Innana

I feed Innova Evo to my Maltese.We're both very happy with it. It's a shame Innova is only available in Australia at a national pet-selling chain store.Here in the US it's the opposite-Innova is mostly sold at more ethical,mostly privately owned pet supply stores.The big chains don't stock it.Maybe write to the company and explain your dilemma with purchasing their product from a place like Paradise Pets? Or maybe a smaller store that doesn't sell live animals would be willing to order it for you or stock it if they know there is costumer interest in buying it?

Fantastic news You must be so relieved Thanks for giving us an update

I see what I think are Siberians in your avatar? Is this puppy a Sibe? Teaching bite inhibition in stages to get a soft mouth on the dog seems to be your best bet here.Isn't it a trait of Sibes to be not only mouthy as pups but also to enjoy 'holding' the owner's hand or arm gently in their mouth? Maybe when your pup does this in particular,it's apart from the other mouthing and more a gesture of affection since you said the pup does this after seeing you again after a separation.A way of saying hello,I love you. Maybe it would reassure you to know that my dog was extremely mouthy as a pup (drawing blood at times) and has never bitten and I think never would bite anyone-it took weeks of training using positive reinforcement methods and some shunning (ignoring her completely) when she was very persistent,but it paid off.I didn't know at the time about soft mouth training,wish I had,it would have benefitted both of us. Lots of excellent advice here,you'll get there,puppies do grow out of it with our guidance

I wish the OP would come on and post an update-it just didn't sound good for Molly,did it? Hoping here that she is on the mend but to be honest I'm concerned.

I'm very glad to hear Molly is improving,I was worried when I read your posts.Hope the antibiotics do the job for her.

I'd recommend getting a sample of the Natural Balance first if you can because the kibble is VERY hard,harder than most.My dog ate Natural Balance as a puppy and I was very happy with it stool-wise and shiny coat-wise but I had to moisten it,otherwise Misha would swallow the kibble whole because she'd tire of trying to chew it up.I've switched her since to something else as a base with raw added,Fromm's Salmon a la veg which probably isn't available in Australia but works for us as the kibble is smaller and crunches up much more easily than the Natural Balance did. How old is your pup? If you've found something that works,you might not need to make a change until your pup is older and has a more mature digestive system.

Isaviz,you did what I would hope someone who knows my dog would do if ever she was out on the road and I didn't know it.Most people,I'm afraid,would have kept on driving.Like Alibear said,there should be more people like you. You had absolutely no way of knowing that some idiot would come tearing past at that exact moment.You could NOT have predicted that.You were doing the right thing by stopping and in the event,doing it at some risk to yourself. I could not have continued driving past the dogs.I would have done exactly the same thing you did. I once saw a three legged large breed mongrel running alongside the road in a driving rain.I waited until I had passed the dog to decide to pull over and try to help him.I was about a 1/4 of a mile past him by then.I pulled the car over and by the time I went back down the road,he had crossed it and was hit by an elderly lady who kept going.I was able to phone a nearby emergency vet who came and got him,but he died two hours later.For a long time,I tortured myself with thoughts of:if only I had pulled over immediately,he would not have crossed the road at that exact moment and been hit.If only I had been quicker to react.It was my fault since I was the only one who actually pulled over,everyone else kept driving. Who would have known that this particular lady in that particular car wouldn't have slowed down for the dog.The only thing you can do is the right thing,you can't control what anybody else does. Big hugs for you.I know it hurts.If it had been my dog,I'd be glad you cared enough to try to help.

:D

Alibear,you've reminded me that I should put my location under my avatar...I see you're in Sydney--I'm a day behind you and many miles away in the usa...We'll be romping on a beach in New Jersey.But Misha sends her regards to Bear

Eegads,but it's great to be forewarned...Someone told me about a good dog beach to try and I know Misha's gonna love it.Now at least I won't be too freaked out if she squirts her way home-thanks for posting on this subject,Alibear.

Haha,well let's not tell Dick Van Patten about it then...You know how Americans are crazy about lawsuits and brand copyrights...

KitKat,are you referring to Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance or is this a different Natural Balance? I ask because for a time I had Misha on the former Natural Balance and the ingredients listed in the posts here don't seem to be the same. Here is a link for the Natural Balance products that are sold in the States.I find it surprising that it isn't the same in Australia but maybe it's an entirely different brand? http://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/products/dogfood.html Misha had a great coat and firm,small poos on the Natural Balance from the link above but the biscuits were very hard,meaning she had to work to chew them up.We've since gone on to something else-Natural Balance was a transition food from Eukanuba as I began to learn more about dog food. I still feed my cats Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance for cats as they digest it very well and are so satisfied with it,they don't want anything else.

I've used a regular harness on mine since puppyhood because when we were training to walk on lead,the slightest pressure at her throat really stressed my dog.She was too tense to relax and learn.My goal was to use voice commands and hand signals to direct her as these were more suited to her personality than any physical correction. I was warned by a trainer that she would pull in a harness but thankfully my intuition was right and she actually relaxed from the moment I walked her in the harness and training her became much easier and fun for both of us.I don't think this is the solution for most dogs but using a harness made a huge difference with mine.