Staff'n'Toller

Where abouts are you training?? (Can pm me that answer if you feel comfortable) My Staffy had Panosteitis at 6mths and spent 3 mths away from training and confined...this resulted in the same sort of thing, she missed a critical time in her life to socialise and train near other dogs. Although I had the reverse - I had my trainer telling me I was expecting too much from her since she had missed out on a few months training at that all-important-time. The circumstances were different though, i was training at a club that used praise and the release command and didn't rely on or use food at all. Why not just use a special toy a nice small teddy bear that you only bring out for training- it doesn't have to have a squeak in it. Or can you release him at the end of the exercise and take him out for a game of short fetch on lead with a ball perhaps??? Segregating him may only cause frustration which sounds like you have identified already. He still needs to be able to see the dogs but at a distance away from them to start off with. When I used to take classes we would recognise the critical distance which is the distance he needs to be away from the other dogs whilst still having focus on you...and this is slowly decreased in increments over time until he has good focus and is less distracted by the other class dogs. He should end up being able to join back in the class eventually. I wouldn't say that he is altogether unsuitable for a class situation- he is still a puppy- but I agree that perhaps a few private lessons may help out before you take him back to training again. Often when I am conducting private lessons (that's all I teach now) I will bring my own dog in for a small amount of distraction, and both dogs are worked at the same time. Mel.

I feed a premium quality dry food to my pup and did a little bit of research about eagle pack as I wanted to feed that if it had less protein- it doesn't- protein ratio's are about the same in all the foods that I looked at. What is more important is the 'energy' value of the food- in other words what is the useable energy per serving. In large breed puppy dry foods you will find they are a fair amount less than the regular puppy dry....so feeding that to a large breed dog would be better. Adult foods have less useable energy again- so that's probably why they are recommended to feed to large breed pups. Mel.

I have the study done on Collies and Ivermectin, will need to find it but rough stats are that they need to be given over 30mcg per kg to cause a reaction in those lines sensitive to Ivermec....and Heartgard is only 6mcg per kg. I have never heard of Collie's having reactions to Interceptor/Sentinel or Revolution or Advocate, I'm sure one of those preparations would be fine... The daily tablets are fine but you might find that they eventually get taken off the shelves as they have been superseded by the monthly preparations. ALSO if you miss ONE day of daily HW prevention, you put your dog at risk. It takes approx 6mths for immature heartworm to mature....so when you have a test done and it is negative, then it is assumed you will start treatment immmediately and retest in 6mths to see if there are any adult heartworm lurking about. There is definitely heartworm diagnosed it the eastern suburbs...and all it takes is one heartworm infested dog to act as the 'resevoir' for all the unprotected dogs in a large area. If you want an absolutely ACE vet- I work for one close to the area you are after, he's brilliant!....PM me. Mel.

The bed is a resource to her that's all - it's valuable to her...if she's afraid of losing it...then growling would be normal, also if has never really picked her up before then that would explain why... Mel.

Nice posts Wiser Don't punish the growling, teach your son to stop what he is doing when she growls, and see how they interact in other situations...if she is growling at other times with him then consult a trainer about it. Sounds like she just didn't want to be picked up, and a five year old cannot pick up an 18kg dog correctly- their hands are not big enough for one thing, he may have just poked her where it was not wanted. My staff doesn't even like being picked up by me - she is sensitive under the rib cage, it's just their build. On a 'careful' note, when children pick up dogs of any type, it puts the dog very close to their face, I really don't think it's a good idea in any situation, good or bad. Mel.

What brand of dry food are you feeding?? Mel.

Dogs don't share, it's not natural. He is obviously scared of the fact that something he has in his posession is going to be taken away by another dog. Standing over the object, growling, posturing, lifting their lips, and snarling are all fairly normal ways of saying "it's mine and I'm warning you - don't come near it!!" Biting a dog is usually a last resort, and the other dog has to be fairly inept to not read the signs especially if they are adults. However if your pup is not going through those motions of communication and biting first -asking questions later - I think it might be an idea to get a behaviourist to at least take a look at it first hand. It's too hard to give any advice about aggression issues here- without seeing what your dog is doing and what the other dog is doing as well. Their body language needs to be read, and your dog needs to be assessed in other situations with dogs to get a clearer picture. Cheers Mel.

Hehehehe My Kelpie has a bit of that but only because the end of his tail curls right over and flicks the hair side to side. You might need to 'hairspray' it down for the upcoming show! Mel.

Yes I had heard that Z/D made them lose weight and coat condition too, but have had no probs with Gypsy, she is a stable 14kg, and her coat I think looks better than it did on any other foods which suprised me as well!! If they were losing weight on it I would just feed more of it. That's a shame about the duck and rice, I know it is a bit harder to get but my rep has said that they will keep producing it because it is one of those novel protein foods that most companies don't make, perhaps an idea would be to contact the company direct and tell them you're having trouble getting it. Gypsy is doing great on the Z/D so I wouldn't change it now....plus she loves to eat it, I think it smells pretty good myself! LOL We had a dog who trialled on it then the owners tried to switch back to the original adult formula- dog starved itself for 3 days- refused to eat the original stuff they had to go back to Z/D!! Cheers, Mel.

:D Geez....she's got the lot hasn't she? I'm sure that there are others that will have great BARF info for you...I don't have advanced knowledge of it myself. I've got Billinghursts books tho. All I can share is that my staffy has food/contact allergies, she used to suffer from hotspots, itchiness, feet chewing, generalised inflamed skin, and contact allergies. She does give me itchy skin too when I come into close contact with her. I tried BARF but didn't have much success. I just don't have enough time to do BARF for all of my dogs although I'd love to. I also tried Eukanuba Fish and Potato low residue- no joy. I tried Hills Z/D Ultra 'cause a rep challenged me to try it and promised there would be an improvement. I doubted it- but I tried it partly to prove her wrong LOL. Fortunately for Gypsy, she was right- I noticed a big improvement in her skin colour, didn't realise how pink she was all the time, until I started feeding it, also she always had terrible wind- could clear the room!! No probs with that anymore either. It's probably not what you want as it may still have cornmeal in it- I haven't got a packet so can't check on the ingredients...but they also do a Whitefish and Rice (?D/D?) as a novel protein source. Just wanted to post my experiences...may be of no help whatsoever but good luck with it. Mel.

When you say she has severe allergies....what happens when she eats these things? Just wondered, have an allergic staffy myself....but she is allergic to large proteins. Mel.

Hehehehe I think she's just being a bugger Pheeble I have a high energy dog who sleeps on my bed and basically she was taught that nightime is for sleeping, she could very easily get into a routine of waking me at 3am to go to the toilet if she wanted, (she has in the past) but she is let out at 11pm then most mornings at 6am, so I know she doesn't need to go. OTOH if I sleep in - she'll sleep till 9 or 10am without needing to go at all!!! (Very cheeky) Clomicalm takes more than a couple of weeks to work, generally 4-6, if your foster carer wants to change the dose, she should call the Vet about it- cause it may never kick in if she's only getting half of what she should. If there's side effects she should talk to the Vet about that too. I think crate training to sleep near Kylie would be a good idea...sounds as though she's waking herself up and has way to much freedom at night- then of course after she's been playing she needs to toilet Try introducing the crate over a few weeks as a very positive experience...I'll try find some links for you. Mel.

Hey Mel, I was gonna post this in your 'off topic' topic, but since this one is still active and the other one isn't- thought I'd post here instead. How did you go finding out who was feeding Kaden?? Just wondered.

Razzamataz, I didn't want to post earlier because I wanted to make sure I had my facts straight, and coincidentally today- I realised I did! The product ADVOCATE by Bayer, which treats for heartworm, fleas, intestinal worms and ear mites, now has their claim approved for Demodex mite as well. Our rep dropped off some info on it today...they are saying 2-4 continuous treatments provides a 97% success rate. Apart from the immune system and food allergy problems your dog might be having, you can use Advocate as an alternative to ivomec. If it were my dog- I'd go for it. My dogs are on it for Heartworm/flea/worm treatment, I've had no probs so far. Mel.

My first dog was Schutzhund trained. I believe he will be the safest dog I will ever own, he can discriminate between threatening and non-threatening behaviour. He rarely, if ever 'won' the sleeve, he was mostly always recalled off it. If you can recall a dog operating in such a high level of drive, then that speaks volumes about the level of obedience you have with your dog. For him it was an outlet, he loved his bite work. Immediately after being recalled off the sleeve and being told 'finish' he would run up to the sleeve wearer for a pat. I understand about the fruitloop owners (otherwise known as guys with extrememly small testicles ). However, correctly trained Schutzhund dogs/handlers don't usually fall into that fruitloop category. The dogs obedience has to be at a very advanced level. I think the psyche is different too- I hoped that I never had to actually use my dog in any situation, we both enjoyed the training, but I would never have wanted to place him in danger. Mel.

Sentinel Spectrum does have a flea treatment in it, but it's an insect growth regulator which means that it doesn't kill adult fleas like Revolution- that's why I was confused hehehe. She doesn't really need to be on both- bit of overkill really. Either Revolution with an allwormer or back to Sentinel Spectrum once the ear mites/fleas are under control. Does your foster carer have cats? This is probably overdoing it, but if she's coming up for 6, a blood test to check her general health may also ease your mind, whilst you're at the Vets. Kind Regards, Mel.

Is she having Sentinel Spectrum and Revolution at the same time or have you been using Sentinel then switched to Revolution??? Sorry I'm confused. Edited to ask: How old is she? I would have your FC collect a fresh urine sample the morning of the Vet visit. Mel.

IMO, this is placing a human value/thought process/reasoning capability onto a dog which is unfair. In short- we do these 'unenjoyable' tasks because we know what the end result will be- satisfaction and achievement. Dogs just do. In the simplest of terms, you can't tell a dog- "this will be uncomfortable for a short time, until we get to this end result". Mel.

MattandBuddy- Henrynchlo are correct - (thanks for the correction BTW ) I mentioned www.K9events.com- the website that is full of information articles and links about dog training and behaviour. One of my favourite resources. Mel.

Hi, I would just like to add in my two cents worth because I just can't keep my mouth shut! From your first post I believe you said that the back door is open so that he can go out and toilet whenever he needs during the night? Am I correct? Just wanted to clarify. My first thought would be that it's getting light at that time, the birds are singing etc. If you close the door and keep it nice and dark in the laundry you *might* find he sleeps a little longer- my three do, they are not puppies of course, but if we sleep till 8 or 9 in the morning, they don't get up either!! I would go with Sidoney's advice- try to catch him before he starts barking, take him out the the toilet and when you bring him back in, settle him quickly back to bed and give him his breakfast stuffed in a Kong, or a nice big bone, every morning, without fail. The rationale being that if he wakes, has a wander outside, then has early brekky and a full tummy, hopefully he'll go right back to sleep- you might get to sleep till 7am, no promises though! LOL This is a proven one- a stuffed Kong or a raw bone will be much more interesting than playing on his own with his toys. Good Luck Mel.

Errr Pitchick there was a thread on this not very long ago. I really like my 'i-click' available on the net from Black dog wear BTW did you find an agility club??? Just wondered...... Mel.

Hi Tollerblaize So what happens after two weeks? Did they tell you? Blaize will no doubt go through similar stages until maturity, where he will try you out, do you have to go back to the same strict routine? I can understand that you probably paid out a fair amount of money for this 'trainer' and you want to try this stuff out, but if you're unhappy about it, then...... 'First do no harm' would be a great motto to follow. About ten years ago when I started training my first dog (my old Kelpie, who is still with me) I spent a few years at a traditional training club, and I did what I was told as far as his training. He was a very headstrong dog, and I was a novice handler, being a crossover trainer now, and training dogs positively I will always have a lifetime of guilt about the harsh way he was handled. Got to www.k9events.com, do some reading, there is a wealth of info on there. If ever I don't feel right about the way I'm training something- I try to find a better way that doesn't cause the dog harm. Blaize is a puppy, sure he needs a leadership programme, but he needs exercises that build a bond between you, he just needs attention for showing well mannered body language. He also needs to learn how to relax- and that's easy to teach! These are some of my favourite links- Nothing in life is free Misconceptions of dominance theory It takes a pack to raise a puppy(scroll down) Hope they help you out. Mel.

Yeah I would just pull them off too, with some tweezers, but he might not be happy about that!! Wouldn't hurt dabbing some metho on first tho, methinks. Mel. Edited to say: Sounds like he's put his head in a shrub or some long grass somewhere. Once my old Kelpie went out to the toilet, stuck his head in a shrub a little to closely and got bitten on the face by a spider!

I think metho kills them, just a drop on each tick. Mel.

I was wondering the same thing myself. Mel.