aussielover

This is a joke right?

If they think she is crossed witha greyhound- why are they selling her as a purebred dally?

Positive Puppies do pet sitting, They do the puppy school and walk dogs in boarding where I work, they are great, really responsible, take the dogs for really long walks (2hrs+) and great dog trainers. this is the website if you want to have a look: http://www.positivepuppies.com.au/Pet%20Sit.html Boarding is not ideal imo, obviously it depends on the kennel, but I think most dogs feel more comfortable in a home environment. Have you got any friends who can mind him?

Poor little dogs!!! I hope they are feeling better

http://flyingdogpress.com/content/view/42/97/ Wow thanks for posting that article! The exact same thing happened to my dog, who was previously well behaved with other dogs and even had a few doggy playmates, but up until now, I did not know why she "all of sudden" started becoming aggressive when dogs invaded her space and came right up into her face. She never broke the skin or drew blood from the other dog but she was quite vocal and it sounded quite scary. I also thought the problem was with my dog and did not ever think it might be the other dogs fault! I wish we had consulted a trainer or behaviourist, but she seemed to get over this problem after 2-3 years. Of course we had to keep her on-lead all the time or only visit parks when there was no one else around. actually, her being only lead did not help the problem, as other dogs still came up to her. I am soon to be a puppy raiser for guide dogs, so will be in charge of a young lab. We are going to do puppy classes, but any ideas for how to teach a young puppy to approach another dog politely? I don't want the dog to be one of those psycho ones that runs up in everyones faces and annoys other dogs!!!

I am getting a guide dog puppy in three weeks time! YAY!!! We have been told it is a black girl. They have to have a health check the day before, so we won't know for sure whether we will have her yet. It is a requirement of guide dogs that puppies be allowed to sleep inside, so I will be attempting to crate trian the pup. Can anyone provide a link to a good website or provide some good instructions on how best to achieve this. Thanks

Guide dogs victoria has their own program, but guide dogs NSW doesn't. I think they said its just not worth the hassle, even with a specific breeding program, success rates are only 40-60%. Guide dogs NSW, has a success rate of around 50%, and they try to go back to breeders they have had success with in the past.

Whats the difference in the temperament of Labradors and Goldens? Just wondering because guide dogs NSW uses GR/Lab crosses (sometimes). Also, I am concerned where they get these dogs from? They told me they got their purebred GRs and Labs from registered breeders who they have had success with in the past. So one would assume these dogs are health tested. But you could only really get GR/lab mixes from BYBers? Guide dogs NSW doesn't have their own breeding program, so they wouldn't be using their own dogs for this purpose. I will be getting a guide dog puppy, hopefully in the the next month. I am personally hoping for a black lab boy, but I would love any puppy! I am slightly concerned about receiving a GR/Lab cross, i am sure they would be lovely dogs but I do worry about where they come from and if the parents have been health tested as I know a lot of "purebred" labs (doubt they were from a good breeder though, possibly a pet shop or a BYBer) that have had alot of health issues costing the owner 1000's of dollars. If guide dogs are found to have health issues such as hip or elbow dysplaisa, then i assume they can't continue to become guide dogs or therapy dogs, therefore the puppy raiser would be obliged to keep them? Obviously I would not just give a dog up because of health issues, but it would be a shame especially if they could have been avoided in the first place! As an interesting side note, there was a studying which suggested that female yellow labs were the most likely to become guide dogs (ie pass the test) and that female GRs were least likely. They did not have even numbers in each group though and there was only a few GRs in total. But still, interesting.

What a cute boy!

I have just been looking on the puppies for sale section of DOL. There seem to be quite a few people with the phrase "no time wasters". What exactly does that mean? IMO it kind of implies that if you are not going to buy the puppy then don't bother calling. I mean, surely if a person is interested or thinking about getting a pup, a breeder should be happy to discuss the breed, personality of the pups etc? Am I a time waster if I am not 100% commttied to buying a puppy from that litter, or if I'm not 100% certain the breed is right for me? I personally find it a bit rude, I found other breders who are more tactful saying things like "genuine enquires only" or "puppy farmers BYBers need not apply" etc. Am I just being too sensitive?

or hide in a piece of bbq chicken

Love the blonde lappie! Actually they are all sooo cute.

Really? so they are smaller than samoyeds then?

I don't really think an Aussie would cope without regular exercise. Having said that, if it is only once in a while, they should be ok, but they are a medium to high energy breed. Sometimes, I would only do an hour of exercise a day with my Aussie, but generally she needed at least 2 hrs. Maybe other Aussie owners have had different experiences though? I think it also depends on how much company a dog receives. If they are with you for the majority of the day, then they may cope without exercise better?

I just googled blue weimaraner and they look like a normal weimaraner to me??? could someone explain or post pics of the difference.

Isn't it only natural to prefer the look/colour of a dog. Of course personality and health are more important but if you can get everything- why wouldn't you?

That makes no sense at all Are you suggesting that this owner is incapable of keeping her bitch safe, and therefore will be producing pups that will have a hard life? Get over yourself Not at all. I can't see the point of having an entire bitch when there is no intention of breeding with her. As you know, or probably not, oops matings can happen, not to mention having entire males, due to irresponsible owners allowing them to roam trying to get to the bitch on heat. Another that comes to mind is pyometra. This is no rofl matter and increased risk of mammary cancer

There are pill poppers you can use. They help get the tablet further down the mouth. I always give a treat after or syringe some water in the mouth. I am surprised your dog doesn't like drontal? most dogs find them very tasty? Although are you using the chew or the tablet form? I HATE the new sentinel "tasty" chew. Most dogs do not find it remotely tasty and chew it into a mush and then spit it out, yucky. Its also too big to shove down their throuat.

Out of interest, how big are finnish lapphunds? Are they bigger than a border collie? And how well do they cope with hot weather?

I don't really think a lab, golden or boxer could be considered small-medium. There are some smaller labs and goldens out there but they would be medium-large dogs imo. A brittany is a good suggestion though. I also don't think a border collie would be that suitable as they can't really last on 30 mins of exercise a day.

We had to put our lovely old girl to sleep after she had a "stroke". We had originally wanted to put her to sleep in our home, but in the middle of the night she had a stroke and kept tipping over and her pupils kept constricting and dilating, she was also crying out so we had to rush her to a 24hr clinic. It was actually better than i thought it would be because there was no one else at the clinic, it was very quiet, the vets were so nice and it was all very peaceful (except for everyone sobbing their eyes out).

How about a Cavalier? They suit most of your requirements except maybe watchdog, but any dog can be trained to bark at the approach of strangers. I've found many Jack Russells to be "independent" and they also need a lot of exercise. I also think mini poodles and shelties would be ok for you as well. Have you heard of the Japanese spitz- they look like small samoyeds, I met 2 the other day and they were really lovely dogs- great with kids, and other dogs. Not sure about how hard they are to get though.

Just get him a kennel. If he stops wanting to go outside to sleep, then he is probably too cold. In that case you can let him sleep in the laundry again. It really doesn't get very cold in sydney, so you needn't worry too much. My dog used to choose to sleep outside even though we wanted her to sleep inside! she has a longer hair but she didn't have a kennel or anything. We left the door open for her to come inside but she always stayed out.

Well, obviously it depends on the area the vet clinic is located in... If they have higher rental costs and have to pay higher salaries to staff, of course everything will be more expensive. Also, as other people mentioned it also depends on if there are complications, if the animals receives fluids and pre aneaesthetic testing. I know that if I drive to a clinic 1hr away from where I live or go to a country/mixed practice I could probably get the same things done for one third to half the cost, but I choose convience (all vet clinics in my area charge around the same) and know that I am getting a good quality of service and see vets who actually know the history of my pet. I know there are some clinics out there that are cheap and provide a great quality of service, but unfortunately in some areas, this is just not going to happen. ever.

I actually heard of someone whose dog was killed while it was on a lead It was on one of those retractable leads, I guess her attention was elsewhere and didn't notice the dog had gone onto the road.