Simply Grand

For me: 1. Baby gate - cats get run of the house, puppy stays where he's supposed to 2. Dog (and cat) door 3. Poo bag dispenser - so you have a neat little roll of bags handy at all times. For Saxon: 1. Liver treats 2. His car harness - coz he gets to go out somewhere when he's wearing it! 3. Charlie the cat - who doesn't consider himself a dog product, but who Saxon thinks is the best toy ever

Saxon's favourite is Tigey, his stuffed tiger, who he loves to "kill". He knows Tigey by name and will go and find him when you ask His second favourite is his Kong Wubba - good for fetching and tug-o-war!

I held Saxon under his tummy the first time he tried swimming but it only took about 20 seconds for his little legs to get going and then he was fine. I don't think he loves swimming but seems happy to follow me around if I'm in the water too. He's learning to fetch sticks in the water now too, which is very cute. While he's swimming he always seems to have an expression on his face like he's thinking "I'm not sure what I'm doing or why I'm doing it..."

OMG, how could anyone say she is ugly?!? She is gorgeous!!! I agree with everyone, stupid woman missing out on the pleasure of a cuddle with that beautiful girl.

As a (first time) puppy buyer: The first time I went to visit Saxon the pups were 2 weeks old, not weaned (obviously) and mum was with them. I really liked being able to see her with them and at that age wouldn't have expected to see them without mum. She kept a close eye on the babies but was not overly protective and was fine with me handling the puppies briefly, and patting her. There was only me there though, so both mum and breeder could clearly see what was going on. I met dad separately afterwards too. When I went back to pick Saxon up to bring him home mum came to say hello then was put outside as she 1. wanted the attention and 2. was a bit over the puppies by then. I got to have a play with Saxon and his remaining (not yet picked up) brother and go through everything with the breeder then before we left. I really liked the experience I had and in the future would like to be able to see mum with the pups at some stage if at all possible, but if there was a reason for things to go differently, the breeder explained why, I was confident in the breeder and everything else "added up" and made me feel comfortable, I wouldn't have a problem with the scenario in the OP.

Even if it's not enforceable, if on one side responsible breeders (pure or cross bred) are encouraged/mandated to be licensed, and on the other side the buying public are educated that they should expect any responsible breeder to be licensed, it could help reduce the market for and therefore supply of byb puppies. Clearly not a perfect solution, but could definitely be a positive step, I think.

Saxon looooves my bean bag, his favourite game is to run up the hallway and do a flying leap into it! He also likes to bury various toys in there for later... I did have to empty it the other week though after he PEEd on it! He hadn't had an accident in the house for months and then one day peed on the beanbag while I was standing right there Why would he pee on something he loves to play in? PS. it is NOT easy to empty a bean bag by yourself!

:D

Hi Lola, I took Saxon to the puppy pre-school at Hall Vet, in September last year. It was a good experience for us, the vet nurses who ran it were very friendly and knowledgeable. It only went for 4 weeks though and was mainly about socialisation. They did teach us (and the puppies) some basic commands and how to train using positive reinforcement/rewards, as well as toilet training tips, appropriate play between puppies, and an intro to examining your puppy yourself and preparing them for vet visits. I'd certainly recommend it as a starting point, but as Saxon is my first dog, I don't have anything to compare it to. Also, don't know if you would get in before mid-March, but worth checking if you're interested. Good luck!

I agree with Nicole, put the kibble bowl in a shallow container that is quite a bit bigger than the bowl. I leave kibble down during the day when I'm at work and often have ant plagues (not really but lines of ants all over the bathroom, kitchen and laundry), and they would get all through the kibble. Saxon's bowl is only small (as is he) so I put it on a plastic picnic plate and filled that with water. It worked well, and the ants seemed to just stop trying to get into the bowl - well, I didn't come home to lots of drowned ants.

Best wishes to you and Porridge, MissMolly, hope she keeps going well and recovers quickly. If that's her in your avatar she's just gorgeous!! (if it's not her then that dog is gorgeous, and i'm sure Porridge is too anyway

At first glance I was agreeing with the consensus on the white-faced puppy, but then I looked more closely at this photo. What a sweet little face!!! Sorry Cosmolo, I don't think any of us have helped much in making a choice, they're both so gorgeous

Hi mrmac, I've been searching for the following thread (which I came across when I did a google search on something, can't remember what it was) and finally found it: http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?show...oss+breed+puppy It's actually about a poodle x maltese puppy but Jed's post (12.03pm) has some good points about getting any dog from an unregistered breeder. I guess there isn't actually any guarantee that your friend would be getting a purebred poodle anyway, so the whole thread could end up being relevant. Anyway, I found Jed's post a very clear and matter-of-fact explanation of what you need to consider when buying any puppy from an unregistered breeder. Hope it helps.

Saxon will be very glad to know that everyone agrees he can keep playing with his beagle friend! I'm working on a "gentle" command with him to tell him to be calm when necessary (including when meeting little puppies) so maybe I'll see how he goes with that before I put him on lead. He's generally pretty responsive to me so hopefully he'll learn quickly. I'm also hoping to start him in beginner's obedience at the end of the month, just waiting to hear back from the club, so that should help too. Amika, those pictures are so cute - they're like a little set of big and small!! I love watching Saxon play with big dogs, especially chasing them. He thinks he's winning while he sprints flat out after them and they just trot along I'll have to get a photo and post it. Thanks everyone for the comments

What a great idea, and a generous fund raising offer from the pet store. I think it's a good way to raise awareness in the general public, who might not go searching for information but if they see that the pet store they pass and/or stop into regularly is providing the information for them hopefully people will take up the offer and learn something. Even if the sessions are only basic information, they might stimulate questions and discussion and encourage people to research further.

Thanks for your comments guys, as you've noted both dogs definitely seem to enjoy their playtime, so we'll leave them to it, unless they become uncomfortable. Poochmad, I hadn't thought about having Sax on lead to meet smaller dogs, we meet so few smaller than him that it hasn't really been an issue (he's 11 inches tall and just over 4kgs). I've seen bigger dogs drop when they say hello to Saxon, and be very gentle with him, so I'll work on teaching him that he's not always the smallest and needs to be gentle too! Thanks again

Hi everyone, I'm hoping those with more knowledge than me can give me some advice. There's a little beagle that we see at the dog park quite regularly. She and Saxon love to play together. She's 11 months old and Saxon is 6 months. She's a bit bigger than Saxon, and heavier and stronger and their play together gets quite rough. They usually have a bit of a wrestle and a box then Saxon ends up on his back with her over the top of him and they both get in with paws and mouths. She's clearly in charge but is not being aggressive, she does use her mouth quite a lot but is inhibiting her bite and is not trying to hurt Saxon, and they both seem to be having a great time. Both the beagle's owners and I are a bit unsure whether we should let them keep going or not. Saxon occasionally squeaks when she's accidently hurt him a little bit (she's never done any damage) but he doesn't want to stop playing and if we separate them they both keep running back to each other to keep playing. The beagle's owners have apologised to me but I tell them they don't need to, they are really attentive to their dog, she is very responsive to them and she is behaving well, it's just that because of the size different Saxon has to fight quite hard to keep up with her, and if she ever wanted to, she could certainly do him some damage (not that I think she would ever try!). Do you think we should separate them or just let them keep playing and sort it out themselves? I know we'll both stay close at all times anyway so we can always stop it from escalating. The thing that concerns me, apart from one of them getting hurt, is that Saxon might be learning to play too rough. He doesn't often come across dogs smaller than him, but we have met a little pug x puppy a couple of times at the park who is smaller than Saxon and Saxon has tried to be quite rough and growly with him, so I've called him away. I don't want him to be rough, especially with baby puppies! Thanks for any advice

A Standard Poodle in a stroller!?! That would be a sight

I don't have anything to add other than he is SOOOOO cute!

Kelly_Louise, your post nearly brought tears to my eyes - in the middle of the office too! What a lovely description of two different doggy experiences.

Fantastic start Daisy, half hour+ on day one! My excuse is that Saxon's been too young for much walking, but he's six months now (and totally full of energy) so I really don't have an excuse for not doing 30 mins per day. And I could definitely benefit from the exercise too!

Hi Jacinta, I'm certainly no expert but I had quite a lot of trouble with my puppy biting, especially when he was around the age yours is. If it's any consolation, I think you're probably in the most painful stage, when they're getting strength in their jaw but still have razor sharp puppy teeth! I had to be really consistent for many weeks with my puppy to get him to stop nipping at me, and I tried a couple of different techniques but really found being consistent with one worked best. I had the most success with the yelp then stand up, cross my arms and turn my back on him - I tried a thumb under the tongue a few times but with a small dog it was difficult, like you said with a hand around the snout. I found that by standing up he physically couldn't get to me as easily, and he hated me ignoring him more than anything. If I sat down again and he tried again I'd yelp and stand up again straight away. As soon as I sat down and he didn't go straight for me I'd stick a toy in his mouth and play with him with the toy. Any contact of teeth on skin and up I'd stand again. It was funny because as he got a bit older he would still do it (still tries now and then, he's six months) but I could tell that it had clicked that he wasn't meant to be doing it and he was just pushing the limits. Once that started I would do a loud, deep AAHHH and look at him with an annoyed face for half a second, then stand up, turn away and even walk away from him. Because he now understands and wants me to be happy with him he tends to sit straight down and wait for me to talk to him again. Anyway, sorry this is such a long response from someone who's definitely no expert, but I do know what it's like to have bitey little mouth going for you and I really found that total consistency and perserverence worked for me. Good luck!!