Niques

Large Attentive Willing to learn Happy, laid-back temperament Good-looking I've got everything but his attention. It's one of the most challenging things about him, but I absolutely adore the fact that my dog loves everything and everyone. He's rarely suspicious or wary. To him, the world is his friend, and I love that he thinks that. I'm not sure I'd be as happy with a dog that had a strong cautious streak.

Nonono...I already have a package on the way from CleanRun. I don't need the encouragement to spend more

I dealt with this just the other night ;) Soak up as much as possible with dry cloths. Then I used wool wash and hot water on it and finished off with some of that Preen carpet foam stuff. I was getting a bit worried for a while as the stain didn't want to shift, but the foam did its job and there's not a mark now.

If you asked them to call the dog off then it's their fault. Otherwise, I'd say you have to expect other dogs coming up. But I've been conditioned to Brisbane's small, fenced in dog parks where repeat contact is inevitable. If it's quite a large, unfenced space then I think you should be able to expect a degree of personal space.

Percy Rum or Skipper would also be very cute.

Could you teach my dog to read other dogs' body language? Otherwise, no, I wouldn't be interested in a practical sense. James doesn't interact with other dogs all that often and when he does, I tend to err very much on the side of caution because he's an enormous buffoon and considers it well beyond the realms of possibility that another creature might not like him. Even when they're snapping in his face. In a theoretical sense, sure, it would be interesting. Not interesting enough to draw me to it unless it was very easily available, but interesting nonetheless. I support the notion of instilling a basic understanding that each dog reacts and behaves differently into puppy preschool classes, though.

James is more of a chewer than an eater. He crunches possessions up and then spits little pieces out with an expression of distaste. The worst thing he's actually swallowed would be parts of my iPhone headphones. I later found vomit with small pieces of chewed up wires.

I took James to the coast yesterday for his second time (he was about 16 weeks the first time). The waves bothered him, and would probably be more troublesome for a short dog like Hugo. But James worked out through observation that they could be jumped over and it quickly got to the point where I could even prompt him to jump if he hadn't noticed a wave coming in. After that he was fine swimming, but he loves water so that wasn't the issue. It was just the salt and waves that he didn't like. And remember to have fresh drinking water on hand.

James got a tablespoon or two of either natural yoghurt or cottage cheese most days when he was little. I haven't bothered in ages as he doesn't eat dry food in a bowl anymore and I don't want to have to wash his bowl for a simple spoonful of yoghurt As for fruit, most things are fair game to him. Strawberry heads, blueberries, apples, pears, mango...etc. He loves orange juice. Very, very much.

I've had Thomas tentatively picked out for a future dog for a while now, although when push comes to shove, I'm not sure if I could use it: I have a cousin named Thomas. I'm fairly sure the extended family are still pretty bewildered by James though, for various reasons, so Thomas probably wouldn't be too questionable

I've just signed James up with PetPlan. I think they want about $440 annually. He used to be insured with PIA but the price jumped ~$100 after the first year.

James has only just started doing it regularly. I'm not a fan; I always find it concerning when he goes all licky, regardless of what the object of his licks is.

What lines would they be? They source from several local breeders here. I know for a fact that they like to have Snows puppies - in fact it was your breeder who told me this... His pups have lovely temperaments and are easy to train apparently. I know not every pup will be the same but the lines do produce certain traits. Masons mother is another they like pups from, his sister and brother are not the first of her pups to go as Guide Dogs. Im not saying dogs from those litters will be angels but they should be easily trained and want to work. After all if there was nothing to it they wouldnt want specific lines or pups from specific matings. Snow as in from Blackboy? If so, that's interesting: he's James' father.

James' personality amused me. I visited him at about 5 weeks of age and he ignored his fighting siblings and crawled behind the curtains to nap. Yet when his mum came in the room he promptly woke up and raced over for a feed He also had a lump on his neck which was very character building. And he turned out to be his breeder's choice for us, which always helps.

In WA they only use dogs with certain lines. Two of James' sisters went to Guide Dogs WA. James is prone to bursts of excitement, to put it mildly He does actually have a fairly calm streak which is apparent at home, but the fact that anything or body unfamiliar is the most amazing thing in the world to him sort of cancels out the first trait.

I didn't get a crate until James was considerably older. And he eventually severely damaged that - don't get a soft crate while they're young I did, however, use (and still do - he sleeps in there at night sometimes) two Bunnings wire compost bins to make up a pen for him. For me, it wasn't so much about the toilet training benefits, more the ability to confine him when necessary and to use as his "room". There have been several horror stories recounted on here about puppies climbing over and breaking limbs, but James' mind (at 21 months of age) would be blown if you even suggested the idea of climbing to him He is most certainly not that way inclined, although I'm not sure how generalisable that is across the breed. To best decide what to use, I think it's important to think about your specific needs: where will the puppy be sleeping (and do you want him contained)?; which product is most conducive to your house's layout?; do you plan on travelling with him?; etc., etc.

Took James 40 seconds to even wake up, and then there was just mildly bewildered head tilting.

Sadly, I think cheeseburger was devoured not too long after that photo. It was fairly well shredded. James thought it quite delicious :D

Found one ;)

James was $1200 18 months ago and, from what I could gather from the publicly listed prices on DOL, at the higher end of the scale at the time. I've been browsing on and off throughout this year and the average listed price seems to be creeping up towards $1200, but anything from $800 - $1500 is fairly common. I wouldn't consider $1500 out of the norm, if you're happy with their dogs.

Little James is an only dog. And likely to be for the forseeable future due to present living and study circumstances. I also have family overseas who I regularly visit and te cost of boarding more than one dog would be limiting. One day, eventually, I'd like a second dog.

James harrasses other people to make me do things If someone else is in the room and he wants dinner and I'm ignoring him, he will prod the other person until they pass the message onto me that he wants food. Similarly, if he wants to go outside and I'm not paying attention he'll go and take a turn about the room in a sort of, "I'm not sure if you've noticed but I've been standing by the door for a while now" manner with a pointed look at me when he passes. Rinse and repeat until I get up.

One Labrador.

Hoover looks like a velociraptor here That's a great shot of the BC sibs. Pepper and Mars photograph well together.

I've only ever fed him one brand - Nutro.