aussielover

Thanks, i feel a bit better now, i don't like the idea of someone trying to avoid me in the park though because they think my puppy is aggressive though.

My opinion on the 3 breeds: Collie Rough- herding breed, so need quite a lot of mental stimulation. It would also be beneficial for them to be exercised regularly, though they are not as high energy as a border collie or kelpie. I would think they would need to be brushed everyday which requires some dedication. A large breed may accidently knock over a child, so you must be prepared to accept this. Cocker Spaniel Gundogs who require a fair amount of exercise. They are happy little dogs in general, unfortunately I only know badly behaved ones that have been lacking in training. I am sure a well trained one would be lovely though. In my area, there aren't many pure cockers, as the spoodles have taken over in popularity Cavaliers Very sweet dogs, but I've heard that many breeders won't sell to families with young kids. They don't require as much exercise as the other two breeds and I've never met an aggressive one yet. They always seem to be happy and very friendly. If you are not particularly fussed about looks or temperament, perhaps you may consider an older puppy from a rescue group? There are quite a number of breed specific rescue groups also. They will me able to match the dog to your needs

Why don't you see what your vet recommends? If you are in a high parvo incidence area, then I would say yearly might be beneficial. The official AVA recommendation is now every 3 years for the C3 vaccination You will need to get yearly kennel cough vaccines though if you want kennel cough cover (doesn't cover all strains of KC though) or your dog boards at a commercial facility.

My old dog was the opposite! She would appear to be all fierce and tough and bark her head off (it actually sounded quite scary) if we were home and had visitors. One day a friend had left some stuff in our yard while were weren't there and had to climb over there fence to get it. Apparently Clover just stared at her, then came and licked her! Useless guard dog! We also had cleaners who would come when we were out and they said Clover never gave them any trouble.

The other day at the park a young dog (a bit smaller than Mindy) came running up my puppy and initiated a game of chaseys. They then started playing bitey faces together but the owner got all stressed and thought Mindy was being aggressive The other pup looked to be enjoying itself and wasn't squealing or anything. Neither of the dogs were making any noise at all. I tried to explain that they were just playing, but the woman did not believe me. So I called mindy away and started playing with her elsewhere. The other pup kept trying to come back and play, but the owner kept shouting at me to keep my aggressive puppy away. Really I think she should have taken her dog away, seeing as she was the one who was uncomfortable with the situation, she shouldn't have let her dog keep running back to mine, especially when I had made an effort to move away from her. Her dog had no recall at all either. I usually call Mindy back to me when I see another dog enter the park, but she was already playing with another friend and the other puppy ran up to her before I could do anything. my question: Can a puppy of 15 weeks be truly aggressive toward another dog? Should I have apologised to the other owner because she felt my dog was aggressive?

Mindy plays with a friend who is very vocal. Sometimes it sounds like he is trying to kill her! She always runs back for more though, so I don't think it is too serious.

She sounds like a sweeite. You can easily train her to bark when people arrive. I agree with Poodlefan, I don't think many people would be game enopugh to enter your home with her there, whether she barks or not!

A bit OT but do you let your puppies play with dogs/puppies smaller than them? I don't really like mindy playing with smaller dogs, she is a bit rough and I'm worried she could injure them just by sitting on them or running into them. Some hardy little dogs like JRTs are ok, Mindy has a puppy friend called Ruby who is a 6 month old JRT and is very tough. She bosses Mindy around!

He looks very much like a BCxAussie that sometimes boards with us.

Do they have to love people? None of my dogs seem that thrilled by people. Mindy is excited initially but that quickly wears off. She is happy to sit quietly and be petted though when instructed to do so but I am the only one she will choose to snuggle up to. If she doesn't pass being a guide dog and is able to come back to us I would like to do some community work with her. She has a lovely nature, but isn't people obsessed. I got the feeling that Clover only tolerated people touching her. She was never aggressive and would let people stroke her but she never seemed to enjoy it and would sometimes sigh and stand up and walk away and then give me a really reproachful look. So i'm guessing she would not have been suitable as a therapy dog!

Petbarn have some. We have a puppy playpen which can be converted into a gateway, you can take pieces out of it to make it bigger or smaller and it has a gate to allow humans to get in easily. It would easily block off even a large doorway. The only problem is Mindy has learnt to open the gate, so it is now quite useless! Its about thigh height. Can't remeber the name of the brand but we got it from petbiz and it was quite expensive (around 100 bucks i think). Its a creamy colour, with vertical bars. Sorry probably not that helpful for you!

Wow i am surprised my two were already on here! Mindy and Clover aren't exactly what I thought would have been common!

I've started letting mindy sleep in my room. I get much more sleep that way! She is good and doesn't toilet overnight though. If she wants to go she will bark at the door. I am a bit of late night person, but I have started getting up earlier now that I have a lot more work going on, and trying to fit in taking her for a morning walk. Usually go to bed from 11 and get up at 6am but sometimes Mindy doesn't not want to get up that early and I will literally have to carry her outside.

Hey lilli star have you tried just putting her dry food in there. I find they fall out pretty easily. I got very enthusiastic after first getting the kong and stuffed it with things that were really hard to get out! Mindy had no idea and gave up pretty quickly! so i just put some dry biccies in there which popped out quite quickly, now she loves the kong and I;ve started to put in more interesting things that take longer to get out. she now knows Kong=food, so will keep trying to get at it I also use the large puppy kong now, but from about 8weeks- 14 weeks was using the medium puppy kong, though there is actually no difference in the size of the hole at the top. Keep trying, i am sure Ruby will get in soon

I pretty much do. If I am working, mindy comes with me, so I like to feed her from Kongs because they keep her entertained for longer! she will usually get 1 meal from a kong, 1 meal in treats (for training) and one in a bowl if we are at home or another kong if I am at work. I like to feed her in a bowl sometimes, as thats what she will eventually get when she goes back for training. I have also found that the treat balls are just as good as kongs, especially the ones that only dispense one piece of kibble at a time! I am thinking of getting mindy one.

I've been told the earlier you desex the taller they grow and in my experience this seems to be true.

She is a guide dog trainee, so not mine will be tough to give her up... A part of me kind of hopes she fails. But at the same time it would be awesome if she did graduate and was able to help someone, she does love having a job to do ETA: if you go into general discussion there is a subforum (should be at the top of the page? called breed subforums, you will find the "those cray labs" thread

Haven't really noticed this. But probably because there's a little bit of friendly rivalry between everyone's favourite colour labrador. There's no real differences between the colours. except that blacks are better

Aren't eggs quite high in calories? I may try feeding one to Mindy. Is it ok for a 4month old lab puppy? Do you find they prefer cooked or raw? What would be better to start off with? How much of the dry food would I have to remove from her daily ration to compensate for the egg? Thanks

Can't you get a fence with a gate? Or some chicken wire or something that is easily moved? I think it sounds a bit unrealistic to be honest. does that part of the garden have a different texture than the rest? Otherwise, it will be pretty hard to teach him. If you want to persist with no fence I would not leave him unsupervised outside. The more times he goes onto the area without reprimand, the more likely he will think it is ok. Keep up with telling him no, if he does go on the area. It will take time, but if the part is distinctly different, then it may be possible. Our old dog knew not to go on certain rugs in our house. You could also try one of those remote collars that act as a fence.... sorry don't know much about these as I would personally never use one.

a lab is rather large... Also, not really suited to a courtyard. and they moult rather a lot as well.... I think an aussie shep with the right temperament may fit. We had an aussie in a very similar situation, the only thing is I would saythey need a MINIMUM of 1 hr exercise per day, preferbaly at least 2hrs consiting of a morning and evening outing off lead playing catch or with other dogs etc. While most dogs would prefer human company, our aussie was ok to be left from 9-4 while. We had a dog walker come in the middle of the day though. You would have to ask the breeder about one with a more laid back temperament as I know some of them can be very energetic! Also, surprised the greyhound people have not suggested a grey... not sure if they like playing ball or frisbee but I am sure they could be trained. I've seen greys do agility etc.

Try to expose them to people who will ignore them and not "fuss" over them. Very hard to do practically! Practice having their attention focussing on you (using a treat/reward) as you walk by other people. Reward every time they don't try and go to the person/dog but instead are focussed ahead or on you. This is one of those things though that are easier said than done. Puppies are naturally social and will want to say hi to other people or at least investigate them...

Just out of interest why has she offered to drop the price? That sounds a bit odd to me unless you are intending on showing or co-ownership. Though, if you told me what happened with poor bailey and I was the breeder, I'd probably give you one for free out of compassion! I wouldn't go for a runt though, they often have health/behavioural issues when they get older.

I never did puppy classes with my last dog, she was crate trained though (much easier than Mindy was!). I made no special effort to socialise her apart from taking up to the shops and on walks and at the dog park. Luckily she turned out ok, but was wary of "unusual" people and would often bark at people who were disabled or had a limp or wore hats etc which was hugely embarassing. My current pup, being a guide dog puppy has been extensively socialised, gone to puppy school and is about the start obedience training. She is a pretty well adjusted and confident little thing, though she still gets excited to see other dogs and people which is something we are really working on. Also I didn't get my first pup until she was around 5-6monhhs old, not sure if was a good thing or not. she was certainly a lot less destructive than Mindy first was. I've noticed that Mindy who is almost 4 months now has calmed down ALOT and rarely destructs anything anymore. So perhaps it is an age thing... I would like my next dog to sleep on my bed with me I would also do obedience and agility with my next dog to stimulate their minds a bit more. I felt a bit sorry for Clover, she didn't really have a "job" and became a bit ball obsessed and tried to herd SWFs (also humiliating) Also, Clover never learnt to walk on the lead properly. She wasn't dreadful and didn't pull but would stop to sniff etc.

Sorry everyone...