Shakti

Hear hear! I completely agree Huski. My Newf (not a highly-regarded Obedience breed) is also expected to have a 100% recall. Yes it took patience and perseverance and some thinking-outside-the-box to help him learn that but I believe it is my responsibility to my dog to do my very best to ensure their safety and a reliable recall may one day mean the difference between life and death. Would you say there are any breeds of dogs that could never be trained to have a reliable recall? (Of course there are individual differences within breeds as well) What about the LGDs??

Please can you expand on that Huski? Where do you take her and where would you avoid please?

I would recommend K9Company

I would recommend K9Company

I heartily endorse the K9Company - very knowledgeable and caring trainers who modify their approach based on what works for you and your dog! They also have several locations including Doncaster!!

This is really interetsing to me! I think it is a tough call to try and weigh up the risks of parvo vs the risks of having an unsocialised dog. Our vet (who I am not a huge fan of) advocates no exposure to the outside world at all till all vaccinations are complete but does run a puppy pre-school at the vet clinic which is basically a free for all My gorgeous Newfie who is now 5 ended up walking on some footpaths when he was a baby but no dog parks or off-leash areas and is the calmest most bomb-proof dog I have ever owned. Is the risk of parvp greater in some States or in Summer rather than winter etc?

Thank you all so much - off to buy lamb flaps and ingredients for satin balls - DOL always come through!!

Any suggestions please??

My gorgeous Newfie had an operation for a blocked intestine three months ago and is taking longer than I would like to regain the weight he lost pre- and post-surgery. He should weigh at least 5 kgs more than he does now according to the vet. I try to keep him lean and fit but at the moment I can feel every rib. He is exuberant, playful and seems in every other way back to his old self. At the moment I am feeding him a BARF diet. Any suggestions please?

Gosh I have missed DOL - someone who has done everything right as a potential and responsible hopeful soon-to-be puppy owner comes on here to share their excitement and nervousness and joyful puppy-cluckiness and we et a bunch of *It might not happen - everything might be terrible - you are bound to be disappointed* posts!! So predictable it is tiresome!! I am absolutely thrilled for you and will be waiting to hear your GREAT news just asap! For me, I have come to enjoy the wait for a new puppy -all the fantasies and daydreams have their own joy and the reality will probably be totally different and even ore happy!!

Thank you all for your kind comments - he has certainly been enjoying one or two extra treats this week! I love training with my dog and it is astounding to me how many owners don't teach even the basics to their dogs. It makes the bond with your dog so much stronger and hey, it may even come in useful in *the real world! LOL

Hi all, I had my dogs at an offleash dog park this evening just going on dusk and somehow lost my car keys. The sun was setting and I was beginning to panic knowing the likely cost of having new keys made and programmed etc . I had crisscrossed the entire soccer oval fruitlessly when I I told my four year old Newfie to find the keys.....and he did! We have often practiced him finding a dropped leash or bag etc but never with car keys - I am so rapt and so proud of my clever, good boy!!

Another vote for CKCS and a decided No for a Min Pin - they were recently listed as among the top Ten Most Energetic breeds along with Australian Shepherds etc!!

Found the Greytalk forum - thank you all so much for your suggestions and help - going to go shopping now!! Hooray!

Am having trouble finding Greytalk - please help!!

Hi everyone, My daughter has a greyhound mix dog and the usual collars seems to really wear on her skin and she ends up with a bald mark and sore pink skin. Can anyone please suggest where we could buy (or have made) a very soft collar for her please?

I have used Happy House Sitters a number of times and they have been fantastic! They are free and stay in your home while you are away. The people we used came to meet us and our menagerie a couple of of times first to make sure that all went well.

I took my baby Newf to puppy pre-school at 10 weeks and he weighed 10 kilos, 11 weeks 11 kilos and so on and on and on! LOL It is so funny to see the weekly pics taken of puppy school where the other puppies stay close to their original size my boy looks like a time-lapse photo! Thankfully by 3 years old he seems to have stopped filling out and is now a respectable 62kgs!

The Chet and Bernie mystery series - told from the dog's perspective which sounds just too twee for words - but it works! Funny, interesting and insightful. They are written by Spencer Quinn

A young friend of mine (aged 25) is desperately seeking shared accommodation in or near St Kilda. She has a well-mannered 2 year old dog and references from previous landlords etc. Can anyone recommend good sites offering pet-friendly accommodation please? She has been searching through Gumtree but most pet-friendly ads on there seem to mean a pocket-sized cat or a goldfish!

wow - have only just checked this thread and so many GREAT ideas! I am very relieved about the cardboard and am off to find some suitable plastic bottles, toilet rolls, newspaper, fluffy old socks and kibble - PAAAAARRRRTTTTY!!! Thank you to everyone who replied - I am rapt!

Hi all - our baby girl just 14 weeks old loves to chew which is cool and we have a lot of toys for her BUT she prefers things she can tear such as toilet paper rolls (still full) and foam etc. I am terrified she may accidentally swallow this stuff and keep re-directing her to her more *appropriate* toys but I was wondering if there are other toys that she could safely tear to pieces??

I owned a Leo and she was magnificent - will definitely be getting another one day. In the meantime a friend of mine has a Newf cross BMD who is just wonderful - not so heavy and cob-shaped as some Newfies but still with a very imposing presence and a wonderful, calm personality!

So attachment/bonding/love whatever you want to call it Is independent of training? So the fact that dogs behave well for a trainer has nothing to do with their primary attachment to their owner?

Ok so some dogs may behave better for other people; would that translate into being more attached to the new person rather than to the owner? Is obeying/ being better behaved a component of love?