Miranda

I wouldn't trust any dog with a rabbit regardless of breed, they are their natural prey. Of course there will be the occasional successful rabbit/dog relationship, but they would be few and far between. If I were you I would confine the rabbit to its hopefully dog proof hutch when you can't supervise them, I don't think you can blame any dog for killing a rabbit even if they are brought up together. Better to be safe than sorry.

I wouldn't recommend that you leave them alone together without supervision, there is a huge difference in size and weight between a 7 week old puppy and a 5 month old and the older puppy could hurt the baby even though it wasn't deliberate. Any injury inflicted at this age could have consequences for the puppy as an adult, either psychologically or physically.

No there is no problem having a C5, personally I would never give a dog a C7 it's not necessary and is just a money maker for the vet. I show my dogs and I only ever give C3.

No offence meant, but that's rubbish. I have three entire males here and they don't mark and hump everything, neither do they jump fences to find females, really the myths that go around about entire dogs astound me. I wouldn't desex a large breed male until it was at least a year old especially if you're intending to do dog sports.

1. Which dry food to you feed? The cheaper foods have more cereal fillers and dogs have problems digesting carbohydrates so a lot of gas is produced as their system struggles to process them. The milk wouldn't be helping either, if I were you I'd stop giving it, adult dogs don't require milk. I don't know what 'doggy meatballs' are, but if they're commercially made they probably have fillers in them as well so have a good look at the ingredients list on whatever packaging they come in and if they're full of cereal products get rid of them too. They may also contain offal which is very rich and may cause gas in some dogs if they have too much of it. Feed a good super premium dry food, human grade meats (beef or chicken), chicken wings, frames, necks, brisket bones and maybe a little cooked liver occasionally and the occasional raw egg and it's highly unlikely that you'll have a problem with gas. Or alternatively you could go all the way and feed a completely natural diet with no dry food at all although that would entail a little more planning. Regarding the training issue, take your dog to obedience classes, they're a must for every dog.

My dogs regard cat poo as a delicacy, it's their absolute favourite and they can't resist it I suppose that there's a remote possibility that a dog may have a bad reaction to it, but I've owned numerous dogs over the years and they've all eaten cat poo occasionally with no problems at all.

Heartworm can kill your dog and the treatment is potentially just as dangerous, if you live in a confirmed heartworm area it would not be a good idea to leave your dog unprotected.

I am not referring to working dogs on properties, the OP appears to live in a highly populated area and IMO chaining a couple of dogs who are used to escaping from the yard on a regular basis is likely to lead to frustration and barking. These dogs are used to being free to do as they wish and if, for instance, the dog jumped over its kennel trying to free itself and the chain wasn't long enough then you would have a dead dog. Most suburban yards just aren't large enough to tie dogs up, there are too many obstacles that the dog can get tangled up with and a dog that's not used to being restrained in this way may quite literally go off its head in its efforts to escape. Regarding the aggression issue, chaining a dog is one of the leading causes of dog bites, two of the others are being entire and being male. Working dogs are different in that they receive training, exercise and lots of stimulation so they are tired at night and chaining for 8 hours isn't so much of a problem. Unfortunately dogs kept in suburbia frequently receive little or no training, limited exercise and sometimes no mental stimulation at all. Chaining a dog under these circumstances simply increases their frustration and they often becomes territorial and extremely protective of their kennel and their space. As I said before I don't agree with chaining dogs, especially in suburbia.

Confine your dogs at night, you can keep them in the laundry, crate them or purchase portable dog runs that can be dismantled when you move. I don't agree with chaining dogs under circumstances, I know of too many dogs who have accidentally hanged themselves and tying a dog up can encourage barking and aggression both of which are totally unacceptable especially if you live in suburbia.

They will charge you extra if the bitch is in season because it's a slightly more difficult procedure and there is more risk of bleeding. If I were you I'd wait until she's out of season by about a month (ie. in 7 weeks time) and then get her desexed. As she's an only dog and a tiny one at that the inconvenience will be minimal. It's worth ringing around different vets as there is a lot of variation in charges, but make sure you're happy and have confidence in the vet you choose, I have a cheap vet 10 minutes away, but there's no way I'd take any of my dogs to him.

I would bet that it was a wasp, unless your dog is one of the few that are allergic to them (and she isn't because the reaction occurs almost immediately) there is nothing to worry about.

You are expecting an awful lot of an 8 weeks old puppy, they have almost no control over their bodily functions at that age and when they want to go it just happens. You should crate the puppy overnight and get up and take him outside (or wherever it is you want him to go) when he whimpers, you cannot expect a tiny puppy to hold on all night. It may be weeks before he is 100% reliable.

I was just wondering what you mean by this, how exactly do you 'put them both into submission'? Dogs sort out their own pack order, you can't decide which one will be dominant over the other, that depends entirely on the individual dogs. You've only had the new pup a short while and there's bound to be a period of adjustment, but from what you have said I would say that your new puppy has quite a strong personality and I wouldn't be surprised if he ends up being the dominant dog.

I think you'll find that Advocate only kills the microfilariae (larvae), but has no effect on the adult heartworms, thus making it safe to use on heartworm affected or untested dogs.

I just sent all my scissors and clipper blades to Clipper World in Cranbourne, Victoria. One pair of straight edge scissors were so blunt that they wouldn't cut at all and they came back as sharp as when I first purchased them. I know they're not in Adelaide, but they give excellent service. I have used other sharpening services and been pretty unimpressed with the results, but this guy is brilliant and I would highly recommend him. They have a website Clipperworld

I have an extremely talented OH There is a company who does it, I think they are called Puppybars and they're in Ferntree Gully in Victoria. I think they charge about $450.

I have two built in crates behind a cargo barrier in a station wagon, I will always use crates to transport dogs, I'm not a fan of harnesses.

You will probably find that she will be better off without the nail, it is probably hurting her everytime she catches it on something. In my experience injured nails generally come off in the end anyway. I would have it removed, it's only a minor procedure and once the nail's gone it will heal very quickly.

It sounds like a contact allergy as his muzzle and tummy and paws are affected. Prednisolone will certainly stop the dog scratching, but it won't cure the itch, it simply suppresses the immune response. However if your dog is that bad you may have to use it temporarily while you find out what's causing it. Do you have any wandering jew or paspalum grass, both these are common allergens?

Are you sue they are actual dog fleas? Fleas generally prefer darker areas as sunlight kills the larvae.

I would simply take the puppy firmly by the scruff and remove him with a sharp 'Uh-Uh', then walk away and ignore him. It could be dominant behaviour, if he starts trying to mount the other male it is definitely dominant behaviour and if the other male objects you may have a scrap. At 6 months he is approaching sexual maturity and may be starting to vie for top dog with your other boy, this is not uncommon when you have two entire males.

If you are having problems with your dog I suggest that you PM Erny or K9 Force on this forum and ask them to recommend someone in your area, both Erny and K9 Force have impeccable reputations and you can have full confidence in any information they provide. I don't know how old your dog is, but I don't think you've had him very long (might be wrong here)? Perhaps you're just expecting too much too soon. Do you attend an obedience club with your dog? What you need is someone to train you how to train your dog which is one of the reasons why sending the dog away isn't a good option IMO, especially when you don't know what methods they will use or how experienced they are themselves. No dog can be trained in one week, there are no quick fixes, you just have to do the work and it does take time.

I haven't used them and I wouldn't use them

Well I received mine today (Fresh Mix Adult) and everyone ate their dinner, even my fussy boy. The pieces of kibble are a bit smaller that EP or Nutro, but it appears to be a denser food. So at the moment everything is :rolleyes:

Thanks for the info everyone, much appreciated This poor lady has been combing out the fleas and trying to drown them in a bucket of water