Miranda

Brisket bones are a better option, marrow bones are very hard and will wear down teeth and sometimes even break them. It is also possible for larger dogs to break off quite sizeable pieces and swallow them, usually anything that a dog manages to get down its throat will either be vomited up or come out of the other end, but large pieces of marrow bone have the potential to cause obstruction.

Yes this is what I was wondering. Dog grooming isn't as easy as it sounds, until you have an established clientele you may have to deal with some dogs in pretty bad condition and not all of them will have good temperaments or appreciate being groomed. It is not uncommon for some dogs to throw big tanties or even try to bite and you really need to have experience and be pretty dog savvy to manage this sort of behaviour. Be prepared to groom some dogs that are matted to the skin and infested with fleas, some may have sores under the matts or faeces stuck in the hair. A friend of mine groomed a dog only a couple of weeks ago that had maggots around its anus, it was so matted that it would have had problems even relieving itself. Plus all dogs are groomed differently, it's not a case of one size fits all, if you want to be a really good groomer who's in demand you will need to learn how to groom the various breeds. I groom and clip my own dogs and sometimes help friends, but there's no way that I'd ever want to do it commercially, it's hard work and IMO the money isn't great. But that's just me, Muckypup obviously likes doing it and everyone's different.

I only vaccinate with C3, the puppy vaccs and then a booster at 16 months and that's it for my dogs. I am not recommending that you do the same, but I suggest that you do some research into the whole vaccination controversy and then make your own decisions.

Jessca I see that you live in Cockatoo, Terrys Meats in Mooroolbark has cheap meat, I have got beef mince there for $3.99 kg and they also have chicken wings and frames. Scrub-A-Dub Dog (I think that's what they call the place) have Eagle Pack and they are on Burwood Highway at Ferntree Gully. I'm not a fan of Eukanuba, if I had to feed either Euk or Advance I'd choose Advance.

I dislike Supercoat intensely, IMO it's a cheap food full of fillers, I did try it once and it didn't agree with my dogs at all, lots of soft voluminous poo and the dogs lost condition, I didn't even finish the bag. I feed Nutro Lamb and Rice but I have fed Eagle Pack Holistic in the past with excellent results. I also feed raw human grade mince or diced meat, cooked lambs fry, raw eggs, chicken wings/necks, canned salmon/sardines/mackerel, yoghurt and brisket bones. Once a week I cook up a stew of chicken pieces and vegetables, remove the bones and feed it to them over their dry food. I don't feed my dogs cereals of any kind including rice although they'll occasionally get a piece of toast and I don't feed them milk. I use cheese or cabana as training treats and they occasionally get pigs ears. ETA Baileys mum you are creating fussy dogs by constantly changing their food and pandering to them, give them their food and if they don't eat it in 10 minutes take it away until the next mealtime, they'll soon get the idea. Don't worry if they don't eat for 2 or 3 days, no healthy dog will starve itself to death and you'll win in the end.

The vaccine doesn't cover dogs for all the different strains of canine cough regardless of how it's given. I have never bothered to vaccinate against it, but decided to get two of my pups done recently, three months later they both contracted canine cough but none of my unvaccinated dogs came down with it even though they were mixing with the pups. I won't be getting my dogs vaccinated against canine cough again.

I switch all my dogs onto adult formulas at six to eight months of age, he'll be fine.

I did some training with Michael Tucker in the early 80's, from what I have read of his articles he uses exactly the same training methods now as he did then. He was THE trainer to go to back then, held in very high regard in much the same way as Steve Courtney is now, however times and training methods have changed. He must be getting on a bit now as well.

Ordinary Eagle Pack contains corn, two of my dogs were affected the same way so I changed to the Holistic range which is corn free and they were fine. Some dogs don't tolerate corn well and it sounds as if yours is one of them. Corn, wheat and soy are common allergens in dogs so try to avoid any product that contains them. Take the bag back, explain that it doesn't suit your dog and exchange it one of the Holistic products, even if you have used some of the bag they should refund your money and you should only have to pay the difference in price which will probably be $20/$30. IMO Eagle Pack Holistic is a far better product and I would also recommend Nutro Lamb and Rice if it's available in your area.

I hope he stays that way, don't be surprised if he ties with her, it can happen

I doubt that exercise has caused the abnormalities in your puppy's hips, IMO a dog has to be predisposed to HD and although overexercising may exacerbate an existing problem I don't believe that exercise is a primary cause of HD. From what you have written your puppy's hips don't appear normal and it is unlikely that they will improve as she ages as hip joint abnormalities generally worsen with age. However I wouldn't greatly restrict free exercise, make sure that you keep her reasonably muscled up as that's what holds everything together. When she is 12 months I would get her xrayed again and make sure that you use a vet who is experienced in the field. If you wish you can have a preliminary xray done prior to 12 months using PennHip.

A season usually lasts around 21 days, as a general rule they bleed for about 10 days then the discharge becomes straw coloured and they are usually receptive anywhere between 10 and 16 days, the 12th day is often the first day of standing heat for a lot of bitches. During the last week the vulva which was previously quite swollen will return to its normal size although if they've conceived it usually remains slightly swollen. However all bitches are different, some will actually bleed throughout the whole three weeks, some may ovulate very early and some ovulate much, much later. A few bitches are tarts and will stand for a male regardless of whether they are ready or not. IF you just have a bitch and no male you shouldn't have any problems, just make sure that you supervise her while she's outside and ensure that she can't get out and that any wandering dogs can't get in. Most of my bitches are right out by 17/18 days and will take a dog's head off if he even thinks of going near that end.

Yes I have ML, she had an almost constant UTI until she had her first season at 1 year of age. We did give antibiotics early on but of course it recurred as soon as the course was finished so we didn't give any more and the vet agreed that they were unlikely to cure the problem. She hasn't had a UTI since her first season. She had one litter by caesarian, but this had nothing to do with her vulva, two puppies got stuck at the mouth of the cervix. I had her spayed last year as she developed pyometra, but once again the pyometra was unconnected to her early problems.

Personally I think they're cheap rubbish and would never feed any of them to my dogs. However that's JMO and no doubt others will disagree.

I doubt that the humping has anything to do with hormones, if I were you I'd take her to the vet asap, UTI's aren't uncommon in desexed bitches. As others have said, make sure you take a urine sample with you.

Ditch the rolled oats and the soy milk, dogs cannot process cereals efficiently and they simple act as a filler and contribute to the volume of faeces. Purchase a good dry food (Eagle Pack, Nutro, Royal Canin) and feed the mince raw. Add some chicken necks or chicken wings, but make sure she is supervised when you feed them just in case she's inclined to swallow them too quickly. Make sure that you introduce these changes gradually over a week or so to avoid tummy upsets. I cannot imagine why anyone would recommend giving a puppy soy milk.

Put the puppy in a crate, it's the safest and most convenient way of transporting a puppy.

Is there any reason why you don't allow them to pee when they're on walks? Unless I'm doing a bit of heeling practice I allow my dogs to sniff and pee as much as they like as long as they do it on a loose lead and don't attempt to pull to reach something. It all adds to the pleasure of their walk, it would be no fun for my dogs and subsequently no fun for me if all we did was march up and down the streets with no stops allowed. Just answering for my own reasons here.....for some area of the walk pup is allowed to sniff and pee to his heart's content (on a loose lead as you say)...especially when we walk through the park or the lane-way....however sometimes we walk down the local shopping strip and a lot of the shops have displays (clothes, gifts) on the footpath or chairs/tables - and I also don't think it's fair on home owners to let Zig lift his leg on their letter box or flower beds Oh sorry I misunderstood. I thought you meant that you never allow your dog to sniff and pee anywhere on a walk

Is there any reason why you don't allow them to pee when they're on walks? Unless I'm doing a bit of heeling practice I allow my dogs to sniff and pee as much as they like as long as they do it on a loose lead and don't attempt to pull to reach something. It all adds to the pleasure of their walk, it would be no fun for my dogs and subsequently no fun for me if all we did was march up and down the streets with no stops allowed.

Any male may lift his leg whether he's dominant or not, I have three entire males here and they all lift their leg, one of them is definitely right at the bottom in the pack hierarchy and he isn't dominant at all, but he still lifts his leg. My pups usually squat until they're about 8 months old although this can vary a lot from dog to dog as to some extent leg lifting is a learned behaviour, if your puppy mixes with other dogs that lift their leg he will begin the behaviour much quicker than a puppy that lives alone and seldom meets other males. I also have a female here who lifts her leg. I can't help you with the training aspect I'm afraid as I have no objections to dogs lifting their leg and all mine are allowed to do it.

I completely agree with the other posters, I have a long coated breed and I keep them in full show coat all year. Actually I can never understand why people buy a long coated breed and then clip the coat off, why not buy a short coated dog if they can't be bothered to groom them. Good on this person for being prepared to groom the dog and look after its coat, I wish more people would take the trouble.

I'm not trying to be negative, but this is a very generalised statement. You cannot assume that all golden retrievers will be patient and excellent with children, most of them are, but the fact that a dog is a golden retriever doesn't automatically guarantee that it will be bombproof, all dogs must be supervised around children regardless of breed. I have been bitten by various dogs over the years and one of them was a golden retriever, temperaments do vary even within the same breed.

Some puppies are worse than others, I would recommend that you either crate the dog next to your bed or just put up with the noise, it may take a few days or a few weeks, but eventually the puppy will settle down. Crating the puppy next to the other dog may also help.

It doesn't matter how innovative the toys are or how many she has, toys are not a substitute for interaction with her family. This dog needs at least one long walk a day, a period of free running if possible, a couple of training sessions and plenty of play and one on one attention from you. If you're going to town tomorrow make sure you take her with you, it's a good opportunity to socialise the dog and to expose her to sights and sounds outside of her yard. You'll probably find she'll be stuffed when you get back, and a tired dog is a good dog.

This dog sounds bored, she appears to needs more physical exercise and more mental stimulation. You say that she has an acre to run around on, are you actually walking around with her encouraging her to run and playing games with her or are you just leaving her to exercise herself while you stay inside? I have a large yard here, but my dogs don't really exercise in it unless I'm out there playing with them, I take them out to the park on a daily basis. Are you taking her for plenty of walks? Are you doing any training with her? How much one on one time do you spend with her on an average day? Chicken wire is not suitable for a dog run, it just isn't strong enough, you should also look at putting in a new concrete base so she can't dig out, if she's currently digging holes in the concrete that's there, the concrete is obviously old and broken and needs replacing. You will probably have to fence off the washing line until she grows out of the behaviour, either that or keep her inside while the washing is on the line. Puppy proof your yard, if she drags things out of the shed make sure the door is always closed, make sure that everything is put away where she absolutely cannot get to it, putting things up high is encouraging her to jump and this just makes it more fun for her. Door mats are fair game for a puppy, I've never had a puppy that didn't chew up mats, do without them until she's older. Put the patio furniture in the shed when you're not going to be using it. You could also start her on the Triangle of Temptation, it did wonders for the headstrong young boy I have here. As I said it sounds like she needs much more stimulation both mental and physical and she also needs training and an understanding of where she fits in her 'pack', at the moment she appears to be out of control and basically doing whatever she wants. Taking her to obedience would be a good idea and I think both of you would benefit.