Red Fox

During our puppy classes the dogs were allowed to play offlead for approx 1/2 the class. The other half was spent learning basic obedience and being given information. Big puppies played together while small puppies were kept on lead and on laps, and then they swapped over. It was good for socialisation and bite inhabition but the downside is now my dog thinks that the vet is a playground :rolleyes:

What a great sollution???!! Being responsible & truthful is a far better way to keep the dog safe. With the proper socialisation & training this dog could be a great example of the breed. Thats what we need, to get them out there to be seen for the wonderful dogs they are not what people read about them or how they are seen them in the media. The puppy is already chipped as an AmStaff. He will also be registered as such. I dont think lying is the way to go either... can only lead to more trouble. Plus he looks EXACTLY like a little AmStaff should

Yes to grass and yes to processed/minced raw veg Normally he will just nibble on it without a problem, but if he has a bit of an unsettled tummy (like first thing this morning, after having his Sentinel tablet last night) he will gorge himself on grass and then poop it out

I defrosted some ocean trout fillets for tea tonight and realised I have a bit too much so was thinking that I might give the rest to Kei with his dinner tonight. It's the trout fillets from the deli department in Woolies -the ones that look identical to the salmon portions- not sure where it comes from but must be Australian as I bought it fresh. Does anyone know if it's okay to feed this to dogs? Thanks if you can help

Kei does this too. I think he's dreaming

Thanks for that info Steve11, have passed it on. I got to meet the puppy yesterday. He is a real little cutie, needs some training but overall seems like a lovely dog. He had a great time running round the yard with my boy and was very confident being left on his own in the pen we set up for him. They are planning on doing some obedience training with him after he has had all his vaccinations so hopefully with a bit of training and socialisation he will be fine.

Ummm yes... Salisbury is a lovely place [cough] Get to meet the puppy tomorrow so I'll have a day to show my brother how to crate train and teach bite inhabition. Wish me luck...

Definetly get yourself a puppy pen! He's probably barking his head off when in the bathroom because he is isolated and confused. A pen will allow him to see whats going on around him while he is confined and he'll probably be less stressed. Good luck with the training, it will get easier as he gets older ETA: you could also try a baby gate on the bathroom door so that puppy can see out when in his confinement area.

Couldn't you just ring the breeder, explain the situation and see what they have to say? At worst the breeder could deny the problem and you're on you're own. More likely however, a good breeder will offer you some suggestions and advice on what to do now. Also, if you signed a contract with the breeder when you purchased the puppy is there any mention of a health guarantee? The problem may or may not be genetic but I'm sure that if you rang the breeder they would be willing to offer some support for you and your pup.

Have you tried attaching a puppy pen tp the crate so that he can come and go as he pleases while still being contained? I toilet trained mine using the pen in the day (and also for long term confinement if needed) and introduced the crate for nights when he was 3 months old. I fed all meals in the pen (still do!) and spent time playing with him in there too. Our routine for the first few weeks was toilet every hour then play outside, and then settle in the pen. I found he would settle well if I sat near the pen and read the paper or something. You could also try moving the crate around so that it is near you. I would use a wire crate for now and keep the soft crate for later. If we ever get another puppy I will be using a crate from day one, for nights at least, as I spent the first month sleeping on a mattress on the floor with Kei as he wouldn't settle on his own A crate by the bed is soooo much better!

Where do you get them? From Foodland/IGA. They're called Kanga Bangas

You can buy heat packs and/or comfort toys with the ticking hearts for puppies from the link below. I think PetStages make one too. http://www.thevetshed.com.au/index.php/cPath/1_13 I bought a furry hot water bottle cover that was in the shape of a puppy from the local chemist and replaced the hot water bottle with a wheat pack. Worked well and meant that I could easily remove the cover for washing. Cost around $20 for both.

I've been using roo sausages for Kei lately, he seems to love them and the scent is quite strong so easy to get his attention. Just boil them up whole and then chop up into little bits once cool. They are very low in fat and cheap too.

Puppy wee pads (you can buy proper holders for these or place them in a tray) Or one of those doggy loo things with the synthetic grass on top and tray underneath. I would think that litter training a puppy would be the same as normal toilet training; place the puppy in the tray every hour and after meals, instuct puppy to 'go' and reward and praise when it does.

List sounds good. If you are using Kongs regularly I would suggest that you buy at least 5 or 6 of them. I normally found that I'd have 2 Kongs in the pen, 2 in the sink and 2 in the drawer ready to fill I would also buy a wheat pack as this tends to comfort the puppy through the first few nights. Good luck

1/2 teaspoon of brewers yeast mixed with dinner most days. I believe that 1 tsp per day is the correct amount for a large dog but as mine gets a good variety in his raw diet I only use 1/2. :rolleyes:

Brewers yeast contains vitamin B. It's available from most healthfood stores.

Buy a crate and put it next to your bed (you could also move it around the house during the day if need be). Put his bed and toys inside of it and that way he can play safely in the crate until he falls asleep.

I have a tub of Paw Balm made by Fuzzyard Organic that I use on my boys nose when it looks a bit dry. It's good stuff, all the ingredients are natural (main ingredients are castor oil, beeswax and shea butter) and it smells really nice. I actually use it on my feet too I would second using the Lucas Paw Paw ointment too.

Do you think that you could take a few days off work? Or how about taking your puppy to work with you in his crate? 7 weeks old is a bit young to be leaving a puppy alone for the day and he will get distressed. It will also be very hard to toilet train him if you're not there to take him out side every hour. Will you use puppy pad in the pen? We brought our boy home at 9 weeks and the first 2 weeks were like having a newborn baby... dont expect a lot of sleep for those first few weeks, he will wake up to go to the toilet every few hours up until he is at least 10-12 weeks old, if not longer. I would suggest that you buy some Kongs so that puppy has something to keep him occupied in the day and feed him everything in his pen. That way he will form a good association with the pen and want to be in there. Also try putting him in the pen with some toys or treats and staying in the same room. I used to give my boy a Kong and then sit down at the table next to the pen and read the paper. That way he could see me and did not become distressed, he would chew on his Kong and then fall asleep with me there until it became routine and he learned to do it on his own. I also have a big tedy that would play music when the ear is squeezed. I always had that in his pen and would play the music every time I put him to bed. Kei formed an association with the sound (over a period of a few weeks) and would go to his bed and snuggle with the teddy when the music played. You could also try a heat pack or hot water bottle (in a cover) to help settle the puppy, but you cant leave him alone with it though. Leaving the radio or TV on is a good idea too. If you got the pup from a registered breeder you coujld more than likely return it for a few weeks if need be, if not I would definetly be calling in to work sick on Monday Oh.. and dont expect puppy to settle in staight away, give him lots of (supervised) time to explore his surroundings, it will take at least a week for things to settle down. ETA: Do you have any toys or blankets from the breeder? If you are able to get hold of anything that has a familiar scent it will help the puppy settle. I've also attached a pic below of our bed set-up in the pen, lots of things to snuggle into an feel safe

Personally I dont think he will go to all the hassle of DNA testing unless the dog was at risk of being PTS. Even then I doubt his 'mate' the BYB would be willing to hand out info on the dogs parents... actually, I doubt he has much idea about anything beyond what is printed on those dogs pedigrees and I can bet they only have limited registration papers too. (And I would wonder whether this guy signed a contract with the dogs breeder saying that the dogs would be purchased as pets only and not bred??) I hope he will look after it well, but unfortunately my brother doesn't know a hell of a lot about dogs and seems to be a magnet for trouble I've just put together a whole heap of info for him on training, diet, council regulations plus a whole lot on the history of the breed and off to the post office now. Says he will take to puppy class too so that may be of some help. I know there are a lot of Amstaff owners out there that have never had any probs and it's a shame that there is so much prejeduce and ignorance when it comes to the breed. I would hate to think what could happen to this dog if the council got hold of it :D

Nekhbet- Yep, it worries me too. ...AND Salisbury is his council. I have just finished printing off all the info I can find from their site and am posting it off to him this-afternoon. According to my brother the parents are Amstaff's and both come from 'one of the top SA breeders' Unfortunately he fails to realise that 'comes from' is not the same as 'owned by'... I would presume that both parents (who are owned by a mate of his) have papers, however the pups do not. I would think that it would be hard to prove parentage if requested by the council

Last night I found out that my brother has purchased an Amstaff puppy from a BYB with no papers I'm not happy about it but he has had the dog for 3 weeks now so it's a bit late for lectures. What I would like to know is that if the dog has no pedigree papers to support it's breed can the council declare it as a restricted breed (pittie) and is there anything he can do to minimise the chances of this happening?? I have suggested that he get the puppy desexed and microchipped as an Amstff ASAP and register it with the local council. He is under the impression that the dog has appropriate identification as the vaccination certificate says 'staffy' on it :rolleyes: I have heard way too many horror stories of dogs being seized by the council and declared as restricted breeds when they are clearly not. He is in SA and his local council declares the APBT as a 'prescribed dangerous dog breed' under the dog and cat management act, 1995, and states: "A prescibed breed may not be registered unless it is desexed and has veterinary papers to prove the same. It must be kept on a property that is fully fenced with a high fence and, if the dog is outside the property at any time, it must be under effective control of a responsible person, be muzzled and on a leash of not more than 2 metres of length." There is no mention of Amstaffs, but obviously council have the final say on what they consider to be a ABPT or fall into that catergory. Any advice that I could pass on would be much appreciated. Thank you

If you must use the puppy pads get some attractant or buy the ones that already have it in them. The other thing you can do is put a bit of his own urine on them so that he can find the scent. He'll soon get the idea. You will also have to place him on the pad and give him a commant ie go wee, after his meals and after waking. Also ever 30 mins or so when he's awake. When he goes you can praise him and give a treat. If you can get him to go outside in the courtyard that would be better but if he wont have access to it when you're not home training him to go on the pads might be more suitable and you can slowly move them outside over time. We used the pads for our long term confinement area but also trained our dog to go outside on command. We slowly phased them out by the time he was 4 months old. If I was doing it again I would probably not use them unless I had to as it can get a bit confusing and you may have the problem of the puppy only using the pads and refusing to pee outside. It's best to start as you plan to go on.

SecretKei.. do you do THIS with your ratbag? It may just drum into his brain that YOU are the omnipotent- the giver of good things, and the one with the POWER !! Yep, we just started this recently. Hope it works for us