ellz

Yes, I do confess that early on, mine seem to understand what the words "oi, it's not your turn yet!" mean!

From very early on, my dogs/puppies are encouraged to eat separately. On occasions if I have a fussy eater, I'll let them eat within sight of each other (sometimes a bit of competition at the food bowl can encourage a slow eater) but always with at least a fence, crate or pen between them.

I've also resorted to concrete water bowls in the past as well as stainless steel pails trojan-clipped to fences, star pickets etc. For dogs who like to dig at the water in bowls, automatic waterers can be a good investment if you are on mains water.

A very fine check chain will be quite ok, but I wouldn't necessarily go to one just yet. Don't worry about him being a little bit naughty, whether he's in the "big league" or not. My 11 month old American Cocker is still only just getting his act together. Sometimes he'll move beautifully and be a dickhead on the stack, other times he'll move like a camel and stand until the cows come home, but he NEVER fails to greet the judge with a kiss and sometimes it really doesn't matter that he isn't docked, because you can't see his tail anyway because it is wagging so fast! Let him be a baby, until he's in full coat and "truly" competitive, he's really only going to be competing against other puppies anyway.

Oopsie American Cocker litter possibly due 25th October...unlikely but you never know.

I always put it in the detergent drawer if the machine has one, otherwise wherever it is normally put on the particular type of washing machine (ie in the body of the machine or in the centre spindle etc).

Many years ago now, I had a puppy with an intussusception. It presented not unlike what you're describing. Basically, the bowel telescopes back on itself, kind of like a half-unrolled pair of socks. The puppy underwent surgery, lost 6 inches of large bowel, about the same of small bowel and made a full recovery. Although he had to be watched later to ensure that he was never overweight, he lived until he was about 12. When he had the surgery done, it was "meant" to be touch and go. About 12 hours after the procedure and visiting him at the hospital, I got a phone call asking me to go back again. Naturally, I was freaked and beside myself. But it turned out that having seen me, my puppy decided he wanted OUT of hospital and hadn't shut up or settled since and they didn't want to sedate him too heavily so he came home early. Good luck with your dog. I hope your outcome is as good.

They are both golden retrievers. Btw should she wash the bedding in something specific? Very unlikely, but with Golden Retrievers, we think extra eyelashes, punctal atresia. (Neither of which fit with what you are describing...) I think it sounds environmental, though. I dunno if washing the bedding in something different will make any difference, but I use Earth Choice cos it is cheap and has no harsh chemicals. I'd also suggest before changing brands of washing powder that a couple of "blank cycles" be done with some white vinegar in the washing machine to neutralise any soap already there. It's pointless changing powders if the residue remains in the machine. Sensitivities often don't take very much to cause them to flare.

I'd normally agree but not if canned/wet food was recommended! Absolutely agree with you Aziah. I briefly "mention" canned/wet/roll food in my puppy guide, but only to point out that it is the "Maccas" of dog food. OK for the occasional meal but has very little nutritional value for a balanced diet.

I'd seriously be forgetting the wet food for a start. It simply isn't economical to be paying so much for something which is essentially water with some thickeners, colours and flavours added to it. You're better off spending that money on a good quality mince plus chicken frames, necks and wings. Of the dry foods, Supercoat is the only dry food that I DON'T recommend. If you wish to purchase food at the supermarket, you can feed Optimum or either the You'll Love Coles brand dry food or Woolworths Select depending upon which supermarket chain you use. I feed these myself on occasion and my dogs do just fine. I have also fed Woofbix from Big W with good results, but my dogs do best on Great Barko or Uncle Albers which are manufactured by Laucke Mills in South Australia and are very economical.

The ID bands for puppies are actually a very strong paperlike material...not the almost indestructible plastic that the hospital ID bands use. They are actually a lot safer than using ribbon, wool or anything else because they DO in fact break if necessary, but stay put under "normal" circumstances.

Sway's website http://www.whelpingsupplies.com.au

The bad news is that until his tummy is sorted, crate training will have to take a back seat. If he's holding his wee, the message about the crate is obviously in his head, but sometimes the urge to do a yucky bowel movement is just so overwhelming that it cannot be pre-empted. The best you can do for now is to keep cleaning his crate properly and answer him as SOON as he cries, you may be able to get to him before he soils his bed.

Some dogs just do it. In them, it's like a fingernail biting habit in humans. There are many schools of thought. You could try sprinkling Paprika or Black Pepper on a few nice fresh ones to see what will happen if she tries to eat them. You could try the pineapple (canned chopped pineapple is better apparently) in the food. Or you could just get to the droppings first and pick them up before she has a chance to. Above all else......AVOID KISSES!!!!!!

SOME moisture can be normal, but not all moisture IS normal so it is far better to have it checked from the outset.

Come on, ellz, move to Melbourne... I'd love to! We'd make an AWESOME (if somewhat frightening) team I think!

Vet advice FIRST, cosmetic repair second!!! Can't stress this enough. You don't mess with eyes! There can be many reasons why the eyes are tearing. Blocked tear ducts, ingrown eyelashes, rolling eyelids etc etc.

Put a snood on his head to keep his ears out of the way, tie your own hair back (if you have long hair) and poke each toe through a hole in the toe of a thick sock so the grinder doesn't catch the foot hair.

Could be a very common condition called balanitis which is an inflammation of the head of the penis. Quite easy to treat but may need antibiotics or a topical cream if it doesn't clear up quickly. You could try flushing gently with saline to see if that helps. Often the dog licking it will do one of two things, clear it up or make it worse.

Another here who doesn't necessarily recommend the "two is better than one" approach. With two you're up for twice the work, twice the expenses, twice the inconvenience when it comes to organising things like holidays etc and quite possibly twice the trouble if they don't get along. To me it's like saying, "hey, have two CHILDREN because they'll keep each other amused". Yeah right, and be like my two youngest who spend most of their time thinking up ways to "off" the other one! How any dog copes when left alone is up to the way it is managed, treated, socialised and the efforts that its human is prepared to go to, to ensure its comfort. And more importantly, how the quality time is spent together when the human is home. NO dog, Stafford or otherwise should be left outside 24/7. They all need social interaction, a chance to be with their pack (even if it is made up with humans), companionship and things to occupy their minds. If your idea of getting a dog is to lock it in a backyard all day, allow it to spend maybe an hour with you at night before you lock it up to go to sleep and then repeat the cycle the next day, then you're probably best off not even getting a dog in the first place.

My American Cocker bitch (Vanni), popped a hot spot recently, two days before a show. Unsightly, messy, weeping damned thing it was. Three days of Prep H and it was dry and healing. Now, only a couple of weeks later, you'd be hard pressed to see where it was.

Preparation H (or any other anti-haemorrhoid cream). Antiseptic and anaesthetic benefits.

Not all vets follow the same protocol. For many years, some have only given two shots, whilst others have given three. And of course, not all owners bother to take their puppies back for their third shot either. :D Because I don't give the first shot between 6 - 8 weeks like many other breeders, I don't always suggest keeping the puppy at home until the third shot. To me, correct and timely socialisation is everything. And to be perfectly honest, a puppy can pick "something" up anywhere, vaccinated or not so after 10 weeks or so, I think the socialisation is far more important than being anal about disease.

I think you'll find that Miranda was more talking "you" generally, rather than "you" specifically. It is a fact though that many people who are new to showing are in awe of the coats and conditioning of some dogs but either aren't aware, or are unwilling to put in the behind the scenes hard yakka to accomplish it. And it is work to maintain a show coat. dancinbc, the OP isn't talking about dying a coat to "create" something that isn't there. Unless I'm mistaken, they want to assist something that has occurred already. It doesn't matter whether you have dogs, cats, horses or even in the case of people hair, if it is in the sun and the elements it WILL become damaged. If the OP's dog is in and out of the sun, then it will sustain some amount of sunburn. The best way to ensure that this doesn't happen, is to keep it out of the sun. My dogs are in and out all day, but when they are out, they only have access to parts of the yard that can be shaded by a good-quality shadecloth to filter out at least the worst of the sun's rays. I'm going through a reddish coat tinge with one of my youngsters at the moment, but he isn't yet 12 months old so I believe a lot of it is puppy coat. He is also from lines which have heaps of buff behind, so I also think that this plays a part as well.

I hear you Miranda, I'm about to do pee and fanny feathers!