TigerJack

I have friends who own my girls half brother. They also have an older bitch at home. When this pup came home at 8 weeks old, he cocked his leg and peed in the other dogs dinner bowl on the first night there! Interestingly, he now squats to pee 99% of the time (18 months old), commonly pees on his own front feet and seems to hold on forever and then pee about a bucketful at a time.

My vet advised that I give my elderly Great Dane 1500mg of Glucosamine per day. He is a 60kg dog. I also started giving my other dogs the same stuff as they do flyball etc and I wanted to prevent damage being done. 35kg boy gets 100mg and 18 and 20kg girls get 500mg daily. I use a brand that has the glucosamine in a capsule with fish oil. the dogs like them and act as if they are getting a treat. Each capsule is 500mg. I think it is natures own. I'll check when I get home. Jo

polished floorboards are a godsend. No carpet anywhere in my place. The shiny boards do show the hairballs in the corners though and they do show the muddy footprints, but I use a "Sweepa" rubber broom and then mop it through a couple of times a week and the whole house smells fresh. A good spray with Glen 20 fresh linen scented spray and all is good. Just to put it in perspective, I have 10 dogs that all sleep inside. 6 tinies who also live inside all day and 4 big ones (including an elderly Dane) who are outside during the day and inside when I'm home. Thats alot of dog traffic on the floors and furniture. My biggest problem is that one of my little guys is disabled and has alot of toilet accidents. To the other little dogs, hes just a normal dog and they don't see why they can't pee on the floor too. Even with all of that, its not hard to keep the doggy smell at bay. I have a towel on the floor in the bathroom and laundry that the little ones are trained to toilet on (escept for the little disable one.) Chuck that in the wash every day or it will pong. I like the sound of the polished concrete though, sometimes there are gaps in floorboards that are hard to clean. Isn't it cold underfoot though? Jo

My toilet command word was also accidental. It is 'quickly' because when Jack was a pup, it was the middle of winter. I would be outside in the cold,shivering and waiting for him to go, muttering quickly quickly to myself. Inadvertantly turned it into his command word. I ended up using it for my other dogs later, when they came along because I didn't want them all to have different words. It's OK for a toilet word as it is far less embarrassing when you are out in public to say 'go and do a quickly' ather than 'do a wee wee' or something like that.

Well done Kissy! Make sure you send off for your certificate Noella. Jo

Good Work Clover from Jo and Jack AFCH

there is a gsd racing with the Sydney psychos.

hi Brooke. Not alot of flyball up your way. Look here for the Australian Flyball Association's website. There's a link to clubs in each state. Jo

Block their vision. I did this at my place and it worked. I hung weedmatting ($1.80 a metre) over chicken wire and threaded it along the paling fence, behind the posts so it can't be pulled down. Its still there a year later and they don't bark at movement on that side of the fence anymore. Alternatively, Innotek sell a nifty gadget that sprays water when anythng moves within range. Set one up, aimed at the fence. You'd need that extension hose I guess. It would stop your dogs going near the fence and the ones on the other side would get the message soon too, whether you are there or not.

what are you feeding him? the external reactions might be from whats going in to him. Perhaps he's allergic to something and that's causing the skin reactions. It sound like you are treating the symptoms but maybe you need to find the actual cause of the symptoms so you can change what is causing it, and hopefully eliminate the problems alltogether. Maybe start with his diet.

Isaviz, maybe it is due to the spot on treatment, I don't know, but please get your dog to a vet for bloodwork soon. Dramatic weight loss might also be due to cancer so get it seen to soon! I hope it is not, but better to be sure. Jo

blow on their nose! My dog will release a tug toy etc if I do this.

I had a tiny little recue mini foxie who was only 2kg after I fattened her up. She was terrified of just about everything and she used to obsessively lick her paws. Observing her, it seemed that she did it as a comfort and because it was one aspect of her life she could control. She had been fending for herself for a while before going to CCR where I got her from. She never knew where her next meal or shelter was coming from. She had been kicked too and lost an eye in the process so she didn't trust people and just hid in her bed and licked and licked and licked. It took a few months but she stopped doing it constantly once she worked out that she was safe and there was reliable food and a warm bed and no one attacking her. I didn't try to prevent her from doing it as this stressed her more and she would hide under a blanket somewhere and start over. Soon enough she worked out she was safe and she would come and sit next to me or on my lap and she would lick each paw for a minute or so and then she would lick me instead. She would lick a small patch of skin on my elbow or my leg etc and it was as if she was doing something comforting for me. It was her routine and she needed to do it before she would settle down and just sit on your lap or sleep at night. Lick feet, lick mum, turn around a few times and settle in for a nap. It went from licking all day to just a few sessions of a couple of minutes a day. I found that if I tried to stop her it got worse so I would just sit there and be relaxed. I purposely yawned alot when she did it so she picked up on how safe and non threatening the situation was. It took 2 or 3 months to stop doing it constantly and she never stopped it completely but she wasn't damaging the skin anymore. It ended up being like her little nervous habit (like people who chew a nail) and as long as she got to do the token paw wash, and then also lick me, then she didn't need to do it all day. Good luck Jo

tie one end of a string to Rosie and the other end to Riley.....

I travel with my dogs alot and two of the little ones always used to vomit. They were actually fine on long freeway trips as there were few corners. Try to drive a few blocks to a friend's place and she'd be vomiting everywhere. I found a puppy Booster seat that sits in the front passenger seat. It raises the dog up to the height of the window so they can see where they are going. It has two safety clips on straps to clip to their harnesses and two small dogs fit there comfortably (although my Kelpie girl has given it a try too.) It is soft sided and they love to snuggle into it. There is a mesh safety fron which velcro's on. Mine rest chins on this. I have had no more spew sessions since I started using it. Its a nifty gadget too. It will fold down into its own base which is a storage suitcase. It has access pockets so you can store the dog's paraphernalia in the base while the dog travels up top. When you get to where you are going, you can take it off it's base (big velcro patches) and unfold a 2nd layer and it is a dog bed. My little ones now compete to get there first as they like the view from the high seat. Jo

Ruth - to do the down stay the way I have described, you need to find some time (maybe when the OH and the kids aren't home) where you won't be interrupted. Do it as I described for as long as it takes for the dog to relax and stay down. Might be 45 minutes the first time. Leave them down only for a tiny time once they have relaxed so that you have released the dog, rather than the dog getting up themselves (because in that case, you haven't finished and have to keep putting them down until they relax and stay down.) It takes less time each time you retry this. Its only the first few times, while the dog is learning this that it will take a long time. Maybe it will take longer with an older pup than it will with a baby one, I don't know. For the first few times, try and do it without the family around distracting the dog. This will also reniforce that you are the pack leader, rather than OH unless he does it too. Once the dog gets the hang of 'settle' (or whatever word you choose) meaning lie down, then you won't have to physically touch the dog at all and the dog will do it themselves. Once she understands the command, I would let her into the house, take her to the spot you want her to drop and give her the command. Once she drops, tell her to stay and leave her. If she gets up, don't raise your voice, just take her back and put her in a downstay again. The trick is to outlast her. (And she will test you out so stick with it!) I'd have a regular spot that is hers, maybe with a mat and she will start to identify it as her spot. Persevere, my 8 week old pup understood it within a week and she will now 'settle' wherever she is at whatever distance away from me and she is 11 months old now. Something else to try to reinforce the pack order is to hand feed for a while. This is the NILIF principle. (Nothing in life is free.) Take the dogs normal ration of dinner and do not put it into the dinner bowl. Take the dog and spend 5 minutes training. The dog has to work for dinner and a Goldie is going to want dinner so will work for you. Just do simple things like sit, stay, heel around the yard, drop etc and every time the dog does something right then feed a bit of dinner. AFter about 5 minutes of this, give a command yuo know the dog will obey like sit, and feed the rest of the dinner. You should see how well my Kelpie obeys me when she's waiting for dinner and the other dogs have already started. Remember, its only time consuming at the start. Persevere and it will quickly get easier and it will pay off in the long run when your dog is an adult that obeys you. Consider crate training but do some research and do it properly, don't just stuff a dog in a crate or it will be perceived as punishment. Good luck and keep taking her to obedience training too. Jo

I can tell you how I was shown the downstay by my Kelpie breeder and you can start now. It has been the most useful thing and it reinforces that I am pack leader. It is certainly easier to start on a baby puppy but you can do it on an older dog, it just takes longer. Unfortunately, you are pressed for spare time and , at least in the first few days this might take a bit of time. You need to understand that if you decide to do this, you have to keep going until the dog relaxes and stays down. If you get sick of it after half an hour (took me 45 minutes the first time) and let her up then all you've done is reinforce that she is in charge. Each time you do it, it takes less and less time and eventually it is just a verbal thing. First time - choose a word that will be the command and will always mean 'time to settle down and wait until I'm ready to pay attention to you.' I use 'settle.' (I don't use 'down' as I use that more during obedience type activities.) Sit down on the floor with the pup, tip them over onto their side and say the command word - settle in my case, and let go of the dog. (Doesn't matter how the dog is lying, as long as they are off their feet.) The dog will promptly try to get up. Don't raise your voice, just tip them over again and say settle again. Repeat - endlessly. The thing with this is that you must let the dog go, don't hold them down. The dog has to have the choice to obey or not. You have to have the persistence the first few times to outlast the dog. Like I said, it took 45 minutes the first time with my Kelpie until she relaxed and stayed down. The next time it was 30 minutes. Now she does it almost instantly, wherever she is and it also works as a stop command at distance. She is only 11 months old now. Once the dog relaxes and chooses to stay down, you don't have to elave them there long, especially at first. Keep them donw for a minute whilst still and then release and reward. The dog learns that to relax and stay down does not mean sitting still for an endless time. Work on increasing the time they stay still after you work on getting an immediate response to the settle command. The dog will learn that you are the boss because unless they choose to stay where they are, they will be told to settle again. It gives you a command that they know means 'down' and it gives you pack leadership over the pup, which carries through to everything else you do with them. With regards to the barking, get the downstay going and then, when she barks, tell her to settle. It gives you soething to stop a behaviour with. Good luck and let us know how you go. Jo + Kobe the Kelpie

Remember that Kennel Cough is infectious before and after symptoms appear so keep any affected dogs and all their housemates quarantined until 7 to 10 days AFTER the last cough is heard. This is so that any apparently unaffected dogs will have shown whether they really have it by the time 10 days is up. There were a few Kennel Cough threads recently and there was alot more info (and Benadryl doses) in them. I know its really hard to keep a dog at home when he's dying for a walk to the park, but it is so infectious and it keeps spreading because alot of people think the dog is only infectious whilst coughing. (I've just spent the better part of a month with 10 dogs quarantined as 6 of them came down with it. My first sick dog was infected by spending time playing with other infected dogs that hadn't yet shown symptoms and one of them was a dog who's housemate was home with kennel cough. The owner didn't keep her quarantined too and she turned out to be carrying it as well.)

My tiny dogs wll lift a leg and just stand there to make it easier for the other tiny dogs to do the customary sniff hello. Only seems to be the very short ones. (Chi's and malt/chi and Silky)They don't back in towards me to do it but maybe your girl thinks you are one of the pack and equire the same courtesy. She's only a baby.

a little beach ball with legs!! Very cute

Congrats on Jack's progress. I am jealous. I was looking forward to attending this clinic as it was so great the last time I went. I had to pull out at the last minute on Friday as I've got Kennel Cough raging at my place. With luck, I'll be there next time. Jo

There's a really good DVD that was done as a promotional thing for Flyball. it was all filmed at last year's Canberra Royal competition and shows all clubs and dogs of all sizes and shows how the people come from all walks of life. Very professionally done and it gives some good info on Flyball. Its from Penny Productions and Penny Hehir is the contact person. It only costs about $15 from memory. Excellent DVD. If you are interested I have her contact details at home, let me know. She made another one of the Kioloa competition the year before last. Also good. Jo

Shoemonster started another thread about doses of Benadryl here

Hi all - this info might help. I did not write it. It is something a vet student acquaintance of mine wrote last year. Its a pretty good explanation but you should seek your own vet's advice. cheers Jo Kennel Cough Clinical signs can develop usually within 3 to 4 days of exposure (but can be up to 10 days) and without complications persist up to 14 days. Dogs can shed the pathogen before elicting clinical signs, hence the problem controlling this disease. Kennel cough manifests as an acute, contagious respiratory infection characterised by paroxysmal coughing. Affected dogs usually remain active alert and non febrile (no rise in temperature). This disease is usually self limiting if no other pathogens are involved (ie if no secondary infection develops). Antibiotics can be used as well as a canine cough syrup if warrented. We try not to prescribe antibiotics as the disease is self limiting. If your dog develops nasal discharge, becomes lethargic, a rise in temperature, off their food or the cough is so bad they cannot rest then see your vet as it is likely they need antibiotics and further therapy. Common Bleach or chlorhexidine should be used to clean areas infected dogs have been. The pathogen (Bordetella bronchiseptica and others) is transmitted by fomites (saliva, nasal discharge, coughing etc) and can also be carried on footwear, hands and tennis balls. Whilst kennel cough is included in our routine C5 vaccination the pathogen has many features that we cannot develop a vaccination against. Different (more virulent or pathogenic) strains are able to infect dogs that are vaccinated. The vaccine limits the extent of the infection by providing some immunity to the disease. Infected dogs can remain carriers of the disease for up to 3 months (hence the difficulty in controlling outbreaks as no one wants to keep their dog quarrentined for 3 months). All dogs exposed to the disease (and their fellow housemates) should be quarrentined for at least 10 days. If clinical signs develop then they must be further quarrentined until the disease resolves and at least 10 days after the last cough. If your dog has not been vaccinated in the last 6 months against kennel cough and you are sure they have been exposed you can get an single booster vaccine administered intranasally if you are really concerned. Now we're all experts on kennel cough. I would not reccommend human cough syrup unless directed by your vet as to which one to buy (due to the fact so many are on the market containing ingredients not suitable for dogs). (USYD veterinary science student)

I have a $10 clipper from Big W that is electric and came with comb and scissors etc. I have one maltese that I clip all over (virtually shave) every three months. It is certainly not an expert job and wouldn't hold up to constant, daily use but it's been 18 months and it is still going strong. If it dies, whats another $10 at BigW? Jo