Poodle wrangler

It's easy to forget the puppy stage: Toilet training doesn't last that long. You don't need to have a crate to toilet train, but many people say it makes it easier. Depends how drastic overnight accident(s) will be, I guess. Basics: Make crate a happy place for pup- introduce with treats, meals etc., maybe an old, washable blanket to sleep. Crate will become the pup's den and dogs shouldn't wee/poo where they eat and sleep. Crate should be only big enough for pup to stand and turn around. Any bigger is too much space and he's more likely to wee/poo in the furthest corner. Make smaller with a box or some crates come with a partition. Pup should move about and be restless when wanting to toilet overnight. You get up, take him outside to toilet (wait until he goes, name it and say "good dog" and give a treat). Pop back into crate. All very business-like, no play. Crate only for overnight and up to a few hours during the day. It's not meant to be a cage . NEVER punish pup by putting him in his crate. That's my understanding, anyway. In practice, I found that pup cried when put in crate (hard to know if he wanted to get out or go to toilet and many false alarms) and often by the time I'd got there to let him out it was too late. So, I kicked him outside overnight with the other dog which was fine.

Just wondering about this. Relatives said they "weren't in a paralysis tick area", but then they know nothing about dogs. Picton/ Thirlmere is SW of Campbelltown, NSW. About 1+ hour SW of Sydney. About 45km from the coast, I guess. Thanks.

So sorry to hear of this problem? I think the breeder should be giving you some guidance here. Do you have a puppy contract and what does it say? It sounds like you've done a lot of expensive investigations and treatment, already, with not much joy ;) . Most often breeders offer to take the dog back, but don't cover vet bills, unless the problem is caused by an injury since leaving the breeders in which case I'd guess they'd say you're responsible. I love the word "lesions"- that could be anything! Do they mean the spinal cord is coming through the vertebrae (bones) in the neck? What prognosis does the vet give? It concerns me that with both anti inflammatories and steroids there is no improvement. These are normally very effective drugs, however only treat the symptoms, not the underlying cause. Best wishes for your pup . If it comes to the point, though, think of pup's best interests even if that means PTS (paws crossed it doesn't come to that).

I had a Staffy X in the past. ALL our dogs have slept outside, unless a "winter" puppy. I even had a poodle as a kid who was 100% outside dog and you can't get a more human-orientated than a poodle. We spent a lot of time with him outside. Would have been new to him that he was neglected :rolleyes:. It's important a pup doesn't get too cold- I'm guessing it's still cold overnight in Broken Hill- so a crate will be useful so pup can be inside overnight without weeing/ pooing/ chewing in the wrong places. He'll need a couple of overnight toilet breaks. Apart from overnight (higher risk of accident) you can put his bedding in there and get him used to the crate while you work at home (door open). I bought a crate and intended to use it for our standard poodle pup (now 9 months and 25kg) but really didn't use it and sold it.

Can't help you with that :rolleyes: (joys of puppyhood) but maybe set your alarm for an early morning pee/poo stop? For a pup to cry to go out, they have to be toilet trained already. Pup isn't yet from what I can tell. So, I think you might be jumping the gun. Only way to avoid the morning poo/pee is to take him out before it happens and wait outside til it's done.

I have a book called, "Dog training in 10 minutes" by Carol Lea Benjamin and it's a good book for beginners. Don't worry, she's not suggesting you get a trained dog after only 10 minutes, but goes through some routines and basic things for the canine good citizen in 10 minute chunks. Easy to read and easy to understand. No harsh methods used, though she doesn't use food. Leadership well explained. I found it hard to relate to the diagrams on the link. My perspective is as a pet owner (had dogs most of life) but not at a trainer's level.

Sorry, just found the other thread so now I know Cody is the very new toy poodle. He's very young and so needs at least one toilet break overnight. If you feed his last meal earlier at night, he might poo before bedtime, instead? Then feed the first meal earlier.

What breed is your pup? Can you ask the breeder/ rescue about what they suggest? Vast majority of fussy eaters are made, not born, and an otherwise healthy dog will not starve itself. Once you've worked out a reasonable diet you can afford, stick with it. Offer it to dog, leave for no more than 20 minutes, take it away, then present it back to pup at the next meal. Won't take long for pup to get the idea. You'd think meat only is a good diet for dogs, but it's not. No mince in the wild- they need raw bones, offal, that sort of thing if you want to feed meat only. What do you want to feed? Dry food? Canned? Mixture? Some raw foods (e.g. chicken necks, raw bones etc.)? I don't feed cans only because they usually have quite high sugar content- I go for dry food + some raw. Raw bones are great for puppy teeth.

Neither of my dogs will bark- they stand by the door. They sleep outside because I had a similar problem with my older dog who was slow to toilet train (mini poodle). Poodle wool is good insulation ;). My mini poodle is a dominant dog and in retrospect this slow toilet training had something to do with this + inadequate leadership from me. Check out Triangle of Temptation in the Training forum (pinned to top)- great place to start.

I'm sure I've heard the "2 days after a bath" too. I had a freebie Frontline Plus sample for pup and it didn't work for me for fleas- "Did you wait 2 days after a bath?" was asked. I can't recall, but fur was certainly 100% dry. I switched back to Advantix after that- no probs. How much does Blayd now weigh? For dogs about 25kg (ie. my standard poodle) I put it in 3 spots because you have a fair bit of liquid to get onto SKIN (not fur ) . For the mini (8kg) it all goes between the shoulder blades. It's easier if someone helps you- they part the fur- with very thick fur. I use a slicker + hand to part it. You'll find Blayd will smell better for longer if you finish him off with a dryer, anyway. My dogs don't have long fur but because it's thick, takes ages to dry and sometimes I've thought they're dry, only to find it still damp at the skin. Eau de wet dog ;).

I'm as clueless as your vet. Is your breeder in the same area? Can they suggest a vet more familiar with your breed?

I agree. My dog tried this one on me, except he only wanted raw food . It's only natural that they'd want something tastier than kibble, but kibble is fine! I did the same as MyMontage and kept giving him back the same food later. Took only a couple of days for him to get the message and no problems since. Naturally if I gave him a choice, he'd want the raw stuff . An otherwise healthy dog will not starve itself and less food (if they choose) while they get the idea does no harm at all.

As an aside, what do the more experienced people think of his methods? Just curious. Ta.

My mini poodle used to be fed only kibble for about 3-4 years, with only the occasional bone to chew (as in maybe 1 in 8 weeks)- no obvious ill effects and it was the dreaded Supercoat, too . Teeth were/ are fine and he's now 6, but bones definitely brighten them up and I feed him raw bones more often now. If you're happy, dogs happy and healthy, and poo patrol is easier, then why not? I'd add a raw bone every week or fortnight, though.

Pus is good- let the pus flow . If it dries up and can't come out the problem's worse. If a light scab forms, pick it off so wound can drain. Difficult spot to get to- at least I could have muzzled my dog if needed.

Light kibble and raw sounds like a great start, with smaller portions than you fed previously e.g. cut by about 1/3 for the obese dog. I don't think Vetaslim should be necessary. Boring old diet and exercise works unless the dog has a thyroid problem. With exercise, just be sensible taking into account the dog's ages and their new weight. Think of the weight through their joints. Swimming's good if they like it (easy on joints). In the case of an obese dog, I think the best thing is to get the weight off sooner, rather than later. I wouldn't fart around with making it too gradual- if they have some regular (appropriate) exercise they shouldn't lose much muscle mass. Dogs don't have the psychological issues humans do when it comes to food, either. Good luck. Some people think food= love and are well-meaning, but quite blind to a dog putting on more weight than is healthy for them.

Absesses are nasty things. I had what appeared to be a bite mark turn into this after my sister's dog attacked mine: Vet actually turned this one in to a gaping hole to allow the muck out to drain out. This was with antibiotics started morning after attack. I had the same problem with him being in so much pain it was hard to clean it well (and he's a very tolerant dog). Before opening it up like that, vet suggested to me to use a warm compress (I used old washers, washed thoroughly and reused on dog), then try to squeeze out as much as possible. Problem I had was bite area started to get dry and heal, but only at surface level. It has to heal from the inside-out, not the other way around . I had to get him in to a headlock and it was quite a struggle despite him being a very tolerant young dog. Cleanup was done under anaesthetic as he was booked to be desexed that week, anyway- not an option for you. Perhaps the vet can sedate her to clean her up properly and give you a head start? No experience with drains on dogs, but in humans they can be problematic- they're a tube and so can block off if the gunk is thick. Best wishes with your girl

Like this: http://www.dogzonline.com.au/breeds/profile.asp?dog=7171? Sorry I can't help with the actual grooming, but I thought they don't drop fur? It was one of the breeds that came up when I was looking at allergy-friendly dogs. Don't forget to charge more for the matts, if it's a paying customer . eta: They look very cute and I met one at our local beach once. Why get a DD when you've got these guys?

No obvious pain, redness or discharge. HAs been like this for a few months, though the bit that is going 1/2 way across the eyelid is unique to the photo- he'd just opened his eyes- I don't normally see this. Thanks.

Thanks, SoJ, photo uploaded too small, so have made it bigger. Normally, you don't see the bit that's half way across the eye, just the other bits. I've never had a dog with this b4. I'm only concerned if it's a sign of problems.

By the time you buy a decent waterproof mattress cover for your bed, a small crate is cheaper. I have been through all this malarky with a child who wets his bed. I wouldn't bank on no accidents. Pups have small bladders.

I'd be tempted to crate train pup and have her next to your bed overnight. It would be worth it to avoid lots of cleanups. A cat-sized crate would do and you could always sell it afterwards. I'm guessing that size is cheap. Ebay?. For toilet training crate should be only big enough for pup to stand up and turn around (pretty tiny for a chi ) but you can get ones with a partition or just put a box in there to make it smaller. Is handy for car trips, trips to vet, and while pup gets over car sickness, too.

Standard poodle breeder Linda Johnson did well! Go poodles

This is really interesting. I was under the impression that it was the dam and sires hip scores that were most important, but some suggest that better results are obtained by breeding dogs with a good 'family history' of hip scores, compared with a dog with excellent hips, but with poorer results overall among siblings. Very interesting!!! http://www.faqs.org/faqs/dogs-faq/medical-info/part2/ Having seen our 9 month old pup in pain and limping with luxating patellas, I'd be keen to avoid any skeletal problems as far as possible! I was shocked how distressed it made me feel to see our dog in pain! (Has been investigated with vet + XRays and surgery not recommended at this stage).

That's the best way to get the problem sorted- they can see what's going on first hand. Problems like this tend to escalate if you don't do anything. Pretty soon your dog has destroyed so much stuff that it would have paid for a trainer a few times over AND the problem's only worse. What area are you in? Perhaps someone can refer you to someone who's good?