aussielover

I think putting some grass- turf or fake grass, whatever you can get would be better than paper or puppy pads at this stage. You can buy special dog toilets as well if you think this will be an ongoing issue (if you're working for long periods) or maybe install a doggie door?

They are 2 colours. The red one has a dark red and bright red colour, which can make it look like one colour though.

Could possibly be the same. I don't know which state the pup came from, although I know where it is now. I also think it is a big ask for someone to take on the cost of this puppy. I get what people are saying about breeders not necessarily breeding perfect puppies, but "I don't breed sick puppies." Come on. A little empathy? Yes that was very rude and unsympathetic, not to mention ridiculous. If you breed for long enough you are bound to get one "sick" one. Responsible breeders would want to know of any illnesses in their puppies. Maybe they thought they were just trying to get money out of them??? (still not an acceptable response though )

Are liver shunts a heritable disease in Samoyeds? I think these days a lot of pressure is placed on breeders to produce perfect puppies. I often see that the first reaction of many people to a congenital problem (not the same as hereditary) is to blame the breeder. While it is heartbreaking for the owners, some puppies are born with problems outside the breeders control. Liver shunts may not be apparent until 6 months of age or even older. Do we expect breeders to have a full blood panel performed on all puppies? Ultrasound on all puppies? If she has a known liver problem in her lines, then yes, I agree its unethical not to test the puppies and to pay for the treatment and/or take the dog back. Pseronally I would not expect a breeder to take back or pay for the treatment after I had purchased. Mainly because I would only buy from a breeder who I was happy did the appropriate level of health testing and did not have a serious health problem in their lines. I think it can be a nice gesture for the breeder to perhaps refund the purchase price or half the purchase price of the puppy, but I would not necessarily consider them unethical if they did not. This is yet another case where pet insurance would have been worth it.

Yes, totally agree. However I don't think they should be the focus of training. Also if the puppy doesn't seem to "get them" as quickly as others, I wouldn't be upset about it. I don't think you can make a timeline as such to say when a puppy should have learnt what by when. Even something as basic as toilet training has a hugely variable timeline depending on the owner and the puppy. As others have said you also need to work on manners, and in the case of competition dogs its good to work on drive development and build a strong reward system. But teaching tricks is a great way to have fun and to make your puppy want to work with you

At 4 months old a sibe puppy is still very rehomable!! While I think we can all agree it was a poor decision, to get the pup in the first place, at least this person has realised the puppy is not suitableand is rehoming while the puppy is still young enough and cute enough to easily get a home and be properly trained and socialised etc. Rehoming a puppy or dog is not a bad thing in itself- many dogs who may have otherwise lived a miserable or unfulfilling life have found happy endings from rehomings. I think it is important to encourage this person to contact their breeder and give them first option for care of the puppy. After all they probably spent a lot of time and money raising this pup and would want to see it in a good home. Many breeders will pay any transport costs.

Personally I wouldn't ask for a "heel" on a walk because we are still at the stage that requires a fairly high reward rate for my dog do an acceptable heel position (I also require a very animated, bouncy trot with 100% eye contact). I do not carry lots of treats or toys on our regular "relaxing" walks. We are also not at the stage where she can heel under high distraction. I don't see the benefit (in her case) of setting her up for failure... Maybe if she was a titled obedience dog with a fantastic competition heel under high distraction, then I could ask her for heel on a walk, but we are just not at that level yet. I have a "look" command that I use if I need her to do a loose heel, paying attention to me.

Great job sumosmum! Monty is gorgeous I hope that person from LDH wasn't actually a vet! I saw he was Dr something but I sincerely hope he is a phD not a vet

Get a pill popper! Tilt the head back, open the mouth and pop the tab in. You can also do it without a pill popper but some people are scared of/dont like shoving their hand into the dogs mouth. Place the pill back as far as possible into the mouth. Hold the mouth closed and wait for them to swallow, you can encourage this by rubbing their throat or blowing gently into their nose. If the tablets are big- halve or quarter them. Give the dog a big treat after you've done this. I find this the easiest way to do it for a fussy/clever dog that spits the tablets out if you try and hide them. It really should be done in a no fuss, efficient manner. eta- I must have the only labrador in the world who won't eat pills easily or with food, so I feel your pain!!! It is easier on both of us if I just quickly pop a tablet down her mouth.

I used to be really strict with Mindy when she was a potential guide dog in training- walking on the left side, slightly ahead of me, no sniffing, has to look forward, must stop at roads, indicate stairs etc. Now I'm way more relaxed, but its lead her to develop bad habits To be totally honest though I don't really mind if a dog pulls me, I would much rather that than lagging behind. I have now fixed her bad walking on lead with help from k9pro but I doubt she'll ever be as good as when she was in training. Though, that wasn't what I'd call "loose leash walking" either as the dog was encouraged to lead the handler and therefore there was some tension on the leash. She is actually MUCH better if I'm jogging with her- doesn't try to sniff or cross behind me (which she sometimes does if we are just walking).

It looks similar to my dog's. There is a fold around the back toward the tail. I'm not sure if letting her have a season would benefit this problem- but it can't hurt and even has a positive effect on growth and maturity of the musculoskeletal system. My dog (in the pic above) doesn't have any ongoing UTI issues which would be the main concern. Additionally as she got older, the fold became less pronounced as is barely there now.

I think it depends on the individual puppy. My puppy knew sit, drop, speak and shake hands by 9 weeks. she knew 90% of her current tricks by the time she was 3 months. In hindsight, I wish I had not focussed so much on "trick training" as such (although it is great fun) and instead focussed on drive training and developing a reliable reward system.

photos of normal and recessed another pic of a recessed vulva This is a photo of my lab at around 5 months. You can see she now has a half in/ half out vulva with a skin fold towards her tail. Previously when she was younger (8-12 weeks) it was more like the previous pic: completely recessed. Over time it "popped out" as it enlarged. Now it is normal enough not to cause any problems (sorry dont have a current pic)

If you're going to get an adult dog maybe... Many young labs ended up in pounds and if they are lucky resuce beofre 12 months old because people see the lovely well trained adult labrador Guide Dogs, not realising the amount of training it requires to get them there and the fact they less than half that enter the program have a suitable temperament. Many people say that it takes up to 5 or 6 years for a labrador to achieve a somewhat "adult" temperament An adult rescue from a reputable rescue org like GRR or labresecue may be a good option though.

Time for a vet check .. to rule out any infection or other problem, ..... then maybe , if everything is clear, you will need to set up a plan . Something is making her want to urinate a tiny amount- discomfort form infection is a possibility. Have you taken her to the vet yet?

It really depends on the individual dog as there is a lot of variation. Personally I think Goldies are "softer" dogs in both looks and temperament, although I'd say the difference between GR and Lab temperament in general isn't alot. In my experience, lab puppies are one of the cutest and naughtiest puppies! GRs tend to be more placid as puppies. Labradors are great for really active families who do a lot of outdoor, high energy activity but may be a bit boisterous (depending on the dog) for more laid back families. Although I know of a few that I would call low drive and low energy dogs. Its all about the breeder- find the right one and ask for lower/energy drive dogs suited to a young family.

Gorgeous Did you line them up in contrasting colours youself Mum is very beautiful too

I always train with a collar- not any more!!! Anyone know where you can get good quality slip leads from? Btw was the dog in the video a flat coated retriever?

Hi quangle. My lab had the same problem: inverted/recessed vulva. The likelihood of it "coming good" after one season is high; however not 100%. The season causes swelling of the vulva- encouraging it to enlarge and "pop out" if it is inverted. I would also recommend boarding her in kennels or back with her breeder for the duration of the season, as it sounds like you are not confident to manage her yourself. It was decided to go ahead and desex my lab at 6 months. She has not had any infections/ problems since she was 3 months old. Her vulva is normal, it came good with time. Ideally in your case, if she were my dog I would allow her to have one season and see where to go from there, especially as it hasn't caused her any problems at present. Vulvoplasty is quite an invloved and painful surgery (imo) so best avoided where possible. For some dogs it is necesaary and very effective- but I would only choose to have it done as a last resort.

I would still have a problem with it...there is too many unknowns when breeding mongrels to mongrels...and your last statement it the biggy for me. Maybe I am "holier than thou" as called by someone in another thread :D but a backyarder is a backyarder, whether they breed Pugs or Working dogs. Are you saying organisations such as Guide Dogs who breed labrador x goldens are BYBers? The dogs are all temperament and health tested. The parents are purebred labrador and Golden Retrievers. These dogs are bred to be functional and have working careers that help hundreds of people.

I second the recommendation for the K9pro loose leash walking program. TOT teaches the dog to look to the owner for permission and teaches self control so I strongly recommend you begin to implement it (available in the training forum). A behavioural interruptor or teaching "look at me" may also help. In the meantime, a front leading harness my be beneficial.

Has she been cleared by the vet? The fact that she lets out a dribble may indicate infection or even some sort of incontinence problem. How many times a day is she actually weeing? At 6 months it should really only be every 2-3 hrs. I don't think the puppy pads are helping- as others have pointed out. Also your dog does not sound like she knows that she is meant to go on the pad. I used puppy pads for the first week with my pup overnight and didn't have major troubles toilet training her, so I don't think this is the whole cause of the problem. Definitely take her out on lead and reward HEAVILY for toileting in the right area. Additionally, start to train her to toilet on command. You just say the word (like wee wee or hurry up or whatever) as they are going. They will soon learn to associate this with toileting, esp if you reward after.

For a pet I would be guided by the breeders advice, I would like some choice, even if it just 2 puppies. But I would also be happy if the breeder thought only one was suitable- you can always go along and meet the puppy, if you don't feel good about it, then you don't have to buy and can look elsewhere. For a working dog or performance dog I would be pretty much be entirely guided by the breeders opinion and also want to be able to carry out some additional assessment on the pup and perhaps even have a trainer or friend be allowed to assess the puppy as well.

I don't know, many dogs appear to be highly territorial and I'm sure the noise of the kids excites them but really probably wouldn't do anything. As long as they are contained in their yard, I think it is unfair to report them and have them possibly declared dangerous or euthanized. Is some kind of behavioural assessment required after a call is made to the hotline, or is just my word against yours.... My dog really carries on when people come to visit, she sounds what many would think vicious- in reality she'd the most injury she would probably do is jumping on the person/child in excitement to give kisses. It is a fear/excitement thing with her, obviously I'm trying to discourage it due to the current climate of dog attacks and fear of dogs. I'd hate for her to be reported as a dangerous dog based on barking alone...

Hey guys, I have a question about dog walks. Should the dog run over them or should they tackle them at a more "sensible" pace (ie trot or slow jog?) I was told by one instructor never to try to slow my dog down in agility. She usually races over the dog walk, however at a recent training session, as she approached the top, the equipment sort of "gave way" and caused her to lose balance and fall off. It wasn't a major issue and didn't deter her from trying again, but I was then told to slow her down so she didn't bang on the equipment as much and cause it to be unstable. Our regular club has a fairly new dog walk that is very stable and we've never had this happen there. Because of the variation in quality of equipment in trials and different clubs, should the dog be taught to do the dog walk at a slightly slower pace?