Podengo

Have not had a full day of rain yet to try! I hope not! It has rained overnight, but she was in bed and didn't need to get up, no problems going on the wet lawn.

Long line! My puppy has been out on the long line from the second I have been taking her out. I avoid calling her when she is too distracted to listen right away, so have not had to haul her in on it yet, but it's nice having that safety measure in place.

Propalin worked well for our bitch. I've heard cutting wheat from the diet can be good too.

Wow, I've only seen 1 or 2 Ibizans in NZ. Some very unusual breeds end up bring crossbred here as pig dogs too though (unusual for NZ at least), things like Thai Ridgebacks and Catahoulas... Not seen any sighthounds except for Whippets and Greyhounds so far.

Anything! The dogs loving picking fruit off trees in the orchard

Hmmm maybe an excuse to buy an E-reader :D

Thanks! Still can't decide if I want to subscribe yet... I would prefer the hard copy... I love owning magazines!

Libby and her possum :D

:laugh: Sign me up for this one please!!!

Went into Animates (our large chain pet store) last year and a staff member was doing the hard sell on a suburban family with two young children, puppy in question was a 15 week old Huntaway x Border Collie sigh...

I carried my puppy in because she was light enough and I didn't want her to pee on the floor :p

I think option 2 is best, leave the friend some DVDs and snacks too as thanks :)

Yep they respond to their nicknames Lottie - Spotty, Grotty, Lolol Libby - Tippy, The Model, Elsie - Smellsie, The Rat

Elsie is currently crated while I am out, as I am too scared to leave her in the back yard. In the next couple of days I will start leaving her out for small periods of time in the laundry behind a baby gate to see how she copes, and she will hopefully be left loose in the laundry by mid next month when I am at uni.

There was a Basenji breeder at my agility club quite a few years ago, very entertaining to watch those dogs doing agility... So much attitude! In the best way of course!

My little sister's dog was bred as a pig hunting dog from a long line of piggers, but she is the most gentle dog I have ever met and has NO prey drive what so ever. She is constantly "adopting" little animals (numerous baby birds, lambs, a baby possum, pet rats and rabbits), despite being spayed, and keeps them safe from the Doberman that wants to eat them. My family keeps pigs as meat animals, and Libby will go into the paddock with them and lick their faces very gently and cuddle with the baby pigs. She is a Ridgeback x Staffy x Lab x Boxer.

I use drop for all of my dogs simply because everyone I know will say "DOWN!!!" if the dog jumps on them, or on the furniture... So I don't want them ignoring the command to lie down.

Do the people that comment on these sorts of articles really think that if pitbulls suddenly vanished into thin air, there would be no more dog bites?!

Some dogs would just get too tired if they were out with their owners all day watching agility, at least if they are in their crate you know they are safe and have the opportunity to rest (and won't remodel your car). Tethering is not really an option, many clubs here don't allow you to tether your dog as it's a safety hazard.

I have a 13 week puppy, our training so far... - Crate games - Recall games (SG recallers stuff) - Collar grab game - Lots of playing tug, with all different toys in all different places with distractions. - Go to your mat and stay there - Sit, down, stand, nose target, wait - Rollover, beg, shake hands, spin left & right - 101 things with a box - Wobble board - Loose lead walking - Toilet training of course! Going on command.

DPCA- What is an albino Doberman? Albinism Science

And how could I forget Libby

Some baby giants Elsie Lottie

Got our toys yesterday! They are all a big hit! We have a flirt pole with a spare squirrel, a busy buddy ball, 2 bad cuz balls, a tons of squeakers stuffy and 2 tug toys. She loves them all! Yay!

I second the recommendation for getting some dog experience under your belt before going after a dog walking job. A good place to start is volunteering at a shelter, or getting some part-time work at a boarding kennels. I worked in a kennels for 6 years, and we were always glad to have extra staff on the weekend to help exercise dogs.