Di*

Here's an American link: Pet Food Recall Not sure if the product names are the same in Oz Di

It's not just a male thing. I've had girls who also do this. Di

Roxy is very strongly left-pawed. Roxy always spins anti-clockwise and even does her 'roll over' always to her left. My other dog only ever rolls to his right. D

Thank you for your response. Sorry, I need more explanation. Do you agree that total focus on me is not desirable in this case? Re neutralisation--rather than jumping all over people, it is more the case that response to a whole range of environmental stimuli is what needs to be neutralised--sudden bangs, wheel chairs, walking frames, metal banging on metal, sudden screams etc. The dog's interaction with people is much more complex than just being calm, though calmness in certain contexts is important. For example, my dog visits a psychiatric ward where many of the patients have few interactions with the world--my dog's responsiveness in her interactions is highly valued in these cases and her pleasure in her interactions--that she is excited to see them is important. That she is able to shift her focus from me and make someone else feel that they are the most important thing in her world is her greatest asset. I have no idea how you would train a dog to do this. As I said neither of my other two have this quality and I don't feel I can take the credit for my dog being like this. Certainly, I can't imagine a training regime such as the one you have described that you have put in place for your dogs would have enhanced this capacity in my dog. This is not a criticism at all of your training--I have attended one of your weekend sessions and it was excellent. My point, I suppose is that the dog that is totally focused on its handler is not necessarily desirable in all circumstances. di

One of my dogs is a pet therapy dog and her role is to interact with people. Total focus on me would defeat the purpose. My other two are totally unsuited to this role precisely because of their level of focus on me. Therefore, doesn't this return to point made in an earlier post about the different aims/goals of ownership and training? I can't imagine how having my dog neutralised to all other people would in any way enhance my pet therapy dog's training. Di

Kyra I have a fussy eater, also an ex-rescue dog that we adopted at about 5mths. We discovered with her that she would only eat if there was competition. She will wait for our other dogs to eat and approach her food before she'd start eating. Over time she has improved but she's still an unenthusiastic eater even as an adult and she responds really badly to change. New dogs in the house and she won't eat, different food and she won't eat, etc. At obedience training she won't take treats whereas she will at home. My only guess, not knowing her history, is that she is s sensitive/soft dog who may have always eaten with other pups and that it is the competition that stimulates her appetite. You might find that your pup is also sensitive to the recent change--new home--and so will not eat until she feels settled. Not fussing as has been suggested is the best option but it is difficult esp. when the dogs are slimly built, as mine is. [Don't tell anyone but I will confess after a bout of extended non eating to asking my son to get down on the floor to pretend to eat her food!!! ] Di

Hi I'm an owner of a couple of chi x rescues and I tend to foster rescue chi xs. I find that many of them are very wary of small children. I suspect they have had experiences of having been fallen on, trodden on, tripped over, treated like toys or held too tightly in their pasts. Added to this many have luxating patellas or even old injuries which they may be trying to protect. Being around small children often makes them nervous and some will respond by biting, barking, hiding, depending on their personalites/past experiences. Generally I wouldn't recommend rehoming one to a household with children under about 10. Little kids can't help being a bit unsteady, unpredictable and little dogs can't be blamed for being worried about being hurt. I do find that chi xs are often good with kids once they know their place in the household and if they feel safe. They are often very playful little dogs and kids love to play with them. If you are up to it and have the time to manage the situation, you'll need to make sure your children and dog are always supervised. I would avoid letting your child pick up or cuddle Squishy for the reasons Tony suggests. Instead I'd suggest you let Squishy come to the child when he's ready and when your child is still, e.g. sitting in your lap, rather than bringing your child to the dog. Chi xs also tend to be bright little dogs so obedience training is also a good way of building their confidence, exercising their brains and keeping them in their place. good luck to you all Di

I also have a dog with probs--but in my case luxating patellas. My vet said that once a week hydrotherapy would not be sufficient, it would need to be more regular/frequent and would therefore be quite costly. She suggested as an alternative to walk my dog through a child's paddle pool to get the benefit of resistance against the water. Good luck with the exercise program--my guy also is much worse if we ever have to reduce his exercise. Di

A member of the American Veterinary Dental society of course. How else do they drum up business? ;) Bear. In addition to being critical of the vested interests of the American Veterinary Association, I think there is a danger in overstating the positive benefits of bones. Unfortunately, feeding bones doesn't guarantee clean teeth. My small dogs (chi x s and shelti x) have a chicken neck or wing each morning for breakfast plus additional bones periodically. Despite this, my shelti x's teeth still required another clean less than 12 months after her previous dental. She is a young dog 3 yrs, has a natural diet with no added sugars, preservatives or colours. I now clean with a toothbrush daily. I'm hoping this will do the trick. The two chi x's teeth have stayed clean on daily bones. Di In addition, I'll never give one of my chi x's chicken wings again after a small portion lodged in his throat. He is not a gulper, he chews his food, the chicken wings were raw and he is supervised while he eats but he still required surgery to remove the bone fragment. I know it may never occur again but cannot bring myself to take the risk.

The reliability of the claims about the harmful effects of Greenies is unclear from what I can gather. See link below: http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/greenies.asp There certainly is truth to the claim that even raw bones can be harmful. My chi x had a tiny splinter of raw chicken wing wedged in his oesophagus which fortunately the specialist vets managed to remove. Up to that point he'd had chicken wings almost daily without incident. As is the case for our (human) kids, we can't protect our dogs from everything. Rather, we balance the risk of poor dental health against the dangers of bones, greenies, rawhide, toys etc... Di

I've heard from my vet and another source that it is OK to use the human version of Missing Link--which, last time I checked, was still available in Aust. Di

My girl tends to do everything in a circle--she circles her bowl as she eats, fetches in more of a circular way rather than a linear way, spins when excited, circles to settle down to sleep (and has to do lots of circles when she goes to the toilet) and always in an anti-clockwise direction. I'd thought it was some ancient slightly displaced hearding instinct. Di

My Sheltie x also circles, always in an anti-clockwise direction esp. when excited. I assumed it was a "Sheltie thing". Would be interesting to hear from Sheltie owners. She's fine in every other way, hasn't become worse and is a Delta pet therapy dog. Di

Yes, food is Boomer's primary motivator. That's why he's always on a diet! He does however use toys to motivate us (to play with him). d

Gee I wished that worked with Boomer... he ignores toys that have been confiscated probably because, being a small dog, he's played with an awful lot. Di

It was nice to meet you all on Sat. Thanks for the organisation and effort involved. My guys are somewhat more laid back than the youngsters we met on Saturday. Di and Boomer (the pip squeak)