fainty_girl

I don't use natural flea treatments. When we just had 1 dog Jessie never had fleas at all. Tilly seems to attract fleas though! They both had frontline put on a few days ago, but a couple of days afterwards I found a flea on Tilly. Maybe the frontline had passed its use by date, although i'm not sure ... So I gave Tilly a bath with the Fido's flea shampoo (washed & rinsed twice) and I haven't seen a flea on her since. I'll need to get some advantix or something, and try a different brand. My dogs go swimming in salt water nearly everyday too.

Same with my dog Tilly... She loves swimming, but she also tends to swallow a lot of salt water too. On one car ride, when I got home and opened the back door of the car to let the dogs out, I got a lovely surprise and saw that Tilly and thrown up big time, but she must have intentionally done it all on one of the old towels I had used to dry her off after her swim. So luckily my clever little pup didn't make a mess of my car, I just took the towel and put it in the bin!

My brother's ex had a Border Terrier puppy that used to spend quite a lot of time at my house visiting. My brother asked if I could look after him one day, and I told him that I was busy studying and didn't have time, my brother insisted and said he'd be fine and left him. When I was studying in my room, I heard a soft splash coming from our pool, so I followed my instincts and thought I better check where the puppy was. Well he was in the deep end of our pool, really struggling and could have sunk like a stone any minute . I had to drag him out of the water. He definitely would have drowned if I hadn't heard the splash. So not all dogs can swim! My dog Jessie chooses not to swim, but she is able to. Luckily, my 10 month old pup Tilly is a strong swimmer and absolutely loves swimming. When we first got our dogs, we did nudge them into our pool so we could show them where the steps are, in case they accidentally fell in one day and panicked. Neither of them like our pool though! If Stella wants to swim, then maybe you could wade through the water with her, so you can help her if need be.

Thanks Willow

How long are you meant to keep a dog that has had frontline plus applied out of the water? I'm having a mental blank and can't find the Frontline packet. It was applied last night...

So your parents were reluctant to even let you get a dog in the first place? Doesn't sound like the ideal living situation for a puppy or dog. Also, dogs don't smell if they are washed regularly. Personally I believe that dogs are part of your family and should not just be left outside or kept in a room to be alone. If you want to learn more about dogs, then I really recommend either watching "The Dog Whisperer" on cable tv's Bio channel or buying a series on dvd: http://www.ezydvd.com.au/item.zml/793077

I know, its hard to think these dogs would be scared of anything! Normally it happens at around 10-12 months, and then I think again at about 14 months? Yay..lol On second thoughts, maybe Tilly is in a fear period...my dad just got back from taking her on a long evening walk and he said Tilly was funny about cars, but started this about 10-15 mins into the walk! Apparently she tried to run at a car . The other day when I walked Tilly on the lead, she did look at the cars more-so than normal, and I mentioned it to my dad then, because my other dog Jessie has been like this towards cars in the past.

Thanks for your replies Kelpie_Pup, That is a good idea about playing the sound. Tilly is very responsive to sounds on TV and the computer, so I might look on youtube for videos with motorbike sounds. I didn't know there was a 2nd fear period for dogs of Tilly's age. She is a confident pup and doesn't seem to be fearful of anything (maybe this is the problem ) . I don't think she's scared of motorbikes, I think she wants to chase them for fun. Cosmolo, When I correct Tilly on the lead she normally settles, but I suppose the motorbikes are normally driving past us for only a fleeting moment. When she saw the scooter as I was driving, I tried to correct her with my voice but she did not settle.

Just this past week or 2, i've noticed that if i'm walking Tilly (my 9-10 month old kelpie X coolie) on the lead and she hears/sees a motorcycle, she starts pulling on the lead heaps and gets all hyped up. I've been correcting her on the lead when she does this. Now today we had the front door open because my brother is putting flooring in our house, so he needed the door open to go back and forth. When the postman went by on his motorbike, Tilly chased him on the bike, barking heaps. I didn't see her run out there because I was in the bathroom, but went out to investigate when I heard barking. I obviously called her back to me in a gruff tone and she looked super guilty. A short time later I took the dogs out to the park, and on the way in the car, a scooter was driving along behind us. Tilly sat there in the boot, watching the scooter intently, and after about 30 seconds she began to bark. I was the only one in the car, so all I could do was say "aaaah" in a really firm tone, because this is the way I normally let her know she is doing something wrong and she is generally very responsive to it. She wasn't this time though, and only stopped barking when the scooter went down another street. What else can I do about this behaviour? Any suggestions?

My dogs love carrots! Jessie will eat them when they are finely grated or chopped finely and steamed, and mixed into her dinner. Tilly eats chunks of raw carrot like they are a treat. The other night when I steamed some carrot for their dinner, she sat there drooling.

No offense taken :cool: . I Didn't realise the extender leads had such a bad reputation. That's terrible that you know of dogs being hit by cars too :D . I don't always use the extender lead, but I have sometimes with Tilly because she is such an active pup and gets more exercise on the extender lead if we are walking together as she is always running back and forth. I only use it in quiet areas though and if its busy, then I keep her closer to me.

I suppose the answer is when you have a few tactics up your sleeve that you think your puppy will respond to! Could you try using an extender lead to begin with, giving treats to your puppy when you call him over to you on the beach? Or similar to what another person said, take along a favourite toy or whatever your dog is interested, just in case, if you need to get their attention quickly. To get my 9 month old puppy Tilly to recall when it is time to leave the dog park, sometimes I have to use a firm/gruff voice, otherwise she will deliberately ignore me. Then she will come straight to me, lay down and look very guilty! If I only use a vaguely naughty voice, then she doesn't take me seriously.

No.. i think it's a bit sad... that today's dogs spend so much time indoors that burying food treasures in furniture is their version of 'normal' Our guys never have any meat/bones indoors.. all outside, with the doors shut! My dog Jessie will not eat a bone outside...she will only go into the backyard if she follows someone out there. If we call her out there or show her food/a bone, she gets scared, hides under the dining table and refuses to go outside. So we do let her eat bones inside, but luckily she does not 'bury' them anywhere in the house.

I posted a similar thread about my 8-9 month old puppy play biting, and it was suggested that I try making a yelp sound when my puppy play bit me. This has been working well . Good luck.

I need some advice with aggression too , hope you don't mind me posting here too. I had a bad day today with my 8 month old puppy Tilly (Kelpie X Coolie). Tilly attacked my other dog Jessie in the afternoon...now I am furious about this , my older brother was here today and he started playing a game of tug-of-war with Jessie, and this hyped up Jessie and Tilly. Then my brother threw the toy towards Jessie & Tilly, and then Tilly attacked Jessie for the toy . I am SO angry at my brother, because we are working hard to settle Tilly. Later on in the evening I took Tilly to the dog park and my mum took Jessie and we met there to let the dogs have a play. On several occasions I have taken Tilly & Jessie to the same dog park and they have been great together. Normally Tilly will focus on playing fetch, and Jessie will normally stroll around the park, and then on the sand Jessie will sometimes run with Tilly, kind of trying to round her up to stop her getting the ball. Now this sounds confusing, but Jessie will only focus more on playing fetch when my mum is there (long story), so at the park today Jessie was more involved in playing fetch than she normally is with Tilly. When we were just about ready to leave the dog park, Tilly attacked Jessie over the ball, after they both ran for the ball. Jessie has a little bite mark on her back now. Tilly has not shown aggression towards any other dog, apart from my Jessie. Tilly has also happily played fetch with other dogs at the park, letting them take her ball with absolutely no aggression towards them. Tilly is getting plenty of exercise, so she can't be bored! (We've been visiting this park twice a day, spending about 2-3 hours there , with Tilly running and swimming the whole time). Jessie is a submissive girl and is not aggressive at all. When Tilly attacked her, she did not fight back. What can I do about aggression over toys/balls? Why is Tilly only aggressive with Jessie?

Thanks for all the advice everyone! Tilly hasn't play bitten me many times today, but when she has I did do a yelp and that did seem to stop it. The first time I yelped, she stopped and then licked me instead. I'll continue to do yelp if needed to see if it keeps on working with her. I've asked my family to do the same, and my younger brother told me that when he yelped it did stop her a bit. Tilly will play bite me when i'm patting her and when she's sitting/cuddled into me. It doesn't happen when I have a toy in my hand. I think she's made it a bit of a game for herself. Yes Tilly is a rescue, we adopted her from the pound 19 days ago as a stray. I really believe that Tilly has spent most of her life in her previous owner's yard, with little discipline and attention paid to her. Fortunately, I don't think she has been physically abused by her previous owners at all. She is completely fearless! She is a very cuddly, affectionate, confident and friendly dog. I don't think that she is the slightest bit uncomfortable with being petted. Quite the opposite...she loves it!

If your pup is anything like mine, she will bounce back to normal SO quickly! My 8 month old puppy Tilly got desexed 1 week ago and her personality has not changed. Its day surgery, so she was dropped off in the morning and we picked her up in the evening. She was pleased to see us when we picked her up at the vet, with her tail still wagging, she even managed to jump in the car. She was just a little bit wobbly on her legs for about an hour or so after we picked her up and she was tired, so she had a good sleep. She was allowed 1/3 to 1/2 of her regular dinner, and perked up as soon as she saw it. From the next morning onwards she was completely normal. Her stitches have not bothered her at all, she is only a little itchy from where her tummy was shaved. Stitches come out 10 days after the surgery, so I have not let Tilly play off the leash at the dog park and she is not allowed to get wet. She has been getting walked on the lead instead, so I will continue to do this until her stitches are out later in the week. Tilly didn't seem the slightest bit bothered by getting desexed. The only challenge has been trying to get her to slow down!

Hi everyone, My 8 month old kelpie X coolie puppy Tilly seems to be play biting (my hands and wrists mainly) quite a lot now, particularly with me. What is the best way to respond to her play biting? She does not normally bite hard, and the worst she has done is leave a tiny red mark on my skin. How should I respond to her play biting? I've been telling her a firm 'no' and then I will ignore her. She has loads of different toys to chew on too. Tilly came from the pound 2.5 weeks ago as a stray. As a side note, Tilly was desexed last Monday, so this week she has not been able to have daily off-leash exercise that we had been giving her before her operation. She has still been going for 1-2 walks on the lead each day, but was not allowed to go for a walk for a couple of days after being desexed, so she has had a quieter week. So possibly, she could be play biting more out of boredom.

Just thought i'd say that he looks like a gorgeous little puppy! You might just have to keep him for yourself.

I've continued to take Matilda to this same park, and i've been playing fetch with her while we are there. She has not jumped on a single person since I started to play fetch with her there, so i'm pleased. She focuses her attention on playing fetch instead. I will continue to work on her jumping at home.

Thanks for your advice :D . It is a bit tricky to 'train' the other people at the dog park, because it is a large park and Matilda does not stay by my side the whole time, so I am not always close enough to the people that she jumps on to ask them to ignore her. Its not their fault that Matilda jumps on them, i've got to take responsibility and train her not to. Her recall is good now at this park, but being an energetic pup, she basically runs non-stop the entire time she is there. Obviously I do keep an eye on her while we are there!

Thanks for the advice everyone. It must be harder when you've got a larger breed of dog too! Luckily Matilda is small (weighs about 12kg), but I still don't want her jumping on people, no matter what her size is. I've never had a dog that was so friendly to strangers. My other dog and the dog I grew up with as a child were/are cautious with strangers, so i've never had this problem.

Thanks for your reply. Yes, Matilda also jumps on us at home, so when she does this we push her down. I will have to try turning my back towards her and ignoring her, like you suggested. At the dog park I have noticed that the people that she has jumped on also encourage her to stay down and then pat her. I do apologise to them and they also say that its ok.

What can I do to stop my 8-9 month old puppy jumping up on strangers to say hello at the dog park? Matilda is a kelpie X coolie who we adopted from the pound 1 week ago as a stray. We have just started to let Matilda go off the lead at an off-leash dog park, and today when I took her there for the second time today (first time she was focused on playing fetch with my other dog), she excitedly went up to a lot of different people at the dog park and jumped up to say hello. Obviously not everyone appreciates being jumped on, so what things can I do to stop this? Should I try her on the extender lead again and work on how she greets people? She is a really friendly dog and seems to love every person she meets.

Good news Wuffles, Matilda went to the same dog park twice today and her recall was great! The first time there she played fetch with my other dog for ages and she responded well to her name. Just this evening I took her to the park again without my other dog (she was exhausted still from the first visit!) and her recall was great again. She's super energetic so does run around the whole park heaps, but I could tell she was keeping an eye on me, and when I whistled and called her name, she would happily run over to me to be rewarded with a pat.