Talien

Hey K9, So I am doing really well with Elysia and she's improved greatly. The only issue is that she still pulls ahead when she can and wont walk by my side? Can you suggest how I might be able to get her to walk at my side? She doesn't strain as much as just pull a little, and the liver treats don't seem to hold a high enough value to her when we're out in the "world" walking down the street. I walk her on the same 1 block section each day so she can get used to it but do you think its just that she's not used to being out on walks and wants to smell everything or is this something I can correct?

Okay, do NOT read that at work.

Just found out that something could be wrong with Arty's mum emma, I am so worried about her and her mum (the breeder) and of course about him. I hope nothing goes wrong. The vet is coming in today to have a look at her, please keep her in your thoughts

I had a feeling it would be ok, I mean it's sort of like bringing a puppy home when you already have a dog. Arty will be spending a lot of time with magyk and Merlin over his lifetime so it can't hurt to introduce him early thought I'd better check regardless though!

I've been working with Elysia (labrador) in an attempt to get her loose leash walking. The only problem I seem to be having is that out in the "world" there are more distractions. I don't think that the liver treats are of high enough value to her for her to really work for them, ie in the presence of smells and things she's really interested in. Mostly I have her loose leash walking but she still get's in front and pulls a little and I want her to be walking beside me. Is this unrealistic? Is it just that she wants to smell things or could I change this with a higher value treat? Ultimately a tennis ball will have her 100% focused but of course I can't throw the ball for her whilst she is on a leash so I'm sort of at a loose end (pun intended )

I am a bit strange when it comes to being wary. I LOVE GSD's! I Love them and I want to own one oneday. But I was bitten by one. I didn't know the dog, it was on it's property and I shouldn't have patted it (I was very very young). I don't blame the dog at all, but I still have this niggly worry each time I see one, which is why I didn't choose to get one as my first dog. I don't think the relationship would go well if I was even a little bit afraid of it. That said, these days I am only wary of GSD's if they are off-leash and running towards me, and don't know them. If they are with their owner I am fine and even happy to pat them. But now I ask first! Any dog, ANY dog that has dangly pink lips scares the crap out of me... or rather, they make me very uncomfortable! I am NOT for putting entire breeds down, this is just another herald from my childhood (pitbull turned on neighbour after a bad experience in a kennel), and I remember snapping jaws and crazy eyes from this dog because the fence was low. A child's fright can be an adult's worry I guess.

How do you know, if you get them, what "strength" nylabone to get?

OMG EVIL PC OF DOOM. I have written this post 3 times now! Ok. So, sorry to hijack the conversation but this is also something that I am worried about, I've been "lurking" in the thread trying to see if anyone gave a difinitive answer but I'm gessing it's sort of a case by case basis so figured I'd post to see what you all thought. I will be picking up my puppy at about 8 weeks (I think?). Because of how far it is to get home (3 hours) I'll be staying at my mum's house. She has two vaccinated Cocker Spaniels. Will Arty be able to go outside with them? Will he even be able to be around them? Do you think I should call the vet at my mums (about a block away, if that) and find out if the area is dangerous for parvo or anything else?

Hahaha many photos please! I'm in the middle of looking for a new house, studying and working, so whilst I'm excited it's hard to focus on the things I need to be doing >.<

Hi K9, Just wanted you to know that using the triangle method I've been able, in one day, to teach my friend's labrador to take treats without snapping them from my hand and have gotten her loose leash walking with me in less than half an hour. I will keep up the training of course, and spending the time to play with her and walk her (my friend is very ill and can't do much) is now easy and enjoyable for both Elysia and I! Thanks! (I've also managed to do it in front of my friend who now knows just how eager her girl is to please and be trained, hopefully in time, Elysia will be loose leash walking most of the time, and her owner will be able to take her on walks :D)

I am hoping that they're neither amstaff-like or border collie x's. Being a country "town" a lot of pet owners seem to have border collies or crosses here in Ballarat, or at least they're the type usually wandering. They will be hard to home if they are. There are so many potential variables. If she does have puppies, I hope they at least look like labs, that way they have an ok chance at being homed well. Update: Another Win!!! I have managed to convince her that Elysia is safer inside during the day and at night. Little did we know but Elysia seems to have smartly taught herself to be fully house-trained, despite being an outside dog for the last 4 years. She will happily sit at the door and wait to go out and if you don't notice, she will "grumble" (?) at us hehe. I am so proud of her :D Next up, desexing! Also, what are "bitch pants"? O_o

I was looking at all of these because I would really like to get a leather leash also but I was wanting to get a padded one? Does anyone know where I could get one? The closest I could find in those sites was a round one but was hoping to get a flat padded with brass endings preferably red/brown?

I have recently been trying the liver treats. Wow. Wooooooow! I now have my surrogate dog eating the treats without touching my skin, she used to snap the treat out of your hand and now all you get is the light tickle of whiskers! These are amazing! Update: I also now have her walking on a loose leash! This is so wonderful it's going to make her an absolute pleasure to walk now!

Just so we have a face for the poor girl affected: This is Elysia. She has no papers. Parentage is 100% unknown. She is healthy (as far as we know - she is being checked on tuesday), happy, friendly, easy to train (though not adequately as far as I personally am concerned) and a joy to be around. Her owner has many health issues, she cannot walk her dog regularly and seems to be attempting to anthropomorphize her dog by stating "I don't want to take away her chance to be a mummy, she might like it". Out of my love for the dog I do my best to train her, which she responds extremely well to, and I walk her when I can though she is not trained in loose leash yet which makes it very difficult. I also take her to the park or play with her in the yard as often as I can. So far I have won twice today. The dog is going to the vet. Not till tuesday when they have money, but she's going. I HOPE that the vet can talk some sense into my friend. I love my friend. She should not own a dog. Elysia should not be bred from. There are too many variables and she (and I) know NOTHING about breeding. Breeding is not something I (who respects dogs and their breeding) would ever get into on my own, not at least without a lot of help and support from someone who has a lot of experience. And certainly not in a rental property with no money! I also managed to train her to take treats without snapping! (my fingers thank me) (though this win is ooc) This whole situation makes me sick. I cannot and will not have her desexed without the owners knowledge. I will slam it home to her again, and again, and again, and again, and again that Elysia needs to be spayed, for her safety and for the pups as well. Someone (sorry there were so many posts to read through) asked where these puppies would be sold. I have advised my friend that if she attempts to "sell" them then she is liable, and that she could be liable regardless. I don't remember the last time I saw a pet shop here in Ballarat selling puppies, a few years ago now I think. That is NOT an option here. Simply because I will not allow it, this much I can do, if Elysia is pregnant (most likely) and the pregnancy goes through to completion, then I will make sure that each puppy is appropriately placed with loving people. If they ever cannot keep the pup then they will hopefully be returned to us/susan. That said obviously we cannot control what happens to the dogs, but we will definitely make the new owners aware that we will be available. I say us/we because I don't believe that the puppies or Elysia should be blamed for human stupidity. If it comes down to it, I will home a puppy with me if I can, but I will do my best to make sure all these puppies (if they do come into being) are homed appropriately and loved. As Elysia should have been. @Secretkei: Thanks for that I just gave it to her, I've been trying to hammer it into her and it's not working so I am trying the gentle approach stating that she needs to be educating herself and be prepared for the worst. I think that information has opened her eyes a little bit

So this morning there was a very wet balck lab curled up on the chair in the sunroom. I'm beyond happy that she is home. I am so blooming angry! Like swear crazy hit my friend angry. She refuses to get Elysia desexed, instead she plans to get a $400+ gps tracking device. How can she be so kdjdjdjsk stupid???

So, I've been taking a bit of an unwanted crash course in whole females recently and have been wondering, what sort of displays / behavioural traits do whole males have? I have looked up what I could but I wanted to get solid information that's interactive, where I can ask more about some things and less about others. I am interested in all types of males and females, mostly males though as I said female + crash course = bad juju

So, I just had a huuuuuge conversation with my breeder. I think I am in love with her as much as I am with Arty! She is being above and beyond helpful and I am guaranteed to be getting Arty :D I am so excited. I knew I was probably going to get him but now it's set in stone!

This made me cry. It's disgustingly unfair.

If all goes well, a Golden Retriever

Breeder's are a difficult lot in my mind (no offense to you all out there). I find some just want to sell you a puppy and be done with it, others want to know absolutely everything (which I prefer). Getting information off of them is even harder depending on the information. I found trying to find a reputable breeder the hardest. They don't want to talk about bloodlines etc and they don't want to poopoo other breeders out loud so getting a recommendation and finding a breeder you can trust is the hardest thing. Letting them know you're equally serious is also hard. I'm lucky in that, though I don't know much about my breeder, she seems very nice and is a ninja at emailing me back, I never have to wait more than 12 hours, which leads me to believe that when I do finally get the puppy (getting closer!) that she will be there to support and help. I bought some shampoo and conditioner for the puppy the other day, scanning through a bunch of posts I noticed that Fido Oatmeal seems to be a good one that people here use so I got that, Ballarat can get very muddy :D I also bought a collar for him which I hope will fit. I think maybe I shouldn't have gotten it because it's leather and really I just want to start by getting him used to wearing one when I get him. I also got a toy for him who has been dubbed Radek the Raccoon (points to you if you know where the name originates!).

Me too. I was (and still am in a sense) disgustingly uneducated when it comes to "whole" dogs/bitches. I've personally only known two other dogs that were not desexed and they were owned by breeders that I rarely saw as a child. I think that if I am going to own a dog then this is something I'm going to have to take a crash course in, i want to know everything so there are no surprises We're putting an ad in the paper soon so hopefully that or our canvassing will turn something up.

No it means I'm an insomniac with a reallllly bad sense of time! Lol I swear I thought it was Wednesday yesterday and lost a full day somewhere... I put her out tuesday night after playing with her inside/ having her by the fire for a little while. I was so tired that ***I*** forgot to chain her up like I said I would. We don't normally chain her up but obviously we were worried about her getting out. So you can see why I'm a little upset. It was my responsibility to chain her up that night and I feel like the worlds worst surrogate mum because I've never done something like this :*( I'm angry at my friend for not getting her desexed but at the same time I was livid at myself for being such an idiot. I am and will be a great dog owner but this just smacks that in the face. I didn't want to admit it because so many would look at me on here and go "you should never own an animal, your irresponsible" but I guess if you cannot accept your mistakes you cannot learn from them :*(

Oh wow I hope you get lots of pictures!!!

I love all dogs but I must admit that Danes are by far one of my favourites The guys is getting reaaaamed on the site. Serves him right.

I have been sending out fliers and notices all day for a dog that my housemate owns and in amongst the search on one of the buy/swap/sell there is a guy looking to get great dane puppies. Naturally I recommended going through a breeder and where he can get in touch with some for more information, namely here. I AM DISGUSTED. According to the site and its members this guy is trying to find new homes for his CURRENT two dogs. Is this what it comes to? Why and how do these people get given dogs? How do you as a breeder choose someone to give your puppies to / sell? How do you know if they are going to be responsible owners? This guy obviously shouldn't have gotten his first dogs, the poor things are probably not cared for at all if he can replace them so easily!