Genabee

Hi Lovelies. Sorry I have been slack. I must have broken the world record for most hours slept this week! Genevieve has been good for the most part and has seemingly been happy snuggling with me on the couch. If I get comfy with the hot water bottle and my body pillow first, she jumps in and keeps the other side of me warm!!! Congratulations to those with new puplets!!! I sleep for three days and look what happens! We multiply!!! Dandybrush - I only have the one dog, but from what I have learnt along the way about parenting, it sounds as though KTB's advice - as a Mum of Two - is pretty good. I guess it would be like having one child then debating having another.... You will always love the first child for who he/she is, but that doesn't mean you can't love another and have an equally special relationship with them.... And the early days with a new baby and a toddler are hard work, but before long everyone is in a rhythm and getting along fine. Willow is a gorgeous name by the way!!!! All this talk of new puppies... I'm not puppy clucky yet! I think I am for five seconds when I see pictures, but then I remember Genevieve and my post natal dog depression and any cluckiness vanishes! A friend of ours picks up their new cav pup in a week. He is a tri like Genevieve, named Wilson and he is pretty cute!!!! It's the closest I've come, but I think it is because he looks like a mini Genevieve and it reminds me of her! Aussie - I missed a lot during my 'leave of absence' a while back. Did Mindy not end up becoming a guide dog and have you kept her? Has your Mum come around to her now? Anyway, I don't really have anything important to report...

Hi Lovelies. Sorry I have been slack. I must have broken the world record for most hours slept this week! Genevieve has been good for the most part and has seemingly been happy snuggling with me on the couch. If I get comfy with the hot water bottle and my body pillow first, she jumps in and keeps the other side of me warm!!! Congratulations to those with new puplets!!! I sleep for three days and look what happens! We multiply!!! Dandybrush - I only have the one dog, but from what I have learnt along the way about parenting, it sounds as though KTB's advice - as a Mum of Two - is pretty good. I guess it would be like having one child then debating having another.... You will always love the first child for who he/she is, but that doesn't mean you can't love another and have an equally special relationship with them.... And the early days with a new baby and a toddler are hard work, but before long everyone is in a rhythm and getting along fine. Willow is a gorgeous name by the way!!!! All this talk of new puppies... I'm not puppy clucky yet! I think I am for five seconds when I see pictures, but then I remember Genevieve and my post natal dog depression and any cluckiness vanishes! A friend of ours picks up their new cav pup in a week. He is a tri like Genevieve, named Wilson and he is pretty cute!!!! It's the closest I've come, but I think it is because he looks like a mini Genevieve and it reminds me of her! Aussie - I missed a lot during my 'leave of absence' a while back. Did Mindy not end up becoming a guide dog and have you kept her? Has your Mum come around to her now? Anyway, I don't really have anything important to report...

Welcome home KA!!! We missed you! KTB - That video is hilarious!!! It was like watching a slow motion duo dance number! They might not have been in sync, but they sure had the timing evenly spaced!!! We in the industry refer to that as a 'canon' effect!

Welcome Koby'sDaisy and congratulations on your new arrival! So excited for you that you have found our cosy corner. Please feel free to ask as many silly questions, vent away frustrations and of course - share the cutest pics of your little one in here!!! Hi Everyone else! I think most of you may be aware, but for those that aren't I have spent the last three days in hospital after a bit of a scare (ok, a really big scare)... Pleased to report that I am now home safe (with real working internet and non poison food!!!!), Maddie for the time being is safe and Genevieve is being the perfect little lap dog, keeping Mummy warm and in company while she is on bed rest! As promised from the long weekend, a picture of my gromit dog!!! She is not a fan of the water at all and it was priceless watching her chase OH into the bay and then stop and realise 'Oh crap! I'm wet!', then high tail it back to the sand!!!! She loved the freedom of running around though.

Thanks for the birthday wishes ladies!!! KTB - Cute piccies!!!!!!!!

Poor Ava!!! I hope she is feeling better soon! I've only had to deal with puppy runs once... poor puplet kept waking me up in the night... Not sure what caused it at the time, I thought bones... Hasn't happened since though (fingers crossed it doesn't!!). And as annoyed at the time as I was for being woken up, I was glad she did. Way less mess to clean up. You're a good mum cooking her chicken and rice! What do you give a dog that is allergic to chicken incidently??? Genevieve loves rice, but we don't do chicken..... Too many skin issues with it! Clastic - That camping site does look pretty awesome! I hope the mozzies stayed away... that is the only thing I am not so keen on! Oh, and snakes. KTB - Loving the blankey on Hoover!!! We do that to Genevieve too I must admit... She has hyjacked two of my crochured rugs for her own now, which I often find her wrapped up in... Not much news on my front... We took G to the park last night and she ran around like a wild thing. We let her off the lead (with no harness - first time ever!) and she ran soooo fast! There was someone down at the park with their boarder collie, and the BC was rounding up all the other dogs! Was hilarious to watch! Genevieve just kept running! All I could see was this white tail - reminded me of the rabbit at the greyhound races!!!!! Sorry for bad spelling. I blame the baby!!!

Kyokin looks like a giant teddy!!!! So cuddly! I'm still waiting for OH to upload our beach photos....... He is so slow!

Lils - I'd be telling Rubster to get herself a new man! I'd be wanting presents!!! How hilarious are the tunnels! And I love the pic of Astrid in the pool!!! KA - Hope you're having fun!! It's been strangely quiet in here... I guess facebook has taken over! We are having our front fence replaced tomorrow as it has rotted away... you literally touch it and it falls apart. Genevieve knocked one of the pickets out when she jumped up to say hi to her postie friend, so we are paranoid she is going to escape.... So tomorrow she will be banned from the yard! In other social Genevieve news, she was scratching at the front door at about 8am this morning, so OH let her out. Turns out, two of the local primary school boys have befriended her too! They walk past on their way to and from school and call out to her in the mornings!! They know her name!!!! It was sooooooo cute to watch!!! A local bloke walking his dog the other morning commented that she must be the friendliest dog in the world! I worry she is too friendly, because she doesn't seem to get it when other (bigger) dogs growl and don't want her near them... One day she will get hurt!

OMG Fenstar!!! :( I think I want another puppy...

Hi Lovelies! Some great pics there! Sorry this will be short, as I need to get ready (we are going out for dinner!). We drove down to Portsea today and took Genevieve to a dog beach. Most of the beaches there are on a national park, so dogs aren't allowed (some family friendly location that is!!!). Anyway, after about an hour of driving around, we found the beach. Genevieve froliked about and Hubby was running out into the water trying to get her to follow. She did a couple of times, but when she realised she was wet, she couldn't get back to the sand quick enough!!!! It was pretty funny! She had a grand old time digging in the sand, pouncing on shells and trying to eat seaweed (eww!). We saw a Ruby cav on the beach named Rory (he was so cute!), so Genevieve and Rory dug holes together! We had a picnic lunch in a near by park and she loved eating our apple cores and licking out my puree apples! OH took photos, which I will steal and upload a bit later. It was pretty funny watching her trying to get the attention of all the kids that were whizzing past on their scooters! She squealed like a mouse!!! She sat so still in the car on the way home - she was clearly exhausted (as she has passed out on the couch next to me now!), but didn't want to miss the action on the way home!!! Hopefully she will stay pooped and sleep all night while we are out!

Ahem... I'm the 'soft' Co-Admin!!!! I just let any random in it would appear!!! I just wanted to add someone! Lilstar - I am glad Roo was returned home safely, albeit when you least want your neighbours to see you!!! My poor neighbours probably don't think I own any day time clothes as I am always in PJs, sticking my head out the front door yelling at the mut! And don't worry, yours match in comparison to mine! I am currently sleeping in this giant t-shirt of OH with his old trackies... I refuse to by maternity PJs! I am so jealous of the toy collection! Genevieve destroys everything! I refuse to buy her more of what she already has. I keep my eyes open for something new and different, but it all seems to be same old same old. The Woolies toys don't last longer than an afternoon here. She breaks them down into tiny pieces very quickly. G doesn't chew on antlers, but... she has a few toys and chews that she rotates. When she gets new ones, it can take a while for her to 'warm' up to them. For example, we gave her a raw hide bone for Christmas and it has only been in the last few weeks that she has re-discovered it and now I can't get it off her! She found her nylabone last night in among her blankets in her crate and now she is walking around with that in her mouth... So, my point is, don't give up. One day you will find no more antler.... Time out is the bathroom here too. But I have to make sure the bin is up on the bench, bathmat hung over the shower and the plant is up on the ledge otherwise I come back to a war zone...

Just quickly, Lils, reading your post made me chuckle! I too am in no hurry to have another puppy - Genevieve was a complete handful. Nothing like the puppy I had previously!!! She barked for a start (my other puppy didn't discover her vocal cords until about 10 or 11 weeks. Miss G on the other hand was running a presidential campaign the minute she got in the front door), chewed every bloody thing (again, never had that issue with last pup) and constantly wanted to be on me and have my attention! It didn't help that OH was overseas at the time, so it was a long four weeks!!! I was ready to kill her and couldn't believe I had begged to get a dog for so long, only to find myself in tears all the time. She is supposed to be an 'adult' dog now and past all the puppiness but she isn't much better.... Perhaps that says something for my parenting! Oops! She still barks and she still chews.... At least she has laid off the bottom of my jeans!

KTB - You should create a facebook group!!!!!!

Don't worry Fenstar, your not alone. I don't think I have ventured out of this corner of the board in over 6 months! I used to be a bit OCD with my posting in some of the other forums (KTB et.al will remember well), but these days, I just ask any questions I have in here. I used the boards well in the early days and I won't deny I learnt a lot and met some great people, but I am a little like KTB and my feathers get ruffled when I read things I don't like or agree with and can't help but bite back. I don't need the stress!!! I also am confident enough in my own dog rearing now to not take everything I hear as gospel. In those early days, I felt so so guilty because I didn't do exactly as the DOL 'experts' dictated. Hasn't seemed to have harmed Genevieve too much though!! So, who knows what my post count would be if every post I had in here counted!!! Probably over double. But as far as I know, there is no giant wheel of Brie cheese and a bottle of crisp white wine waiting for she with the largest post count.... So I am happy to bow out of that competition. (It's the only little dude with a wine glass!!!!!) Question: How often do you bath your dogs, if indeed you do bath them? I bathed G this morning (She gets bathed between fortnightly and monthly, depending on how feral she gets. I try to time it with her flea treatments). Anyway, I finish bathing her and I'm pottering about cleaning up and doing the normal chores... and it is all very quiet...... Quiet is never good in this house, we have learnt that!!! So I am wandering around trying to find her, only to see her sun baking on the front lawn!!!!! Yes, we frozen types in Melbourne finally have some sun today and G was not going to miss it!!!!! I must not have closed the front door properly and she escaped out the door! I took a sneaky picture or two through the nursery window, but my camera died as I took the last one. It is on charge now, so I will upload a bit later. It was very cute! She was quite happy out there. As long as she comes back in with dry, mud free paws!!!

And some more poor quality jobs of 'Vieve' (as my god-daughter calls her!). Looking a bit special... In her house, refusing to come out! Not sure what that statement was all about!

Hi Peeps! Wuffles - You looked STUNNING!!! And I have to agree, the orange looks awesome against the blue! I hope you have a long and happy life together. Ava and Satch look like they had a great time at the beach! And I agree Max, it is bloody freezing here in Melbourne. I am wearing ugg boots to work today! KTB - I admire the way you really know your doglets! I love the pic of Hoover on the clamshell! Nothing like a bit of a sunbake! Lils - Great news about the fridge! Rav - I know what you mean about the licking... gross! That is why we taught Genevieve to 'kiss'. She knows that is all she is allowed to do (doesn't stop her trying for the big dog pash though!). Max - You made me laugh out loud at work!!!! This thread will seriously get me sacked for disturbing the peace one day (oh... how sad! ). Well, I have some pics of the mut! Whenever I have an apple (or a pear), I give her the core. But the rule is she has to have it outside... so this is her trying to get back inside. Please excuse dog slobbered windows! We fat preggy types can't get down that low to clean them at the moment! Genevieve pretends she doesn't know what windex is.

:D :clap: PMSL!!!! KA, you are hilarious! Some of the things you come out with at times! Tell them to call him Beanie... I imagine he looks like a beanie toy! I can't remember who asked... But I named the rat Bindi in memory of one of the girls I used to work with. Her name was Belinda and she suggested I name squished mouse 'Bindi' after her (not that we ever called her Bindi anyway). So it became a bit of a joke. So now, in my head, all mice and rats in squished or otherwise deceased forms, are known as Bindi! Clastic - I think I might bring Genevieve to Canberra to visit your vet!!!!!!! That is sooooooooo cheap!!!! I am looking at over $100 for her next round of vaccinations. I think I really need to look into a new vet.

Oohhh Lils... Mice *Shudders* The last place I worked at we had a mouse problem. I had to set traps as we weren't allowed to put down rat sack... I would come in to work often and see a dead one lying in a trap. Once I heard one get caught in the middle of the day and it made the most horrendus screeching noise. SO not cool. We have a rat problem at work at the moment (different place). Or rather, the restaurant a few doors up does. We share a staff car park with them, which is off a lane way that runs behind the street. Every day, without fail, I see another dead rat. And they are giant bastards. I named the first one I saw 'Bindi' and now all the rest are 'Bindi's friends'. Gross. Needless to say the stench of lane way is not helping bring in the customers (or my morning sickness that seems to have returned with a vengance). There is one that has been run over so many times that it now just looks like part of the dodgily graveled lane. I gave up trying to teach Genevieve 'shy'. She has no snout, so I couldn't put anything over her nose to get her to paw it! Even sticky tape didn't work - she just tried to chew it! We have taught her kiss though, and if you lean in to her and say 'kiss' she gives you ONE lick on the nose. Occasionally she tried to sneak a second lick in, but retracts her head so fast because she knows she isn't allowed to! It is pretty cute! KTB - Those pics of your latest rescue puppy are sooooo cute! I can't understand why so many dogs are abandoned... so so sad. We don't abandon our kids, so why our pets? Clastic - Genevieve is due for her 12 month boosters at the end of this month. Just out of interest, how much did your vet slug you for the shots? I am contemplating changing vets as I felt rushed and unheard the last time we had Genevieve there... I know she might be a pet, and to them no different to any other dog that visits, but I had questions and didn't like the way I was treated. I also think he charges like a wounded bull. Genevieve has learnt to sleep in, finally! Well, at least she has been the last few weeks! I have been getting out of bed close to 9am and when I go in to her, she is either on top of her house or in it, just wagging her tail at me!!!! We have been having latish nights though, where we have Mummy-doggy snuggle time before I put her to bed! Very cute!!!

I am a bad dog Mum. But we all know that. When G was little, I took away her water bowl at about 9pm (when we were going to bed) and she got it back again in the morning. But like KTB said, she was sleeping anyway!!!! She was toilet trained pretty quickly though, I was lucky there. Even now, she doesn't seem to drink much at night. She hasn't had a UTI and she isn't dehydrated. I got flamed for that once..... Bad doggy mummy. And I don't feed raw (other than apple cores and carrot off cuts when we are cooking/eating. And that is a treat!). She gets a bone when I feel like giving her one! And she is confined to the laundry at night time (otherwise I would wake up to no couch, no cords attached to anything, dug up cork floors and a wet face!). Ohhhhh I just don't trust her! (Well, would you?!!!!). I love all your videos KTB! One of my friends told me I needed to start putting pics of me on FB instead of Genevieve as I was starting to look like the crazy dog lady! I smiled and thought she should meet you! Wuffles - I hope your wedding was magical! Your break away sounds lovely! Fenstar - Cooper is adorable!!!!!!!!! OMG how cute are new puppies! Feels like just yesterday when we got to pick Genevieve out from the litter.... She was so mini that her eyes were barely open! I was watching some vet show on TV the other night and I saw puppies being born. Of course it was all dramatised for TV, but the end result was cute pups (and shock horror, they were cross breeds!)!!! Hubby is away at the moment and is missing the dog!! It is funny, because it took a bit of twisting of his arm (like years!!!!) to get him to come around to the idea of having a dog. He bought her for me for my birthday last year because he was feeling guilty about all the time he was going to be away for (nothing like a guilt gift!). He has always been more a cat person (sorry people, I detest kitties!). So when he came home last time and he was playing with her (all boy like, roughing her up which she loves), he was cuddling her and said 'I'm sorry I said dogs were inferior to cats! I am sorry I said you wouldn't be as good a friend! Daddy loves you and misses you!!!'. Was soooooooooooooo adorable! Now I am getting smss from him, saying 'How's my 3 girls?' referring to me, the baby and Genevieve!!! So soft! Now I am working on more diamonds!!!!

Better not post too many more pics of my mut then!!! I would just like to point out that the carpets in our house were trashed before we moved in!!!!! (We are in a rental). I'm a neak freak at the best of times, but G hasn't learnt to clean up after herself yet. The OH has been in training for 6 years... I wonder how long it will take her????? Rav - Genevieve will be 1 in a couple of weeks and I doubt I will ever let her have the run of the house at night!! She still sleeps in the laundry, either in or on her crate , with the laundry door closed. During the day while I am at work, she has the laundry and the passage way. We have a child gate in the doorway between the dining room and the passage way, and I shut all the doors except the laundry door. She usually hangs out on her rug, outside our bedroom door. Wouldn't risk it at night time though, because I know she would scratch at our bedroom door and I would want to kill her. For us, she can separate 'bed time' from 'work time' relatively well, and this seems to be working. When she is naughty, we crate her in whatever room we are in (she can still see us and knows she is in trouble as we ignore her). She gets that it means bad dog, jail, sin bin, free to good home... better be a good dog now! My parents' dog, Aurora is going on 9 and she has the run of the downstairs of their house and has done for about 5 years. This came about after endless other attempts at curving her barking at night. She left us in peace if she was allowed to come and go out of my bedroom (when I lived at home)... Never the whole house though. I think personally, you are setting yourself up for pack issues if you start that. They think they own the joint and as soon as you sit on 'their couch' they let you know it!!! It can be hard to re-claim your space if and when you need to.

Look how much Echo has grown!!!!! I love his collar!

Why can't cavs be used as SAR dogs? I mean, what could be better than being found by a waggily tailed, lick-a-lot Genevieve dog? If she found me alive, I am pretty sure I wouldn't be after she licked me in excitement! Wuffles, I hope you have a beautiful day! Just surrender to whatever happens and remember to eat! I didn't eat anything all day... and we had awesome food!!!! Are the doglets going to be there????

Awww poor Satch!!! He was loving himself in that hole! Naughty Hoover... . Genevieve hasn't done anything naughty so far today. touch wood Not much new to report! KTB - I've never seen Genevieve empty 'anal juice' (that is the most disgusting term I've ever heard, or used!!!!) anywhere. I am assuming she does it when going to the toilet? The groomer always checks her glands when grooming and they are usually empty, so I am assuming she does do it at some point. Hopefully I won't have to witness or smell it any time soon. Otherwise I will be putting a nappy on her too. ;) Haha! I'd love to see Max and Echo chasing the broom! We have the opposite problem. When G was little, she knocked one over (outside) and it gave her a freight! So now she just barks at them whenever she sees them, like she is giving it a good telling off! Luckily for her, I don't bother with a broom inside, I just go straight to the vacuum cleaner! She only barks at that if I don't push her ball around while I am vacuuming.

Welcome Fenstar! How exciting, new blood! Don't worry, we will have you and your pup whipped into shape in no time!! ;) In other news, Genevieve stole my jam toast!!!!!!!! And proceeded to moosh it into the carpet! I'm not sure what I was more annoyed with... the fact that I had to clean up the mess or the fact that I had to then make another piece of toast. Breakfast wouldn't be complete without my morning battle, where she tries to finish my cup of tea, and her whole head fits inside one of my giant mugs. While it is cute, I cannot bring ,myself to share my morning pick me up!

No, not hard at all!!! Sometimes I get so mad with her, that I physically want to kill her, but she she does something equally funny and I end up laughing. I have to walk out of the room as I don't want her to see me laughing and think that what she has done is ok! She needs to be cute otherwise we would rehome her! I do love that pic of her sitting on the floor, looking all angelic! She was chewing the bottom of the desk chair (yes, metal legs!!!! ) when I caught her - and she moved (hence dodgy blurred pic). Then sat all pretty as if butter wouldn't melt in her mouth!