Simply Grand

Clarabelle, I think you are doing great with your new boy, seeking advice and taking in a whole lot of new information from different sources! Keep listening to the knowledgable people here, especially other JS owners. At the end of the day the DNA test may be useful or may not, doesn't really matter exactly what he is as he's yours now! And he really does appear to have at least a fair bit of JS in him :) Just keep working on bonding with and training him and I reckon you'll end up with a great little guy.

I have to say I'm thinking along the same lines as BlackJaq and WeimMe, I really think the only safe option for Rocky is a secure dog run, or maybe a second fence - I'm in iPhone so can't see your location but I think in general tenants are permitted to erect temporary structures on rental property so long as the property can be returned to its original condition on vacating. You can't control the world outside, all you can effectively do is manage your own dog and your own property.

Oh Jules, I've just seen this, so very sorry to hear it. As others have said it's so clear how special your beautiful Cavvies are to you. Joey has had a wonderful life being part of your family. Thinking of you

Ha, bet they weren't expecting that! Well done Treble!

Just beautiful Lisa, I can see that shot mounted on a wall His nose is getting close to being filled in isn't it.

Oh yes, I didn't mention that on top of dry food my dogs have always also had a selection of chicken wings, raw mince, raw veges, tuna etc, and bones sometimes.

As Perse says, definitely stick to what your breeder gas been feeding and if you want to change, change gradually. Puppy tummies get upsets really easily. My finances have varied dramatically lately so value for money has been very important (my dogs are all adults now tho so tummies are less sensitive and their vital physical growing stages ate over) so basically - My number 1 preference us Advance - my dogs have good condition (weight, coats, eyes, breath etc) on it and it gives them small, firm, non smelly poos, which to me shows they are getting good nutrition from it. 2nd choice, and budget friendly, is Optimum. I actually find that for my dogs this works for them about as well as Advance. Totally broke, I'm eating noodles and white bread equivalent (literally) - I actually food they did ok on Aldi food, kept condition ok after about a week and a half, poos were bigger and looser but really not bad. However I would only feed this short term as I'm just not sure about the ingredients, nutritional value etc. I also tried a large chain supermarket brand, ingredients not great but from memory did have meat/meat meal as first ingredient - seriously more poo came out than food went in! Large, soft poo 4 times a day, compared to basically solid poos once, maybe twice a day. Quinn also lost a lot of weight within a week, despite eating probably the same volume as the other foods. It's not just about price, it's about what goes in vs what comes out, and the nutrition the dog gets out of the food. Different things work for different dogs so you can experiment BUT experimenting with a puppy is highly likely to lead to an upset tummy, and some adults too, most dogs aren't the garbage guts' mine are!

IMO the only real essentials are: A comfy bed - I'd suggest cheap ones from kMart or the Reject Shop at least at first as they tend to get destroyed! A couple of blankets to snuggle into, Kmart again has good cheap ones. A secure and suitable sized collar and lead, I'd go for better quality on these rather than the Reject Shop type cheap ones as you don't want the breaking or rubbing. A water bowl heavy enough that puppy can't knock it over. (obviously food bowls as well but you can make do with whatever you have for those). A brush, scissors and nail trimmers. Toys to keep puppy entertained and to redirect mouthing - these can be cheap and improvised, although a rubber Kong is a useful thing to put food in to keep puppy entertained, and most puppies love a Kong Wubber as well. Other useful things are a baby gate, crate, playpen or all of the above. Other tips - definitely find out about NILIF, it really pays off. I'd also suggest something like the Really Reliable Recall DVD if you can get it, it really helps you teach a great recall. Practice both from day 1 of bringing puppy home. Also practice grooming, including brushing, trimming with scissors around face, feet and bottom, and clipping nails, regularly from week 1. A Cavie will need regular grooming as an adult and it's sooooo much easier to get them used to it when they are a baby and it doesn't occur to them to make a fuss, even if they don't really need anything done yet. Last thing, don't stress too much! No one does everything perfectly and puppies really are quite robust, you won't ruin it with a mistake here and there :)

Wow, and she's pining so much for it that the only option now is to breed her! *rolly eyes*

Sorry I don't have any experience with kennels in your area but just wanted to say try not to worry too much, most dogs cope pretty well being boarded, and 13 nights isn't too long. I was very worried about boarding my guys the first time but decided on kennels rather than housesitting/people visiting an feeding as I actually felt they'd be safer there - much less chance of escape, and it meant there wasn't someone else treating them differently to how i do in their own home. Recently I ended up kenneling 2 of them for 7 weeks while I tried to find a house for all of us, I never expected it to be so long and worried a lot about them, but they came back happy and healthy and settled back into home life really quickly :)

Mummamia, Corvus mentions the Really Reliable Recall DVD, if you don't already have it it's well worth getting, even if you already have a good recall it's still interesting.

I think your best option is to keep her on a long line while you're there. She has obviously decided that sometimes running over there is just more rewarding than anything boring old mum can give her! Each time she does it as well it's reinforcing for her how fun it is so you want to prevent her even having to opportunity. I wouldn't risk trying to give her a scare, for two reasons - 1. you don't know what repercussions the scare might have outside that situation. She may find it very traumatic and become fearful in general, she may associate the scare with all sorts of things that aren't the thing you wanted her to associate with (roads, houses, people, a particular person, trees, clouds... who knows, it will depend what her brain makes of it at the time and how much she generalises her reaction). Or 2. her reaction may not be fear anyway, at best could be nothing, but could be aggression, could be loss of trust in you, who knows. I would put her on a long line so she can't decide to go over there, but try to catch her and call her back before the moment she makes the decision to run that way - the long line is a fall back if she doesn't listen to you. Try different things to get her interested in coming back to you, excited noises, run the other way, get down low and open arms for cuddles, play with the other dogs, then a food reward jackpot but also pats, cuddles, praise when she comes back. You need to find what is highest value for her, but you may also need to keep changing things up so she stays interested. Keep practicing recalls from closer distances while you're there as well, when she's not so distracted, so she is in the habit of coming back to you regularly then getting to go off and play again.

as a light hearted aside to this important topic, i was standing chatting with someone in the car park of the dog park one day, i had one dog out of the car and the door open, with the other 2 dogs waiting on the back seat to get out. The lady, not knowing my dogs, commented how good they were just waiting to be told they could get out :) i burst out laughing and told her no, no, they're strapped in otherwise they'd be out like a shot! i should have just taken the credit and said yes, they're very well trained, hehe.

Yep, hormone levels. The puppies produce hormones that trigger labour and the amount needed depends on the size of the breed. In a toy breed one puppy usually isn't an issue as they normally have small litters anyway but in a large breed that should have 6+ in a litter then there is a problem. The larger the breed the more likely they will not go into labour with a singleton. I have known of a couple of singleton BCs born normally but the great majority of them have needed a caesar to be born. Then sometimes the bitch has no milk. Not always but if it does happen you need a foster mum fast. Thanks dancinbcs :)

Omg, love the one ear up one ear down, how adorable

Why do they sometimes not go into labour? Is it hormone levels? Or physical reasons because there aren't many puppies in there?

Hmm, Riley had the same procedure, with an incision along the side of the shaft of his penis to remove one undescended testicle and the stitched up wound looked much neater and more "closed" than that even as soon as I picked him up. He had no bleeding at all. Hope Murphy is doing ok today!

I'm not a breeder either but just from reading around I think if there are only 1 or 2 babies in there soaking up all the nutrients they can grow too big for mum to deliver naturally. Also, once they're born they may need some lumps and bumps in the whelping box to crawl around over and also to be prompted to move around so their muscles and bones develop properly without a pile of other puppies to crawl over. And there's the socialisation/learning manners aspect f they don't have other babies to play and fight with. Hopefully someone more knowledgeable can provide more info!

Dog is hilarious! have you read through them all perse? my friend and I always greet each other by saying "haylo hooman" now :laugh:

I agree, leave it to moult off, or carefully trim the stained hair away. My poodle x maltese gets a little bit of it as he doesn't moult but I just trim the stained hairs away carefully when I groom him, and wipe away eye goobies with a damp baby wipe or my finger when I see them. I wouldn't go using products for a one off situation. Eta - you could also use a Furminator type tool (gently) on a short coated dog to help pull out the stained hairs.

I too would go with your breeders advice and do it at 9 months.. My Sheltie Riley had an undescended testicle. I was planning on desexing him at 12 months anyway as he was a bit of a runt and I wanted to give him every chance to grow, and from what I researched there was a chance the testicle would still descend but if it didn't he would still be young enough that it wouldn't cause problems with cancer etc. Turns out it stayed well and truly in his abdomen and desexing ended up costing about $550 instead of the $200 odd it would have been, but what can you do? He started displaying more "boy" type behaviors (more interest in females, trying to dominate other males) at 8-9 months so I'd say that's a good age to desex a small-ish breed boy :) ETA - oh yes, and my other boy, who was desexed at 6 mths, still has a bit of a go at humping, dominating when it takes his fancy anyway

I'd do it while having him desexed (as you mentioned in the other thread). Saves him having to undergo another surgery if they cause problems in the future. A friend of mine had her girl's rear ones removed when she was desexed and there were no major recovery problems, she just had little bandaged feet for a while. Obviously it would probably be a longer recovery than a normal neuter but I'd personally see it as worth that bit of extra time.

I agree with how the last two posts have explained it, based on my experience anyway. The best idea is definitely to see if you can spend some tine with the two breeds, at shows or even at breeder's places if you can find some nearby. If you have any GOOD dog parks near you (they vary a lot) you may be able to hang out there and see the breeds being more relaxed, that's where I've seen the best comparison between Collies and Poodles. I reckon if you can spend some time with them you'll get the gist of what the differences are and lean towards one or the other :)

love it, so cute.

This exactly. Glad you're back and asking for advice Chris, hope you can get someone good to see you and your pup ASAP. He sound like a clever little fella, I'm sure with the right plan and support in place you can get him on track :)