Leema

I was going to suggest perhaps using a fist as a stay cue instead of an open hand, if you think it may cause confusion.

As Clover doesn't get dry food outside training sessions, and still works well for them. When I bring out something 'high value' (fritz, diced beef, etc) it's too much and she can't control herself.

My dogs get everything that i have. Not grapes though. They REALLY like banana...

I took a week off for Clover, but I only work weekends and it was a convenient time during my uni break... I think any expectation that new puppy owners should take time off work is a bit unreasonable. Would be nice, but not everyone has that luxury or flexibility. In the future I would do as much as I can.

Mine don't get water in their crates overnight. Sometimes they will wake me up to tell me they want a drink, but most of the time they're more interested in peeing than drinking when they come out.

Clover gets fed almost exclusively in training sessions. So that session WAS dinner.

That's my link!! Okay, how about a video of Clover at 14weeks, as we were working through the levels:

I don't think it's necessary to use a clicker when toilet training, but apparently the place to click (if you do want to use it) is just as the dog is finishing. An earlier click can disrupt the peeing.

Any more suggestions?

Frodo, is this just a first season thing or a season thing?

Clover hasn't toiletted inside for 3-4 months. In the last 24 hours she's peed inside 4 times, only one I caught in the act. In this 'act' I caught, she did squat. It wasn't just a 'leak'. I am wondering if she's just testing the rules and being a pain, or if she may have some underlying medical reason... Most random is that she urinated on the bed, and she's never done this, even when she wasn't toilet trained. I was always 'safe' to sleep with her on my bed and not worry. Last night I woke up to wet legs. She is not desexed and has not had her first season yet, but I cannot see any other signs of her coming in heat and I don't think random large urinations around the house are necessarily a sign? However, this is my first bitch and perhaps I'm missing something... Regardless, she is now on constant surveillance around the house, and is being put outside regularly to toilet. I'm just looking for any input or suggestions on this change. Nothing has changed around the house, and all urinations have occurred in different places which have all been well cleaned with vinegar.

I would also say - if the dog is desexed then it doesn't matter.

Mac was born at 9oz, and his smallest sister was 4oz... They were a comparable size at 9months (haven't seen her since), with Mac only a little bit bigger which was more to him being a dog and she a bitch.

If she doesn't want her breakfast I'd scrap it all together. I would never leave food out all day for dogs because I think it is the beginner of a fussy eater! And I like the logic of the Jan Fennel book I've read.

During teething, Clover's mouth smelt like meaty blood. Very foul. Initially I washed her beard thinking it must of been some remains of dinner on it, but no.

Yep, good now!

I want to vote for #1, but it then wants me to vote in #2 to process my vote.

Clover learnt to respond/look on her name first, and then learnt 'sit' with a toy soon after. She learnt to drop with food after that. I believe next dog will learn "touch" first... Buuuut... We always have plans, don't we?

Mac is raw fed so gets fed once a day. Clover gets kibble so I prefer to feed that twice a day (but we do training, so she rarely gets 'free' food).

If you can get your vet to make a statement that it is unwise to revaccinate (given bad reaction), and pass this on to the kennels, they MAY allow your dog but may have some different care setups for unvaccinated dogs. At my boarding kennels, we sometimes have people make bookings but have insufficent vaccinations. These dogs are then put in a building about 500ms from the main kennel block and cared for there.

I agree with the suggestions of feeding more meat. Fruit, veggies and yogurt, I don't expect, would be doing much harm, but not much good either. My dogs mostly get chicken (but they're fatties!). If I want to put more weight on my dog, I buy "lamb offcuts" at the supermarket. I think that may be the "lamb flaps" people are referring to. Chicken mince has a lot of bone in it, but I do sometimes feed it. My local pet shop has diced beef quite cheap, and I prefer to buy that as it has no bone. I have no issues feeding my dogs bone, but chicken mince is very boney. When feeding something like mince or diced beef, it's very easy to just feed more and put weight on this way. A 'big' meal for my dogs is a chicken wing or chicken drumstick - most meals are smaller (mostly because I can cut up other servings smaller but can't bone). Another idea is mutton necks! They are quite fatty from my experience.

Thanks for posting!

I guess perhaps not rare, but not as common as in the eastern states.

Out of curiousity, what type of bone was Spence chewing? If it's any help, when Mac was dieting, he was getting <125gs of chicken mince a day... He was about 8-9kgs at the time (but struggled to lose any!). So perhaps... about 300gs of mince?? If you get it wrong it shouldn't matter too much for just a week.

Also, have a look at Sue Ailsby's training levels... I find them really fun and simple instructions for clicker training many behaviours: http://www.dragonflyllama.com/%20DOGS/%20Dog1/levels.html