poochiemama

Hi dolers My dogs LOOOOVE playing tug of war and they used to adore the d-man tugs - but his website says he's taking a break and will only be advertising tugs from time to time. Just wondering if you had any suggestions for great tug-of-war toys ? The rope toys they shred quite quickly so preferably something that is very durable...

oh another little thing i did that seemed to tire him out is just scatter a few liver treats around in his crate and make them a little hard to find so he would be sniffing around for a few minutes and that seemed to use up some energy. but be careful not to let your pooch get fat because he won't be doing any exercise. I literally halved the food i was giving charlie based on the vet's advice, and now he's a healthy 32 kg lab!! (He used to be a fat 36 kg lab so it all worked out great).

oh another little thing i did that seemed to tire him out is just scatter a few liver treats around in his crate and make them a little hard to find so he would be sniffing around for a few minutes and that seemed to use up some energy. but be careful not to let your pooch get fat because he won't be doing any exercise. I literally halved the food i was giving charlie based on the vet's advice, and now he's a healthy 32 kg lab!! (He used to be a fat 36 kg lab so it all worked out great).

clicker training is awesome because you can teach things SO FAST and there are many things you can teach him whilst he is lying down eg 'Targeting' : hold treat and clicker in one hand; hold out your other hand and as soon as he shows interest in this hand, click and treat (quickly); don't say anything. After a few times of this, up the ante, and wait for him to show a bit more interest in the hand, then click and treat. Keep doing this until he starts touching his nose to that hand and again click and treat. Repeat a few times; if he is touching his nose to your hand every time, then start using the word 'Touch!' in a happy voice. That's targetting. When he gets good at this, move your hand into different positions and get him to touch it. I used to feed him his kibble piece by piece this way to get him to use up some mental energy, as well as doing other little tricks like 'shake hands' and 'speak' whilst he's lying down. The targetting one is good because you can use it further down the track for so many other things: using targetting you can teach him to switch on a light bulb, close a door etc. Sorry if you know all this already. Charlie is going great with physio and it's so much fun watching him on the underwater treadmill. He had both sides done. Our vet was very pro- starting physio soon and recommended we start it about 3 weeks after surgery but we waited until the 4th or 5th week. Crating is not that big a deal, just make it a fun place for him. We got black wire crates, extra large ones so he could move around a little in it, given that he was going to be confined for that long. Then you stick a big, raw meaty bone in there with him and it will take him hours to get through it. Or frozen kongs. And put the crate right near you so he can see you, make it really cosy for him. I also got a great bed that fit it there and is an orthopaedic foam bed which he loves, called the Memory Sleeper bed . There is also a support group on yahoo with lots of people who did TPOs on their dogs writing in to ask questions, answer each others questions and talk of their experiences with TPO in recovery - there are THOUSANDS of posts there : http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/tpo/ I think its great you started this post because there was very little information on recovery post TPO on the forum and i think it will be great for people in the future.

I just saw this thread now.. Ok my lab Charlie had a TPO nearly 6 weeks ago now...I was terrified because he's a very exuberant adolescent lab and I had no idea how to keep him quiet. He'd also never been crate trained 2 days before the surgery, we did a crash course in crate training him! we fed him in there, gave him treats in there and basically made it a very happy place, until he was going in there by himself and loving it. After the surgery, he had a pain patch on, he was shaved for the lower half of his body and sutures. In the first few weeks, we basically crated him; we would sit outside his crate with him and talk to him, play little games with him, give him lots of chew toys, kongs with frozen peanut butter. He loves cow's hooves and that would occupy some time for him and also bully sticks from the pet shop and these things called deer antlers (we got two of those and they chew on them for ages and 6 weeks later, the deer antlers still look as good as new, google it). He had both sides done and the first two weeks were really hard because we had to hold him with a towel everytime we took him for a wee and he wouldn't walk to the door to let us know he needed to go, so we had to time it, take him out every four hours. Then he started telling us when he needed to go and he stopped needing the towel so things became easier. He was on a leash to go out for wees and to give him a break from the crate, we would put him on a mat in front of us, with us holding his leash (in case he decided to jump up or something) whilst we watched TV. We also had to watch him like a hawk so that he didn't play with our goldie puppy. To be honest, he seemed to gauge that he was weak or in pain and didn't really try any of that until recently when he became more energetic. Now we are letting him walk around the house a little and we have started taking him to physio and underwater treadmill in the last fortnight, which is fun. The weeks have just flown by really and it gets a lot easier after the first 2 weeks so hang in there. Please ask me if you have any other questions because I know it can be tough going.

He's quite young and its very normal for goldie hair to be this short at his age. Ours had quite short hair too at the age of 1 (people used to ask at the dog park if she's a lab) but now at 18 months her hair is starting to grow and looking beautiful. It can take a couple of years for them to grow into their full coat.

Cosmolo, I just nominated you for an MDBA award. Thank you for your well wishes - Charlie is doing great post-surgery and has been suprisingly very easy to keep settled and has adjusted to his crate beautifully. We are nearly 3 weeks post op, so only another 3 weeks and then we can do XRays; it's all-consuming though, and the first week I was just in tears every day as it was so stressful to see him in pain. But now it's a lot easier. I can't wait for him to heal so we can continue our training. Hannah is coping well too and we are trying to walk her every day so she doesn't get bored. She is also a HUGE fan of the frozen Kong, which I just discovered and she spent hours with it yesterday (Charlie was not as enthusiastic but that's ok). Hope all is well and Gilbert is too cute - i saw your post about him doing the retrieve after seeing the other dog, unbelievable!!!!

I read the thread about K9pro and how great he was in training someone's dog. I was inspired to write about our training experiences with Tamara from Underdog. In the past, we'd wasted so much money on trainers for our lab and our goldie, both adolescent puppies One 'behaviourist' charged us $350 for an hour's work where she basically wrote a 'checklist' of all the problem behaviours they were showing, and then said she'd send us a treatment plan - the plan was basically an account of the sort of problems they had and advice that 'they will grow out of it'. We were really beginning to lose hope and as a last ditch effort, tried Tamara (Cosmolo). She was reasonably priced and had rave testimonials, but I was quite cynical about whether she could really achieve such great results in just a few sessions. I was so pleasantly surprised. She really gave us practical, hands-on training, especially in regards to manners around the home and loose-lead walking. After the first two sessions, the pooches learnt to go to their mat until they were released, door manners and even began to stay on their mats when guests come over! Their walking was much improved too. I think we had about 4 sessions in total with her . At the last session, we were walking with her and the dogs down a road in our neighbourhood, and they were walking so beautifully that a neighbour called out to Tamara and asked whether she had a business card (he must have seen us being dragged and pulled along by our pooches every day on walks ). I can't believe the change in them. We had dogs that we were constantly catering to (I used to ask my husband not to make too much noise, in case our lab woke up from sleep, because that would mean an evening of noise and chaos in the house!! Now, we just do what we want and Charlie has learnt to behave well regardless). She is not only great with the dogs but also great with PEOPLE . As an added bonus, she told us in a no-nonsense way that our dog was overweight (which we really needed to hear bluntly so we could do something about it) as well as told us she thinks Charlie may have hip dysplasia! She was right on both accounts, and not only has Charlie lost heaps of weight as a result but he has also had his hip sorted out. So thanks a million Tamara and I'm telling everyone about you guys! Someone actually stopped me on a walk with my goldie the other day and said 'You're so lucky, I wish my dog was as well-trained as that!' I was so excited but tried to be all casual and just said 'Thanks a lot' and told them about Underdogs!

Wow, I LOVE!!!! I am so in love with all your dogs, I think I need to move to the country and get another ten dogs...

Just to update for people who might be interested in foam beds in the future - I got some memory foam beds called K&H memory sleeper bed, from petwares plus in moorabin (http://www.petsplus.com.au/) and Charlie has not come off the bed for the last 24 hours. He will get up to go outside to do his business, or for short little plays with his partner-in-crime, or when we take him for a walk, but loves, loves, loves this bed. It is the 'egg-crate' kind of foam rather than the high density foam, but for the price, it is so well-made and very comfy; the surface is a beautiful velvety texture but seems sturdy. Good high density foam beds are very hard to come by; most of the good ones are overseas and very expensive (plus shipping in itself would be up to $200).

Wow, I love all the photos!! Pls keep them coming, don't be shy!

wow, awesome photos, i love the third one, that face is to die for!

In another dog forum, they have a thread of people's favorite photos with their dogs and it's a great thread. Maybe we can do the same? I don't know how to use the photo adding feature but once i work it out i will upload some photos..

Thank you for all the suggestions guys - the DIY option sounds good but I'm not great at making things like that...will look into it though, doesn't sound too hard. Westielover, where did you get your overseas foam beds from?? I found some great ones overseas; there is one by orvis and there are these great beds called SSS orthobeds which sound good too. Expensive but if it's a bed that's going to last a while, then it may be worth it.

Our lab has just been diagnosed with hip dysplasia and I noticed he is quite stiff in the mornings when he wakes up. I am looking into getting him a nice, thick memory foam bed to make him more comfortable. Does any one know of a very good memory foam bed? I can only find the Snooza ones - any one with experience with those beds (ie the Big Dog Bed from Snooza) pls let me know what its like. They're quite expensive and I'm not sure how good they are because it sounds like it's just the top layer that's memory foam. Obviously we are doing other things for his hip too, and following up with the vet regarding the plan for his treatment, but i would like to look into getting him this bed in the interim.

WOW - didn't realise this issue was so fraught... I am thinking about donating to another organisation ... will read the other threads and come to a decision. But i certainly was not aware of all these issues with the rspca. They advertise themselves very well and i guess it's easy to buy into that if you don't know any better. I was also thinking of doing volunteer work with them but keep hearing stories of how awful it is to be a volunteer with them.

Excuse my ignorance, but there are often hints on this forum about the rspca being bad in some way...i donate to them regularly and just wanted to know, what is so wrong with the rspca???? Should i be spending my money in a more useful way?

Voted, I love her.

i bought my cavalier x poodle (vet told me she can not see any poodle in her at all) from a pet shop (i have since been educated in regards to why this was the wrong thing to do) and i was not given much information in regards to grooming, BUT, when i got home and got her to sleep that night i got on the internet and looked up as much information that i could, brought the required combs and comb her every second, day, i have booked her into a groomer that i use for my cat, and she has her first appointment in 4 weeks, i have bought books on how to care for cavaliers, bathing, grooming, training, ect i understand that some people fail to treat their pets with respect but not all do, people need to realise that it is their responsibility to care for the puppy and to find as much information as possible, i have found many sites very helpful, including this one, found many books helpful, as well as talking to people who own such breeds No i did not get any information but it did not stop me from finding it out myself mollie is so spoilt and is well groomed and well loved Oh it makes me sooo mad. I was the same, I got Charlie from a pet store (not knowing any better at the time, sadly). I remember the lady at the pet store clearly. We fell in love with Charlie and had researched labs before we got him. But on the day at the petstore, we told the lady we would like A DAY to think about it and make sure we were doing the right thing; she said no, and she threatened not to sell charlie to us if we took a day to think over it. We had to make a decision there and then. She also told us they had sold him a couple of weeks ago to a couple who had returned him within a week as he was 'too much dog' for them!! There were NO screening questions, nothing. Just 'He costs this much' and 'Make your decision now'. Their argument for pushing us to make a decision quickly was 'We can't leave him in that glass cage for another day, it's just CRUEL'. Of course , it was the best thing we ever did getting him. And since then we've learnt so much about labs and he's a joy. But it makes me sick how they acted at the shop. I never thought of it as a 'consumer' issue but it's not a bad angle to try. Much later down the track, when we learnt about the truth behind the puppy in the window, I emailed the store and asked them to tell me where Charlie came from (because at the time they told me he was from a 'breeder') and whether he was from a puppy mill (I don't know why I bothered). Predictably, no reply. I wrote to them again in a fit of fury and implied I will be speaking to the media about their pet shop puppies and suddenly, an email in my inbox. "Please give us the date you bought Charlie from and we will try to track down who his breeder was" with no comment on whether they have puppy mill puppies. " I stopped trying then...but I learnt that sometimes a vague threat that you might go to the media with this issue gets more immediate results.

Oh my goodness, my heart is in my throat for you, I know how it feels. Had a similar thing happen to my lab a few months ago and he had to go to emergency vet - i was freaking out. In his case, he'd swallowed a bone and it had caused intestinal blockage but he was fine. He never had tremors so this sounds like something different. Please keep us updated on any further news and try to breathe!

Wow. This is so sad. I am not sure what else you can do in that situation, it really sounds like you did your best for that poor dog. I guess in some way, it's good that these kids are at least looking after it (although I don't know if 'Looking after it' is really what they're doing)... One of the really sad things is there is very little education, either in school or in the media, for kids to learn how to treat animals. The only way a kid really learns that is through having pets of their own or very responsible parents that teach them this. These kids were not malicious, they probably just didn't know any better. It's hard when you feel so passionately about animal welfare to be faced with such callousness, but the reality is most people are uneducated about animals. The police...well , animals are low on their priority list. Animal welfare organisations are so resource-poor and overworked, that often their hands are tied too. Many people working in these organisations are completely burnt out (despite being the most caring people who got into the job due to their love of animals) and another animal to rescue becomes another 'job', another 'burden'. I don't think this is about individual people being uncaring: there are systemic issues, political issues etc where animal welfare is not really very glamorous and not very high on any politicians agenda. I think for things to change there has to be a lot more education of the public about these issues and more funding of rescue organisations. But these are all 'pie in the sky' dreams unfortunately.

I have one of those water fountain things - I found it really indispensible in summer when the dogs would keep tipping their bowl over or splashing in it - the fountain ensured there was always water for them. Mine did leak as well though ...

True LM, Off-topic, i never knew much about lapphunds but just looked at your website and they are just breathtaking dogs.

Kavik, I don't have any experience with doggie daycare - it's a good point about boisterous dogs being there. And you wouldn't want your dogs picking up bad habits either. Poodlefan, You are absolutely right in what you say... As you know, I learnt my lesson the hard way when Hannah was attacked and I realised I had to have better control over her - I've organised a trainer to see us and improve her recall amongst other things. I am doing what I can as a responsible dog owner to make sure the chances of these things happening is minimised. Clearly, as a responsible dog owner, you too make sure you minimise the chances of anything happening by walking your dogs in places where chances of an off-lead dog rushing up to them is low. My only issue, and this is back to aussielover's situation, is dog owners with aggressive dogs letting their dogs loose in an offleash park, armed with the reason 'Well, I have effective control over my dog, if only you did too your dog wouldn't get bitten'. I don't think that's fair and i don't think it's realistic to expect that. If they don't want to keep the dog on a leash or muzzled, that's fine, but don't take it to an offleash dog park, it's a disaster waiting to happen.

I'll try. No one's got an issue with what Aussiedog did or did not do. Some people tried to explain that the rude person may have exaggerated his dogs aggression to keep her away. I tell you this much Chellz. If you take your baby Labrador puppy to any offleash dog area populated by unknown dogs, you'll be setting yourself up for trouble. After the first few times a couple of large dogs jump all over your pup, you may start to see the point about 'effective control' that I've been trying to make. It takes TWO DOGS to make an aggression incident. The responsibility for preventing those incidents lies with TWO OWNERS. Its all well and good to point out (correctly) that dogs with a history of serious aggresion (read the article for more on that) shouldn't be in dog parks but the fact remains that if all dog owners controlled and read their dogs well, incidents in such places would plummet. I agree with you PF. It does take two dogs to make an aggression incident. Unfortunately I'm not too hopeful that incidents in these places would plummet anytime soon. The fact is , none of us have 'effective control' over our dogs - at least not in the way that would prevent such incidents from happening. It's the sad reality. Hence why I'm thinking of alternatives to dog parks. My definition of 'effective control' for the purpose of safely visiting an area populated by many dogs offleash is 1. 100% recall and 2. being able to 100%, effectively stop your dog from attacking another dog. I don't think either is feasible.