charli73

WE did 2 and a bit steady years of obedience and out of all the levels and trainers we had I loved having instructors that knew what they were going to do , they were organised... I hated getting to class and having 10-15 people being asked "so what do you guys want to do?". Question time aside of course.. I found the organised structured classes were great as they had some heeling, some socialisation and games... Good luck with the training!

I must say I have noticed this also... It does upset me sometimes.. Ive had an asian lady walking past my house when I had the dog on lead inside the gates and she very obviously walked wide onto to tarmac past my place then back on to the footpath and my dog wasnt even near her???? I get terribly offended when things like that happen...

I often train Zoe outdoors and get strange looks but Id rather people in my area see that she is well behaved and under instruction. I used to worry about it but now I dont care They can watch all they like and maybe learn something..

First time dog ownere her and a GSD prob not the easiest choice... I wanted to kill her so many times, didnt realise how hard it would be, many tears and a wonderful Husband helping out made me realise how we great we would be as parents.... It does get easier but so I know how you feel, I broke down intears often at the sight of my garden being destroyed daily, the BBQ, the hose, furniture..... etc etc.

My sister is a vet nurse and tells me to see if her ears are hot, just like Janba said...

Petstock Mitcham or try Pets Pantry who deliver....

Zoe does this with larger food items or special treats.... takes them to her crate to eat... odd.

Kabana, works here every time....

I put a light lead on Zoe and had it drag around behind her inside at home to get her used to it.....

Zoe eats necks too and loves them, and we never give her meat with dry food, only one or the other.. I read somewhere on DOL that the meat and kibble arent good together because they are too hard to digest at the same time or something so i have never done it. Zoe is on a mix of RC and Eagle Pack and although she has never had a limp I never excercised her too much as a pup... All the best with your boy!

Berwick, Doncaster, Hawthorn, Scoreby and Watsonia, my dog Zoe was enrolled for Platinum and I got the same email, unfortunately its true. Im just lucky im on email, I know many who arent who will turn up.. I really liked some of the trainers. :D

Does he think maybe you are getting ready to leave him home? I know our girl knows when were preparing to leave and doesnt know till we go whether she is coming with us.. The other thing you could do is have the car doors open and have him out the front with you on lead while you are gardening, cleaning the car or whatever so he can sit in it without going anywhere and get used to it. Then start the engine and turn it off without going anywhere and build up to going somewhere like the park as you do.. I know our girl loves to sit in the front seat while we do gardening as she thinks we are going somewhere really cool, its very cute... Hope that helps

Our obedience school wont allow check chains on pups under 5 months old either... if you can conquer the lead pulling now its so much easier than when theyre 32kg and 12 months old Good luck!

I put our GSD pup in puppy class at 8 weeks to introduce her to other puppies. Our obedience school has different levels for all age puppies/dogs and she has been going every week for over 2 years fo the one fixed price.... She initially was very scared but she was introduced to all breeds of dogs big and small and It is the best way of getting your dog used to the wide world in the critical stage (8-16 wks old) It was the best thing we ever did!

Hi, I am having the same issue but sometimes dogs/puppies just throw up.. Sometimes it can be yellow bile or dinner and sometimes she eats it again but if the vomiting continues or shows any signs of blood, worms or has the runs too its time to visit the vet. Never let a pup play or run 30-60 minutes after of before eating a meal, or you risk bloat/stomach torsion... Its hard to know when its a once off vomit or if the dog is truly unwell from something worse but if your ever unsure go to the vets, best to be sure.. My dog has a sensitive stomach and whenver she is sick she is on rice and chicken until she seems normal again. Zoe throws up every now and then but if she seems happy and lively I will not get her checked out.. unless it happens more than once and she seems off colour, weak or isnt her bubbly self I will get her looked at.. If she refuses to eat boiled chicken then we know she is feeling unwell Hope that helps...

Hugs to Mica I have no expereince with Pannus, didnt even know it existed till now... I did have to give Zoe drops for a couple of weeks for an injury so i know how hard it can be, I hope Mica gets used to the routine soon....

Mooki, We had this same dilemma a year ago.... I went with the heavy duty bungee chook as i read that some dogs didnt like the home alone and were uninterested as they couldnt get the food out. I hung the chook from the carport and she didnt seem to use it much.... until... I finally took it off the bungee thing and she LOVES it.. She thrashes it all around the yard and it is still in one piece...We also hung bits of food on it so it doubled as a home alone thing. I would prob try the bungee one and see how you go but you dog may like it on its own if that doesnt work.... good luck!

Corvus I hoped this would be the case but wasnt sure until a couple of nights ago when I had her at the park and i was more interesting off lead with a stick than the other dogs and I was SO happy! Given she is our first dog I didnt know this was the case and i can even walk off on her (if she is being stubborn and wont come to me when were leaving) I just walk away and she panics and comes bolting after me, a phenomenon I havent ever experienced and I cannot tell you how happy I was and it is a regular occurence I thought would never happen. She does the 30 second sweep thing too..

I often wondered whether we socialised Zoe too much, we let her run off lead with many other dogs at the park although she became so focussed on other dogs and not us.. It made her hard to train at obedience class as she way too excited and hard to get focus, we were just plain boring! It seems that after almost 2 years she has grown out of it, and I can get her attention off lead when other dogs are around just by picking up a stick, she starts bouncing around like a bunny in excirement, WHO KNEW!! Now though I am glad though we let her socailise with many different dogs.. it certainly makes for pleasant encounters at the park..

Erny, hope he is feeling better real soon, I know when Zoe had tummy upsets and we didnt know what it was, it was very frustrating... I dont have any solutions but just well wishes

Raafy, Your two pups are SOOOOOO gorgeous, makes me want another one

We never EVER fed our GSD from our plates or the table and always fed her from her bowl AFTER we ate first.. She learnt her barking or whining never got her anywhere.. I remember her as a 5 month old barking at me when she was hungry so I walked of on her until she was quiet.... Its easy to give in but the hard work now will ensure your dinners are quiet and your guests not bothered when you have BBQ's outside... Zoe now sleeps quietly while we eat or in her crate but the second we stand up after our meals she is sitting in the kitchen (quietly) as she knows its her turn next...

Sorry, have to agree with the majority, DONT DO IT!!! I found just one a bloody handful, and would wait until the first is at least 12 months for the same reasons as everyone else.. they may bond to each other not you, and if you wait it will be easier to train down the track.. There are 2 sets of siblings at our obedience school, both sets had to be separated as they couldnt be in the same class as they would play up and just run a muck... (labs and weinmaraners)

Hi CB... I continued to feed Zoe 2 meals up until recently and she is nearly 2... I just didnt like her having one big meal (chance of bloat and all) but during summer she wasnt interested in breakfast so we dropped her back to one meal at night and she certainly became alot more interested in her dinner time meal We have since begun to give her a tin of sardines (her fav food ever!) for breakfast and at night she gets kibble or raw... It really depends on the dog I think and what their weight seems to be doing....

Hmmm lab puppy and indoors spells destruction!!!!! Get him used to be outside now, as long as he has high fences and lots to keep him amused I bet youd rather he dig a hole in the grass than eat your couch when he gets bored.... Our girl Zoe loves to be in her yard, when i take her for a walk in the mornings she cant wait to get home and back to her domain...