Stitch

Thanks TBD. I have tried the tossing the biscuit/toy things but he is a wake up to this ploy. This is a quirky terrier, notoriously difficult to train as their motivation really is different to most dogs. I have trained Dobes that will recall at a gallop and skid to a sit right in front of me...so different... and training methods can vary between terriers of the same breed but I can usually adapt. This dogs particular quirk means that he won't recall into the house in the mornings but midday and afternoons are OK. Evenings are like the mornings as he has twigged that I want him in as quickly as possible. I have obviously not disguised my body language well enough as he can pick the difference. Normally I can outthink a terrier because I know what motivates them and I use that to create wanted behaviours.....but I have an uphill battle with this guy. He obviously thinks too much!

I have a dog that will come to me when I call most times....although I admit it isn't a reliable recall. Regardless of how many times I go back to basics I can occasionally see the smile on his face that says....I'm not coming all the way to you when you want me to. That said, it isn't the problem that is really getting to me. The problem is getting him to come in the back door when I call him. He will stop just outside the door, again with a smile on his face, and say...I know what you want but I'm not going to come in. I have tried bribing with favourite food and/or toys, walking in and out on lead with rewards for correct behaviour. I need some fresh ideas for this one as I know it has turned into a game.

I looked at that link RP but again it isn't the simple design I remember. I am going to ask my father when I see him next if he can remember the contraption and hope his memory is having a good day!!

Yes Thistle. I was hoping to get some sort of plan for one if I can't buy one. My husband would be able to make it...eventually....but he isn't good at the fine detail...LOL!

Thanks for that but I am really wanting a durable long term solution. I am remembering one that my grandfather made for me out of wood a long time ago. My dog at the time would run back with the ball, put it in the container on one end then rush around to the other end, jump on the wooden foot pad and then chase the ball. Smart dog! Alternatively I could always launch the ball by stepping on the wooden foot pad.

I have seen these around, mainly for agility dogs. It is a wooden offset see saw where the ball goes on one end and you tread down on the other end which launches the ball. Does anyone know if they are available to buy or failing that, does anyone know what they are called so I can search the net for plans on how to make one? I have a wrist injury and can no longer throw the ball.

I have read on social media that some breeders are connecting the feeding of food containing flaxseed with lack of fertility or breeding problems in bitches. Has anyone here any experience with this? I am not a fan of flaxseed with my lot as it has aggravated the gut of several of mine but it is an ingredient is just about all of the dry dogfood and also prepared BARF. Even the Prime 100 Crocodile which I feed one of mine who has some protein intolerance has flaxseed in it.

I am looking for a balanced raw single source protein BARF based on lamb. Does anyone know if there is one available in Qld?? Failing that, rabbit or maybe goat. Would prefer not fish or kangaroo. All the well known brands are a mixture of commonly used protein sources which this dog is sensitive to unfortunately.

Thank you so much. That's perfect!!

Can someone please tell me the training sequence to reprogram a dog that has started to guard their food? I know the broad outline of it but I need the fine detail please.

That's good AL but I wonder why they state 10 days in their blurb?

Whilst some things may be similar the majority of symptoms are not present for EPI. Gut issues are very difficult to diagnose/treat accurately.

Hmmmm, there are obviously many factors to this problem. I will have to find out more details about the dog. Probably see owner next week so I will ask then.

Yes, having a vet here that could control it all would be better. Let me know how you get on!

Animallover I am presuming that you have to pay up front for the Nutriscan ie. before they send you the kit, is that correct? I note that for domestic customers in USA they say that they have to receive the sample within 10 days. I suppose this time frame would be the same with overseas customers. Is there a mail service that will definitely get it there in about 5 days just to be on the safe side? Also I read the envelope has to have the health certification on the outside. I wonder if the sample is rejected at the border if you get to try again with a new sample?? It just seems like a lot of money to fork out when problems can occur because we are overseas. Have you done it before OK?

We have progressed a little. She was on steamed chicken plus probiotics. Then progressed to BARF mixed in with it plus Protexin of a morning and a few chicken necks in the evening. It is the best she has been for a long while and I am increasing the amount of BARF as the days go by. Dry dogfood, regardless of brand, doesn't do good things for this dog. I now have a selection of dry food which my other dogs are working their way through! LOL I was going to send the saliva sample to Jean Dodds in USA however my vet says that there is a new company with a new method of testing from a blood sample. This includes many different foods, proteins, etc. as well as the usual things that they test for. I am waiting for her to get the test kit in which may be this week. It would be good if the test can be done in Australia. Forgot to say that the antibiotics made a big difference but didn't solve the whole problem.

Hmmm, I will have to ask her about that one. I didn't think about the surface but you are right, mine won't urinate on concrete either unless there is a really good smell on it....and yes it is a female. It follows that if the surface wasn't right then the dog may have developed this problem over time. I will ask.

A friends dog has an interesting problem. It doesn't want to urinate when it is at home but will urinate when it is on a walk. This is causing the dog to have ongoing UTI's as it is always licking itself so has been on multiple and ongoing courses of antibiotics. I don't know if there is more to it than that but I do know it has been to the vet frequently. I have always taught my dogs to urinate on command and so I was wondering if she was able to teach her dog to do this it might be a way for her dog to learn to urinate normally? My thoughts on it were that if she was consistent enough in teaching the dog to urinate when it was on a walk then maybe eventually she could teach it to urinate on command at home....then that might progress to it urinating at home by itself. Has anyone else heard of a dog that has behaved like this? and if you have, was anyone able to help?

I will give it a try. Currently I only let them out for a short time supervised as it has been so wet. I don't think it will be well received though!

By way of follow up.....Faecal sample revealed that she has a gram negative bacterial infection probably caused by something she has eaten when she visits our back paddock. I have seen her eating what I think is fox poos. How I go about preventing that in the future is going to be interesting as foxes can access our entire property even though it is dog fenced. She is now on a course of antibiotics. When she is finished them I will see if she still has a problem with dry food etc. and if she does I will get a Nutriscan test done. Thank you to everyone who helped with suggestions here. I really appreciate the support.

Thanks for the offer of the book Animallover. Very kind. I might take you up on that but I am still really hoping that the faecal sample will highlight something! Thanks for the link Boronia. I actually found them yesterday in my internet searching....looks like they are quite a distance away from us here....but will keep them in mind. Sooo hoping that tests show up something that is easily addressed but inwardly resigning myself to be disappointed. Fingers crossed!

Thanks. I agree with variety but I just wonder if it would be just one step too far in our devotion? Currently I spend more time cooking/shopping for the dogs than I do for us humans. If it were as simple as just defrosting frozen BARF then that's perfectly reasonable but in my case the BARF has additives that I don't want so I have to prepare the food for two dogs myself. I would be interested to hear your feedback on the book though. Maybe things can be adapted? I was thinking that a holistic vet could possibly be better than our old vet but I am not really wanting to muck around with a new vet at this stage. It would be too much like reinventing the wheel I think!