haylz27

Hi everyone thank you so much for the compliments about Merlin and the advice! I took it straight back to the store yesterday. :)

I bought a Furminator a few days ago for my Aussie (almost 12 months) but now I've been reading reviews that it cuts/damages the coat so I am reluctant to use it. Has anyone had any experience with the furminator? I'm wondering whether I should just go and take it back and get an undercoat rake instead... Here is Merlin at 11 months. :) :D

Edited*

What a sweet boy! :)

I know Merlin drove me CRAZY the first few nights. :laugh: I put his favourite toy in there with a nice warm towel and blanket and now he goes in there willingly (most of the time anyway) :D What a great idea, I think Merlin will need something like that soon because he sure won't fit in this one for long.

I wouldn't suggest keeping a puppy that age outside just yet. You are worried that he will pee on the floor, I'm guessing that is why you want to put him outside? I suggest crate training your puppy. :) Crate training a puppy teaches them to hold their bladder longer (puppies do not like peeing where they are sleeping/lying down) and is used as a place for them to feel safe. My Australian Shepherd cried the first few nights we had him, it drove me crazy but he eventually got used of his crate and now he loves it, he even goes in there by himself now :) Crate training is also great because you can put them in there if you cannot watch them (No more than a few hours!) and they feel safe. Merlin is 10 weeks old and goes to the toilet at around midnight and wakes up at 6:30am, just a week ago he had to be let out every 4 hours. So yes... Definitely do some reading about this. :)

Oh what a gorgeous little man! :) I know how it feels to wait for a puppy, we just got ours 2 weeks ago and it felt like forever for him to come home. :D :laugh:

Hi everyone, it's been a while since I've been on here. Since then we have got a new member to our family! Here he is, Merlin our 10 week Australian Shepherd. :) It's been a while since I've had a puppy and trained one for that matter, and back then we only had the one dog. He already knows how to sit. How long would you say it takes for a puppy to know his name? He still does not respond to his name and want to know some ways that I can teach it to him. I also want to teach him to come when called, inside he's ok sometimes but of course outside has more distractions so he pays no attention to me, only if I have one of his toys. This probably sounds stupid, but what can I expect him to learn at 10 weeks? :) I think I might be expecting too much. I'd appreciate any advice on teaching him his name, how to pay attention, come when called and what kind of training I should be doing with him at this age.. I'm wondering whether or not to clicker train him. I clicker trained Indi when she was a puppy so maybe I'll see how he goes. So excited for this little man! Thank you everyone!

This is heartbreaking! I signed.

She wants a purebred GSD pup for free? I'd give her very long odds of finding one from any source. Yup I've told her that.. Yet she continues to look on sites like Gumtree and Trading Post. Which I'm trying to deter her from.

Hi guys! I haven't been on here for a while. I just want a bit of advice. My friend recently lost her GSD x of 14 years last week and she's already mentioning about how she wants another GSD soon. The thing is.. she is only looking at ones that are going for FREE or really cheap. Because apparently her dad won't pay for one. She's not like me... not dog savvy at all, and doesn't really know about backyard breeders vs real breeders (only what I've told her). Is there something I can say to steer her away from only looking at the free ads? I've told her that she shouldn't get a puppy just because it is free or cheap. Any advice on what I should tell her? Should I maybe tell her to look into rescuing a GSD? (She's determined on this breed only.. ._.)

Cheers for the headsup. I'll be watching.

Awww! He's so cute. Gotta love that spotted tongue and ears.

:laugh:

We're lucky here, I've never seen ONE single cat in my street! I reckon do what other people have suggested... squirt it with a hose or a water gun when ever you see it and it will soon associate coming into your yard with being blasted by water.

That is absolutely heart breaking. Sending healing vibes your way... I hope everything turns out okay. As hard as it seems, try to stay positive. Someone close to me had a dog who ate rat poison and also had to be on Vitamin K. It took a while, but he did pull through. Hugs to you and your family.

You're so close to me Nekhbet, I'm sure there will be plenty of rabbits here in Lara as well as the weather starts heating up. I don't think it's for me though. I'm a whimp.

Ohh that must be terrible... I don't have any useful advice for you, but let us now how he is. I think it sounds like a tick as well. Good luck.

My mum just got off the phone to her and she said she's taking him to the vet tomorrow afternoon just to make sure everything is okay. ShelleandShyla: They probably took them just to make a quick buck. The sad thing is, they probably will not replace the meds. Thanks for all your thoughts everyone, I will let you know how he goes at the vet and such tomorrow.

Wow... those dog's paws look like they are levitating off the ground. I agree with PF it does look rather.. odd or unnatural. I have taught my dog some "tricks". Mainly because she loves training with me, we enjoy it and it strengthens our bond. She knows all the basics such as sit, down, stay, recall, wait ect. Then there's others such as sit pretty, roll over, wave, high 5, cross paws, spin, go to your mat/bed, take food gently ect. I enjoy teaching her tricks and she enjoys learning them. I didn't teach them to her to "show them off" to people though.

I'm going to make this short. One of our past neighbours/friend had her house broken into last night while she was up the shops for not even an hour. The back door and laundry door were smashed wide open... and whoever it was took all of her jewelery, and even her chemo therapy medication worth over $8000 (the poor lady has breast cancer). I was seriously disgusted when I heard this. The people even wrote "Die B**** Die!! HAHA" on her bedroom wall. Ugh. Some people seriously make me sick. Anyway... the reason why I'm telling you this is we think that the people who broke in did something to hurt her dog (maltese x pomeranian).. maybe they kicked him or something. He's a dog that will bark when he hears something outside, then runs up for a good old pat when he meets someone. But he is now absolutely terrified when anyone enters the house (even if he knows the person), particularly men. He won't eat his food or anything. Any suggestions? This just happened last night.. I'm hoping someone has some advice I can give her on how to handle her dog and do get him to eat. He keeps hiding, and he's never usually like that. There are no visible injuries on the dog so far. I can't believe some people. This lady has been through so much, including 2 previous attempted break-ins this year. People are just cruel.

Most of the people who watched the segment tonight probably didn't even KNOW what a puppy farm was, or have no idea about not buying from pet shops. My parents didn't know what they were until I explained it to them. This is the same with many others. Overall, I think it was good... although there were some hazy parts. They should have mentioned WHERE to find reputable breeders. It was so sad seeing those poor dogs... the Cav puppies were so cute.

AWWWWWW!!! ;) :p ... so jealous right now. I would love to meet a Berner in real life. They are gorgeous dogs.

Looks like a Chinese Crested x to me. She reminds me of my aunties CC, except "Meatball" has more hair then this little armadillo.

Aww, RIP Cooper. I never walk Indi offleash; her recall isn't the greatest, but even if it was I would never walk her near a busy road. I do walk her on a long lead sometimes though, but that's on a path away from roads and people. I remember when I was sitting in the car at the school, waiting for my mum to go and pick my sister up. A lady was walking her dog (looked like a kelpie cross) WITHOUT a lead, on the footpath near all the cars, people... ect. The dog must have got spooked and within a second it ran onto the road and got hit by an oncoming car. It was the most horrible thing to see. :D If the stupid lady had any sense she would've had her dog on a lead. I don't think the dog died but it had serious injuries. People seriously need to use their brains when it comes to their dogs safety.