Poodle wrangler

Great advice from dogmad

Nah, I meant you weren't the only one to read it and think you were being jumped on . All due respect to people who do things their own way and you never know exactly how things are meant when they're on the net. DOL would be a boring place if everyone agreed.

I thought a couple of responses to NicoleL suggested she was either exaggerating or too quick. Perhaps not meant that way, but came across that way. I think Nicole's poodles look beautifully groomed. I tried the snap-on combs, too (due to lack of skill in my case) and found they can make a huge difference.

Go back to basics- take her outside every hour, after sleeps, after eating/ drinking and praise like mad when she "performs". It might also mean taking her outside at least once (pref. twice) overnight. If you don't want to get up, is it warm enough that she can sleep outside? With a coat?

If you can afford it, working one-on-one with a trainer would be ideal. THe fact that he doesn't come when in 'chasing kid mode' just means more training needed. He needs to listen to you all the time and it only comes with practice. Coming to you must always be a positive experience for him. It'd be best to train him on a long length of rope, so that he MUST recall when kids are around. Each time he doesn't HAVE to come, teaches him it's OK to ignore you . Use a few pieces of chicken or some super-tasty treat to encourage him. You don't have to be a food dispensing machine forever, but it's really helpful when the dog's learning. Far better training-wise that he comes to you of free choice (even if bribed) rather than be dragged in. Good on you for being responsible enough to nip this in the bud early

My large breed pup tried this one on me, too . She will eat the dry food, however it will be food of last resort. She's not silly- the raw is much tastier. If she's hungry, she will eat. With my pup, I started to give raw only in the morning and he soon got the idea that no more was forthcoming. What dry he didn't eat, I just gave back to him later on. No healthy pup will starve itself, though they will prefer the raw.

It's normal for pup to be excited to see you, but you can train them to be more calm e.g. Ignore him for the first 10 minutes after you get home. Only let him in once reasonably calm. Once inside, ignore him for another few minutes. Allow him to follow you about. Don't allow him to jump up (turn your back, ignore) and reward with attention and pats only when bum on floor and reasonably calm. Normal puppy, but if you're like me, you don't want wee on clothes or floor when you get home from work

I've also read to wait until 2nd vaccs + at least 10 days for neighbourhood walks. Parvo can live in the soil for years, but you have to weigh this up against the benefits of socialisation. I used to walk our pup in the front yard, up the driveway and a little way up the hill before this, but there are no dogs living nearby either. Sorry, not qualified to say whether or not to take pup to these other people's houses. What do the vets say?

Go to the the Training subforum and pinned to the top is "Triangle of Temptation" (TOT). It takes only 5 minutes extra to do with your dog and helps teach them that all good things come from you. Your daughter can do it once you've got it down pat. I printed it out and read it several times before doing it. Steve is on DOL and lots of questions have already been asked about it (see the thread below TOT). I don't like dogs that guard their food and neither of my dogs would blink twice if I took a bone/ favourite food from them. I've never done any specific "training", but they're not highly food driven either.

I'm sure I read here on DOL that a good, temporary "cure" for constipation was the cheapest can of dog food you can find . What do you normally feed? How much exercise? Perhaps we can offer some constructive advice? Let us know how he goes. I think it was good you went to the vet because more sinister problems can have similar signs.

SO sorry to hear the dog's in such a state . Not much help from me, but cleaning up the diet is a good place to start. Perhaps your Nan will be more receptive if you make the strict new diet all about the allergies, not the weight. Good luck ;)

Sorry, I don't know, but I'm glad you didn't muck about and got your dog to the vet asap!

For chew toys, I like the Kong brand as well as the "Chew N Kleen" (something like that- whitish moulded 'bones' in supermarket). Brisket bones and chicken necks would be good as well (deduct off total food intake).

I wouldn't worry- as long as he has access to fresh water and knows where it is. Does he eat moist food? If so, he's getting some water there.

Squeeze them. Some smaller dogs (especially) get anal glands that are over-full and if the stuff leaks out in the house it stinks (worse than poo). I do both dogs when I bath them, just in case (about monthly). Sign of a problem is if dog scoots along on it's bum. That is gross! So I should squeeze them on Blayd once a month??! I don't even know how to find them. yuck. will stuff come out?? gross! He did scoot on his bum the first week i got him... i didn't know what it was, but he only did it for the one day or so and hasn't done it since. It was in the house though. Gross. I hope nothing came out. Ugh... shouldn't have eaten breakfast before reading this lol sorry for the thread hijack... i'm just... perplexed. And grossed out! Only worry if he starts to scoot again (and is wormed)- the vet can do them. Less often a problem in a dog Blayd's size.

Brisket bones, chicken necks, turkey necks are good. If pup "inhales" the chicken necks without chewing, then the turkey necks are larger, so much better. If you're worried about guarding, take the bone away after a day or so. Both my dogs will happily give up their bones to me (as they should) but it's always better to be safe. It's an uphill battle convincing a dog that a 2 year old is above them in the hierarchy.

Squeeze them. Some smaller dogs (especially) get anal glands that are over-full and if the stuff leaks out in the house it stinks (worse than poo). I do both dogs when I bath them, just in case (about monthly). Sign of a problem is if dog scoots along on it's bum. $50 is a reasonable price. Many groomers charge more, especially in inner city areas. It's far more work than a human haircut. Best to make sure the groomer is going to do all the things you want e.g nails. A photo of a clip you like is helpful to avoid miscommunication. Groomer should say if it's unrealistic (depends on the dog's coat and what's underneath ). It would take me about 1 1/2 to do my miniature poodle at home (similar size to your dog) because I don't have all the gear and my skills aren't up to that of a pro groomer. eta: I bath the day before, so that's not including bath + dry. I brush and comb before clipping, again.

Sorry, haven't tried it because I'm in a tick area, so need something that does both ticks and fleas (e.g. Frontline Plus, Advantix).

If you have to catch him, then say "NO" then the poor dog isn't going to know what he's done wrong. I'd work on recall- take treats when you go out for every walk and practice recall a few times during every walk off leash, or on long leash, with no kids about. Kids are scary to dogs- their body language is jerky and unpredictable. If the kids are anything like our local dog beach, some run away when they see a dog, flapping arms and screaming- all the right things to encourage a dog to chase them . My pup barks at my son (excited bark) who likes to encourage him to chase him and jump up in the backyard- I've banned the game as I don't want him doing that to other kids. Perhaps someone at training has a nice child that you can work with to desensitise your dog to kids?

Raw meat is fine. I'm not sure that minces are ideal as pups need the calcium and other nutrients from raw bones. Depending how you do the veges, they may come straight out the other end, too. Some people juice them. I'd suggest you look at BARF in detail f you want to do your own food mix for pup. Nutrition particularly important for a growing dog. Keep up the worming schedule, also.

Purina were doing a promo. for Purina One (supermarket dog food) where you sign up online and get a DVD + refund for your first 1.5kg (puppy) or 4kg (adult) bag of food. DVD wasn't bad at all, actually for new dog and puppy owners. Can you feed an extra meal to pup e.g. morning, late afternoon, late evening (if you work)? You shouldn't have to do anything drastic- increase the portion sizes and DON'T feed very fatty foods/ offcuts- predisposes a dog to pancreatitis which can kill them. I accidently had my pup underweight because I was feeding strictly from the packet instructions and he also had a lot of fur to hide under. Fortunately breeder set me straight. I also clipped a lot of his coat off, so I wasn't inclined to make the same mistake.

Charlie's much loved, but I'd not call him good-looking. Need something "flattering" if you know what I mean . Hard to ignore 25kg of unfortunately clipped poodle

Once of twice a day, but only for about 10 minutes at a time. Pup is still young, so will have a short attention span. Best to make training fun++ for pup. If you're frustrated, pup can tell. Pup's not too young to join an obedience club now.

http://www.poodlesinaustralia.com/health/g...s/genetics.html Are standard poodles normally health tested for this (Vetgen for DNA) ? http://www.poodlesinaustralia.com/healthtest/htests.html

I've already done a chicken legs clip on Oscar, the mini poodle. Must not clip legs too short , must not clip legs too short