aussielover

Longclaw- Your grey puppy is beautiful! She has a beautiful colour and markings. I've never seen a grey puppy before so thanks for posting.

Fresh blood indicates a large intestinal problem; most likely colitis but it could be something more nasty. I agree with a vet check, especially if she hasn't been eating (unusual in a lab!!!) and is lethargic.

She is gorgeoues blueberrymobile!!! She looks very ridgy to me! Re her issues: Jumping- definitely a training issue. My dog also gets "jealous" when I pay attention to other dogs and will jump on me. I address this by putting her in a sit or down stay when I want to interact with another dog. She has a solid stay, but if your girl doesn't tput her on lead so she can't jump when you interact with another dog. I would not get on the floor to play with a dog- especially if it snapped in my face (whether playing or not). There are plenty of other ways to have fun with your dog, without getting on their level. Why do you feel that dogs hould be played with at their level?

Sway- a member on DOL also sells them (deer antlers). Unfortunately I have not been able to get my dog to eat them, and she is a food obsessed lab! Brushing their teeth would be best. I prefer to feed bones everyday (my dog is on a raw diet anyway) but if i couldn't then I would use rawhide chews, greenies, roo chews etc.

What are his activity levels and general health like (apart from skin)?

I am not sure about which drive is stronger She really only prefers jumping around or tugging when she is already worked up- like if she's been chasing the ball or doing agility. Generally, being a typical lab, she prefers food. If I got out a toy and asked her to heel or to sit or drop, I think she'd think twice about whetehr she wanted it at that point, where as with food, she'd take it straight away. To use a toy I'd have to work her into a frenzy or state of excitement or already be playing a game for her to consider it a reward. She will accept a food reward in agility training (but not ball throwing annoyingly!) as well. I guess what I am trying to say- does drive training involve using a reward that is inherently desirable eg. food, or a reward that is only rewarding in some situations, eg a tug toy and how do you know what their strongest drive is?

For those that train in drive- Can you train in more than one type of drive? For obedience type exercsies and trick training my dog likes food rewards, but for more active prusuits like ball throwing/retrieving and agility she doesn't seem to care for food and prefers to play tug or jump around like an idiot for a reward. Is there a problem with using different types of drive- should you be consisent and only use the one type.

how do they do this? it seems impossible....

I only got my labrador puppy at 8 weeks but she learnt sit/drop/shake in the first few days, was doing roll over and speak shortly after. She also learnt how to open the gate of her puppy pen on her first day. In fact she learnt 3/4 of her tricks that she knows today by 12 weeks old pretty much. NOw she's calmed down a little, I don't do as much trick training with her to occupy her (although I know I should!) I think most puppies have the capacity to learn a lot at 8 weeks but some people expect less from them so they don't try. To the OP= wht is her reaction when you teach her tricks. She must want to learn./work with you to some degree if you've managed to teach her some tricks and basic commands. You say she runs off and wants to do her own thing- Recall is something that needs to be trained, its only naturally for a dog to want to do its own thing when going on walks etc.

crate him in the kitchen then? When puppies are confined to a small area (eg just enough to turn around in) they are less likely to toilet. I resisted putting the crate in my bedroom as well, and I can tell you it was a mistake. I endured almost 2 months of a puppy crying/barking etc for around 2 hrs each night and had to get up really early to let the puppy out to toilet. When I moved her to my room, there was no noise at all, She started sleeping from 10pm-7am without having an accident and it was much less stressful. I haven't actually moved her out of my room as such but some nights she chooses to sleep downstairs by herself (usually when its hot) or even outside.

I would interpret head down, tail down, lagging behind as a dog that isn't really motivated or having much fun. I'd like to think I know when my dog is enoying something- this sounds ridiculous I know, but she gets a look in her eye- it is like a light switching on and becomes very attentive. She is not really a tail wagger but she'll carry her tail high if she is interested in something. ETS: daisu does not look bored to me when she is heeling. She looks very attentive and her tail ios always wagging- very cute

Well from what you've posted it is worrying that you are a breeder yourself. I can only hope that you put a deposit on this dog as a pet dog not a breeding dog as you clearly haven't done any research into the breed, or your research consists of googling... Surely it would be better to talk to the breeder about your concerns, or some other people experienced in the breed or a vet experienced with the breed? The whole point of a deposit is so that the seller is not out of poacket if you suddenly decide not to buy. Perhaps there was a lot of interest in this dog which was why the deposit was so high?

OMG you have 6 foster failures!? Maddie sounds very sweet- it is just lovely when two dog get along really well

I'm also one where my dad didn't want a dog. We've had 3 now :D Its always a struggle to convince him at first, but he does end up liking the dogs. I guess family is different because they wouldn't actually kick you out of the house. Maybe see if you can get a pet friendly rental somewhere?

i would prefer to get a pup from parents with less than half the breed average- but thats just me.

He looks like a teddy bear!

Mindy likes any opportunity to get her face stuffed full of treats! She would probably make a very good obedience dog as she would probably throw herself under a train for a piece of dry kibble

Personally I think its a bit high for a breeding dog, but HD is such a multifactorial disease that you can get pups with it even from 0:) parents. Maybe ask them why they chose to breed with a dog with relatively high hip scores- she might have never produced pups with HD before... You can't really "even out" a bad hip score (not that a 12 is bad) by using a father with a lower score. Its up to you but defintely raise you concern with the breeder Get a large crate to suit adult size. You can partition it off when they are little. It is up to you how you want to use your crate. I still use mine for travelling and at home sometimes if we have guests etc. Depends on the puppy. If they are a greedy gulper (like mine) then chicken wings are too small. I used lamb flaps instead. As a young puppy chicken wings/necks are probably ok though. Yes it is true. The general guideline is 5 mins per age in months. So when your puppy is 4 months ols, it can do 20 minutes of leash walking. I would not start ogging a goldie until they have stopped growing (around 12 months) Best to not let them mouth you at all. Do not flick it on the nose to discourage it. Depends on the puppy as to what works for you. Some puppies are ok with being redirected onto a toy, some learn by having a "time out" by you walking away/ceasing interaction/crating them and some need a firmer correction such as pressing your finger into their mouth- I am not sure how to do this but perhaps someone else will explain? Good luck with your pup. Goldens are lovely dogs and make great family dogs with the right training!

Jet is due for his this month. He is 2 years old, so had his puppy ones then had a yearly one a year later. So if I am reading this right does this mean I should not worry about it for another 2 years then get the 3 yearly vacc? If you want to vaccinate- he had had his booster, so doesn't need another one for three years. I am talking about a C3 vaccine. Kennel cough (if you wish to get this) still needs to be done yearly. Proheart (heartworm injections) also need to be done yearly.

where do you get Vets All Natural Health Bosster powder from? I feed raw and find my dog is quite healthy and shiny on it. For kibble I like Royal Canin and have heard good things about Black Hawk.

Did the other family who were going to take him find another pup?

Yay HarperGD I'm so glad things worked out for you and Harper. I needed a month to get my dog to settle and night so well done! I've only just started leaving my dog for more than 4 hours (and she still gets a dog walker), so you have really achieved alot in such as short time. The first week is terribly hard for both pup and new owner!

I wonder what the actual price is :eek: If the breeder is repsonsible and ethical they will give at least most of the desposit back. I think it would be justified keeping a small amount, to cover the costs of having to advertise again or turn away other buyers etc. I don't understand why they would shell out $1500 on a dog that they hadn't even researched?

^This. However, you can titre test instead of giving the one year booster which is what I will be doing.

Even if she has OCD, chances are you will still be able to trampse round the countryside One of Min's friends a lab also, had severe bilateral ED, had surgery and is now able to go on fairly long walks. Staranais girl I think had shoulder OCD or some kind of shoulder surgery and is training to be a SAR dog!!!