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So Nala poo is 13 weeks old tomorrow, and she is so big and lanky! She is definitely not a little puppy any more, but still little enough to pick up and cuddle :) She's got the whole toileting thing down pat, we don't even put pee pads down anymore, we just make sure we get up at 7am ish to open the door for her. If we wake up in the middle of the night too, we take her out, that gives us a bit of leeway with a sleep in! We've got one month until our first show, and I am SO excited, I really can't wait. Mainly because it's a 4 day show IN MY HOME TOWN and I don't have to travel!!!!! and also because I can't wait to show her off! I'm trying to get my boss to come along (work has been approached by the clubs and asked to help out so really she should come and also be my cheer squad!) I love showing so much, not so much because i'm competitive but I love seeing ALL the different breeds. Anyway, here are some pics of my girl, off the point and shoot camera so not as nice as our usual pics, they come tomorrow! Nala's first xmas present, her Simba pillow pet Stacking this afternoon, very lanky girl!

We need some newbies in the class...just waiting to get enough numbers to start a new beginners class :) Oh might contact the club then and let them know of my interest! Have taken the first step and contacted the club to enroll Cleo in the agility and Nala in the puppy class to me who is usually hopeless with doing these things in a timely fashion.

Agree with what Sheena is saying, do you know how much is being fed? If the kilojoules going in are not being burnt off, then they are going to start increasing the dogs weight - no matter if it's a light food or not. Light foods are good if they contain L-carnitine for example, which helps to burn fat. They usually also give the dog the "full" sensation with less kilojoules actually going in. I know Eukanuba's light are actually hollow bikkies, to trick the dog's mind. You could always suggest a pre-made BARF diet? I know Dr B's do a lite formula, and Big Dog have a wellbeing flavor which is great for weight loss.

Sounds very interesting! I'll have a look at that showdog, thanks.

I did see that one, held in Londonderry I think? I'll keep it in mind, Sydney is 6 hours away from where I am, so might have to leave that one for a while :)

Nala is 12 weeks today! She had a big play with Cleo today, and I took some pics

There is also Vetbasix Sunscreen, should be sold in most pet stores (my one does). I've used it on my dally's nose, it's quite thick so it won't come off by itself, but not so thick it can't be removed. It's also got bitterant so dogs don't want to lick it off.

Thanks Ams, really appreciate that link. I really want to study something, even though I had such a negative experience this year. Something like this might be great, even if I don't end up where I sort of hoped, I can still impart my knowledge to others through my job (working in a pet store you're expected to know everything!) At this stage, I'll say that my dream is a little bit more in the "unattainable" basket but I'm cool with that as my real dream is breeding my Dalmatians and that IS happening and a bit less expensive lol.

No official qualifications...I was doing a marine mammal traineeship but because my school in yr 12 was difficult, I've got nothing to show for it. But that course sounds like a good start, even if I don't continue on with this dream, I'm hoping to be trained to run my own puppy pre school next year and I want to have as much knowledge behind me as possible. I'd love to do a physio course but the subjects within that uni course include chemistry and biology, which I had to do as part of my uni course earlier this year and which triggered so much stress I had a bit of an anxiety attack. I can't put myself through that again. And yes I know those treadmills are scary expensive! It's another item on my own personal want list, having dallies + a bad back means Im not always in the best condition to walks kms and kms, but a treadmill and pool would be perfect. I think i'll have to win the lottery :)

For several months now, I've had an idea/dream of starting my own little hydrotherapy centre in my town. It's not something I'm super set on doing, it's something i'm just trying to gauge whether it's even a viable idea or not. I know how good hydrotherapy is, I wish we had facilities now for our old lab who loves swimming and with her arthritis, it's the only real exercise she can get without pulling up lame the next day. I also like the idea of wearing my dogs out with a good swim, rather than running them all the time. We have rivers, creek and beaches around but sometimes you just want a pool, heating, no sand, or the tides are wrong etc. But, obviously I can't just open a pool or two and invite dogs in. I need qualifications at least, or hire someone else who does - but I would like to be hands on. I found a few courses, but i'd be interested in hearing the DOL opinion on what direction is appropriate. I'm more just interested in hydrotherapy at this stage, just swimming or walking on treadmills underwater. As I said, just trying to "test the waters" ( ) of this idea, if not I'll just make sure when we buy our house that it has a pool, or room for one so my own doggies can have fun.

I'd be considering Holistic Select Large/Giant breed puppy formula. There are plenty of premium large breed formulas, but this would be one of the best.

My two do it :) Cleo will just lie there with her whole mouth over Nala's head, not biting just enveloping. I love how she lies down to play the game, like "you're so little, I have to lie down to play with you"

We've walked Cleo past a cemetery with no reaction, actually I think we took her in as I wanted to visit my Fardie (means grandfather) as he's buried close to the entrance. But - this is the historical cemetery and there are very few new burials. I would think there would be much more sensory overload at a newer one. Plus I think dogs pick up on stuff we can't see but that's another story.

We need some newbies in the class...just waiting to get enough numbers to start a new beginners class :) Oh might contact the club then and let them know of my interest!

Our old lab does this, we know in her case it's arthritis/hips/knees/wrists as she's nearly 13 but maybe a consideration? Could be joints - my whole back/hips/walking patterns are screwed because of a back problem and then overcompensation without realizing, I suppose a dog could do the same.

I'm hoping 2014 is our year! Cleo (Edinglen New Sensation) I really want some titles before and after her name! -Do the endurance test (note: buy a bike that WON'T break after 3 rides) -Join the agility club and get started with that -Finish off her neuter title (6/100 points) Nala (Neilros Jaznala) -do the puppy class with the obedience club -get some points in the show ring! (wont happen until April when she's 6 months old boo) -have a ton of fun with my gorgeous baby!

Today I discovered that Nala much prefers her clam shell dry and upside down. It's her very own pride rock (any Lion King fans here? lol). She stands on it and watches the goings on of the world, pounces on it, plays on it. Glad we're not super hot here yet...only a matter of time I suppose.

I would think that if there is a fair amount of bush/foliage around, and native animals such as bandicoots, roos, koalas etc then there is a high probability. My parent's dog picked two up recently on a headland, very minimal amount of scrub, no trees and obviously battered by the weather but there they are. Another bad spot in my particular region is the scrub behind the beach that you have to walk through to get to the beach. Hence, it's not always the obvious bushy places that ticks live in and I would cover for ticks if I lived on the east coast of NSW/QLD regardless of city living or not.

Oh dear...Nala figured out the Kong Wobbler after 1 day. I fear I have a smart cookie on my hands and that she is going to drive me nuts with her intelligence lol. As far as other puzzles go, the Purina Pet Life Play Systems range (designed by Nina Ottoson) are great, I have the UFO looking one and the maze - which is great to use as a "go slow" bowl!

Awesome, thank you! I remember with Cleo in her later fear period, we walked past a chair on the beach, just your ordinary green plastic chair but she was SO scared of it! And further up on the walk, it was a postal basket on wheels, she did NOT want to walk past it! I think Nala will be more laid back anyway, but I also think I know how to deal with it better to (make it positive).

Gorgeous boy :) I've never had a boy so can't help with that, but I took Nala to the vet the day after we picked her up. It was just a general check up, obviously it was the first time i'd seen her (i.e breeder not local, like in your case) and I wanted my own vet to check over her. They checked heart, joint movement, bite and temperature, just peace of mind. My breeder has a thing too that if you visit the vet in the first 3 days and find a problem, you can refund or something. If i'd not taken her then, it would have been today, 3 weeks later that my first vet visit would have been scheduled (for her 2nd vac)

This thread comes at a time when I'm considering insuring Cleo, after our adventures this year. I insured my puppy with PetPlan after all that I read on here but I'm having trouble deciding if I should do Cleo as well...she's had hayfever type allergies (skin flare up + eye gunk) and this year was the year of the bladder stones. Bladder stones are going to be the biggest thing in our future, but I don't know if they would cover her for that - because Dalmatians are prone to them anyway as a breed, and now we have evidence of Cleo having them. I think I'll email them and ask, and pop back in here with an answer so others can take it on board.

Maybe try some Capstar tablets? Will probably be more effective than a shampoo treatment as it's in the blood stream then for 24 hours, rather than on the skin for a few minutes. Up here, 6 tablets costs about $27 (each tab lasting 24 hours per dog) if you're more metro it may be cheaper (we're regional) Also, don't know if you've ever considered Comfortis as a flea treatment? I don't use it as I need the tick prevention more than flea, but it's a tablet (so can't be washed off) and from all the feedback I've heard, it kicks flea butt. Some people do report a reaction, but you get that with every treatment and it's a matter of supervising etc.

So did you wash them and re apply flea preventative in the same 24 hours? If yes (as seems from your post) it won't be as effective as it could be. You should always wait 24 hours either side of bathing/swimming for the best protection - as the flea preventative (if it's frontline or advantix/advantage etc) goes into the oils of the skin. They also need to be completely 100% dry, and it's easiest to just wait a whole day to achieve this. Also - the flea eggs/larvae/population that isn't on the dog is the biggest issue. Flea bombs may help, but you'll need to be on top of the preventative to make sure they don't get a chance to come back. Depends on what product you're using though...eg Advantix is an adulticide only, Frontline Plus claims to kill all life stages as does Revolution and something like Sentinel that does your worming as well is a flea "birth control" as I say, rendering all adults infertile - stopping the life cycle. For relief you could try Aloveen conditioner, or a Calendula tea rinse (if you do a search, there should be more threads on that topic) good luck.

Thank you! Awesome video, gave me some ideas for Nala. Having her at work means she's met well over 100 people, but i'd like to introduce her to different situations as well, but work + beach + vets are the only places she's really been due to not having her vaccs finished. Today she had her 2nd and final vacc (didn't realize the vet gave her the Novibac until AFTER she'd been injected. Thought they'd ask at least!) so we can get out and about properly in a week and a half. Might take her to the sunday markets, a park etc. I don't have a horse to introduce her to though lol (wish I did, dallies are perfect horse dogs) By then she'll be in her fear period though...did Envy get out and about the whole time?