Miranda

Well I certainly wasn't 'bashing' you, I was simply giving you the benefit of my experience. Unfortunately if you post on a public forum you're going to get lots of differing opinions, obviously you won't like all of them

Clavulox is an antibiotic that's widely used in dogs, adverse reactions aren't common.

Poochmad I know your breed standard states that the breed is independent, but I think you'll find that when the standard was originally written they meant to imply that the breed is independent in the field ie. able to work independently of its master. The American standard also says 'with a great affinity for human companionship' probably in an effort to avoid that precise misconception. I don't think 'independent' means that they're a dog that adapts well to being alone.

You may find that using a rubber thumb (one of those knobbly little caps that you put on your fingers to help them grip) will make it easier.

I would never leave a puppy locked inside the house for extended periods of time. Although baby puppies sleep a lot, they soon grow and their activity levels increase accordingly, your puppy will quickly become bored and frustrated locked in a room and may quite possibly start destroying your house.

I think it's important to consider not only whether your dog can hold on, but also whether it should have to hold on. My dogs are crated at about 11pm and let out no later than 7am, that's 8 hours and the maximum length of time I would confine a dog to a crate and then only overnight. I don't know if it's harmful to a dog's health to be forced to consistently hold on to a full bladder, but I'm sure it isn't good for them and it must be very uncomfortable. Personally I consider leaving a dog in a crate from 6.30pm to 8am the following morning with just one toilet break excessive, if your dog is having to hold on from 9pm until 8am that's 11 hours, far too long to keep a dog locked in a crate IMO. If you want to stay in bed longer at weekends surely it would be a better idea to get up early and let the dog out and then go back to bed rather than leaving the dog confined for such a long time.

Yes I agree, soft crates aren't really suitable for puppies, they can't see out of it very well, they're easily damaged by scratching and chewing and not as easy to clean if the puppy has an accident. Buy a wire crate and keep the soft one until she's older and crate trained.

Sorry, but I didn't get that impression from your posts, to me your comments came across as applying to all dogs based on your qualifications as a zoologist and the experiences you've had during your thirteen years of dog ownership, although you didn't actually specify exactly how many dogs you've owned during those years. However I must admit that I got rather lost trying to decipher your piggy bank analogy so I may possibly have misconstrued your other posts as well as they all appear to be written in a similar style. I don't consider my 'you need more experience' remark as silly and I have no intention of 'canning' it, in my opinion you do need a lot more experience and I'm perfectly entitled to say so.

I have a male who was a terrible handful when he was young, he really pushed the boundaries and I'm an experienced dog owner. I started him on the Triangle of Temptation (pinned at the top of this forum) and implemented the NILIF (Nothing In Life Is Free) program. TOT is hard to get used to at first, but once you've been doing it for a few days it becomes easy. Both these programs are brilliant (especially TOT) and within a week I had a totally different dog. I really can't recommend TOT and NILIF highly enough, I don't believe in 'miracle cures', but TOT is close to it. I still do TOT every night before he eats, at the park before I let him off lead to run, before I give him a bone, there are hundreds of situations where TOT can be used. Another advantage is that I have a dog who will sit or stay indefinitely until I give him the release word. Give it a try, I think you'll be amazed at the difference it will make.

This is what I was thinking, you don't appear to have had a great deal of experience with lots of different dogs, if you had your thoughts on dog behaviour and training might be somewhat different.

I know that you're probably already attached to the dog and what I'm going to say sounds heartless, but really this puppy should be returned to the breeder and you should receive a full refund. Selling a puppy that's going to need ongoing expensive surgery to an unsuspecting member of the public isn't the right thing to do and that's putting it mildly. I cannot believe that a person who calls themselves a 'breeder' of shar pei can be so ignorant of the breed and the genetic conditions associated with it.

I'm glad things are looking better for Chelsea

Well said Steve Game, set and match to K9 I believe

Stop the behaviour immediately even if it means separating them permanently. As PF said your dog is humping to assert his dominance over the other male and yes you may have a fight on your hands if the other dog suddenly decides he's had enough. No offence, but I really cannot understand why you've allowed the behaviour to continue so long, you should have stopped it the first time he did it.

The ultrasound should show up any abnormalities in the liver eg. liver shunt. I hope it turns out to be nothing serious

Oh right. I thought it might be some kind of dietary supplement that I didn't know about

My dogs throw up every now and again, they'll eat grass and throw up froth or sometimes bile, they all do it. Personally it doesn't sound like anything to worry about, if she's shedding and getting a lot of hair in her stomach from licking she may simply be vomiting to eject the hair. May I ask why you're feeding your dog honey?

Do you know if the vet did a bile acid test?

skwo2 your dog could have had an attack of pancreatitis which will affect the liver. If this was the case I would expect the readings to drop given time. Pancreatitis is frequently misdiagnosed as something else. I speak from experience. ETA this is just a suggestion, I am certainly not saying that your dog definitely has pancreatitis.

I give my pups old leather boots to chew.

The dog will probably be a bit quiet and sleepy for 24 hours or so, but after that she'll probably be back to normal. I offer a very small meal the evening they come home and they always eat it. Try to keep her reasonably quiet until the stitches come out and keep licking to a minimum. You won't notice any difference in her temperament or behaviour following desexing, she'll be just the same except that she's no longer able to produce.

You have a young dog who's a cross between two very active breeds which were bred to work all day. I would say that your dog lacks appropriate mental and physical stimulation and the barking is a way of easing his boredom and frustration. He needs much more exercise and some training to occupy his brain, keeping him confined in a yard with a few toys and another dog for company just isn't enough. I suggest that you join an obedience club, learn how to teach him to walk properly on a lead and take him for a really long walk every day. If you can find somewhere safe to let him have a good run this will be even better. Many clubs offer agility and your dog would probably be an excellent agility prospect once he's had some basic training. You really need to put a lot more work into this dog, get him out, train him, give him something to do, a tired dog is a good dog and at the moment your dog has lots of energy with no outlet hence the barking.

tony I don't have a double coated breed, but I do have long coats and I've found that Aloveen shampoo doesn't work particularly well on my dogs and that their conditioner is virtually useless. I think Aloveen is a good shampoo but in my experience it is better suited to short coated breeds. I'm sure that Pet Barn have very efficient sales assistants, but I wouldn't rely on advice from a pet shop employee as to what sort of shampoo to use on my dog. If you wish to show your best source of information will be your breeder as the grooming and presentation of show dogs is sometimes quite specialised and he/she should be able to advise on the most suitable products and the best way to prepare and maintain your dog's coat. I bath my dogs fairly regularly using Laser Lites Lanolin shampoo (I have a hydrobath) and use Plush Puppy Seabreeze Oil as a leave in conditioner, I dilute it at the ratio of one tablespoon (which I think is 20 mls) to 4 litres of warm water. This does leave the coats a little oily immediately after bathing, but within 24/48 hours the oil is absorbed into the hair and the oiliness disappears. I swear my this stuff, I think it's brilliant, one of the best products on the market and it keeps my dogs' coats in superb condition. Of course this is purely a maintenance regime, I can't advise on what to use on your BC prior to a show which is why I suggested that you contact your breeder. Excessive sun exposure, regular swimming in sea water and using hot air whilst blow drying will also damage coats. As for diet I'd be adding more meat and bones (chicken wings/frames,beef brisket), some cooked liver a couple of times a week, the occasional raw egg and some fish oil capsules, one 1000mg capsule per 10kg.

Your dog will probably have the infection for the rest of his life, it's highly unlikely that it will ever clear completely. I had a bitch that suffered from a pseudomonas infection for years and we tried every treatment option available, eventually she had to have a lateral ear resection. It wasn't 100% successful but at least it allowed the pus to drain and alleviated the pain.

When we arrived to pick him up we were shocked at the living conditions, it was disgusting - i guess at that point we should have turned around and gone home but in saying that the breeder was very friendly and the pups parents are show dogs so we assumed we were dealing with a reliable and trustworthy breeder. Yes you should have walked away and found another breeder. Do you know for a fact that the parents are show dogs or did the breeder just tell you that. Have a look at the registration papers, are the parents champions? ETA I'm only asking because I'm shocked that a breeder who also shows could keep her dogs in disgusting conditions.