~Aimee~

I just cleaned out my inbox :D Can you put aside a dog bottle buddy for me then, if you don't have any cows?

Gorgeous photos Carla! I adore the one of Chloe. So pretty! Lexie looks like a little vampire, hehe!

Yep Michelle, those Hedgehogs are exactly what I want. I think they come in girl versions (like the one you posted) and boy versions. How soon can you get the hedgehogs, bottle buddies and squeaky squigglers? I want to get some for Ruby for Christmas. I've found another stockist in Aus that sells them and has some in stock now so if you can't get them in for awhile, I might need to order through them.

I love Kyjen dog toys! I really want these ones; A squeaky squiggler http://www.kyjen.com/shop/index.php/dog-to...squigglers.html A bottle buddy http://www.kyjen.com/shop/index.php/dog-to...le-buddies.html Hedgehog http://www.kyjen.com/shop/index.php/dog-toys/hedgehogs.html And these look cool too... Huck 'em fetch toys. http://www.kyjen.com/shop/index.php/dog-to...fetch-toys.html Good for the water! Wagsalot, can you get these in? Or does anyone know of any stockists in Australia that sell them?

These photos were taken at our dog school's Christmas party. My neighbour took them as part of the end of year photo shoot I think they turned out really cute! Ruby wore her xmas dress and red ribbons in her hair. Ruby practicing sit/down - stays. Sausage eating race! Ruby jumping over the baby jumps. We jump much higher jumps in agility class. These jumps are for baby puppies. We were doing a timed game where we had to complete as many obstacles as possible in a set time. I chose the easiest jumps so they'd be quicker!

This is another christmas sig of Ruby. I'm going to swap between the two from now until christmas. Pity, we can't have two signatures at once! Sorry to Hijack your thread tobiecav, but I love showing off my gorgeous girl!

Thanks Gretel I have posted a whole bunch of Christmas photos in the photo thread if you want to see some more

Hi Tobie's family, Congratulations on your new puppy! I bet you're all counting down the weeks until he comes home I have a 17 month old cavalier Ruby and she is our first dog also, besides from the dogs we had growing up as kids. We didn't crate train, instead Ruby slept in a puppy pen in our ensuite when she first came home. Our ensuite is all open and looks directly onto our bed so Ruby could see us. We originally planned her sleeping in the laundry but as our laundry is on the other side of the house, I didn't think we'd be able to hear her when she cried. Plus I didn't want her to get lonely all by herself. Once she was toilet trained, she slept on our bed and has ever since! When your puppy first comes home, he'll probably be scared and lonely away from his mum and brothers and sisters. A good idea is to take a stuffed toy with you to the breeder's house when you go and pick him up and rub it on the other puppies and mum to get their scent. So when you bring Tobie home, he'll have the toy to snuggle up with and feel comforted by the familiar smell of his litter mates. Even better would be to take the toy to the breeder's house a few days before you pick him up and leave it there for a couple of days so all the puppies can snuggle up to it and play with it so the scent on the toy is stronger. For the first few nights when you bring Tobie home, he'll most likely cry and cry when you put him to bed. The best thing to do is ignore his cries until he falls asleep. He'll soon learn quickly what bed time means. When you take him out to the toilet during the night, don't talk to him or interact with him. Just take him out, let him do his business and then put him straight back to bed. If you talk and interact with him during toilet breaks he'll most likely want to play and it will be harder for him to go back to sleep. The first few nights are hard!! As all you want to do is go and pick him up when he cries. But be strong and it will be worth it!! Cavs are really easy to train! My cav Ruby goes to obedience and agility and is going really well. They are very food orientated so train well with lots of treats! Ruby can sit, stay, roll over, shake hands, has fantastic recall and comes straight back when called, waits for her dinner until I say she can have it, can jump over hurdles, through hoops & tunnels, go over A-frames etc. I also agree, make sure what you allow Tobie to do as a puppy, you'll let him do as an adult dog too. If you don't want him to sit at your feet during dinner or jump on the couch etc then don't let him as a puppy. It's harder to unteach an older dog not to do something than it is to teach a puppy not to do it from the start. I would also recommend taking your puppy to puppy preschool as soon as you can. We took Ruby to puppy preschool at the Vet from 8 weeks old. The classes ran once a week for 4 weeks and allowed your dog to socialise and play with other dogs. This is really important as it allows the puppies to learn the skills needed to become happy, social and well adjusted dogs as adults. We then started taking Ruby to obedience training with a private dog school from 16 weeks old. She now does obedience and agility classes and loves going! ;) I hope that helps a little bit! If you have any more questions about anything, feel free to ask! I remember what it was like bringing home our first puppy. Exciting but nerve-wacking at the same time!

No, I don't take Ruby to show training but we do go to obedience classes & agility with Benotto. Do you go to the South West dog club? Where abouts do you live? What breed dogs do you have?

Hi everyone, I'm from Bunbury and I have a gorgeous 17 month old cavalier called Ruby. Is anyone else from Bunbury or are you all from Perth?

Thanks so much! I think she is just beautiful also!! Jules, Ruby has been going really well. She is almost 17 months now and is such a smiley, happy girl. She is also really laidback and quite placid. She has a really gorgeous nature :D She has been doing agility and some more obedience classes this term and has done really well. She has been doing the agility course offlead and is so good at staying focused and stays with me the whole time. She also won the small dogs high jump competition at class tonight! She is loving it now that the weather is getting warmer and she can go to the beach now more often. The beach is her favourite place!! She loves running around on the sand chasing her ball. How are your two going?

Here's some more recent photos of my gorgeous girl Ruby. She's now almost 17 months old.

Thank you so much for your lovely comments. It is going to be hard to choose just one photo. I might need to do a photo collage of a few. Yep, I am planning on turning the photos into Christmas cards and as they turned out so well I'm also thinking of making a photo collage of a couple of pics and framing it for the wall. Ruby has such an easy going happy nature that she was more than happy to sit and pose for photos. Her gorgeous smile makes me smile everytime I look at them. She is gorgeous isn't she! Shell, I've emailed you the full size versions. I think I finally worked out how to do it!

Oh that would be great! I can email you the original photos, if you give me your email address

Nope I don't have lightroom but anyone that does, feel free to play around with my photos for me!

Trying to eat the Christmas star! Lol

Here's my first attempt at photos for this year's christmas cards. I think they turned out soooooooo cute!!

I have a 16 month old cavalier called Ruby and over the last couple of months I have noticed she is getting quite a bit what I would call soft, fluffy, dead fur. It's mostly on the top of her back legs near her back and she has started to get some around her sides and the top of her neck. The rest of her coat is still all glossy & shiny. The fluffy fur is very pale and pulls out very easily when I pull on it. Some people have suggested I use a coat king but I've just been reading about them online and have read that it actually cuts the fur. I thought this was a bad thing as cutting can change the texture of the coat? How does your dog's coat grow back after using the coat king? Is it wavy & curly? Does anyone have any experience with the furminator? I've heard it's similiar to the coat king but doesn't cut the fur. Is there anything else I can use to help remove all this dead fur so I can get her coat back to looking nice and glossy ans straight again?

Thanks for your replies! I am leaning towards a Canon 450D. what does everyone think of these? Also what lenses would you recommend to go with it? Would a twin lens kit be ok or would i need something different? Can anyone explain to me the difference between the lenses? I haven't been into a camera shop yet but i will go in either today or tomorrow. tlc, thanks for the comments on my signature. I love it too! A friend made it for me as i have no idea how to make signatures!

I've done a search but I can only find old threads and the info isn't up to date. Can anyone help me choose a digital SLR camera for a beginner. I've got a budget of about $1000. Some people have suggested either the Canon 450D or the Nikon D40. Are these cameras good? Which is better? I am getting confused as there seems to be so mny different types of each camera e.g. Canon 450D, 500D, 1000D and Nikon D40, D40x, D60, D80. Help! What's the difference? I want something that will be easy to use!

I am trying to order off your website. I'd like to buy a junior hide a squirrel but when I try to register a new account, it comes up with incorrect or missing confirmation code? I am filling in all the required boxes so not sure why it is coming up with this message? Can you help?

How much do you charge for postage?

Great! Could you please hold a junior hide a squirrel and a platypus egg baby for me? Also could you add me to the list for a turtle egg baby when they arrive in April? Will you be getting any junior hide a bees?

I would like to order a junior hide a squirrel and a platypus egg baby. Are you able to put one of each aside for me when you get some in stock?