persephone

Mischa is looking good! No reason her mum cannot have a race around and a play at all just make sure there is a source of warmth for the pup.. say a WELL WRAPPED hot water bottle ..or a warm wheat bag.... and by all means let mum have a few minutes run around the yard - chase the ball, whatever

"Quick, Quick"

get the sting out. if the dog is in a lot of pain/distress... soak foot in ice water. for a few minutes anti histamine if you have some.. phone a vet who IS open, and ask advice on the type/dose of antihistamine. Hope it is not too bad a reaction ouch!

Lauckes Uncle Albers here - when there's no fresh meat.

I think so have your dog ON A LEASH when kids are around. Teach him to sit when told teach the KIDS how properly to approach a dog/behave around a dog Praise him calmly and profusely for staying in a sit- or at least for having 4 paws on the ground. ANY behaviour you want your dog to do is going to mean work for you, his TRAINER Dogs aren't always automatically calm. they do not know what we want unless we teach them . If any of our dogs roll over, I know we've gone too far You may enjoy reading thru this - it has some good hints/explanations LINK this too LINK

!!! That moth is just gorgeous!! Thanks You have done well with the water droplet, too- so crisp!

Oh dear - sleep deprivation He will need to toilet during the night,possibly a few times at first. Now you have taken him into your bed,/let him chew on a toy.... he KNOWS that his behaviour brings rewards LOL! Of course he won't settle - he needs to learn- he does not know that night time means he should sleep for hours ...... but he does know that you will let him out and let him play- you're a nice Mum! 9 pm is an early night... and a very long one for a baby. he will cry- he is away from home, and little. I will leave it to others for advice- I have never crate trained a baby puppy,(only a piglet,and she was easy) so can't help, sorry.

WoW! Stopped cold!

Art is DEFINITELY in the eye of the beholder The last two are my favourites . Just gorgeous stuff . Nice colour- D O F suits my eye The only thing is the lack of detail, or the amount of brightness in the blade of grass the yellow moth is sitting on..... and it would have been perfect to have caught his wingtip. I just LOVE his fuzzy face!! That is so beautifully caught !

How are things going?

I just totally ignore- don't even LOOK at them- walk inside, do whatever for a few minutes.. then CALMLY say hello

Ok- Today on radio 891 Adelaide , Carole Whitelock is apparently discussing dog depression and the use of human AD's,with dr Robert Holmes (the behaviourist with the most mellifluous voice ) It supposedly can be listened to online HERE..but I have never done so.

Didles, I think what folks are saying is : yes, the kids are attached - we all know that happens in an instant with gorgeous puppies BUT they will be even more attached in a year's time- and if he does indeed have serious issues, what happens then if he is to have extensive surgery/cannot exercise/ has to be PTS ? You can't really decide until you do get a specialist opinion.... and then, if the news is bad, you have to decide whether it is a wise and/kind thing to keep a puppy who will be in discomfort , and unable to comfortably do all the things puppies love . All supposition now- hopefully the specialist opinion will be a favourable one,and you won't have to worry.!

The site looks good!! Looks a tad less intimidating with the less bold colour scheme,and the name change Lots of things to look at ,too

He may not be slipping at all- however,unseen by you, the muscles/ligaments in his little legs will be working overtime to try and keep his limbs in the correct postion.

I also agree with the slippery floor surfaces It makes for difficulty in walking- esp. if joints are loose and puppy is not well coordinated anyway. he is just too cute

With our sheepdogs- their reward/motivation is the chase- if they do not see it this way- they are of no use to us as workers. If they work well, and are responsive- they get rewarded by being allowed to do their work I have trained a sheepdog who didn't enjoy the work- but would obey my every command. She was hard to actually work with, as I had to think for her and give her the direction. i have never tried that again

When dogs play, they nip,mouth and grab. They growl, they roll each other over, they walk on each other .They can be very rough, and they can be very noisy

Training your dog, and possum proofing the house will help have a read of these links to learn more http://www.dpi.vic.gov.au/dse/nrenpa.nsf/F...15?OpenDocument http://www.holdfast.sa.gov.au/webdata/reso...information.pdf http://www.fourthcrossingwildlife.com/Livi...l%20Possums.pdf http://www.nana.asn.au/n2-possum.htm

Kill The Toy!!! I know that game She is having fun!

yes, he does. But starting off with TWO pups puts a whole different slant on things. He is only 11... at that stage ,I believe brain/psycholgical development is a lot different to a 13 year old, as you were. You also, as you said had not much else BUT your dog... and I am supposing you were terribly focussed on giving it your all- and proving yourself capable . May I also suggest that a kid who needs to' come out of his shell'- may NOT have the calm and assertive body language/voice/handling skills needed at present . I am also guessing he has not had much dog handling experience before? It seems to me a bit like giving a youngster his first pushbike- no training wheels..and then saying "Ok here's your paper round map- off you go!". I am so sorry things have not worked out as you hoped- and sorry that it will now take work and support to achieve your hopes. Please seek the advice of a professional- an experienced view ,thru a fresh pair of eyes can work wonders! :D

I agree that an 11 YO should not feel he is responsible for trying to control pups with issues . It's kids controlling kids :D

what are the night time temperatures in your area? It should be fine in a covered pergola - providing there are no draughts, and the bedding is NOT in contact with the cold concrete .. insulate it with about 2 cm of newspaper ,if you have nothing else- the suggestion of a children's paddling pool is a good one... as the puppy can then not crawl away- but is protected from draughts. With one pup- there will be no mess ... Mum will take care of all that :D

Our pups are opening eyes around 10 days.. and trundling around on their stubby legs about two weeks. make sure whatever bedding there is has plenty of traction for this pup- so it can get a footing as it crawls around. :D keep a phot like the ones here as a guide to what it should look like no hollows in flank , etc- just like kittens, really

Pretty puppy :D