Jaque

What a sweetie!

Has anyone found a good trainer/behaviourist in Geelong or surrounding areas? All the ones I found are Cesar Milan wannabees. I want a reward based trainer as my dog is anxious. Id also be interested in any recommendations for a vetinary behaviourist in the area, if there are any.

I recently introduced a backpack also due to my dogs frequent need to take breaks on walks and my bad back. I also want to stop tying him up outside shops so with the backpack he can come in with me. My dog has no problem going in there. To start off with I put some treats in there and a soft toy and tried him in there. He was fine.

Has anyone found an anxiety supplement that works? I find Valium works quite well but dont want to have Percy on it all the time.

Ivory Coat is better quality and I believe it is cheaper, maybe $35 for 3 kilo.

Anyone know a good animal behaviourist/trainer in Geelong? Looking for one that deals with behavioural issues primarily.

When my dog was a puppy there was an incident where my dad basically broke my bedroom door down, coming in behaving threateningly. Ever since, Percy has the habit of barking when he hears others moving about the house outside our room (we live somewhere else now). Housemates will get up to use the bathroom in the night and Percy will go nuts barking when they walk by the room. He he some other issues that I attribute to being overly protective of me and anxiety but I think it makes more sense to focus on one thing at a time. He barks excessively generally as well. Lots of noises trigger him to bark. He is startled easily and gets stressed easily. I am going to get a behaviourist appointment and start obedience training. What else should I do?

It came with him and I've bought him so many other toys but this is forever his favourite. He likes to use it for fetch, tug of war and he likes to sleep with the bears' butt in his mouth!

Does anyone know a decent groomer in Melbourne or Geelong? I am in Geelong but prepared to travel to Melb. Percy is not a showdog but I would like to find a groomer who does work with show dogs so they do a good job of rounding out the coat.

I usually have quite short nails but between trimmings they sometimes get long-ish (for mans fingernails, anyway). I will have to cut them more diligently.

That is interesting that IGs often display this behaviour also. I will try asking him to sit tomorrow.

Thankyou I will try that. Now that I think about it whenever I do lie down on the floor to do my back exercises he walks runs up and jumps on me so this will probably help a lot.

Here are some photo's of my 5 month old pom, Percy :) These photo's are a couple of months old, he is bigger now. I will add recent photo's another time when the uploading function isn't being a jerk ;)

Update: Percy isn't scratching anymore! Well, not more than what I believe is normal. I'm not sure ultimately what changed. We had a lot of mould in the house and recently it was all removed. I've also been brushing him much more regularly and thoroughly. Food wise I have been adding a bit of plain Greek yoghurt and a half teaspoon of Omega Oil. I've also been adding some fresh wet food to his kibble, whereas he had kibble only before. So I have no idea precisely what cured him. I am just going to continue doing these things with the exception of the Omega Oil, which I may cease after a few months, as like any medicine it has it's risks.

Just very minimal trimming of ears, feet and bottom area.

That is a good point. I'm not sure about a chiropractor but I'll ask his vet.

I have been thinking this, too. I am such a giant compared to him and from his perspective I could be very intimidating. In light of that, I have been trying to come at him from a lower level, slower, talking soothingly... It's hard to be non-threatening while moving toward with intent to capture XD. I haven't tried lying down completely, maybe I will try that.

He hasn't been wearing a collar, actually. He wears a harness and leash when we go out. Nevertheless, it sounds like the issue you describe is the same as what he is experiencing, or at least may be remedied in a similar fashion. Thank you for that video link. I'm going to try playing The Collar Game (The Grabbing Game?) with him!

I take your point and will try to get him to walk on his own if possible. He is still in the early stages of recall training but is fairly reliable if there is a treat offered. Being a pomeranian and a puppy he is quite small and this does mean he needs to be picked up at times. He seems to need help getting onto my lap or up on the couch, and then down again of course. He likes to be on my lap when I'm on the computer or watching TV and jumps up against my leg to tell me to pick him up. When I lean down and reach out for him, he runs off! Then he resumes the jumping. I would prefer that he just got where he needed to go by himself, believe me.

My 4 month old pomeranian (with me since 3 months) loves to be held, is fine with being carried, but does not like to be picked up. He flinches and quickly scurries away when he sees that reaching towards him as though frightened. I can't think of any incident that would explain this aversion he has. Each time I have to take him outside or bring him back in I have corner him somehow. At times he seems to think my attempt at picking him up is the beginning of a game of "chasey". At other times he seems skittish and nervous. In any case whenever I finally have him in my arms he licks my face and is very affectionate. How can I train him to accept being touched/picked up? Would the general "handling exercises for puppies" help? He is very used to being handled in all other ways. P.S. I am unsure of his history between 2 and 3 months. I know someone committed to take him but changed their mind. I don't know whether he lived with those people for a time, and perhaps got picked up roughly, or whether he never went to them and was at breeders up until he came to me.

I live on half an acre that has many plants that I cannot identify by sight, however within my fenced area next to the house there is just grass and a couple of trees. I keep my eyes peeled when walking him on leash around the broader property, but have not seen anything that looks like Wandering Jew. I will make sure to only buy treats which are 100% natural without additives from now on as well, just in case. At the nurse appointment it was suggested that I'm just overreacting and Percy scratches a normal amount, since his skin looks fine and everything so I'm going to assume that's true. The nurse pointed out that I didn't have much or recent experience with puppies and I'm comparing him to adult dogs I've had, which is true. I also have a lot of "new parent" anxiety so I probably do overreact to anything that could indicate danger.

I have asked the breeder and she seemed perplexed although she did urge me to feed him how she was (mostly homecooked plus kibble). I am aware of the puppy ugly stage however, other than itching, Percy has not shown any sign of beginning that phase. Also the itching was present when I first got him at 3 months. I have been brushing a little bit every day but not using the right technique. I just got back from a vet nurse appt where she showed me the proper way to brush and trim his coat and trim his nails. She was extremely helpful as she had a lot of experience with poms. I'm confident I can brush him properly now. I've tried to steer clear of the crappy treats. I have some Iams Biscuits and Eukanaba Biscuits which seem pretty crappy (wheat and chicken by product), but I only got those like a week ago so they can't be causing the itching. Which type of treats are considered the safest/healthiest?

Shampoo: PAW Gentle Puppy Shampoo by Blackmores Old Conditioner: Fuzzyard Naturals Lavender & Aloe Puppy Conditioner New Conditioner as of 2 days ago: Aloveen Oatmeal Conditioner Grooming Mist: Fido's Puppy Grooming Mist (baby powder scent) Unbranded Treats: Chicken Jerky, Goat Tender, Kangaroo Disc, Rawhide Chew Branded: Vets All Natural 100% Lamb Liver, VIP Natures Goodness Grain-Free Lamb & Rosemary Other treats: Apple, cheese I do not believe it could be a flea bite as he has been scratching a bit since I brought him home over a month ago and has never had any fleas visible in his coat. It's not super focused although he does favour his head and ears. I wonder about contact allergy as well. To my mind the fact that bathing often helps seems to suggest that something is in contact with the skin irritating it. I don't imagine an internal allergy like food would be affected by bathing. I have also seen him rub his face/eyes a few times when we are outdoors. This made me wonder if an outdoor substance like grass or pollen could be involved?

Hi, My 17 week old pomeranian seems to be an allergy/itchy skin guy. It isn't severe but nevertheless he seems to scratch more often than normal. He has some thinning of fur but it is only visible when he is wet. His vet has prescribed frequent baths which do seem to help a lot. I have also been thinking about other things I can do for him such as his nutrition. I have some Omega Oil For Dogs that I am adding to his food and I am also thinking of changing to another brand of kibble and perhaps working in some homecooked food. I feel pretty overwhelmed by the options. I ordered some Canadae dry food and cans but I've realized it is not for puppies specifically. Would the Canadae Puppy be a good option for kibble? Is there another brand that is better? As far as home cooking goes, does anyone have any recipe books they can recommend? If anything else has helped your itchy dog I would love to hear about that, too! ETA: Percy's current food is Royal Canin Mini Junior Dry Food with various treats as well.