RiverStar-Aura

It can also depend on the individual dog too. My Poochie had major surgery at 15 1/2 years old and she absolutely bounced back to life -- it was like having a new puppy. The surgeon actually said he'd never seen an old dog spring back after surgery like that before and Poochie's op was the removal of a rock melon sized tumour from her ovaries and complete desexing. She only got really quiet just before she was PTS at 16 1/2 years as her kidneys failed and she was in pain and stopped eating. I hope that Tess bounces back soon. She may just be a bit uncomfortable for now. Just give her lots of love!!!

I understand that it was probably classified a crime scene but why did no one seem to have any compassion for that poor heartbroken dog? It just looked so lost and lonely and no one there seemed to even acknowledge him/her. That's what made me sad.

Until recently I'd wrongly assumed that the Parson Terrier was just another name for the JRT. I've only just now come to realise that they're two different breeds. What are the main differences between the two breeds as I'm going to assume that they're closely related. Is one bigger than the other? And I noticed that they appear to have slightly different head shapes (or is this just my imagination?).

I gave Poochie Glyde powder for her arthritis, however, she was also on Rimadyl and a yearly arthritis injection. Once she began treatment she was like a brand new dog. Eventually she was weaned off the Rimadyl and just had her yearly booster jab and her Glyde powder every night with dinner. It smells like cr@p but I believe it worked for her. It's really some good sh*t!! :D

It's actually a fantastic thing that your guy doesn't rush up to other dogs. This is what I'm trying to train my dogs not to do: automatically assume that the dog 20 kilometres away is "ooh friend" and bolt off towards them not listening to my recalls. Also, if it was only the first class I wouldn't be too worried either because some puppies like to sit back and analyse their situation and you might find that next class he's a bit more adventurous. These are strange puppies to him so he's probably just being cautious! :) Glad to hear the Chunkers are working -- I prefer the lamb and veggie ones myself because they don't start to smell of rotten egg when training in the heat of the morning. You can also try hotdogs (remove the skin though) and even BBQ chicken. Once you find something he likes, stick with it. And I agree … as his training sessions are in the morning, cut back on his dinner and not give him his breakfast. He'll think he's starving and work harder to get the food! And if that doesn't work he just might not be a food motivated dog in which case you can try using his favourite tug toy as a reward. Whatever works and keeps puppy happy and focussed! Best of luck and enjoy training with your pup! Berners are such gorgeous puppies/dogs!! :D

Happy birthday gorgeous girl!!

It may even be that Kleo doesn't understand how to play with other dogs. She's a rescue so she may have had little socialisation with other dogs. You're doing the right thing in keeping them separated but also make sure you give them the opportunity to see one and another -- perhaps through the use of a baby gate. Also, you could see how they interact on neutral territory. Good luck with both as they sound like gorgeous woofers!!

Are you able to contact Ruby's breeder and see if they'll take her back? That way if you can't find a suitable home for her you'll have back-up.

I refer to my dogs as my bubbas. I don't feel the need for children (yet) and I'm of the belief that I invest as much time in them as I would a child.

Don't know. It's not something I bother to count!! *in The Count's voice* vun little scratch, two little scratch hahaha :laugh:

It says on the back of the clipper that the model is PM-1. Hope that helps. I've just opened it up again and it's a 1 speed clipper and is still in the original bubble wrap and instructions are all intact. There's oil and cleaning brush and I even forgot I'd bought a pair of hair scissors which are still in the case waiting to be used so I'll throw those in too!

I have an Andis set at home that I purchased from Big W for about $99. I've never used it as I purchased it to use on Poochie when she developed more of her horrendous mats however she was PTS before it happened again. I'd be willing to sell mine (brand new but opened) to anyone if they'd like. I'll need to go home and check if it's single speed or not but I know it comes with different length clipper attachments in a nice silvery grey hard carry case. I'd be happy with $70 + free postage.

I've found that no matter where I take Zeus, as long as he has a fluffy/fleecy blanket he'll sleep anywhere. I've since bought a soft bed to leave at a friend's house that he snuggles into at night. He's not an inside dog at home but sleeps in my room when visiting because her three dogs sleep outside and he prefers to be with me in strange places. On the plus side too, he's completely toilet trained for inside even though he's a 100% outside dog at home!! So he's crate trained but without the crate!! :laugh: Just as long as they're comfy and feel secure that's the main thing.

IMO if the dog has weight issues I'd switch to a lower fat kibble and stick with that. Raw I find is hard to get the amounts required correct and kibble portion control is easy. Get a set of measuring cups and start Shelley on 1/2 a cup twice daily and see how she goes in a week's time. Both of dogs are on RC (Zeus on Sensible medium and Kirah on Puppy Small) and are doing fantastic. Zeus gets only 1/4 cup morning and night but he just burns it off so I don't mind extra treats here and there. Kirah being a pup and still growing is a little harder to work out but it's just a matter of guess work and playing around until you're happy. If you want to feed bones make sure you substitute it for a meal. So give her a meaty bone and NO breakfast/dinner. Don't give her both if she's gaining weight as she doesn't need the extra protein.

That is soooo frikken cute!!! Bear's a gorgeous dog and I live his coat!! 42 degrees ... I do feel for you guys. We've got rain.

If it's consumable Zeus will eat it -- he eats things even if they're not consumable too!! Kirah's a little more picky. She won't eat lettuce and shes our 3rd Aussie Terrier who won't go near peas. Maybe it's a breed thing. Zeus pulls apples off our tree and shares them with Kirah but she has a preference for snails, lizards and frogs. I think it's the crunch of snails because she's always snuffling around for them. Ewwww!! Zeus even liked the hot Tabasco sauce I placed on stockings dangled from the clothesline to deter him from pulling washing off!

I don't understand what he was thinking though. The dog was clearly not on the elevator when he pressed the button but he made no attempt to do anything until the door was closed. Wouldn't common sense dictate that you check before letting the doors close? Thank dog that lady was there and was smart enough to hold the dog by the collar and wait for its owner to come back down!!

I'm surprised at how late your dogs get put to bed. Zeus and Kirah are in bed around 8 to 8:30ish at night and are let out around 7am. Zeus will go the entire night without peeing and Kirah is starting to hold on now too! That's just the routine I have for my guys and if I'm a little late putting them to bed, Zeus will actually put himself to bed. I think that's very cute and smart!! To the OP, it does sound like you're feeding too much all at once. Maybe try halving the amount of kibble and feed twice a day instead of once. My two get fed twice a day: breakfast at 7:30ish and dinner around 6ish. They do get fed a big earlier in winter as where I live, the sun disappears behind the mountains as early as 3:30/4pm. When Kirah was around 4 to 6 months and on 3 meals a day, she was such a slow and easily distracted eater. Since cutting her back to twice daily feeding she gets nowhere near as distracted and is happy to eat.

I'm just not understanding how the OP is so keen for a puppy from a dog she hasn't even purchased yet. Call me confused but we're talking about something way into the future and for all she knows, the boy she has currently been offered might not turn out any good to want to reproduce with. The posts are almost sounding as though you're "making do" with current puppy until his progeny comes around. *insert VERY confused look here*

Another thing you could try with Shelley is if she's snatching for food, maybe give her healthy treats throughout the day too. Zeus will eat raw carrots and loves crunching on them (and lettuce but that's another story) and even things like apple pieces. Make her work for them though. But you need to be strong and just say no to her whining for more food. My cat got very vocal and whiney when I halved her food -- seriously to the point you'd think she was dying -- but I was able to ignore it. It took a little longer to convince the family to ignore it and after adding white rice as a filler, she's down to her ideal weight and is no where near as vocal. I'll admit it IS hard to ignore but you're trying to do a good thing by her and she'll thank you for it later. As for her not chasing toys, try and find ones she will chase. Zeus won't touch any kind of balls (e.g. soccer, basketballs, tennis balls, cricket balls) but he loves a good squeaky! There's an awesome duck from Pet Barn made by Cuddles (there's a yellow one and a green/grey feathery one) and when you squeak them they sound like actual ducks. Maybe the sound of these toys will encourage her to go after them as they sound far more realistic than most squeaky toys -- and Zeus goes absolutely ballistic over them!!!

It's a hard issue to debate because there are the cat owners who let their cats do whatever they want and there are responsible cat owners. Calypso (my cat) is outside (unsupervised) during the day and inside at night, however, the difference with Callie is that she only stays in our backyard and NEVER leaves our property. We got her at 4 weeks old from a stupid man and while she was little, there were terrible winds that blew down our side fence. We had Callie outside with us during this time and every time she walked past the boundary (where the fence should've been) we'd pick her up, say "no" and place her back in our yard. She's since learned, much like a dog, that she's not to go past our fence and now at 9, still has no desire to leave the backyard. On the other hand, we have 4 to 5 neighbourhood cats who congregate around our front porch tormenting both my dogs and cat and like to use the front garden and doorstep as a toilet. It p***es me off to walk out the front door only to be greeted by the foul stench of cat pee because they've p***ed on the doormat (has since been removed) and crapped in the garden in front of the porch. If I was able to catch the feral sh*ts I'd take them all to the pound and if they keep returning, I'd continue taking them to the pound. If I could find out where they live, I'd also give their owners a what for. They are the bane of my existence.

Happy Gotcha Day Zero and Shell!! That video was so gorgeous and I'm so very happy you both found each other! Zero is a gorgeous boy and you must be so proud of him. I know he thanks you every day for giving him a chance and not giving up on him!!

Thanks for your kind words Rebanne and Persephone. It is so easy to forget that each dog is different and Zeus and Kirah are like night and day. She's very submissive and he very dominant so perhaps they can learn from each other: Kirah to be a bit more dominant and Zeus less so!!

Poochie was on the arthritis injection annually (after an initial weekly booster set-up I think it was) along with Rimadyl tablets and Glyde powder. It was a fantastic combination and eventually she was weaned off the injections and Rimadyl. She weighed under 10 kilos so after the initial 1 scoop daily, it was cut back to half a scoop so wasn't too costly for us. I can't recommend Glyde enough. It's a fantastic product and helped Poochie out so much!!

This is a great thread. I think there is a huge information overload for new puppy owners but it's focused on the wrong things. The information is about where to keep the puppy, training, feeding (OMGoodness feeding options!!) etc when I feel the information overload should be more focused on "is this the right breed for you/your family?" Too many people go out and buy dogs they know nothing about (I'll even admit to this) and it's the dogs who end up suffering. If puppy buyers take the time to understand the breed (eg what it was bred for [ie Retrievers for retrieving]) then I'm sure there'd be a lot less problem dogs. That being said, however, what ever happened to common sense? The best thing for any dog/puppy is for the owner to grow and learn with it. When I bought Zeus (an impulse pet shop purchase) I soon realised I was in for a LOT of work. He was my first puppy (Poochie didn't count as I was little when she was a puppy) so I half expected him to come pre-trained. Boy was I wrong!! I wasn't working at the time so I googled around for dog training clubs and found out there's a really good one not 10 minutes away. I dedicated Saturday mornings to his obedience until I went back to retail about a year later. He also did a puppy pre-school and he's now a gorgeous dog. Sure, he does have some issues I'm working through but he's a fast learner and eager to please so I work with him. Kirah on the other hand, I wasn't home to take her out everywhere whilst she was between 8 and 12 weeks and as a consequence, she barks at everything (there's a lion statue in the front garden of a neighbour's property and she barks at that) and runs away if I flap a cardboard box at her etc. I'm upset that my lack of time spent with her as a pup has resulted in this and I know it's because she went no where as a youngster this has happened. When Zeus was little he went EVERYWHERE with me. Kirah didn't go anywhere until her final puppy vacc as that's when I started to have more time. I'm still working with Kirah and this fear/barking behaviour and I hope we can recover from my blunder. Learning and growth ... That's what dogs/puppies are about!!