Miranda

If she does have the bacterial overgrowth and you treat it you may see a distinct improvement, sometimes they relapse once the antibiotics are finished, but not always. Dogs that remain skeletally thin even when fed the powder with meals generally do have a bacterial overgrowth. She won't put on weight with Pal that's for sure.

You may find it easier (at this age) to wash her in the laundry trough, you will have more control over her and she'll be at a more convenient height. If you want to continue to use the bath buy a shampoo attachment for the taps, it's much easier. Always use warm water, a lot of dogs are put off bathing at an early age because they're bathed under the hose in cold water. As she gets older bathing will become easier and in the end she will just accept it as routine although she will probably never actually like it. However just because she dislikes being bathed doesn't mean that she'll automatically avoid all forms of water, chasing sticks into the sea is a totally different proposition

Shekhina has she been tested for bacterial overgrowth in the small intestine? A course of antibiotics (oxy something, I can't remember now) may help although if she does have it and has had it for while she may have permanent damage to the mucous lining which will inhibit nutrient absorption permanently. I used to feed my dog the Hills Prescription cans and dry food (ID I think), chicken breast, Tucker Time chicken roll and she could also tolerate chicken necks, I found that she cope with most foods that were under 13% fat content. She lived until she was 12 1/2 and finally died of an unrelated cancer. I would definitely get her off the Pal.

Do you have a balcony he can use?

I've never owned a dog that didn't love cat poo, they find it totally irresistable Can you put the litter up high where the cats can jump up to it, but the dog can't reach it? Other than that.......well it'll save you cleaning the litter tray :D

I use the monthly chewables, I wouldn't use the yearly injection on any of my dogs.

If I were in your position I would go to another vet, I'm not in WA, but perhaps someone will be able to recommend one. Either that or ask for a referral to a specialist and get a definite diagnosis, allergies aren't the easiest problem to treat, but it's certainly not impossible. It is ridiculous for the vet to say that no one does tests, I would insist on them. You are paying fees to a vet who appears to be unable to help your dog, 'try this and see what happens' just isn't good enough and meanwhile your dog continues to suffer. Definitely ask for a second opinion.

I can't tell you how much to feed, but I can tell you that roo, rice and vegies is a diet that's almost totally lacking in calcium unless you are also feeding bones. Yes roo is very low in fat, but it's also very rich and some dogs don't tolerate it well. I actually think that roo meat is TOO low in fat unless the dog is getting additional fat from another source. If your dog is a couple of kilos overweight increased exercise will help to get the weight off her. However your vet is obviously well informed regarding your dog's condition so I guess you should follow his advice.

I am not a dog trainer or behaviourist, but I would advise against sending this particular dog away for training. Others may disagree, but I really think that such a situation would put incredible stress on your dog and could possibly make her worse. As you say I think that 'baby steps' would definitely be the best way. There are some very knowledgeable people on this forum, I'm sure that you'll get lots of good advice.

You could be right bommy, they had it at the local produce store for $80 a couple of months ago but maybe it was on special. It was the regular formula, not the Energy, I actually thought about buying a bag, but I think it had meat by-products in it so I changed my mind

I'm not a fan of Eukanuba, I'd recommend Nutro, Eagle Pack Holistic or Royal Canin. Advance is probably the best of the slightly cheaper brands. If you change your dog from Supercoat make sure that you do it gradually to minimise tummy upsets. I don't like Supercoat at all, if you feed one of the super premium brands you will find that you use less and that your dog will be happier and healthier. I am currently using Nutro and I'm very pleased with it.

Your dog needs to be confined when you can't supervise her, if you're only going out for a few hours a crate will be sufficient, but if you spend long periods away a dog run will be a better idea. It is very hard to teach a dog to differentiate between things it's allowed to chew and things that are off limits so putting things away is the easiest way to protect your belongings, expecting a young puppy not to chew things that are left lying around is a little optimistic IMO. You will find that she'll improve as she matures, my three adult dogs can be safely left inside the house if we go out for a few hours, but my two 11 month old puppies are left in a run as they're just too young to be trusted.

Don't give her too much variety, as Aziah says pick a food and stick with it. Offering lots of different things to fussy puppies just makes them more picky.

Pedigree Puppy Food causes sloppy poo in a lot of puppies, if you must use canned food try the Advance Puppy Formula. I would also upgrade your dry food, supermarket dry foods aren't good quality and your puppy may be intolerant of the high cereal content. I would recommend Advance, Eagle Pack, Royal Canin or Nutro, although these foods are more expensive you don't need to feed as much and they are much better for your dog. Also make sure that you worm your puppy regularly, every two weeks up to three months, once a month to six months of age and every three to six months thereafter.

Only buy the good yoghurts like Jalna, the sweetened yoghurt desserts are rubbish. If you feed it occasionally in moderation you shouldn't have a problem. Yoghurt is usually tolerated by dogs because the majority of the lactose has been consumed by the bacteria, but there's still a chance that some dogs may react to the very small amount that remains. Try feeding tiny amounts and slowly increase it, if you still get sloppy poos obviously it doesn't agree with your dog. If your dog has a lot of flatulence it's probably caused by the cereal content of the dry food, I've found that wheat and corn can cause this which is why I'm currently feeding Nutro Lamb and Rice.

I have to put in a plug for Nutro, I've been feeding it for two weeks and I can really see a difference. I was a huge fan of the Eagle Pack Holistic varieties, but I think Nutro is better.

Get a C5, if your vet can't or won't administer it find another vet who will. A C7 vaccination is totally unnecessary.

Puppies are born with worms and should be treated fortnightly from two weeks of age until three months, monthly until six months and every three to six months thereafter. Advocate isn't the only alternative, ask your breeder what he/she recommends.

If this turns out to be an ongoing problem (and it is in some dogs) ask your vet to show you how to empty the glands yourself, it's not hard and it's a lot cheaper than paying for a consultation every couple of months. You will get used to the smell, after years of having dogs I hardly notice it now.

I agree with the others, dogs need fresh clean water available at all times, restricting water, especially in hot weather is dangerous and unnecessary. Your dog is far more likely to gulp excess water if you restrict his access, if you leave water down all the time he'll simply drink enough to quench his thirst.

Yes but tapeworm segments look like cucumber seeds, maggots look totally different and are much more mobile, surely the OP would know what a maggot looks like? Oh well, maybe not

Sounds as if the dog wasn't taken out and about as a baby and therefore lacks socialisation. If you don't introduce them to new places, noises, dogs and people at an early age they may not accept them as adults. The dog is obviously extremely frightened of strange people and new situations. She will have to go back to stage one and socialise her as if she was an eight week old puppy, but I doubt that she'll ever be fully confident however much work she puts in now.

Ditch the pads, paper and pads are a waste of time if you want them to toilet outside. Unfortunately toilet training takes time, a 9 week old puppy has no bladder control whatsoever and expecting a puppy of this age not to have accidents is totally unrealistic. You need to be vigilant and consistent, obviously if your puppy has just 'full on peed on his bed' you are not being vigilant enough. You have been given excellent advice in the previous posts, I suggest that you follow it

Pick up the droppings and it won't happen. Leaving droppings on the ground encourages flies and any worm eggs that might be in the faeces will enter the ground to reinfect the dog at a later date. As for the stink, what are you feeding?

I have Gordon Setters so I guess you'd call them a large breed. I was quite happy with the EP, but got sucked in by the very positive reports I'd heard about Nutro so I thought I'd give it a try. I've only been feeding it for two days, but poos are good and the dogs certainly like it although my dogs will eat just about anything. I wouldn't hesitate to use EP again and may well go back to it at some stage, but I'd only use the Holistic varieties. My two puppies didn't do at all well on the ordinary Large Breed Puppy Formula, they had large, softish poos and one of them started to lose weight so I changed them onto Power to try to put the weight back on and the poos were just as bad. I put it down to the high proportion of corn in the these two varieties. They are fine on the Nutro that only contains rice. If you're going to use one of the ordinary EP I'd recommend the Natural, it does contain corn, but not as much and all my older dogs do well on it, but if you can afford it go with the Holistic varieties, they're definitely better.