The Spotted Devil

You ALL deserve to snuggle up under a blanket after that!

Ha ha! Well done! Did you get very wet?

I've just dried Em and the pups off and brought them inside where it's WARM. They are now confined to pens/crates for half an hour so they don't drag mud through the house. Em, in particular, is not amused.

I use photobucket or else upload directly from your desktop computer if you have one! i remember stressing over my first puppy - he's now 8.5 and I get more and more relaxed with each pup I have - I've had a couple for a month for friends as well as my own and they just slot in :)

Congratulations! Baby puppies may not be very food oriented because they have tiny tummies AND the whole coming home thing can be quite stressful. That might be the reason for the sloppy poo and the reason he is quiet. If this continues though speak to your vet to be on the safe side. He will likely enjoy treats a bit more as he starts to relax but keep it simple for a bit longer. Pups have a LOT of contact with their litter mates so they miss this. My litter were handled extensively and all the pups prefered to play and snuggle with me. They do need to learn to be alone but make sure they are warm enough - a snuggle safe is perfect for a baby puppy. When you leave him alone make sure he is nice and tired and maybe leave with him his food so yummy stuff = being left alone = awesome! Working out the pee schedule will come in time - don't stress. You can clean up with paper towels or a mop (warm water and vinegar) on hard floors. Then spray the area with Urine Off. I am keeping one of the pups from this litter and still have one to place - at 11 weeks I pretty much have them covered but they still have the odd accident inside when I miss their "signals." Don't worry about the "no" - very difficult concept for dogs to understand :) Lots of praise and play for doing the right thing. Redirect or manage or train the rest. Remember that just because you are not TRAINING your pup it doesn't mean they are not LEARNING. Have fun above all else! It does get easier

Also this one kirty: http://www.depi.vic.gov.au/pets/dogs/dog-health/dog-condition-score-chart It's not the one I put in my puppy packs but I can't recall where I sourced it from off hand.

Yes, that's what I do. Cheese helps. I was really lucky with this litter - had some huge storms between 3-5 weeks of age (tin roof) so pups are completely nonplussed. I had to get them inside today when they were playing in the hail storm.

What Mrs RB said :D

I know of a pup that died of pneumonia after being left outside to sleep in Winter. They finally listened to advice from someone and brought the pup indoors. It was dead 24 hours later.

Get them on the phone - email is fine for first and later communications but you can tell a lot by speaking to someone. You don't have to interrogate them but ask them leading questions...have you got dogs? Cats? Chooks? Have you had this breed before? Why do you want this breed? Is colour important? Why male or female? See how keen they are to talk about their own experience, past and present pets. Have they spoken to any other breeders? Are they looking for an active pet? etc etc. I'm always very honest and open about my own dogs too in terms of whether my pups would suit their situation etc. I also prefer to have met puppy buyers first and preferably see them interacting with my dogs. It tells you a lot. Otherwise they need to come with a very good reference!

Mine wee and poo as soon as they've eaten. Normal. I would pick it up myself. But now I'm slowing mine down by using food toys and making them work for it (11 weeks). Sir H gets some time alone outside after he finishes. When he is quiet and relaxed exploring or resting I let Ginny out for a play. I am not keeping him so everyone needs to learn to be alone.

10 mins to eat your food (regardless of complaining) and then bowls get picked up. They'll work it out pretty quickly I imagine.

Competitiveness across states, city vs country etc happens in plenty of sports and I think it's a tough thing to manage. It would be an incredible feat to get Em's retrieving champion title in Vic as the standard is probably some of the best in the country - up against field bred Labs/ Goldens and you need to win the whole class - but that doesn't stop me trying!

Absolutely understandable DA! Similarly I won't sell a pup unless I've met the person or they come with a very good referral from someone I know and respect.

Well I don't care as I run 400 and 600 dogs anyway :laugh: In all seriousness I think DC has a good point - but I'll be sticking with my odd breeds and doing my best to encourage others to participate also

Before mating and at 8 weeks gestation. Hormones do very odd things to worm burden!!!

Interesting about the weaves - makes it easier to run a less experienced dog in Open as a training run and is a nice option as dogs get older and I don't want them doing weaves as much.

Yep, thats the plan :) He will likely be a 400 height dog, both his parents are 412mm at the shoulder. At this point he is the 2nd smallest of the litter, all the brothers are about a kg heavier and 1 sister is about 500g heavier I think. The other sister is about 500g lighter, she is tiny. At the moment he weighs about 5.5kg. He will stretch your training skills just like my Dally has - best teacher ever!

That's wonderful!!!!

Really sorry to hear this. I had a resection done on one of my cats for something that was LIKE a tumour but not. It's a very serious operation and there are lots of complications. Ultimately it recurred in my girl and I let her go after doing everything we humanely could. My heart goes out to you.

Exactly! I had this gorgeous elderly lady and her PERFECT Whippet in class once - the dog wasn't food or toy motivated (probably a flirt pole would have worked but the owner was a bit frail) and had zero behavioural issues. I was at a bit of a loss actually because I just wanted to tell the lady to go and enjoy her dog :laugh: She felt obliged to go to a training class with one of the few dogs I've met that didn't need them!

I've had a few Greys and Whippets in class that don't like either sit or drop - I guess it's a body shape thing and I don't really bother pushing them if they have a preference. But a fun challenge for sure! You could try shaping the hind legs to a clear, raised surface target too.

Have you tried teaching her to sit in the corner of a room? I would still lure if she loves food but make it doubly exciting by using THE BEST FOOD EVER when she's really hungry. Make sure it's a good grip too - eg carpet or rubber matting. My Springer offered me a 1000 behaviours for "stand" - so I lined her up parallel to the couch in a sit and then tickled her back leg. Nailed it. Sometimes you just have to think laterally!

And if you like using the loo alone and not having pleading love eyes on you all the time, maybe not a flattie. Hahaha. :laugh:

And that's the thing - every breed has it's particular traits...some of us see those as awesome and others see the same traits as unliveable. If you don't like hair then DON'T get a Dalmatian :D