RuralPug

Mine all have their own spots for meals. I will call out "Food stations!" and they al rush to their assigned spots LOL. I put the bowls down in order of slowest eater first to inhaler last so that they all finish at about the same time - otherwise the fast eaters will start a fight over the slower eater's bowls. When they have all finished they rush around and check out each other's empty bowls LOL. They await the release command before eating, but they are released one at a time (otherwise the fastest eaters would finish first and try to steal...) New fosters I feed separated by a baby gate so that they can see and hear the others eat. They will pick up the routine surprisingly quickly and usually witihn a week they can have a food station with the others. Bones and chew treats such as hooves and antlers I will give them all one at the same time, but only when I am home to supervise or the resource guarder will steal them all and sit on them like a broody hen. Sigh.

Mum was an Adelaide breeder (well she is still in Adelaide but has retired from breeding) so unless your Pixie came from Adelaide it would be unlikely. Mum's prefix was Jungho.

One of our local rescuers led a search last night where the cocker had been sighted lunchtime yesterday, but sadly no sign of her. She might have been shy and hidden there or she might have moved already to another location. Searches will continue if further sightings are reported.

I love that old newsreel of steeplechasing pekes in britain in the 60's - these are very much as my mum bred (except that most of hers were parti-colours). I nticed that it was referenced in one of mita's links, but you can't see mauch in the stills - so here is the video: Enjoy!

I actually wouldn't put a small breed baby puppy outside at night until at least five or six months old, unless it was in a warm, draft-proof shed or outbuilding. Mini bull terriers are toy size dogs and Mebourne winter nights are COLD. Baby puppies are masters at removing and chewing up overnight coats, sigh. Or ignoring the kennel and shivering under a window. I take it that you plan to have the puppy indoors when someone is home during the day, and outdoors during the day when no-one is home. Eventually, the puppy will spend the nights outdoors too. If this is correct, then my advice would be to start off with the dog's bed/crate in the laundry room or very near the back door. Install the snug kennel outdoors ASAP and let the baby puppy play in the kennel area during the warmest part of the day, to encourage him to see the kennel as a sleeping den. Temporarily fence or pen off a small area around the kennel -say up to three of four times the size of the kennel, but no more. Once the pup is big enough for kenneling, keep the temporary pen around the kennel (at least at night time) for several weeks, until it is his habit to sleep there. Some pups and dogs will stubbornly sleep next to the back door, and ignore the lovely kennel and warm cosy rugs, so help him get the habit! To start a puppy off sharing your bedroom (crate or no crate) is unfair as the puppy will not understand why it is not allowed to sleep with you any more when you decide it is time, so make you sure you start with separate sleeping quarters, then the move from the laundry to the outside kennel will not be stressful. Baby puppies can sleep a lot easier in their first few days away from their littermates is you provide them with a Snuggle Puppy or similar product which is warm and has an imitation heart beat. These are wisely available online or some large pet stores may carry them. They are wonderful!

That's the hard part about rearing two together. They learn so much faster if you respond instantly to the correct behaviour, but if they are together and one is behaving and the other isn't you have to figure out a way to ensure that the unwanted behaviour is not inadvertently reinforced when you reward the other pup's wanted behaviour. Then of course, while you are rewarding the good student, if the bad student suddenly gets it right then you never have enough hands to release them quickly enough...keep telling yourself only a few more weeks, and they will have the routine down pat. As for the neighbours, why not pop notes in their letter-boxes explaining that you are training new dogs and they may carry on a bit until they are trained, leave your phone number so that can contact you directly if there are any concerns.

Yep, my Mum was breeding pekes in the 60's, and their faces were flat...they may not have had quite as much coat as today's show pekes, plus they were a little bit longer in body and neck but the publisher has put a tibbie on the front cover LOL

If he is stinky again two days after a bath,then either he is lying in/rolling in something stinky or the smell is not in his coat, but is coming from mouth/ears/skin folds or anal glands. I'm sure that you are washing his bedding in Biozet or something similar. Check the garden for spots (compost heap maybe) where he might be rolling in something gross and decomposing. If sorting his bedding and the garden doesn't help, then you should consider a vet check to elimate the other problems. Oh, one more thing it could be - some dogs stink when they are wet. If he is one of those and he is getting wet and not getting dry quicky and properly afterwards then sometimes you will get a rather horrible smell. It means that you need to keep towels by the door for vigourous rubbing and when grooming him, use a hairdryer on low to dry his skin.

That makes much more sense than my guess! Thanks Kirty! :)

LOL! Typical puppies! You need to rub the artifical turf pieces in their next wee so that it collects the right smell. The joys of puppy ownership - "Oh good boy! Did you wee outside? I'll just run and get the fake grass to rub on the real grass!" LOL you'll only need to do that once for each piece of turf, so feel free to check if the neighbours are watching first! And don't let them play with the fake grass untilit has been suitably smellified...

The title had me wondering if there was a new type of patella luxation, but I'm guessing it stands for Posterior Lens Luxation, although Anterior would make more sense if that is the case...oh well. Sending you healing vibes and don't worry too much about her future zoomies if she does lose sight in one eye. In my experience it doesn't slow them down too much. Even if, in time, she looses sight in both eyes, get her a Halo Vest and she will soon be confidently doing zoomies again. :)

Poodles do come in sable. You normally only actually SEE sable in baby poodles because clipping removes the end of the hair, which if course id the dark coloured bit in a sable. I do take your point though, that pet shop/puppy farm claims of breed and breed mix is often dubious. I have a dog here in my rescue that was sold by a puppy farm as an Australian Terrier. She is cocker spaniel sized, with a poodle type coat LOL

Yes there are, but they are not generally breeds that I would consider particularly biddable or easy to train. They tend to be breeds that need firm and expert handling. Independence comes at a price. Some of the Spitz family breeds are noted for their strong wills and indepence, as are most of the livestock guarding breeds. I suspect what you really mean is that you would rather not have an overly clingy or anxious dog that needs constant reassurance, you would like a dog that is confident and happy to be involved but who will occupy themselves on the couch or in the yard when you pop out to the shops or whatever. In theory this can be achieved with most of the popular companion breeds, given good rearing and good genetics (we say that final adult temperament is 50% nature and 50% nurture). In practice, it is a lot easier and more painless to achieve that with one of the breeds known for outgoing, confident temperaments than with a more highly strung,fiercely goal-oriented breed or aloof and independent breed. When we talk about this, we are talking about tendencies, that generally a well-socialised and well trained member of that breed is more likely to exhibit that tendency than anything else. But even within a breed, even within a litter, you can get quite a wide variety of temperaments from one end of the bell curve to another. An experienced breeder can often pick the pup that is most likely to exhibit the adult traits that you want, but it is still a little bit of a lottery. A lot less of of lottery than a mixed breed baby puppy though. The good news is, if you've carefully chosen a breed whose temperament, on the whole, appeals to you and then raised the dog from a baby puppy and nurtured it carefully, if it does happens to be on the wrong end of the bell curve as an adult, well, by that time he or she is an integral part of your family and you wouldn't dream of not having them anyway!!

I agree that it was not a wise decision on their part to hand over more money in the circumstances, but the breeder still has obligations to deal fairly.

I suspect that you have your hands full with two little ones, and bear in mind that a puppy needs just about as much time and training as a crawling baby. Ideally if you could source an adult dog that has been reared with young children and has already learnt his manners, then you will probably be best off. The plus there is the the dog's temperament is already known, and you won't need to wait three years to find out if it has over-the-top drive for its breed or is more laid back. If you can source one from an ethical rescue or a good breeder looking for a retirement home (showdogs can be retired as ealry as three or four) you will probably have several weeks trial and a lifetime advice line! If you want a scary dog to feel safe, anything large and black or dark in colour for some reason puts people off. I know it's hard to find the time with littlies but if you can get out to an obedience club, or dog sporting day or dog show it will give you an idea of what's out there. Have a chat with your doctor about your allergies, nine times out of ten it is not actually the hair but the dead skin flakes (dander) that people are allergic to, and a top notch diet that keep the skin in tip top condition can reduce the allgens released, Having said that, most breeds do shed, the ones that "moult" twice a year I find are usually less demanding on the vaccuum. Personally, I find the longer coated breeds easier to cope with shedding wise as the hair is easy to sweep or vacuum up. With Staffies and Pugs, the hairs are spiky and hook in everything!! I think a big black Lab would suit your needs perfectly, except alas, for the shedding....

Yay!!! What gorgeous pics of gorgeous pups! Double handful of mischief right there!

I really wish that were true. People walk into petshops and hand over up to $3500.00 or more for an ill-bred puppy from irresponsible breeders. Sorry, bit off topic. To the OP, I agree with others - don't do this unless you have a solid written contract that you understand fully. As well as all the things already mentioned - what happens if ine of the bitches gives your dog a sexually transmitted infection? Who pays for the treatment? What happens if a bitch is ready to mate and it's your sisters' wedding? Do you have to drop everything to make the dog available? If this as not all worked out in advance, so that both you and the breeder are crystal clear on who has what responsibilities, it can go pie shaped very quickly. It can work well if homwork is done in advance. So make sure your eyes are wide open.

Perfect!

Thank you!

I disagree. The OP bought two pups and had them for 24 hours or so. The pups were ill, they were returned and the refund was given. End of transaction. The purchase of one male pup a couple of weeks later is an entirely different transaction, even if it was one of the two pups involved in the earlier transaction. Since paying for that pup, they have not received it, despite the breeder urging them to take it because the rest of the litter was ill. They have had veterinary advice NOT to collect the pup, and given that they have a child with a compromised immune system and the breeder advising them the litter is ill with a zoonotic condition I certainly don't blame them. The breeder telling them that they will be refunded if the pup dies is a crock. From a Fair Trading point of view, the goods (a) are faulty and (b) are still in the possession of the supplier. A refund is due. Being told to wait until the pup dies or gets offloaded into someone else is not acceptable.

LOL!! Wet Hype looks like a cartoon dog!

Dogs here in crate overnight have no water, but they do have access to water until crate doors are closed (about 10.30 to 11pm). If your pups are already sleeping through the night, I wouldn't bother with restricting water. With the outside poos decorating shoes, that can happen when it is dark. My solution is wearing slippers indoors after sunset, pair of gumboots near back door for wearing outside. Gumboots stay outside - if I've stepped in something gross, then I clean them the next morning, but meanwhile they stay outside the back door, on a gumboot shelf that the horror chewers can't reach.

Love it! Pugs and Frenchies! Krislin, next time you walk past could you find out the name of the artist please?

Wow thanks so much for introducing us to Hype - I can't get over how much he resembles (both physically and in behaviour) a Schnauzer puppy (Standard) and wonder if there is common ancestry there?

F10 is a great product and I use it, but bearing in mind that this family have a child with a weakened immune system that may be why they have been given the advice on that product. I would be checking with the child's specialist before I used it - I am fairly confident that the specialist would say that any contamination risk from F10 is a lower risk than not destroying any remeining leptospirosis virus, however, the family's medical specialists need to give that advice - we don't know that actual level of immune impairment.