Miranda

If she gets stung she will learn to avoid them. Dogs that get get stung in the mouth or throat can sometimes suffer severe swelling that can affect their breathing and occasionally dogs can suffer an anaphylactic reaction so be careful.

Yes I do have his books and although he has a lot of interesting things to say and I agree with most of them I do not agree with him on this particular point. I think the exact opposite, that dogs with a genetic predisposition to joint disease will certainly have their problems exacerbated by overfeeding and excess or inappropriate exercise, but a dog carrying genes for normal hips and elbows is unlikely to develop problems when subjected to the same environmental factors. IMO breeding from dogs with good scores is of far more importance in the fight against joint disease than restricting food and exercise in a growing puppy. I am not saying that you should be taking your puppy jogging every night or feeding him five cups of 32% protein kibble twice daily, but normal activity and normal feeding will not cause your puppy to develop hip or elbow dysplasia. Moderation and common sense are the key.

The rate of growth is largely governed by genetics, some puppies grow and mature slower than others and although it's not a good idea to feed your dogs large amounts of high protein commercial foods, you would have to literally starve the dog to slow down its growth rate. You should be able to feel your puppy's ribs if you run your hands lightly over his body (if you have to press to feel them he's carrying too much weight) and he should have a clearly defined 'waist' behind the ribcage, sometimes the last couple of ribs may be visible and that's ok, but if all his ribs can be seen then he's underweight. Slow growth will not guarantee that your dog won't have any joint problems, if he has a genetic predisposition to joint disease environmental factors may exacerbate it, but cutting down your dog's food and restricting exercise certainly won't stop the dog from developing problems. If your puppy comes from health tested parents who come from lines with normal hips and elbows there is a good chance that your puppy will be normal too, it's good sense not to overfeed your puppy, but you must ensure that he has adequate amounts of good quality food.

I had one anal gland removed from a dog because he had a long history of impaction and associated infection and in the end an abscess formed, the surgery was messy and very painful for the dog with a protracted recovery time. It didn't affect his bowel movements in any way, but he did suffer for quite a while until the healing process was complete. To me it would be a last resort procedure, something that you'd only consider when all other options have failed, as I said the dog does suffer extreme pain and discomfort for quite a long time. I would never consider having anal glands removed simply because of a smell if the dog's health wasn't affected in any way, however perhaps it's more simple in cats.

Never make the mistake of buying cheap grooming equipment if you have a dog that's got a heavy coat and is going to need grooming on a regular basis. But the very best you can afford, it's easier to use and lasts much longer. With slicker brushes it's very important to get a good brand as cheap slickers are harsh and scratch the dog, if you start using a cheap slicker on a puppy you may end up with a dog that hates being groomed. Generally if you run a slicker down your arm and it scratches it's going to do exactly the same to the dog.

Lucky you I can definitely see the advantages of a short coated dog, but I LOVE my long coats even though they're a heck of a lot of work.

I know of a dog who had UAP in both elbows and had both done at once. The dog recovered well, but it's very important to keep them quiet and not let them run around after the surgery. I can't remember how long the recovery period was, but your vet will advise you.

When I am actively campaigning a dog they are bathed on a weekly basis and it doesn't affect them at all. Even when I'm not showing them they're bathed every 2/3 weeks, but you have to use a good shampoo and conditioner and if you have a densely coated dog ensure that it's dried thoroughly right down to the skin, especially if you live in a hot, humid climate.

Both males and females will hump, it's not a behaviour limited to males. My bitches will hump each other when in season and sometimes bitches will hump the male when they're being mated if the dog doesn't get down to business quickly enough. Humping can also be a sign of dominance, I have two brothers here and one will hump the other occasionally just to show him he's top dog. It's totally normal behaviour amongst canines and nothing to worry about, quite possibly your puppy will grow out of it, but some dogs of both sexes will always do it.

I agree, buy him a crate, to cause bleeding the puppy must be scratching frantically and if he continues he will loosen the nails or rip them off completely and this will cause profuse bleeding and lameness. He will also totally wreck the base of your door especially when he gets bigger.

Me too :D

I always train my puppies to go outside from the moment I get them, I'm not a believer in pads or newspapers being used when you're wanting a dog to toilet outside IMO they just hinder the process, really you just have to bite the bullet and take them outside rain or shine, hot or cold. I crate all my dogs and there is no doubt that crates are a great help in toilet training, if you don't want to use a crate then you are going to find it much harder. Puppies need to go after sleeping, after eating and after playing and about every hour in between, you need to take the puppy outside after each of these activities and you have to stay outside with her until she relieves herself, it doesn't matter if she takes 5 minutes or 55 minutes you just have to wait and then lots of praise. When the puppy is inside watch her all the time, if she shows any signs of wanting to go eg. circling, sniffing take her straight outside and once again you'll have to wait. When you can't watch her you need to confine her to a small area like a crate because every mistake is only reinforcing the behaviour. Overnight she should be able to hold on if you put her to bed at about 11 and take her out at about 6, but if you've got her loose in the house obviously this won't happen so once again I'd recommend that you confine her somewhere, if you don't want to use a crate maybe someone else has some other suggestions. I have large dogs and from what I've heard toy dogs can be harder to toilet train so hopefully someone with toys will come along and offer some alternative ideas. Hope this helps :D

I agree that in a perfect world all siblings should be scored, but unfortunately it just isn't possible, very few puppy buyers will bother to have their desexed pets hip and/or elbow scored and I can certainly understand that, why would they pay for an expensive and (in their eyes) unnecessary procedure that appears to be of no benefit to their dog. If I was extremely well off I would quite happily pay for all my puppies to be checked, but I'm not and I think you'll find that even if breeders did pay, many puppy buyers still wouldn't have it done, putting your dog under a GA for an x-ray when the dog appears to be perfectly sound and healthy wouldn't be a risk a lot of owners would be prepared to take. However we do the best we can and there is no doubt that a dog with good hips that comes from parents who had good hips and had grandparents with good hips is a much better breeding proposition than a dog of unknown hip status. In my breed hips have improved enormously since the 70's when we had a small gene pool and hip scoring wasn't the norm. These days in Australia I think I can safely say that all breeding stock is scored prior to breeding and hips are generally good. I have usually found that hip scores are generally between a certain range amongst those siblings that are scored, you may get a score of 1/2, another may be 2/3 and then you'll sometimes get a 6/6 or a 3/7, but in my experience having one sibling with an extremely low score, say 1/2 and another sibling with a very high score, say 12/12 is very unusual, I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but it certainly isn't common. Of course when we get our 1/1 scores back we're excited and no we don't know that there isn't a sibling out there that has a score of 40, but chances are that if there was we'd hear about it because the dog would probably be showing symptoms, the owners would go to the vet and then they usually contact the breeder. I always ask my puppy buyers to contact me if there are any problems with their puppy, whether they be behavioural or physical. Of course the system isn't perfect, but it's definitely a step in the right direction and as I've said it seems to work because hip scores in my breed have improved enormously since scoring became an accepted and vital procedure for all breeding stock. I actually x-ray all my dogs regardless of whether or not they are bred from, I currently have a dog here who has never been bred, but I have had him hip and elbow scored anyway. Of course I can only speak for my breed, but IMO hip scoring is a very positive thing and in the long term I have no doubt that it's a valuable tool that helps us to breed happier and healthier dogs.

Baby puppies can take up to a week to adjust to their new environment. Remember that leaving familiar surroundings, dam and siblings is highly traumatic for a puppy and it is normal for them to be a little bewildered at first, being quiet, eating poorly and sleeping a lot are all perfectly normal. Puppies generally sleep a lot anyway when they are small, the puppy usually plays and then sleeps, it is all part of the growing process. Regarding not toileting, I assume you mean pooing and not weeing, if she hasn't urinated at all take her to the vet, stress and/or a change of diet can cause diarrhoea or constipation in young puppies.

Is Keilor far from you, Keilor Obedience Dog Club is excellent, I know two of the trainers there. They train at Niddrie, A.J. Davis reserve I think.

I have had a dog who had to have one anal gland removed because it abscessed. The recovery time was long and the dog was in a degree of pain, I wouldn't have it done except as a last resort if the dog was suffering constant discomfort and all other options to alleviate the condition had failed.

Personally I wouldn't call this woman a breeder, your story is a good example of what happens when you buy from a backyarder. Your little girl will be fine now that she's been wormed and vaccinated. You will need to worm her every two weeks until she is 12 weeks old, you can buy worming syrup and do it yourself, it is cheaper than going back to the vet.

Me too.

From your description it sounds as if the submandibular or parotid glands are enlarged, it could be kennel cough or it could also be tonsillitis. Untreated tonsillitis will produce these sorts of symptoms and can also cause your dog to drop condition.

Joint Guard, fish oil and although not a supplement, cartrophen injections can be helpful to a lot of dogs.

Which wormer was it Mil? The flavoured cube wormers need to chewed or broken up into small pieces, if they're swallowed whole they can cause vomiting in some dogs.

I wouldn't use a soft crate for a puppy, puppies chew and they also have accidents, buy a wire crate and use the soft crate when the dog is older and past the destructive stage. A puppy could destroy a soft crate in a matter of minutes and they're not as easy to clean, wire crates are far more practical even if you don't like the look of them.

Yes this is what I would do, you probably won't even need a heater. All my dogs are hydrobathed outside even in winter. After the bath towel him dry and then take him for a walk or run and finish him off with a dryer, a dog dryer would be best, but you can make do with a hair dryer as long as it's powerful.

You need to go back to basics, from what you say it sounds as if the female has never been properly house trained. Treat her as if she were an 8 week old puppy, put her out immediately after eating, sleeping or playing and watch her ALL the time while she's inside. If you see her starting to urinate, grab her, say "No' in a very disapproving tone of voice and put her straight outside, do this if it's raining, freezing cold or whatever. Make sure that she knows she's displeased you. When she urinates outside say she's a 'good girl' in a happy voice and make a big deal of it. If you can't supervise her inside, crate her, every mistake she makes and gets away with simply reinforces the behaviour. There are no short cuts, vigilance and persistence are the key. It sounds as if the male is simply marking because she is urinating inside, once the female is house trained you will probably find that he will stop doing it.

You can buy specially made bait bags that you pin to your clothing L&L, most of the show vendors stock them.