Stitch

Its not the ear set ie. where the ear joins the head, but just the differing ways that the cartiliage is holding the ear. I agree with you Showdog - I guess that is why I have never glued an ear before, but I would hate to 'throw the baby out with the bathwater'! Do you think this kind of problem would be hereditary??? Edited to add, mum has perfect ears and I was really hoping that would be something that would be passed on, but it would appear that hasn't happened.

I have never had to glue ears before but now I have a promising pup that is sending semaphore messages with her ears and I am wondering if glueing will be the answer??? The breed has ears that just fold over half way up but she has one ear that folds over 3/4's of the way up and the other folds pretty much near the base. I realise that teething can effect ears but I have never had one this bad before - to glue or not to glue??? Has glueing worked for you? How long did you have to leave the ears glued for??? Would really appreciate your feedback guys!

Toads rarely if ever come out during the day so I am wondering how the pup finds them????? None of mine are allowed outside at night off the leish - it is just part of living in a cane toad area. They would certainly go for the toads if they saw them. My exercise yards are fully fenced with cyclone wire covered with avian wire so the toads can't get in and every now and then we go around at night with a torch and despatch every cane toad we see.

The dogfood manufacturers have their contact details on their products. Why don't you contact them???? They would be able to provide the definitive answer! Personally I wouldn't keep it in the refrigerator for longer than 2 days, but then I rarely feed tinned food.

Not knowing how he got to be a picky eater makes it difficult. You can often create a picky eater by changing the diet trying to find food that the dog will love to eat. Often I have found that just by feeding boiled chicken in chicken broth for a while and then gradually adding say Advance Puppy Rehydratable to it will work. Other times it is the boiled chicken broth warmed mixed in with Dr. Billinghursts BARF. It is often said that feeding these kind of dogs only once a day as much as they will eat is better than feeding small meals as it stretches their stomach. Feeding childrens Pentavite multivitamin drops will often help as it stimulates the appetite. I currently have a very light eater who has to be crated before she will eat much. In the crate she will eat heaps, and especially likes chicken necks - go figure! It can be a case of experimenting slowly with different foods and in my case environments, or it can be a case of just putting the food down for say 15 minutes and taking it away until the next feed time. I have a litter, 4 of whom are really big eaters, and 2 only light eaters - and as far as I can see there is no reason for it. The east/west front can be genetic or it can be dietary. It can be caused by the ulna and the radias growing at a different rate to each other, or weak carpal tunnel joints which bend inward, causing the feet to turn out. It may right itself or if you have seen it in the parents, probably not. I hope this helps as it can be very worrying when they don't eat well - and I think they know it too!!

I tried to get them but couldn't - are they still available?

I would take mine back without question - they are a breed that are easily rehomed - however I find it strange to think that someone would think that it is somehow the breeders legal responsibility to step in and take back a dog just because someone had 'tired' of having it or if they had changed their minds for whatever reason and they want the easy option out of owning a dog. Perhaps I am not understanding things here but I believe a breeder has a responsibility to do the best they can to produce a healthy and happy puppy/dog - I also believe that when someone buys a puppy it is a long term commitment and not to be taken lightly. When anyone buys a pup from me I go through as much as I possibly can prior to them getting the pup - the good, the bad and the ugly, so to speak. I do everything to ensure that my buyers are definitely buying with their eyes wide open!!! Genuine family changes in circumstances can't be foreseen but puppys and dogs are not a disposable commodity in my book!

Try boiling up a few chicken legs with enough water in a saucepan to cover the legs. Cook them slowly for 1 hour, pull all the meat off the bone (making sure you remove all the bone). That should given you enough meat and juices to last about 3-4 days. When you feed the dry, warm the juices and add enough juices to cover the dry food. If the dog will eat all the dry as well as the chicken pieces then you can feed the chicken at the same time (well mixed into the dry food). Otherwise, feed the chicken meat at a different time to the dry food. Warmed chicken juices will always work as long as the dog has not been overfed.

Thank you very much for all your replies. That's very interesting about the Qld bacteria being different or maybe just multiplying quicker because of the higher temperature - (but really with all the recent extreme temperatures in Adelaide, Melbourne & Sydney, Qld can't claim to be the hottest place in Australia) - but I know that higher temperatures do mean higher numbers of bacteria. I do use a finger toothbrush on her however I notice now that the old smell is coming back even though her teeth are clean. Aquadent sounds good Curlygirl, where do you get that??

I wondered about the apple cider vinegar, how much do you normally give per meal? Unfortunately she can't have raw all natural diet that my other dogs have. She used to have it and gradually had vomiting/diahorrea more and more as the years went by. Then I discovered she had this irritable bowel thing and by switching her over to the I/D diet she doesn't have any gut problems at all but it is a very strict diet with no deviations. I guess I would have to see if the apple cider vinegar upset her digestive system.

Anyone????

If you buy Dr Billinghursts BARF they give you a guide on the side of the box however you will probably have to adjust the quantity to get it exact for your pups needs. Gradually increase the amount of BARF you feed and decrease the old food. For a small dog you could start off with say 25% BARF, 75% old and adjust from there every day or so. As long as the dog/pup is not overweight, I give as much as they will eat.

I recently took one of my older girls to the specialist vet to have her teeth cleaned and she also had two front ones removed. He said that the facial hair staining around her mouth was caused by the type of bacteria she was producing and that this bacteria can vary from dog to dog. As she is a creamy colour the dark reddish/brown stain makes her face look dirty, not to mention the smell that can develop even though I clean her teeth. So, does anyone know if there is a way of introducing a different type of bacteria (maybe in the food) or failing that, something that will clean the discolouration as shampoo just doesn't do it??? She suffers from irritable bowel so she has to have Hills I/D on a permanent basis.

As others have previously said, it is hard to judge without seeing them in action but if it was me I would be initially concentrating on the Ridgeback. This being the biggest dog and the one that growled at you. Do you practice the 'leader' thing by always being the one that walks through the door/gate etc. first? Plus all the other leader things?? I agree that sometimes you have to give them alone time, if only for your own sanity however what you would hopefully be aiming at, was to be the alpha dog yourself and have your pack, which by the sound of it is what you now have, behaving themselves according to your rules so that you didn't have to separate them in order to get peace and quiet. So many little things that dogs pick up on - things that to us are not important but to them indicate that we are not giving strong leadership. A puppy that growled at an adult in a pack situation would be very quickly put in its place. All that being said they are still only puppies - but of course it is better to correct behaviours now, not later when they get some size to them. Good luck, I currently have a litter of 6 puppies of the same age so I am suffering too. It is not easy setting the ground rules but they are capable of understanding and learning. I am looking forward to next week when they go to their new homes.

The only real draw back is the toilet training. You don't want the pup to learn that it is OK to soil inside. Crate training is a really good option. You can have the crate in the childs bedroom and when the pup get old enough you can leave the crate door open of a nightime. If crate training is correctly done, pups have no problem sleeping in them and will often put themselves to bed in the crate when they get tired.

Who is supplying the discipline at this stage??? Puppys are no different to children and they need a well balanced and consistent 'leader'. If there is no leader (their mum used to be the leader) then they will do exactly what they like with little or no consequences with probably not what you may have in mind as the optimum outcome. Have you got them walking on a lead yet?? That's something you can start teaching around the backyard. You can also start teaching them little things like "sit". Do you give them separate, daily, training sessions. Training sessions only have to be 5-10 minutes but it puts you in the position of leader. As you have said you have given yourself more of a challenge by having two at the same time/age but now it is up to you to guide them. Start puppy preschool as soon as you can and continue on with weekly dog training classes and daily training. It is surprising how quickly puppys learn.

Of course you would only be using it to control fleas - so flea powder!

Over the years I have fed many and various premium dry dogfoods and I have determined what brands suit my dogs/puppies best. I have tried them on Eagle Pack, Nutro, Pedigree, Optimum, Supercoat, Hills, Eukanuba, Evo, etc. - yep pretty much all brands. I went back to feeding Advance dry to several recent litters I have come to the conclusion that it is probably the best overall. It is readily available when buying it, its puppy rehydratable & its next stage of puppy growth has been very well accepted by all my babies and the poos are usually well formed and are not terribly smelly. Having said this, I have always fed Dr. Billinghursts frozen Chicken BARF as well and when the little guys are old enough I also introduce Scottys Naturoll roll and cut down on the dry dogfood. It is the amount of salt in dry food that I am not keen on and how much water the dog has to drink to combat this. It is worth noting that if you are trying to train your pup/dog not to soil or wee overnight feeding dry dogfood can be a real pain. Because of the amount of water they want/need to drink after eating it, they have a lot of wee to get rid of plus the poos. An all natural food doesn't cause them to want to drink as much and the poos are much more acceptable.

Good heavens!!! Thanks guys for your answers .....And here was me thinking that 5 weeks was a long time - well, it is compared to my other girls who really started diminishing about the 4wk mark.....but then this girl did have the biggest litter so far. Maybe that has something to do with it?

I have a bitch who is still mildly discharging 5wks after whelping. From memory this is the longest I have had a bitch discharge for. Anyone else who has had this happen for such a long period???

Some of you guys are sooooo organised!!! Ellz in particular - I'm impressed! How much is a reader??

I have started to use Interceptor on my small babies. I used Heartguard plus for years but recently found it was not as good as Interceptor for roundworm. I also err on the side of caution and use separate treatments for heartworm and tapeworm. Call me old fashioned but they are all low grade poisons and I have not had any trouble using them separately.

A silly question I suppose but how do all you guys that have to get large litters microchipped now, know accurately which pup belongs to which microchip sticker after they have been microchipped when all the pups look the same?? So far I have only had to microchip small litters so it was easy but I have a large litter that will have to be microchipped in a few weeks and I am wondering how I am going to be able to sort them afterwards without mismatching the pup with the sticker???? I don't normally go in for neck bands as I have so far managed to differentiate pups by putting nailpolish on different coat sections. I don't think that is going to be the best method to use though. Look forward to your suggestions.

Yes Ellz, you are quite correct. Eliminating the dogs from the breeding lines is not enough. You have to also eliminate the females as well. I think that is why this problem continues, as not all breeders are aware of this or willing to sacrifice a nice bitch as it can't be detected in bitches.

As a breeder I am very much aware that if I don't make the hard decisions on certain aspects of confirmation or as in this case, testicles, then all I am doing is perpetuating a situation for future generations. So that means if I wait and the testicles come down (by some miracle) say at 3-4 months then there is a good probability that future generations will do the same or worse. If I have never been able to feel testicles in a pup and at 9weeks I still can't feel them, then I am thinking that if I keep the dog, his progeny will probably have the same or worse issues. It really is a difficult decision but one that I feel is necessary. I hope I am right!