Dogs4Fun

Are the poodles easy-ish to train or challenging? They do look like a fun breed! What about lines - do you have to go with specific lines or are all poodles suited to obed etc? hehe - you shouldn't have said you have a poodle So far the poodle has been a ball to train. Got his CCD at 6 mths and 2 weeks of age! Picks things up VERY quickly - you have to be careful you are training what you want in the end, and not let slack habits slip in, cos I suspect they may be there for good otherwise. My boy is not from obedience lines, but all his relatives have strong retieving instincts, love people, have stable temperaments and are very eager to please.

3 dogs Most days (often several small sessions a day) No- its my favourite time(s) of the day 9 mths, 11 years, 13 years. 13 year old retired. 11 year old retired from agility but trialling obedience. 9 mths old trialling obedience, training agility Absolutely, but they would each rather have my individual attention 24/7 Young standard poodle, older Cairn terriers. I love the poodle sense of humour which makes the training so much fun.

One of my Cairns licked a judge thoughly (arms, hands and I think a bit of shoe) during stand for exam in an Open trial but didn't move a foot, so got a good score for the exercise. Well he wasn't showing shyness, fear or aggression was he!! Judge and I were giggling hysterically. Yep, that's what my friend whos an obedience judge always says to me - right after she's stirred Jonty up into a slobbering hysterical mess when she's doing a stand for exam - "he only has to keep one foot in the same spot to get a qualifying score!" No my guy kept all 4 feet planted, but his head and tongue followed the judge everywhere. Boy did he LOVE her!

One of my Cairns licked a judge thoughly (arms, hands and I think a bit of shoe) during stand for exam in an Open trial but didn't move a foot, so got a good score for the exercise. Well he wasn't showing shyness, fear or aggression was he!! Judge and I were giggling hysterically.

I'll have a poodle there if its on!

"Some owners see hysterectomy or tubal ligation as a way to sterilize the pet, yet still allow her to experience heat cycles and participate in mating. " See this quote in my post above. Does this not answer this question for you? Well no, because tubal ligation still leaves the uterus intact, so I dont think you can necessarily compare it to hysterectomy. Perhaps slow down and read the posts properly before firing off. It says HYSTERECTOMY OR TUBAL LIGATION in the above. The ovaries are the same, the hormones are the same, the behavioural effects are the same. And it is hYsterectomy, not hIsterectomy. Wasn't going to pick, but you're not being very polite here.

"Some owners see hysterectomy or tubal ligation as a way to sterilize the pet, yet still allow her to experience heat cycles and participate in mating. " See this quote in my post above. Does this not answer this question for you?

Can't say I agree with this. "Ovaiohysterectomy (OVH) is the recommended method of sterilizaton in the bitch. ... It is a procedure with distinct advantages over tubal ligation, salpingectomy and hysterectomy, which sterilise a bitch but allow her to continue to experience ovarian cycles, with the behavior alterations that accompany esterus. Furthermore, the ovaries remain in situ and could be the site for neoplasia, infection or torsion." "Tubal Ligation or Hysterectomy: A tubal ligation, whether in veterinary or human medicine, only affects the oviducts. These small structures are isolated during surgery and then cut and tied off with suture material. This prevents the ova from coming in contact with sperm cells or passing into the horns of the uterus. In a hysterectomy, the uterus is removed, but the ovaries remain. With either procedure, the hormones that are normally produced by the ovaries continue to be released to the rest of the body. This is fairly important in humans. However, in dogs it is a disadvantage. Tubal ligations and hysterectomies, through owner demand or veterinary preference, have never been very popular in canine medicine. Some owners see hysterectomy or tubal ligation as a way to sterilize the pet, yet still allow her to experience heat cycles and participate in mating. Because the ovaries remain in the animal, the disadvantages of these procedures are similar to those seen in intact dogs (dogs that have not had surgical sterilization)."

I'll say. We took our mature well toilet trained border collie to a friends place once ... and he peed ... all over their christmas tree and presents!! So embarrassing.

No, I stay with him, sometimes for 30 mins or so. He likes playing outside during the day and sometimes does not seem interested in going to the toilet untill we get indoors!! I suppose he will learn. Don't play with him when you take him out UNTIL he has been to the toilet. He'll soon work it out.

Putting him out is not the same as going out with him. He may well not be toiletting if you just put him out the door, as he probably wants to get back in. You need to take him to the spot you want him to use, wait quietly until he goes, then praise / reward him. This means every time, not just when it is fine, daylight, convenient. This will give him a positive association with being outside and a positive association with toileting outside. Be patient. When I got my last puppy, it was a little local drought breaker, and it rained all day for days. So I got wet, he got wet, the toys and treats got wet, but he learnt to toilet outside, quickly, on command, ever time I ask him to.

Hiya, My parents border collie x kelpie used to pick the mandarines from the tree, then peel them. He would hold them still with his paws and peel them with his teeth, with his little nose squished up and his eyes closed, because he hated the oil from the skin. SOOOO cute. He would eat 5 - 10 a week during the 3 or 4 months mandi season, and got to about 16 (then had dreadful arthritis, that it wasn't fair for him to go on with), so I don't think they harmed him. He also stole and ate grapes off the vine, passionfruit, carrots and beetroot (would just pull them up and walk off munching away), capsicums etc. Self made BARF dog! My current dogs are all vegie, fruit tree and herb garden scroungers.

Wait about 15 years .... :D

There's at least one border terrier with SE in NSW, and quite an active club.

My 11 year old cairn was "mature" the day he was born - was always an easy care, no fuss dog. And so you think, hey I can cope with a second one .... Still waiting for my 9y old cairn terrier to mature

Seriously have a look at what is happening in your house. Hitting, yanking around with a lead or shoving off the bed onto the floor would all be unacceptable with an adult dog, let alone a young puppy with growing body and mind. Would you find this behaviour OK if your pup was a toddler? You and your boyfriend need to sit down together, preferably with a good dog trainer, and decide on some rules for you and your pup. Is this the same pup that is being tied up all day? Please look hard at what you are doing with this pup, and for your pup's safety, your sake and your boyfriends sake, please get some profession help NOW before the problem escalates any further.

Why do you feel you need to keep your young puppy tied up all the time? I am guessing from your post that you fear he will be destructive ... well he will if you let him, and don't put time into teaching him a better way. Puppies need to lean limits and self control. Sure, he would love to eat your shoes or remote control, but he can learn that those things are off limits. Like other listers, I would recommend a crate or secure play pen as a security position rather than a leash, and you puppy can certainly spend overnight etc in there, and be put in there for SOME periods during the day. But your pup needs LOTS of time with you, interacting, playing, exercising, learning with you. He needs lots of supervised time in the house / yard - you can use "baby gates" to limit his access. He needs to learn that "these" are his toys, and "this" is the furniture, "here" is where he can sit / sleep, and "here" is off limits. This will take time, patience and training. Over time, he will become more trustworthy, and can have slowly, slowly more freedom in the house.

Hi Wolfgirl, The frozen Kong is just the ticket - vegemite or peanut butter go down a treat. Glad he has his face shaved!

I used to grow fodder trees for my aviary birds. I had several black wattles growing in a fenced off area. When they were close to 4-5 feet tall, I though they were "safe" and let the fence down. That night, I came home to two, full, quiet Cairn terriers. In the light of the morning, I found they had dug up one tree, and EATEN it, all except for a knotty but of trunk near where the ground line used to be. Trunk, leaves, brackes and roots all gone. Well at least I found out how well the dog composting system works (not so well ...)

I hav'nt worried this week but when he gets over exited he likes to crash tackle me to the floor, and he did it 3 times tonight so he must be feeling better. Bet that was the first time you were thrilled to be thrown to the floor by a dog!! So glad he is doing better.

Hi curious, This is my first poodle, so I don't know yet But the dogs where he came from are not chewers, but some are toy nuts.

Sounds like your dog hasn't "earnt" the right to have the degree of freedom in the house that he has at the moment. You may need to review his training so far - is he crate trained? You may need to have him safely restrained at all times when you are out of his sight until you can do some retraining. Even some "doggy/baby" gates to restrict his access to certain areas may be useful, but with his jumping ability, you may need shut doors rather than just gates.

Hey thanks Wolfgirl. He loves his Kongs - although he chomped up the puppy one at 11 weeks of age! I have the black ones now, and I guess they would stay cool for a while being so solid.

Hi all, It a LOONNGG time since I had a puppy underfoot. My 4mth standard poodle is starting teething and now is chomping that much harder on everything. Quite understandable and all very normal. And he is excellent about only chewing what he is offered ... so far anyway So he has all his normal chew toys, works his way through pigs ears and regular meaty bones (lamb flaps), and we are extra vigalant about leaving anything about, but I seem to remember in my dim dark memory freezing stuff for the last puppy to chew on to help soothe his gums. Chicken stock or something similar? Of course, this makes it kinda an outside chew toy, but I seem to remember my last puppy really loved chewing them. Anyone with more recent experience got any great ideas?

Hi Norskgra, I measure everything my dogs eat. The rations for the day are measured out for each dog. These are then used for meals, treats, training, rewards: as long as they are all used up each day, both me and the dogs are happy. And my dogs don't have weight issues ... Perhaps I should get someone to do the same for me ....