ccit

No, you are not mad. We have dogs chiefly because we believe they will enhance our well-being but in some cases they detract from the enjoyment of our life and when that happens it is hard not to resent them. Leaving your dog for a few hours to go shopping should not be a problem for him. Personally, I feel that 4 hours is the maximum that a dog should be left alone. We don't know why your dog is like this because we are not there so cannot see the dynamics of the situation. There are ways to stop the dog being so dependent on you but much depends on why the dog is like this in the first place. See a good (and qualified) canine behaviourist. It could be money well spent. If you do choose to go down this route it would be useful to have feedback.

Time is the issue. A puppy can't be expected to hold it's urine for too many hours so you need to get up early (6am-ish) and put him out for a wee immediately. The crate should be big enough for a bed at one end and newspaper at the other. The paper will only be used if pup is bursting and you have not got there quick enough. BTW the term house training says more about what we hope to achieve. There is no force involved, it's just about putting puppy in a situation where it can succeed in being clean.

Some dogs are lactose intolerant so should not be given milk. This would only work at the level of soothing the throat. There is nothing in it that is medicinal.

The use of such a device has helped you deal with the issue but at a cost to the dog. It still has the problem that initiated the behaviour so now the poor animal has two problems because it is being punished for the first one.

Dogs can develop post viral bronchitis and the cough sometimes persists for up to six weeks. It might be helpful to go back to the vet and ask him for a course of steroids to suppress the inflammation. Antibiotics might be useful if there is secondary bacterial infection. Having said that, is your vet absolutely certain that this is kennel cough? There are other causes of persistent cough such as heart/lung disease and tumours. Misdiagnosis of kennel cough is probably not all that uncommon.

You don't say how many times this dog has attacked the other but it sounds like it has happened on a number of occasions. If this is a regular occurrence then you have a problem because it is unlikely to improve but could get worse. You mentioned not being able to discern what the trigger factor is. This, and the fact that only one dog is being singled out makes me think that the rescue dog, for one reason or another dislikes your existing pet. The stress that you and your dogs are under will probably make things worse so you need to try to minimise this. I think you should take steps to separate the dogs, always keeping them in a separate room or take it in turns to crate one of them. From what you say, you are not ready to give up on your rescue dog but remember that it can be the kindest thing to do for the dog itself, the others and yourself. Living in an atmosphere of friction is not nice. Some dogs are much happier and more settled living without other pets in the house. BTW please be very careful when you try to stop the fight. In the heat of the moment, the dog can lash out at the person who is intervening and you could get badly bitten.

Animal Medical Centre in Thurnscoe. Calder Vets, Huddersfield.

Apply to Cats Protection for a voucher for £5.00 if you are on any benefit or low income

Border Terrier Breed Rescue. Border Terrier Welfare website. However, be aware that there is always a risk when bringing another dog in the house. If you can't be 100% sure that they will be ok together then you will have to separate them anyway.

It could be any one of a number of things but the pet owner has no way of knowing so the pet owner should never treat ear conditions unless they know exactly what they are dealing with. The only way of obtaining a proper diagnosis is to consult a vet. As teeny says, the consequences of untreated, persistent and chronic ear infection are very serious. I too had a rescue dog with terrible ears due to neglect. She had to have major operations on both ears and was totally deaf when she came to me. It is worth remembering that the dog can't tell you how they feel and ear infections are terribly painful.

This is a repeat visit for the same condition so the vet should charge less for the consultation. Ear infections are painful - hope your Lab is soon better.

As a long time breeder of labs (40 years experience) I always waited for 3 months after a season of any bitches not tobe bred from. This normally prevents incontinence in later life and the hormones should have well and truly settled.

I have thought of buying a Thundershirt but they are a bit pricey. Would not mind the cost if I knew that they worked but although there are good reviews there are others that say they did not work. I have an ordinary, fleece lined dog coat and tried that fastened firmly (not too tight). She's a small dog so I held her close and she did settle down. I've heard of body wraps like the and wondered if that might help.Maybe a large crepe bandage would do the trick. I started the Nutracalm on Monday and so far my dog has been quite relaxed but as yet the noise has not been bad around here. It is said to work quite quickly so if you fancy giving it a go then best to contact your vet. If they don't have any, Hall Court are stocking it - they have a branch at Handsworth. Have also started her on a small amount of Natures Menu raw turkey complete at dinner time to top up the tryptophan. The Nutracalm leaflet says a carbohydrate meal immediately before the noise begins should help. Maybe mashed potato/sweet potato would suffice. When I give mine sweet potato I pierce it and cook it for about 11/12 minutes on full power in the microwave - comes out nice and soft. Alternatively, it can be cut in strips and cooked slowly in a low oven to make crunchy treats. They say that sedatives are not thought to be useful because the dog can still hear the noise, be distressed by it but cannot react. I've tried Adaptil collar and herbal remedies in the past with no luck. My dog is too old to start desensitization and I really don't want to trouble her with it. I think it will be television/music on at full blast - just deciding on Mozart or Strauss!

Only one more day to go and it's probably a bit late to start alternative therapies to help calm dogs and cats. I was at the vets recently and noticed they were selling Nutracalm so I am giving it a go this year on the dog who is noise phobic. I can see why it might be effective because it contains plenty of B vitamins and these directly affect the nervous system. Also has tryptophan, an amino acid that helps to calm the cat or dog. Turkey has a high level of this so might be useful to try. Nutracalm has some useful advice in their leaflet so is worth reading. They suggest a high carbohydrate meal just before the fireworks begin. The product is only available at veterinary surgeries. Relax My Dog has soothing, relaxing music on YouTube. Tried it on the app on my television last night and it is very much like the Landscape Channel but with occasional doggie pictures added in.

Agree with willman - these issues can be worked on. A lot of progress has been made already because you have clearly identified the problematic areas/trigger points. You need to take charge and manage/prevent this behaviour. See a behaviourist for a one to one appointment and with a bit of support and advice you should be able to control the dog. However, bear in mind that you might always have to be aware of his issues and may need to be careful not to put him in situations that he is uncomfortable with.

IMHO you should have a detailed website up and running asap. Facebook is all very well but not everyone subscribes to it. Also it does not give enough information re stock, price list, delivery dates/charges, how to transition to raw, the benefits of this kind of feeding, how to get to your shop (including bus service). All this needs to be easily available to the potential customer. A quality website plus SEO should pay for themselves very quickly.

Glad that you found the post helpful and I hope you find something suitable. Let puppy settle down then change over to the new product gradually. A good habit to get into is to weigh the food using digital scales in 1g divisions. Argos sell some for about £6. I'm no good at guessing and use mine every day so for me they have been a good buy. It is particularly important with cold pressed food because it is quite dense and therefore heavy so it is very easy to overfeed.

Did you find an alternative to pigs trotters? It has just occurred to me that frozen paddywack might be a suitable substitute as they are not too high in calories. I buy the Natures Menu ones from Cookes and give them frozen as it takes the dogs longer to chew through. The Sheffield raw feeding shops will probably sell them too. Perhaps antlers might also be worth considering. Tip for using those is to soak in water first.

Mordant - as you are new to dog ownership, here is a quick list of what to look for in choosing a suitable food product: * Look at the ingredient list - it should be clearly labelled and you should be able to understand exactly what the food contains. * The named meat source should be at the top of the list. * Multiple meat sources can be good because they give the dog a variety of nutrients. * Avoid anything with the word 'derivative' in it. It is not possible to know what that contains. * Avoid 'cereals' because again, there is no knowing what this includes. * Most products are reviewed on the website in the link - makes it much easier to choose a good one. * Puppies need protein so look for a product with circa 30% or more. * The better products are all lifestage which means that you will not need to change food as puppy grows. Dry food (kibble) is highly processed and extruded at high temperatures. However, there are some good ones on the market. They usually achieve 4 or more on the website that I mentioned. If you are minded to consider the type that Skink mentions they differ in that they are cold pressed so retain more of the nutrients. Those Markus Muhle products on Zooplus are good quality and excellent value for money. They are also for all lifestage. Explanation about the differences can be found on the Gentle and Guru website/Facebook page and for more information on Markus Muhle (Zooplus) contact Gentle. A good diet can make the world of difference to a dog's health and behaviour. It really is worth taking time to do a bit of research and choosing the best you can afford.

Well done for trying to support local pet supplies companies if possible. As well as the one recommended by Skink I use Cookes and find the company to be good with competitive prices. They have a wide range of dog food, some good and some not so good but they have to cater for all budgets. Supermarket food is usually at the low end of quality with the exception of one or two products. Regarding the Beta it is a poor quality food - link. You are right not to change it immediately but long term I would advise you to look for something better.

Pet owners often waste money on pet accoutrements. Food is a different matter so go with what Skink says and do your research - buy the best food you can afford. Feed the pet and avoid the vet. See here for more information. Make sure your garden is 100% secure, especially if you have a digging breed. Don't let him out of your sight when he is outside. Purchase a safe, secure and comfortable harness. I have used Perfect Fit for some years and they are super. They have to be purchased online from Dog Games. Get him used to having his mouth handled - buy a tube of doggy toothpaste, put a blob on your finger and rub it round his teeth and gums. Buy a good brush and steel comb suitable for his coat type and get him used to being groomed. Just a few minutes at first then have a little play as a reward. You can never start too soon.

Sorry, I don't know the calorie content of pig trotter. I suppose it depends on the size of it. I would think that it qualifies as a meal substitute. The modest fat content of the cold pressed foods is one of the reasons why I use them but the main reason is the fact that they are not extruded. You asked for a substitute and as you are familiar with cold pressed food, perhaps you might want to consider a Field Trip Bone. These are a meal substitute and are useful for a day out (hence the name). I recently had some free ones from Guru and the dogs really enjoyed them. Will definitely send for some more. They are seriously crunchy and it took my dogs a good while to finish one off. Your GSD might enjoy one too. They are not cheap but perhaps ok for occasional use, instead of a meal. In the summer I gave mine cold pressed lollipops. The food was softened with water then put into egg cups and frozen. Of course you would need a larger receptacle - maybe a cup or mug.

Markus Muhle is a very good product and does not actually require supplementation. However, variety in diet is good and cold pressed food is known to go well with raw. The problem with pigs trotters is that if they are fatty it perhaps could cause pancreatitis in a susceptible dog. I would hazard a guess that it is the fat content that is causing the poo problem, not bone. Bone tends to make the poo white, chalky and hard. Years ago I gave my dogs pigs ears and they ended up with diarrhoea - didn't know they were fatty. If you are giving the trotters just to supplement his diet then it might be better to use some other kind of raw food. There are two raw feeding shops at Hillsborough - Better4pets and Real Pet Grub. They will be able to advise if you call. An easy way to feed raw is to use complete formula such as Natural Instinct and Nutriment. Cookes have both of these products. I feed cold pressed food to my dogs and replace three meals per week with raw food but they are small dogs so I use a complete meal in cubes. I only do this to give them a change and to add variety into the diet. You could also perhaps consider trying a different flavour of cold pressed food - Markus Muhle has NaturNah which is chicken and turkey. More recently Zooplus have started to sell a new one - Red Deer Venison. This contains duck, venison, fish and other good things. Gentle sells chicken and fish varieties, Guru beef and duck (the duck being grain free). The choice is slowly increasing. They are great products - hope your dog continues to do well on Black Angus.

Sheffield forum member Hardwick Hounds will be able to advise you as she is a groomer and trainer. You should speak to as many groomers as possible and learn about the pros and cons of the job. Of the cons, there are many.

Have you not thought of training the poodle yourself? There is plenty of information on the Internet on how to do this. YouTube has many videos about various aspects of training a dog.