Heidley

I travelled in the Spirit of Tassie last January and I believe they've been refurbished but not sure if they've done the deck levels where the cars are.....we happened to be parked directly in front of the kennels, things to know there are cages rather than kennels.....you have to settle the dogs then leave them and you're not allowed down there while the ship is moving so won't get to see your pup until you get to Tassie. Not sure about the ventilation in the deck area but I'd say its average. If you have a large pup you have to get there early as people put small dogs in the big cages for more room and I don't think they are locked but no one has access apart from staff once the boat is loaded. ETA I didn't travel with dogs but was looking at this stuff for future trips

If he wasn't microchipped by the breeder then I'd say he's not from a registered breeder as puppies need to be microchipped before they can be registered so its pointing towards backyard breeder. I would send a friendly email to all those listed on the link provided just in case. Sounds like he's ended up in a great home

Agree with espinay's suggestion, would be a great way to bring home something familiar too. If you do go down the treat path has to enough for the litter and give to the breeder to give out when they see fit :)

We did a road trip to pick up one of our pups. Found that regular stops a little play and into the car she was fine. She travelled in the passenger footwell because she otherwise screamed the car down....didn't affect her crate training at all and she was a great traveller always. Was our opportunity to spend some quality one on one time. She didn't get car sick so we still gave her small meals when we stopped for a few hours rest to refuel, eat and stretch our legs. We were on the road for 2 days in total and made sure we split it up to be fair on everyone.

My pups have interactions with older pack members..... I have a dog who I refer to as the Auntie, great dog manners herself and passes them on pups beautifully including when she has her own. Love the photo sequence Pers just beautiful

Being a singleton and removed from her Mum at 6 weeks will make this a tougher job. One of my singletons was a shocker with biting and it went on for 5 months before I felt I had it under control and very occasionally when she is excited still she may give a nip at 3yo. She wasn't taken from her mum early and has great dog social skills was just the nipping for her. Find something and stick at it because consistency will help. Totally feel for you because it can be exhausting but worth it in the end

I would also be concerned that a 10 week old puppy has had 2 food changes in such a short period of time. Agree with the suggestions of not keeping the food bowl down longer than 10 minutes, I like to have feeding times as quiet time no fuss etc. as this works best for distractible dogs in my house. Good luck. I'd got back to the breeders kibble choice too because he didn't loose interest.

Foundation bitch came in at 17 months, daughter from 2nd litter came in at 11 months, daughters from her 3rd and final litter came in at 9 & 16 months. Mum only cycled once a year until her first litter and was then 6-7 months, daughters are pretty much the same time frame although skipped the 12 months til their second seasons

While I support the idea of visiting, I think that the breeder who,d have invited them to visit.......it sounds like they haven't wanted to glean a lot of information from the OP which is her concern. Sorry it hasn't been the best experience for you starting out but I would ask for a refund just to see and regardless go elsewhere. I always put lots of time into answering enquiries however for the most part I never hear back so it goes both ways. It doesn't help that most people want a puppy now regardless of getting to know you or anything about the parents, they want their cute baby now! Commend the OP on doing more research even after putting down a deposit, hope it all works out for you

The red flag to me is asking for a deposit without eliciting any information from you. All our puppy buyers visit more than once, keep in touch thrugh email or our FB page, get loads of information and often call us if they have concerns etc. they recieve loads of information on the parents. We became very good friends with the breeder of our first GSD, see them often and they mentored us for our first 2 litters and are always there if needed. We don't ask for a deposit until we are sure we are prepared for one of our pups to go to them.

I use the grain free costal catch for one of our dogs, she has always done well on it, think we've been using it for nearly 2 years. She has an easily upset digestive system and its never caused an issue

I would definitely be wanting more answers from the vet, more testing if needed. I have found adding protexin can help those with sensitive stomachs so might be an option for you to try. I wouldn't rule out EPI either ravenous appetite is one of the symptoms, my girl didn't present classically, her poops weren't runny so they don't all present the same. I hope you get the answers soon

Sounds like things are all coming together, got to love puppy tantrums!

With regards to the hips, it would be great for them to contact their local GsD club who can guide them through this if they want to go down this path.... Swimming as mentioned it great, not sure if they are using treats for training, but these need to be factored in, maybe using carrots or the actual biscuits as an option. I'd be concerned if one of my pups weighed that much.....reducing the food is key and no way would he be skinny at that weight. There is lots of great articles and links on the GSDC of Vic site which would be helpful for all newbie owners :)

Agree with Jumabaar, while you are working on the barking issue, if she generally feels comfortable in her crate, I don't think 5.5 hours is too much. Id make she she's had a good training session/walk beforehand and then she will likely cope really well with this arrangement until you are finished your training and can work on another alternative.