jenz0r

i find purely positive training quite challenging with our pup, the bully breed in him makes him very stubborn and he pushes his naughtiness to the limits. our trainer says just to ignore, ignore, ignore when he's not doing what hes meant to.... but i find a correction here and there makes the training quicker and eaiser. i say do what works for you

FILTA-BAC is a thick, semi-drying sunscreen we use on our pups nose. it doesnt come off too easily and lasts quite a while. its also anti-bacterial a lot easier to use on pets than normal sunscreen due to its thick consistency!

thanks for the info Miss B! haha imagine having to demonstrate how it works, yuck!!!!

Hello, i gave our puppy his latest Advantix treatment on the weekend and it made me wonder how these treatments actually work.. do they coat the hair/skin or does the skin absorb it into the dog? how does the treatment work itself right around to the ears/nose of the dog? it seems magic that you can put it on the shoulders and the whole dog is covered? i checked the instructions but it doesnt say whether its ok to treat the dog after he has a bath and is dry, however it does say its still effective despite swimming/bathing? thanks for any info

ahh so i guess its taken orally? is it a natural sedative or similar?

pardon my ignorance, but what exactly is rescue remedy used for?

yes remember that if you're in a tick area you'll need a tick product too, if you use Sentinel. we give our pup an Interceptor every month, and an Advantix every 2 weeks and that covers the lil man :D

hehe that sounds like something i would do! did the vet say beetroot was ok for them to eat though?

thanks for the recipe puggy i will give it a shot!

oh thanks - i only steam them because i thought raw vegies might seize up the blender lol

I have started steaming then blending up some vegetable slush for my puppy but I've heard that some vegie's are not good for a dog's health (ie corn, broccoli, onion...) Can anyone pls recommend which vegies are ok to mash up into his food? Currently I'm just using a frozen bag of mixed beans, peas, carrot etc... thanks muchly!

that sounds like a horrible experience! maybe you could enquire at local vets and ask what the classes involve. our classes (not melb unfortunately) are great and the pups stay on lead on their mats the whole time, and at the end one at a time is allowed off lead for a 2 min walk/sniff around the vet clinic then goes back on lead. each week we learned different commands with food, and the trainer comes around to each owner/s to show you how to do it then you get practise time. you get to demonstrate to the class how well you learned it the next week! they also taught us about grooming, health, etc etc. hope you find a great class cos it really did help with our pup who is a handful at times

thanks Miranda - i think we will definitely look at getting some professional help from a behaviourist! i grew up in a family that always had dogs, dad is an obedience trainer at the local training club and mum was a vet so most facets of dog ownership im up to speed on - its just this dominance issue that is new to my partner and i. hopefully with some strong training it will abide..

i currently give my blue & white pup a little bit of colourmax black to help his nose gather its last bit of pigment in one spot and for his overall coat colour - only been on it for a couple of weeks so im not sure if it works yet but i will keep an eye on things :p i did however think his coat looked beautiful and lustrous when we were on our walk yesterday however that may be my biased loving eyes though heehee

hehe yes i knew he was going to be challenging but it seems he has gone absolutely mental overnight nearly! and what really annoys me is that he is an absolute SNUGGLEBUG at night when he's all tired out from being an irritating little menace! damn him! lol at this stage i havent read too much about training in depth, as he wasnt behaving too badly but i can see the need for it now! and off i go to read about the triangle of temptation you mentioned...! thanks!

bustam - he was 8 weeks so we've had him a month now i do try the big OUCH thing when he nips but he seems to be immune to that now - the only thing that gets him to stop is a little smack on the nose with an unopened letter from the letter box lol - strange but it works

thanks poodlefan :p yepp i am aware of the amstaff's history, i did a lot of research before we decided on the breed. ive owned and trained dogs all my life but this is the first big, non-spaniel dog we've had, and he is our only dog at the moment (previously we had sweet little Cavaliers!). When we picked him up the breeder did mention that it looked like he was turning out to be the dominant one in the litter bad luck huh! we are currently going through puppy classes at the moment. he is quite smart and trainable WHEN I HAVE HIS ATTENTION! (like 10 mins out of the hour - the rest he just wants to play with the other pups!) and i do plan to enroll him in obedience when he is 4 months. we are going to show him so no desexing as yet - if he turns out to be a dud show dog then we would definitely desex him! i am located in newcastle NSW and if anyone knows of a great trainer i wil look into it for sure! it looks like he is going to be a handful for us!

Hi all, My little male amstaff has just turned 12 weeks, and to put it nicely, has turned completely hyperactive, nippy and dominating. Can some of this be attributed to his teething? It seems that when he gets wound up in play-mode he just wants to nip everything that comes within eyesight. I am sure this is never intended as a malicious bite, because when he isnt in hyper-mode he is extremely cuddly and affectionate. He has also taken to chewing EVERYTHING in sight, his bed, shoes, the lounge... typical puppy behaviour but the nipping has got to stop! He has also started to play very rough, especially with dogs his size he seems to want to play-fight ...which usually turns into real agressive fights in a short span of time. We have a friend with a male doberman puppy and have had to ban them from playing together as our pup just gets so rough... Will he grow out of this stage and settle down? I have tried removing him and ignoring him when he gets nippy but its so hard when he gets a hold of my sleeve or pants and goes to town on it! and then he comes back for more and thinks its all a game when i push him away! its seem to have gotten worse in the last couple of weeks so any help or ideas would really be appreciated! many thanks Jen