Brennan's Mum

Aww that's cute Brennan loves squeaky toys as well.

Just curious to hear what toys people have bought their dogs only for the toy to be ignored most times. For Brennan's first Christmas I bought her a small oval shaped ball on a string which you throw to them. She has hardly shown any interest in it. A friend in the US sent her a Tug-A-Jug and initially she had fun dragging it around the house, she has lost interest in the treats stashed inside. Although she did manage to untwist the 'tug' bit which is now an awful mess

Cute

Wow, very bizarre...hope they find who did it.

Yep I can vouch for Urban having trainers ( and behaviourists) on hand and being well supervised and well controlled. Urban rocks...but then I am biased ( I volunteer with them)

I bought them online from Ebay for Brennan, she has 4. One is her first which has a small puncture but still sounds the same, the second and third are ''spares'' because she loves them and the 4th is a Dinocuz. All have their feet on. As far as Brennan knows, she only has 3 as I have not shown her the 4th one which is still attached to the tag. Since moving to Brisbane I have found some shops that sell them so do not need to worry about ebay any more

Just adding the price I was quoted today from Chermside Quality Meats ( opposite Coles) in Chermside Westfield. I was quoted $1 per kilo for pet mince $3.99 per kilo of Chicken necks They sell chicken carcasses as well for the $2-3 range

You have to do this a month after I leave the state??? I have not met a Lappie in real life yet and am bursting to get some lappie cuddles

Sorry for your loss Moselle. RIP Sophie

I have only just cooled down from ranting about it. That guy who said that Pet shops are ''essential to stopping dodgy deals'' ..I'm sorry but I consider Pet shops selling animals as dodgy a deal as selling them from a car boot or in the news paper or on a site like Gumtree . Huge applaud going to Jacqueline Dalziel for actually going in there and getting the footage and information. Still would have liked to have heard it mentioned that getting pups from a Reputable, registered breeder who CARES where their pups end up, or from a breed specific or general rescue is the best way to go. I literally teared up watching that Hearing that those pups get 20 minutes if they are lucky of exercise. I refuse to give Pet Shops my custom. They are the very last place I will go to get something for Brennan. I simply do not want to support them, and I do not want to give my dog something that was bought from a place which sells animals.

This is such a hard situation. On one hand I can see Mason2009's point of view to protect your dog by lying. But then SpikesPuppy made a real good point of ''what if it was YOUR pet''. So for me, I would treat it the way I would hope to be treated in the same situation ( heaven forbid). I would go talk to them..choose a decent time ie not right after they finish work,...maybe after dinner. Just speak to them with care and respect. Be honest and sympathetic to their loss. Acknowledge that to them their rat may mean as much as our dogs mean to us :D Good luck, I hope that it is not their Rat, but if it is, I hope that they handle it alright.

This just made me and :D at the same time

Ooh I dream of a dyson. Well yesterday we had a cleaning day here. We washed the floors, dusted and wiped the furniture ( including the couches), washed the bedding. Got the candles, the windows open, the various air fresheners. Have also washed their food bowls too. All the windows are open all the time ( one of the benefits in living in a Queenslander home). Just trying to keep on top of the sweeping up hair on a daily basis now.

Just curious how you go about getting rid of the dog smell from your homes?. I share with StaffyLover81 and the other day a friend mentioned she could smell the dog smell in our small house. The house is a Queenslander style with all wooden floorboards except for the bathroom which has lino. We keep all the windows open in the house,the front and back door are also open during the day too ,the dogs are out most of the day ( unless we are both out when they get crated). Their are air sprays, and those reed perfume diffusers scattered over the (small) house. We also are cleaning regularly and vaccuming hair up. So what are we missing? What can we do to keep the dog smell out without having the dogs become outside dogs ( not an option). How do you keep the dog smell out so that friends who visit are not overwhelmed by the smell.

That all GSDs are for protection especially if you are a single female-- Nope, sorry I have my GSD because I have been in love with the breed ever since I was a toddler and I had my first one . So there goes the ''oh you have a GSD for protection'' thing- nuh huh I have a GSD because I love the breed. GSDs are all capable of instinctly doing Protection or Schutzhund work. Sorry but that takes a LOT of training, and not all GSDs have the personality for it. Brennan certainly does not have it in her to do Protection or Schutzhund.. And I would rather you did not try and shove your arm in her mouth whilst telling her to ''Bite'' ( as a previous housemate once tried--don't stress I told him off and monitored their interactions after that). GSDs are outside dogs. Actually, they rather enjoy being with the family. Please do not get one and leave them outside alone all the time. GSDs are easily trained. They are smart yes, but like everything training takes time, patience and dedication. Just because they are intelligent does not mean you don't have to work with them on training.

Oh--kay then is all I can say

I suggest get yourself out there and volunteer with a trainer if possible. Look at the trainers and training clubs in your area, or that you would be willing to travel to. I have just moved from Adelaide to Brisbane to volunteer and learn from a friend who is the head trainer of a popular Positive Reinforcement training school here in Brisbane. I would just ring trainers ask about their classes, and just say you are interested in volunteering to back up your studies. Ask if you can meet with them after a class so you can see them in action and talk in person. Be willing to do anything from sitting and watching to providing the poop bags if needed or fetching equipment, relaying messages to other trainers, filling water bowls for the dogs etc. Basically, as I said to my friend- ''I'm your B#&ch- your slave'' . Also, be aware that trainers get a lot of calls and emails from people ranging in ages wanting to volunteer or wanting career advice. Not everyone follows through, so if you do want to volunteer treat it like a paying job and be grateful for the opportunity. Volunteering for me has been the best thing I have done. Although I have been reading and buying the books on training and behaviour/ body language etc, and have spoken online and over the phone on a daily basis about dogs dogs dogs and oh yeah...dogs-- what you will learn from watching a Good trainer'' is invaluable. Lastly perhaps look into volunteering at shelters/ rescues to give you more exposure to different dogs. Good Luck-- I hope you find a great trainer to learn from like I did

RIP Kasper.

Poor thing

Thanks will do the search for the thread. Will have to wait until tonight to use the scanner. Some photo's were printed at the photo store Rabbits? and the rest have been printed at Big W because the camera store shut down. This is an example of the photo how it looks on the computer, and on my screen

Yeah, but it's Nandi -- she is just gorgeous

I have an Olympus fe 320 Point and Shoot. It has 8mega pixels and I have had it for over a year now. I keep it on the auto settings. My trouble is I have found that some of the photo's come out too dark no matter what the lighting was. The pictures look fine on the screen, but when I print it at the camera shop it is dark and it makes Brennan look darker then she is especially around the head. This is a worry as I would love to get a head shot of Brennan tattooed on me, but I do not want for it to be unrealistic. I realise that DSLR camera's are better quality, but in this point of time a DSLR is just out of my price range or my skill range . Has anyone got any tips/ idea's? I am looking at upgrading my camera in the near future and am open to going with another point and shoot brand. I was kind of thinking of going with a Canon this time ( always had Olympus) because if I got a DSLR it would be a Canon. What should I look for camera wise? Sorry if this sounds naive

I agree It can be hard, as many of us likely know to try and explain something to some one who does not 'get' it or who is not really open to learning. It depends of course as others mentioned in how you deliver the information. I still find this slightly ironic-- a rant about ranting

Jesse is so cute ) Heather ( his owner) is a friend of mine on Facebook, her sister owns Brennan's cousin. He has got his CGC and TDI and all his training has been done by his owner-- she is an amazing young trainer. I would love to see Nandi on video Tokkie :D

Oh wow, I did not see this until now Thank you everyone. It has been a quiet day, I got a new pair of boots to help with my shin splints, took the dog for a walk and played with her. Also got a cheque to help me with the move to Brisbane