NOCTRL

Hi All, I have a 17 week old SBT pup who since we purchased him walks / runs crooked. We didn't notice at first as he was still in the bouncy puppy crazy stage but it's something i've wondered about for a little while now. It's not SUPER crooked or anything, but if you can picture him being a slight banana shape pushing out to the left side slightly causing his rear paws to not track evenly with his front. (Sorry if i'm not using the correct words, in horsey terms though i'd say he was moving on three tracks instead of two!) At his 10 week vaccination i asked the vet about it and she said not to worry about it he'd grow out of it. But i'm not sure! He is 17 weeks now and still the same. He doesn't seem stiff or sore, doesn't have trouble getting up. He goes for a short walk most days (we started at 5mins when he was about 12 weeks working up to about 20mins now). Has anyone come across it before? Is it really something a puppy grows out of or is it something i should insist on further investigation either by another vet or animal chiro / body worker? And if so, can someone recommend one of the above in the Darwin NT area? Cheers

Different people are bought up / believe for what ever reason different ways to treat an animal. I grew up with a dog and horses all my life and am more for positive reinforcement or a big gorwl if needed. I will smack if necessary but am mindfull not to hit around the head. My fiance had a dog for two weeks as a kid and is quicker to smack first up, and i have to keep asking him to please at least growl first and give our pup a chance to do the right thing before smacking him. though my OH loves him just as much as i do, it's just an example of how people can have two different ways of seeing "discipline". My OH isn't a violent person but this is how he thought you trained an animal. You room mate probably didn't even realise it wasn't appropriate, so don't be too hard on him. But ask him not to hit the dog, it's not his to train, and if something gets chewed that shouldn't be then its their fault for leaving it around where the dog can get it. (And i have a staffy pup so i know the pain!!)

Arby spends about 7 hours on an average day - OH and I both work but he starts before me and is home before me, so about 7 hours, but i come home in the middle of that for lunch and a quick play. As much as i would love to be able to spend every moment with him, we have to work! Also i wouldn't want to end up with a clingy / fussy dog that frets when we're not around. He is an only child and keeps him self entertained with his shell pool, toys, kongs etc.

fingers, hooves and paws crossed for MoJo. It's always hard when your loved ones a hurt (whether they have skin or fur!), thinking of you X

Arby the 16 week old Staffy pup (10kg) loves his wings, he gets a couple for dinner maybe every 2nd night. However i am paranoid about choking so someone always has to supervise him when he has them (which is no big deal at all in my opinion). He has had a bit of a gutz and choke once when OH was watching him, managed to get it up and actually chew it properly. Otherwise he chews and crunches away on them happily (and when i can't hear chewing he gets reminded "Are you chewing Arby?!" and crunch crunch crunch off he goes again

RIP How heartbreaking. Ive travelled horses before on the Spirit of Tas without problems, and i've been on it quite a few times (used to live there) and i never actually realised people could leave pets in their cars... I know i never saw any in there.

Only in the NTNews would this make front page news. (Even though i agree with westiemum, he probably does drive better than most NT folk!!)

My pup had something similar, little pustules all over his belly from an allergic reaction to something. The vet gave us antibiotics just in case but what helped most were antihistamines. Vet recommended Phenergan 10mg tablets, they are first gen antihistamine so can cause drowsyness (not that we saw lol!) but are very safe.

We were worried about this too when we got our Staffy puppy. To start with he wasn't allowed in the backyard unsupervised as we have in inground spa. As he got a bit older (around 11 weeks i think) we started to teach him how to swim in it and after a while let him go and encouraged him over to the steps, so if he ever got in (i dont think he would by choice, maybe if being a crazy distracted puppy thought!). He loves playing in the water, and has his own little kiddy paddling pool to splash around in which he loves and isn't too deep for him. I think if your dog can touch the bottom with his head up and can get in / out ok you should leave it uncovered

Poor fella, i hope his coat grows back soon and doesn't get too burnt. im not sure if dogs are different, but several of my ponies are pink skinned and very sun sensitive in places, i use a product called Filtabac which is a sunscreen / antibacterial (in case they have any scabby sunburnt bits)and vitamin E which is great for hair growth... might be worth investigating!

Awww glad to hear she's eating more! How cute is she!!

Our staffy (not amstaff) just finished his last vaccination at 14 weeks. We have carried him in each time. I am only tiny (5 foot and 50 kilo) and I can manage to carry him just fine - he is 10kg. PS love the name V-Tec Yo ;)

Ours is around 6-7pm also ... i think i read somewhere dogs are most active at sunrise and sunset so that may explain it? Sunrise is way too early for us, or Arby as he's usually snoozing on our bed with us :D

Puppy pox! :D He's had a couple of antibiotics now and they seem to be on the improve. I'm sure he wasn't as worried by them as i was, but better to be safe than sorry

Fingers, paws & hooves crossed for little Jess!

For anyone interested, The Vet last night said it looks like a contact allergy with something at the house we took him to that has gotten a bit infected. She's given us some antibiotics to clear it up for him to take for 10 days. He's rather enjoying it because i feel bad about him laying spread eagle on the pavers outside with them so he's getting lots of couch and bed time

He did get rinsed off after his impromptu swim, he has been swimming in our pool too but i guess its possible if they maybe use a different kind of chlorine or treatment... Are there any kinds of grasses that are well known for allergies? I do hope its not a Staf infection just1more, but i will definately mention it to the vet this afternoon. Thanks for the heads up all about the Vaccination as well, i'll make sure i ask to have that held off for a little while..

Hi fellow DOL'ers, Let me start by saying Arby is booked into the Vet at 1745 this afternoon, but i'd like to hear some suggestions before hand... I'm sure the vet will have some idea but it can't hurt to investigate a little prior My staffy pup Arby (3.5 months) developed a rash on his entire belly on Sunday afternoon. It looks like little red pimples over his belly, arm pits and groin. It doesn't seem itchy or sore to touch and he hasn't been scratching at it or licking it. Other than this he seems normal, healthy appetite, his usual playfull self, normal poop / pee frequency. The only thing out of the ordinary that we have done was take him around to a friends palce on Saturday afternoon to socialise with their dog and kids. He played with their dog, jumped in their pool for a swim. He wasn't fed anything whilst he was there. He has had his C3 and the C5+Lepto and is due for the final one on Wednesday. It LOOKS allergy like to me however i can't see any improvement after giving him antihistamines yesterday afternoon and this morning (though it hasn't got worse, either). Has anyone seen anything similar before? Cheers, K & Arby

NO-CTRL is my rego plates on my other child - 1993 Nissan Silvia :D

As someone with both horses and a dog, I can assure you that there are plenty of issues with horses - though rarely with "strangers". Most horses are kept privately or on rural agistment, not places where public is likely to be who aren't aware of how to handle and read their signals. That's not to say it doesn't happen... For example, I keep three horses in a paddock that backs on to a local tennis centre / kids playground. The fencing is good and there are signs to "keep out". A local playgroup had a play day at the park, there was one kid in particular who was running a riot, and whose mum was letting him. He ended up crawling under a strand on the boundary fence and began harassing my ponies. He ended up yanking on ones tail whilst standing behind it, and got booted in the chest. Kidlet got taken to hospital with whole chest black and blue but nothing more. (This all came from a work mate who was there...I wasn't!). I had the police come around and talk to me about it, and in the end nothing was done as whose fault was it? The kid useless mother who saw the day as a chance to sit down and relax and let her kid run riot. Naughty Kids / Naughty Dogs / Naughty Horses... they're all the same, and the fault all lays with the person who is meant to be teaching them.

Oh what good timing! I'm looking for a raised outdoor bed for our Staffy puppy who is 3months old. Whilst he hasn't found his distruct button, i'm sure he will in time! Will watch this thread with interest.

Our Staffy pup Arby (9.5 weeks) is also delightfull for this too (Oscar is very very cute!!) We read a fair bit about this - and the importance of teaching 'bite inhabition' so in the future if he does bite through be startled / accidently hurt etc he won't bite hard. When Arby bites we say "gentle" "gentle" until he is basically just licking. If he DOES bite HARD we yelp and turn away / leave the room and ignore him for 5 minutes (this usually only happens when we're playing and he gets a bit too in to it). There's lots on here and other websites about Bite Inhabition, do try and have a read and see how you feel about it

I didn't take any time off and neither did my OH. We picked Arby up a Tuesday evening and we both went to work on Wednesday - though i do have the kind of job where i can pop home frequently to check on him / take out for toilet. I'd put him in his bathroom at 830, go back at 1030, go back at 1230 for an hour, back at 330, OH home at 4, then me home at 5. He has settled to this routine really well. We do play with him a lot before work (a good hour or so play from 730 - 830, an hour at lunch and then lots in the evening / before bed). Would it be better to have taken time off to speed track toilet training? Sure... But he's going ok so far