MsBex

Abrham Ali Angus Apollo(different spelling!) Appollo Archie Arkhan Armand Arq Ashke Atlas Bailey x 4 Balou Bandit Banjo Bardigrub Bart Barton Baxter Bear x2 Bender Ben Benji Benny Benson Billy Bing Bluey Bomber Bosch Bosco Boxer Brady Brian Custard O'Doggle Brock Brockie Brody Bronson Bruce Bud Bundyx2 Buster Cannon Caramel Carl Casper Champ Charlie x 5 Chevy Chip x 2 Clifford Coco Cooper Cory Cowan x 2 Cowboy Cuba Danny Darcy x 2 Dashx2 Deakin Dean Declan Delgado Dennys Dog Diablo Diesel x2 Digby Digger Dinky Douglas Dumas Dylan Ebon Eddie Elijah Elliott Edge Esky Fergus x 2 Fox FlashBazil Fleming Fletcher Flynn Frank Fudge Gandor Geo George Greedy Guiness mcGuinness Hail Harley Harrison Harry Henry Hudson Hugo Ivan Jack x 3 Jake x 2 Jasper x 2 James JayDee Jethro Jet Jett Jordan Joshua Judd Juggie Kahn Kaiser x 2 Kasper Kaos Kiba Kei Kippy Kisho Kyzer Lincoln Lenny Leroy Lestat Logan Luca Ludwig Lughie Lukas Lukon MacKenzie Mason Max x 4 Maxie Maxwell THE DOG Mel Merlot Merry Milky Milosh Milton Minook Mistral Mokha Morris Mr Darcy Nammu Napoleon Nigel Noah Nova Nudge Nugget Onslow Oscar Oz Payton Pete Phoenix Piikki Porsha Punch Quick Raffy Ralph Randy Reeve Rex Riku Riley Ripley River Rocks Rolly Rory Rove Rover Roy Jones Jnr Rupert Rusty Sam Scout Scrap Scratch Shadow Silas Snitch Sonny Spartan Speed Spencer Spike Sport Spud Sterling Storm Stryker Sumo Swanky Tazz x 2 Teddy Tey Dog Thunder Tiger Tirra Toby x2 Tolkien Tub Tusca Tye Tyson Udo Ulf Wags Walker Watson Weave Whisky Willow Willy Woody Yoshi Zac Zedley Zeppelin Zephyr x 2 Zeus Zuma

Apollo Armand Benny Brock Brockie Brody Charlie Coco Cooper Cory Cowan Dash Gandor Hudson Jack Juggie Kasper Kiba Lestat MacKenzie Maxie Merry Milosh Minook Mistral Payton Raffy Reeve Riku Rupert Scout Shadow Sterling Storm Tazz Tusca Tye Ulf Zedley Zephyr

Cory's booked in for next Wednesday! We were told to fast him from 8pm the night before but he could have water left out. We drop him off 8am and pick him up in the afternoon. Good luck to all the dogs being de-sexed and recovering! We're paying $105 but that's with a reduced cost certificate from the National Desexing Network

Nicely worded. And love the bit about threatening to take the supposed 'stray' to the pound

Hope the next world is kinder to this girl!

Again, two VERY different breeds. As a noob they both seemed to fit my loose criteria of size, good with kids, good with other dogs (so could be taken to beach/parks etc). Still not sure what the main differences are, but don't regret the decision at all. Sometimes I do wonder whether a poodle would've been a little less crazy, but then again that's part of puppyhood I guess! He is coming along nicely all things considered Are you leaning a certain direction Emm?

I was tossing between a Mini Poodle and a Cocker Spaniel. The Cocker won out as he was 8wks old when I went to visit, and the poodles were a few days old. Cory had the saddest, funniest looking expressions so won both my son and myself over straight away .... little did I know those sad looking eyes were a front for a demon dog Good luck with your decision. I love both your choices!

Ouch!!

There's nothing wrong with being bouncy and friendly, it's how they respond when politely asked to back off by another dog that counts. If they don't get the message then one remedial action you can take is to spend more time walking with older, stable dogs. You can start off on-leash, let them greet politely then start walking straight away. Let the dogs stop and sniff things together but if they start to play, start walking again. The idea is that they don't ALWAYS have to be bouncy and playful around other dogs. You can gradually allow more freedom, and introduce recalls during social encounters and that sort of thing. If you know what you're looking for, encourage backing off when asked by another dog or if the other dog looks uncomfortable. Thanks for this post Aidan Real, practical advice that can help noob owners like myself who are trying to do the right thing, but not always sure how!!

Oh my ... I am so proud of my friends. 11 of the invites I sent out have joined!!

Thanks for that guys, is good to hear it's not an impossibility. Will definately be getting separate runs (or equivalent) for when we're not home, if this move does eventuate.

Thanks for that Showdog. I hadn't realised there was a behavioural change, and I'm pretty sure neither did my sister. It's definately not a concrete decision from either my sister or her breeder's point of view. It was more a "I may like to use him to stud in the future, but he's your dog, so your decision" type arrangement. And from my understanding the only pictures he's seen has not been at his request, but from my nephew emailing him to ask "Who's his Mum?" "Does he have any brothers or sisters?" and attaching random pics I have noticed there much better together in larger yards, as they have room to run, whereas when inside it's more like cat and mouse play (albeit with a playful mouse). Will do some more regular contact, and make a decision from there I think.

Awwww ... they are SO cute I'll take Holly please!! She has such a cheeky face

Ok. So here's the deal. I'm currently about to start a time-consuming year of Uni which will mean that my work availability will decrease significantly. As such am considering moving into a new house with my sister (who is also starting her PHd this year) for a year or two, as this will financially be beneficial to us both. She has a 3yro entire SBT, who has never shown dog aggression, and I have a 6mo Cocker Spaniel. At this stage we haven't really let the dogs interact alot as Storm (SBT) is quite rough in his play and hurts Cory unintentionally. When Cory yelps he backs off. Cory doesn't appear scared, keeps going back for more. I'm a little nervous whether this could work with the dogs (the kids are another story ). Cory hasn't been de-sexed as I was planning to wait til he was 1yro, but will neuter him before moving in if this plan eventuates. My sister is not keen to desex Storm as his breeder has stated he would like to use him as a stud when he is 4yrs. Both dogs have been inside dogs with access to outdoors at anytime. The plans I had were to a) desex Cory b) create a doggy run (or sectioning off the yard) for Cory with access to a section of the house, separating him from Storm when no-one was home. Do you think this could work? Is there anything else you would recommend to ease the transition? Both dogs are very much loved members of the family, so want to make this work. Thanks for your help again

Hi all. Just wondering if anyone has any groomer recommendations in the Gold Coast? I'm looking for someone who has Cocker Spaniel grooming experience. Thanks heaps. Rebecca

You solve the shoes/underwear/rubbish problem by putting them behind closed doors or in secure bins. You teach him to come to you and trade so that when one of the kids gets lazy and leaves their shoes by the door he isn't chewing them or burying them, he's bringing them to you so you can swap them for something he is allowed to chew or bury. That is an example of him figuring out what you would like him to do, rather than trying to figure out what he can get away with. Chances are, if you do effectively punish him for stealing stuff he will just steal stuff when you're not around. He's learned to look for the things he can get away with. My suggestion is to turn that around and teach him to look for things he can do to please you, to seek out the rewards. Oooh I like this! Makes perfect sense! Thanks Aidan. Thanks for the response too Nekhbet, glad to know I was doing it right the first time and didn't start grabbing the tongue instead ... lol

Nekhbet or Diablo (or anyone else who knows please!) I just realised last night that I think I got this whole 'thumb under the tongue thing' backwards. Although I haven't had to do it alot lately, last night I was having a stand-off with Cory as every time I'd tell him off (for stealing shoes/socks/undies/rubbish etc) he'd bark and try to bite me (not very hard, but very defiantly) ... anyway I remembered this advice so put my thumb under his tongue, and pressed down on the bottom of his jaw. Anyway, I just had a thought that in fact I was supposed to be applying pressure to the actual tongue, rather than the bottom of his mouth? Is that right? Pressure to the tongue? Feel a little silly now ... haha, and even more so for still not knowing Thanks

I have a doggy door in my security screen, so I can just pull and lock the glass door when needed. Before doggy door, Cory would just sniff around. I saw him sniffing around the carpet, and he'd be straight outside. Now we have the door he comes and goes as he pleases, and haven't had an accident for over a month (and no more flies!!!!!) Good luck

OMFG!! This thread more than any other i've read on DOL forums has me convinced that when it comes to dogs, some people are absolute NUTTERS!!! Talk about rose-tinted glasses!! Can't understand, given the additional information we've received, how anyone could defend the dogs right to be uncontained in any way, whilst eating a bone, in a salon open to the PUBLIC!! Which includes little people! Yup, they have absolutely every right to be in the salon! It is a societal norm for children to accompany their parents to hairdressing salons, and whilst hairdressers may not appreciate their presence, you can guarantee they're not surprised by it, therefore should be prepared for it!!

I agree with Nekhbet's advice..........the thumb under the tongue is a brilliant correction for needle sharp teeth nips, works a treat Thanks Nekhbet and Diablo, must admit the thumb under the tongue is a little hard to know if I'm doing it right ... lol. I think I am he doesn' seem to like it much, and seems to be getting the idea that biting means 'play over'. Had a bit of improvement the last few days (although I've been dog-sitting the neighbours dog, so it may be because he's tired from all the play ), will keep working at it.

Never thought of that option! Knew there must be a way to make this ugly crate useful!! Good luck Meeche! It really is such a confusing time, and it seems the more you learn, the more questions you have!

Thanks guys. Aidan - Good tip, we'll start with shorter time-outs, and the BAH doesn't seem to scare him, although does put him off, but makes him a bit rebellious! Starts barking at me instead! I'll try with more assertive yet calmer (aka quieter) commands. Persephone - I did start taking him for walks but the instructor said to get him better at 'heeling' before I do, as at the moment it takes forever to walk to the end of the street! When he starts pulling ahead I turn around and walk a different direction and treat when he's walking in step! I know what you mean by head-tired, cause I'm exhausted after it As for socialisation he gets to play with other dogs at dog school, and also my neighbours staffy x cattle, and occasionally my sister's staffy (although I'm waiting for Cory to get a bit bigger as Storm is a powerful Staffy (dog friendly but unintentional injuries). Also I take Cory to school for pick up/drop offs, he comes to work with me to play with the girls (24hr shifts). Haven't done the dog park, as would like him to be a bit bigger and better recall first. Thanks for the link Corvus, looks good. Will try anything

Haven't spoken to the instructors about this as it seems to have just surfaced in the last few days, but will bring it up on Saturday! Definately squealing and inciting from the 13yo, although circumstances have changed for her, so Cory won't be seeing her from next week. With my son, hes actually very calm, and will be watching TV with the Cocker jumping up like a loon to grab a toe or finger. My response to this is to step into his space with a loud "BAH" and hand clapping etc. Cory will back off, run around the couch for about 30 secs, then come chasing him again. My next step is placing him either outside or in the bathroom for a few minutes as a time-out. He's usually a bit calmer when he's allowed to return, but before long will be looking for trouble again. I'm wondering whether its excess energy? I haven't been taking him for walks, as he's quite young, but we do play some fetch and do some training (randomly) through the day. What sort of aversives would you recommend? Thanks for your input Cosmolo.

Hi, back again for more advice please! Cory seems to have taken 10 steps backwards in the last few days! Has been jumping up, biting, growling at my 6yo son, and also with a 13yro girl I look after. Is this too young to be the defiant teen years? (19 weeks old) I wouldn't say his behaviour is aggressive, however is overly playful and dominating (too young?) He's drawn blood on the 13yo, albeit I've had to tell them BOTH off, as she hypes him up. Cory has been going to puppy obedience for the last 4 weeks, and did 4 weeks puppy pre-school before that. He'll stop when I clap and growl at him, but then go running back for more, so then I've been putting him outside for time-out, but I'm wondering if there are better ways? Most of this behaviour is directed at the kids. Generally speaking he's always been quite a confident, active and mouthy puppy, not scared of anything so far. I've also been trying to teach him his place, by making him sit/drop for anything, eat after us, get my son to pretend to eat his food and things like that. Thanks for your help. Rebecca

Hey Judy, Normally wouldn't offer advice as I'm a noob myself, but felt slack you haven't had any replies ... lol. I'm sure you'll get a lot more knowlegeable answers before too long, so here's what I was thinking. I had a look at the Ian Dunbar set-up when I got my puppy, but just didn't suit our arrangements, but from my understanding, the fake grass is really only for when your not home to take her outside, in which case (hopefully) you won't see her use it to praise or not praise. When Cory was similar age, I would take him outside every hour for toileting, and only laid out puppy pads for the first few weeks when he was blocked in kitchen/dining when we were out. Now that he's gotten better at toileting, he has access to house through doggy door and haven't had an accident yet (touch wood!) Mind you I still shut all doors that can be shut! Have no idea about the nightime play sorry! Pics please ;)