Bluefairy

MAD ~ Welcome to the Puppy Countdown Thread Yes I have a little way to go, it might be longer or shorter yet....I haven't even got my name down on a list yet, as we don't have all the money and until OH goes back to work we won't be getting anymore hopefully though he goes back in Mid-March. YAH!!! to James being home Didles ~ We need our Bulldog puppy fix pics.....NOW!!!! how is he going? I am going shopping with OH and the girls tomorrow, as we need outfits for my son's wedding at the end of March And my oldest daughter (not the ones at home) has just announced she is 8wks 1 day pregnant that makes baby #4 for her and 5 grandchildren for me :laugh: So its going to be a great and busy year BF

Didles ~ I am over the moon you found the perfect dog, see everything works out for the best. Ellz ~ Sorry for that, I meant to say what you said, I was going to buy a Frenchie puppy from a guy, but when I contacted him, he sounded off and I got a bad feeling, turns out he is also a "farmer" so I am glad I turned away from that sale too. Well our fences are nearly complete, OH has been so busy trying to get things ready for the new puppy. He is even watering the lawn (rainwater) to make it green, so the pup isn't walking on brown dead grass gotta love him for that. So now its up to $$$ to get the pup, and might be sooner than we thought....still not absolutely positive yet....but praying it is. Congrats on all the new pups they are gorgeous. BF

Hi Didles, Thats great you have contacted another breeder. I hope this one turns out to be magical in its ease and you get your little baby very soon. Yes flights interstate are quite good, especially for smallish puppies ;) As there are only about 2 breeders of Frenchies here in SA, it looks like I might have to go interstate to get mine. But as I said its easy and cheaper than you think All the luck in the world to you and to the OP. Bluefairy

Didles ~ I have been reading your posts and threads on here, and I just wanted to say be very careful, even with those that advertise on DOL. Most of them are NOT registered breeders. You are better going to the Bulldog club of the state your in, or closest to you and get a list of registered breeders from them or from the Canine Council in your state. I am after a French Bulldog and I have found heaps on the net and in papers....some going for as little as $500 up to $3,000. Because I want a pup without the health problems and I'm willing to pay good money for it, I asked in the Frenchies thread in SubBreeds on DOL for recommendations and I got quite a few. Don't worry about buying from interstate an airfare for a pup is usually between $100 - $200. I have done this twice before and had no worries at all. I just wanted you to be very careful about where you get your pup from. Its an awful lot of money to buy a BB and have it end in disaster. Bluefairy

Two reason's I have heard a lot for NOT desexing an animal is: 1. Too expensive 2. Can't be bothered And yes I know there are others, like those who show animals and registered breeders, so enforcing desexing is not the answer nor is being penalised for not doing so. So why can't the councils for each area and the vets of the animal owners choice both come to the party and do the desexing at a discount, both donating towards some of the costs involved, so the initial outlay for the owner is not such a huge burden as it is for some people. There would be more desexed animals then there are atm. Of course there will always be people who want an animal but still don't give a toss about its health or desexing, but these kind of people are the ones that never seem to get caught, and they continually do things that affect others. Bluefairy

Just a thought on the shade issue, what about setting up a sail in the back yard, this offers heaps of shade, ans you still get the breeze blowing unlike a kennel. We are lucky we have tree's, so not an issue for us. As for the poop detail...wish we could train our pups to either pick up after themselves or poop in one corner, instead of everywhere you don't want them to be... Bluefairy

I find this so sad... Our Bulldog managed to jump a 4ft fence of her pen, had no idea she could do it, and it wasn't discovered until about an hour later. We found a lady in the next street who had found her and rang the dog catcher, we rang her and found she had a dog matching our dogs description with her. We went straight up there and there was our dog waiting for the dog catchers young girls to get out the bath so she could play. It wasn't until we arrived that she checked the microchip and the name tag and council reg tags the dog was wearing. She said if no one claimed her she was going to keep her....I often wonder if we hadn't of been told our dog was there....would we have been notified. I don't think so, and we were the only ones in the rural area to own a bulldog. Its scary to know you may not get your pet back, not just because they couldn't find the owner, but because some took a fancy to your dog. Bluefairy

Spottychick ~ This pretty much why I had to put my 11 month old pup to sleep too. They didn't know what was wrong other than testing showed cancer, they couldn't find where it was, without expensive testing we no longer could afford (had already used all our life saving to get this far) as the pup was still being sick and so unhappy, we thought it would be kinder to let her go. I know have pet insurance so I will never be in that position again. As for the OP....in America they have free vet clinic's, so there is NO excuse the man had operating on his dog. Thats just cruel. Bluefairy

When I had my first Aussie Bulldog she would always be trying to play in the water bucket. We ended up buying a sheep trough, it was about 4ft long and can be easily emptied and cleaned, but she was never able to empty it herself. She ended up laying in it on hot weather days. So it had to be cleaned often The sheep trough was the best thing we ever did. Bluefairy

Hungry Pillow, I hope your wait does quick At least being here you can learn heaps before the puppy arrives. Bluefairy

Keyarna ~ Don't worry too much, we all feel the same way. We all worry we are going to make a mess of rearing the pups, but if we do it with love, it can't be all bad :D Good luck. Oh and we had a 2yr old cat that had never had anything to do with dogs either, but she love it. I just made sure there were plenty of places for the cat to get away from the dog. Pups tend to have more energy that cats have, so they need the time out. Just allow them time, they will get used to it. I think too the older animals know they are babies and tend to have more patience with them. Definitely lots of pictures Bluefairy

Hi, FD26 ~ Wow aren't you organised :D thanks for sorting the list, makes it easier to know who is getting what and when I got my crate today. It is fantastic, its fairly heavy, so not something you want to move around a lot. Mine is staying in the lounge room. It is very strong and very well made, it certainly is easy to put up (well it is when you unclip it ) took me a while but I got it up in the end My cat Shadow walked into it when I went to get the padded bed, then she came out, I put the bed in and then she laid down in it. I think she thinks I bought it just for her :D I wanted her to get used to it being there....wait until she finds something moving inside it... Bluefairy

How about we make a list of our usernames, breed of pup, when we expect them? Bluefairy ~ French Bulldog ~ Hopefully in 5 months or less. Next Bluefairy

I agree that went super fast.... :D Bluefairy

Gumnut and Prince Charming Yeah I hate the waiting too. I'm only waiting for 2 more things done to the house, replacement of an air con and fences to be put up, so we can go further on getting our dog. I just wish the air con guy would hurry up and ring so we can organise him to come out and give us a quote. Oh has suggested we can put our names down on the breeders list as soon as the aircon is nearly finished so we might be getting our pup sooner than we think.....I hope. Bluefairy

FD26 ~ In the car I am using a seat belt attachment to a harness. The crate would take up too much room in the back of the station wagon so I'll never take it with us anywhere. I have just bought a gorgeous pet blanket for the back seat, it is waterproof, if lovely and so soft, and has velcro slits for the seat belts, plus elasticated corners to hold it in place on the seat. This is all I will be using. My pup will be secured between my two daughters in the back seat Bluefairy

I have gone through this recently myself. I was after a size for a French Bulldog, a bit bigger than your Pug. I ended up getting a 30inch or 76cm long one. They also come in differing widths and heights, so try to get one of the biggger sizes on these, they will all be 30inches long on this size, which is a medium. If you do a search and ask for "Crate Sizes for Dogs" it will give you several websites you can check out breeds and crate sizes for those breeds. They are US sizes so in inches. As for brand, I got mine off a seller on Ebay, as the prices for them in pet stores was ridiculous at $150+. I got mine for $36 + $20 registered postage it was an auction not a Buy It Now. They are pretty good quality crates so I am not complaining at all. Its certainly worth it to me. Oh and it has a divider to make the crate smaller when the pup is young. Have fun shopping for your little Pug.....they are very cute. Bluefairy

Well done Michelle, I love a bargain Your the same as me got my crate, but no pup yet Bluefairy

This is all new to me too But if you have your dog done yearly, because the vet insists etc....is it harmful to the dog to get it every year? Does this Triannual vaccinations apply to cats too? Bluefairy

Can I ask where you buy your Oakwood Shampoo from? I tried the web site, and even though they have an online shop the link just goes to an advertisment with Dr Katrina in and no where else I tried a few other online pet stores, but none of them sell it. Bluefairy

FD26 ~ I wonder why its always so expensive in the NT for postage....Its not like you live overseas which when quoted that price I can understand....but come on... thats a rip off. I can understand why your so peeved. I love the colour of the Staffy pup....its gorgeous. How exciting on the new arrivals coming.....lots of pictures people OK? Not much happening today except study....so back to the books for me. Bluefairy

I never put a collar on a dog while they are in the house. But it is a good idea to get the pup used to it, either way of short times or all the time is OK, whatever works for him or you. I only ever put a collar on when going outside or for walks. Just in case they escape, you just never know, even with a microchip, its great if your dog has an id tag so if someone finds them they can just bring them back....instead of calling the pound. Bluefairy

I actually have one of their's on my watchlist at the moment. They do flat rate shipping, which is good. A lot of them charge $60 for shipping to NT! We'll see how the auction goes... I too looked at the price plus the postage.....it has to make it better than being straight from most stores at over $150+. As my crate was $36 + $20 postage, so for $56 its a very good price. Watch out for Luffy4688, they will up the price Some places had the postage at $35+ I can't see how they can justify the price, as they are not a huge item, fairly flat though they may weight a couple of kilo's. But still some of the postage costs were astronomical ;) Good luck with your auction, hope you get it at a good price. Bluefairy

Luffy4688 ~ Yes FD26 ~ I have bought from DD before and most though not all are very cheap and nasty.....I'm just saying this is what put me off buying their crate. I opted for one from ebay, because 90% of the time the stuff is top quality. I got mine from the seller: oz-directsell they have 900 feedback with 99.9% positive. Not bad, their communication is fantastic and they have contacted me letting me know they got the money and it was posted. Big pluses in my books. Oh and postage was $20 for registered post Not much happening today....wash day, but as it looks like a storm brewing I am having to leave it go through the drier :D Bluefairy

FD26 ~ I just won a crate off ebay for $36, its a 76cm one, black powder coated with a divider (I probably wont use this but its nice to have just in case). It folds into a suitcase so it can be stored when not in use. I won it last night and it was posted today. to all the newbies.... Bluefairy