RiverStar-Aura

Thanks for all your responses guys -- seems like there's general confusion all around this topic. My friend will be getting her pup chipped once the Easter holidays are over -- I managed to convince her of this. I just wish she'd listened to me about finding a reputable breeder instead of bringing home a puppy who was covered in fleas and red dirt. Another question regarding chipping: if it's mandatory in NSW, why isn't there some legality regarding vets and making sure the pups are chipped? Why don't they have the power to chip all puppies who come in for their first vaccination regardless of what the owners say? Surely that would help decrease the amount of un-chipped dogs.

I was speaking to my friend last night about her kelpie x that she's recently bought from a farm -- after discussing with her going to a registered breeder. The puppy came with it's first vaccination but not microchipped, which I informed her was illegal in NSW. She told me that working dogs in NSW are exempt from being microchipped but upon research, I've read the following: As the dog has been sold as a pet to a non-farm, the law is clear that the puppy should've been microchipped. What I'd like to know is about the price. Does the last sentence mean that her puppy's 'breeder' could've had him microchipped for free? The other thing, my friend is not planning on having him chipped until he's desexed at 6 months old because she's been told that the microchip isn't activated until the council rego gets paid. I don't know who's giving her this information, but I told her that if her puppy gets lost between 8 weeks and 6 months, if the microchips aren't 'activated', how are the owners located? I do know that she's getting her info from a person who hates registered breeders because my friend said that she needs to take her cross breed to agility to show up all those purebred dog snobs. I'm feeling very annoyed with her because she's using her dog as a competition with Zeus -- I'm doing agility with him, so she's trying to build him agility jumps and the likes and he's only 12 weeks. I had to tell her about growth plates and waiting until at least 12 months before getting him jumping. It's sounding a lot like anything Zeus can do, my pup can do better at the moment -- not to mention that she's stolen my favourite dog name (which I as planning for my dog) for her puppy.

I've always had Zeus and Kirah annually vaccinated but am now considering bringing up the tri-annual vaccine. I'm unsure how to approach the topic though. Poochie was probably only ever vaccinated as a puppy then never again for her 16 years and she had a good, long, disease free life. I even doubt she completed all of her puppy vaccines because my parents were of the opinion that she'd been vaccinated. Both my guys will be due for their annual booster within the next few months so I'm thinking of making an appointment beforehand to discuss the options of vaccinating every three years. My dogs never get boarded either so that's not an option. One question though, if I'm wishing to compete with them in agility trials, are they required to have annual vaccinations or is every three years suffient?

I've had retractable leads in the past and because Zeus is a puller I stopped using it after the first walk and have never had it out again. Teaching loose leash walking is a weakness of mine and I have no idea why some people think that retractable leads are good for dogs who pull. I was worried the entire walk it would snap and often see SBTs pulling on the ends of them and cringe. I'd paid a good $60-$80 for mine too so it wasn't a cheapie and had a 50 kilo weight limit. Zeus barely cracks 15 kilos and I still worried. Used incorrectly, not the most useful tool I'm afraid.

Of course I flinch when I see other dogs approaching. Not because I'm worried about them attacking us, but because I own two highly dog reactive dogs. If that makes me paranoid, so be it. I'd rather try and stop my dogs lunging, barking and sounding feral than force the other dog to become involved in such an avoidable situation. The problem with my guys is that it's all just noise. If they're allowed to actually sniff the dog, the barking, lunging and growling stops. By your comment, my guys could have a "hey, we're friendly" sign too, but it'll read "hey, we're friendly, just completely noisy and feral sounding but don't let that put you off because we only really want to say hello". I don't want to encourage their horrible behaviour so I cross the road, walk up someone's driveway and shovel treats into them before they even notice the other dog(s) approaching. It makes for a much less stressful walk. Oh, and they do have a "social life" because they're absolutely fine at the off leash park. They just go feral when they're on leash.

I just had my two out for a walk and I was surprised not to come across any wankers. My two are highly reactive to other dogs so the first dog we met, I had them well up someone's driveway shovelling treats in them. It turned out not to be far enough away as Zeus still barked, but not as badly, so the next dog, we crossed the street and into someone's front yard still shovelling the treats. No barking or lunging at all, just Zeus turning his head to look then look back for more food. It was progress so I was happy. If only more people were a bit more thoughtful about their dogs. Sorry you had such a crappy walk BM; I feel your pain.

It's such a cute little book -- the stats don't mean much to me but out of all the dog books in the store, this was the one that grabbed my attention. I'm just glad that it's found a home with someone!!

I checked their Facebook page and they open at 9am on Saturdays so I've been able to get it for you Jacobite. I'll PM you with details after my flight home! :D

Sure thing. I'm being collected for the airport 10:10 and the store opens at 10 so it'll be a mad dash up the road :laugh: I might not have time though will see what I can do.

Would you like me to get it for you? I'm quite happy to do an IOU or hold onto it until you're ready. I really don't mind.

Only $55. You interested?

Our washing machine only uses cold water so I connect my hose to our hot tap. As we have instantaneous gas water. I can set the water temp at 37 degrees and wash the dogs with only the hot tap running. I will look into the booster bath as it looks really handy. For those who have them, Zeus is quite long limbed but only weighs around the 15 kilo mark so I'm looking at the mini size. Would the mini be suitable for taller dogs?

I'm currently holidaying in Brisbane and came across an antique bookshop so I went in to browse. I really love the smell of old musty books!! Anyhoos, I didn't come across anything to suit my tastes but I did find an old Greyhound Stud Book if anyone is interested. I snuck a photo of the first page and I'm here until tomorrow if anyone would like me to purchase it for them. First Page Edit: link fixed!

I use the Drontal tablets and cut them up accordingly. One tablet is per 10 kilos and my boy Zeus fluctuates between 14.8 kilos to 15.2 kilos, which doesn't help because he's very close to 1 and a half tablets. I'll usually just give him one full tablet and just over half, although I'm pretty sure the instructions say to round dosage off to nearest whole number. Not sure with Interceptor though.

My guys' exercise routines are primarily free running -- they're highly reactive on lead so it's easier for me to take them out for off leash exercise at the moment. HW, could you explain how roadwork (I'm assuming this means going on walks etc) is more beneficial. Zeus is a complete nutso runner when off lead -- he does nothing but run at two speeds: hooning and über hooning. To me, this seems like fantastic exercise, but am I missing out by not taking them out on lead for walks too?

I ordered a dental scaler from Sway too but haven't even attempted to use it. Kirah moves her head around too much and I'm terrified I'll stab her. We're still working on getting used to teeth brushing!

H all, Just posting on behalf of a friend who's looking to get her nearly 4 year old SBT x cross into a regular obedience class for fun, socialisation and training with the possibility of Flyball. Which clubs could you recommend would be suitable for them? I've looked into Springwood Training Club but because I'm not a Western Sydney native, I'm unfamiliar with the area and surrounds. All help would be appreciated!!!

Thanks everyone for your words -- being rushed at like that was the last thing I needed after having such a crappy day. When I got home all I could do was bawl my eyes out and blame myself for taking the dogs out. Things like "I knew I shouldn't have taken them for a walk" were first and foremost in my mind and I blamed myself. It's so hard with my dogs sometimes; they're so well behaved and not at all reactive at the off leash park, but taking them on walks is nightmarish at best. There's just something about having a lead on that sets them both right off at other dogs and I'm almost at a loss as to how to help fix this. I've been looking into taking them both to see Steve at K9 Pro, but just keep putting it off. I think I'll just have to bite the bullet and take time off work (which after yesterday will be a welcome break) and book in. I should also say that the little grey/white fluffy didn't exactly rush at us, he just slowly trotted across the road with leash dragging behind. I was worried he'd be hit by a car because he stopped in the middle of the road before continuing on towards my dogs. I was trapped too because I was at an intersection on my side of the road with the two Daschies heading towards us. I can't approach these people either because they're always out the front playing cricket across the street (from driveway to driveway using the road as the pitch) on a blind corner. I don't think this family has any common sense. I get to ring work tomorrow and talk to my manager about why my transfer application was unsuccessful. I'm thinking it's because where I am now can't afford to lose me because I work my arse off for them. What they don't see, however, is that my roster isn't doing me any favours -- I work 4 hour shifts on Thursday nights with 1 hour travelling to get there then 1 hour home. Not at all beneficial for me. I also currently only work 25 hours a week, which isn't anywhere enough for me to afford moving out of home. If the company isn't going to offer me anything more for staying with them, then I'll be handing in my resignation and going elsewhere -- at least they can't stop that from happening. Having a bludge day today -- watching tv and napping on and off. Might take the dogs out to the park later too if not raining (stupid weather). At least they're well loved there by the regulars!

I find out at 5:20pm tonight (10 minutes before the store closes) that my application for a transfer to a store much closer to home has been unsuccessful. This transfer has been a year in the making and I've been excited about all the prospective life plans regarding the full 2 to 3 hours I won't be spending commuting to work each day -- training with the dogs, gym, and basically having a life. That's just been blown to hell and back and so, feeling like crap, I get home only to find the damn power is out in the whole neighbourhood. It's brighter outside than in the house so I decided to take Zeus and Kirah for a walk. On leads, they're both highly reactive, which is something I'm working on, and all was going well until Kirah starts limping. I'm carrying her home, only to have the stubborn toad jump from my arms and be determined to walk. (Turns out she had a bindi about 1mm in size sticking into the higher pad on her foot (the lone one at the back near the wrist). Home stretch, Kirah's still limping, and a dog rushes us from across the street and my two start going ballistic with the barking, noise and carry-on. With my guys it's all about the noise -- they're placid as hell once they've said hello -- but one of the owners rushes across while her kid is screaming the dog's name in their front yard. To make matters worse, an unsuspecting couple have unknowing walked right into the middle of this noise session with two dachies -- this sets my two off again. It's a bad situation all around. As I'm walking off, I hear the little girl saying 'those dogs are evil' and the lady agreeing and saying 'yes, they are evil'. I get home in tears and beyond angry. My dogs are not evil, they're reactive. They were rushed at by a dog, who incidentally was on a lead, it's just that no one was holding it. My two reacted with noise -- their ears forward and tails wagging with excitement the whole time. The most annoying part of all this is that when Kirah's off lead, she's the most submissive dog in the world -- she literally flops on her back with all dogs and lies there rigid and unmoving. Put that lead on her and she turns in to the feral and ferocious sounding dog. This day needs to just quit already.

Can you let him outside at all for a snuffle around the yard or does he prefer company? Maybe you could train him to lay with you. I taught Zeus with treats to lie still with his head in my lap -- I'd tap my thigh then every time his head went down he'd get a treat and snuggles.

My two live outside and don't bark at night. Zeus is the exception though because if I don't make time to take him out every day, he'll bark all night. I've worked hard with him and realised that because he's such an active and mentally stimulated dog, it's not fair on me to expect him to sleep the night with all this pent up energy. All he needs for a good quiet night of sleep is a walk, the dog park or a training session. Humans are much the same. I feel bad for these two Pom crosses -- they're a toy breed who thrive on companionship. To have them outside is so not fair on them. Is there a way for her to confine the dogs outside -- perhaps a garage for them to sleep in? My two have kennels near the laundry door but prefer to sleep in my handmade wooden boxes in the garage. I fence off the entire backyard with a stretched out puppy play pen so it keeps the dogs away from the front, side and back fences.

yeahh right But I thought a part of breeding was to try and better each breed of dog -- which includes trying to kill off genes linked to poor form and health.

What a sad thing to have happened to poor Faith. I wish her all the best in her recovery!! I never travel with my car windows down anymore and they are always locked with the driver lock button. I was visiting a friend 1.5 hours away and I forgot how excited my guys get as I pull the car into her street. As I slowed to enter her driveway, Kirah had put her feet on the window button opening it and jumped out. She was dangling by her collar out the window while I stopped the car and immediately jumped out to save her. No injuries thank Dog but I've had the windows locked ever since. They usually travel in harnesses too, but I'd neglected to use one on this one trip.

I'm excited for the Aussie Terrier being included but it would've made more sense to have a book of stamps featuring all Australian dogs -- this is quite a random selection!

Within an hour of my friend calling and saying she's riddled with cancer, I get a call back from her saying the gorgeous girl has died. We were talking on the phone about knowing when it would be time because Chase was still happy, bouncy, bright eyed and eating. That's when the call happened an hour later. Be at peace darling girl!!