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Del can be like that too StaffyLuv. When my OH and I go for a walk together, he can take her lead, but she will put herself beside my left hand side as if I was walking her anyway. But if I wasn't there, I know she'd be ok. Digby will go off with others but not do anything they tell him to... I just think he often doesn't understand them. I think it's to do with having that relationship with them. While I'm sure Cosmolo knows tonnes more than me about it :) I think it's not just about reinforcement history but also about communication. You can communicate with them in the way they understand and they communicate with you back and you understand it. So I think they also prefer you over others for that reason too.

My dog Digby (who was entire until he was 2 1/2) absolutely loves to mark, yet he has never, ever marked in our house. My other boy dog never marked at all! So you don't necessarily have to worry too much about marking :)

awww congratulations on the new addition!

Sorry, I'm at the south end of the state so I don't know of anyone. Hopefully someone will know :)

I Have click to calm. There was definitely some good information in it. I must have a look over it again. Interestingly today I walked Del in our neighbourhood for the first time in about a week (I have been taking her elsewhere which I have the luxury of doing while I'm on uni break) and she was so much more relaxed out here than she has been in a long time. I'm actually starting to wonder how much my overall stress levels during my exams and having a very sick child might have contributed to her overall stress? Who knows - dogs can be so confusing sometimes! That's the same as the one we just bought :) I was lucky that the new pet store in town stocks them. The other store only sells the ones that keep the dog's mouth closed. I honestly think Del would die if I walked her in one of those! We are on day two of muzzle training and it's going well so far :) Let me know how you go when you get yours?

Firstly I can see how frustrated you are, it's very understandable. I know you said he's had some thorough vet checks, but a couple of things you wrote made me think of syringomyelia. It's not that common, so I wonder whether the vet might not have picked up on it? Would you say he is a generally happy dog? I am rural too and I understand how difficult it can be to get good professional dog training/behaviour help! My recommendation would be to go and see a good behaviourist, even if it involves a bit of travelling. If you are comfortable saying around about where you are in NSW someone here might be able to suggest a good behaviourist in a reasonable vicinity. I know you said you've seen trainers before, but I can vouch that you will get way more out of a good behaviourist :) I think it would be a really good idea to see one of these brilliant people before you make any big decisions about what you do with him. I took my dog to see a good behaviourist and it clarified so much for us. The exercises we were given weren't too difficult at all, yet they really transformed my dog's life for the better. I have a 'good' dog and a 'naughty' dog. I'm sure if I only happened to have my 'good' dog I'd probably think I knew heaps about dogs and how to train them. My 'naughty' dog reminds me every day how little I know :laugh: As you say sometimes dogs do just have a more difficult temperament than others. It is a shame that the breeder is not being more helpful, I mean let's face it, part of the beauty of getting a registered purebred dog is the lifetime breeder support that is meant to come with it. So I'm sorry this hasn't happened in your case.

Awww Maybe Jake could have a duck-friend instead, maybe not that particular mother duck though :laugh: I have the sweetest picture of him surrounded by ducklings in my head :D What a gentleman he is :) Huge improvements there! You must be really proud :) I must say I think that the vet visit is definitely something to celebrate . I love the sound of these caravanning trips by the way, I'm quite jealous! I hope the sore spine is just a bruise or something minor SL. That does sound tricky situation to manage the long car trip with the car sickness. I wonder if he'll manage ok if you just don't feed him breakky and get there with enough time for the nausea to dissipate? He sounds like he's going so well though! You 'll get heaps out of the k9 pro visit I'm sure. Digby and I got a lot out of it when we went. Today I bought Del a muzzle. I had been told by a behaviourist after a phone consult that she probably didn't need one, but I think I need her to have one, if you know what I mean. I think that I am really going to get some peace of mind from it. I have done 3 conditioning sessions with it today, and she's taking to it really well, so it shouldn't be long before we're out and about with it :)

Oh no! How scary! I'm so glad he's come through it all well so far. Fingers crossed he heals quickly the darling boy.

Oooooh nice work Jake! I think that's not a bad way to look at it Hankdog, re: making him obedient around other dogs rather than aiming for dog friendliness. It makes me think at setting some smaller goals for Delta. I took Del to the vet today- well not to the vet, but to the footpath and surrounding area as I thought it would be a really good place to practice, because there are always dogs coming and going, and also I pretty much know where the dogs would be doing (either going from their car into the vet, or from the vet into the car) which makes it quite easy to manage proximity. It worked pretty well, in fact the only time she seemed worried was at a dog barking from the back of the building. So it seems as like she mainly has a problem in our neighbourhood, which is interesting.

Yeah I think the muzzle can be a really good thing maddogdodge :) I had a long morning out with Del today. Vaccinations at the vet and then a long leisurely walk around the botanic gardens. It was so lovely I even took a selfie of us both in front of the roses :laugh: We didn't see any other dogs, but I have to work on getting Del used to being out and about in different places as she can get stressed in new places. She was very good though apart from being a little too interested in a family of ducks.

haha, he pulled out his whole repertoire for a bit of peanut butter action by the sound of it :laugh: That's a good idea about asking the other dog to sit, I'm definitely going to try that

oh he is beautiful! :) I loved reading your description of him, he sounds delightful. Happy gotcha day Gussy!

I'm not so good at explaining it I think. But it is an estimate of what the actual figure would be in the population, As the sample will always be different to the population. They are saying that there is only a 0.05% chance that they have it wrong.

Data obtained from the Veterinary Medicine Database demonstrate significantly increased frequency of MCT in pugs compared with other dogs (OR = 2.28, 95% CI = 1.81–2.86).

Maeby I can completely understand where you are coming from, having gone through a very similar experience. It took me less than a minute to find this by the way: Keywords: breed predisposition; dogs; mast cell; pugs Abstract Mast cell tumours (MCT) are common in dogs and characterized by diverse biologic behaviour. Our objective was to evaluate the risk of MCT in pugs and to describe the clinical behaviour of MCT in this breed. Data obtained from the Veterinary Medicine Database demonstrate significantly increased frequency of MCT in pugs compared with other dogs (OR = 2.28, 95% CI = 1.81–2.86). The medical records for 25 purebred pugs with a histologic diagnosis of MCT were reviewed. Multiple cutaneous tumours were documented in 14 (56 %) of the dogs. Histologic review of 64 tumours from these dogs confirmed that most tumours (94%) were low to intermediate grade. Sixty-four per cent of these dogs are still living, while only three dogs (12%) have died due to mast cell disease. A median survival time has not been reached. The median follow-up time is 660 days from the diagnosis of the first MCT. We conclude that MCT in pugs are relatively benign, despite the presence of multiple cutaneous tumours in most cases. Multiple tumours in breeds with predisposition to MCT may indicate separate primaries rather than advanced stage disease. The DOI is 10.1111/j.1476-5810.2006.00085.x

That's great I'm glad he's got Brandiandwe and Nekhbet on his side :)

True! I hadn't thought of it that way! To think I have been missing out on the potential social benefits of feeding pig head :laugh:

Is he still in need of a home?

Wow that's a win for you as well Hankdog! Really good to hear that the vet was good for him and he actually fell asleep :laugh: At the moment Del and I are having no steps forward or backward as she's still on bed rest. Only a couple more days to go, thankfully!

Haha well at least that's a pretty good thing to be sensible about! Oh and if you end up getting a pig's head my recommendation is to do it when you're not planning on having visitors; as they are just a little bit disturbing, and I think non-dog people just really wouldn't understand :laugh: For us it's also the one kind of bone that Digby insists on leaving right at the back door, it's quite something to be greeted with when you step out there

Aww he's a good sensible boy :) yeah definitely try the pigs head. There is actually a tonne of meat on it and would be a great addition to a raw diet, or just as a recreational chew IMO. Are you stuck for something tonight? I have a few frozen marrows in the freezer your welcome to if you need. I'm trying to think of the stuff at the supermarkets, but he'd probably make short work of turkey legs and such?

When I fed them to my two Del vomited blood. She vomited the next day and I can't be sure they were the problem, but I haven't fed them since. They didnt seem to be a problem for Digby. My new favourite for the dogs is a pig's head from Knights. They chop in two for us. Still even in two pieces it still might be a bit big for Nova?

oh BC Crazy, that is wonderful :) sounds like some very significant improvements there The Caravanning sounds like fun too, especially if Stella is relaxing a bit more. Do you go away for quite a long period of time?

Staffyluv that is really inspirational! You must be delighted :) and look at Ziggy laying there looking very pleased, he's a cutie :) That's an interesting observation; about even in multiple dog house holds, usually only one dog is reactive. I think it reactivity might follow the diathesis-stress model in which dogs with a biological predisposition, when put under a certain amount of stress will develop reactivity.

oh I know! Wouldn't it be great if we could just sit them down and have a chat!? Yeah I have the two beasties: Digby, who is non-reactive; and Del. I walk them separately most of the time. Sometimes we'll go together with OH walking one of them, but OH hates this so it doesn't happen very often :laugh: Digby wears a back-pack with weights on our walk to keep him buff. I don't know if you've ever seen a photo of him, but his body shape is similar to a bullmastiff, so jogging is not really his thing. Whereas Del and I run together a few times a week. Digby often does get to go more places not just because of the reactivity but also because he is just generally easier. He likes to be obedient and he's generally sensible. I can take him to places that I just would never really consider taking Del. Like my parent's place. They have a very steep block and I'm sure at some point she would have zoomies and total herself.