Ella Rainbow

Ella has her own digging patch which is near our washing line. Whenever I put washing out, I cheer her on to do some digging. I've buried bones and toys for her to find. So far, touch wood, she hasn't start to dig anywhere else. We had some palm trees stumps and roots that need digging up and Ella has done the job for us :p . Unfortunately she has pulled out plants from the rest of the yard. But at least we don't have potholes all over the yard. Ella is 6 months old so perhaps in a couple of years we can hope for a nice garden again. Annette

Ella has been doing some gardening now that we've had some rain. She is really unimpressed that she can't run through the carpeted areas of the house with her muddy feet. We used to have some lovely bromeliads around a leopard tree. Not anymore, they're all on the back porch. Regards Annette :p

Seita - Your Ella is just beautiful. You're right, they aren't little for long. It just feels like its long when you are waiting to discover the next disaster. I haven't dared to tell my OH that Ella has taken a chunk out of one of the kitchen cupboards :rolleyes: :p . He already calls her 'piddlepot' and isn't very impressed with her toilet training. She already chewed the electrical cords off a couple of OH's power tools. The tools were packed away but Ella is tall enough to reach into the laundry cupboard and pull them out. We have to be so careful to close cupboard doors and put things away properly. Regards Annette

angeldust. I have a 18 week old puppy and 2 cats ( one is 8 years old and the other 2 years old). My advice is to restrain the puppy when the cats are about. This will give the cats a chance to get used to the pup. My Ella gets really excited and wants to play when she sees the cats and at first they were not very impressed. My older cat Amy has asserted herself and isn't scared of Ella (who is already bigger than the cats). I make sure that the cats have places where they can escape to (other rooms or places too high for Ella to reach). My younger cat is slowly coming around but I am very careful that she doesn't get cornered. The puppy will come off second best. My cats love their food and nothing stops them from getting to the kitchen to be fed . Even a bouncy puppy. I put their bowls up high so that Ella doesn't scoff their food. It's been one way for them to observe the dog without feeling threatened. I'm sure your cats will get used to the puppy but it does take time and the pup has to stop chasing the cats. It's like the shampoo commercial - "It will happen but not overnight". Best of Luck, Annette

Thanks Nekhbet. We've been only using one toy at a time and been throwing them because she loves to fetch. I'll give the kabana a try, I'm sure Ella will love that. She seems to be very food motivated. Amazing what she'll do when there is food on offer. When I'm preparing dinner (trimming the fat off the meat) Ella is so attentive and already knows how to wait and gently accept a treat. I'll get her a bigger kong and stuff it with mince or cheese. Also will put it in the fridge to make it like a teething ring (this is just like having a baby in the house all over again ) Can we put a disposal nappy on the baby so she doesn't c**p on the floor as well . One of my sons is allergic to peanut butter so we won't try that. I will try the chilli/tabasco sauce on the furniture legs even though the idea doesn't appeal to me. It's not going to attract any insects (ants) is it?? Thanks for the ideas. I thought I was prepared to go through this puppy stage but it has been a lot of work. I can't recall going through this when we had our GSD as a pup. He never had any toileting accidents in the house (we got him as a 9 week old) and only one shoe was ever gnawed on. He had his toys and was happy to stick to those. Maybe its like when you have your own babies, you get selective memory and remember only the good bits. Annette

Ella our 18 week old Lab x Mastiff pup is chewing everything in sight. For example, last night we were watching a DVD and Ella was laying on the floor next to us. Every time I looked down at her, she had something in her mouth and chewing. Pencils, my son's toys, the leg of the chair I was sitting on ;) , you name it and she was gnawing on it. God knows where she even finds everything. You might think that she doesn't get enough exercise or stimulation - she is walked every day and we play with her in the yard several times a day. My 3 sons play with her as well. We have just finished puppy preschool and I am looking into going to obedience classes. (Can anyone suggest a good one in Brisbane's eastside?) While we watch TV in the evening, we even throw the ball so that she can fetch it. I don't mind if she is chewing her toys (she has a multitude of them) but its everything else that is driving me crazy. I have stuffed her puppy kong with biscuits but that takes about 2 minutes and she has skoffed the lot. She has pull toys, balls, soft toys to play with. She spends time in the backyard and time inside whenever we are home (which is quite a bit since I work from home). Thankfully we don't have any fancy furniture but still I don't want chunks out of everything. Otherwise we are very happy with Ella. She is very smart and gentle. Regards Annette

Ella has her water and food dishes on our back deck and I think that may the reason that we are getting toads. There are 5 stairs to climb up before you get on the deck. But that hasn't deterred the toads before, they are simply looking for water and a free feed. I can recall a couple of years ago, I was sitting at the dining table in the kitchen, reading a book when I thought that one of our cats came through the cat door which joins onto the back deck. To my horror, a big fat toad had hopped through the cat door and was staring at me. :D Thank goodness I didn't try to stroke the thing like I normally do with the cats. Anyhow the water and food dishes are now inside so hopefully we won't be seeing anymore of the horrible things. As far as the toads are concerned, I think that it is better to kill them quickly rather than any chemicals. I know killing is not humane but hitting with the back of a big shovel is better than watching them suffer for longer than is necessary. Regards Annette

Ella's bed is in the laundry. She sleeps inside but has access to the yard so that she can go to toilet outside. Which she has been doing brilliantly. She is keeping the laundry clean and going to toilet in the same place outside. If we keep finding toads, then I'll have to lock her inside. We have 6 neighbours adjoining our property so it is difficult to work out how they are getting into our yard. We have checked the yard for any more toads and haven't found any more today but will check the yard regularly. We have a lot of plants in our yard so I'm going to do a big tidy up in case the toads are hiding in the undergrowth. I'll ask for ideas in the training section as well. Regards Annette :D

My puppy Ella loves to pull out all of our Bromeliads and give them a good shake. She shakes them so much that the plants end up in small pieces all over the backyard. She has lots of toys and I play with her throughout the day (work from home) but she still goes for the plants. Ella has an area in the yard where she is allowed to dig holes (I buried some treasures for her to find) and she isn't digging anywhere else - yet. After reading some of the earlier posts, it does seem that Labs are notoriously gardeners. Ella is a Lab x Border Collie. Annette :D

My 16 week old puppy Ella keeps bringing dead cane toads inside. :D I don't know if she is killing them or where she is finding them. Some are dried up and others are a bit fresher. I know that they are poisonous. Has anyone else in Brisbane or Qld had this problem? Ella is a heinz variety dog with predominantly Lab x Border Collie. I would post a photo but am having problems in reducing the size of the photo. Regards Annette