Teething problems

Billy, my five-month-old puppy, is teething and is having trouble sleeping.

He is waking up at about 11.30pm and staying awake playing until 2am, then going back to sleep. We’ve begun to wake him up at about 9pm and let him play until 11ish to try to move his active period further forward but he is barking quite a bit, which isn’t making the neighbours very happy.

He has torn apart the sofa-bed and door frames. We’ve tried bones, ice cubes and nylabones – in fact we could set up a pet shop with the number of toys we’ve tried! - but nothing we’ve tried is helping. I did expect a certain amount of door-frame chewing with a little one so don’t actually mind too much, but wonder if anyone might have a secret bit of knowledge they could pass on to help us all sleep a little better at night. I imagine its quite a painful time for Billy too, so I’d be really grateful for any tips to help soothe his teething.

Thank you,
Nicola, by phone

Aiming to live to work - not work to live

Having received an unexpected, yet generous, redundancy package recently I have been looking at the options for investing in a new career in the dog world - why not do what you love right?! There seem to be a lot of franchise and business opportunities in the dog industry that I can go for but it can be hard to tell what works and what would fit. Would anyone be able to offer any advice on what they've tried and what worked for them?
Terry Lake

Editor's note:
Can we keep this positive? I can forward Terry any personal negative experiences you may have had but if I make any live here we will quickly find ourselves in the libel courts!

Reading list

I am 14 years old and I am thinking I would like to be a dog trainer when I leave school. Are there any books I should be reading? Can you give me a reading list so I can put my Christmas present requests in early?
Charlotte Jones

What's the pinnacle of dog training?

I've been following the Jordan Shelley story and have seen him ask you what courses he should go on. I'd love to be the best dog trainer I can be, what are the best qualifications to take? Are there any that can be done remotely as I have kids and will need to study part time.
Do I need any qualifications to study? I want to do this properly.
If money and time was no object, what would be the Harvard or Oxford and Cambridge of dog training and why?
Emma Gordon by email

Party pooper

Hi there

I have lots of family members invited for dinner this Christmas, probably 15 in total, and imagine quite a bit of the food I serve will end up being fed to my five-year-old Lab, Charlie (who could resist those begging eyes?!).

Does anyone have any suggestions as to how I can help aid his digestion over the Christmas period? Sprouts don't have a great effect on my other half either (!) and last year Charlie wasn't exactly welcoming with some of the smells he produced! I'd usually go for more traditional medicines/methods, but I'm open and happy to try any supplements or natural remedies that may help. He's currently fed a well-known brand's kibble, so a mixture of that and human food may be part of the reason he can get a bit smelly.

I'd be grateful for any suggestions which will make those few days a little better for everyone in the room!

Thanks.

Pam Tyrrell, Totteridge

Alison Logan, vet, advises...

I’m afraid you are not going to appreciate my immediate response to your query: don’t change his diet. By that I mean that it is perfectly possible to resist those begging eyes. If you know that adding food to his usual kibble upsets his digestive system, which is what the smell is telling you, then I would take positive action to avoid it happening.

I have two Labradors who will eat at every opportunity, but they have never begged at the table simply because they are not allowed to do so. When our original labbie was a puppy, she was not allowed in the room whilst we were eating, and I trained my then toddlers to never give her titbits. She is now twelve and takes herself off to her bed when we are eating.

We took on her half-nephew last year when he was two years old so he did not receive the same training, but he lies quietly in the dining room, knowing that if he shows any sign of begging then he will be banished from the room. I really do not like to see dogs begging at the table.

Food scraps are few and far between in our household, but it is family policy for any to go straight in the bin, by-passing the dogs’ bowls altogether.

From a professional stand-point, so many upset stomachs follow on from a change in the diet, either from scavenging or given on purpose (at the table or in the food bowl). It really is not worth it for anyone’s sake. Your dog’s digestive system is used to the food he eats and that will keep it happiest. Christmas is notorious for dogs with stomach upsets, because many owners like to give their pets their own Christmas lunch. Worst of all is when bins are raided for the turkey carcase and other tasty morsels, resulting in a emergency visit to the veterinary practice and potentially surgery.

Play it safe. Keep Charlie out of the way at meal-times and stick with his usual diet. If your visitors want to treat him, then suggest they take him for a walk – much better for everyone’s health!

How do you select a good dog trainer?

If you have a problem with your dog how do you find someone reliable to help you solve your problems. Having watched the One Show I now realise that anyone can call themselves a dog trainer! Is there a checklist of questions I can ask to reveal whether the trainer knows what he or she is doing?
Patrick Farnsworth, by email

So how should it really be done?

Having watched the Jack Russell on the One Show guarding his food bowl I now know how not to train a dog, but how should you do it properly?
What should you do if a dog growls when you attempt to take up its food bowl?
Holly Dixon, by email