wuffles

I really don't think that Joe Average will give two hoots about a registry's COE Joe Average wants a pup, he wants it now, and he doesn't want papers because he has no plans to breed or show. I think that a lot of people are interested, but it gets put in the too hard basket because as you say, they want a pup and they want it now. I was thinking that a website could be a good idea, not hosted by any of these registering bodies, just something in plain English. If, when Joe Average goes to google and types in 'puppies australia' and a site comes up with general information about this kind of stuff, would that help? It can't be something that is swayed in one direction, it cannot really promote purebred dogs, it would just have to give facts. How to get the site to show up high in search results is a different matter entirely! For example, a diet/care sheet is required in a few of these bodies. I am thinking that something along the lines of... "A breeder should provide you with information about what food your puppy is currently being given. It is important to give your puppy a nutritious diet to ensure that it grows properly. A sudden change in diet can cause an upset stomach, so this information is important when you bring your puppy home"... would get the message across better than telling them to go read a COE. Many of the puppy farmers do just that. They are still puppy farmers. It is a way of making them look good. Smoke and Mirrors and a scam Still smoke and mirrors if it is correct information? Including information about purebred vs pedigree? If these things draw people in then maybe someone else needs to do it besides the puppy farmers.

I really don't think that Joe Average will give two hoots about a registry's COE Joe Average wants a pup, he wants it now, and he doesn't want papers because he has no plans to breed or show. I think that a lot of people are interested, but it gets put in the too hard basket because as you say, they want a pup and they want it now. I was thinking that a website could be a good idea, not hosted by any of these registering bodies, just something in plain English. If, when Joe Average goes to google and types in 'puppies australia' and a site comes up with general information about this kind of stuff, would that help? It can't be something that is swayed in one direction, it cannot really promote purebred dogs, it would just have to give facts. How to get the site to show up high in search results is a different matter entirely! For example, a diet/care sheet is required in a few of these bodies. I am thinking that something along the lines of... "A breeder should provide you with information about what food your puppy is currently being given. It is important to give your puppy a nutritious diet to ensure that it grows properly. A sudden change in diet can cause an upset stomach, so this information is important when you bring your puppy home"... would get the message across better than telling them to go read a COE.

Geez if you're a novice trainer then what am I?! You underestimate yourself LP!! And if LP is a novice trainer, then you're the rung below that, what am I???? I am hoping to do our first CCD trial at our club at the end of March.. eeeek!

I use Interceptor Spectrum (which covers heartworm) as I don't need to treat for fleas.

Great, sounds like he has taught himself 'touch' This was one of the first things I taught my puppy, to touch my hand with her nose... they seem to love it, like pressing a button for treats. My girl didn't even arrive at my house until she was 12 weeks old, then I only did light training with her for a few weeks. At puppy preschool and beginner's obedience, the puppies were all over the place, concentration spans like gnats, just loving life being a puppy

I took her to the vet this morning because it was very flappy but I was too scared to pull the flap off So the flap has now gone and it's been bandaged for a few days. She's hanging out for a walk though!

Warning: Huuuuge post coming up ;) betsy: Awww, isn't Zig handsome. He has such fluffy ears :D Such a big young lad too, do you know how tall he is? When we met Lottie in Brisbane, she made Ava look like a midget. Ava is just over 50cm at the shoulder, in the middle of the breed standard, but she is quite finely built and I keep her lean so when she got wet she looked like a rat. ravenau: Oh I have been there and done that, it's so horrible :D I'm glad Astrid is feeling better. They seem to bounce back much faster than we do! KA: UGH doggy pants. I am even considering trimming Ava's pants :D She hates having them brushed, and they are SO long, they get knotty. I do love the pants deep down though :D ... We arrived back in Canberra yesterday afternoon, woop! Unfortunately yesterday morning, Ava managed to cut her paw on a piece of glass so now I have to play the fun game of 'keeping her quiet' There is a little flap of paw pad that I think needs to come off before it will heal, but it's too sore for me to just pull it off. Silly girl. She is dying to go for walkies and I really want to take her but can't :D Satchmo is just happy that his bed is back in its usual place and he can sleep. He IS feeling very itchy at the moment though and has licked some fur off his legs and chest. My poor doggies. Thought I'd do up a bit of a list of things to think about when travelling with the dogs as I know at least KTB might be planning a trip! Make sure your dogs are happy to be tethered out of sight of you at least for short periods. Unless all your accommodation allow dogs inside with you, and you do not plan on eating at any restaurants, they will need this skill Crating is good (we crated Ava in the hallway of our last stop) but it's not always practical due to time and space but they will still need to be out of sight of you at times. Bring more towels than you would ever imagine you could need! Ones for drying wet dogs, ones for wiping mud off dogs, ones for protecting the car, ones for wiping paws, ones for wiping mud off your legs, ones for drying yourself after falling in a puddle, etc Most fast food joints and restaurants DON'T have an outside area where you can sit with your pets. Our preferred way of managing this was to tether the dogs in the back of the wagon so they can't jump out, leave a little bowl of water with them and leave the boot open. If possible, we'd reverse the wagon into a carpark that was close to the eating area so we could easily keep an eye on them. We generally went into the restaurant one at a time as people WILL come and pat your dogs We left them in the closed car a few times for short periods only (10-15 minutes) when the weather was cool enough to do so. Bring first aid stuff and other handy items with you. A bandage, antiseptic (like Betadine), tweezers, antihistamines in case of insect bite, paper towels, torch for late night toilet stops in motels with no lighting :D Ava managed to cut herself twice on the trip, first on her face then her paw. Also bring carpet and floor cleaners JUST IN CASE. Obviously a certain little girl who hasn't had an accident since 14 weeks old had never been on laminate flooring before as she did a big wee in one of the cabins while I was watching her She was fine everywhere else, even spending 2 weeks in my parents' house with polished floorboards and having free reign at night time! Be prepared to talk to lots of random people and have your dogs patted by lots of random people. Ours were harrassed by a drunk guy, squealed at by scared children, cuddled roughly by friendly children and talked at by old ladies. Most of these people will not ask before they do so! We also received a lot of comments and answered lots of questions. We were told how well behaved they were three times. We were asked if they were good travellers about 50 times. We were asked about their breed lots of times (surely she's a border collie? surely?). One guy asked how old they were, where we got them, how we trained them, what breed they were, where we were travelling... you get the idea. A toilet command is a godsend when travelling. When you stop at servos there is usually a little grassy patch somewhere and it makes it a lot easier if they can just 'go'. Ava knows the toilet command but Satch doesn't, so OH spent lots of time wandering around with Satch trying to find trees and poles and other things he'd actually pee on. I could just go to the grass with Ava, tell her to go to the toilet, and it was all done Also handy when pouring with rain... Expect them to be a little stressed moving from new environment to new environment. A bit of pacing, panting and general uneasiness is normal. We found that having their own beds and toys helped. Have a strategy for managing barking or whining. There were lots of sounds and people at the places we stayed so ours did bark a bit at times. Thankfully they were good when inside, even with noisy people in rooms next door. They sometimes barked if they were tethered and people approached (but only at our accommodation, we never had a problem at restaurants or such). Just something to think about. Oh, just thought of another one... if it matters to you, ask lots of questions when it comes to accommodation and how dog friendly it is. Some will say fenced yard, but the fence might only be 1m high, or it might have gaps. Many don't have fenced yards. They may be allowed outside only. They may not allow certain breeds (we did get asked by most places, how big are they? but I emphasised that Satch is very placid and laidback, and Ava can be crated if need be). Baby gates are useful, we wished we had one a few times. Overall ours were so well behaved, I was very impressed with them. We barely heard a peep from them in the car and they adapted well to each situation they were thrown into :D It was an inconvenience at times, but they loved all the new sights, sounds and smells, and we didn't have to kennel them!!

I've done a quick search but can't find any of the regulations One of the places we stayed at had a section in their compendium that said no pets allowed in rooms due to health regulations, yet they advertise as pet friendly and were happy to let us have our two in the room (she even said "if they want to use the spare bed go ahead, just put a blanket or something over it" ). She did say it was their "doggie" room so I assume they just use that particular room for guests with pets. All the pet friendly places we've stayed at have been clean and none of them smell. I don't mind them saying "we don't allow dogs" but I do get a bit annoyed with this health regulation stuff ;)

My little one cut her paw pad this morning, we think it was on some glass as we were staying at a B&B last night. It bled at first but stopped quite quickly. I've cleaned it in some warm salty water and applied some antiseptic. She isn't limping but doesn't look like she wants to put pressure on it either. I tried putting a sock on but it was removed rather quickly She's happily snoozing and wandering around the house, doesn't seem to be too bothered. Is this the right way to go about it? Do you think it needs vet attention? I'm hoping the little flap will dry and fall off... I'll try keep her off it as much as possible, but she's a one year old Aussie so that's going to be easier said than done!

Good question, I'd be interested in the answer too. We recently returned from a holiday with our dogs. We found some places that were happy to have dogs anywhere, some just don't let them on furniture/beds, some say they need to be outside or confined to a certain room of the house and quite a few told me dogs weren't allowed inside due to health regulations.

Thanks! It was one of my 'outtake' photos but I love it

I found that one of my dogs was really sensitive to the signal I was giving. When signalling 'drop' my hand was actually on a bit of an angle and he was dropping with his nose facing my hand. Once I straightened up my signal his drops straightened up as well. The barrier method worked on him as well but when I removed the barrier he wasn't 'getting it' that he still needed to drop straight!

Pardon?

Week 1 of Ava week01 by wufflesx, on Flickr

Oh don't feel sorry for Satchy He loves his outings and walkies and he always gets lots of pats from everyone. My two are fine meeting new dogs in any situation really. I can generally just let them go for it with any new pack of dogs with no issues. Sometimes they gang up or meet a dog that doesn't like them but that's not too common. Satch came to us well socialised so I can't claim any of that. But Ava has been around other dogs a lot since we got her as a puppy... as well as puppy school and obedience training she's been to numerous dog parks, run around with our neighbourhood dogs, had playdates with different sized dogs... she's naturally submissive but is happy to play rough games. She's been told off by other dogs numerous times, she has met unfriendly dogs, she has met crazy hyperactive dogs and old grumpy dogs... she's a good little girl. Ava's coat doesn't actually seem to collect debris at all Unless she walks through cobblers pegs or something. I'm guessing Ziggy's coat would be thicker than hers though seeing as he's a strapping young lad... Anyway, tomorrow is our last day in Brisbane before trekking home. We've booked accommodation at two places on the way back, both of which had no problem with dogs, but I don't know if they'll be allowed inside. The first is a motel and the second a hotel/pub/B&B. Satchmo has been over the top with his barking while we've been away so I hope he settles down when we get back :D He just barks at everything... not for no reason, just people walking down the street, the neighbours, the neighbours mowing, etc. I don't know how to stop him

You should see how much mine are shedding here in Brissy because it's soooooo hot. Ava's undercoat is coming out in huge clumps (and interestingly, her undercoat is white, even when her topcoat is black) :D Thankfully Satch lost most of his back home but if you pat him you still end up with a handful of fur!

HAHA some of those are classic. It's obvious that most of them were taken at the start of the play session though because they weren't that clean when we finished

Our club has obedience classes on two different days. I take one of my dogs on Thursdays and the other on Sundays.

Smart Hoover lying on the cool tiles Niques hurry up, I want to see the photos, I wasn't game to get my camera out amongst all the mud

Keep an eye on the classifieds online and in the paper. We picked our XL one up for $200!

I don't think I'll be coming, it is just a bit too far to go! Puppies had a playdate this morning and are passed out on the verandah. Have fun guys!

James had a bit of unrequited love goin' on with Satch They did have a good play though and lay in the mud together. I decided that my two were definitely way too muddy, so I took them to Nudgee Beach to try and wash it off They had a great time swimming after sticks with a bunch of other dogs and Ava went for her first real swim! Usually she goes in up to her belly then stops, but the stick was just too tempting and she was paddling around like a pro. Satch would have to go out about 20m to get a real swim but he did pretty well. And now they are definitely much cleaner looking than before. Still grots, but at least they look like wet dogs now instead of Creatures from the Swamp. I am glad we weren't home for the big thunderstorm! Poor Satchy. He was a bit stressed at the fireworks the other night but survived. We haven't noticed a big difference with the Thundershirt but we will keep trying, we haven't had any storms since we've been up here (touch wood)!

Bit of a random question and nothing too important but I was wondering what noise everyone makes to interrupt/correct an unwanted behaviour, for example, uh uh, no, buhh, a clap, or something else. I use "uh uh" in general, but have noticed that both my dogs respond differently to different words/sounds and maybe I should try something different. Do you think that they get used to noises and don't pay as much attention to them anymore? My older boy used to be easily interrupted by any noise really but these days he needs something loud like a clap. The other day I was watching Cesar (which I don't usually do) but I noticed my younger dog was paying lots of attention to the noise he makes, kind of like "tschh". I tried making the noise on her morning walk with a small leash correction when she pulled and she was instantly falling back into heel position and giving me her attention. I wonder whether it's just because it's a noise she's not heard before?

We have a Pig in Mud door but it doesn't fit our door We have a lock that sticks out into the frame so the PIM doesn't sit flush up against it.

Satchmo is a really interesting dog to watch because he is a good mediator and also a calm leader. He's extremely protective of Ava (even though he's the one being tough on her most of the time). Sometimes he'll intervene and engage the other dog in play but like your story, sometimes he will engage Ava in play instead. Another thing about him is that other dogs follow him everywhere, even ones we don't know. In a dog park, if he wanders somewhere, he always has a bunch of other dogs (mainly males) following him. In our usual morning walk 'pack', two other large males in particular follow him wherever he goes, even if it is over the hill and far away from their owners He does have good social skills, but I wouldn't say he's brilliant -- he still takes part in 'ganging up' behaviour sometimes and doesn't always get the 'stop chasing me' signals.