Malamum

Such a beautiful girl and such a fantastic milestone.

I'm sorry for your loss Sangrubber

I'm so sorry for your loss and that is such a lovely tribute for such a gorgeous girl.

So does mine! It has only ever happened when I've been the one to put it on so we have put it down to user error on my part. I'm wondering if some of the links have less flex than others and when joining on that link my fingers are not quite strong enough to squeeze it tight enough to get the prongs all the way past the little curve they have half way down. I would never ever leave it on my dog unsupervised or even if I was not at the other end of the leash. My dog is an adolescent and still prone to a bit of exuberance and excitement so using the prong collar means he gets to come everywhere with us without it becoming an unpleasant experience for us, him or people around us. We take him to cafes and restaurants and I also took him to my nephews soccer game the other week and whilst lots of other dogs were pulling and lunging against their leashes he just sat at my feet and we all enjoyed a nice morning out. I even had someone comment that they don't bring their dogs places like that as its just too much hard work so the dog stays at home. IMO being able to come almost everywhere with us totally outweighs any aversion to using a corrective tool. Also I've put in on my leg to test it and it's uncomfortable at most, not painful. We also walk in a fairly high traffic area and his impulse control around other dogs is a work in progress as he just gets excited and wants to say hi so the collar stops him encroaching on other people's and their dog's space. It means walks are pleasant and not a chore and no one gets frustrated.

I've never had anyone say anything to me about using a prong collar, but even if they did, I wouldn't put a lot of stock in a random strangers opinion. We do get a lot of comments on how well behaved our dog is though. However, I'm not really into chit chat with strangers so I just smile, say a quick thank you and keep walking so i guess I don't really open the door for further comments. Though when it comes to things that people think are mean - the one that has absolutely astounded me is people posting videos of their dogs showing lovely impulse control and waiting nice and patiently for permission to eat their food and the influx of comments about that being mean really surprised me. It would never have occurred to me that people would think that teaching your dog manners is being mean.

Lhok, my experience with Malamutes was everything you have said. Other dogs always seemed to take exception to them, even from the other side of the street and I believe it was because of all the things you said. Their natural relaxed attributes make them look like they are posturing when they are actually not. Another thing is their fluffiness, it probably looks to other dogs like they have their hackles raised. You are also spot on about them being paw driven. We used to joke that our dogs thought they were bears as they would whack you with their paw if they wanted something and on quite a few occasions, if rushed by an off-leash dog our males first reaction was to swipe them across the head with his paw. They were so easy to teach shake and high five to as it was something that just came so naturally to them. Now that we have a Lab the difference in body language is like chalk and cheese.

What lovey thread. I never saw the original post from last year and it was so nice to read though someone asking all the right questions, getting advice and then ending up with the perfect little pup. She is just beautiful and l love the name. You have to wonder if people have been living under a rock to not get the reference. Though with that said, many years ago we named the male malamute we had at the time, Indiana after Indiana Jones and called him Indy for short and lots of people thought he was a girl based on the name. I guess not everyone loves pop culture references the same way I do.

That is a pretty biased article. I'd call it an opinion piece really. The author has already determined that there is only one acceptable method to train dogs and then tells you how to find a trainer that complies that that one method. There is no coverage of all methods in an impartial manner with guidance on how to pick the method and trainer that is best for you and your dog.

RIP Minty you beautiful girl. I'm so sorry for your loss Animal House. That was such a lovely tribute which really captured what it means to have a dog as part of your life for so long. It may have made me tear up.

oh and just to add, the long drive is actually a positive not really a negative as our puppy now travels in the car like an absolute champion. We took him for his first consult 4 days after brining him home and he is now so used to longish drives that he just gets comfortable and then falls asleep about 5 minutes into the trip. So, I now see the car trip as part of his training as it's just something else for him to get used to and learn to take in his stride.

I second this. I have a 6 month old puppy and I have been doing the puppy raising program with K9 pro and I can't recommend them highly enough. It's a one and half our drive (each way) for me but it's well worth it and I wouldn't go anywhere else. What is it that you are not quite happy with when it comes to the programs you have already looked into?

Congratulations on your new puppy. We have a 6 month old lab boy so are going though the same phases as you are. People have to go to work and a happy and adjusted dog is one that doesn't need to be attended to 24/7. A dog that can't cope with some alone time is not well adjusted. Dogs being outside during the day when their owners are at work does not mean the dog is being deprived or not being treated as part of the family. Your situation sounds very similar to ours. Our boy is outside during the day when we are at work and then we let him inside with us when we are at home. He can't be trusted inside on his own at this age as he would just trash the place and our house is very open plan so we can't even limit his access to certain areas inside. We have our in-laws living with us temporarily so he is getting a bit more attention during the day at present but that will stop once they move out. It doesn't sound like your puppy needs anything but he wants your attention and wants you to play with him. Our boy gets crazy zoomies at night too and went though a stage of exhibiting similar behaviour to what you have described. He gets plenty of walks, training time and play outside so we are teaching him that when inside with us it is time to be calm. We are doing this by using a puppy pen, so he can be inside with us and part of what we are doing but he is not free to run amok and we are also working on his place training (which is like what Tassie described and linked to above) so that he is right there with us and getting interaction but he needs to be calm and chilled on his place. My advice is to work with him and focus on what you want him to do not so much try and prevent him doing what you don't want him to do. i.e. if he is doing the thing you want then he is busy doing that, so not doing the thing you don't want.

She is adorable

I've never been a fan of fenced in dog parks where the idea is for the dogs just to play with each other. To me they are disasters waiting to happen, however I have friends who enjoy taking their dog to the dog park but they seem to frequent one where they get to know the other owners and the other dogs so it doesn't sound like a total free-for-all. It's still not for me though. The closest offical dog park to us is not fenced and from what I've observed most people use it as an area to play fetch with their dogs or do off leash training, not as an area for the dogs just to play with each other and it seems to work well. Yes, the dogs do interact a bit but it tends to be more of a by-product rather than the sole intent. I guess with it being unfenced and near a main road, only people with well trained dogs tend to use it so there are less problems. Fenced in parks are probably frequented more by people who dogs can't be off-leash in an unfenced area.

What a gorgeous girl. She was very lucky to have found you.

Aww look at those ears

A Dyson. It’s good enough for a quick whip around between the once a week proper vacuum but it doesn’t replace the larger proper unit.

Just a comment on the hair thing. I'm the neat freak in our house and before I had dogs I didn't like the thought of dog hair everywhere and we got two Alaskan Malamutes (go figure) which in the hair everywhere stakes is probably about a 10/10. I soon got over being too worried about it as my love for my dogs made the hair thing not bother me as much as when it was an abstract concept. Stick vacuums are your friend.

So much good advice given already so I'm not going to repeat it. The pup not being vaccinated, wormed or microchipped is a huge red flag and others have already covered this. All I would say when considering getting a puppy is that you ask yourself whether you're setting yourself up for success or failure. You sound like you have a busy home and busy life (and potentially limited space) and puppies will get into anything they can so you will either need to ensure that there is nothing lying around for the puppy to get into or have the space to set up a puppy pen so that he/she can be in a safe and contained space when not being fully supervised (by an adult). We have a 15 week old puppy at the moment and this is what we are doing. We don't leave things around for him to get but we don't give him free reign to run amok in the house either. Also, when deciding what breed to get, do some research on the history of the breed and what they were originally bred to do and that will give you an idea of the inherent traits that the dog will most probably have and that will help you narrow down breeds that will fit best into your lifestyle. Good luck with it all.

Breeders who tend to get inundated with puppy enquiries could set up an automated response that acknowledges the email, explains that they do indeed get a lot of emails and that it takes them some time to read them all and respond so expect a response in xxxx and give an estimated time frame. I get that the one liner type emails would be tough and somewhat soul destroying but for those you could have a template response that provides a bit of information about the breed, what you expect from puppy buyers and a set of questions you would like them to answer. If you have that saved - then it's just a quick copy and paste rather than typing individual responses each time. I think part of the issue is that breeders or "dog people" i.e. people like us who frequent places like DOL have an expectation of what the process generally is but the general public really have no idea and their expectations are wildly different. There needs to be a way to bridge that gap. I had someone ask us recently how one even goes about finding a breeder and my OH laughed and said "be a part of every dog forum known to man" in reference to me, but it wasn't far from the truth. I was lucky enough to get a puppy from a highly regarded breeder and I couldn't have asked for a better puppy buying experience but me even knowing about the breeder and then getting an introduction came about due to connections I have made via DOL and I've made a 16 year investment in being active on DOL but that is not what the average person does so they don't know what they don't know and cold calling/emailing is tough when you are not aware of the unwritten rules that go with enquiring about a puppy.

She is just lovely!

Oh thank you, I hadn't seen this. I don't tend to look in General that often. @Teebs - she is just so adorable. The eye patch and brown tips on her ears are just to die for. How are things going a month in?

I'm so sorry for your loss. It's just not fair to lose a beloved pet that early.

Rest easy Leo, you sound like you were a really good boy.

I just signed Jet up with Pet Insurance Australia.