LilyW

This is my girl - she is a rotti x retriever. She learnt to shake this week...

We were told that young pups don't really understand that there bladder is full and what to do with it, they just go. I guess over time they understand. With our pup if she pees inside and we see it, we clap our hands to distract her and put her outside. When she goes outside we praise her and at times treat her. When she wees outside now she stares at me waiting for the response, but i don't like doing it too early cause she stops what she is doing and runs over. Be careful what you clean your floors with, cause alot of products contain ammonium, which is also found in pee, they can still be attracted to the smell and continue to go there - or so i have been informed. Over time your pup will get better, each month goes by they can hold a little longer. My pup has not had any accidents this week (touch wood) but earlier it was constant.

Thanks, will give em a try. Yes i hear the raw meat is good for their teeth. Just hate seeing my pup not love her food, want her to be a happy girl...

Hi All, I currently feed my pup a combination of dry and wet food, which she has enjoyed. But it seems she is getting a little sick of the dry food as she eats out all the wet but leaves alot of the dry food behind. What are some other options i can feed my pup that she may like??

Oh lovely, make sure you pop up some photos.

I have clothes on my floor but that is only because my lovely boyfriend thinks that is a better place to have them than hung up or in laundry basket, which he has access too - i have given up picking up after him - he is a big boy and can do it himself. And they wonder why women 'nag' so much.... well apprantley i do But lucky for me, my pup does no peeing inside. My man has left his shoes on the floor in the lounge and the pup is quite interested in them - i keep her away but if she gets to them he will have to learn the hard way!

Exactly, so many good responsible owners will be put off by this sort of thing and go to somewhere they know will give them the pet that they have tried getting in a other ways As sad as it may be, thatss what happened to us We found our puppy through the paper and pick her up tomorrow. Can't wait to see her again ;) What breed is your pup uforia??

We don't let our pup into our room or the spare room - she can go anywhere else in the house but those rooms. I guess the best thing you can do is set boundaries. I am most likely to have shoes or other stuff on the floor in my room - thus why i keep Lily out. While she is a pup and chewing, peeing etc - she stays out of those rooms. I would think dominance thing - maybe it doesn't have you as it's leader, maybe it has you equal and is therefore marking its territory - i am no expert but it sounds like a dominance issue??

My pup is getting desexed that day, so don't think she wll be in the mood for playing. Please let me know how it goes and i hope to make something in the new year. But very good of you to organise this LP

Can't do xmas eve, going to a pub for a few drinks - its tradition! But i may be interested in some other things before i get my pup into training next year. Will keep my eyes on here to see what you suggest.. its hard this time of year cause not only do we want to socialise our pups, us owners are really busy aswell...

I live next door to a reserve and they are letting off fire works all the time and Lily doesn't even budge. Every dog is different but we make an effort to make sure we pretend its nothing, so she doesn't get unsure or try to get our attention. I assume the older they get the more they get a little jumpy with noises etc. Last night my boyfriend and I were in bed and we heard two possums outside making so much noise - well they were probably.. well you know... But it sounded like they were right on our deck, so we grabbed a torch to check outside and sure enough they were right on the fence and there was lily curled up in her kennel sound asleep. She doesn't notice as much - but i guess its one thing when your home with them and another when they are alone. It would be better to leave her inside i would suggest, give her enough toys and her bed and she will be ok - better to be safe than sorry... Thanks for the advice Haven, we will probably walk down. A heap of lights went up in my area over the weekend so i assume those would have gone up aswell...

Oooo, i have been doing christmas light drives for the last couple of nights, so i might head up to Lakeview Drive tonight to have a look... thanks for that.

My sister has an American Bulldog and when he was a year old they brought a staffy x maltese, so a much smaller dog (as is every dog next to an American Bulldog). The staffy would constantly bite and hang off the Bulldog and he too is extremely tolerate but over time she settled and they are now best of friends. I took my pup over to their place and Lily did the same thing to the bulldog, she even was biting his gums and drawing blood but he was having so much fun, running around acting like a pup again - we had to remind him that he is nearly the size of a horse and trying to get under the table is not a good thing. The staffy on the other hand wouldn't let Lily go near her, getting all grumpy and growling (funny cause i was thinking that Lily's behavior was what the staffy was doing only 12 months earlier). They will put them in their place if they have had enough but i figure if your older dog is being tolerate you are lucky, just keep an eye on them but i assume the pup will grow out of it.

I know that when we got Lily's shot at 12 weeks, we also gave her a shot for Kennel Cough and that requires a booster at 16-17 weeks. But we were not advised of any other shots? It is good to get your pup out and about, but if your unsure or don't want to risk it, then just stay away from your local parks and just take your pup out to shops or in your street or carry it, so at least it can hear and see the things going on outside. But honestly for socialisation with other animals, puppy school or as was noted your friends and families animals cause at least you know what shots they have had. I have tried to get my pup around friends kids aswell, as they advise getting them used to all ages is useful but unfortunately all the kids are scared of her.. though she loves everyone!!

Hi Lily, Sounds like you are talking about CDODC! If you are i'll see you there!! LOL! I'm not looking for anything to TRAIN my do but to socialise it. I am booked in for CDODC's puppy preschool starting early Jan but I just wanted to meet up with like puppies over xmas to get a bit of dog-dog social happening. So, I have a few interest posted - some from Mt Evelyn way and others from closer to the city. I have two ideas.... Silcock reserve CTD's house or Reserve in Box Hill. anyone interested please tell me where suits you best as well as the days! Thanx! Not sure of the name but it could be, i was meant to check when i got home last night. They are contacting us soon so we can register our pup in. I guess if you can get people from here to meet up, not a bad idea. It is hard to get your puppy socialised once puppy school is finished. If you do get a social thing together make sure you take some pics of all the pups.

Oh Simba.. you are gorgeous.... Meetu - you are a great owner. Like i said you know your puppy better than me or anyone else would. So whatever you think is best for your pup is the right answer! Keep sending through those photos though... PS - don't get me confused with Lillysmum as i am on your side...

There is a place in Croydon that i am going to use next year. They have different classes for different ages, so your dog socialises with dogs of the same age. They are unfortunately closed over Dec & Jan. But reopen Feb, in the meantime my boyfriend and I are going to do some of our own training in different situations and locations and just get prepared for the next phase. I believe it is $56 for a full year. And classes are held every Sunday.

Hi, Not sure how far out you would go. But i took mine to a vet in Boronia. On Boronia Rd, near Dorset Rd. It is a great vet, been renovated. They are open long hours and after hours and extremely helpful. There puppy classes are great. The lady that runs them is just fantastic and very helpful. There is also a behavioral vet who comes in at the end of each class to talk health issues and answer questions. You then get taken on a tour to understand the equipment they use and where your dog would stay if it was treated etc. I am sure most vets would do this but other people that i know that go there wouldn't recommend people take their animals anywhere else. EDIT - sorry leopuppy - are you more after the next phase of training. I know most do close over December and January but would suggest to contact vets, they usually use someone for the puppy school from training places, so they may give you names.

I have heard from people that own Beagles that they can be a little more talkative .. but each dog is different i guess. But there is usually always a solution to something, i would just assume it is a pup thing. Its a hard one, cause i do ignore my pup and she keeps going, i don't want her to think she is aloud to bark.

My pup has just started barking aswell. I think all pups discover their barks and eventually they learn what situations they can and can't bark in. Right now they don't know right from wrong. We worry about our neighbours too as Lily is doing it early in the morning, but she did this when we first got her and was inside and over time she stopped, she is now outside, so the vet advised they start the behavior again as it is a new environment and over time settle. Is your pup a beagle?

Exactly, extremely well put, I agree completely Yes, was thinking the same thing...

This could go on forever... it is getting ridiculous.. But as i said, you would raise your own children the best way YOU see fit. And i believe the same goes for your pup, sure there are times when you need advice or a second opinion but in the end we all know our own dogs better than anyone so you do what you think is the best! And as for parvo, well in Victoria it is not as common as other states, infact in puppy school we were encouraged to take our dogs for walks before they had all their shots and we didn't actually put our pup in the backyard till she had all her vaccinations anyway - so that is being responsible i believe. The chances of her getting it in a room in a house were fairly slim. And Pawprints is right, stop scaring people who are new to owning dogs - we all know what the risks are and i am sure people are smart enough to make sure their home is secure and safe for their pup. AGREE TO DISAGREE!!

you can stop saying it, we ALL know, you are involved in rescue. that Does NOT make you an expert. You do NOT know everything about everything (though you like to believe you do?) Im with Shoey, Atlas was left alone from the age of 10 weeks, 9 hours a day - it only lasted 3 weeks, because i broke my foot and couldnt work - But had i not done that, then yes, he would have been left alone - He got 2 meals a day, one in the morning, one at night Kaos was 4 months when i got her and she went the same way, left alone outside, once again, had she been 8 weeks, she prob would still beoutside. I do have someone who can pop in and feed them, but then they would get used to that and expect it - I rather my dogs go into the routine they will have for their whole lives. My dogs now stay home 9 hours a day while i am working, from tomorrow till christmas it will be 11 hours a day - i have jobs to do (walking other peoples pets while they are away) They are fine, and dont rreally care if i am home or not ! Right now, i am home with them, they are both asleep on my bed. If your dog is happy and healthy then who cares? Not everyone can come home every few hours to check on a dog - and any dog can get sick and die in a few hours, not only puppies. Well said Terrorbull

I will make sure i keep you all updated on the progress of my pups health throughout the next few months, cause i work so, you know, who knows what could happen. Mind you, pups from 8 weeks to 16-17 weeks have regular vet visits for vaccinations and desexing etc. Plus puppy school, if you do it, also if i am ever unsure about anything i take her, i am more than happy to pay the money to be safe - so to say for the time i am at work my pup could be sick and i wouldn't know is just ridiculous - there is more to a puppy being sick then just not eating. Drinking, temperament etc also has alot to do with it. And as i said, we all own our own dogs, so in the end we should know our pups better then anyone, as would be the same with your own children. As i saw in the Herald Sun today, all these pups looking for homes - one of them had "my owner can't afford me" and it was only 8 weeks old. But i work, so i can afford to give my puppy everything she needs for a happy and loving life!!!!!

Some of you agree that a puppy should not be left alone for so many hours a day. Which is fine. I can't be home or get home during the week, nor can i get anyone over to feed my pup. That is just the way it is. We feed her before we leave, we leave food around the backyard for her to find during the day, a bit of a game, which is always gone when we get home. And then we feed her once home. When i took her to the vet for a check the other day, he said she is growing extremely well and seems to be a really well relaxed pup - so i was very happy to hear that. I know there are rules etc with pups and everyone is different but my girl is ok - that is the point i am trying to make - sure she would rather us be around all the time, but it just can't happen. Everyone's advice is valuable and i appriciate it but sometimes you try different things from various advice. I had a housewarming last night and i was advised by many that my pup should be locked in a room away from everyone etc. I then asked the same question during puppy school on what they thought, as my pup is currently being kept outside, i figured it would be harder for her to be locked away. They said it would be a great social event for her and just to keep your eye on things and she how see goes. We decided not to lock her away and she had a great night, everyone was very well behaved with our rules and everyone loved her and she seemed to love everyone else - so though most people advised it would be too much and should be locked away, i decided to do what i thought would be best for my pup and it worked out - i know i am going off track but my point is, we can all offer advice on what we think is right but in the end we all own or have owned pups and sometimes we need to make the decisions of what is best for our dogs in our situation. Sometimes a bit of help is nice but in the end what we do with our pups is our decision - and obviously here we can just continue to agree to disagree on this and many issues.