Tassie

Try PMing murve - she did it with a Pap I think, so she should have some good advice.

Gotta love Tux being a silly billy at his age - naughty boy :) . But big congrats on the HTM results - and the costume sounds even lovelier than the other version. Bet there were more tears in the eyes of the spectators - it is such a beautiful performance - everything just fits together and creates an amazing mood. And great result with dear Meg.

Hope little Melton is still hanging in there - sending best wishes from sunny Apple Isle - where ticks thankfully are few and far between - though we do have some.

Some do - depends on the size of the practice among other things - you need to ask your own particular vet.

Hopefully others more knowledgeable will be along soon - but I wouldn't be concerned about the situation as you describe it. In many households, the 'boss' dog, for want of a better word, can be the (senior) female, and it sounds to me as if your girl is just making sure the newcomer knows this - and it sounds as though he has nice dog manners and is accepting what she is telling him about the proper order or things among the dogs in the household. :) When my nearly 4 year old Bc male arrived as a 10 week old pup, my bitch - I use the word advisedly - who is 6 years older - spent the first week telling the puppy, without violence, but unmistakeably, just wich dog was in charge in the house. He accepted that - and still does. What was funny was that after about a week, she apparently decided that he'd learnt his place, and wanted him to play with her - which he wasn't sure about at first. :laugh: Now they play every day - and she lets him knock her down and drage her around - but between the two, her word is still law. If she chooses to sleep in his crate, or even in front of it, he daren't go in there :D . For me this would be the way to go. I'd probably separate them when you can't supervise - and/or when there are valuable resources around. One of the wise American dog trainers - can'tr remember which - once wrote an article called something like "Treasure the growl" - pointing out that it's inadvisable to reprimand a dog for growling, as they may simply eliminate that warning from their vocabulary, and go straight to action.

LOL - a lot of cruel owners and badly treated dogs at an agility trial yesterday - although since most of them were sound asleep, they probably didn't notice :laugh: . I didn't know about crates for my first dogs I had as an adult - but love them now. The dogs clearly love the concept too - the safe den - or why would my goofy BC boy squeeze himself into his cavvy friend's (fortunately unoccupied) crate at an ob trial, when he could have just relaxed on the mat beside my chair. One of the things I find fascinating is that dogs, who supposedly don't generalise very well, have no trouble in generalising the concept of crate as den. To me that suggests that they see a high value in the den-ness of crates - they can generalise hard crate/soft crate/show trolley with no apparent problems.

LOL - it's always nice when they circle or do something like that. :) (My big BC boy is very deliberate about pooing - finds a nice bush or high spot, and turns around a few times before settling into the business - whereas my girl will sometimes almost drop a poo on the run, so to speak. Yes - I'm sure you're right - he doesn't really get the distinction. I'd certainly have no worries about interrupting him if you do see him/hear him - you can just scoop him up - - which sometimes will stop the flow - then you can put him outside and tell him he's wonderful when he pees there. If he were mine, I think I'd still be inclined to transition from pee pads to something else - I'd start by putting the pee pad down on newspaper or litter tray, and then gradually reduce it in size. Another thought I had was that there could be some residual odour which he can smell in the inappropriate palces he pees - so I'd be giving everything a really thorough clean or wash with an enzymatic cleaner specially designed for the purpose. Probably a few washes and air drying in the sunshine would help to make sure there is nothing to tempt him back. Oh, and although it's not always true, I have found boys to be a bit slower to toilet train than girls - wide generalisation, I know :D .

For whn you're home, you could try the 'umbilical cord' method - use a light line, long enough to be practical and for him to have some freedom - to attch him to you as you go about the house. This means you would/should-maybe be able to spot him heading for somewhere to pee inappropriately - then you can interrupt him (with a verbal sound like Uh-uh and/or picking him up and take him outside (for preference) or to an approved pee spot, and do the praise thing you've been doing. Or if you can't be with him, I think I'd be using a playpen to confine him - with paper or pee pad in one side, and a bed of some sort in the other - so he can't keep using the crates to pee in. And only let him have access to his crate when you can directly supervise. It does seem pretty weird on his part - but in practical terms, I'd reckon you need to do something to interrupt the association he's built up that crates are the place to pee. Thinking out loud - I've never used pee pads with my dogs - but wondering if it might be an idea to change to newspaper or cat litter - so there' a clear distinction between that and bedding of any kind. The pee pads I've seen could be mistaken for a crate mat.

And where's your brag, kallistar????? :D

Big congratulations Sllh and all the other qualifiers..it's a buzz isn't it. :-)

Sorry OT a bit ... but I couldn't resist saying that it's not just Novice dogs that can do this. Masters dogs can be pretty good at it too . Friend's Whippet redesigned a course one time - the lovely judge said he actually preferred the dog's course to the one actually on the ground :laugh: . But you're right in saying that most people either don't notice much, or have "been there. done that" and are sympathetic.

Is Mallacoota too far? Guess it depends which side of Melbourne you are. Or Eagle Point. There used to be nice dog-friendly places there too.

Good luck to DWD triallers in Melbourne this weekend - may the music be with you :D

Thank goodness you don't have to go through any long-drawn process to get the refund, And it suggests that maybe the 'breeder' has also learnt from this horrible experience. I hope you and your family are doing OK - and that the right puppy (BC of course, not that I'm biased :) ) will comne your way sooner rather than later, so that you can relive the joyful times you had with little Bailey.

Gush away - you're entitled. :D It was so nice to meet you and the lovely girls in Albury - Rory was very impressed, doing his Honour exercise for such beautiful and talented girls :D

So very sorry to hear this - but how good that she is happy and active - our one comfort in this sort of situation is that our dogs don't know how sick they are. Sending strong thoughts for you and your girl.

Agree about checking for soreness. And I would combine the getting visitors to ignore, with having them casually toss good treats away from themselves, into an area where she can find them - while they keep ignoring her. Then you can see whether she shows any interest in the treats - if she does, I'd keep going with that - letting the visitors toss/drop the treats progressively a bit closer to themselves. You'll only be able to do this one with very patient and cooperative visitors :) - and it's important they don't try to push the pup over threshold - i.e. not too close too soon. You'd be using your yummiest treats - ones that you yourselves normally wouldn't give her. And maybe just a short session - then leave her alone - then another session later.

Nice weekend brags everyone. And a team of Tollers supporting you must have been fun, Ptolomy. You and Bedazzled and the boys certainly did WA proud.

+1

I stayed there on one mainland trip - lovely place :D

Just wanted to say .. Luke W. thanks you for that link. :)

A couple more from our recent trip north. We spent a week at Rippa's Retreat Unit 2 in Beachmere - east of Caboolture. Very well equipped and comfortable and spacious - 2 bedrooms - verandahs front and rea, smaller fenced rear courtyard at rea, but the two units are on a fenced garden area about 3/4 acre - lovely for dogs to have a run. Tiled floors throughout - dogs allowed inside. http://rippasholidayrentals.com/infopage/redcliffe/caboolture-holiday-accommodation And just south of Coffs Harbour - a delightful cottage - smaller - disabled friendly - dogs welcome inside - fenced courtyard garden (high fence) - set in a quiet area of beautiful acreages. http://wagtailcottage.com.au/ Both of these places had very welcoming owners.

Yay for you and Violet - a wonderful achievement to add to her list. :D

I am soooo innocent and naive and trusting (not). But that sounds like a good plan ... not sure that I coiuld get away with it though - although people do go prematurely grey, don't they ... but wrinkled .... - perhaps not.

What the others have said. My old BCxKelpie bitch had a few - some on a watch list, some removed becsause of where they were - and one actually got infected and therefore had to be removed. Among the considerations once you know you're dealing with lipomas are comfort, and amount of available skin to close comfortably. I'd just add, that, because I'm a worry wart, I'd probably be opting for pre-anaesthetic bloods, and for IV fluids - your vet may well encourage you to do this anyway. Mine do for 'older' dogs - 7-8 and up. At the least, the bloods give a good baseline for future reference. Good luck with your boy. :)