Tassie

Such a tough time

Bummer. Have you got some pain meds that you can use till you can see your vet. Most of the anti inflams are nasty for the kidneys .. but at this stage, that's probably not a major consideration. Someone might have a brace that they can lend you in the short term ... and in the very short term you can make a makeshift sling to help her with toileting. She probably won't fell like moving round too much, so a big comfortable bed in the rooms you spend most time in maybe with some furniture restricting movement. Icing the knee.. and gentle massage might also help her comfort level in the short term..

You and he are coming on well. As you've been advised before ... don't overthink things. It'll do your head in. My Border Collies ....9..5 years and 13 months ....never go in their crates without being given a treat ... maybe only a small one. I always want to maintain high value for the crate. Nothing wrong with that in my book. As far as the being left goes .. totally agree with Karen15 ... two different scenarios .. and puppy had already had a good rehearsal the second time round. Not sure if the crate is covered or not .... covering a crate with something like a cheapo polar fleece blanket, tends to make it more den like and more attractive. In fact I couldn't find my puppy the other evening .. knew she hadn't gone out .. checked various spaces .... didn't think of her family room crate, but that was where she had gone for a nap. The blanket was partly over the open door, so I hadn't seen her. Oh and the sleeping on tiles ... they tend to do that if they get a bit warm, even if we don't think it's warm.

Such a good update on the great overnight routine. Well done! The set up that Rozzie has pictured is great ... combination of the crate for security and the xpen for being able to move around if he wants to. And totally agree with the special treat for when you leave. Frozen stuffed Kongs are ideal nice and soothing for when teething time comes. too. Don't leave anything potentially dangerous with an unsupervised pup ... so nothing that can be destuffed or shredded and eaten .. but Kongs, and robust puzzle bowls would be fine. You're only overthinking things because you want to do right by your pup .. and that is not a bad thing. You and he have shown that you're all good learners .. so just sit back and enjoy puppyhood.

Me too!

Oh that makes sense. And how good is it to have a lovely caring vet. Mine is the same .. I actually worry about the compassionate ones .. it must be so tough for them.

Just a random thought ... have you thought of a White Swiss Shepherd. I think there are some lines whose temperaments are not what they could be, but there are some with beautiful structure and temperament. And I could be wrong, but from what I've seen, working line Shepherds are an awful lot of dog ... not for the faint hearted or time poor.

Bitter sweet vet report I Imagine. But good that she's in great general health .. just not good about the lumps. And diet ... you have one tough vet . .

Thanks for the pics. He's very sweet and looks lovely and bright. In your situation, I would be getting an extra crate so it can stay in your bedroom. Yes .. pain to have to carry them. .. I have to do that when we're staying in dog briendly accommodation .. it gets a bit old if you're on the move. You can usually get wire crates fairly cheaply . sometimes from 'cheap shops/discount stored .. bricks and mortar, or online. I've bought several that way and they're not bad quality and not too exxy. Then although you can get nice covers, you don't need one .. an old blanket or two will do the job nicely. Wire crate does need to be covered though to make it den like. As far as crate training goes .. plenty of good how to resources on line ..basics ... super good things come in the crate (any crate) .. so you can have one downstairs and one upstairs .. do some training in both places. If you time pup's going to bed to coincide with you then shouldn't be a drama. Just make sure there are always good treats as he goes in. My girl had had some crate experience at her breeders .. then an all day trip .. long car journey and two interstate flights to get here .. arrived 10.30 pm .. then into an airline crate once she'd had a chance to look around the house and settle down .. and be taken out for toilet. She slept through with only one break that night, and sleeps all night through now. Her ordinary crates (one in family room, one in car, and one for travelling/shows, trials etc. are folding wire crates .

Unless there's a good reason not to have him in his crate in your bedroom, that would always be my choice. Especially when he's little, it's so much easier to do the house training, and also it makes bedtime a special thing, rather than just being in the area he's in all the rest of the time. Just a thought .. with stairs in the house, it's worth investing in a babygate to block unauthorised excursions up stairs, and also to protect him from injury on the stairs. One of the training things is to teach him to do stairs thoughtfully and carefully .. so probably concentrating on going upstairs slowly, but carrying him downstairs for the moment. (Thinking in terms of avoiding injury here). Just thought .. we hadn't asked what size he is ... and we haven't seen photos .

Sorry you've met some harsh replies .. although to be fair. most of the posts have had helpful comments and advice. I'm not a breeder, but I have owned an entire male (show and performance dog) for 9 years and apart from the fact that the law requires it, I have always made sure that he is not free to roam the streets ... not only because (as has been pointed out) it is a fineable offence under dog control legislation in most areas, but also it is my duty to the dog and to other dog owners not to let my dog run the risk of impregnating a bitch, or causing or getting involved in a fight, or causing or being involved in an accident of some kind. As the owner of a currently entire bitch, it is also my duty to protect her from possible attentions from my own or any other males, and also to comply with the law relating dog control. So what I'm trying to say is that the advice you have been given is based on the welfare of your own and other people's dogs, consideration for other people and the law relating to animal control. I would add that while it can be a good idea to delay desexing until growth plates have closed, it may be in your dog's best interest to consider desexing him now, if you're in a position to do so.

It's the routine at my place too ..or wherever we happen to be sleeping ...their crates are the first things into dog friendly accommodation if we're away. Then on the cue bedtime, the Border Collies head for their crates and hop in .. waiting for their biscuit or whatever treat they're getting. Then that's it for the night, unless they're unwell. My puppy = 13 months old today - did have to go out at 2.00 the first night she arrived, but has slept through the night ever since. She'll stir occasionally, but because her crate is next to my bed, I can soothe her easily. The 9.5 year old still heads straight for his crate at bedtime .. even though the door has been off the one at home for 4 or 5 years .. and open for a couple of years before that. He'll get out if he gets too warm, but is almost always back there as soon as he cools off.

I'd be having a night crate (covered) beside your bed. Pop him into his night crate when you go to bed ... maybe with a small biscuit ... then turn out the light and turn off your phone and go to sleep. If he whinges, you can talk softly to him, or let him sniff or chew your fingers. Have a lead with you, so when he tells you he needs to go out, you quietly attach lead, take him outside, wait quietly with him while he toilets, quietly praise, then straight back to his night crate with a small biscuit maybe, and shut the crate, Then back to sleep. For the daytime, if he's in his pen cos you can't be with him, try things like puzzle toys to keep him am

Not really enough information at this stage to make any useful comment. Depends what the issues might be with the puppy and whether they were reasonably discoverable by the breeder and/or breeder's vet. When did you first notice concerning signs?

Hi there. You might want to ask Troy (the forum owner and admin,) if he can move this either to the main part of the General forum. or to the Golden Retriever thread in the Breed Forum .. I'm assuming there's one. It'll be seen by more people and won't get swamped. There are some lovely breeders of Golden Retrievers in Victoria .. not sure who's likely to be breeding in the near future, but a good starting point is the Breed Page on the main Dogzonline site. You search by breed and can limit the search to Victoria .. among other ways. A couple of other things to try are going to shows and talking to breeders about what your plans are and seeing whether you like their dogs. I'm pretty sure there is also a Golden Retriever Club in Victoria, so that's worth trying. As for price, I don't know, but since the average price for a Border Collie pup from an ethical registered breeder is around $1500, I would be expecting that GOldens could be around $2000 .. but I'd be guessing. Key things is to find a breeder whose dogs you like, who health tests breeding stock for the range of things that should be tested for, including juvenile cataract, hips and elbows and maybe other things, and ideally who you will be able to form a good relationship with. Disclaimer .. I'm a Border Collie person, but Goldens are my second favourite breed ... family member used to breed them many decades ago. ETA Links Victorian breeders Golden Retriever Club of Victoria

Anniversaries are hard. So it must be coming up to a year in May since I had to farewell my dear old Kirra dog. Life has been pretty full on getting a handle on the cute and adorable and completely crazy Pippa puppy that I firmly believe Kirra organised for us before she left. Today I had relatives come to visit and need to use the dining room table to have DIY lunch with their kids .. and so I have finally moved dear Kirra's bag with her ashes off the table where it's been for nearly a year. Can you tell I don't use the table much .. except to put things on Funny the things we do and don't do, isn't it. .

My BC boy, now 9 and a half, went through a phase of wannabe rock eating at about 3 months .. for no apparent reason. He was not a random eater of other objects. Thankfully I was able to manage it, and he seemed to just grow out of it. But in your situation, with your pup having had surgery, I would think it's absolutely essential to try to protect his gut from further insult, so a basket muzzle for when you can't directly supervise would seem a good short term fix (in addition to all the other things you're doing with him.) We visited a cousin of mine when Rory was a pup going through this stage. My cousin had lovely decorative bowls around her garden filled with stones they had collected on their travels round the country. They all had to be put right up out of Rory's reach while we were there.

Oh that makes it super hard for you. I remember this sort of subject coming up years ago, and people had some lovely ideas to help kids .. I remember one was collecting favourite photos and making a scrap book or story book about the pet's life, especially any special moments involving them. And here's to what the staff in a palliative care centre I used to visit with my old dogs called "the cortisone honeymoon".

That all makes good sense. And sorry that you've not had good responses from breeders you've tried contacting. Still think you could do better than these ones you've seen.. In northern NSW you could be looking in Queensland too .. there is a Whippet Club of Queensland .. and if you like the idea of rescue, both the NSW club and the Qld one have rescue links. Hope one of the more knowledgeable DOLers can see this and make some suggestions. And glad you have found DOL .. there are occasional spats, but on the whole this is a helpful and supportive family. ETA IN case you haven't discovered it, there is a Breeds Sub Forum, and I see there is a sight hound thread in there, and a thead called All things Whippet. Might be worth a browse there. Breed sub froums

So sorry to hear this teebs. It about this time last year that my dear old agility girl Kirra at 15.25 was diagnosed with lymphoma. The prednisone shrank the glands for about a week, but then they started swelling again. Apart from gradual slowing down, her only other symptom was some collapse episodes .. like short, but increasingly long partial seizures. Didn't actually investigate them because they didn't distress her too much. She slept more as the time went on, but ate well till the last 24 hours or so. The week before she left, she had a lovely weekend with me and Rory up north at an agility trial, meeting up with all her human friends and generally acting the queen. Although it was a shock to get the diagnosis, in a way It was not the worst way for her to go. She had early stage kidney disease, which obviously was going to proceed to symptomatic disease, and the peripheral lymphoma seemed to be pretty painless (for her) and mercifully quick .. and the final decision making for me was a no brainer .. I was able to wait a day for my lovely vet to help her out .. although that was hard on him too, since he'd been our vet since she arrived at 8 weeks old. I can only hope your lovely girl has a similarly gentle journey.

Honestly? I'd cut my losses and start running ... and as juice advises, start looking for a reputable, ethical breeder of the breed you are interested in .. the Dogzonline Home page is a good starting point, as are breed clubs. Visit some shows and talk to breeders and exhibitors (when they're not busy) .. see if you like what you see in the breed/s you're thinking of. Think about what you primarily want the pup for -- mainly pet, pet + performance .... etc. You really want to start with a pup who has had the best possible start in life .. with thoughtful, caring breeders who spend massive amounts of time and money for the 8 weeks their pups are with them, and try their very hardest to find wonderful caring lifelong homes for their dogs. And yes ... that can cost more, and yes, you might have to wait ... but it is worth it.

@sheena You should be able to. Just send a message (maybe with a pic) and ask .. . I know when I snapped the roller locking bit IYKWIM, I was able to get replacement pretty much straight away. Great service.

So sorry Westiemum. She had a wonderful life with you and thank you for sharing her with us.

Your job in socialising is not just to expose the pup to various aspects of the world he is going to be living in, but also to set him up for success in it by limiting his ability to make undesirable choices, and showing him what choices you would like him to be making. So for instance .. have him on lead so that he cannot practice harassing the older dog (and possibly hurting him, but certainly making his life a misery.) The aim is to prevent giving pup the opportunity to rehearse behaviours you don't want to see again, while showing him what you do like and rewarding the heck out of him . with treats, toys, personal play etc .. for making "good" choices. Personally I would also be making use of crates and/or xpens to give the pup a space where he can be free .. with some interactive toys or a snuffle mat to keep him busy .. while the dachshund has some free time unmolested. I'd also be spending a lot of tme teaching all sorts of things to the pup .. in small doses, and playing with him .. to tire him out mentally. It's going to be hard work for a while, but it will pay off.