lilli_star

Oh my gosh, they are just too cute CW EW!

Hi everyone. Around the corner from me lives a family that have a SWF. The dog never seems to be contained (despite there being a fence). It lays in the middle of the road refusing to move (how it hasn't been run over is beyond me!) and basically roams the neighbourhood doing whatever it likes. Since I've started walking my 15 wk old puppy, it now likes to follow us- far enough away as not to be actually touching my puppy, but close enough that my puppy wants to play with it and just generally being a nuisance. For the past couple of weeks, I've only seen it when we walk past its' house- it then follows us back to my house even though I'm trying to send it away. The other day it was raining, so I didn't take my dog for a walk, but when I took her outside to go to the toilet, there the SWF was! Unfortunately, my front yard isn't fenced and I'm pretty sure the little bugger then came and wee'd on my front door! I'm also pretty sure it's started pooing on my front lawn as well. When we've encountered the dog on our walk, I try to ignore it and keep walking/pulling my puppy along, but it keeps following us. This morning I took my puppy on a different route thinking that if we didn't go near the SWF's house, we could walk in peace. WRONG! SWF came looking for us instead! :D As you can understand, it's a pain in the neck. I'm trying to teach my puppy to ignore things when she's on leash, and here's this dog annoying us! So, I'm looking for advice on what I can do. Would a water pistol (on the SWF) work do you think? Or is that a bad idea? Obviously, a front fence would stop SWF coming to visit my front lawn, but that of course requires money and time and while it's on the agenda, is not something that can be done quickly (council permission etc). I have kind of brought up the problem with the family (who I know and have a bit to do with through my work), but they just kind of laugh it off. I'm grateful for any and all advice ;)

Aussie I don't have any advice, sorry. Your mum obviously really misses Clover, and I'm sorry for that. Clover was a member of your family, and just like losing a (human) loved one, it takes time. You know I am already jealous of how good your Mindy is She really just sits under your chair on a blanket- and stays there?! Now I'm even more jealous! I (along with everyone else) think what you are doing is fantastic.

Nope it will be changed to 'Saint' after another of Andrews mates who died in July people might remember him as dying with his bomb detection dog - he was a good mate of Andrews and known as 'Saint' so Dimples is named after a fallen soldier, gulp makes me very teary at times - our dopey pup will be much loved. Me too They're talking about Afghanistan on the 7pm Project now. The sooner we get our troops out of there, the better.

Tapua, what a touching story! I enquired about your pups earlier this year which I think may have been Dimples' litter. I hope Andrew gets home safely soon. Dimples definitely has an important job to do. It sounds like Andrew will have a lot of healing to do, and it must mean a lot to you that you can help. And just a bit off topic- how awful for his ex to take off with the dog too!

Ahhh, yes that would help I just have the one grump, uhhh, I mean cat, who is none too pleased with the puppy. I think it's getting better though...well, sort of.

So there's hope for my two yet?

Oh he's a sweetie! And in my experience (we had 2 when I was growing up, plus there have been a few others in my family) great dogs. All the best to you both

Ewwww! Kirislin what a thoughtful doglet you have Just as well you have that 6th sense

What gorgeous doglets!

*nods* I'm not in Canberra, but I was going to say Petbarn too since that's where I've seen them.

She is beautiful! I had a friend whose family had a Siamese. She was the first one I'd had anything to do with, and her MROOW! was a bit of a shock compared to my family's moggies meows.

Great news!

I'm so sorry to hear that. I hope she's feeling better soon.

I have only been walking my 14 wk old Lab puppy for the past week or so. I waited 10 days after her 2nd vacc and then took her for a little walk to the end of the street and back- she loved it! And was so much better behaved on the leash than she is when I take her out to go to the toilet! Now I take her around my neighbourhood in the morning and afternoon (except tonight bc it was pouring rain and cold!) for about 15-20mins. Usually (touch wood), she trots along nicely on a loose lead (sometimes I can even wrap the excess around my hand), but the last few days I've noticed she goes into leash grabbing mode in the same place. This morning she even tried zoomies while on the leash! Didn't get very far naturally There's quite a few big dogs around my neighbourhood- all fenced in thank goodness- that bark when we go past, but I just keep walking, and Ruby is pretty good about it. She doesn't bark back.

Gorgeous boy. Your mother-in-law's email brought tears to my eyes. I'm so sorry for your loss.

Wow! My cat would love something like that. Just as well he can't read

Oh that's so funny! ;) I give my 14 wk old Labrador puppy shank bones a couple of times a week. It's what we always fed our dogs on when I was a kid- still can't order them in a restaurant though now that they've become 'trendy' because of that! ;) She has the meat stripped in less that 10 minutes! Then she doesn't seem that interested. I've given her a few marrow bones (they're shin bones, right?) that I get at the supermarket and are cut down the middle. I gave her one today, but there wasn't any meat on it :p Won't bother giving her the other half. What else is there (bone-wise) thats okay for dogs? I find lamb flaps are very fatty. And I worry that she might inhale it and choke on it, so I don't leave her alone with one. She's had neck bones too, but not for awhile. Ruby loves turkey wings too- I buy the end that looks like a big chicken drumstick. I only give them to her under supervision though- they way she eats them (almost the entire thing!), I'm worried she might choke on some. She had one yesterday, and I had to laugh- she tried to bury the last 5cm of so of bone left in the grass/weeds! Her first bone burial- awwwww!

I have an almost 14 wk old Labrador puppy and she has lots of toys, but I'm always looking for more ideas to keep her entertained! :D She has- a puppy kong (so far hasn't shown much interest in eating what's in it though ) and a teething stick Kong, some stuffed toys (a cow and a ring for outside that I got from Big W, polar bear from Petbarn she sleeps with inside, a rabbit from Petbarn for inside, and a pig with no eyes now), some squeaky toys ($2 shops), a rope toy for inside and one for outside, plastic bottles (like milk or Coke), a handbag thingy that she can chew and put treats in it, and a small Canine Genius Leo. Oh, and as of today, she now has her very own sandpit! Spoilt thing! She also gets pigs or deer ears occasionally, or a rawhide chew stick, and bones. Her first pigs ear lasted a week- now they barely last 10 minutes! I've learnt the hard way that Petbarn are REALLY expensive, so if you can buy online, then you'll definitely save money. Big W and the $2 shops also have some good toys. I also leave out cardboard boxes with treats inside for her to demolish while I'm at work What kind of puppy are you getting?

Yikes! You poor thing! Why is your cat so unhappy with you? Or is it just because they can? My cat has 3 litter trays- yet, when he chooses (sometimes because I'm late home, sometimes no reason at all!), he will poo NEXT to one of them. In fact, in between 2 of them! It pisses me off to no end, but he's done it for years. The only consolation is, at least he's consistent, and it's not on anywhere else. I hope you get some sleep soon.

The next day! I was wondering what the hell I had gotten myself into, and that I didn't realise how hard it was, or how easy I'd had it with the cat! I spent the first week feeling much like I imagine a mother with a newborn baby feels (my friend told me I looked like it too!).

It's now a bit over a month later, and things are okay sort of between them. Ruby the puppy wants to play with Jasper, and he's just not interested. So, she barks at him, he hisses and swats at her, lather rinse repeat. That doesn't happen all the time, sometimes I can get her to ignore him, but the cat annoys her most definitely! We will keep working on it. I would love to have them curl up togther and sleep, but I'm not holding my breath. Lol.

Thinking of you Jed, and off to light some more candles for you. Stay strong.

Don't buy the stuff I did (see 5 posts up). Absolute rubbish and a waste of money. It seemed to make Ruby want to grab the lead MORE if thats possible, and go crazy. I'll try eucalyptus oil next.

Such gorgeous pictures! I have a 6 year old male moggy, and he is definitely less than impressed with his new canine sister. My Lab puppy is almost 13 wks old and over the past couple of weeks she has decided that the cat would be nice to play with- he hisses and swats at her, she barks at him. Sigh. On some occasions, they ignore each other, but my cat is usually the instigator of bad behaviour. He hides and then swats her as she walks past. The cat is inside only, and the puppy is outside during the day and inside at night, so at the moment I'm hoping for the cat to tolerate the puppy.