OSoSwift

holy crap a tiger snake in my bedroom would see me moving to NZ!!!!

So very sorry for your loss Angelsun. Poor Mum

having Whippets who just don't smell I would not be happy at all to be stuck near the stinky dogs all day!

She could make another appointment to see them and go at a different time of day, but the alarm bells are ringing for me. The fact the puppies cried when handled, seemed totally disinterested in people and the bitch flat out refused to come out makes me think that they haven't had a lot of handling and the bitch can't see humans as very interesting either in her life experiences. Even if puppies are tired they should still not show a determined disinterest in people. If anything they should be looking for a lap to curl up on. I had a Dobe bitch who came home from the breeders as not pregnant to present me with a singleton pup. She went into protection overdrive and strangers could not be in the same area as her and she would have bitten, there was no doubt about that, even hit the garage door as it was slammed in her face. Once the puppy got to around 6 weeks she took an interest in what people were doing with her baby but was nowhere near what she was. Once the baby was ready to go at 8 weeks she would have happily given it away and was far too busy being a pat me tart to care who was doing what to her baby. I would be looking elsewhere

gorgeous!! And she's blowing you a raspberry for waking her up!

that Corgi is hilarious!!!!! Loved it

Just got a quote for my kitty and it was $95 I was very happy with that as I know they do not cut any corners with pain relief or any other part of the procedure.

My first dog came named, My second was an adult so definately named, My third I had a list to choose from and got the one I picked and Gayle she was "Prefix" D Heaven Sent. In the same breed at at the time was a black and tan bitch (as was mine) who was bred in another state and only a few months different in age who was called "prefix" Sent From Heaven. My fourth was named when I got her My fifth was named but was named by his original buyer at 8 weeks - I got him at 8 months My babies will be named within a theme, I may ask for help within that theme from propective owners though

While a dog is out in the paddock and working they do not need to be tethered as already suggested it is a right royal pain in the butt. However they should be tethered at all other times to a very short leash or in a crate or something similar. I have many many times seen the result of dogs who are not restrained correctly and if it is not deadly it is certainly anything but pretty!

for two retained testicles that sounds also about normal. Looking for two retained testicles is a big and sometimes long job. Couple that with a large dog and it can take some time to find them.

I got the price for desexing and microchipping my male kitten the other day and double checked because it didn't seem enough - that doesn't happen to often

sounds very reasonable for a retained testicle.

I would not like a puppy I was buying to stay with it's litter or not be rehomed to me until it was 10 to 12 weeks of age.

A dog down here has had it down, harvested her own cells - so I guess the fat method???- and she is doing amazingly well.

Take a supersoaker water pistol and hit it with water a few times!!

Right now I am liking my dogs WWAAYYYY more than this crazy 12 wo feral little turd!!!!!! He's lucky we love him!

I LOVE Bullies, not sure I could live with one. I prefer my dog to do what I ask it straight away not take a message and get back to me, or think long and hard about it, but I do love them to pieces. Nothing like a big cuddle of a solid brick of wiggly muscle. They give great kisses as well. We had very very few down here for years, but in the last two years we have had 3 gorgeous young Bullies come to training. All so happy to say hi to everyone and no aggression to be seen.

A very interesing and insiteful topic, thank you for starting it, I read with interest.

Congratulations Angelsun you sure know how to break a puppy drought Your babies are gorgeous Trish

I came across a website the other day that has all the databased linked and you put in the number and it then tells you which data base it is registered to. http://www.petaddress.com.au/Default.aspx

SO very very sorry Griff and Lil Griff. RIP gorgeous boy

This is one of the top winning dogs in Australia and also an awesome, easy dog to be around....doubt he has had many, if af any corrections, just well trained by a great handler. From memory his owner has said she has never given a correction.

Did you train it exactly as instructed from the book? This sounds highly unlikely to me that you were using the method correctly. You may have been, but it does make me wonder. This makes me even less likely to believe that you were being instructed properly. There is not a (proper) Koehler trainer on the planet that would ever say "she wasn't a retrieving breed" as an excuse for their inability to train. Yes I did and followed the books religiously. I was told I could possibly do it but as my breed wasn't a retrieving breed it was unlikely considering her response. I also went to two different instructors who trained with that method and neither could get her to progress. I then as a complete novice to the method with phone support and some books for help turned her into a very reliable retriever who did so confidentally. While I had been training for some time I was new to clicker training and still got her working well. If you make a mistake with a missed or off time click all you will get is a slightly slow behaviour or a dog that offers you something slightly different to what you were chasing. No major drama just stop rewarding for that and it will in time dissappear. Miss time a correction and it can take quite some time to repair the damage especially on very sensitive dogs.

I have used it and trained it and I do not think it is a good way of training a dog and none of my current dogs have been trained that way. One of my others was then we changed and got a far happier more confident dog ho actually retrieved a dumbell after 4 years of trying with the Koehler method. After we got past the mental blocks it took about 6 months to get the complete behaviour reliable from start to finish. I even had someone who had trained koehler for a lot longer than me and was apparently a very very good trainer fail to get my girl to retrieve. I was told she wasn't a retrieving breed and therefore I was pushing the proverbial up a hill with a very skinny stick. Interestingly retrieving became one of her favourite behaviours.

brilliant news.