Miranda

It might be a good idea to crate train them and keep them inside at night, barking during the day may be ok if they don't do it all the time, but barking at night will probably drive your neighbours insane and before you know it you'll have the ranger round.

Yes I agree, both dogs have unacceptable elbow scores and neither should have been bred from, mating the two together is very irresponsible IMO. The hip scores are both below breed average, but the sire's score of 7/0 is a bit of a concern. Please be aware that having a registered dog doesn't automatically mean that he should be used for breeding. Unless he is an excellent representative of his breed there is absolutely no reason for him to produce puppies and unless you show him and have some success with him it is doubtful that anyone will want to use him anyway. To be quite honest, having a sire and dam with bad elbows really means that he shouldn't be bred from anyway even if his own scores are acceptable. If he was ever bred from you would have to be very careful that the bitch he went over had clear elbows and came from a line of clear elbows otherwise it is quite possible that he would pass the elbow problems on to his progeny. You can have the dog hip and elbow scored at any time after 12 months of age.

Has he been tested for cutaneous lymphoma (mycosis fungoides) or pemphigus, both conditions are rare, but there have been cases in Australia.

I have no advice for you, but be aware that when two bitches take a dislike to each other you have a major problem. Bitch fights are bad news, I have had two fights between bitches and it's not something I wish to experience again. Dogs usually make a lot of noise and you may get a few minor wounds, but they are usually relatively easy to separate in comparison to bitches who will inflict major damage and will sometimes fight to the death. You may have to separate these girls permanently, although I'm not saying that this is a problem that has no solution if they were my girls I probably wouldn't trust them together again, especially unsupervised. BTW I don't allow any dogs of mine to share bones, bones are high value items and can provoke a fight even between dogs who are the greatest of friends, all my dogs are fed separately and kept apart when they have bones. I also agree with everyone else, no breed of dog is able to lock its jaws.

Was this at Boronia Paganman because I went there earlier this year and had exactly the same experience, I found the 'hard sell' pretty hard to take and it did put me off joining. However I've never been to any of their other locations where quite possibly these sessions may be handled completely differently.

I wouldn't recommend him.

No it doesn't sound normal juice, a season usually lasts about 21 days, I have one girl who bleeds right through (although the bleeding is very light), but the other bitch stops bleeding around day 12. Given her medical history I'd get it checked out. Poor old girl

Maybe you're feeding him too much, as PF says cut him down to one meal a day. He may also be a little spoiled, he knows that if he doesn't eat one thing you'll offer him something else. Don't leave food down, give him 20 minutes to eat it and then take it away, don't feed him ANYTHING until the next night. He'll eat in the end, may take a few days, but he'll learn.

I actually prefer brisket bones, they're a little softer, but still good teeth cleaners, chuck bones are very hard.

You ave been extremely unlucky, I have never heard of a bitch developing pyometra after a first season, it is far more common in middle aged or older bitches (5 years+). Your bitch had open pyometra and will soon recover, closed pyometra is far more dangerous.

I think you'll find that for some people a vet simply has more credibility, people assume that a person who has has attended uni, qualified and practised as a vet for x number of years and then gone on to study behavioural science is a professional person who will know a lot more than someone off the street who has only completed an NFDT or Delta course. After all anyone can do these courses, you don't even have to complete Year 10. Vets are regarded in the same way as doctors and the general public automatically assume that they know everything there is to know about dogs. I mean how often do you hear people on this forum say 'I asked my vet' when they needed advice about feeding, grooming, grooming equipment, training, behavioural problems etc., you and I know that vets don't know everything, but to most pet owners a vet is some kind of god and what they say is gospel. You also have to remember that there are a lot of people around at the moment who profess to be dog trainers and behaviourists, and that quite a few of these people are totally unqualified, sometimes it's very hard for the average pet owner to tell them apart. If they're employing the services of a veterinary behaviourist at least they know that this person has completed many years of study and has professional qualifications obtained at a university and this makes them feel confident that this is a person of integrity who they can trust and who will know the best way to treat their dog.

Do you know of any good value stores in Australia? I'm amazed how expensive clipper blades, slickers, combs etc. are here in comparison with the US! $33 +post for a Doggyman/ Millers forge 'designer series' slicker here. Same= USD$11.50+ post. Someone on here recommended nicestman77 for clippers and accessories, but I have never used him.

Yes you can use a human hair dryer, I use one all the time. Knots and tangles that aren't removed before bathing are much harder to get out, use the top two or three teeth of a metal comb to loosen the matt, then pull it apart with your fingers and divide it into sections. Comb out each section individually making sure that you remove the tangling right back to the skin. It's time consuming, but you'll get there if you persevere.

We buy and sell overseas all the time, we have never paid duty on an incoming item.

Puppy uglies.....yes I know all about those :rolleyes: Depending on lines many larger breed puppies will 'go off' as they grow and unless you have a puppy that's a little shy and needs the constant exposure it's sometimes advisable not to continue showing them, pull them out for a while until they start to come good. Sometimes I've found that puppies that hold it together up to 12 months of age and do a lot of winning through the puppy classes don't make it as adults, this is more common in dogs than bitches but it does happen so the fuglies aren't always a bad thing. In my experience the fugly stage can sometimes continue up to 18 months of age, sometimes longer and of course there are a few that never come out of it, but generally most dogs at 4 are unrecognisable as the gangly, out of proportion teenagers they once were

Hills is not a good food, a good dry food doesn't have corn as a first ingredient and definitely doesn't contain soy, neither of these ingredients are efficiently digested by dogs hence the large output of poo. Hills also contain BHA, BHT and propyl gallate, these chemicals are used to keep fats and oils from going rancid, but have also been known to act as carcinogens in studies done on rats. Nutro Lamb and Rice and the Eagle Pack Holistic range are completely free of corn, soy and chemical preservatives, they are far superior in quality to any of the Hills products.

I agree with Sway, as he's ok out on the balcony chances are that he's too hot inside, dogs are generally far more tolerant of the cold than humans, after all they are wearing fur coats. Excess panting can also be a sign of pain or anxiety although I don't think that's the case here.

Desexing is not a substitute for training, your dog appears to be walking all over you and doing as he pleases and I doubt that desexing will alter his behaviour. I suggest that you do some research into leadership, at the moment your dog thinks that he is the boss and is behaving accordingly.

Cobber is one of the cheaper and nastier brands of dry dog food, I definitely wouldn't feed it to my dogs.

You won't housetrain your dog by tying him up over a pee pad, he needs to move around.

Very young pups can suffer dehydration if diarrhoea continues unchecked, try giving her cooked chicken breast and a little rice tonight and tomorrow morning. If she still has the runs tomorrow I'd take her to the vet. ETA How old is this puppy?

When you get a new puppy it is always advisable to continue the breeder's feeding regime, any sudden change of diet may cause diarrhoea. If you want to change the puppy's diet intoduce the new food gradually adding a little each day over a week or so. I doubt that your puppy has parvo, the symptoms are much more severe and come on really quickly, however if the diarrhoea continues or the puppy starts vomiting or becomes listless and stops eating take her to the vet immediately. If you revert to feeding the puppy what the breeder was feeding the diarrhoea will probably stop.

Most of the Omnipro formulas contain corn, I think the large breed puppy is the only product which is corn free.

K9 & Katz KitchenHere deliver free anywhere in metro Melbourne. They have a large range of EP and good prices.

I would engage the services of a private trainer/behaviourist, if you're in Sydney K9 Force is one of the best. I don't agree with sending dogs away for training either.