aussielover

Clastic- what a gorgeous puppy! Love the colour. He is a border not Aussie right?

Yes, Mindy threw up on her first day. How much of the ginger biscuits so you give? just one? She hasn't been sick again, but we have only done short trips since then. She cries alot and will sometimes start howling in the car- id there anything we can do for that?

Yeah me too! How embarassing, Sorry! Maybe a beagle- they are definitely "independent" But they can be trained- they're used as custom and drug sniffing dogs after all... and they can make great family pets when properly trained. I love Aussies (obviously) but if you don't have the time to exercise for 2hr+ per day, then maybe not a good choice.

Hmm yes, I am also worried about barking. Mindy is alot more vocal than clover (my old dog). she cries for attention (doesn't get it until she is quiet though). Nothing seems to tire her though- she already knows sit, shake hands and come (after her first day!). She is walking on the lead pretty well too. she gets ALOT of play time and is learning to retrieve a ball. Toilet training is going OK but she was going on the tiled area not the grass, so now I have to put her on the lead and stand in the grass. she cries and barks in the car NON STOP though which is annoying- I think she doesn't like the movement because she sort of stops when the car stops. AM DREADING putting her to bed tonight! I know she is going to bark and carry on- its just for how long that will be interesting. I don;t know whether to leave her in the laundary in her crate, or to have her crate beside my bed- what do people think? she can't be with me at night forever so am I just prolonging the pain?

Out of all the dogs you have listed I think maybe a staffy or an aussie would be most suitable. Aussies are working dogs though, so how long do you plan to exercise it for? If you take them for 2x 1hr walks, they should be fairly happy to occupy themselves- they will probably follow your husband round the house though. It is important to tell the breeder of your needs as they can choose a suitable pup for you that may be lower energy and quieter (some aussies are very high energy and excitable). Many working dogs are tied up for half the day, so should be ok (within reason) to be left alone as long as they receive adequate exercise and mental stimulation. With regard to the shedding, i found my Aussie did not shed very much, it was not noticable in the house or on clothes. A weekly (ideally daily) brush of the coat would be ok. Labs can become very destructive if not properly stimulated (as can all dogs, but I think labs have a reputation for this). They are very people oriented and don't do well without company. Vizslas are just as, if not more, clingy than labs and are also pretty high energy. Not sure about Weims but would assume similar to the other gundogs. staffies are very cute, lovable dogs but I am not sure how much excercise or company they need. As other have mentioned, A greyhound sounds like a good dog for your situation though. Good Luck with your choice!

I picked my new puppy "Mindy" up today from guide dogs! she is very cute, has a typical lab personality, LOVES her food and will do anything for a treat or cuddle! She cried and barked for 30mins in the car and also threw up and did a poo! I am hoping this is just because it was her first long car trip, my old dog also vomited when we picked her up! I plan on doing some short, fun trips in the car to get her used to it though. She is quite vocal- cries a lot for attention. We are trying to ignore her when she does this. I think she will be quite a challenge compared to my old dog who was basically perfect from day 1. I'm looking forward to it though !!!!

Yay, i am picking up my puppy tomorrow!!!!

Correct Even having a dog with natural defence and fighting drive, if untrained in defence and getting into a scrap, you won't control them at the height of aggression and could easily result in serious consequences one way or another. This is why I would NOT want my dog to try to protect me. Clover used to growl at dogs if she was sitting close to me and she would growl at scary looking men, people wearing big hats and disabled people (very embarassing).

My Australian Shepherd hardly shed at all (or maybe I just didn't notice it?). We recently babysat a golded retriever though and there were tumbleweeds of his hair everywhere!!!! You coudln't give him hugs if you were wearing nice clothes and going out (if you didn't want to be haired!) I'm getting a labrador soon, I know they are well known for being massive shedders!

Well even if their intention is to only to play, it is still not really acceptable the dogs are jumping the fence- I mean isn't the purpose of the fence to contain the dogs? What if soemthing DID excite them one day? HOWEVER, the breed really has nothing to do with the fact that the dogs are jumping the fence. You should speak to the owner about them containing their dogs. To answer the OP's question - I personally couldn't tell a pitty from an amstaff, other people have suggested some good links though. Personally I have always thought of amstaffs being larger though... I am probably soooo wrong though.

Sorry to hear about your poor girl Is there another vet at the same practice- perhaps you could speak with them as this one seems a bit offhand and rude. I hope it is nothing serious and your girl recovers well.

Thanks everyone, will try these methods with my new pup.

Thanks everyone for your comments. It is good to know I am not the only one to think these designer breeds and the places that produce them are dodgy. Regarding vet practices, I know of vets that actively recommend designer breeds as they are "healthier" (what a load of BS!!!!) Just the other day i saw an article where chris brown (Bondi vet) recommended a family to get a cav x poodle or spaniel x poodle. The majority of DD that we see have some kind of skin or ear problem. Whilst they are lovely dogs, they have all seemed to be hyper and lacking in sense (perhaps that's just the influence of the owner). I have told these people I think the breeder is running a puppy farm but they disagree, they were impressed by the website, and think I am just being a purebred snob. They don't want a pound dog unfortunately, they want a baby puppy.

Ohhh bailey is so adorable...

I have a question about food rewards- How do you get a dog to do something for you if you don't have any food rewards handy? The reason i am asking this is because I had some difficulty with my old dog- She would be absolutely perfect when I had a treat in my hand and do whatever I asked her to do- she was very quick at learning tricks etc if there was a food reward available. However, If I attempted to get her to do something without a treat in my hand (and she would know somehow- even if I pretended that there was) she would just look at me like I was an idiot for even suggesting that she do it! I would then make her do the command and verbally praise her- she wasn't impressed by this. Do you think it was just the individual dog, or is there somehting you can do to help this kind of problem. I wanted to do obedience or agility with her but gave up due to this problem.

Perhaps leave her with a kong stuffed with yummy food? Although I know some dogs just never get into kongs. Is your fence see-through? perhaps you could board it up for a bit so she doesn't get distracted? At 5 months she should be able to contain her excitement somewhat. If the barking is constant when outside, or occurs more than 75% of the time, it might be worth it to get the help of a trainer or behaviourist.

You seem very responsible to me. I like the idea of monitoring with a webcam! If the puppy is eventually to be left outside for any period of time, it is probably best to get him used to it now, for shorter periods. It is ridiculous to think that anyone can monitor a dog 24/7 and I would say that anyone who does this is neurotic. Good luck with your puppy, you sound like you are doing a great job with him and he is very cute btw! PS it sounds like some of those people who commented on the other forum have an anxiety disorder or something.... I mean seriously, NEVER leave your dog unattended in the backyard? what the hell? If they are unattended in the house, there are still risks, just as great IMO. do they follow their dog around all day and night? must be very tired people

I have removed the link as requested so as to not give them advertising. Apoolgies if I offended anyone... They want to get a "labradoodle" puppy from here. Of course, I tried to discourage them from getting a crossbred dog and educate them about puppy farms and ho there are 1000's of good crossbred dogs available in shelters/rescue group etc. I cited the advantages of a well bred purebred dog such as a poodle, lagotto, labrador, cocker etc but they are still adamant about getting cross bred "designer dog". I had a quick look at the website of the so called "breeders", it appeared not as bad as some puppy farms, but still in my opinion a puppy farm as they clearly have many, many breeding dogs. They are also a "business" which is slightly concerning to me- sort of implies the aim is to make money only. They do health test their dogs for PRA, hip dysplasia and heart disease whcih is better than nothing I suppose. They allow visits to the pup and mother but only with appointments (could be slightly dodgy?). Their health guarantee seems quite generous- 2yrs for hereditary diseases and hip dysplasia but the only options are to return the pup (who would do that after having the pup for 2yrs???) and receive a new one or get a refund. They also have a decent section on things to consider before getting a puppy. It does worry me that they ship overseas and the sheer volume of dogs they appear to have. I'd like to hear the opinion of others though, as I showed the website to some of my friends and they didn't see anything wrong with it. So I don't know if its just me... What do people think about the health testing and the health guarantees though? It sort of indicates some level of resposibility on the owners part. do you think they are lying about it?

very cute, especially with his jumper on!

So you have a diagnosis then? To get a proper diagnosis of a ruptured cruciate it requires the dog to be put under GA, and then the stifle joint manipulated. You may be able to get some idea without using GA, but its pretty hard to diagnose without the dog being under. I wouldn't do surgery unless you have had the diagnosis confirmed. She will need strict cage rest after the operation, do you have a crate or something? Honestly, if you don't do the cage rest, there is a VERY HIGH chance that she will ruin the surgery- I have seen this many times and its is a comnplete waste of time and money. Alternatively you could board her at the vet hospital for a period after the surgery. Its great you have managed to get some weight off her though, I'm sure it is helping her A luxating patella is when the knee cap slips out of place, it is quite common in little dogs and not usually a major problem. If you have ever seen a little dog that appears to be "skipping" when it is walking its probably a luxating patella.

Just finding out, I am puppy raising for guide dogs- if the puppy passes the health check on Tuesday, I will be able to pick up on wednesday!!!! I hope everything goes ok

Actually, most vets make very little money off food products. I believe most prescribe special diets (whether rightly or wrongly) because they truly believe this is the best course of action. As a vet student, they are told all about the pros of the prescription diet and the importance of a nutritionally balanced diet. And, the premium dog food brands are nutritionally balanced, have been through feeding trials etc. For the AVERAGE dog owner- these foods are the best way to provide their pet with a balanced diet. I agree that feeding a more natural diet is probably the way to go and if I had a choice I would feed my dog this way, but it is more time consuming and sometimes more expensive. For a lot of people on this forum- it is worth it and I admire you guys for doing it! But if you think about the average dog owner- the type of person who buys their puppy from a byb or pet shop (and sad to say but I believe this is the majority of dog owners), they are not going to be bothered with that.

If he is not suffering, why is he in urgent need of a dental??? Rotting teeth would indicate some level of suffering to me. The owners only option is to put him under GA- as many people have said, a very risky procedure on a 15yr old dog, or put him to sleep. If he doesn't get the dental, he will clearly be suffering (unable to eat due to rotting teeth and in pain), so really, wouldn't it be the kindest thing to do to put him to sleep? I'm not having a go at you, I think it is lovely that you want to help this dog and we would all like to help every doggie out there, but I think realistically in this situation, perhaps euthaniasia would be the best solution. The poor dog would alomost certainly never make it out of a shelter alive and I'm not quite sure why you would suggest that?

With proper rest, physio and weight loss (if dog is overweight), there can be an improvement in the condition of the dog. However, it is unlikely you will ever get 100% recovery and you will always have to be careful with watching how the dog is exercising and playing. I am slightly confused by the vet report- did they say whether it was a partial tear or rupture? if your dog has ruptured both cruciates, it would be walking with a lot of difficulty. In this case, you should proably seriously consider surgery. If you are not going ahead with surgery (which is understandable if you simply can't afford it) I would recommend that you restrict the dog from exercising for at least one week, preferably longer. That means no running or jumping at all. You may want to contact a dog physio who may be able to suggest some gentle exercsises. If the dog is overweight, put the dog on a diet, this alone often will result in a great improvement. I have friends whose dog has a partial tear of one cruciate, they decided not to do surgery. The dog was limping quite badly but after some rest (unfortunately the dog has not lost weight) the limping has decreased and the dog can walk around quite normally.

Clastic :D What are you getting and when?! Ava still doesn't let us sleep in on weekends WHen do we get to see more photos of the lovely Ava? Your other dog is very cute as well!