koalathebear

Thanks! I know I've been slack about updating my signature but needed OH to find time to make it for me.

Oh ... soooooo cute. Look at those sweet faces

Good luck! Let us know how you go keeping her Quiet and Sedentary ... Heh heh. My two love their crates and will happily stroll into anything that looks crate-like 5 weeks to go - how exciting! Get as much sleep as possible before she arrives. Oh Niques - this is just the cutest photo ever: Seriously. Sooooooooooooooo cute. Elbie's bad with towels - likes to attack them and sometimes he gets a bit growley when we try to take them away - particularly a big red towel we have. We have been working with him on desensitsation - waving towels around him and rewarding him when he ignores them. betsy: good luck to you both with the treasure hunt. May your dog only retrieve what he's supposed to retrieve. I couldn't believe that some people's dogs only poo once a day! I feel like my guys are just out in the yard generating fertiliser as if their lives depended on it ;) So. Some photos. We had been told and so had worried that the pups would play and play and play and wind themselves up into feverish levels of excitement from which we couldn't get them to calm down but while they do play in the yard, there are many moments when we look out the window and they're just chilling. Elbie, just chillin' in the grass Hoover, just chillin' on the deck Hoover, in his new soft crate courtesy of Auntie Lilli_Star and Cousin Ruby Hoover's such an excited little wriggle bum. doesn't quite capture how violent his wiggles get but it's close ;)

Just a question from curiosity. I understand that exotically coloured SBT pups should be put to sleep so that they don't inadvertently fuel the next mindless consumer fad. A while back after that BBC pedigree doco came out, there was a debate about Ridgeless Ridgebacks and whether they should be PTS if they were perfectly healthy. The argument was something along the lines of - they don't conform to standard, what's the point having a Rhodesian Ridgeback if it doesn't have a ridge etc. Presumably though, ridgeless RR pups would not need to be PTS so long as they were desexed because they would not fuel a demand for ridgeless RRs?

We haven't taught Hoover "are you shy" yet ... bring on the sticky tape! Also, I'm sure Max#1 won't mind me sharing it but Max has learned a slightly different version of "shy" where he's on his side. It's very cute and the video is . Hah hah. Elbie's slowly learning to get along with a pesky younger brother … Hoover’s always trying to climb into the same dog bed to snuggle. Elbie gets a very long-suffering look on his face but will endure Hoover so long as Hoover doesn’t fall asleep with a paw on his face. Thanks for your kind words. I was quite stressed about whether they’d get along at first but they’ve been getting along great and so far Elbie’s training has ‘stuck’ and hasn’t slid backwards because of having a new puppy. Hoover’s been good about following Elbie’s lead in terms of toilet-training and going to his crate when told and Elbie seems inspired to work harder at tricks because of the new puppy

How exciting that you're thinking of a second pup. What breed are you thinking? Having two dogs is quite challenging, and as I was saying to Max#1, it means double the poo but it's very fun and rewarding. I'll probably see you and Saxon for this term's assessment given that the Sunday classes are being assessed on the Thursday night, too! Not sure if Hooverino will come but perhaps he and Saxon could meet shelby-001: It is a LOT of hard work. We've just got Hoover house-trained so that makes life a LOT easier and the two of them are getting along very well so that means we can concentrate more on the training. Kelpies are such FAST dogs though that when they don't want to behave and they go running in different directions, I just can't catch 'em Roo is welcome at any time but you have to come, too for coffee and cake. Thank you. They are also Monsters!

Yes, it's a bit heart-breaking that she won't ever get to know her name. I hope that she'll be ok. I don't regret the two dogs at all now - lilli_star will tell you that I had a bit of a panic/feel of intense remorse a bit back when i was feeling anxious about everything doggie, but now that the two dogs are getting along so well, I feel very relieved and happy. Some people's dogs seem to only poop once a day ... my dogs are just filled with poo! We do a poo pick twice a day and the bags while not full are pretty heavy ... Definitely something to think about if you have a smallish yard. That's probably just his temperament. Elbie's still a bit like that even with the second dog. When they're in the yard, Elbie's more likely to hang around the near the door, Elbie's more likely to keep an eye on the kitchen to see if we're around. Hoover is very affectionate and loves cuddles, but Elbie is much more attached to his humans whereas Hoover's pretty happy to go running around the yard on his own. Sounds like Max would be like that, too even if a second dog would keep him entertained etc. Regrettably the rescue threads can also be a bit scary and toxic. See here. I'm very relieved that Kate, the rescuer I help out now and then stays out of the politics and just cares about rescuing dogs... The pound threads are heart-breaking - I can't bear to see the expressions in the eyes of those poor dogs. That was our primary concern. We were pretty much fine about most things and felt we could handle them but if the new dog didn't get along with Elbie, that would have been a real problem for us. We were very honest with Hoover's breeder about that and she said she'd take him back if the dogs didn't get along. We knew we wouldn't take her up on the offer but just the fact that there was that fallback made us feel a lot more ... at ease. I had some very tense moments initially, wondering how the dogs would be, then I was upset that Elbie was being surplanted .. but it's all worked out fine. I very much hope your parents are ok and that when they're ready, they get another dog. Elbie can catch a frisbee. Usually we don't throw it so that he can catch it though - we throw it far, far away so he has to chase it

Heh. No need to apologise. All the suggestions from the other thread have definitely been taken onboard by OH and myself when it comes to mealtimes (we're slowly transitioning to Royal Canin), we're making sure a portion of meals is always fed from a bowl and we ensure that brekky is uninterrupted). So thank you.

That's fine and normal, though. It's only through receiving a variety and mix of differing opinions that one can obtain sufficient information to reach a solution that is most optimal for one's personal circumstances. I think we all receive opinions (here and on other fora) that may not necessarily accord with our own views but as far as I'm concerned, as long as people aren't rude, I'm totally fine with receiving advice with which I might not necessarily agree. I don't actually see that there's a problem here. I only put my devil spawn comment in there to hopefully avoid receiving the same comments which have already been communicated (and processed) in another thread given that this thread is focused on training two puppies and not about using meal-times as training times. As mentioned, I have kept that in mind in ensuring that brekky is an uninterrupted meal for the doggies. That being said, I do hope that you don't stop opining - I find your opinions interesting. You clearly speak from experience and you're polite if a bit cranky-sounding sometimes, but I chalk that up to the barrier of the Internet

:D No stewing, just still amused. And alas, I doubt that I shall ever be mature given how easily amoozed I am by many small things. As to how we all treat our doggies, at the end of the day, as long as they're healthy and happy - which mine are and I'm sure your fur babies are, too - that's the important thing, right? Chacun à son goût!

KumaAkita Glad Kuma's OK. Guess you'll just have to chase him around the yard every few hours. or something. :D Don't worry about the vid, I am having to make far too many and it's still nowhere near enough But there are some happy vids - the Ferdinand vid is happy and so is the Matilda one :p I'm sure Kuma will be very happy as an only child. You should have seen the reproachful looks Elbie gave us (and still occasionally gives us) when Hoover's climbing all over him

Today's video is for Matilda the deaf cattle dog. OH liked her a lot - her soft fur, her cute tail. She's pretty gorgeous. Her video is . As usual, all feedback/criticism is most welcome.

Thanks all! It's been fun working with them both as they both have different ways of approaching the same command. Luckily they both love their kibble now and work for kibble :D

Thanks so much for the feedback and the correction. I've fixed it. Poor Santa ... he's such a sad soul and his tail wagging desperately really makes me so sad :'( I hope someone can adopt him, although I have to say that Kate's property is gorgeous and he's living in luxury right now! :D Heh. I'm definitely not an expert at dogs so I will leave it to all the others who have given you some very good information. You've seen how things were for us during the Getting Of A Second Monster stage. We broke the rules getting a puppy when our first dog was only 8 months, we got a second male, also a bad thing and we got a puppy that was already 3 months old blah blah. Having two dogs is a lot more extra work and also a LOT more poo to clean up in the yard. That being said, it's really gorgeous - our two love each other, they play, they snuggle, they hang out. We don't feel so bad when we go out and have to leave the doggies in the yard - they keep each other company. At first we worried that they'd play and play and hype each other up, but they play but also chill out together. For obedience, we've taken one dog each but you'll see that wuffles handles obedience for both of her dogs but goes on Thursdays and Sundays. I had Intense Guilt for a little bit after getting Hoover - I worried that Elbie would be upset/feel that he got less time and love but it hasn't been like that at all. They both get cuddles, pats and attention. Mealtimes and training is a challenge because you can't really do both at the same time because they get in each other's way. I've got a thread in the puppy thread about it but for completeness, the video link is . At the end, we have both pups performing We have a decent sized yard but our puppies are couch potatoes ... They're active but they can chill out, too. They don't need acres and acres ... just enough space for them to chase each other around After all that waffle - I think that having a second dog is great. ;) Max is so cute - I think he'd love a sibling. If you were closer, I'd lend you our chunky monkey of a wombat to test things out. kumaakita: I hope Kuma's ok!! Is the favouring of the leg something recent? Poor Elbie indeed. The teacher almost forgot about him, too! At least Clastic's Mars was tied to a tree and could see everything that was going on. Poor Elbie was consigned to the doghousecar. Woohoo! that reminds me, I saw a little black lab puppy at Dog School last Sunday. It had the same cute, cuddley build of a James or Ruby so I raced over and asked for permission to pat. Unfortunately the puppy's face was NOT cute like James and Ruby - kind of narrow, slightly cross-eyed and looked a bit like a ferret. I almost recoiled in horror. You are right, she would certainly have told you if she thought that Mars was too fat/too thin. Every week, OH wonders whether he or I will be the one in the HH bad books. He tells me to be quiet so as not to incriminate myself. ETA: Alas club policy says that Hoover and I can't join the beginner classes. They're full and even if the people don't show up, unless they formally drop out, we can't take their place. The good thing though is that in Feb, it's been agreed that Hoover can join bronze classes and doesn't have to go through beginners. We'll keep working with him at home and also bringing him every Sunday to socialise him.

For mealtimes, OH and I feed the puppies separately. Yes we are still Evil Devil Spawn Owners and use dinner for training purposes although we always make sure there's a component where the doggies must eat their kibble out of a bowl. Hoover's got a much, much more placid disposition than Elbie - very zen about car travel, electrical appliances, thunder storms etc but we weren't sure at first if he was as smart as Elbie. We didn't know if he'd be able to pick up tricks as quickly as Elbie because he'd stare up at us with dewy, limpid, uncomprehending puppy eyes instead of Elbie's intense stare. We persevered though and he's doing pretty well given that he's the second puppy and has less time devoted to him than Elbie did. :D Obedience classes are full until next February so we've been teaching him things on our own at home and bringing him to obedience school every week just to hang around and be around lots of other doggies - OH handles Elbie and I hang out with Hoover. I have to say that it's sometimes challenging training two puppies. Sometimes I expect poor Hoover to do things and then remember that I haven't taught them to him yet. Going back to the beginning with him is weird given that Elbie's so effortless with the tricks he's learned but it's fun to see the things that they learn differently and master at different speeds. Anyway, from this evening's pre-dinner session. Elbie is 9 months and Hoover is 4 months. I love how focused and intense they both are. Clearly they're miserable from the mistreatment Hoover has the same 'way' about him as Elbie - you can see that he really wants to please you and the trick is making him understand what you want. It's so cute when he figures out what you want.

Sleeping puppy x 2. A bit blurry but you get the gist

Yikes!!! Also, I can't imagine Elbie standing there so placidly while having a blower on him ... We'd be chasing him around the yard. Do it ... We were mortified. I am very sorry to hear this. My thoughts go to you and your family - I hope her passing is peaceful and that your parents are going to be ok The worst part of having pets is when they leave us I have been struggling a lot with rescue dog videos today ... hard to make something that satisfies the rescue group. Anyway, here we have two VERY different dogs. the fat, old toothless dog who no one wants. His owners must have been heartless to dump such an old dog with so little chance of rehoming. who we found delightful but no one wants because he's not cute and handsome ... He's such a lively little fellow and he videobombed so many of my video clips of other doggies

All: regarding the 3.30 am toilet stop for the doggies, I am in favour of ditching it but OH thinks that it would be pushing Hoover's little bladder too far and it's because I am a lazy slug and don't want to get up at night which *cough cough* might be true. Ahem. Last night was uneventful though, opened the door, chunky monkey bum-wriggling wombat pounced out of his crate and waggled his way out of the bedroom and down the kitchen stairs at top speed. Along the way, I sprang Elborino out of his crate and the two scuttled towards Poo Corner, did their business in unison and then hurtled back into the house. As I closed the door on Elbie's crate, I saw the chunky monkey bolting up the stairs and by the time I got back to the bedroom, he was comfily ensconced back in his crate looking out at the world with his sleepy, limpid gaze. It was all very cute and very efficient. niques: Glad you like the rescue doggies. I was surprised at how lovely they were ... OH took a real fancy to Matilda the deaf little cattle dog and I have some ideas for her music video that I'm keen to play with. Let me know if you ever feel like trying your paw at doing videos - I liked the one you did for James a lot. Boris is still a puppy ... Kate was worried he looked too sad but I said that he was just sad because he was still looking for his home :D Re the mats - that's so weird that you don't do the matwork anymore! Bronze and silver still have a "go to your mat" component for assessment. Strangely, though - in silver, the stays don't seem to be done on the mat so perhaps they will phase the mat out. For the trial work later on, I think they send the dog to a box (square on the ground) so perhaps the mat is pre-training for that? Elbie has always been great at 'go to your mat' but during class I have seen a lot of dogs have trouble with it. Sunday was kind of funny because Hoover's classmate just would NOT go to his mat. His handler sprinkled treats on the mat, put a toy on there, borrowed the instructor's dog's toy. At one point there were three adults standing around the mat trying to coax one stubborn little dog onto the mat - such a funny and cute image. What cracked me up was that when no one was paying attention, Hoover ambled over to the other dog's mats and started eating its treats Elbie didn't do so well in his Saturday classes which aren't obedience so much as behaviour and good manners. He barked too much and then got banished to the car for 3/4 of the class, then by the time we released him to be tethered to a tree and approached and patted by strangers he was way too excited to keep his butt on the ground. Poor Elbie ...

ravenau1: There's a 'permanent' large mesh crate in the kitchen that's technically Elbie' sat night, but Hoover borrows it during the day now and then. We have a soft crate in the bedroom for Hoover right now and also a spare soft crate which we haven't opened yet but will probably have in the lounge. The crate we used for toilet training the puppies was smaller and narrower so that they could lie down and turn around but didn't have a lot of room to do anything else i.e. use the thing as a toilet. I don't think the dogs will find it confusing. As long as it's inviting and comfortable, they'll go to the crates/crate-like things naturally. Put toys, blankets, cushions and treats in there and they'll amble in and out as they see fit. clastic: I'd love it if Hoover could join but understand if policy or whatever means that he can't join until Feb. The monkey is alive - we save it for special times like when poor Hoover is trapped in the crate after being medicated. We also make sure Elbie doesn't get it since he is the Toy Destructor. Also, I didn't hear the verdict about Mars and his weight - did HH give him the thumbs up yesterday? I feel so sorry for the owner of the other border collie, HH has to tell him every week that his dog is too fat. I'm so relieved Elbie passed the weight test - he might be exiled to the car for barking but at least he's not too fat. betsy: At our old place, Elbie was always getting into the bin but here, we have a bin cupboard which makes life a LOT easier ... I don't think there's such a thing as a dog proof bin that's not in a cupboard Now, some more photos from today. This is the elegant Cilla This is Pebbles the little crossbreed puppy. I didn't do a video for her because she's so cute and a puppy so clearly needs no help - and in fact was adopted today but here are the photos: Hasn't she got the cutest little face? OH believed that photo number #3 below was the "Win Photo" that would have got her adopted ... This one: But I personally think this would have been the winning shot ETA: Latest videos ...

I'm a bit buried in rescue dog videos right now but this question is very dear to my heart. It's so varied! Some people bring cushions, some people bring dog bean bags, some people bring the mattresses from their dog beds, some people bring the little $2 dog blankets with dog paw prints on them that you can buy from the Reject Shop/Hot Dollar. One person brought what looked like a massive doona. The issue is that you want something that won't tangle too much, is comfy for dog and also isn't too heavy to carry around the place. For Elbie we use a large cloth floor mat ... I guess it's a bath mat or something. For Hoover, I was using a hand towel but I'm definitely going to have to find something better for him because it kept getting tangled and sliding around ..

We went to visit Kate out in Queanbeyan today - OH took photos and I took video footage of the doggies she had in foster care with her. I'll post the photos and videos as they're ready, but first cab off the rank is Boris. Here are a few of his photos. If you want to see more, they are on this page, but these are my favourites: And Boris' draft music video is .

I'm not even sure what the above means. Kelpies and Kelpie crosses figure a lot in dog bite stats but I've been told that that's because there are just heaps of them around ... *stares warily at the two Kelpie Monsters snoozing away at her feet*

My theme for this post is Incarcerated Puppies. Look at those piteous eyes. Totally misleading given that Elbie can actually jump over that baby gate with ridiculous ease. We keep it as a reminder to him where he's supposed to be, but if he's very excited he'll just sail over the top. Incarcerated Hoover. See the Chunky Monkey with his stuffed toy monkey. He's being crated because we just put the anti-mite medication on his head for the demodex mites and we didn't want it getting rubbed or licked off during play. He loves the crate, though so even when the doors open he'll often chill out in there with his toys and stuff. Today, OH took Elbie to silver class like usual and I brought Hoover along to sit in front of the clubhouse to get socialised. Yesterday and last night was pouring with rain and it was still raining early this morning. Although by the time we got to Dog School, the rain had stopped, it clearly deterred a lot of people. So, Elbie's bronze teacher from last term who is teaching beginners this term, said that Hoover could join in on today's beginner class given that they had two teachers and only one student! Luckily I had brought a mat with me for Hoover to sit on so we joined the class - the other student was (I think) a miniature fox terrier. Hoover went to his mat, sat, dropped, stayed, shook hands, did high five, obeyed a 'leave it' command and almost sat still for pats. He's not sure about being approached by strangers for pats so will usually give a wary shuffle away and then launch himself at the person for pats A strange combination I know. He did surprisingly well with the controlled greeting, too - sitting nicely instead of lunging at the other dog. He's generally a very placid dog and quite focussed so I was very happy with his first attempt at obedience class. Our teacher will ask to see if there's any way we can join in the classes for the rest of the term so that next February, Hoover can start bronze instead of beginners. Then he played with Elbie and others in the off-lead area. He's exhausted now and unconscious in his happy incarceration - with the door of the crate wide open. OH said that Elbie had a mixed performance. For part of the class, he was awesome (heeling, informal recall) and top of the class, for part of the class, he lost focus and was a little turd (sit for pats, sit stay etc). Hope all are enjoying their weekend!

KumaAkita: Glad the aura-reading went well. We definitely want to meet with Steve at some point - no idea when though. Hmm. Hope you can get some sleep tonight. I share your pain - I went to visit my dad today and fell asleep mid-conversation. Very embarrassing. Sorry we won't see you and the fluffy Japanese Giant Poodle tomorrow Still, it will probably either be rainy or at least very muddy ... lilli_star: You have ants, too? We had an ant invasion in our bathroom of all places! That combined with the broken stove/oven and we're feelin ga bit argghhhh! Elbie was like Roo - no experience with loud thunderstorms and I've been wondering/worried about how it would be when he first encountered it. I'm glad he didn't freak out too much - I've heard of some dogs that tear up the house in their panic. wuffles: :D I can't believe those piles of fur! They look like they should have legs and be able to walk away unaided! niques: Thanks for the feedback on the videos. I'm always a bit apprehensive about them - I want to give the dogs the best chance they can for a new home but I don't want to be manipulative. That story of James leaping out of his soft crate is the cutest thing ever. I wish there was video. Elbie jumped over the baby gates 3 times last week and it was annoying but hilarious. Hoover has a bad habit of always wanting to clamber into Elbie's crate and so sometimes we solve the problem by zipping that TopBuy soft crate shut and then poor Hoover doesn't realise it's closed so head-butts it like a dork. It's been raining today. I used to love rain at night, falling asleep to the sound of the soothing rain ... these days, I think: "Oh noes, 3.30 am wee stop is going to be a pain". Toilet breaks when one has two puppies is ... challenging. I shall recount the tale ... Elbie sleeps in his crate in the kitchen, Hoover's still in our bedroom and was originally in this crate. The problem is, at 3.30am when he's sleeping, he doesn't want to get up to be wee'd and scuttles to the back of the crate where we can't reach him and we can't lure him out. Two nights ago, I woke up to see my harassed OH tipping the crate to make the stubborn Hoover slide out of the crate like a slippery dip so that he could be taken outside to be wee'd. So, we switched to using the soft crate for Hoover because it's easier to pluck him out of it. 3.30am, the alarm goes off and one of us gets up. We try to coax Hoover out of his crate, he will walk out but as soon as he realises that it's toilet-break time, he'll scamper back into the crate. We then usually have to pick him up and carry him out of the bedroom, down the stairs into the kitchen. Elbie can last through the night, but because we wake him up when wee'ing Hoover, we think it's only fair to let Elbie out, too. So while I'm holding the 11kg chunky monkey squirming (sometimes making noises like an angry tauntaun) wombat in my arms, I try to open Elbie's crate to let him out. I herd both doggies to Poo Corner. At first, Elbie refused to 'go' when Hoover was around, and no wonder because the little monster kept going up to 'inspect' him and interrupt him. These days, they're both fine and do their number ones and twos on command. In the old days, instead of going inside, Hoover would bolt for the lawn and run around like a pork chop. Then I have to find him and bring him inside. While I try to crate Elbie again, Hoover would bolt into the study and plonk himself in the dog bed there, so I'd leave him there while I tucked Elbie in and then I'd go and retrieve a protesting Hoover. Hoover would then scoot up the stairs, take a wrong turn and end up in a spare room and then I'd have to find him and retrieve him. Last night, both dogs obediently went to Poo Corner. Hoover took too long so Elbie gave up in disgust and dashed through the dog door to get out of the cold and back into his comfy crate. I went after him because I wanted to make sure I closed the crate before he changed his mind and decided he wanted to come out and play with Hoover. As I was tucking Elbie in, out of the corner of my eye, I saw the 11kg, chunky monkey wriggling wombat scamper through the dog door ... I assumed he was going to dash into the study but instead he hurtled up the stairs. I crated Elbie and dashed after Hoover, assuming that he was going to take his usual wrong turn and end up in a spare room. I couldn't find him so went back into the bedroom where OH was awake and laughing. "You lost the puppy," he told me reprovingly. Hoover had scrambled up the stairs and hurtled back into his crate with unerring accuracy. I guess he's finally learning his way around the house. :D ETA: One night, I forgot to set my alarm and Hoover slept through the night fine but OH doesn't want to push it so we still get up at 3.30am to wee the dogs ...