Aphelion

The squeak in the Kong Squeezz football was hilarious, even funnier than the one in the dumbbell. The football is my pups favourite toy. He doesn't even want to look at anything else at the moment, despite his initial excitement over every single toy. The squeak in the football only lasted 5 minutes though (and the dumbbell was completely chewed to pieces in 5 minutes). The pup is crazy about them though, so I still wish I could order a few more. Everything else in still in one piece, though that might be because most of the focus has been on the squeezzes and isqueaks. One isqueak lost its squeak in less than 2 minutes and is looking quite cracked now. I think it's probably the best purchase for my boy though. He's obsessed with the squishy toys, and at least the isqueaks still hold up for longer than other similar toys. Though if anyone has any recommendations for other rubber type toys that hold up but still have a fair amount of give, I'd be interested. The pup liked toys like the cuz at first, but he's gone off them in favour of the squishier isqueaks and squeezz toys. :laugh:

My boy seemed to know all about humping before 8 weeks old. Once he came home he tried it with his toys, and blankets mainly, but occasionally I think it was directed towards me or another dog, but not often. I did tell him no firmly and stopped him when he directed it towards me, as I didn't find that to be particularly acceptable behavior. :laugh: He was already near 14kgs at 8 weeks so I really didn't want that to continue! When it was directed at toys I think I just removed them or stopped him without making too big of a deal about the whole thing. Although I wanted to leave him entire until he was grown, it was never really directed at other dogs. He's over two now and thankfully no more humping these days!

I like them, but with the right dogs and owners. My dog is an in your face type. Basically he loves everybody and because he finds other dogs SO rewarding his recall isn't perfect (though we're working really hard on it and he's getting better with more off leash time with other dogs). Because of this I'll only let him off with certain dogs that he and I know, who don't mind his play style, or if I've talked to the other dogs owners first. He's slower than everyone else so most dogs don't mind him because they can tease him and run away. Although he's an in your face type and at 70kgs that can intimidate other dogs, he is very gentle, even with the smallest dogs. His hearts is the right place. :laugh: If someone brings a smaller timid dog into the park while I'm there, or someone comes in with a timid dog they're keeping on a leash, then I'll put my boy back on the leash, because he doesn't seem to read other dogs back off signals very well. I do always step in if another dog is not wanting to play and he hasn't realised. Because not everyone will behaves like I do, you don't need to defend not liking dogs parks. They are not going to be the right thing for every dog at all. My boy loves them and it's been useful for him to spend more time off lead with other dogs. Now that it's a more regular thing, his recall is getting better and better too. It works for me. I'm careful about it, but we do enjoy it. It's not something I'd want to do with every dog, and I didn't at all with my last dog.

I wanted a bumi too, but they weren't in the free shipping section were they? Gosh, they are taking a while! I place a few orders and they seem to be speeding up for me. I received my November 7th order today. Although I placed another order on the 16th and that one hasn't even been processed yet, so perhaps they aren't speeding up just yet! I'm really happy with everything I've got so far though. The prices were great, and Cleanrun's customer service and speed at putting any errors right has been good too. One of my isqueak balls in my last arriving order does seem to have a different squeak to the quack ones and hasn't got any marks on it so far, while another one that arrived today has. So I'm also crossing my fingers that I got one of the older ones! The pup goes crazy for them, so I'd love one that will last.

My boy has bad allergies and despite how careful I am he gets hotspots really easily, as well as little bumps, bigger bumps...basically it's a never ending battle. I try to make sure he's as itch free as possible. Someone could certainly think he was neglected in terms of care. The vet bills, regular grooming, flea treatment, twice weekly baths with medicated shampoo, expensive food, and time spent pulling out dodgy weeds in the garden would prove otherwise! Temperament wise we're pretty safe though. He loves everything and everyone (except fireworks and nail clippers)!

My boy got his first hotspot of the season just yesterday. The day before that there was nothing, and I definitely didn't notice anything yesterday morning either. After just two hours alone, hello huge hotspot. They sure can spring up and spread quickly! I've been using hibiclens, but am taking note of the other suggestions!

Well, my boy loved his a lot. It broke after five minutes of play. Even though they were cheap it feels like a waste when something is gone that quickly. I'm sure they'd be great for some dogs, and can imagine they might work well for some pups (just not strong chewers), but my boy wasn't even really trying to tear into it or anything.

That's the look I get when the pup doesn't want to know me, or wants to pretend that he doesn't know what I'm heading his way with. Particularly the nail clippers!

He seems like such an awesome dog. My boy wishes he had a great dane play buddy too. He'd be so excited to meet someone to play with who is taller than he is.

I also think that dogs should not be dressed up like people. Seriously, I'm not a fan. Coats for warmth (with a little style thrown in) are one thing... Clearly, I have no idea who was responsible for this lapse in judgement, including taking the photo.

Thanks for that! I might try a lollycadoodle ring and see how it goes.

Kong squeeezz dumbell- Squeak was very quiet after a couple of minutes of play and then the rubber had cracked badly after about 5 minutes of play, which is too bad because my boy loves the squeezability of these toys! Isqueak balls - The squeak lasted about 2 minutes (in the only one I've tried so far)and the rubber began to crack straight away. I really hope I get one of the harder ones in my next lot from cleanrun! My boy loves the amount of give in these too, and even the ones that crack are much more durable than the Kong Squeezz dumbell. Kong Ballistic Boomerang - has stood up to a fair bit of play and tugging and the squeaks still work, but I don't think I'd trust it to hold up to really strong tugging, so I've refrained from that. Holee Roller - is probably our favourite toy. It squashes, is good to shake, throw, and tug, and easy to pick up, no matter the size. One I've had for over two years and it's still in one piece.

Do I want a Lollycadoodle Wool Ring or a Ringzee? Does anyone know whether one is better quality than the other?

:thumbsup: More stuff! I'm so happy! Not that I need to place any more orders. :laugh: I want a quiet time mat. I wish they had one for a 48" crate Small order number two got here today, a few days after order three arrived. This one had been searched by customs though. The Holee Cuz has such a cute little squeak. At this stage the Kong Squeezz toy is the new favourite.

And I thought stinky bog mud was bad!!

Yes! :laugh: It's his absolute favourite thing to do after a walk in summer!

We like mud too. And water is always good. It's a pity there always seems to be a lack of clean water where ever we find an abundance of mud.

I've heard some dogs can still reach some injuries, and the collars can also be punctured. I've still heard a lot of good things about them, and I'd really like one myself. I just don't know how well they would work for my big boy. I also don't think the largest size would be quite big enough, but I'm not certain. It does say it's for mastiffs etc, but it also says 18" and up and my boy is more like 9 inches above that, I think. The largest size elizabethan collar at the vets doesn't even come close to fitting him, so I'd really like to have something. Just haven't figured out if I should risk getting something much too small.

My boy loves his outings, the more variety the better! Haven't taken the camera out for ages, so most of these photos are from a while ago. Beaches are good! Streams are good. Rural adventures are good. Bush trails are good. And it's even better if we do it in winter. He's pretty happy to throw himself into icy ponds when it's snowing too. My hands were so frozen that I didn't get any photos of that. He wishes it snowed here every year. :D

I used aeroguard flyspray to keep my pup from areas he really shouldn't touch. He seriously hated the smell though, so I was careful not to put it somewhere where he'd need to sleep and it would really bother him, but I would have used a small amount if he'd looked like he was thinking of destroying the house. I really have no idea, but one thing I wondered about if I had to move house was portable sheep yards as a dog run. At least over here you see them reasonably priced, and they can be really large, and I don't think they're particularly unattractive or unsightly. Here's an example portable sheep yard

My giant pup didn't spend much time on his own, (I roped in a few different family members to be with him while I worked part time :laugh:), but he's never been interested in destroying the house. I imagine any bored puppy could be pretty destructive regardless of size. The biggest problem I find with the giant breeds is that they tear up the lawn pretty badly. My pup doesn't have to do much, just his size and a couple of zoomie fits = bye bye lawn .

Thanks! He does love to be admired. :D I do struggle with what to feed him though. Even though I think most of his allergies are contact allergies, I still play it safe with diet. I tend to feel like you pay so much for such grain heavy foods too. Dry foods are really convenient, but I don't want my dog to be on a long term diet with so much more grains than meat. I end up paying about $10 - 20 more per bag for orijen than I would for others like Hill's or Royal Canin. I really think I'm going to switch to a complete raw diet soon. It does annoy me how my very reputable vet gives me very dissaproving look and tells me not to mess around with raw. I'm pretty sure I can feed my dog a healthy balanced raw diet consisting of much better ingredients that most of the food on his self. I certainly plan to do my research so he won't miss out any any nutrients. Funny you mention that Aphelion, when i started this topic i was feeling very frustrated with how Abbey has been on kibble, she has not had much energy and has been feeling very average. My vet wanting to put Abbey on a Hills Prescription diet for a food elimination diet, which i dont like, i dont want her to go near a Hills product as from what ive heard once they are on it they are on it for life. Anyway i have cut her off from kibble completely putting her on raw pattys and oh my i have my pup back, she is wanting to play, she is being silly and she is sleeping much better, and to me thats pretty clear that eating raw is making her feel much much better. And yes vets do tend to look at you as if your mad and god knows my breeder would be disgusted but they arnt seeing her everyday and seeing how she is i am. So now i have probably 7kgs of Pro Plan Sensitive Skin and Stomach that i wont be using.... oh well. Oh and yes your dog is very cute, what breed is he? He looks like a big teddy bear :) He's a Leonberger. He was about 18 weeks in that photo. He just a much bigger teddy bear these days. :D

Sounds like you do want to do the best thing for your pup. I'd say in those early weeks a check in visit from someone would be great if possible. Over here there are student job seeker websites that advertise all sorts of odd jobs like that. I wonder if you have anything like that? I know as a student myself that I'm happy to do odd dog related jobs like walking and grooming because it fits around my studies.

I'm completely in love with your horses!

Thanks! He does love to be admired. :D I do struggle with what to feed him though. Even though I think most of his allergies are contact allergies, I still play it safe with diet. I tend to feel like you pay so much for such grain heavy foods too. Dry foods are really convenient, but I don't want my dog to be on a long term diet with so much more grains than meat. I end up paying about $10 - 20 more per bag for orijen than I would for others like Hill's or Royal Canin. I really think I'm going to switch to a complete raw diet soon. It does annoy me how my very reputable vet gives me very dissaproving look and tells me not to mess around with raw. I'm pretty sure I can feed my dog a healthy balanced raw diet consisting of much better ingredients that most of the food on his self. I certainly plan to do my research so he won't miss out any any nutrients.