mrs tornsocks

;) Well that was interesting ... did you ever try to take a puppy's heart-rate with your bare hand ? I tried to get him while he was asleep, of course he woke up and it was near impossible to tell his thumping tail on the ground versus his heartbeat. Anyway, I got 15 second's worth and it was approx 29 / 30 for that 15 secs which would give him approx 120-130 bpm, that's a real resting pulse. He weighs about 13 kgs.

Oh, I did not realise that about the matting after a bath. Thanks tlc & pebbles. Thank GOODNESS for our little Archie is all I can say ! OH's old aftershave it is ! ;) ;)

I can't contact bro and family, they are bush where mobile access is nil. I spoke to my Mum though, she agreed, the older one in particular is a mess - she doesn't think they'll mind but when I told her the approximate price, she didn't think I should shoulder that financial burden. Her suggestion was to maybe just wash them ourselves to get rid of the stink - realise it won't address the matting issue - and she offered to come and help. Otherwise, she suggested we get the bad one done professionally. Agree Lowenhart, they came over last week to make sure they got on okay with our pup and she said 'oh we've flea-ed them', like it was some miracle they weren't coming to us with fleas. Unfortunately I picked them up last night myself after they had left so didn't have a chance to give them the saracastic comment in passing. I think one of the reasons they don't get them done professionally is that SIL is, shall we say, a spendthrift. Example, she rang me before they were going away and said 'do you know a good kennel ?' ... knowing full well we'd never sent our pup to a kennel and our previous pup had only ever been minded by his breeder. So it was a not-very-veiled attempt at askig if we'd mind them. Plus she's a know it all; one of those people that if you've done/met someone, she's got one better. Yet she keeps her house and dogs in a shambles. Sorry, family vent over .... thank you so much everyone for the advice, we'll keep you posted ! paganman, one of these is a little manic as well. I have decided tomorrow, I am going to drop them off at their own house as me and OH are out for the day and I don't want Archie to be run ragged outside with the monsters. That will be one less day they have to be stinking the house.

I told you ! The dog in the foreground is a nightmare, as I mentioned, His back half kind of gets skinnier if that makes sense because his fur is matted etc. Sorry i can't explain that properly due to my novice status, but he has also had some skin irritation at the back which does not help. Don't know about ears, I'll take a closer look. This is what I mean about the SIL (to be fair to the bro, she is the 'decider' :D on these things and also does not work, with an 12yo at school) so probably has more time to devote ---- if they were that concerned about how they looked upon return, why would they look like this in thefirst place ?

One word. Labrador.

Thanks all, perhaps we'll just 'live with them' for a few days. Here's Archie and the doodles, Archie is already plum tuckered from all the play, we need to force him to take his time out.....

Fair enough - you make a good point on the fact it's only 5 days - I could not tell you when they were last clipped, I have zero experience with long coats and bro or SIL certainly never mentioned having them clipped recently. To be honest, my theory was that if they were concerned re input on how they want them to look, they wouldn't look like this in the first place. But I could be wrong. They will just have to spend more time outside than they are used to - because they are stinky ! and I would like to give them the opportunity to be pretty !! But they're not my dogs so I guess it's not a major concern for me. Maybe we could just have them washed, although i assume a decent groomer would not want to do that to the one that's matted without sorting out that issue.

I had a closer look at the older one, he is actually a bit more matted than I thought, the poor thing. They do love their dogs but then again you'd have to say there's a certain amount of neglect if a dog is matted. I am trying to get some pics but they are all so excited, it's hard and we're trying to settle them in a bit. This involves separating the more neurotic one (the barker) inside with us for now for some attention, and leaving our pup and the younger one outside, they play quite well together. We then bring the pup back inside to his crate to ensure he doesn't over do it. Phew, what a palava. I have no idea if this is the right thing to do but they seem to be alot calmer this way. I figure it's only for 4 days so we'll just do what works for us, and my primary concern is our own pup obviously. Forgot to add, we have a dog-aggressive sharpei next door, this is not helping. This bitch next door is going spare through the fence with all this doggy activity. But that is another story ! I think the oodles will need baths to be 'worthy' of pics on DOL !! Will post soon. edited to add: the oodles didn't want brekky this morning, so OH put the bowl up on our outdoor setting out of Archie's reach. Guess who surprised us with his agility ... and is growing very quickly !!

I know what you mean being a bit mad if they came back clipped or different without the owner permission - I would be the same .... but if my bro/SIL really cared about their appearance that much, I'm sure they would've made the effort to bath/groom them before they went away.

One of them is a little matted around the back legs etc but not too bad. The other has a lovely coat overall, obviously needs washing though. I know their coats must be really hard to keep in tip top shape all the time but to best honest I am a little cross with my brother (and SIL who was the one that wanted them in the first place the most) sending them to us un-groomed etc. But what can you do ? Family ??? ! These dogs are inside/outside dogs normally but ungroomed and a bit smelly I just don't want them running around inside, especially because our living area and hallway are not that big. I feel like if my brother & SIL expected them to be inside they could've at least prepared them for it. Anyway, vent over .... In the end, I left them outside overnight last night (tried them in the laundry but one would not stop crying and outside we have massive kennel that our pup doesn't really use yet as he sleeps inside) ... still, the neurotic one barked quite alot of the night. Anyway, since the weather here in Sydney is forecast for nice all week, I will investigate some local groomers today. There is one at our vets so that will be first port of call. thanks everyone !

Roused on because I was under impression crossbreeds of this kind were somewhat frowned upon on DOL, not because I'm helping out bro. But I see you have four gorgeous oodles tlc, so I must be mistaken ! Anyway they are not trained, and one is especially neurotic. Jump all over us, each other and generally chaotic. They are 1 and 2 so still very bouncy I guess, I should be a bit more patient with them ! They are sweet dogs though and yes Archie thinks all his xmases have come at once. Just need to limit his playtime a bit for his little bones and joints ! Thanks for the tips on grooming - we live in western Sydney, I'll check some options tomorrow.

Hi all I am minding two labradoodles for 5 days .... and before I get roused on, they are not mine, they're my brother's and his family. Goodness knows why I volunteered, our 16 wko lab puppy is 1000 times more sensible than them but anyhow ..... They came to us very ungroomed. I am thinking that to make their stay more bearable for us, as a favour to my brother and SIL, and perhaps to give them an not-so-subtle hint, I might get a professional groomer (possibly mobile) to wash dry and groom them. Any tips as to potential cost per dog for this ? They are standard poodle size (or thereabouts).

I have this with my happy and exuberant 16 wko lab as well, he pulls hard towards anyone coming our way to lick them to death. This is the advice my canine kindy teacher gave, I have just started to try it (no miracle cure yet but we're working on it). Archie wants to meet EVERYONE ! For the lunging problem: whenever Archie makes any move toward lunging to someone or something turn and walk the other way (he has to be on leash for this work). A simple solution but you will need to be dedicated and stay alert to his body language. It might be you notice his shoulders tense up before he lunges or his ears prick up with added interest when he spots someone - that's when you about-turn and walk away for at least 6 steps, then turn back and try again, if he starts to lunge turn and walk away, repeat until he gets it!! You could try roping in a friend to set up the situation when he's most likely to lunge (maybe someone walking their own friendly dog?). The premise is if Archie doesn't stay calm he does not get to meet and greet, instead he's turned around and walked away. But if he does stay calm he gets to be closer to the person and eventually go right up to them.

Archie's bpm seems high, just to the touch (ie when I put my hand on his chest). Vet has never mentioned anything and always put a stethoscope to his chest so I don't think it's an issue. Just wonder why they have quite a fast heartbeat or if it's dogs in general.

yes, a 9 week old puppy is full of love, joy and energy ! This sounds really obvious, but she doesn't really know what's wrong and right in your eyes and so that takes quite a bit of work in the early days, not always easy I'm sure with three little skin kids. Patience and consistency are the keys .... The kids are excitable, running etc., this brings up her excitement levels as well. If you don't use one already, I highly recommend a crate. There are many threads here on suggestions for crating and if you do a search under puppy problems, you should find quite a few. Try this http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?show...33&hl=crate Basically the crate can be a good area for her to go when she needs calming, and is also a good place for her to escape the kids when she's tired. It's by no means punishment - she needs to love the crate (and that takes practice as well) but it's a good option for inside. Jumping - don't pay her any attention when she jumps and somehow you have to tell the kids the same thing. Make her sit every time - no sit, no affection, not even a pat. When you come into the room she's in, or she comes into the room you're in, do not immediately shower her with attention and oohs and ahhs and squeals. Are you going to puppy school ? Great place to learn some basics. Mouthing is another issue - that's how pups discover the world and finds out stuff, not to mention she will teeth before too long. There are various methods to try and stop her doing this, try these threads .... http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?show...9&hl=biting http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?show...9&hl=biting

Oh no wire !! Poor pup, but I know what you mean. This is great everyone, thanks for the advice. We are about to mind my brothers dogs for 5 days so my boy will need alot of special 'alone' time, away from the crazy cousins.

Just to reiterate - I do realise this weekend was too much and we will not make that mistake again. Thanks also for the day to day advice - we do short walks, I am also trying to teach him walk / heel, so we have a few little stops along the way, with sits etc. I also do a little bit of training while we're out, just some sits/drops etc. The original post was about his 'recovery' - and I assume that yes, he is trying to recover from overdoing it.

thanks wagga, do you mean 20 mins a day is way too much ? ( I'm aware we overdid it a bit this weekend, we let the play with the lab/kelpie cross go too long, knowing he was playing that arvo with bigger labs). Although we're novice owners, we have plenty of info on lab joints etc and have owned a lab puppy before. Breeder gave us early exercise indicators (ie that they don't need very much at all early on except natural 'play') - I can certainly call and ask her for thoughts now that he's bigger and more active. eta: we are NOT novice breeders, we are novice OWNERS

I did not know this ! **runs off to consult some other websites** Should we change the level of activity ? (this weekend obviously was too much, but our day to day walks etc ?)

This might be a little bit of paranoia, or over reaction but our pup (16 wko lab) has seemed very tired today. He recently was given his final vacc and as we enjoy going away for weekends, we took him to a doggy friendly rental property. Yesterday he had a full-on day - played with some grown up DOL labs (two at the same time) on the beach for about 1.5 hours, and earlier in the day had a 'wrestle' with a 9 month old female kelpie/lab cross dog next door to where we were staying. Anyway, he was very tired all yesterday after getting home about 4pm and has been similar today. We went for a short walk to the beach after we woke up this morning, and he was not interested in chasing the ball etc., although he walked happily alongside me. I realise we probably overdid it yesterday with so much activity --- and this may be a really stupid question but do pups take longer to 're-energise', the more activity they've had ? I thought that maybe the overnight sleep might have had to back to normal energy levels. Appetite, toileting, general demeanour is all normal. One other question ---- this may be elsewhere but what's a good duration of walk/exercise for him each day at 16 wks ? We go for about 20 minutes currently.

Thank you ! Oops - I guess he got an extra big helping of dinner last night - but funnily I did not hear him complain. I will cut it up in future. I'd say it was probably 35cm (when you opened it out) by 15cm.

Just got lamb flaps for the first time for puppy (at least I'm hoping that's what they are, labelled lamb breast) Do you feed them one at a time ? They seem really large, it's heaps but not sure if it's good for one meal or more ? Pup is 15 wko lab, weighs 12kgs and is fed 3x per day.

Great minds Huski.. ;) guys just out of interest, what age do you think is an okay time to intro a young dog to a dog park ? Or is it not about age, is it about maturity ? In which case our labs won't be there until aged 3 !!

Totally agree, unfortunately though not as many dog owners are as responsible as you !!

I will try see if there is puppy kindy here in WA but i must say I have not heard of any. At our club where we belong the pups go to pup school until 16 weeks and then go to obedience class 1A. There is no kindy there but I will google it and find out. If the dogs are on lead, he is fine with them, its just the offlead ones he has a problem with, and not all of them he rolls over for, some he has no issues with. I personally feel if people have their dogs off lead if they call them they must come back, if the dogs are disobedient they must stay on lead. okay, well obedience 1A sounds fine too, I realise there will be a period between end of pup school and when he's old enough for obedience, this is where the kindy filled a great hole for us and there's sure to be junior/kindy schools in Perth. Otherwise re-enrol him in the next puppy school if there's no transitional school. At least this will give him exposure to more dogs, even if it's small-ish ones. When you get a new batch of pups, it's quite possible that there will be others more submissive than him especially as he grows in confidence. From the vetwest site:- http://www.vetwest.com.au/pps.htm How old should my puppy be? Puppies should be between 6-12 weeks of age. This is the optimal time for training and ensures all puppies in the class are socialised in a safe environment which is appropriate for their age and size. If your puppy is older than 13 weeks then please contact us for our recommendations on Junior dog training.