Poodle wrangler

There are lots of factors involved in bloat/ gastric torsion and the causes aren't well understood. It affects my breed too (standard poodles have deep chests). I think all you can do is take the current advice and seek vet attention immediately if there are any signs of it. More info. here. The study isn't specific to poodles http://www.poodlesinaustralia.com/health/health18.html

There are lots of threads on allergy, skin problems etc. if you do a search. Some things that have been suggested include: * Diet: Include more raw foods, less dry/ commercial foods. If severe, try an elimination diet to exclude food allergies/ food intolerances. * Supplement fish oil capsules- according to weight of dog, or flaxseed oil (omega 3 and 6). * Use of shampoos for sensitive skin e.g. T-Gel (human one with coal tar) or doggy ones for sensitive, itchy skin. * Avoid allergy-causing plants and the dog being outside with high pollen counts (early morning, evening)- see http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?showtopic=81686 (scroll down). * Steroid creams can be used, but have side effects, so are best used to treat a "flare up" rather than regularly. Best wishes with him

I'd also ring the salon and ask what they used on her and whether or not any dogs had fleas that day. Never know, they might offer to assist you? She may have picked up fleas anywhere. I use Advantix (spot-on) and it starts killing fleas in 20 minutes. One of my dog seems to attract fleas and there have to be quite a few on him b4 I see them- tummy is a good place to look. I'm not exactly sure, but I think you need to wait 2-3 days after a bath to use one of the spot-on products (check the instructions, I'm not sure). pricelesspets.com.au is the cheapest I've found for the antiflea, antitick stuff. Frontline is similar, but I found it didn't work for me when I got a freebie sample (?resistance in my area).

I took my older dog to puppy school and it was OK for socialisation, but the OP says she has friends with friendly dogs she can do that with. Socialisation involves exposing the pup to lots of different things ..e.g. kids, vacuums, buses, traffic, bikes, car trips... and making the experiences as positive as possible. I'm sorry I don't know anywhere in your area, but some puppy schools are rubbish, so it's worth having a recommendation. I took my older dog to puppy school, but he didn't learn anything that I'd not already taught him by the book at home. I didn't have other dogs to socialise him with, so it was worth it from that point of view. With our new pup, no puppy schools were running at the time we got him- all were mid-way through and he wasn't able to join them- and we went straight into obedience at 16 weeks with no problems. I did some training at home before then and he was socialised with other dogs, kids, traffic, took him to my son's soccer etc. Have a look at the Training/ Obedience/ Dog sports subforum, pinned topics, and start doing the Triangle of Temptation with your pup. They have to eat and it doesn't take long to include this as well. Good luck with pup

Clicker training jumps to mind. You can feel when the clicker is activated. Sounds like you're doing OK. You could also try the Training/Obedience/Dog sports subforum if you don't have much luck here... I guess a kelpie might not be ideal for him, but he's training, so good on him .

Before classes, you need to make sure all vaccinations are up-to-date. Some obedience clubs let you start with a dog about 16 weeks old. Some puppy classes aren't very good- they're run out of vet surgeries by vet nurses- and it all depends how good s/he is. Many have no dog training qualifications. They're also more expensive than the local obedience club. If I were you, I'd ask here about a good book for general dog behaviour and training. I'd start there, then go to obedience. Skip puppy school. Ask in the Training subforum about how to handle his apparent shyness. Be very wary at offleash parks- if your pup is scared at home, a dog offleash park is the last place to take him. Don't allow other dogs near him until you have a strategy to deal with the problem. Sometimes people say their dog is friendly, but your pup might perceive otherwise.

Redness and inflammation suggest infection. An infection that starts off like this would be pretty advanced b4 he seemed sick. My vet wouldn't charge for a quick look at the wound, but he (and she) are great .

I thought Black Dog make one similar?

Tell him, if he moves it, he won't have to clean up wee and poo off the carpet

, but that would be frustrating . Many of our old class obviously did nothing through the week as well as having not much idea about dog behaviour in the first place. Not that I'm perfect.

Mystery, $? . High maintenance- think of poodle, but worse to groom . I get grief from some oodles owners for having poodles- they think their cross is better . Snobs. They're "so intelligent" is a favourite, while their dog runs around like a crazy thing . Glad he's doing well. Keep up the good work .

I got in trouble for talking in class: "No gold star for you!" . Yes, it's normally rude, but the instructor had told as to relax with our dogs and was spending about 10 minutes helping another class member 1:1. I blame the handsome Belgian Shepherd I was admiring for distracting me . I've had the occasional, "Oh, you've not been doing your homework" and most often it's the weeks I HAVE actually done it. I try to get there early and give my dog a run before class. It really helps settle him as it doesn't seem to matter how much exercise he has earlier in the day, he's excited and takes some time to settle once we get there. Ever seen a poodle both bounce at heel? As you say, they're volunteering their time and I don't let that sort of thing worry me. Our beginner's class had about 75% attrition rate, though, which is a shame for the dogs. I don't think training is for everyone- let's face it, classes are often a bit boring and some instructors are better than others. Who wants to struggle with their dog every week and be told to do more work at home? At least they were coming to class and doing something. They just stay in beginners if they can't do the exercises. About dog's doing well only outside of training classes: One of our better instructors used to say, "That just means they need MORE training!" .. i.e. they need to be able to do it with distractions.

I know poodle showies don't use them on the much longer fur, but we're talking some extreme fur, there. My poodles are clipped in a short-medium length pet trim and I can't see any problems with their coats from using a slicker. What do breeders of your breed suggest?

Sounds like you're doing all the right things for your dog and have a good vet. What more can you do? A loving owner is the only one who can decide what's best for their dog, given the information you have. About your 3 year old: To lose your dog would be awful, but kids are very resilient. It would be worse for him to see the dog suffer (if that's the alternative). 3 year olds have poor understanding of death, so you would have to expect a lot of questions about where Bacchus is, if he were PTS . I doubt he really understands that the BC is gone forever, too. I sympathise, a few years ago when we went on holidays, my then 7 yr old son was in tears over not seeing our dog for only 2 weeks. My 3 year old clearly loves both our dogs, too.

Has anyone used an ecollar, then gone on to debark their dog (last resort)? It's cheaper to go straight to debarking , though I've no intention of doing so. I'm here at the computer and Oscar the mini poodle has gone out to bark at our neighbour (of about 4 years) who's hanging out the washing. Not on! They're lovely neighbours and I asked if Charlie (standard poodle) was barking much- yes, he's started to when Oscar barks, whereas he wasn't before. He's now 8 months old :p .

Assistance dogs usually wear a vest, don't they? Perhaps you could either make one or modify a dog coat to suit? You can always phone ahead to the centre manager, also, so you're not unexpected.

I thought the same thing, too ;). I'm guessing it's a typo- normal scissors wouldn't cut my dog's nails. I'd grind down dog's nails with a dremel or similar (e.g. Ozito)- http://homepages.udayton.edu/~merensjp/doberdawn/index.html. I use the same dremel on both a mini poodle and standard poodle, but lower the speed on the smaller dog. I also bought 7.5" scissors off http://www.freewebs.com/clipperbladesharpe...eningprices.htm and find they're good for 2 poodles. I clip their bodies and scissor head, legs and tail.

If I add mince to dry, my dog will make a mess trying to get rid of the dry food so he can just eat the mince . I'd feed dry whenever she's most likely to be hungry. Some like to only leave food for 20minutes, then take it away. Offer again later. This is best to do if you have young kids. Otherwise, it's only a matter of time b4 kids try the dog food. Pup will soon get the right idea. You have your dog now, so enjoy her, but please don't encourage those friends who love her to buy one of the same cross. Sadly, most cavXpoodles come from puppy farmers who keep their dogs in poor conditions and do no health testing . One DOLer had one of her dogs onsold and ended up as a breeding machine: http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?showtopic=90139. I'm not criticising you- you might not have known- but now you do, so please inform others. Many puppy farmer websites are slick and misleading. Puppy farmers will only stop if people don't buy their dogs. There are hundreds of lovable pups and dogs being PTS in shelters and pounds, including many poodleXs because they have high grooming needs which owners are uninformed about and unprepared for .

Thanks for that K9 . 2 collars, I guess. Are any brands better than others at avoiding going off when the dog's NOT barking e.g. playing or jumping causes vibration? I've read this is more a problem in smaller dogs who are active e.g. mine! The barking is sometimes a problem when he's playing with the larger dog.

I think an ecollar each will be the go for my problem barker (mini poodle, 8kg) and his young apprentice (standard poodle, 25kg), together with behavioural e.g. exercise, stimulation, training, getting them used to being alone etc. Both are actually good dogs apart from the barking. My main worry is the ecollar going off when they're NOT barking. I noticed this often happenned with the mini poodle when I tried an ultrasonic collar on him. Can anyone suggest ecollar brands that are less prone to this? Suitable for smaller dogs? I've read it's more common in smaller dogs for this to happen Thanks

What do you mean as using food all the time? I'm a strong believer that a dog, once the behaviour is learnt shouldn't be rewarded EVERY time. Having said that - i'm probably more like the first trainer - i'll reward with food. I bribe with food only when the dog is initially learning the exercise. Main reason being is if you don't ask for a sit until you have food in your hand - the dogs will quickly learn that that is the *only* time it is worth it for them to 'sit'.... So yes - I will 'teach' the behaviour with food, but after that the food becomes a reward and the dogs don't know when/ where that reward is coming from. That doesn't mean that they hardly get rewarded - in fact, they probably get rewarded more using this method.... quality over quantity.... In answer to your question, i'd stick with one method and keep it consistent - otherwise your dog might get confused etc I guess she doesn't use it "all the time", but much more frequently than the other trainer e.g. I'd go thru a pocketful of food over 45 minutes vs. about 3 times as much with the other trainer. I find food certainly help my dogs to focus on me, but don't like to feed my dogs treats constantly.

for your girl. I'm glad she's feeling better. Much better to have it done for her, from what you've said.

I use a slicker, on poodles with short-medium length hair, dense coat on one of them. Be careful as there are some slickers that are more tools for torture than tools for grooming . Look for the "soft" type and test it on your arm, first, even some labelled "soft" can be too firm.

Don't worry too much. My standard poodle pup only eats dry food as a last resort. He tried following me sadly to the fridge every time I opened it (I also feed raw meat and bones). It took only a few days for him to realise no more was forthcoming, so he gave it up and would eat the dry food. An otherwise healthy pup WILL eat. I found this out when I tried feeding by the packet, accidently underfeeding my dog. Fortunately, I saw the breeder and she set me straight. That's the only time I ever saw him eat dry food with enthusiasm ;). I like to feed about 40-50% raw food, but dry food is very convenient. If you want your dog to have it, keep offering it with no other alternative e.g.raw in morning, dry in afternoon. Dogs are smart and won't eat dry if you reward them by giving something tastier instead.

That's awful. At our local club, no dogs below trialling level are allowed off leash- a long line is used, if needed. Only agility dogs off leash and they're well-behaved. Oh, and after a GSP slipped it's too big collar a few times in one session, I noticed some instructors checking all collars b4 class .