KateAndDuke

Lovely! Thanks everyone :)

Hi all, I went to the local pet supply shop the other day to buy my usual dog ear wipes and was told they were no longer stocking them. My weim has floppy ears which are prone to getting mucky with humidity. Usually wiping them out weekly with the ear wipes has been fine. Unfortunately squirting a liquid in his ears makes him run for the hills - so I need an alternative that's more wipe-like than liquid-like. The guy at the store recommended baby wipes instead. Has anyone had any success using baby wipes for their dog's ears? Thanks, Kate.

Thanks guys. I took him to the vet who thinks it's a bacterial pyoderma - likely due to scratching it on something and getting an infection. Should be able to knock it over with a course of antibiotics. Cheers, Kate.

Hi all, I've recently noticed a spot on my weimaraner's nose. It's a slightly different colour to the rest of his nose. It started off small, but seems to be getting bigger and a bit lumpy. I've attached a photo. Not sure if it's just something temporary or worthy of more attention. Any thoughts? Thanks.

Everybody and every dog is different and you'll find that you'll make your own routine out of making RAW for your pup as you work thought it. Your set up looks good so far, but might need a few more supplements for omegas like salmon slices or flaxseed oil. I'm not an expert on nutrition, so when getting started I found this book to be really helpful - http://www.fremantlepress.com.au/books/house_garden/1060 My routine is a mince meal in the morning (consists of chicken or roo mince with eggs, yoghurt, flaxseed oil, garlic, kelp powder, veggies mixed in) and a chicken frame with chicken wings or offal at night. I buy big bags of mince from the local pet shop and make a big batch of meals in one go and that will last me about 5-6 weeks in breakfasts. He only occasionally gets a substantial bone like a lamb bone as he gets plenty of teeth work with the frames at night. My pup started to walk away from kibble as well. He has never turned his nose up at a nice raw meal! Good luck!

Hi all, I currently have my dog on a monthly dose of Comfortis and Sentinel to cover heartworm, intestinal worms, fleas, etc. I notice there is a relatively new product on the market, Panoramis, that covers fleas, heartworm and some intestinal worms (hookworm, roundworm and whipworm). The active ingredients are Spinosad (as per Comfortis) and milbemycin. I have spoken to my vet nurse who noted that it doesn't cover tapeworms although apparently it's been spouted that the product is so effective at controlling fleas that tapeworm shouldn't be a problem, although I'm not sure how effective that is. So does anyone have any comments or recommendations on this product? Of course it would be much nicer to only have to give the dog one tablet per month, and it works out a lot cheaper too. Thoughts? Thanks guys :)

Thanks for the replies guys. I have passed this advice on. :)

Hi all, I'm on here asking for some advice for a friend who has just claimed her dog back after a break up where she ended up in a situation where she couldn't take her dog when she left. A year down the track she has been able to retrieve her 3 year old mastiff x ridgeback. Unfortunately the dog didn't get much attention from her ex-partner and was rarely taken out of the yard in this time. She appears to have lost her social skills and will now act aggressively to some dogs when going on walks. She has not let her off lead (obviously) as she doesn't trust her dog anymore. My question is, what can she do to help her dog relearn how to socialise? Many people wouldn't be willing to lend their dogs with a risk of them being attacked. Are there classes available or the help of a behaviouralist? Finances aren't great, so it can't be ridiculously expensive either. What about having the dog muzzled in social situations? Although, I do believe she will need professional help learning to control/correct her dog. Any suggestions for behaviourists or professional help in the Newcastle area would be much appreciated. Thanks guys.

How about this for irony? I took the dog to the beach on the weekend and had to pick up one of his poos within about 10 minutes of getting there, only to turn around and stand in someone's left dog poo about 5 minutes later. In bare feet!

My dog's diet consists mainly of chicken frames/wings and roo mince (with the odd duck frame thrown in there). He is fed only raw meat and bones with some vegies. The majority of his diet is made up of chicken and he does fine on it. I get bags of roo mince from a local pet produce supplier, which is great because it's preservative free. I bag it up into meal-sized portions and he gets them for breakfast. Dinner is the chicken frames with some offal. No problems here

I have had a similar problem with my 2 year old weim. I don't mind him barking when he is outside or if someone comes to the door, I think that's fair enough. But he will bark quite harshly simply at someone walking out on the road or parking on the street and shutting their car door. Birds and the dog across the road set him off as well. I've tried getting his attention and rewarding when he's quiet, but once he gets a fix on this it's hard to maintain his attention. Last week I got out the dreaded water squirter. Now, I don't want to get flamed here because it's negative reinforcement, but it's working like a charm. It doesn't hurt him, but it is enough to shock him into ignoring the distraction outside. He also gets lots of pats and treats when he doesn't bark at outside things now. He may start barking now and I'll tell him "ok enough" and "come" and he relaxes a lot quicker. I'm seeing quite an improvement. Good luck!

Walked past a few people in the park one afternoon. They had had a few drinks . . . . "Is that a weimanana?" Yes, weimaraner crossed with a banana.

That looks like Horseshoe beach. We haven't been there in ages! We were once regulars, but the colder weather puts us off (we go to the local bushy off-lead park instead). I've never seen so much stuff washed up on the sand! Will have to come back for a romp when the weather gets better.

Redhead beach has a large off lead area which is usually not as crowded and a wider expanse than Horseshoe. http://www.lakemac.com.au/downloads/DAC%207785%20Dog%20exercise%20broch%20new.pdf

I think it all depends on your supplier. I only have one large dog, but have considered the costs food-wise when I get another. With large dogs, the pre-packaged stuff (Dr Billington's, etc) can be rather expensive. I make mince patties (local supplier with chicken and roo mince) and portion up chicken or duck frame based meals. I've averaged it at costing me around $60 a month for one dog. A second dog would cost me more time than anything else. Search around your local butchers or chicken shops for frames (which are relatively cheap). It takes a while to get a routine together, but once it's there, it's easy. Others here may have better suggestions as I've only had my dog on BARF for about a year.

+1 Peanut butter works like a charm! :D Once I crushed one of Kirah's worming tablets in with a mortar and pestle then mixed it in with the water/juice from a tin of tuna. Gobbled the whole lot up and was none-the-wiser! Peanut butter used to work like a charm, but he's too clever for me. Duke gets a mince meal in the morning and breaking them up into them worked the other day. Must be smelly and tasty enough to hide the tablets.(must be a longhair weim thing GW!) Success! We'll see how long this methods lasts! Thanks all.

Ok all you experienced dog people! Duke (weimaraner) is 2 years old and I've never had too much trouble getting him to take his monthly tablets (Comfortis and Sentinel). I usually dip them in yoghurt or something and that's enough to get him to take it. Recently he's been resisting. A lot. I've tried chopping them into tiny pieces, wrapping them in cheese and hiding them in his food. He always sniffs them out and becomes difficult. Note these are meant to be the tasty chewable tablets So, what's the quickest, pain-free. slober-free (almost) method people use for difficult dogs. The vets make it look so easy! Thanks guys.

Interesting this came up. My weimaraner male has a prominent bump in the same spot. His isn't as big as your pointer's, but good to know there's a term for it. I don't have a very good picture of it. He's too fuzzy and his fur covers it. Must be a gun dog thing. Interesting to hear what the vet has to say. P.S. Nice photos. I like the photo with the other dog lying under the coffee table. My boy does the same thing

Good to hear Honey is ok and not phased by other dogs as a result. I remember walking to the bus stop when I was in school and everyday I had to walk past this property with an unleashed/unfenced dog that used to patrol his front yard. A few times he crossed the road to come over and growl at us (we were in high school at the time). Never attacked, but geez it was close. I started picking up sticks/branches just in case. I always worried about the possibly of younger kids coming into contact with that dog. The bogan owner used to walk out and yell to the dog to come back. Basically useless as the dog did whatever it wanted. Seriously, some people are just morons.

I had my heart set on a weimaraner for my first dog. Everyone said they weren't for first timers. In true stubborn fashion, I ignored everyone and got one anyway. Best decision I ever made. :D

Guilty as!

Stunning creatures. Their coat colour is so vibrant in your photos!

Yet another opinionated article that is trying to squash any social life that Newcastle currently has. I probably wouldn't take my dog to the cafes in Darby St or Honeysuckle, but certainly to the local fish and chip shop or burger place. The last we were at our local ice creamery and group of people wanted to give Duke a lick of their ice cream for sitting so nicely. I guess it depends on the person.

Our pup was allowed everywhere inside except for the carpeted bedrooms. If he went in there we would say "ah ah" and shoo him out or put him in a sit or down stay near the entrance. He learnt that is was floorboards=yes and carpet=no. But they're cheeky. He would test the boundaries and lay his head or one paw on the carpet. They're not stupid and will pick up on the rules quick enough and then try and get around them. The trick is to be consistent. Or employ a handy water squirter for stubborn dogs Exercise wise I believe it depends on the individual dog. All dogs need exercise, but some seem to require more than others. I got a bit of a lounge lizard despite his breed tendency to want heaps of exercise (Weimaraner). I don't have to worry about him going nuts if we miss a walk one day, but I'll make up for it in mental stimulation. A good game of hide-and-seek with a toy in the house, or tug-of-war or some obedience work. You'll get to know your own dogs requirements pretty quick. If he/she is being destructive in the yard and is pent up with energy, more exercise is needed. If you go out for a 30 minute walk and he/she is quite tired then that's fine. 30 minutes is a good starting point to see if he/she needs more or less. Of course, as a pup it won't need to be much, but would increase the older it gets.

I got my first dog about 18 months ago and had the same questions as you. It's great that you're asking them with plenty of time to spare to think about the answers. In terms of having the dog outside at all times, this may be hard on the Labrador being such a family orientated dog. My dog is inside when we are and outside when we're not at home. So he is trained to be inside or outside which many benefits! He can be inside with us in bad weather and at night, but outside if we have company or cleaning the house, etc. And he's happy in both situations. We don't have too many problems with messy tiles or floorboards because if he comes in wet or dirty (rarely) we'll give him a towel down before he gets in (or in seriously muddy situations, straight to the bath!). Crate training helped us house break him as a pup and now at 18 months he is very respectful to the house, minus a few zoomie moments. Maybe you can discuss with your parents the possibility of restricting the dog to only the tiled or floorboard areas of the house? You can also train the dog to only sit on a dedicated mat. Whatever works for you. To one of your other questions, socialising is important, but you need to be mindful of the possibility of contracting nasties in the public parks. If you have friends with healthy older dogs, set up a play date. Puppy preschool is great, but socialising with adults is good too.