RubyStar

Great pics CC! Where is that place (besides Chidlow ) as I'd really love to take my 2 for a nice long offlead walk sometime. Before it gets too warm and the snakes come out of their hidey-holes! And yay for half way through my pics from last week! Hanging out to see them so bad :D

You'd be impressed if you watched some Labs doing retrieving, especially the working lines. Fit, agile, runs full pelt like the Lab in that video. I enjoyed watching the speed and enthusiasm that the Lab in the video had, but didn't enjoy the bitework (though as sandgrubber mentioned, looks like a big game to the Lab as his tail never stops wagging!) And his change of positions obedience work, rather messy with creeping forward so much!

You could fit a pony in Mason's current one

I'm a good girl crate wise :D I only have 1 wire crate that Ruby used as a pup to sleep in, which now sits in the garage collecting cobwebs! And 2 soft crates, for 2 dogs. Oh, and I also have permanent "crates" installed into the back of my car But I do want to change my car at some point to a car with a bigger boot so I can have room for 3 Labs in the future. My girls were laid down in the back of the car today at the agility trial and although they can easily lay down, they can't stretch out a lot. I haven't installed the cargo barrier netting yet, so Millie is still jumping my back seats. I knew she had today, because I came back to my car and found her in the other side with Ruby She had obviously jumped over and then when jumping back, misjudged and landed in Ruby's side She was fine and dandy, just laying down while Ruby was sitting up looking a little bewildered! Speaking of agility, my girls did good today! Ruby got her 3rd JDX pass and 3rd place, and Millie was so very close to getting her 2nd JDX pass when she knocked a bar towards the end. Most likely due to a dodgy front cross, which I'm not entirely sure I had planned on doing when I walked the course

Well done smisch!!!! And well done Nicole! Wow look at Lomani go!!! :D I love to see the speedy little ones!! Very impressive Small brag for me. Ruby got her 3rd JDX pass today and 3rd place Millie knocked one bar in her JDX run but other than that she did a very lovely round!! I am most happy because both girls were happy and enthusiastic and running their little hearts out. I had Ruby in JDO and even though we bombed, she was really flying! It doesn't happen often with her, but sometimes she just runs like the wind if there aren't a lot of stops and starts I'm bummed that my videos from today's agility trial seem to have been wiped from my card Grrr!!

Loving all the puppy pics!! Mas, wanna steal both yellows and give one to me?

Yep Nick

Thanks RS! RS, I'd be interested as well; I'm suffering from the same problem (worse than Wuffle and Ava) My independent little so-and-so will actually take herself off when she gets bored, or just stop and wait for me to return! I can email you too but it sounds like a different problem so the advice I've been given is probably not going to work for you the same way. I have to jump off the computer shortly but when I get a minute I'll type some stuff up for the both of you

Congrats everyone for all your new pups coming home Ruby says "no more pups, please mum!" She tolerates Pippa as much as she can, but Pippa just doesn't get the message and Ruby gets cranky! Just earlier, Pippa was jumping all over poor Ruby who was laying down and jumping at her face, Ruby just lay there. After a minute, she got up to get away from puppy and lay down in the corner of the room. Pippa bounds over to her so Ruby grumbles at her. Pippa jumps at her face again and Ruby lets out this disgusted roar and jumps up. Pippa just doesn't care and doesn't get the message! Poor Ruby. Millie tolerates Pippa quite well, I think she's a bit scared of puppy actually She warning barks at her on occasion, but more often lets Pippa hang off her tail, or steal her toy (and for Millie to let another take her toy, that is huge!) Even though Ruby is getting frustrated with puppy annoyingness, she has started playing with her, bouncing around and even playing tug with her!

Oh poor Janice RIP Tara What a horrible week for dogs

By the time the ET is on again we will have reverted back to being lazy But we could at least get a few months training in before summer hits and we do as RosieFT says "it's too hot!" But I find it easier to exercise in summer than in winter. I joined the gym a few years ago when they had a half price special on NYE (something like $325 for the year, full access including classes). Went with a girl from work until around April when our times a week slowed right down, then by winter it was too cold to go In summer, you can exercise around 7.30 and its not as hot and is still light. Just wish we had daylight savings, I used to like walking at 8pm!!

It'll be warming up in the next month or so, and staying lighter later. I say we start Septemberish

I stopped training for it when Ruby hurt her elbow. Never got back into it. She doesn't like running on the road, the poor princess. She has more stamina than Millie though, surprisingly.

wuffles, I'll add an update to the PM convo we had a couple of months back when I get some time. I went and saw guru with the exact same issue you describe. I'll let you know what she told me to try

Nope, last year you said you weren't interested :p And you're the one who quit the C25K, I didn't even start it Come on, lets dooo eeeettt! Hmmm but what night in my training schedule can I forfeit? edit: don't need a bike just yet. We can get our fitnesses up (including the dogs) on foot. I have an old Kmart bike. If you aren't after a good one, they are pretty cheap to come by. Bought my bike years ago when my sister and I decided we'd start riding together. Mine has been used, but I think my sister's still has the tags on it Same as when we bought tennis rackets and balls to go learn tennis. Racket has never come out of the bag

I'm worried about that for my 2 as well If you want an ET training buddy, I'm in, I need the motivation to get out there and do it. What I want to do is sort of combine the C25K thing for myself and do it with the dogs to build them up slowly for endurance. I took them out on the bike a bit earlier in the year when I was thinking about doing the ET and the 3 of us are so unfit! We did about 2-3km's at about 6-7 km/hr and that is all they could handle without lagging too much

If you're choosing the dog for agility, I agree. But if you're choosing agility as something fun to do with your breed of choice, nothing wrong with doing agility with a Lab (as long as they are kept lean! I'd be more inclined to do agility with a female Lab over a male due to their lighter frame). And just like many breeds, Labs do have an off switch. My two sleep all day and all night and are only active when I take them out to training. Lazy owner makes for lazy dogs The more you exercise a dog, the more they want!

Large breeds at 12 months are more "puppy" like than small breeds at 12 months as they take longer to mature, so the breed does usually make a difference.

Millie digs in the garden, she thinks its her own personal sand pit! Even when I got them a clam shell pool and filled it with sand, they wouldn't use it! Once I put pebbles in the garden I don't think the digging will continue. I laid chicken wire over a sandy patch of grass they wouldn't leave alone, but haven't touched it since. They don't dig at mum and dad's but their backyard is full of plants for them to walk through and explore. My yard is barren and booooooring. If your friend went a Lab, I'd go for an older one. 1 year old is still such a puppy. An adult kelpie perhaps?

Well done Jess and bedazzled!!!!!!!!! :D

So for question 1, just because they show, they should automatically be able to breed a litter? I selected N/A for that question, because it mentioned showing only and not health testing like question 2 did. Had it said showing AND health testing (for relevant breeds), my answer would have been different.

Sway, are we talking litters per bitch, or litters per kennel?

Can't say it's going to give us much when smartasses put 15+ litters against breeders who don't health test...

Ruby became extremely affectionate and a big sook. She was very subdued. She did revert back to happy crazy puppy again afterwards but not as extreme as before it, so if I ever get another female pup, I will definitely be allowing a season before desexing because in my (limited) experience, it matures them a bit and calms them down! Which is needed for a Lab sometimes! ;)

I have a brand new baby gate still in its box I need to flog - bit late now I guess Ruby had her 2nd season just as I was heading off east for 2 weeks back in 2008 Poor parents! At least I got a breather from it!