tdierikx

I had a Rotti once with Von Willebrands... and now I insist on a scrape test on all of my dogs before they have any surgery. Probably not the best indicator of actual Von Willebrands, but definitely lets the vets know if they need to use different anaesthetics for a bad clotting factor in the dog. T.

Is it bad of me to think of Cazstaff when I look at Annie? t.

We got an introduction letter too... and I'm still not convinced... T.

lokelani - have you tried putting some tinned sardines or mackerel in oil in Bosco's dinner? That can help with dry skin... and you don't need a lot of it... T.

So which of your dogs are going to the Royal Easter Show Tapua? And what day are they on? I have to go on Easter Sunday to see my friend's Weim compete, but could stretch to coming to see your lovely dogs on the day they are showing as well. T.

If the dog has issues with skateboards, I'm wondering whether it might be an idea to buy him a skateboard and see if he can learn that they aren't scary or in need of killing. Maybe just put one down in his house and let the dog have his way with it until he realises that it's not going to do him any harm. Worth a try? What I'd do is just put the skateboard down in a hall or room and then walk the dog into the room/hall, and see what he does when he sees a stationary skateboard. Let him sniff it, push it around, whatever. Don't push him near it or indicate that it's there, just see how he reacts to it being there and see how his curiosity at the "new thing" develops. Who knows, maybe the dog can be taught to ride a skateboard himself eventually... *grin* T.

Jelly - please just follow Nekhbet's advice re Roo, OK? Too many opinions here, and Nekh has actually been the only one to step up and physically give you help. The more trainers with different approaches you listen to, the more confused you and Roo will become. Nekh's advice hasn't steered you or Roo wrong yet, has it? It's taken some time fo Roo to get where she is right now, and it's going to take time to undo her learned behaviours - but I reckon you'll get there faster without involving different trainers with different methods. Give Nekh's advice some time, and I'm willing to bet that you will see the best results with Roo. Training Roo is as much about training you as it is about training her. T.

I've always found that training usually means training the human moreso than the dog. A trainer friend of mine told me once that a dog already knows how to sit, but YOU have to learn how to ask him/her to do it when YOU want him/her to. T.

Email the article to our council Katdogs... *grin* T.

I couldn't think of anything worse than not being able to have my dogs. T.

Cesar Milan has a lot to answer for... and not always in a good way. His TV show is edited heavily to show only his successes... we'll never know about the ones he couldn't "fix"... If you tried to apply his techniques with 2 of my dogs, you'd be bitten - badly. Being calm is a good thing... but try being assertive at your own risk. If you have no real clue about actual dog body language, then don't be promoting anything Cesar Milan to a novice... especially one with a large dog displaying the behaviours you are describing. T.

1. Do you have to feed tons of food or hardly anything in order to keep your dog at a decent weight? If you have to shovel food into the dog or its constantly hungry (yeah I know that's nearly all dogs all the time) I'd say the fat content of the diet needs tweaking up or down. I have 4 dogs, and have them all on the same brand of kibble - Nutro Adult Lamb and Rice Zeddy - 13 year old Rotti/Pittie mix, 28kgs - 2 cups once a day Trouble - 7 year old Lab, 28kgs - 2 cups once a day Pickles - 2 year old Camp Dog, 14 kgs - 2 cups once a day Harper - 5.5 month old Staffy/Dane mix, 24-25 kgs and growing - 2 cups three times a day Pickles is a very "busy" dog and has obvious sighthound somewhere in the mix - feeding her the same as the larger dogs keeps her weight and tone stable. She is also mobility challenged, and has to work harder to get around, so extra food helps even that all out and keeps her healthy. 2. Is your dog at the vets a fair bit for minor skin irritations, ear or other infections or hot spots? If so, I'd say that avoiding some types of food in the diet is worth trying. A lot of dogs are gluten intolerant and changing the diet can help with these issues. Nope - my vet "hates" me because they don't see my dogs often enough... *grin* 3. What's going on at the back end? Does your dog produce firm stools? Or are they large mounds of mousse like poo (see this quite a bit) and are they foul smelling? I'd say a diet that sees your dog produce masses of soft smelly stools on a regular basis isn't ideal. Lovely firm stools from all 4 dogs - not stinky or nasty... but Pickles will "supplement" her diet with things like bedding, so we get "interesting" things passing through on a regular basis. 4. Does your dog smell? Teeth, anal glands, general odour? Diet can be frequent cause of these issues and making sure that your dog gets a decent amount of tooth cleaning via its diet and a decent amount of fibre can help with some of these issues. Trouble, Pickles, and Harper have gorgeous white healthy looking teeth. Zeddy has always been prone to tartar build up (even when fed bones and the like at regular intervals), but when cleaned, none of the teeth are actually manky or damaged underneath - and she's the only one who actually chews every mouthful of food at every meal. None of my dogs have a "doggy" smell - and Pickles has never had a bath in her whole 2 years living with me. I'd be lucky to bother bathing any of my dogs even once a year - that only happens if they decide to roll in a mud puddle or something nasty. 5. Does your dog LIKE its food? Some dogs are just picky but what you feed should be enjoyed by the dog. If you're constantly having to spice up the main part of your dog's diet with additives, I'd say its time to try something else. All 4 of mine will happily eat anything put in front of them - no problems there. Thoughts?? Over the years I've fed my dogs pretty much everything from Pal/Pedigree, to the higher end premium kibble, to raw meaty bones, etc... maybe I've been lucky, but all bar one dog years ago have been just perfect (vet's opinion) on pretty much whatever they were fed. The one dog that wasn't was actually allergic to beef products, so we just eliminated beef products from her diet and all was fine. T.

Must have been bad aiming methinks... T.

Those inaccurate DNA tests available on the market could work in some dogs' favour with regards to stupid BSL methinks... T.

What a gorgeous looking dog... T.

Stevie taught him how to eat the spinach... it's not entirely his fault... *grin* T.

The eyes on Troy when they were trying to coax him out from under the bushes... pure trust... my eyes started leaking at that point... T.

Canterbury pound have advised that both Oscar and Lulu now have rescue... yay for Oscar and Lulu!!! T.

I love pics of your gorgeous boys with your fosters Rach... you can just see the dogs/pups thriving under their care. T.

We have a Malt/ShihTzu cross girl named Lulu that might fit the bill... she is tan/white and around 8 years old. Came to us debarked, so barking is no issue. She plays just great with dogs of all sizes and adores all humans. We haven't tested her with cats, but I don't think she's the personality type to chase them... and she doesn't climb fences or dig. Feel free to send your lovely lady our way Jane... *grin* T.

I reckon you have two very well behaved doglets there crickets... my dogs would have rolled in the dead fish, then eaten them... ewwww! As for the duck... well... I have a Labrador... nuff said... lol! T.

I've emailed the photos to the pound also so they can put them on their website if they like... T.

OK - Katdogs and I went over to Canterbury pound this morning, and got us some nicer pics of Oscar and Lulu. Oscar was a complete delight - he knows all of the basic obedience commands like sit, drop, etc, and he takes treats gently even though he hadn't had his breakfast yet. He walks very well on lead without any mad pulling too. We also took him over to meet one of the clinic cats, and he wasn't interested or fazed at being hissed at in the slightest. Walking him past the kitten cage also had him not interested in the slightest. Overall a very nice boy who really should be in a home not a pound. Pics of Oscar... Lulu certainly does not look or act her age - which is apparently 10! A very tail waggy friendly girl indeed. Not so good at the basic obedience as Oscar, but walks nicely on lead, and was convinced that a sit would get her a treat - so I think she is highly trainable... *grin* Took her over to the clinic cat, and she was interested, but he swiped her with his paw and hissed, and that convinced her that he wasn't something interesting at all... lol! Walked past the kitten cage with no reaction. Another gorgeous dog who would be great in a home rather than in a pound. Pics of Lulu... T.

OMG! She's totally gorgeous! T.

I suppose what is truly ironic about this particular case is that the guy was a Guide Dogs worker... his job is all about the provision of service dogs to blind people. A lapse in memory, judgement, or whatever is really not acceptable when you look at the larger picture here. While I understand that this guy is now going to have to live with the emotional fallout from his (in)actions, I really do think he may be in the wrong job if he can forget that a dog in his care is in the car - especially when he's parked in the carpark at his place of work - Guide Dogs WA no less... At the very least - if they don't sack him - then he should never be entrusted with another dog from the organisation. T.