PoppyDog

OH MY GOODNESS!!! Poppy has NEVER gone for electricals! As a small pup she used to try and chew our laptop cords but we stopped that VERY quickly! I swear it's harder to puppy proof than it is to child proof! At least a toddler can't jump onto the dining/kitchen table!

Yep, thats what we think! We will invite our friends with the 2 border collies and other friends also with 2 border collies! And then just some other friends of ours! We love entertaining and by then it will be summer and will be great weather for a BBQ! Aww! Cute! I might look online and see if there are any dog bakerys nearby. I know there is one about an hour away but its a bit far! I plan on getting some cute 1st birthday decorations too! And party hats of course!

So I thought long and hard about even making this thread because I'm guessing some people will think WTF...it's a dog! But here goes... Did anyone do anything special for their dogs first birthday? Or subsequent birthdays? OH and I are thinking of having a BBQ with some friends as a celebration for Poppy's first birthday. I've found some dog friendly cake recipes online too so I can even make her a birthday cake! I know it's more for us than it is for her but we would still like to celebrate her birthday!

Thanks! Where dod you get your Pyramid toy from? Love the idea of the cloth strips and the treats too! There's your reason for her reaction.. Move the books or shut doors. When YOU go out the door, a tasty bone might be a good idea. Or stock up on old phone books. Thanks! Have already moved ALL the books that are on the lowest shelf...the the higher shelf!

Thanks! Yesterday arvo I was SO annoyed with her. And it was like she knew it. She sat on DF's lap, on the other side of the lounge just looking at me as if to say "Im sorry!!!" And I guess my body language was saying "I AM NOT IMPRESSED!!!" I'd still like to explore the idea of getting her something to dog in, because she has been digging and we have been filling it in. We're in a rental so we don't really want the whole yard dug up! She's not doing it to that extreme yet but I would rather give her a designated digging place now to try and stop it! I really wish there was Doggy Daycare close to us! Just so she could go one day a week and get all worn out! Between DF and I we are home 3 to 4 days a week so she is not home alone 5 days a week! Do people with two dogs have these issues? Or do they tend to keep one another entertained???

It's a personal choice...I could say them same about people who co-sleep with their children! For us personally she lept better in the bed. We tried the crate and the bathroom and we persevered (sp?) with both. She didn't start sleeping on the bed until about 6 months of age. So we didn't give up easily! We tried different things and tried them for months! Poppy also has her own bed and some nights she will sleep in it, in our room. I don't plan on kicking her out of the bed when we have babies. We have a king bed that is big enough for everyone!

Yesterday morning I went off to work leaving DF in bed with Poppy. It was his day off and we found that if I put her out before I go to work with DF still in bed she scratches at the door and carries on. So we have been leaving the back door open for her to go out if she needs toilet but usually she just sleeps with DF until he gets up! Yesterday, DF didn't get up till after 11am and OH MY GAWD!!!! He went out to see what our darling cherub was doing... She had gotten not ONE but TWO books OFF the bookself, had taken them outside and proceeded to RIP them to shreds! When I got home he showed me the damage. Needless to say we have A LOT of cleaning up to do in our yard this weekend...there is literally paper EVERYWHERE!!! When I went outside I was so shocked and called Poppy. She came to the back door, looked at me and where I was standing and wouldn't come any further. I wasn't yelling at her or anything but I wasn't using my "So happy with you, high pitched voice either". I tried a few times to call her out as if to say "LOOK at what you have done!!!" but she stood at the door and made a little whine then went and layed under the dining room table. All submissive and sorry looking! I have read SO many times that you should never punish or repremand unless you catch them in the act...and I wasn't about to yell at her or anything like that but I was really surprised to see that she reacted that way. Like she KNEW she had done a BAD thing! I even asked DF if he had yelled at her and he said "No, coz you told me only to say NO if I catch her doing it" (HE's a good boy! haha!). So anyway...that brings me to my next question... I KNOW she did this because she was BORED! And I feel bad! So I want ideas of things to put in the yard to keep her entertained. Is she too young for a clam shell? Half filled with sand and the other half filled with water on hot days? She is 8 and a bit months? If I hide treats in the digging shell what sort of treats do I hide? What sort of sand do I fill it with? Where do I get said sand? She loves raw hides and bones and we do give her those but I think I need to stock up so I have a stash that is never ending! She has a puppy Kong but is it time for a big girl one? She doesn't seem interested in her puppy one anymore! Any other ideas???

We have an 8 month old CKCS X and we had the same issues with the sleeping in the crate that you did! Poppy also sleeps on our bed now and is much happier and a much better sleeper! On the weekends she will happily sleep in with us till 9am! :D

We do this too! ;) We have to pull the seats forward and tuck it all in otherwise it just slips and slides and she is on the leather again! How do people secure their dogs when they have a blanket over the seat though???

TeamSnag - Your puppies are so adorable!!! I didn't realise that dashounds looked like that. The first pic made me think it was a CKCS pup!

Aww! That's great you get to get your fix at work! Poppy is our first ever dog. We got her from a not so reputable seller and at the time the responses I got from a dog forum (not this one) about that really ruined the puppy time for me. I was stressed about her health. I was told over and over she would have health problems and I was scared we would go to bed and wake up and she wouldn't be okay. :D My OH and I had arguements about how over the top I was about Poppy. It was a really tough time! So a part of me wants to do it all again because now I know, I know SO much more and I think maybe I could really enjoy having a puppy. I know a reputable CKCS breeder who is close to me and I would love to get a registared puppy with health garuntees. And I'd love Poppy to have a friend. But I know that it's not something I want to do for a while.

As the title suggests, do you ever feel that pang for another puppy but then remember he toilet training and the sleepless nights and the chewing! Oh the chewing! Friends of ours came over for dinner last night with their 8 week old Border Collie, Sachi. She was SO cute and fluffy and cuddly. Poppy was SO gentle with her and just sniffed her and let her warm up to her before trying to play with her! And it made me REALLY want another! But the sensible part of me knows that now isn't the right time for us! Anyone else ever get that feeling?

Glad I'm not the only one with a lazy puppy! She slept in till 7.30am with me and then we got up, had breaky and an hour later she is snoozing on the couch next to me! Yesterday it was cold and raining and I swear all she did was sleep! I came home with a horrible headache and had a nanna nap and she cuddled up with me and slept too! Wizzle - Hope Miss G learns how to sleep in soon!!! Poppy went through a "must get up with the sun" phase when she was sleeping in her crate but as soon as we started letting her sleep on our bed or next to it in her bed she started sleeping SO much better! She also HATED being in the bathroom away from us.

I just DO NOT understand the whole trade 'em in thing! Don't people develop bonds with their animals? Don't they come to love and adore them? Poppy could grow a 5th leg and a 3rd eye and I would still adore her!!! This makes me so sad!!!

Poppy is the biggest couch potato out! I sometimes wonder if the fact that my OH and I don't have an over active lifestyle has meant that she has just fitted in with us? I don't know if it's her genetics or her upbringing (by us) but she LOVES to cuddle and snooze! OH works a mixture of day and night shifts and it is SO nice to have her snoozing on the couch RIGHT next to me! Or have her cuddle up in between us at night. I left for work at 6am this morning and she gave me this look as if to say "turn the light off please! I'm trying to sleep!" I just rang OH to wake him up (our groceries are being delivered soon!) and she is still sleeping on the bed with him! I went to be at 9pm last night too! So we didn't have a late one! Is your doggy a couch potato? Do you think it's genetics or environment or a mixture of both?

It's good to know you think she looks good and her coat is nice. Because thats something I don't really know about. I guess because I don't have anything to compare her to. I've never seen a dog with a bad coat. I think she is waiting for something better! I have got some chicken thight cutlets (with bone) and am feeding her one a night and still offering supercoat at breaky. She is LOVING the raw chicken pieces and will eat her dry food if a crack an egg on it. With regards to Sardines... Why do we give those? How much and how often? Do I just buy tinned sardines? Would like to add those to her diet but not sure how to go about it. CJ-B - Thanks for the advice! I think I will stick with Supercoat for now and see how we go! I think that maybe she was just bored of it because I wasn't giving her the raw as well as the supercoat! But have started that again! Oh that's great she is loving the raw pieces, and great news about the kibble. And eggs are a great topper to add to kibble for healthy skin and coat. A lot of owners use eggs, sardines, yoghurt, cottage cheese etc, as toppers as well. Sometimes it's to make the kibble more appealing but most times it's used to add certain vitamins, minerals or essential fatty acids for overall well being or to help with skin and coat condition. Sounds like to me you are giving her a great diet. :D Thanks Cb-J. :D I would like to add sardines...do I just feed the tinned ones? And how many per meal? And how often per week? Love the idea of the cottage cheese and yogurt will add those to the dry food too to make it more inviting! ;)

It's good to know you think she looks good and her coat is nice. Because thats something I don't really know about. I guess because I don't have anything to compare her to. I've never seen a dog with a bad coat. I think she is waiting for something better! I have got some chicken thight cutlets (with bone) and am feeding her one a night and still offering supercoat at breaky. She is LOVING the raw chicken pieces and will eat her dry food if a crack an egg on it. With regards to Sardines... Why do we give those? How much and how often? Do I just buy tinned sardines? Would like to add those to her diet but not sure how to go about it. CJ-B - Thanks for the advice! I think I will stick with Supercoat for now and see how we go! I think that maybe she was just bored of it because I wasn't giving her the raw as well as the supercoat! But have started that again!

So what would be a well balanced, easy, budget friendly diet for an 8 month old CKCS X? Do I get rid of the Supercoat completely? Do I alternate it with chicken frames? Can I give chicken frames frozen? Or do I need to buy fresh every few days (pain in the butt!). I know A LOT of people are against commercial food but TBH as someone who has never owned a dog until recently I feel more comfortable with this type of feeding because I KNOW they are nutritionally balanced. So is it worth my while in changing brands? HELP!!!

You'll see that the quote said "no nutritional benefit in MINCING chicken frames" not that there is NO nutritional benefit in minced chicken frames. DON'T mince the frames....feed them whole, mincing is a waste of time and energy for a young dog, or most dogs for that matter and they also get the benefit of tearing the frames apart and the whole bones massaging teeth to help clean them. Ahhhh! Okay, I see. Way to confuse a newbie! Will have to try the chicken frame thing.

I obviously haven't eaten my dogs food. And with all due respect I am after constructive advice and ideas. ;) I am willing to try new things but as a newbie I am VERY confused when it comes to providing a nutritionally balanced and budget worthy diet. Actually very seriously, many people do taste their dog dry food. And I'm being very serious....as dry foods go, you can do a LOT better than Supercoat. I WAS a die-hard Supercoat feeder for many years. Fed it to my adults, recommended it for my puppies. Until a few years back it appeared to undergo a change of formulation and it wasn't the same after that. Dry skin, dull coats, itches, voluminous SMELLY output. Incidentally, there is no nutritional benefit in mincing chicken frames. Okay, not that committed! Cannot bring myself to taste the dry food! As for there being no nutritional benefit in minced chicken frames...are you kidding me??? What about the meat and bones??? Am more confused now than I EVER was! Thanks! Will try this. She is completely fine. Her normal happy self. She was a bit quiet but she had a sleepover with Varicool & her puppies and the night before that a playdate with a VERY energetic BC so I think she is just warn out! Will keep an eye on her though! Hmm, didn't think of this. Will see how she goes with dinner tonight. This morning I served up her breaky and put it outside before I went to work and she just walked away from the bowl! She has NEVER done that before....EVER!!! So maybe she isn't hungry??? But it seems so unlike our Poppy to refuse food!

I obviously haven't eaten my dogs food. And with all due respect I am after constructive advice and ideas. I am willing to try new things but as a newbie I am VERY confused when it comes to providing a nutritionally balanced and budget worthy diet.

Poppy is 8 months old and has always been fed on Supercoat puppy. In addition to this she has had minced chicken frames (something we haven't done in a while), meaty bones and a raw egg or two each week. If we have left over chicken or beef meat, sausages etc she will also get that with her Supercoat. On Saturday night we went to a friends place for a BBQ. THey have a 4 month old Border Collie so both dogs had some left over BBQ meat along with their dry food. On Sunday morning Poppy happily ate her dry food. And Sunday night she was at Varicool's house having a sleepover and apparently she chowed down her supercoat then too. This morning she turned her nose up at it but then ate it when Varicool made a game of it and threw it around for her to eat. Tonight I gave her some Supercoat & a whole raw egg. She ate the egg but left the supercoat. ;) Poppy has NEVER turned down her food or ANY food for that matter. But our friends Border Collie went off his Supercoat Puppy. Just stopped eating it. So I'm wondering if this is something dogs do? Get sick of their dry food? Any suggestions? Tips? Advice?

I think that if all commercial food is REALLY that bad then there needs to be simple, easy guidelines for newbies to do with what to feed. When to feed it, how much to feed per kilo of dog, how to prepare this food. We feed our 8 month old puppy Supercoat Puppy. When she was a few months old I found out I could start giving her bones so I did. Then I found out about minced chicken frames so I replaced her dinner with that. Then I found out about the benefits of raw eggs so I added those to her meals once or twice a week. It's really hard to find non-bias information with all the advertising that is out there.

Wow! I'm glad I am not the only one! It really shows that buying a puppy is no easy task. It's easy enough to tell the general public to avoid BYB's and Puppy Farms but its not so easy to explain HOW to find a REPUTABLE breeder as opposed to a registared breeder. I would LOVE a second CKCS in the future. I want to experience that piece of mind and enjoy puppyhood. But then again a part of me would also LOVE to rescue a CKCS. Our Poppy is a CKCS cross Cavoodle.

When my fiance and I started seriously looking for our puppy we were warned off BYB's and pet shops. We were told all about why it was NOT such a good idea to buy a puppy this way. We took due note and started looking for a "breeder". We just didn't realise that there were breeder and then there were breeders. To this day I don't REALLY know where our puppy came from BUT I suspect a puppy farm. :D A LOVELY lady in Brisbane sold her to us. The puppies were hand raised by her at her home from 4 weeks of age! And sold at 8 weeks. She sells the "Designer Breeds" and that was another thing we didn't realise. Delibrate cross breeding = NOT a good breeder. I don't know if this women is oblivious or knows what she is doing but she kept on of the litter that Poppy was in and still sends me photos and updates of Poppy's sister. She also LOVES when I send photos of Poppy and tells me how grateful and happy she is that we gave Poppy such a loving home and that we keep in contact with her. Of course I know better now and I would never buy a second puppy off her. AFTER we got Poppy I had members of another forum tell me that she would most probably have health issues and that she probably was full of worms, fleas and had anal gland problems. The response I got on this forum from those members about our new puppy ruined the puppy experience for me. I was petrified we would go to bed and wake up in the morning and Poppy would be dead! I was so scared that something would happen to her. Looking back I was a bunch of nerves. We are lucky that she IS healthy and happy and has no problems as yet. So, who else brought their puppy from a not so reliable or reputable place and then learn't all about it after? I can't be the ONLY one???