aussielover

Oh yeah....

Clover was trustworthy at 4-5 months, basically the day we got her! Mindy, well I don't know when, if ever, it will happen for her... she is a good puppy though, she just likes chewing alot. She is ok to be left for an hour or so if she is sleepy. she is quite a heavy sleeper and won;t wake for a while if she is asleep thankfully!

Perhaps she is is just being naughty. If my puppy were to do this for no reason she would get squirted in the face with a spray bottle. That usually settles her down pretty quickly. at work, she would sometimes bark, i would toilet her and then bring her back, if she kept barking she would get sprayed in the face which was quite effective

I've never heard that before but i suppose it is possible your dog is reacting to somehting iin the diet. You could try royal canin, advance or science diet as these are premium foods also. You might want to change to a raw diet, perhaps there are too many carbs in the dry food.

I got anatolian and black russian too. I wonder why they keep recommedning these breeds, as I have heard they are certainly not for everyone. I didn't indicate I was an experienced trainer (because i'm not), which I believe is what these breeds need?

Can you take her to an off leash park and let her have a run? It is much more tiring for them to play with other dogs or run around in a park, than a lead walk.

Yes, we do it inside as mindy gets fed in her crate. you just need to be able to tie up to somewhere though.

I'm so sorry to hear about bailey RIP Thankyou for posting this though, I was unaware that labradors were more prone to bad reactions to rimadyl. I will not let Mindy or any of my future labs have it now. Does anyone know if metacam or previcox have similar incidences of adverse reactions? They are also NSAIDs but diferent active ingredient.

That is really bad! Poor dpg I once found a dpg, i called the number on the tag, the person actually had the nerve to say "oh yes he sometimes gets out, could you please just keep him with you, I have some shopping to do, I'll be a few hours" I was totally shocked and ended up saying ok.

The breeder is not able to keep the dog long term, but is helping to rehome. Will try the breed club though, thanks

Is there a setter sub forum? one of our clients is knows of a gordon setter in need of a home. He has already had 3 homes, through no fault of his own, just bad luck. The current owner is very unwell and likely dying so is in need of another home. He is a desexed 2,5 year old male called Dougal. He is very friendly with other dogs but will need a home with plenty of space and an owner who is able to exercise him regularly. The breeder is aware of the situation and is very concernes that he find a great new home. I have her contact details, so PM me if you need them (not sure if she is a member here?) I don't personally know the dog though, just passing on a request. Will post in rescue section as well, but just wanted to let Gordon Setter owners know about Dougal.

If it is a husky type dog, then it should be ok with the cold. My aussie shepherd used to sleep outside on the concrete or grass in the middle of winter despite having a warm and comfy bed indoors, the couch, my bed, a kennel, a warm and comfy trampoline bed outside etc. I suppose the fact that there is nothing else available if the dog did want to use it, is slightly concerning, but perhaps they have tried these things before. Working dogs would be lucky a hessian sack, let alone a towel, so I suppose it is a a matter of persepective

TOT is amazing! I don't even have to use a lead now and Mindy will not touch the food, not even look at it, her eyes are glued on my face,until I say ok, it is adorable. I still use the tie back though so she associates being tied up with a reward.

Is it ok to use a spray bottle to stop undesirable behaviour on a 13 week old pup? I only use water. I have held out about a month before trying this. I mainly use it for biting/mouthing and occasionally for excessive barking for attention. I tried other methods: yelping, which worked momentarily, she then immediately resumed I also tried time outs, did not seem to work at all, growling and saying NO which did not work either. The spray bottle has been highly effective and she now actually listens to when i say no and is much better in public. Before she used to mouth everyone, obviously not desirable, now she doesn't do it a often and when she does a "no" is all it takes to stop her. Her reaction is to stop immediately what she is doing and then she will go and sulk for a bit and then finally usually just settle down and rest/sleep. Is this ok/normal? She would only get sprayed a maximum of about 3 times per day, if that. Now all I have to do is get the bottle and show it to her and she knows. I've been reading through some of the older threads and a few people have said they wouldn't use it on a baby puppy. I was wondering why people would think this as it is not physically hurting them and IMO is better than people getting really angry and screaming or people constantly saying "no" with no effect.

Yes, If you want to teack speak, also teach quiet or you will have some problems!

If you want to teach her to "speak" there iis some good info in the training forum, I think in the dog tricks sub forums there is a detailed method on this, which I have used successfully with Mindy. Basically, you just have to work her up enough to bark, I used a clicker to teach this, so as soon as Mindy made even the tiniest noise i would click and treat. I then added in the hand signal and command. Mindy does a "quiet speak" and a "loud speak" now whicih is quite cute. Is Genevieve actually toilet trained? Because if she is, doesn't she come and get you anyway or start whinig at the door to be let out?

This is a very quick way to toilet train the pup. However, you would have to be home all day and I don't persoanllly like locking them up for that long

No, you still have plenty of time to socialize him I think you are better safe than sorry, especially if there has been a known parvo outbreak in your area. If the vet thinks there is a high chance of puppy school puppies being infected with parvo, its is probably best to take their advice. The timeline is just a guide, its not exactly 8-12 weeks for every puppy. Many people say upto 14/16 weeks is the most important time for socialization, so you still have a few weeks until then. I agree with CW EW that socialization is soemhting that needs to be done thrughout a dogs life.

To walk past dogs while lead walking (we're working on that) They said they can play with other dogs at the park. They don't seem to mind how they greet each other while off the lead (not working). But while on the lead, definitely no interactions. I met a failed one (medical reasons) recently that was quite "in your face" at the park with other dogs. We are encouraged to take the dogs to the park for a run around with other dogs, they are after all, just puppies, not working dogs yet. They haven't given us any rules or guidelines for socialization off leash. So I as far as I can tell, as long as they are under control, they can play however they want. I am asking more in general, as I will apply the same rules/training with any future dogs I might own.

I am just getting to the stage where I am taking Mindy to the park and on slightly longer walks. When walking on the lead I encourage her NOT to interact with other dogs and just try to walk straight past them. I'm not really sure about what to do at the park or at a friends place while the dogs are off lead etc. I used to really dislike dogs that came running up to my old dogs face and jumping all over her and would hate for Mindy to start doing this. At the moment, I keep her on lead initially and ask her to sit and wait for the other dog to approach. She is quite good and will be reserved and cautious initally and then if the dog is ok, I let her off the lead. She will then attempt to enagage the other dog in play. The problem is that even if the dog is not receptive to play, she will keep trying, I usually put her back on leash and end the interaction at this time when I can see the other dog getting pissed off. So far I have only let her play with other puppies or dogs I know. What do you think is appropriate behaviour for dogs greeting each other? What can I do to ensure she wont annoy the crap out of other dogs?

OMG that is so bad Sorry, I don't have any recommendations though

I actually think that when a dog is bred for colour alone, then they suffer. As choc labs are currently quite popular, I think unethical people, in it for the money, may have been the cause of this myth. Obviously a well bred lab of any colour should have a great temperament and be healthy (if looked after approopriately). I've seen a number of pet shop choc labs (and other colurs too) that are out of control, aggressive and unhealthy. The owner of one actually recently said to me about my black pup that "she would be so much cuter if she were chocolate" mmm I hope she was joking. I love the chocs but if I were to get one, it would be from a good breeder that didn't only breed to get choc pups

yes, its very annoying, people keep telling me how massive my dog will be because she has very big paws apparently. They say it in a horrified or amused voice. Well, obviously, she's a labrador, I wouldn't have gotten her if I didn't expect a big dog...

Just wondering how many toys a puppy should have. I kind of feel bad because my other doggie Clover actually only ever had one toy in her whole life (given to her by someone else) but she didn't really seem to need or even like them. She was never destructive and never showed any inclination of wanting to rip things to shreds (unlike some...hem, Mindy)She was a massive ball fan- the rubber ball was like the only toy she ever used. Miss Mindy has quite a few toys: a puppy kong which she has some of her meals in A rubber chew bone (hardly ever uses unless smeared with peanut butter or we play with her) A number of soft squeaky: she plays with these alot, even by herself A massive duck A ball Various homemade toys- usually recycling or the like. She never seems satisified with these toys and is always on the lookout for new potential toys. She is deprived as you can see:

Maybe, I hadn't thought of that. She will sometimes go over to the toilet area if we are playing in the yard and go, before we are able to give the command though.