poodlefan

Ah, no. At least not for anything like a full body clip. Perhaps for a bit of ear/facial trimming they might be OK. From memory the Dr Harry ones are made by Breville, have a fixed blade and combs. Hard to keep clean and sharpen and limited in what they can do. Only person I know who bought them upgraded to "real" clippers shortly afterwards. You can pick up one speed Andis ones for not much more than that - changable blades etc.

I can't answer either. I feed BARF. The only mince my dogs see goes in their veggie mix.

I don't have a problem with a trainer having a high profile. Hell, if the average non-training dog owner picks up a few helpful hints, these folk can have all the profile they want. I DO have a problem when such trainers say "my methods are the only methods and all other methods stink". I can think of an extremely high profile natural horsemanship trainer who did just that. Gawd, it was like being in a cult around some of his more "motivated" accolytes. Amazing the amount of merchandise he managed to sell to them. If you have to put constantly put all other trainers down, you lose me. I prefer trainers who are happy to be judged by their results, not their PR machine and who can acknowledge that other trainers/methods might possibly have something to offer.

Petal 79: Good news. Just make sure that the "trainer" is actually qualified to assess a dog's temperament/issues. Not all obedience trainers have skills or qualifications in that area. Did the rescue you got him from do any temperament testing? If they did, what was their assessment of him?

Petal 79: Freezing in the manner you describe can sometimes be a precurser to an attack - treat it as a warning sign, not a sign that nothing is going to happen. Stillness in a situation like that is NOT good. Frankly my the hair on the back of my neck stood up as I read that. I don't think you should be complacent around this dog - spend the money and have someone who understands and deals with dog aggression assess him. Pulling him away in the manner you did can sometimes trigger an attack - much better to call him and get his focus on you. Until you know what you are dealing with, you simply cannot afford to be distracted and let other dogs get that close - thank your lucky stars there was no bloodshed. Incidentally, getting a dog to take the 'down' position in the presence of other dogs is asking him to take a posiiton in which he is quite vulnerable - I'd recommend against it. I hate to say this but is seem to me that you don't a real feel for this dog - get him assessed and save yourself some potential heartache.

I'd be quietly voicing my concerns to the instructor - any 'corrections' will be better received it he/she makes them. It shouldn't be up to you to police the behaviour of other class members.

Dogs have a natural inhibition about eliminating near where they eat or sleep. Give her a place she can go that isn't anywher near her food/water or crate. Dogs aren't stupid.. why would you want to go on slippery, non absorbent paper when you can go on nice soft carpet? You'd probably be better off taking her outside and letting her use the grass. If you don't want her to learn to eliminate on any magazine or book that's left on the floor, don't train her on paper. While she is learning you cannot take your eyes off her - constant vigilance is the only way to go. Take her to her toilet place when she wakes, after she eats, after she's played and if she looks 'sniffy'. Wait for her to 'produce' and praise her. It will speed the process if she's rewarded at the very minute she does the right thing.

Petal 79 Hard to say without seeing the dog and knowing what's causing the aggression. Aggression is tricky stuff, best left to experienced professionals to deal with. Is he agro only on lead, off lead? Lots of variables to factor in. That said, its not the way I'd recommend to deal with it. Until you can have the problem assessed by someone who knows what they are doing, you'd be better off avoiding interactions with other dogs - every time he growls at another dog, he's reinforcing his behaviour. I'd suggest you teach him a focus command and when there is another dog around - get his focus on you with a cue rather than tightening the lead. Most dogs will cue from a handler's anxiety when on or off lead and if you are worried, you might actually be encouraging the display. You can go to an obedience club pretty cheaply... certainly much more cheaply than private lessons. In the meantime, you might like to read the "Handling Onlead Aggression" at www.flyingdogpress.com (look in the free articles section).

Cactus: When she was growing, she needed calcium and phosphorus in the right combination in order to build bone herself. The only natural source of cal/phos in the right combination is... wait for it.... bone. This vet recommends feeding bone meal (ground bone) - as I said, you won't find a worse source of bone in terms of chemical pollutants because it comes from the oldest animals. You want YOUNG animal bone like lamb etc to avoid chemical contamination. I still reckon this vet is saying "dogs don't need to eat ANY bones" - why on earth is he advocating the use of rawhide chews - which have been known to choke many a dog.

I've used both Wahl and Andis 2 speed and way prefer the Andis - better fit in my hand.

Nah, nothing that sinister - just thought you were the OP. (Brain meltdown)

Sorry Puggles. If two thirds of a BARF diet is RMBs and this article says don't feed RMBs, how can it NOT be anti-BARF? I completely understand why many people choose not to feed a raw diet. However, articles like this don't assist people to reach an informed decision IMHO.

Puggles: Really? You don't think the following excerpts from the article are questioning the appropriateness of raw diets involving bones? The "uneducated" don't need my help to be confused. This article discussed the wrong type of bone and analyses its nutritional value in the absence of any attached meat, marrow, tendon etc. If you read this article you'd easily come to the conclusion that finely ground bone meal (known to come from the oldest animals) is the only appropriate bone material for a dogs diet and that rawhide chews (God help me) are far safer appropriate ways of keeping dogs teeth clean. And yet Puggles you don't view the article as "anti-BARF". Its conclusion is raw bones are BAD for dogs. I agree with specific type of bone he looks at but his conclusion is a GENERAL one.

Cactus: And if you read a little more on this site you will see the experienced BARFers say "buy the books and do your homework" before attempting to raw feed. "Raw meaty bones" are defined quite narrowly in Dr B's books. Dr B says that the kinds of "dinosaur" bones depicted in that article are bad for a number of reasons - they tend to be from older animals, they are too big and too hard, and they also tend to be the repository for chemicals used in agriculture. My beef with vets and BARF is that most quite rightly condemn half-a%$sed diets used by some people attempts to raw feed. However the concept of raw feeding should not be judged by some of the ridiculous diets people concoct without doing their homework. Feeding raw mince and pureed vegetables is not BARF feeding anymore than feeding "dinosaur bones" is. The USA is the birthplace of "feed kibble only" advocacy and not surprisingly canine dental work is the fastest growing area of many American veterinary practices. The upshot to any successful home made diet is research and effort. I just hate seeing BARF condemned by vets and others who judge it based on misinformation as to what is actually involved.

Feeding large not readily disgestable bones is not part of BARF feeding - those bones are termed 'recreational' and Billinghurst advises they be feed only in moderation. The only bones my dogs are fed are ones that they can eat entirely such as chicken wings/thighs and lamb flaps. If your dog is losing teeth eating bones I suggest you are feeding the wrong ones. Fresh turkey necks etc are still raw meaty bones. Just goes to show how readily some vets are prepared to condemn a raw diet when they haven't even understood what type of bone feeding is advocated.

I use Roseline and Jaguar - 8" straight and curved. My friend has a pair of Jaguar 10 inch curved that are great.

Inka: Same deal as a halti - its a management tool that's only as effective as the person using it. Without training in its proper use, you'll be back at square one. Dogs can pull as hard or harder on one as on a halti. I see dogs do it at my club all the time. Only decent, consistent training will give you a solution to the behavioural issues you face.

Myzska: It was a guide dog. Tris, not every stare is hostile, not every whispered comment is either. A pup in shopping centre is unusual and messing for some people is simply amusing. Ignore it - most people mean no harm. I think you may be a touch over sensitive about this. The pup doesn't care - and neither should you. You keeping your cool will assist her in such situations.

Head collars are a management tool. They won't teach your dog to walk well without pulling. TRAINING does that. I see dogs at my obedience club pulling on everything including head collars and sporn harnesses. The key is to train your dog. If you don't you'll still get hauled along - difference is a head collar will place a lot of strain on your dog's neck when he does pull.

Billlinghurst DID come up with a formula.. here it is on the BARFWORLD website: Any feeding formula is a guide only - dogs metabolisms, age and exercise regimes all affect how much food they need. Its never as easy as feed X cups of anything a day. I'd suggest if you didn't reduce her food intake to account for the lack of exercise that is the reason for the weight gain, not the type of diet she is given. The easiest way to know how much to feed a dog is to FEEL the dog.. .no ribs easily felt - feed less... ribs a bit too prominent or backbone becoming prominant feed more. Weight of food tells you nothing about its calorie content. If you are feeding a lot of fatty bones, then reduce the fat on them - perhaps change to a leaner meat. If your dog is an adult there is no requirement to feed her twice a day. I'd cut out one of the feeds (regardless of whether you feed BARF or kibble) and reduce her weight and then increase the one feed until she is maintaining her ideal weight. BARF does not put weight on a dog - how much you feed it does. Same goes for kibble. Your dog is simply being fed too much for the amount of exercise she does.

On average I do the poodles once every two weeks. They tend to get some or all them clipped, sometimes feet, face and tail, sometimes the "works". I had my laundry renovated and installed the largest stainless steel tub I could find, with a top quality veggie spray tap and a small tastic as well. Washing the smaller dogs at bench height is certainly more comfortable. Old show habits die hard - I use a soapless shampoo at the moment (does anyone else like Oakwood Shampoo) and a light oil rinse to condition the coat. I sure don't miss maintaining a poodle show coat - Palane my heart goes out to you - it was bad enough on a mini. Poodles - you get to wash em both before AND after every show.

Lustreaid is a very popular nice smelling spray used by groomers. A number of dog grooming product people make colognes. I have a Biogroom one (baby powder smelling one) that isn't bad. I only use it in emergencies - the dogs HATE it.

I've trained an extremely timid dog (ran away or shut down and refused to move) to her Novice Agility and Jumping Titles - and perhaps CD this year. I found agility did wonders for her confidence even though it took a very long time to build her confidence on the equipment. I found patience, consistency and no negative reinforcement worked wonders. Agility really changed that dog. If your dog is weak nerved it must have unflappable confidence in your leadership and total trust that you will keep it safe. You can build that by working hard on positive body language (even smiling looses your neck and shoulders) and by making the things that you wish to do in the ring "old hat". No "new" experience is a good experience for a weak nerved dog. You may never reach the absolute peak of competition but let me tell you that to take a dog who has zero confidence and build it up to the point of even a Novice title is both a rewarding and humbling experience. Never measure such a dog's performance against others but measure how far it has come and you will find satisfaction in training them.

WETJ: I would have to see your Lab but at my club, overweight dogs aren't permitted to do agility because of the additional strain their weight places on joints etc. You'd be asking for trouble and I doubt any responsible club would let you train. Responsible agility owners keep their dogs LEAN. You have to either reduce her calorie intake, increase her exercise or ideally both. You may find this article useful - but use boiled pumpkin instead of canned. http://www.caninesports.com/fatdogs.html How a dog "feels" is far more important than what it weighs. Muscle weighs more than fat and breeds vary in size so her actual weight doesn't reveal her true condition. The ideal exercise for an overweight dog is swimming if you can do that. I'd avoid the fetching for a while as sudden starts, stops and turns on an overweight dog can lead to torn cruciate ligaments.

Glad everything is fine. Better a false alarm than a dead puppy. Your dog's health and welfare shouldn't have to be negotiable. If your husband is going to quibble over bills, get pet health insurance.