knobbles

I just had a question regarding my Mum's chihuahua x foxy. She's pretty old, had a good long healthy life. But now, she's having trouble in the peeing department. She goes in the house all the time and takes her 5 mins to do wee and it just drips out. She also drinks alot of water but brings it back up again. It all sounds terrible and my Mum is scared that when she takes her to the vet she wont be bringing her home again so I know she's putting it off. She will take her to the vet I just wanted to see if these symptoms sound like anything such as kidney problems or whatever. I always have to be in the know. Also, would the little darling be in any pain?

Bender seems to know what I'm trying to say to him alot of the time, he's one smart cookie. Not that he's exceptionally trained, but he is smart. He knows basic training words..sit, stand, stay, fall (drop), drop (give), come, shake hands, roll over, "head down" he used to come and shove me for a pat but then I taught him to put his head on my lap.. if he shoves I tell him to bugger off I could teach him more, I think it's all about training. The he knows stuff like "stop it" "P**s off" (hehe) "Shhhhhhhhh!!" (For when he's licking- it drives me mad but he always stops when I ask him to) "Do you want some food?" "Where's your ball?" "Wanna go for a walk?" "In ya get" (into the car), "on your mat", "out", "go outside", "have a drink", "eat" (ooh thats a hard one to tech- not!), "wanna treat?" "lie down" "come here" "what's that?" "come on" "play" I reckon there's heaps more I can't think of right now ummm and then there's Leela......she's just like the class clown... just there for the enjoyment of everyone else and never learns anything :rolleyes:

omg... RIP little cutie.. Hugs for you and jinta.... She is a little angel now.. :cool:

I agree that destrcuctive dobe must be a rare case- I can leave my two at home inside and they'll just sleep. I can't remember the last item I have lost. My dobe girl is very shy- I took her to training & socialisation when she was young, but I think it was always going to be part of her personality. She did terribly at the agility equipment in class, it took me ages to get her to walk on metal steps! So, I couldn't do agility with Leela...she is also quite nutty- but I can't really say what dobes are like on a whole as I think my girl's a special case Little runt But I'm sure you could do agility if that's what you are aiming for.. Also I reckon that the breed you choose will end up being the breed you love! (In most cases!) hence why the kelpie people promote kelpies etc... I never used to like cattle dogs/ blue heelers much but that changed when I fostered one- now I love em :rolleyes:

Update... All's going well, she is walking pretty well on the front street, even when she can see other dogs which is good. We can also walk straight for a while without me having to turn around and catch her out because she has her eye on me most of the time. It seems we made a great deal of progress at the start, but it's taking a little longer to train her under distractions but I'm so determined now I'm sure we'll get there. I haven't trained her thismorning though as she got sick she was lethargic thismorning and throwing up (she has irritable bowel syndrome and allergies but have given her her meds and I'll train her this evening..)

Yes, I have seen Steve before... but not about the aggression problem. Soemtihng to think about doing... Lead training is going well- I have only missed one session last night- OH finished work early and came home with beer so of course I had to have some didn't I?? I felt guilty all night! I got right back into it thismorning though- she's doing better on the front street now, where all the barking dogs are. If you read this Steve let me know if I'm doing it right (and of course I'm using your notes).. I started the training under low distraction (eg. backyard or quiet park after a run).. then I got rid of the command until she knew what she was doing, then I've upped it to the street. I'm still doing the turning around thing until she gets it out in the street, then I'll up it again, until she learns it under higher distraction and so on. Then, once I can do the training anywhere, under any distraction, is this when I can stop doing the turning and just give a 'pop' if I get lead tension? My future distractons might be to walk further through streets she usually doesn't go, down at the quiet shops, busy shops, and finally walking with Bender.. I think this is going to be the tough one as she gets really excited when he comes too and she always wants to be ahead of him.

good luck with it I'm so annoyed that Leela has fear aggression, I really socialised her when she was a pup so I wouldn't have to deal with this. The reason she has fear aggression is actually from a TRAINER at my old training school... he used Leela as a prop for a fear aggressive gsd. This is where it all started. I have since learnt to not trust those inexperienced people at that school, and to trust my own instincts when it comes to my dogs. (It seems they always have new trainers fresh outta training school) Today I'm waiting for a break in the rain to get out for todays training session.. ho hum

how about those big stupid air sock people they use in car yards Bender is scared of them! And he also doesn't like billboards/ posters of oversized people!!! Quite funny really... Leela used to be scared of suitcases. I reckon getting dogs used to all kinds of people, especially kids is really important. People in costumes eg, santa..

Yes, I know what you mean sas. How did the dog aggression thing go? Leela has decided that she doesn't like large furry dogs- german sheppards in particular I'm starting to think after I get the lead thing happening I'll have to address this fear aggression she has started to display.

I noticed there were no dobes I fell in love with the hungarian puli's.... my OH said to the guy "Man, some people would kill to have dreads like that!" And I was trying to find their eyes, I said to the guy "where's the eyes!?" and he said "I don't know!" But then she rolled over for a pat and I saw them..hehe back on topic: I guess my training sessions before were not frequent enough and I would continuously give up hence undoing any previous training... this I see in hindsight. But I just had to get really motivated so that I could HONESTLY say I've tried my hardest. Maybe it just took Steve telling me off Until next update... (thanks for the motivation booster too myszka )

ok myszka, you asked for it! So far so good. I am trying to make every training session a good & productive one. If Leela is too distracted, I take it down a notch. Before I was training her, but not every day and certainly not twice a day. I always used to find it hard to get her to walk nicely down the small stretch of road before we get to the park where there is usually less distractions. But today SHE DID IT! There are alot of distractions as we have stacks of dogs in our street and they all bark and carry on when you walk past. So much progress in just a couple of days. I'm looking forward to seeing what she'll be like in two weeks! (ps. hope you had fun at the pet expo myszka, I went yesterday as OH had to work today- so we missed you! )

ok, thats it. I have made a diary and am checking off two training sessions a day for two weeks. I am going to try my hardest and keep dedicated to it, every day, twice a day at least. I've read over the 'slow' notes again and am going to DO IT You'll hear from me later on to tell you the progress. (I also bought a 9 metre lead yesterday and am going to incorporate recalls into the training with both my dogs aswell) TIME TO GET TRAINING

Hey chelseas mum, how many times per day and for how long did you have to train her before you got results? Just curious.. I couldn't find that "I'm so proud of bear" thread by alibear either:( I will be getting k9 force to fit the collar of course

I am convinced that I need a prong collar... my partner has been telling me this- I have just been trying to train her without one- but we are making very slow progress, and the fact that she is willing to give herself a correction from a martingale is the proof. I am not scared of putting the work in, I know training gets results, I've got two dogs and they've both had obedience training, this is the first real training hurdle I have encountered. lol it may just make the prong collars look better with a bit of ribbon!

that's true anne, it's not like a normal harness. I was going to ask you K9 Force: do you think Leela's behaviour on the martingale sometimes is an indication that she doesn't care for the martingale and we need a prong collar instead? The fact that she takes run up when she gets bored or distracted, and gives herself a correction- and keeps doing it? I am still training her I haven't given up, although I am starting to think I am failing. I just thought maybe this harness thing could work for me and my OH to go for nice walks together with both dogs. At the moment I can't just walk Leela with her normal collar with Bender as it undoes the training... I just want us all to be able to go for nice walks. At the moment when I walk her on her lead it's all training.

I have tried... everything. She is a complete nutter and is highly distracted. I have been training her for ages, and I just don't seem to get results. I don't think she cares for the training collar we have now (one of those martingale ones) considering she runs out the lead and flips on the end of it- hope that makes sense. I think she has some screws loose I have got one now- she's still pulling, but it's manageable. Thanks for the link.. shall check out their stuff

Hey just wondering if anyone has used these before? Here's a description and an image of one: http://www.worldpetstore.com/sporpulcon.html They are supposed to miraculously stop a dog from pulling, and I haven't seen them around before and think that they are probably a new product. So.. any thoughts?

I laughed when I read the bit about stuffed themselves silly! This happened to my dog just recently. Glad everything is ok! :rolleyes: My girl threw up tho so I was just a little bit less stressed... but she was still bloated and the next day she did a crap that- according to my OH- would have filled a shoe box- size 9!!!!! Now I keep something on the lid so it can't accidently pop up! Again, so good it's all worked out. What a pig!!!!

thanks anyway nadia, but my poor girl is on a special diet as she has had some crazy health problems of late... hopefully we can get her on to something that will put a few kilos back on her soon! Where is this leonards that everyone's talking about anyway?? Is it a human butcher or a pet supply shop? Is the roo and chicken mix from pet barn labbelled "semi lean mince"??

I reckon the pet chicken mince stinks anyway. I just worry too about the fat content. I thought coz it had bone in it cooking would destroy the nutrients they would get from the bone? Good thinking about mixing it up with the roo mince. One of mine is on a special diet of roo mince- but she needs to put on weight- and it ain't happenin on that! I have fed carcasses too- there is a risk but the bones are soft. There's a risk with human's eating food too- you could choke! I think it's a natural thing for dogs to eat stuff like that, they get enjoyment from it & it's great for their teeth. I started my dobe on carcasses when she was just a pup.. never had any problems and she is a GUTS!! I worry about what's in the pet mince- all the fatty scraps & skin I'm sure. But like other people I hardly buy chicken mince for myself as it's so expensive. You can find a butcher that will mince up chicken pieces for you if you ask around (some wont do it) try fluttering your eyes a bit then you know it's good meat and not as expensive as fillet mince- and you get the bone in it too.

I think if I had small dogs I could afford to buy them free range chicken fillets ;) It's interesting to see how much everyone spends... I'm still so confused as to what I'm going to have to do with Leela's diet. (Testing with chicken starts next week) I may not be able to feed her raw meats anymore, and may have to scrap barf. I have to test and see. At the moment I'm buying kangaroo mince for her special diet, but if I buy 10kg's from pet barn I think it's $3 a kilo. Cheaper in bulk (so the freezer is just full of mince!)

I'm thinking of switching diets (mentioned it in my other recent topic) What do you feed your dog, how much do they weigh, are they active or not, and how much per week/month does it cost you? (you can include treats if you wanna!) I'll start off by saying I feed a mixture of barf and supercoat, and doggy biscuits etc. I've got 3 big dogs here at the moment all over 25kilos, all quite active. Because I feed such a wide range of foods it's hard to tell exactly how much I spend but I reckon I spend about $200 a month at the moment. At LEAST. (Excluding worming tablets flea treatment etc) This is just a vague guess though- I'm pretty bad with keeping track of my money! (Reciepts out-weigh money in my purse!)

I reckon they can get injured, but so can any other part of the body. It's just personal preference really. My vet has never suggested it. Actually I've been to 4 different vets and none of them have suggested it. Both my dogs have them and they have never had any problem... although the claw doesn't touch the ground and get worn out so you have to clip em.

Just had to add what an absolutely georgeous dog!!!!!!

I'm with you there kitkat- will not buy from pets paradise. Will not even walk in there. Kayla05 maybe take a look at www.saynotoanimalsinpetshops.com then you can make an informed decision about whether or not you'd like to give your hard earned dollars to pet shops.