poodlefan

It's that time of the year Moops - the pollen is rife and half our office has hayfever. I bought a herbal eyewash from Greenpet that seems to be helping Lily's eyes. We need some rain to take all the dust and pollen out of the air. ;)

I'm a raw feeder.

Big Ted did the whole "slap the water" swimming thing. I found taking him out of his depth and holding his rear end up by his tail got him sorted. Darcy is getting the hang of it via holding something in his mouth. Lil swims like a fish but isn't into it. I read one study of retrieving dogs that found the best swimmers used only their front legs but trailed their bag legs behind them, rather than lowering them.

I'm not sure what Lowenhart's thoughts will be on this but Tramissa if your Lowchen has pink skin, I'd recommend the 15# blade over the 30# The paler poodles with pink skin tend to be more sensitive to the blade and you can get clipper rash with anything closer than 15 (same goes for the boys "jewels" :D )

Awww Crap. Sorry to hear about Mousie Warley. Take comfort in the fact that you gave him every chance. RIP little guy. :D I know a cranky old cat up at the bridge there that you can have a lot of fun annoying. He will give as good as he gets but never use his claws.

OK, I'd recommend you rename this post or start a new one called "How to Groom a Lowchen" so any pro groomers or Lowchen breeders can spot it. Have a read of the topics here on clippers and you'll see a few recommended brands come up time and again. Most people seem to use Wahl, Andis or Oster. I have Wahl's and Andis and prefer Andis but you need to have the clippers in your hand to make up your mind. Are we talking about show grooming or a pet clip - that will determine the blades you need. A toe blade is a "nice to have" for clipping out feet because of its narrower width and I use one. However lots of people just use a normal width blade.

If you do a forum search on the terms "mouthing" and "bite inhibition" you will find a bunch of threads dealing with this issue.

Tramissa: What breed of dog have you got Tramissa - you'd be amazed how many step by step guides to grooming a particular breed are detailed with pics on the internet or in books.

Shoemonster: T I bet it's not to the skin all over though. One of mine has no poms but still has a top knot and scissored legs.

As I own three poodles, I do them myself. I own all the pro gear - grooming table, sand dryer (got a force one too), clippers, blades, scissors (straight and curved) etc. It would be a prohibitive cost to have them groomed properly by a professional and I do them more often than most people would have their dogs groomed. My laundry was also renovated with dog grooming in mind. I got lessons from a friend who's a poodle breeder (thanks JAG) and bought Shirley Kalstones "International Book of Poodle Grooming". The dogs looked a bit ordinary at first but I got better. I do it properly using both clippers and scissors. VEHS: You'd have said the same about mine initially but I think I do OK now. I hate seeing poodles that have simply been clipped all over with a close blade or roughly scissored but it still beats a matted dog hands down.

I think you can carry the whole "Alpha" thing too far. Guide dogs are clearly in control much of the time but still work to direction. I think we all need to give dogs more credit for understanding how to deal with us than a simple "me Alpha, you Canine" relationship. Dogs know we ain't dogs. We can't be their "alpha" in dog pack terms. Our cross species relationship is different. Dogs respond to us the way we treat them. Treat them firm but fair and they'll respond with respect accordingly. Control what the dog values and the dog will value you. I've never bothered with the "through the door first" stuff provided my dogs didn't get in my way. They are allowed on the couch and sleep on the bed. They eat before I do because it suits my routine to do that. As Susan Clothier once said " the issue is not whether your dog is allowed on the couch but whether he'll get off it if you tell him to". I agree with some more dominant dogs that you may have to place firmer boundaries on what is acceptable behaviour and what isn't. However, I think the whole "alpha" concept which was based on observation of zoo wolves is too rigid to account for the complexity of dog to dog AND dog to human relationships. Wild wolves have a clear pack leader but who takes charge of things can vary according to the skills of individuals within the pack. My dogs often watch me do poo patrol and like to add to the collection while I"m out there. I don't view poo patrol as "degrading my status" and I don't think the dogs understand the concept of "degrading" anyway.

You don't need a big dog to have this problem.. my mini poodles can make it onto the kitchen benches with no problems. I have controlled the behavior by NEVER leaving food and dogs unattended in the same room. If you want to encourage a dog to do something more often, make sure its rewarding. To discourage, make sure it isn't or make it adversive. First rule - get the food/plates off the table before you leave the room. Always. No exceptions. No reward means the behaviour won't increase and should decrease. K9's mats will decrease the behaviour because the result of getting on the table will be unpleasant for the dog. Is this dog in obedience training? If not, get thee to a good club/trainer. Time to reinforce who's the leader in the household (that's meant to be you). If your dog is blowing you off now, its only going to get worse without changes.

I own both Wahl and Andis and far prefer Andis - easier in the hand and don't need the same servicing. The day my Andis Two-Speeds kark it I'll be going out to buy another pair.

Bikle: This would be a good time to introduce the "watch me" cue... or get him to look at you when you say his name and reward that... Why on earth would you clap??

Time to give your instructor a reality check - ask him/her to demonstrate the correct technique on your dog... hopefully they are taller than you. Step 2 - follow K9's advice.. but when you don't have access to a table just bend over... from the knees is good. I'm 175cm tall and my tallest dog is 36 - as I don't have arms like a gibbon, I have to bend to reward. I use my voice as much as possible but treats come from my hand as none of my dogs get the "catch the treat" thing.. it just hits them in the head and they snuffle around for it. I hear a lot of obedience judges/instructors of "traditional obedience breeds" getting into the small dog handlers for bending. Asking them to try cueing a small dog tends to stop those comments. If their dogs can have signals in front of their muzzles, then so can mine.

I found the website Mrs D!! They are called ribbon mates. http://www.theshabbygarden.com.au/ribbonma...m_what%20is.htm ETA: go to the shop and click on "Dogs" and you'll see the dog ones.

Mrs D some of my friends have bought these really natty ribbon hangers - I think they are advertised in the Canine Journal. In my house, the most recent ribbon is displayed on the fridge - the best of the rest hang on a pinboard in the study. I'm thinking about a ribbon hanger though.

Invest in a quality pair of dog nail clippers - you'll be clipping nails for a long time. For such a baby, maybe do just the very tips of the nails on one foot in a session... a couple of hours later do another foot. Reward the puppy - praise it when it is still and give it a treat when you are finished the foot. Making nail clipping a routine exercise will save you a lot of trouble down the track.

Can you describe the "aggresssion"? Is it possible that she's playing? Puppies and adults can growl, mouth and carry on like pork chops in play... has she drawn blood or made the other dogs yelp? What is the reaction of the other dogs to this behaviour? I'm not saying that it's not aggression but I've seen many a concerned puppy owner who didn't realise their pup was merely rough housing. Its how they learn bite inhibition - they over step the line and the other dog tells them off.

I'd be looking at changes to exercise routines above any other cause. If Kaos is not getting the same bowel stimulation (gee we discuss some lovely topics ) at the same time she used to, its going to change her toileting patterns. My guess is she used to get some kind of exercise after you finished work?? Trying to get her to eliminate last thing before bedtime may help.

Vanessa, I gather that Bailey's nose is all or partially pink? The tatooing is done as a cancer preventative - I know its quite common with cats, but I haven't heard of it on a dog before. A bit of TLC should prevent it becoming a mess after the op. As he will be under anaesthetic, he won't feel a thing. Hey, humans have it done every day - fully awake!!

Blue green algae, bacteria levels and pollution are issues to consider in fresh water. If it's not fit for humans to swim in, don't swim your dogs in it.

They seemed good quality when I tried them but were expensive and I found them difficult to separate without partially defrosting them. I prefer to make my own mix.

The answer to this question is quite simple. Do your homework and be realistic about how much effort you can put into your dogs diet. I'm a dyed in the wool BARFer. However, I'd rather see premium kibble and some RMBs fed over some of the half ar$sed home prepared diets some people try to suggest are balanced. I think its possible to raise a happy healthy dog on a variety of diets. I just happen to think raw is best.

Dogdude: I agree. We had a lady at our club who trained two Parson Russell Terriers to UD - now THAT's a Trainer!! I also recall someone in Victoria who put a CDX and a TD on a Pug...