jillybean

I'm definately no expert on this, but if the recommended guidelines for your dog's size/weight is 200g of dry, you don't need to be feeding 200g of mince as well. That's doubling his food - no wonder he doesn't finish his dry food! If you want to feed mince too then I'd cut down the amounts of both that you're feeding. If he's hungry he'll finish it.

I agree with poodlemum. Although.. its a long trip from Sydney to her shop in Melbourne.

Haha that's a long way to travel just to get my puppy washed!!

Unfortunately my current budget won't stretch as far as getting my pup groomed professionally.. Well not after buying that 15kg bag of Eagle Pack! And luckily she's a beagle so she doesn't need too much grooming.

I'm sure many dogs have eaten cooked chicken bones in the past, in fact I'm sure there are plenty of uneducated, irresponsible dog owners out there that probably give their dogs cooked chicken bones intentionally!

Chances are it'll just pass right through and she won't even notice she ate them.

Thanks for all the tips!

Persephone - if only it were that easy!! My puppy NEVER sits still, she's too hyperactive! The only time she's calm and relaxed is when she's actually asleep, and the slightest noise or touch wakes her up! She does let me play with her ears and massage them, so I guess it's just a matter of trying to get the cotton pad in there for a good wipe!

I used cool water and a shower hose attachment in the laundry tub. Perhaps I just need to make it more of a regular affair so she gets used to it, but I think I'll try outdoors next time, in my swimmers!

At least she's smelling all nice and clean for now

Pardon my ignorance, but what is a crate? is it a puppy pen? I am about to get a new puppy and was going to get a pen that I could move inside or outside, and to keep the puppy in and the other dog out. Is that what a crate is? a pen? what is the best one for me to get and where do I get it from?

Thank you

A crate is abit more like a cage or a carrier that your pup can use as somewhere to sleep, or where you can put them if you need to keep them confined for a while.

To Poodle Pamperer - we used to have a toy poodle, and before that we had a minature poodle. My mum used to clip the minature poodle and do all the grooming herself. I remember we used to put her on top of the washing machine because otherwise she'd run off

Make sure you keep up the brushing, especially on their ears! Their ears tend to go in their food so the fur gets all matted up and it's not fun trying to get it out if you don't keep up with the brushing..

Goodluck with it all! Poodles are great! (But so are beagles )

Do you buy your bones from the butcher or the supermarket? Do you have to request them or are they readily available?

I usually buy them from the butcher. Some butchers have a small fridge section full of various types of bones. Others keep them out the back but all you have to do is ask if they have any.

Another that I didn't see mentioned lamb neck bones!

With lamb necks, do your dog's actually eat the bones? I gave my pup half a lamb neck last week and she managed to eat most of the bones except for one small part! I was surprised, because it looked pretty hard and I didn't think she'd get through it so quickly!

I gave my puppy a bath this morning, but I think I ended up getting more wet than she did...

It's only the second time that she's had a bath, but the first time she was a lot smaller and I could hold her down easily with one hand! Today I had to pretty much hug her to keep her from jumping out of the laundry sink! I was feeding her treats throughout, and telling her how good she was (even though she wasn't...). She was fine with getting soaped up but as soon as I tried to wash all that shampoo off she started trying to jump out and was squirming all over the place! So, share your tips for next time!!

Don't even get me started on trying to clean her ears...

My pup is a huge fan of biting my legs and my arms... And yes I took her to puppy pre-school where even the instructor there had no solution for me because I'd come back every week and say "She's still biting me!"

Things that may work for you:

*Squirt them in the face with a spray bottle of water when she bites

*Grab on to her bottom jaw and push down on her tongue with your thumb if she bites your hand - dog's don't like this and will try to spit your hand out

*Hold their mouth firmly closed for a few seconds

*Hold some treats in your hand and make a fist. Allow your pup to sniff and lick your hand and praise her when she does. This encourages gentle licking rather than biting.

And above all make sure you reward your pup when she's not biting you!

I lost $40 dollars on the weekend, picked it up yesterday in his poo LOL

EWWW :D

I pity the poor sales assistant that gets those notes...

My 14 week old puppy is most definately going thru a fear period!! I used to think she was such a quiet dog, she very rarely barked at anything but now she smallest sound scares her and she'll just stand there and bark for ages! I've been trying to ignore the barking and keep her distracted with Kongs and bones etc, as well as spending more time playing with her. Anything else to stop the barking, or do I just wait it out?

In regards to the walking - you should wait till your puppy is fully vaccinated rather than risk him catching something whilst out on a walk. They can pick up viruses just by sniffing at other dog's poop.

So it's usually recommended that you wait till he's had his 16 week vaccination.

Maybe you aren't old enough to know the difference it was bought out by the Cambell's Soup Co. 10 years ago and the bickies have definately changed much smaller and they don't taste near as nice, Iced Vo-Vo's are no where near what they used to be they went on to buy out a heap of other brands too Weston's for one, Wagon Wheels taste yuk now

I had a wagon wheel the other day after not having had one for yeaaaars and was quite disappointed! I thought it was because they just weren't as exciting as they were when I was younger, but perhaps it's because they're not really as nice anymore. Seem to be alot smaller too, but again that could be perception...

Approximately how much would a Dremel cost?

My pup did that with her Kong a few weeks ago. I assume she buried it because I looked all over for it and couldn't find it. It appeared about a week later, still half full of food but also growing mold. yuck!

Now's the time to start ringing around to find a puppy pre school. They usually take them from about 10-12 weeks of age and it's more a socialisation and play session than training.

As far as socialising your pup yourself, you can take your pup with you to as many places as you can so that he gets used to lots of different environments with lots of different people. The puppy preschool where I've been taking my pup gave us a list of things to introduce to our pup, including little kids, older people, the car, a school, lawnmower, umbrella etc.

I've also had friends come over with their dogs, and have been inviting myself over to other peoples places to visit their dogs. Just make sure the other dogs are up to date on their vaccines.

Sounds like you need to set some rules for your kids, especially about what they can and can't feed your pup!

Keep an eye on their tails. If their tails are still wagging then it's all good - just fun and games.

If one of them has their tail down, between their legs then they're feeling a little intimidated or scared - it's not fun anymore and you might consider separating them for a while for abit of a time out.

Chloe gets Supercoat puppy at the moment, but she eats more chicken mince, necks etc than Supercoat.

Thinking of switching to perhaps Eagle Pack once this bag runs out..

;) what an energetic dog!! looks like he's permanently got the zoomies!

That's a great toy - I think my pup needs something like that to distract her from ripping plants out!

I have the tiny midget Kong LOL there is no way I'd get a chicken wing in there :D

Persephone it seems like you have the Kong packing down to a fine art :D

My puppy only has small Kongs too! Perhaps I need to buy the next size up too.. Little bugger's gone and buried one of them and I haven't seen it in days!

Sultana's aren't great for dogs, but I think your dog would need to eat a fair few sultanas before they're sick. Far more than is in a slice of fruit bread...

Sorry to hijack, but any suggestions for where to get Royal Canin for cheap, online or from a store? I'm in Sydney.

My pup doesn't really play with her Kong either, just eats the food out of it then leaves it! I usually freeze them to make it take longer for her to get the food out, but still it only takes about 15mins or so!