Alibear

I have been told I need to clean my boys ears. He HATES it! He squirms, yelps, and wiggles and carries on a real treat. He even does this when the vet has hold of him ans she struggles some times. Treats etc don't help.

Any suggestions on how I can get hold of him to get this done. I don't want him to get ear infections

Thank you everyone for your advice. Bear went absolutley crazy over the bone last night! He loves brisket and if we go near him he usually runs away because he thinks we are going to take it from him, but last night was the first time he actually growlled at us for going near him when eating - is this normal?

Thanks everyone! I think he is going to have a ball tonight chewing at this mosterous thing!

Now I am worried, I don't want my boy to get worms.

He is up to date with all his worm tablets etc, sould this be alright? He has had brisket bone on the odd occasion and has no problems.

I just bought a large "Marrow Bone" I think she called it from the butcher.

They are good for puppies right?

Fingers Crossed!

goldielover - I think I would like to keep him on the left as he corsses across the front of me, behind me, around me - I just can't keep up. I must be quite a site to any onlookers!

Looks like I have a long and hard road in front of me. I think last night was the last straw and now I have to get up the courage and patience of course to try again!

Thank you to everyone who has given there opinion and assistance.

Wish me luck - I will most definatly need it.

Oh ok - I thougth that at all time even if it was a loose lead your dog had to be on the left hand side of you.

With loose leash walking - does he still need to remain on my left hand side, or can he move from side to side?

OH man! So much information for my little brain to comprehend! I don't know if I can do this.

I definatly am not expecting him to "heel". I just want him to walk with me, not walk me!

Well, I think i might try with the "tree" metod and see if that works, because I certainly can not continue with the pulling he is currently doing. He is almost pulling my shoulder out of its socket!

He is only 4 months and 14kg - I need to get him out of this before he is fully grown.

My only question now is at puppy school we have learn sit, drop, stand and they are teaching "heel". I have to walk with a peice of food in my hand to keep him close to my leg. Is this right? I can't expect him at puppy school to do that and then at home let him just wander around on the lead - can I?

I have seen another thread and have read all the lead walking suggestions but my question is - do you think 4 months is to young to be teaching my pup to walk along side of me?

I am at the end of my patience and I pysically am not strong enough to hold him anymore and is just pulling stronger and harder then ever before and he doesn't respond to treats. I would prefer to not use a check chain while I can avoid it.

I don't know what to do - I just turned around and came straight home last night, I know I need to be patient, but really, is he to young?

Greentea,

Good luck with your search for a groomer and training options. Unfortunatley I don't have any options for you as I am only new in the "Dog" world myself.

Everyone on this forum is and has been to me very helpful and knowledgable to me, I'm sure someone here will be able to help you out!

I have had my pup on Hills Science since I have had him and find it is great! I am constantly getting comments on how great his coat looks and he is gaining weight at a steady pace - just as he should.

I haven't tried any of the others alshtough a friend of mine does use Euk and is also very happy.

Spice - what a gorgeous pup! He is just adorable. I now what you mean about growing fast. I only noticed on the weekend just how much Bear has grown and I haven't even had him all that long. He is 13 weeks old now and is around 10kg.

I have had him now for over a month and he has just grown so much. He doesn't look so much like a pup anymore, more like a little boy going through puperty! But still gorgeous all the same!

Yeah, I know! Those ears make everyone go to mush! He is adorable.

I will be sure to watch his growth and I think I may just cut back a bit on the food - just to be sure!

Oh my....he is just adorable. So fluffy! Most of my first weeks photo's of Bear are all in print, not digital as I only just got married in March and the camera was still full of honeymoon shots that I hadn't had time to burn onto cd's yet, so I wa relegated to the old film camera.

I will have to scan some in so I can share them with you. I do however have a shot of his second bath. I must say, he is definatly not a fan of the bath!

Thanks for your help. I have had a go - let's see if this works.

I can't believe he was that big - he must of been soooo cute a big ball of fluff.!

He is just gorgeous. And he certainly doesn't look over weight, he actually looks quite slim in the pictures.

IS he really 40kg? What do they expect he will get to when he is fully grown, or is this it now?

I thought my boy at nearly 10kg was big at 13weeks, and then I got to puppy school and he is one of the smallest around his age!

How do I get pictures small enough to upload. I would love to show you some pics but I can't seem to work out how to upload pictures?

KitKat - a 40kg pup? How old is he? I didn't realise you had a GSD also.

Where was the expo? How do I find out about shows and expo's etc?

KitKat - I was very worried for a second then. I thought "What am I doing to him" Thanks for putting my mind to rest.

Holly - I will look out for this treats.

Thank you both for your help!

Thanks Holly. My breeder did tell me the 1/4 - 3/4 rule. I am going to give him a bit of a "Rib Check" when I get home and see. The vet only told me a couple of weeks ago he was a good size, so hopefully I haven't "Chunked" him up to much in the past few weeks. I just feel bad if he keeps looking for food, but I guess that is something I need to get over - not him.

I am feeding him the large breed puppy SD - is this wrong?

He is definatly into eating rocks. I was worried about that at first, but have been told not to worry to much, alot of dogs do it.

Yes it is the puppy growth Science Life Diet. I think I better cut back on giving extra food to him then and just stick to the bag recommendations. The bag also says that as he gets older the proportions get less, is that correct?

He still poo's a lot, it is farily formed but not all the time.

I'm sorry, just one more thing. I know you should still be able to feel his ribs, but how do I know how much rib I should be able to feel? Is there an easy way to figure this out.

Sorry to be a pain.

Just a quick one.

I have a 13 week old German Sheperd dog. I have him on the Science Life diet, as it is what my breeder had him on and my vet also recommends this. They say you don't need supplements with this as in meat etc as the kibble has everything in it. I do give him raw chickn wings on occasion and some other meats as treats.

My question is, do you think this is a good diet and also how much should he be eating? I have been giving him what is on the bag - 3.5 cups per day, but he is gobbling this down very quickly and sniffing around for more. I have started to give him more but I am not sure if this is the right thing to do or not!

Please help me, I don't want to under or over feed him!