wuffles

Couldn't see the pics until I was home from work! Wow, I can't believe he's 9kg already! Ava was 8kg at 12 weeks. Did you get to see how big mummy and daddy are? He looks like a calm and confident little chap (then again, Ava slept the whole day once she got to our place, so the first day probably isn't a great indication)

I've noticed more people lurking in here than have posted, too I like following the progress of Ava's breeder's dogs too KA... There are pics of her brother (Dragon) and her mum (Vivi) in this post. Ava looks like her mum rather than her handsome boofer brother! Apart from her colouring I think she's a wonderful specimen! One of her other brothers is doing obedience so I think it might turn into a bit of a competition at some point... ha

It's 12:15, where are our pictures? :confused:

Yes she is perfectly fine! Aussies (and other breeds like collies) can carry a gene that makes them sensitive to certain drugs like Ivermectin so we are just getting her tested for that. Dogs with the mutation can be affected by the pre-anaesthetic drugs they use for desexing. The most she'll be is a carrier but carriers can also be sensitive to the drugs so we just want to be safe. She loooooooooves the vet. She tried to eat the swab. KTB: Why don't you try the "cross your paws" trick? I know haylz27 has a video of one of her dogs doing it on Youtube, it's soooo cute.

Mine don't get blankets for that reason! They have a kennel and a trampoline bed so that will have to do. I put their toys and Kongs in the pergola when I left for work but they dragged them straight into the muddy yard and rain to eat, so stuff 'em! Ava's "backup" behaviour to offer is walking backwards. I can't do that trick too much with her because she'll do it of her own accord when she's bored - for example in the middle of class when the instructor is talking, she'll just keep walking backwards Ava isn't booked in for desexing yet, but she will be soon. We are just waiting on some test results before she gets done. She will be done before she is 12 months old though

Some dogs just like digging. Instead of trying to stop the behaviour entirely, I would give her a place in the yard that she is allowed to dig. That may be just a square or corner of dirt, or you may provide her with a clam shell or sandpit that she is allowed to dig in. Encourage her to dig in this area, even put a command to it. Bury things in this area that she can dig up. You can try putting poo in the holes in the non-digging area to discourage her. If you catch her digging in a non-digging area, interrupt the behaviour then take her to her allowed digging spot. I have a digger too, but I just let him dig these days, we gave up on a nice yard a long time ago

Well we just got soaked on our morning walk Now Ava is cleaning herself like a cat. I'm going to feel so guilty going to work and putting them outside, the rain came down so hard that our gutters have overflowed (must remember to clear out leaves next weekend, whoops) so the pergola is all wet and flooded. They will hopefully be able to find a little bit of dryness to lie in (although they'll probably just stand out in the rain anyway).

Not sure if you saw the thread but my little girl was reverse sneezing a lot for about a week. Thankfully the issue resolved itself, but the vet thinks she had something like a blade of grass stuck up her nose. If it continued, we were going to get her put under so they could go get it out, so that it didn't get infected or cause any more issues.

Sneaking in some pictures before we are bombarded with ones of the new vacuum cleaner. This is what I came home to this afternoon. Somehow I don't think Ava's been the naughty one (The holes aren't new by the way, but someone had obviously been doing some nose based excavating today )

Awww, thanks KTB. I do have an awfully wonderful little dog though so that has definitely helped. I think Elbie would be fine off leash. Working breeds generally are. Sure, don't walk him near cars, but I wouldn't do that anyway! Ava loves to chase birdies and also loves other people and dogs. I have found that generally a "leave it" or "UH UH" will break her focus on the distraction and get her back to me. I am just always watching carefully to make sure no really big distractions come along (eg. if someone is jogging towards us). If they do, as soon as I catch a glimpse of them I call Ava to me, reward big, and pop her back on leash until it's passed. We've had maybe two or three times when I haven't been paying enough attention and Ava has taken herself off to see another dog or person, in which case I apologise profusely and learn from the experience She is getting a lot better the older she gets. The past few weeks she has been passing walking people off leash with only a quick hello then back to me Satch doesn't get let off leash, except in the local reserve on occasion when he's behaving (not like today when he decided dancing around me playing the "you can't catch me game" was fun ). He is not like Elbie and Ava. He doesn't even come to you when you try to call him over in the house to get pats. I hear you! Ava still jumps up on people in excitement and it drives me crazy. She doesn't try it on OH or me because she knows she won't get rewarded for it, but strangers and other people still pat her when she does it, so she's not going to stop, is she??? Grrr. Although I will admit that sometimes little dogs jump up on me at the dog park and I don't even realise they're jumping up, seeing as our boofers are 20kg and 36kg

Haha yep, if we make it up with the puppers we will definitely organise something! Even if we end up leaving the dogs here we should catch up, I don't think we did last year... Satch is a water baby as well, he is always trying to drag us into puddles, lakes, creeks, ponds You have to be careful because he'll be walking nicely on leash then all of a sudden do a giant lunge towards the water! Ava started puppy preschool at 14 weeks, then we started obedience at about 19 weeks. I was training her from the time she came home at 12 weeks, to sit, down, wait for food, stay, loose leash walking and basic tricks. I also socialised her with known, vaccinated dogs really early (before she was fully vaccinated) and was doing things like taking her to the shops and just sitting and watching people. OH took Ava for a run this morning! He had her off leash most of the way (just on lead through the streets) and he said she was brilliant. Didn't tire her out though, I threw a toy for her a few times in the backyard afterwards and she was still running and leaping enthusiastically!

What a clever puppy! Looks like you are going to have a lot of fun with him.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KUMAAKITA!!!! :p

I just saw a Kong Wobbler in Petbarn Belconnen. Not sure how much it cost though!

One of mine has no interest in the TV unless it's a cat miaowing, then he has to go check the front door, back door, windows to see where the pesky thing is. Ava watches all kinds of things on TV. She likes dogs and other animals but will also sit and watch sport (cricket, soccer, diving yesterday), action movies and ads she deems interesting. She actually tracks people and items across the screen with her eyes, it's amazing :D

Want to borrow Ava? She'll change that. 6am is a sleep in to her.

Ahhh cool, we are in Ngunnawal. Close but not close enough to meet up of a morning! Lots of dog walkers out and about early around our house. I get home from our walk around just after 7am and manage to get to work just after 8 most mornings, it is a bit of a rush :D

Ahhh, we go 6am now, that half an hour makes a lot of difference! Do you live near us?

I grew up in Brisbane and my parents are still there. They just sent me a pic of their flooded backyard I can only imagine what fun my puppers would have in a flooded backyard.... we are going up there for Xmas and probably taking the dogs, I know we are crazy, 15 hours in a car with two dogs. For those few horrible weeks in Canberra we have been known to go for our walks at 5:30am

:laugh: It's very rare that something on this forum makes me laugh out loud, but that sure did. I've had to remove dangly poos from Satch as well Thought I'd also add something funny from today which KTB will remember. We were talking to a lady after obedience classes today when she said, "Did someone pee on your head?" while looking at me. She was actually speaking about Ava who had just had a head chomping session with the other dogs, but KTB thought it was pretty funny

Yes, Ava only runs on two speeds. She's either crazy or passed out. She really only sleeps after dinner, and when she does, she's dead to the world. You can touch her, talk to her, and she just keeps on dreaming. Meanwhile you so much as breathe close to Satch when he's asleep and he wakes up. We kept it, he only got the lid, plus we are so used to finding dog hair in our food that we aren't squeamish about any dog grossness anymore Same as dog poo like you mentioned with the poo bag today. Having two dogs means is an awful lot to pick up! Also, having a dog with longish fur means you sometimes have to deal with clingers... Sorry, TMI, but it's reality

Does he still sit and wriggle with you and your OH? Will he keep his paws still if you put him in a stand-stay and walk past and around him? It "clicked" for Ava when we tried doing this at home rather than just doing it with strangers.

Here are some pictures to keep the photo thread going Sleepy girl Not so sleepy boy And this... a certain large, black dog decided he was going to wander past the table and do a sneaky lick of the sour cream that was sitting there One of the reasons I'm taking him back to obedience classes

Something that may help you... my two don't get flea treatment and I've never seen a flea on either of them even though they interact with other dogs all the time. Our vet said not to bother because flea infestations are rare in Canberra and even if they get one or two you can give them a Capstar tablet. The only time mine get a flea/tick treatment is if we're planning a trip to the coast. Or if you really want, you can give Sentinel Spectrum which covers all worming plus flea birth control, it ends up lots cheaper in the long run! Saves us a lot of money... We found the weaving between dogs exercise very hard Fine if I had food in my hands. I don't think Ava or Harvey the samoyed walked past each other once the whole session without lunging at each other - they are in lurve As for our day today, the two newbies in the trialling class (us and Clyde the beagle) got a bit of a shock having to do things off leash For the recalls we had to remove the leads, then heel forward a short way before halting. Ava heeled for one step then kind of wandered about 2m to the side as we continued... but she was a good girl, didn't run away, was just distracted by nice smelling grass. Her recalls apart from the heeling at the start were great. She moved one foot a tiny bit in the stand for exam but I'm happy with that! We already got some great advice about body language and some heeling exercises to try

Awww, cute videos Clastic. Does anyone else's dog suckle in their sleep? :D Ava sticks her little tongue out and makes sucking noises. It's cute and creepy at the same time The motor heads are awesome! Satch is shedding like a maniac at the moment, leaving big clumps of fur wherever he decides to lie (usually in the middle of our lounge room carpet). She sure can Aussies tend to be pretty rough players... she terrorises poor Satchy in our yard. He can definitely give it back but is often too lazy to do so...