Magstar

I usually use the same path when setting off and he doesn't hesitate then. There is nothing in particular on that stretch that I can see that he would be scared off. But he was a bit of an anxious puppy so it could still be something making him anxious... I just don't know what! Or he jsut doesn't want to go home. But he has stopped in other spots as well. Sometimes he'll refuse to move because he wants to sniff something and refuses to walk until he has had a good smell of the area. I don't know any other dogs nearby that I could walk with You don't stop, you don't slow down and you don't look back. It's much easier to keep a dog 'moving' than it is to budge him once he has glued his butt to the floor. Do you walk your dog using a harness? If so try changing to a collar. If you are not achieving results with a flat collar then a martingale. Personally I'd use a prong collar, but appreciate that not everyone shares the same opinion. I usually walk him with a martingale collar. Sometimes a just a flat collar. Ok I'll try that. I think I usually just give long slow tugs, rather than short quick ones. I sometimes take him for a walk at my parents place, which is in a rural setting. He never stops when walking there, but it is a very different environment.

Yep Oscar does it at the entrance to the house as well. He will have a look up the street as if to say "No, I want to go back that way!" I try to keep walking, but when he stops it is hard to get him to budge! How do I keep walking when he stands his ground? I always reward him for moving forward. Yeah have tried all of those things. None of his toys are of high enough value to him. Jogging will often help keep him moving, but I don't like doing it on the hard surface. Good suggestions from others to check for any muscular-skeletal problems or any scary (to him) dogs on the way. But I admit I had a Tibbie girl, Angel, who'd do exactly what your dog is doing. She had no physical problems & wasn't frightened of big dogs. She was actually a small dog 'tester' for GAP. On a 'walk', she'd go for about 10 feet, then firmly sit on her bottom & refuse to go further. Treats & encouragement wouldn't budge her. Brockie, the tibbie next door, who used to come with us (& loved his walks), would trot back to her & lick her as if to say, 'Come on, Angel!'. No luck for him, either. After a while his attitude seemed to be, 'Leave the blonde & keep going!!'. Once I tried dropping her lead & walking on with Brockie. She won the bluff because she stayed with her bottom 'nailed' to the walking track....while we disappeared into the distance. Yep, back we went to get her. Weird thing was, that as soon as we turned to go home, she'll trot along without a worry. I used to try to trick her by going in different directions. But she must've had an in-built compass, because she always knew when the direction was towards home. Another weird thing was that in other settings, she never baulked at walking on a lead. She'd been a champion showdog & was a 'working' pet therapy dog (where she was brilliant). And she'd walk, trot & run, on lead, like a real professional when testing greyhounds (which she loved!). After a while, I accepted that I couldn't change her. And we used to do a form of the scout's pace.....I'd carry her for 10 feet then let her walk for 10 feet (or near enough!). I wish I could just pick Oscar up and carry him home! But he is a bit big....

Dropping his lead and walking away might work, but I don't trust his recall enough to do it near a road.

I'm pretty sure this is a behavioural problem rather than something physical. It's not that he doesn't want to walk. He just doesn't want to walk the way we are going.

Yes his movement seems fine. He often will run around in the yard after his walks so I don't think it is a fatigue or joint problem. He's been doing it for a few months now. But he seems to be getting worse. I can't remember the first time he did it. I was just hoping it was a phase he would get past. But I feel it is effecting our lives a bit more now.I dread walking him knowing that I will probably be stuck on the road somewhere waiting for him to move. There are a few dogs around that bark at their front fences. Unfortunately there is one at either end of our street so there is no avoiding it. He never seems nervous walking past them though. But I could be reading him wrong. He will quite happily keep walking... as long as we go the way he wants! He had his general vet check up only a month ago for his annual vaccination.

My 16 month old GR has become very stubborn on walks. He will just plant himself and refuse to move. It has made walking him quite difficult and unenjoyable sometimes. I don't know what to do about it. I can't pick any one reason why he does it. He seems to do it when we are close to home and I get the feeling he doesn't want to go home yet. Sometimes I think he is unsure of something up ahead (a truck for eg). Othertimes I think he is jsut being plain stubborn and wants to go a different way to what I want to. He is always the worst at the corner of our street when we are on our way back home. I try to lure him forward with treats but that usually only works for a few steps and then his bum is planted again. I usually jsut have to wait him out and hope for the best. It is very embarassing and frustrating. Today I was stuck for 5-10mins in the one spot trying to get him to move. I have tried taking him on longer walks, shorter walks and different routes but nothing makes a difference. I am sure I am probably doing something wrong, I just don't know what! Does anyone have any ideas how we can deal with this problem?

Yay! Thats good to hear

Try not to stress too much. How big was the sock? From memory I was told to feed oscar boiled chicken and rice when it happened. But I would probably wait to talk to your vet about it. Is she still acting normal?

Yes he was very lucky! We had 2 vets on standby in case it turned into an emergency. And of course this was all happening late at night... I should really get some liquid paraffin for our first aid kit... just in case it ever happens again.

Ah yes, our vet did tell us liquid paraffin, but we didn't have any so he said vegetable oil would be better than nothing.

My GR ate 2 socks at about the same age. We didn't realise until he vomitted one up and then we couldn't find the matching sock. The other one came out the other end a few days later. He was in quite a bit of discomfort as it was going through his system. Our vet told us to give him some vegetable oil to lubricate his insides to help it pass through. It was a very stressful experience as we knew he was at risk of a blockage. I'd call your vet and get their advice on the situation. It could be quite dangerous.

My GR's favourite toy is a stuffed bird thing. He has had it since a pup and it is still all in one piece. He also has a little blanket that he loves to carry around in his mouth.

I have been really slack and haven't taken my 1 year old GR to obedience training since he was about 7 months old. I only went to training at our local club for about a month and then stopped going because I wasn't happy there. I just found that the class was too big and so it was too hard for the instructors to really help people out. I also hate night classes. So I was hoping to get some information about either of the Wollongong based dog training clubs, even though it will mean a further drive for me. Does anyone know which club has smaller class sizes? Also, are the people friendly, helpful etc? Any information would be much appreciated

Thanks, I will definately do that.

Wow a lot of replies! Thank you everyone for your imput. I guess the thing that really annoys me is that he didn't even give Oscar a chance to comply. He was still groggy and was taken by surpise when the vet started pulling him by the lead and so put on the brakes immediately. It all happened so quickly that there was no way he could cooperate, he had no idea what was happening! So it wasn't because Oscar was being difficult or anything. He gave him no chance. I guess it may have looked worse than it was because he was groggy and therefore acting a bit uncoordinated, but I would be treating a groggy dog with more care, not less! But that could just be me. There is also a chance that I am being too sensitive/protective, especially since losing my other dog only a couple of weeks ago. I know he probably wasn't physically harmed, or even in any pain. I guess my main concern is that he will now have a fear of going to the vets for life. And as for the vet being busy, we were the only ones there, and so time wasn't an issue.

I believe it was probably his way of being no nonsense and getting the job done. And yes I am usually very soft when I handle my dog, and so it probably looked worse to me than it might have to others. From what he said to me it really sounded like he had no idea how much he weighed and he just estimated for the surgery. Hopefully I am wrong about that! He's a golden retriever, he will do anything for a treat! Lol I would have loved to say something at the time, but yes you are right, I was too shy and shocked to do anything. I think I will change vets after this. I can't mention it to his boss.. because he is the boss! It is just him there. But you could be right, maybe he is depressed or something. I used to have a lot of faith in him. I have recently heard a few stories of people being unhappy with his attitude. Maybe it is time for him to retire...

I am incredibly mad at my vet for the way he handled my almost 11 month old GR yesterday. Oscar had just been in for desexing and as we were picking him up I asked for some worming tablets while we were there. Vet didn't know how much Oscar weighed (even though I thought he would have needed to know for the procedure) so he dragged oscar by the lead over to the scales (and I mean dragged!) and used the lead to lift his front half of his body up onto the scales by his neck. Oscar was still recovering from the anaesthetic and he face planted onto the scales. The vet then lifted up his back by the skin at the top of his tail and plonked him down. My poor boy was being treated like a ragdoll and I was too timid to stop it . If the vet had just let me handle him I would have been able to get him to walk over to the scales on his own and stand on them. He didn't even give me a chance! It was complete lack of patience and a complete lack of respect for my dog. I just keep thinking how rough he would have handled him when we weren't there watching! I can understand vets needing to be firm with their handling, but to me this was beyond that. It's hard to describe exactly how it was, but it was enough for me to burst into tears once I was back in the car! I should add too that this is a vet that my family has been using since I was a kid. He has always been good to us, but it seems that he just doesn't seem to care anymore. When Maggie (RIP) got sick we went to another vet clinic that had better diagnostic resources and I was so happy with how they handled her. They treated her with respect and she cooperated because of that. So what is the norm for the way that vets handle animals? Has anyone else had an upsetting experience? Or am I overreacting?

Thank you everyone for your lovely comments. She really was a beautiful girl. The pain is easing with each day, but I still miss her more than anything.

Rest in peace my precious girl. I love you more than anything and I will miss you every day. You were my heart dog. You were a part of me and now that you are gone I feel that part of me missing. You were the perfect dog. The most amazing, intelligent dog I have ever known. You stole the heart of everyone who met you. You amazed people with your intelligence and personality. You converted my cat friends to love dogs too. You were definately one of a kind. You made my life so wonderful. It hurts bad to not have you with me anymore, but I want you to know that I am grateful for every single day that you shared with me. I know I will never love another dog as much as I loved you. Goodbye my angel. Now you can chase frisbees in the sky as much as you like. Maggie was almost 12 years old. We had to give her her wings last week as she became sick quite suddenly with a cancer type thing. I am really struggling with the grief. She made my world complete and now she is gone. I got Maggie when I was 14 years old. My parents had just agreed that I was responsible enough to raise my own puppy. We had been looking around but hadn't found any suitable pups in pounds or at the RSPCA (my parents thought purebred dogs were too expensive). Out of the blue we got a phone call fom a lady that we hardly knew saying that she had found 2 puppies dumped in the bush near her place. We went to have a look and fell in love immediately. The vet thought she was appoximately 6 weeks old and probably had border collie in her. She grew up to look nothing like a border though! She also had a case of sarcoptic mange from being left in the bush where the foxes roam. She grew into such a magnificent girl. I did obedience with her, but she got bored, and so we started doing agility training together and loved it! I remember every afternoon after school I would train her on the weavepoles until she was perfect. She loved doing anything which involved running or jumping. She was a stubborn girl but if she loved doing something she would give it 100%. She loved making me proud. She loved everyone she met and everyone loved her. She always had a way of making me laugh. She was a very talkative girl and would tell you off if you asked her to do something stupid, and she always had to have the last say! But she had a smile that melted your heart and a sense of joy that was contagious. She could communicate what she wanted so well and always seemed to understand what we were saying as well. She knew the name of every toy, every family member, every room. She had the most amazing eyes and she would look right into you. I have so many memories to cherish, and so many moments that make me laugh. I am forever grateful to my parents for giving me the opportunity to have her in my life. I know I definately exceeded their expectations. She will forever be in my heart.

I can't believe how much the packets say they should have. I'm feeding Oscar (just over 7 months now) 3 cups a day too, but the packet says he should be having about 5 cups. He would certainly be fat if I did that!

Great photos everyone! Here is Oscar at 8 weeks, the day we brought him home: And now at almost 7 months:

I have had so many people call my GR a golden labrador (even after I have told them it is a golden retriever!) People just seem to think they are a long haired labrador. But you would think that somebody who is organising a labrador day would know the difference...

Aww thats so cute! My GR carries his blanket around everywhere too. Scout's coat looks so shiny!

How could the child have such horrific injuries but that the father didn't notice anything wrong when he placed the child back in her bed? Surely her clothes would have been soaked in blood, saliva and torn from some of those 100 bites? The child must also have been distressed or gasping for breathe is she had chronic lung disease and had suffered that sort of trauma. Poor child. I wondered about that too......even in the dark you would think he would notice something amiss. I have a friend whose toddler fell out of bed. In her sleepy state, she put her little one back into bed and went off to sleep. When she dound her daugher in the morning, her pillow was covered in blood. Fortunately, the child was okay, but for me it is totally believable that someone could, in a sleepy state, not realise that something really bad has happened. Yeah, I guess that true. I know how useless I am when I first wake up! I can't even imagine what the parents must be feeling.

Poor girl The story does seem a bit strange to me though. Why did the child who notified the father not notice anything? If the child had a peg to her stomach, wouldn't the father have checked to make sure that was ok if she had fallen? (I know nothing about those pegs so I could be completely wrong!) Just seems a bit odd that he wouldn't have made sure she was ok before putting her back to bed...