Red Fox

;) Why do people always have to walk past at the worst possible times? I wipe Kei's bum when he gets the runs -yes, even in public Lucky it doesn't happen very often but I've had some weird looks ...well I'm sorry but I dont want skid marks on my carpet

We are with PIA. I've never had a problem with them and the one claim that I did make was in my bank account within 48 hours of faxing off the claim form

The no 1 thing I wish I had known was how much damage a bad puppy school can do... I doubt I will ever attend another one I wish I had known more about nuetralising my puppy to other dogs rather than over-socialising him. It has caused me so many problems since and I recently heard from a local trainer that a lot of puppies who went through the same puppy classes are now showing up at obedience classes with similar issues The no 2 thing that I wish I'd known is how much I would enjoy training my dog Had I known this before-hand I think I would have ended up with a much higher drive dog that loves to go, go, go - rather than one that prefers to spend all day on the couch The no 3 thing that I wish I had done was to listen to Steve from K9 Force when he told me to do his LLW program around 10 months ago (when I made my first post here about my naughty puppy lol). Instead I waited until October last year ...imagine all the time I could have saved if I'd done it back then!

A snub lead should do the job and be a lot safer. Or a collar with an inbuilt handle. You could suggest to her that she brings some treats with to the park and practices his recall (without the leash on). That way she wouldn't need to catch him.

Yes, I know :D They use Gribbles and I think that adds a lot on... I did consider doing the drive to Adelaide and having it done there, but by the time you add on fuel costs, day off work and an 8 hour round trip it's better to get it done here. I will speak to the vet again when I go in this month. From my understanding if they open a direct account with VetPath it would be cheaper (though I'm not entirely sure on that one ) If that's the case I'll have a year to work on them ;)

I enquired with our local vets and it will cost me $260 to titre test my dog Not that I mind paying it, but yes there is a BIG variation in price with different vets. I believe it cost a lot more for the vets who use Gribbles rather than sending direct to Vet Path in WA. Kei is due for his 12 month booster this month and after a lot of thinking I have decided to give him a C3 only, then titre test as of next year. Kei had a reaction to his 12 and 16 week vaccs (C5) and I am still reluctant to vaccinate him but the vet that I spoke to believes that there is much less chance of a reaction to a C3 over a C5 and will give him an antihistamine before the vacc to further reduce the chance of a reaction. I have ummed and arred over the 3 yearly. It SEEMS like a good idea - but I'm not entirely convinced. Especially if it is 3 x stronger than the annual I do hope that I am making the right decision. There does seem to be a lot of conflicting evidence as to whether the dog needs the 12 months booster to achieve full immunity or not. I did read somewhere that a dogs immune system is not mature enough to develop immunity until after the age of 6 months (can't remember where I read that sorry so can't reference it). I'm sure that I've also read that Jean Dodds recommends the puppy vaccs and 12 month booster (then titre test), but then I think that someone here mentioned that she (Dodds) said that the 12 month booster might not be neccessary at one of her seminars??

The Ian Dunbar book 'After you get your puppy' has info on crate training. The same info may be available online free at DogStarDaily.com too.... Basically it works like this- When you are home the puppy is put in it's short term confinement area (crate). Every hour you take the puppy outside, give it the command to toilet and then praise and treat when it does. Then you can spend some time playing with or training the puppy before taking it back to the crate again. For the times when you are away from home, eg working, the puppy is in it's long term confinement area; which can be a puppy pen etc. This area has bedding (or a crate with the door opened), toys, water and an area for the pup to toilet if it needs. I'm pretty sure that you can also have the puppy out of the crate at any time when you are home as long as you are able to fully supervise it. Reading the book it does sound like the puppy will be spending a lot of time in the crate, but put into practice (properly) it's not that much really. Might only be 15-20 mins out of each hour. It doesn't take much to tire out a baby puppy -they spend 90% of the crate time sleeping and the other 10% chewing on their toys and sometimes a puppy will just conk out for 2-3 hours at a time after a play anyway lol. The bonus is that if you do it properly the puppy will be house-trained -fast. Which means more time out of the crate and more independence

Black Dog does long lines (33ft and 15ft) at a fairly reasonable price: http://www.blackdog.net.au/index.php?page=...rt&Itemid=5 Or as Tilly said you could try a horse lunge line. I recently bought a 15ft long line from K9 Force. I'm not sure exactly what it's called but it has a grippy line of rubber stitched through the centre. It's the best long line I've ever used. So easy to hold and best of all no more rope burn It has nice solid brass clip on it too. http://www.k9force.net/equipment.html (not listed on the website though, I think you might have to ask for them)

Hehehe, I got the new chews and was miffed at no stickers, too. I had to grow up a little and actually write on my calendar BTW, does anyone else find the packaging huge and hard to open? Nope no stickers here either And that packaging does my head in! I've been using a knife to slit the foil because it's impossible to pop them out like the old ones. Dog seems to like them though

Hmmm... I went to an obedience club for about 4 months. Owners of dogs that pulled were told to use a halti, funnily enough the ones who used them often commented that their dogs always pulled without it. Sorry but to me that's NOT a well trained dog In my case Kei HATED the halti. He wore it for one lesson and went mad trying to get it off, then shut down completely I never used one again. I have done the K9 Force LLW program. It's not expensive, very easy to follow and the support is fantastic Here's a video of Kei LLW about 1.5 weeks into the program: Not bad considering he was deemed a 'puller' by the obedience club and needed a halti

I am subscibed to your channel Laeral (and also Huski's), so shouldn't be too hard to find I'm not quite ready to embarrass myself here on DOL yet I only wish that Kei had half the drive that Mica has!

Wow! I didn't realise how many DOLers are doing/have done the TID program I dont know about that Laeral, a few weeks ago I asked Steve to send me a video link where the TID training was being done absolutely correctly and with good technique so that I could get a visual on exactly what I should be doing ........he sent me a link to yours I do believe that I could "out shame" you in the video department right now

I think it's really going depend on your relationship with your dogs breeder. Have you spoken to her about this and told her WHY you wish to wait? My boys contract also states something along the lines of the dog must be desexed between the ages of X and Y, must not be used for breeding and that failure to do so could result in the dog being repossessed (sorry, probably the wrong word for it but you get the point) by the breeder. But after speaking to his breeder recently and explaining to her that I would prefer to wait at least another year before desexing, giving my reasoning and letting her know that I was prepared to give him a vasectomy within the given time frame and desex at a later point if it was a problem, she simply nodded and told me to take my time. Though if I had I flat out refused and not been open about the subject I do think that the answer would have been different Most breeders, especially those who have breeds popular with puppy farmers/BYB's are simply trying to protect their breed.

Hope he gets one too.But what Im wondering about is if you get your pups from a breeder are they already trained not to 'toilet' in their bed? Yes,Im thankful at least she did return him though. Dogs/puppies are clean animals by nature and will not toilet in their 'den'. Buying a puppy from a breeder will not guarantee you that the puppy isn't going to toilet in their bed -but it will GREATLY reduce the chances of it happening. The difference is that a breeder will no doubt allow the puppies space to toilet AWAY from their sleeping area as soon as they are able to. This might mean on some paper at the other end of their area, or even outside. Doesn't mean the pups are toilet trained but it does mean that they are headed in the right direction. Puppies on pet shops are another matter. The poor things are confined to a tiny space day and night from a very young age. They have no other option but to toilet in their sleeping area and it becomes 'normal'. It's going to be a hell of a lot harder to toilet train a pet shop puppy than one from a responsible breeder.... Personally I think that these people did the right thing in returning the pup to the pet shop and realising their mistake. As has already been said, they could have just thrown him out in the back yard like so many others do Or even worse, dumped him At least they had the sense to realise that they should NOT have bought from a pet shop. And if they do decide later down the track to get another puppy hopefully they will go through a breeder who will ask them enough questions to know if they REALLY understand the needs of a new pup.

Brilliant! Thanks VC. I just went there and added it to the cart then calculated postage to my remote bit of Tassie - just $21!!! I can't thank you enough for that! Nice price on the large dog bed too. I bought a soft crate from Top Buy (the same as the ones that Vebo Pet sell but for less than half the price!) about 6 months ago and their service was fantastic, postage to rural SA took under a week. They sometimes have deals on free postage as well (you can google for a code) so keep an eye out for that too if you ever need to buy anything else from there

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO lol serious? oh man i'll have to stick to patting his head then haha. Thanks for putting my mind at ease (in a way lol) At least someone told you though. I raced Kei down to the vets in a mad panic at 9 weeks old because I thought there was something wrong with him ...it was his glands

All zoomies here are quickly directed outside. A Ridgie doing zoomies in the loungeroom is NOT a good thing ...especially when there is a 10 year old HUMAN doing them with him

Has happened here on more than one occasion too. The last bone I found crawling with maggots was right next to the back door I just picked up the bone using a plastic bag and swept the maggots into the garden. The birds eat them ...or maybe they turn into flies and fly away

Here you go Crate no 1. This is our bigger crate which stays in the bedroom. I have a Blue mesh bed in there (from Great Rugs) with a lambs wool zip off cover off it and then a few blankets on top of that. Bare in mind that this pic was taken in winter though. In summer we just have a light wool mat over the top of the BMB and his doona. And yep they are baby doonas, I found them on special for $15 at Target one day and couldn't help myself Crate no 2. It's a bit small for Kei now but he loves it all the same. It stays in the family room and he uses it as his bed during the day. In this one I just have one of those fluffy bumper mat things that you can buy at Big W with a blanket wrapped around it to keep it clean. I don't keep water bowls in the crates but this one has a coup cup clipped to the outside.

don't bet on it. some vets will just push product , citing convenience. Hopefully yours doesn't. No, not this vet. The breeder knows him too well. She's also coming with me. Good to hear that your breeder is so supportive I'm sure she will be able to give you some valuable advice based on her own experience I do agree with Perse though - some vets WILL push and push. I had the heartworm vacc pushed on me by a vet when I brought Kei in for a general check-up at 9 weeks old, even though I made it very clear that I had already purchased heartworm medication and was not interested in the pro-heart vacc

I tried doing that and made a complete mess of the kitchen and my fingers nearly froze! My local butcher where i buy my other meat happily cuts them for me even though i didn't purchase the roo from him. I leave mine frozen in a plastic shopping bag and take to them with the axe, I'm suprised I still have all of my toes, I was a bit wild and inaccurate in the early days Oh dear, I have visions of a scene reminiscent of a B-grade horror movie Now I really appreciate that my roo spines/tail pieces come fresh, bagged and cut into managable 4 inch blocks!

agreeded! "power steering for dogs" Prong collars are fantastic if used correctly Learning how to use one made the world of difference for my dog and I highly recommend them ...HOWEVER, I wouldn't be too keen on putting one in the hands of an owner who sounds none too bright and without professional guidance. Too much room for abuse/mistakes/overcorrection etc -even if it is unintentional. I think they may be illegal in Tassie though anyway??

I agree with your breeder about the hearthworm vacc. There have already been many probs with it overseas, a lot of dog have had bad reactions and as far as I am aware it is not supposed to be given at the same time as any other vacc. Personally I wouldn't give it to my dog when there are so many other options available. If you do decide to desex him I wouldn't be giving him his booster vacc at the same time either. IMO giving a vaccine to a dog who has just had an anaesthetic is NOT a good idea. The anaesthetic is already a lot for the body to cope with, without adding a vaccine (or heartworm vacc ) to the mix. I'm not sure if your dog needs to be put under for the ear swab or not? But if he does then yes, it would be an ideal time to desex him if that's what you want to do, but maybe leave the vaccinations until a few weeks after. Good luck with it all

Yep, Kei gets raw roo tail/spine for breakfast a few mornings per week. He eats it meat, bone and all

OT, but do you think you could post a pic of the wandering jew plant GSDowner? I've never seen it before (or if I have I haven't recognised it) and none of the pics I've found online give much clue as to the size of the plant/leaves etc as there's nothing to compare it to!