estweyn

Agreed

http://animals.howstuffworks.com/pets/how-...to-your-dog.htm Hope this link is of some use, just found it and I have earmarked it on my computer, you never know when you may need some good info in an emergency

Here is a link about general cat care and a good bit about the ear mites which may be useful (I found it informative, I never knew the ear mites moved around when the vet put light down the ear canal due to the warmth of the lamp!!! we live and learn)http://www.catclub.net/index.cfm/area/information/page/Ear%20Mites%20(Otodectes%20Cynotis)

Cats seen to have a really sticky ear wax dont they, I just moisten a bit of cotton wool and wipe the insides which they hate with a vengance. But if its the brown gungy stuff it could be ear mites etc and there are more than one type of ear drops. The vets also have different ear cleaners for use between times, when megan(dog) had some sort of canker, once we had cleared it up we used an ear cleaner from the vet and it kept it at bay. Just be careful of drops you can buy at pet shops, they are quite acidic apparently and it must feel like putting lemon juice down an infected ear. The olive oil warmed just to wipe the inside seems a good idea too. Also if it is an infection there are different drops for different treatments so it could be your vet has just dropped on the wrong one for your cats condition. Good luck with the gunky stuff

Yes, our throwaway quick fix lifestyle open the floodgates for people like him. He is just supplying to a demand for 'things' because thats what these poor animals are really. Like a new handbag that costs the earth or a new car thats just a status symbol. Just think of the poor dog who is trained in Germany, popped on a plane and ends up in another country, another climate and like some sort of pre programmed robot is expected to perform. Its a dangerous thing. I have emailed the express but dont suppose they will look into it any further, it just made a good article for them.

Bless Fenella, glad things are working out

Sorry that you had similar experiences to me, I never expected it to be easy but think they should use a little common sense. I am thinking of taking out a standing order at my vets, Tinks week before last, Josh last week and again next week for blood tests and Tinks again yesterday because of sneezing and wheezing. Think we are going a little off subject here but vets aint what they used to be IMO

Just to let you know Josh is much better, his eyes have stopped running and the runs have settled so fingers crossed.

Thank you for liking my little love He looks like butter wouldnt melt but dont be decieved!!

Thank you, it was the word dominance that gave people the heebie jeebies I am sure. I would never endorse stupid things like taking the food from the dogs bowl or the alpha rolling or any physical corrections, dogs dont have to have that to realise that you the one that lays the rules of the home. In my original posting I never suggested any of these kinds of methods but it all got out of hand very quickly!I agree that perhaps a discussion on dealing with agressive and dominant dogs would be interesting and instructive to some people who may be tearing their hair out and thinking that euthanasia may be the only way out. However I dont think I will be contributing, I dont need the stress but would read what others had to say.

Yes Cheryl, I did look on the website and found things there that concerned me, but wondered if I was over reacting that is why I put the posting up. Thank you Laura you have confirmed my suspicions about this company, I felt a little concerned when I read the article in the Daily express yesterday. I may not have posted this on the right page, but I did feel it was controversial, this man may or may not be bending genetics to produce a perfect pet, whos to say and I find that rather contraversial in itself. Red Rottie and Redditch lady, I agree with you and there is no mention on the website of any owner/handler training when the dogs are shipped out. Just a thought wonder what language the dogs are trained in!! Imagine shouting 'out' to the dog if it doesnt understand English, disaster.

Actually it was me not Summersun that posted the last comment. If you read back you will find the quote was actually taken out of context. It is my opinion and experience that dogs need to know their place and every dog is an individual. Some dogs are just fine when given loads of liberties and will never ever dream of challenging the owner, some dogs however look for ways of becoming in charge and this is often suble not aggressive. Most dog attacks happen in the owners home and is not breed specific. The main problem area is the bedroom and the bed or furniture. Well done if you have six dogs who lay on furniture and beds, they are obviously happy and well balanced dogs. But the reality is that not all dogs are, sometimes things have happened to them in their past, sometimes the owners just dont understand the breed of dog. Could I ask that this quote is taken in its entirety as I do not wish to cause further misunderstandings. I love dogs, even the bad guys and feel they should be given every chance to settle happily in a home. However I am sensible enough to feel that dogs teeth on people should never be allowed even in play, this in my opinion is creating a dangerous situation. What may be a bruise on an adult could be much worse on a child, and I for one do not want to give the dangerous dog petitioners anything else to shout about.

Just read in the express yesterday about Lifestyle pets, they are selling guard/security dogs for very large sums of money. These dogs are highly trained apparently and make ideal family pets and are also are shutzhund trained. I went on the website and they also produce pets that do not cause allergies and cats that are like little leopards, designer pets in fact. I just wondered what peoples opinions are on this. I have one thing to point out and thats in the training bump on the security dogs it says the dogs are taught to track and do manwork to shutzhund standards. I may be wrong here but I have a friend who works shutzhund very sucessfully and the exercises taught are normally to a set format, shutzhund is a sport and I just wonder if this bumf is put in to make the dog sound good. In Germany even the show dogs have to do shutzhund as part of their normal development and training, not for security or guard purposes. I am also in contact with a person in America who genuinely trains dogs for security forces and the training is somewhat different from shutzhund although there are obviously similarities. It appears to me that the company are using the shutzhund qualifications to bump up the price of the dogs(its a lot of money) and wonder if anyone has experience of this company. Google Lifestyle pets for more info.

I made a mistake of changing my dog onto Eukenuba because I thought it was a good food. I was horrified when I realised what I had bought into. I do a good search on the internet now before purchasing any dog food

Well, I had similar behaviour (without the little nip) when I had two gsds, I had to take some action because my father in law comes to let them out during the day when I was at work, he is now in his 80s and very fit but faced with two jumping excited idiots I was worried he may be knocked over. So we went down the lines of ignoring all attempts for attention and getting them out the back door as soon as possible. It did work, they still wag tails and give greetings but know that they are going straight out and head to the back door. Then the initial enthusiastic rush is over with no casualties, my father in law then goes into the garden and throws toys for them and generally spoils them for an hour. Now I have only one, things are considerably calmer anyway, there is not another dog to compete with... Its a consistency thing, always doing the same thing and getting all the members of the family to act in the same way. Good luck

Hello Red Rottie, yes, if I got to know the two rotties better I am sure I would have been able to spot the imminent signs of the dogs getting a little wound up. Its just not as apparent to the untrained eye. Perhaps the same can be said of RRs, the breeder/owners tune into their dogs and spot the signs earlier that those who do not know the breed. I find it amazing that some people dont pick up on the body language of their dogs(in general- not breed specific), they will often say 'oh look hes wagging his tail' when in fact he is flying his tail and his front legs have gone stiff. Perhaps it comes with living with dogs for a length of time you learn to tune into them

I personally found her attitude difficult to understand, and her comments especially about fur gloves very distasteful, perhaps she should look into the fur trade in China before glibly giving off comments like that. The fact that she chose not to stay while her cat was put to sleep really is up to her, I have always stayed with my animals and I hope this has made them feel settled as they take the first steps on the rainbow bridge. I lost Shad in Feb this year, it was very sudden. What really upset me was that I phoned the vet and told them he was dying, they said to bring him in. I got him into the car, god knows how, but we couldnt get him out. I was then told I would have to wait until the vet was free before she came out to euthenise him to put him out of pain. It was sleeting and a really terrible situtaiton. I drove home and coaxed him out of the car, I phoned the vets to tell them my dog was at home, he was not going to die in the back of a car. The vet turned up within half an hour then insisted on examining him, I just cracked up, why put him through the pain of an examination when he was clearly dying. Anyway she said he would probably hang on for another four or five hours in great pain so it would be kinder to help him on his way. My point here is really that they would not take my word that the dog was dying and the way it was dealt with made the whole experience even worse. I did write to complain but got a reply to the effect that they had to diagnose the cause of death. I do sometimes wonder at the vets though, I know this woman seems callous and in my mind totally wrong and misguided, but vets have become a really big money business, and even though insured the payment often has to be found straight away and then claimed back. My vets wont accept the insurance company paying them.

I think I know what you are getting at here Summer sun. I have always owned gsds and their signs of aggression are very easy to spot, raised tail, raised fur on the top of the wither, ears go back, teeth bared, stiff legs. These signs are normally given before any attack and are intended as a warning. However I dog sat two rotties for a friend. I loved them both, lovely dogs. But one thing I did observe is that the signs of possible aggression (ie towards the postman one morning!) are not as easy to spot. Ok the fur is shorter and they dont have much of a tail but to an uniformed rottie sitter they seemed to go from 0-60 in less than 2 seconds. I am sure if they were my own dogs or I lived with them for a longer period of time then I would get to know the warning signs quicker. What I am trying to say here is that possibly due to the physical characteristics of the breed it is harder to spot possible aggression.

I think you took my posting out of context Helly, I did not mean to insinuate that the kennels will know everything about the dogs and its very true that dogs display different behaviour in kennel situations than in home situations. But do you not agree that the kennel staff can get a good measure of the dogs basic temprement in kennels. I should also have put the comment about canine behaviour as a separate comment, it is certianly a fascinating subject to me and I personally have had really good results. People who deal with rescue dogs or take rescue dogs on get all my respect, my own Josh is a rescue and was not without problems along with Shad before him. I think the most important thing is that Fenella is in the process of sorting her problems out in a way that is working for her and her dog so thats to be applauded.

Sorry if any offence caused by my posting re dominant behaviour. Just having experienced such behaviour myself and finding the cure very simple I thought the information may be useful, sorry to disagree with you doggy experts on here but I would pose the question how many of you have actually dealt with handler aggressive dogs or even agressive dogs full stop and seen the difference it makes when the dog realises that it does not have to challenge and takes its rightful place as a good member of the family. The way I read the posting the dog appears to me to be a danger. I totally agree that the rescue needs to be contacted, they surely would have information as to how the dog behaved in kennels and when exercised if at all. Pack structure is a really interesting and insightful subject and we can learn a lot by relating to how the dog behaves in a natural environment. One to one with a behaviourist is good, but be sure that they know what they are dealing with, there are some who do actually specialise in dogs that have a temprement through whatever reason that is prone to aggression. Hope you solve the problem Fenella

Thank you, off to vets this evening then they are getting very rich from our frequent visits!!! Better safe than sorry

This sounds to me like a case of dog handler aggression and is sometimes shown when a dog has tendancies to be dominant, the fact that the dog is dragging you about is showing dominance anyway. Two weeks is early days and she is finding her feet with you, if you allow this to continue you will find you cant walk the dog. I would suggest that you find out more about basic pack behaviour and demote her to bottom of the pile. Some dogs are motivated by pain, so thats perhaps something else you need to consider, could she be in any pain at all. You mentioned that you turned your back on her as you always do, does this mean she has gone for you before this occassion. Letting the dog know you are the dominant pack leader does not mean being hard or nasty to the dog, its much more subtle than that. Simple things like never allowing her on the furniture, earning everything including food by doing something like sitting or laying down, all let the dog know you are in charge and are to be respected. There is also something known as the umbilical cord method that sometimes works with rescues, in this the dog is on a long lead all the time even in the house, where you go she goes, you become in total charge of her every movement. This method has worked for many dogs when they realise that you call all the shots. Hope some of this makes sense, but it seems to me back to basics and thorough investigation of any pain issues is needed

Tinker (elder stateman cat) started sneezing yesterday, he has a slight discharge from both eyes but is feeding well and seems ok otherwise. This morning he sneezed a couple of times but had breakfast and asked for seconds. I took his temperature and its normal.. so just wondering if this is a cold or the dreaded cat flu. He was on antibiotics only a week ago because he had a bad takeaway (the vets words) presumable a mouse or rate that made his stomach upset. So I dont really want him back on antibioics again. Any advice gratefully received,

Thank you His temperature is down now and he is looking much brighter, his eyes have more or less stopped running and the runs are settling down. I just wonder how on earth he got it when he is vaccinated. Any ideas