Miranda

Yes groom him on a table and be firm, if he throws a tanty just ignore it and keep going, he'll get used to it. I always groom my dogs on a table even when they're mature, it's very hard to groom a dog properly when it's on the ground. ETA You can purchase a grooming table, but if you have a small dog the top of the washing machine covered by a towel or some other non-slip material will suffice.

Yes I agree with settrlvr. Your puppy is doing exceptionally well sleeping until 7am and when she wakes you should get up, let her out and feed her. You are expecting way too much from this puppy. I would also consider crating her overnight instead of leaving her in such a large area.

Personally I wouldn't leave them alone unsupervised until you're sure that they're going to get on, chances are that everything will be fine, but if something goes wrong and there's no one there you could have big problems. It would have been a better idea to bring the new dog home on a Friday evening and then spend the entire weekend watching them interact, one night just isn't long enough IMO. I would also have reservations about kenneling them, the new dog is coming from the RSPCA to a new home and then getting put into kennels, not an ideal situation and very unsettling for the dogs, both of which will already be suffering stress as a result of the changes in their lives. ETA that I've just read your other topic and if I were you I'd kennel them separately if you must go away and leave them.

Do you separate your dog from the bitch? I keep mine together and crate them in the same room, I find that it helps a lot as my males only get hysterical when they can't see the bitch. Of course they still get excited and go off their food, but the howling and whinging and desperate behaviour that's exhibited when the bitch is taken away is greatly reduced. You cannot show a dog who has been chemically castrated so there isn't much you can do but put up with it. Also anyone who chemically castrates their dog should be aware that the manufacturers of Suprelorin recommend that you freeze some semen for future use if you intend breeding from your dog as they cannot guarantee that every dog will regain its fertility. The vast majority of dogs will be become fertile again within a few months, but there have been cases where it's taken over a year and a few dogs may remain infertile or suffer reduced fertility for life. I have recently had a big discussion with my repro vets regarding chemical castration and these are their comments not my opinions.

I haven't heard of Artemis Power, when I bought Artemis I got the Adult Fresh Mix I don't think Artemis Power was available then. I've just looked up the ingredients, sounds good.

Yes dry foods are a real PITA, there are just so many of them. I really, really wish that we still had Nutro available, RIP dear Nutro, the best dry food I have ever used :D

I bought a bag of Artemis, but it didn't really suit my dogs, they had a lot of gas and their poos were very soft. I did introduce it rather quickly, I used the last of the Nutro and put them straight onto Artemis so that might have had something to do with it. Anyway I persevered for a week with no improvement so I returned the bag. I am now using Orijen and am quite pleased with it but if Nutro were still available that's what I'd use as my dogs did so well on it. ETA I am not in any way implying that Artemis isn't a good food, I'm just saying that it didn't suit my dogs.

Oh s**t I didn't see that post Sway Yes the vet asap.

There will be no adverse effects.

So what exactly is 'the best food and everything he needs'? I am asking because not all foods suit all dogs and what one dog thrives on cannot be tolerated by another. For instance Supercoat or any food containing corn causes symptoms like those you describe in two of my dogs.

I suggest that you crate train your puppy and confine him to a crate whenever you're not able to supervise him. Take the dog outside after waking, after playing, after eating and about every hour in between and stay with the puppy until he goes even if it takes an hour, then lots and lots of praise. Vigilance and consistency are the keys to successful toilet training. BTW all puppies, male or female, squat when they are babies.

What are you feeding the puppy and have you wormed him?

A bitch's body produces pregnancy hormones regardless of whether or not they have actually conceived. Technically all bitches have a false pregnancy after every season, it's just that some show major symptoms such as weight gain, milk and behavioural changes and others remain almost entirely asymptomatic.

This is actually not a good idea, you have a large breed puppy and allowing her to jump like this is providing continual shocks to her front assembly, you could be setting her up for joint problems as an adult. I agree that dogs have to be familiar with steps and how to negotiate them, but allowing a young puppy to race up and down them is asking for trouble. I used to have steps here and a couple of my dogs injured themselves, we now have a ramp as Sway suggests. Steps/stairs and dogs are not a good combination.

I wouldn't use any holistic treatment to prevent heartworm, there is no evidence that holistic treatments are effective and heartworm can kill your dog. The worm you saw in your dog's poo would have been a roundworm, they are not common in adult dogs as most dogs over six months develop some degree of immunity, but if it was a long white worm that looked like a piece of spaghetti it was a roundworm. Tapeworm segments also occasionally appear in poo, but they look like cucumber seeds, whipworm and hookworm are too small to be noticed.

I have only had one dog with entropion and I took him to an eye specialist. You can also correct both entropion and ectropion with the use of CO2 laser surgery, but this treatment will probably only be available at an eye specialist.

UV rays are one of the worst things for black coats and so is salt water. Also if you use a lot of sprays and other preparations be sure to use a clarifying shampoo at least once a month otherwise you will get a build up and the coat will start to appear dull, this is especially important if you use any products that contain silicone.

Slightly OT, but you cannot test for mercury levels from a hair sample and if someone's telling you they can they're ripping you off. The amount of mercury found in hair is NOT a reflection of mercury concentrations in the rest of the body. Mercury is ubiquitous in the environment and can get into hair from food, water, hair preparations and even from the air, therefore the only way to accurately test for mercury levels in the body is by taking a blood or urine sample.

I agree with settrlvr, messing around with a dog's food, putting your hands in the bowl, taking it away and giving it back are more likely to cause food aggression than prevent it. I would start the dog on TOT immediately, persephone has provided a link.

I think you'll have to use 4Paws & More SnT, I get it delivered by courier.

I've been using Orijen for 3 weeks now and I'm very pleased with it. I get mine from 4Paws and More in Keilor Park Drive in Melbourne, $110 for a 13.5 kg bag which lasts me approximately 3 weeks.

From memory I think mibolerone can be effective in lengthening the interval between seasons, it's certainly not a 'natural' solution though as mibolerone is an anabolic steroid. However if the bitch isn't treated the too frequent cycles will adversely affect her fertility and make the uterus much more susceptible to disease. I would take her to a good vet who specialises in reproductive issues.

These are the bulbous glands which are located at the base of the dog's penis and are very noticeable when engorged. They have nothing to do with the testes which do not move and remain in the scrotum at all times.

It could also be an allergic reaction to the disinfectant they use to clean the kennels.

What a load of crap I don't agree with over vaccinating animals, but not vaccinating them at all is ridiculous and dangerous