poodlefan

Muzzling your dog makes you and everyone else relax. It also send the clearest possible signal to other handlers that your dog needs space. "Image" problem.... :cool: If a dog is aggressive, it's aggressive. Prohibiting muzzling is for "image" reasons is downright irresponsible IMO. Safety comes first - for everyone. ETA: At our club handlers may use a muzzle and instructors may request a dog be muzzled. I've done it.

Personally, I'd be keeping him on lead and walking around a bit.. If it's that cold, buy a pair of gloves and beanie and a big coat. I really don't think tying him up is going to help. How old is he?

Given that this boy reacts so strongly to any suggestion of correction Gemibabe, I wouldn't correct him... Don't call him to do anything but praise him - make any contact with you a really positive thing. The harshest aversive I'd be giving this one would be a "no reward". That would be harsh enough. Until he learns that good things come from being near you, you simply have to grit your teeth and show him what pleases you.. like taking him outside and praising and rewarding peeing there lavishly.

Schnauzer mum have you considered getting a referral to a canine dermotologist? Dietary modifications won't hurt but you won't nail the problem unless you know what's causing it.

It'll be a good thing if people get the whole message and don't feed a half arsed "BARF" diet ML!!

Raw chicken is the basis of my dogs' diet. If you are worried about additives in food, I suggest you have a very good read of the list of ingredients on the side of what they are eating now. Cancer has a bunch of causes, some are genetic. As Joe Jackson once put it "everything gives you cancer". More importantly, it may not be just ONE thing. We all try to feed a healthy diet but views differ as to what that is.

No, I was focussing more on this: A shut down in the face of repeated inescapable stress (can be physical or mental) = learned helplessness. I've seen it in the odd obedience dog at the higher levels.. I don't know what to do, the consquences of doing the wrong thing aren't positive .. so I won't do anything at all. Do you think your dog truly understands what it is that you are asking her to do?

I have to say that reading the first post again, one expression came to mind.. ."learned helplessness" I honestly think it's possible that the training methods used have taken this dog to that point. The fact that months of training failed to achieve anything reinforces that view. Your dog's immobility and failure to respond to the ear pinch is another indicator. Perhaps the sight of the bumper is enough to trigger the response.

I agree - lose the cereals.. wheat is about THE most common dog allergen. No flaxseed oil or powdereither.. it's made from a cereal so no good for dogs with cereal allergies. Use fish oil and feed a raw egg (Omega enhanced if you like) once or twice a week.

I hear you Peachie.. sometimes you have to balance the dog's interests against the client's idiot factor... You must feel like saying... you'll follow the practices of your neighbour.. .but not the advice of me, the professional groomer?? Gee if the neighbour washed the dog in caustic soda would you do that?? My groomer started out pretty accomodating but while she's very pleasant, she's very assertive. Don't want the dog groomed (this is poodles or schnauzers) a maximum of every six weeks? Find another groomer. Don't brush the dog between visits? I'll charge you double for the dematting this time and next time find another groomer.... You'd be amazed how many of her clients start to toe the line. ETA: Oh, and the dog misbehaves?? Start working on that or... find another groomer.

Peachie how big is your client base? If you don't want to wash a dog in a product you know is harmful and you don't want to wash a dog and not blow dry it... why don't you "just say no"? I know my groomer (before I started doing my own dogs) gave her clients a choice - have them done the way she wanted to do it (which in her professional opinon was best for the dog) or take the dog elsewhere. If you are doing things that you don't believe are in the dog's best interests, it's your reputation you put on the line. I honestly believe that there are some clients you'd probably be better off without.

BCNTC: I don't buy this. I don't believe dogs "act" for their own benefit in this kind of training scenario. If this was an agility dog, I'd be advising the trainer to stop looking to the dog for the problems it was experiencing and to start looking to the other end of the leash. Something in the training is causing this response.. either something that's being done or something that isn't. I know a couple of pretty robust and seemingly confident dogs that do no respond well to certain types of training pressure.. that said it's up to you as the handler to find what works. So rather than considering that the problem lies with the dog... look to yourself, your trainer and the training method. You can't change the dog but you can change the other three. Clearly she knows how to work.. the challenge is to tranfer the focus and success she's had in obedience onto retrieving. Good luck.. this can be very frustrating.

I use Alchemy on me. OK here's a linky on human skin Ph. Here's some stuff on canine skin Ph. In a nutshell, canine skin is more alkaline than human skin. The idea of washing skin is to match the Ph of the shampoo to that of the skin.. change the Ph and you change the ability of the skin to protect itself. Interesting that a child's skin is different to an adults.. maybe that's why baby shampoo seems to be OK for dogs.

PW: Yes, but it's particularly bad for long backed dogs like Dacchsies. There is a direct link between obesity and a heap of dog diseases and conditions. One of the more common ones is cruciate ligament rupture.

The first dog our family ever owned was a Standard B&T dacchy!! Fabulous dogs. Not much of an agility prospect though. :D Bloody families - my mother reckons I'm "cruel" for keeping my dogs so lean. :D

A lot of itchy skin has an internal cause - what are you feeding him? Another common source of itchyness is contact allergies. He may be lying on something that is irritating him. Where is he itchy??

As this dog needs to lose more than 25% of it's body weight, I'd be cautious about too much exercise. Halve the food. The faster the weight comes off the better. Up the walks as he get's closer to 6kg. If you can swim him (do Dacchies swim?) I'd be doing that. Word your family up big time..... absolutely no treats. You'd be horrified how many dog's diets are sabotaged by well meaning family members and friends.

Congratulations Rob! You must be thrilled.

Perhaps try a few different brands of good kibble? I don't feed it but changing brands once you finish a bag isn't a bad idea.. it avoids nutritional imbalances that might occur by feeding only one brand. I defer to the experienced kibble feeders on this one.

Well the number of meals sounds right..... I wonder if scaling back a little on quantity and (if you are willing) increasing variety might be the trick..

How old are the pups? How often are you feeding them? Good old Labradors.. one of few breeds who'd think kibble was a training treat. ;) A friend of mine trains her Lab using carrot - he'll work for anything.

Sounds like classic stress induced displacement behaviour to me. Dog's response to the negative is to "tune out". This is not "ignoring you". This is a dog that is doing what it needs to cope. Is this a soft dog? Some dogs handle the force fetching technique.. and some don't. It might be time to try another approach. I'd certainly be trying another trainer. I know bugger all about gundog trainer but I'd be trying a clicker..

Tango, given that the build up of metals in a dog would have occured over time, I wouldn't be laying the blame soley on the latest deodorant. Personally, this is the best ever reason I've seen to use a roll on.. no contamination of the dog whatsoever.

I've already booked a spot Kelpie Chick.

No idea LL... but I suthspect you are on the right track.