YvonneM

That's a good idea kelpie cuddles - I have some friends coming over in 2 weeks that he has not met before. I have noticed he is more wound up with men than women - and these friends are a couple, so I will try that. I might arm the husband friend with a supply of his favourite treats - he will work for food, so it might be motivation for some obedient quiet.

He goes to his crate if he is scared or unsure of something - I think he sees it as his safe place and is happy to go there to sleep - I will often find him there during the day snoozing. With this barking behaviour, I thought that perhaps he is "protecting his pack" which is why he doesn't go to his crate or stay there when encouraged to go - because he is not scared of the stranger. The only way he will go stay there is for him to be secured in - and then he still barks - although will settle after a while which is what he did a few weeks ago when we had someone here for several hours.

I just wondered if anyone else has this problem and if so, how you handled it to bring it under control. Banjo is now 8 months and really quite a little treasure - we have joined our local kennel club and train at obedience each week. He is getting there slowly however my main purpose was to socialise him a little more with like indeed responsible dog owners. He is socialising quite well and is no longer nervous or "skittish" around other dogs - but humans - well that's quite another matter!! At obedience he is very good and will happily take pats from pretty much anyone but when at home and visitors come by he barks incessantly with no let up. Being a maltese, so a small dog, his bark is quite high pitched (and annoying!). We have tried several methods to try to curb this behaviour. Ignoring doesn't help - he will bark and then settle but as soon as visitor moves he is at it again. We have locked him outside but as he has a doggy door and is accustomed to letting himself in and out (made toilet training easier!) he practically tears at the door to get in as well as barking. We have also put him in his crate but this too makes no difference - and I really don't want to use his crate as a form of punishment. Any suggestions of anything else we can try? We had a tradesman here today to give a quiote on some work - he was here for about an hour and poor hubby missed half of what he had to say because he was outside trying to keep the dog quiet. Quite embarrassing really. Not to mention that neighbours must find it annoying!

My boy never stole the toilet brush and our ensuite door is almost always open and he's an indoor dog - but he did have a thing for stealing the toilet paper - I shouldn't have laughed but it was so cute to see him jumping up to catch the end of the toilet paper roll and the times that he was successful he would run away with it - a trail of loo paper out the bedroom and up the hallway! Wish I'd had my phone handy to catch it on video :laugh:

I have next to zero experience with the "correct" collar for training but having said that I joined my local kennel/obedience club because like Skip my 8 month old Maltese was nervy around other dogs and needed to learn that other dogs were not scary. My objective was that if nothing else was achieved except he learned to be calmer and less nervous around other dogs then I was happy. My club had no requirements except that they do not allow harnesses for classes. My boy pulled like crazy when walking on his harness so much that he was practically walking on his hind legs. Trainer suggested a Martingdale collar which made no difference at all. They then suggested a Halti - I understand that initially my boy didn't like the feel of it and he has a short snout, so probably not the most comfortable thing to wear - but what a difference it made almost immediately! He's been using it for about 6 weeks now and now regular walks are back to Martingdale collars - so I think a Halti has been a helpful tool in my case. Not sure I like the idea of a training club saying its compulsory though - the trainers at my club were helpful in helping me look at options. Edited for spelling

I can't imagine what a relief that must be for you!

I really don't have anything useful to add, as no experience in dental problems, except to say that my 8 month old Maltese is about to have his 2 baby canines removed when he is desexed because his adult canines have come through but he hasn't lost the baby ones .... those baby canines are like little razor blades!! Hope its not too much extra $$ to have them extracted .... I'd imagine baby teeth should come out pretty easily, but they are not loose at all!

I have found this thread very interesting to read, and I truly feel for those of you who have dogs who are terrified of storms and other scary noises such as fireworks etc. My previous dog, a Maltese x Shih Tzu, who we lost this last February was never frightened of storms, he didn't like lightning associated with night time electrical storms, but the worst he ever did was pant and want to sit close, but never any reaction similar to those reported here. A couple of months after we adopted him (from the Animal Welfare League - he was 9-12 months at the time) he was home alone, and outside, when a really violent storm hit - there was terrible damage to homes and flash flooding, but our place was fine. I was terrified I'd get home and find that he had hurt himself or has escaped in his attempt to get away from the storm. I rushed home, but not before the storm ended, to find him wet, but happily playing and glad to see me! Never was I so relieved - and storms and fireworks never bothered him and he would often just wander into the backyard to see where all the noise was coming from! This was quite the contrary to the dog that I had previously - a Briard - very large and absolutely terrified of storms and fireworks. He got stuck behind the toilet in our ensuite once trying to hide, poor boy. He was big and heavy and very strong. Now we have Banjo, our 8 month old Maltese boy who is all of 4kg. He has yet to experience a storm or fireworks - although there have been fireworks, but only in the distance, and he was non reactive to them. Is there anything that I can do to make storm a "positive" thing for him, if there is such a thing, or at least not frightening. Hubby and I both work, and we are coming into our storm season, so I can't rush home every time there is a storm. He has 24/7 access indoors/outdoors via a doggy door, and will go to his soft sided crate in our bedroom if he is unsure of anything. There has been some discussion about strong nerves and that being a breeding or genetic component. I have no idea how the parents of my boy were with storms, and after contacting my breeder several times after bringing Banjo home (at her request), with no response at all from her, I am not sure that she would be helpful in any event. What exactly is Rescue Remedy? Is it worth my while having some at home "just in case". I have seen the Thunder Shirts at our local pet place .... again, would it be worth while getting one to have on hand?

I'd love to think that my beloved Winston who was PTS in February this year was still watching over us from above, but I have never "felt" or seen him since ... which saddens me, because he truly was my heart dog. Having said that, I think that other dogs can sense a presence that perhaps we can't. Our Banjo was born one week after Winston was given his wings, and, more particularly when he was quite young (although he's only 8 months now), he would stand on his hind legs and look around and sniff the air near a photograph that we have of Winston on our TV stand, and also in our bedroom where we have his urn, up quite high, he would also stand on his hind legs and sniff and occasionally let out puppy sounds. He didn't behave like that anywhere else in the house.

I am fairly certain I have some of those branded treats in my treat jar at home .... ditching them when I get home. So ..... on the back of this .... what are some good treats for doggies? I usually buy yoghurt drops from my local petbarn type store which Banjo looooves, but in the warmer weather they are not stocking them because they melt.

Are you allowed to post or link or a photograph of the packet of treats? I have some chicken jerky treats for my boy (7.5 months old) and would hate to give him somethat that would potentially harm him and will toss them! Or do we avoid all treats/pet food manufactured in China or Thailand? Anywhere else I should be worried about? I am so sorry for your loss of your buddy

I can thoroughly recommend Meadowmist at Marsden Park - my last boy stayed there frequently over the 10 years that we had him and our 7 month old pup is just back from a weekend there - although my boys are at the other end of the size spectrum to yours - Maltese!! I often see large dogs such as GSD there - they have large runs for day time and standard kennels for night time. Not sure what time of year you are looking at though - if it's Christmas you might be leaving your run a bit late. Meadowmist also have a pickup and delivery service - not sure if you need that, but its a nice added extra if you do. I think I probably posted on the above linked thread :laugh:

Oh My - he is gorgeous!! Hope he goes well in the kennel. Banjo is now 7.5 months old and is also having his first kennel stay this weekend too! Hope Nixon goes okay - I am worried about my baby but know he will be fine - it's just me being a worry wart!! I also had a proud puppy mummy moment on Tuesday night when we were promoted to the next level at our obedience club - it's just the first step up and he has many more to go but proud nevertheless :)

How heartbreaking ... to lose one is hard enough but to lose two in such a short time is a tragedy. Hugs to you - take care of yourself xx

I have a maltese - 7 months old now and brought him home at 8 weeks. No shedding and lovely temperament - not sure what he would be like around kids as we have no kids in our family and he is not exposed to too many kids. We paid $1000 for our pup but know that others in the litter went for $1200. Professional grooming ever 4 weeks costs me $50.

Lets see if this works then ... the thread from a month or so ago. I posted a good comparison of two kennels, but I was looking for dog boarding. Meadowmist also have quite a good cattery and are happy for you to pop in to inspect. Not too far from Vineyard either. http://www.dolforums.com.au/topic/251568-dog-boarding-kennel-recommendations/page__p__6286632__hl__meadowmist__fromsearch__1#entry6286632

I recommend Meadowmist at Marsden Park - I used to board my dog there for about 10 years and my 7 month old puppy will be staying there next week and again for 4 weeks in March next year. There is a thread from about a month or so ago where someone asked a similar question and there were lots of responses. Don't know how to link but if you do a search you should find it.

What about Maltese??

Can't comment on Labs, but my puppy was 800g when we picked him at at 8 weeks. He's a Maltese :D

Firstly, sorry to hear about your situation - sounds to me like you really need to have something positive right now, and puppy could be the antidote you need! We were only home for one week with our pup before we had to go back to work ..... so pup was alone from about 7.30am until 4pm each day. Initially we had him in a pen, but he really hated it. Like you, we have an open plan house, but I was able to block off the large lounge/dining/kitchen/family/hallway areas so that the only place he didn't have access to was the bedrooms - and I made sure they were safe so far as electrical cords etc were concerned .... we actually had a LOT of blocking off of smaller spaces to do, because he is a Maltese, and came home to us at only 800g and not much taller than our ankles!! I also had a doggy dog, which was an advantage - it's a shame you can't have one. I had a large metal puppy pen that I put around the outdoor section of the doggy door so pup could go in and out as he pleased but could not be seen from the street (I was worried about theft etc). This worked really well for our pup and as he got older/bigger he had more and more freedom in the backyard. He now has full free range of the entire house/yard all day and night. I think you need to start off how you want things to continue - our boy was left alone for long periods from almost day 1, so he is accustomed to being alone and amusing himself ..... I come home to find the entire contents of his toy box strewn all over the floors, in all rooms, but that's ok, as long as he leaves my furniture alone .... I also think that puppies spend a lot of the day sleeping anyway. Being left alone and no fuss being made of him when we came home or when we left means that he has taken it all in his stride, and we've never had any anxiety issues with him. He's 7 months old now. Good luck with however you decide to go .... I am sure he will bring you much happiness :)

Oh dear ..... hope he hasn't done anything too serious! Darn doggies .... do they realise how much worry they put us through

Banjo has destroyed his share of shoes too .... luckily only cheapies and I left them within his reach, so my fault! It's amazing how much damage a little mouth and those teeth can do! We have hit a milestone with Banjo's sleeping arrangements too! He has always slept in a closed soft sided crate in our bedroom since he came home and generally sleeps right through the night ... but we had been thinking that as summer is approaching and it will be warmer at night, he won't get the full benefit of the ceiling fan or air conditioning at night if he is closed in there, and it has always been our intention to allow him to "free range" at night. We did it a couple of times about a month or so ago, but woke to a puddle in the morning but these last 4 nights he has been free ranging I have heard him take himself out through his doggy door to pee during the night. Exactly what we wanted, so happy days

I never ever use flat collars. Too easy for a startled puppy to suddenly back out of one. I always use a martingale collar that can never slip over their head. Teaching them to walk without pulling has nothing to do with the collar, it is about training. YES YES YES!!! :) Agreed 100% If you are having difficulty getting your puppy to walk alongside you without pulling, YOU need some training that you can then practise on your puppy. Good luck with it. It's not about the tool. Yep - I need the training too!! My pup is just 7 months old and we have just started obedience training at the local kennel club .... they recommended a martingdale collar which we are using, and he does ok at training each week, but when I am out walking he pulls all the time .... it's getting to the point that walking is not enjoyable for either of us! And he's a Maltese ... I can only imagine what it would be like with a larger breed

Nitro and Banjo are the same age :D Different ends of the size spectrum though :laugh: How did he go with the anaesthetic? How long did the surgery take?

Ah - I am feeling better about it now - thank you Minimax and Dory!