Miranda

One solution would be to lock the dogs up separately when the postman is expected and let them out a few minutes after he's gone. Do you have crates or a dog run? If your brother brings his dog over ask him to leave it in the car.

My dogs are crated overnight from about 11pm to 7am, usually less then 8 hours. If I go out at night I also crate them, but I'm not usually gone for longer than 4 hours. I wouldn't keep any dog crated during the day as well as at night.

Not true, resentment is a human emotion not applicable to dogs. If it makes you feel better feed them in separate areas, then Mako won't know what he's missing.

It's not a grass seed on its way out is it? The can leave an enormous hole behind them. I'd bathe it in salt water. Have you tried squeezing it to see if there's anything in there?

May I ask why you feel it necessary to worm your dog every month, I only worm mine two or three times a year? How much blended veg is he getting, too much carbohydrate will give your dog the runs and kangaroo is too rich for some dogs and has the same effect. The scooting is probably a response to some form of irritation, he may have passed a piece of undigested bone, this will irritate the anus and may be responsible for the blood. Passing frequent loose motions will also irritate the anal area and make it sore and itchy, he may have popped a small blood vessel due to constant straining hence the blood. You are feeding a lot of different protein sources, I would try feeding just one, say lamb, decrease the amount of vegetables and see how he goes.

Toolz if you just cut back on the biscuits and kibble and substitute some meat and bones he'll probably do a lot better and may even put on some weight.

Have you read the ingredients? I've actually never heard of Mighty Mix biscuits. I've just noticed that you say the SPCA, are you in the U.S.? Sorry forget that I see you're in N.Z. it says there is some cereal in it but it has lots of meat products in it.. If the first ingredient is a cereal and it contains wheat, corn or soy and meat by-products it's not a high quality food.

The thing is that if you're feeding a diet full of cereals you're also feeding a lot of fibre which fills the dog up, but doesn't supply much in the way of nutrients. Your dog is probably feeling tight because he's getting way too much fibre which is bloating his stomach so much that he just can't eat any more. Dogs aren't designed to eat large amounts of cereal, they're a carnivore and have a carnivore's GI tract.

Have you read the ingredients? I've actually never heard of Mighty Mix biscuits. I've just noticed that you say the SPCA, are you in the U.S.? Sorry forget that I see you're in N.Z.

Toolz dog roll and mighty mix biscuits aren't what I'd call good quality food, the biscuits will be full of cheap fillers for a start and most of the dog rolls also have cheap ingredients. I don't know what brand of kibble you're using, but if it's a cheap one it will be also full of cereal fillers which your dog cannot digest efficiently hence the bloating. If you want your dog to put on weight and be healthy ditch the dog roll and the mighty mix and buy a good quality super premium dry food such as Eagle Pack, Royal Canin, Nutrience or Artemis and also give your dog some meat and bones, chicken carcasses and wings, lamb flap and brisket bones are excellent. A can of mackerel or sardines once week, the occasional raw egg and some cooked liver are excellent additions. ETA the super premium foods are more expensive, but you'll feed much less because the ingredients are better quality and better digested by the dog. You will also pick up less poo as the cereal content in cheap kibble passes straight through your dog and out the other end.

When you build her permanent run make sure that you use good materials and make it really secure. Whatever you do don't use bird wire as it's just not strong enough and will eventually give way if she jumps up at it. I always use ARC Weldmesh fencing, it's strong, looks good and lasts for years and years.

I crate train, but I don't bother with a divider either. I've never had a problem with puppies soiling their crates.

Ray's a greyhound man, he breeds and races his own greyhounds and lectures on greyhound medicine and surgery here and overseas. Everyone at Monash is great, I won't go anywhere else and it's nearly an hour from here.

I haven't had a dog with hemangiosarcoma of the spleen, but I have had a dog treated with chemotherapy. He was diagnosed with cutaneous lymphoma in October 2000 and was initially treated with high doses of cortisone, in January the cortisone became less effective and they started him on a chemotherapy drug (I'm sorry, but I can't remember its name) and then interferon. In retrospect I probably should have opted for euthanasia once the cortisone stopped working, the new drugs did knock him around and he probably only gained about three or four extra months of life. The treatment was also horrendously expensive, I think we probably spent about $4,000, although we didn't worry about the cost at the time, all we cared about was helping our dog and keeping him alive as long as possible. Personally I don't think I'd do it again, I really don't think his quality of life was that good while he was on the drugs and I really should have had him pts much earlier. I kept him alive because I couldn't bear to let him go and the consequence was that the dog suffered unnecessarily. I should actually have thought more about the dog and less about my own feelings, but of course you just don't see it that way at the time. I still feel tremendously guilty about it now. He eventually died at 11.45pm on the 14th July, 2001 from a massive infection, R.I.P. Razzle my beautiful boy. It's different for everyone of course, your boy might do well on the drugs and he may have good quality of life for quite a while. I think you have to decide whether to just let him be and have him pts when the cancer spreads and he gets sick or opt for the chemotherapy and hope that it works for him at least for a while and that the side effects aren't too bad. It's the most dreadful decision to have to make and I feel for you, I do hope that everything goes as well as possible regardless of what you decide :rolleyes:

Erny I always use Dr Barry Haywood in Cranbourne South, he's a chiropractor and also a qualified vet. Ray Ferguson at Monash is also very good. It wouldn't hurt to get a second opinion.

Goodness me Erny, I'm shocked. I'm all for telling it like it is, but that's a bit strong

Yes I agree with Nekhbet, close the door. Also don't be too quick to class your puppy's behaviour as separation anxiety, yes she doesn't like being left alone but this is natural in a puppy that has just been removed from its dam and siblings and transplanted to a totally alien environment. True separation anxiety is a different condition altogether and much more serious.

Because he's far too young, you are expecting way too much of a baby puppy Please don't get upset if your puppy makes a mistake inside, he isn't being naughty he just can't help it, a nine week old puppy has little control over his bladder and when he's gotta go it just happens. Keep a rolled up newspaper handy and if your puppy makes a mistake inside the house hit YOURSELF over the head with it because it's your fault not his, you aren't watching him carefully enough. If you cannot supervise the puppy while he's inside always keep him in his crate. Take your puppy outside after meals, after playing and about every 3/4 hour in between, wait until he does a wee or a poo and then give him lots and lots of praise. Patience and persistence are the key to successful toilet training, but at 9 weeks I'd say he's doing very well.

I would if I could, but I don't understand the topic All I've ever managed to decipher from your posts is that you aren't concerned about your dogs' interactions with others as they can sort it out themselves, the rest of what you say goes right over my head.

Corvus one day one of your dogs will be involved in a fight, the fact that you're 'prepared for battle' is irrelevant because fights erupt in a split second and you will be powerless to do anything about it unless you wade in and attempt to physically separate them, a dangerous and often fruitless course of action that will probably result in severe injuries to yourself as well as the dogs. Dogs can inflict massive amounts of damage in a very short time and if you're the only person present they can be virtually impossible to break up. Personally I think you and your dogs are an accident waiting to happen, but you obviously think you have everything under control so why don't you leave it at that and agree to disagree with most of the others on this forum.

Never seen a toad in the house yet Shellectra. However we have extremely shiny tiles that are not safe for three large dogs! Well I'm not going to pursue the point because they're your dogs not mine and how you choose to manage them is your concern. However for the benefit of newbies reading this thread I'd like to make it known that I consider keeping a dog crated for extended periods of time wrong and definitely not in the best interests of the dog.

skwo2 you asked for suggestions on what might be wrong with Chelsea and I immediately thought of pancreatitis or liver shunt, although I didn't mention liver shunt to begin with because I didn't want to alarm you. But I really don't know what's wrong with her and all I (and other DOLers) can do is guess because we're not vets we're just dog breeders and owners. You could try sending rappie a PM, she's a vet and may be able to help you

All I am saying is that confining a dog to a crate from 6pm until 6am (8am on weekends) is a very long time. You say she gets one toilet break at 9pm so this means that at weekends she is spending 11 hours locked in a crate. Why do you have to crate her at 6pm anyway, do you have toads inside the house as well as outside?

Chelsea is showing some symptoms of liver shunt and many dogs are first diagnosed at around two years of age. It's definitely something your vet should be considering especially as the disease is known to occur in bichons. I hope it's something less serious, but I don't think liver shunt can be ruled out until there's been a much more thorough investigation.

Actually that's what I was thinking persephone. Could she be getting access to mouse or rat bait because the effects are cumulative and will cause bleeding if she's been eating small amounts over a period of time.