poodlefan

I agree KC - get to a vet ASAP.

Erny: I think there's both going on Erny. Annaz had the food in her hand (I think) when she asked the dog to sit. I've heard of dogs biting people as the food is being put down too. What ever is the cause of the behavioiur, Annaz remember that every time you give your dog an opportunity to bite you or to defend his food REINFORCES the behaviour because the dog is getting rewarded for it. Don't try any more remedial behavioural stuff yet. If you ignore your dog when he is growling then he may feel the need to escalate to biting to reinforce his message. Make the food a non-contentious issue until you get professional help. It goes without saying that if there are children in your home, your dog MUST be kept safely separate from them (and indeed any visitors etc) during meal time until this issue is addressed.

I agree with the advice about seeing a behavioural specialist. However, don't SEND him to a specialist - have one come to you. Only by assessing your dog in his home, wity you can a specialist see what is going on and prescribe a course of action to assist you. It will be up to you do undertake a course of training and management to deal wiht this issue. IMHO, a dog who is a resource guarder (which is what your dog is doing) can be managed but not cured. He is now a young adult dog and if you have not established clear leadership over him, he may have decided to take on the role of leader himself. You don't say whether you have taken your dog to formal training - this would be something to discuss with a specialist. You need to see someone with qualifications and experience. If you tell us where you live, we may be able to assist. There's nothing magical about Labradors - they are not all born happy, friendly obedient dogs. Like all breeds there's a range of temperaments in Labs.

PR: I don't know, is he itchy on the inside? Have to say, I like the B&W and Liver and white Pointers best, even though I know there's no good Pointer of a bad colour.

Awww - looks like a very stressed dog that one (NOT) Is there even a little bit of water left when you refill the shell? Maybe those poor dogs need a proper chlorinated pool to swim in.

I think we need a photo of this "icecream tummy". Perhaps you could try refilling the clamshell every day for a week and see if it makes any difference. It wouldn't take long for bacteria to bloom in unchlorinated water up there in FNQ.

Sorry PR. Yep, sounds like it ain't sun on your boy - the liver and white P's have pretty dark skin too don't they? How often do you refill the clam shell?

Ashanali - a few suggestions from left field. As your dogs are predominantly white, is there any chance they have either mild sunburn or some kind of skin reaction to the sun? Or, have they been swimming in a dam or other fresh water - one of my poodles gets a very nasty skin rash as a reaction to bacteria in river water. Seems to be the season for the itchies - FHR's Rogan and some of the DOL boxers look like they've got hives. 50/50 Lucas paw paw ointment and sorbelene is an old nappy rash treatment - helps with the bacterial issues and is very soothing.

My oldest boy gets an itchy red rash (not lumps) if he swims in the lake or river and I don't rinse him in tap water afterwards. The vet said its a reaction to the higher concentrations of bacteria in the river water - great.

Ah, yes the joys of a dominant dog. Young Darcy went through a "you're not the boss of me" period with dogs in his bulletproof teens... and displayed it by seeking opportunities to beat up small geriatric female dogs if he got the chance... charming....but not stupid. He deferred to larger dogs and males. Thank God we got past that - if you want to know about being shunned, try owning a "granny basher".

Aloveen would appear to be the DOL endorsed product for sensitive skin - its won the most votes on recent threads on this topic.

I agree with everyone's thoughts. I would add: The ability to make every class participant feel that they have progressed. Sometimes its hard for people when you've got a 'natural' in class that leaps ahead and they feel they are struggling. People need to know that it takes as long as it takes and that provided they practice and persevere ANY dog can be trained. Some just teach their handlers more than others. More than one tool in their tool box of training techniques. I find the best instructors are familiar with a wide range of training methods. While they may have a 'preferred' or 'normal' method of training - they can adopt other methods for a dog/handler team if necessary. Most importantly, the ability to recognise when a behavioural issue is beyond their level of expertise. Better to refer to an expert than compound a problem - and I've seen it done. :D

If you and your dog were made to feel out of place Rosebud then I'd say that the preschool teacher failed - explaining your dog's behaviour and character to the other participants should have been the teacher's responsiblity. Through understanding comes tolerance of dogs who are different to your own. I've seen someone with a very outgoing, boistrous pup be told it was "aggressive" - and this dog doesn't have an agro bone it his body. You are in the right place Rosebud. The main thing to remember is that your dog's dominance is not your "fault" - he is what he is. Your responsiblity is to learn to control it. You shouldn't feel embarassed - all the behind the hands chatter is generally from ignorant people who know absolutely nothing about dogs anyway. I know its not always fun having a dog with "challenging behaviour" but you'll learn a lot in learning to manage it. You'll get plenty of understanding from experienced dog people, many of whom have had very similar experiences to yours. :D If all else fails - consult an experienced canine behaviouralist. It will cost you but one on one time from someone who really knows what they are dealing with is worth every penny.

Lets get one thing straight - any decent puppy preschool makes very that all pups present enjoy themselves, regardless of what dogs and owners are present. Small or timid pups are not playthings for larger or bolder pups - and the person running the show should be controlling that. Place yourself in the shoes of that SWF owner and you may find some empathy for how they felt. Your dog sounds like it may well be dominant towards other dogs - the fact that you have trained him to be submissive to humans hasn't and probably wont affect that. He reacted adversely to being told that his humping was unacceptable to his 'victims'. You need to develop methods to control that behaviour by preventing it in the first place. What you need to do is socialise your dog with a wide range of dogs and teach him appropriate behaviour. Despite anything you may have been told, learning socialisation skills needs to continue for months for a pup and definitely right through adolesence as any concessions given to pups by older dogs will then cease. Puppy preschool is just the beginning. I'd suggest you join a quality dog training club in your area (Melbourne DOLers can help with suggestions) and do more training. That will provide opportunities for you and your dog to interact with other trained dogs - using dogs and people you don't know is fraught with risk. Humping other dogs is unacceptable - if other dogs are having trouble convincing him of that then the lesson needs to be reinforced by you. If he goes to hump - you need to stop it. You need to be able to control him to the extent that you can call him off if he tries it - he needs to learn "play nice or playtime is over".

Ah well, many people who've only been around trained dogs have no idea how much a pup needs to be taught. If you take over, gee you will learn so much with this dog - having to deal with a dog with issues is a real education and you'll be a better trainer for it. Those people who've never had a training challenge have no idea of how much effort and how much reward comes from working with such dogs..

Wyvern maybe its time to give hubby an ultimatum... get off your butt and start doing something with "your" dog or you'll be taking over. Its the puppy that's paying the price for his lack of action.

Oh no. What a tragedy. You must be devastated.

Dublin: None of that information was included in your first post Dublin... what would you prefer: experienced people to say nothing when they perceive your dog may be at risk or should they stick to the letter of your question? Geeze I do get tired of people who jump down the throats of those who are actually trying to be helpful. Cavs would have to be one of the most popular breeds with puppy millers so here's some unsolicited advice: if your new pup is not desexed, I suggest you attend to that as soon as possible. I am not judging your experience as a dog owner - I'm trying to prevent your new dog from being nicked.

Cazbear can you describe in more detail what happened between Charlie and Minty? Is Charlie flying at the pup unprovoked and attacking her (so she yelps in pain?). Has he actually drawn blood? Or are we looking at less than that. Does Charlie lunge at the pup when she approaches him - is he putting his mouth on her or really trying to take a piece out of her? I would NOT muzzle him - you are putting him in the situation where he cannot discipline the pup if she oversteps the mark. Keep him on lead if necessary or separate them.

I'm with Espinay.. Plush Puppy! The conditioning shampoo with aloe vera is gentle and doesn't dry the coat.

Placebo effect or not, it works for me. I have used it before things like job interviews and exams and it seemed to get the edge off my nerves. I'm with Bindo - it is great for when you wake up in the middle of the night and can't get back to sleep.

Espinay2 is the person who will hopefully respond to this Working Setters. Or you could PM her. I feed only once a day (all my dogs are adult) and I average two days of RMBs and one day of a BARF mix that's about 50% vegetable. That probably equates to about the amount of vegetable matter you're considering and my dogs are doing very well on it. I've fed raw for about 6 years. Many very experienced raw feeders feed far less vegetable matter than people newer to the diet. I'm pretty sure Espinay is one of them. Chicken carcasses from the basis of many large dogs raw diets. Most of my friends raw feed and those who have made the switch on adult dogs have all noted improvements in their dog's health - even if its just in coat and breath. I'd highly recommend you take the plunge - I wouldn't feed my dogs any other way. Edited to add - the only minced meat my dogs get is in their veggie mix. All other meat is fed on the bone. I think my dogs benefit from that from both a health and psychological perspective.

HeidiB, you asked if any of these issues could be genetic. I'm far from a Weim expert but my immediate reaction to these issues was to wonder if your vet had given Busta a thyroid check... Weims can be prone to thryroid issues and these can manifest as skin problems initially. What bloodwork has your vet done on her? I got this from the Weim Club of America's website for breed related health issues. If Busta's breeder isn't doing the right thing by you, I'd suggest you contact your State Weim club - or another state's if WA doesn't have one. Your best source of advice on breed specific health issues will be a knowledgeable Weim person. I think you are on the right track removing cereals from her diet... it should help with the ear issues at the very least.

Good for you. While you contemplate those beliefs, I suggest you contemplate the ethics of transferring them onto an animal who has no choice but to eat what you feed it, regardless of the nutritional or psychological benefits of the diet. Dogs gain great nutritional benefits from eating meat and seem to obtain great pleasure from chewing bones - why would you seek to deprive your dog of such nutrition and experiences because of your beliefs? Surely the best interests of the animal should dictate its diet, not its owner's interests or convenience? There's the ethical issue for me. ;) The BSE issue was created by feeding an unnatural food (meat) to vegetarian animals - you propose to do the reverse. There are no wild canine species that choose to eat a vegetarian diet. Canines supplement their diets with some vegetable matter but in the main they are carnivores. I don't believe that experimenting on your own or any pet is an appropriate method of establishing whether or not a vegetarian diet is a viable one. You might like to contemplate the ethics of such a course of action from a veterinary perspective. You want my honest advice? If you really want a vegetarian pet why not buy an animal that is naturally vegetarian? Surely that's what an ethical vegetarian would do. ;) I was a vegetarian for many years but still fed my dogs on a raw diet. My dogs are not philosophers and I didn't believe it appropriate or ethical to inflict my own views on them. They eat what nature intended them to eat. I hope you are upfront with breeders about your plans to feed a large breed pup a vegetarian diet. No breeder I know would willingly sell a pup to such a home. I fail to see how you can provide a dog with sufficient calcium unless it is obtained from animal sources. Expecting animals to behave or eat like humans for philosophical reasons anthropomorphises them. I don't find anything vaguely ethical about that.

Mrs Dog there are way more talented trainers out there than me. ;) FHR runs rings around me - she just doesn't post as much. Some of the Sydney clubs have great people. ;)