RuralPug

Provided that every dog put the humans in the household first, I don't interfere too much as they sort out it between themselves unless I see obvious bullying (yes, it happens with dogs), or any attempt at resource guarding, in which case it is my job to separate and supervise and rehabilitate until the one creating problems has become secure enough and no longer exhibits that behaviour. Sometimes they will be adopted out to a single pet home before rehab is complete if I think it appropriate. Occasionally I will find a pair of dogs, especially two bitches, that are just plain incompatible and then I will have to trade one for another foster.

Judging from the pic, the coat is Silky-like. Not as much grooming needed as a similar maltese or bichon or poodle or shih tzu mix, silky types don't mat that easily. A good thorough comb once or twice a week will keep a Silky in good nick.Your groomer will need to occasionally clip back her ears and groin and that is about it. Pictures don't always tell the whole story, though. If she has been clipped right back in the past it can affect future coat growth. She will be a terrific size anyway, let us know how you go! P.S. even high drive small terriers can slow right down a bit as seniors!

So pleased that all the naughty grave robbers are home and recovering well. Commiserations to your budget, though.

Joining the Pudding vigil and sending lots of hugs to you, kirty, how incredibly stressful the whole thing must have been. So glad that two are home already. Come on Pudding, you can do it!

Bullbreedboy, I have no doubt that your dog's breeder has successfully raised many Bullmastiff puppies on a raw diet, but please do not fall into the trap of assuming that this is the only successful way to rear giant breed puppies. I personally know several giant breed breeders (Newfoundlands, Mastiffs, Great Danes all come to mind) that use commercial diets to raise their puppies, with no ill-effects. Many people do not understand raw feeding and for various reasons do not wish to raw feed. Although I mostly raw feed myself, I respect their decision and try to gently steer them in the direction of a reasonable quality kibble, and where a giant breed is involved, a speciality kibble which is already balanced to the specific needs without any stress whatever by the owner.

I am assuming that the doona is being used as a couch protector, could you try protecting the couch with a completely different old blanket or something, with the doona over this. When he starts to OCD with the doona, offer him a chew treat (cow hooves and deer antlers are great, non-smelly indoor chews) and REMOVE the doona to another room. I doubt that he would transfer the behaviour to the blanket or other cover underneath. The ankle chewing indicates to me that he has a tendency to OCD and that your method of distracting him at the beginning of an episode is helping, but you might want to consider having him assessed by a good behaviourist.

Well drooling in the car is a slight improvement from vomiting, so cheers for some progress there. You are going to have to experiment to find what floats her boat so that she focuses on you. It may be a tug toy, food treats, a ball, ear scritches, voice rewards, a flirt pole or a fluffy toy. Find out firstly at home what motivates her the most, then use that motivator in other places where there is mild distraction. Hopefully by the next training session you will have improved her focus.

I am not sure of the laws in your state, it might be an offence to rehome puppies and and kittens at that age and if so, you should report the woman to the RSPCA (WA) who can actually assist her and any remaining pups, they are not likely to prosecute if it is a once off. As soon as you can, get a SnugglePuppy (available online in many sites) so that the bub is not missing her littermates. There is plenty of info on Crate training here if you do a search. I don't think that her bladder will be developed enough to last all night, but if you arrange for a large crate with a bed nest in it as well as a toileting tray then she could be crated all night in that. Well done on having already had her vet checked. Rearing a giant breed puppy is very different nutrition wise and exercise wise to rearing other size puppies, care must be taken so that their joints grow at the right pace without stress. Search for as much information online as you can find on raising giant breed orphan puppies. A good quality large or giant breed puppy kibble is preferable to a standard puppy kibble. Lactose-free milk is just as good as puppy milk and goat's milk is even better. If you can get hold of a decent canine milk replacement formula (Di-Vetelact, Wombaroo, Animalac etc) it would be even better to soak the kibble in that. As long as pup is drinking sufficient quantities of milk, do not worry about water intake, just leave water available and when she is ready she will take it. Keep the puppy where she cannot annoy your Cav, or where the Cav can easily get away. So a large indoor crate and perhaps tether puppy to a family member for socialisation times. Also allow five or so minutes once or twice a day for the pup and your Cav to be supervised together, then he can help to teach puppy how she should behave with other dogs. Five minutes is not too long and he should survive that without too much stress. At four weeks, apart from nutrition questions, puppy is going to miss out on a LOT of learning experiences from her dam and littermates on correct behaviour and reaction to new stimuli - so it is your job to make sure that she gets as much of that learning as possible so that she can grow into a well-socialized, happy dog. Again, I urge you to research as much as you can on the subject of puppy socialisation and learning periods etc. Hopefully some DOLers can point you to some helpful web sites. It is a huge job you've taken on -best of luck and I hope you get more detailed advice from large breed experts here.

There are quite a lot of senior maltese crosses, toy poodle crosses and shih tzu crosses in rescue and I certainly don't class them as active as terriers and they can come (depending on the individual) with the bichon/poodle type wool which is low shedding. I haven't the time to go through pet rescue at the moment but the last time I looked for a similar type about a fortnight ago I found a dozen throughout Victoria without much effort - and in that instance they had to be cat friendly as well. So I would keep trawling through petrescue. Even if you contacted a few of the larger rescues (look for the ones that have a lot of entries for Vic adoptable dogs) and asked them to keep an eye out for you, you could easily luck into being introduced to the right dog before it is even advertised!

So it sounds to me that while she's working she is happy, but indoors or in the yard she is going to look for more happy which in her case is hunting - it is not unknown for a good stock dog to work well on sheep or cattle at home and yet chase and sometimes savage livestock on other properties (as you probably know) so to not let her hunt alone (even if it is just roos and bunnies) is essential. If the shock wire doesn't work ( it may not) then you need to think really hard about containing her. I would be devising some sort of double doorway system or securely fencing the areas immediately adjacent to the exits from the house so preventing the slipping out when someone holds the door open too long or etc. Use tough love with the run as well, perhaps a big juicy bone while she is in there will keep her happier. Best of luck and I do hope that the hot wires work.

I would start by rewarding calmness and being quiet, sitting for a pat etc. You will need to grow a treat bag on your hip if she is food motivated! You also need to cultivate the "cold shoulder" and "gasp! highly offended" body language to use IMMEDIATELY she does what you don't want - e.g. jumping up to greet you. Immediate withdrawal of attention for unwanted behaviour plus immediate reward for desired behaviour is what we want. TOT is the perfect way to introduce the idea of her pleasing you to get what pleases her, so go with that for sure. Then clicker training or instant voice marking of the correct behaviour (or baby steps toward correct behaviour) is probably one of the best ways to start the want to please mindset in an older untutored dog. To train her to walk quietly on a leash it may help to start with anti-pull Sporn Halter (since the halti isn't working.) A basic outline of some of the common positive training methods to achieve loose leash walking can be found here. If she pulls when she sees another dog, quick about face so that she doesn't get the reward of meeting the other dog. WARNING - it is very important that you don't give a damn bout what onlookers might think of you doing six foot circles walking the dog as the pull/aboutface>relax/aboutface>pull/about face cycle happens. You can always interrupt it with a sit and treat if you start to get dizzy...

Same here. I'm fine choosing registration names in advance, but when it comes to call names, I wait to meet them because if you land then with a name that doesn't suit their personality what happens is they usually end up being addressed as something completely different and usually unflattering... As a rescuer, I will often rename a dog or cat that has been stuck with a name that is either far too common or doesn't suit. If they don't respond to their name, I know they have probably been called "boofhead", "dingbat", "poopybum" or something similar instead. If they do respond to the name and I don't like it I will give them one that has the same strong vowel sounds and they are usually happy with that. (Of course, in the case of rescues the new owners may choose a new name anyway!)

Notes that T just called me impressively experienced ... elliedog, I agree that you take what you need from threads like this and I second those who suggest you get an experienced behaviourist/trainer in as well as just double checking the pup's health. I'm raising two and at times it does my head in (especially when I went to bed the other night to find one overly excited youngster had done a wee on my doona ...). I have a bitey boy who forgets all his training the moment he has a new smell to check out. He and his sister are currently sound asleep and I'm just letting them despite it being 7.30 and none of us having dinner yet. I haven't even walked or groomed them tonight. Such a bad owner ... Take a step back and a deep breath. Forget everything you've done already with this puppy and just start from scratch. For a while there I never took off my treat pouch. Every time something was done right, a big, 'Yes!' and treat. Get your family to do the same. There are some great resources online about crate training and mouthing and toilet training. Why don't you make a list of the the most important things, post it here and we can put together some resources for you to check out? Yes couldn't agree more!

Great post suziewong66! Your household won't be one of those where either the younger, more energetic dog is rehomed or the older gentle dog becomes ultra timid and unhappy or suddenly snaps one day and becomes aggressive causing a nasty incident - because you take notice of what is happening and accept the responsibility to keep things calm for both dogs. Well done! To the OP, I echo those who have said a crate or playpen for the baby puppy so that your older dog can have some peace. EFS

I love how you are adapting the toddler play equipment for puppies! It reminded me of this video - Malinois puppies I think and the incredible elaborate setup that is here to expose working puppies to all sorts of surfaces etc. I think we'd all like something like this, but it would need a Tattslotto win!

Car sick puppies sometimes will get better if their travelling arrangement is altered - for instance, if they are on a crate in the back seat, try and see if they do not get sick if in a (small) crate in the passenger footwell or anywhere else on the floor. That is somehow due to change in the nature of vibrations. Others may do better if they can see the horizon, which may mean raising their crate on a box or something so that they can see out of the window (not just sky) OR if they can already see the horizon and are sick, then perhaps cover their crate with a cloth so that they cannot see. That has something to do with neural processing of vision and perceived motion. Experiment a little, you might get lucky. She MIGHT grow out of it even if you take no action, but it's probably best to try different things in the hope that one will work so that she doesn't come to have a mental association that car ride = upset tummy.

Give her time. Try to keep the routine as normal as is possible. Dogs do grieve, but mostly they are creatures of the present moment so they accept the new order reasonably quickly as long as as too much is not changed at once.

That's great news. I'm wondering if you ever wanted to get a few more members would this group think about inviting some of the other small brachy breeds that live locally? I'm thinking Griffons, Affenpinschers, French Bulldogs, Pugs, Pekes, Tibetan Spaniels etc?

Of all your posts, this one raised the most red flags for me, especially the bit I have bolded. It does look as though this breeder doesn't really care where their puppies end up - so they are unlikely to be an ethical breeder, even if they are doing all the health tests and etc that their breed club recommends. I would never place a pup, nor adopt out a rescue to a person/family that I had met only once (or at least had had a trusted confederate meet if it was long-distance.) This breeder's attitude is coming across as though their puppies were products and not family members. Run, even if you lose your deposit. Depending upon the state you live in, they may HAVE to refund the deposit to you if there was nothing in writing.

I'm so glad that you found her!

Somebody has succumbed to the begging is my guess, maybe even a visitor that you didn't know was slipping her some yummy human foods? So the begging is just trying to repeat the magical handout...if you find it too hard to ignore her, then give her a time out if she begs for treats after she's been told no. If the begging stops getting rewards shw will stop doing it once she works out that it is no longer working. If there is resource guarding over the new pup ( the resource being you or whoever else is paying attention to the new pup, including the old girl) then a good behaviourist can teach you how to sort it out quickly. Really quickly if everyone in the household chips in! :)

i would actually think there could be an underlying medical problem given that her eating habits have changed as well as her behaviour - unless this hunger is only happening when the other dogs are eating or being offered food, in which case it is possibly resource guarding and you may need to discuss this with a behavourist. What area are you in MTS so that DOLers can recommend a behaviourist within reach?

At 12 months old, you have an adolescent dog of a headstrong breed and I honestly don't think that desexing by castration at this point is all that likely to modify his behavior. Obviously the same will apply to an implant and there are excellent reasons to not depress hormones (by implant or castration) until the final maturity has been attained. Vasectomy (which is my preferred sterilization option for large breed dogs) does not affect hormones whatsoever, so certainly will not have any effect on behaviour. I tend to agree with those who have said you need a new trainer, one who has some idea how to teach you to deal with headstrong breeds at this stage in their lives. If you really are stuck with that trainer for some reason, or really want to try one of the options, then I think the implant is the least damaging as it is short term. If there are any behavioural changes with the implant, and presuming that these changes are the ones that you actually want (not guaranteed) then you can always follow up with castration later.

If he won't chew bones, will he chew deer antlers or cow hooves? Both of those are hard enough to give the teeth and gums a decent workout. If not, then really brushing is probably your only option - remember that the gums are just as important as the tooth surfaces when trying to avoid dental decay and make sure that these are cleaned as well as the teeth. With regard to the elevated ALTs, I would be waiting to see what the antibiotics do before making any assumptions. If they clear up, all good, and i would schedule another senior blood panel in six months.