Crest_Fallen

I hope you guys don't mind a stranger joining in too. I would like to add that it is not about the breed being the problem, it is really about whose hands they end up in. The comment about banning toddlers because they bite too made me laugh because it is so true.

I think the most important training to me is recalls - it is essential for the dog's safety. Of course the underlying philosophy is that the dog understands that I am the 'leader'.

I think being able to say that a puppy is house trained depends on the person's definition of 'house trained'. I consider a dog house trained when they are able to tell you of their own accord that they want to go outside to the toilet. My goldie goes to the back door and does a solitary 'woof' to let me know she needs to go (she was also taught to wee on command). My puppy is starting go to the backdoor to tell me he needs to go out too. If being housetrained means the puppy does wees and poos outside because I take him out often, then my puppy is largely housetrained too. It is a slow process to get them there and some dogs seem to take longer to connect the dots than others. but with consistency and perserverance they will get there.

I have heard that the smaller the dog, the harder they are to house train and I can say that my Goldie caught on to asking to go outside for wees much quicker than my chinese crested (and I agree it is very frustrating). I would think 10 days is also a bit extreme so I would have no hesitation in letting them outside in a fully enclosed back yard, but I would separate them from the other dog. I think I'll wait until my puppy is at least 1yo before I desex him, by then the house training should be quite embedded in his brain (I hope).

I have a 15 week old puppy (Chinese Crested) who was very finicky with his food too despite me feeding exactly what his breeder said she had. But when I got out a raw chicken neck to feed my cats, he went wild so I gave him one. It is no doubt his favourite meal. He is still not a big eater in the morning unless chicken necks are on offer but I don't stress, he tells me when he is hungry. I gradually changed him over to a more BARF diet which he seems to like. I have also noticed with house training, that my puppy was going great at first but now he can go outside because I see the signs he needs to go, but after 20 minutes he comes back inside and then wees on the floor. Very frustrating but just part of the process. I realised I need to go back to being more vigilent about house training and follow him out and offer food rewards for weeing outside. He is a smart dog, he will soon catch on.

I am a little confused by your post. How are the dogs getting out the front and on to the road? You say you want to leave them outside, so I'm presuming the back garden is fully fenced and dog proof? How old are your puppies? If they are already cocking their legs, they can't be little puppies. The stress of going to the vets and feeling a bit out of sorts after the surgery may have caused a relapse, but nothing that can't be undone. I would go back to basics with them with their house training and I'm sure they will 'get it' again very soon once their routine goes back to normal.

I would recommend crate training as it really seems to speed up the process of house training. Also, you will need to learn to recognise the 'signs' (eg nose to the ground) and quickly take him/her outside. When he/she does a wee, immediately give a food reward. They soon catch on that they only get the reward when they do wees outside. What sort of puppy are you getting?

I also have a puppy who gets car sick and because of that does not like to travel in the car. I have to carry him to the car because if allowed to walk, he will run back to the front door. I haven't tried any biscuits but I now have him sitting in the front seat (on washable towels) and put the vent pointing straight at him. The last 3 times (since having the vent on him) he has not vomitted at all. The idea about desensitising your puppy to the car is a good one. He needs to be taught that it is a good place and good things happen there. So hang out in the car with him and some special cooked sausages or other favourite food. After he has finished his treat, take him out of the car and back inside. If he really hates the car because of the motion sickness, I would stick to doing this for about 5-7 days and then progress it to starting the car up whilst feeding him. Once he seems to associate the car as a good place to be, start taking him for short drives as well. The ginger may work (I've never tried it) but the dose may need to be trial and error. Start small though. Good luck, I know it is not nice having a puppy puking in the car.

I am glad that Gracie is improving.

I also have a puppy who gets very excited when seeing any people (very people orientated). What you need to think about is when your puppy jumps up, what do you do? Do you push her down? If you do, you are actually reinforcing the jumping behaviour. You need to totally ignore the jumping and wait until she sits down or stands still and then reinforce with food or praise. I am using clicker training with my puppy and he is responding well. So when he stops jumping I mark it (clicker) and then some 'reward' food. It wont take your cav long to get the idea but best to work on this without any other distractions (when you are at home and without visitors) then practice it at training. You will also need to tell people not to touch her or acknowledge her until she has stopped jumping. With young kids this is hard so it might be best to crate her whilst she is still learning.

The problem is, as someone has already mentioned, many of the crossbreeds are considered purebred for the sake of the media. I haven't met too many rotties but the ones I have met were lovely well mannered dogs (because the owners no doubt put the time into training them too). I use to own a staffy and my then partner a British Bulldog and we use to have people cross to the opposite side of the road when we walked them at night. It was so funny because they were the dopiest dogs ever and would probably have licked them to death but not much more. I have no problem letting my dogs socialise with PB or rotties or any other breed for that matter. My son's Chinese Crested recently had a play with a 11 month old PB which he thoroughly enjoyed and so did the PB. Obviously both owners had to supervise to ensure puppy didn't get squashed accidentally.

Wow this is interesting reading. I tend not to use flea prevention (especially the spot ons) unless there is a flea problem as I also don't see the point in overloading their systems with chemicals if the problem doesn't exist in the first place. And the warnings on the spots on says it is poisonous to people so what does that say we are doing to our pets? For heartworm, I want to see if I can get hold of the daily one too and will start on this before my puppy is 6 months old.

Poor puppy. If he hasn't had a drink for days, you need to get him to a VET immediately. Let us know how you get along.

We take our 13 week old chinese crested for walks down to the park - about a 10 minute leisurely walk and then he runs free with my goldie while my son plays on the play equipment. Then of course another 10 minute walk home. I hope this isn't too much for him. But if we didn't go for walks he would be zooming around the house 100miles per hour anyway.

This little one needs ONLY positive reinforcement for things she does right. I am guessing scolding her brought about the peeing on her bed, probably triggered by nerves from being scolded. If she was trying to get back at you (which I don't think she is) she would have peed on YOUR bed, not her own. So any corrections need to be done gently, probably with re-direction. So if she is chewing a chair, tell her "leave" but then offer something appropriate to chew. She will then know what you are expecting from her instead of her worrying she is doing the wrong thing all the time. Some dogs can take being scolded and some can't. Biozet laundry powder is great for removing wee smells (cats or dogs) and it is much cheaper than Urine Off. It can be used as a laundry powder to wash the bedding and if she pees on the floor, it can be mixed into a paste and used to scrub the floor.

I am so sorry, this part of having pets is so so tough, it breaks my heart. I went through this years ago when my GSD was having lots of problems walking due to severe hip dysplasia. I was pregnant with my son when her back end kept going on her when we were out on our daily walks. Being pregnant I couldn't lift her but had to wait until she could get herself back to the car. It just got worse and worse so the decision had to be made. My goldie did change. She became a lot more clingy as an only dog but part of this may have been because of the impending birth of my son (she could sense something was going to happen). We can only help them through the best we can. Depending on the age of your other dog, perhaps another K9 friend at some point. My goldie is now 9yo and has just got another K9 friend and she loves her new puppy (and has made her more puppyish). The death of our pets is another one one to deal with for our children. All I can suggest is being honest and open with them and letting them know how sick she is so it doesn't come as a huge shock when it is time for their beloved pet to go to Rainbow Bridge. Perhaps even having a memorial at home somewhere (plant a tree or something in memory) may help them too - somewhere they can always go to remember their friend. HUGS I know this is a tough time.

I have just caught up with this thread - how horrible. I can't believe they claim to be pet friendly but leave rat bait under the bed. But as others have pointed out, a young child could also have got at it. I would be screaming DUTY OF CARE too. I am so glad that your dogs are now okay. What a worrying time though. Good luck with the solicitor and getting them to cough up for the vet bills. I would also be asking for a refund of your accommodation too (as it sounds like you had to cut your holiday short because of their negligence). Please let us know the outcome.

Definitely a no to corn on the cob. That goes for cats too (I learnt this the hard way with my cat stealing one but luckily avoided surgery that time, but now hide them really well).

I'm sorry the news wasn't better. I agree with Lablover, I cannot see what good going to a chiropractor will do until after she has had the x-rays to confirm the whole picture. It seems like wasted $$$$ at this point to me. From what you have said about yourself, this dog and the future medical costs, I think I would be taking her back to the breeder. It is better to do it now rather than later. I know we had to pour thousands of dollars into our Bulldog who had similar issues. HUGS.

We once had a British Bulldog puppy that had his knees popping in and out and were also told his hips were bad too. He hated to walk anywhere. He had the op done on his knees and he recovered really well. The vet advised us to keep him lean and fit so we did walk him for at least an hour a day. He was the fittest bulldog you ever did see. He had no further problems with his hips due to his fittest level.

I would still have her checked out thoroughly by your vet before going down the behavioural line. I agree that not all goldies have great temperaments (my dog's litter brother sure didn't and was PTS after attacking several dogs quite ferociously but I suspect this was also due to a problem with leadership). But the common thing with goldies is they all love to please their owner (although the degree to which this happens varies). Most goldies would be eager to go out for a walk so the fact that she runs in the other direction is quite worrying. I hope you get to the bottom of the problem.

Good luck at the vet. Our British Bulldog was a changed dog after his op.

What you are describing is really out of character for a goldie (I have a 9yo goldie). The stopping and refusing to move reminds me of a British Bulldog my ex once had. When we got him he would do this too and we couldn't work out why .... until we took him to the vet and found out he had problems with his knees (that warranted an operation) and his hips weren't great either. I would take her to the vet for a thorough check up first to rule out any medical reason for her behaviour. Goldies are usually extremely eager to please.

Just wondering whether you take your 7month old lab to obedience training. Labs really need a lot of mental stimulation, so worth it for him and for you. Agility may also be another really good outlet for him. I think I would get in a professional trainer that can come to your house and witness his behaviour and design a program specifically for him. His current behaviour is totally unacceptable. Having a professional dog trainer in may also help to convince your husband that the dog is fine with the kids and you can get through this current behaviour problem.

thanks for that BellasPerson. I can only hope my puppy will be perfect without the ecollar, but "puppy" and "perfect" don't usually belong in the same sentence GRIN. I am currently using positive reinforcement (praise and food) which seem to be working to get the basics. I'm sure recalls with distractions around us will be fun though hehehe.