We've got a few problems with Holly and we really need some help.

1. I was out walking Holly at the weekend and a couple, I presume they were grandparents, allowed a group of small children to approach Holly. I got her to sit and knelt down beside her to offer her some support but the children still managed to un-nerve her. They were squealing and shouting, prodding and poking her. After a few seconds I'd had enough and stood up with whilst carrying her so I could walk off. One girl, she must have been about 3 reached up and grabbed hold of Hollys foot and pulled. Unfortunately Holly then bit her. It was horrible, there was blood and tears and the language that came out of the adults mouth was appalling. Luckily quite a few people saw what had happened and I got their details - they all agreed that Holly was not to blame. The police are coming round this morning to see Holly and to get my version of events.

Hopefully the police will see my side of this and agree that Holly is not a problem dog.

What do I do with Holly now to reassure her and make sure this doesn't happen again? She's great with our children but doesn't have any confidence with those she doesn't know.

2. She's been off her food for a couple of days now. We changed her food last week as she wasn't eating the Eukanuba, so she's now on Bakers Complete. We tried her on small box to start with which she loed so we've now bought a BIG bag of it. Since we've bought the big bag she won't eat it!! Things have ben a bit strange in the house these last few days as Issy has been in hospital and I've not been in much.

Is this just coincedence or could the food actually tast different to that in the small box?

3. Pulling on the lead. Holly is horrific at this and I can't get her to stop doing it. I've tried standing still but she still pulls.

Any suggestions what else I could try

4. Whenever I walk Holly she keeps trying to climb up the back of my legs and shakes all the time. I know she's only small but it really is getting silly now.I'm the only one who walks Holly but my dad took her out on Sunday and she did the same to him.

Is she doing this because she's scared or because she's tired

I think that's it for now, but I'm sure I'll think of other problems we've got :D

Thanks,

Fiona

Fiona,

I don't have any advice to offer but i just wanted to say that i hope it all works out you seem to be having a really bad time of it :(

Only thing with the pulling on the lead Bailey is just as bad but does seem to be getting better all be it very very slowley and only in patches of about 3 or 4 strides but be persient (sp?) and you should get there. :)

Good luck

Tracy

PS I am hoping you get a puppy friendly policeman tonight! :)

Just a though Fiona, Maybe you could ask some advice from a police dog handler on how they train their dogs not to bite - after all these dogs bring people to the ground but do not (as far as I know) bite, even when provoked. This is a really unfortunate situation, as Holly is so young and cannot be expected to have the same control as a mature dog.
Another thought: Show the police these posts so that they can see that you are a caring person who is trying to get advice!
Good luck, I really feel for you.

Sharon

Just a quick note sharonw, police dogs do bite, that is why they wear protective clothing when they are doing a chase, and if it is a very powerfull dog then they have a reinforced sleeve, because they can go through to the bone depending on how hard there bite is.

ouch!!!!

Glad things seem to be ok for you as I know exactly where you are coming from. My afghan hates people running up to him however he really does attract attention when he's out. The best people we meet are those who always ask if they can stroke him, depending on his mood I normally let them however I keep my hand round his head. Some kids though run of screaming that a lion is in the park :) Just a thought but I would of been so tempted to grab the girls hair, pull it really hard and when she ran of screaming respond with - "Well now you know how my puppy feels" sorry bit I do have a sadistic side ;)

I did that to my own girl when she was a toddler, and in a bad mood thought she could pull the feathering on my Groenendael bitch, who worshipped her! I saw her do it and pulled her hair sharply and made her cry, she never did it again.

This particular dog was sensitive, and would get very uncomfortable if there was a lot of noise and kids being kids. she knew that if she came and sat by me she was safe, and I would then open the living room door and let her go upstairs to get a way from it all.

My Elkhounds on the other hand like nothing better than a crowd of kids, except for the eldest who has never liked hugging, but tolerates it, as she knows sooner or later kids mean food!!! Her daughter could sit and be petted forever, no pride at all, and her daughter and grandaughter are the same.

I don't know if this is because they were imprinted and handled by children from birth (supervised of course), but maybe not as the breeder of the eldest also sold a bitch pup to a friend who has had two from me, and she adores children. Neither the breeder or owner have children, in fact the owner doesn't like kids :D

Hi Fiona,

I'm very sorry about Holly's incident. I know that after Samma was assaulted (no blood ensued, so I don't consider it an attack)... The first two weeks she was extremely subdued and constantly wanted to be with me. I really don't know how much of it was her or her reading my wobbly emotions.

This happened right after Sept. 11, and I was having some of the symptoms of Post traumatic Stress Disorder. (I had problems years ago in my old career, so I recognized them for what they were). When I broke my ankle in January, she wouldn't leave my side for the first weeks. It just has not been a good winter for me, despite my positive outlooks ;-)

I think a lot of my sleeping & anxiety problems rubbed off on her. We both had to build up our confidence and faith in other dogs after that. We were both "off our feed," too for a little while. It was not a happy time.

Holly, being just a puppy, is likely more affected by this whole situation...especially if you have the police coming round and you having to relive what happened. Take smaller walks at first & try to make it when no one else is around that you would have to deal with. Both of you will likely be fragile for a while. Build up both of your confidences.

Say "no" [$ just start walking whenever she tries to climb up your leg. If you ignore it, it should go away. Chienne used to climb like that. I trained her to climb on command, just so I could tell her "no" when I didn't want her to. Came in handy when those dogs escaped and she swung herself up in my left arm. (yes, this dog can go up a chain link fence--small dog/long legs ]) If you don't allow it, and she looks to you for guidance, it shouldn't be too difficult to not have her do it to other people.

I wouldn't worry so much about her food. You just changed it last week. You don't want to change it again and get her in the habit of becoming a "fussy eater." I have yet to see a healthy dog starve itself down to nothing. Just keep up your usual routine and if she doesn't eat it, pick it back up and wait til later.

I am crossing my fingers and wishing all of my best from over here to you. I have learned one command for mobbing children that works pretty well....."Back off!" Then I add a minor "please" ;-) This has seemed to be universally understood when I've told it to Spanish, Italian, French & German students :D Never mind that parents don't want you telling their precious little ones what to do. It's your dog that you're trying to protect.

Good luck and keep us updated when you can.
toodles

when I see children bounding up to my dogs I always inform them in a very loud voice ( so that their parents can hear and hopefully see the error of their ways) that they shouldn't run up to and touch dogs that are unknown to them. This usually works. I know dogs and particularly pups are a magnet to children but I think adults who allow this sort of behaviour are daft. I like the ones that ask if their children can stroke my dogs and then I am happy to to oblige. Hope all goes well with the police.

We have a 5 month old Dalamtian who attracts very clean very young children who go crazy over him. He is a puppy who bit a lot from day one - just chewing us as well as everything else and this has always worried us when out in public. We always take him to the school gates with us and try to get him to sit and meet his fans - we take handfulls of his food with us and give him lots of this as the children pat him and allow them to give it to him as well (if OK with mum & dad) - we continually talk to him when this is going on, telling him what a good boy he is. This stops him chewing hands and jumping up which is his big problem now as the biting has subsided a lot recently.
If children are too noisy or excitable then we walk away because he gets too excited - I'm not bothered about upsetting people who want to pet him - he's our dog.
I'm sorry that this has happened to you but I'm sure the police will be able to see that what you have is a puppy who is learning.

Hi Fiona,
Haven't any advice to offer just wanted to let you know that i'm thinking of you. If my daughter approached an unknown dog, pulled it's leg and it bit her, I would accept that it was my own fault (for not teaching my child to respect animals) - within reason. Dogs are unpredictable, especially puppies that are being pulled about. I'm sure that the police will be able to see that Holly isn't aggresive when they meet her and coupled with the fact that she lives with children, they should be able to tell that this was a one off situation. Is Issy in hospital? hope she is alright.
Naomi

issysmum

I am so sorry to hear about this incident and get really annoyed when the police are involved as they do tend to have an anti dog stance on the whole situation especially where young children are concerned. Having said that my daughter was badly bitten by a GSD on her paper rounds a couple of years back, I did call the police because she needed hospital treatment for her injuries and the incident was unprovoked.

The dog was not on it's home territory and had let her in to deliver the paper no problems but when she was halfway up the drive leaving he grabbed her from behind, no newspaper in her hand or anything waving about etc. As an ex GSD (english type lol) breeder and owner I was very concerned about the dogs reliability and advised the police accordingly. They visited the owners and the dog but did nothing more - agreed the incident was unprovoked but claimed the dog was not a problem. He has since attacked another person in his home town and had to be destroyed because the attack was so serious.

In the circumstances you've described I would be looking for a warning against the grandparents/adults in control of the children not the dog. They ultimately were responsible for the situation getting to the level it did simple because they were not controlling the childrens behaviour. As an owner I would have firmly told the children to move away and not to touch the dog without first asking me.

Acutally I do that with all my dogs lol people say 'oh it's ok they're used to dogs we have one at home' my reply is 'they are not used to THIS dog and will be introduced to him/her in a civilised manner or not at all!' I really don't care if they don't like it and get 'huffy' my concern is for the dog and the children. You did the right things to protect those children and your dog, personally I would be seeking compensation for the trauma the dog has suffered at such an early age, at least to the level of the re-training and confidence building treatment she is surely going to need.

The lead pulling thing someone gave some very good advice about that a little while ago - sorry can't remember the thread or who. It reminded me of how I used to train my GSD's for obedience work and it works very well on my smaller dogs now. Everytime the dog pulls you change direction and give it whatever command you use for walking. It took me about 3 hrs to get my worst puller to stop and walk by my side within a few mins of starting our walks. Not all at once I hasten to add but I did do about 10 min stints on top of his walks daily - walks are so much more relaxing now lol.

Good luck with everything today.

Good Luck today Fiona, please keep us posted won't you?

Linda

HI ABOUT THE FOOD EATING BUSINESS. I HAD SIMILAR PROBLEM WITH MY WESTIE ALFIE. AS A PUP HE CAME WITH A SUPPLY OF BETA DRY AND LOVED IT, THEN GREW TIRED OF IT AND STOPPED EATING IT. I TRIED ANOTHER BRAND AND THE SAME HAPPENED, THE BAKERS DRY, THEN BAKERS SEMI MOIST AN EACH TIME HE WOULD LOVE IT, AND LIKE YOU I WOULD THEN INVEST IN A LARGE BOX ONLY FOR ALFIE TO STOP LIKEING IT. I DON'T THINK THE BIG BOX TASTES ANY DIFFERENT FROM THE SMALL. I WAS CONCERNED ABOUT ALFIE NOT LIKING ANYTHING FOR LONG AND CONTACTED A VET ON LINE, WHO SAID ALFIE WAS LOVING THE GAME AND ATTENTION AND WAS BEING VERY CHEEKY AS I WAS ALLOWING HIM TO. SHE SUGGESTED I FIND ONE HE LIKES, GIVE HIM 20 MINUTES TO EAT IT AND THEN REMOVE IT UNTIL ANOTHER TIME AS DOG WILL EAT ANYTHING IF HUNGRY AND WILL NOT STARVE THEMSELVES. I HAVE TO SAY I COULD'NT BELIEVE IT WHEN IT WORKED AND REALLY LAughed at the thought of my little alfie running rings round me. IM NOT SAYING THIS IS THE PROBLEM WITH TOURS, BUT MAYBE. GOOD LUCK ANYWAY.

Good luck Fiona. As the owner of a Spook GSD (Max) I'm rooting for you and hope all goes well and that your pup gets her confidence back soon.

Oh gosh I do feel for you, it never rains but it pours doesn't it? Now I am no expert, but when we got our dog he hated my son, who was about 15 months at the time, it wasn't him touching him so much but the strange noises he used to make! And we did have three very unerving 'growls' and one snap all of which I was present for. Part of the advice I was given included positive socialisation which meant all good things come from short people! Now I wouldn't suggest this for an agressive dog but obviously Holly is NOT, but the only people (for a time) that were allowed to 'give' him things to eat (without earning it) that he thought were good (anything that comes out of a rustley packet in his case). Under supervision they were allowed to put a little bit of biscuit, crisp etc on the floor which was then his, obviously under supervsion and he could not get the impression he could steel either We also had the rule that if it hit the floor (food wise) it was his, and who drops the most food. Now of course they are older and can speak so he has to earn his dog biscuit which they still do now, if they want to give him a treat he has to respond to sit etc.

Do you have any friends with children that may be you could have a word with so that you can tell them what you want and arrange to 'bump' into so Holly gets some positive experiences? If I were nearer I'd lend you mine:D

I have to say if it had been my kids that had behaved like this they would be round at your house with flowers, doggy chocs for Holly and a very big sorry!

Well the police have been and gone. It was a police dog handler and out community beat officer that came out. I didn't know the dog handler but he recognised me, his daughter goes to school with Eloise. They both started laughing when I introduced Holly to them. The woman who complained had said that it was a big, black, vicious looking thing that had bitten her grand-daughter. Still I suppose she got the colour right.

The end result is that the whole incident is still going to have to be processed and reported to the CPS and hopefully they'll back me and the dog handler. So far as he's concerned Holly is not a risk to anyone and the child was at fault not Holly. He's also got Cocker Spaniels as well as his GSD and he's full of good advice. He's going to come around at the weekend so we can chat some more about Holly and her little quirks.

We're not out of the woods yet, but hopefully things will be fine.

Fiona

That sounds good news:) looks like you are going to get some good hands on tips their from the dog handler,perhaps we will be seing some of the advice on here soon
good luck with the CPS results
karl

I am thrilled, and some extra advice coming your way into the the bargain, which I look forward to reading about. I know it is easier said than done but try not to worry about the CPS.................

Fiona,

Glad you had a dog friendly officer so hope things turn out well.

Good luck with Holly and hope this hasn't unerved her to much.

Karen

Fiona,

Thank goodness for that! I know you are not out of the woods as you say, but at least you now know you have the support of a police dog-handler and that has to be in your favour. Especially as the description of Holly from the lady who complained will be at such variance from reality and from the policeman’s description that it is bound to undermine the rest of the lady's testimony!

Vicious black thing indeed!!!

Good Luck!

Linda

HI Fiona

So sorry to hear all about the problems with Holly; but I agree the children should have been much better restrained, I am sure I would bite if someone pulled my leg badly - in our society we tend to think a dog should just put up with being hurt, but they have no defence and are creatures of instinct.

Glad it seems to be going OK so far anyway, fingers crossed !! :)

Lindsay

Hi Fiona
I'm so sorry about what happened to you and Holly.
I know just how you feel at the moment. The Elf is
a very shy dog and she hates strangers rushing up
to her out of nowhere. She always barks loudly and
backs away. But people are so ready to complain that
you have a vicious dog now, like some of the other
posters I tell them to ignore the Elf in no uncertain
terms. I'm sure everything will be in your favour and
don't let the waiting get you down.
We are all here for you, you know.
Jaq and the Elf

I'm glad things aren't looking too bad, try not to worry too much, and good luck, Ingrid

I've never seen a big black viscious cocker before!:D can you post a pic so we can all see this new breed!
I wouldn't worry too much about the CPS, they're not going to waste their time on such an obvious exageration of the facts.
Poor little Holly, lets hope she finds a bit of confidence soon, and some appetite, hopefully your nice policeman will have some helpful advice.
Hope Issy is on the up too :D
Julie

If Holly is such a big black viscious dog, why did the grandparents let all the children anywhere near her? I'd say they shot themselves in the foot with that one!
Walking Ben (a sheltie-sized mongrel) in the park a few weeks ago, we were passed by a man whose son, aged about 5, was trailing behind him. The boy started veering towards us and I was about to say 'please ask before you stroke him' when the little **** threw a punch towards Ben's face, ambling on after his father without breaking his stride! I'm afraid I was so stunned I didn't call after his dad. Ben just glanced at the boy then ignored him, but I hate to think what may have happened with some dogs. The boy obviously has no idea about dogs and the father has no idea about his son!

Hi Fiona, I'm not surprised they laughed, hardly crime of the century. She probably only closed her mouth around the kid, and the kid pulling away got scratched on those needle sharp teeth. Kids get puppies so excited with they're screeching, that a sudden unseen action is going to cause a reaction, and the only one a pup knows is to open it's mouth then close it around whatever it is. Don't panic though, puppies of her age seem to change all the time. One minute they're all obedient, next they're as deaf as a post. Pulling may take a good few months to sort with a lively one, as well, and I know what it's like to see all those other non-pulling dogs while out walking. You'll find that professional gundog trainers won't even take them in until maybe 8/9 months old because they simply don't take anything much in until that age. But you know what? You'll get there, then you'll look back and laugh. As for the eating, are you sure she isn't overfed? The qty's on the bags are usually way over the top, so I would try cutting down drastically. Put her food down for a few minutes, and if it isn't eaten take it away and bring it out at the next feed time. Carry this on until she eats again (assuming no health problems of course) . A previous contributor said she won't starve, and it's basically true. For a smallish cocker you are probably only looking at 200g/day. Go buy her condition, not the bag. Don't forget to subtract the goodies as well, as they all add up. So keep your chin up, you could have Max as your pet!!

Fiona, I was thinking about this, and remembered when I used to teach an exercise class in a sheltered accomodation complex. We had a dear old gentleman who actually lived to 103!! and was one of the most active and least moany of the class. One day a visitor had a puppy in the area, and being me I stopped the class and asked the visitor to bring the puppy over to see the residents. The old gentleman went to stroke him and suddenly his hand was bleeding profusely. I'm absolutely sure the puppy didn't bite him, but I suppose his skin was so thin that the slightest touch started the bleeding.
Last night I caught my finger on a bolt on someone's garden gate - it was a tiny nick but it wouldn't stop bleeding for about an hour - and started off again today when I had a shower.
The point I am trying - rather laboriously, I'm afraid- to make, is that a lot of bleeding can result from a very trivial injury, which then looks much worse than it actually is. Probably that's what happened with Holly.
Cathy.

Hi Dave,

Holly's fed approx 200g of Bakers Complete Puppy food every day, but since we spent over £20.00 on a big bag of it the little madam has gone off it!!!! She has one small bonio biscuit in a day and has a rawhide dog knot chew available during the day. She also has approx 6 small cat treats, about the size of a 5p, if we do reward training that day. We train every day but she only gets food rewards every other day.

Life has been very up and down over the last few days, the baby has been in hospital and I've been out most of the day visiting her. The neighbours have been great looking after Holly when hubby has been working and I've been at the hospital but she is a bit confused by everything. Issy is now home from the hospital so hopefully things will improve for Holly.

I'm going to cut her food right back to 100g per day fed over 3 meals and gradually build it up until we find the right amount for Holly.

Question

Holly has been wormed but has recently, since we started her on Bakers Complete, been dragging her bum on the floor. Her anal glands are ok, that was a fun job!!, so what could it be?? I'm not sure if it the food or the fact that she's eating something. She picked at her Eukanuba and Pedigree Advance whereas she loves her Bakers. She doesn't eat a lot of the Bakers, but she eats with real enthusiasm.

Question

Holly has also started grabbing her back legs, on her thigh, and chewing them. She seems very distressed and is determined to get whatever it is that's annoying her. I've checked and she doesn't have any sign of fleas or skin irritation. Any ideas what this could be???

Question

Am I over-reacting and being a paranoid first time mother?? Well that's easy, I know the answer to that one!! YES :D

Cheers,

Fiona

Hi Fiona, I fear there may be a bit of over reaction, but we've all been there! I had a few problems with my latest springer, her poo was loose, and she went everytime she was out, and she also had the anal thing. I let the vet do them, no way was I going there, though it did quieten her down after they were done! By process of elimination it boiled down to additives and colourings in the food and/or treats. As someone said further down, a lot are made to appeal to humans more than dogs. I swapped her food to James Wellbeloved puppy, and her treats were Wellbeloved adult kibble, just the right size for a treat. I now make sure she has nothing else at all, not scraps, biscuits, nothing. She's been fine since. I bought a big bag of bonio buscuits, but they were various colours, so I binned them. I agree with you about the 100g/day, see how it goes. Maybe no-one's told you yet, but cockers (and springers) are all mental, take ages to calm down, are into everything, can get cloth ears, and so on. That's why I admire anyone that keeps them in the house, and manages to keep the house in one piece. When you see them working, you can understand why they're like that.

Not sure about biting the back legs, but check with your vet. Also, please think very carefully about drugs for behavioural problems. You get bold pups and shy pups, and they can change between the two. Mine won't bat an eyelid when a huge truck thunders right past us, but yesterday she got all nervious at a snail!!

My Elkhounds only eat 200g of food a day, and even when growing as pups never more than 250g, so you can understand why the biggest nutritional problem with my breed and a lot of dogs i obesity.

The owner will tell you, but I can feel the ribs!!! I can feel my ribs, but I need to losose about a third of my bodyweight!!!

Fiona if you start using cytagon b . her nervousness should go. it is a vitamin for the nervous system . worked wonders for a very nervous collie I had . after three months she was back in the showring .
does anyone else know of it .mari

Where could you get this Cytagon B from? I think it might help Missy too......

Iwould get it in a pharmacy digger . I live in ireland, and maybe it is different here
maybe your vet can get it as well .

If it helps anyone I ll try and find similar, we deal with vet who manufactures supplements for horses that work really well, will ring him tomorrow

Lorraine

Going back to the food, I wonder what experiences others havehad of Baker;s Complete? It's just that i have heard of several dogs whose behaviour went downhill when on it, and improved when taken off it! As Holly hasn't touched hers I'm not saying it is due to that, but it might be an idea to maybe try another good quality brand.

Also, if she isn't keen on dry complete foods, whynot try a canned complete? Or, even go for Nature Diet, my pup ws a bit fussy but loves the Puppy version. It's available from Pets at Home and I beleive i am right in saying it is human quality grade meat and veg/and rice.

I think the Baker's has a lot of colouring in it , which may affect some dogs.

Lindsay

Hi Lindsay,

I have to admit, I"m not crazy about giving a healthy puppy or dog canned food. Not because of the nutrition, which can sometimes be higher in fat [$ aroma ]) But because of the soft food for varying reasons: (hope I'm making sense...not writing well today)

1) not using muscles & teeth to crunch (natural for dogs)
2) residue left behind on teeth can rot them --difficulty to clear crevices -- (have to brush more to keep clean)
3) puppy can get accustomed to soft food and never will adapt to a hard dry food.
4) Have yet to find a canned dogfood that leaves decent breath behind :D

I've found in the past that I've added it to dry food for various reasons. But other than an elderly dog that was slowly starving herself because she couldn't chew well, canned food as the sole main course is just not a good idea in my humble opinion.
***************************

A Question --- on other postings about various "calming" drug/herbal treatments which are being recomended in puppy situations ....
Have these been tested at all on puppies? Are there side effects in growth & development?
Like human babies, it might not be a good idea to dose puppies when behavioral modification might fit better.

In response to the points about feeding canned food...... I have just swopped one of my dogs onto Nature Diet from Burns. Nature diet isn't as processed as the 'extruded' dried complete foods, and also contains bone dust which helps clean the teeth. ALL the ingredients are human grade, and it contains no colouring, chemical preservatives, fat emulsifiers, flavourings, binders, fillers or gelling agents .
AND her breath is much improved :-)

Issysmum - the irritation she seems to be experiencing could be coming from a reaction to something in the Bakers food I'm afraid.....

HI Sara and all (it is Sara isn't it? :) )

Well, i have fed my guys on tinned food all thetime i am afraid, because they had copious diarrhoea on any complete - this is back in the 80's mind you. So I stuck to canned, but added a mixer back then (for the crunch) and also gave them the WONDERFUL :) :) :) smoked marrowbones, totally safe and as Frosty the tiger would say, "They're GRRRRReat" for keeping the teeth clean.

Since the BSE I can only seem to find hollow smoked marrowbones, my new girl does chew them and gnaw them well, (not as good as the proper ones though!!) and has lovely breath, as did my other guys.

I think I personally willl always stick to bones and cheww fo rthe teeth, and something like NatureDiet for the food, as it seems to work well for Belgians.

Does anyone know if the complete foods are OK re kidneys etc, as ages ago there was a bit of a question mark over that.....?

I think we all find what suits our dogs in the end hopefully, I am sure some dogs are fine on Bakers and dont ever have a problem, same with complete, same withcanned :0

Lindsay

Hi Lindsay,
Yep, it's Sara :-) Good memory.

I've been reading various posts on this column and others. It just seems as if you all have such a plethora of various dog foods in your stores & feed shoppes. I am amazed with your selection availability. I basically have the same selections between the US & German stores --- Eukanuba, Science Diet, Iams, & another, I can't remember off the top of my head. Now if I go to the commissary, I get the wonderful crap food like "Come & get it" "Kibbles & Bits" "Hungry Dog" etc... get the picture? I envy you all

drooling with the green monster of jealousy :D

We're pretty lucky over here i guess!!! :)

Oh i forgot to say, i use tripe too, the frozen stuff.

LIndsay

We feed dry food, however twice a day we add about 5 teaspoons of canned food to enhance it and make if flavourful. We started it when we had a picky eater as the dry didn't appeal to her - though after the bits of canned she would tuck in and finish the dry as well. I don't like it as a main meal except in emergencies (ie we're out and that's all that's available), but as an addition it's great.

Wendy

I won't feed any food with artificial colours added. A lot of the supermarket brands, and Bakers is aimed at the supermarket shopper really, are designed to appeal to the buyer and not the consumer. what I mean is all the different colours and shapes. Green bits to suggest Vegetables, white bone shapes Calcium etc. As with kids some dogs behaviour may be affected by colourants!

That sounds great Mari. I'm going to take her to the vets after Easter for her microchip so I'll talk to him about it. Our vet is great, very forward thinking and open to all sorts of ideas and suggestions. We're spending Easter with my parents and their black Cocker who Holly likes and we're hoping that Ebony will gove Holly some confidence. Holly only likes Black dogs and barks at all others.

Fiona

I've just had a phone call from the dog handler. He went to see the child at home yesterday and she's fine, apart from some teeth marks on her hand. The mother wasn't aware of the fact the Holly is a Cocker puppy. She was led to believe by her mother that Holly is a huge, beast that was completely out of control and that her daughter was lucky not to lose her hand.

A meeting has been arranged between me, the mother and the police in an attempt to sort this out before the CPS get involved. If the mother insists on taking action Holly will be placed on probation for 12mths and I'll have to agree to take her to specialist training classes in an attempt to 'curb her vicious tendancies'. Personally I don't want to do this as this'll affect my insurance and Holly will be labelled a problem dog.

My solicitor has suggested I make a film of Holly with my children just incase it does go to court. Holly is at the moment curled up on Issys lap on the sofa. Issy is in her car seat and the puppy is lying on her fast asleep, despite the fact the Issy is trying to hand strip her head :D Vicious dog? I don't think so!!

Thanks for all your support and advice. I always thought owning a dog would be and enjoyable experience. After what's happened I'm now seriously concerned about hubby's plans to get a Malamute in a few years time. If I have these kinds of problems with a Cocker Spaniel, what on earth would people say with a big breed. :(

Fiona

About the Bakers Complete. That's what I feed Thistle, she's 9 months old. When she was younger- maybe 4/5 months- she used to turn her nose up at it and I used to mix it with a tiny bit of catfood and she'd scoff the lot!!
Fiona you sound like you've got alot on your plate at the moment. I know it's hard but try not to worry so much:-)

Fiona,
Don't let it get you down, you're doing fine with Holly, at least you care enough to ask for help and advice, she's very lucky.

Fiona, just wanted to say.....
There, there, my dear (sounds of patting on back). Everything will be ok and you're being wonderful with all of this stress. [hope you don't think I"m being too presumtious]
I'm rooting for you.
toodles

I did exactly the same with bakers complete, bought a small box to try and he loved it, so bought a large bag and he isn't keen. Don't know the reason why but I thought it was just me.

Fiona

I'm so sorry to hear of your problems. I really hope that it all works out OK. I can't believe that anyone looking at Holly would think she was vicious.

I posted last week (?) about the change in Tinker's mood since I changed food. I really do think it can affect them a lot. It does sound like there's something in the food that Holly doesn't like. I think you may have to ditch the bag (sell it maybe?) and try something else.

James Wellbeloved food is pricey but Tinker and shortly Loki are to be on it. It is low allergy stuff and the people on the customer service line are really helpful.

http://www.wellbeloved.com/

Best of luck.

Hugs and big licks

9th & The Towel Hound