Pepper and Jax

Add me to the list and then tell me off for not going for a walk this morning. Pepper woke me at 5.30 am to go out, so she went out and I went back to sleep, and at some point I must have turned off the alarm because when I next woke up it was too late. I'm a bit cranky with myself

Stealing is a great game to Pepper. When she gets hold of something she hasn't been given (eg. a shoe, a bra, something out of a shopping bag, a toilet roll that hasn't been used yet...) she races down the hallway, and out the back and plays with it. It's even more exciting when we a) look out the window to see what she's got or b) tell her off/ ask for it back/ offer treats in return/ run after her... Yes, Pepper has OH and I well trained. We must be extra vigilant about not putting anything in reach of the "stealing game". But like in Kirislin's house, anything we've given to Pepper is easily taken away. I guess she knows we're going to return it to her. ETA: When she steals food, Pepper will eat it fast to prevent us getting it back.

I'll join in too, as I think Pepper really needs a walk in the mornings as well as the night time ones we are already (usually) doing. I have to go to bed earlier and be more organised. Day 1 planned for tomorrow...

It's been a few years since I've been there, but as I recall, it's lovely and calm until the seabreeze comes in, and not too bad afterwards. Just be aware that it can get really busy, especially on weekends, and assuming I'm talking about the same place, and nothing's changed, be careful not to go over into the horse exercise area without a lead and some commonsense. Enjoy!

SK: I've ordered from the Two Big Dogs website before. The delivery of the item was held up (by the courier company, not the vendor), and the Two Big Dogs lady was so lovely, helpful and apologetic (despite it not being her fault), that I would definitely order from them again if they had something I needed.

We use a blackdog harness. It's really easy to put on, but I found the seatbelt connection concept to not be secure enough (besides, Pepper learnt how to step on the seatbelt button and undo it). So we attached a loop to the ring behind the middle seat of the car, and connect that to Pepper's lead. It does twist around and get under her body sometimes, and the harness itself does tend to slip to the side a bit, but she's getting better at not getting caught up. I guess what I'm saying is... they aren't ideal, but they can work, and are a bit less expensive than the Ruffwear. (I'll be looking at Ruffwear for next time perhaps )

Sorry to be so unconstructive... it sounds exceptionally cute, albeit annoying

Pepepr doesn't quite get "fetch"... she runs after something, grabs it, and does zoomies with it in her mouth. She enjoys the "chase" part of the game much more, even when we're just pretending to chase her. With treats we managed to teach her to drop the object with "give" and get ready for another throw... but she rarely drops the toy very close to us. Reading up on Aidan's link to see what we can do to change the game (for variety... the current game is good too!)

I think maybe you've got the wrong end of the pineapple... crate training doesn't mean the pup stays in the crate at all time except when being toileted... The concept is that it's a small area for sleeping, and because a pup wont toilet where it sleeps, it helps to prevent accidents when you can't supervise. We didn't set an alarm for Pepper. When she needed to go, she whined/ cried and we took her out. Didn't take long for her to sleep through the night.

We knew Pepper's dam was pregnant weeks before the pups were born, so we had lots of opportunity to talk to the breeder about how she was going up until the birth... including some exciting emails like "she's nesting, we expect pups in the next 24 hours..." From then on we got weekly photos of all 11 puppies, right up until we'd chosen Pepper at about 6 weeks. Then, when we only had eyes for our girl, it was just pics of Pepper and the odd one with her siblings (e.g. standing on top of them to get to her preferred nipple at feed time). I really appreciated the opportunity to see how all the pups were developing, and get email updates of little personality traits as they started becoming apparent. When Pepper was actually flown over to us, she was sent with a blanket that had been in with her dam and litter mates, a familiar toy, and the t-shirt we had sent over weeks earlier. (The t-shirt went over to the breeder with our scent on it, in advance of Pepper's grand journey across the country, so she would be a bit more comfortable with us). We were given advice on food type/ meal times and ongoing reminders like "don't take her running", and "the weather's getting hotter, provide plenty of water and shelter"... these all came by email and phone conversation, rather than in a folder, or as a puppy pack. I'm assuming all puppy purchasers had email in this case. The registration/ pedigree papers came to us after a couple of weeks, a bit delayed because they apparently took a while to be issued by Dogs NSW. Buying a pup again - I would also like to see photos from week 1 until week 8 (or whenever pick up is), be it email or hard copy. Something with dam and litter smells. Pedigree information and obviously papers. Full contact details for the breeder and an invitation to call them if I had any queries. Edited: spelling

If you want to continue as you are, offer only dry food in the morning, then you wont be wasting anything he doesn't eat because it doesn't go off so quickly. But agree with others, cut down the amount you feed in 2 meals, or just give him one.

Most important thing with the scratching and yelping is that you completely ignore it. Don't go to the pup. Don't call out. Don't do anything that would indicate to the pup that the behaviour earns attention, because generally that's why pup is doing it. I agree with megan. Spend a few weeks/ months, however long it takes, to do the toilet training and then you'll have many happy years of not cleaning up regular messes. Well, not toilet type messes

My experience with crates and cats is that without the crate we could never have Pepper sleep inside at night. She'd be chasing cats all the time. And when she was tired she would be on our bed (though I appreciate that we could train her not to be), and I don't think our two cats would be impressed with having to share. It's bad enough sharing with another cat and 2 humans! Baby gates wont be enough if you would like night time harmony in your bedroom with all 3 critters. Our naughty boy cat does tend to wake up early, sit in front of the crate, and put his paw in to wake Pepper up, knowing that she can't chase him. It makes Pepper whine and ask to be let out, which is annoying, but hopefully your cats don't have that evil streak in their personalities

A mistake we made when first using a lead on Pepper was that it was too heavy for such a little pup... consider the size of the lead (specifically the clasp, which is the heavy part). And we let Pepper look at/ touch the lead before it went on her, then let her run around with it attached for a few mins to get used to the weight. When we started walking with her on the lead, we held a treat, took the end of the lead and walked backwards calling puppy and making silly voices, really excited when she came to use - and then gave a treat... she certainly didn't pull in the opposite direction when we did that.

To stop the biting, rather than NO, just yelp like a puppy would if you stood on its tail (even if it didn't hurt, you can use it to stop all mouthing on humans), then turn away and ignore Dougall for a few moments. When he you turn back, if he's biting again just do the same but walk away from him entirely. We use a crate in the evenings. It sits against the wall near our bed where Pepper can see us. Didn't take Pepper too long to get used to the crate, and now we say "bedtime!" and when she's not being a stubborn teenager she hops in there quite eagerly. We needed the crate so that she didn't chase cats all night, and being a short coated breed, we didn't want her outside or in the laundry either (too cold)! Our crate stays in the bedroom all the time. Pepper has the laundry with a dog door to the backyard all the time, and when we're home she is in whatever room we are in. There is a bed made up in the laundry for during the day (blankets and old pillows) since she doesn't always have access to our bedroom. Yes, crates that fit a GSP and a boxer are big. Yes, they're quite unattractive. But they're worth it IMO!

Thanks Mercedes.

If anyone has some suggestions for how to keep a cat on their property, please advise. Not only could this help Mandy when talking to her neighbour, but it would assist me too. House is too small to shut them in and they go a bit barmy when confined all day (this is product of letting them have access to the great outdoors for the first years of their lives). Can't keep them in the backyard because Pepper chases them. Have considered a cat run but can't find suppliers in Perth, despite researching online, and I'm not handy enough to knock something up myself... I agree with the sentiment that cats should remain on their own property, but am having great difficulties making it happen. So any supplier recommendations for a cat run or other suggestions would be welcome. Re the dog to cat size ratio... refer to a previous comment about inviting big doggy friends over for a visit!

Both of our cats growl, hiss, spit, and swipe at Pepper when she gets too close. So socialising is not just about Pepper behaving nicely, but also our cats! Constant supervision required. When you call Ferrari to you and hold him, the cat's settling down because your pup is no longer near it, not because you're staring at it. Be cautious not to molly-coddle Ferrari if he is showing signs of being afraid of the cat, as you are rewarding his behaviour. How big is your pup compared to the cat? I know it's not the be all and end all of how they interact, but I'm curious. Cosmolo is absolutely right, but the reality is that if the owner refuses or is unable to do so, you might not be able to take things further. Rightly or wrongly, many Councils do not take action against nuisance cats. Perhaps you can ask the neighbours if they would be willing to trim kitty's claws, to reduce the possibility of injury to Ferrari if there was an altercation. (Though this wont help the emotional impact of the experience). Otherwise, see what you can do to keep kitty out of your yard. Consider installing fencing that will keep the cat out (such as roller type things on the top of the fence that prevent them getting up on to it). Get the hose out and squirt the cat whenever you see it on your side of the fence. There is a wealth of information on the web about what people have had success with. Sorry you have to deal with this. I guess it's part of living near other people. ETA: let the neighbours know. They might not realise there is a problem.

Definitely keep him away from power cables when you can't watch his every move. Pepper bit all the way through a live cable and got a zap, which scared the living daylights out of her. And the cry she made was very scary for us too. Luckily no injuries, but I would say we were very lucky indeed. Lesson learned. The only good thing about the experience is that Pepper doesn't touch cables anymore. Pigs ears will keep him occupied for a while. Or buy one of those toys that you put dried food in, that the puppy has to roll around to get the food out of the small holes - and put his breakfast in there (assuming it's dry food!).

Pepper had her op at 6 months, just a few weeks ago. She came home from the vet all woozy and sleepy, and just stayed quietly in her crate all night (though she seemed happy enough to follow me outside for the toilet a few times). She did look a bit uncomfortable, but was sleepy more than anything. The next day she woke up and you could barely tell she'd had an operation... maybe a little less exuberant than usual, but within a couple more days I was struggling to keep her from jumping/ running/ bouncing etc. Pepper didn't lick or chew her stitches either, though we had an Elizabethan collar ready just in case. We didn't request or receive any ongoing pain relief as I didn't realise it was an option. It is a routine operation, and everything will probably go fine... there will always be exceptions, and don't let anyone tell you it's not a major surgery. luvsdogs is right, do your research and make a choice based on what you are comfortable with. But if you're going to get her speyed, you're going to have the same worries whenever you do it.

In addition to this, perhaps you can make sure your pup and your uncle's pup continue to spend lots of time together, especially while they're so young.

We've used a crate with Pepper since the first week. We didn't put her in there the first few nights, but had a blanket just outside and put all the toys in there etc. It wasn't really the best way to go since I woke up every 10 minutes to make sure she was still sleeping there (and didn't need to pee). But lucky for us she crate trained herself, choosing to sleep in there within a few nights. After that we struggled for a few nights to ignore the "I want to play" whines... and then a week later, once that had settled Pepper realised that if she made "I want to pee" noises, she was likely to get a chance to go outside. She had me well trained til I saw through her grand plan and ignored those noises too. The crate has made a huge difference to my ability to sleep through the night. I'm not worried that Pepper will be wandering around annoying our 2 cats or destroying anything.

Name: Pepper Sex: Female Date of birth: 2 November 2008 Age: nearly 12 weeks Colour: Liver and White Breed: German Shorthaired Pointer Hobbies: bouncing to get to the cats (and their food), snoring Loves: treats, splashing water all over herself Hates: not being able to reach the cat food