**Super_Dogs**

Thanks Megan - It was cleanrun.com. I just checked and this item is excluded from free shipping due to its weight - so I am guessing shipping would be pretty expensive. Does anyone know anywhere in Aus that sells bulk toy packs?

I was on a website recently and they where selling a bulk pack of dog toys (I think about 50) which was a mixture of rubber and plush toys. I did not note the site and now cannot remember where I saw it. Does anyone know where I can buy bulk dog toy packs? I have brought a pack from ebay which was great value however it was only plush toys and I like the idea of a mixture.

I have found it is very hard to stop a dog barking as this is what they do naturally! What I recommend is encouraging the dog to stop barking once they have alerted you to what is there. So it is OK for them to bark a couple of times to tell you, but not continue to bark. What I have found a succesful technique is when the dog starts barking use a word such as enough once they have barked a few times then encourage them to come to you and treat them. Eventually you will not need to encourage them, they will bark then come to you hence stopping barking. Hope this helps.

As others have said you can go forever. However if this is not possible the min I recommend is weekly until your dog is 12 months old. Alot of people only go to puppy school or basic obedience but I personally do not think this is enough.

I know how you feel - I have several chewers. Very frustrating!!!! My advice is ensure your dog has lots of toys and things they can chew. But most importantly everything else needs to be away or out of reach. For the things you cannot put away like outdoor furniture I used the spray you can buy which has a bad smell to keep them away (sorry can't remember the same) - I only had to use this for a short while to stop this problem. At our place if you leave something out with the dogs while we are not home you can guaratee it will be chewed.

I have an inground pool and in summer I leave the pool fence open so my dogs can go for a dip. Not all of them like the water though. One of my girls goes for a dip in summer about 5 times a day. She loves it. Someones she goes for paddle about a meter or 2 from the step but most times she just stands on the step. However I only do this when the dog is grown (not when a pup) and before I do this I spend time in the pool with my dog so they know how they can and cannot get out. You can get little ramps for small dogs that would struggle with the steps.

My box was 1800 x 1200. I got a vet bed to cover the whole floor. When the pups where more mobile I opened on side of the whelping box and used puppy pen to create a larger area. As the pups got bigger so did the area. It ended up being almost half the room!!

I got 3 pieces to rotate in the box. This way I awlays had a clean dry bed on hand. You will get good use out of them when the pups leave. I used one to cut on into small beds to give to the puppy buyers so the pups had something familar in their new home. The second I have cut up and use in my crates. The last one is still whole and I will use it next time.

I also got mine from Peperone and also got the green back. My whelping box has no floor. I brough some cheap lino from bunnings, then would put a layer of newspaper down under the vetbed I brough several vet beds so I could rotate them. I have cut up one of my pieces from the whelping box and use it in my dog crates.

I have a Rotty which frequently talks back to me. I think for some people this must sound mad.......but if you saw if you would agree they are talking back!! If she does not want to go outside and I tell her to she tells me about it while she is heading out the door!! She is a very very stong willed girl and we have had to be very firm with her. She is now 8 and unfortunetly she has still not grown out of this. My best stragety is BRIBES!!!! When she goes out to bed at night she get a treat. So as soon as you say bedtime she runs outside waiting her her treat. If there was no treat she would resist and tell me about it!!

Check out the time of this post!!

I looked at some studies on EIC with Labs and I was really surprised how such a small ammount within the samples where clear.

I have used Dogwatch with great success. I went through a company that had a money back guarantee and when we intially had some problems they came out and provided solutions and fixed the problems However if is only on part of your fence, I would just fix this area. Good invisible fences are not cheap. For us we had too much fence to replace to solve the problem so the invisible fencing was the cheaper option.

No true at all. Most don't offer lifetime coverage for an illness, but PetPlan does. Some have breed and age specific clauses. Many people here have had issues with some of the cheaper companies when it came to making a claim. Self insurance is great if your dog doesn't have problems for the first 5 years... This "lifetime cover" is a bit deceiving. With PetPlan when your dog gets a certain age (different age for different breeds) you cover reduces to 60 or 80% (can't remember which one).

I agree with this. I definetly worry about them less when they are at the kennel.

Medibank does not seem to have gone up for existing plans (I should not say that becasue it will now). I insured 3 of my dogs when their cover first came out a few years back and I pay approx $85 a month for all 3 for 100% cover minus excess. However it has gone up for new policies. This year I added my fouth dog and just for her is $35 and only 80% cover. They no longer offer 100%. The only one I have found that covers 100% is Pet Plan.

We go overseas every year.......so my lot head off to a kennel. They love it!! I have found a really good one and I feel very comfortable leaving them. My lot go once or twice a year - so they are use to it! When I had 2 dogs and we would only go away for a short time we would get someone to house sit. But now I have 4 dogs I would not even ask as it is too much to expect from someone.

This makes perfect sense!!! This was my understanding (it did not make sense to me to elimiate all carriers) but DNA testing is new to me, so thanks so much for the clarification. Thank you everyone for your replies!!

I too would not want to breed if there was any changes of the puppies having problems. However, is a carrier considered a genetic fault considering they do not have the disease? I read something that said that DNA tests were never meant to be used to eliminate carriers of autosomal recessive conditons. They were meant to assist in breeding dogs that are not affected and therefore enable carriers to be safely used in a breeding program. FYI - for my breed there disease tested for are not csonider miderate and low severity.

I am in the process of DNA testing a couple of my dogs so it has got me thinking about breeding with carriers. Would you use a carrier for breeding? I can understand why some people say to only breed with clear, but being that a carrier does not exhibit disease symptoms as long as the carrier is breed with a clear there is not risk of any puppies being affected. So isn't this OK? With the increasing number of breeders DNA testing, for diseases not required by ANKC, aren’t we going to see more and more carriers? So it begs the question, is the aim of DNA testing to remove all carriers from the breed? Or is it to ensure there are no affected dogs? If we try to eliminate the disease all together won't this significant reduce the lines available? Look forward to your thoughts.

Good idea!! I have plenty of stuff like this hanging around the house. I am not very creative........i just have to copy other people ideas.

I have a walker!! In agility I have to always ensure we have a straight on run up and I have to rev her up as we approach them. I like the jump idea, but I dont have a broad jump to practice at home.

I agree with this. At the end of the day the breeder has no obligation to take them back. Also I think the breeder may be alittle confused as to why you are calling when you friend has already spoken to then so probably best to take your friends word for it.

You do not need to use Frontline as well as Sentinal Spectrum. If you want to use Frontline get Sentinal Inteceptor which does not include flea treatment. However personally I would go with Sential Spectrum. I have been using Sentinal Spectrum now for many years and we never have fleas! Remember though Sentinal Spectrum does not kill adult fleas, it stops the lifecycle. So if your dogs are with other dogs and a flea jumps on them it will not kill this. I always keep capstar on hand, which kills adult fleas (in about 1 hour I think) just in case we have any tag alongs. I very rarely have to use this though. The makers of Sential make capstar and you can also get a version made by exelpet from the supermarket. Every year Sential bring out a summer pack with free capstar - so look out for this!! Also - if you are going to go with Sentinal Inteceptor and so a seperate flea treatment I would recommend Comfortis over Frontline.

I also wonder this. At training there is a particialr dog my girl does not like. She has no problems with the other dogs at class that are this breed - it is just this one dog. Nothing has evern happened between them, but I am pretty sure when we first started this dog barked at my dog.........so it seem my girl has never forgotten this. So I suppose this is just like humans, if you meet someone as they are rude to you, you probably will never like them!