Peng1zrule

I had a problem when the larger male thought I shouldn't tell him to get off the couch. I had a problem when a female growled when I put my hand in her bowl. I had a problem when one put his mouth on my hand to try to intimidate me out of brushing him. I do not have a problem by honoring the pecking order they have worked out. I do not wish to force the weaker female higher up in the order, because she does not want to be higher. When dogs fight, what is the advice most often handed out? "honor the pack order, and the fights will stop. walk the alpha first, feed the alpha first..."

a change of food can make the smell lessen. a proper food for your dog is entirely digested and the poop is white and practically odorless.

six months is too old...eight weeks is when most are done. A vet assistant told me that she has seen dogs come out of the anesthesia crying because they were done too old and it really hurts them.

if she is in heat, the sanitary pads for dogs are the same as the ones for humans. the only difference is price, really. and quantity. never having used one, I am not sure if you use pads or liners...liners you would have to change much more often, but pads may be too bulky for a small dog.

you can go to the vet and get a formula and try to bottle feed it. bring the pup with you and have the vet (or vet tech) and have him/her show you how to care for it, be sure to ask how to stimulate it to make it go to the bathroom, you have to do this for the very young ones.

when I said that "hormones makes dogs want to fight" I was speaking of when they go into heat...I know several females whose temperments do a 180 when they go into heat. some can't play with other females when they are in heat, spayed or not.

if they're fighting all the time, I would keep them seperate. it is work but it's much better than rushing a dog to the vet! I know some owners who will just muzzle the dogs (basket muzzles) but the muzzles are a risk as the dogs can sometimes work off a muzzle, and the disasterous possibilites are already a short list, right there.

YOU should be alpha. YOU should be able to hand out treats in any order that you choose, because YOU are the utimate alpha. By you handing out treats in the order that they are demanding, they are making you omega.............[/quote] I don't think so. Just so you don't get at me again...I AM alpha. when I speak of my "alpha" dog I mean that she is higher up than the other dogs. By handing out treats in that order, I am avoiding fights. There isn't a single dog of mine that dares to growl over anything that I want. At times I have been heavy handed with the dogs, but you will never see a post from me saying "oh, he bit me and I just wanted his toy!" my dogs KNOW better than to be dominant to me because I am not afraid to be dominant back to them. And...you seem to know about pack order...surely you know it doesn't end with alpha and beta.

you can give him to a rescue group, which I beleive would do a far better job than most people in finding him a good home. I wouldn't neccessarily post an ad in the papers, but it can be done. ads in the vet's, post office, and pet store are a bit better. you will have to interview people and do home visits. question them about previous pitbull experience. if you've even got a "feeling" about people, listen to it.

[quote name='Guest']Hi- I have two dog, one is germ shep mix and the other is germ shep/boxer mix. They are fighting over treats but not over food that we leave out for them. Does anyone know why? Also if they fight now will they cont. to fight as they grow older? We are concerned that if they get bigger they could cuase greater harm to each other? If one gets fixed will this help? Thank you for your input!![/quote] you may be giving treats in the wrong order. when I go to give out my treats, I have to give them out in a certain order, or the alpha dog will be aggressive to the one who got the treat instead of her. However, if I give her a treat first, then the beta dog, she will be calm and not mind at all. you can curb the fights by making the dogs do a sit and down-stay before handing them the treats. pups will fight to decide who is alpha and who is beta. do they have things to play tug of war with? this may help fights or it may help them decide who is stronger without having to fight, it depends on the dogs.

[quote name='guest']Puppies fighting. What should we do?[/quote] what kind of fighting? you need to give more information.

i beleive your pup is barking because it is lonely. I would not neccessarily reccomend getting another dog, although it is a possibility. boredom is another reason your dog may be barking, and you can leave a treat ball and some chew toys to keep your pup busy. it can be expensive, but you can hire a dog babysitter or doggie daycare. you can find someone who is home all day with thier dog (or just has a dog that is home all day, too) and leave the two of them together.

"white" labs are not rare or uncommon, but they are not supposed to be bred for that color. they are not called "white" or "cream" they are called yellow. I have not found a breeder breeding for the "white" or "cream" coats that I can call scrupulous.

[quote name='abusser']when do puppies teeth? Mine is 8 weeks old and have the same biting and jumping up on me problem. I try to keep walking and saying NO in a low voice but this seems to just get him more excited. I've only had him a few days so i'm going to work with him a lot this weekend.[/quote] when mine jumped on me I used a handsignal to make her sit, then petted her as a reward. I refused to touch her until she sat, then i would gently scratch behind her ears and praise her. this has worked with most of my dogs.

rdigies (rhodesian ridgebacks) are becoming more popular as they are good gaurd dogs. they are expensive though, since they are still rather rare in the US.

the proper breed name is miniature pinscher, not miniature doberman. and, they are lap dogs, but many toy breeds are not...toys. they are independant and most do not enjoy cuddling 24/7. indivisual temperments will determine if dogs and children get along when you bring them home. you can have two females together quite well. especially if they are both spayed--hormones will make dogs want to fight.

[quote=Kahlua&Helmsley'sMom]Peng1zrule----actually you are wrong when you say animals and people cannot suffer the same diseases. I own ferrets and they most certainly can catch a cold or flu from you. I have read this in several books, been told by my vet, and have experienced it. As for dogs I don't know but I do know in my case I am very careful when someone in my household catches a cold or the flu. Mandy[/quote][/quote] oh, right...i was only talking about dogs and cats...forgot about ferrets and rodents such as hamsters and guinea pigs..they DO catch colds from people.

I doubt he'll hold still...but you can rub mineral oil on the tick until it comes off, (he suffocates and backs out) or you can hold rubbing alcohol on the tick with a cotton ball, and every once in a while, put your thumbnail above the tick and pull straight back, if you pull a tick sraight back, not up or twist it or to the side, I have found the head always comes out. Or you can skip the alcohol and just use tweezers (I use hemostats as you can make them grip tightly and they do not slip off the tick) many products are safe for pups that are eight weeks of age, some do not reccomend until twelve weeks, though. just read the bottle. BTW...your vet can probably sell you frontline flea spray, which is safe for most pets, unlike most of the flea sprays you'd buy from a home-suppy store.

when you ignore the behavior, how do you ignore it? do you keep on with your business? if so, she may be hurrying you and feel that her biting was rewarded. to discourage this, I shut down--I turn my back, tilt my face up, and cross my arms. I put my feet together and ignore the nipping. (this is sometimes difficult and painful) but when the dog begins to get frustrated, I ask for a sit or a trick and then reward the dog with what it wanted. the dog learns to sit or to perform when she wants something.

animals and people can't suffer the same diseases, but the symptoms can be the exact same. this winter my kitty got a runny nose and sore throat and lost his voice...and I had the exact same symptoms. he got better about two weeks before I did. hmph. but...more to the subject of your post...a dog can pick up a human cold, harbor it, and re-transmit it without suffering any symptoms. in fact, repeated colds have been "treated" by not allowing the dog to kiss your face anymore. i don't think dogs sneeze in a response to allergies. sometimes dogs sneeze to alleviate tension...you will sometimes see a dog sneeze after breaking a stare-down with another dog. sometimes dogs get a condition in which thier vocal cords become paralyzed, this is caused by pressure to the vocal chords or nothing at all...coughing for no reason can be indicative of injured vocal chords. my golden was on a tie out and wanted to play, so she ran to the end of the chain, later, she kept on coughing, and since my lab had coughed shortly before being diagnosed with a fatal cancer, we rushed her to the vet and sure enough, the golden HAD hurt her vocal chords. she was put on antibiotics and couldn't wear a collar or be on a leash or tie out for awhile.

[quote name='nicki']Jacsmom...you are in North Carolina...Beagle is in the state of washington. Big difference in climate.[/quote] yes. for instance, our weather got down to feeling like negative two degrees to negative five degrees. as I emptied out the water buckets every day, I started to feel like I was hoarding ice blocks for an igloo. maybe I live in a different part of North Carolina then everyone else is thinking of. NC does have COLD winters, they just tend to be dry, too.

gagging? or a kind of gasping? flat faced breeds suffer from problems...I have a shih mix and she (after wearing a collar, she pulls at her throat) will seem to have a kind of asthma attack. I press on her trachea and keep her calm to restore her breathing. if you can, record the sound. if you can't, learn to imitate it and do so for the vet to determine the cause of it. ask about a conditon called a "collapsing trachea" which flat faced dogs suffer from quite alot.

the only toxic american toad I know of is the texas bufo toad. all the other toads I've ever met excrete a poison that tastes awful and will make a dog sick to his or her stomach to discourage them from toad eating ever again. some dogs never learn. also, they do foam, it's natural after toad eating.

you will probably want to take the male out when she whelps...this is because she can become aggressive toward him. there's also less stress on her if she's left alone for the most part and allowed to be quiet and rest as she needs to. you will need to monitor her and be aware of all the signs that she is having trouble whelping. Locate an emergency vet or a vet who gives his or her home number in case of emergencies.

your vet was probably being funny...a chowpherd (the dogs herd, not hard, so it is spelled...shepherd) it is not a real breed but a common mix. however, people will breed two purebreeds of different breeds and try to pass them off as a new purebreed...it doesn't work that way. a pup from two different breeds, no matter how pure, is still a mix.