Rascalmyshadow

sorry not sure why it didn't work. I'll give you a call this evening if thats ok.

Nekhbet- I have never been to KCC but I assume it is easy to find. Sunday is good but this Sunday would have to be after lunch. I definately wouldn't be going out in the heat being pregnant I am always feeling hot. My boy is not quite up to the maarking and cocking leg thing yet ;) . Kristie have PMed you.

Nekhbet that would be great is there any paticular day that would suit you? Saturdays and Wednesdays are out until Xmas. Sas we would have loved to meet a great dane.

poodlewrangler- I wish you were in my area I'm sure he would love to play with another poodle (even though he lives with three others :D ). Training classes are not an option because I am due to have a baby in 7.5 weeks, money is now very tight and I am physically exhausted by the time I run around after my 2.5 year old, feed and exercise the four dogs and I am still also working grooming dogs. We did have a one on one class with a Delta instructor and once I am over having the baby we will be going to ADT for group lessons but I need to do something now to stop him ending up like my other standard (not all my fault).

I really need to find as many people with bombproof dogs to allow my standard poodle to play with, he is starting to become timid and barky around unfamiliar dogs and people. I take him out walking , to the park and to work but we just don't run into many dogs. Training classes are not an option at the moment. If anyone is interested in meeting up around Frankston-Chelsea area please PM or reply to my post.

If at all possible take your pup to a do-it-yourself hydrobath, it is cheap, she will be much better contained and you will have no mess to clean up at home. What ever you do don't give in be persitant, calm and try to keep her as relaxed as possible.

Let her mature, the last three pups we've had have done the same thing even though they were properly housetrained it's just excitement and there's not much you can do except keep her calm as possible, is she a more submissive dog?

I'm glad to hear your baby is ok

Sounds quite normal, I personally wouldn't call that food aggression jusy warning the other dogs not to touch unless of course there's fighting involved.

Stop feeding her anything except cooked chicken and rice for about 24-48 hours and it should help settle it down, has she been wormed?

Ok misinterpreted what you were saying, I understand the reasons you have listed why owners don't get what they want (I deal with it all the time) but I do have lots of people coming in saying 'another groomer wouldn't clip the dog because it's a pom' or 'I didn't want my poodles FFT shaved but the groomer did it anyway because it's a poodle and it has to be done'. I rarely get people giving stupid reasons why they want their dog short and I don't usually question why someone wants a coated breed clipped off even a baby because these are the owners that usually maintain their dog the way they should, it's the one's who want a long coat left on that tend to cause the problems and not look after their dogs, perhaps you've had different experiences to me. BTW I have never had anyone ask me to shave a lab I don't think i'd know what to say.

Yep your right but I don't really understand what the problem is, it doesn't hurt the dog and the owners want it done. If it was your own dog then by all means make that choice, I know a baby coat is easy maintenance but many owners run into trouble as soon as it starts to change into adult coat, if they keep it clipped they wont have that problem. IMO much better than a hot, matted dog with a bad skin condition.

I know a peke is not a clipped breed for showing doesn't mean anything, if someone wants to keep their dog comfortable and pay the money to do so they have every right. Bearded collies are not a 'clipped' breed either but most breeders i've spoke to keep any dogs not being shown quite short. Now I know why so many customers come in complaining about other groomers not doing what they are asked.

I encourage my customers to start having their dogs clipped as young as possible most poodles are clipped well before they go to their new homes. If done correctly their is nothing wrong with clipping a baby and these people are obviously trying to do the right thing. I am wondering why any groomer would encourage a pet owner to keep a dog in full coat just because it looks nicer especially if the owners dont feel they can maintain it.

I have clipped numerous pekes as instructed by the owners and only one grew back patchy but they later discovered it had a thyroid problem, sometimes owners will be shocked the first time because they will be a completely different colour when cut short. All brown/red pekes I have clipped have been grey underneath.

Yep I agree makes them look like they never get brushed. It also makes them a lot harder to groom. I notice a lot of 'spoodle' and 'labradoodle' owners like them this way but the people with purebred poodles don't.

Don't you love it when the hairdressers try to tell you how to groom their matted dog or the women that have just had babies weren't able to brush the dog for the last 6 months or the owners that were on holidays for a week even though there's months worth of matting. Maybe we should all put our heads together and write a book 100 reasons/excuses why my dog's a matted wreck!!!

I hope she's alright too many unexperienced groomers giving us decent groomers a bad name, to let a junior clip a dog without 100% supervision is completely unprofessional and irresponsible, I would be demanding the money back because you didn't get what you paid for (a professional service). I hope the vet treatment and medication was not out of your pocket.

Dogcop I am offended by your comments, I groom within a vet clinic and no dog is given anything without the owners permission, I also manage many dogs that have been to groomers (outside a vet clinic) with disastrous results. If you've only ever had to go as short as a 5# blade you don't see too many neglected dogs. I have had dogs that I could barely get through with a 10# blade. One of my previous dogs (a maltesex) would behave strange as soon as her coat grew long as gorgeous as she looked I always kept her short so she was happy.

Try washing your dog again with a shampoo you would normally use, some dogs if they've never had a short clip can feel really different and will act strange until the hair grows back a little. Another problem I have noticed dogs with long hair on their tails sometimes get very irritated when clipped too short because they can feel the hair touching their back when the tail is up and the backs of their legs when the tail is down.

I completely sympathise with you, I found out today my little resucue girl has the same problem in both legs one needs surgery and the other should be ok. $900 is a reasonable price, luckily I work in a vet clinic so it won't be quite as expensive but still not good right before xmas and i'm about to go on maternity leave. Good luck hope all goes well for your baby.

We had a poodle with epilepsy he was a little uncoordinated and drowsy to start with but that only lasted a couple of weeks, if the dosage is being changed to a higher amount at frequent intervals he may be taking longer to adjust. Have you had him tested for diabetes? some times diabetic seizures can be similar to epileptic ones.

Try fido's everyday shampoo it smells great and the smell lasts up to a week after they are bathed. After they're dry use a squirt or two of lustre aid.

I have been using these for a few months now, I have found them to be good my very fussy mini poodles love them. The only problem so far was when they had the roo they were throwing up so I think it was a bit rich. My standard poodle wont eat them at all and would rather starve, I have tried every flavour. The bulldog puppy has been reared on them (with bones etc. also) and she is in beautiful condition. My mini's are around 7-8 kg each and they get 1/2 a patty plus a couple chicken necks. The bulldog is around 25kg and she gets 1 patty plus other raw foods and dry biscuits.

I have 2 mini poodles, a standard poodle and a 18week old american bulldog. The standard is very active but the rest are moderate. They cost me around $50.00 a week to feed. The mini's get half a BARF pattie each and two chicken necks each per day. The other two get 1 cup dry food and 1/4 kilo chicken mince for breaky 1/2 kilo of chicken necks each for lunch 1 BARF pattie with vegies, pasta or rice etc. each for dinner none of them are over weight, my standard is actually skinny because she never eats enough.