poodlefan

I'm no expert Myzska but I'd be trying a Sporn harness on the dog. They're the funny looking ones you're describing. From a chiropratic perspective, they're pretty benign. Did the vet give any brand recommendations?

I don't use one and I wouldn't recommend them. I know of at least one large dog owner who got dragged into the path of an oncoming car by his dog. If you end up with a strange dog on top of you, it will be very difficulty to get the lead off you and you could end up in the middle of a dust up. I think it's a safety issue to be able to detach the dog from you very quickly. I think a wrist attachment would be far safer than having the dog attached to your body though. Fishing line cuts... badly. Under controlled circumstances like in a trial ring, I can see a use for one, but I'd never do it out in public areas like walking in the streets.

I'm with you Scales of Justice - this does not sound balanced to me. MDL I'd be feeding the kibble twice a day and perhaps supplementing with meat on the bone. Chicken wings or drumsticks added to the diet would provide valuable chewing exercise for a growing pup and the bone has the right calcium/phosphorus balance to assist growth. However, if you are feeding a complete food, it should form the basis of your pup's diet.

As she's only little, why don't you walk her in a flat collar. If you are worried about her slipping her collar, used a limited slip one. Harnesses generally restrict movement. If the harness is the "dog seat belt" type, it is NOT suitable for walking her and may actually cause long term detriment to her physically. If you look at sled dog harnesses, they never go across the dog's chest - they are the Y variety.

Indi Dog: Indi they weren't all different, they had multiples of the more heavily used blades.

OK, standard question here. How much mental and physical stimulation does your dog get each day? For how long is he trained and exercised outside your yard?

Skuzy: Alarm bells are ringing for me! You haven't been advised what your dog will learn, the training methods utilised or how to go about handling the dog after training. That's a lot of money to spend on faith alone. $1,000 would buy quite a few lessons with a dog trainer in your own home. I'd never allow my dog to be trained by another person unless I was right there - and then I'd want to learn how to do it myself.

No, you are not "bad owners". I think you may be confusing two issues. Many many people (including me) allow their dogs access to the furniture. Many don't. Where you allow your dog to go is your decision. How she is allowed to access it is another matter. You could insist that she sit before being allowed up, or that she is only allowed up when she is invited by you, rather than whenever she likes. You could also deny her access completely if that is your preference. I'd strongly recommend you take her to a decent obedience trainer or school to learn the basics of establishing a relationship with her that's based on respect and compliance with your cues. As a well known dog trainer puts it best "it's not whether your dog is allowed on the furniture that's important, but whether they'll get off it if you ask them". One piece of advice I give all puppy owners is never to allow behaviour from a pup that you will not wish to see in an adult dog. Dogs learn best what they learn first. It's far easier to discourage behaviour you don't like than to have to train a dog out of it. Have you seen the Chinese Crested thread here on DOL? Don't forget that she is young, agile and will get excited! It's learning how to focus and direct her intelligence and enthusisam that's the challenge.

Do you walk her in a harness? If so, does it cross the affected areas? Dogs scratching might do this too. Have you trimmed her nails recently?

A friend of mine has used one PW but there's no way I'd leave a dog unattended wearing one. I use Jetcare anti-barking collars. They spray a cold jet of liquid on the dog's throat when it barks. They work well on poodles because we shave their throats so the hair is very short. They certainly have done the trick with my boys.

Can you get a formal apprenticeship as a dog groomer these days? I am a hobby groomer (only my dogs plus whatever BMP brings round for a tidy up ) and I use the following blades. 30# in face and feet and tail of black dogs, feet and tail of white dog (all poodles). I have two so I can change blades when one gets hot. 15# on tummies and Ted's ears (he has shaved ears) 10# on Ted's tail and any bits of friend's spaniels presented for shaving 7# on black dogs bodies in summer 5# on black dogs in winter and white dog in summer 4# on white dog in winter Toe blade - great for doing between toes but I use for undersides of feet "Leg" blade - can't remember length but it's a new oster on that leaves 16mm of fur on legs. They are bringing out a 19mm one and I'll probably get that too. Sure beats scissoring when you want shorter legs. Obviously it took a while to accumulate that many blades. A couple of pro groomers I know have about 60-70 blades each.

It wasn't aimed at anyone in particular. After years of hearing English style riders comment on how harsh western curbs were while sitting on horses wearing snaffle bits and dropped nosebands to prevent them opening their mouths to stop the bit digging into their upper palates, I got very tired of such comments. It never seemed to dawn on them that double bridled horses had curbs in their mouths. A port mouth bit used properly is NOT harsh. A snaffle bit used properly is not harsh although I prefer French snaffles that have no nutcracker action. Any bit can be abused as can any training aid. It's the riders hands that dictate the horse's comfort and not just the bit.

I only feed human grade mince and I feed it raw. However, I only feed it mixed into a BARF mix.

Erny: Nope, not at all Erny!

I would equate this analogy to going from using exaggerated, longer cues to smaller, neater ones. The heavy rein increases the cue from rider to horse without necessarily adding greater pressure to the bit. Western riding is done predominately on a loose rein - it's the picking up, and the shifting of the rein, rather than constant contact that cues the horse to changes of pace and direction (in combination with shifts in body weight and leg position) The difference with heeling is that the aim of the exercise is to have NO lead. Starting with a heavy lead won't help with that IMHO. Anyone who thinks use of a curb is harsh doesn't know how to use one.. the analogy with prong collars is a valid one. You can break a horses jaw with a snaffle. A curb doesn't have the nutcracker action required to do that. As with dogs, it's not the tool that is harsh, but how the trainer uses it. I'd say side reins, draw reins and lunge reins have made more lasting damage to horses than any other aid.. and most people consider them fairly benign.

Rhaps: I don't care if it's not important to them. I do care if they don't progress because their dogs get bored and frustrated. I hear this all the time in both obedience and agility ... "oh, I'm not interested in trialling". "Fine" I say.. "but that does not mean I will accept a lower standard of attention or effort from you". What a person chooses to do and not to do with their dog is immaterial. How they participate and train their dog in class is important to me and for other class members as I have to share my time. If they can't show enough respect to actually try, then I'm sure they can find professional trainers who are happy to charge to be ignored. I have to say that nearly every agility participant who's used the "I'm not interested in trialling" line with me and who's stuck with training has actually gone on to give it a go. Trialling is not all about competition - it's about testing whether you can actually do what you've trained your dog to do in a controlled situaton and with an objective evaluation. I like to have a goal with my training, beating other people has bugger all to do with it. Just as well!

Same here. I know what's in it and it's much cheaper than the manufactured patties.

I'd feed that ratio to a puppy. Mature dogs I feed 2/3 RMBs.

Of course you can fit a nozzle to a stand dryer Leo - I start that way to get excess water out of the poodle's coats and then take it off and go hands free for finishing and brushing. The force dryers are likely to be far more powerful but mine doesn't have a heater. This is no big issue as once the motor warms up the air is warm but it's not as warm as a heated one. Both of mine are Liberty. They manufacture their dryers at Somerville on the Mornington Peninsula and provide good after sales service. I'd definitely look at them - they make both types. Here's their website. The dryers in the pics on the high stands are "stand" dryers and the low squat ones are force dryers. I do find it handy to have one on a stand for moving around and you don't need it on a bench either. Liberty's force dryers tend to have more than one outlet - overkill for a hobby groomer but if you can get one second hand they are good. They also do a single outlet one. I'd give them a call - they may have some older reconditioned ones.

Absolutely necessary? No. Extremely useful? Definitely. It assists with toilet training and is great for travelling, visits to vets, trialling, staying at people's houses... the list is endless.

First decison Leo is whether you want a force or a stand dryer. Stand dryers are the pick for people who need to brush coat as it dries (like we poodle folk). It means you can direct the nozzle and then go hands off to brush the coat. Most other dryers (like force dryers) just have a hose that you direct air at the dog with.. they can be more powerful than stand dryers and groomers use them to literally blow coat out of the dog. I'd be asking on the Aussie list what people recommend. I'd say you'd be going for the force type - whether it has a heater or just blows air over the motor (that type tend to be cooler but still warm) will also dictate price. Once you know what you're looking for, keep an eye on the Classifieds here - I've seen a few. Some posts on yahoo lists might also throw one up. I've got two dryers and bought them both second hand.

If any trace of urine remains in the rug, she'll be triggered to wee there again. Agree with taking the rug up for the meantime... in addition, you have to wait outside until she goes.. however long that takes. Patience and consistency will do the job. If the she goes inside, blame yourself, not her. It's up to us to show them where to go and help them succeed by waiting until they do. Remember, after they wake, eat, drink or play take them out. If you can't supervise her inside, put her out.

For beginner dogs, we generally have the jumps set low and work up to competition height. Regardless of the number of dogs in each height most dogs train at their competiiton height. People get used to adjusting jumps. If there's a lot of jumping sets, people do choose to train lower. Some of the 200 dogs will train on 300 for a while and Darcy does some stuff at 400 when his competiton height is 300 (this is ANKC). Dogs returning from a spell often start low too. Darce is the only 300 dog in his class at the moment.. I generally get a set to myself and finish it early to hand over to the 500 dogs who are the most numerous and need more time to get through sets. Unless a dog has no idea how to jump (and that's quite a few) a lot of bar knocking tends to orginate from handling errors, mostly timing of cues.

Some caution needs to be exercised feeding garlic. Too much can cause anaemia in dogs. Garlic is a member of the onion family. Dogs and onions don't mix. There is no way I'd trust garlic to prevent heartworm... any more than I'd trust it to prevent intestinal worms.

If you can see ribs on a Sheltie, it must be emaciated... and have no coat. Seeing the last three ribs (an impression, not starkly) is not uncommon on some of the leaner breeds. If I can see really obvious vetebrae or any hips, it's too thin for most dogs in my opinion. We have far more issues with overweight dogs than thin ones at our club.