Nekhbet

without seeing the dog I am making generalisations and speculation. Though maybe remove the notion you are boss for the moment - not saying you are a bad owner some dogs are master manipulators! I'm sure someone here can recommend a trainer/behaviorist in your area that has dealt with these problems and solved them before. We could be here all month bouncing ideas pity you're not here in Vic plenty of trainers who would help you in a heartbeat ... and I wouldnt pass up the chance for Rotty cuddles you can try websites like www.leerburg.com he has many free articles and e-books available online. You dont have to directly apply what he does but he does have some free reading that is quite educational

underweight or too thin? If he's just underweight as in low fat but healthy muscle tone then I wouldnt put weight on him, whack on a coat when it gets cold. If he is lacking muscle tone then swimming and a raw diet using lean parts/novel protein sources or something like RC light, Eagle pack light

isnt it amazing how some vets conveniently seem to forget how big an impact diet has on the dogs skin ... the amount of clients we saw that were still feeding PAL, Chum, Good-Os etc and in tears because their dog was suffering. I saw a horribly thin GSD that was on PAL dry food and her hair was, for lack of a better term, shite. Absolute shite. It was pitiful to look at her. I convinced them to buy RC Maxi and within a month they brought her back beaming that she was so beautiful. Her coat shone, it wasnt falling out and she looked like a different dog. No I dont work for the company hehehehehe I wish I did sometimes I might actually be getting some cheap food!

if you want to see a DDB projectile vomit give him that. I have seen the poo that comes out of dogs on half VAN and half Hills, most of the VAN comes out the back end whole. Its mostly wasted product. You might as well get some boiled rice, veges and vitamin powder it will be cheaper.

this says to me the dog is either 1) having problems coping with the outside world and it does not look to you for leadership in how to cope 2) happily controlling the home environment (hence the perceived notion of 'angel' at home) and outside the dog steps up the game. If the dog considers you boss you are boss. Either way you are not the boss but a source of food and pats, probably on the dogs demand. I have a rotty they are bloody good at getting what they want when they want in a sneaky fashion. Getting someone to come in and watch how you interact with the dog is the first port of call, you may find a lot is on the dogs terms. Outside you are the LEAST interesting thing now hence the convenient deafness.

have you tried the innotek stop bark collar? I have the BC-200 model and it still stop even stubborn barkers. It works by starting on a low level (which you can modify) then increasing the level as the dog continues to bark. So if the dog persists the correction increases. The dog soon learns to weigh out if the barking is really worth it or not.

jeezus 2 cups a day of Orijen for a 10kg dog no wonder he's having stomach troubles! My OHs adult staffy ate not even 2 cups of RC a day! there is nothing wrong with RC it is based on corn and real meat. I'd give it a try while he is at least growing so you know exactly how much is going in and you can monitor it accordingly.

Ingredients: Maize, dehydrated poultry meat, maize flour, animal fats, dehydrated pork protein, maize gluten, hydrolysed animal proteins, beet pulp, minerals, fish oil, soya oil, yeast, egg powder, hydrolysed crustaceans (source of glucosamine), taurine, hydrolysed cartilage (source of chondroitin). this is in the RC Large Breed adult I turned a lot of people onto RC with stinky dogs. It has helped majority immesely, and only a few didnt improve. This is in the GSD Ingredients: rice, dehydrated poultry meat, animal fats, vegetable protein isolate*, maize flour, vegetable fibres, minerals, hydrolysed animal proteins, vegetable oils (soya and copra), beet pulp, fish oil, sodium polyphosphate, yeast extract (source of manno-oligo-saccharides), L-lysine, taurine, DL-methionine, L-tyrosine, hydrolysed crustaceans (source of glucosamine), green tea and grape extracts (source of polyphenols), hydrolysed cartilage (source of chondroitin), marigold extract (source of lutein). *L.I.P.: protein selected for its very high assimilation.

thats an aweful lot of protein and he's probably not digesting it hence the up and down poo, plus eating it again. Well digested poo is inedible, small, firm and little smell. Try the RC medium breed puppy for him he will probably do better. I am still iffy on Orijen I think its not wise for solidly built and large-giant breed pups. Just IMO though

why would they send a puppy shedding parvo HOME? so he can infect the house? WTF if the dog is on a drip and passing blood it needs veterinary attention NOW and stay there. How could any vet send a parvo puppy home is beyond me - are vets getting dumber? (not directed at OP but rant towards the clinic) It should not have been vaccinated, they do not get antibodies unless they are directly injecting the puppy with plasma from a donor dog NOT giving a vaccine. Then this helps mop up the virus and helps the dogs body while it creates its own antibodies to finish the job (if it manages) and no once a dog has had parvo does not guarentee immunity for life.

4x2s wholegrain cereal and cereal by products, meat and meat by products (including beef, mutton or poultry), dicalcium phosphate, salt, preservatives, antioxidants Crude Protein 12% Crude Fibre 5% Crude fat 3% salt (sodium) 1.5% its the wholegrain cereals and byproducts, he really didnt eat them before and since he started *poof* hair falling out. I'm going to give him a couple of weeks and if its not settling after being taken off the 4x2 then vet time. Netti he has been like this before, when he was younger his previous owners bad diet gave him a great case of folliculitis and he had the same patching in the same places combined with allover shed. hmm i'm wondering why they put bentonite in Great Barkos ... does that count as mineral ash? Thats what they make cat litter out of on the upside they are loosing the podgy pounds before the warm weather kicks in this summer looks to be a right scorcher

horse meat can be cheap as there limited things you can do with it. In Yugoslavia my aunt rescued everything (she had up to large and giant breed dogs at her house) great danes, newfoundlands, GSDs etc and she bought them a horse a week to eat. Cheap ready source of protein since beef, lamb and pork was for people not dogs.

Great Barko pretty much reads like the 4x2 biscuits except with more protein which worries me. I'm suprised Diesel isnt falling apart his skin is very bad since he had Parvo months ago, he's usually the one with bald patches. I've just never seen a dogs hair fall out that quickly! My gosh I hydrobathed him (he had decided to roll in the chook poo I put on the roses) and it came off in clump He loves cooked rice with his veges so I'll use that to bulk out the meal instead of the 4x2s . I have a few Kgs of RC left so he'll have that too for his skin. Skoota is actually not a huge eater he lived on about 3 big coffee mugs of RC a day and gained weight on it, he's fairly good on the food that way. Either that or 3-4 chicken carcasses and a bowl of veges and rice do him. Would just be nice to be able to give everyone the same bloody thing for once!

I used to have bones from the knacker brought to me and they always reeked. I dont like the concept of horse only because they are not primarily grown as a food animal hence you dont know what medications and chemicals are in the meat when you buy it. At least anything that passes through a human abbatoire has standards but knackery meat could be full of anything. That and the stink of the meat too it wasnt pleasant

I'm glad they took responsibility ... but I cannot believe that they actually used a hot water bottle in the first place massive no no, its not a subtle mistake at all I hope he gets better very soon and his coat grows back OK, can he still be shown if he has a physical injury?

they only get a 2-3 per day, it looks like an aweful lot of cereal to pump into a dog anyway. Guts and poo are doing ok i've been keeping an eye on that (no I dont follow my dogs staring at their bums ) They do contain wheat I think which may be the problem as he never gets any wheat in his diet before this

he sniffs all his food suspiciously since I put oil in it I feel like saying FFS its not that bad just eat it. I tried it its human grade organic, really not that horrible. Diesel tries to suck down the whole bottle if I let him. I'm a little loathe to go back to canned fish as what came out the back end after a couple of fishy meals dear dog that was not from this planet. Maybe I'll make some raw mince balls and hide some capsules in those

OK so I've been unemployed for a while. My savings are gone on rent and I want to make my dog food last longer, by no means poverty stricken but I need to tighten my belt for a while. My doggies were also a bit porky so they could do with some weight loss but theyre always starving I got a bag of Farrells 4x2 greyhound biscuits since they are hard and fairly dry, low protein/fat the dogs could chomp away on a few a day without gaining more weight. They are also on chicken carcasses and veges. Well ... Skootas hair is falling out Bugger me. He hasnt eaten Royal Canin for about 1 1/2 weeks and he's going bald. The patch between his shoulder blades, base of the neck and 1/3 way down his back has become VERY patchy, skin looks dodgy and he's started moulting like no tomorrow in general. He's not scratching he's just 'thinning' all over for lack of a better word. It must be the fillers and lack of oils in the Farrells. The other two are fine on them but Skoota is banned from them and back onto RC and carcasses, veges and Diesel is still on his usual hand full of supplements. I have flax seed oil ... ahahaaa if anyone cares to come and watch a grown mastiff crack the shits at a syringe full of flax seed oil, roll over and throw a tantrum bring the fold out chairs and an esky. Tis a sight to behold. I'll have to get it into him somehow, and some fish oil tablets but I lose a hand trying to push anything into his throat One tactic is when he once barked to tell me off for giving him supplements I squirted it in HA teach him to bark at me too eta ... for those who dont know Skooty Patooty

a trainer that will not even consider one part of dog training should not be used with aggression. Aggression is one of those things where you have to think outside the square - there can be so many different factors and angles to consider which cannot be fixed with ONE type of training. I'm not saying your trainer is not working, aggression is one of those things that takes time, but ask him why he does not consider corrections at all to decrease the reaction or keep the dog in line. Aggressive/fear biting dogs dont need pandering they need leadership. Corrections by themselves are not the be all and end all BUT as cosmolo said, used in conjunction with other methods it can assist in showing the dog their response is not appropriate in this instance. As for the training whacking your stressed dog on the nose I would have slapped them with the leash some people should accept their limitations I have helped an aggressive, adolescent bully of a dog with minimal to no corrections only because the family was not capable. And he was big too. It took a long time and he could have done with a couple of corrections to get him really into line but you can only work with what you go. He got to a trustworthy level within the home at least but at dog club he was still difficult - again the owner was not capable of handling properly and a pinch collar would have saved a lot of trouble - darn vic laws.

dogs are pack animals and packs dont mix for the sake of mixing - actually its more normal for a dog to ignore or even reject another dog instead of welcoming it with open arms. Dogs are not humans. We're the social creatures more then our dogs are

do what I do ... get an old treadmill and put her on there for an hour a day boy will she be tired! If going out causes more stress then happiness then you're saving her, not depriving her. Just like there are some people out there who dont enjoy socialising, movies, large crowds etc and leave their home when they feel comfortable. By most of our standards we would think 'oh gee theyre missing out how can they not do all XYZ' they dont get enjoyment out of it and they have everything they need at home. She has other dogs at home to play with, she has you, and she can go for walks in places where she doesnt have to be mobbed by dogs that cause her obvious stress. There are plenty of ways to keep a dog happy without having to go out every day

is she completely curable though or will it just come down to management? Sometimes owner expectations and what the dogs limit will be are two different things. ETA completely agree with poodlefan. And I would not let her off leash with ANY dog no matter how 'good' it is

dont take one step foreward and 20 steps back. If you dog is not on lead you have no control. All you are avoiding is your dog taking a chunk out of the other NOT preventing the aggression part. Letting a dog off lead that has problems is pretty much giving it free rein to stuff up. Not all dogs can handle playing with dogs out of their own pack. If you can walk yours past another dog without her reacting then why not leave it at that. There will always be that handful of dogs that will not be social butterflies and its easier for dog and owner if they know what will happen - you're not goign to have to cope with being badgered by other dogs without me around so chill. The fact the other dog has semi-resolved issues is completely iffy. If both muzzled start fighting then you are beyond being back to square one.

ahhh the frozen Frosty Paws treats have cocoa powder in them ... I thought that was a no no for doggies.

when it comes to obedience few clubs will train the way you advocate Steve. On the other hand a Sch club will begin the obedience process through drive. I dont think adding some corrections when drive training is a bad thing - dogs need some control in their lives and simply opening the proverbial can of drive worms can be a nightmare for some dogs and owners alike. Some dogs need drive limited for their own sake - before the point where the little mushroom cloud appears between their ears and they can never settle down. Seen it - dont like it. Also limiting a dogs prey items IMO can be a responsible part - wouldnt want a dog to see screaming, playing children as a way of gaining drive satisfaction would we. My Mal has been taught there are some things you NEVER use as prey items and it hasnt meant killing her drive at all. In fact it has helped her immensely with her drive building and focus and coping in busy places. She KNOWS what a drive toy is when I say (and we dont just have 2 or 3 I can still pick up random items like towels, tugs etc and let her know its preytime) and go bananas for it. If a kid runs around a pet store with a squeaky furry toy or waves it at her she'll look at it, look at me, look back and perk up but I allow no prey satisfaction from that scenario. I mentioned the difference between dog sport and PP training because you said that I was leaning towards all dogs being prot trained to fulfill drive. PP no. Schutzhund or more specialised dog sports where a degree of thinking and challenge that utilises the innate features of the breed - yes. A shutz dog that may never completely go into defence and a PP dog that has gone beyond the realms of sport are two different things so no, we do not need PP dogs everywhere for the sake of drive satisfaction. The reward may be the same 'currency' but there is still a difference in what the reward satisfies for the dog and ultimately what you are bringing out of your dog. The effects of training in defence and prey are different and one can over ride the other (sometimes frustratingly) producing a different end result for both the dog and trainer. Dogs will also work through fear, anxiety, aggression, etc so you are saying these are all ultimately products of a drive? A decoy is never 100% prey and I think there are few dogs who simply see the decoy as a massive tug toy - hence mouthing, front bite, rejecting the sleeve and going back for the decoy, reluctance to engage the decoy from some angles/body parts. p.s. I do have a wee bit of knowledge and working experience with drive training and all my dogs do it in some form or another. Thank you for the redirection.