poodlefan

Oh, no. Dru my heart sank when I saw this thread. Run free Victoria. You were greatly loved and will be greatly missed.

Rice has no nutritional value for dogs - it's just filler. It can be a useful source of carbohydrates but that's about it. I'd leave it out. Put the food down, leave it for 10 minutes and take it away. If he's hungry he'll eat. Cats are notoriously fussy eaters and cat food is designed to smell tempting. My guess is that's why he eats it.

So he didnt' start the attack? I strongly suspect this didn't happen "all of a sudden" but had been building for some time.. See a good behavioralist. Not only can they assess what is happening to Sonny but help you to learn to read his body language. He's 9 months old now. Not a baby anymore and starting to assert himself. Is he desexed? I seem to recall he is.

I feed mince. Only human grade and only in their veggie mix. Two out of three meals are RMBs.

Ashan, I do not think that there is any training school that will allow a 6 year old to take responsiblity for training a dog. How it tends to work is we train the parent to train the dog and once the dog is trained, the child puts the dog through its paces under parental supervison. Children are encouraged to attend and watch. That said, no school would prevent him from attending classes to watch. However, to take a child that is scared of dogs into such an intense environment, may be asking for trouble. Novice dog owners can allow their dogs to get too close and unintentionally frighten him. If you'd really like to get a feel for each sport, I suggest you try to find a trial in your area. You might also attend a training night and see what goes on before you sign up. I liken obedience to dressage in horses and agility to show jumping. The first builds focus and control on the flat.. the second takes it onto obstacles.

I would probably lean towards the veterinary behaviouralist if I had to choose without knowing anything about the person's experience. That said, I would ALWAYS be looking for a word of mouth recommendation about someone with a track record of success in the type of problem I sought help with. As most of us have learned the hard way, you can have all the goods on paper but the proof of your skill lies in what you can do, not what you have studied.

Rules vary between clubs ashan. At our club, we allow junior handlers from age 11. We don't accept dogs for agility training before the age of 14 months. Some clubs offer puppy basics but we start straight on equipment. Your puppy will need some focus and control before commencing training on obstacles. Where are you? Perhaps we can suggest a club. Working dogs dominate agility - you've got the right kind of breeding for a good agility dog. :rolleyes: ETA: Doh! You are in Bathurst.. I don't know the closest club.

If I want the dog to drive out of an obstacle (like weavers) I throw the ball or treat. If I want the dog to stop I either place it on a bait plate or give it from hand.

Use a metal comb if you have one.. the slicker will just brush over them.

Falling dawn, with kids in the house crating is the safest option. I think you need to think more about the fact that this dog is guarding things she values from family members, rather than "getting distressed". This is aggesssion we are talking about here. If there was a reason to need to take something from her, I'd be offering her something of equal or higher value .. like a treat. Suffice it to say, the kids will need to be supervised closely around her.

If you do a forum search on "+resource +guarding" you will find some threads. I wouldn't advise you do ANYTHING other than perhaps feeding her in a crate and not giving her bones before you see the behaviouralist. I hope you are seeing a qualified behavioralist and not just a dog trainer.

Kirty I've never seen a dog pine because its talents went to waste. Enjoy her as a companion, you have enough on your plate for now. If you find more time to train for competion later then do what you can. Ted my oldest poodle boy got his CD aged 9. We had an older ACD girl training in agility at our club - she was assessed as fit but only jumped toy heights in training and didn't compete. Provided she gets time with you and plenty of exercise, she'll be as happy as a pig in mud. :rolleyes:

Wylie: Neither does Billinghurst. The point of the vegetable matter, first and foremost is for bulk. Dogs don't digest vegetable proteins like soy at all well. Dogs eat their prey fur, feathers and all. If you can't feed dogs like that then they are going to need some kind of bulk material to keep things "moving". There are some minor nutritional benefits from feeding vegetable matter that is broken down in a form that dogs can access (ie pulped) but I feed it keep my dogs regular amongst other things. Dogs rarely eat gut contents.

I use the general nutitional supplement from Greenpet. They are online at www.greenpet.com.au

I use a ball for a reward much of the time but when using food treats, I tend to use devon or cabanossi. I think the treats in the purple bag were 4Legs ones? I haven't seen them for a while. Those Chunkers that you buy in the cold dog food section go down well with my dogs.

I would not be discouraging her disciplining a younger dog. I would be attempting to prevent a situation that required her to have to do it. You might find this article helpful.

Two meals out of three, my dogs get some kind of raw meaty bones. More often than not it's chicken but they also get beef, lamb and pork. The third meal is a home made "BARF mix" consisting of beef mince, offal, eggs, yoghurt, flaxseed oil, nutitional and joint supplements and a range of vegetable pulp. I do not feed cereals of any kind. The one exception is when I feed 4 Legs if I travel.

My youngest boy survived a bad bout of HGE. My research at the time said that is was primarly a disease of young adult dogs (2 - 4 years), some breeds (including miniature poodles like Darce) were prone to it and that a dog that had had it once was at a higher risk of getting it again. The trigger for the disease can be bacterial, viral or toxin. Darcy became sick in the early hours of the morning. He was lethagic and had the runs.. he was roach backed from the stomach pain. He was at the vet when it opened and was very badly dehydrated (this alone is a killer). He was in fact far more dehydrated than even the vet suspected, with a PCV that was dangerously high. This was 4 hours after first symptoms. He spent 3 days on a drip before he started making a recovery. Thankfully he is now 4 and hasn't had a recurrence. Scarey stuff. I'm sorry for your loss Dean B - I'd imagine the disease hits the tiny dogs the hardest. ETA: Darcy is an inside dog. If he hadn't been sleeping on my bed, I doubt I'd have noticed his constant trips outside to the loo. He looked in great pain in the morning but I was looking closely at him. I honestly doubt that some outside dogs would have their symptoms noticed in time for veterinary treatment. If I hadnt' taken him to the vet at the first opportunity in the morning, I doubt he'd have survived the day. When in doubt folks don't delay.. get to a vet.

Saltwood are you absolutely certain you havent' lost your sense of smell? :p Gotta love BARF. Why put a dog on a flatulence cure when you can feed a diet that prevents it in the first place? Knowing that soy protein is a flatulence trigger for many dogs, I'm gobsmacked by how many dog foods contain it. Of course, it's cheaper to add to food than quality animal protein. ;)

[Note to self] Make sure next puppy is from a Spring or early summer litter. The last one wasn't.

BCNTC: Soooo, in light of what you now know about training the force fetch, do you still consider that the issue was as stated above? That she "she didn't feel like doing it"? As I said at the beginning.. look to the training and the handler.. don't blame the dog. I hold to my advice about finding a better trainer also.

Another vote here for the Andis two speed. I love them - nice fit in the hand, don't get too hot and don't need to be opened up for servicing like some other brands. I've had my pair for about 5 years and they are used to groom about 5 dogs. The only problem I've had (which is very common) is that the cord needed to be replaced on them as it broke away from the motor housing.

Leo, sometimes I consider it to be the only responsible decision to make. If you simply can't deal with an issue (I'm usually thinking aggression) and it's a safety issue then rehoming is out of the question most of the time. What other decision is there? Much as I love dogs, no dog is worth compromising the safety of your family. That said, I think some people will take the easy option with behavioural issues that ARE capable of being resolved. ETA: Have you got a scenario in mind? This is actually a question I've asked a couple of trainers I respect. "Was there ever a dog you worked with that you thought was beyond help?" I asked. One trainer said yes. Large breed dog, extremely dog and people aggressive with very passive owner.. the dog was bad enough but the owner was simply overwhelmed by the issues and judged herself incapable of dealing with it - she was terrified her dog would hurt someone, possibly her. The trainer thought it possible. In another home, the dog may never have got to that point or may have been better managed and dealt with.. but that's not the situation the trainer was dealing with.

If you put him on a lead, he can't run around ... he can focus better. The rule of thumb is that for every pee he does inside, he'll do another five. If staying outside until he wees means he never wees inside, the training will go a lot faster. If the crate works, fine but you simply can't afford to let him toilet inside. There's a reason a lot of people don't get pups in winter ya know.

Yep. Any aggression towards people that's resulted in a bite and can't be safely managed. By 'safely managed' I'd eliminate any family with children. But there are other cases too. With behavioural issues, I think there are so many variables and the biggest one is the ability and motivation of the owner and their family to work with professional to deal with issues. Some people are up to the challenge and can create the right environment and others simply aren't.