silentchild

This thread is inspiring me for this year's Christmas photo!! I will have to get it done soon. All the photos are terrific!

I got that email too, a person could not have jumped higher out of a chair in excitement.... and then I saw $200 and felt an immense wave of disappointment knowing me I will go ahead and spend the amount anyway and then weep over my wallet afterwards.

C'mon little puggies!! We're waiting for you! No pressure. :laugh: I hope everything goes well with the breeding - have they been mated yet or are you just in the planning stages? There's no such thing as too much pug and rottie photos. :D I would love to see as many pics as you'd like to post. And I'm very sorry to hear about your Lizzy.

Andisa, those photos are soooo gorgeous! Little pug babies! I just wanna smush my nose into those little bellies. Their coats look so soft. Oh those photos have me all clucky now, I can't wait for you to have your litter, LOL! And I totally feel you about not feeling physically capable to handle a Rottie anymore. I've recently went down in size from a Rottie to an Aussie Shepherd, which is still not a small breed but much smaller than a Rottie, and I wondered how I was ever able to handle a Rott!!! I do love them though, they are such special dogs. I agree an old, sedate Rottie would be nice in the future. I do wish they would live longer though, I lost my gorgeous girl at just 8 years old.

Oh what a lovely photo Andisa. Thank you so much for your offer, yes, I would love to stay in touch for when you have your Pug litter. I understand a lot of breeders won't be having litters around Christmas because of the demand for pups during Christmas, just hoped I'd be lucky enough to find one anyhow.. It just means OH will have to wait a little longer for his present unfortunately!!! (I have a bad feeling that he will really really want a pug after this... LOL)

Oh wow these all sound really great!!!! But I have no idea who the instructors are, lol....does anyone know anything about them? I'm really interested in the Canine Massage one and the Treibball one looks like heaps of fun.

Ok, just throwing this out there... Basically I have been racking my brains thinking of what to get my OH for Christmas (no, I'm not getting him a puppy) and so I've been doing some thinking and it led me to wondering... do breeders usually let people play with their pups for socialization or anything like that? My OH loves pugs and he would be the happiest boy in the world if he would be able to play with some pug puppies.. he'd squeal like a girl.. they are his all-time favourite breed. So I was wondering if any breeders tend to let people do that? I have no idea about pug breeders... but I have heard of people being able to visit a breeder and pups just to give the pups some exposure to different people and things like that. Does anyone have any clue? If I could line something up like that for him it would be a great present. I don't know any pug breeders, so hoping there will be some pug people on here that could point me in the right direction. His second favourite breed are Rotties, so if pugs are a no-go, thought I'd try my luck with any Rottie breeders too. I don't know if this is a good idea and worth trying or not. Thought I'd ask for DOLers insight since there are a lot of breeders on her and people who are familiar with how they work! Thanks in advance!

It was great to meet some lovely fellow DOLers and see all the amazing dogs. Steve was a wealth of knowledge. Looking forward to photos too. :)

Beautiful Baylee, so loved and gave so much love in return. Running free and happy forever.

Holy crap paddles you are bringing a lot... I feel inadequate in comparison lol. I'm going to stick to my limited slip collar and leash, don't have a long line or harness as we've never needed one. :D Now thinking maybe I should bring a martingale and trial leash.... I've been to many horse workshops but never a dog one!

You are not alone. :laugh: I have been secretly freaking out and even almost on the brink of cancelling. :laugh: I share all your concerns and more! What if I get lost, what if nothing goes right, what if I lose my tongue from shyness, what if I ask stupid questions or can't answer the simplest of answers... etc etc I'm sure it will be fine, worst case scenario we can look like idiots together and have a laugh. I'm only bringing one collar and leash lol... how much gear are you bringing (do I need to bring more?!)?

I go every year and always shop up a storm at the market.... will be there again this year of course. :laugh: Hopefully the weather will be nice.

Another vote for Rottie - to be loved by a Rottie is a special experience. A steady, well-trained Rottie with a good temperament is worth its weight in gold and would be well-suited as an Assistance dog.

Please don't turn this thread into a judgmental thread - I don't think anyone here who lets their dog off leash goes and plays with their phone and forgets about their dogs, and those who don't let their dogs off leash also have very valid and responsible reasons for doing so, and good on them. It's been very interesting and informative to see all the different responses. Keep 'em coming. I only let my dog off leash when there are no other dogs around and only at quiet times - she doesn't like rude dogs and unfortunately there are a lot of rude dogs around. We sometimes also drive to more lesser known areas too and places where I can see if there are other dogs approaching from a distance. If we see another person she goes back on leash till they pass.

Just out of curiosity, how often do you take your dogs for an off leash run? I guess this doesn't really apply if you live on large acreage and your dogs just roam on your property, but I am thinking more the suburban dwelling dog owners - how often do you take your dogs to a designated off leash area, be it a park, beach or bush? I try to take my dog for an off leash romp at least once a week, mostly we manage between two - three times a week and we love exploring new places. On leash walks, training and games fill up the other times so we get more or less equal on leash and off leash time. edited to add she also gets free run in our backyard every day, it's not very big, but large enough for her to do small zoomies, play fetch, etc. Just curious to know what other dog owners do in terms of off leash vs on leash walks. :)

OH MY GOD....... Crap, OH is going to definitely want to get one now. It looks like a pug's head on a mini Rottie body!

With the bow a tip I picked up from DWD if your dog keeps wanting to do a drop is to sit on the ground with your legs bent, so your legs are forming sort of like an A-frame, if you can visualize it in your head. Then with your hand opposite from the dog lure their front end down underneath your knees so they sort of have to reach under your knees to get to the treat, like a bow. Click and treat as soon as they are in the right position. Or, you could just loop a leash under their belly - don't hold them up, but just have it there as a barrier, and lure into the bow - click and treat. The way I trained Breeze was to stand in front of her and dramatically bow with the treat in my hand luring her, she almost went into a drop the first time but I clicked and treated the milisecond before she dropped, so when her hind end was still standing but her front end had already gone down anticipating the drop. She pretty much understood what I wanted after doing it a few times and now has a beautiful bow... I just have to work on duration and distance.

Alyosha, that is a terrific idea!!!!! I may have to go ladder hunting soon. Thank you!

Can you pin them to the curtains :) This would work if I had curtains. :D Roller blinds here. Think I will just have to be happy with them all arranged in a heap on the crowded mantelpiece... Cat keeps thinking they are hers and will parade them proudly around the house. :laugh:

Loving all the displays so far. Does anyone have any ideas for a display that doesn't need to be hung from walls? (Living in rental - can't hang anything on the walls) So far the fishing line idea is a great one, but I'm not even allowed to have blue-tac on my walls so can't pin it up..

Crate in bedroom, or on the bed with me, whichever she prefers. Occasionally she will spend half the night in bed with me then migrate to her crate, then back on to the bed in the morning. Love bedtime cuddles. :)

Oh no I shouldn't have clicked on the link.... she is gorgeous!!!! If only...

Another vote for Robin Stanley, could not recommend him enough, brilliant man.

Do you say anything when playing the game? For example when you throw a treat do you say 'Get it!' or anything like that? Thanks everyone for all the info, very helpful. :)

Thanks Tassie, that makes so much sense re. the drops on recalls! Luckily I've never done that yet, I normally finish formal recalls with a sit in front of me and a bit of a reward party if she does it perfectly. My girl has brilliant whiplash recalls so I definitely don't want to ruin it. Do you mean you tell the dog to drop before it gets to eat the reward, then throw out another reward again, so it eats the first reward after release from drop and straightaway run to the second? Or drop after getting the first reward? Also I'm guessing for this game you would need to use quite large or visible chunks of food...? I can just imagine using the normal small clicker training sized treats and having them lost in the grass lol.