deltron

Nope, no other dogs. I have 2 geckos... but they aren't the most interactive of pets. It's been 5 years since I had a dog. The last dog's name was Nipper and he was a mini foxie that my dad bought on a whim. He was the best little guy, everyone's favourite member of the family. He had to be PTS at age 15 because he had inoperable cancer and was in so much pain. He lived through cruciate surgery, luxating patella surgery, meningitis and cancer but the cancer came back and finally got him... He was SO smart, and his favourite thing ever was to jump and try and bite the tattslotto balls on the tv! I've been renting for the last 5 years and finally saved up enough deposit to buy my first home this year. My boyfriend calls our house the dog house because the main reason I bought a house was so I could have a dog! :p

Thanks for the replies :p Yes, this week has going SO slowly. Preparing for his arrival is making the wait4 just bearable I think what I might do is train him to go in a litter tray and then see what the Vet suggests once he nees to go in for his next vaccination. Once he is ready to go outside, perhaps I can move the litter tray into the backyard and hopefully it won't be too much of a mental leap for him to learn to do his business outside. I'm just not comfortable letting him stay in the backyard all day by himself yet. He's just so small. The neighbour's cat could run off with him!!

I am getting my puppy on Saturday (yay!) and although he is going to be mostly an inside dog, I'd also like him to have free roam of the backyard, and I want to train him to go to the toilet outside. He'll have a person home with him for 5 days, but after that he will be on his own for a while each day when myself and my OT are at work. I've set up the laundry to be his playroom, and there is a door to the backyard there, which I will be installing a dog door into. However, I'm a little uneasy letting a tiny young puppy (8 1/2 weeks) having free roam of a backyard unsupervised. Am I being overprotective? I've made the backyard secure... but you never know what could happen while i'm not there. I'm worried that if he can't go outside to pee during week days that i'll be undoing all the toilet training he'll be receiving when we are home.

Oh trust me, there WILL be so many pics that I suspect may break the forum

I've just been looking at the BARF victoria site Is it one pattie per day? I'm looking to feed a Tenterfield Terrier. Ok, i'm silly. I found the info myself

Thanks Ness for the link to the Ian Dunbar book. I've skimmed through it and it looks like an excellent resource. I'll certainly be reading it fully. I went to Borders, and would you believe, they had every dog book under the sun BUT the ones you guys mentioned. So, I bought "Puppy's First Steps: The Whole-Dog Approach to Raising a Happy, Healthy, Well-Behaved Puppy", as it was the most complete one I could find. Although my boyfriend refuses to believe me, I DIDN'T buy the book because the cover looks exactly like the puppy i'm hoping to get... I promise!

Thanks everyone. I'm going to peruse your recommendations at the bookshop tonight. :D Aww thanks! The typewriter was my favourite animation on Sesame Street (after the 12 song) A tan and white Tenterfield Terrier. I don't have him yet, but i'm visiting him this friday and hopefully the breeder will think i'm a good enough owner for him! I've already passed the inital screening, so friday is the full interview ;) If so, i'll have him in 2 weeks!!! So i'm going to 'bone up' on all my puppy knowledge before then (couldn't resist the pun, sorry!) Yeah tell me about it! There is TOO much information for me (and some conflicting opinions) on this forum so I figured if I get a decent book, I can follow the advice without confusing myself.

I'm in the market for a book/manual about how to care for a puppy. I've had family dogs in the past, but this will be the first dog I have sole responsibility for and I want to do raise it as best I can. Ideally, a book that has information about the different foods to feed, what ages to start training and socialising, crate training, etc. I've already bought "The dog whisperer" which is mostly theory, so i'm in the market for a book that is more of a "How-To" type guide. TIA!

There are heaps of patterns and ideas for pet related crafts at craftster (love that forum!) Another handy tutorial i've found is this one for a Martingdale choker collar