ShellyBeggs

Lovely poem...... All I can think of is how much fun they must all be having at the other side of the rainbowbridge it must be like a doggy resort! He will always be doing zoomies in your heart.......

They never seem to spend long enough in our lives...... But they spend forever in our hearts.... I am so sad for your loss of such a beautiful friend! Shelly

Have you considered that your dog could be a grazer??? Some people prefer to 'graze' all day and some prefer set mealtimes.....same with dogs I guess. No matter what I tried my Lab will never eat all his meal at once, no matter how small, but would eat it bits at a time over a few hours. But also yes I will agree with poodle wrangler, some will do anything to get something extra or special and can usually train you to do it more easily than it is to train them!

I was always nervous before a trial and would end up throwing up and feeling sick. And of course the dog picks up on the nerves, wonders whats going on and gets edgy too and generally all goes down the toilet from there. I found it helped to imagine it was only me and the dog there. I also thought of the worst possible thing that could happen, I could trip over into the fresh poo my dog just done and then while I was getting up my dog could have bitten the judge and run off. The more I thought about what I was worried about, the stupider it all seemed. So in the end the worst logical thing I could come up with was I would fail some element of the trial.....likely the recall. And so what, wouldn't be the first dog, likely not the first dog on the day either.......and in the end that is what we were there for....to learn and improve. So just remember, anything that could go wrong with your trial, has already happened to a gazillion people before you and a gazillion people after you and likely everyone there has been through it already! Cheers Shelly

There are worse things than tennis balls! My lab, now 12, has a rock obsession and where I live I can't get rid of all those especially with a gravel drive. He even brings big rocks he can barely carry up to the front verandah to chew on them until they are little pieces (if I don't notice and take them off him). He even has piles of his favoruite rocks hidden around the property. Tennis balls at my place generally have the felt on them for the first 30 seconds after coming out of the packet and then they are general dunked into the dam a gazzillion times. They never last a week before falling a part and I have to throw them out. I don't think I will worry about the bacteria too much! Cheers Shelly

Owwwww I love little round lab pups! rolly polly podgy cuties! If you are worried cut her down a bit! But keep in mind she be one of those that grow out like a litte butterball then suddenly up (and all the out seems to disappear overnight).....I know all my pups seem to do that! Kids seem to do that too I have noticed.....eat heaps all of a sudden, look a bit rounder and then the next time you notice they seem to have shot up half a foot and look unround again! If you do cut her down keep out for signs she is hungry (hungry lab pup prolly = great destruction)........and maybe you can try adding some vegies or something to fill her up. Cheers Shelly

Hi everyone....... I have a stupid question........and can't find a answer on google. What is the recommended puppy vaccination schedule? thanks everyone! Cheers Shelly

A behaviourist is a great idea.....and hopefully not to expensive.. In the past I moved an aggressive GSD into a halti style (instead of the correction chain) to give me more control of his head and so that he couldn't actually bite put a muzzle on. I then had another dog walk past at a reasonable distance 4m or so and rewarded the GSD with treats, it helped to make sure he was good and hungry too. Gradually he was more interested in the treats and couldn't care less about the other dog even when the distance was so close they could have rubbed noses.....all he was interested in was looking up at me because he knew if a dog was near and he sat still he got a treat. But this may not work for you and a behaviouist is the best source of help! fear aggression is another thing..... Good luck.....

got a funny story about this..... Had a black lab puppy (he is now 12) that chewed everything that stayed still long enough including eventually 2 bricks out of the side of the house and half of a concrete step. After chewing all the chair legs and couch I went to the vet and got something galled No-Gnaw or something similar. I sprayed everything he liked to chew with it. Couple hours later he is still happily chewing everything and driving me spare. Cursing the useless stuff I thought it must not work and so put a bit on my finger and licked it (to check it did really taste yuk).... ........not only did it taste yuk but I had a blister on my tongue for more than a week. The lab didn't seem to mind the bad taste and burning sensation!! He grew out of it when he was about 6yo.....and he developed a taste for chilli's so much that he would jump the fence and eat tem off the neighbours plant. Now he just chews rocks (big ones) and has nearly no teeth left! Some dogs were just born to chew!

My 16wo kelpie pup has an umbilical hernia. It isn't very big, is healed and looks just like he has a outie belly button about the size between a 10 & 20 cent piece. My vet didn't seem concerned claiming he just has a bit of fat poking through and when (if) i desex him they can remove it then if I wish as its mostly cosmetic..... I told the vet that if I do have him desexed it will be in 12-18 months and he didn't seem worried. Another vet has said that I need to have it removed immediately and that it is dangerous (he hasn't seen the pup) as bowel can poke through and maybe even kill him. This vet claims to have treated lots of pups that have died from umbilical hernia because it wasn't removed immediately. Who should I believe??? I don't want to put the pup through an unnecessary operation if it can be done later but also I don't want him in danger or pain. It certainly doesn't bother him at the moment and he runs around all day like a crazy psyco, has been known to eat as much as my lab (and still vacuuming the floor in hope) so it doesn't effect his appetite, he can certainly leave enough surprises on the floor so it isn't effecting his digestion and it doesn't hurt him to poke it or touch it. I don't want to just hope my vet is right........but I dont want to believe this other vet who someone told me can be a bit panicky and a bit of a drama queen. Google doesn't help......most sites claim it isn't critical unless involving the bowel.....and some sites have grusome pics of operations and bowel protrusions the size of tennis balls. Has anyone had any experience with this? Any thoughts on who I should believe? Thanks heaps Shelly P.S if it makes any difference....... my vet is a country vet used to dealing with working dogs (and people who struggle to find the money) and the hysterical vet is a city vet from a well to do burb.

Mmmm since I just got a kelpie pup from near there and his old mum might be there and maybe he might see some relatives, I might just take him for a look around!!! Long drive over there though..........