Topic: Rox's Dog Advice Thread

[Claire.]

Arnie turned 5 a month ago, can't believe it's been that long since I got him!

Flo is now 3! Still a big baby

We just adopted a greyhound called Cory. He was in the kennels for almost a year. We even made it on the local radio station as he was looked over as he was a bit big.

lots of long walks for you!

[Sir Harvest Fields]

Flo is now 3! Still a big baby

lots of long walks for you!

You are joking Claire. Went for a walk to town and on the way back i thought id have to carry the lazy sod. Going so slow he was almost reversing.

[CraigDS]

Flo is now 3! Still a big baby

Yeah so is my big douche bag - acts like he's a puppy still

[JLStretton]

Great news tedmus

[Persephone]

I need some advice please. I had to put my 8 year old Ridgeback to sleep yesterday, which was devastating but the reason I'm writing is that I have a 7 year old Ridgeback x whose now alone. Should I think about getting her another friend or do you think she'll be okay alone? She's quite highly strung and has a lot of energy. She's not alone all day but is at times

[CraigDS]

I didn't get another when we lost our bulldog and Arnie seemed to cope pretty fine from what I could tell. However that was more an issue with the fact I had the house on the market and didn't fancy having a puppy around during that time - I'd have 100% got another so he wasn't on his own otherwise.

[tedmus]

I couldn't go back to just the one dog after having two, they get so much out of having a companion that they could never get from a human.

When Gem died it took us ages to find another as Benny can be a funny little bugger and the new one had to be the right match but it was clear he was missing having a friend so much.

[Persephone]

Cheers for the responses. I'm going to start looking for another dog tomorrow, it's been a rough few days and she's not coping bring an only dog. I'm not looking forward to having another one so soon but she needs another dog.

[tedmus]

Cheers for the responses. I'm going to start looking for another dog tomorrow, it's been a rough few days and she's not coping bring an only dog. I'm not looking forward to having another one so soon but she needs another dog.

Just don't rush, she will most likely pick the new one. We took Benny to meet a few but was having no joy until eventually we found Deedee and they clicked. I was almost ready to give up for a while when I saw her on the rescue website, went to see her that day and that was that really, couple more visits and one homecheck later and she was with us.

[Persephone]

Just don't rush, she will most likely pick the new one. We took Benny to meet a few but was having no joy until eventually we found Deedee and they clicked. I was almost ready to give up for a while when I saw her on the rescue website, went to see her that day and that was that really, couple more visits and one homecheck later and she was with us.

That's exactly what I plan on doing, I'm going to a few rescue places tomorrow and then will take her with if I see one I connect with. But it's definitely up to her, I just want to see her happy and playing again.

[It's Jimmy Corkhill]

Really struggling completely housebreaking my new German Shepherd. I've had one before, and a Siberian Husky, but this little fella is a ball of mystery.

Three of us sitting there with him. He'll wander into his enclosure and go the toilet on the newspaper and pad by the back door. Result.

But that's only half the time. The other half he'll simply stand up and go the toilet. Carpet protectors have saved my sanity since Saturday.

Wasn't this difficult with my other dogs. He's obviously coming along as we're slowly getting there but utter stress with an 18 month old who is completely fascinated with the dog and won't leave him alone.

[CraigDS]

I'm personally not a fan of training them to go anywhere indoors from the start. It's slightly more work as involves being pretty regular with getting up and taking them outside (every 30-60mins, after playing, drinking and eating) but found it works extremely quick for them realising outside is the only place they are allowed to go.

[tedmus]

I'm personally not a fan of training them to go anywhere indoors from the start. It's slightly more work as involves being pretty regular with getting up and taking them outside (every 30-60mins, after playing, drinking and eating) but found it works extremely quick for them realising outside is the only place they are allowed to go.

Pretty much this, you need be consistent as well, whatever the weather, shouldn't take long for them to click.

[Claire.]

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/piqapoo/piqapoo-collecting-your-dogs-poo-so-you-dont-have

So, er, would you use this?

[JLStretton]

650 backers pledged $35,910 to help bring this project to life. wtf

The world's gone even madder, you just know you will end up with shite all over that clip/yourself somehow

[tedmus]

Bag o shite!

[Corkboy]

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/your-dog-can-tell-from-your-voice-if-youre-happy-or-sad-180949807/

[LovelyCushionedHeader]

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/your-dog-can-tell-from-your-voice-if-youre-happy-or-sad-180949807/

If so then my dog is an evil bastard.

[Corkboy]

If so then my dog is an evil bastard.

My wife and my kid fight occasionally, he's a teenager so it's pretty normal. The dog will leave the room, go outside, curl up in a corner, anything to get away. She doesn't mind us shouting at all, it's the anger she can't stand.

[The Bournemouth Red]

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/piqapoo/piqapoo-collecting-your-dogs-poo-so-you-dont-have

So, er, would you use this?

So you attach it to your dog's arse? 

[BRdispatch05]

I could use some help.
My sister teaches special education specifically for children with behavioral disorders, and recently has done a lot of research on training a therapy dog. She found a great pup (5 month old Australian Shepard), signed up for 4 courses of training (beginning, intermediate, advanced, then if she passes all 3 therapy dog training), and has been told her pup has all the signs of a great candidate for a therapy dog.

The problem is she is temporarily living with my mom and her dog. We're not sure his breed, but looks like a schnauzer shitzu mix. He's good with most dogs, as a normal dog, but hates my sisters new dog. She can't walk by without him growling and apparently baring his teeth. She's with my mom and her dog for another month, and they're just trying to make the situation work in the meantime while not hindering the therapy dog's training. She's read a lot into how another dog and negative behavior can completely ruin a chance at her becoming a therapy dog. They have a lot of time and patience to try different methods at the moment, does anyone have any insight as to how they can make this work?

Currently she's taking the therapy dog everywhere on a leash while my mom controls her dog.

[Devon Red]

I could use some help.
My sister teaches special education specifically for children with behavioral disorders, and recently has done a lot of research on training a therapy dog. She found a great pup (5 month old Australian Shepard), signed up for 4 courses of training (beginning, intermediate, advanced, then if she passes all 3 therapy dog training), and has been told her pup has all the signs of a great candidate for a therapy dog.

The problem is she is temporarily living with my mom and her dog. We're not sure his breed, but looks like a schnauzer shitzu mix. He's good with most dogs, as a normal dog, but hates my sisters new dog. She can't walk by without him growling and apparently baring his teeth. She's with my mom and her dog for another month, and they're just trying to make the situation work in the meantime while not hindering the therapy dog's training. She's read a lot into how another dog and negative behavior can completely ruin a chance at her becoming a therapy dog. They have a lot of time and patience to try different methods at the moment, does anyone have any insight as to how they can make this work?

Currently she's taking the therapy dog everywhere on a leash while my mom controls her dog.

In the short-term I would say control and management is the way to go; so keep the dogs separated as much as possible and avoid situations where the shitzu might become reactive. In the longer term I'm sure you would want them to tolerate each other so that's going to be a case of counter-conditioning and desensitisation. This is a long process but fairly simple, it essentially involves pairing the shepherd appearing with something really valuable to the shitzu appearing just afterwards. So for example shitzu is in one room behind a stair gate then shepherd appears on the other side of the stair gate and as soon the shitzu has seen the shepherd you start feeding the shitzu his favourite treats. Shepherd then dissapears, food stops. For this process to work the shitzu has to be under threshold, so distance is crucial. There is some good info online but ideally I would get in contact with a qualified behaviourist (APBC for example) to start the process.

Out of curiosity, which organisation is she taking the courses with?

[BRdispatch05]

In the short-term I would say control and management is the way to go; so keep the dogs separated as much as possible and avoid situations where the shitzu might become reactive. In the longer term I'm sure you would want them to tolerate each other so that's going to be a case of counter-conditioning and desensitisation. This is a long process but fairly simple, it essentially involves pairing the shepherd appearing with something really valuable to the shitzu appearing just afterwards. So for example shitzu is in one room behind a stair gate then shepherd appears on the other side of the stair gate and as soon the shitzu has seen the shepherd you start feeding the shitzu his favourite treats. Shepherd then dissapears, food stops. For this process to work the shitzu has to be under threshold, so distance is crucial. There is some good info online but ideally I would get in contact with a qualified behaviourist (APBC for example) to start the process.

Out of curiosity, which organisation is she taking the courses with?

Appreciate the advice! I hadn't actually seen it first hand until last night, both mom and sister were very stressed. They told me to try anything. I didn't want to hurt the therapy dogs chances at training, but having been a pet sitter in the past I did try something similar to your suggestion. As soon as I let the shitzu in the room with the Aussie before they had a chance to interact I distracted by showing them treats and having them sit or shake a few times in a row. Luckily they were both more interested in treats than each other, and that seemed to work. We then went out back and they started playing, at first rather "aggressively", as in both still uneasy and nipping, I noticed any time there was the slightest bit of tension my mom and sister would yell "no!" and I told them to not intervene. So they played and slowly the tension relaxed and they both seemed to be happy playing and even sharing toys! Not saying the situation is fixed but they were both so relieved there was positive interaction between the two. We then went inside and the dogs would pass each other and co exist with little to no growling. I called this morning and sister says they're both still doing well. I told them to not get complacent, but that seems like progress.

Do you recommend still taking it slow and keeping them separated due to the shitzu's dominance and possibly hindering the aussies ability to become a therapy dog?

She's taking the training through a highly recommended independent trainer who is a Certified Behavior Consultant Canine (CBCC-KA), a Professional Dog Trainer (CPDT-KA) and an AKC Canine Good Citizen Evaluator with 20 years experience in the field of animal training.

[Devon Red]

Appreciate the advice! I hadn't actually seen it first hand until last night, both mom and sister were very stressed. They told me to try anything. I didn't want to hurt the therapy dogs chances at training, but having been a pet sitter in the past I did try something similar to your suggestion. As soon as I let the shitzu in the room with the Aussie before they had a chance to interact I distracted by showing them treats and having them sit or shake a few times in a row. Luckily they were both more interested in treats than each other, and that seemed to work. We then went out back and they started playing, at first rather "aggressively", as in both still uneasy and nipping, I noticed any time there was the slightest bit of tension my mom and sister would yell "no!" and I told them to not intervene. So they played and slowly the tension relaxed and they both seemed to be happy playing and even sharing toys! Not saying the situation is fixed but they were both so relieved there was positive interaction between the two. We then went inside and the dogs would pass each other and co exist with little to no growling. I called this morning and sister says they're both still doing well. I told them to not get complacent, but that seems like progress.

Do you recommend still taking it slow and keeping them separated due to the shitzu's dominance and possibly hindering the aussies ability to become a therapy dog?

It's really impossible to say without seeing the dogs. To be honest giving out any kind of behavioural advice on the internet can only ever be very broad generalisations. Perhaps your sisters trainer could do an assessment? The reactivity could be down to any number of factors like fearfulness, resource guarding, etc. I think you were right to suggest not intervening by yelling 'no', it's not going to help and could even make things worse by heightening arousal. A general rule is that using any kind of aversive 'correction' in these situations just makes things worse.

She's taking the training through a highly recommended independent trainer who is a Certified Behavior Consultant Canine (CBCC-KA), a Professional Dog Trainer (CPDT-KA) and an AKC Canine Good Citizen Evaluator with 20 years experience in the field of animal training.

I've just realised you must be based in the States. That sounds promising.

[dalarr]

Dogs and radio. Like many others we leave the radio on when our five year old Staffie is home alone. We have never had problems with her being alone, although we have max limit of 8 hours. My question: is there any evidence that dogs do not feel that lonely if the radio is on? Or is it just another one of those things that we humans do to feel better about leaving our dogs alone?

[Claire.]

I work from home and if there's noise/activity outside I'll put the radio on and it stops Floyd obsessing over what's going on outside and he'll go to sleep, so guess it does have some effect.

[dalarr]

Thank you for your answer. Just want to add that I didn't care about dogs until I met my wife whose family had two. Five years ago we got our Staffy girl and my life has completely changed. Dogs are wonderful animals, they give you so much joy. 

[ianrush79]

My 4 month old Border Terrier passed away tonight.  He seemed fit and healthy and then suddenly started to foam at the mouth whilst out on a walk.  My wife was with my 7 year old son and managed to get him home in a right panic.  He was only just breathing when I held him in my arms and then with a gasp passed away.  My Mrs is absolutely devastated and the look on my son's face will haunt me for the rest of my life.  My 5 year old daughter was sleeping so I need to tell her the bad news in the morning.  Something that I am really not looking forward to.  I am going to be as up front about it as possible in the nicest way that i can.  We are all absolutely gutted.  My wife is blaming herself for talking him on a walk and feeding him treats but she has done nothing wrong.  We miss him so much and it's going to be hard not seeing him around the house

[CraigDS]

That's horrible mate. We lost our bulldog when she was 15 months old in semi-similar way (as in it seemed to come out of nowhere) and it's shit to go through.

[JLStretton]

Sorry to hear that mate

[reddebs]

So my poor boy Lucas has piled the weight on since having his knackers off, sure we've ruined him since he arrived but we've cut right down on his food, weighing it daily, and he rarely gets treats now but his weight seems unshiftable.

He gets 3 good walks every day, is approx 4yrs old (unsure as he's a rescue) and is a border collie.

Any suggestions as to what else we can do to get his weight down?

[CraigDS]

What are you feeding and how much a day?

[John C]

https://www.facebook.com/uniladmag/videos/2852776568078717/?hc_ref=ARRBTg3F5Qe59gxUdEezop4MG06yJMeWolj5e0OyFOMucdO0bNqjU5RZTl-rUlOs2QI

[reddebs]

What are you feeding and how much a day?

He's on 250grms a day Bob Martin complete.  He gets the occasional treat but we've even cut those out and just give him raw carrot instead.

I've changed him to cooked chicken and veg today see if that helps for a few weeks, if not I'll have to take him to the vets to see if it's something more serious.

[CraigDS]

I'd maybe look at how much you're feeding.

250g on its own appears to be approaching the max in the range it suggests for dogs who should (this is ideal weight, not what they are) be 12-25kg which is 170g to 300g a day. An adult male collie is about 18kg max from what I can see online, prob a bit less on average.

So 250g, along with the odd treat (which adds up) is probably still too much food.

[reddebs]

I'd maybe look at how much you're feeding.

250g on its own appears to be approaching the max in the range it suggests for dogs who should (this is ideal weight, not what they are) be 12-25kg which is 170g to 300g a day. An adult male collie is about 18kg max from what I can see online, prob a bit less on average.

So 250g, along with the odd treat (which adds up) is probably still too much food.

I've thought the same too but getting hubby to agree to that anount has been hard work. 

He was 19kgs when we got him last September and my other collies were around 20 at their optimum but it had crept up to nearly 23 when he went for his op in January which is far too high.

[CraigDS]

Yeah it doesn't always look like that much, but the dried kibble foods are so densely packed that it contains a hell of a lot of food in reality. Just add a load of water to some kiddle and watch of much it expands once the moisture content is added back in, as this is what happens in their stomachs!

Then again I can't say too much as Arnie eats about 1.6-1.8kg of meat a day 

[reddebs]

Yeah it doesn't always look like that much, but the dried kibble foods are so densely packed that it contains a hell of a lot of food in reality. Just add a load of water to some kiddle and watch of much it expands once the moisture content is added back in, as this is what happens in their stomachs!

Then again I can't say too much as Arnie eats about 1.6-1.8kg of meat a day 

That's very true mate and holy crap what breed is Arnie?

[ArthurDooley82]

Anyone recommend a good moisturiser for my English bullmastiff? The left side of his face is a bit red where the skin folds.

[CraigDS]

Anyone recommend a good moisturiser for my English bullmastiff? The left side of his face is a bit red where the skin folds.

Is it dry or is it fairly wet within the folds which is causing the redness? I had the latter with my bulldog, and we found keeping it dry and putting on some talc or something along those lines really helped.