Nekhbet

A friend of my dads trained his little chihuahua x pom to detect his low blood sugar because he blacked out a lot. All he did was test his blood sugar more often, when it was getting low all he did was call the dog over, let it sniff him, encourage the dog to keep sniffing and get excited, bark etc then give him a schmacko. Dog was 100% right every time. This was a man with no dog training experience, he had some experience with horses back in Russia as a boy and that's it. The trick is to get a clingy little companion breed that is bonded to your son a lot, that they enjoy each others company. A younger dog with few bad habits, well socialised so its not distracted. Work from there.

Everyone, this is Lucky Lucky, this is everyone :p He's Rogues first cousin, technically almost a clone of her, Mina's 3rd ish cousin and Scooby's related to everyone in one way or another :p I know, I'm used to Malinois called Tazer, Dozer, Rico, Uzi, you know... big tough names... Then there's Scooooooooooby dooby doo I dunno. Might make a working dog out of her yet, mum has grand plans to get into SAR.

:laugh: my snotty, coughing self was in Seddon this morning at a sparrows fart to train dogs then renovating the rest of the day Doobs super chuffed she's famous though :laugh: right flibberty gibbet now ... I was going to be interstate around this time actually for the service dog trials but renos in the way this year. That and it takes me ages to find someone game enough to look after now 4 Malinois ... oh did I mention I got another one ...

See what your surgeon recommends. It can come down to muscle mass, gradual exercise and low body fat helping long term as well with dogs of that size and leg problems. Keep the diet as natural and fresh as possible to help nourish the whole body not just the joints. I use the human glucosamine/chondroiten/MSM capsules and powders at 1500mg a day for a dog of that size. Sprinter Gold Energy E is fabulous as it contains Vitamin E which prevents byproducts of omega oils causing mischief :p they're a natural part of the metabolism of fats.

THere's a reason more and more departments are moving towards Mals for a lot of things...

I think people need to look beyond photos in some cases and see that some dogs are actually stacked in an extreme manner. It's why I don't take 'stacked' photos as gospel. I did it as an example once, we stacked a few dogs at dog school, not GSDs, and made them look similar. All were square breeds including one working Mal. It's why I tell people if you want a GSD look at photos of them playing or go meet the dogs.

After going through HD/ED with two dogs I would say PTS as well. My rottie lived until his 4th Birthday and you know what, I regret letting him get that far now. It's hard when they're alive to look in their faces and make that decision but I think I let him go too long. His last night his leg gave way and he had to limp on 3 also ruined legs, so OH slept on the couch and the rottie slept in the bed with me. If drugs are not working, then there's really nowhere else to go with it.

Yes you're thinking is right. But, what you want to do goes for ANY dog not just AmStaffs. Puppy school is a start and only a start. Get yourself into a really good dog school and make sure you're there every week to socialise the dog and yourself in how to deal with off lead and unfriendly dogs. It's not about just meeting other dogs it's about teaching your dog how to cope with situations out in the big wide world. So, say, when it feels scared it learns to go back to its owner and NOT take it upon itself to react on the other dog. Amstaffs are not extremely dog aggressive. They should not be, if they are there is something wrong with the breeding. Are they rough players? Yes. Are they intolerant of BS behaviors from other dogs? Yes. THere is a difference. An inherently dog aggressive dog cannot be changed with a bit of puppy preschool and training that then becomes long term management, and if you felt that was the case with a dog you would NEVER take it to a dog park anyway!

Yes and any working puppy that comes from me won't be going to any normal or even above average skill home because of the fact. And what it can turn into if not kept in check during the developmental phase. Just because a dog isn't a purposely bred 'working line' doesn't mean you can't put the same provisions on it. Mals, Sheps and rotts are not the only dogs out there happy to latch on the minute they open their eyes with the attitude of a possessed chainsaw :laugh: Lovemysideways has handled the pup like a champ, and I must admit you kind of can't be intimidated that far by that squeaky growl when combined with puppy smell. I meant in the video when the pup is biting the gloves, it's not hard to grab a little furball having a tantrum when it's that size :p Gets a bit harder when they're bigger. Or you just develop L33T ninja skills :laugh: I had an anatolian throw a temper tantrum on me once at 12 months old that was epic.

I am in no way, shape or form poo pooing your efforts. You went above and beyond what a lot of people would have done for a pup like this and I'm not saying at all this is not commendable. You've also got some awesome experience, and good on you for having the conviction to stand up and keep trying to make this pup rehomable. Personally I would give the owners a contract and make them either attend a school Steve chooses that knows how to keep channeling the drive or continue popping in every so often to make sure they're on the right track so they don't slacken off during the developmental phase. Since Steve's seen how this pups grown up to this stage he would be the best to help keep an eye (and I'm sure everyone wants to keep having cuddles :p) It's a perfectly valid question when you have a very young pup that you need to handle with leather gloves behaving like that. Writing 'turn' is ridiculous, you that's not what I was getting at at all. I am far from euthanasia happy, I've bent over backwards and pulled out my own hair to make sure a dog doesn't get put to sleep no matter the behavior and they can all be a happy family again. Behavior does have a genetic component, you should know that especially since you have a Malinois. My concern with a pup like that is regression during times of stress or if the new owners are not 100% aware of potential predispositions in the pup. You have successfully stopped a baby puppy from exhibiting this behavior, fine, it's not hard to pin and roll a little handfull of pup. But if the dog is slowly and subtly allowed to fall into bad habits will you find a dog that defaults back into this behavior. That goes for any dog not just this one.

Very possible could be, the Samoyed people in America acknowledge it does have a mode of inheritance in merles and they're not sure if it's 100% inherited in their breed. It also happens in cavies, something to do with the piebald/white patch gene.

I'm on the scent :laugh: I have a few people peaking interest so we'll see if we can get a home ASAP

Not to be a Debbie downer, but a puppy with such predisposed human aggression at that age what's to say the new family will keep up the schedule and routine to make sure the dog doesn't regress? Or that reaching maturity the dog does it again if they let the dog say play mouth or rough house with Tonks?

Can you send me the details and a photo I know a lot of people in LE and working dogs around Australia that can put feelers out.

I actually watched her once, she stood there staring at her bowl then suddenly face planted into it fully. I reckon they do have the ability to breathe through their butts

It's like a pack of ferals at my place, the pug just plants her face into a bowl if it's something sloppy and I have to wipe her :laugh: I made her porridge once she even managed to get it in her ears

I'm talking what I've found on average. When you feed chicken dog style mince there's really not that much muscle protein in there so when you're talking about a 'kick start' for a fat dog I dont use it off the cuff, I prefer an energy boost from the beef, plenty of protein and iron. I tried chicken they stayed fat, which is why I went with beef or fish. Worked a treat. If your dogs are in good condition then there's nothing really to worry about :p

That can also be a dietary issue. I have 3 dogs here that are now eating more then before I got them and they're leaner, especially the pug. She eats like a pig and is trim, fit and active. I find the first thing I do is chuck out all the dry foods and get them on higher protein raw, not chicken but something that kicks the metabolism into drive like fish, beef etc,and I used the VAN mix as well as hefty doses of probiotics like Vetafarm Probotic. Feed two small feeds a day, more in the morning. The problem with feeding less and less is the body can start going into a starvation mode and you find there is no weight loss despite the minimal food. My grandparents had the same issue, they fed the dog almost nothing and he was a jrt x at 13kg until I changed him to fresh.

New routine then, feed in crate then stay in there for half an hour. That way there's no risk of her running about like a lunatic and getting sick again.

*trawls through spotlight for long, golden fake fur* do they make hair extensions for dogs? I'll just call her my super rare, short coat, golden Argbargestani retriever

That looks awesome :D wonder if my rescue Mal would enjoy it, she's got normal retrival of toys down pat now without freaking out lol

If you use your voice 1) you can never leave it behind and 2) you always have your hands free!

Fun sports and pinpoint accuracy are two different things. For an operational dog it can literally mean the difference between life and death. I train detection and currently have an operational explosives detection. I know cancer detection is still in it's infancy and you're right, it's about training the dog so much that you end up in a way unwittingly training the animal to detect cancer. Actually it's very easy to stuff up even on the easy stuff. Because the dogs are basically on a constant reward schedule, many a dog has accidentally been taught to detect an odour + another, or certain quantities, etc. There are drug detection dogs that can sniff out a small, hidden sample but would saunter past 5kg of Marijuana without blinking an eye. Dogs are so literal :laugh: If you need a hand with anything or anything explained just email me or message me through facebook. We can bounce ideas around. The only way to do it is to try, so you can start with something easy first to get the dog learning how to concentrate. A dog with it's face plastered to the ground will not necessarily jump into scent detection/tracking easily. In fact I find the opposite because they're so used to just doing things at their own erratic pace and find concentration exhausting! Bare bones basic first, then go to cancer detection. Otherwise you're just pushing the wheelbarrow uphill overloaded and you wont get where you want. ... lab testing ... lol

I'm in Geelong

I think OH is getting a present lol