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Thanks all again for your help. The trip went great except for when we left Melbourne and got stuck in some terrible Friday afternoon traffic. The trip down took us 6 hours and I must say that Ozzie was a star. We stopped 3 times and gave him a run etc. and all was good. Had the crate raised up so he could see outside and took extra towels and blankets just in case but they were not needed. No dinner before we left but a few treats every now and then along the way. Once down in Warrnambool, on the Saturday morning, I took Ozzie for a run along Logans Beach. His first time on the beach and he loved it. Tried to bite and the waves racing towards him. He has no fear and is such a great fantastic little guy. Loves meeting new people and can be an embarrasment sometimes as he gets so excited - any tips on how to control him would be great. I just do not want to break his spirit in the process. Someone once said,'Rather a friendly dog than a timid, shy and fearful dog or worse an aggressive dog!' I couldn't agree more. He stayed at the Yangery Gums kennels for 3 nights and I am told he was great. No stress at all. Des and Debbie were wonderful and took great care of him. The place is very clean indeed and I love the fact that they have both hard floor and green grass for the dogs. Very happy. He was soooo excited to see me when I picked him up I thought he might wag himself to pieces. Trip back only took 4 hours with 2 breaks. Thanks again

Warrnambool people, and you others, thank you for all the advice. You live in a great place and we get down there 2 or 3 times a year. This will be the first time with Ozzie though. Can you recommend great places for dogs to run and play like beaches, parks etc? Are any of them fenced off as Ozzie is only 6 months and being a little terror, I mean terrier, he can get so excited and distracted sometimes that the call back is not where we would like it to be at this point? Will also check the Warrnambool thread (thanks jerojath). He will be in the middle seats of the Tarago next to the window and next to my 2 year old so they will chat away. He will be in his crate and I will bring extra blankets (thanks bobchic).

Thanks for the advice. He will stay with us the first night inside at a family's place but because they do not have a secure yard we will be placing him in a good kennel 5 minutes away for 3 nights. What is great is that it is only 5 minutes away and we are more than welcome to take him out during the day which we are going to do. Yes I will ensure that he is well exercised before he is placed in his crate. At least 2 breaks are planned with a bit of a walk. I am also planning on raising his crate so he can see out of the windows as well.

Hi All We are going down to Warrnambool for a long weekend and have decided to take Ozzie with us. He is a 6.5 month old Autralian Terrier. We picked him up near Ballarat when he was 8 weeks old and the drive back to Melbourne was fine. We do short trips every now and then to the vet, parks, friends houses etc and he seems fine. If it is a short trip then often he wil go in the back seat of the Tarago with my kids but sometimes it is in his crate. Again we have had no isues thus far. I am nervous though as this will be a 5 hour trip for him and he will be in his crate. Is this a crazy idea or should I just leave him in a kennel for the long weekend?

Hi all Am new here and am a first time dog owner. We have a 9 week old Australian Terrier and are enjoying the little fella's presence in our busy home. I have 4 kids, 3 boys 7, 6 and 4 and a little girl 19 months. All is going as can be expected but I have a few questions. Toilet training is trying to say the least. I will list some details to give you an idea of our setup. Ozzie has a crate inside the family room where he sleeps at night with the door closed. I get up at 4am to take him outside where he will do a poo or 2 and a wee. He goes outside before I go to bed which is usually around 10:30 to 11pm. He has a big meal at 7pm. The crate door stays open all day and this is where he will go to have a sleep. If my wife has to go out then he is placed on the pergola where he also has a kennel. We have a dog door which he has no problems using but my wife will lock it if she is going to be out. She finds it really hard to watch the dog when at home and so accidents do happen. We have a spot under a large shrub where we take Ozzie to the toilet and he generally wees there most of the time as well as poos. He is rewarded most of the time when this occurs. However, it seems that when he is in the house with us, which is really only the family room (slate floor), that he is still having accidents in the house. I have caught him numerous times and have clapped and loadly said "No" which stops him and then I proceed to carry him out to the toilet area outside where he will finish. I cannot figure out why he doesn't use the dog door and go outside himself. The other day one of the kids had locked the dog door by mistake and Ozzie couldn't get inside but I noticed that he ran down to the toilet area and had a pee which was fantastic. Just why doesn't he go there when inside. He knows we get upset when he goes inside! Sometimes he just goes on the paved area of the back yard which is halfway to the toilet area. I know he is a youngin and is still learning but does anyone have some groundbreaking ideas?