Miranda

Humping can also be a sign of dominance, I have two brothers here and the dominant dog humps the other, it's a way of demonstrating rank and telling the other dog who's boss. I have no idea of your relationship with your dog, but remember that she's a dog and not a child, if she's constantly demanding attention and cuddles and you're complying it's quite likely that she thinks she's the boss of her 'pack' and the humping could be her way of reminding you. Desexing doesn't always stop humping, it depends on the reasons for the behaviour.

Meat by-products are what is left when all the meat and offal that is eligible for human consumption has been stripped from a carcass and may contain bones, blood, hooves, horns, beaks, stomachs, spleens, lungs and intestines, they do not contain any muscle meat at all unless it has been obtained from a '4D' animal ie. one that is dead, dying, diseased or disabled. They are an extremely cheap and inferior protein source and although they may do the animal no actual harm, there are far better ways to feed your dog. Most cheap dry foods contain meat by-products and so do a few of the more expensive ones.

Oh yes I feed canned sardines, salmon and mackerel too, I forgot about those

Good article persephone I really wish that more dog owners would research their dogs' diets instead of just succumbing to the propaganda put out by the pet food manufacturers. I use dry food myself, but only 1 cup a day, the rest of their diet comes from meat and bones, cooked offal, eggs, yoghurt and whatever we have leftover which usually doesn't amount to much LOL.

Spanner has your dog had whipworms? I was just wondering because one of the main cause of an inflamed and infected caecum is a chronic whip worm infestation. They actually live in the caecum and attach to the intestinal wall causing bleeding and mucous, if they're not eradicated inflammation and infection can occur and sometimes the worms burrow right though and actually cause the intestine to attach to the body wall. Or does your dog have a form of colitis? What was the vet's diagnosis?

Spanner there are no dry foods that I would class as low residue, they all contain at least 50% fillers (cereals, beet pulp etc.) and the cheaper the food the more fillers they contain. Dogs are designed to eat meat and foods derived from animal sources and their digestive system deals with these foods very effectively however they have great difficulty in processing carbohydrates so any diet containing fillers is going to produce much more poo as most of the cereal passes through undigested. The more expensive dry foods contain fewer fillers, but they are still there in pretty large proportions, the best dry foods have at least two sources of meat in the first four ingredients and some form of meat should be listed first on the list. Avoid foods that contain meat by-products, wheat, soy or corn. I would recommend the Eagle Pack Holistic range, I am not a fan of Eukanuba. If you want to feed a truly low residue diet feed meat and bones (chicken necks, wings, carcasses, lamb flaps, brisket bones, lamb necks etc.) with a little cooked offal (lambs fry) a couple of times a week, raw eggs, yoghurt, a few leftover vegies......... everyone has different ideas, but it's quite possible to feed your dog a healthy diet that contains no commercial foods at all.

In what way chloebear, what sort of reaction did your dog have?

I definitely think that you need a qualified behaviourist to work with you and this dog. The fact that the dog is actually growling and attempting to lunge at certain people is a big concern, in this shire even a dog that lunges can be labelled a dangerous dog and I hate to think what would happen if the dog actually connected. The dog appears to be unpredictable and I actually don't think that intense socialisation with people is going to cure this, I'm not a dog trainer, but this is a very serious problem and I don't think you're going to fix it on your own. Even though the dog may improve with professional help you may find that it will never be completely trustworthy in certain situations and with certain people.

I don't know what breed we are discussing (although I assume that it is one of the bull breeds) and I was wondering why you've found it necessary to hand raise two previous litters, it's not something I've ever had to do and I'm curious. Regarding weaning, start the puppy on little balls of raw human quality premium grade mince, I've never had a puppy that refused to eat it and they can't get it down quickly enough. I start the weaning process at 21 days.

I've had an ear resection done on a Gordon, she had chronic ear infections for years and we tried absolutely everything, eventually having the surgery done because the poor dog was in constant pain and on occasions couldn't even move her head, when she walked she always carried her head on one side. As you said it doesn't cure the infection, but simply allows the pus to drain out of the ear thus alleviating a lot of the pain. The dog was better afterwards, but the constant infection had destroyed her eardrum and she was completely deaf in the affected ear. It's quite a major operation and the dog was in a lot of pain afterwards, it's not something I'd do until absolutely every other option has been thoroughly explored, but as I said we'd tried everything and there were no other choices for this particular dog.

Is the dam still around and if so does the puppy interact with her in any way? Are you sure that it's not in pain, any gastric problems at all?

Sorry to hear about your dog mysticpaw. I don't do C5's or heartworm injections and even if I did I certainly wouldn't give both at the same time, C3 as puppies and another at 16 months and that's it for my dogs. I give monthly heartworm preventatives.

Perhaps some less than ethical breeders write 'miniature' in their advertisements because they think that the word will attract more buyers and maybe enable them to charge a higher price? In much the same way that 'teacup' seems to attract the gullible. Of course the actual word 'miniature' won't appear on the VCA papers, but how many people buying a pet actually even bother to look at the papers? By adding the word 'miniature' they imply that puppy buyers are getting something out of the ordinary and let's face it 'miniature' means 'small' so if they are challenged they can say that they just wished to let people know that poms are a toy breed. Sounds like a marketing ploy to me.

If I were you I would take her outside for a wee before you start playing and then again while she's playing, chances are that she's enjoying the game, gets excited and just forgets, she's only 7 months old you know. Stay outside with her, you can use a cue word like 'wees' if you wish, and then lots and lots of praise when she goes. There is no point in just putting her outside and hoping that she goes, you MUST stay with her and reward her for the correct behaviour. I don't think that she's just being an obnoxious 7 month old, dogs don't behave in that way and I don't think that 'getting into trouble' is going to help when actually you are at fault for not taking her out. As a wise trainer once said, 'Use a rolled up newspaper to housetrain your puppy.....use it to hit yourself over the head every time your puppy has an accident because it was your lack of vigilance that caused it. Not an exact quote, but words to that effect Regarding the crate your puppy is probably too hot, I don't use canvas crates for specifically that reason and putting a blanket over one side of it is just making it worse. I'd ditch the canvas crate and get a wire one instead, there just isn't enough ventilation and the closed in area gets very warm especially in summer, the dog's own body heat contributes to the problem. BTW be aware that just because a dog is housetrained doesn't mean that it won't urinate in someone else's house especially if the other house has a resident dog. All my dogs are 100% housetrained, but I wouldn't allow them to run around unsupervised in a friend's house, new smells can sometimes trigger marking behaviour even in a reliable dog. If you go visiting I'd recommend that you take your canvas crate with you and pop her in there when you can't watch her, that's about the only plus for soft crates, they're lightweight and easily transported.

Baby puppies are usually a little quiet when you first bring them home, leaving their dam and littermates is a traumatic experience and it takes them a few days to adjust, however the quietness soon wears off. At 7 weeks your puppy was actually too young to leave his mother which may be why you may be having problems with biting, he would have still been learning bite inhibition when he was removed from the litter. He won't start teething until he's about 3 months of age so it has nothing to do with his teeth hurting. He really needs more attention, leaving him locked in a small area most of the day and all night on his own isn't really fair on the puppy. Toy poodles may be small, but they're very active dogs and he's going to get very bored and frustrated and may develop destructive behaviours or barking problems as he gets bigger. You will find that he's 'running around crazy' because he's just so pleased to see someone and get some attention. Is there anyone who can visit the pup during the day and take him outside for a game or something? He would really be better off outside if you have a puppy proofed yard. Who is feeding him? You really need to rethink how you are housing and caring for this puppy if you want a happy, healthy and well adjusted dog in the future

I am seeing Mark Foley at Monash tonight! Wish me luck! Good luck Collie lover, Mark is also excellent, you couldn't take him anywhere better IMO. Fingers crossed for a happy outcome, please let us know how you go.

Collie Lover take the puppy to Ray Ferguson at Monash Veterinary Clinic in Clayton. Ray is a vet who specialises in hip dysplasia and also chiropractics. He may be able to give you an opinion just by palpating the dog's hips and will only recommend an x-ray if he feels it is necessary. Ray is a wonderful vet and I highly recommend him.

Dew claws are located on the inside of the front legs just above the paw, most dogs have them on their front legs, but some dogs also have them on the rear legs and in some breeds rear dew claws are required as part of the breed standard. They are just a claw that grows out of the side of the leg. If you have dew claws on your dog (some breeders remove them at 2/3 days of age) you need to clip them in just the same way that you clip the claws on their feet otherwise they will grow in a circle or in some cases grow into the dog's leg. This is a common occurrence in SWF's who aren't properly groomed as frequently the owners don't even know that they're there.

My back door is nearly always open so usually they can go in and out as they please. If it's closed for any reason, I have one dog who will sit by the back door and look at me, one who will paw the door and one who will bark at the door, I didn't teach them to do these things, they just developed naturally over time. The others are outside during the day and only come in at night and the door is always open during the evening. All but one are crated at night and none of them ever wee or poo inside.

Clipping is only necessary if you allow the hot spot to get a hold and spread, there is also no need for veterinary intervention if you catch it early enough. Unfortunately most vets (not mine, he's a show vet and knows better) will automatically clip the area even if the spot's only five cent sized. Wash the area with Malaseb, leave it on for 10 minutes, rinse and then dry the area thoroughly with a hair dryer. Then apply nappy rash cream as Tony recommended or, if you have it, Neocort ointment. Do this three times daily. Neocort is the very best thing for hot spots. Be aware that many hot spots begin with a flea bite so keep your dogs on Advantage at all times, dogs that develop hot spots frequently have an allergy to flea saliva.

I have never had a puppy that nipped, but I have had a few wannabe dominant mouthy puppies that like to push the limits. When they first start doing it I go very still and say 'Uhhhh' in a harsh growly voice then if they persist I take them by the scruff of the neck, give them a little shake, growl "Uhhhh' much more loudly and still holding them by the neck move them away from me. Then I walk away and ignore them. It works very well and they seldom repeat the behaviour, if they do the 'Uhhhh' is usually enough to remind them that I don't consider mouthing an acceptable behaviour and they stop immediately, if they dont they get another slightly harsher correction until they learn. I have always found that a growly "Uhhhh' is a much more effective deterrent than the word 'No'. If a dog hassles me by hanging around trying to get my attention I tell it 'Get away' and if it doesn't move I repeat the command and walk straight into the dog using my body to push it along and out of the way. Of course not all puppies need this sort of treatment, but you do get the odd one or two with strong wills who like to try it on. I never, ever hit my dogs, but I don't employ a completely 'hands off' approach either.

I used Thrive D many years ago for a dog with a malabsorption syndrome, it didn't affect the dog's stools, but it didn't appear to affect anything else either. I gave it a fair trial, at least 6 months and then I stopped using it as it didn't appear to be making any difference to the dog.

Are we talking dominance/aggression towards other dogs, humans or both, what does your dog actually do, can you be more specific?

I was just wondering if the breeder was aware that you were intending to 'protection train' your pointer puppy. As a breeder of gundogs I wouldn't sell a puppy to anyone wanting a dog for this purpose.

I don't know if they still make it, but I have always used Canex worming syrup on puppies under 6 weeks of age and haven't had any problems.