luvsdogs

Tilba loves Chunkers. You get them at woollies & coles in the pet fridge. Out of 1 small meatball I can get 10-15 treats by taking a fingernail sized piece.

They know where the right place. My dogs do the same thing when it's hot & refuse to go outside.

That's why I choose pets with dark faces & noses. Very conscious of it with cats. Have known a couple of white cats that had their ears removed to cancer. April had a sore come up on her nose when she was about 3. I asked the vet if it could be sun cancer & she said unlikely at that age. It finally healed up after extensive treatment & eventually the little bit of pigment she had under the white hair on her nose spread with age & no more problems. Until then I always used sunscreen on her nose. Tilba only has a little pink patch under the white hair on her nose so hoping it will do the same. I think it would be a real problem with dogs etc that don't have any pigment around their eyes, only pink skin. Glad to hear there was nothing serious with her eye.

Me too.

I too used to always get my dogs spay/neutered at 6 mths old. Never had a dog on heat either that was until I did some research on the internet. I had decided to wait until Tilba had her 1st heat b4 spaying because of the reasons already given. Lucky for me she was 10 mths old. Not much trouble with the occasional spotting, she didn't have access to the carpet so easy to wipe up on the hard floors. It only seemed to be every other day for a couple of weeks. Didn't have male dogs hanging around, something my mother always told me would happen, & she didn't want to escape & find a mate. She was also happy to spend most of the time inside on her bed, only going outside for toilet breaks. I had also been told & read that if you want to take them out for walks to carry them to the car, drive to a secluded park for walks, drive home & carry inside, so as not to leave a trail for male dogs to follow. Although I didn't walk her for 4 weeks from onset of the spotting. Let me know if you want the links that I found while doing my research. ETA If you can't guarantee that she won't get pregnant because your yard isn't secure or you can't watch her I would get her done at 6 mths, but waiting is more beneficial for the larger breeds from what I've learned through research.

I think you are expecting too much in such a short time. I would get her used to a small collar 1st b4 attaching the lead. I had a lot of trouble getting April used to the lead. I eventually encouraged her like mad & rewarded when she made baby steps. Most dogs sit when teaching stand, because sit is usually the 1st thing taught. Lure her into the stand & reward the instant she's on all 4s'. You can gradually increase the time b4 rewarding. You want her to do it on her own without touching her or in the case of drop, don't push her into position. There are a number of ways to get them to drop. Either lure with food down to floor at her feet & out along the ground, or lure in front of feet & between her front legs under her chest with a wall behind her to help prevent standing. Or you can sit on the ground with one leg extended with the other knee slightly bent & lure her under your knee so she has to crouch to go under. I also read that you have taught her to beg, do you meat sit up/ sit pretty on hind legs? If this is the case I would not do this until she is 12 mths old. It puts too much strain on puppies backs & is no good for developing spines. She's very cute, & how quick has the time gone since you 1st were talking about getting her?

I don't think it matters what sort of whistle you use as long as you charge it up & always reward when the dog responds.

I'm glad to hear that you decided to wait.

I too have an itchy dog. Most of the time when I look at her shin there's nothing there but a few flakes of dandruff. I've been giving her apple cider vinegar in her food for a long time & recently cut it down to once or twice a week, it hasn't made much difference & cut it back after reading that it can have side effects. I really appreciate finding this thread & next time I go to the chemist will get some Alpha Kerri Oil to try. The vet told me to use omega oils on her food & bath in Aloveen which also had little effect. May be a few weeks but will get back with the results. I don't like to bath too often as this also makes her itchy even though I rinse well.

From what I read many years ago, you're on the right track. Once a male is neutered other males see them as female. Can't remember if it said to do with the lack of male smell once done.

Most vets would say that. Tilba was spayed 4 mths after her heat. The vet said it would be ok right after she had finished but I had heard you should wait until at least 2mths to allow everything to settle down to prevent haemorrhage.

I posted this on another forum. I use a food lure in my hand when teaching a new command. No words & the luring hand becomes the hand signal which the dog learns 1st. I add the cue word after a few repetitions. Some dogs take longer than others to learn lay down,or drop than others. They usually stand up. I try different methods ie start with the lure at dogs nose, then straight to the ground & out away from their legs. If that doesn't work same lure but this time take your hand between dogs legs towards the tummy. Being a doxie & low to the ground this may not work. It's usually hard to tell if they are dropped or still sitting. Have them sit with their rear end up against a wall to try & prevent them moving backwards. If all of those fail you can sit on the floor with your legs out in front with 1 knee slightly bent. Lure the dog under you leg with the food. You leave just enough clearance for the dog to have to crawl under your legs. Do this a few times then add the cue. If all else fails, each time you see Molly lying down on the floor tell her what she's doing so she starts to associate the word with what she's doing.

My obedience club used to have a demo team many years ago when I 1st started. I was never in it, but some weeks the chief instructor used to give us the exercises that they used. As shown in a couple of the videos there was the straight line with 1/2 & 1/2 facing the opposite direction doing a circle. The centre dogs doing very slow pace & up to an energetic normal pace. Another thing we did was to start heeling in a straight line & the outside 2 dogs were told to stand with the handlers keeping pace with the line. Eventually all dogs were on a stand in an arrow pattern, when the last dog was standing the line of handlers turned to face their dogs. Then the dogs were recalled in the order that they were left. We also used to heel in a straight line, following each other& heeling in a square pattern with left turns, with the front dog about turning & weaving through the line. Each dog had a turn & all returned to their original place.

After reading the links that I gave previously I would never buy a pup from a breeder that insisted on having the dog s/n b4 sexual maturity. Before getting my last dog I went to the RSPCA to see if they had any puppies available. They had a litter there that had been s/n the day b4 at 7 weeks old. I know why they do this now, because of ppl never bothering to bring puppies back to be done at the right age, in the case of a previous dog we got from them, which was 6 mths, we got him at 5.5 mths & took him back 2 weeks later for the op.

Thanks for the replies. I will have a proper look at Steve's site when I'm not so tired. I just didn't want to ruin another bc to harsh training methods.

I taught Tilba to heel 1st by stationary heel position with food lure, then on the move without a lead, only a couple of steps to start with. When starting to wean off food I still hold my hand/arm in the same position as I did when I had food. I then started with finishes both around the back & flip return. All with hand signals, first with & then without food. I'm not a trialler yet, so this has only had limited effect because I mostly practice in my driveway. She looses focus if I go into the yard. Although at the dog club she will stay with me for a very short time by using the same method, only on lead. With my previous bc it was all learnt with a check chain, jerk & pull, all it did was make her lag.

Well Sezy, I made the cookies & they were a hit with the whole family. I don't think I quite made the 100, but they sure lasted a long time. Look forward to making them again, only thing I found them a bit wet to make the balls. Had to keep flouring my hands.

I have 2 questions, is it all positive training? and how much does it cost?

I hadn't heard of this remedy b4 going on US forums. They always seen to give tinned pumpkin, not the pie type, for dogs with diarrhea & constipation. They seem to swear by it. I've never seen tinned pumpkin in Aus so I think if you boiled it up to be very soft & mash in with other food it couldn't hurt, I guess. Just thought of something else. My kitten once had a little blood in motion with diarrhea & vet prescribed sachets of a probiotic. It cost about, can't really remember, $2-$6 per sachet. I think it would also be ok to give the human one as the pet one was a lot stronger. Sorry can't think of the name atm but it's capsules & kept in the fridge.

just thought i'd mention that rolling over isn't necessarily submissive. We have a resource guarder and we were told by a behaviouralist that him rolling over was an attempt to get us to rub his belly( a passive dominant move). I heard that too at a recent conference. If he didn't give a warning growl 1st it's probably been beaten, for lack of a better word, out of him. I would find a good positive behaviourist to assess him. Tying up & muzzling can create frustration aggression.

As well as freezing kibble in ice cream containers try a few sardines. I too scatter the kibble around the yard when I'm going out. Takes there mind off you leaving. With the bottles, I'd not give them the lids & also take off the ring around the top to prevent choking. Also be careful with anything with stuffing. You can also get toys from garage sales/op shops like spinning tops & toy pianos & teach the dog touch.

I know what puppies are like, Tilba used to get into all sorts of things & there wasn't much in the yard to start with. Loved sticks, leaves, even had worries when she ate some grapes that my son had given his lorikeet which had fallen through the bottom of the cage. One time even after I had put her to bed in her crate she ate a hole in her bedding. It wasn't until I took her outside for a toilet break that I noticed that there was something wrong. She continually ate grass for about 30 mins then vomited up the remains of the bedding. :D

In fact back in the late 90's when I 1st heard Ian Billinghurst talk about raw feeding a poodle breeder was there telling us that one of her bitches used to eat raw chicken bones, regurgitate them for the puppies to eat. I would say that that is how dogs used to always feed their young.

He is just adorable. Can't wait to see more as he grows. Me being a cautious type I'd be very careful that he doesn't get into the pool yard without your knowing. Also I wouldn't be bathing him too much, it can dry out the skin & coat. Just my 2cents worth.

Previous pets I have had over the years have all been sp/neut at 6 m/o until I read this article. http://www.caninesports.com/SpayNeuter.html I had Tilba spayed at 14 mths, 4 mths after her 1st heat. Just prior to having her done I found this article. http://www.naiaonline.org/pdfs/LongTermHea...euterInDogs.pdf The only consideration used to be get them done b4 they reach sexual maturity. A dog got from the RSPCA in the mid 80's was 5.5 m/o & I was to take him back 2 weeks later so they could neuter him which we did. He used to squat & cock his leg.