Genabee

Priceless!

She will be fine after 24 hours I am sure! My mut was jumping around like a lunatic less that 24 hours after! You are being a responsible dog owner in my view.

I wish! Genevieve is just noctournal... She will sleep during the day, usually with her head half hanging off the couch... snoring and twitching away. But wants to play at night time (and early in the morning!). I am hoping Elbie or Charlie will have a chat to her and tells her to cut it out! ;)

Can I ask why some people like to have their dog's tails docked and why was it stopped?

Clothes line? I have a stocking with a ball in it suspended from the clothes line for Genevieve... and we have an indoor one around the leg of our dining room table!

There was some woman advocating cross breed dogs on either Sunrise or the Morning Show earlier this week... I had a cringe moment.

That is fantastic news!!!!! Genevieve sends her love and a big puppy lick!

Give it to them outside though!!! The first time I gave G an egg, I had shell and egg white all over the house!!!

This happens a lot at our obedience club. All of us are always taking it in turns to walk away with our dogs and come back once they have calmed down. As someone else suggested, we go about 15 minutes early and let them mingle before class starts. Genevieve always starts out excited, but is relatively settled by the end. Her first class there was difficult (she was a right pain in the arse), but since then she has been fine.

I also discovered a new toy on my trip to the pet shop... it is like a water bottle, with a rubber stopper and a rope on the end. Basically they have to pull the rope back and forth to release kibble. That has been great at slowing her down! I went in looking for the tucker ball (on Koala's suggestion), but this shop didn't have any and I needed something to take away with me. Back to the online store for the tucker ball...

Wizzle, how does Genevieve react to the Easy Walk harness? I was looking into different leash/harness options and thought the Easy Walk looked good, but then I read that a lot of people don't like them and think they pinch them under the arms. What is your opinion having used one? Cheers, Maia I have found it to be much easier to use and much easier to walk her. She hasn't appeared to have any problems so far. I used to struggle to clip her lead to her collar - she wouldn't sit still, would try and nip me etc. It was a big effort to get out of the house and I used to get frustrated. Now I just scoop her into my lap, put one foot in at a time and she sits still while I clip it up. She walks beautifully with it! I actually went into the pet shop and had her fitted - the guy there was great. I am pretty sure she tried on every type of harness they had there!!! I explained why I wanted to get one (she was pulling , we do obedience, I'd heard good things etc), and he was on a mission to find something that met our needs. He didn't want to put one on her that goes over the nose, because she is a cav and cavs are prone to snorting... anyway, the easy walk was the one that fitted her the best and it was the one I had heard good reports on (from several other cav owners too). We haven't had any issues and she is fine with it on. She hasn't tried to pull it off or anything. In fact, when we flew to Perth, I left the harness on her while she was in the crate, as I thought she would be mental when I went to collect her at the other end... But she was sitting there nicely and let me take her out without fussing... So I let her fly home without it! Again, she was fine (it was her Mother that was the sobbing mess!). Had I known it was going to make things easier for us, I would have done it weeks ago.

I can see where Elbie gets his spirit from! His Mum has a great sense of humor! Genevieve gets kibble for most meals. I give her a couple of tins of sardines a week, spread over the week, in with her kibble. She gets a raw egg as a treat on Sunday afternoons, outside, where she can drag it around and not make a mess of my floors! I have been giving her chicken wings a couple of times a week, and like you, if she has a bone, she doesn't get her normal kibble. I am thinking about moving to turkey wings though. If she gets a lot of treats (usually her kibble) during the day, she gets less kibble at dinner time (or gets her remaining quota as a treat as we often do training anyway). I give her frozen carrots to chew on... which she just crumbles and drags everywhere. She does have a lamb ear and a rawhide bone on the go, they seem to take her weeks to finish... unlike other dogs, she gets bored of them and forgets about them, then goes back to it (for all of 5 minutes) three days later... She also likes chasing ice cubes around. She doesn't like anything green (I wonder where she gets that from?? ). I think it has been said before, you feed what ever works best for your dog!

Is that one of those barking collars? My Mum uses one for Aurora... she has OCD and barks like a crazy thing (in addition to a few other things)... all day, every day, non stop. Her barking stresses her out, so she barks more. :D Even meds don't help, so it left little else. She is a different dog with the new collar on. It is funny when she forgets she is wearing it though, as she goes to bark, then remembers... and stops mid bark! If you think it is separation anxiety though, I would try and work on that and just use this as a method for the short term to curb the barking. She will take her stress out through some other means if she doesn't bark, so you will then have another issue to combat.... I would seriously consider seeing a behaviorist.... From someone who should have had their dog see one a long time ago, save yourself the stress and nip it in the bud now.

I wish she would move forward... right off a cliff.

Genevieve was on the leash for puppy school at 8 weeks... When we were home I would practise walking around the yard with her on the leash, which usually meant stop starting and pulling her in the other direction every time she took off! By the time we finished puppy school at 12 weeks, I was taking her for a 15 minute walk up the foot path outside our house late at night after I got home from work (when no one was around!). From about 13 weeks, we started walking her regularly, for much longer. Now at just over 5 months, she would quite happily walk for about an hour. Spray her lead with a bitter bite or white vinegar and she should find it slightly less tasty! It seemed to work for us anyway. I know some others on here suggest eucalyptus oil. Another option could be to try a harness, where the lead might not be in her face so much, thus not as tempting to bite.

Old neighbours of mine, had a dog named Ruben. Their three year old little girl used to sing 'Ruby Ruby Ruby, Ruby!!!!' out to him from the back porch. It was sooooo cute!! The song was on the radio all the time then too... every time I hear the song now, I think of this little girl.

I started obedience with Genevieve last month (she was not quite 5 months at the time)... we completed puppy school when she was 12 weeks. I personally find it great for her. I found 4 weeks of puppy school wasn't enough - and she loved it! I wanted to get her involved in something where she could meet lots of other dogs, have some exercise (both mental and physical), build on her skills and also for me - to see how the others do it! I find it great for her and will definitely be keeping it up. I think poodle fan is right - sounds like right thing, wrong place. You need to find somewhere that will work with you and Mindy, not against you.

I used to put Genevieve on the lead and make her sit and wait before eating, then when she was calm I would let her off the lead to eat. I only had to use the lead for about three days. I then added in other things (like high five, touch etc). Now I make her lie down and stay - something she hates to do! But she is getting it! If she got stroppy and just wouldn't do it, I would put her food back up on the bench and walk away. I would try again three minutes later and she would do it first time. Worked a treat! They soon work out they won't get their food until they behave!

:D I have a hoover for a dog. She is always hungry. She will do anything for food!! And always does a walk past her dog bowl o see if it has miraculously refilled itself . Correct me if I am wrong, but dogs don't know when they are full (they don't get the same sensation that we do as humans), so they keep going until there is no more! Which is why it is important that we watch what they eat, otherwise they end up little fatties. Use it to your advantage - do some training with puppy and reward with a 'treat' (I just use her normal kibble) for good behaviour and a job well done! I wouldn't do it too sparatically though otherwise it is hard to monitor toilet habits! If you have the time, feed meals by way of training. This way you can exhaust pup a bit too!

This! Except Genevieve just looks at her Dad like he should be committed (you know, typical teenage daughter/father type behaviour!). I am sure if she could roll her eyes, she would! She then proceeds to give me that look that says 'Save me!'. We named her after the dog in the kids tv series 'Madeleine' (we love the name Madeleine - will most likely use it for future daughter - Madeleine needs a Genevieve dog!! ) , so sometimes I sing that song to her, but substitute the name 'Madeleine' for 'Genevieve'.

Awwww...... a day with Aurora would fix that! She barks at her water for just about any reason at all... if there is fluff, fur, sand or any other bits floating in it (usually that come off her face!), and if it gets too low (which is usually after one trip to the bowl and you can't work out what her problem is! ). She barks at anything that dog...

I was chatting to my family about my pup over the weekend, comparing notes, stories etc. and it got me thinking about how much I have learned just from visiting this forum. I have learned, implemented and tried after reading something on DOL: - Sardines can help with dandruff (and they have!) - Raw egg is great for her coat - Easy walk harness - Heard about different gourmet treats - Heard about different pet supply stores - Pet shop puppies/BYB breeders - Heard about different dog tricks and how to teach them - Dog Toys - Heard about different dog literature - Learned A LOT about different approaches to house breaking - Learned of different dog products (I love ALOVEEN!!! Whoever suggested it deserves a bit puppy lick!). I have also learned so much about all the different food options available, healthcare, breeds and general well being of dogs. I feel I have made some new friends too! I don't think I would have tried so many different things with Genevieve had I not read about them on this site (some I didn't even know about!), so I just wanted to say a very big thank you to everyone, for your stories, advice and patience with me, as Genevieve and I get through puppyhood together. You have all helped me to raise a happy, friendly, comical dog. Edited to add, that I also learned I wasn't the only dog parent who briefly questioned their decision to get a dog and want to send her back!!!! I can't tell you how much that in itself made me feel better!

Go Mindy!!!! We went to Perth for the weekend to visit my family. Genevieve was so well behaved!!!!! The first day or so we had a couple of accidents inside, but I had expected that (my parents' place is like a maze, there is no direct route out!). But she interacted with the other dogs and people extremely well. She slept as normal at night (I took her own bed so she was comfortable). I was so proud. My sister (who I think is the dog whisperer!) did some 'intensive' training with Genevieve and this morning I have her rolling over on her own!!! She is staying in the down position now too (only for a treat though!). I bought an easy walk harness last week and it was the best buy! I can't believe how normal her walking is now! It really has made a big difference. Since being back home (for all of three days) she has continued being a very good girl! I don't want to jinx myself like I did last time - but we are travelling well in that department (excluding a trip to Perth!). I am also getting a little bit more sleep now too! I am really enjoying her company at the moment and I am just embracing that before the novelty wears off! She is such a good little friend.

I always ask other dog owners when walking Genevieve, if their dog is allowed to say hello... I thought that was just manners!!!??? The only time I am more relaxed about that is when we go to school on Sunday, as all the dogs are there to say hello!! I like to use our walks to work on Genevieve's ignoring skills... so I quite often try to give other dogs wide berths and keep G moving, or we will work on other tricks while dogs, kids, bikes and whatever else moves past.

My parents have it in their back yard.... though the poor dog isn't allowed on it!!!! She has snuck on it a few times though and it is very easy to hose off. I'm not really sure what their aversion to her using it is...