poodlefan

Although if the OP is going to allow for the "down time" period after that vacc, it means her pup doesn't begin the socialisation it very much needs until at least 17 weeks. I meant as a vacc schedule Erny.. not necessarily to wait until the last one.

I would do the last vacc and then titre to check immunity.

Not just a good way.. the only recommended way. Unless you want your uncertain puppy exposed to dogs in situations that are uncontrolled, classes and play dates are the only way to go I'm afraid.

I think its the handling that was probably the most difficult part for her.

Gerda: So she's spent nearly all her time in the presence of a few family members in familiar places. At the groomers she got left on her own in a strange place and handled by a complete stranger - something she shies away from. I'd say she needs to go more frequently, be given treats by the staff and taken home again. With their permission I'd stay for the number of times it takes her to be unstressed while handled by them and then work up to leaving her, being available if she regresses. This needs to be 'old hat' to her ASAP. I'd strongly recommend you return to obedience training for the outings and spend more time taking her out and about to new and different places. I'd also suggest you condition her to spending longer periods of time alone at home and, where possible, in other safe places (eg. in a crate at your mums). She needs to build social confidence in her. Sounds to me like a dog that won't deal well with new people and new situations, partially due to lack of exposure but probably also due to her temperament. A qualified behaviourist would give a far better assessment and help you with a strategy to assist with this. Your experience is part of the reason why I recommend any dog that needs regular grooming visit at least once a month from the time it comes home.

You need to take a step back and work on building the duration of focus and obedience to the cue. If you're not in a position to hold that focus then don't ask for it. With duration, you build time or distance seperately, not together. For example with a stay, you start close and build up the length of time. For more distance, you ask for less time and build up again. With heeling, go right back and ask for the minimum amount of time of totally focussed heeling you can get. Build from there and jackpot any improved duration. A lot of people training heeling look like they're in a funeral parade... change speed, direction etc. Don't forget that verbal encouragement is useful while building duration.. NOT THE CUE. You can wean off the encouragement in the same manner as decreasing reward frequencies.. start with the minimum amount of heeling you can do silently and build from there. Oh, the answer to how many time for the cue is ONCE. If she's blowing you off and you're using it repeatedly, you may have poisoned the cue and may need to reteach the exercise with a fresh one.

How much time has she spent visiting people and places outside your home? How mush time does she spend alone? How often has she been handled by people other than family?

Mini poodle prefix listed as CoificA should be CoificO That's about the limit of what I can contribute.

"Fun" with a dog like this is any game in which you make the rules and control the resources. You start it and you end it.

I was going to suggest a diary also. I would also note what she's fed each day.

No idea but gee they're cute!

I thought toadies were poisonous?? Next time take him to the vet ASAP. Dehydration can be lethal.. and quite quickly. I'd say you were lucky.

Perhaps you need to amend your OP to reflect the amended information. These aren't just 'random people'. One has been your neighbour in your yard. One was your grandfather. My suggestion is that you carefully catalogue each incident to the best of your recollection so that you can give an accurate picture of what's going on to the behaviourist. Regardless of what you write here, you need to have someone see the dog in person.

If he's that hot, he wouldn't be lying in the sun methinks. People are right, his coat will never be the same if you cut it. You'll also be exposing him to the risk of sunburn. I would thin it before I'd cut it off.

My guys get monthly heartworm tablets (Pro Heart). They hate any chewables. They get done for intestinal worms 3 monthly and that's it for bugs. I've had to flea treat them once in 10 years. For tick time (which isn't often) I use the Proban tablets. They don't need them regularly.

This is the calendar.

The DogsNSW website has a calendar of events. However, if you change membership, you'll get their Gazette (and have access online) to all the Schedules.

There is a thread in Rescue where a very patient person has been searching for a young yellow lab female for some time.. might be worth checking out if your girl is yellow. However bear in mind that there are few puppies where you won't have to go through the mouthy, nippy bouncy stage.

BDL: Amen to that. Aged dogs can also be forgetful of previously existing rules. You may need to help her out a bit more now.

Samador: Gundogs is what Labs were developed to be and the ANKC Group in which they are categorised. Lots of people call them that. With that background comes people focus, mouthiness (they put EVERYTHING in there) and the need for regular mental and physical stimulation. They were bred to work all day finding felled birds often in water. Fail to stimulate them and they can be amazingly destructive youngsters. That goes with the breed. Not by me. The pup is what she is.. and what you will make her. With the right training, she will develop into the sort of dog you want but Labs don't come (as I have heard pet shops say) natually quiet and obedient. If you feel you aren't up to the challenge, the sooner she is rehomed, the better her chances of a good life are. You don't have forever to teach bite inhibition.

Sounds like the Saint warned the GSD away from his food.. a perfectly reasonable response IMO. In dogs terms the GSD over stepped the mark but you disciplined the dog whose meal was threatened. Feed them separately. Don't create the situation where one dog feels compelled to defend his meal.

RobynA: Don't assume anything. Some dogs are born timid and submissive. A dog that shys away from such things may not have had a negative experience. Work on building confidence. I'd be going back to training to build the bond of trust between you. Agility training is a wonderful cnnfidience builder if you take it carefully. ETA: I recommend you remove the expression "she's a rescue" from your vocabularly when you talk about her and your relationship. Rescue is a source of dogs, not a behavioural cause. I know that our inclination is to feel sorry for rescue dogs but you've got to look at the dog in front of you.. the rescue part is history now. "She's a rescue" can often end up as an excuse. My response to handlers who say this is "I don't care where you got her". After they recover from their initial shock I tell them that excuses don't modify behaviour. Having had that one trotted out as a reason for a dog being overweight (and about to fail an agility fitness test) I told them that it might be a convenient excuse, but not a logical one. She is what you make her now... not where she came from. With such a young dog, there is great opportunity to overcome any shortcomings in her training.

Start by eliminating medical causes of the problem.. she may have a urinary tract infection or be suffering from incontinence (ie a weak bladder) it does happen, especially in bitches desexed very early. I'd be off to the vet for a quick test to eominate these possiblilities. She is NOT punishing you. There is a reason for this behaviour. Focus on finding the cause. If she ran outside for 15 minutes, my guess is your level of "scolding" is somewhat over the top for this dog and/or you have a very submissive dog on your hand. A dog that bolts when you approach is not trusting and confident in you. She is anticipating punishment. Perhaps the behaviour you might focus on modifying in the first instance is your own.

Freerunning I'd not be testing that 'safe with kids' theory to destruction. I'm sure you weren't meaning to. You need a behaviourist, not just a trainer to help with this. I'd strongly recommend you follow up with the Jane Harper recommendation.

A five month old pup mouthing.. this is behaviour that should have been extinguished before adult teeth started to come in. You've got a pup with far stronger jaws than a 8 week old and three months of practice to curb. There is no way two youngsters can deal with this... you will have to. You've acquired a young, untrained boistrous gun dog and you are going to have to set the boundaries of acceptable behaviour with this pup fast. They are bouncy, exuberant mouthy youngsters. Agree with interactions being on lead. Frankly I'd not have selected a pup this breed for the age of your kids but if you control the interactions and deal with the mouthing firmly, things should improve. However, if you are expecting this pup not to cannon off your kids at first as it bounds around I think you're going to be disappointed. But yes, book a trainer. And read that book Miranda recommended. However at no time should your children be left unsupervised with this pup. Spitz breed to gun dog is a big change.. do you have a clear idea of what it is you're looking for in a dog?