Dory the Doted One

Sorry to hear that Melina . Hope he is well and back with you soon.

Approx. 172 hours to go. Or 7 days. Or 7 sleeps (6 sleeps and 1 restless slumber?) Or 7 Sleep Ins. I'm not counting. No, I'm not. Much.

Only a week of luxuriant sleep ins to go....ahhhh.....

That depends. Is he shivering from cold? Are you out walking at the time? I wouldn't have thought he'd need one while walking, you want him to be able to maintain his body temperature (dogs don't have sweat glands like we do,they loose heat through their feet and via panting). If you have a cold house or he sleeps outside he might need one. I've put coats on my Old Farts, when the nights turn cold (double coated breeds) even when they slept in side, but we did live in a cold area. I've been seeing heaps of people walking dogs in coats and jumpers lately. And judging by the elaborateness of the outfits....I'm quietly confident it's a largely 'human' thing. These were coated breeds, like Oodley dogs. I don't object to coats, but surely it would be better AFTER you've walked the dog, not during. I could be wrong.

9 Sleeps to go. We are in the closing stages. I'm looking around and thinking....OMG!!! I'll never know sleep again...and WHY do I always get puppies in the colder months. Melina if he is otherwise bright and happy I wouldn't worry so much.

You can't go past a fart joke. Lol

Agree...on all counts.

He still fits in your arms? How heavy is he? Willow will not know what legs are for until such time as I can no longer pick her up. :laugh: I make no excuses. :D

That sounds awful...and pretty unacceptable. Willow is flying over with one of her litter mates, I live in fear I get the wrong pup.

:heart: Look at that face!!! Look at those EARS!!! LOOK AT THE FEET!! How handsome is Sumo. :) Is he settling in well?

:laugh: 11 SLEEPS to go there......

11 Sleeps to go!

Has anyone seen this? The Puppy Plan It's another Socialization Schedule/Plan thingy. I'm still having a look through it.

:laugh: Good Luck Tomorrow, Cassie!! I can't wait to hear what you guys finally decide to name him....and ofcourse PICS!!! I've been shamelessly working on putting together a page/blog...gotta do something, to make the time fly by. PS...What Cassie said about crate training. Right now I'm looking at Dory's crate (only used for when we have to leave her at home...or by cats because they can), and wondering how in heck I'm going to fit that sucker into my bedroom and still have room to get in and out of the room. Prrreeeettty sure I'll be buying a smaller one on the way home from the airport. :laugh: (If only Dory hadn't shedded the soft crate she had for less than 2 minutes years ago...and is still in the boot of my car waiting to be repaired )

Gah...Nooooo...... I watched a bit of Mel and Koshie this morning, it is NOT one of my regular habits I can assure you and I flicked the TV off pretty quick after one too many flinches at Koshie's stupid statements. I always thought he was a bit of a dick...but when did he get the enlargement? Seriously, if he had've said some of that stuff to me you would've seen my face hardening up in anger and offense and you might notice me subtly sitting on my hands so I wasn't tempted to clock him one.

The excitement of waiting for puppies is infectious, isn't it? :laugh: I'm jealous of everyone who is a day or so away from getting their puppies. Dory has been getting loads of cuddles lately, I'm a bit nervous about the change that is going to happen to the dynamics of the house. I'm confident this is going to be a positive change in the long run. But I KNOW the short term it's going to be a major pain in the butt, and I'm not talking about adjusting to a puppy. Dory is a resource guarding sod, which involves her dashing about body blocking others away from her 'stuff'. I'm part of her 'stuff'. I see lots of crate time shared evenly between Dory and Willow for a little while. Good thing there is no TV programs I am particularly attached to, there won't be a lot of uninterupted TV viewing for a while. Not that there ever has been! :laugh:

Depends Smash, some people like to take their puppy within the first 24-48 hours just to be sure that the puppy is healthy and to ask some questions of the Vet. This could be useful from a socialisation point of view also, as it means going to the vet without having a scary needle, but still being handled. Ofcourse still will cost you a consult. Some people do, some people don't. It's what you feel most comfortable with. Now if I wasn't working in a Clinic, I would probably take my puppy in just for the socialisation opportunity (and to totally show off my awesomely cute puppy. :laugh: ). Unless ofcourse there was an issue I was having, then I would make a consult time. Some breeders want you to take your puppy, so that if anything should happen to the puppy ie gets sick, then they know that your vet cleared it. Or if there was a problem, then...I suppose a good breeder...would perhaps pay for the treatment if any was needed. I've seen this being applied to kittens on a couple of occasions (pure bred kittens).

If he hasn't had trouble before I wouldn't be too panicked at this stage. I know people that use "Protexin" powder for puppies that are having tummy troubles. They report good success with it. Wait till you have a chat with the breeder, see what she says.

Yep. Not quite a Facebook Junkie. LOL. I just went and joined the Group. :D Looks good, I think I'll pop down there. We are going to need a lot of practise.

I couldn't pick just one...but these seem to sum her up. Except her beach face, beach face is sheer joy. Haven't managed to capture that yet, all I get is bum shots at the beach. :laugh:

Impressive stash, Steph!!! I think I'm reserving all my spending ways till Willow gets here. I have a total of 3 toys, a puppy collar and an almost endless supply of tennis balls (thanks to the kids next door...we usually give them back, not sure how many are going to survive after Willow gets em, before we do. :laugh: ) Oh...and the two cats and Dory. I keep telling them to enjoy the peace and quiet while they can.

Down at the Grange Vet Clinic, Grange. We just started a new class, I can see if we still have room if your interested. I'm sneaking Willow in for the last couple of weeks, and then she'll do the whole of the next class. Mind you, she'll be at work with me on all my long shifts until she gets too big and I learn to cut the cord a little bit. :laugh: (She's not even here yet...and I can feel that cord already. )

The bond will happen!!! I had a dog that had had NUMEROUS homes before I gave her her last home. I had 7yrs of the most devoted and attentive dog you could ask for. And protective? Wow. There was no question she was my dog. Dory is a rescue dog...and again...there is no question she is my dog. Everyone comments on how she always knows where I am and she doesn't like it when I leave. (She's gotten better at that. :) )

:laugh: You'll be fine Melina. Having said that...I've been looking around the house and thinking...."OMG...What have I DONE". Last night I was having a laugh with a previous puppy pre-school client, they have just got themselves a new puppy. And will be joining in a new class soon. We were wondering how haggard I'll be looking, how the house training was going etc. Seeing as I'm the 'expert' to guide them all through the process. (Too be frank, I felt a lot of pressure at that moment. )

Welcome Lee-Ann, I've had a MinPin previously, he was a fun little dog, although there was NOTHING little about him. I don't know how many times other dogs tried to dust him up. (I don't think they thought he was another dog ) He took it all in his stride. :D My BIGGEST not fun thing about him was an atrocious recall. Simply awful. The handful of times he snuck out the door way as people were going in or out were breath holding moments. We did get him to a point where he was more responsive, and then he would do his..."They beat me" act. Which we had never, ever done. :laugh: That's a long wait for you! I've been waiting 5 weeks so far, and I have 14 sleeps to go. I'm getting a Rottweiler. :D (Her name shall be Willow)