wish_4_cockerspaniel

We tried pineapple but it made him itch! In the end he grew out of it - thank goodness - hope you get the same good result one way or another!

Good luck Shel! As for Roo - I think it's quite rich, we haven't tried Dylan on it, but if it's only a young pup you might want something milder (chicken)... what would I know though, I'm the one with a scratchy puppy!! I've been to the vet this evening as his itching was causing little spots that looked like mozzie bites around his bum, she gave me some cream to settle them down (they are caused by his biting rather than anything else, who knew?), checked him for fleas (all clear) and emptied his anal sacks (he was delighted!)... she reckons I might have to check anal sacks more often as this is most likely what's annoying him... and trying the new biscuits may also help (thanks PC!) so fingers crossed!! Thanks everyone for their advice... I will give you an update on my dog's bum any time you're interested!!

Thanks settrlvr I've now got Artemis on order, so will give that a go. Next time I make up his fresh food, maybe I'll go chicken mince instead. Do pups "need" red meat tho or is it ok for white meat to be the only thing he gets? He has the occasional lamb neck rosette, but not major keen on the stinky raw lamb-covered pup that we get as a result!! My OH just brightly said "there's always lamb mince" - maybe I'll swap that in instead?

Thanks settrlvr I've now got Artemis on order, so will give that a go. Next time I make up his fresh food, maybe I'll go chicken mince instead. Do pups "need" red meat tho or is it ok for white meat to be the only thing he gets? He has the occasional lamb neck rosette, but not major keen on the stinky raw lamb-covered pup that we get as a result!!

Thanks to everyone for your help and ideas. In answer to a few questions: t-time: he's not doing any scooting, it's a general itchiness, particularly around his hindquarters (which he tries to nibble) both on the top and his tummy. persephone: what an interesting thought! also, the washing detergent is recommended by my vet as being good for pups, the floor stuff recommended by other dog owners as being the one to go for... so am hoping that's ok. neatz: thanks, i'll see the vet again and check. as for anal glands, i don't think so as he has really good poos (something i never thought i'd say before i owned a puppy!) and hasn't had a problem with his anal glands at all. we look closely and can't see any red patches, or any patches whatsoever to be honest (which is what makes me think it's more of an "inside" itch ie. diet)... but will take another look tonight and keep an eye on him, good advice. PC: thanks, am going to give Artemis a go! Anyone want to buy an enormous bag of Advance puppy if it works!??! One more thing he eats that I forgot to say is he gets a sheep's ear most days as a treat when I leave for work... what do we think of sheep's ears (when no longer attached to sheep?!)

Something is making our pup itchy, particularly when he needs the loo and before he goes... he seems to be much more comfortable afterwards. It's not fleas... and it comes and goes but he's never completely un-itchy. It's not our washing powder (we swapped to Biozet) or floor cleaner (swapped to Myo). I reckon it's something in what we feed him, but looking for ideas on what to eliminate first. He's 7 months old, here's his diet, which is working perfectly weight and energy-wise, but clearly something in there is not agreeing with him... Breakfast - couple of handfuls of Advance puppy biscuits + 3-4 chicken necks + recently a 1/4 teaspoon cod liver oil (previously the odd tin of sardines!) Dinner - handful of Advance puppy biscuits + a "barf-ish" mixture that we make up ourselves. In it is a blended mush (which smells strangely lovely!) of: spinach, silverbeet, celery, an orange, an apple, a banana, natural yoghurt, couple of eggs, minced beef, some chicken liver... sometimes I vary the veg/fruit but that's the basis of it. It's fresh - we freeze batches so oldest it gets is 4 days, and always smells fine. Is any of this ringing any bells as likely itch causes? Any other ideas? Poor pooch...

Poor Ruby - and poor you working through this time consuming process! But so lovely to hear how much you love your dog to make sure she gets what she needs. Hope you find something that suits her on the next 6 week run, fingers crossed for you!

Hi Lillysmum - just curious so hope you don't mind me asking, how did you work out Ruby was allergic to chicken, and what does she get instead? Our pup is quite an itchy scratchy little one, I'm thinking I'll need to eliminate one food at a time and see how he goes as convinced it's food that's causing it... but wondering what chicken allergy "looks like" (if that's not too generic?!) I'm going to risk chicken wings again this weekend, he does the necks with ease now!! What bigger bones do people use to leave them chewing? We make up BARF-ish food for his dinner, gotta say I love making his food, smells ace and he loves it!

I'm still scared of chicken wings - they seem so spikey when the bones break - but chicken necks are just fantastic... sometimes he eats them in one, not even chewing, sometimes chews away happily - either way he has been TOTALLY fine on them. He also gets the odd lamb neck rosette, which he'll get most of the way through before I bin the little bit at the end - he's great on these though, although smells of raw lamb afterwards which is rough! Good luck!

Our pup had to have the collar on the whole time until his stitches were removed - he didn't know how wide he was and kept bashing into walls - also impaired his sniffing of things that made him very frustrated! But... good news was it was only 1 week as he healed really well - so if you think they're healing, get your pup back to the vets to get them removed and free from horrid plastic cone in no time... til then good luck!!

Hi all Nicking Jane's toilet topic and asking my own extras, sorry Jane! My challenge is moving our pup from weeing inside to weeing outside... but when we work all day and can't let him out regularly. Is it even possible? He's a cocker spaniel and is almost 6 months old. Current situation - he spends days in kitchen (safe and puppy proof) and up til recently went to the toilet on newspaper in the corner. We also have balcony door open when we're home and have been trying to encourage him to go on the attractive plastic grass we've got out there - pretty successful as he'll do anything for a couple of biscuits, but he'll still go back to the kitchen if he's passing (but no treat for this). Ideal situation - pup happily "holds it" from when we leave for work at 8am til walker comes to pick lucky pup up at lunchtime... then again til I get home 4.30-5ish... at which point he'll go outside (on the walk or on the balcony). Is it possible to get him there and if so, any tips appreciated?!! We don't mind so much as he's good at going on the paper, but don't want him to think it's ok to wee in other peoples' houses Look forward to any ideas you guys may have!!

Thanks for the advice guys - went to the vet this morning. His temperature was up, but hydration levels fine so vet said keep an eye on him and he should get better on his own, make sure he drinks plenty of water. If it moves to his chest and he starts coughing I'm to go back - otherwise he should be fine.

Hmmm - he's 5 months - sounds like I might need to call the vet in the morning... Thanks for the tip.

Yay Kitty, great news!! Good work on the neighbours, that worked wonders for us too - so did a couple of well timed bottles of wine mind you! Good luck for another good nights sleep!

No idea how he got it, but my cocker spaniel has a cold ! Poor little pup woke me up with his sneezing this morning and has a very snotty nose, quite a lot of mucus which is creamy coloured (sorry for the description ). I'm not worried about him, he's acting quite normal otherwise, eating everything that evenly slightly resembles food, enjoyed a walk this morning, being fully spaniel-y etc... but sure he's not enjoying the sneezing or the leaky nose... what's the best way to get him better again?

I'm sure the trainer will help tons, don't despair Cat, sending you good vibes from Sydney.

We had to switch to just hot water for a while when Dylan was a bit itchy - but have found Myo which is dog friendly and smells nice, we use that now and dilute it a lot. Happy pup, sweet smelling kitchen (where he hangs out!) Good luck Kitty, looking forward to the pics tomorrow!!

Ours does too on occasion, he's slowly growing out of it thank goodness (it's pretty minging!) Apparently it's just a dog thing, don't make a fuss, just quietly clean it up as soon as you can before he gets to it, and eventually he'll stop (or so we're hoping!). We tried pineapple - he was allergic to it and itched like crazy - but it's worked for other people i've heard! Good luck.

We bought a snuggle pup for our dog - he loves it - they come with heat packs and a beating heart, he's quite happy just to curl up on it without either in there now but the heart beat in particular made a real difference while he was settling in I think. I had a shocker with delivery, so my advice is order early! If the product wasn't so good I wouldn't be recommending them to be honest, but if you've got a week or so spare then do it - or ring them first! http://www.snuggleme.com.au/geo_redirect.htm

Our pup was itchy too, and we think it might have been the stuff we were cleaning the floor with, or what we washed the bedding in - we changed to hot water on the floors (we worried it wouldn't get rid of smells but it does just fine!) and Biozet for our washing powder (low in whatever annoys dogs skin, I forget what!) and he's much better... the vet reckoned it also might just be "puppy-ness", growing up, being exposed to new things, while his body got used to it. Either way, he's good now - so also look inside if your outside stuff doesn't work. Good luck!

We had 2 weeks booked off work and our breeder encouraged us to cancel it - she said it would completely throw him when we finally did leave him all day - so we just had a day with him then started our routine. Can't say he loves being left alone, and he cries when we leave, but we are lucky that a downstairs neighbour keeps an ear out for him (she is dog friendly, lovely, and gives him his lunch, we are v lucky!) and he only cries/barks for 5 mins so he's doing pretty good. We also took the "pre-bribery" approach and took bottles of wine round to anyone who might hear him "getting used to the place" and that seemed to be a good side-tactic! Good luck with your new pup!

I am attempting to remain vigilant and remove offending poo immediately! He likes the pineapple though - makes a nice treat for him whether it works or not! Thanks for all the advice.

Thanks guys! Pineapple - who'd have guessed?! Top tips though, we'll give that a go.

The little monster ate a bit of his own poo before I could get to him... then had fun chewing the bottom of my jeans and they are now in the wash ... anyway - is this normal or is he missing something in his diet that's making him want such an interesting supplement?!

Dylan likes Optimum puppy (took me a while to find it, my breeder recommended it) and apparently Advance Puppy is also good. I give him a handful of biscuits and some VIP puppy roll (the chicken and rice one) and he really likes that, sometimes mixed with a little water. He prefers the meat but will eat the biscuits along with it. In terms of releasing commands, "leave" works ok for me if you say it with conviction, and growling at him also works if that doesn't! He is very keen on following me around the house trying to bite the bottom of my trousers - a hilarious game (!) that I'm encouraging him to quit before he hurts himself! Do you keep Casper awake in the evening and does that help him sleep through the night? I kept Dylan awake yesterday til about 930pm and then put him to bed, he was up at 11pm and impossible to settle and made a right racket... so much for my "tire him out" theory - is he just getting his routine sorted or can I help him along?!