Imoenboxers

Hi Guys I am looking for someone in this area that may be able to look at a dog trailer for me. I am unable to travel all the way up (7+ hrs) to check it out myself as I have an almost 2 year old that wouldnt appreciate the trip. If anyone can assist who knows a little about dog trailers it would be appreciated if you could contact me.\ Mel

Winston (CH Imoen First appearance), my first born pup out of my first litter in 2001, was sent over the rainbow bridge last night ...... Winston took a hit for the worse yesterday. I found him out in the backyard (he was suppsoe to be inside) when I got up that morning not being able to move and frozen, was cold that night!. I picked him up and put him in my bed which is where he had been sleeping until a couple of days ago to warm up, thinking that is all he needed. How nieve I was, but maybe i didn't want to face the truth either.......... Winston Turned 7 years old on Wednesday where he started to walk funny on his back legs. Thursday checkup and Friday Xray's showed severe arthuritis..... Steroids were suppose to help him, but he had also gotten pneumonia as well! I and his mum (Soda) and my best friend Ali wished him a great journey and to told him to say hello to Zelda and Holly, Wins neices, who we also recently lost..... I am hoping his mum copes okay with the loss, as I cannot handle anymore being sent over the bridge this year ..... Winston (6/08/01 - 11/08/08) you were my world baby boy and coming home without your boxer wiggle will be heart breaking... Just remember Mummy will always love you...... Bye baby boy! Forever in my heart, which feels like it is breaking every moment.......... Until we meet again....

Tonight I had to do the hardest thing. But had to share it along with my friends and part owners in Zelda (Imoen Dreams Come True). Zelda, who is and forever will be my baby was Put to sleep after being diagnosed with Chronic renal failure at 11 months of age (11 days before her 1st birthday)....... Zel was an outgoing pup before she got sick, but was alway human orientated, thought she was human! But aren't all Boxers...... I kept her here until she was 6 months of age, but couldn't keep both her and her sister. I rehomed her to the BEST of homes with Mel and Michael here in Canberra who took on Zel's sister Cleo. It wasn't until Cleo and Zel got into a huge blue that Zel came back to live with the Imoen Boxer gang again. I was told today that Zelly was in Chronic renal failure and was not going to survive. I, along with Mel (the other mother to her) had to make the decision, the hardest decision, to have her not suffer at all and to PTS...... So as of 9:30 tonight, Zelly Well, otherwise know as Imoen Dreams Come True, was put to sleep to leap and bound over the rainbow bridge...... She had the best 11 months that a Boxer could have asked for, spoilt rotten!. She was always spoilt rotten, and for good reason..... Live free baby girl and we will join you at some stage to become a whole family again........ Mel ( your breeder and original mummy......)

Could be a preservative allergy? I have a dog here that is allergic to preservatives found in commercial dog food. I now feed a raw diet, but still have to be careful that no preservatives have been used on the meat. I do however feed a small amount of dry food each week (just to ensure all the vitamins and minerals are there) and I use Nutrience Holistic. It is preservative free and smells brilliant. Must taste great too as my dogs love it and I will sometimes use it for training treats at the dog club. Check the ingredients on the packaging and if there are any preservatives, stear clear of the product. I really hope it is something this simple, as feeding becomes a real battle until you know what causes it. Good luck

If you think she is well enough not to take to the vet ( although I would suggest anyone take their pups to their vet within 48 hours of purchasing a puppy from anywhere...) for a checkup, there are a couple of things that you can do to try to rid of the poop situation. Most of the time it is due to change in diet and environment. Admittinly, I would be a bit stressed if I was taken away from my littermates and put into a new situation as well! Try: Cooked pumpkin, mashed and added to their dinner Yohurt, but must have Acidophallis (sp?) in it. I use Bonnhoffin or Yukhult!! Cooked rice and cooked beef mince (human quality) If tyou are feeding a different dog food to the pet shop, then you should expect a bit of the runs..... It may not agree with their stomach at the moment. Give at least a week on the new food before trying to change it over. to something else. Hope this helps Mel

Oh forgot to add, don't train heel (next to your left leg) if you are showing your dog. I had this problem with my dog and he wouldn't move out infront of me when showing once he knew what heel meant. I had to retrain and call it "run" this means run out infront of me! When you own a show dog that is also being trained in obedience, this is one of the risks you take. In the show ring, you want the dog to run out in front of you to show off their gait, but if they are "heeling" then they will only go as fast as you are...... Just a tip! Mel

MyMontage, try soaking the lead in something bitter like bitter apple or soak it in cayenne pepper paste (something you make up from Cayenne pepper ans water). This will stop your pup from biting leads as it will either have a bitter taste or will be rather hot, depending on what you use... Both have worked for me. isbrec, the gentle leader will work eventually. You should expect alot of "trying to ge tthe darm thing off" behaviour at first though. Lots of dogs don't like anything on their heads, it is uncomfortable. But we don't put it on them in the first place for comfort, do we?!!!!!! Basically what I suggest to people in my class ( I am obedience instructor at a club) is to leave it on while the dog is being supervised and only reward them (give them treats) when they are not trying to get the head collar off! Second thing I suggest is to have the head collar attached to a neck collar. So have a double lead. One end attaches to the neck collar, the other to the head collar. When the dog pulls, pull gently on the neck collar first, if this doesn't stop the dog, then gently pull on the head collar. What this does is trains the dog that if the collar is pulled, and they don't ease up, then their head is going to be pulled on! Eventually, you will just have to carry the head collar as a reminder that if you pull, then the head collar goes back on. Try using the head collar in this fashion for at least 4 weeks, then try to ease away from it. Carry it with you each time you go for a walk, just incase, but don't be afraid to use it if your dog isn't going to listen to you! I wish you luck and if you need more info on the head collars, let me know...... Regards Mel

There is also a chance that your pup my be allergic to preseratives in dog food, so i would try using something without preservatives, which I think Eagle pack is one of them..... Just check what the ingredients are. I started BARFing (Bones and Raw food) after I found out that my boy is allergic to preservatives in dog food. I now feed fresh meat (mainly chicken mince) and vegies, which he has thrived on. As for the dry coast, it sounds as though you just need some extra natual oils in the diet. I would try fresh Sardines, which are full of natual oil, or at least tinned, in oil. I also use a supplement called Groom. This has stopped the dandruff in my dogs. Maybe something worth looking at. It is a multivitamin and mineral for horses. Cheaper than the dog supplement and about the same things in it! Available at most livestock feed stores..... Good luck with you lab. It could be anything, so without seeing him, I would try the natural stuff for at least a couple of weeks and see if there is an improvement. It is all about crossing out what could be making it happen... which of course takes time...... Mel

Thanks for the article K9 Force. It is always interesting to read others takes on so called "training aids". But I am now curious, you say that a "competent trainer" will be able to stop a dog from pulling within 10 minutes, I would be interested to know how you do this as I am always looking for other training methods... Feel free to PM me :-) Mel

I encounter this problem on a weekly basis. I am obedience instructor, and unfortunately, what works for one dog, may not work for another. I for one would not try the stick method suggested by Riley (bubblegirl) this will only add problems with head shyness if you actually make contact with your dogs head! Not what I would call a proven method. Methods I would suggest you try are: 1. When you go for a walk, always carry food in your left pocket, or a bumbag on your left (this may encourage the dog to walk on your left side (heeling) if you use something tasty enough, like chicken or liver treats). When walking your dog, try using a lead with padding in the handle and a flat collar on the dog. Everytime the dog pulled, change direction, reward your dog after you have changed direction and is close to you. Do this everytime your dog pulls. Some dogs will pick up that everytime they pull, they have the direction changed, which is of course annoying to them (and you) and they will soon cotton on that if they don't pull, that you will continue in one direction, normally the direction they want to go. But then again, some dogs just don't get it. Give it at least a 7 day work out.... 2. If the above method doesn't work, then i would suggest a "Gentle Leader". This is a head collar that is fitted on the dogs head. This works wonders.... First with a flat collar, you have the weight of the whole dog pulling at your should, and is likely t rip it out of its socket.. But with a head collar, you just have the weight of th dogs head to deal with, much nicer to deal with... My suggestion with this is let your dog wear the head collar for 5 minutes or so a day without a lead attached out in the yard or in the house with supervision. this is to get your dog use to it. You will see quite a few dogs rubbing their heads along the ground trying to get the head collar off their heads. This is typical behaviour, and you should reward your dog when they are not trying to rub it off. Now back onto walking your dog....... Same principal applies, ensure you carry tasy food on your walks, or a squeaky top, what ever gets your dogs rocks off.... Reward your dog when they are walking the way that you want them too. The other thing to remember with a head collar, you should always have a flatcollar on the dog as well, with a double lead (one end of the lead attaches to the head collar, the other to the flat collar). When walking, pull on the flat collar first, then if that doesn't work, then gently on the head collar. If you use this method, then you should be able to get rid of head collar in less than 6 months time. These two methods are the most sucessful methods used on dogs. I just hope they work. Unfortunately, no method will work overnight, and will take consistancy and patience. Good luck.

I only keep the best ones. The others I give back to the show, or don't collect. The ones I do have are pinned in a spare room (this is also the whelping room). When I was showing horses (gee alot of people move from horses to dogs) a friend use to sew them together for her daughter and made a throw rug and curtains out the the ribbons... I do like the photo idea though!

This is true. When I bought my first girl, I didn't know about the keeping the nails short for the show ring... SO would clip hers once every couple of months. I have since got a fe more dogs and learnt alot when it came to "nail management" and my first girls nails have been alot shorter. I grinded her nails back each week, just short of bleeding and the nails are now 50% shorter than they were before. This is the approach I would take. It concerns me though that the nails are so long that the dog is now walking funny! If they live in the Canberra area, I will offer to do them myself on a weekly basis, just to give this poor dog the life it deserves, without going through the pain of walking on nails..... Good luck with it though!

Apart from my dog breaking out in hives, the one thing that made me switch to BARF was what I read on the internet. I read on a site that there are many unknowns in dog food. The site I read from included things like horse, other cats and dogs who had been put down at the vet, rabbit, goat........ This list was endless. Now I don't know if it is true or not, by "By-Product" does not really mean too much to me. WHo knows what we are really feeding our dogs. This was (I think from Memory) and American site, so maybe their laws are different to ours. Would Australian dog food manufactures be allowed to put the above ingredients into dog food????? Disappointing if it did. VERY disappointing if what I also read was true.

Have you ever eaten dry food??? It tastes like cardboard. Well the science diet that I tasted did........ I can understand them being fussy. They are given a cooked meal, which is tasty, then offered this tastless food. It is like asking you, do you prefer a chocolate, or a raw potato? I would go the chocolate anyday. As for their teeth, feed them fresh chicken wings, drumsticks or even a half or quarter of a chicken carcass. Great for their teeth. Just my thoughts.

I would have thought that buying the patties would be the expensive way to go???? I make my own meals for my dogs. It costs me around $40 per fortnight to feed my 4 Boxers. That is fresh mince (chicken and beef), offal, veges, chicken carcasses and Vitamin and mineral supplements & additives (apple cider vinegar and garlic). I was looking into buying the patties, but I figured that making my own was a little cheaper, plus I kind of enjoy making the vege mash every weekend..... Oh, I spend $10 on fresh sardines per fortnight too... BUt then it takes more time to do, which of course doesn't suit alot of lifestyles.... Where does the time go during the day???