I Got A Dog Trainer In

[4 Paws]

aparently vinegar works at getting the scent away,good luck CBL,no treats for Patch next time if he's still being naughty

Edited July 1, 2008 by 4 Paws

[CBL]

aparently vinegar works at getting the scent away,good luck CBL,no treats for Patch next time if he's still being naughty

Thought it was vinegar - I will get some when I go to the shops later.

I tell you, both boys go ape for those fish treats! I need to buy more soon!

[~*Shell*~]

we burn protein for energy, so do dogs.

you need to troll through stuff I am not comfortable reading though there are also humane experiments. I am positive you are right about additives and preservatives, one of my dogs has to eat a natural diet or she gets sick.I had a child who would go loopy with red food colouring as a toddler. So many colourings in dog food, you would have to wonder about similar responses.

Zero is allergic to preservatives too - he gets sick as anything (not so sure it's not an allergy, rather an intolerance) off many foods. We've finally got the balance right (i tried orijen, made him hyperactive and even after an 1.5 hour walk, he was still climbing the walls) with pedigree naturals and bones. It's not exactly what i would have liked to feed him but i'm reluctant to change after people recommended orijen and it didn't work very well for us. I'm going to try eaglepack holistic in a few weeks - i just want to let his stomach settle again before we try the switch!

It's amazing how much diet can change their behaviour! What do you feed your dog Rusky?

[JulesP]

Watch what kibble you try. Some are very high protein and you may end up feeding more protein!

[CBL]

Watch what kibble you try. Some are very high protein and you may end up feeding more protein!

Thanks Jules - Patch is on Nutro and Oscar is on small breed puppy Purina One

[Just Midol]

White Vinegar.

Can you rule out a medical issue for his peeing?

Gizmo pees inside sometimes, quite often he has no idea he is doing it. The vet is going to get my to collect a sample and run some tests. For ages I thought it was a training issue but after a few suspicious urinations we've figured it's probably medical.

EFS.

Edited July 2, 2008 by Lord Midol

[CBL]

White Vinegar.

Can you rule our a medical issue for his peeing?

Gizmo pees inside sometimes, quite often he has no idea he is doing it. The vet is going to get my to collect a sample and run some tests. For ages I thought it was a training issue but after a few suspicious urinations we've figured it's probably medical.

Hadn't thought it could be medical. It is definitely something I will investigate. It seems to be only when we are not in the room and not occuring all the time - he will hold it to go outside.

Typical, we were at the vets just yesterday!

[Just Midol]

She said the basic tests only cost $40 so it's not a huge expense (and I don't get charged consults if its for a problem I've already discussed so that helps.)

[Rusky]

What do you feed your dog Rusky

chicken frames and necks, chicken mince, vegetables and rice. She does have kibble about half a cup a day.She also has a tin of sardines a week.

Rusky is an old girl now and when I realised I had a problem with her I mentioned it to the president of our club...just in passing.

I also boarded Rusky with him.

He called me up later and said she had never been ill in kennel. I was giving her a well known fairly pricey brand. He gave me a bag of his kibble to try and she was fine.. no more vomiting, no more coarse coat. At that time that kibble was made here in Perth by a chap who most of the breeders bought from. The business now is gone and he stopped making the kibble a long time ago. I then started hit and miss with kibble even leaving it out and using supplements but then I tried supercoat one day and she was fine. I am sure that different kibbles have different additives and I will never know which particular one it was. She is now tolerating light and mature. I have the same problem with chews and treats so make my own liver treats and she is fine with natural purina biscuits.

[BittyMooPeeb]

It was also suggested that I stick with dry food for a while (they also get raw) due to high levels of protein leading to anxiety issues.

This sounds like something that the manufactured food companies spread ....

Good luck with the training. I know what you mean about feeling that the 'us' time is taken away, but you can find other ways to have special time with your dogs. Maybe some fun trick training, or grooming them with a mitt (while both of you are on the floor I presume).

Are you allowed to get down and cuddle them on the floor? If so (and if you have vaccuumed :wink:) you could do that for a few mins.

Getting up on the sofa seems to be a big thing with behaviourists. I more lean towards the notion that it is fine as long as you have control over the situation eg if you give permission to get up and have commands to get off obeyed. By starting off with no sofa access, you are taking control and may be moving to the stage when you can let them on under your say-so.

What I find really funny is when it's claimed that getting on furniture makes your dogs higher off the ground which leads to dominance struggles. Blossom is still only knee height when she is on the sofa, so more dominant than a kelpie, but less dominant than a GR maybe? If this were the case, tall dogs would on average be much more dominant than small ones. And I can tell you that short-arse Maltese can be as dominant as they come!