Pretty Miss Emma

Can I ask a question in this little interlude???? How do they come up with the shortlist to go in to each group?

be aware some clubs don't allow this and you will be told off! Do they let you know if you aren't allowed? So far the few shows I've been to people have been in the ring beforehand and I haven't seen information to the contrary, but I hadn't gone to have a run around because I didn't know if I was allowed then others who were there said I could have.

I tried to reply earlier and somehow was inept at making my post work! Have a search for Kirty's threads on Stevie the blind GSD pup, they may be useful to you. Personally I would find a blind dog easier than a deaf dog - but that's just from the experience I've had! If it is going to foster I'd certainly be looking for a house that has an existing dog and preferably someone who has dealt with a dog with a disability before.

I've now attended my first few shows ever & it has mostly been a good experience! Definitely let the steward & judge know you are new. When I did this all bar one were lovely & helpful to me (the one judge who wasn't didn't look at my dog after I mentioned it & was quite rough with him, luckily I went back the next day & had a great experience so want to keep trying!). If there is anyone there you know or contacts (regardless of breed) use them, even if only to keep you calm & breathing!! The thing I'm going to try from now is taking my dog in the ring before judging starts so that I can get used to it & so can he - maybe it will calm the nerves! Most importantly make it fun for pup & yourself!! Even if they don't like your pup you are taking home the best dog!!! oh & watch what is going on in the ring, then you'll have an idea of what to do & things to work on for the future. I had my pup at the royal twice this week (talk about scary when you're new!). I went in with no expectation of him winning anything (which he didn't!) but each time we go in the ring I set myself some goals for improvement, & my boy was an angel he did everything for me better than he had before (I'm sure not even close to as good as those who have been handling for years, but I was so proud of how well he did given that it was our 4th show!!!)!

Hamish was poo-ing at least 3 times a day when he was a tiny baby. Now he's 6 months it seems to be about twice, so your little one is sounding normal to me! If the kibble is left out for grazing that might contribute to them going more times than you expect just because they don't consume all their food at the same time. That is something that has changed for Hamish, as a baby he was fed breakfast, then left food for while I was at work & then fed dinner. Whereas now he just has breakfast & dinner, & we only get 2 poos!

I live in a municipality that I feel is very dog-unfriendly. Things I would love to see here are.... - poo bags in parks (or at least in the off leash/frequented parks) - bins - either fenced areas for dogs or fencing around playgrounds and bike paths so as to keep these areas separate (our local laws say something like dogs can't be off leash within 5m or more of these things but often the off leash area is only 10m wide with a bike path through it) - rangers to be trained and educated in the local laws and how to approach and deal with animals and people - rangers to attend to wandering dogs and reports of people who have dogs that rush/attack/continually in the street/continually leave poo on your lawn - an after hours number for the collection of wandering dogs (I've never been able to get in contact with anything other than a recorded message because it is never business hours when I walk my dogs and encounter dogs at large!!) - some form of reward for pet owners that do the right thing and are responsible pet owners - dog parks that have facilities suitable for dogs not just open space with nothing - drinking bowls for dogs in parks - some sort of program to promote animals in a positive light rather than just "it's time to renew your registration and you'll get fined if you don't" and "dogs are attacking people everywhere" type things (this is the stuff that is usually in my local paper from the council) - some sort of education (maybe even just articles in the local paper or council magazine or a flyer) to promote safety around animals and how to approach animals (rather than just focussing on the owner of the animals which I think is very important but many people have no clue how to safely behave around animals and I think this is something that would be good to change!) - some sort of education (as above) about what responsible pet ownership is - training and formal socialisation opportunities to help promote positive dog ownership I think I might be a bit of an idealist!!!! I do have to say though, I'll be doing a lot of research when I look to move house due to how animals get treated (and animal owners) within the municipality I now live in. My council is currently one where you get to pay your registration fee and once in a life get a plastic tag and that is all we seem to get for the registration fee. I'd love lots of things but don't expect lots - I'd be happy if I saw one or two of the things listed above!!

These stats on killing will also include the animals that are surrendered ( or brought in as a "stray") with the intent of being euth'd because owners don't want to pay the vet fees (or can't afford) associated with having their animals PTS so instead they surrender/claim stray to avoid that charge.

I'm thinking of moving both the dogs on to it. Hamish was given free samples from the vet for his puppy doses and now I need to make a decision if I'm going to continue it, I just like the idea of tablets (usually I use spot-on).

I asked after I had a reply to my first enquiry with a couple of breeders. I also had a lengthy discussion with one about the expected price range (and why excessively above or below this might be questionable), and the pups i got were smack bang in the middle of the price range!

So she doesn't ever go when she's on lead???? That would make it much easier! Does she wee on command? If so give the command and have some sort of collection vessel! If not then it really will involve following her around until she is ready to go. If she really objects to having people near her when she's going then you might need to attach a container to something along he lines of a piece of dowl or a broomstick so that you can put the container in to the stream of urine to collect it. This is part of the reason I teach my dogs to go on command!! But now you are making me think that I should do some practice with them collecting, just in case it's needed one day!!! (my last dog was diabetic so we were collecting urine samples at least weekly!!)

After the medical issues Miss Em ended up with I'm really nervous about not having pet insurance, so both my 2 are insured and so far haven't had to claim. But Em cost me about $10K in the 6 months or so before she died and all of it would have been covered by pet insurance, but she was too old to be insured when I got her. So I've figured out that if either of my 2 end up in emergency once or twice in their lives the insurance could pretty much end up paying for itself through something like that alone.

Not every dog makes a connection with me ... I agree. I can LIKE most dogs, but don't love them all. Another agree. Although there are some I don't really like sometimes, but I see a lot of different dogs on a regular basis. Most times I can appreciate them for who they are and am able to say that I can see them in a nice home, but that's how I knew Emma was for me when I saw her because she was the first dog I'd ever seen where I immediately thought that she HAD to come home with me!!! And the bond was instant with her. I have to say though there is something special also about working to get that bond with your dog, it's different but I guess it's just sharing a different story with your dog!!

I use raw egg, sardines and also you could try giving fish oil tablets once his tummy is back in shape!

I find it interesting people feeling bonded to pups from the moment they lay eyes on them. I thought it would be that way when I got both my pups. And I definitely loved both of them from the day I got them but as I said above i've now just realised what it is to share a strong bond with Kenz. I think my bond with Hamish is a bit different but part of that is due to some of my reasoning in choosing that litter of pups. I do like hearing the stories though!! And now I want a puppy to fall asleep in the leg of my jeans!!!!

I asked on here in the rescue section if anyone needed a few things I had when Em died, and also was able to sell a couple (obviously at a very reduced rate) to people who had dogs on those meds.

Is it worth speaking to breed rescues in other states to see if they have had any enquiries from people who may be local to you??? Long shot I know, but you never know if there isn't a breed rescue in your state maybe there are some people enquiring out of state.

So, I used to have beautiful Miss Emma . From day one we were so tightly bonded and I loved her to bits and pieces, from all my dog relationships she is just super special but she really was a one of a kind dog. I got her as a 9 year old rescue and maybe that has something to do with how we bonded, plus she was my first dog. Anyway, young munchkin Kenzie... I've had her since she was 8 weeks old and I've always loved her to bits, she's my little girl! When she was about 9 months old she went missing for a few hours which made me realise that I really loved her lots. But just of recent, as in the last few weeks, I think we've had a relationship change. And it's a good one! I've always questioned how bonded she really was to me and me to her, she has the difficult task of being my 2nd dog and having had a dog like Em that is a lot to live up to. But in the last couple of weeks I've hit this point of looking at her and just saying to myself "gee I really love my dog" and there is just no way I can see life without her. It's just a different sort of feeling to what it was. And I think she is a bit the same with me, she is more attentive to me and is managing herself better as if she is looking to please me, she's also become more cuddly (which I just like because she was often quite aloof towards me at home, but always wanted to be near me when we were out). So I think we have progressed to the next stage of our relationship! And I just love and adore her. And I'm thinking that maybe, now that she is almost 3 years old, we have actually bonded properly. And little Hamish. Well he's becoming a bit of a teenager (he's almost 6 months old now!). So I'm figuring with him I have the bit of time of me putting up with him just seeing what he can get away with! But he's still just a delight to have around and is gorgeous. Although now having been through all of this I can see that there is still some work I want to do with him in terms of some stronger bonded. And I know that our relationsip with be going through some changes because he's a growing boy!!! :laugh: But anyway, I'm wondering what relationship changes have you had with your dog??? Be it for good or bad. And when did you reach that point of being able to say that you had the relationship you were hoping for/happy with/wanting??

Hamish is currently on Black Hawk and doing fine. Kenzie got I think Eukanuba at first as a puppy dry food and then I switched her to Nutro, and again she was fine on both of those. I figure Hamish will stay on Black Hawk while he gets puppy and then move to whatever Kenz is on when he swaps to adult food.

Very, very happy for you!!!! :D

I have to say Kenzie was a nightmare to toilet train and I have no idea why. She was over a year before I could trust her at all, and I"m still not sure I do 100% (but we have a dog door now!!). Hamish however, pretty much completely toilet trained by 2.5 months. He was knocking on doors to go out at that age and would use the dog door, and he would only use his puppy pen toilet once during the work day (for a wee only) and would wait til I got home to go outside. I have no idea what the difference is/was but all I know is it's a good thing!!!! I think that if medical reasons are ruled out it really just is a matter on consistency, patience and practice and sometimes it just takes some longer than others.

At the puppy school Hamish attended there was one puppy who often sat under the chair at play time. The first week she just sat under and snapped at other puppies who tried to play with her, but they all took the message and played with other puppies. The second week she got put down on the floor first and had a good 10 minutes or so to explore the place with no other puppies on the floor - she became more confident and wandered between feet and through the open area in the middle to look at toys and even came up to sniff Hamish while I was holding him; then Hamish was allowed on the floor so that she wasn't overwhelmed by lots of puppies at once, she was fine with this although they just sniffed and then Hamish went to find his kelpie puppy friend!!! After that more puppies were allowed on the floor (and there was a max of 5 in the class). Each week she was allowed on the floor first and then other puppies were added to play time. By the end of our classes she was more than happy to interact with the other puppies on her terms and in a friendly way. She hadn't been anywhere other than home though before coming to the puppy school. Like everyone else said, what your puppy is doing sounds pretty normal for a bit of a shy puppy. And if your not comfortable with what the trainer is asking of you then I would be tempted to find somewhere else. If you do decide to stay there just make sure that you don't let them do anything you are not comfortable with (particularlyif they do something horrific like try to force your puppy in to the middle of play - don't scoff one of my friends almost had this happen at a puppy school she went to until she picked up her puppy, who was confident but just sitting watching for a bit, and told the trainer where to go!! She still stayed at the class just so pup got to be around other puppies, but the trainer didn't get her to "do things" after that!!!).

I've bought them before and they're fine. Not super high quality, but fine.

When I picked up Kenz a few years ago her papers weren't ready because DogsVic kept stuffing them up, so I was sent with a copy of what they should be so I had her parents registration details, breeders dogsvic number etc. Then I just had to wait for the real ones to arrive in the mail. I have always been sent home with about 4-7 days worth of dry food. But I phoned to check to make sure that I would get that, so I'd be double checking just in case. I also have copies of the parents health testing results. Microchip transfer signed. Vaccination card. General pack including information generally about the breed plus contact details for breed clubs, the puppy vet, breeder, food suppliers (of the brand they ate as babies). This time my breeder also gave me a CD of "scary sounds" that the pups had been listening to while they were still with the litter and also some DVD's on training. I left a baby blankie with the babies when I visited them to meet Hamish so I also got that back when I picked him up. Both my 2 came home in crates so maybe that is something to take for transport. And I've been lucky my 2 don't get car sick but it might be worth packing some spare towels (or whatever) just incase the pup is car sick or for whatever reason has an accident in the car on the way home. I've always had them packed and thank goodness have never had to use them!!!! How exciting a new puppy!!! I know mine is only 5.5 months but when I hear of new puppies I want another one!! But I'm also not insane enough to get another just yet!!

Have the conversation just as you have mentioned here, like others have said. That is what I did when I got Hamish and he is on Main so that I can have a go at showing and see if I like it (it probably did also help that I got Kenzie from the same breeder 2.5 years earlier on Limit and have kept the breeder fullly informed of all her "achievements" etc!!). As others said the worst that will happen is that they say no, but you never no if you never ask!!

Hamish is on 2 meals, however he gets his breakfast in such a way that it takes him a bit to get through (kong, treat ball, etc). He has been on 2 for a while and he seems happy with it, he's 5.5 months.