MissCheevius

Bit confused about the sizing. Grumpy, being an old fella, trips a fair bit now when walking so a lower rise would be preferred but I don't think the medium is wide enough. It would be helpful if they gave recommended sizes for dog breeds on the site. I'm already going to have to build a ramp to it on both sides of the door due to the step outside because he trips over it. Hello casowner! Im local to you, and quite keen to get a patio link dog door. Are you still able to help with distributing them? I have sent a PM. Thanks!!

For some reason my lil guy likes to hide under my partners sports car while im hanging out washing. There is a garage under cover he can go to, so I guess the car has some sorta appeal beyond protection from the elements! We got him a 'dog house' from Kmart for $49. Its very basic, wooden, but tis good to leave outside for him to have his own corner. Just posting this here incase anyone else is after something similar! Bigdogg - your dog run looks fantastic! Great job!

Aww Thanks 2staffys. How long does it take to fully grow? I woke up this morning and told my partner how much bigger he got overnight! I got a very funny look given to me, haha. I love taking photos, but only 1 in 100 is worth showing anyone else! How old are your pups now? Have a great day!

When we enquired about him, he was 7 weeks old, and hadnt had any vaccines makes me think he missed his 6 week vaccine. As that is what the several vets I have spoken to have informed me. Not a prob now, as he is happy, healthy, and seeing the vet when he should be for vaccines.

My Staffordshire (ie English, not American) is now about 9 weeks old. He had chicken necks today for the first time and seemed to love them. Only gave him two, shortly after breakfast, but will be giving him a couple more tomorrow I definately wouldnt introduce him to a new food until at least a few days after he/she comes home. We tried about 2 teaspoons of puppy food from a can, and it upset his belly for a few days. All good now though, forunately. Have fun, its great having a puppy around! Please post piccys!

Hi Kate39. My partner and I picked up our lil Staffy just before Xmas. He is about 10 weeks now, and Im sooo glad we have him, he has really made our new home complete. We continued feeding Blitz the same kibble (dry food) that the breeder was feeding (Science diet) although we have slowly began titrating him onto Supercoat over the last few days as its much easier to get, not to mention cheaper. We did give him 2 teaspoons of puppy food from a can, but he had messy poos, so we gave up on that idea. Blitz had 2 chicken necks after his breakfast today, little piglet, but he thoroughly enjoyed them. Blitz really likes his puppy kong toy, and the advanced puzzle ball. The ball has a maze inside it, which we fill with about 25gm kibble, and he plays with it and the food comes out. He also had a pigs ear from a xmas pack which was chewed for a few days before he finished it off. Blitz is an inside dog, but i have found that letting him loose for a few hours in the morning to burn off his energy saves both our sanities. It means i can sit in the yard with a book and chill, while he goes skitz. (Im a shiftworker, so sleep is precious, and im still getting back to a routine after getting up through the night initially for the puppy, and then night shift, my partner seems to sleep just fine tho, lol). We also have been feeding Blitz 3 times a day, at times that will work relatively well on shifts. Fortunately, this month, my partners roster and mine work out that puppy is only really 'home alone' once in 28 days. We noticed that Blitz is full of energy for about an hour after his last meal, so we always feed him at roughly the same time so that he can toilet and run around without it being a ridiculous time for us all to get to sleep. The other main things are that worming must be done 2 weekly until the puppy is 12 weeks, which is also the age my council requires the puppy to be registered by. Blitz also requires another vaccine as his breeder seemt to have missed one... Grrr. He will be getting microchipped at his final vaccine too. We have been training Blitz a few things at home. He knows his name (when he isnt playing the selective hearing game), Sit, Drop and occassionally roll-over. He isnt good on the leash, but we havent been going further than the front lawn since he is still awaiting his final vaccine. He also knows to 'wee' when he goes outside straigh away, whereas the other toilet function only comes after he is outside a fair bit longer. Blitz has been enrolled into puppy class, which starts in about 2 weeks. He hs however been socialised to all the dogs in both our families, and a puppy of my friends. I really recommend socialising Laycie if ya can, Blitz got taken down a notch by the puppy (7months old Kelpie x Border Collie), previously he was bossing them all around. Its been a very new learning experience for me, Ive nevr had a Staffy before, although my parter would only agree to a Staffy. I was also a bit too little to remember having a puppy when we had one when i lived with my parents. Take STACKS of photos. Blitz seems massive since we brought him home. I call him (affectionately) my little fat man. Not sure if i can think of anything else that I wished i had known a few weeks ago. Hopefully we can switch Staffy puppy stories! I adore my little man! Im sure Laycie will bring you much joy!

I went with Medicare. Good value, and I figured since they did people too, they would care about keeping everyone happy. We went with the accident, illness and routine care option, which also includes paying upto $70 annually for things like obedience and council registration. It also then covers $30 for vaccinations annually, and $45 for worm control. Considering its costing us a little over $1 a day, i look at it as tho we get roughly 3 months back throughout the year. Good luck with your decision, hopefully we will never need to use it! My family (my household, parents, etc.) will never be without pet insurance. Would just be too heartbreaking to make that choice. Only had our pup a few weeks, but he is definately a major part of our home.

We used to go to a park just off Grenfell St, near corner of golden Grove Rd (heading towards Ladywood Drv). There was a river/lake and a little waterfall. I avent been there for a while, but its nice for a walk with a bit of water. Not surer whether its leash off or not. There used to be a playground my brothers would play on for ages too, it had a little train. Not sure if thats near you, but I will check it out myself once my lil man has his last vaccine!

Hi Kenneh, any update on how Hachi is going when alone? We will be leaving our lil man alone while we go to work for the first time in a few weeks time, and im trying to research so he makes the trasition as easy as possible. So far he is well behaved when we leave him to go to shops, so fingers crossed! Im very keen to hear how Hachi has progressed, sounds adorable!!! Hope you didnt work too much during the festive season.

With out new lil man at home, Im reading up as much as possible. How is you pup going now Druce? Hope he was a angel over the festive period for you.

Possibly thats where my mix-up came from! Possibly also information overload (self-inflicted of course!) along with my Birthday, Xmas, and sleep deprivation! I have found several puppy classes. We are waiting to hear back from the Animal Welfare League though, which is prob our first preference. If no luck, then the next choice will probably be the Petstock one, ran by the company. Fortunately our rosters have worked out that both myself and partner should be able to attend all classes. Shiftwork is great sometimes (ie puppy will never be home alone more than 2-3 hours) but somtimes it can be a PITA (ie working out when we can both go to puppy classes!). Most of the ANKC classes in our area state the dog must be at least 4 months. Im a bit confused at this, as I read that this is the 'fear' period, and I dont really want to scare him at this time, however I know they are experienced and trained people, so maybe this is best. At the same time, I dont want to not take him to puppy class in the meantime, as we may learn a few things and have some fun at puppy class. Our lil man so far seems to know his name most of the time, will sit on command, etc. We've only had him a week, so I think thats a decent start. The next thing we are trying to teach is loose lead on the driveway (newly built home, im happy for him to be on the driveway). Im not sure what we will acheive at a puppy class, as I think we are teaching him basic skills anyway, and I dont expect to acheive a lot in 4 x 1 hr lessons with a lot of distractions. Our pup has been socialised with a lot of our large families dogs, so I gather these puppy classes (8-14 weeks old) are designed more for socialising pups who otherwise wouldnt be exposed. Please advise if I can expect to acheive more!! I think the other problem has been that some vets recommend vaccinations at 6,8,10 and 12 weeks, whereas others have said 6, 10, 12-14 weeks. Our little guy didnt get his first til he was 7 weeks, so that just through another curveball into the equation. Thanks very much for your response.

We brought our lil dude home from Melbourne to Adelaide last week. We drove, didnt even consider flying him. He was very happy in the car, cuddled up and slept most of the way. Since then, we have found that when he gets restless in the car, that he prefers to sleep lying on our feet, and will settle immediately. We had planned to stop every 2 hours for toilet and water stops, but he slept for 5 hours, and even then we woke him for a stop. I have seen at the vets that about 1 in 4 dogs will get carsick, but perhaps if puppy is gonna get carsick, then he will get sick on the flight anyway, and maybe its better to have someone there to hold him and comfort him rather than be scared and alone in a crate somewhere. Im sure you new lil buddy will love being home with you either way once he (or she!!) gets there. All the best.

Cheers guys. Dont know where I heard he needed at least 2 vaccines to go to puppy school. HE s all up to date now anyway, so as soon as I get my new roser we can book him in. Cant wait. Poor little dude slept almost all day yesterday, think he wore himself out with all his socialising! Hope your Maltese is bringing you lots of joy Katie P

We just got our little man, a lil Staffy. He has only been with us 3 days, but we have visited all our family (and we have the last name Smith, so you can imagine how many that is!). So far, Blitz has encountered about 8 dogs, all of whom are very healthy, loved, vaccinated dogs. We felt it was more important to socialise him, and include him in our family. My vet recommendd having his vaccinations every 4 weeks, not every 2 as recommended by other vets. She said that was due to the low incidence in the area. Does anyone have any insight on this? I gather Blitz should have at least 1 vaccination, but preferably more, before going to puppy school. One school said he just needed to be at least 10 days post his first vaccine. Should we wait another 4 weeks to vaccinate him, and start puppy school then? Or should we go in 2 weeks for another needle, then take him? MY gut feeling is that we should get the next one in 2 weeks time. Any advice or insight would be appreciated. Its also been hard to get class starting dates during the festive season, as that may also influence our decision (dont want him to wait 8 weeks..). Cheers!