keroppiyo

Hmmm.....I've never done this before. How often should this be done, and how can you tell when it needs to be emptied?

That's a terrific idea. I always wondered what she gets up to.

Yep, rectangular take away container worked for me too. Just pop it between her legs from behind when she squats and starts to pee. It took me a couple of goes to get the sample, but she wasn't bothered by the container being there. I was just too slow in my first attempts. For my case there was a small amount of blood in her urine, caused by a mild case of UTI.

I purchased a 36" crate from pets-station for $80. Picked it up from their warehouse (in Vic). I think the quality is decent, not much different from the more expensive ones at pet shops.

The setup is just gorgeous! Looks sooooooo comfy. I can see how you could've fallen asleep with her in there. Snowball, we also got our kennel from designashed.com.au I think the quality's quite good. I like how the kennel is raised, and the door is to the side to reduce draft.

Hi Kiesha. I know Samoyeds are capable of having a reliable recall, but I would say my 10-month old Buffy has almost no recall. It's most likely from lack of training experience on my part though, and at this point in time I don't see myself ever letting her go off-leash. She's independent and stubborn, but we just think she's got 'character'

Ruski, your Sammie is so cute! Looks like a polar bear in that photo.

She's such a cutee! You'll have lots of fun with her!

Yep, can sometimes get bargains from K-mart. Got some large black kongs for $8 recently. www.ozpetshop.com.au sells Everlasting Treat & Fun balls cheaper than most other places www.thevetshed.com.au sells cheaper Tuffie toys

If you live in the SE suburbs, I know Robbo's Pet Barn (Dandenong), Pet Barn (Chadstone & Fountain Gate Shopping Centres), and Pet Stock (Moorabbin & Ormond) have them. I think Robbo's Pet Barn had the entire range, including the duck and anchovy varieties, but can't remember if the other places had those, but definitely stock the Holistic range.

Dakota really seems quite good to me. I took Buffy to KCC Park once to meet her breeder. Buffy wasn't too bad, mainly just pulling me around to see things, but her breeder quickly took care of that Too bad Buffy's not supposed to play with other dogs yet, otherwise we could meet up too. I only live about 15 mins away from KCC park.

Buffy wears a thin piece of ribbon with council and ID tags attached 24/7, and her collar is only put on when we go out. This was advised by her breeder. Even though she's microchipped, having my contact details on her tag would mean I could be contacted straight away, and would save the on costs of picking her up from the pound if she got out (I'm guessing where most lost dogs are sent).

They use the word "desexing", no mention of "sterilisation". They mention about reduced tendency for these (desexed) dogs to wander, or be territorially aggressive, so I guess again refer to desexing as to my knowledge sterilisation doesn't affect these behaviours? I could be wrong though.

All my vet wrote in the letter was "We recommend that Buffy not be desexed until after her first season for medical reasons", and the council accepted that.

Oh, thanks for the link. I did a search for "compulsory desexing", so that thread didn't come up . Going to read through it in detail now.

No, I'm with City of Kingston, so nearby. When I called the office about compulsory desexing, I did ask if they consulted with vets and if that was what they recommended. The lady over the phone said yes. It's not really an issue for me now, since I have a legit letter from my vet, which makes Buffy exempt. I just feel that responsible owners will naturally do what's best, and don't need this enforced by law on them. BYBs could probably keep their dogs or cats away from council's knowledge, like I did for a couple of months.

According to their website: A dog/cat that is owned by a person or body that conducts a domestic animal business registered with Council. Where the dog/cat is used for breeding purposes in connection with that business. A Dangerous Dog that is kept for guarding non residential premises A Dangerous Dog that has under gone protection training A dog/cat that is the subject of written Veterinary advice that the health of the dog/cat is liable to be significantly prejudiced if it is desexed A dog or cat that is owned by a person who is a current member of an applicable organisation and the animal is registered with that organisation (proof must be provided of both owners and dog/cat membership at the time of registration) For some reason I hadn't thought of registering my dog with an organisation. I don't really plan to compete with her, so maybe that's why it didn't cross my mind.

Yep, I think they choose as well. I do all the feeding, training, walking, grooming for my girl Buffy (a Samoyed), yet she doesn't seem all that excited with me, maybe just a slight tail wag if I've been out for a while, then return home. When she sees other family members, or better yet, strangers, come into the house, she goes nuts, tail wagging, jumping, excited barking, etc. Only recently it seems she might be more attached to me than she'd made out. She needed me more than anyone else when she got injured, and would become distressed when I had to leave her side. Maybe she sees me as being her mum. Not as interesting as other people, but more important?

Hi. I'm just wondering what everyone's views on compulsory desexing is? My council requires dogs and cats to be desexed before 3 months before they can be registered. I intend on having my dog desexed, but wasn't planning to do it so young (I got her when she was 3.5 months, so I would've had to desex her straight away). I rang up a few vets at the time asking what age they recommended desexing, and all said roughly at 6 months. I understand there are both pros and cons for desexing early, and that it can be done before 3 months. But should they be able to make it mandatory if owners don't feel comfortable having it done so early? I asked if I could pay the non-reduced registration fee to delay desexing, but that was not an option. It was either have her desexed and register her, or not register and risk copping a fine. In the end I decided to not register her and hope the council didn't find out (wrong I know). And fortunately I didn't go ahead with the procedure, as later it was recommended by our vet to desex her after her first heat due to medical reasons. I then went to the council 1-2 months after getting my dog, to register her with a letter from the vet.

Kelza, I'm so impressed by your photos!!! Did you take them yourself? I can't even get one Samoyed to sit still for half a millisecond, let alone 6!

The repellents work for some dogs, but not for others. I've tried "Get off my garden" crystals, and they didn't work for me. Depends how your dog takes to the scent of that stuff.

Thanks everyone. I think I've decided on the plates. My only concern before was perhaps the higher chance of infection with the plates, as they would have to perform surgery to insert them. But everyone and everywhere I've read have recommended the plates, and it's reassuring to know that your dogs have healed nicely after the surgery. I just hope I can limit her activity for the 6-8 weeks after surgery...

Hi everyone. My 8 month old Samoyed, Buffy, fractured her radius and ulna bones today. The vet said she could either get a cast, or metal plates put in, but recommended the plates. I need to decide what to do by tomorrow morning, but leaning towards the plates. Has anyone had a similar injury, and how did you go about treating it? Thanks

I'm a bit worried about this now. My 8 month old Samoyed, Buffy, just discovered upstairs of our house, and is always running up and down the stairs now. Her parents have really good hip scores though, so I think genes-wise she's fine, but I'd hate to stuff them up by letting her climb the stairs. Do you think it would be wise to put some kind of barrier to stop her doing this until she's a bit older?

Initially used "hurry up" until I yelled it out to a family member one day. Luckily my girl didn't need to go. Now I use "go pee pee".