How do we stop our year-old full of energy mongrel running off when she is let off the lead (rarely)?
Another question about our dog Penny: how can we stop her being aggressive towards other dogs? She is a lovely dog. Stephen Garwood  

You're determined to keep me burning the midnight oil here Stephen! Penny is no doubt a lovely dog but she is suffering from a couple of the 'big ones' when it comes to the common behavioural problems in the dog.
Firstly, aggression towards other dogs usually stems from a dominance problem, either protecting the home environment which they consider their own patch or indeed the park, ownership of which is frequently an issue: or every piece of fresh air!
You need to excercise more dominance over her and force to her act with less dominance to all other beings. I can't give you enough details here, but if you e-mail an address, I'll get someone to send you a sheet with some ideas for you to try.

The running away may be part of a dominance struggle as well. Your dog is at an age when hormones are running at high levels, when dominant behaviour can start to rear its ugly head. She may be testing you out, unless she is simply following an instinctive urge to chase , in which case you might test her instead. Dogs not under the influence of an overwhelming instinctual drive, but which are just refusing to come to hand , are normally careful to keep their owner in sight.
Try some ruses like lying down, producing something to eat or paying attention to another person or dog. As she starts to follow you habitually then phase out such procedures.  

Other slightly stranger reasons for running away include them associating their names with the act of running away-so try to frequently call Penny's name when she's approaching you, never when she's running away.   Similarly, you may be inadvertently rewarding the response of running away and punishing the act of coming to you by enticing it to you with soft words and then making a final grab at it. Stop this and only pay attention when the dog approaches you.
When she comes to hand reward with tit-bits. Any hesitation on the dogs' behalf should be countered by ignoring it.
As you can see Stephen, this needs time and thinking 'Dog' rather than human. You may need more in depth counselling from a canine behaviouralist or your own vet but this I hope gives you the bare bones of the problem. Good Luck! 

Can you tell me what are the symptoms of pregnancy in a canine?
Mr F K johnson.

After mating there are several things to look out for which in combination or individually can affirm pregnancy (which lasts on average 63 days).
Changes in behaviour are only suggestive. Some bitches may become more tranquil and affectionate.Others may display a degree of anorexia, usually apparent between 30 and 56 days of pregnancy; while occcasional bitches may have an increased desire for water in mid-pregnancy.
Distention of the abdomen is not a reliable feature until around day 42 when the uterine horns in a multiple pregnancy may fold over causing a relatively sudden drop in the outline of the abdomen. Palpation is most commonly used by veterinarians: a narrow window exists between day 26 and 31 when the shape of the developing foetuses is spherical and easily defined.
Other diagnostic aids are relative enlargement of teats and mammary tissue between day 28 and 35, but most commonly  a mucoid , very viscid secretion is noticed at the vulva usually apparent from day 32 onwards.
Ultrasound and x-ray are definitive techniques in experienced hands but the latter is used infrequently due to potential danger from x-rays.   Hope this answers your question! Tim Roe MRCVS

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