aussielover

Poor Amber, I hope she feels better soon. Hugs to you- it is so hard when they aren't well

oakway do your dogs get RMBs/chewys as well? I think this product would work well in conjunction with a mechanical method of cleaning and obviusly its better than nothing, but the dental specialist told me it was a bit like only using mouthwash in humans if its the only thing you use.

She is not allergic to beef and now I'm beginning to doubt if she is allergic to chicken as well. How quickly does Mason "break out" in symptoms afetr eating a food he's allergic to? Mindy was given chicken while in hospital and they said she wasn't itchy at all, she hasn't been itchy at all lately despite being fed on chicken only and then i/d when she first came home. She tested with a positive reaction to chicken when we did the food trial a few months ago but perhaps that just coincided with a breakout of her dust/pollen/grass allergies. I also thought she was allergic to beef, but now I'm fairly certain she is not. I am going to visit the derm soon again so we may need to redo the food trial to double check

Maybe Dan should take some food or other reward with him when he exercises Sammy? I found Sammy to be well balanced with people and other dogs (and horses!), obedient and with an excellent recall when I walked him... I had both food and toy rewards availble which he seemed more than keen to work for. Perhaps he just prefers girls lol

I think Sammy's behaviour with Dan is normal. My dog is similar. If I'm there she'll only work for me, or want me (except with a really experienced trainer who knows what they're doing and how to get a dog to work). She runs straight past every other member of my family to greet me when we get home. Honestly I think its only an issue if Dan doesn't like the situation (feels rejected or whatever) or if Sammy displays anxiety around Dan when you're not there.

Considering people charge $25 a visit for a cat, I think $20-25 a night would be perfectly reasonable.

Happy birthday daisy!!! What a cute baby you were! Still very cute but much more well behaved now I suspect!

Don't just ignore it. I was given similar advice to SecretKei with my puppy from trainers. Luckily I knew that this was wrong, generally dogs don't bark for no reason. Still today, some of her obedience instructors think its acceptable for her to bark at people because she is a labrador and obviously wouldn't hurt anyone... :rolleyes: I also recommend Steve from K9pro, I have been able to get my dog under control with his help.

What level is it- I assume its set at masters level? Mindy's going to be out of training for a few months now so I doubt we will be able to compete Will definitely go watch though!

thats pretty weird! Has he been licking at the area or anything? Mindy seems to find the area where the clipped and non clipped area meet pretty itchy (she has allergies as well though). You could put flamazine (silver sulfadiazine) as it is soothing and antibacterial with very little side effects (no steroids in it) if you have any.

It looks a bit like clipper rash to me but its really hard to tell from the pic sorry! If it is clipper rash you could try putting some soothing cream on it, like Neocort or Flamazine if you have any. How long has it been there? Clipper rash usually occurs pretty soon after clipping. Maybe ring your vet and ask? Sorry to hear about his diagnosis I hope you can get his clinical signs under control and that he has many happy years ahead of him.

our kong wubba didn't last very long a few games of tug saw it break- to be fair they aren't really made for tugging. How about deer antlers etc? Though i am still trying to get Mindy to eat hers- she isn't too keen.

One a day turkey necks sounds good- lucky boy! I wouldn't feed rawhide if I was able to feed bones. But I plan to give them to my dog 3-4 times a week now. I believe a member on DOL sells deer antlers- they come in different sizes. http://www.whelpingsupplies.com.au/index.php?_a=viewCat&catId=40

It is not so much the choking risk of chicken necks, but the fact that some dogs gullp them down and don't chew them at all. I think for a large dog like a Rottie, they are too small to be of any benefit cleaning the teeth especially if he's just gulping them down and you risk causing an obstuction somewhere if they aren't chewed properly. Turkey necks are good, as are roo tails. Pigs ears are very fatty so probably a prized treat. Any rawhide will make them chew- which is good for the teeth. Personally I use the unbleached ones (yellowy colour). Deer antlers are also great, if your dog likes them. I am still trying to get my dog interested in them.

I think a puppy should get used to its normal routine asap. I'd get it over the weekend, get it used to you and the new house etc and then resume work as normal, otherwise the puppy could get too used having company all the time. Good idea to come home at lunch and feed and play with it- I see you've aleady thought about that which is great Just out of curiosity- what breed are you getting?

You and Sammy have a very close bond, so it is no surprise that he can easily tell who you don't like. Though as you said, him peeing on people and intimidating them isn't ideal, so you need to intervene when he does this. Is he crate trained? If people are uncomfortable around my dog at my house, I always crate her. She usually wins them over in the end though :D

Corvus, it is not that people don't necessarily know when to intervene or can't read dog body language well (although this is sometimes the case). It is the fact that many of them can't be bothered to or don't see the need. All many people can think about is that their dogs is "friendly" (in their opinion) and therefore all other dogs should also be friendly.

A lot of people here will advocate raw meaty bones, which is fine, depending on the type of dog you have. I personally think bones are a great natural way to keep a dogs teeth clean. However, after recently having a bad experience with a bone, I can no longer safely give them to my dog. As you mentioned, daily tooth brushing is the gold standard but it is unrealistic for some people. There are basically 2 methods for teeth cleaning: mechanical and chemical. Mechanical is anything that involves chewing and physically removing plaque (so brusshing and surgical removal). Some dental foods like T/D have huge pieces of kibble that force a dog to chew. Instead of bones, I now give my dog rawhide chews, kongs and pigs ears (always supervised). Chemical controls include some diets/treats that have polyphosphates in the which binds calcium- this helps prevent plaque formation. You can also apparently get dog mouthwashes etc. I don't know if your rottie pup is a good chewer but I wouldn't recommend chicken necks in a large breed dog, i've seen many times where they have been swallowed whole and ended up causing a bloackage or vomited up whole. You could try adding in some more bones- but please be aware of the risks. My dog was always supervised eating her bones, she actually did chew them well, but she still got once stuck and penetrating her intestine and nearly died. I think it was extrmeley unlucky, but this is the reason why some vets will hesitate to recommend bones. Hard bones can also cause dogs to crack their teeth. You also have to be careful with rawhide and pigs ears as some dog can choke on them if they try to at them too quickly. So really, brushing their teeth is the safest option and probably the best to prevent any dental issues. While it is true that dogs in the wild and working dogs receive no dental care- many of them die quite young around 5/6 or once their working life is over. Many breeds have deviated from the original wolf structure, especially with regard to dentition, so I think it is not fair to compare them to wolves. I think it is a combination of human creating and breeding dogs to be companions and therefore not need to have perfect teeth as well as people becoming more aware of dental health etc. I don't think a 6 month dental check up is necessary for a young dog, it is easier if you just check their mouth every few months and make sure there is no tartar build up, then have them checked at your yearly/3 yearly or whatever you do for general health checks,titre tests or vaccinations. I think we need to keep in mind that just because a dog is eating well, doesn't mean it isn't uncomfortable.

while it was good that the dogs could interact nicely together, I don't know if its just me but I found some of the owners behaviour inappropriate. Like, I wouln't let my dog off lead and go running up to other dogs that are on lead, especially in such a confined space. Many other dogs don't appreciate being greeted by an unknown off leash dog and may feel anxious, especially being on lead. But perhaps they all knew each other? it was good too see that all the dogs appeared to be well-socialised and have appropriate behavoiur

I think you need radiographs at a minimum, at least to rule out certain problems. Preferably have them taken and read by a specialist.

What a gorgeous smile your Rottie has I tend to find Dachsunds quite feisty towards other dogs! It doesn't really worry me now, but my previous dog was quite reactive towards others dogs and certainly wouldn't take that sort of crap from a little dog, unlike my big sooky lab. I used to worry that Clover would tell off other dogs especially ones that got in her face, although she never hurt them, it doesn't sound good and dog owners in my area are a bit precious lol

mmm, my collie was seized and euthanized for ONE NIP. I didn't refuse to pay the fine(I have paid it) I wasn't told I was required to keep him in a certain way to have him returned and he was a 23 month old puppy that I'd had for under 2 months when this 'incident' occurred. This isn't scaremongering, it's the truth! PS - My staffy x is also required to wear a muzzle when off the property. She didn't bite, but she's 'menacing' according to Monash Council. I wouldn't believe a single word you say. Umm, if your dog nips someone, that is grounds enough for it to be declared a dangerous dog should the person "injured" decide to report it. A dog "rushing" another person is enough to be declared dangerou or menacing.

Another for cardboard boxes and plastic bottles. Frozen puppy kongs are good too. The tuffies toys look great but are expensive. Mindy was never much of a chewer- she prefers to carry stuff around in her mouth without actually chewing it up thank goodness! I still have most of her original puppy toys. she doesn't chew shoes- with the exception of Rubi shoes (a brand of shoe) she loves chewing them and has destroyed 3 pairs of mine Lucky they are cheap!

No. BSL has failed in numerous other countries. Firstly because breed does not dictate whether a dog will attack, secondly because people don't obey the law anyway. If people actually obeyed the law by keeping their dogs contained, many serious attacks could be prevented.

Can I ask why you would not say this if it is the case The poster is telling the truth to the breeder/s which it should be, if she didnt tell it as it was and got on here later and said she actually got the dog for her son half of you would be up in arms that she didnt state tht in the beginning. Maybe I should have worded what I meant better, perhaps it would be better to state that it would be a family dog who would be company for the whole family and she thinks this may be of benefit to his well being of her 3 year old son, as I am sure if you said that you wanted the dog for a 3 year old many breeders would see it as highly irresponsible as they may see it as you expecting them (the 3 year old) to be responsible for the dog. The reason why breeders and foster carers get nervous when people say they want a dog for their kids is 1. because as RF said it is highly irresponsible and unrealisitic to expect a child to be the main carer 2. they may not actually want a dog themselves and are just getting one to appease the kids (what happens if/when the kids are no longer interested?) 3. they may have unrealistic expectations of the dog- not all are bombproof with kids, they are not all babysitters and some dogs are just downright unsuitable for a child's companion. When we are talking about placing a dog with a special needs child, that may be more unpredictable than the average child- a responsible person would want the dog to be tested to be of a suitable temperament, something that is hard to pick in an 8 week old puppy. Good on the OP for considering all options and advice I think contacting a training organisiation is a great idea.