Nekhbet

I think you did the right thing. I had a referred lady call me about purchasing a Dobermann puppy. She had the option of a show breeder who raised them in a home, or security dogs raised with their dam (she thought the mother was a male, she was so huge and muscly) hmmmm average working family with two small girls doesnt need a security line Dobe. Yes even a show line dobe will protect the property.

If you watch when he brings his own dogs they walk around off lead, behind, sniff trees etc. He would be holding them close in order to give prompt corrections, be aware of body language and have better control over any situation that arises then being 6 feet away. He also becomes aware of potential situations possibly before the dog does and hence can compensate for it.

royal canin have a formula for weaning puppies. It can be rehydrated into a mush and then the pup is weaned onto the tiny kibble, I've heard very good things about it. Its the packet with the British Bulldog feeding a litter on the packet.

Oh why me ... I went out and bought a bag of Chicken and Rice Family Dog by Coprice today. The doggies love it and tucked in. Only after feeding them did I have a look at the bag ... wheat bran is the 3rd ingredient on the list so its NOT technically a wheat free food. How pissed off am I. I have just written a letter to them to clarify the situation. Wheat Allergic dog owners - READ THE LABELS ON COPRICE THEY ARE NOT WHEAT FREE

It would be worth having a couple of private sessions with Tina before going into her training classes I would call her and have a chat she's a lovely person, very knowledgable

contact : President: Tina Button Mobile: 0414 363 556 about training classes there and if your dog needs any behavior consults first she can provide as well

does he like toys? pats? how about exclusively feeding him in reward form, no food any other way. That usually gets them interested

stella speak to your breeder and see if your dog is growing at an acceptable rate. EP grows dogs slowly, they take a little longer to reach their full potential which lessens the strain on their growing bones (especially giant breeds) Also different lines grow at different rates. Paws4thought having a dog that is hip and elbow displaysic, skin allergies and dietary sensitivities I found a good giant breed dry as the base and supplement with chicken carcasses, lamb flaps, table scraps etc was the best diet for him. He also got chiro, acupuncture and human glucosamine supplements. I found Cartrophen injections to be useless for him and made no difference, in fact he got worst, BUT I have seen many dogs benefit from them. It depends what the actual problem is, if he has a piece of bone floating etc. high protein and fat diets do grow them faster, the problem is when your calcium:phosphorous ratio is out for the breed. This is why I tend to cringe when high meat/fat diets are given to giant breeds :rolleyes:

exactly. Its also what the owner can afford in time and money. Not feeding the best food on the market or buying up 50 different cuts of meat, juicing veges and juggling supplements does NOT make you a bad person. As long as the dog healthy, happy and doing well in the long term on the diet then what is the issue. Also the emotional blackmail just shows a lack of people skills. No one should be forced to feel they are doing the wrong think or they are 'poisoning' their dogs because they dont agree with a posters diet ideas. Frankly some fashionable diets out there are more harmful then a good dry dog food - but its your dog, you feed it what you want.

O_o wow ... I used to go through 15 kilos is 2 - 2 1/2 weeks of RC!! how do you manage that!

He's still a growing labrador and requires the nutrition - most diet foods are low in fat and protein, high in fillers Neither Nutrience, Eagle Pack or Royal Canin are irradiated. Orijen was because its manufacturing process did not comply with our standards and hence required irradiation. All I said was that during the weight loss phase its easier to do it with dry food, its a complete food and honestly people a dry food only diet will not kill the dog . A 9 month old NEEDS growing nutrition but he needs to shed that weight now. Like i said I think it safer to get the weight off via food THEN fiddle with the BARF diet.

you stop when the pup definately has the idea. You wean yourself off slowly though so you both understand what is going on. DOnt just stop dead, the pup may regress to accidents. it takes as long as it takes, and until you feel the pup REALLY understands toilet training.

errr .... most puppies will not come trained and especially in a new home without guidence they will just do what they think is the right thing to do cheeky sods dont think of training as what you see in obedience. Training is manners. Just like kids YOU have to show them what is right and wrong. If you say NO say it in a very low growly voice, loudly as well. Chis are tiny things you dont need to bop them on the nose, a little gentle pinch of the scruff can help her understand. Maybe you should be speaking to her breeder if you are having so many issues and about the show training. I'm sure they would be glad to help as it is their kennel name going out in the ring.

I just had a look at the ingredients for Coprice, it certainly has improved hasnt it! Going out on Friday to grab a bag for the dogs and see how we go. I think that with the carcasses/chicken livers should be a good diet for them considering no wheat fingers crossed Skoota and Diesel don't get allergic

Tyra not all dry dog food is poison, although I do steer away from 90% on the market. The reason vets say feed kibble only to very overweight dogs is - you can easily monitor amounts - you can guarentee the % fat, protein etc going into the dog - owner compliance of not sneaking in that little extra bit is higher then with raw food - food is complete and hence again, owner not sneaking in extras because they feel the dog is 'missing out' mince is a fatty product, its the left overs and cuts that cannot be eaten as they are. snr find a good dry food like Royal Canin, Eagle Pack, Nutrience and stick to a highly restricted diet. Your dog will suffer greatly being that weight already. When the weight is OFF - and I mean the dog has a waist and you can easily feel, almost see ribs, then you can reintroduce the more BARF feeding. Yoghurt and Sardines during weight loss keep to a minimum. If you want to treat the dog have a little cup sitting on the kitchen bench with his half daily allowance in it. Every time the dog begs for food give him a kibble, he will soon understand that thats all he's getting. If there is anything left at dinner he gets the rest, if everyone in the house has given it to him then he gets no dinner or give him a raw carrot to chew. I worked as a vet nurse and although we were OK with BARF diets etc (sometimes I even encouraged people to go to it) obese dogs already on dry did better losing weight on dry only then changing the diet. This way the owners also learned good habits about feeding.

if you get desperate Dr Potter at Potter Chiropractic next to Werribee Plaza is excellent and not very expensive. He works on saturdays, just ring for an appointment and mention its a dog consult (he's a human one too)

Reading back through your posts you need some consistancy with this puppy. Sounds like the pup doesnt understand at all that outside is where you pee. What breed is Leaght? You said brown pup but what did you purchase? 1 - get some baby gates or teach everyone to keep the door shut. When your kids were little did you let them run around with no nappies? NO WAY!! :p Same with this pup. Block access to where this pup can get to wee on the bed. One beds is quite strange but competitive behavior in a dog. 2 - As soon as it changes activity (wakes up, play, eat, sleep etc) take it outside and say 'go wee!!!' in a happy voice. Encourage the puppy to follow you outside and wait there until you see it wee/poo. Also have a feel of the tummy you can tell when they have a full bladder 3 - regulate feeding and keep treats to a minimum. I read you had a lot of trouble with firm stools you should not be feeding treats, wheat based dog foods, pigs ears etc as they all cause loose tummies. Also if you know when the pup had a meal you will know roughly when she needs to go toilet (again just like toddlers :p ) 4 - be patient. We expect our dogs to learn everything in a few weeks when our own human children who speak english take years to reliably train. Be CONSISTANT and PERSISTANT. If she makes a mistake, well bad owner for allowing it to happen. Have a think about why it happened - didnt make sure she peed outside, ignored her signals, left the doors open etc. 5 - if you can't get to take her outside regularly get a large shallow storage container, some paper based cat litter and a tissue with some of her urine in it and train her to use it like a cat would a litter box. Same principle, take her to the box and encourage her to wee/poo there, then give her a treat and fuss over her when she does.

no no no and ... no what a stupid thing to teach. most dogs dont need it, and a really out of control dog would gladly scratch or bite when subjected to it. some people who call themselves trainers

I think the free feeding has made you come unstuck cut him down to two meals a day, if he doesnt eat breakfast then reoffer it for dinner. Small meals too. He wont need to poop as often. Dont listen to other people when it comes to how fast toilet training should happen. It makes you feed REALLY bad but hey everyone is learning here. I know plenty of people still plugging on or retraining older dogs so you're not the only one on the planet with this problem. Get the kids involved too with him, if they're old enough to talk get them to play with him, take him outside etc and help keep an eye on him. They last thing you need is a heap of kids and a dog tied to your waist! Also do you think he understands he is allowed to freely walk in and out? Do you ever put him outside when you are upset with him? Maybe he sees going outside as a bit of a punishment at times and is reluctant to just take himself out. That and another common problem is the dog has given signals before about needing to poo, his signals have been ignored and he just can't hang on any more but he knows he gets in trouble for doing it out where you can see it. I know its frustrating BUT at the same time it wont be forever. I would start with leaving the door open and letting him only have the room near the back door unless he's on a leash. that way he will start to get the idea in/out and I go poo outside.

puppies with allergies? How is that from commercial food? I mean that as people we have allowed all these different breeds to exist because we have supported them and their perpetuation. Wolves survive through natural selection - individuals with allergies or intolerances died. I agree that the additives in commercial foods express themselves in allergies - christ we didnt call it PAL skin/ears for nothing at the vet clinic *shudder* but I'm talking away from cramming every artificial chemical down the dogs throat. As for allergies being the product of commercial foods, how many breeds are known for intolerances, both environmental and dietary? Would you keep a Shar Pei on a red meat based diet? I believe there are some members here whos dogs are on a highly restricted diet due to intolerances (I'm not having a dig at anyone here) and their dogs would suffer on a prey model diet. I know a few little toy breed dogs that given any raw meat either vomit or shoot pure liquid out the back end. Mums little pom is not on commercial food but raw meats make him ill, so his meats are cooked - again we've shrunk the dog down to 5-10% of a wolfs size that HAS to have some impact along the way. All I meant was linebreeding, heck even breed creation, requires an increase in the expression of recessive genes, some of which expressed in the wolf would have severely limited their chance of survival. Deficiencies, modified dietary needs (a great dane puppy and a pomeranian pup would have two very different dietary requirements) lacking or modified biochemical pathways which again change what the dog requires. I'm not knocking anyone here, hell my own dogs are on a raw diet. But they love their vegetables, I have no constipation in any of them when veges are included and they even go pick their own fruit from my garden. I just dont agree that every breed of dog and the wild wolf are exactly the same

$120 a year isnt bad if it actually covers what they say they cover. But you have to have $500 sitting in the bank! Its OK for one dog but what happens when you have more? I cant see if they offer discounts for over 1 pet

And the average age of a wolf is 8 years, thats what gets me. As I said I'm just a little worried about the difference between the theory of the whole thing, which I see where people are coming from, and the whole practice using commercially prepared meat. That and we as humans have changed the dog quite a lot since the wolf as some dog breeds are showing allergies to meats - which you would think is fundamental to the health of the animal? Yes they might have similar teeth and digestive systems but the physiology has somewhat changed with linebreeding.

if you follow prey model diets you are meant to be feeding raw whole animals here all I see is diets based on offcuts of processed meats which is NOT a complete diet for your dogs I dont see how a dog can be healthy on a few hearts and carcasses alone. Also some amino acids necessary for life are not found in animal sources, as are some vitamins and minerals. If you know the content of the meat you feed, fine, but you are not guarenteeing quantities or existance of soem valuable elements in a diet. Dogs are scavengers, wouldnt it be better to feed them as such? Yes high quantities of animal fats will give a shiny coat but what about the inside?

if the vet didnt know why give antibiotics? There is no infection on that skin?! Yes it does look like a rub mark from a collar or maybe if the dog sleeps in a basket etc is he leaning his neck over the side and rubbing the fur away?

He is intelligent but he is also a confused little pup. If he wants to spend time inside with you he should, he's a toy breed made to live around people! Sounds like you're getting frustrated and he is not understanding exactly what is required from him. Dogs do not understand english you have teach them what you expect when you say a word. If you say 'Bed' then put him in his bed with a treat for the afternoon and praise him for staying there. This dog needs more encouragement when he is doing the right thing then being told off for doing the wrong. Sounds like you have not been 100% consistent with the toilet training and he doesnt see inside the house as you would - 'inside' as a home/den and outside as toilet. Also do you free feed or feed at set meal times? You can usually predict when a dog needs to go if you know when its eaten so maybe decrease the meal sizes or how many he gets per day. Also clean his regular spots. There are products like Urine Off, Biozet laundry detergent which eats away the actual smell. The scent lingers in tile grout, carpet/underlay, between floorboards etc so he is attracted to them again. Remove the smell and block off his access, retrain him and PRAISE when he does something right! Shut the doors or buy some child gates so he cannot get to places you cannot see him. He sneaks about because he has been chastised but does not fully understand why - he may think its simply for needing to go to the toilet so he sneaks away. When you correct a dog you immediately have to provide the alternative expected behavior for it. So if you see him sniffing around 'come on, outside!!!' take him out and encourage him to go sniff for toilet outside. He probably also thinks that once outside he wont be allowed back in where he wants to be so is hesitant to go out. Dont rouse a dog for wanting to be inside with you. Dont put human perceptions on the dog. You would be suprised if you put this in your bedroom with blanket and a chew toy he would happily be in there to sleep at night. Start with small increments, even give him some of his food in there. My dogs bolt at an open crate they love them!