Adele

$1 for a lamb shank is great!! Wish they were closer to me!

My dog is very food focussed so the Home Alone is really good for her. We made a few adjustments though because she couldn't get around the "tug" part of it so we lowered it and she stands on her hind legs to hit the ball with her front paws and we also turned our ball upside down so the hole was facing to the ground and it was easier to get the treats out. We don't leave it down all the time so when we do put it down she is really happy to use it.

After having multiple soft squeaky toys shredded I bought the tuffie octopus which is still a squeaker but is a lot harder for her to rip apart - evidence is that we still have it and there are no holes! Tuffie Octopus ETA: Sorry just read that your dog demolished your tuffie - do you know what rating it was on the "tuff" scale? I bought the one with eight legs for small to medium dogs but she still hasn't managed to get in and pull out the squeakers but I know there is one that is designed for bigger dogs that has five legs. The octopus is the only 'soft' toy that we have now, the other toys we have are more treat based toys such as kongs, buster cube, busy buddy bone and the home alone.

We have never let the dog get on the lounge or the bed so she doesn't really know what she is missing but she does have her own bed right beside the lounge which she loves. Her bed is her space and her comfort zone which she readily goes to but we can also ask her to go 'on your bed'. If you don't want the dog on the lounge at all I would suggest having somewhere they can lie themselves but are still close to you. We were recommended a halti when we first had our pup but I wanted to teach her not to pull not just stop her from pulling so we persisted with a collar and lead. We used the 'tree method' - when she pulled we didn't go anywhere, if she took a step back and there was slack in the lead we can begin walking again. You just need to be patient and consistent and the dog will eventually get the message.

Lots of great suggestions! Erny - will be giving the golf buggy an extra big hug tonight, she may just get jealous

Thank you to everyone's replies, it has renewed my enthusiasm in trying to help her. There are somethings I've put in the 'too hard basket' for now - such as going through the dog door but I'm definitely going to have a go with the golf clubs and hopefully put that into practice in other situations. This could be interesting! I'm also thinking of doing some basic agility work with her but will just have to wait until I get two more stamps to be in the required Level 3 class.

Thanks for the responses, unfortunately at this stage I'm not able to find out how the rest of the litter are so can't rule out anything genetic. Thank you for the suggestions Erny, she does know the word 'tug' so I'll continue to work on that to make it solid. The noises she reacts to are usually when we are away from home, she's fine with thunder/lightening and fireworks so I'm going to have to be prepared for when we are away! What happens though if the situation is like that for a few days? Thunder will eventually go away so you could do work with your dog during that time but what if the 'scary' thing is there for longer than that? This isn't a noise but for example when my partner brings his golf bag into the house the whole time they are in there she is wary of them and will rush past them. Just a question regarding leadership as well - whenever something scary does happen she looks at me for reassurance (I think) and will come and try and squash herself right by me. Is she thinking I'm the one who is going to save her from the scary thing or something else? I don't praise her for doing this, I try to ignore this behaviour. Thanks for your input as this is my first dog I'm new to all this!

I've been holding off writing this as I was hoping it was just a stage that Sooty was going through but now I'm not so sure Sorry for its length! To give you a bit of background - We first got Sooty when she was 12 weeks and I followed the puppy development calendar noting when she was going through her fear periods and I have been doing obedience classes with her for about a year which she is doing well in. She is now 15 months old and is our only dog. She loves other dogs and is not aggressive in any way towards other dogs or people but she gets incredibly timid when taken to new situations or there is something new in our house. She is not comfortable being away from home and if we are staying at another house (we take her away with us) just the scraping of a chair being pushed back will make her shoot across the room. She gets nervous about new things - such as a sofa and will slink around it and turns into jelly and paces if my husband or I leave her around other people (not strangers, my family!). She's really happy to meet people on the street but when someone comes into our house she becomes a bit stand-offish and very clingy. If there is a noise or something new I make sure I don't react to it and just go about business as normal. She is such a happy, friendly dog normally I hate to see her when she is all freaked out. Are there any exercises/lessons I can do to help her gain confidence? Or anyone who had a similar problem that overcame it?

I currently use Interceptor which is given every month. I have used Canimax before which is every 6-weeks but was talking to my mum the other day who inisists there is one that they used that protects for a lot longer than those. I think she might have got her facts wrong but any one know of a brand out there that does?

Does everyones dogs manage to get everything out of the kong? I think my dog must get to a certain point where she can't get it anymore, or she gets bored and leaves a little bit in there. Of course after lying in the sun on a hot day It puts me off putting any kind of meat in there!

Another one for WA: Giva Doga Bone Wanneroo Markets, Wangara They don't have a huge selection and it is mostly beef or lamb.

People seem to have differing opinions as to what exactly neutralisation is, just reading through this thread has made me curious and I'd like to find out more and read some things myself. Anyone have any recommendations of books, links, sites etc.. that I can have a look at?

The door is definately big enough - I've been through it a few times myself We have the flap up but it is when she bombs herself through she is hitting the side and it makes a noise. All she needs to do is step through it but she's leaping through it because she is so scared and it rattles. At the moment she is outside whining because she wants to be inside and she knows the only way in is through the scary door. Her outside is probably better for us because once she is inside there is no way she is going to use the dog door to take herself outside to go to the toilet at this stage. We put her breakfast inside where she could see it but that couldn't even lure her in I think tonight I'm going to bring out the 'big guns' and have yummy chicken to see if that can entice her. I feel so mean at the moment because she just wants to be in but I think patience and consistency is the key but I think it's going to be awhile!!

After spending last summer with the house flooded with flies and the air-con working half heartedly we decided to install a dog door much to our dog's dismay. She absolutely HATES it and refuses to go through it even though we don't have the flap down at the moment so it just is like a hole in the door - if she hits the side whilst going through it does make a bit of a noise which also has her terrified. We have tried coaxing her through, luring her with treats, putting her food on the other side but the only way she will go through is with a "little" push and her being 32kgs it's not an easy feat. I don't know if by forcing her to go through we are going to make it worse. Any one who has had a similar experience or any ideas would me MUCH appreciated!!

These are just my own thoughts can't say it is endorsed anywhere! I also have a 10 month old that loves putting her paw on you when sitting. I decided I needed a 'signal' from her to go outside for toilet and I chose this as her signal - putting her paw on you meant she wanted to go outside. It was pretty hard going at first because it felt like we were going outside ALL the time but it made her stop and think before she put her paw up and she has actually stopped doing it (and takes herself out to the toilet) So it actually didn't work as to how we thought but we don't get the paw up any more so I'm still happy

If you bought the DVD from an American site were you able to play it on your regular DVD player? I get a bit worried with the different regions and some not playing - wouldn't want to pay for shipping to find out it doesn't work!

Yes my pup had ears that did that and scared us for a little while because it did make her look a little 'dorky'. They eventually corrected themselves so they sit normal now.

I do that too!!!!!!!! It's as if his collar has slipped!!! That makes me laugh, I have this image of a person walking down the street all happy not realising they are just dragging around a lead with a collar attached!

I gave her a little bit tonight mixed in with her Advance and it went down well. I've been looking for so long for somewhere that stocks EP somewhat close to home, went to the shop for something else and was so excited when I saw it and I got the loyalty card too I think it means I have to get out more when I start getting excited about dog food!

I have been feeding my 4mth pup Advance Large Breed Puppy and have followed the recommendations on the side of the pack on how much to feed her - this was based on her ideal adult weight (and she's looking good so far). Today I bought Eagle Pack Holistic large breed puppy and was reading the recommendations (based on your pup's weight, I'm presuming it means the weight they are at now) and it seems like it is almost half of what we used to give her in Advance!? Does this sound right?

My pup has now hit 16 weeks and we have been out and about getting used to walking on the lead. At the moment whenever she pulls I stop and wait for her to let the lead become slack again before we move off - I am a "tree". We live in an area where there are lots of dogs being walked and any time we walk past or see another dog she pulls and pulls to try and reach them. Getting to the point of my post - where do I begin in getting her to the point where we can walk past/see another dog without going ga ga. Do I get her to sit and wait making sure attention is on me or is it best for us to keep walking. Any advice?

Thankyou for your replies! I am just going to have to be patient I guess and hope she will get the idea soon.

I have a 12 week old female American Bulldog that we have had for 2 weeks. She is mainly an outside dog during the day but is allowed inside when we are at home. She gets taken out (the exact same route) to go to the toilet when she is inside regularly. We have our toilet word for her and she has picked up on that really quickly and she gets a lot of praise when she does go outside BUT she continues to wee inside even when we leave the door open. She won't take herself out and she never asks to go out. Are we expecting too much from her and what can we do?!