Stitch

My puppies all go to puppy preschool at 12 weeks which is after their 2nd injection. Pups don't have full immunity but it is OK as long as you aren't taking the pup to areas that are used by possibly un-immunised dogs. So limited exposure at 12 weeks - full exposure after 16wk injection. It is important to socialise your dog just don't overdo it!

Have you tried giving the pup a raw chicken neck??? They are good to use to train them to chew.

As Nekhbet said, SPS!!! Too much affection rewards and not enough discipline! Very common in small white fluffies who have their humans wrapped around their little paw! Good book to read is Caesar Millans - Be a Good Pack Leader!

Put chicken in a saucepan and just cover it with water & boil for about 1/2hr on a very low heat. Then pull it apart and put it back in the juices, add some white rice and cook it for about 10 minutes or until the rice is soft.

I use linseed & white millet!

Fleas, mites or mosquitoes?? - does he have up to date protection? Allergies?? - perhaps it is his food or environment? Hot spots?? - perhaps it is a fungal infection?

When I was speaking to the people at Eukanuba the other week they said that chicken was usually what dogs were allergic to, if they were allergic. I feed BARF Rabbit to my girls and they are doing well.

You can get an anti fungal cream at the chemists. One that treats the likes of ringworm - and it will also work well on dogs. My Dobe got a bald patch several months ago in the really humid weather and it went away in about 3 weeks of treatment. In your case it may not be the problem but it worked for me and was much cheaper then going to the vet and getting the same cream from him.

It doesn't have to be edible for them to enjoy chewing it. I was having the same problem, as I don't feel happy about feeding piggy ears every day as they are 100% fat. I also feed raw chicken necks but they have to have a special place to chew them, not something I want in the loungeroom!! I have just bought a heap of hard rubber chew toys for my lot and they are from the Busy Buddy range from USA. One is called the 'Chuckle' as it makes a noise when shaken and you can also put dry dogfood inside each end if you want (I didn't) - this is the favourite, but the hard rubber chew bones are also popular. They are very sturdy toys! The thing with these I have found is it is way better to buy 'good' ones, not the cheapies in the discount stores which only last 5 minutes and who knows what they are made of! Forgot to say that my lot don't particularly like Kongs - I have a collection of them, and they don't hold their interest even if they have peanut butter inside them. I know every dog will be different but I have 5 that all feel the same way!

Do you feed out of a plastic dish or have a plastic dish as a water bowl?

Yes, some puppies can be very determined (in human terms). I used to say, just let them cry and they will get used to it. It is certainly still a method to use which will probably succeed in the long run. However, I am inclined now to think that the crying of a night time is just insecurity and that it can be better addressed by crating the pup next to your bed. The crate can always be gradually moved away over the ensuing weeks/months so it doesn't have to be a forever thing. You can put your hand down to reassure the pup if it gets insecure during the night and it can smell your presence. As long as the pup is happy to settle for that arrangement and you don't speak to it or excite/disturb it when it is in the crate, and you and everyone else gets a good night sleep, I don't see a problem.

I think you should approach your neighbours, if they are friendly, and just let them know you are working on the problem. First few nights should be the worst (hopefully). I presume you have given him a nice warm bed in a protected area?? You could also try giving him a bone or similar to chew as a going to bed treat. Also, don't play with him or stimulate him before bedtime. He should get into the routine but it will be difficult for him to go from nice warm inside house with company to cold, dark, lonely outside without company. He may be the type of dog that will settle down now - time will tell. Why don't you discuss it with the foster mum - she will know him best.

I was told by a vet once that Parvo is very long lived and can live in the soil for 10 or more years. Also, I know that vets use a particular type of antiseptic to clean off Parvo as the other disinfectants don't work. Perhaps you could phone your vet and ask him/her just to be on the safe side?

Jacques has learnt that it is OK to poo inside, he can so he does - simple as that!! If you want him to unlearn it then you have to restrict him from the area you don't want him to poo in so that he then learns it is OK to poo in another area. Dogs are pretty basic creatures and you have to resist the urge to humanise them by thinking they have an ulteria motive or that they think like a human. He isn't stubborn, he just doesn't understand and you have to reteach him!

She might be happier outside. You could always get her a nice warm dog coat, one with a chest covering in it and set up a really warm and cosy dog house???

I previously fed VAN mix to my dogs for years and resisted any suggestions to change. They did well on it, up to a point, all except my Dobe who had skin issues. I have since changed him to a prey diet and his skin and coat are soooooo much better. I have also changed my other dogs to Dr Billinghursts BARF diet (rabbit) and they love it better than VAN and are also doing better on it. I used to mix the VAN with minced chicken frames and other stuff but I found that some feeds the dogs just weren't that keen. They got occasional gut upsets and/or diahorrea. It could have been the minced chicken frames that were the cause of that, I always got it from a butcher but sometimes I think that butchers are not that fussed on the freshness of meat destined for pets. However, a VAN diet is better than a lot of other prepared/processed dog foods so you have to take that into consideration. The vet that owns VAN suggests that you mix it with kangaroo meat as it is the highest in Calcium. You will note that his prepared refrigerated VAN is always mixed with kangaroo mince. Personally I doubt that I would ever put the dogs back on VAN, especially as they rarely have any gut upsets now, are always looking for their dinners and any skin issues have settled down. I put the skin issues down to the high grain content in the VAN.

What about crate training or restricting her to an area that doesn't matter too much if she pees on it?

I don't have Goldens but I do get pups of 6mths old spayed occasionally. I do this before I rehome them. You don't want to breed with your girl and you don't want to have to put up with a bitch in season or let her have an unwanted litter so desexing is best. After the op. she will be a bit sore and sorry, so set up an area where she can sleep and rest undisturbed. You can't let her run around or jump as she may tear the stitches. My vet always provides pain relief the the first 24-48 hrs after the op. I have had bitches desexed without the pain relief. I know some vets don't give it but providing it definitely does make a big difference to their comfort. Humans always get pain relief so I don't see why a dog shouldn't. They feel pain just the same as us. Other than that, keep the wound clean and dry and get the stitches out in 10-14 days and its all over. Make sure you use a vet that you have confidence in and who does a lot of this kind of thing.

Don't go back when he is howling, as he is calling you back to let him out. Hard to ignore I know, but try to resist as it just encourages him to howl more, as you have found out. I haven't used one, but perhaps a water pistol, judiciously applied in certain circumstances may help. Otherwise, activities to help him get rid of the energy and as Aqua... has said and keep going with the dog training classes. You will work your way through this little setback so don't get frustrated. Chill and regroup!

Apples, pears are perfectly OK but NO SEEDS. It is the seeds or kernels that do the damage in most fruits!

Yelping is another way of distracting unwanted behaviour. It has been around for a long time and is supposed to replicate the vocalising another pup would do if being hurt during play. Some pups (like my lot) don't really care if they are hurting their litter mate, in fact they seem to positively delight in it!! If it works for you then use it - however when you need to distract when the dog gets older, your yelping may not be suitable. Perhaps try another sound.

With regard to the biting - either interrupt the behaviour or distract the behaviour so that the biting itself isn't acknowledged. Difficult to explain - very easy to demonstrate. Don't acknowledge the bad behaviour but reward the good or desireable behaviour. Similar thing with regard to the excited behaviour - expect calm behaviour and wait for it to occur before you pick the pup up (or whatever). Looking at the pup and showing it attention are all 'rewards' so the pup doesn't get a 'reward' until it exhibits the type of behaviour you are wanting. An example would be - if the dog was jumping up and down wanting you to pick it up. You just stand there, no talking, no touching, no eye contact and wait for it to settle, sit and look at you. When it does this, and it will if you wait long enough, you pick it up. You just have to initially have the patience to wait for the desired behaviour and the dog will learn very quickly. Hope this helps, feel free to ask questions if you don't understand.

You also have to restrict your pup/dog to only being in areas you either don't mind if they wee or you can watch so you can immediately take them outside if they look like weeing. You also have to take the dog outside regularly, as the others have said, so that you are thinking for him in regards to toileting. You can't give the dog free access to everywhere inside the house and expect accidents not to happen. Tying the dog on a lead to your belt is a good way of being in control so you can watch what they are doing or otherwise restricting them to a playpen, etc. There is no magic way of getting through to the dog that you want it to toilet outside, just training and reinforcement - avoidance of negative behaviour and rewarding of good behaviour. You have to be consistent.

I feed my pups the dry food mixed with boiled chicken and chicken juices (warmed) in the mornings. They absolutely love it that way but won't eat it dry. I feed BARF of an evening and withhold the water from about 5pm so I limit the volume of overnight mistakes.

Depends on the pup but I would think that a whole carcass would be too big at that age, so smash it up. You can mince it if you want to feed it mixed with veges. but if you want the dog to chew, then feed it broken up into several pieces that it can gets its mouth around.