poodlefan

OK - feed two necks for every wing they'd normally get and that should be about right.

I'd suggest you feed wings rather than necks. They will make your dogs chew more and are less of a choking hazard to a larger dog. I'd start the larger dog on 4-5 and the smaller on 3-4 and see how they go. You'll have to take size of the wings into account - they vary a fair bit.

I'd highly recommend it. A good puppy pre-school will help with socialising your puppy with other pups and people and give you lots of helpful training tips. If you can, go on to do more training right through to about 12 months old. Even Toy breed dogs need to learn manners and respect and both you and your pup should enjoy meeting other dog owners and their pets.

Anita said they were GPS collars Monika.

Crate him, crate him, crate him. It will help with toilet training, give him a safe place to stay when visitors and children visit, make him a pleasure to travel with and improve his sense of security. A crate is a a den not a cage or prison. If your husband has no experience with dogs, his thoughts are from a human perspective and not what the dog's needs are. Dogs LIKE small spaces, they don't need scenery when they rest. You've got a tiny puppy, from a highly vocal breed, suddenly socially isolated at night. Too damn right he's going to scream the house down!! So you can give him a den and, if you are wise, company when he sleeps. What's the problem with him having a small crate, and eventually perhaps a small basket in the bedroom. It will give you ALL a more comfortable night's sleep. If not the bedroom, perhaps the kitchen is an option. I'd not sleep any toy breed outside or in a heat sink room like a laundry or bathroom. They simply do not have the body mass to cope well with extremes of temperature. He's a Toy breed of dog, selectively bred for generations to seek and and prefer the company of people. My advice is to give him company, but on your terms.

Yikes.. that must have given you some anxious hours. Looks like cooking chocolate is frighteningly toxic.

It might be OK to feed it (but put a peg on your nose) but then again, it might not. Why take the risk?

Flinders Uni collects bite stats. I'll see what's online. What you do have to remember is that staffies and staffy mixes are among the most common dogs in Australia. The higher the number of dogs, the more likely it will be to feature in breed bite stats. Top of the pops in Canada is the Golden Retriever - and its also the most popular breed. Perhaps if you suggest they do some reading on what makes a dangerous dog they may be able to understand that the way a dog is raised and supervised and not its breed is the most important factor in how safe it is with kids. Edited to add links as I find them. Kidsafe Medical Journal of Australia American Academy of Paedatrics Another medical article Another way to tackle this is to ask the FIL what breed of dog he DOES think is completely reliable.... hope like hell he says Golden Retriever and I'll give you the material to shoot that assumption down.

I know a shooter and I'm sure he knows shooters, who, if I asked, would supply me the bunnies they manage to get. But I'm not keen on the idea that these bunnies might have picked up mixo or the more current virus (what's its name?) that has been used to eradicate them. Wow! $16 is pricey!! If I find a supplier, this might have to be for special occasions only . The other virus is Calicivirus. I gather most shooters can tell an affected animal but I don't know for sure. The bunnies around here sure look healthy enough.

Some poultry suppliers have them? I presume it would be a 'side-line' ??? Thanks PF. Given they breed like ................................ ummmm, 'rabbits' you'd wonder why they are pricey. (What is the going rate for one?) The farmed ones are about $16 last time I checked. They are stocked by poultry and game specialists at my local markets. Let your fingers do the walking! Unless you know a shooter, it may be difficult to get wild bunny. Pity that the days of the rabbito selling bunnies round the neighbourhood are gone.

I've not been able to find a butchers that sells rabbits carcasses, whole or otherwise/skinned or otherwise. If I do manage to find a supplier (if anyone knows of one I'd be grateful .... I'm in South Eastern suburbs Victoria .... Berwick), although an upfront warning that I don't think I would be able to manage to give an un-skunned (wrd?) rabbit. I'm aware this would be my hang-up, not my dog's. Don't particularly want him to appreciate "fur" either. Probably a specialist game and poultry supplier would be your best bet Erny. Sadly though, farm raised bunnies are expensive.

If you want to feed rodent, feed bunny!! My dogs love it.

How far are you walking him? It's amazingly easy to overdo it with a baby puppy and overtire them. Little and often would be the key but I'd not walk a pup of this age more than about 10 minutes on lead.

Perhaps at last, facts rather than fear will prevail on this issue.

Why don't you shave them or shorten them? The risk of any kind of long term banding is that the ear will be caught in the band and lose circulation. Do that for long enough and the dog will lose part of its ear. Poodles still look great with shaved ears. My two boys have them. If you really want to hold them back, I'd be using a lightweight cotton snood.

I wouldn't clip him. The risk of sunburn would be high. It would also remove any insulation he gains from his fur. Give him access to lots of water (perhaps a clamshell pool) or a cool mat. He might also be more comfortable if he was a bit *cough* leaner.

In which case TB, you'd probably have to consider mild sedation. If a dog needs to rest to heal, then you do what you must. But, yes, a metal mesh crate would be the way to go here.

You could be seeing a detox reaction from the improvement in diet Clyde. I'd definitely be avoiding any grains and artificial colours and flavours. I hope this is just a phase.

Tell her to desex it. Surrendering a cross bred adolescent to the pound at this time of year is a death sentence. If she'd honestly rather the dog be dead than without a uterus, then I'm truely speechless.

A limp can be caused by pain anywhere from the paw to the shoulder. I think a visit to the vet is a good idea. I'd be resting him until you see the vet.

I feed adult dogs once a day. The puppies get 3 times a day initally, then twice a day until they finish developing. Frankly, I found it impossible to keep weight on Darcy as a youngster (up till about 18 months) unless I feed twice a day - he couldn't eat enough in one meal. However once a day suits me and the dogs don't seem to mind. I can think of quite a few dogs fed twice a day who could afford to lose one of those meals completely. If dogs were still wild hunters, they'd be gorging themselves once every few days and snacking whenever they could.. that style of feeding doesn't suit most of us. For a bloat prone breed, I'd be feeding twice daily I think.

The best way to clip the hair would be with animal clippers but if you don't have any, the vet might do it. The main thing is to keep the area dry. I know some people who use the purple anti-bacterial horse wound spray on hot spots but the vet needs to see it first before you stain it. There is a clear anti-bacterial spray but I can't remember the name.. Otoderm?? You are dealing with nasty bacterial skin infection. The closest thing I can think of for a human is tropical ulcers. Untreated hot spots can become quite large.

Does she have access to a swimming hole or creek? Dampness is the real enemy here.. that and less than fresh water. If that is the case, then rinse her off and towel dry her after a swim. If they are occuring where her collar sits then a damp collar would also be a contributing factor. Take it off if she's been swimming and don't put it on until its dry. If you can clip the area around the spot that will help. The sooner it is treated, the smaller it will be - don't delay treatment. Stuff her full of gingernut biscuits (that will help with the nausea) and get her seen too. A vet that can't diagnose a hotspot (if that's what it is) is pretty frightening. They aren't exactly rare.

I missed the bit about the newspaper. I agree Kelpie-Pup, allowing the pup to toilet inside under some circumstances but not other sends conflicting messages. If you want him to toilet outside then your aim must be that he does all his toileting there. If you are missing that first big toilet of the morning because you don't get up when he wakes then you are reinforcing that inside is OK.

Don't bring him back inside until he pees or poos.. take a treat out for him and praise and reward him when he does. Now that the weather is getting better, spending some time outside with him will help. Grab a cuppa, take him outside and stay there a while. You're probably being just a tad hasty coming back in. Sometimes they get distracted by being out there and take a while to settle down. I would take him outside when he first wakes.. probably your best chance of getting him to pee immediatel as his bladder will be very full.