinned. He needs to have experiences that build confidence and interactions other than submisson. I'm glad you are keeping him onlead at the dog park. Personally, I think he's too young to be there and I think he'd be better off learning to play with less dominant dogs and pups. Its good he's doing puppy pre-school.

Longer lived breeds? I think about 6 years apart is good. Two young dogs means you get two old dogs.. it can be devastating to lose one dog, let alone two in quick succession.

What an absolutely beautiful girl. Run free Jenna where the bunnies are fat and slow.

Tomas, it is simply NOT possible to leave whiskers on some show breeds who have clipped faces like american cockers or poodles. You can NOT scissor their faces off either. You would simply Not be able to compete with natural fluffly faces. THAT"S a FACT not a justification! Petition the ANKC if it's so cruel. It's not just show dogs who have clipped whiskers either. Many long haired pet dogs have their faces clipped for reasons of hygiene and comfort. Paws, tails and bums often get trimmed for the same reasons. You can do a far safer job with a pair of clippers than a pair of scissors anyhow.

Whichever way you do it, you'll still cut whiskers. And leaving any facial hair at all has the effect of acting like a wick, drawing grass seeds and debris into the eyes. Excessive hair around the mouth also harbours bacteria and wicks it into the mouth accelerating tooth decay. I shudder to see the state of a lot of poodle mixes with filthy long hair around and in the mouth.

Yes. Get a qualified veterinary behaviourist to consult on the issue. Behavioural problems can not always be solved with training. Sometimes you need more than that. It does sound like separation anxiety but that's not always as simple as adjusting a dog's position in the back order.

Just wanted to say that a decent pair of nail clippers makes one hell of a difference to the ease with which you clip nails. Its worth spending a bit more for a decent pair.

Corvus, there's a bit of a problem. ETA: A lot of people give "corrections" but because they're not huge or "punishing" they don't think of them at such. If you go "uuuhh" when your dog goes to pinch your donut off the coffee table, its a correction. If you change direction or stand still when the dog pulls on the lead, that's a correction. A "correction" to me is any handler behaviour that discourages unwanted canine behaviour. They don't even have to be physical. They do need to be appropriate (ie well timed, not creating fear) and effective for that dog.

gsdog2: Yep. But that inside dog is going to have better quality of life than the outside only dog whose owner comes home and doesn't play or interact with it. And plenty of Australian backyards have one of those.

My dogs sleep during the day. How do I know? If I go home unexpectedly, I wake them up! They get to walk at 5.45am most days and then crash out after I go to work. They are awake until I go to bed and then they sleep again. It's not as simple as inside = good and outside = bad. I think what many posters have been saying (I know I did) is that its more challenging to provide for a dog's social needs if its an outside only dog. I think a lot of dogs enjoy just hanging out with the family. Play is important but down time counts too. It's a matter of making space in your life for a dog however best suits you. Too many dogs spend their lives as animated garden statues IMO. They deserve better than that.

Personally, I think you're far better off taking the tips of reasonably short nails than waiting until they are talons and having to take a lot more off. I would trim them. Little and often with rewards for compliance is the key to getting your dog to cooperate. Even doing one nail per day is a start. You shouldn't need to go to a vet for what is a very routine part of dog husbandry. The sooner your start, the more often you do it and the smaller the trims, the better.

As I've said before, flyball is so arousing that I'm not sure I'd want a dog with self control issues to commence it without some obedience grounding first. That said, ANY dog sport is going to provide a channel for that energy but all of them require focus and control first. He sounds like a "working line" Pug.

An understimulated, socially isolated animal prone to self destructive behaviour? Nothing new. Drugged to control him? Also not new. How many "ADD" kids have you seen be reshaped with discipline, boundaries and praise on any current affairs show you care to name. This little guy has no self control and clearly never got taught boundaries. He screams "crate, exercise and obedience training" to me. Poor bugger.

Did you mean satin balls? If so, they are for putting weight on a dog, not for a growing pup. What are you feeding the puppy now?

In the meantime, buy a few pieces of vet bed. She can sit on it and it's waterproof. You can throw it in the washing machine. She could be inside in a crate on a piece of vet bed rather than banished outside. :D

Is that all? :D Yes, puppies can handle chicken necks. HOwever, a growing pup needs a balanced diet. That means either a good quality kibble (I leave it Rottie folk to recommend a good one) or a carefully researched raw diet, or a mix of both. I don't get your signature by the way. Pit bulls are renowned for their lack of aggression towards people.

I'd not agree with the notion that all these treatments are making dogs systems "sterile". I would agree that constant (and often unncecesarry) chemical assaults on dogs immune systems can suppress them, giving rise to allergies. I don't treat for fleas unless my dogs have fleas. I don't vaccinate when I can titre and I give heartworm tablets, not the injection. I'm not a fan of spot treatments of any kind. There are also breeds and colours of dogs that are more allergy prone. Maybe that means they don't tend to have wonderful immune systems in the first place.