Same here...Scottie is the older male dog in the house, so he doesn't really have other 'influences' from other male dogs. I don't think it's the influence thing...more like, it's nature. Male dogs are meant to do that when they reach maturity?

Nope, doesn't really work...I've tried this before. Boiled lemongrass, orange peel, lemon peel and juice in one pot of water. The only nice thing about it is the smell...very lemony and nice smell But there will still be ticks.

The 'dip' is used to sort of soak the dog in...something like a spa thing. I used this by rinsing Scottie in the boiled water after his shower and let it dry naturally. It had a nice smell, but I still can find some ticks on his body after.

It depends I guess...Scottie and Kenji loves oranges I've even tried giving bits of lemon to Scottie to test if he will eat it...he did

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Added on January 18, 2010, 11:12 amFor me, I don't really use preventatives like frontline and all. Most of the time, when I shower Scottie every week and whenever I remember, I will check his body for ticks. Sometimes there will be a few...I'm not so concerned about that. I will just take them out and for the next 2 days or so I will check his body for any recurrent ones. If there are - let's say - about 10 or more of ticks around, and after rechecking there are still quite a lot, I use bayticol to rinse Scottie after his shower. Then, check his body quite frequently as well until I see no signs of live ticks.

There will be tick seasons throughout the year...if I'm not mistaken, there will be one in July/August and another one in November/December. These times I check for ticks very regularly. Right now, Scottie doesn't have any ticks and I just monitor...whenever I touch his skin I make sure to feel for any irregular bumps. These 'bumps' usually are ticks.

This post has been edited by Rayne: Jan 18 2010, 11:12 AM

As far as I remember, the tick collars are mostly meant for bigger dogs...the vet near my place never did sell collars for smaller dogs. The smallest dog weight for their collar was at least 10-15kg, so Min. Schnauzers definitely don't fall in that category. I have yet to try the collars, so if you see collars for small dogs, maybe you can give it a try... One thing to note is that, they will smell really bad after being put on. A friend of mine has a bigger dog, and she puts the tick collar on her. Apparently, it's quite effective (but she also uses bayticol to shower the dogs whenever they have a big infestation), but it really stinks of the medication >.<

Scottie had done that before also...don't know what made him think that lizards are tasty He had also tried cockroaches before. *turns green* I refused to let him kiss me a few days after that...haha!

Yeah, Scottie has those things on his neck too...on a bad day, he would have bumps all over the body I still haven't found out what is causing the bumps though. Tried elimination diet, but it wasn't the food. I think it COULD be ticks coz he only gets those bumps after we've caught quite a bit amount of ticks on him and did the bayticol 'treatment' on him. The only thing that I tried which helped was a cream called K9 Klear Up. After using it for a week or so, the bumps will subside But on and off, it will come back... I'm not too worried though coz he's still active and eating good and all that...he doesn't really scratch that much too, just that I don't like the look of the bumps on him. So, I keep the cream handy.

The cream I got was from Canada if I'm not mistaken, so have to order online...can't buy it in Malaysia. The website is here for placing order: K9 Klear Up

It's so quiet here... Since it's been quite some time since I've posted Scottie's photo, I'll put one here..


Begging with a fish treat on his nose... Excuse the ugly beard though.

I heartily agree! Not to diss anybody who can't afford to keep a dog, but I personally believe that maintaining a dog with its best interest IS indeed very costly. Case in point, my own example of my first puppy. Lucky was an English Cocker Spaniel puppy from my sister's dog's breeding, and I was only about 17. No work, not enough pocket money to get the things I wanted for my pup. In the end, I couldn't afford to take care of her and was forced to give her away to my relative (who definitely could keep good care of her, bless her heart). Long story short, it definitely broke my heart, but it was for the best.

After that, I told myself that if I ever wanted to get another dog for myself, I would need to be able to sustain MYSELF first before I can provide for my dog. When I got Scottie, I was in my final year of uni (and working part-time). I managed to do what I promised myself, and believe me, it didn't come cheap. I am not saying that you would need to be very rich to be able to afford a dog (I am not rich), but we must be able to sustain OURSELVES first and foremost before thinking about providing for a dog. It's not all play and fun...there are medical costs, grooming, food, etc etc. I wouldn't want this to happen with another owner just because he/she can't afford to keep a dog and yet goes to get a dog 'just because I want something to accompany me'. Not just the Min. Schnauzer breed, but ANY dog for that matter...be it a mixed breed or a pure breed, maintaining a dog is COST, TIME, and EFFORT. If one can't do ALL THREE, I seriously ask that they think many more times before committing to a dog.

Sorry if it has offended anybody, but it's the hard truth I had to face before. Letting people know first before they start jumping in...sure, some people think that dogs are only animals and pets (ie expendable), but if you're really someone who cares for animals (even just a little), caring for a dog is even more expensive that caring for a baby. My two cents' worth...

Congrats on your new pup! Show us some photos of him when you can

The only way to house train is to have consistency...try to bring him to the toilet every single time you see him showing signs of wanting to pee or poop. The more consistent you are, the faster he learns to go there. It takes a while, so one has to be very patient.

For the wet beard thing, when Scottie was little, I would just put enough water to soak the kibbles and not drown them in water. When Scottie finishes eating, I would use a damp handkerchief to wipe his beard clean. You could also use wet tissues to clean the beard after meals...I do that now with Scottie too

There are other kinds of treats to get if you feel the treats are too hard for your pup. If you want to train 'Sit' without having to push the pup's bum on the floor, hold the treat up above the head (but not too high until he stands up). Slowly move the treat backwards towards the back and say 'Sit'. In order to adjust to look at the treat, the pup usually would sit down The minute he does that, praise madly and immediately reward with the treat. Do this consistently enough, and he will get the idea. Hope that helps you a little!

As long as your house has no other pets that are sick, I don't see a problem with letting your pup go about the house (with supervision of course). I let Scottie wander about the house too when he was little. I only let him out of the house after he has gotten all his vaccinations.

The spray thing may or may not be effective...it's supposed to resemble the smell of pee or poop when you spray at the designated area. I tried it with Scottie before...doesn't really work with him, but there are others who mentioned that it does, so I guess it depends on your pup I guess.

No problem with letting the pup go ungroomed The Schnauzer look is just the breed standard (which is hand stripped, and most of us do clipping, so that's already not meeting the standard ). Since most of us don't show our dogs anyways, it's not a problem for them to be ungroomed until you want to change their look. Just make sure the fur between the paws and between the eyes are trimmed so that your pup can get a better grip on the floor and not get lots of gunk in the eyes from the fur poking it

Haha...no problem We're all also learning how to give our furkids the best, so it's all good

You can get salmon oil from most pharmacies or at health stores like GNC. They can get a bit pricey, but sometimes there will be discounts, so look out for those. Most important is to look at the labels and make sure that it's only salmon / fish body oil, nothing else. Look for EPA + DHA amount too. It should be around 300mg for a 1000mg capsule, usually.

You mean the stool is pure black color? Or it's just darker than usual? Did your pup strain to poop?

When we feed raw, the poop of the dog depends on the type of meat that is given...red meats will give the stool a darker color, while white meats give a lighter color.

Strain to poop means like it is harder for your pup to poo compared to last time. Well, like I said before, the meats we feed will determine what color the poop will turn out to be. It's not a virus or anything, and since you mentioned that Miki is active as before, there's no cause for worry. I don't really believe in the food being 'too rich' or something, but it's just that the portions of beef and mutton will make the poop become dark in color. You could get maybe like just chicken mince, and alternate that with the mixed mince, so it won't be so much of a concern for you

Miki looks super cute! Love that last photo of her cuddling

So sorry to hear about Jack...hope he is recovering well. It is very unfortunate that things like this happen, but what has already happened, happened. No need to dwell on the past...the best thing now is to concentrate on keeping your dog comfortable as he recovers from his injuries.

Fractures are kind of a tricky thing...having broken an arm myself, it's not just uncomfortable, but darn frustrating because I can't move my arm and do what I need to do. The vets will probably put a cast on the fractured areas (or other methods where applicable) and will probably tell you that the dog shouldn't move the injured area much. Best, don't move at all so that the bones have time to heal itself. If the dog moves too much, the bones might be misaligned and will not grow back as what was intended.

I guess the only thing you can do for now is to listen very closely to what the vet advises you on caring for Jack. They are the experts, so follow their instructions to the T. Keep Jack as comfortable as possible and discourage him from moving the injured area too much (unless instructed by the vets).

So sorry to hear about that. RIP Jack...at least we know he's in a place where he can run free without pain.

Yeah, sorry it didn't work out...I think their babies would have been cute

The name on the top left is the 'official' name given to Phoebe by the breeder. You can choose to either keep it as it is, or transfer the ownership to yourself. There's a fee you have to pay for the transfer though (RM150 for non-members, and RM20 for members. I suggest that you join as a member - pay RM80 for one year subscription - to save money ) Usually the cert comes with a green form signed by the breeder itself. You need that form to transfer ownership.

Some people think it might be unnecessary to do so, but I did it for Scottie just in case if he ever got lost and someone found him, but cannot contact me. Some people who are kind enough will go call MKA to ask for details of the owner (if the dog has a microchip). If you don't do a transfer, MKA will only have the breeder's details, and he/she won't remember also who they sold the pups to....so, just my two cents' worth on it.