Poodle wrangler

I'd have a chat to your vet about it. It can be a very good drug, but all drugs can have side effects . If you look up all the side effects of medications routinely given to humans, most people would never take anything ever again- but it's benefit vs. risk. Are you giving the metacam with food? (needs to be given with food as can cause upset stomach).

What area are you in? Perhaps someone can recommend a good vet in your area? You'll read all sorts of bad things about anti-inflammatory medications. Like all drugs they can have side effects, but they give excellent pain relief for arthritis (if that is what you're dealing with ). Talk over side effects with a vet you trust, rather than dismiss these drugs entirely. My understanding is you didn't feel confident with the vet's diagnosis, so didn't want to accept the medication- fair enough. Sometimes vets will try medication first to see if this makes a difference- kind of a backwards diagnosis. If they work, they can make some educated guesses. To do XRays often requires a general anaesthetic, so are $200+.

THat's one for the experts, but some very basic training is a good place to start. TOT sends all the right signals of leadership to your dog e.g. the food comes from you and they earn it. If you're a good leader, your dog looks to you and "listens" (this is training, also). Good leaders are CONSISTENT e.g. Don't let your dog jump up one day, then not the next. It confuses the poor dog.

I asked about muzzles a while back and the wire type were suggested to me. The nylon type are cheap, but don't allow much panting/ airflow.

Isn't Thornit a UK product? Maybe why it's so expensive? I use a standard ear powder from the pet shop (about $12 for a biggish bottle)- but only use it to make it easier to pluck excess fur out of ears. For smelly ears, I use the Malaseb very diluted: 1:50 with water as a cleaner.

Start doing Triangle of Temptation (TOT) with your dog: http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?showtopic=64101 Read it several times and follow instructions to the letter. Easiest to print it out. Great program I would be unhappy if either of my dogs growled at me over food. I'm no dog behaviour expert, but far as I know a growl under those circumstances is a warning before a bite . Your dog obviously treasures the raw bone more than the rawhide one and see itself as entitled to it. Check that you're being a good leader. Leadership doesn't mean being harsh or authoritarian. Your dog will be happier. Dogs that rule the roost can be quite neurotic and stressed.

My understanding is that minced meats don't give a very balanced diet. It will depend on the quality of the chicken mince. Breeders used to add calcium, but found this actually caused more skeletal problems, so it's no longer advised. HD is largely genetic- the joint isn't well-formed to start with then add a too high protein diet (pup grows too fast), overexercise and you make the problem worse. Dog can be born with mild, but made severe, for example. General advice is: *Keeping your dog very lean * No long walks (15 minutes is enough), no frisbee, no activities that are really hard on joints and ligaments until dog is fully grown. * Lower protein, lower calorie formula than standard puppy dry/ canned food. You want pup to put on weight and grow gradually. Some people feed the adult formula, though there are also special large breed puppy dry foods available. Read the packet- sometimes the large breed puppy and adult formulas are virtually identical.

Make the car a happy place. Wait until she's hungry and put some of her favourite treats in the car (engine off), then work up to treats with engine on, short drives etc. Agree- NEVER reward her for shaking/ nervous behaviour. Give her something easy to do like a sit and reward her for that. Ignore the nervousness, but give her something else to focus on e.g. sit followed by treat. Start socialising her about 10 days after 2nd vaccs. Both nature and nurture maketh the dog. All dogs pick up on your emotions very quickly, so your nervousness will rub off. Start doing Triangle of Temptation (TOT)- http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?showtopic=64101 Great program and takes no more than 5-10 minutes when you feed your dog

I think if your dog is a healthy weight, looks good and has energy, pat yourself on the back and don't worry about changing things. Dogs are not people and don't crave variety the way we do. It's fine to feed similar boring things day in, day out. It's very normal for a dog to turn their nose up at dry food in preference to canned or raw foods. The canned variety normally have more sugar to make them more palatable. A hungry dog will eat dry food. Here it's food of last resort :D. Even with some extra freezer space, we feed only about 30-40% raw foods. For a small dog like a maltese, some chicken necks and brisket bones are easy to have in the freezer.

I'd be doing vaccinations- how many has pup already had? Heartworm monthly tablets (prefer tablets) Fleas +Paralysis tick prevention (e.g. Frontline Plus, Advantix) Intestinal worms. see http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?showtopic=81686 If you ever need to put your dog in a kennel or do obedience classes, then they will need to be vaccinated- usually what's called "C5". Puppies commonly have intestinal worms, so it's worth doing in the early months, then stopping if you wish. Heartworm- well it's much better to prevent than try to treat it. I'm not sure if you've left it a bit late and have to have a blood test first? (if you give heartworm preventatives to a dog already infected, it makes them very ill). Fleas are rampant in summer. My dogs get fleas if I don't treat them and I don't want fleas in my house. Advantix works well on my dogs and also covers for paralysis tick (I'm in a paralysis tick area). You'll have plenty of people tell you their dog lived to upteen years on the cheapest dog food of the time, never came inside, never went to the vet, blah, blah, blah, but I think it's a small price to pay for preventatives to make both your lives and theirs better

What other medication/ supplements is your dog on? Cartrophen comes in capsules http://www.arthritis.au.com/capps/capps_mast.htm I'm guessing the injection's more effective, but best to ask the vet. Might have to make a trade off. I'm guessing your dog dislikes being held down by 3 people even more than a needle. You realise dogs probably can't be phobic at all (phobias are a human psychological issue)? Think I get what you mean, though- he hates them! Is there a vet there that's better at giving needles? Don't stay with your dog- I think it would make it worse.

I'm not sure if these are best for the spitz's but I find they're great for my poodles as well as shorter haired dogs- gets rid of some of the extra fur. Slicker brush. I've seen some in the supermarkets like BiLo/ Coles that seem OK for < $10. Just be careful as some in KMart are rubbish with very, very harsh steel pins. Pins shouldn't hurt you and the cushion on which they sit should have some give.

These are really cheap at our local supply store- about $25 for 20kg. My dogs liked it but it had a few cm of dust in the bottom of the bag (possibly a storage problem at the store, dunno?) and I wasn't fond of the smell of it. Last time I was at the store, the guy described it as a "semi-dry" food (i.e. more moisture content). My bigger dog is more sensitive to food and does well on a mix of raw meaty bones and Purina One dry food. It's about $28 for 7kg at the supermarket. The mini poodle was fine on Supercoat, though many say they get awful poo problems with it. All trail and error. My dogs teeth are much better with bones to chew. They love chicken necks/ carcass, turkey necks, brisket bones etc. so I feed these also. Probably 60-80% dry, plus raw atm.

You can do Triangle of Temptation (TOT) with your dog now: http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?showtopic=64101 Print it out and do it EXACTLY per instructions. Is great for getting your pup to watch and listen to you- essential for training. Obedience training is really about training YOU . You then train the dog. Also practice NILIF (nothing in life is free) with your pup. TOT is an example, as is something simple like asking pup to sit before pats. Set your dog up to do the right things and praise so they some to enjoy training. Keep it very short for youngsters. An out of control dog is no fun to live with- for you OR the dog! Dog's sense you're unhappy with them. Training, TOT and NILIF make your relationship with your dog so much better. You want to spend time with a dog that listens to you --> you end up in a positive, happy cycle. Not a cycle that ends with dog banished to the backyard 100% of the time because they're so difficult to live with .

Have to admit, I probably wouldn't have seen it in general. I come here more often and the subject's related to grooming

An American lady has a website about dog's nails. She has dobes, including rescues. http://homepages.udayton.edu/~merensjp/dob...mel/dremel.html Totally agree with others- your dog is showing you they're the boss. Pick your battles, but always win . If you're at the stage where your dog is trying to bite, I'd muzzle them for the short time you're doing their nails.

"Systemic" just means that whatever is causing the illness has spread to every part of his body. "Septicaemia" means an infection that's in the blood. It can have started elsewhere. Sorry, haven't had a dog with this, but have seen it in people. Best wishes for your dog. Paws crossed, too.

Is this the one? http://www.animaloptions.com.au/shop/index...ails&id=771 I don't know much about homeopathy, but am happier sticking with the pharmaceutical-type products for paralysis tick prevention. I'd like to know more about quality control, active ingredients etc. for homeopathic remedies.

She just needs some "refresher" training after you've been away . eta: Is it possible that she was called then "punished" while you were away? "Punished" = being called then told off or put outside, or called followed by anything not nice for her? If so, just do some more training on a long lead (NOT coming isn't an option) and make sure not to call and punish in the future. Is useless anyway- dog only associates coming- not the bad deed- with the punishment.

I'm in a paralysis tick area and use Advantix because it covers mozzies as well as fleas and paralysis tick. pricelesspets.com.au is good.

Glad to hear your DIL is taking good care of him. I think she did the right thing having his teeth done under anaesthetic and not friggin about. Mince would tend to stick to teeth, promoting decay? My 7 year old mini poodle has good teeth- dry dog food (nothing special) + regular bones (to chew as well as brisket, chicken necks etc. which are all gone quickly). Interesting.. I saw a poodle in the showring last weekend - was only 18 months old, but already teeth looked worse than my 7 year old's- back ones looking discoloured . Am sure the pug people can give you good diet advice

Kelpies are working dogs so need to have their minds well-exercised. You don't want to overexercise a pup's body yet, though. What about a training book or DVD? Your Dad just needs to be consistent. Training doesn't mean being harsh and controlling. It's OK to be soft, but letting your pup get away with something one day, then not another is not being "soft", it's confusing the hell out of the poor animal! Training's meant to be fun. A way to communicate better with your dog.

If you're not confident to cut off the nail yourself, a groomer might be able to do it for you and charge less than a vet. Otherwise, get a helper. Use a towel or blanket to wrap up the dog, leaving only the paw exposed and just do it. Short and sharp. I grind down my dog's nails, including dew claws. They don't like it, but put up with it because they know I won't give in. No amount of hysterics will get them out of it

Is it possible there's something lacking in his diet? I'm thinking crate training .... I'd guess XL would be big enough for a larger labradoodle. About $140 for that size crate and alot cheaper than replastering. It's not as though you can put Tabasco/ Aeroguard/ Antichew spray all over all the walls .

Inspect the place. They should welcome inspections, though it's normal for restricted times for drop-offs and pickups. Also recommendations.