wuffles

FD26, I know how you feel, Ava is such a ball of energy and she too hates her crate I have a DVD called Crate Games that you might like to look into. It's generally for people into dog sports, but it has some great basic crate training games. Once I find the time to do more of the exercises I think things will get better. For those of you having trouble finding food your pup will work for, have you tried BBQ chicken? I've never known a dog to refuse it Our older dog is still quite unimpressed about the crazy puppy jumping on his face when he's trying to rest. He's telling her off but only half-heartedly so she backs off for a few seconds then goes back at him. Feeling very guilty because he is unhappy I'm sure once she learns to play a bit nicer he will like her more and start to enjoy her company. I wish that would come sooner though...

Wanna swap? Ours is go, go, go all the time. Our older dog is 5 and such a placid boy, this puppy sure has been a learning curve for both us and him!

This page has good maps of dog off leash areas. There are quite a few reserve-type areas on the outskirts of suburbs that are away from roads. I have actually found Canberra to be quite dog-friendly, lots of on-leash walks around lakes and such which dogs tend to love.

Damn straight he isn't He loves other dogs, and we've had other dogs stay here with no issues. But I think a wriggly, squirmy, licky puppy with no sense of personal space is pushing the boundaries

Here are some of my pics! How she spent the first hour at our place With big brother Satchmo (who is not happy about her being here!)

Hi guys, Ava came home today! She is really tired as she had a long drive down here with her breeder, so she's claimed our current dog's cool spot in the yard and is having a long sleep She is a bit frightened of Satchmo at the moment, but I'm sure she'll get over that quickly -- he is 37kg so it's understandable! He has been really good though, just having a few sniffs and backing off when he realises she's not comfortable. I'll post picture after she wakes up and I can get some

I'll be training Ava to go in one area of the yard Just use positive reinforcement and combine with teaching a "word" for toileting on command. Our current dog only does his business in one corner and it sure makes things a lot easier.

Just wanted to say that we have plenty of soft bedding for our dog, but he lies on the concrete anyway!! He has slight callouses on his elbows, not too bad, but I put pawpaw ointment on them if they start to look inflamed.

Didles, is it just the no shade issue that makes your yard unsuitable? If so, why don't you get a nice big kennel? Our girl arrives on Monday, woohoo! We are actually going to UFC on the weekend in Sydney then the day we drive home she is getting dropped at our house.

We had a lovely staffy girl in our first obedience class, she talked constantly through the whole hour of class, she was a sweetheart

I use my dog's name heaps just because he has focus issues so it's the best way to get his attention. Yep, have worked on his focus but it's not getting better anytime soon, he is always quite stimulated by the environment. If I didn't have to, I wouldn't say it so much

They will be fine, dogs are extremely adaptable We have a big dog, but he is outside when we're not home. He enjoys it out there, likes to keep an eye (ear) on what's going on in the neighbourhood, splash in his pool and do generally doggy things. He sleeps about 90% of the time during the day anyway. He gets put outside when we leave whether it's raining (he does have shelter) or hot (as it's generally even hotter inside). We've never had an issue.

No worries! Growing up, our dog had an occasional green ant bite but it never bothered him too much... not sure what I'd do if my dog was constantly getting bitten though

Nup, being a Queenslander I definitely know about blue bottles too and they are not ants! These are the "green ants": http://www.ourbrisbane.com/lifestyle/gardening/green-ants

Are they the ants with green bums? I grew up in Brisbane and we called them "green ants", they were everywhere, and yes their bite hurts! We used to use Stingose, not sure if it can be used on dogs?

My boy did this at dog training once. I approached the instructor saying we were having a bit of trouble with the recall, he seemed to enjoy doing the "fly-by"! She asked me to demonstrate, and of course he did the best recall ever, so enthusiastic and sat right on my feet. I don't know if he's done it that well since

Keyarna, you must be so excited!!! Take lots of pics! Also wanted to add for those that are getting their first dog... from both my own experiences and people I have talked to, nearly EVERYONE at some point has an "OH MY GOD WHAT HAVE I DONE I SHOULDN'T HAVE GOT THIS DOG!" moment. Whether it's because they're weeing on your carpet, or barking at the door, or crying all night, or generally being a little terror... the feeling is completely normal and tends to pass pretty quickly

Would be nice if the list could be put in the first post, and maybe also in order so we can see who is next on the list :D Bluefairy ~ French Bulldog ~ Hopefully in 5 months or less. Mich & Jake - Shetland Sheepdog (tri-colour) - due second half 2010 belgian.blue - Grey Tervueren Belgian Shepherd .. winter 2O1O JaxD - Jack Russell - 1 week and 6 days to go! Gumnut - Labrador - Mid May. ThatTyeGuy - Amstaff - 26th of feb oakeydoak - Border Collie - Next week! (15th Feb) KritalJay - Staffy - 5th March Keyarna - German Shorthaired Pointer - Tomorrow! 9th Feb wuffles - Australian Shepherd - 22 Feb

I have a crate on order from the same place I ordered last night and have an email from them saying it was posted today. Our current crate (used originally for our current boy) is an XXL so waaayyy too big for an Aussie puppy! I got a doona out last night to use in the crate, and as I was putting a cover on it, Satchmo came and plonked himself down on it like, "thanks for the new bed, mum!" Our wonderful, lovely breeder has been sending us heaps of pics of our little girl as we're not getting her until she's 12 weeks old (she's 9 weeks at the moment). I am so keen to get her home

Our dog has a similar reaction to thunder, panting, pacing and trying to be close to us.... but only when he knows we're there. If he's outside and knows we're inside, he'll scratch at the door to come in. But, if he's outside alone and we're not home, we're pretty sure he just huddles in his kennel and waits for the storm to be over. We've tested the theory a few times by pretending to leave and peeking out from behind the curtains and each time he's gone into his kennel and emerged well after the thunder is over. I wonder if Micha would be similar?

My dog seems to have taken some small chunks out of two of his paw pads, the front ones near his dew claws. They have little "flaps" of pad. No bleeding, they don't seem deep, but he won't stop licking them. Is there anything I should be doing to keep them clean and help them heal? No idea how he did it, but the whole pads feel rougher than usual. I tried Lucas Pawpaw Ointment which was licked off in about 5 seconds :D

Hi guys, count me in, our Australian Shepherd puppy arrives on February 22!

Quickest way of clearing up a hotspot in our experience - an Elizabethan collar. Sure, they may look at you like you are the WORST owner EVER, but they adapt. Even one lick of the hotspot seems to set it back a long way... We use a "bitter lime" spray on areas our dog chews when he's in the mood.

We have one at our local dog park, he is a friendly and energetic little fellow. I've never seen him have an issue with any of the other dogs