Lambo

Thanks for all the responses everyone. I forgot to mention that we have also tried the capster tablets. We purchased a six pack and gave our dog one tablet each day for three days. I think we then gave him another tablet each day we saw another flea after that (as per the directions on the box). That didn't work either. As for the frontline, I forgot to mention that we usually apply it about 2 or 3 hours after his bath, sometimes the next morning, when his hair has fully dried out. Regarding washing his bedding in the eucalyptus oil, how much do I use? Thanks again.

Hi all, Somewhere, somehow, my Weim has managed to pick up a colony of fleas. He didn't have any until just before Christmas, when we took him to the dog park. Since then, I haven't had any luck getting rid of the little buggers. We bathe him regularly, much to his dismay, and he has a dose of frontline once a month and wears a flea collar which is supposed to last for up to five months. I've also tried cleaning him with a mixture made from of boiled lemons. Nothing has worked so far. He usually seems alright after his bath, but then starts scratching within several hours. I'm pretty certain the fleas are in the grass in the backyard. Also we have carpets, and I'm positive some of them are now nesting there. Is there anything I can spray around the yard (and the home) to kill them, without harming the dog? If I get a fumigator to do it, is it safe for the dog to be crated in the house at the time? (If I leave the dog outside, I'm sure he'll just bring the little blighters back in the house). Also, can anyone recommend a flea shampoo (and if so, do such products actually work)? The girl at the pet store seemed to be steering me away from them. TIA

In addition to any cause of action provided under statute (which will differ from State to State/Territory), your ability to sue in the circumstances you have identified generally rests on the law of negligence. The sentiment expressed by others that you can basically sue anyone for anything is an overgeneralisation but I suspect broadly accurate. Unfortunately (in my view), the law fails adequately to reinforce a sense of self-responsibility. This encourages most people to always point the finger at someone else rather than simply accept that sometimes sh*t happens or that whatever happened was their own fault. The deficiencies in the legal system itself then force most defendants (properly advised) to settle matters rather than litigate them purely because it is often cheaper to pay something than to run a trial. It is a truism that in litigation more often then not even if you win you still lose. By this, I mean quite simply that even if you win the case often times the cost of the trial cannot be fully recovered - meaning you will generally still be out of pocket. That said, to succeed in a negligence claim you need to establish the existence of a duty of care, the breach of that duty, and damage. You must also establish that the damage you say you sufferred was caused by the defendant's breach of duty, and that the damage was not "too remote" (in effect, that it was reasonably foreseeable). Generally speaking, I think it can be readily accepted that a person who has charge of a dog (this means anyone looking after it at the relevant time, whether or not the owner) will be held to owe a duty of care to others to protect them from reasonably foreseeable risks - eg the risk of an attack. The "foreseeability" aspect of this argument might be challenged (not necessarily successfully) in relation to a dog with no history of violence, but would be easily demonstrated in relation to an animal with a known violent past or tendency or breeeding. Breach of duty will not always be easily proved in relation to the situations you have posited. For instance, there is a world of difference between a dog that is properly secured on a leash by its carer who reacts to a deliberate provocation from a third party, and a dog over which the carer exercises or attempts to exercise no real degree of control which initiates an unprovoked attack on another animal or person. Proof of compensable damage is also not always a given. If you didn't suffer any loss or damage or injury recognised by the law, you will not succeed. This is significant for those who claim to suffer nebulous injuries like stress and anxiety - eg where the animal simply "bales up" a person but doesn't actually hurt them, or where one person merely witnesses an attack upon another person from afar. Generally speaking, these are not compensable unless they are accompanied by some physical injury or loss. The exception is where the psychological injury is recognised as a genuine (medically certified) psychiatric illness. The situation described by Willow in relation to the lady who was "startled" is not a case of purely pscychiatric injury because the circumstances involved actual physical injury to her person. The $30K apparently awarded to her would have been to compensate her not just for the pain and suffering that she experienced as a result of those injuries, but more likely than not also involved a degree of compensation for past and anticipated future medical bills, and past and anticipated future loss of income (due to necessary absences from work). Issues like causation and remoteness cause their own problems. One example that readily comes to mind is the situation where a person allegedy suffers some psychological disorder because a dog growled at him/her in a dog park. Depending upon the context, a court might find that it is not reasonably foreseeable that a person of normal mental fortitude would suffer such a reaction. In that event, the claim might fail on the ground that the psychiatric injury was not caused by any identified breach of duty on the part of the defendant. Even though Australia is no where as litigious as America, the Australian psyche is changing and more and more people are willing to sue. For my money, I would generally advise anyone who has neither the financial nor mental fortitude for a long and expensive legal battle to simply stay away from the legal system. Insurance is also recommended. I have taken out separate insurance which specifically affords $5M public liability insurance in the event that my dog attacks someone for this reason. Please note that the above merely expresses my personal views and is not intended to constitute or be relied upon as legal advice. If you have a specifical legal issue you should seek independent legal advice from a qualified legal practitioner with reference to your particular circumstances.

Sorry poodlefan, my post must've crossed with yours. I'm a little new to all this, so I apologise for my ignorance in advance - but what do you mean by controlled socialisation exactly? For instance, on the weekend I introduced my pup to a friend's 2yr old border collie. The older dog was a bit of a bully. He's an entire dog and very friendly both with his owners' own kids and mine. In fact, I'd say he is a very approachable and friendly dog where humans seem to be concerned, but apart from one short period of playfulness with my pup most of the time he had my Weim walking on egg shells. I monitored most of their interactions and intervened where I could - eg yelling at the older dog to "be nice" or telling him off in some other way if he growled at my pup (especially when the young fella was on his back already submitting). But how far do you go? I mean, the little guy's got to learn right? How do you build the puppy's confidence if he's being growled or snapped at all the time? The fact that the older dog is an entire one is what got me accepting that his aggression was more a testosterone thing rather than a socialisation thing - particularly since he is quite friendly with people. ETA: No, I wasn't really after a guard dog. I was thinking more along the lines of what type/style of training is required to get him more confident.

What sort of training is called for? I mean, do I look for a general course in "obedience training" or some specialist course designed to produce a guard dog? Any pointers to courses or course providers would be appreciated. I'm in Brisbane; Southside.

That's what I'm thinking, and I'm sure my pup would appreciate the concern more as a forethought and an afterthought. The more I think about it, the more I'm inclined to wait. I actually rang the vet this morning to cancel but eventually decided to sound out a few more opinions before making a final call on it. And as I say, he's a fairly timid pup - I don't really see him exhibiting any sort of attitude at the moment. Even little chihuahuas seem to scare him. Whilst I don't want an overly aggressive dog on my hands, I would prefer one that'll at least stand his ground. I'm not sure how I encourage the latter without risking the former.

I forgot to mention that I'd read about these too. It's mainly for these reasons that I was thinking of giving him the snip sooner rather than later. In fact, he's already booked in for surgery this Friday. I'm just having second thoughts as the time gets closer as to whether it really is the best thing to do for him. To everyone else who has suggested to wait until he is 9 to 12 months old, what have your experiences been vis-a-vis these testosterone related issues? Is the risk of the problems materialising magnified by all that much if I wait the few extra months? You'd think this would be an easy decision, but it's proving more difficult than I thought.

Thanks to everyone for the responses, particularly for the article referenced by poodlefan. To be perfectly honest I have no real desire to de-sex the little guy. In fact I feel downright bad for interfering with nature in electing to do so. I'm only de-sexing him because I've been told that (a) it makes for a calmer dog overall (which is important since I have young kids), and (b) it is my obligation as a responsible pet owner to do so, particularly as I have no desire or intention to use him for breeding purposes. For me then, its just a timing issue, and on that front (apart from what the vet has said) I've been told that it's best to get it over and done with as soon as possible around the 5 to 6 month mark so that the dog will not be aware of his loss as much.

Hi folks, I'm struggling with whether or not to de-sex my male Weimaraner now (at 6 and 1/2 months) or wait until he reaches 9 months. Our breeder recommended 9 months of age and a friend of mine with an entirely different breed (border collie) has said that her breeder recommended the same thing. Despite this, two vets have advised that a dog should really be desexed between 5 and 6 months to minimize the possibility of testicular cancer. My vet says that desexing at this age will not affect growth or muscular development etc, and any suggestion that a male dog desexed before nine months will look a little more "feminine" is hogwash. To clarify, my dog is just a family pet. He isn't a show dog, so getting just the right "look" is of no consequence for me. However, I have noticed that he is a little on the timid side with other dogs - especially older male dogs. I'm not sure if this is just a socialisation thing (he has had some interaction with other dogs but I wouldn't say a great deal), or whether I really should let him grow a bigger set of balls (to put it a little crassly) for a while longer so that the testosterone kicks in and hopefully makes him just a little more self-assertive. Does anyone have any views on this issue? Thanks in advance. **edited to fix typos**

Anne, it's just the flash from the camera. The area is question just looks like pink skin. It isn't red or inflamed at all. The bald spots are only on the inside of both front paws, nothing on the back two. The little fella is 15 weeks.

I can't say that I've seen a dew claw removal scar before so I can't rule that out, but I don't think that's it because I'm 99% certain he didn't have it when he first arrived home as a pup. Also, the bald spot on his right paw is much smaller. I'm not sure if its relevant, but the bald spot pictured did bleed slightly the weekend before last, like maybe he scratched it on something. Otherwise, it doesn't seem to irritate him although the skin does appear a little rought to the touch.

Hi folks, my Weim puppy seems to have a bald patch on the inside of this two front paws. Photos of his left paw are attached. Does anyone know what might be causing this, and what we can do to help the hair grow back? He's had the bald patches for some time and the vet wasn't much help when I queried it a few weeks ago. I haven't observed him nibbling at his paws so I don't think the bald patches have been caused by him biting his hair out. I thought it might've been caused by him trying to hold onto a pigs ear (?) bone we gave him when we first got him, but he hasn't been allowed to chew on that for nearly three weeks now and I haven't seen any improvement. On a slightly different note, I've noticed that our boy's eyeballs are usually red/pinkish as is the rim around his eyes. I've noticed this on most Weims I've seen but have always forgotten to clarify whether this is just a trait with the breed or something I should be worried about. Does anyone have any ideas on this too? TIA

At this stage we just need a well behaved dog, but I am looking at sports longer term. I understand that Weims need mental as well as physical exercise so I figure we may need to go down the sporting track to keep him well adjusted - but for now, I'd just like to get the basics down pat. He is presently responding (unreliably) to commands like sit, down, and quiet - but even less reliably to commands like come and leave it. I assume that this is perhaps because he is just too young. Either way, I'd like to get him responding to these solidly first and then evaluate his needs for further obedience training (sports-wise) down the track. By the way, to Minxy and Ams, thanks for the recommendations. I had been looking at Urban Dog Training but hadn't come across Wagtails. The latter looks pretty good but might be too far for me to travel, especially during weeknights as I don't usually finish work until 7pm at the earliest. I usually see people training their dogs at the Mt Gravatt Showgrounds whenever I pass on my way home from work in the evenings. If anyone knows who conducts these classes and can give a rundown on what they think of them, that would be appreciated also. Thanks everyone.

Hi folks, Apologies for cross-posting. I originally posted this query in the general discussions forum before realising there was a separate training and obedience forum. My weim pup turns 12 weeks old tomorrow and I want to enrol him in a basic obedience class as soon as he finishes puppy pre-school in about 3 weeks. Could someone please point me in the direction of "good" and reputable obedience trainer. I would prefer someone based near Garden City / Upper Mt Gravatt if at all possible. Thanks in advance.

Hi folks, My weim pup turns 12 weeks old tomorrow and I want to enrol him in a basic obedience class as soon as he finishes puppy pre-school in about 3 weeks. Could someone please point me in the direction of "good" and reputable obedience trainer, ie one that employs positive reinforcement training methods rather than anything harsh. I would prefer someone based near Garden City / Upper Mt Gravatt if at all possible. Thanks in advance.

Yeah the owner's doing fine. Of all the places to be, he got stuck at a resort. This is the young fella causing all the trouble.

Just got off the phone with the older dog's owner. Apparently the old fella has arthritis in his front paws. So the interaction with the young pup yesterday coupled with our daily walks hasn't helped much. Anyways, his owner says not to take him to the vet but just to feed him some dog food with fish oil in it and this will help with his arthritic pain. I will also shorten our daily walks to 15 minutes. And yes, I will keep them separated for the rest of the time. His owner is stuck in the floods currently ravaging north queensland, so it looks like we'll have the old guy for a little while yet. Incidentally, thanks for the links persephone.

Thanks for the replies. I was probably not quite clear in my original post - the dogs are generally kept apart and their time together has always been supervised and fairly short. It's not like I simply put them both in the yard and left them to their own devices. They've only had about 4 sessions together. Each time I have usually stepped in to stop the weim from pawing the old fella too much but even when I'm holding the pup and actually have him calm the older dog will come up and shove him about which only gets the younger one excited all over again. So its not like the situation is too much for the old guy, he seems actually to be looking for a confrontation. The only time I've really let them both run about was yesterday arvo - for about 10/15 minutes, but still under supervision. I figured the older guy would teach the pup his place in the hierarchy. And in all honesty the older dog always had the upper hand - the pup was forever trying to extricate himself from underneath the older dog and quite often ran off to catch his breath. The older guy was pretty impressive and just kept on bearing down on the pup like a steamroller - but nothing more agressive than just trying to force the weim to sit still. Having said all that, I think the weim is just too excitable around other dogs and I need to find a way to get him to focus more on me and my commands than on jumping all over the dogs he meets. He met an 85kg bull mastiff the other day. He freaked out initially but despite getting into the submissive pose several times was still quite content to paw and jump all over the big guy. He seems to be full of youthful bravado. I'm just not sure whether this is something I need to train him out of (and if so, how), or whether I should just let an older dog smack him about a bit to teach him to be a little more respectful (albeit under supervision).

As I've mentioned in my other posts lately, my family recently acquired a weim pup (now 9 weeks). We are also currently dog-sitting a mate's corgi/chihuahua cross. This dog is quite old, I think at least 14/15 years old. And yes, he is fully vaccinated. Anways, I've tried introducing the pair several times but each time I've had to cut the session short because our weim keeps running up to the other dog and pawing him in the face (both front paws) and biting him all over. They are both wagging their tails so I assume its all playful but the older dog gets quite agro at times and clearly is trying to convince our weim to settle. He regularly growls and barks at younger pup and forces him onto his back. In fact, if the weim stops to sniff the ground or groom himself, the older dog walks over to the weim and forces him to topple over and then seems to either stand over or on him (if the weim is on his back) or grabs him from behind with his two front paws (as though he were going to mate with the pup) in order to force the pup to lay still. The weim regularly seems to submit (rolls onto his back and puts his legs in the air, licks the older dog on the face and the privates etc). But as soon as he gets the chance the weim is back on all fours and starts smacking and biting the older dog all over again. I don't think he means anything nasty by it, but I just can't seem to get him to settle when in the company of the older dog. As a result, we are having to keep them separated with the older dog outside and the pup inside most of the day. When we bring the pup into the yard, we have lock up the older dog for his own peace of mind. Also yesterday I think the older dog hurt himself whilst trying to discipline the younger dog because he's been walking with a limp since yesterday afternoon. I have two questions: 1. How do you convince an overactive pup to calm down when he meets another dog; and 2. How do I tell if the older dog's limp is serious and should be examined by a vet? He seems to be walking around okay. In fact, he insisted on going for a walk last night even though he was limping slightly. However, his limp seems to be a bit more pronounced this morning. Also, he doesn't seem to have eaten any of his dinner. TIA **edited to fix typos.

Hopefully your problem has been resolved amicably by now; but, just in case, I thought I'd add my two cents worth. I recently bought a pup myself. Although strictly speaking I purchased the pup for both myself and my partner, our breeder indicated that only one name could be linked to the microchip. Given that experience, as a practical consideration I would say that the microchipping registration details do not necessarily reflect ownership. There are also several legal grounds why it is unsafe to relying on the microchipping details as establishing ownership. Firstly, as a general rule the "owner" of a thing (including a dog) is the person who paid for it. That generally establishes legal ownership; but the law looks also to beneficial or equitable ownership - in effect, for whose benefit was the item of property purchased. There are several principles that may come into play when resolving this issue. Regardless of who actually handed the money over to the breeder, the main issue is who provided the funds? You described your other half as your "partner" rather than as your boyfriend or husband. That being the case, I assume that you have probably been in a long term relationship and that in all reality your partner is in fact your de facto spouse. Whilst assumptions usually make asses of us all, I also assume that in the course of your relationship you and your partner shared the bills, if not an actual bank account. If you shared a bank account into which you both contributed funds and from which you sourced the funds to pay for your dog then I would say that it is fairly clear that your partner at least made a partial contribution toward the purchase of the dog in which case he shares beneficial ownership of the dog with you regardless of who is the "legal" owner. If you split your bills between you, it may still be possible for him to argue that he indirectly contributed to the funds you used to buy the dog by assisting you with your other bills - ie, but for his contribition toward your other bills, you would not have had the funds which you used to buy your dog. Whilst I would regard this as arguable, it is not as clear or forceful an argument as one based on a joint account. Of course, there is then the possibility that throughout your relationship you both paid your own bills. Whilst I could see this operating with say personal mobile phone bills and rent, I find it hard to comprehend how it would work in a long term relationship with more general expenses which benefit both parties eg groceries. Even things like utility costs I would have thought are not clearly capable of equal division given that one person may generate more of the expense than the other party to the relationship - eg longer hot showers, several computers on the go etc. In short, it is far too simplistic simply to say "the dog is registered/microchipped in my name ergo it is mine". It does not work like that. If in fact you paid for it out of your own funds (together with all vet bills etc), the first thing you need to do is collate all the evidence that verifies your claims in this regard. Then you need to collate all the evidence that establishes that the funds you used to pay for the dog were in fact your own private funds and not joint funds. Then you need to rule out the possibility that your partner will claim some sort of beneficial interest by virtue of a claim that he helped raise the dog in question. The only way you are likely to prove this is to obtain witness statements from friends, neighbours and family members who can back up your own claim that you were solely responsible for raising the dog. Notwithstand the prevailing sentiment on this forum, dogs are not children. That being the case, I doubt that the court will take into account issues like what is in the best interests of either of your dogs. Rather, dogs are items of property. It is primarily the principles of property law (as ameliorated by laws relating to de facto relationships) which will determine the outcome. Of course, I do not pretend to be a family lawyer, so there may be in fact be case authorities which contradict what I have just said although I would be surprised if that was the case. Reporting the matter to the police will probably be fruitless. Your partner did not steal the dogs from you nor did he acquire possession by some deception. In fact, his possession is entirely lawful since you left them in his care. If he refuses to deliver up possession now, the question of who has the right to possession where ownership is disputed is a civil matter not a criminal one. Hence, I can't see the police intervening, although you never know. I would support the view that possession is nine tenths of the law. If you can get your hands on the dogs lawfully, you obtain a distinct advantage in that it places the onus on your former partner to challenge your possession. That means he must spend the money obtaining legal advice and commencing legal proceedings; which he may not be prepared or financially able to do. I would stress, however, that you must obtain lawful possession. Entering your former residence without his permission will constitute trespass which will just bring the police down on you both for break and enter and possibly for stealing if you take the dogs with you. Having said all that, let me make clear that this is only my two cents worth - off the cuff viewpoints. It does not constitute legal advice and I take no responsibility whatsoever (whether for negligence or otherwise) for anything contained in or omitted from it. If you want legal advice, go see a lawyer.

Not sure if this should be posted in the puppy problems forum, so my apologies in advance if I'm posting in the wrong area. My family and I finally took delivery of our new Weimarener puppy about a week ago. We are crate training him, and for the first couple of nights he had us up almost every hour to toilet. Three / four days since and the toilet breaks seem to be getting just a little longer throughout the night - between one and half to 3 three hours. He is still having quite a few peeing accidents on the carpet during the day but has been fairly good at doing his business outside when requested. So on this front at least everything seems to be going as expected. We are noting one concerning bit of behaviour though - he whines like crazy if left in a room by himself (except when he knows everyone is going to sleep for the night). We've had to go shopping twice recently, for an hour or so at a time and he howled desperately once he cottoned on that we are about to leave him behind. One time we left him in his crate with his toys and water, the other time we left him in a room with his crate, toys, food and water nearby. Each time, we went through the ritual of locking up the house and coming back several times for varying intervals so as to make it difficult for him to tell whether we were actually leaving for a long period or not. We knew that separation anxiety was an issue with the breed when deciding to get a Weimaraner. For this reason, the family is committed to ensuring that he won't be left unattended for extended periods of time throughout the day. Nevertheless, our Weim will need to cope with some periods of separation, eg when kids are being dropped off at school or sports and when the family needs to go shopping. At the moment, he spends basically all day with us in the house - especially since its been raining non-stop for most of the last few days. A couple of times though we've shut him up in a separate room away from the rest of the family. The room is right beside our lounge room but is lined with lino. We've put him in there when he's just eaten but hasn't yet done his business so as to avoid the possibility of his defacting on the carpet elsewhere in the house. One time, he was loose so came up to the french doors separating the two rooms and used his paws to bang on the glass (he could see us clearly through the doors) all the while howling like a lunatic. Another time, we used his leash to tie him up in the other room so as to restrict his ability to wander up to the french doors and see us on the other side but still he whined like crazy. Clearly we need to prepare our pup for the inevitable periods of separation when the kids go back to school - not to mention that we also owe it to our neighbours to somehow take control of his howling. Is there anything people would recommend to assist in this process? Should we start separating ourselves from him more often for more extended periods of time to help him develop a little independence, or is he likely to grow out of his current whining behaviour as a matter of course? TIA

Good-o. Thanks folks.

I saw these results about a particular breeding dog: Hips and Elbows AVA Hips: 3+3=6 AVA Elbows: 0+0=0 Prcd - PRA Clear Type A A DNA profile was also posted. How do you interpret this info, ie what is a good result? I noticed that details of some other breeding dogs specifically said PRA - "Clear" rather that "Clear Type A". I take it that the latter result is less reliable since (I assume) other types of PRA exist but have not been tested for. Would I correct in this? When you buy a pup/dog, what sort of health info do you get usually? (whether from a breeder or a rescue organisation). Is an independent examination of the prospective pup/dog by a vet of your own choosing, before you buy, the done thing? If so, how does that work? (ie does, say, a breeder usually take the dog to your chosen vet for an exam).

Bryan, thanks for the tip about ignoring users. What a great feature. Incidentally, who or what is GAP? Also, that dog show at Durack, is it on all weekend or was it on just today? Noisymina, I suspect your using the term affectionately, but are all Weims "dumb"? I've noticed a lot of people who have posted photos of their Weims on the web describing them as stupid but lovable. Is that a fair reflection of the breed in your experience? Or did you just draw the short straw with yours? Gaylek, the experience you describe touches on a topic I broached earlier, ie I assume that the dogs are just happy for someone to be there - and that interactivity is just a bonus for them.

Shortstep, no I didn't mean you. To be honest, my comment was directed at no-one in particular but merely as a summation of the general "feel" I was getting from the various contributors. I did not intend to cause offence - like I said, its the sense I get - rightly or wrongly. Again, like I said the reference to "24/7" was probably overstating things a bit anyways. As for your comment about Ridges, they appear on my list because my research so far seems to support what dancinbcs says. The dogtime website I referenced earlier also says: "Exuberant and active in puppyhood, he matures into a quiet dog with moderate exercise needs. The Ridgeback is protective of his home and a discriminating barker who can be counted on to alert you to trouble. He's reserved with strangers but gentle and affectionate with family members". Those attributes coupled with its smooth coat and larger size are what attract me to the breed. That said, I'm still not sold on them, particularly as I have young children. In any event, my eldest has also indicated that doesn't mind the Weim either, which subject to the "neediness" issue seems to tick all my other boxes - that is unless I've missed something. Sheridan, you're either deliberately trying to irritate me or you haven't bothered to read my posts properly. In either case, I don't propose to be goaded into a useless debate. If my intention was simply to force a dog on my OH to take care of, I'd have done it already. Labsrule, like I said, the idea of starting with an older dog is in fact growing on me.