Miranda

I also agree, it is perfectly possible to teach a dog to walk properly using a collar and lead, it just takes practice. I think martingale collars are the best design. I have a hatred of head collars and harnesses and would never use either on any dog.

Thanks JulesP and lilli for the feedback, for some reason I've always thought that diets that don't contain kibble tend to make dogs drop weight, obviously I'm mistaken

My dogs are adults weighing over 30kgs and they are lucky if they get pigs ears twice a week and even then they only get half an ear each. I certainly wouldn't feed an 8 week old puppy 1 whole pigs ear a day. Even though dogs love them I still class them as junk food although they're certainly preferable to a lot of the crap that's marketed as 'treats' for dogs at the moment.

Lilli do you find that they hold their weight without dry food? I have a young male here who tends to be a bit light on and I'm worried that if I drop the dry he may get even thinner.

If the nail is split it will eventually come off, it probably won't get infected, but it's certainly possible. If you take the dog to the vet they will probably have to sedate the dog to remove it.

Actually I'm really over the whole kibble debate. Since Nutro was taken off the market I've tried three different dry foods and haven't been completely happy with any of them. I'm currently using Orijen, but after three months the dogs are still getting the odd runny poo which they never had with Nutro. I'm seriously considering ditching dry food altogether and feeding a home made diet.

I don't know what breed you have, but if she spends a large part of the day locked in a crate I'm not surprised that she doesn't want to sleep at night. Crating a dog for 14 hours or more a day is far too long IMO, she would be far better left outside in a secure puppy proof yard.

Have you tried satin balls? There's a recipe on DOL somewhere.

I agree with Vickie 100%, you are living VERY dangerously. I don't allow my dogs to gather around the food preparation area and they are all fed separately in crates, bones are also fed separately and I never leave any food lying around. I recommend that you amend your feeding routines as soon as possible or you may have a major fight on your hands.

Dogs can be fed just about any vegetable in small amounts, but large amounts will cause gas and loose poo as dogs don't digest them very well. Vegies such as peas, corn and carrot come out the other end in exactly the same form as they went in. I only ever feed vegetables if there are some left over and that's not very often, IMO they are not something that dogs need to eat on a regular basis if at all. Do not feed onions as they can be harmful to dogs. I think I read in another thread that you are trying to put weight on your dog? If this is the case vegetables won't help at all, being high in fibre they make a dog feel full, but certainly won't make it gain weight, probably just the opposite as by making the dog feel full it may tend to eat even less than usual.

Look I'm a real party pooper, I don't allow rough play full stop, there's just too much potential for injury (especially if there's a size difference or if one or both of the dogs are puppies) or for the playing to escalate into something much more serious. If I were you I wouldn't allow the two dogs to play like they do, I'd prefer to take them both on an on leash walk or something like that. I do realise that some breeds play much more roughly than others, but I think some people let this sort of thing go too far and I prefer to be safe than sorry. JMO

Be careful, you have two bitches playing roughly on one dog's territory and although the neo is tolerant of your girl at the moment she may change as your bitch starts to mature, extremely rough play can easily escalate into something more serious. They may always be fine together but I'd be very vigilant and never leave them unsupervised I would also be worried about damage to your puppy's growing bones and ligaments.

Let her have a season, if you desex her prior to her first season you run the risk of a lifetime of problems. The antibiotics are unlikely to completely clear up the vaginitis, although the current symptoms may disappear chances are that they will recur. My vet won't even prescribe antibiotics for puppy vaginitis because the chances of them resolving the issue are minimal. I have had a couple of bitches with this problem and both of them were fine following their first season. If you just have the one bitch and no dogs at home you shouldn't have any problems coping with a season, but I would recommend that you confine her to a run or crate her inside if you go out or can't supervise her, I wouldn't leave her unattended in your yard.

Ok here are the prefixes of most of the Gordon Setter breeders, all are current although some people haven't bred a litter for some time. There have been a lot more over the years, but most would have lapsed by now. I haven't included mine because it's already there Charnnah Tahtan (also Irish Setters) Triseter (also Pugs) Carnoustie Scarrteen Spanriever Deveron Kentigern Clanset Lochtay Amityrohan Drumdaroch Glendaruel (also Japanese Spitz) Yelsnia Warchant Scotthistle Birdslee Hartset Kqrac Rosenfeld Kemsley Taram Merrowlea Canowna Auldana Brodruggan (also Irish Setters) Jamanelph

Yes I agree, bathing a dog weekly won't have a negative effect on a dog's coat providing you use good quality products. Plush Puppy have some breed specific grooming articles on their website Plush Puppy Just go to General Info and then Breed Grooming Articles and there are three articles about grooming sibes for the show ring.

I don't let my dogs anywhere near corn cobs because they can and will cause blockages, just ask any vet and they'll tell you that corn cobs are a common cause of intestinal obstruction. Dogs can't digest corn anyway, I don't feed it to my dogs in any form and that includes as a filler in dry dog food. Corn cobs go straight in the bin in my house.

I don't give any of my dogs monthly treatments, why give your dog chemicals that probably aren't necessary, I really think these products were produced for the convenience of the owners rather than the long term health of the dogs. I use Heartgard during the summer months only and would never give a heartworm injection, I treat with Advantage if I have a flea problem (and that's very rarely) and worm with an all wormer 3 or 4 times a year. I give C3 puppy vaccs and a booster at 16 months and that's it for life. I try to keep chemicals to a minimum when dealing with my dogs and so far this regime has worked for me.

My puppies start to lose their deciduous teeth at around 13/14 weeks and they generally have all their adult teeth by 6/7 months. Sometimes toy breeds can be a little slower.

Did you do any research into the breed before you got this puppy? Labradors can be very boisterous, exuberant puppies and they can be mouthy and destructive, what your puppy is doing is normal, she is just doing what dogs do when they don't know any better. Puppies don't know how to behave around children, they have to be taught in just the same way as they have to be taught not to soil in the house, not to jump up, not to chew the furniture and so on and so on, puppies are a lot of work. Really you have only had this dog for 24 hours, yesterday she was wonderful and now you're thinking of returning her, I can't understand your attitude at all. There is a very good book called 'The Perfect Puppy' by Gwen Bailey, if you can get a copy I'm sure you'll find it useful.

Do you mean that you just want the uterus removed but not the ovaries? If that's what you mean no I have never had it done. Bitches spayed as puppies generally grow slightly taller and there is a slight chance of developing urinary incontinence, but I can't think of any other disadvantages. If you're worried about it why don't you let her have one season and then get her desexed?

I would never feed tinned food, but if you're set on doing it Nature's Gift is probably the best of the supermarket brands. There is also Ziwipeak, but it's very expensive.

I wouldn't recommend giving the puppy any extra calcium in the form of supplements.

Thanks Miranda, I'll definitely get a second opinion. The initial vet's explanation was that BC was probably just over-exerting himself (as I first noticed it after I hadnt run him for a while), but though it's happening less it hasn't gone away. The vet is probably correct, but there may also be an underlying problem so it's best to have it investigated. Any dog that is overweight and unfit should start with short periods of low impact exercise which can gradually be increased over a period of time. Taking an overweight dog that hasn't been exercised for a while and allowing it to run flat out is certainly likely to result in muscle soreness and the dog could also have damaged a ligament or tendon. Continuing to run him when he's still showing signing of discomfort following exercise isn't a good idea.

I doubt that it would have any effect on the symptoms of HOD, but I suggest that you ask your vet.

If I had a dog who was pulling up sore after exercise I would want to know why, a vet stating 'there's nothing to worry about' wouldn't satisfy me. Yes you can give Joint Guard to a younger dog.