macka

At least with leather lounges you don't get dog hair all over them (the dog hair is confined to the floor! ). Ours have their own crappy couch on the veranda as well. It didn't start life as a dog couch but the dogs ate enough bones on it that now nobody else wants to sit there. :rofl:

This is a fairly common sight at our place (except normally Leia's on my lap!):

I think it is more work having two... but not necessarily A LOT more. For me it is double the grooming (which wasn't much to start with) and double the walks as I am walking mine seperately at the moment while they have different walking needs, and double the training as they need 1-1 training time. Two puppies would be especially hard work since puppies need lots of training and lots of 1-1 time with you so that they can bond. You would also likely have to walk two puppies seperately to be able to teach them to walk on a lead properly. If you get two puppies at once you run a risk that they will bond with each other more than with you, and you may face obedience issues when they are together. These issues are not impossible to overcome but is not something I would do. I think it is much much easier to get a puppy only when you have your older dog reliably trained to your standards. For me this was at around 18 months. If you wanted to get two dogs straight up consider making one of them an older, well-mannered rescue or rehomed dog, then get your puppy once the older dog has settled in and learned your rules.

My lab boy is 5 1/2 months old now and has done really well with toilet training so far. He has a preference for grass and toilets on command when I take him out. We moved house 3 weeks ago and up until last night, he had not had a single accident in the new house. Before that, he had only had two accidents in the previous month, and one was on holidays in an unfamiliar location. I acknowledge all these accidents are my fault for not taking him out often enough or not paying enough attention, but as we approach 6 months of age I was hoping he would start to "tell me" when he needs to go, whether by standing at the back door or barking or anything at all! He has never done this. Does anyone have any strategies for teaching him how to tell me when he needs to go?

This thread pretty much somes up why I don't want to give the dogs access to inside the house when I'm not home! Archer hasn't done anything too gross yet. Leia has rolled in some pretty grotty smelling stuff but I don't know what it was - not poo thankfully, but then not good either. She also once brought a very dead bird into the house. So far that's it!

If no-one's going to be on toilet training duty while she's up there then she shouldn't be up there, mean or not. You don't want to end up with a full grown dog who wees inside because they never learned not to! Tell them it's "mean" to be inconsistent and end up confusing her!

I've just spent hours searching online pet stores/eBay/internet but can't seem to find any of front connecting harnesses advertised anywhere.... Where do you get them from????? Easy Walk Harness And another one

Do you mean she has hair in her eyes, on the eyeball? Leia sometimes gets a hair or but of fluff in her eye, I wipe it off gently with a tissue and she's fine.

What have you used to clean the bed? If there is any trace of urine smell left on the bed he will be tempted to go there again. Try urine-off or mix up a cleaning paste using bio-zet laundry powder and soak it, then wash in the same powder. And I would be taking that bed away for a while.

Make sure you visit us in the lab thread! Those Crazy Labradors

I'm guessing a thinly veiled ploy to get more hits on the website!

I don't think it's been that long since Timmy pinched something! Time to relocate the underwear drawer to higher ground!

Leia is named after Princess Leia from Star Wars... it suits her as she is a little princess at times. However she also has a myriad of nicknames, some of which include "Fluffy butt," "Hairy Legs," "Scruffy Mutt," "Muttley," and "Snorty McNaughty." Archer is named after OH's North Melbourne AFL hero, Glenn Archer. He gets called "Archer-Man," "Little Man," "Big Boy," "Boofhead," and "Boofus" which is a cross between "Boofhead" and "Doofus."

It usually goes a little something like this ;) With the other at my feet.

Great idea, I will have to get some and try that. It isn't full of rubbish is it? Ivy tends to get a kong once a week with kibble and peanut butter to seal the big end and popped in the freezer over night. I think it's one of the better wet foods around. I wouldn't feed it all the time but as a treat inside a kong it is pretty good. I just buy the little 100g tray varieties. http://www.naturesgift.com.au/Cans.html

Personally I wouldn't rent with a dog unless you have someone you can fall back on who can reliably take your dog in an emergency for a few weeks (or you can afford kennel fees for that period). I hear so many stories about dogs having to be rehomed because tenants are being forced to move and they can't find a dog-friendly property. It's also worth including a covering letter with your rental application saying a little bit about yourself - landlords rarely get to meet their tenants so will feel more at ease if they think you come across as a reasonable person on paper.

I feed home brand sardines in springwater a few times a week. YUM YUM I haven't fed tuna for a while but they like that too. Leia won't eat the salmon that comes out of a tin. Archer almost certainly would but I haven't tried.

Hi Giraffez, Check out this you tube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHgBvnQ71ss I used the method in the video and now I can cut both my dogs nails while they are lying upside down in my lap. If you knew what my girl used to be like before you would be amazed! If you don't have a clicker just use your marker word. Take it slowly at first - don't try to cut them all in one go. If you start getting frustrated leave it for another time. Good luck

Thanks for the suggestions guys. Might email fluppies and see what they can do for me once I go home and measure her. Thanks for the offer SBT123, but I kind of want it to be a custom fit for her so as to make sure it covers her belly, otherwise it's pointless.

Peanut butter, cream cheese, sardines (frozen), nature's gift wet dog food (frozen), beef or chicken stock with a few bits of kibble thrown in (frozen), a little bit of honey smeared around the inside with kibble and then sealed with peanut butter. When I freeze I usually plug the small hole up with cream cheese or peanut butter first then stand upright inside a container in case it leaks.

Awww what a gorgeous boy!

I am after a very light t-shirt for my girl, the main purpose of which is to protect her belly from allergens. We are going to be looking into allergy testing etc, but can't do that until she has been off steroids for a while, so in the mean time, I'd like to try to minimise her exposure to whatever is causing the reactions. I'd like something that won't be too hot for use during the warmer months. Not sure what material would be best. Does anyone know of a good place to get something like this, or are there any talented DOLers who could make me one or two for a reasonable price? She is approx. mini-poodle sized (11.5kg). Thanks

Crates Furminator Doog walkie belt!

Mix round up with detergent and spray it. Detergent so that it sticks to the waxy leaves. Keep the dogs off for the rest of the day. You might have to do this a few times to kill it. I am in the same boat as we just moved house.

Hi Tyler - Advantage doesn't cover ticks but Advantix does. My too are on Advantix Fortnightly (has to be fortnightly to cover paralysis ticks) plus a monthly all-wormer (Interceptor) to cover worms. I hardly ever see fleas and when I do they are already half-dead and barely moving. Touch wood we have never had a tick on our dogs despite living in a bushy Sydney area. You can't use Advantix if you have cats though - it is poisonous to cats. Cheers