ravenau1

~steals puppies, stashes them in my pockets, then runs away~ SO cute!!!

Another vote here for Carolyn's classes, Astrid loved them and Carolyn has been a big help to us

We leave Astrid's collar on too. I've never actually personally known anyone who has had a dog get strangled by their collar, but I know of plenty of dogs who have escaped or been accidentally let out of their yards. I feel much better knowing if that ever happens our contact details are right there and she may never have to go to the pound to be scanned etc. KTB: Astrid gets up at 4:30am when OH is on early shift and will go back to bed if I decide to have a lay down after he's left for work so that's not too bad, usually for a couple of hours, but we generally go to bed around 8pm. The problem is late shift, she gets up at around 6:30am and will maybe go back to bed for an hour after the loo break before she wants to be up and about. Problem is, I don't want to be up before about 10am ;) So basically at the moment one week out of the fortnight I get to sleep around 3am and get up at 6:30 or so, though sometimes I manage a snooze in the afternoon! On Sundays OH gets up with her though, so at least I sleep then She seems happy though! She has a little sleep in the evenings then wakes up when he comes home then happily stays up until we go to bed. A possum! I can imagine what the doggies thought of that I know possums can be scary and make unearthly noises! Rufus is lovely, those ears!! I am sure he can hear things happening in Perth I don't think I could stand your neighbours Berserker mode I know what it means but every time I hear the word I get this scene going on in my head, from one of my very fav movies, Clerks. "My love for you is like a truck, Berserker!". Def not safe for work or kiddies, lotsa swearwords. lilli_star: I hate some crickets, are they the little stripey ones or the big spiny ones ~shudder~ I'd be wearing gumboots and carrying four cans of bug spray!

It won't let me vote, but for me it's "never ever will". I once had a cat who had kittens (she showed up at our backdoor one day, in horrible condition and very pregnant) and even though absolutely nothing went wrong with the birth it was so traumatic and gross I couldn't go through it again

Thanks everyone for your helpful advice I don't think we will give her full access to the house after all just yet, but perhaps bedroom/bathroom/laundry. Then if she gets too warm in her crate she can go and lay in the laundry or the bathroom. Plus, I think it will be interesting for her at night because it's usually a no-go zone as it's part of 'cat territory' and she can only stare forlornly at it from the other side of the baby gate Our two spare bedrooms are right near the laundry and one of those rooms belongs to the cats, with a cat door in the window out to their outdoor enclosure, but we shut the door to the room at night and when we go out. Mr Raven wishes for her to sleep on our bed, this is a man who used to share a single bed with a Lab, a Collie, a Shih Tzu and a cat! He never had any rank/pack issues but all his dogs were pretty easy going. I think it's a bad idea for us with Astrid but we are still 'in discussions' ;) She's only allowed on the couch to sit with me about once a week or so She's pretty good at night and sleeps right through until she needs a loo break in the morning, the only time she's ever woken us up is when she's been unwell. She seems pretty ok with our crazy shiftwork schedule too, though she does wake up a tad bit early for my tastes when we're on late shift. We don't have a dog door (inside cats) so I think I am mainly worried about whether she would wake us up to go to the loo, or just decide to pick a convenient corner. I guess there is one way to find out! I thought the water thread was interesting too! Astrid sleeps in her crate and I no doubt would have a very wet dog every night if I put a bowl of water in there too! She has free access the rest of the time though. Wuffles: Yup, sounds like they're a fair bit alike in that respect! It frustrates me sometimes but overall I do enjoy it, sometimes when she's asleep I breathe a sigh of relief and have a little rest but other times I can't wait for her to finish her nap so we can do something. I wanted a relatively high energy dog, but not crazily high energy like my last dog, and so far she fits the bill pretty nicely. I am just learning to work with that energy, and with the few issues that it does cause. I do love that I always need to be on my toes I hope you are enjoying your time away! And congrats again! KTB: Those vids :p I particularly love the second one. I'm glad the doggies from the pound are safe ;). I've been looking at rescue sites a bit lately and most of the dogs seem to be Kelpies, Cattle Dogs, Staffords and crosses thereof. I wonder if it's because there are more of them around? Awww, Ginger looks like a sweetheart! The Fenstar: Oh my! Cooper is so cute it should be illegal! I just want to smoosh him and snuggle him It's so hard waiting for them to come home! Kyliegirl: Great vids! I just love watching Dobes!

Our generator is being used to keep the fish alive as they need oxygen in their water. We have already had about 150 die Still no power at home (luckily I am at work) Anyone know how long power needs to be out before you can claim from WP? I have some horse vaccinations in the fridge which are likely no good now (and aren't cheap!) as well as food etc. I don't know about claiming from the power company, but a few years ago we lost a freezer full of stuff due to a power outage and we were able to claim it through contents insurance.

Thanks SparkyTansy Looks like I will be there on Sunday and Monday nights. I will come and say hi to you and your lovely doggies I lurve rottis! Yes, it's Tim Minchin on the Saturday night We've seen him a couple of times now and he's fantastic, my OH is a big, big fan of his. They're forecasting rain now for the Sat night though :D

Well, we just remembered that we have a concert on Saturday night so won't be able to get along to the Western Classic then, but there are Aussies there on the Sunday night also? I will be able to go there straight from work I think.

KTB: Astrid is fine today. I think that's it, she's just young and all legs and not terribly graceful . I have had two people I know in the last few months with dogs with cruciate ligament injuries, I guess I am getting paranoid I must video her while doing the 'shy' training because she looks like a dying cockroach! She doesn't paw at the tape, but she rolls on her back and rubs it off on the floor, if that makes sense? She's a bit weird! I managed to read your post before you condensed it but didn't have time to reply. But it's motivated me to get off my butt and write K9Pro an email to see if we can do a distance package for a couple of little things. Unfortunately it's not feasible for us to go over there, though I note that there's accommodation available nearby, but I would love to at some stage. I may pm you sometime to ask you some more about your experience if that's ok? :D I read that thread too, about people judging housekeeping skills by posted pics It's never occurred to me to worry about that sort of thing. I can't seem to see that youtube vid, says it has been moved . Love the piccies snugglie puppies are so cute and I love Hoover's eyebrows! Kyliegirl:Astrid has two speeds, 'flat out' and 'stop' she definitely likes to be busy! Now that's interesting that Echo's father doesn't like the water and neither does he, Astrid's father and mother, and older sister all love the beach and spend a lot of time in the water, I wonder if such a thing can be genetic! At what age did everyone let their dogs have run of the house at night? Or do you at all? Astrid is 5 months old now and still sleeps in the crate next to the bed. Her toilet training (touch wood) is going really well and there have been no accidents inside since we started teaching her to scratch at the door to go out. Though when I first taught her that I imagined her sitting nicely and giving the door a little scratch, but no. In typical Astrid fashion she flings herself at the door and bashes and scratches at it while standing on her back legs then sits nicely when she sees us coming. We've been extra vigilant about not leaving things where she can get them since she started her retrieving stage, so there's nothing she can really get into I guess. I just don't know how to make the transition, perhaps I should try leaving her crate open at night and see? Put another bed in the bedroom or something.

Well, we've had an interesting weekend lol. Friday after work my OH bought me a lovely bunch of pink roses, I popped them in a vase and put them on the dining table. Well, neither of us realised it, but apparently they were Evil Roses of Doom and plainly were plotting our horrific destruction. I know this because when Astrid saw them she went MENTAL! Barking and growling and everything! I ended up holding the vase while I rested it on the floor and she came over and poked each individual bloom with her nose before she was satisfied that she could keep them in line. She then trotted away like she was Queen of the World! I told OH she needs more socialisation with bunches of roses Yesterday morning at obedience I was really wishing she was a bit more food motivated. She was like "Oh, you have chicken liver, cheese, salami, devon and chicken? Well, I find none of those things even as remotely interesting as this dead leaf, or as interesting as the possibility that a cloud may appear if I stare at the sky" I am trying more with toys etc but am having some difficulty timing the play etc so we aren't doing something different to everyone else. Yesterday she finally discovered that there are fish in the big glass thing she walks past numerous times every day. Imagine her surprise! She spent a good 20 mins with her nose squooshed up against the glass of the tank, following the movements of the fish. They were as interested as she was. This morning she was running around outside and we heard a loud yelp. Oh no, rush outside and she's holding her foot up in the air looking rather forlorn. After about 5 mins she wasn't limping anymore and it doesn't seem sore to touch but we've cancelled today's after work trip to the beach, just to be on the safe side. Minxy: Oh, now I get it, Woofstock :D I don't think we really have anything like that here. I hope it improves in years to come for you! Sounds like a good idea, anyway. kyliegirl: Lovely pics of Echo! I have so much trouble getting good pics, my crappy camera skills combined with Astrid never staying still (especially when the camera is around) make it nearly impossible. I think that about 80% of the pics I have of her she is asleep! Astrid loves the water too, does Echo lay in it when he's hot? KTB: Ohh! I'd love to do some training with K9 Pro. We are considering doing a couple of the distance learning packages with him. I'm very interested in what you say about the prey drive, herding is a modified prey drive I believe? It sounds like you had a really interesting time! Thor :D Aussielover: I have trouble with the 'shy' trick too! Astrid just either sits and waits patiently with the tape stuck to her, or immediately flops to the ground and rolls on her back, rubbing it off that way

Hope he is ok! Scary stuff! Does anyone know if there is Agility classes anywhere other than the weeknight meetings at DogsWest? I'm interested in doing some foundation type classes once we finish the obedience course we are doing at the moment but there's not much info around. Unfortunately I can't drive and my OH works shiftwork so weeknight stuff is out for us as I could only make it once a fortnight.

How about teaching her some tricks indoors? Mental stimulation can be just as much, if not more, tiring than physical stimulation But I'm in the frame of mind of bugger that too, it's too hot to do anything but laze around! (and it's even too hot for that!) I do a couple of sessions indoors with her most days, mainly 'trick' kind of stuff. Plus the walk and training up at the footy oval, I use the oval and a long lead for recall practice. She seems to really need it all on a daily basis, I think perhaps while it's really hot I will try to 'up' what we are doing around the house, perhaps work on some new and harder stuff to keep her occupied! We have a widget thing on the desktop of the computer that shows the current temperature from where my OH comes from in Michigan. It's currently -3 there which is warm for winter but sounds pretty good to me at the moment! And here's a pic I got sent a little while ago of one of their dogs. I could happily jump into that snow pile today

It's so hard to exercise Astrid when it's this hot!! I would usually walk her just before dawn or really late at night when it's hot but I can't always see properly and until some more time has passed without rat poison turning up in the area I want to be able to have a good look around wherever we go. It's so frustrating! Playing fetch etc with her in the backyard doesn't seem to tire her out in the same way a walk does, I think it's all the extra stimulation that does it.

Today Astrid has also been giving presents to the cat! The one that likes her, not the other one It's never toys though! This morning I got a roll of paper towel, a shoe and a remote. The cat got a tshirt from the laundry basket as you can imagine, she was thrilled and Astrid got a little bop on the nose for her trouble. I had a doggie dream last night! I dreamed that Astrid was a Sheltie, but her markings were the same as they are now. I wanted to take her out for a walk but I only had a green garden hose, not a leash so I had to make do with that (as you do!), and as we were walking down the street we met up with OH who was carrying a Great Dane he had just bought at a garage sale down the road :D I haven't heard anything more from the council, or been contacted by the police so I am assuming everything is ok at the park. Luckily it's not somewhere that I usually take Astrid as a couple of times I have seen broken glass etc in there, but we are being extra vigilant on walks around here anyway. I have been walking her just on dawn or before because it's been so hot here, but the visibility isn't great so it will be shorter walks once it's light so I can see what's on the ground a bit better. wuffles: Hope you have a great day, and everything goes perfectly! I will bug you with many Aussie questions when you get back Great vid of Satch, he looks so comfy and camouflaged! Max#1: Pizza dough I bet he thought all his Christmases had come at once! KTB: Well at least Hoover takes care of his own anal glands and you don't have to do them! I remember seeing a post about it when I was first on DOL, and having no experience about it (never had a dog or cat with an issue) I looked up how to clean them yourself on youtube. Now I have a pretty strong stomach but after watching it, I would pay a vet whatever they asked to do it if the need ever arises with Astrid. In fact, I possibly would sell my soul so I wouldn't have to do it! lol Eewww! Naughty Hoover behind the shed! I think he's a bit like a cat, can squeeze in anywhere. Love the pic of the SAR dog! I love working dogs, I love those 'Send in the Dogs' type shows where they have sniffer dogs etc and when I worked in freight at the International Airport here many years ago one of my fav things was watching the sniffer dogs there from time to time. Also I was lucky enough to meet the first WA Police Dog when he was brand new to the job. I've also had Police Horses standing in my yard on several occasions, eating fruit bread That poor doggie does look distressed all the dogs in pounds/shelters etc, it's so sad. I came across this guy the other day http://www.dogzonline.com.au/breeds/breed_...e.asp?breed=670 breaks my heart. Such a pity he's not cat friendly Minxy: I seriously want to snuggle Kyojin and that Mal! What is Woofstock, though? This shot was about 2 seconds before she poked the lens with her nose lol.

Sorry, didnt meant to sound rude but read my thread in the general section on 'poison' Im in Huntingdale so I dont think the 2 are connected ;) Oh gosh, I just read that thread and I am so sorry I lost my last dog, a Malamute named Odin, to poison and it's so very traumatic. I am sorry for your loss :cool: Do you also have a Border Collie? My son also has the BC. He bought it himself to do obedience with. He figured if he could get that far in obedience with a JRT, he could 'reach the stars' with a BC. He has already skipped beginners and gone to advanced beginners with the pup (on the advice of the trainer) oh! Ive just realised who you are.... Carolyns class?? Yes, I recognised Will in the pic in the other thread. Please pass on mine and Jeremiah's thoughts to him too He must be devastated too.

Sorry, didnt meant to sound rude but read my thread in the general section on 'poison' Im in Huntingdale so I dont think the 2 are connected ;) Oh gosh, I just read that thread and I am so sorry I lost my last dog, a Malamute named Odin, to poison and it's so very traumatic. I am sorry for your loss :cool: Do you also have a Border Collie?

Sorry! I am in Gosnells. ETA: It's the park between Walter and Stalker rd.

Aww, that's so cute! I love how happy doggies are to see their people! A pack of blue post-it notes that I swear I have never seen before, and some underwear from the laundry I made a thread about it in general, but I'll repeat it here. I found little packs of rat poison laying on the ground in a little park near home on my way home from the bus stop today I called the council and they are sending someone out. Scary stuff.

Thanks so much!! I don't think I'll be able to make the Danes, but will be there to look at the Aussies!

I called the council and they are sending the ranger out and took my details. They said that they may contact the police. I don't know if it's deliberate or not, the poison was in these little paper sachet type things and spread across quite a large area but they are clearly marked as being poison. I guess it's possible that someone was carrying a box of sachets and some fell out, but it seems unlikely. ETA: I just found the brand online and apparently they come in packs of 4 or 8, so there could be more around out there.

Hi all I was walking home from the bus stop just now and I cut through a little park near home and saw three packs of rat poison at varying intervals. I just popped back with a plastic bag and picked them up but I'm now worried that there are more that I didn't see and there are a lot of dogs that go through that park, not to mention kids! Who should I contact about it? The council, or the police? Scary!

That's perfect, thanks so much SparkyTansy! What sort of time is it?

Excuse the double post, but I have to add to the list! I also received a lipstick, a comb, and a tissue before I figured out that she had gotten into my handbag ;)

Aww, Happy Birthday Badger!

Thanks SparkyTansy! I am wanting to see Aussie Shepherds and Great Danes.