poodlefan

General rule of thumb: 5 minutes per month of the dog's age up to about 6 months old. With a giant breed, I'd be cautious until 12 months. I don't exercise any of mine onlead until after 6 months of age. They get trained to walk on lead but no pavement pounding.

Golden Retrievers, SBTs, Rotties and Amstaffs would be good options I reckon. Dogs used to being handled by strangers are ideal.. and that means show and obedience dogs!

Thank Heaven for that! I like to head for the vets at the first sign of eye trouble - things can go downhill very quickly with eyes. :D

Up the exercise. How much is she getting daily?

I like the coloured ones. :D Me too. Hurry up and import one. :

Direct contact with some of the Breed clubs in Victoria might be an option for breeds you are targetting.

Saw these Kyjen ones at Pets Providore the other day. they look quite good and are here in Oz Outward Hound Treat/Ball Bag You can get coloured ones too.

Sounds like you need to invest in a decent dryer CW! Yeah. I've been looking for one. Not sure which one to get though. Unless you need to be hands free for brushing coat, a small force dryer would probably be the go. I'm googling now... :D thanks!!! If you search on thread titles here for "dryer" you'll find plenty of recommendation threads.

Sounds like you need to invest in a decent dryer CW! Yeah. I've been looking for one. Not sure which one to get though. Unless you need to be hands free for brushing coat, a small force dryer would probably be the go.

Sounds like you need to invest in a decent dryer CW!

Well, I'll give you your matted oodle and raise you one matted wheaten terrier in the same state: Matted wheaten terrier Matted is matted. Doesn't matter whether the dog is an oodle or a purebred. Of course how quickly they reach that state and how challenging it is to remove the matts DOES matter.

Agree. I'm not trying to promote oodles but my MSx poodles coat is MUCH easier to care for than my pure MS's coat. She has knots if she isn't brushed every second day. I never need to brush him between grooms and he doesn't knot at all. I don't agree with oodle breeders making claims about easy to care for coats, just as I don't agree with generalisations that oodle coats are somehow harder to manage than any long coat. Talk to a few professional groomers Megan and you might find there's a basis in fact for the assertion. I know two local pro groomers who rate some oodle coats as the most challenging to groom. The lack of care given to coat by some owners between visits is no doubt a contributing factor. Combining double coat and curly or non-shedding coat = grooming nightmare. See comment above. Furthermore, maintaining a Maltese coat and maintaining poodle coat is not "just the same". You dont generally clip Maltese in the same way for a start. 70% of crossbred poodles dont have true poodle coat.

:D pf I found the Susan Salo jumping method helps to build a lot of value for jumps - and/or SG Yes, that's the way we'll go Barb. Just got to get off my butt and do it.

Howard has pretty much zero interest in the obstacles. I'm training him to see most as big toy ejectors. Haha, that's about where I decided it would be best if we pulled out until our reward system was back on track again. Erik decided agility was all about food and when I tried to bring toys back in for jumps he told me he gets food at agility, thanks, and could I put that stupid thing away and bring out the treats already. This quickly attacked the rest of my training like a cancer and suddenly training full-stop is all about food. I totally moved too slowly on it because I saw it happening several weeks before I tried to do much about it. Another lesson for Corvus! We are back to the flirt pole and shaping fetch of tug toys because somehow my tug monster is now a clicker addict and I never introduced much toy work into my clicker training. Fascinating how easy it can be to botch the whole thing! :D Never mind. All the pieces are there, just gotta rebuild it. Have you considered throwing the food? Clean Run and some other stores sell really great food tubes and pouches that can be thrown or used as tugs. A friend of mine with a really food driven dog uses a throw pouch with a lot of success. If Eric can learn that all food doesn't necessarily come from your hand (initially) it might help redirect his focus.

They don't need to be 16 to do that though do they For me it would depend on how Gus copes with being at home with someone else, and how he copes with travelling. 12.5 year old Flynn doesn't travel anymore due to a bad back that can not tolerate extended confinement and I'm away on weekends quite often over the peak trialing season. I am lucky that I have a great friend in Poodlefan who looks after him at her place where he is absolutely happy and relaxed and thoroughly spoiled. On most occasions he manages to fulfill his thieving needs by stealing some quantity of food not properly locked down :p Some dogs however do not cope as they get older with being away from their people and can tolerate travelling and change of environment quite well if they're with their owner. If that was the case, I would take my dog whenever possible.... I think it depends a lot on the dog. As my dogs age, FHRP is now returning the favour. My oldest boy (now 13) stresses when he's out of his usual routine. For longer trips away its still worth taking him IMO but otherwise he's better off at home or with good friends he knows. He loves the beach so would come on any beach trip. My next oldest, Lily (12) stresses when she's not with me so she comes pretty much everywhere.

Keep a close eye on the condition of his front teeth. They may be more prone to tartar than in a dog with more correct bite. Thanks for your advice poodlefan, Raz and BlueStaff. I often check inside his mouth, and I have had the vet check it a few months ago. I will certainly be getting it checked regularly though, as the vet explained what can happen and how he may need GA to take care of it. And thanks also for not shooting me down! You were never at risk of that from me. None of us were born with knowledge of how to make an educated puppy purchase. Best of luck with your boy.

Howard has pretty much zero interest in the obstacles. I'm training him to see most as big toy ejectors. That's worked well with tunnels - he now drives to them. Now to build drive for jumps. Agility training a Whippet is no cake walk - every now and again the "this isn't fun anymore" flag runs up and you have to rethink making it a game. Thank God he works for both toys and treats. A stationary toy is not much of a motivator - it has to be tossed. I haven't been training lately either. Need to pull my finger out.

My thoughts also. If he has KC, he picked it up before he was at the vets.

They may not be well bred but brindle and tan pointing occurs in the breed. Not sure I've added this before but I love this colour: Fox Red Labrador - its technically a yellow.

Yes I always reward. However, I build duration between rewards. I may ask for more behaviours, a longer focus or performance etc. There is one exception. I reward each and eveyr time I recall my dogs outside of formal obedience recalls (which I've not done lately anyway) Corvus: If you were planning on agility trialling you would need to rethink that. However, the obstacles tend to be rewards in themselves and you can always praise.

Lets just hope that there isn't a crack down on dog ownership in Iran any time soon.

Brindle point Labradors

Keep a close eye on the condition of his front teeth. They may be more prone to tartar than in a dog with more correct bite.

As is advertising them as "non-shedding" or "hypoallergenic" when the overwhelming majority of them shed.

I agree. That assumes that the breeder has sufficient knowledge to make that call. You don't need to know a hell of a lot about conformaton and type to breed dogs. You don't have to show or produce champions to sell a puppy as "show quality". You just need a Main Register dog and a Main Register bitch that are fertile. And therein lies the root of the problem for me.