aussielover

I agree with Megan. And sadly i do know of dogs who get Royal canin breed specific food or EP holistic etc who only get walked once a week (if the weather is good and the owner isn't too busy) and barely get any interaction at home. My pup gets PAL dog food but she also gets lots of raw- bones, lamp flaps, eggs, sardines etc She spends almost 24 hrs a day with me, gets walked/socialsed at least 3 times a day, gets play and training numerous times during the day. Who do you think a dog would prefer to live with? ETA: i think you should notify the breeders, especially if they intend to lie to them If I was a breeder and someone was honest with me and said, look i don't have a lot of money but i'd really like a dog and i think i could provide it with love, exercise, training and (basic) food and health care, I might be willing to consider them, on the condition that if they ran into any probs, i would be the first to know and take the dog back myself for rehoming.

There is a guide dog at my workplace and he does toilet when in his harness. His owner works full-time so he does need to go sometimes. His owner takes him outside to a certain spot and then attaches a little bag/ well they can't be expected to hold on all day. but they would never (hopefully) toilet while they were guiding. ETA sorry I should have said: i don't let my dog toilet on lead when we are out walking. I do take her out on lead to a designated toilet area at uni and work and ask her to go there.

Not planning any showing, trialling or long car trips then? Sometimes the options for offlead toileting simply don't exist. Same goes for staying in caravan parks - something I do regularly. Guide dogs do not generally toilet in harness. obviously, if the dog is unwell... nothing you can do about that! Puppy raisers are specifically instructed to try not to let the dog toilet while on lead. It can apparently be a very hard habit to break. When my pup is at work or uni with me, or course I take her out to a toilet area on lead and allow her to toilet (when i give the command). But on a general outing or walk- no. It sounds controlling, but they are working dogs after all and can't just s*** all over the place LOL

I don't allow my dog to toilet on lead. But she is allowed to to toilet at the dog park where of course i pick up if she does. I always toilet her before we leave for a walk. I think most dogs are capable of holding it in for a few hours unless they are unwell. I do carry bags just in case. If we were to do a really long walk (over 2 hrs) I would probably find a spot to let her go, and allow her to go where i say. But she isn't old enough for that yet anyway. You don't see guide dogs just randomly toileting LOL

My dog doesn't have separation anxiety, but she even gets excited to see me coming out of the loo!!!

Mason is far from fat! No offense Mas, but i don't think that photo you posted is the best of him- perhaps the angle?> I have seen others on the lab thread where he looks like he has more of a waist and is leaner etc. Are you trying to train him "in drive" ? I believe K9pro has a program to help evalaute if your dog has potential for this type of training. I teach new commands/tricks using food with Mindy. But i reinforce them using toys. I usually work her up before I do this though, I run around like mad thing with the toy and then "tease" her a bit with it. I find she is very motivated to do whatever I ask after this little "session". She used to accidently bite me sometimes when she was lunging for the toy, but if she did this I'd just end the fun. so she learnt not to do it. They are bound to make a mistake every now and then, but it shouldn't be a frequent occurence imo. I did notice that when she plays with other dog friends, she likes to get up very close to them so they are almost mouth to mouth! But if mason works best for food and is uninterested in toys, you may as well stick with food My aussie was not into toys at all either- she would just stare at them (and me) and be like "what do you expect me to do with that" But she was fanatical about chasing her ball.

Having had a reactive dog and walked DA dogs before, I find it is strange when people say "don't worry he/she is friendly" when their dog is rushing yours... I always find it odd that people assume you're trying to pull your dog away because you're afraid/worried about their dog- especially when your dog is a large GSD, rotty, any breed that generally looks like it should be able handle itself etc Condsidering my dog is much larger and stronger than yours... what possible reason would i have to worry about him? I'm more concerned for the safety of your dog! I've even had people say this to me with SWFs!

What a gorgeous photo! She is beautiful :D

It comes down to what behaviour you are happy with. Some people would think a dog on the couch or bed is totally unacceptable, some people won't even allow the dog inside the house. Obviously some people have no problem with letting their dogs yap all day or bark continuosly at the park. My old dog didn't do any of those things you have listed as bad habits. The new pup has tried a few of those thing (not food aggression) but no longer does these anymore.

Keep going, you are doing the right thing! My 6 month old recently started pulling as well and this is the same as what we do and she seems to have improved. I like to walk her after she has had a bit of a run around in the yard or at the park so she is not full of energy at the start of the walk. Is the pulling all the time or is it more "lunging" type behaviour?

Aww your guy looks the same! Still a cute fluffy puppy!!! Lucky you!

they are not easy to clean. I usually soak mine in warm water with some disinfectant or washing liquid for a while and then wipe it out with a cloth and rinse. I only this do this about once eveyr two weeks- one month. It depends what you put in there though. I put in some canned food once and the dog couldn't get it out. I tried to help her and found i also couldn't get it out either!

Just wondering if people think that every dog owner should take their dog to obedience classes? I can see how some people would benefit from going, but to be totally honest i find it quite boring. Obviously i have not done more than beginners class, but that is boring enough in itself. Yes, it is good for the pup to learn to ignore other dogs but i feel this can be achieved in other ways as well, if you're willing to put in the time. I don't want my dog to "heel" when i walk her, i don't want her focussed on me the whole time. i would still feel this way even if she wasn't a guide dog puppy. I want her to focus on me if there is a distraction, but i don't need to walk around in circles having her stare up at me to achieve this. They don't really teach normal loose leash walking at obedience. Does everyone feel this way in beginners classes? does it get more fun? The place i go to usually does heel in a srtaight line and circle and sit. these are the only things we practice in beginners. It is extremely boring, as my puppy learnt to sit on her first day home and knows heaps of other tricks. I'm not sure how long you have to remain in beginners classes for- I have only managed to turn up occaisonally due to work and uni commitments. I was taking her to a "manners" class which was very good and much more practical but the next level is on a day and time i just can't make :D I spend time every day with my puppy training her, reinforcing her known commands and teaching her new things. i take her out with me to the shops and new places for "socialisation" everyday. I'm generally happy with my dogs behaviour, and i feel i do know what i *should* do should any issues arise, and to be honest if there were any serious problems i would get a private trainer/behaviourist to help me out. Do people think obedience school is a must? People who do go- why do you go? did you find it boring to begin with? Can you do other dog sports eg flyball, agility without having attended basic obedience classes? BTW guide dogs have said going to obedience school is up to the puppy raiser, they neither encourage nor discourage puppy raisers to go. They check on the puppies once a month, so if there are any issues they can usually deal with them then. They don't like the pups to be taught to look up at the trainer when walking though.

TBH A tick will kill a dog much quicker than a possible chemical overload from correct use of tick preventatives. If you're worried about chemical overload you could also get annual or half yearly blood tests done to check liver function etc. I've heard of dogs being on both advantix and frontline that have still gotten ticks anyway. And tick collars generally only cover the head and neck area (most common place to find a tick though).

I too, cannot understand what they were trying to achieve? I also do not understand why they repeated it so many times? If it wasn't having the desired effect on the dog ie reducing or stoppping the behaviour- why perservere with it? what was the dog actually doing wrong?

Possibly, or where the stiches are he could be itchy from it scabbing up or maybe even still a touch sore. I feel your pain, Mars is also hitting everything with his cone. 8 more days to go!! I found i only had to cone head Mindy for the first 2 days after she came home. Then she seemed ready to carry on like normal (but sadly was not allowed to). I think you'll find your boys will recover so quickly, they will forget about the stitches after a day or two- i'd be worried if they didn't. I'd be inclined to do reasonably long leash walks after day 3 (upto 30 mins) otherwise you'll find your dog goes psycho and is actually more likely to do damage.

The crate is minaly for overnight toilet training and for short periods of up to say, 2-3 hrs when you can't supervise him. There are actually a few trainers that will recommend crating all the time until the dog is toilet trained, however i have found this is not practical or desirable for a family pet. I think you can achieve reasonably quick success with toilet training if you are vigilant and watch your puppy carefully. Take your puppy out at least every hour and after they wake up, eat or drink to the desired toilet spot. when they go, praise/reward like crazy (be sure not to interupt them though while they are going, praise after). If they don't go, you don't have to crate, you can watch very carefully- if you start to see signs such as circling or sniffing, take pup outside again. I find it best to take them outside on the lead, so they can't run around and play. You can walk them around in a circle in the toilet area to help them. If you need to do jobs at home for a while, crate your puppy then. It is best to have a big play or training session before this, toilet them and then pop them into the crate and they should be sleepy and have a snooze. Depending on how happy they are in the crate and the breed, your puppy may be able to hold on all night. Most pups can't :D That is why i find it best to crate in my bedroom, that way i can hear the puppy whine or scratch at the crate and i know when to take them out. You can also set your alarm for every 3 hrs or so, but sometimes you might accidently wake the puppy if it didn';t need to go. I would lock the pup in the crate overnight as most dogs (unless they are from a petshop or kenneled 24/7) will not want to toilet where they sleep. Of course plently of play and training is necessary for a young puppy, which is why they probably shouldn't be crated for long periods. If you need to go out for a long time (>2-3hrs) I would leave your puppy in the yard (if it is secure and safe) or in the laundary. The yard is preferable becuase the puppy can't have an accident there. Good luck with your puppy and enjoy!

Is it a mismark or is that a recognised colour?

whats with its hind legs? double dewclaws????

Yep!

Well, it seems like a lot of us got our puppies around the same time and our puppies will be around the 6 month mark now. I thought maybe we could post info and some photos to show our pups as babies and photos of what they look like now as sadly i don't have time to go thru all the breed sub forums. Mindy is now 6 months old a turning into a great dog. She is very different to the little puppy who howled and barked all through the night and tried to bite our pants and feet. She is now very settled and starting to behave like a dog should she is still cheeky though and will grab socks and carry shoes around proudly. Mindy at 8 weeks old 4.5 months 5 months- wants to be a ballerina not a guide dog 6 months with friend Sammy- 9 month old dobie puppy! Look how big she is I look forward to hearing about your puppy's progress! BTW- everyone please post even if your pup is not around 6 months, I just love seeing progress posts/pics!

Been trying to do some research on labradors. Saw some "silver labs" which i immediately assumed to be lab x weim. upon further reading it seems that some people believe silver is actually a dilute chocolate therefore a legit. colour for labs? Is this true? I can see it is becoming a popular trend in the USA right now, another forum i am on has people introducing their "silver lab puppy" quite frequently. Personally i am indifferent to the actual look of the silver lab (i like black ) , i don't think it is particularly stunning but i don't think they're ugly. If i wanted a silver lab i'd get a weim I also saw some "charcoal labs" what does this mean? when mindy rolls in dirt she looks charcoal. Maybe i could pass her off as a rare colour LOL I assume lab every breeder would occaisonally get a mismark- have any aus breeders ever gotten a "dilute choc"/silver mismark. wouldn't dilute choc still be considered a mismark? why would you bother trying to breed maismarks? are there any health issues associated with dilute colours in labs? Thanks for your help.

What channel is it on? i guess its not on free-to air? I was impressed by the episode where he took a DA GSD to a local training club and the instructor there was doing some drive training with it and it seemed to be respondning very well, even ignoring other dogs. Cesar was very good in acknowledging the imprortance of reward/drive type trainig in this episode. sadly we don';t have foxtel anymore so haven't been able to watch it for ages so maybe he has improved.

Ignore the Oscar winning acting performance and proceed as normal. :laugh: one of her friends is absolutely terrible (another black lab) and the owner can't even get her to move at all ;) the other day i had to give them treats to bribe the dog home with Mrs RB: she will move for food or a tug/ball/toy but i kind of feel like i shouldn't have to bribe her to come home, i mean its not like she lives at the pound or anything LOL

Great photos! I'm so jealous of all the people who got to meet Hoover! He is so big! He is almost as big as Elbie, who i must say looks very unimpressed with hoover in the photos LOL Love hoovers eyebrows they are very expressive!