poodlefan

Until you get this sorted, put him onlead when guests arrive. You don't want someone to overreact and knee him in the chest or some other "traditional" method of dealing with this. Does he attend any kind of obedience training?

Chicken wing tips (available from larger chicken places like Leonards) would be great for such a little tacker (she's lovely and I agree about the nice nails) Jimmy if your kelpie pup will eat chicken necks and wings there's no need to feed chicken mince - its primary value is the bone it contains. I agree about the smell - I can't stomach it either.

Pilor erection (raised hackles) is a sign of a high state of arousal in a dog. It is NOT necessarily a sign of fear. The first incident you describe does sound like you got a submissive response. I don't necessarily think the second and third were. However, we weren't there to watch and the internet is no way to diagnose dog behaviour... get yourself to a decent trainer who will be able to help you figure out what you're seeing.

Beaglenewb I don't know if his movement is normal but I would recommend that you book him into the vet for a once over - I do that as a matter of routine for new pups. It's nice for them to see a vet in the early weeks without getting a jab.

Yep, what Miranda said. Move the litter tray out of puppy's reach. Dogs sure love those litter box crunchies. :D

Gwen Baileys's "The Perfect Puppy" is a great start. If you are looking for a general dog health book, I think its very hard to go past "Everydog". I like "The Dog's Mind" for a general understanding of how dogs think... I can't remember the author off the top of my head. Sheila Booth's "Purely Posititive Training - Companion to Competition" is a good training book. From a more philosophical perspective I'd recommend Patricia McConnells "The Other End of the Leash" and Susanne Clothier's "Bones Would Rain from the Sky" A couple of clicker training books wouldn't be bad either.

Kristyn: She fights with dogs she has known and been friends with all her life (with the exception of her 2 closest neighbours), and is aggressive towards strange dogs too. No offence Kristyn but agility classes are not socialisation classes. I can only speak for our club but in order to do agility here you have to pass a control test that places your dog (onlead) in close proximity with other dogs and to control it effectively offlead with distractions. We developed that test in response to a disturbing number of dog aggression incidents where dogs were allowed by handlers to get into each others faces and fights occured. Put a dog that's quick to react aggressively into a highly stimulating environment with multiple dogs and unless the handler has exceptional control it may end in tears. A dog aggressive dog who may also snap at people is not going to be welcomed to a class where dogs are trained offlead, often in close proximity to one another and where the dog may be restrained at times by another person. We do not allow dogs to "socialise" in a class where the aim is to develop a high degree of focus on the handler and control issues are important. I agree with Cosmolo. You need to see a behaviouralist. I don't necessarily think that all the behavioural changes that your dog is experiencing can be explained by the presence of a second dog in your home.

Tassie: And one with which I heartily agree. There is no place for anything other than fixed flat collars in agility and a good number of handlers run their dogs "naked" in competition. Its a dog safety issue. Most of the time the dog is offlead for training anyway. It's flat collars only at our club and anyone who tells me they know better is simply demonstrating their lack of understanding for the sport.

Ok, so get them to give her a treat and then hold another in a closed fist near her nose and touch her somewhere relatively innocuous like on her chest with the other hand. Touch and treat, touch and treat.. increasing the duration of the touching before treating. No reaction for her moving away but lots of of positive reaction to tolerance of touching. If she has a lot of drive, jackpot her with her ball. Touch and release for game, ball can be held by you or them. Then you can move in front, with treat/ball in closed fist and same again for a more formal exam. The lesson is good things come from tolerance of handling. :nahnah:

Myzska: Show a bit of leg and some cleavage and they'll be lining up to help. :nahnah:

Myzska: I wouldn't be forcing anything but I would be working on decreasing the 'threat' from the stanger by increasing his attractiveness with food. She will take her cues from you so relax, just chat and pretty much let her be. You could even click any sign of interest she shows in him.

Myzska: This is what I mean, she is OK with time. The problem is I DONT have time in the ring. Myzska I know you wouldn't try and solve an obedience training issue in the competition ring and the same applies to the show ring. Taking some time out from showing to fix this NOW will reap rewards down the track. A friend of mine had a similar issue. She set herself up near the club house at our obedience club and got every bloke she could find (who was dog savvy) to approach, talk to her, treat the dog and move away. She built up from there to handling, treating the dog and moving away. It was a slow proces that took some weeks but the result was a dog that was tolerant of being handled by men. Rush her now during her second fear imprint period and the issue will be life long.

It hasn't ruined my nails yet. :nahnah:

What kind of glue? It's its superglue nail polish remover will get it out but you'd want to wash it out straight away.

Do you live in a tick area? I'd be eliminating common complaints before worrying about more complex things. Any chance she's been bitten by something (clearly these are issues the vet would have looked for) Was it colder than normal yesterday? Sometimes old bones really feel that.

Sounds like the type of dog more than one law enforcment agency would like to take a look at. Nothing short of a complete change of attitude will solve your problems. If you cant' spend more time with the dog training and exercising him, then rehoming may be a viable option. Police forces prefer their dogs entire. Jumping on you, pulling on the lead etc are all due to lack of training. The barking, pulling washing off the line etc are classic symptoms of boredom. You bought a dog that needs a day job. Have a search on the term "barrier aggression" in relation to dogs. Chaining dogs ramps up their behaviour, it doesn't cure it. So many fatal dog attacks have been carried out by chained dogs that there is a movement in the USA to ban the practice.

BMP maybe what these dogs understand is "I'm not to toilet on the floorboards". Carpets and rugs however seem to have been categorised as "indoor grass". I'd assume no control on carpet and treat them as "untrained" around it for a while. If it makes you feel any better, Big Ted regards pot plants as "indoor trees". I don't have any and have to treat him as untrained around them. It's dead embarassing to have your dog cock his leg on a nice indoor pot plant. :p

I'd revert back to tried and true methods BMP - start taking them out and supervising their toileting again. Can you roll the rug up at night??

Frank do NOT buy this puppy. That pup has been on an IV for sure. You do not need to shave a dog to give an intramuscular injection. You shave a dog to find a vein. Vaccinations are intramuscular. Red eyes and tear stains spells eye problems. Retrievers definitely can have entropian. Not sure about ectropian. This is a cross of two breeds that can suffer from elbow and hip problems. You have no idea about what their parents health was like. Regardless of all of this, you will be lining the pockets of a pet shop and a back yard breeder. Either do your homework and buy a registered purebred retriever or go and save a nice crossbred from the pound or rescue. This puppy is heartache waiting to happen.

CavnRott: Annie's second post contained additional information CnR. Annie: It was this information which prompted me to suggest a behavioural consult. My view is that if the owner is sufficiently worried about the behaviour, a consult ain't a bad idea. It's not the worst thing in the world to be told that the behaviour is normal. On the other hand, if there IS a problem, the sooner it's dealt with, the better.

Three Not as often as I should. Currently I train the younger dog in agility 3 times a week (only one formal lesson) and do weavers every day. Yes. I tend to train and campaign with a specific goal and then take a break from training. Best I've ever managed was one sport per dog at the one time. Eg. two in obedience and one in agility. 9, 8 and three. The 9 year old is retired. The 8 year old I potter with. The 3 year old is the agility dog but the 8 year old will have some runs this year and I hope to get the two younger ones back into the obedience ring. I'd like more! That's why I tend to focus on one discipline at a time for each dog. All poodles - two minis one toy. They bore easily and don't like to be drilled. Their personalities are quite different. One is sensitive, one was timid and one is far more resilient.

Annie: You are interpeting his behaviour in human terms. He probably cracked up for the same reason he does it to you - he doesn't like being left alone. I would recommend Dr Debbie Calnon.. she's based around Frankston. If you do a search here on "Calnon" you should find her details. A google search would probably produce them too. No pawprints I dont' think you are cruel. However, I've seen plenty of dogs left in cars for 5 minutes that are still there half an hour later. Temps rise quickly. My advice was cautionary, not condemnatory. It certainly wasn't given to you.

No. Like all training tools it is how it is used that determines whether or not it is abusive. However, the requirement for a correction collar tells me this club may be somewhat old school. You may wish to find a club that use more positive motivational methods. Any club that won't allow a beagle to be trained using food needs a rethink.

How long do you work for? If your dog is forced at any time during the day to toilet in the house, you are undoing all the hard work you put in to getting him to go outside. If there any reason why you can't set up a safe spot for him outdoors?

Call a professional dog behaviouralist (if you say where you live we may be able to recommend someone). You need someone who can come in and see you and the dog at home to get a thorough understanding of what's going on. We can take guesses on the internet but its not a safe method of dealing with this. That said, iIt sounds to me like your pup may be suffering from separation anxiety. I think some behaviour modification and an investment in a crate will assist you to manage this. Buying another dog to solve problems with your first is risky. Your dog cannot cope with being alone because he's never learned to cope. A good behaviouralist can help you solve this. Humping your arm is more to do with dominance than sex. Following you from room to room is very common - dogs are a social animal after all. If you have not taken this pup to formal obedience classes, now would be a good time to start. If you've been leaving him in the car in the last few weeks, he's been at great risk of suffering from heat stress, whether your windows have been open or not. Don't do it.