Stitch

Thanks for all your feedback. I will give it a week of trying what has been discussed and get back to you all. Deep breathing!!!

I will try to slow things down, perhaps I inadvertently taught this one the need for speed but on reflection I can't see that I did anything different than I usually do. IMO it was in her from the start. I started with a martingale collar on her but had to resort to a check chain as she was just all over the place and the pulling was getting uncontrollable. I tried to get her to slow down by just stopping and waiting for the lead to go loose but I could wait 5 minutes and she would still be pulling. Start up again and the pulling would continue, time and time again. Other pups have caught on to that one after about 30 seconds and ceased to pull. The check chain does get her respect but it also brings out the woofing. Tried the long lead & changing direction when she started to pull, with the same result.

Just quickly reading your responses I would say that this pup is more like what Corvus has written. She seems to like to bark just for the fun of it but on thinking about that, it can't be the case, it has to have been caused by something and may be to do with the speed she lives her life. That has to be a learned response to her need for things to happen quickly. She is extremely quick in all her movements, playing, etc. She does everything at 100mph. If I could only figure this one out I actually think she might be quick to learn - it is just figuring out how to teach her to make that breakthrough - it certainly isn't what I have been doing so I know I have to change my thinking. Where to start though, I have done sit over and over again, with food and also with voice reward which she really loves but I can't even get to first base with that, the penny just doesn't drop, and I have trained some hard heads over the years. Thanks Erny for your offer, I will get back to you on that! I am going to go back to square one and just work on the eye contact & reward any calm behaviour this coming week.

Hi Erny, I have difficulty in seeing exactly what it is that she wants on most occasions. Of course it is obvious if she is waiting to be fed, or waiting to go out a gate or door but just walking around in training I don't get it??? Can you throw around a few ideas in this area and maybe the penny will drop for me??? I think my utter frustration sometimes gets in the way but as I said I am now practicing deep breathing before it progresses to a full on headache!! Her mother does this woof but no where near as bad so I am inclined to think there is a certain hereditary component here as the pup started to do it very early and had not heard her mother do it at that stage. Thank god I have kept this line separate to my others although the overall temperament is very loving and extremely friendly. Its actually been very theraputic to talk about it here and I will be giving taking on board all advice.

Thanks for your responses, especially Addicted TD. I try very hard not to respond to her woofing. I call it woofing rather than barking because it is low pitched and is always done as an anticipation of something to come and directed at me. She is anticipating everything - something happening when she is walking on a lead, waiting for a door to open, or having to wait for her dinner, or having to wait to play ball. She anticipates getting a biscuit going to bed, so she gives me the hurry up. You get the idea!! This would be cute except she does it for everything, all day, every day, from the moment she gets up to the moment she goes to bed - so after a while it grates on my nerves - and I have to actively think calm thoughts. I have tried making her wait a little longer but the woofing just gets worse. I try to get her to sit but she just continues with the woofing in a sitting position. I will follow up on all those links you provided, so that will take me a bit of time to go through. In the meantime I will practice some deep breathing!!

I have a 5mth old girl, very difficult to train as she can't seem to concentrate on anything or anyone for more than 2 seconds if that!! A real challenge - however what is MOST irritating is that she is a talker. She woofs when any command is given in training, she woofs if things aren't happening quick enough for her, she woofs if she is corrected for doing something like jumping around, she woofs at other dogs to get them to react to her & play, in other words she woofs a great deal of the time. On the positive side she loves praise however what she is taught with positive rewards doesn't seem to stick as she forgets it very quickly. I am battling to get her to remember sit. If I didn't know better I would swear she had been dropped on her head at birth. I have trained a lot of dogs over the years but she would be the most difficult one I have ever had, she is just soooo dizzy!! Can anyone help??

Regardless of all the doom and negativity saying that your dog should have been socialised in the first 3 vital months, you can still improve your dogs social skills by taking it to dog training classes. The not liking men thing can be the result of just being raised by a woman and having little contact with men, as men walk and have different body language to women. As a breeder I have raised many puppies and can definitely state that temperaments are for the great part hereditary. I have seen many variations of temperament in just one litter and fears can manifest themselves in many different behaviours. The best way to introduce a dog to another person is to totally ignore the dog and just approach the person as you would if the dog wasn't there. By picking up the dog and making it submit to being patted, you are increasing the stress the dog may already be feeling. By ignoring its behaviours you are sending the message to the dog that there is nothing unusual happening and it doesn't have to feel uptight. If you take your dog to a good dog obedience club and go regularly you will find that your dog will definitely improve and they can also help you with any problems! Your motto should be - do not notice the bad behaviours but reward the good behaviours - plus don't pick the dog up all the time!

As well as getting your pup out into the world, definitely enrol in a good puppy preschool class ASAP. It really does work wonders for pups that are unsure of themselves - I have seen it time and time again, even with dogs that are really timid. I have found that puppy preschools that are run by CCCQ dog obedience clubs to be better than most vet run ones however I am sure that there are exceptions to this. And after that continue on with dog training classes.

Salt - ever seen a snail when you put salt on them??? Same effect!

I am definitely not an expert on kelp however I was told that there is a difference between brown kelp and plain seaweed in that the brown kelp was better. Who knows, but kelp is even recommended for cancer patients and those with immune system disorders.

There are very few 'studies' done on dogs unless there is money in it for someone eg. dogfood manufacturers and those with a vested interest in selling a product. I always quiz the specialist vets when my dogs have to go to one and I get told this time and time again. Don't hold your breath for anything other than anecdotal reports on how many dogs have broken their teeth on bones!! I do know, anecdotally, several cases of big dogs breaking their teeth on hard bones - I guess because they can produce quite a bit of force in their jaws.

No, you definitely should NOT feel guilty!!! Reason - what Poodlefan said!!!

I was told by the dental specialist vet that there is no way of preventing tartar build up on the back teeth other than cleaning them regularly with a toothbrush. This was a surprise to me as I always thought I would be able to keep the teeth looking good by feeding bones. He also said that gut and mouth bacteria does vary from dog to dog and it is that along with the tartar, which makes the bad breath. As far as the bones go, I was also told not to leave big hard (weight bearing) bones with the dog for long as they can break or wear down their teeth by gnawing on them. Only feed the bones that are from a non weight bearing part of the chicken or cow etc.

Thanks for your replies. Back from the vets now and he thinks it is a reoccurance of the IBS. He had a good feel and said that there was a bit of gas in the bowel, probably from the Hills I/D but that was all. He said that once they start to vomit that it is important to try to stop the vomitting as the act of vomiting in turn makes the gut more upset. So she had another injection, this time not the stinging Buscopan but in its stead, a new drug that for nausea & vomiting (which interestingly is also the first drug available for treatment of car sickness in dogs) which apparently works much better. Gee I hope we are over the vomiting now! Another interesting fact was that he said that dogs of an apricot colour carry the gene which makes IBS much more prevalent.

My 7yo desexed girl started vomiting yesterday morning. She brought up the previous nights dinner almost in tact, which I was amazed that it hadn't started to break down. Anyway, she vomited 6 times during the day so I took her off to the vet at 5pm and he gave her a Buscopan injection and also an antibiotic injection because he could find no obvious reason for the vomiting other than her history of Irritable Bowl and stomach upsets. He said if it didn't settle down to bring her back again today. She vomited twice overnight and again this morning so I had to bring her with me to work and have booked her into a local vet as I can't get back to the original vet today as I won't get home until late. Has anyone got any experience with this type of problem?? Yesterdays vet took the temperature (normal), the dog is not depressed, the faeces sample under the microscope was OK, the abdomen palpation was good (she wasn't protecting the gut area). Any suggestions would be appreciated. ETA: She is on Hills I/D dry only and as far as I can see there is no diahorrea.

I wonder if it has been a ant, spider or non-venomous snake bite that has got infected??? My Dobe had similar from sticking his nose where it wasn't wanted and also from a snake bite. I would be taking it to the vet though for a diagnosis.

At that age he is perfectly capable of holding on between the hours you specified. If it was me I would start as I mean to continue and I would feed about 5pm and withhold the water from about 6pm. Make sure he goes to the toilet before you put him to bed for the night.

Sometimes using Pentavite Childrens multivitamin drops or Nutradrops will be enough to give them that extra boost to get them eating again. I have found that if they are feeling down they sometimes need this to build them up a bit so they feel like eating again. It is worth a try!

I have got some Norwegian Kelp Powder which is supposed to have vitamins, minerals & trace elements, rather than just zinc. Do you think this will have enough zinc in it to be OK???

From reading this thread, one of the things that concerns me is the early desexing ie. prior to sale of pup at 8wks I don't know if this is law in other states but in Qld. it isn't - thank heavens!! In my opinion it is way to early to desex a pup as they need all their bits to develop normally. I would agree to compulsory desexing after 6mths of age for pets though.

Thanks for that Sandgrubber, unfortunately the link didn't work for me. Can you tell me where you get it??? Edited to add: It's OK I Googled it but I am not sure that is what I want. Can I give human Zinc tablets?? If so, what dose??

I have fed liquid seaweed supplement before but can't get it from my usual supplier. Is a zinc supplement available in anything other than seaweed (plus its doseage) ?? Also if you have used liquid seaweed supplement how much do you usually use per kg of dog?

Sorry for the delay in answering. Erny, the pup is very healthy, very active ie. bright eyed and exhibits no signs of colic, distension, or adverse reaction to palpation. The stools are normal and well formed. Urination is normal for the size and age. Pup was thoroughly vet checked at 6wks and 12 wks. So I am discounting, as much as I can, any obvious medical cause to the very light appetite. She is being run with her brother who is a BIG eater however I have started to feed them separately now in case there was any minor bullying - haven't see any though as they get on very well. I have started to feed her gravy beef/osso bucco and vege stew mixed in with the BARF and I must say it is looking promising as she loves it but to have two pups that are SOOOOOO different in appetite is disconcerting. Even so, her appetite is light but I am hopeful that if I continue this way her appetite may increase. I don't normally have to cater to individual pups to this extent however I feed what I have to, to get the pup to optimum condition. This pup will eat for a while and then just stop. The only minor thing I can pick up from watching her eat is that she doesn't want to gnaw,chew as much as others. Can't see any obvious reason for this ie. tonsils. Edited to add: Many thanks for the vitamin B recommendations. Those yeast flakes sound good Anniek, I will see if I can get some today.

Persephone - 1. No 2. No 3. No - not so I have noticed. Age - 3mths - Nothing out of the ordinary picked up at vet check last week.

I tried them a few years back for something else and was not impressed with the results ie. no improvement at all and I got to pay out lots of $$$$. I have an open mind about vitamins and herbal remedies but must admit that I haven't had much success with them.