Lillynix

Sorry, I didn't get a chance to pop back in here yesterday! Thanks for the reinforcement i'm doing the right thing re: when to toilet her. She hasn't been in a crate overnight, no, though the one I ordered did arrive on Tuesday and I set it up yesterday, popped her favourite soft bed inside, popped her in with lots of praise and some treats (leaving the door open) in the hopes that she would then go in herself to sleep in her bed, which I am happy to say that she did! So last night she slept in the crate, door open (so we still had an accident on the floor), as our first step, hoping to get her a little more comfortable with the crate today and work on closing the door for short periods. I really hope it goes well because I really would prefer her to sleep in a crate overnight.

I was just wondering if anyone had tips for toilet training an older dog? Lotta is a 2yo we adopted from the pound a week ago, she was found as a stray. So far i've been treating her like a puppy, taking outside regularly to toilet, after eating, sleeping, playing, but if my timing is out, she will happily just use the floor. She tends to wander aimlessly when she needs to go outside, so I take her and click/treat if she does her business, but if i'm distracted by tending to a child or using the loo myself, she won't hold on, she'll use the floor and we're still having accidents overnight despite going outside before bed time. Also, obviously it's only been a week and I know it's going to take a while, but how long should I give it before trying something else/seeking help? Is it too unrealistic to expect her to get in the habit of going to the door and waiting/scratching it when she wants outside to toilet? This is what my childhood pets always did, went to the door and whinged/scratched to get out? TIA!

Oh gosh, that poor woman I hope some kind of counselling would be offered to the man in the car, I imagine he'd be quite traumatised by the whole thing

My Mum adopted a deaf SBT cross years ago from Monika's doggie rescue. She was was a great family pet, though we had a whippet boy as a companion for her and he acted like her ears. The foster carer she stayed with before we adopted her had been doing hand signals with her and we continued that and it worked great. We didn't do any type of dog sports or anything with her, though her foster carer had a deaf cattle dog that she did agility with and he would often out-do the hearing competitors ;)

My childhood Basset Hound smelt like corn chips, it was weird and stinky Our whippet, grey and cross breeds never smelt, except our Staffy x, but she had a skin issue as well.

What's funny is trying to convince your 4yo daughter, that yes, the dog she has met DOES indeed have the same name as her (Holly)! She was adamant that the dog wasn't called Holly, because it was her name :D I've had plenty of dogs over the years with people names, but also ones that weren't, makes no difference really, so long as you like the name and it suits your dog...much like naming your children really

Thanks for your reply Jules I've been reading around and it seems it might be a valid option for us, but if it doesn't work out, we can always extend the fences.

No thoughts on if this would be possible and would work?

Perhaps this is why my OH was a tad reluctant to get a dog? He knows that is what would happen in this house!

I know the topic of invisible fencing has been done already, and i've just read a few old threads but didn't find an answer to my question. We're wanting to add a dog to our family once we move house, but our new place, on 2 sides of the yard (front and 1 side) only has rib high picket fencing. We're not wanting to modify the existing fence, and OH and I are finding that most of the breeds we are considering, *may* want to try scaling the shorter fences. We'll be semi rural and potential to want to chase rabbits etc is there, so I was wondering if adding an invisible fence system (http://www.thedogline.com.au/Radio-dog-fence-escaping-dogs) as well as the existing fence would work? I'm think we'd work on training a puppy with this while still too small to scale the fence and hopefully all would be okay by the time the pup is bigger. Of course we'd secure the dog in the times we are not home/night time, it would just be for added security in the day time when we're home. So now that I have sufficiently rambled away do you think it could work?

Will be reading with interest. I didn't watch the whole clip, but from what I did see, I wouldn't label what he did 'kicking', I didn't see any implied force being used, merely a pushing/light tap with the foot (which he also says is what he's doing). I'm not saying I agree with what he's doing, merely stating I wouldn't call it a kick...

Poochmad, yeah Google turned up nothing of interest unfortunately. Thanks Shaar

I've shot off an email to the Tasmanian Canine Association and have checked the breeder directory here on dogzonline and sent an email off, but was just wondering if anyone knew of any other Basset Breeders in Tasmania? It would be much easier to find a local breeder naturally, but of course are open to flying one in from interstate if need be. Just thought asking here was worth a shot as well

The mother was indeed rude to you about the situation, and I think you handled it well I have 3 children (4, 3 and 1) and if we ever come across a dog in a public area, I am always reminding them not to pat or go get close to a strange dog unless they ask the owner first, because as we all know, not all dogs are kid friendly (and by some posts in this thread, not all adults are kid friendly!). But I also have to agree with a couple of other posters, perhaps in future responding to the child who wants to pat your dog would result in a better outcome? Also, if it is a child asking to pat your dog, please answer the child and not the adult. I hate it when my children ask an adult a question and the adult responds to me and not my children, if the child is old enough to ask a question, they are old enough to understand the answer :D

Thanks Leelaa, she was absolutely gorgeous and despite her lack of eyes, her face was full of expression, you could tell when she was raising her eyebrows at you and she would still run from outside, up the back steps and to her food bowl as soon as she hear the can opener, ahh such a funny sight seeing a blind dog, eyebrows raised and running

Thank you for the replies, many things to consider I remember the hound smell and the bark quite well from our old dog, she was a stinky one if she went too long between baths and her bark was really deep and low, but so loud it was still ear piercing, it was certainly a new experience! The fences are sturdy and mostly blocked by sheds or rose bushes, it's really only the gate that would be easy access for ramming We're not looking to get a puppy any time soon so we have plenty of time to research and think, I just thought it would be good to start thinking what breed would best suit us.

Hey everyone, I am a lover of Basset Hounds, especially since we had one when I was in my teens, we adopted an old (around 9yrs) and blind (eyes removed due to glaucoma) basset named Becky. She was simply divine and have loved the breed ever since. However, I don't actually know a great deal about dealing with younger basset dogs/pups, so am wondering if anyone could give me an idea on whether they'd suit our yard and lifestyle? We're not overly active people in terms of going for long walks. We have 3 young children, 4, 3 and 1 and hope for one more in the next 18 months. We have a slightly bigger than average sized yard, but with mainly waist high picket fences (we live in the country). It gets pretty chilly in winter, though a dog would be allowed inside and have shelter outside. I stay at home with our children so a dog would be very rarely left alone except for short shopping outings. So i'm wondering if a basset would be suitable for a young family with small children (and a cat!), be okay with the fence height (I would assume so given bassets are so short?), are okay without a walk every day instead happy playing in the yard with us to burn off any energy and would be okay with just basic obedience training?

Thank you, your answers make perfect sense! I hadn't been rewarding the correction as I wasn't sure if I should, so i'm glad I was doing the right thing there. But just quickly, to make sure I have the hang of this, if they jump on the couch and I tell them 'OFF' and they get off, they are rewarded but if they are biting and I yell 'OUCH' and they stop, I don't reward? Sorry, i'm new to all this training stuff, just want to make sure i'm on the right track so I don't stuff it up and make it harder on myself.

Okay, I know that dogs respond to praise/rewards when training when they do the right thing, eg they sit on command, you reward. But what about when you've asked them to stop doing something (say, digging the garden ) and they do stop, do you reward them for stopping or just leave it at that and keep telling them 'NO' everytime they do it (and therefore keep stopping) until they get the idea?

Can't anyone help me out?

Hi, i've decided to feed our new Greyhound a mix of kibble in the morning and raw meat/chkn frames/necks etc in the evening. So far, what I have been doing (of course will amend as needed to her) is giving half the daily amount of kibble (as she feeds twice a day) which is 1.5 cups and i've read that as a starting point for raw, you give 2% of their body weight (she's 30kg), so that would be about 600grm a day, but again, as she feeds twice a day, i've cut this to 300grm for her evening meal. Does this sound okay so far? I'm I doing it correctly? I know if she gets too fat/too skinny then I need to fiddle with the amounts, but is this a good starting point? Thanks for any help

Cheers I'll hold off then and see what they vet says, I guess i'm just a bit worried about her. We've waited so long to add a dog to our little family, especially a grey, I just don't want anything to go wrong

Thanks for that, i've got her booked in to see the vet next week so we'll find out for sure then, hoping it's not a UTI though, pretty sure it's not but you never know! I was thinking about perhaps trying to 'treat' her for dehydration in the meantime and see if that makes a difference but as you can lead a horse (or dog!) to water but you can't make them drink, i'm wondering what to do? I've seen a few online pet stores selling an electrolyte drink aimed at racing greyhounds, so was wondering if this might help rehydrate her a bit faster if that is the issue. Anyone tried this or have any thoughts on it?

Oh definitely realise it's just a guide and best to go by your own dogs needs I'm just looking at different brands at the moment (dog yet to come and live with us) trying to figure out best value for money, how many feeds per bag and cost per feed etc...all very rough of course but just using the guides on the packs as a starting point

Sorry, just a question I'm hoping a few people can help me out and save a few trips to the pet food shops. What I would like to know is... For the EAGLE PACK holistic select senior care kibble and ARTEMIS fresh mix maximal kibble (grain free), on the packet how many grams/cups a day is required roughly for a 30kg dog? Just trying to do some sums and this info would help greatly (and save me a trip dragging two young children with me!) Thanks in advance!