Zug Zug

'Hair of the dog' is great I think! I think stay with 'of' rather than 'off' but really just because it rolls more smoothly off the tongue. I also like Vanity Fur.

I have decided I can't take this particular dog. A bit sad about it, because in almost every suspect she sounded wonderful. But in addition to the broken leg it appears she also had a soft tissue injury to her shoulder. I would hate to risk her future health and mobility by doing agility with her. And I really enjoy agility.

Thanks for your feedback everyone. I think you have raised some important points for me to think about.

I have been looking for a new dog for a little while. I have just made an enquiry about a young 18 month old dog, who sounds lovely but has broken one of her legs a few months back. She had a plate put in apparently. I have been given the details of her vet and will be giving him a call tomorrow to ask some more questions. What do others think about a dog with a pre-existing injury like this as a possible agility prospect? I am a bit concerned about putting her at further risk of reinjuring her leg, but I'm told she's very active and in other respects she sounds great. Wondering what questions I should ask the vet. ETA: medium sized dog approx 15 kg or thereabouts.

Love these breeds

No need to apologise. I am looking for a puppy at the moment and I am also very unsure about prices. Different breed - but I am glad you asked because I find the replies help give me some context to the prices I am hearing.

Yeah I tried the dogproof mesh years ago - Zamba destroyed it on the first day. Now the sharkurity screens - ha ha she has tried but the screen won and we are now 3 years on and she gave up years ago I presume sharkurity and crimsafe are pretty much the same thing.

I do know a few standard poodles (bred in Aus) who have bloated. So while it didn't show up in your survey, it is an issue in the breed here.

Hard to argue that there is no genetic component to aggression, I think. While it is easy to blame the owners, and at times this is justified, there are no doubt many sweet natured dogs being equally mismanaged who never feel a need to resort to violence or aggression. It has been an issue with GSDs in the past, and lots of effort went into breeding out tge aggressive lines. But I have met quite a few seriously reactive GSDs in recent times, and am a bit concerned these problems might be coming back. The nice GSDs are magnificent dogs though. Really something special.

I was badly attacked by a boxer in my early 20s. I was scared of all dogs for a bit, then all big dogs, then just boxers, and now I am fine with all of tge above. I didn't want to go through life with fears, so made a point of meeting and (with permission) patting nice boxers whenever the opportunity arose. Most boxers are lovely and I quite like them now.

I don't have anything much to add about your original post, but I was enquiring after a litter recently and in my email enquiry indicated that I would want to know about hip and elbow scores, and any health issues in the lines of dogs that were in the pup's breeding. This is important to me because I plan to train and trial in obedience and agility with my next dog. Anyway, I received a reply saying I sounded like I was buying a race car rather than a pet and that I was therefore not a suitable person to own one of their puppies. Now I really did think that was harsh. I am a very loving and devoted owner. I have trained my dogs and give them every care. I have no idea what the breeder thought that led her to sending me a rude email like that, but needless to say there is no way I would be contacting her again for a puppy. Then another person I made enquiries to more recently got very upset when I apologised and said I couldn't afford one of their puppies at $2200 + flights. I received a very strongly worded email saying that I had already paid more than that for a labradoodle cross-breed (I have no idea where she got that idea from) and making it very clear that my backing out was considered to be horse-trading of some kind and was offensive. So, again, no further contact with that breeder. I am surprised at how difficult it has been looking for a puppy. A lot of breeders have very strong views and some of these come as a surprise to puppy purchasers, and that includes me at times. I am looking forward to the day when I find the right puppy and the search is behind me! ETA: no probs with desexing at this end. I have no intentions to breed so happy to take a desexed puppy if the breeder prefers that or to go on a desexing contract if that is their preference. So the issues highlighted by your original puppy buyer would not be an issue with me.

Another vote here for the Dremel. My girl Zamba has always allowed me to clip her nails, but was very frightened and would shake the whole time. (She had reason - I accidentally clipped the quick a few times and she has never forgotten it.) I got the dremel a few months ago and she is much calmer about it. No shaking. Not saying she loves having her nails done or anything, but she copes much better and is no longer shaking and terrified. Just in case anyone with coated breeds is also following this thread - be very careful to keep any hair out of the way while using the dremel. The leg hair or tail hair or ear hair can get caught around the shaft and wrap tightly onto the tool very quickly. Happened to me the first time I used it and I now always wrap my girl's leg hair etc in vetwrap now before we start. And tie her ears back out of the way with a hair band. Not going to be an issue with a Ridgey, though, is it?

That one looks broken to me! my friend has a good one and she said it folds up neatly to store under the bed. She got the whippet model.

Can I put it in the shed with the rest of my fitness equipment when I decide to go back to my couch potato lifestyle after the first 2 months?

Yep I agree. There has always been a toughie breed. When I was a kid it was GSDs. Then dobermanns and Rottweilers. Then bull terriers and staffies. Now pit bulls. There will always be people who want their dogs to be tough, and who have no clue how to raise them. I wish I knew more about dog attacks. Have they really increased in frequency and severity? Or do we just talk about them more these days?

Oh and yes in case anyone is wondering it is possible that my girl Zamba is a poodle x. She came from the pound many years ago. Opinions vary - some say poodle, some say cross. I just say Zamba - because we will never know for sure.

I could not share a home with a Labrador, but personally I love Standard Poodles. But my major concern in the end is well bred animals from healthy, tested parents and not puppy farms. Whether the two parents are of the same breed is secondary to animal welfare concerns in my opinion. It's the neglect and cruelty that really upsets me. And that can happen when both parent dogs are the same breed. There are plenty of pure bred poodles (and bichons and other breeds) being spat out of puppy farms. Just look at the Trading Post. They are everywhere. And that turns my stomach. That is where my anger is directed. Lab x poodle breeders who treat their animals well, test parents etc? I have no beef with that to be honest. Not my preference, but I see it as a personal choice issue rather than a question of right and wrong.

I don't think all labradoodles are ugly. I have seen some really nice ones. There us a really nice one training at my dog club presently. I was quite impressed with him. I know it is not encouraged on this website, but I would like to see them progress to the point where they could ultimately become a recognized breed. I also think that would help to improve the general standard of breeding. As was said earlier, so many of them are still just straight crossbreeds and because of that there is way too much variation. I do think there are some very nice purebreeds that could fill this space for people eg the lagotto or PWD. But they are not easy to get presently are they?

I haven't done that yet, but will build up a clearer idea as I ask about other litters I suppose. I now realise the value of a puppy that was offered to me a few months back for $1000. But I wasn't ready at that stage, so declined. Different breed though. I have contacted the breeder and let her know I find the price too high for me, and apologised for wasting her time. Shame. They sounded like marvellous pups.

Oh ok. Just a very expensive puppy then. I am glad I asked - and thanks very much for your reply. Side note:- I naively thought finding our next puppy would be easy, but I have been finding it very hard. It has been a very long time since I've had a puppy. Well over a decade since my last puppy came home (he died recently aged 13 years). And my current girl I got from the pound and she was a young adult and already desexed etc but even that was over 10 years ago. Dogs have got way more expensive in the past 10 years.

I have been looking for a puppy and recently made contact with a breeder who is doing all the right things. Health tested parents, puppies that are being nurtured, microchipped, vaccinated and desexed before leaving for their new homes. I got so excited, and then asked her several questions, including how much? I nearly fell off my chair when she emailed me to say the puppy would cost $2200. This is for a desexed puppy on limited register. Not a common breed. I have now picked myself up off the floor and thought - well it is a lot of money but let's break it down and try to work out how the cost is made up. So a question I'm hoping someone can help me with - how much does it cost to desex a young male puppy (medium size breed)? I was initially comparing the cost of this puppy with other puppies I've made enquiries about previously, but those did not include desexing. So I'm wondering how much of this additional cost is for the desexing to be done. And I would have done that at some stage in the first year anyway, so I'm thinking that's a good reason why this puppy would cost more. But the question is how much of the cost is due to this - ie. how much am I saving later on by getting a puppy that has already had this done. Does anyone know?

Just wanted to say I know exactly how you are feeling - and I have been much the same in the 3 months since my old boy's death. If you want another dog in your life, go ahead and get one. I do understand that the process of looking will bring back some of those grief feelings. It has for me, and I also watched it with a close friend of mine when she got a puppy recently, 2 years since her old boy died. She adores her new pup now. I am sure you will too when the time is right.

Bump - also keen to hear!

My first poodle was called 'Philomena' - but mostly I just called her 'Mena'

For the past few years I have had smaller dogs (a bichon and a mini poodle) and we've had a great set up of a laundry tub set into an outside island bench under our pergola. I have used a hose attachment on the tap, and it has been a great way to wash the dogs at a comfortable height for me and my back. Now 2 things are changing - I'm getting a bigger dog (a standard poodle) and we are moving to a new (well old, but new to us) house. So I need to set up a new dog bathing arrangement. It is very important that I set myself up well because I will be bathing dogs regularly, and I have a history of quite serious back problems. So I am willing to spend a bit of money to get it right, and potentially get a plumber to hook us up or whatever if that's the best thing to do. We expect to live in this new house for a very long time. Critical thing is I don't want to be lifting the dog (so a ramp or steps or whatever need to be part of the design) and I want the dog to be at a good height for me to work with while the bath itself is happening. Ideally we set it up so the grooming table is immediately alongside. I don't mind getting a bit wet - that is less of an issue. But I want to be standing up and comfortable. I have thought about purchasing a smaller normal person's bath and installing it into a special frame at a height to suit me. But not sure about getting the dog up there without lifting it. I have also thought about using a simple walk-up platform with low sides and a drain, and a hose that is attached to the wall. That could work, but could also be a bit hard perhaps to keep the dog in place (but maybe not, and I could potentially train for this). Ideas? Anyone got something great at home that works well for them? ETA: my bichon died a few months ago, but our mini poodle still has a few naughty years in her yet!