poodlefan

Do you want a trainer or do you want a behaviouralist?? A very good veterinary behaviouralist in the area (Frankston) is Dr Debbie Calnon.

Wylie: My thoughts also. I don't think there are any miracle ways to grow coat faster. The best way to grow coat is optimum nutrition but to grow coat you need to ensure that you minimise lost coat. That means optimum bathing, wrapping and grooming. As I learned the hard way, bad wraps or not grooming them often or carefully enough will increase coat loss. Is this the dog you shaved off Palane??

A neurological disorder or psychological trauma would be my guesses.

I'd be off to the vet. You can't get a good diagnosis anywhere else. The sooner lumps are checked the better.

If their spine is not fully developed - then spinal injuries for sure. All that twisting is too hard on growing bones.

Taking another leaf from horse folk Warls, I'd suggest a daily body brush.. either with a soft body brush or a hound glove. It will stimulate the skin to produce more oil and help move the scurf out. Groomed horses are shinier!!

In a dog of this size PW, I'd be more concerned about hips than patellas. Keep a watching eye out. It might be as simple as a strained muscle or a sore pad but I think your caution is a good idea.

It's good old fashioned laundry soop Pixie.. look for it in that supermarket aisle. Plain yellow bar but I can't recall what the wrapping looks like, I think it's in a yellow and blue cardboard box. A bar seems to last forever. ETA interesting but useless facts about Sunlight: It was Unilever's first product. :D

I recall a dog owner bridling when I told him his too was carrying too much weight for agility. "My vet says she's fine" was the response I got. Yep, probably fine for sitting in a back yard, but not for the demands of agility. He was back for the next intake for rechecking.. glowing with pride. The dog had shed quite a few kilos and his vet had complimented him on her condition. I recall Christine Zink saying that most vets don't tell people their dogs are too fat because the owner will simply find another vet. :D

Ditto to what Warley said, except I use a bar of Sards wondersoap instead of sunlight. Ditto to Cowanbree, Warley and Pointers Rule but I use Sunlight followed by Fido's white shampoo. Sunlight soap is great at grass stains etc - an old show horse washing trick to get those white socks glowing.

I use a canine probiotic for a dog if I've given a course of antibiotics.. I follow an equivalent regime for myself.

Leopuppy: I hear that all the time. Given that so many dogs are obese, from a vet's perspective, she's probably not all that bad. You are supposed to be able to feel rib without pressure - and hips for that matter. I think Purina do a chart.. ETA: Here's a chart. Actually weight in kilos doesn't tell you much really. Muscle weighs more than fat anyway.

Your story is confusing doggie lover. People have said it doesn't make sense. You are infering that they think you're lying. No one has even suggested it. Personally, I'd be ringing the vet to clarify instructions. I know vets can ask you to bring in a faecal sample but they generally collect urine samples themselves.

I used to have to handle a friends horse that was a rearer.. I was dabbling in natural horsemanship and used the Parelli approach.. make it uncomfortable for them and the behaviour diminishes. Soooo natural horsemanship rope halter (the kind with the knots on the nose piece), very long 12 foot? lead rope with the big clip under the chin.' Up he went.. .and I gave him plenty of lead rope and flipped it back and forth like a snake.. hard. It throws their balance nd the clip moves the whole halter a bit. Down he went.. .and thought. We moved off.. up he went and I moved away in front and let the rope swing rapidly again.. .and down he went. A few more feeble attempts and he learned that rearing was not rewarding. He never reared for me again. Personally, I'd be inclined to find a natural horsemanship trainer and have a few lessons with the 7 games and a bit of problem solving. It works.

If I were looking for a dog to train for the goals you describe Myzska, I'd probably pay for a professional evaluation. If the pup has great nerve, at least it hasn't had bad experiences but I'd be a little concerned about what it might have missed out on.

Train a solid recall... then you can call him AWAY from people he's rushing at. Teach him that he only gets pats when he's sitting by your side. In the meantime, keep him on lead. Same deal.. no pats unless bum is on the ground. Being that he's one of those social butterfly staffies, he'll be planting his bum and burying into the ground in no time.

Maloo: I stewarded for UD at a trial on the weekend. The winner of the ring was an Aussie Shepherd who clearly thought he was having a series of games. It's such a wonderful thing to watch a dog work with enthusiasm and a willingness to try that quite frankly isn't evident in many of trialling dogs. The stress and displacement signals coming from a couple of the dogs in the ring were quite sad really. Make ALL training like play time and trialling too.. and watch your dog's confidence grow.

I think you can rush the stand with a timid dog. I'd start at having the dog beside you in a sit.. .she'll take some comfort from your proximity. Just a quick chest rub and a treat from the examiner. Move up to having her stand beside you... then slowly move around the front and increase distance. If you up the thoroughness of the exam, take it back closer to you. Lil doesn't enjoy the stand for exam but she tolerates it. A flat collar should be all you need for obedience trialling. After CCD the lead is off anyway.

Oh yes... I can relate to this. Lily, the Toy Poodle in my avatar was extremely timid as a youngster. She was OK at home but in classes we got to the point where she'd freeze and refuse to move. My instructor at the time said it wasn't worth stressing her so we moved sideways and started agility. Poor Lil was completely overwhelmed. She'd bolt for my backpack (her place of safety) at the slightest pressure. We took months to do what other dogs did in weeks. However, I'm very patient and never got upset with her (she was doing the best she could) and eventually we started to make progress. After getting her Novice agility and jumping titles, at the age of 8, I decided it was time to try obedience trialling again. We got her CCD last year and eventually I'll get around to CD. You'd not think she was the same dog she was as a youngster. She now has 3 JDX passes and agility trials with more zing now than in her younger days. I can't be any more aversive than neutral with Lil and I went through a lot of instructors who clearly thought I was wasting my time but I did find a few who were prepared to encourage me. Never never never give up but count your progress in terms of what you achieve, not what those around you do. It can be done.

OK, it's the Deangelis (wrap) method. ;) My housemate's dog had this procedure about 2 months ago. What post op exercise has your dog had. With Chelsea, she has had to be walked slowly on lead to encourage her to use the leg - otherwise she'll pick it up and run on three. I gather this method can leave a dog with a permanent limp but don't forget that there will have been some muscle wastage as well. Don't panic. Talk to your vet. Like us, dogs have varying recovery times and this is a major operation. Will she take weight on the leg at all?

anniejac, which type of repair surgery was done on your dog's cruciate??

sorry to hijack this thread, but poodlefan, what good quality conditioner would you recommend? For a smooth coated dog? Errrkk - I'd probably just use a squirt of coat oil into a litre of warm water and pour it over (don't rinse) or use a condtioning shampoo. I like Oakwood, Fidos and Plush Puppy products. Fidos would probably be the easiest to find. Their white enhancing shampoo would be good on your pup (smells great) and I'm sure there's a conditioner. I dilute that into water, pour it over the coat, massage it in and rinse it out. I don't have a smooth coated dog though - probably best to ask a groomer or showie.

PW, the OP already has the Malt/Chi cross and is looking at a purebred Chi. Malchi girl, puppies can be desexed as soon as their testicles are fully descended. That's as young as 6 weeks for most puppies. Many Chi breeders are deeply concerned about keeping their puppies out of puppy mills and back yard breeding situations. They know that desexed puppies are of no interest to people who want to breed dogs purely for profit. Most puppies recover from the op very quickly .. boys more quickly than girls. Other than caring for the stitches, you'll hardly know it was done.

Muckypup you'll need a few shampoos and a conditioner to deal with different types of coats. I'd suggest you look at: A general one One for sensitive skins One for longer coats - maybe with a conditioner in it. One for white coats. A good quality conditioner I'd not be wanting my dogs bathed in a flea prevention shampoo unless I asked for it. A lot of people use oral or spot treatments for fleas or none at all. Have you done any courses on dog grooming? I'd suggest you buy something that's a concentrate you can dilute with water. Any of the bigger grooming supply places will have several ranges to consider.

RIP big fella. You've given him a final gift of love Bacchus. You've released him from pain and given him his wings. I only wish all dogs were lucky enough to have such caring owners.