LuvMyCav

Ohhhhh, what an absolute sweetheart. ;)

Charlie has his breakfast in either a bowl or kongs. His dinner is in a bowl too but his chicken neck is always in a ball or kong. It was suggested by his puppy class teacher, reinforced later at obedience classes and again later by an animal behaviourist that it is good to keep them stimulated and give them something to work at. By using the rubber ball for the chicken neck it stops him from wolfing it down without chewing (which is what he does when I've tried it).

I did that once and she couldn't get the darn thing out .. I couldn't stand the look of it and the smell and ended up chucking the whole thing out... (I cannot type with Noodle on my LAP ... she thinks she is a lap dog and she is fast growing out of theat lap stage!! ) anyway .. back to typing funny with Noodle's head in the crook of my right arm................................... ... it was the middle of summer and I had frozen the chicken neck inside the ball .. never again .. what a mess and she couldn't get it out anyway .. groan. I must say after a good run down at the park playing fetch, reinforcing obedience lessons, or just out on a walk with lots of mental stimulation or obedience days we resort to the bowl ... there is obviously some days where working for ones food is not required. This works well when there is noone at home and perhaps we are at school/work etc. The ball I use is a Kong Goodie Ball: http://www.amazon.com/Kong-Goodie-Ball-4-8...5/dp/B00009ZJ3A It has a star shaped opening at both ends so if I push it down a bit far and Charlie can't get it out (but he does keep working on it for quite a while so I think he enjoys the mental challenge), he waits at the back door with it at his feet (or sometimes sneaks in with it through the doggy door and leaves it at my feet ) so that I can help him to push it through from the other end. There's no way it can get stuck. If the neck is a bigger size and doesn't fit in the ball, I use a kong but if it gets stuck in there it's a little harder to get out but I push it through the small hole with a skewer.

That sounds great! Noodle must love that. I'm not so imaginative I'm afraid but I hide dry food around the garden sometimes whilst Charlie is in a "stay" and watching me. Then, when he's allowed to, he races off to try and remember all the hiding places. His daily frozen chicken neck is pushed down inside a rubber treat ball and takes him quite a while to get out. I like the idea of them having to "work" for the food.

Does she pee much during the night? If she isn't toileting during the night, then presumably she can hold it in when she needs to. I'm guessing you're not using a crate so that's something you could consider as she shouldn't toilet in the place that she sleeps.

Hi Luke, stunning photo of the very handsome Barkly. I can remember wondering when on earth the toe biting was going to stop. It did seem to go on for quite a while - maybe 10 weeks? At the time, though, it seemed forever. It is however, a time that you can use well. Reinforcing that biting is not acceptable is a great lesson for Barkley to take through his life. We were advised to make a loud yelp (whether the bite really hurt or not so that he understands that no teeth on skin is acceptable) and stand up, turn away, arms folded and completely ignore until he's calm. Gradually, he got the message. Someone told me once that they used vinegar. I don't exactly know how they did this but it was something about dipping their fingers in the vinegar so the pup didn't like the taste when it bit them. Anyway, perhaps you might like to try putting vinegar on your toes, lol. Feel free to ignore this advise but in case you're desperate I just thought I'd throw it out there, . Good luck.

What are you feeding her on? Some dry foods (I think Eukanuba may be one) make the dog more thirsty than other types - hence more piddle.

Oh my gosh, you must be exhausted. I'll bump this up in case anyone else can help. How do you manage about going out during the day and leaving her alone? Also, have you considered tiring her out more with play and training during the day?

There is loads of info on the net regarding crate training itself but as far as using it for night time goes, well, we put ours right beside our bed and on the first night we put our 8 week old pup in and closed the door, lights out, no fuss. After a few minutes our puppy started making whimpering noises so I reached down and put my fingers through the crate and made some soothing sounds. He settled down and has honestly never cried during the night since. I was prepared for lots of nights of crying but it just didn't happen. He had comfortable bedding and a soft toy (which he still sleeps with and now he's five years old). The first few nights I had to take him out to the toilet once a night when he woke and whimpered a bit and then it was straight back off to sleep. These days Charlie has some time with us on our bed whilst I'm reading or getting ready in the bathroom etc. (Sometimes I force myself to read a bit even if I'm tired just so he can have his time on the bed with us. ) and then he goes into his crate when it's time for lights out. On very rare occasions he'll make a very quiet scratch on the crate during the night which means he needs to go out to the toilet. I don't think the process would have been so easy if we'd postioned the crate elsewhere in the house. I had actually planned on moving the crate out of the bedroom when he was a little older but it never happened and I couldn't imagine not having Charlie sleep in our room now.

Yep just sounds like puppy play. Sort of "I'll get you, then you chase me" kind of thing.

You have gorgeous looking dogs Friday.

Do you mean that when you finish playing she's still growling, barking running away etc? If you do, then it sounds like she's just trying to keep the game going. Either way, it sounds to me like a play thing - like you'd see two dogs playing together - I don't think she's scared of you.

Agreed. You definitely don't want to give food during the night or you'll have both of them waking for food in the night on a regular basis. Toileting in the night should be done without any talking, playing, feeding - just wees and straight back to bed, no nonsense. If you make it worth their while getting up, they'll continue doing it. Eta: Making Friday's meals smaller should help to reduce her weight gradually and be careful to make sure you take into account whatever treats she's getting. eg more treats = less at mealtime.

"But obviously now maybe we need to consider letting him inside but its still taking a bit far as after 8 am he acts normal and still loves being in his back yard in the sun etc chasing birds hehe :D but yeah its always an option if no solution can be found." Maybe a doggy door so he could come and go?

Bless you Bronwyn. My heart goes out to you Greytmate. I'm certain that she would have thoroughly enjoyed her years with you. Hope your sadness heals soon. *Big hugs*

Avoid cleaning products with ammonia as they smell like urine to the dog (they will return to a urine-smelling spot to urinate). Good luck. ETA sorry I just re-read your post and you already knew that dogs return to the smelly areas. :D

You'll probably find that if you crate Maxo at night, he'll only need to toilet once or twice a night at the most. (Don't provide any water to drink at night in the crate). Will he be crated in your bedroom so you can hear when he needs to go out? You didn't mention where Friday usually sleeps. I wouldn't change her sleeping habits, if she sleeps in your room, I wouldn't move her.

OMG Harminee, I can't believe you've done that already and it's just perfect. Thank you soooooo much. I absolutely love it. I wish I had half your talent :p

Wow! Those signatures are amazing. Well, Harminee if you're not already completely bored of coming up with new signatures for people, I'd be so grateful for anything you could do for me. My teenage son and I have tried but failed :p Here of some photos of Charlie that you could choose from and use whatever works: With the words: My Boy Charlie - a heartbeat at my feet Please just say if you've had enough though. ;)