maximum

Thanks guys - and thanks for the laugh! It's completely vile watching him do it, but kinda satisfying that he gets the buggers before they spread their crap everywhere. My cats are all too old to catch flies, they just watch the dog!

Hi everyone I'd appreciate it if someone could tell me whether my dog eating blowflies is harmful in any way. Max catches and eats any that fly into the house and I'm concerned that it may cause worms or digestive problems. Thanks in advance for your help!

My cat just spent two and a half weeks in one, after having surgery for an abscess (puppy bite!). The vet told me to elevate his food and water, to enable him to eat and drink with the collar on. I just put the bowls up on an old phone book - did the trick! It meant that the collar didn't hit the floor when he went to a bowl. Bloody dog took no notice of HIS stitches when he was desexed! Typical...

Maximum your pup is an apartment dog isnt' he? How much mental and physical stimulation is he getting daily? Hi PF I'm glad you responded - I've always found your advice has helped me a lot. Whether it be directly to me, or things I've read that you've written to others. So, thanks in advance! Yep, Max is the apartment dog. In terms of physical activity, he's walked for between 40 mins and 1 hour daily - 30 or 40 mins in the early morning prior to work; then 15 or 20 mins in the evening after dinner. That one's really just a toilet outing and I pretty much dawdle along and let him sniff his way around. The morning walk is my exercise time, so it's pretty fast paced. When I leave for work, he gets something to occupy him. Either his Buster Cube with kibble in it, a peanut butter Kong, or a hard chew - beef snap, kangaroo patty, cow ear etc. I've tried to stay away from 'artificial' treats, except the peanut butter, and he doesn't like bones - just completely ignores them. When I get home from work, he follows me around while I do the stuff I need to do, and we usually have a few short games throughout the evening - him chasing bubbles, playing fetch etc. He has loads of toys, but he sleeps through most of the day, I think - he's always crashed on the sofa when I get home! He's good with going to bed, as soon as I turn the lights out, I hear barely a peep out of him. He's also not particularly destructive either, which is a good thing! Reading all I've written, I think I should be pretty thankful - he's pretty good, I guess! He's just doing the "f-you" thing everytime I try to stop him doing something I don't like. I do persist and 'make' him comply, but it's really a battle with some things and I HATE that when I'm tired at night. It's soooo exhausting and I'm finding it hard not to get really mad and frustrated with him at times! I'm sick of yelling "NO!" all the time with him not listening! If I could fix one thing with him, it would be the cats/territory thing. My cats are VERY dear to me and all three are sweet, placid and loving. The vet thinks the dog bite/cat abscess thing was due to Max still having his needle sharp puppy teeth - the cat was probably mid-jump back over the puppy gate to the feline area of the house and Max just caught him on the way over. I REALLY want to believe that!!! But Max is VERY jealous over me and when the only cat that interacts with him tries to get on my lap, Max gets upset. He's even growled at the cat once or twice, something I will NOT tolerate and he gets in MAJOR trouble for it. He either gets banned from the sofa, or 'sin binned' in a crate if he won't settle down. This particular cat weighs 12kg and can defend himself very well, but Max tries to play with him as he would another dog. Runs full pelt at him and tries to knock him over, or puts his paws/front legs on the cat's back in what I've assumed is a 'trying to dominate' move. My other two cats are way less able to look after themselves (Ragdolls won't usually fight back) and at the moment, Max is not allowed anywhere near them - I'm pretty sure they stay down their end of the flat when I'm at work. I know the bitten one does - he's extremely wary of the dog, poor little thing. Only weighs 3.5kg and currently has a 3 inch incision in his bum/tail and a 'bucket' on his head! Not to mention losing a third of his beautiful, long coat after being shaved for the operation... Anyhoo, I've hijacked this thread completely - apologies to the OP! But PF, I'd really appreciate your thoughts. Thank you!

OMG! I've been having the same thoughts about Max - when will he settle down and stop being such a little b*st*rd!? He's now 9 months and was desexed 4 weeks ago. On a positive note, I've noticed some subtle changes in him over the past week that I HOPE are a sign of good things to come. Stuff like not razzing around the house ALL evening and snoozing quietly on my lap for long periods instead - with shorter play periods. He's also a LOT better on walks, doesn't pull much etc. On a negative note, I've just spent $1,500 at the vets to rid one of my beautiful cats of a SEVERE abscess, resulting from a dog bite that occurred some time over the past 8-10 weeks. Possibly longer. The surgery was really quite major as the bite/abscess was VERY close to the anus/rectum of the cat and one 'slip' could have resulted in nerve damage. Not what you want in that area in any animal! Plus, my cat is 11, so not a young boy. Max has also devloped a play-biting habit. Not all the time, just when he gets over-excited. This is a relatively new thing, only over the past month or so. I'm trying desperately to train him out of it, but nothing is working so far. I think it's a dominance thing, because there are other signs of dominance from him too. He's never really 'aggressive', it's just when he's made to do something he doesn't want to do. He loves people and they love him because he's so cute and friendly, but he's started being really aggressive when he plays with his toys. The vet also said that his 'territorial' issues over the cats have probably become behavioural now, rather than just territory. *sigh* I've also been told (by the vet) that the approx. 7 to 9 month period is the worst behaviourally and that "he should settle down soon". God, I hope so. Because after the cat abscess episode, I'm a bit at my wits end! I've spend SO much money on Max and directly because of him and I don't really know where to go from here. Do I just 'ride it out' and hope he will improve as he gets older? Or, do I spend yet MORE money on a behaviourist for him? I already wasted over $400 on Bark Busters (I know, I know!) and I just can't afford any more. On top of the $2000 in vet bills this month ($500 in desexing and puppy teeth removal, plus the cat) I'm at my financial limit for a while. I've probably posted this in the wrong spot, sorry. I just needed a good vent and couldn't stop once I got started!!

I hate them not being home, mine are in JHB until 13 august, they fly to Perth that day and come out sometime in September. Its 7 months in total from RSA to Australia. Awww...I feel for you. I was a mess when my guys were in Eastern Creek (NSW). But luckily, I live in Sydney so I could visit them once a week. I don't recommend it, though - all it did was upset me and them. Seeing my two sooky ragdolls, who were (and still are) horribly spoilt, in an outdoor enclosure with very little shelter was just awful. The carers at Eastern Creek were lovely, but there's only so much they can do to provide the comforts of home. I'll never move overseas again and take animal with me!

Thanks, Candi - how are you coping with your cats being in quarantine? My Raggies were in there for 5 months when I moved back from the US. They were none the worse from the experience, but it damned near broke my heart!

I think it has a lot to do with the age and breed of cat. I have two Ragdolls, aged 10 and 11. I also have an 11 year old Maine Coon. My puppy, Max, is almost 8 months old and the whole cat/dog thing has been a nightmare from the start! The Maine Coon weighs in at 12kg and has never been scared of Max, but Max makes the poor boy's life a bit miserable, getting worse as he gets older. Max is due to be desexed this Friday and I'm hoping with all my heart that when the testosterone leaves his system in a couple of weeks, things will be a little better. My Ragdolls, on the other hand, have NOT taken things well at all! They haven't voluntarily come out of their section of the house since Max came home. I've tried absolutely everything to make them feel more secure, but nothing has worked. I have a puppy gate dividing the house in two and the Raggies stay down their end. They hate it too, because Ragdolls are very much 'people cats' and always want to be with their humans. Nothing I've done so far has stopped Max chasing the cats - he's extremely territorial and VERY jealous over me. I've been doing training every day with him since he was about 12 weeks old, but he's completely deaf when it comes to the cats. I'm just hoping that things improve with his desexing and also as he gets older. If not, I'll just have to have a divided house forever!! I'm glad it's worked out for your pup and cats - I'm also bloody jealous! Lol!

Good idea! Guess I'm off to the pub tonight...KIDDING!

OK, so a 20-30 minute on lead walk (medium pace, I'm too lazy to go fast!) would be ok a few ways a week, go to the park on other days? Thanks Poodlefan - appreciate the advice!

Guys, at what age do you start walking the dog for longer periods? I'm completely confused about the whole exercise thing. I only have a little dog (poodle/maltese cross), but he's the energiser bunny on steroids. He'll be 7 months on 11 April. How much walking per day? Or, should I just stick with taking him to the park and letting him run around? I find he tires quite quickly at the park and is content with just watching the other dogs/people after he's had his initial spaz attack.

That's also an excellent tip, thank you Huski - I'll see if I can find a butcher that sells the wing tips and give them a go. Skipping meals doesn't seem to work with him. He's a stubborn little bugger! If I skip his evening meal and try him at breakfast, he just ignores things he doesn't want to eat. And, as he's still a pup, I'm a bit hesitant to deprive him of food for more than 24 hrs because he's so active. I know the saying is a dog will never starve itself, but how long is too long when you're trying to 'out smart' a puppy and get them to eat what you want them to eat? I tried this with kibble when I first bought him and it was a battle of wills for 48 hrs before I gave in. He'll only eat kibble out of his Buster Cube, never a bowl.

That's a fantastic tip, thank you! I'll give that one a try. Might even try it on my cats - none of them will eat bones either...

Thank you SO much for that! Definitely an eye opening read... Although I'm now scared to death that my dog will get his chops around something lethal...

Ok, thanks guys - no more chocolate for Max! (But seeing him after the 3 M&M's, I wish I'd taken a photo - he'd obviously sucked on them for a while and his whole mouth and the hair around it was bright blue from the coating!!!)