raffikki

Rhino is just on 6 months old and over the last 3 or 4 days he has started barking at his bowl as soon as he's finished eating. It's a playful bark, but pretty loud, and I've seen him crouched down with his tail wagging when I've gone out to him. It was sorta funny the first time he did it, but I didn't laugh or show any sort of emotion, just picked the bowl up as normal. He is continuing to do it every meal and I'm worried what the neighbours think at 6.15am I feed him outside and Electra inside, he gets fed first and by the time he's finished I'm usually inside with Electra so it takes me a minute or 2 to get out there to pick it up. Apart from staying out there with him and picking it up immediately, is there something I can do to deter his new obsession? I'm not sure if it relates to this.....but for a week or so, about a month ago, he was obsessed with his own pooh in pretty much the same way He'd do his business then jump around barking at it Luckily that did only last about a week!

I had a similar problem with Rhino. He's possibly got/had(?) mild separation anxiety As Nekhbet says, make his crate a safe zone for him. With Rhino I put him in his crate with a kong each time I go out, I don't make any fuss and now he's usually napping when I get back I also had problems with him screaming/talking when I got home but ignored him for at least 5 minutes/until he was quiet(at first it could be up to 20 minutes) and then didn't make any fuss when I let him out, didn't tell him how good he was, no pats, just calmly opened the crate and went on with what I had to do. Now he's so much better, just looks at me walk past him and waits patiently/calmly

Hi undecided I recently had to crate one of my puppies because of an injury, with her I had to take her out every 2 hrs at night for the first few nights, and then cut it back to only twice....about 3 hrs apart. she was 20+ weeks at this time. So it'd be before bed, at 9.30pm, then at midnight and again at 3am , then at 6am when I get up. Now she only needs 1 toilet break which I do around 2am and am slowly extending it by 10 minutes every night. Even then, she has a huge wee when she gets up at 6am I think some pups catch on quick and can manage to hold it, but others can't

Exhausted is how I've been feeling every second of every day 2, almost 6 month old, AST's needing to be separated and slowly reintroduced after an injury, trying to get them to "play nice and quietly" and not really having the set up for unsupervised time inside for things like toileting (or unsupervised together outside) I am hoping it does get better

Hi again harlosmummy There has only been one accident, at night, a couple of nights ago but I totally blame myself! She had a huge drink only an hour before we went to bed and I set my alarm too late I'm still getting up at 12.30am, 3.30am and 6am though She's out of the crate most of the day now, whole other story. Can't take my eyes off her or she's chewing pillows, jumping on the couch and doing zoomies, and she pees so often I swear she must have a bladder the size of a thimble! She has 2 more weeks of gentle exercise and then her & Rhino can finally play together Unfortunately because I have to keep them separate(except for night time when they're quiet), I have to be with her the whole time cause I haven't got anywhere safe and non destructible for her. She loves her cuddles at night by the heater They were actually snoozing like this , she only woke as I was taking the pic

My AST pup, Rhino, used to be unbearable in the car, he cried/"talked"/moaned every time. He did it cause he was excited too. I found going for drives, without actually going anywhere, has helped a fair bit. That way he doesn't expect anything exciting each time we set off. He has improved, still talks, but at a more acceptable volume than before :wink:

harlosmummy, the 3 dry nights were great, but I was up at midnight, 3am and again at 6am Harlo looks gorgeous (and cheeky), and I'm of the same opinion as you, can't really see any bull terrier in her, and to my untrained eye not much boxer either! It sounds like you had your hands full the last couple of weeks, I'm feeling pretty lucky, but still have a couple to go

Thanks poodlefan, the one she is wearing in the pics is new and I've only just started using it. I didn't even think of it to impact on her development. It's the first time I'd even seen a harness like it, the trainer/behaviourist that came over had them and told me it should help with her pulling on the lead when she's so excited. I am hoping she'll settle down quickly, and I'm working on that, and be back to just the flat collar. I will look at the ones you suggested as the last thing I want to do is hurt her

Hi harlosmummy :p Things are going pretty good, thanks for asking She has had dry nights since I last posted, so 3 nights There has been a couple of accidents during the day, but I blame myself for not getting to her in time. She is now allowed gentle exercise, so is out of the crate more, which is a whole other dilemma sometimes :D she is just so excited she sometimes loose control of herself, I call it feral, but she is getting better. I took these pics on Tuesday..... enjoying the sun outside :D watching the birds in the trees

Hi harlosmummy ;) It might sound mean, but I only take her out to change the bedding and take her outside again to see if she needs to go more then put her back in. I then wait for about 1/2 an hour before I take her out for cuddles/training etc I've just had my trainer/behaviorist over again to help with her over excitement & to teach me how to reintroduce the 2 of them calmly/safely. She thought it may be an affect form the Behave paste that I've been giving her. She suggested not giving it to her for a few days and seeing if anything changes(as well as hoping for an improvement once the vaginitis clears up) She is also going to ask a vet behaviorist about it to see if they can think of anything. It's really getting to me, I'm feeling bad for her for having even a short time in there on wet bedding, plus I am stressing it may become habit

Hi again Kirty I sure hope it is because of the vaginitis, she has just peed in her crate again after being outside for a good 10 minutes(and a pee) I am still worried that this may become ingrained that it's ok to pee where she sleeps though

Hi kirty It's is like an infection, just inside the vulva there was puss like stuff and the vet said that the area was inflamed/swollen. I am hoping that this is the reason for the troubles, and that everything gets better as it's treated, BUT she does sometimes seem to hold on and do a huge wee, then other times she goes and then soils her crate within 1/2 an hour

Hi pockets Her mobility is actually really good, but the vet doesn't want her doing anything until I take her back in on Thursday for him to check her and possibly do xrays. I still have to carrier her outside even though all she wants to do is run around, do zoomies and rough & tumble with my other pup! I have thought about putting a pen on her crate BUT for 1 it's in the lounge room(on carpet) and secondly I think all she may do is tear up the paper (in frustration & play)

Hi everyone I am currently having a problem with Electra and toileting She needs to be crated for at least another week because of a avulsion tibial crest(fracture) I have been taking her out to toilet every 1hr-1&1/2hrs, and most of the time she has a wee, BUT she is still weeing in the crate at least once a day. During the night I have been taking her out at 9pm, 1.30pm, 3am and 6am.....but again she still wees in the crate sometimes at night too I took her and a urine sample to the vet to have her checked for a UTI but he said it's all fine, though she does have vaginitis(sp?) and has given me Chlorhexidine scrub, to wash her outside 2-3 times a day, and Panolog ointment to put inside her vulva twice a day. The vet told me that it's normal for puppies of her age to wee every 2 hours, but from reading on here I see so many have pups that go through the night with no problems. I'm concerned that she is weeing in her bed(crate) and is not giving me any signals that she need to go Is there anything I can do to actually teach her to hold on? Does anyone have any ideas that may help?

Hi kman80 As a first time amstaff owner, with a pup on main, I had to tape Rhino's ears. It was surprisingly easy! I'm not sure how to glue their ears, I prefer tape cause it's easier to apply and remove. You can have a look here for instructions & pics. If you pop into the Amstaff thread here I'm sure someone will be able to advise you

Thanks tic To be honest I don't feel like I'm doing such a great job but I suppose it's only a short term thing and in another 6 or so months I will have forgotten how difficult it was.

Hi Shellectra What I thought was the halfway mark has now changed She had her stitches out yesterday and the vet said to keep her confined for another 2 weeks Hi harlosmummy I wish I could offer you some great advise, but just when I think things are going really good with us, something happens. Yesterday was a shocker with Electra peeing in the crate a number of times, even though I took her outside every hour She has also started a kind of cry/howl which is almost as heart breaking as the soft cry in the beginning :p One thing that does keep her occupied for a while is a kong with a tiny bit of Vegemite smeared around the inside. Her breeder suggested it, saying "vegimite lasts longer because they cant eat a lot as once because it tastes feral lol but they cant resist the smell so they keep licking at it(just make sure u offer water after they have had the kongs)"

Hi Aziah Yeah, I saw her go, she'd not really allowed to move around too much so I have to carrier her to toilet and bring her back in side. I think she's still learning to hold on and then let it all out in one hit, and I'm learning her signals at the same time Today has been so much better I have emailed with her breeder and she suggested removing the bedding when I give her treats to chew as she might have been smelling the food stuff on it. It also makes it easier for her to get hold of the chews too. I'm kicking myself that I hadn't thought of that before now As well as removing her bedding, I found a baby back tooth in her crate when I was cleaning it out this morning, so I'm thinking maybe that also had something to do with her behavior. When she was digging she was also rubbing her face into the bedding.

I probably should have put the roll eyes emotion thingy next to what the vet said...I too believe she could hurt herself! I gave her 1ml this morning of the BEHAVE paste, I'm not sure how long it takes to "kick" in, but from what the vet said I should give it to her every 24hrs I'm going to have to insist. I just took her outside to toilet after dinner, over the past week she's ben really good, not distracted at all. Wees as soon as I put her down, then poohs when I take her to her "special place" for them. Tonight she was all over the place and I was struggling to keep her quiet. She was wanting to jump forward & up, pulling on the lead like a draft horse, and I couldn't even get her to toilet at all :rolleyes: Will be trying again in a few minutes.

Hi persephone I have no idea about a urinary infection, she doesn't seem to be peeing more, but will go every time I take her outside(which is every couple of hour)I will ask the vet about that on Thursday(or should I ring them tomorrow?) ETA: That was before last night & today. As I was replying she had another outburst and peed in the crate again. She'd only been out about 1/2 an hour before :D When I've taken her outside today she has been...the only way I can describe it, is like a toddler on speed, wanting to bolt, looking everywhere, but at me. :p I did ask for something to settle her, but the vet wouldn't give even mild sedatives to pups, but did give me BEHAVE paste saying that it MAY help. I told them about he digging, and that I was concerned she may hurt herself, but they said that she shouldn't be able to hurt herself in the crate :rolleyes: ETA again: I'm thinking of insisting the vet give me something, this behavior is only going to hurt her, like you say either physically or psychologically

Hi laffi I have been giving her raw hide chews, which she thoroughly enjoys, but after about 15-20 mins, she starts to get excited and the digging begins :D She is obviously feeling heaps better, but still needs complete rest for another week, so I'm trying to limit her energy. I haven't tried clicker training, with the normal training I use treats BUT it's getting harder and harder to get her to focus on me She seems distracted by the slightest thing, and ready to bolt(to do zoomies) if I should relax my hold on her. I'm really struggling at the moment and it seems to be getting harder

Hi again, things have sort of been worse today :D To begin with last night she started digging ferociously in her crate while we were all in the same room. It was about 40 minutes after dinner and she'd had a short training session(sit,lay,shake etc) she was seemingly settled for a nap and just burst into digging and tossing herself around in the crate, it went on for at least a full 5 mins and then she abruptly stopped, looked at us, and then peed (She had also toileted after dinner) Today, it seems every time I leave her alone she does the same digging. Just now, after being out the front for about 15 minutes(and having a wee) she went back in the crate and looked peaceful. I left the room and heard her start up, by the time I got back in there she was sitting to one side and I realized she'd soiled the crate I've been giving her the rescue remedy, a couple of drops every couple of hours, but I'm not sure how often I should be giving it to her and if it's doing any good I'm also wondering if having me around more, I have spent most the morning close by, is actually making it harder for her? Not off topic at all, and no, I wouldn't put her in a room away from everything. You aren't a distraction, you are a stimulation and really, she needs that while she's crated. You just have to put up with the crying etc Do you leave the TV or radio (talkback) on for her?

Well..the majority of yesterday afternoon went well, BUT about 40 minutes after her dinner(we were all in the same room, b/f, myself and Rhino. Rhino was snoozing peacefully and we were just watching TV.) she got super hyper and was tossing herself around the crate, digging in her bedding(and I mean really digging, with so much pent up energy) almost bouncing of the sides This went on for at a guess 5 minutes(but seemed so much longer) She stopped suddenly, looked straight at us and peed! I have no idea what set her off She'd been to the toilet and had done about 10 minutes worth of little training type things...like sit, lay, shake etc. Before the outburst she seemed sleepy and content. This morning she did the same thing, though not with as much vigor. When she's in this "state" there's no getting her attention, it's like she's possessed I have been giving her the rescue remedy, but am now thinking I should maybe try the BEHAVE paste the vet suggested?

Hi again Arty I'm glad you said that! I would really hate to need to shut her up somewhere by herself! When she's in the lounge room by herself, she has the TV on.

Hi rexiam, thanks She gets her stitches out on Thursday, so I'm hoping it'll make it easier for her, being able to chew stuff more easily. She loves to wrap her paws around the object she's chewing and at the moment I can only take off the collar when I can be with her cause she has shown great interest in the stitches Right now I think she's asleep All is quiet. I think the long wait/excitement at the vet tied her out. Rhino has gotten much better, now he only screams if I've been out, he's in his crate when I'm away, and when I get home he goes nuts! I totally ignore him until he's quiet for more than 10 minutes and then he's very good and settled. He's also getting really good when in the lounge room at night. Last night when Electra was stressing, he went up to her and gently licked her nose, and laid up against her crate to try and settle her