[ChinaMark]

First of all, thank you Labman on your recent advice. I took my 3 month old Collie to the vet who confirmed she was underweight but didn't recommend calcium supplements, just a good healthy balanced diet to bring her weight up to normal. Aside from that she is in perfect health... I was very relieved!

I just have one question about the quantity of food to give her. I live in China and it's not easy to find large pet stores like it is in the west. I am currently feeding her a cupful of Purina Puppy Chow, a half teaspoon of Caweline powder and a teaspoon of Vitapower's "MyBeau" 3 times a day. She loves the food and eats it all in one go. I was advised to give her these amounts by the vet but I am wondering if it is not enough. Should I give her more or will she just eat whatever amount I give her anyway?

Yours or anyone else's comments on this and any comments on the brands I'm using would be greatly appreciated.

Actually there is one more question! In China, or at least in Nanjing where I live, there are no obedience classes to go to so I have to train her myself. Could you or anyone recommend any good websites that have 'downloadable' puppy/dog training lessons?

Kind regards and thanks for your time.
Mark

[labman]

The Purina Puppy Chow should be fine. That was what the dog guide school was using when we started raising puppies in 1991. The main reason for switching to the Pro Plan was not for the dog's health, but for the small, firmer stools that are easier to clean up. Still, you should switch to the adult version soon. I would cut out the extras too. The Purina is formulated to be exactly what the dog needs. As for how much, I do have a good website for that, http://www.purina.com/dogs/nutrition.asp?article=292.

I strongly advise obedience training, but don't have a good website for that. The dogs see all the
People and dogs in the household as a pack with each having their own rank in
The pack and a top dog. Life is much easier if the 2 legged pack members
Outrank the 4 legged ones. You can learn to play the role of top dog by
Reading some books or going to a good obedience class. A good obedience class
Or book is about you being top dog, not about rewarding standard commands with
A treat. Start at http://www.dogsbestfriend.com/. Unfortunately there isn't too much there except hype about their books. In America, the bookstores and libraries are full of books on dog training, and all I usually try to do is to help choose a good one. There is a lot of nonsense on the net. There are no standards to keep kooks from posting whatever they feel like. Maybe I will do some looking around and get back with you.

[ChinaMark]

Thanks Labman, I've cut out the extras and just given her a little bit more of the puppy chow each meal. I've only had 4 days now but she does appear to be putting on weight which is great. I should have had her actually weighed when I got her!

Yeah I've been scouring the internet for information and there are so many websites to look at. For me as the total novice dog owner I'm finding a lot of the same information repeated on different websites so I can only assume that what I'm reading is correct.

I did find the following website for "online training" http://www.dog-training-online.info/

She is a Hollywood pet trainer for movies, TV and commercials... I know straight away people will think... "don't even bother!" but having read her website it seems very professional. It costs about 30 US dollars for 6 online lessons. I guess for that price I don't have much to lose and at least it will give me ideas that I can adapt. I'll post an update on it.

Thanks again.
Mark