FionaC

you can section off the fabric ones - we only got the wire crate this year with the new pup - Mortimer the older boy had a fabric K9 one since he came home in 2008 - all we did was pack the back half of the crate with old blankets/towels from the linen cupboard and then cut a piece of MDF to the same shape as the crate inside and put that up - we didn't have a chewer which is why the fabric crate was fine and we used the same piece of MDF for Archie this year when he came home - also not a chewer and now he is toilet trained at 15 weeks we removed the MDF insert and gave him the full run of the crate at night You can buy crate covers or just drape some nice fabric over the crate to make it look better - trust me once you add a nice bed to the base, some soft toys and a cute puppy, the whole prison appearance disappears puppy should arrive at the airport in a crate (it will look different to the soft crates or the wire ones) it depends on whether or not you've paid for the crate as part of your shipping cost or whether or not it has been rented or owned by the breeder - have a chat to them and see what they say - but it will be a small crate rather than a big one if it is for shipping a puppy ....

are you planning on taking her away with you anywhere? competing in Obedience, Showinging, Agility, Tracking - going camping or having her stay with you in a pet friendly hotel or resort? if you are then you're best to use a crate to keep her safe and secure... Many people don't use crates and use beds and thats fine - its whatever you want to do - we want to trial in Obedience and Agility and being able to keep our boys secure and safe in the gazebo is paramount ... they see their crates as their beds, their space and they love them .....

don't worry, we'll all done it before! :D

thats ok Bluefairy, I don't need help finding a crate, I was answering a question from someone else ....

Petplan for us for both boys and I've found them brilliant to deal with so far - although we have yet to make a large claim with them ... I looked at moving them to PIA when Archie came along as they offered a multiple pet discount but I had several big issues trying to even contact them (calls never going through to people, them not returning calls etc) in fact over a period of 5 days with around 3 calls per day at different times I never once got through to speak to a person, I left a message at least once a day and all bar 1 of those was never returned ... I got the only actual response via email and I found the tone of the email quite snide so I thought that if that was an indication of how difficult it was to get them to take my business imagine how hard it would be if I was putting in a claim?.... I was quite surprised as I had read good things about PIA ..... Petplan on the other hand answered promptly, spent quite some time on the phone answering my questions, send me all the information I needed via mail and email promptly and have been wonderful ..... hopefully they will be just as good if I have to make a large claim in the future ....

These are a great price but the site won't let me sign up From memory I signed up as I purchased the crate not before - and I didn't have any hassles when I did it that way - maybe try it that way if you're trying to buy something

I'd suggest buying the size she will fit into when she is an adult - otherwise you'll be wasting money when she grows out of one and you'll need to buy another - you can always section off the crate when she is little to reduce the amount of space she has access to .... If you check online at the different options many will identify the breed that they suit .... my favourite ones are for a softcrate http://stores.shop.ebay.com.au/K9-SoftDogC...s__W0QQ_armrsZ1 (the seller is a Dol'er and is very very fabulous at helping you find just the right size!) For a wire crate http://shop.vebopet.com.au/store/dogs/ I have GSP's and both my boys have a 48 inch wire collapsible metal crate (XXL) as this can fit both of them easily in it and for sleeping the boys have a XL K9 softcrate each (thats the size thats also recommended for Goldens as well my youngest boy is only 16 weeks old and he loves his crate - both boys do, we crate trained both since we got them home ....

Dante heard that and got very excited! lol mine did too - I had both boys come running into the computer room and now they are trying to search under the computer desk to find the squeeker

Some shows will have a neuter section in them but the dog or bitch still has to be on Mains Registration to be shown - I think most of the dogs that compete in the neuter class tend to be older dogs that were show dogs originally but still enjoy a run around the ring ..... You'd be best to get a mains registered pug if you want to show - chat to your breeder about it and see what they say

Oh wow he is absolutely beautiful! - so glad you have another big boofer in your life ...

most definitely - Dman tugs Lovebird collars - we have quite a collection here MrsD's jewellery K9softcrates Cool Collars SBT's dog coats (have a cool coat and am getting another 2 winter coats made up) SnowySal's Doggie Doona's Ruthless leads Gillybob's Gillybags I also bought the Bunnings Compost Cages, the metal crate from Vebo Pets .... and I have a wish list as long as my arm on Clean Run website (with I-squeeks coming in a little while from the big order just placed)

our next one will be a GSP Rescue Senior - some oldie that needs a warm spot to lie down and a comfy bed to sleep on. We have 2 young dogs (21mths and 4 mths) so we will have years ahead of us trialing and being energetic with them and I always wanted to adopt a oldie and after meeting and seeing the work of breed rescue my mind was made up, my OH is in complete agreement (there's always room under the gazebo for an oldie to snooze)

our puppy class 1x GSP 2x Labs (one yellow, one black) 1x MaltxShitz 1x BBD (aka Mastiff cross) 1x Wire JRT (who's the biggest JRT I've seen with really long legs - so possibly not pure afterall) our GSP and 1 of the labs (black boy) are the only dogs from registered breeders everyone else's is out of the paper

Oh wow that is amazing (although I'm not surprised! of course you'd win - your photos are AWESOME!)

Thank goodness she was ok ..... what a terrible thing to do to someone! there can be no justification for that kind of behaviour!

Archie 7/52 .... its not a great photo but this weekend was Archie's first time at an trial (an Agility one) for socialisation and just getting used to everything and he behaved like a trooper ... so this is a quick uncut unmodified unprettied shot that I think shows how comfy he was today (and special thumbs up to my little man for putting up with having to wear his car harness the entire day cause I left his collar at home! (in my defence we left a lot under the gazebo at the showgrounds and I thought I left his collar there but I didn't and I didn't have a spare with me either) ... so sorry little man but you did great!

Someone told me that they changed the formula of these a little while ago and now they are really bitter tasting ..... We give all tablets (including Spectrum) here with a smear of peanut butter - they go down like lollies!

I did the same as Huski and it seems to have worked fine ..... PM sent as well .... thanks for organising this!

If the weather is better next fortnight I think we'll come along - if only to say hi to everyone and for some socialisation for Archie before your class begins :D Fiona Is obedience on this Sunday & seeing it is the first weekend of the month can I sign up? I'm not sure if my entries were too late for a show in Sydney, so it will depend on whether I was accepted or not. Are there more than one class/age group & time slot as I may like to bring along more than one hound? Cheers... Normally it would be on out the back but it is an agility trial this weekend on the obedience field - I think they will run Obedience in the front section though (where we were for show training) ..... All the classes run simultaneously - so they all start from 10am .... - unless you get them assessed individually then they will all be placed in beginners class (yellow) for the first month ... this is for everyone who's just enrolled but sometimes they separate into a couple of beginners classes if there are enough new people and they may do a puppy yellow class (small dogs) and a larger dog one ... Oooo I just read you're showing this weekend afterall - so if you hold off till April enrollments then Archie and Maja will be in the same class! lol We will be there this weekend although the OH is stewarding at the agility trial and I will have both boys under a gazebo being a spectator but i will probably wander over and bring them for a walk over the course of the morning....

If the weather is better next fortnight I think we'll come along - if only to say hi to everyone and for some socialisation for Archie before your class begins

Hey guys ... looks like Archie and I won't be hitting the ring I'm afraid - after speaking with his breeder we've decided not to show him - not that he isn't stunning and divine and everything I wanted in a pup but we just don't have the time for showing along with Agility and Obedience (for the big boy) and as they are our first love thats where we'll head with Archie as well .... So thanks for the help ..... we'll see you around I'm sure!

wow just wanted to say that's really brilliant my boys are from 2 different breeders but both would take them back in a heartbeat if we needed them to ..... when buying our first boy as a new dog owner it was such a comfort to know that this was an option if something happened (not that we'd ever consider it but it really felt good to know that he meant as much to us as he did to the person who bred him ) and then to have the same discussion with our puppy's breeder was like the icing on the cake... we know if something happened our boys would be loved and cared for ... :D

can't use the leather lead when doing agility (which is where Morty's photo is taken) the OH needs to be able to tie it around his waist thus the cloth leads .... the leather ones get their workout when we're out walking at the moment and we love LOVE LOVE them !

Woops need to play catch up Week 7/52 for Morty Week 8/52 for Morty Week 5/52 for Archie Week 6/52 for Archie

they do work just as well - just get the base of a cat litter tray, the lid of a larger plastic box or just a sheet of plastic (depending on the size of the dog) - add a layer of cat litter (paper version) or newspapers to absorb the liquid, top with a layer of fake grass (trip to Bunnings for that one) ..... we use this for our pups until they are old enough to hold for the day when we're at work ..... much cheaper than the indoor toilets you can buy there should be a few threads on indoor toilets in the puppy section of DOL if you want to search for them