DobieGirl

Oh, I should also mention. That they are struvite crystals.I recently switched his food as well. He grew up on Pro-Nature which I love, but I moved in november and where I am now, I can't find it so I switched him to Techni Cal. He then got his first UTI but there were no crystals. My brother and his wife decided to switch their dogs to Performance Nutrition, it looked like a good food so I did as well, since then he got his most recent UTI and is FULL of crystals. Could the new food have anything to do with it?

Does anyone know much about Canine Bladder infections? My 2 1/2 year old Male doberman got one in January, the vet put him on antibiotics and took a urine sample (which showed no crystals) however a week after he was finished the meds, it came back! I called the vet and they said sometimes the dog just needs to be on the meds a bit longer, so he gave me more. All seemed well but Today he stared peeing blood and dripping it everywhere. I took him to a new vet and she took a urine sample and apparently he was FULL of crystals. She gave him some strong antibiotics and wants a new urine sample in 10 days. I was a little overwhelmed at the time and forgot to ask her what exactly crystals in the urine mean. I know what they are, but what causes them? Can a dog be prone to getting them? Is there anything I can do to prevent them if that is the case? He doesn't seem to be in any pain and she did a prostate exam which was normal. Also, this could be way off topic but there is a female in heat here and he is not allowed near her (he is not neutered) so he has been very sexually excited around her crate for the last few days, could this have caused the infection? I would appreciate any help anyone could give him. Thanks!

Thanks for everyones advice. It seems Sirius just needed some serious socializing. I took him up to Ontario to visit my brother for a week and he was pretty much thrown into the situation that he normally freaks about for a full week (strange people, dogs and places) At first he was a wreck but after he realized all these people were ignoring his explosive behaviour until he calmed down (including me) he quickly calmed down, and even made friends with a new male dog (a gender he normally hates) He's even great at home now, he warms up to strangers incredibly quickly (still a little nervous) He is doing great! Thanks for all your great advice!

Thanks for the advice guys, I'm pretty sure my boy just hates the lab, in the past few months Sirius has been introduced to many new male dogs and he loves them. I'll have to wait until the lab comes home to try the new approach. The b/f is gone away to school for the next year and the lab is with him. Hopefully when they finally come home Sirius will have calmed down a little.

Sirius seems to be calming down quite a bit lately, I have not been allowing him to demand attention anymore.... at least not as much anyway :roll: and have been making him work for his food, I have also been getting new people who come in the house ignore him until he calms down then they give him a treat. I have not had time for agility training with work, but now that schools almost here I am looking for an agility trainer for him once things calm down. I am neutering him this month, perhaps that will help a little. Thanks for all the tips guys! :D

How about Canine Arrhythmias :)

oops, I ment confidence :oops:

Does anyone know any condidence building exercises for dogs? I've had numerous people suggest them for Sirius but no on ever gives me any examples. Thanks!

I socialized him quite a bit as a puppy, and he was great, it just seems that he got increasingly worse as he got older, he used to always run up to strangers but at about the age of 7 months he started reacting differently. Now that you mention it I usually do pet him and try to relax him when strangers are around, I never realized that I was encouraging the behaviour but now I do. THANKS :) I've tried getting strangers to give him a treat when he meets them, he usually takes it and keeps barking, is this a good idea? I've heard some people say yes (my vet being one) and some say no, what do you guys think? As for where he came from, I admit it, I bought from a BYB, I never realized what a problem this was and how it was encourgaging BYB's until recently but it's too late now, I'll know for future reference. So I don't know much about his parents, I met his mother and she seemed great with strangers but I don't know his Father. I suppose I should have mentioned the fact that he is not Neutered, he will be within the next month (my bills are finally getting caught up) Does this make a difference with his nervous behaviour, again some people have told me yes, but my vet 9who specializes in Dobermans) said that it doesn't usually affect nervous behaviour) I've started doing the NILIF training (as of last night) . I didn't realize how much he ruled the house until I read that post, he truly is the Alpha in the house, I'm hoping that will make a difference. Thanks everyone for you help! This dog is a child to me and I really want to get him through these behaviour problems.

Thanks, I read the NILIF post and I think he will really benefit from it.

I have a year and a half old male doberman. I also have an Am-Staff female, and an Am-staff puppy Normally my Doberman (Sirius) is fine around the other dogs, he gets Jealous if I pet them but he never gets agressive. My boyfriend has a 5 year old black lab, at first they got along great but as time went on they started getting into fights, I've stopped patting the lab completly as Sirius gets way too jealous. It's become really bad, Sirius will go looking for him and when he finds him (usually sleeping) he'll chase him out of his bed and pin him in a corner where he'll growl or just chase him around the house, and if thats not bad enough, while the lab is here (who does not show the slightest agression towards Sirius) Sirius gets really agressive towards the puppy, and snaps at it and pins it in corners... normally they are best friends, he just becomes a ball of nerves and runs around growling at everyone and everything, about an hour after the lab leaves he finally calms down and goes back to his loving self. I don't understand this behaviour, the lab is the most docile dog I've met and never challanges him, he usually just sleeps. Any help on why he may be acting this way?

They told me I couldn't abopt a dog if I had a cat that was unfixed. I didn't know cats and dogs could breed. I'm sure I am not the only person on here who has bought a dog from someone other than a Reputable breeder instead of abopting one, If that makes me a supporter of irresponsible breeding then I guess I am. I have no regrets buying my last 2 dobes and wouldn't give them up for the world. I certainly would have looked into a Dobe Shelter instead of buying a dog but unfortunately there are none around here and it is unrealistic for me to travel to different provinces looking for a dobe shelter.

My horse farrier owns a japanese mastiff. She is so beautiful and friendly. She weighs about 150lbs and has the sofest coat I have ever felt. She is the only one I have ever met.

I know this a an old post but I wanted to share my thoughts. I agree with most of you that a lot of people breed irresponsibly when there are lot's of homless dogs. But I got my last 2 dobermans form a so called irresponsible breeder and I love them, I never could have afforded a registered doberman (they go for 1,500 around here), and they are not often seen in shelters and the ones that are tend to have issues. I have nothing against shelters but the ones around here make it almost impossible to get a dog. I've owned dogs my whole life and when my Great Pyrenese died from Epilepsy, I decided to get a dog from the SPCA and they would not give him to us, we passed the written test but we had a dog who was not spayed (she had been injured when she was a pup and was unable to have puppies, or even come into heat, the vet told us not to even bother spaying her because she was unable to breed) Even with a call from our vet they still would not let us have him, they told us even if we had a cat who was un spayed or un neutered we could not get an animal from them. Needless to say I have never gone back. I know they mean well but how can you support them and get animals from them if they won't let you have one without spaying and neutering all your other animals. I suppose they wanted me to spay and neuter my horses and birds as well. I by no means support irresponsible breeding, I just don't agree with the SPCA around here. Just my 2 cents :)

I had my first Dobermans ears cropped at 16 weeks and they stood up fine, it cost me $500. My second Dobermans ears were cropped at 11 weeks and they never stood up, (now when he perks them, they stand out to the side like an airplane:) They cost $500 as well.