missmoo

the food in the bowl stuff does work and if done properly will not make the problem worse. dogs need to learn that regardless of what they are eating their owners are allowed to take the food away and showing any signs of growling/aggression is unnacceptable. dogs live in our world not the other way round and thus are to live by our rules. by allowing a dog to have complete control over their food is asking for problems down track when the pup becomes an adult & is capable of inflicting serious damage. the bigger picture needs to be looked at here; what happens when the dogs owner has no choice but to remove food from the dog for unexpected reasons, if the dog has been allowed to exhibit growling/aggression or instead has never been approached while eating as a puppy the behaviour will most certainly escalate as an adult dog and is much harder and takes a lot longer to rectify.

small amounts of chocolate shouldn't be too much of a problem. dogs drink lots of water when they feel sick. the water helps to settle their tummy. it's when your dogs stops drinking you need to be worried. dogs will stop drinking when water no longer makes them feel better, then they start to vomit. chocolate can increase their heart rate which will make them thirsty. as always if you are concerned take pup to a vet or call th emergency animal centre in you area.

try Petflex (liquid glucosamine), and MSM powder. also try myofunctional therapy and acupuncture. my girl (R.I.P) had these things and it made her last couple of years a lot more comfortable than it otherwise would have been. gentle exercise will also definately help.

beagles are prone to allergies. more and more dogs are developing contact and food allergies. try a doggy naturopath and have an allergy test done, this will tell you where you need to go from here. you can waste a lot of $$ trying different things by only guessing. quite a few dogs have contact allergies that are aggrevated by food allergies. feed your dog (if you aren't already) food that does not contain "fillers" or preservatives such as eagle pack or vets all natural. check you yard or walk area for plants like wandering jew, ensure pup has fresh clean water every day, also have a good flea/tick treatment ( i use garlic powder, it's natural, & it doesn't have any of the toxic stuff like the commercial brands do). good luck these types of things can be difficult to identify and control, but the more natural the treatment the better the outcome. medication can only help so far.

if you must feed canned food i would recommend Eagel Pack. They have a low fat version. Their foods don't have all the "fillers" the other foods do.

as you can see by the replies it depends on your dog. usually around 12 mths of age is fairly normal for a male entire dog. if Kaiser has been desexed he may never lift his leg or he may eventually lift his leg.

i would suggest taking your pup for an allergy test to determine exactly what the cause is. it is expensive but it will be worth it and you won't wasting hepas of $$ on stuff that doesn't work. I would also suggest taking your pup to a doggy naturopath. Food allergies are very common nowadays in dogs as well as contact allergies. It is possible your pup has a contact allergy that is being aggrevated by a mild food allergy. good luck

vrox, any resource or food guarding/growling at us is unnacceptable. Try this: when you feed your pup, have what you are going to feed her in your hand or bowl, put the pups food bowl on the ground with your pup. A little at a time place a small amount of food in her bowl. When she has finished and she is calm, give her a some more. Keep repeating until all her food is gone. Repeat this at every meal time for at least a week and you should see an improvment. Your pup will get the idea that you are where the food comes from. Occasionally feed your pup by hand from her bowl also. Things like bones, chicken necks, raw meats etc are high value foods to dogs and as such some breeds will guard them fiercely. This problem can be overcome with time and perserverance. The important thing to remember is not to give in to her growling as this will only reinforce her behaviour and make it worse. When you are confident and her behaviour has improved, give her a small item of food (dog biscuit, liver treat etc) and then take it back, then give it back to her. By taking the food away and giving it back to her you are teaching her that just because you remove her food does not mean you won't give it back. If this method does not work there are others you can try. But as previously mentioned you can make the situation worse if you are unsure of what you are doing.

winnie2007 have you checked for a medical reason? most dogs at 12 months should be able to hold on for about 6-8hours. you could try crate training her and letting her sleep in the crate at night. few dogs will mess where they sleep. you could then wake up and take her out to go to the toilet. another method is to "queue" her toileting. when you take her out to the toilet during the day have a command ie: wees etc. when she starts to do her business say the command and reward her for it, continue this at night as well. this can also be done if you crate train her as well. you need to make a big deal of the reward and praise so she gets it. changing your dogs eating time will not necessarily make any difference to toileting at night, instead make sure she goes to the toilet before you put her to bed. you may need to wait a while and be patient but it will help. one way to get your dog to tell you she needs to go is to have a bell attached to the door she would normally go out. have it at about chest height, when you open the door for her the bell will ring. with consistency your dog will understand the bell ringing means the door will open and she can go outside. she will in time ring the bell to alert you she wants to go out. good luck

Valby, Firstly I would start by having the crate on the ground and letting your pup investigate it. Put food just inside the door and also around it to get her interested. Also put a fave blanket and toy in there. Basically you want to teach her that the crate is a good thing. Patience is the key, don't expect to be able to put her in it for hours the first time round and not have a reaction. Start small and work your way up. The crate needs to be in the same room as members of the household when you are crate training her so she feels less anxious. Start by putting her in the crate for less than a minute. If you can, feed her some fave treats while she is in there and praise for quiet behaviour. If she immediately starts to whine, ignore her and when she is quiet praise her and let her out. Gradually she will get used to the crate. Leave the door open for her when you are home so if she goes in the crate voluntarily even partially reward her for it. Gradually build up the time she is in there, remember small increments, don't jump from 60 secs to 10 minutes, it's too much for your dog to handle. Until she is crate trained i would find an alternate place for her to sleep. Once she is happy to be in the crate then you can start putting her in there for sleeps. Try feeding her a bone or even a meal in the crate, this will keep her occupied and will also help her to recognise the crate as a good thing. Good luck!

I've been looking for these types of coats/rugs too. Hope someone can help cos I can't