Jed

the easiest and best way to ensure he doesn't become overweight is to feed him a balanced diet in the correct quantities. the main thing which causes overweight is too much food. No matter what it is.

What Staffwild said - lots of Vit K and beta-carotene in broccoli. It's always worth checking stuff on the web, anyone can put anything there, and no one checks it.

Agree with Tony. Do the intital work at home - I begin the pups on lead in my hallway, when they are good on lead there, move to the garden, and they don't go out until they understand not to pull or lag. I teach them to "heel" off lead before I put a lead on them. They aren't heeling well, but they are learing to walk with me, so by the time the lead goes on, they know what to do. If they pull, I say "uh uh" or their name, and when they stop, or look at me, I praise them immediately. I always begin them on a flat collar, and then continue with a flat collar, or a martingale or check chain -- depending on the dog. Each is different.

I have heard of the odd one (over 30 odd years) having seizures, probably epilepsy, but I've never had one, and I don' kow anyone who had a boxer which was having seizures. Obviously the seizures my two had were related to the cancer and they had never had a seizure at al before that Hope the medication helps.

Polomum, that is very difficult to cope with. However, I understand that when dogs have seizures, they are not aware. I'd take him to the vet. Could be due to all sorts of things, including epilepsy. Unfortunately, I have no good news for you. I bought my first boxer in 1968, and I've had quite a few since then. Two have had seizures. The first was misdiagnosed with epilepsy, and medicated for epilepsy. She was fine for a few months, although she continued to have occasional seizures. Then she had a major one, and had to be pts. She had either a brain tumor or pancreatic cancer. The second to have a seizure did so at 1.30 in the morning. I took her to the vet. The seizures increased over the next 24 hours, and she was increasngly distressed, so the decision was made to send her to the rainbow bridge. She had a brain tumour. You really need to have a good vet examine him. I hope he will be ok. 13 is a wonderful age for a boxer. I love old boxers, they are so gorgeous. Good luck with him, and let us know how he goes, please?

Discuss it with your vet, or get a referral to a specialist cardiologist. So much depends on so many other things, only the vet can give you relevant advice. Good luck.

And if your Cavalier says "Oh, poo, I couldn't possibly eat that RAW muck" (flounce flounce) - tell her all the best Cavaliers eat it raw, and it's that or dry food!!

Sorry the dogs are not well. Could be bacterial, could be gastro. Tests for parvo will work once the dog is showing symptoms, so if yours had had it, it would have shown when they were tested.

How worrying. I hope both dogs will fully recover. I think "proof" would constitute a letter or a report from the vet, and if you sent that with a letter asking for payment, saying that you found the rat bait under the bed, and found the dogs eating it. That would be sufficient proof. A claim in the small claims/magistrate's court is not expensive in any case. However, once you have provided proof, the B&B owner may well simply pay. Retailers etc. generally wont pay up on your word alone (probably been taken for a ride before) but most will if you can demonstrate that the problem was their fault. :rolleyes: As this obviously was.

A vet I know has had great success with HD in younger dogs, with a graduated regime of exercise designed to strengthen the muscles to keep the joint in place. this involves walkng and swimming, and some physio which the owner can do. this vet is not in your state, but if one vet is doing it, others are too. It took a few months, and the vet felt they would have arthritic problems later in life, but would be fine until then. Maybe ask around, and it does sound as if someone on the forum can recommend a vet who treats in this way. There were studies done on border collies - some which showed no effects of HD - ie, were running, and behaving normally with no sign of lameness, on X ray, proved to have extremely severe HD. The muscles etc were holding the joint and bones in place. Good luck with her, she deserves a chance. We'd love to know how you get on.

If you are satisfied it doesn' t need to be seen by a vet, and you simply want to stop him licking, put Vicks vapourub on it. It wont hurt him, but the smell will stop him licking. Renew as necessary.

Research has shown that dogs which are vaccinated annually are often not fully protected, as the vaccinations cancel each other (that is not quite correct, but saves me going into pages of explanations). This explains why dogs which are vaccinated still contract parvo. Puppies which are vaccinated at 6 weeks often have no protection either. This was thought to be because maternal immunity via the mother's milk over-rode the vaccination, and they "cancelled" each other. However, it seems that at 6 weeks, the pups immune system is not mature enough to challenge the vaccine. My dogs have 3 vaccinations up to 14 months, then do more. I have had rescues with parvo, and my dogs have not caught it.

Dog dryers are quite expensive. If you want a "people" dryer, see if you can try them in the shop. I have a Tiffany which puts out a lot of air, gets quite hot, and was as cheap as chips, and it dries the cockers in a reasonable time. I have another, more expensive people dryer which doesn't work all that well on the dogs. Otherwise, if you are going for a cheap one, and can't try it, take it home, and if it isn't good enough, return it.

Oh, Wendy I am so sorry, Bunnies are the most gorgeous pets, Fang and Harold and Mitzi will be there to greet him Don't beat yourself up, yoo didn't know.

Welcome to the forum, and good luck with your pup Sorry, but this is really bad advice, is all the other advice on changing his food. If you change his food, you are sure to cause tummy upsets. Keep him on the food the breeder recommended for a couple of weeks. I'd be taking the vet's advice, and I would also give him bottled water. Is he happy? Is he running around and wagging his tail, exploring, playing? Is he eating ok? Is he drinking ok? If the answer to these questions is "yes", he isn't too sick, and he probably has a tummy upset from the stress of the trip and the change of home, and the change to Supercoat. If he still has the runs big time in a couple of days, take him to the vet, but he may need 4 - 5 days to settle.

Mine have a thing for clipper oil. If I leave it on the grooming table, they climb or jump onto the table, whisk it off somewhere, bite holes in the tube or bottle, and lick it all up, and go "yum yum" and lick their chops. I go "oh, blast, no clipper oil" I wouldn't dare buy lip balm!!

BBQ chicken is hard to beat, imho. With a little dog like this, it's not expensive. Also try him on milk, honey and milk, glucodin and milk, scrambled eggs, a tiny bit of chopped liver, beef mince with a little chopped liver over it; try adding a smear of vegemite, try a little gravox, try meaty baby food, those little tins of My Dog (I think that is the one) or another of those small expensive tins - try - well, anything you can think of. That list is things that have worked for me. Also try satin balls. Check for mouth problems, and check whether he has been abused for eating. He may have been. He consequently may have an aversion to eating, and he may need to be fed with another dog, or in a dark place, or by himself or something "special" may need to happen at dinner time. Some abused dogs don't like you to watch them (probably been hit or kicked when eating), some don't like you to be in the same room with them ---- so they need to consider psychological reasons as well. Maybe just keep trying until they achieve some result. I have found that having a large, preferably darkish crate (or a covered cardboard box with a doorway cut into it) with a "nest" in it can be a good retreat for a dog like this. Some wont use it, because they have been confined and beaten, but a lot will. Rub a soft toy on the mother, and put it in there, so he can snuggle with it, and a warmish hot water bottle, and let the mother go in there too. Don't shut the door, let him come and go. Nothing should happen in there. Just let him be there. Maybe once he settles, he can have pats there. It takes dogs longer than we think to settle somewhere new. I think a few months. Most will be "polite" in a week or so, but it is a huge trauma for them, and no matter how badly they have been treated, they grieve for their old owners, because they know no better, and for all they know, the new home will be WORSE, and it looks strange, smells strange, tne food is different. Well adjusted dogs take that in their stride, and either are happy with the change, or make the best of it. Abused dogs are much more difficult, and sometimes, you have to make huge efforts to settle them. He needs lots of lap time, lots of stroking, particularly around the head - gently, back from the eyes to the back of the skull, around the cheeks to the ears, and gentle ear rubs, all the time talking to him in a gentle, soothing voice "goooood boy, gooood boy" - not excited, just softly and gently. And be consistent with his treatment, and don't push him too much. When I have a problem dog, I pick him up when I am watching TV, and simply let him sit and be cuddled and patted. If they resist, I let them go, and try again later. Sometimes it takes a while for them to realise they aren't going to be hurt. The big problem with chis is hypoglycaemia, so perhaps they could syrings a little water and honey/glucose/glucodin into his mouth as long as it doesn't develop into a real struggle. I believe that chis are very intelligent, and do feel things intensely, and suffer from stress much more than a lot of other breeds. Sometimes it's all too difficult and they simply lie down and die where another breed would come out of it, so they do need a lot of support and encouragement. Once he is happier, he will want to eat, which is why I have given much more information than you asked for. Hope some of it helps. Edited to add - make sure he is not in some sort of pain (ie, bad ears, bruises, blah blah) and that he doesn't have a high worm burden. Lots of worms will make him feel ill and prevent him eating.

The bottom line for me is that I have no idea what goes into dry food. Could be anything. Legal requirements re labelling are pretty loose for dog food. The fact that a lot of dry food is now manufactured by human food manufacturers makes me wonder if the spoiled leftovers are used in the dry food. I buy minced chicken frames with quite a lot of meat on them, with offal added, for 80c kg. I was buying whole chickens minced, but I suspected it had preservatives in it, so changed. It was $1.20 kg. I buy shopping bags of meat bones for $3.50, which I think is quite expensive. The dogs have whatever veges are in season, and cheapish. They also have some other additives. You often have to search around for the best deal for raw food, and it might not be where you think you'll find it. I find raw a lot less expensive than commercial foods. Some of you might enjoy this.

Oh, Anne, I am so sorry to hear that your beloved Sophie has moved on. She was a wonderful girl in health, and fought the brave fight for so long, with you by her side. There was, and will be, only one Sophie, but she lives on in your memory, and in that special place where you cannot see her - but she sees you, and knows how much you loved her and love her still. They are lent to us for such a short time, and they give us their all in that time. All we can do is love them, and understand and be with them when it is their time to go back home. I will be thinking of you, amd hoping these days and weeks are not too difficult for you. The little hairy people are wanting to give comfort and they will help you.

Hi Honeysmum, you are making good progress. Everyone else has given you advice, so I wont. When you are disappointed and frustrated, just remember a couple of things The pup is, I think 16 weeks old, which is a bit of a bad age, and she has spent HALF of her life in a restrictive non stimulating environment, without any training, and probbaly insufficient socialisation, during an important development period. So don't beat yourself up because it all doesn't happen in a week. The pup is trying to bond with you, she is trying to understand, all her life she has toileted whenever and whereever she wants, usually where she sleeps, she is learning about new environments, new situations, strange commands, different foods. It just aint going to happen in a week. You're doing your best, the pup is doing her best - so give yourselves a bit of time. Be consistent, keep at it, reward often, give a lot of affection, make your instructions clear - but give her time to understand, and to comply. I too have a 16 week old pup, bred in the purple, raised according to the book, religiously housetrained - and she's peed in the house a couple of times this week. I shut her out of the office yesterday, so she dragged the contents of the dirty clothes basket down the hallway. Just to show she was unamused!! If I locked her in the laundry, she'd probably chew the walls down, or scream blue murder. When this happens, I just say "oh damn", and get on with it. That's how it is, if she wasn't doing that, she'd be doing something else. And your pup hasn't had the benefit of "ideal" raising and socialisation, so you need to make more allowances than I do. She's a pup. That's what pups do. Look past chaos and disaster to 10 -12 years with a nice, well trained, happy companion. Puppyhood is just a way station to being the fortunate owner of a lovely dog. Hang in there!!

I know of a breeder who does not conventionally vaccinate her dogs and pups against parvo. They are homeopathically treated (nosodes??) and her incidence of parvo, over 20 odd years, is nil. Dogs do go out and to shows etc. I don't have the courage to try it. And I agree with Morgan - all that can be done with parvo is provide support and hope for the best, and that is best done by the vet.. If things other than conventional medicine help, I would use them.

Maybe the vet missed the murmur? I have no idea. I have mine checked very well pre-purchase. I suppose, depending on the age of the pup, and the type of murmur, it may not have presented at vet check at 8 weeks. I have bred 2 with murmurs. I gave one to someone in my family - he is 6 now, and quite hale and hearty. I gave the other one away too, and she is fine at 5. My other option would be pts. I wont sell them, even with a guarantee, and as a buyer, I would not knowingly buy a pup with a murmur, too much grief. As a breeder, I am not prepared to sell a pup which is not as perfect as I can get it, so anything with a murmur does not fit that criteria, and is not suitable for sale.

I am so sorry to hear this. Too sad A 5 week old cav pup broke her elbow while she was in the puppy pen with 3 siblings. The pen was safe, there was nothing to jump off. We could only conclude that another pup ran into her. Surgery was done, and it was found there was no fault with the bone. My only advice is to have the operation done by a good ortho. surgeon. It certainly makes a difference. My four month old pup went out to the toilet last night, for about 10 minutes, and came back with an obvious hock injury. today the hock and the inside of the thigh are twice normal size. The vet thought it was a fracture of the growth plate, but that is not showing on x-ray. Should have more information tomorrow. Things happen very easily with pups - although I must say, in all the time I have been breeding, these are the only two serious injuries. I would also check to see if the business has some sort of insurance for that. They probably can''t get it, but it may be worth asking.

Hope all is good. My 9 year old dog has a horrible double sided murmur. He's fine. And, depending on what is causing the murmur, be aware that there are studies and proof and some dog diets can improve heart health, and it is worth doing some research, and using one. They are mostly raw diets, with certain additives to improve the quality of the heart muscle. Seem to work. I am with Cavandra on the refund option. I don't know how old your pup is. If this murmur has been detected at his second vaccination, the breeder's vet should have picked it up, if it is something serious which has been present since birth. I think a refund of the full purchase price would be ideal. I don't imagine the breeder would have sold him with a murmur anyway.

It's great the Sophie is doing so well - you are doing a wonderful job there, so I am pleased she is hanging on without any big problems. Take a bow, you are both champions. Keeping up the good vibes for you both. The record you are keeping will be good for someone else in the same situation, so everyone should be grateful for the detailed records.