Niques

That is an impressive photo, KA! I can't help but wonder how on earth your OH actually gets him in that position :D This obstacle course sounds really good - particularly having distracting toys and items around! You guys certainly have an interesting obedience club. Best of luck with the upcoming obedience assessment! How do they work? Hah, meet James. I've refused to let him off-leash for the past few weeks for recalls and stays due to 1 or 2 instances of needing to chase after him like a loon! I think it was because of the class location, though - when the new beginner class started we were shuffled a bit further along and he had a better view of another group of dogs. Too irresistable for him There's a particular golden retriever he really, reaaaally wants to play with I think this weekend we'll brave it again.

James has always done it - we call it his dugong pose. Good to hear there's nothing to it. I used to find it worrying. I am melting over your rottie pup, Dyzney :D Too adorable!

I have frequent, irrational moments of worry because James' face looks so despairing! I'm thinking any future dog definitely needs to be a smiley one! In the meantime I'm stuck with droopy jowls and deep, deep, brown eyes that stare into you and have me always thinking that I have a seriously depressed dog ;) Elbie has a very thoughtful, analytical look to him - sort of the dog you'd want to help you break out of jail. Congratulations! That's very good news. I think James was traumatised by the initialy car trip home from the breeders (90 minutes or so of screaming puppy) and I remember being so thrilled when he decided that car trips are really, really exciting. Him crying in the car used to make me anxious about him and it was a great big vicious circle Fingers crossed for you that quiet car travel is here to stay! Elbie's obedience classes sound like a lot of fun! Especially an obstacle course. Glad to hear he's doing well! Oh, I long for James to be that small again! He was last weighed at just over 5 months and was about 20kg - I had to stop picking him up soon after that and he hasn't been weighed since. I had to carry him downstairs the other day, much to my back's dismay! That was a terrific struggle. I am very interested as to what he's at at the moment and am debating whether it's worth putting my back out to find out! Otherwise he won't be weighed for at least 4 months until he goes in for desexing and I'm far too curious to wait that long!

Similar to that is the infamous "irregardless". And people who insist on saying, "I could care less". One that I particularly hate is the overuse and incorrect use of "literally".

They are surprisingly determined, aren't they? Especially considering James' favourite pasttime is normally snoozing on the couch! I can just imagine little Ruby's efforts at redecorating How old is she now? I'm laughing away at the image in my mind of sesame seed poos! Haven't seen any glitter, but I did spy a fluffy blue piece of his Kong Wubba this afternoon Charming conversation starters, dogs are! Great photos, Wuffles! Especially the second - did they pose themselves like that naturally? But what's that in the dog's mouth in the first photo? I can't for the life of me work it out.

James is always up at 5-5:30am as well. And we've been having some toiletting in his pen issues. A later feeding time sounds like a good idea! He's normally in his pen in an eastern facing room so he gets the first rays of sunlight straight at him. Normally I kick him outside for 10 minutes until he asks to be let back in, and he gets put straight back to bed. I crated him in my bedroom last night, where it stays darker longer, to no avail Still rustling around at 5:15am. Although, as an aside, I did really enjoy having him sleep in the same room as me last night - it's cute listening to him snuffle around as he falls asleep Definitely going to keep that routine. But will try the later feeding time as well.

I love Elbie's patient expression Max's ears are seriously cute. And at the cabinet licking. James is driving me insane, once again. We had a few days of calm there, but he's back to picking up and chewing on anything he can find. I found him crunching a container of glitter this morning (god knows where from!) so I'm awaiting some glittery poos Not to mention the jumping on everything and everyone. I'm this close to keep him on a leash full-time indoors. Exhausting dog.

He got a small lamb shank last night. Stuck with dry food for breakfast. He'll also get sardines when I leave, if I remember.

Don't think it will as it is Aussie made and they've been around for quite sometime. I've struggled to find bags (even a mere 3kg!) of Large Breed Puppy in a couple of pet shops at times. Have given up just popping in and now phone ahead when I want food to check their stock because otherwise I find I'm making pointless trips as it's sold out.

James has never eaten any other dry food (his breeder uses it for her dogs) and does wonderfully on it.

And the saddest bit of them losing their puppy coat is finding it on the floor! James still has puppy fluff along his sides that I love to stroke. Am not looking forward to the day it's all gone :D

Haha, it is in slow motion Max's recall sounds terrific! I can imagine how proud you'd be at the park! In regards to the release command, I'd start doing it in really small increments. So if you know he can stay sitting for only a couple of seconds, release him before he has the opportunity to get up on his own accord and that way you get your command in and he has no chance of failing the task. James has several words for the same things in some cases. Mainly for the things that don't have hand commands actually. Which is odd, thinking about it, because he really relies on signals for a lot of things - he's a bit reluctant to obey if I simply speak to him I'm sure Max will pick up on the changes quickly or just take both commands on board. Poor Elbie. Hopefully he'll adapt quickly! Will your husband be back at work when he returns or will he still have someone home with him during the day? I caught the music video bug (AKA extreme desire to procrastinate) and made one for James over the weekend:

I'm also interested to read the responses here - have a wedding to go to in the New Year and thus there'll be no family around who can watch James. Have had a recommendation for the Pet Chalet thus far, albeit, from someone who used it a few years ago. Will be checking them out once our dates are set.

James' just has his name and mobile no. Haven't lost him yet but have lost the tag Some lovely person found it in the park and sent a text (which is a benefit of having a mobile no. I hadn't thought of - able to be texted) letting us know where they left it. And he has his council rego tag on his collar as well.

Thankyou for your suggestions Good to know that Betadine can be used on dogs, as well! I think (as much as I can tell through the fur) that the lumps are going down and I'm now thinking that maybe they were simply caused by irritation - he spent a lot of time wet last week and perhaps rubbing occurred. I don't know - will keep an eye on it, anyway

Yup, another vote for Bunnings' compost bins. We have two joined together here. Couldn't understand the spiral joiners so they're connected with cable ties with metal clips (the kind on the end of leashes - I'm sure there's a proper name for them) for a door. James still sleeps in his.

I'm in the first dog boat as well. Never had one as a young child (much to my great disappointment) so James is my first foray into the puppy world. I'd love to trial in obedience with him. You know...when he stops being a nutcase He's gaining a bit of a reputation as a bolter - the past two weeks he's taken off during offlead recalls. Which is embarrassing and disappointing - previously he's been just brilliant at offleads. Surprisingly. Considering how insane he is in every other aspect of obedience Ava and Satchmo look like so much fun to have around. They're so cute interacting with each other!

Oh, I definitely want to see a picture of that! It sounds positively adorable! James is a bit of a digger. Really not too bad though. He did have one particular hole that was getting ridiculous but a bit of poo on top put a stop to that. I can certainly sympathise with Wuffles - there's not a great deal of grass in our backyard and the bit that is there doesn't get much sun so it's naturally sparse anyway. But after rain, wet dog zoomies and some casual digging/inhaling of soil...you really don't want to see it He's really not destructive indoors. It's just all the pipes/tubing outside that sets him off. He likes to steal and carry around shoes, socks and stockings, but won't eat them. I think the retriever in him just likes holding things. He'll absently tear at the corner of his bed if he's bored in the middle of the night, or pinch sheets of paper off tables, but other than that...he's pretty damn good (touch wood!). All furniture is without damage. How does Elbie go at keeping things in tact? I always think of him as such an angelic pup - I can see him doing no harm! I looove watching puppy bum wiggling. They're so cute the way it radiates through their whole body. Aww, poor Elbie. I'm sorry to hear about your husband's loss! It will be interesting to see how Elbie adjusts this week - I hope he's not too puzzled/mopey. I'm laughing away to myself at the second photo there. It has an odd, touristy, Leaning Tower of Pisa feel to it! Max#1, I am counting my blessings that we had no diarrhea with the teething! That would've been a tough three days! Hopefully Max'll be a good adolescent for you. I'm wondering now if James not being desexed yet is such a wise idea... Although I'm sure he'd be just as obnoxious without the hormones. And now I think we've officially derailed your thread, KTB

Max's ears really are a sight to behold! It must be a fun waiting game with "undecided ear" dogs! Yikes! That's horrible! The worst James gets is me stopping dead, jaw hanging at my feet, wandering around in a daze mumbling, "Oh...my...god. What have you done, dog?!." He used to have a good, "What? I wasn't doing anything...honestly!" look but since becoming a destructive monster I mainly get the, "If you come any closer, I'm going to snatch whatever I'm naughtily chewing on and run around like a lunatic because this is the best game in the world!" look. As for size, honestly, he still looks like a tiny puppy to me. Especially when we're at Obedience - he looks 12 weeks old again around other dogs. Speaking of getting big, Elbie's tail repeatedly caught my attention when watching his latest videos! That is a mightily impressive tail! I kept thinking how painful it would be to be caught in its path when wagging That's so good of your neighbours to let you know! How curious that he only does it at night - do you get many possums or bats that he would bark at, or does he just not like being out at nighttime?

Hah, he gets a new video when he stops being a destructive bastard I swear, karma's a pain in the arse with this dog - I'd read that the rebellious period can start at 7 months so spent early last month bragging to anyone who'd listen about how just lovely my 7 month old pup was. Fast-forward to now where if I leave him outside for more than 2 minutes the reticulation is dragged out of the ground and shredded, the hose is pulled off the wall and full of bite marks...oh, and my personal favourite, the creepy crawly is dragged out of the pool! Nutty little dog - when I stop feeling the urge to tear out my hair everytime I look him I will take some new videos That wave is adorable - particularly the first! I've been watching your progress with the left and right. It's a very nifty trick! I taught James "touch" with his nose and paw today which has me bursting out laughing each time - something so cute about being prodded by a wet nose. I've been a bit slack with new tricks of late.

Elbie's long snout suits him perfectly! He's aging into a very handsome pup! Love his "picking up toys". He is an insanely clever boy. If you don't mind me straying off topic for a minute, do you have a video of Elbie's "wave" trick? I've been wanting to see what it looks like for a while now, but keep forgetting to ask. Edit: Oh, I just made it to the end of his most recent music video - is that it there close to the end...a bit before the paw over snout?

Terrific photos! I have a fondness for Huntsmen (or is it Huntsmans?) - it's the little spiders that I find more irksome.

I agree with keeping all food off benches. Removing the incentive is the best way to start. And then teaching the "Off" command (which in James' case meant teaching him "Up" onto chairs, etc. before moving onto "Off") and praise for staying down. James will occasionally jump up late in the afternoon to take a look at his dinner defrosting on the sink...his way of subtley hinting that he'd like to eat now Or he'll stand next to you and watch if something is being handwashed - the bubbles amuse him. But he'll hop down when asked.

James has quite a few scabby lumps (maybe 10ish or so?) isolated to the area under and slightly around one of his forearms. From what I could see initially under all the hair, they looked like tick bites - reddish appearance to the lump with a black top. I had a better look around with tweezers and the tops just flaked off. I'd love to post a photo but he's a squirmer. Anyway, onto the questions - how urgent are skin conditions? Is it best to have it seen right away or is there no harm in playing the wait and see game for a bit? Would Sorbolene or anything be of use to rub on? And while I'm here, I know I haven't given all that much info, but anyone know what these lumps could be? EDIT: Thought I'd add, he's otherwise fine. No unusual behaviours, lethargy or anything.

Ted(dy) was one of the shortlisted names for James so I have quite a softspot for it. Love that he's a mini poodle