Tassie

It's so hard, isn't it. Very sorry for your loss, but well done for making the hard decision, and giving your little one that happy last day.

Well done to you Jacque. Sounds like the universe was organising things nicely. Looking forward to seeing more from you .. and of course the obligatory pictures :laugh: .

That's disappointing .. but well done for checking. Contacting your local state breed club if there is one, is probsbly a good access point to getting a purebred Pomeranian. Going to a dog show where Pomeranians are being shown and talking to some of the people showing (when they're not busy :)) is a good way to get some directions, and information as to where you might source a pup. On the Dogs SA website you can find details of upcoming shows. And provided that you've done your homework, and you and the breeder of your future pup are comfortable with each other, there is no problem IMHO getting a pup from interstate. Of course it's ideal to be able to meet at least the mother, and preferably see the litter, but it's not always possible. Good luck with your search. Poms are great little dogs .. a friend has one who is a Tracking Champion, and well ont he way to being a Track and Search Champion, as well as doing obedience and Dances with Dogs.

Nice one, Daisy (and huski). :D

That's a great effort ... you have every righto be a proud breeder.

Gorgeous!

How very sad for you and Toby .. what a lovely boy he looks. You're right .. some dogs, like some people, just seem to draw the short straw. What a great owner you are to have gone the extra mile (and many more) for the lad ... and how precious are those 18 months of love and care you have given him. Can only wish you strength with the decision you have to make, and gratitude on behalf of the dogs for the love and care you have given this lad.

If it were me, I wouldn't be allowing her to play with the others before training. She is there to work, not to socialise and at this point you are having issues with her being able to tell the difference between when she is allowed to play with them and when she is not. An hour is a very long time for her to be concentrating. Some BCs can do it and some can not. We have a 12 month old here who gets to come out for about 5mins at the start and 5mins at the end. Any more than that and it is too taxing on her brain and she cannot concentrate any longer. That's when the other behaviours will creep in (wanting to play with the others etc). Is it possible to only train her for the first half and then just watch and learn yourself for the second half? If she needs a play before training to get the "bugs" out, I would suggest taking her for a walk or having a big play with her before you arrive at the grounds. I also wouldn't be allowing her to interact with the other dogs on a walk at this point in time either. While it is not formal training, you are wanting a dog that will walk with you and not get overexcited every time she sees another dog. Allowing her to then play with that dog is only going to reinforce in her mind that dogs she sees on a walk are fun and she might get to meet them. By all means meet up with others and let her play with other friendly dogs if that is something you want her to do. But have it as a "play only" session. No expectation of leash-walking, no training, nothing but playing. Personally, I prefer my dogs to have no value for other dogs. I want to be the thing they want to play and interact with. They need to learn that other dogs exist in their world but I want them to just ignore that existance. A big +1 for this. The way I think of it is that you want to be showing her that you are more exciting and rewarding than other dogs. I doubt that you would be able to maintain that level of concentration and energy and focus for the hour class, so I would be doing bits at a time. Most instructors who know what they're doing are fine with you doing a bit of high intensity high focus work, then having a brain break (for both of you :) ) .. then joining back in again.

Wow, CC ... what a super brag. On fire! Daisy certainly had a heap of fun, huski. Wish more people would work their dogs nice and fast like that. :)

My BC lil big man Rory's 7th birthday today .. don't think I'll run to Roast Chicken Dinner, but he is enjoying his frozen wallaby half frame .. which, given that it's drizzling outside, he was allowed to eat on his sofa (you can tell it's his by the toy stash. His stash includes the little soft toy which came with him in the crate from WA when he was 10 weeks old .. it's still in one piece. OF course his little big sister Kirra had to have one too .. happy 13.7 year old puppy. (Kyjen python courtesy of a bit of enabling by piper a couple of years ago :D

Nice brags there sheena.

Good girl Daisy! (and huski of course.) Can imagine Daisy would love Rally.

Thanks for posting that link ... amazing to read. So much that dogs do that we don't always appreciate.

Happy Roast Chicken Day lovely boys. Love the egg photos.

I'd get one big enough for your dog to lie stretched out .. and ideally tall enough for them to stand up, or at least sit up straight without their heads touching the top.

Hi Liz. Kirra says she's in the same boat as Bailey .. mildly elevated BUN and creatinine, but her urine test was OK .. she's still concentrating urine well. But interested in this, as we may need to change food at some stage. We'll check her levels again in a few months, and the decide.

From my experience, she may have some hearing deficit .. real as well as "don't wanna don't have to" kind, and may well have some progressive vision deficit.. from cataract e,g.. My 13.5 year old Kirra seems to have both of these, which can cause her to have some senior moments when she's not sure where I've gone. On the other hand, although she's retired from agility competition, she's always well up for training. If we're running courses, I usually jump her at 400 rather than 500, although she'll happily do 500 when we're doing smaller drills. She's loving training the new Rally signs, and if she's still going OK next year, we might have a go at Masters.

What a supercharged fun loving little guy he is. Lovely photos.

Read something yesterday that fits .. something like "You don't get over a great loss, you get through it.". That seems pretty true to me.

Sending "eat your breakfast" wishes to Scoot and Amber. :D

Adding to what AD said ... yes several great breeders in SA. One starting point would be to have a look (if it's online) at the catalogue and or results for the Adelaide Royal. You might also try sending a private message to DOLer piper .. she may be able to fill you in. Prices would be around the $1000 or a little higher I think. It's important to make sure the breeder undertakes testing for CL, TNS and CEA, and has hip and elbow scores for parents ..and ideally, has mature eye exam results.

What a great update!

Tissue alert. But what a beautiful article. Thanks for finding and sharing it.

He's a cutie pie. Sounds like it was a good choice of breed too.

Perfect timing, sheena :laugh: . I was just thinking this morning I could usefully order a few more things. The BCs and the Norwegian Forest Cats highly recommend the Lamb Puffs especially. It's nice to be able to support a company that is generous with sponsorship.