Gwinganna

Oliver is a lovely guy, very committed and knowledgeable.

Took the puppy to Clear Dog Training on Sunday morning at Manly West. Outdoors, very interactive, great instructor and the support materials and information are unbelievable. Best I have ever seen. Just in case there are others looking for puppy schools in the area.

Wash him outside (sheltered area) but with warm water? Run a hose off a tap inside and out a window? And get one of those gas pole heater things from Bunnings, heaps of heat in a small area for a couple hundred bucks, plus you can use it to keep people warm as well.

Zip lock bag and cargo pants

I have one dog, 12 weeks old. She thinks she is the boss of Jude, who's 3, because he gets down on the ground and lies there while she climbs on him and licks his face. She also likes to try to lord it over my wife, who needs to be more assertive and less "come her poochie kins, oooh, who's the cutest widdle girl in da whole wide word?" Ditto for my daughter. My 5 year old son on the other hand has her in her place, but he likes to help train her, and that makes a difference. I am the pack leader. I come in the door and she throws herself at my feet still, but I ignore her until she behaves more demurely and sits like a lady ready to be patted. She calms down very quickly now. She is learning.

Thanks for the links and tips

No, if that was the situation, I would have said that. You have made up a whole story about me with no information whatsoever. I was asking a general question. If one of my kids gets a cold I don't drag them off to a doctor every time (well when we had our first I did, but I have calmed down a bit since then) - I have informed myself, and I go to a chemist and/or use some alternative remedies first. I used ears as an example because there is a recent post on here about a GSD with smelly ears, and it seemed like a good illustrative example. Yes it is! I agree, and I would draw the line pretty conservatively, but I wish there was like a Pet Chemist where there were eardrops, eye drops, creams and general medications like there is in a Human Chemist. Or maybe there is and I am unaware of it for some reason. I haven't really scoured the shelves on Pet Stores (I tend to know what I am buying when I go in and avoid browsing, I'd spend a fortune otherwise) and have never seen stuff like this in Vets other than direct from the vet. Apart from wormers, and flea and tick stuff of course. Most of these antibiotic type treatments are pretty generic arn't they? Like Amoxcillin for humans?

I have seen a few posts and know of lots of situations where people have a dog with minor ailments (a bit of a smelly ear with a mild infection, skin complaints etc) and need to make a trip to a vet that probably has better things to do, just to get an obvious diagnosis a big bill and some over the counter stuff to fix the problem, like, to stay with the example, eardrops. Problem is the only way to the right stuff is through the vet, even though often you know exactly what you'll be told and what you'll get. Is there a better way?

Got a litter tray. Wee's in there. (yay!), Poos on the rug (boo!) I'll stick with it. Eukanuba dog food - AT LEAST THE POOS ARE SMALL AND FIRM. lol Problem is I think my wife and I are a little different in our approach, and we have 3 kids. Might take a bit longer becasue I think there is a bad enviroment for considtency in anything :-(

Anyone been to her or heard anything? She operates in-doors, up-stairs at the Clayfield Vet Surgery. $110. I have been twice with my Toy Poodle pup and she is in a class with 2 other dogs only, one a black lab and the other a black GSD. Second session, first one with the puppy there, she lets the lab trample my dog who wanted to hide under my chair the rest of the time. i just thought it was silly to let her get mauled like that first day out. I have since made sure she is exposed to friends dogs, including a huge standard poodle with a big attitude, and she was fine when introduced slowly, and is now quite confidant, but I don't think I want to go back. Might book in at Albion Vet's school which is at least outdoors. Seems weird to have it inside, upstairs, and with only 3 dogs in a fairly confined space. Plus you get very little time DOING and a lot of time LISTENING and watching. Maybe I'm being critical, but it just seems all a bit odd. What do you think?

What do you do when your puppy seems to prefer the rug to the lawn? I take her outside, she runs around, smells, nothing happens, then bring her inside, and BAM. The "my parents did it" technique of putting their faces near it and saying bad dog, then moving them outside seems out of favour. So other than praise when she goes outside, and putting her out regularly, how do I stop her from going inside? How do they GET IT that they need to go outside ALL the time and NOT inside? Everything I read says the same thing, but their must be some deterrent measure that can assist the process?