poodlefan

Incidentally, the green parts of tomatoes (stems and leaves) can be highly toxic to dogs.

I'd be losing the tomatoes. They aren't particularly good for dogs. If it went beyond about 4 days, I'd be starting to think about a visit to the vet. As you say though, her demeanor is good and if she's eating and drinking well, that's the main thing for now.

This is how I do it. Walk first time to find which obtacles are where (counting the numbers) Walk the second time to analyse the most efficient (read shortest) path for the dog. Walk the third time to decide where you have to be to get the dog to run that path. Because my dog can sometimes be in front OR behind me, I focus more on where the dog is in relation to the path he needs to run than planning exactly where I want to be at any given time. I also find it useful to close my eyes and visualise the course in my head before running it. Don't despair, practice really is the key to getting the courses straight. It does get easier, especially as you get more of a feel for where your dog is likely to be as she proceeds on the course. Provided your girl is having a good time, you aren't letting her down. Even when it all turns to shite and you DQ, if you can find a path out of the course (make one up if you have to) that gives her a good fast finish, then take it. I don't tend to get lost, but gee I can end up badly out of position sometimes. Although I do recall running FHRPs Flynn once. I wasn't fast enough to direct him to the correct obstacle so he made up his own course. After that I was well and truly lost

How do you describe a poodle who nicks your ugh boot, pisses off through the dog door with it and then wants to play chaseys round the back yard?? I recall the same dog being chased around Young show ground with a friend's sandal as a little tacker.

This is why increasing your knowledge of these issues, independent from veterinary advice is important. DOL is a wonderful resource in that regard. I reckon a good rescuer must be part vet, part behaviourist, part psychologist and all heart. ETA: Access to a pets as therapy dog/handler would be ideal.

Probiotics would be a really good idea to add to a diet after a bout of gastro. I'd not be feeding any dried, cured or highly processed treats for while. With such sensitive tummies, unless you know everything that's in it, don't feed it. Darcy was given "piglet mix" (really!) to help sort his tummy out after a really bad bout of haemorraghic gastro. He had that for a few days, a diet of cooked chicken and rice for a while and then he went to my home made dog stew before returning to his raw diet. I also gave him probiotics. A lot of old timers swear by rasberry cordial (must be at least 20% juice) to help with gastro. It's be proven to kill a lot of bad stomach bugs.

Hubby needs to understand that babies make mistakes. Did he never have an accident when he was being toilet trained? If one accident banishes your otherwise well behaved dog outside, it's a pretty sad state of affairs. I'll bet he wasn't the one who had to clean it up either. I agree, keep the door closed. Dogs will sometimes urinate or defecate to mark territory so that might be the cause. But gee, I'd be having some pretty free and frank discussion about where your dog fits in your family life. How many hours daily interaction with your family will this pup have if it now lives outside?

Poodles are German.. and they love it!

If I had another Puli I would be right as far as the stimulation goes.. but not at the moment .. I want to experience the cording process first to see if I could cope with a second .. love the white ones o/s poodlefan I have to say .. I need a t-shirt with a photo of a black poodle and photo of my Puli next to it .. constant comments that Noodle is a Poodle. I even had one say she looked like a black Bichon!! Two of the Puli owners I know have a T-Shirt that says, "No it's not a Poodle, No you don't have to brush the Cords" and a few other statements about Pulik.

Noodlenut: "Active working breeds"are not the only intelligent, high energy dogs that need mental and physical stimulation Noodle. I know 3 Puli owners and my dogs walk with a Puli some mornings. I think you'll find quite a few DOLers aren't unfamiliar with them. What your're encountering is a difference of opinion from some folk who believe that feeding time isn't an ideal situation to make a dog 'work' for its food. Such "work" can generate negative associations with food including anxiety, frustration and resource guarding. If it works for you and your dog that's great but other people choose to differ. I like meal times to be a quiet, uneventful and calm time - but as I said, I have more than one dog.

I don't make meal times a boredom buster for one simple reason - I have more than one dog. The only time I ever tried a treat ball, Lily worked her arse off rolling it around to get treats out and Ted ate every single one. I don't think it's cruel but I'd be careful with treat balls while you are away from home. I've not seen it but I have heard stories of dogs getting their lower jaws stuck in them.

What's it like on toast?

I feed a BARF diet but there's no way I'd not use worming medication. My dogs run in country areas and ingest a fair bit of animal poo. Dog's are intermediate hosts for hydadit tapeworms and other worms that can be passed on to us - you'd never know they had them. BARF is great, but it's not a substitute for a proper proven worming schedule IMO. The problem with the herbal remedies is that you're not going to know they're ineffective until your dog has carried a worm burden or heartworm for some time.

"Normal" dog food isn't going to inspire most dogs. Try tiny pieces of chicken, cheese, devon, cabonossi or the like. The smaller and the smellier the better.

At his age, he has the attention span of a gnat. Yep, be patient and make the food rewards really high value (and really small pieces)

Which poultry shop are you getting it from? I've been buying human grade minced beef but it's getting expensive now Dusty is getting bigger and $1 kg sounds like it's right within my budget. The lady wouldn't be from Moe and breed GSD's, would she? Cos if so, I know her quite well and was having a good chat with her about raw feeding recently. She makes a lot of sense and I really like her ideas. All Australian chickens are hormone free. It's illegal to feed homones to them and has been for many years. Gayle most chicken places (eg Lennards) have what they call chicken "pet mince" which is basically ground carcasses and offcuts. As long as it's fresh it's good to feed.

If you put "distichiasis" and "husky" into Google, you get some interesting results on some interesting sites.

I only feed human grade offal - no risk of worms there. I worm my dogs regularly anyway.

Anxiety, possibly related to nausea. I'd say he's feeling a bit car sick. Some ginger or travel drops might help.. and no rally car style driving.

Bomabec: Any area with mosquitos is a risk area. I know of a dog who tested positive for heart worm that had never left Canberra.

Why are you soaking the supercoat? I'd suggest you do a bit of searching here about premium brands of dog food for giant breed pups - you can buy something designed specifically for your pup.

For a dog with this level of psychological harm, I suggest you give him the benefit of the doubt. I suggest you try Cosmolo's suggestion and attach a long line to him. See if rattling it when he howls will get him to move towards you. Is a visit from a behaviourist an option?

I'm not a trainer of Cosmolo's experience but am just musing... do you think he understands that he has the option to come and find you? This sounds somewhat like learned helplessness to me. He won't come because he doesn't understand he can - he hasn't experienced such freedom of movement before. Maybe you could work on a 'come' command -first to where he can see you, then working up to just out of sight and so on. What does he do when you actually leave him - do you know? Is it the same?

Good luck Silverblue.