fbaudry

I am trying to find a behaviourist vet in Sydney that other DOLers might be able to recommend. I had a name in mind (Kirsty Seksel) but nothing much came up when I googled her, and am wondering whether she is still practising or not. Ideally Sydney / Eastern suburbs but happy to travel for a good one... Feel free to PM me! Thanks

Hi Fozzie... got one of the busy buddy bouncy bones and must say it's been a winner with my cocker... However if your other lab is food possessive it might not work for you as these have little rawhide inserts (that are hard to get to and require the dog to chew on the nylabone bits for a long time) Dogs will find these dog toys easy to handle and tough. Provides entertainment for dogs. Designed to keep pets busy with good things to chew. Helps redirect potentially destructive chewing behaviour into positive playtime. The Bouncy Bone is a 3 in 1 toy, nylon bone, rubber ball & treats! The chewing experience lasts 10 times longer than rawhide alone. The Bouncy Bone™ is a durable nylon chew toy that that is loved by all dogs. The rubber ball in the center of the toy adds another layer of chewing fun. It’s a must-have for any dog! Available in 3 sizes small, medium and large. Replacement ring treats coming soon, but note it does come with 4 additional replacement treat rings.

I know it's probably allergy related in your case, but the fact that the tail was pretty popular made me think it could still be flea related... My own cocker (8 months now) has been scratching and biting for the past 4 months, our backyard is pretty much all hard surfaces and despite all the treatments (I have tried different brands of spot on treatments, bathe him in flea shampoo, vacuum regularly, wash all his bedding and spray them with flea repellent, he still has fleas I go through his fur, especially on his tummy, back end and legs and usually pick one every day (which makes me think there must be much more in the environment ) Suprisingly our indoor cat (white persian, so lots of grooming and really easy to spot flea droppings) has been hardly affected by them this year, when she used to be bearing the brunt of it.... Puppy blood is tastier?

enhanced or not, gorgeous pics as usual Mr Wilby! and Barkly is just sooooo scrumptious. He makes me want a blue roan too... how do you stop cockeritis?

shall i book DHL for tomorrow ?

He likes being in the house, and is inside with us most of the time when we're home. As I said before he doesn't bark for attention or in play, only if he hears another dog barking. That can be on the TV, radio or even us pretenting to bark. When we first got him he would start barking if one of us (or the other dog) coughed! He has now figured that we do not mean to bark and ignores this. However he still gets hyped us when he hears barking. He will run around, ears pricked and tail up and bark and completely ignore any outside stimulus (be it a loud noise or a physical correction). If he is on the leash, he'll start lunging, spinning and barking and nowadays I often end up grabbing him by the scruff and have him hanging in there if a barking dog walks past us for example. Sounds like I will have to find a professional

I can ship him to you if you're not keen on relocating loud noises do not snap him out of it... nothing seems to, I can have him hanging by the scruff and still carrying on

Thank you Nekhbet! I was really hoping you'd read this, I enjoy reading your posts 1) he is on limited register - I wanted to wait until he was fully grown to have him desexed (wait until his growth plates are closed) and was hoping that I wouldn't need to (desexed cockers tend to grow a woolly coat). I am not sure the hormones are responsible for his hyperactivity, as he seemed to be even worse as a 4 months old pup than now (he seems to be calming down a bit) 2) Dietwise he is at the moment on 70% commercial food (Royal Canin puppy medium size) - 30% raw (chicken wings, fruit, pulped veggies) I will probably switch him to 100% barf once he is fully grown but didn't want to mess up whilst he was still growing. I have been switching between different brands of commercial food (Nutrience, Origen before it was pulled out, RC) 3) I have been attending weekly general obedience training with him at pet resort (Steve Austin) and he's been sent as well to 2 weeks in house training with them. I try to do a bit of obedience with him every day (10 minutes morning and night), mostly heel / sit-stay / down-stay / recall. He is doing well at that, but if he hears a dog bark he seems to be "possessed" and I can't snap him out of it. No real advice from the training we've been attending re this issue, except the water squirting tip. I think I'm not very patient and he probably feeds on my pissed off state of mind when he barks, which only exacerbates the issue. 4) I would hope he doesn't think he is top dog.... I never had any issue with my other cocker (or any of my previous dogs for that matter) who's always been a dream to have around, placid, people orientated and focused. I make him sit and wait to be released by an "ok" before going through doors in and out of the house, as well as before eating, and he is not allowed on the furniture. I am thinking of starting obedience at the Manly training club this year (it is probably more structured, with different levels to go through), and maybe agility down the track... A newbie at all of this but thought it could be good fun 5) I like Cesar Millan too, and try my best to follow the exercise/discipline/affection routine, but obviously not doing a good job out of it... Attached are a few pics, there are more sitting somewhere in the cocker thread... Thanks again for replying! lots of work ahead for me...

shameless bump i'm sure someone out there can help!

OK, that's probably be done a thousand time but I couldn't find it in the old topics, and since I was very impressed by the advice given to Poochmad with her biting issue, I thought I'd post here I have had for 4 months now an 8 months old male cocker spaniel. Until I got him he was at the breeders and lived around other dogs in a kennel environment. Ever since I've had him he's been getting extremely excited at the sound of other dogs barking, and gets all hyped up and barks himself. I first thought that was a consequence from his upbringing (all dogs going off at once) and was hoping I'd be able to correct it, but I have failed miserably so far... He absolutely doesn't respond to verbal commands (neither a loud No, or AH AH, or anything else), so I can't even try and get him to do something else (like down, or sit) If he is on the leash, and the other dog barking is close by, it gets even worse, he'll throw himself in all directions, growl and won't respond to physical corrections (firm leash tugs or being grabbed by the scruff) If we are at an offleash park, he will take off in the direction of the dogs barking but will stop before getting to them and either come back, or sit and let the other dog sniff him. He is a bit unsure about other dogs at the moment, he can warm up to some and do zoomies, but most of the time he is not really interested. I should add that the "offending" dog doesn't need to be present, barking on TV is enough to set him off... He is an inside/outside dog, and gets one hour in the morning and one hour in the evening of walk on leash, short training session (sit/down/stay/heel) and free run/play at the park. He is otherwise not noisy (doesn't play bark or bark for attention) but is a really full on (read hyper) little dog who never seems to stop... Any advice from the experts will be very welcome

I do not know anything about this particular training camp, but can whole heartedly recommend petresort (Steve Austin) in Dural. They do conduct 14 days in house training, and then offer lifetime follow up and advice. Very gentle methods, and more importantly than anything, they do train YOU on what to do / what to expect and I found them really great, from my own personal experience. 99% of the issues stem from the owner, and they are very good at observing you and telling you what you do wrong. just my 2 cents...

The one I am thinking of is Ian Dunbar's Old tricks for New dog...

mmmmm.... no tips here, Archie has actually started doing it the other way around and will go from a sit/stay to a down/stay (especially after he's had a long run!!!) since we're on the training forum, could you share your tips on how you taught Jesie to say her prayers?

Maybe it's a cocker thing..... Olaf, my older one, has never been really interested in kongs (will toss and turn it to get kibble out, but wouldnt chew on it), and before getting Archie the puppy I bought quite a few baby kongs. Same story... he's happy to push them to get kibble out, but won't chew on them if there is something interesting stuck in them. Bottomline: I have got a nice collection of kongs stored away. They get their breakfast in treat balls and crunched up bottles (they're not chewers thus no risk with swallowing plastic), which are much cheaper and seem more fun for them. Nylabones are completely ignored by both my cockers. On the other hand, the busy bouncy bone that Luke recommended has been a real hit and Archie has really taken to his. Maybe it's a matter of time before he gets more interested in these anyway, at nine weeks he is still very young. Re chicken necks, I guess it's all down to his eating habits... Archie never had raw food until i got him and had not idea what chewing meant... he swallowed his first neck whole . It took me a while to teach him to chew on them, just by holding them for him....

Yes, I think this is about the price range to look at; I can recommend two I've used for my cocker in the Eastern suburbs: Dapper Dog in Maroubra (nothing flash or glamourous but I thought she did a good job) Dogs@play in Foveaux Street, Surry Hills (they run a doggy day care and also do grooming) Good luck!

OK this might be a very silly question, but does the format of these seminars allow participants to bring their own doggies? Loved his books and would be quite keen on listening to him for real.....

it might just be a case of her getting used to them; when I got my cocker pup, he was 4 months and had only ever eaten kibble. He loved his first chicken neck but the subsequent poos were pretty much like you described.... so we let him settle back with just kibble, then started introducing cooked chicken a little bit, then increase the amount of chicken and have it less and less cooked as time went by. He is now fine with raw chicken necks, raw mince, etc on top of his regular kibble. Hope this helps! PS where are the pics?

Congrats I'm sure Henschke and Sir Edmund will have a great time together!!!! Good luck with a soggy spaniel in the sandpit though (talking from experience )

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do you guys feel that all treatments work equally well? I never had so much trouble with fleas as this year, and Archie the puppy seems to be their favourite target. In the past my white persian used to be the primary victim (and it was quite easy to pick up on her!!!) but Archie seems to be suffering from them big time. He's getting a spot-on treatment every 2 weeks and a capstar almost every day and this seem to be doing nothing. And yes, the house is vacuumed regularly and I spray the carpeted areas with Fido's flea spray. I am at my wits ends...

He is teething so the desire to chew is going to be irrestistable It's not necessarily boredom. Dogs chew. Teething dogs chew a lot! I'd try some bitter apple spray on the door frames and get him some hide chews and some nylabones. Added: My dog LOVES this: http://dstore.com.au/pets/Busy-Buddy-Bounc...ge/2598834.html Our bouncy bone arrived on Friday and has been put to good use!!!! Of course Olaf is the one who got the most of it (smart cookie) but Archie has been quite happy to chew on it whilst watching TV with me (Weird weather this week end so we didn't spend as much time outdoors as we should have). I think he is a bit of a lazy chewer, as he is very enthusiastic with he "easy" ring (the one that crumbles quite easily) but gets bored with the hard one... We'll need more practice!!!! I thought I had all the toys in the world but obviously not! Luke, any other secrets you'd like to share?

Can't go wrong with good old Dunbar's methods! I swear by them (not just for house training) eventhough he is a bit extreme and can scara the s... out of you when he says: don't let one mistake happen, or it will be a huge stepback... Mistakes do happen and most of us can't be with our pups 24/7! but yes, crate training, ignore accidents, lots of praise for doing in the right spot, and watch your pup as much as you can! and don't forget to enjoy it when it's still a baby, they grow up soooo fast...

I have heard of soft teeth before... and being a show dog the last thing you want is for him to break one; that's why I would be weary of tying toys up a beam. I know of a dog whose owner used to tie his kongs in a crate to encourage the dog to go in by himself. All fine until the dog caught his tooth in the rope and broke it trying to pull free

Same here.... I wouldn't say mine are angels but Olaf (that we got as an adult rescue) never destroyed anything, and Archie (now 6 months old) is the same. I wish he would use his toys more when we're away as he seems to ignore them but he hasn't touched anything he shouldn't (except for 2 crappy plastic pots with dying plants!). Even when he was at the peak of his teething he was never really interested in nylabones, ropes and other chew toys. He would gnaw on them politely if I held them for him but would soon get bored. On the other hand he still spends hours on his soft toys but amazingly hasn't destroyed or even damaged any. Olaf's first soft toys have been used on a daily basis for close to 4 years now and are still intact (just need a good wash every now and then) I thought it was just the breed (they're meant to be soft mouthed) but obviously not, so I guess I should consider myself lucky in that regard!

Sorry I meant Archie doesn't chew plastic bottles; since Henschke does, I agree and wouldn't let him play with them unsupervised. Luke, you should be getting a commission on the Bouncy Bones sales..... You convinced me and I just ordered one! the number of toys we have is getting out of control :cool: