Jed

Well, it hasn't worked with the poor dog, cavNrott, so I guess he thinks it might work with us He can comprehend the written word ok, the problem is that our advice didn't fit into his scheme of things. So, there you go, another disaster in the making. Ask me why dogs end up in the pound, will you? I'll just direct you here, and you can read it for yourself. Ask me why dogs suddenly turn? Without any warning.

Frank Well, I'm cirticising you. That's because you don't understand what is happening, and you wont understand until the bad thing happens, and the dog comes home from the vet in a black plastic bag. And the kids can write him letters in heaven. I can't stand reading this any more, good luck, get help, give the dog away, will you.

Frank No, Frank it is easily done. Loving a dog doesn't mean cuddling him when he is asleep, but failing to understand the very first thing about dog behaviour, and refusing to take advice, and making the dog into a fear biter - and thinking that tying him up is some sort of training. The poor dog is not a "freak of nature" but you are a terrible owner. You know so little, you don't begin to understand the five thousand and five ways you have stuffed up this poor dog, which was quite normal before. Cockers are easy to train. He should understand NO DOWN SIT LEAVE COME and obey. That he doesn't is your fault. You might think you love him, but you don't. You don't have any concept of what "love" is as applied to dog ownership. This dog is rapidly going from a teenage delinquent to a full blown canine criminal. Training him at this point is well beyond your meager training skills, but you still don't get it. This dog NEEDS a new home - before one of your kids needs a new eye, or a new face or a new nose. And the really s####y thing is that it is not the dog's fault, it's your fault, and you are too bloody stupid and pig headed to see it. You keep sprouting ever more meaningless gobbledegood in response to posters who are genuinely trying to help you. You'll never get it. Poor, poor dog, he only wanted and needed a good home, and a little affection and some minimal training, and you couldn't even provide those, so he could lead a long fulfilled life. Frank, cockers love kids. Have you asked yourself why yours bites the kids? Have you? Maybe it's time for training by someone who actually knows dogs? Understands dogs? Can train dogs? And, sunshine, that's NOT you.

Frank, the cocker is a "soft" dog, easy to train, and very attuned to people. You are not treating this dog the right way. Can you spot the errors you made when he grabbed the oily rag? Why has the dog been running away? Why did the dog bite you? Why did the dog bite the children? This is the wrong dog in the wrong place. Find him another home. Please. Before you end up coming on here telling us you have euthanased the dog because he bit your nose off. Poor, sad little dog.

Hi, Chelby, so sorry to hear that. Hope that you still have a long time with your girl May I ask, for my records, please, how long since she was vaccinated?

Frank, you might be happy, the family might be happy, but I can tell you - totally and without doubt - that this poor bewildered confused, untrained and misunderstood trucking dog is NOT HAPPY. Do the poor flaming dog a big favour and either send him back to the breeder, or let someone here rehome him. NOW. You are making a shoddy situation much worse. The poor trucking dog is confused, and scared of you. This is NOT the breed for you. You thought it was. You were wrong. Find the dog a good home before something REALLY badder than what has happened already happens. And it will. Thanks

cavNrott The breeder does seem to be registered, and is no doubt ethical. However, she is NOT and MDBA member. And I think "orange broan" is a typo - should be orange roan.

cavNrott The breeder does seem to be registered, and is no doubt ethical. However, she is NOT and MDBA member.

Steve, because Frank said she was.

In the first thread, where Frank was asking for information on Cocker Spaniels, he wrote this - This breeder IS NOT a member of the Master Dog Breeders, and never has been.

K9 I recommended sending the dog back to the breeder because it is apparent from what Frank wrote that he is nowhere as far as training this dog, and he is not interested in going to obedience, or getting help. One would hope the breeder might have a few more clues than Frank, and may be able to take appropriate steps to turn this dog into a decent canine citizen, either by retraining, or getting help, and rehoming it to an appropriate home - as breeders like me do quite often -- and not just with our own breed either. Do you think it is more appropriate for it to continue to live with Frank and continue as it is doing, or to be tied up 24/7, or to bite one of the children? Or do you think sending it to the pound is more appropriate? Or having it euthanased because Frank can't cope, or because it bites? Sending the dog back to the breeder in 75% of cases would be better than the options above!! Some breeders actually do more than sit on the lounge waiting for bitches to pop out pups they can sell. Some actually do, or have done, forms of dog sports. Some are actually obedience instructors. Some have actually dealt with problems like this - and worse - before - from other puppy buyers. And even if the breeder doesn't have a flying #### what is wrong with the dog, or how to fix it, he probably has contacts who do. Or potential owners who do. This is not a huge problem, from what I have read - it's just that Frank can't fix it.

It's all too easy - Frank is not treating the dog as he should, he will not listen to advice. He should stop having hissy fits because he doesn't like the truth, and send the dog back. A cocker shouldn't be tied up, or kept outside - there are the first problems, no training is the second, and the reactive training this dog has had has been incorrect. I am sure the GSD was not a problem, although untrained, because he was a mature dog when the children came along, and were running and jumping. He was used to them from babies. Too easy to blame the dog for people problems. Hope Frank picks the cocker hair out of his teeth and contacts the breeder. :rolleyes:

The vet is giving you that advice because it is important that dogs have a complete and balanced diet By feeding him dry food, he is getting that. Some vets worry that owners feeding raw will not be feeding a balanced diet. At Uni, they have a couple of lectures on nutrition by a rep. from a pet food company. Some graduating vets learn about nutrition from senior vets in the practice where they work. Some do not. I feel raw, and if I use a new vet who is trying to push dry food, I ask him nicely what his qualifications as a canine nutritionist are, and what research he has done or read. That usually shuts him up :rolleyes: I also tell them I wouldn't eat tinned food and Weet Bix and I don't see why my dog has to. Continue to feed what your dog does best on - which is obviously raw - all mine have been having raw foods for years - they are rarely ill - and we go to the vet only for things such as eye problems, or for the one which decided to eat a needle!! And don't get your nickers in a knot about balancing the food - if you feed a good variety, the dog will be getting a balanced diet. To night mine had mince, eggs, silverbeet, carrots and some leftover bread. Last night they had mince, silverbeet, sardines, sunflower oil, and a few raw rolled oats. They get lots of different things, so they are receiving a balanced diet over a period. Making your own is cheaper than buying it , but you need to feel confident in what you are doing, so stick with the patties.

I would also try giving him Vit C and Aloe Vera juice both of which are immune system boosters. I have found that linolinic acid, which is found in Poly Vite, a vitamin supplement put out by Rudducks, and available in pet shops, very useful. It can't hurt, and I have had good results. Also maybe try Robert McDowall, who has had some success with natural remedies. Is the dog on a natural diet - ie, raw food, no colourings, no preservatives?

Apparently meat contains an enzyme which helps dogs digest it. When it is cooked, the enzyme is destroyed.

Two suggestions. If they are locked up at night with a pen with access to the outdoors, you will need to toad proof it. This can be done by putting chicken wire, or shadcloth from the ground up 60 or 90 cms. Toads are not great jumpers, and should not be able to jump in. If you have"normal" wire, they simply climb through it. Then simply check the enclosure before putting the dogs in it at night. Keep the grass (if there is any) short. The other thing which has worked for me is to buy a bottle of Pine O Clean disenfectant, and a spray bottle. Spray liberally any toad you find. This kills them pretty well straight away, and the dogs tend to leave them alone when they smell of disenfectant. Not only are you helping to solve your problem, but you are doing good for the environment. The world needs fewer toads. RSPCA recommends catching them, putting them in a plastic bag in the freezer (which kills them). This is supposed to be kinder, but there is NO way any toads are going in my freezer, and I don't think being frozen to death is altogether humane. The disenfectant seems pretty quick to me. The latter is not a short term solution, but if you spray the ones you see at night on your lawn, you will reduce the population, which means there are fewer for the dogs to find. It might take a summer or two, but you will eventually have none, or very few. You can try saying "no" to the dogs when they have one, but I have found the prey drive is stronger than the will to obey me. The one which likes toads simply waits until I am not around! I lock my dogs up at night, with no access to the outdoors to stop them finding the occasional toad which comes in. Good luck, they are pesky

Please talk to the breeder to see if they can find this poor little dog a proper home. Keep the kids and the dog safe. Nidawi well said. There are no bad dogs, only bad owners.

2 good posts, Cavnrott. I suggested the dog might have to be rehomed if the problem couldn't be sorted. Frank, there is a good book by Val Bonney - "Who's The Boss?" which costs about $20 and may well solve the problem for you.

My dogs have bones, but there are some risks - bones can splinter or cause an obstruction, get caught between the teeth, in the roof of the mouth, or in the throat. A friend lost a medium sized dog last week - choked on a bone.

Hannah, I have no idea about the incidence of kidney problems in whippets, but snake venom causes a lot of organ damage and kidney damage is one instance. A friend was bitten by a snale, and had a lot of problems during the weeks following the bite, including kidney problems. Something stronger than amoxil would not have helped. It's really hard when you desperately want to understand what happened and why, particularly when it looks as if your beloved dog is out of the woods - and then he has a relapse. Probably just too much venom, too much snake for a not very big dog. When something like this has happened to me, I've been able to get detailed information from my vet, which really helps my understanding, and helps me let go. Knowing everything which can be done has been done is helpful too.

There's a big difference between an adolescent dog getting over excited when children and running and screaming, and cocker rage. Firstly, Frank, you need to establish WHY the dog bit your son. He may have been over-excited, and snapped in that excitement, which is not unusual. If playing with other dogs, he could bite in that situation, and it would be perfectly normal. If that is the case, he needs to learn that he is a rung down the ladder from the children. He may have perceived your son (who he doesn't like as much as he likes your daughter) as a threat to your daughter. Or he may have cocker rage, according to our two bob experts. You are not going to be able to take any action until you have had some personal, experienced advice. You may wish to spaak to your breeder, or you may wish to contact a GOOD trainer who will come and see the situation, and make a decision about how to stop it. No one here can really help you, because no one has seen what happened. You may need to rehome the dog. Personally, I would never let an immature dog run around with excited, screaming children. Tieing him up in sight of the children is not a good solution either. He should be away from them - that is, inside the house, out of sight of them. Please do get professional help.

Sometimes you can train them Let the dog sit in the car - when it's not moving. Do this a few times. Then take her for short trips, up the road and back. Give her a liver treat before you go, and one when you get home. Often they are sick because they are worried about the trip and what's at the end of it - ie, the vet. Or bad things happening. Always make a car trip like a walk - a very happy, exciting event. Simply retrain and anxiety away, and all should be good. If it is motion sickness, being able to see will help and move around. And you will probably need to medicate.

Cans are 68% approx water. Why pay 68 cents of your $$ for water? Rumour had it years ago that Pal contained whale meat - and I can believe it. Whatever is in cans, it looks, smells and feels nasty. And that's before it's been through the dog. However, mine do have the occasional tin of sardines in aspic (cat food) blended in with their dinner, for the fish, and that smells and looks as it should, although I've never fancied it on toast, myself!!

Very much doubt it will hurt her. My lot have eaten all sorts of things without ill effect, and there is nothing in that except a cream base and a few other goodies. And, oh my, just THINK how wrinkle free her bowel will be!! She may have diarrohea for a day or two .... and it will serve her right, wont it?

Be aware too that it is often used as a substitute for training by stupid lazy people, who put the dog into the crate instead of giving it appropriate training...or to keep it out of the way.