Dory the Doted One

OMG...That sounds like a real nightmare! This is why I love crates, I can put them in any room in the house and shut the door. I don't get a lot of visitors anyway, my home is my castle and fortress of solitude....I'm antisocial like that.

I'm so slack in comparison to you lot. LOL

I take Willow to training one to two times a week. At home training...I aim for everyday, but more like every other day. Walks once or twice a day depending on time, about 15-20 mins. This involes lots of sniffing etc so not a hardcore walk. Take her on loads of car trips, friends, work, beach etc. She plays with Dory. If she's feral we try training first. No tricks, just heeling, sits etc. With all that lot, she still sends me mad. LOL.

:laugh: I don't do anal glands. That's what the boss is for. He often asks me why I don't do them. Well, apart from the fact that with Dory it is a two person job, I tell him that it's why he gets paid the big money. That said, I have worn my fair share of anal glands over the years...and I still have nightmares about the tooth root abcess that burst.....

I always like it when the dogs take a dump when I pick up the pooper scooper.

Thankyou! I am Google Challenged...I don't know how you guys find half the stuff you do.

Probably a stupid question, but.... Does anyone know if there are phone apps that will record and alert you on your pets health? Specifically a bitches heat cycles? I'm gonna take a wild stab in the dark and say.....Probably not....

I'm thinking I might just tell people that Willow is a Rottweiler BEFORE they start patting her. I've been having the same problem with people wanting to pat her, then she goes all nutty when people are near. She's getting big now, and for me it's not so cute thanks. But when you tell them she's a Rottweiler (they ask AFTER they have got her all stupid and excited), they usually go all quiet and pat her with a lot less enthusiasm, searching for a polite way to back away. It's kind of funny in a sad way. I don't mind people wanting to say Hello, I just wish that they would wait till she is sitting nicely. Just the way she USED to do only a few short weeks ago.

I'm not that curious about their smell to get my nose that close to them. :laugh: They aren't completely odourless, they just aren't the most disgusting smelling thing I've fed the dogs. I find liver far more yuck smelling...and then there was the dried pigs testicles. Dogs (and one of the cats) LOVE them...but they do smell rather funky....which is probably why they love em. :laugh:

Hmmm...dream dog.... I'm feeling pretty good about Dory and Willow, not that they are perfect, I've learnt to adjust. But for the sake of fantasy, - One I don't have to bend over to reward or pat. - Calm, easy and obedient when out and about. - Drivey on the training field. - Intelligent and smart, but not so much so that it gets creative to the point of hard work and exhaustion. - Lazy when I want to be lazy. - Active when I want to be active. - Cuddly, but not sooky and demanding. - Not too hairy or fluffy. - Large, floppy, soft ears...so soft and velvety.... - Dog friendly (or oblivious) - People friendly (or indifferent [except family and Me]) - No allergies! Now that I think of it, with a bit more hard work and maturity, I think Willow will be near to perfect. :)

With a neighbour close enough to hear everything, we just call them "Nums" or "Bull Bits".

How cute is this face? (Very!) Willow was calm and all sweetness for about a day...then her inner 'fire' burgeoned (aka Feralness). Congrats on the new addition! Goldies are pretty great dogs, they are always smiling.

Thanks Rebanne. I hope you enjoy the Adelaide Royal. I think it's a bit more slow paced than Vic's....at least from my distant memory. I haven't been to a Royal in quite a long time and I haven't been to a Vic Royal even longer again. I've got my daughter and a friend coming along as well. I'm guessing I won't see the daughter for a large part of the day. And my friend is not 'that' dog orientated, they do like dogs, despite the allergies...I DID warn them dog shows are boooooring, if you aren't really into them and even more boring when it's a Royal. But what can you do? :laugh:

We had a set back with house training. (Grrrr, teenagers) Thought we'd never have a house trained dog. In the end we crated her constantly. If she whined it was out to toilet, then back in crate. Lots of praise, short play/train sessions then crate. Did this for a week then let her out for longer, giving her some free time in the house. If in that time she so much as looked at the door, we took her out. Lots of praise, although for her she twigged that quick wees gets you back inside for a short and frantic hassle the cats session. We now have a dog who body slams the door to let us know she needs out. (Which is better than scratching! And much better than weeing)

OMG! FIVE weeks!! Better get butt in motion. We can stack. We can't mouth. (Bitey little bugger) We goof off in lead. I have no outfit. Gaaaaaaaahhhhhhh She is still looking beautiful though. Slightly leggy at the moment. But overall pretty balanced. :) When do we get our tickets and numbers?

Alleged theft for dog fighting purposes aside... Maybe the crux is to just deal with a spike in missing dogs lost, stolen or otherwise? Isn't that a good thing?

:laugh: No worries. My little Willow is quite muscley for what we do. I let her guide me as to when enough is enough. She gets quite annoying and bitey (mouthy) when she's over tired and Dory cops the full brunt of it. When it's all about grabbing Dory, it's a clear sign that enough exercise has been achieved. Some days, like today...she sleeps it away. I fully expect that when I weigh her on Monday I will be in shock at how much more she has stacked on. PS...When I do training...there is a lot of exercise physically there as well. She really is quite well muscled and not rolly polly at all.

If your objective is to tucker her out, I would think giving her some exercises to stimulate and tire out her mind would be more appropriate. My puppy is a Rottie (she grows like a weed!) and I'm not that formuliac with her exercise routine. For Willow I might go to the dog park once, possibly twice a week. Avoiding times when there are other dogs there, especially other young dogs. We go to the beach about once a week/fortnight. She spends more time digging and wrestling Dory than walking. A couple of times a week we go for a short walk, which is more stopping and wrestling Dory than actual walking. That lasts about half an hour...it's not a long distance walk, largely because of the wrestling. And then two to three times a week we are at tracking and obedience, she's pretty tired after that! And ofcourse there is play time at home. When I take her out, it is more about exposing her to new environments and situations and less about actual exercise. She's a fit looking puppy. If after all that she's still bouncing around like a Loon, then it's 'busy bones', raw meaty bones that take her some challenge to chew on or are frozen. I've found the more I give for her to think about, the more quickly she tires...which is good for all of us. :laugh:

Willow and Dory digging holes together on the beache, although I don't know how much help Willow was. :laugh: Later Willow smoozed some Tradies on their lunch break....*sigh*....if only I was 20 odd years younger. :laugh: PS: Everyone's puppies are still looking CUTE. No puppy breath here...although I didn't get to experience it that much, not with the teeth in the way. And I have to stop looking at piccies of Mals...it makes me 'almost' want one. (Do Lakenois have good workability?)

I haven't noticed one and Willow gnaws on them in my room right next to me. (In her pen, on the floor. While I'm tucked in my bed. :) )

Oh..I love doing that to people. Willow loves bull chews, we use them at bedtime to keep her quietly gnawing away if she's not quite ready to sleep. People ask me..."Oh, what are bull chews?" I say, "Well, you know...Bull...bits." Doesn't take em too long to put two and two together with interesting results. I'm always puzzled by people who say stuff like, "Poor Pig" or "Poor Cow" when buying pet treats. I ask them, "Do you like bacon?" But somehow that's different.

Things I go looking for at a dog event.... 1. Things I can't get anywhere else/new/unusual. 2. Good quality toys for a reasonable price. 3. Good books on dog training. 4. Pet food stalls...samples are always well recieved. 5. Interesting displays of dog related activities. For general public I would go with something that demostrates obedience in a really interesting way. (dancing with dogs...which I find inexplicable, but still shows fantastic dog control). Agility etc. Something that looks like it is easy to learn and fun and might entice joe blow public. (maybe even offer a 'come and try' event for agility or similar) 6. Any animal related service that I might not have seen or heard of before. eg. pet massage. When I go to these things, I like to see special offers...even if only for a limited time. Makes me feel like going was worthwhile rather than just 'meh, same crap, different day'. I also like to look at new and different collars, leads and toys. Stuff you don't see in the pet shops...we all want our dogs to be a bit special.

ADELAIDE BAT CARE This lady specialises in bats and she LOVES them. Is very conscientious and even has a humidity crib for them. She really is devoted and quite knowledable.

You could make a lid for it. :)

Nacho is one handsome little dude. :D So smiley.