persephone

Nup - Not happy ..he wants to go elsewhere ................... NOT ! What a sparkly looking handsome boy

I'm curious about this ? Can you explain further?

He was indeed a handsome lad! So sorry you had to make such a hard decision. ....

Now email that to the council! ;) They'll be happy!

9 is no baby - he is a good kid, and has experience with death .. so just stick to facts . Shannon is very old, and sick, and her body is worn out from being sick.. her body is too weak and sore to keep Shannon alive anymore ..and the vet will make sure she dies without pain or worry. (she is not 'going to sleep'.. she is dying with help ) I agree with a memento book or CD if he wants , and perhaps plan where she will be buried ? for you losing your little mate - she's been with you thru some trying times ...

walking, playing , exploring ,training.

Toileting in her crate is NOT a good plan .. it will make it very hard to train her that outside is for toilet . Yes, it is easier for you ..BUT pups, and training them well is not easy ;) people on here have bought pet shop puppies- kept so they had to toilet in their pen these were very tricky to train out of that "poo in my bed" habit ..and in an apartment you want a clean clean dog!! Waking up during the night ...remember each time she wakes, up, whimpers AND needs to toilet ..and you don't take her out .. -each time she does this reinforces that it's OK to toilet in her bed., and that you won't pay attention to her call. then she , she may be very quiet ...but also may be having problems. It is hard work. I googled a few links for you ... LINK LINK LINK

Cosmolo explained it well. My rule is NO canine teeth on humans. It is dealt with very swiftly and firmly the first time.

Crate training does NOT mean leaving a puppy locked in a crate most of the day, or while you are at work A`puppy needs to learn and experience its world ..a puppy needs to run & play & chase the wind and roll in grass . A`puppy needs to walk on all sorts of different textures/touch and smell different things ..follow its humans and learn their body language .... A puppy in an apartment needs some sort of toileting set up - as a small pup will need to toilet many many times during the day and a few at night. You need to train the pup to use whatever you are providing ..as puppy can NOT 'hold on' ....and will quickly get into a habit of toileting anywhere if training is slack. I suggest you put puppy's crate next to your bed ..the poor little thing is in a strange place-- no other dogs ... no Mum ... she needs company and reassurance . It would also teach her to soil her bed. it would also probably make her VERY anxious about the crate ..and Lord knows what other things This is not a thing which will do anything to help the pup's development. I hope tonight you can show your puppy that you are close and make sure she has a toilet opportunity ..and that you both get some sleep. Did you thoroughly research staffords? I wouldn't pick a stafford puppy as a good apartment dog ... they are active and strong and ,as you've found, can be noisy ;)

wow! great caterpillar !!..I have a similar one - no caterpillar magic, tho

*nods*

thankyou for that update ...I was also wondering how she was going, Steve

It means pretty things to look at! ;) Anyone else have some rainy /droplet shots?

Thanks Woof It's interesting ... yep . I guess with young growing dogs , strengthening ligaments would def. help hold things in place - so a worthwhile plan !

I'd also be interested in looking at results of that study

I think she is gorgeous!! I love those stocky little legs ...small is good (she can still be a lapdog :p ) if her ribs are really easily felt ..then she may be a bit underweight - but she looks Ok to me in those photos!

Little puppies are like any baby - most of their day is , or should be, sleeping.

is it the angle of teh photo- or has she small hindquarters? Any pics of her standing side on ? She looks lovely!!!

it may be useful for you to get a second opinion .. luxating patellas can be of varying severity ..and have varying effects on the dog. if it were me I'd be off to another vet or uni clinic and have him properly checked out - and have someone answer your questions ..like : Is it bad? What can we do so my dog isn't in pain? How can I help fix it? Does he need surgery soon, if at all ? all that sort of stuff ;)

My Kieran always used to smell rain coming he would be outside and up would go the head/nose and a couple of decent snifffffs into the wind ..and sure enough .. it would rain very soon after he was a staghound . He wasn't normally a sniffer - but maybe he liked the smell?

yep. the first test is an easy one .. and will certainly tell you if the dog is producing swimmers . "going thru the motions" may just mean he is inexperienced and needs help ..or it may mean the bitches weren't ready/

hey, Bundyburger..to avoid oldies like me having heart attacks about dogs in the boot - maybe adjust the title to 'rear of wagon' or somesuch?? Sorry ....

As I understand it ..the chemical composition of bone changes when cooked. This product then becomes brittle ..and also not able to be properly digested ,as can raw bone. there is no 'goodness' left in a cooked bone ..only a risk .

Has the dog has been tried with multiple bitches who have previously produced pups ?

http://img641.imageshack.us/img641/8626/javertkimbaxshahrazad.jpg Wow! Now that is a determined little individual .