Dory the Doted One

I had a bitch who's season went longer and with shorter time in between, decided to desex her and we found she had a cystic ovary. No sign of pyo. I can't comment on discharge because she was a bitch that didn't bleed very much at the best of times. Perhaps an ultrasound to check for cystic ovaries?

Willow becomes very naughty, annoying and destructive. Drives us mad too! Thankfully we are still able to train at our club. She just had to go last.

I had a dog like this. I used to set my alarm earlier than my normal wake up time and take him out. Took a little while to suss out 5am was his sweet spot and woe betide if you were 5minutes late, because he would just go. I would also take him out at any time I was up myself. And taking him out was the last duty before bed, no matter what time I went to bed. So pretty much puppy training methodology. We still had the odd stuff ups, but mostly we had it worked out.

Between 6.30 - 8am and 8pm - Midnight. Poo happens on a varying time frame and from 2 to 3 times a day.

Oooohhhh....funny curly coated retriever moment at a Royal. Joe Public: Is that a Labradoodle. Me: No. It's a Curly Coated Retriever. Joe Public: Er. What's it crossed with? Me: a Curly Coated Retriever. I still don't think he got it. :laugh:

I get asked all the time what breed Willow is. Stuns me. And If people ask if she's a Rottweiler, it's with an uncertain tone. Must have short memories. Didn't think the tail changed them that much. Had a funny conversation with someone. They kept pronouncing it Rott-While--er very pointedly every time I said Rott-vile-er. So every time they pronounced it like that, I had to say it my way. Don't think there has ever been a conversation where the word Rottweiler has been said so much in such a short space.

I find most clients are the ones going forward with the top shelf treatment, because they have insurance. Not because a vet pushes it. In fact, in some instances you have to ramp clients back a bit.

Ask her what she would do if any of the puppies came up with health issues and the puppy buyers demanded their money back or some sort of compensation.

It's always the quiet ones you gotta watch.

Willow just sits on Dory. :laugh: Poor Dory.

And here I was thinking it's not a full puppy experience without the waiting. :laugh: Seriously, the waiting is as much a part of a puppy for me. I love that build up and excitement, the anticipation and then finally the 'delivery'.

Willow likes to 'steal' ours and prance triumphantly around the house. :laugh: It now has one corner missing, but we do notice a reduction in crap on the floor when it manages to stay put.

Can I ask what 'rally around' means? It's nice to have a bit of encouragement and emotional support, but when the person who is actually doing the dirty work of getting these dogs out and looking after them is asking for something a lot more tangible..ie, funds, transport, housing, advertising etc. How is 'rallying around' equate to doing much of anything at all? It's all piss in the wind and does nothing to really help. Unless by rallying around you mean that they actually do something rather than offer verbal support and little more. I'm not really qualified to comment at all, on this topic. I'm just feeling that Leema is coping a kick in the guts when she's feeling like none one else gives a crap. I for one, am very grateful to Leema. And I'm am one of those people who, 'wishes I could do more'.

I've always wanted to call a dog 'Pia', haven't had the right dog. Willow was going to be "Willy" in a long past conversation that I forgot I had with my daughter. She hated it, so we had settled on 'Willa' or 'Will-o' as in Will-o-the wisp. A few years down the track, we have a Willow. Totally had forgotten about the previous conversation till I had a 'der' moment one evening on the way home from work. :laugh: She is also called, 'wibbs', 'pibbs', 'did did did', 'wibbles', 'wills' and 'Thunderpaws'.

All those happy, smiling faces. :D Now if that can't put a smile of joy on someone's face, they weren't looking properly.

Airedale. The ones I've met always seem to be very gentle and tolerant of kids. Will alarm bark. Can be naughty and exuberant as puppies, but like to be in the thick of things. The ones I knew loved running with kids, but alongside them. They seemed to respect space and even when they did jump they didn't flatten you.

Lack of sleep. Willow is a sun up...ALL up...kind of girl. We are loving winter and the dark mornings. :laugh:

"Don't tolerate" around my place means any posturing, pushing and shoving, stirring with intent to annoy etc. is headed off at the pass before it escalates and those involved find themselves deprived of access to the item in potential dispute. Headed off includes: separation, verbal warnings (such as, "Oi"), or put outside/crated and blockiing/distraction. Headed off does not include physical punishment, I'd really rather avoid it getting to that extent. Rightly or Wrongly this what has worked for me over the years. If I've had dogs that are continually in each other's face, it's separation at all times unless under close scrutiny and control.

Around my house it is MY food until I've given it to them. And I will not have pushing and shoving when I'm prepping MY food (it's theirs, but mine until it's handed over). If there is pushing, shoving or posturing then everyone is kicked out or told to sit. No treats until everyone is sitting and behaving. If you try and snatch someone else's? Well, that's tough. No one gets one then. I'm walking away. They learn quick. Importantly, when I have given them food I try to ensure that each dog feels safe and secure.

I use this for my dogs. I'm very happy with it. I did use Augustines a couple of times, and it was okay. I like the Vets All Natural, better though. I only give half the dosage and both dogs are few raw. Skin and coat on both of them looks great.

Longest time between dogs was about 12 months. I felt like half person and not myself when I didn't have a dog. I have two now, with a decent age gap so not anticipating being dogless in the near future. I don't feel like I'm replacing any of my past dogs. Each dog is an individual to be loved for who and what they are, so no need to feel guilt. You can't replace the irreplaceable.

It does, doesn't it! Rottweiler....calm, calm, calm, calm...(I was starting to worry, bit like when you keep choosing all C's in a multiple choice). But then, Terrier X... let's just say, she rectified the lovely imbalance of calmness in the household. :laugh:

Nekhbet, is Kris' book good? I thought about buying it, but wondered if it was just going to be the same old, same old.

I just finished "Tracking From the Ground Up" by Sandy Ganz (also available in Kindle). I found it more useful than "Try Tracking" and easier to read than "Tracking Dog, Theory and Method" by Glen R. Johnson. (Although this is a very good book too...just a bit more heavy going). If I as going to only buy one of these three, I would go with Glen R. Johnson, with Sandy Ganz a very close second. Mostly because Sandy Ganz was a lot easier to read and understand.

So many dog activities...so few hours and days in a weekend.