aussielover

oh, sorry, misunderstood then umm I wipe my dogs paws before she comes in from a walk or from playing outside. I have even trained her to wipe her paws on the mat- she does like a digging motion, but it is not really all that effective, so I also wipe her paws and clean in in-between them etc.

If I were in your shoes, I would do as above. Better to wait a few more weeks and have a healthy pup then have a sick puppy. + 2 Get the puppy at 12/14 weeks when it should be fully covered. It can take up to 2 weeks AFTER the final vaccination before the puppy has produced sufficient antibodies and enough immunity. Parvo can survive in the environment for a very long time, so if your OH did not decontaminate himself before going out in your yard there is the possibility that the virus is there unfortunately.

I like my dogs smell too- particularly her paws- they smell like corn chips!!! I also like the doggy smell provided it isn't wet dog or "yeasty" smell that you can sometimes get when dogs are greasy and haven't been bathed in a long time.

Persephone- my lab is almost entirely an indoor dog! she is indoor with us except when we are outside gardening or hanging stuff on the line etc or when she is on her walks. She rarely goes out in the yard on her own except to chase away the odd cat/possum. I certainly recommend allowing the dog in at least the family room of your house- it can have its crate or bed or mat and be easily trained to stay on that. She has never scratched our floorboards- you shouldn't really be letting them run around on the floor boards as it is dangerous- they could slip over and injure themselves. As for the shedding- if you want a low shedding dog a labrador is not for you! The shedding can be minimised with regular grooming. I don't really notice it except in my room (cream carpet- black lab ) but when we sweep up downstairs, it is amazing how much hair there is! She doesn't noticeably shed onto your clothes either. A labrador needs more than 30 mins of walking/exercise a day. Initially as a puppy, home play in the yard is fine, but by a year they will be needing at least an hour of fairly strenous exercise- like running around at a park or at the beach or a jog or fast walk. Currently my 1 year old gets over 3hrs of exercise a day and she is what I consider a medium energy dog. This is on top of having company all day, regular training throughout the day and plays in the yard at home. Really, labradors are very active dogs that have been bred to go pretty much all day and they need as much mental stimulation as they do exercise. If you can't provide at least an hour of exercise a day, perhaps a less active breed would suit you better? Or an adult labrador that is low energy. Can I ask why you specifically want a labrador (apart from the fact they are the best dogs in the world ) ?

What kind of allergies (asthma, itchiness, weepy eyes etc) and what severity? Has she been tested for specific allergies? -if not that would be the first step. The next is to choose some breeds you like and spend some time with them. Generally speaking, low shedding breeds are better for allergy sufferers.

What kind of allergies (asthma, itchiness, weepy eyes etc) and what severity? Has she been tested for specific allergies? -if not that would be the first step. The next is to choose some breeds you like and spend some time with them. Generally speaking, low shedding breeds are better for allergy sufferers.

How much was her initial consult alone, if I can ask? I am looking at $150 initial consult for a derm visit but will get some off that being a vet student. It was around $180 I think. It was quite expensive for the skin scraping and cytology though! The intradermal testing is $350 and allergy vaccines around $300 for 6 months. We only get a 15% discount at sydney uni. I think 150 sounds pretty reasonable, especially if you get a good discount

He should be fine to go out into your backyard now- unless you've had parvo before? Did you get him from a pet shop? It can be quite hard to toilet train pet shop puppies or puppies that haven't been raised in a home environment Take him out every 30 mins, use a word like "do wee wees" or "quick quick" or "hurry up" when you see him toilet and reward him with a treat/toy/pats (whatever he likes best). You have to witness him toileting, you cannot just put him outside an assume he will go. If you can't take him into the yard for whatever reason, the same advice applies to the puppy pad or other toilet area. Keep him on lead so he can't wander off. Puppies at that age can't hold on very long and need really regular toileting. Unless they have been started by their breeder or in rare cases, there is no way you will have a fully reliable toilet trained pup until at least 4 months (if you're lucky). However, if you are vigilant, you should be able to minimise, perhaps even completely prevent any accidents from occuring.

It is safe for your puppy to be outside in its own backyard before it has been fully vaccinated The only time when it is not safe is if you have previously had a dog with parvovirus in your backyard before. I doubt a cat would be a problem, the puppy will probably scare it away or they may even become friends. If it acts aggressively towards your pup, simply ask the owners to contain it. A toilet trained dog should not scent mark in the house, desexing will reduce the likelihood of marking behaviour. Even entire males should not mark inside the house.

Currently, the questions I have are: It is certainly advisable to start socialising the puppy after the first vax. I would not take it to the park, as it won't be fully vaccinated and protected yet. A better idea is to organise some play dates with well socialised, immunised adult dogs at your home if possible. You can take your puppy with you wherever you like as long as you carry it. Puppy preschool is great but you also need your puppy to learn manner around adult dogs. Most likely your dog will be fully vaccinated two weeks after the final vaccination (so usually 14 weeks). If you are going to have an outside only dog, it is best to start off as you intend it to live forever- this will make it less confusing for the puppy as it grows up. It won't understand that it is not allowed indoors all of a sudden and may resort to destructive or unwanted behaviours. Labrador retrievers are very social and love to be with their family, would you consider letting the dog in at certain times eg. night time while the family is relaxing/watching TV? Crates are very useful to teach good house behaviour, dogs are easily trained to only lie in one area or on their bed or mat. This way the puppy can still be with the family, without causing trouble and destrpying the house. If you are not allowing the dog indoors- it will need an excellent kennel with lots of insulation. I would recommend getting the puppy in summer in this case, so it won't get cold overnight. You could also consider allowing the dog to sleep in the laundary as a puppy. Any bored dog will dig. But yes, labradors are well known for being chewers and diggers if they do not receive proper training and exercise. Having said that, my labrador has never attempted to dig up our yard or chew our furniture. She spends most of her time indoors with us under our supervision though and receives plenty of exercise and training. Make sure you get a well bred lab, where you can see the parents and see if they are nervous dogs. Don't fuss over the dog when it gets scared. Reward for calm behaviour during scary/new events. well bred Labradors should be confident and outgoing. As i said before, if you intend the dog to be outside only, it is best not to allow it inside initially. Make the kennel as comfortable as possible and make sure it is warm enough. Play games with the puppy in the kennel, feed it in there, reward it for going inot the kennel and you shouldn't have any problems. The main thing is to be consistent with your rules and training. Good luck with it all ETA= If you have any specifc lab questions, come join us in the labrador thread: Those crazy labradors

i think nekhbet just meant that if you're trying to make the dog gain weight, you are better off just giving lots of raw meaty bones and more dry food. then once you get to a weight you are happy with, you can add in the fruit and veges Also, sardines, tuna and salmon in oil are good high protein foods and give them a nice shiny coat. Raw egg (inc the eggshell) is another great source of protein if you're looking for variety. I only use the fruit and veges as a filler because I have a hungry greedy guts!

I agree with what Erny said, but from observing a number of dogs that have been to various different board and train programs, i can say that the results achieved are excellent initially, almost like a new dog, but if the owners aren't committed to continuing the training program, then it all goes down hill rather quickly (in my experience, weeks to months). This sometimes results in dogs constantly being sent off for B&T. Having said that, i would much rather put my dog in a B&T program if I had to go away, than a normal boarding kennel. And I would much rather see a dog constantly going for B&T than dumped at the pound, given to "a farm", relegated to the backyard full time or PTS I think for committed owners who may be a bit overwhelmed or have a particularly difficult dog, then they are great programs that can help set up a positive training relationship for the dog and owners for life

I generally put in a whole carrot and half an apple. They aren't really very nutritious for dogs, so they won't really put any weight on with these, no matter how much you give (within reason). i use the other half of the apple as a training treat. I feed the dry food in the AM and the carrot, apple and mince/fish in the PM, being a deep chested dog she can't really have one large meal only.

I actually love the curly rottie and boxer tail you see these days. I don't think dobes look weird with tails but it does make them look less "ferocious" I guess (yeah kinda like big skinny labs!)

I'd say it has to do with trainability for obedience/service dog roles. Perhaps eagerness to please handler as well.

There is a dog at work called Toast! I think food names are cute.

Beautiful photos! Emmy looks like an arctic fox Charlie looks very handsome also.

Mindy's first derm visit cost me just under $300. This included medications and some other tests. Her next one will likely be around $600 though.

Yes, because labradors will swim to Tasmania if you let them I don't think he is too skinny, but as others have said he needs more muscle. He is probably a good weight now to do agility as labs should be kept really light for jumping. Unfortunately people are so used to seeing fatty labs they don't know what a healthy one should look like! I would also add in a meaty bone (my pup loves lamb shanks) to his diet, but if you don't want to do that then I'd give him another cup of food. My pup gets a lamb shank + 1 cup dry about 4 times a week and 1 cup dry + carrot + apples + mince or oily fish on the other days. I figure this is about equivalent to 2 cups of dry food a day. Your boy is a different build to my dog, but this is what she looks like on 2 cups dry food. she has lost a a little bit of weight since she went on a food allergy trial though and can only eat roo meat and pumpkin.

Mindy has started sleeping on my bed with me, she usually goes to bed when I do, although sometimes she puts herself to bed

I had a docked aussie but I prefer the ones with a full tail. It gets really annoying always having people ask what happened to its tail etc. The bobtail aussies are more recognisable as aussies, but a nice full tail is stunning too. sometimes i wish labs came without a tail (after several cups have been swept off the coffee table and being whacked in the shins by the tail lol) but they'd look pretty funny i think!

My aussie was $800 about 14 years ago, so quite expensive for the time. She was also an older pup ,the puppy we were going to get was the only black tri in the 8 week old litter was to be a show dog so $2000! I am so glad we ended up with Clover though, we couldn't have gotten a better dog for any price! The aussie wasn't as popular back then and there was only one or two breeders in NSW at the time, so I think the price was accordingly higher. I believe guide dogs purchased my current dog for $800, which is around the going rate from a registered lab breeder i think? though i am not sure if breeders sell puppies to guide dogs at a lower price as they are a charity. On their website it says a puppy costs $800 to buy.

That is cute, but having worked with wild colonies of seals and sea lions, I would not want my dog interacting with wild ones. The adults are massive and deceptively fast, even on land and I've seen them shake and throw rather large pups a few meters! All you need is an angry mama or bull to come and the dog could be seriously injured.

:cheer: :) Yeah I saw that and thought "Good Lord, there is NO WAY I could do that with Roo!" I'm unco enough as it is without trying to catch 28kg of Labrador behind my back! I am trying to teach mindy to do that, well, not behind my back. I have always wanted a dog to jump into my arms!

Actually, sadly I have heard from a number of people that they believe the red/wheaten BCs are more suitable to be pet dogs rather than working dogs???