suziwong66

we're getting a c4 and have decided to do this as Wilbur will be flying and may be exposed to unknown variables. Since para influenza is highly contagious i wanted to give Wilbur as much immunity as possible. If possible i would have preferred the c5 but our breeders vet doesn't give it to puppies of 8 weeks. I could well just be an over-cautious worry-wart; it wouldn't be the first time :D

welllllllll???? where are the pictures???? ;) awwww good lord...far too cute!!! totally irresistable

welllllllll???? where are the pictures???? ;)

Gorgeous! You must be super dooper excited now! good lord i think i just had an overdose of 'gorgeous puppy' LOL he's beautiful and Chester is a fabulous name!

I totally get you! Our family fav breed is labradors and yes they do have their health issues that one needs to be aware of. We recently went through what you are currently experiencing. In June, (on DOL) we carefully looked at breeders' dam & sire hip & elbow scores along with eye issues etc. My way of navigation regarding finding the right puppy was that health scores would guide us first and we would go interstate if necessary. We didn't see Wilbur before deciding on purchasing him. We had a short list of breeders that had or were about to have litters. I spoke to them on the phone to get a 'feel' for their beliefs and values and their ability to develop a positive relationship with me and the way they raised litters etc. With health of the sire and dam being my first criteria, one of the next was the ability of the breeder to build a positive relationship with me. While it's not on some people's list it is on mine. I want a positive ongoing relationship with the breeder; i believe that it is in the best interest of the puppy for me to be able to communicate with the breeder if i have questions etc and if a breeder does not have the welfare of the puppy as their priority then it's a no go for me. Additionally, if a breeder is not respectful in communication I don't take it any further; i strike them off my list. One breeder that i spoke to on the phone illustrated to me that they did not always conduct themselves in a respectful manner when they told me of an interaction they had with someone else. I didn't put my name on their list. When i spoke to our breeder she was a lovely warm woman who communicated in a really respectful manner; I really warmed to her. Her dogs met my health score criteria. She had a great reverence for her dogs and had successfully bred other litters previously. Her references were outstanding and focused on not only the quality of the puppies but the breeders ability to develop great relationships with buyers. I put our name down on her list and only her list, even though I knew we may not get the male puppy we were looking for. I felt it was worth it to put my name down and see what happened. Luck was on our side; Wilbur was the only male in the litter and the breeder must have felt we were the right family for him as she emailed us at 3:45 am on the night the puppies were born telling us that our baby boy had been born. So, we will not see Wilbur before he flies to come to live with us permanently. I have faith in our breeder that he will be a lovely puppy...in fact she sends us frequent updates and pictures of Wilbur and his sisters, mum and the other dogs in the family. I have seen many video's of another dog that our breeder bred last year and the pup is just lovely. If i had not had this strong sense of positivity regarding our breeder i would never have accepted a puppy sight un-seen; i would have inspected the litter. This breeder has made us feel included in Wilbur's life right from the beginning and i appreciate that so much. She has been more than happy to organise Wilbur's transport home to us; i would have happily done it myself but didn't need to (and am very grateful). For a small fee she is driving a significant distance to take Wilbur to the airport on the day of his flight; which makes me feel really calm because i know he's in good hands. When i asked if she could organise Wilbur's vaccinations to be above the normal c3 range, she was more than willing to do this for us. I don't care if i have to pay more, Wilbur's physical and emotional well-being is my first concern and the breeder shares this concern with us. I would have loved to have the time to travel to see Wilbur and his litter mates prior to him coming to us; just for the sheer joy of seeing them, but this has not been possible. I have every confidence that Wilbur is the right puppy for us and we have chosen the right breeder for us. Additionally i am a strong advocate in environment being the major shaper of a dogs personality. While some parts of character are innate i believe that these are influenced positively or negatively by the environment in which they are raised. i know Wilbur is in a fabulous environment during his early development; his breeder sends us lots of pictures and updates on their wellbeing etc and I know that his adult life with us will be fabulous as well. Our two previous family dogs have lived to ripe old ages and were well behaved and deeply adored members of our family. Both were active, well behaved, loving and happy family members....so i know we raise great dogs. I hope our recent experience helps you decide what is best for you. Good luck

We use the vet clinic on Prospect Road, Prospect and have done so since Dec 2004 when we arrived in Adelaide. They were beyond exceptional when we had Casper pts in May. Their sensitivity made the awful task not as bad as it could have been and i will be eternally grateful to them for their sensitivity.

Casper (our recently dearly departed 14 yo yellow lab) nudged his whole life....for some loving, food, attention or just because. He'd nudge legs, under arms, necks...no body part was safe :D I really miss the nudging

New pics of Wilbur and the girls. First time outside today (it's darn cold in Ballarat) two weeks and two days ETA: 3:30pm. ETPU: 4:00pm

awww she's gorgeous! i've got 2 weeks and 2 days to go :rolleyes: it's been an impatient wait for us as we contacted the breeder prior to birth....not long for either of us now though

Your first puppy!? How exciting ...but then it doesn't seem to matter how many pups you've had in the past, a new four legged family member is still exciting. We're about to pick up our 3rd pup in 24 years...the afternoon of the 12th cannot come quick enough for me, MrSW66 and Miss18. MrSW66 has become so puppy minded he said he wanted another yellow lab in 12-24 months time ; i nearly fell off my seat Even after mentioning to him we'd need a much larger car for two dogs didn't even dampen his enthusiasm

what a lovely tribute; so very sorry for your loss. Vale Cordelia

what a beautiful story of love and devotion. So sorry for your loss.

so sorry for your loss...Jasper sounded like a gem of a family member

yes, i got the email this morning, but as yet am hanging off. my guess is that they'll keep offering the cheaper price occasionally; after all i'm guessing a lot of ppl don't have $400 to bandy around at the drop of a hat. Quite frankly i've not heard enough positive responses to part with $200 (call me a tight arse if you must, but i'm not so quick to hand it over )

A good educator will use the material as a teaching aide to instigate informed debate on the validity of the message in the leaflet; a methodology called 'community of inquiry' is a great way to do this. Additionally, no school, neither State nor Independent is free from propaganda. A prime example is the 'Australian Values' leaflet that was released to State schools nationally a number of years ago by the then Howard Government. A great deal of debate in many classrooms came from the leaflet with students being asked such questions as: "What makes these values Australian?"; "Do these so called Australian values include all Australians or just some?"; "Who is included and who in excluded in these values?"; "Do these values represent your family?" and; "Do these values represent everyone you know?" etc etc. I have no problem with my children being exposed to propaganda but only as long as they are taught the higher order thinking skills that develop such aspects like critical analysis. I want my children to think for themselves based on informed factual opinion; not ignorant biased opinion.

Thats not the same thing the kids are encouraged to write letter to outline their support or opposition - that encourages debate and research and objectivity what we are talking about inthe news release isnt the same. Thank you Steve, you are entirely correct. As a primary/ jnr primary educator i can say we do indeed try to teach using methodologies that encourage students to develop the higher order thinking skills that allow students to research, compare and analyse data from an objective stance. Yes, we will question their beliefs and ask them to rationally justify them so they develop logical thinking. We want thinkers and 'do-ers' in society and we teach using methodologies that encourage and develop these qualities. We do not encourage students to be apathetic to the issues of their local, national and global communities. This is a prime example of the importance of ethics education and philosophy education for kids in schools.... factually correct informed debate is GOOD for children so they can develop their higher order thinking skills and learn to be active members of their community and stand up for what they think is right. When we teach higher order thinking skills like critical thinking, we give students the skills to question propoganda and not apathetically accept the subjective position that is implied in the message. They learn for themselves what is right and true for them; based on informed fact that is discovered through investigative learning.

He's coming from Ballarat. Enjoy Sunday, it'll be delightful :D

New pix of Wilbur and his sisters. a close up of a pensive looking Wilbur and the girls 37 days old today. 2 weeks and 5 days till homecoming.

Delivery is same no matter as all books sent fom Uk warehouse, prices seem to be nearly the same as well And another thumbs down here for fishpond,awful delivery time and had to keep following up Does the UK site charge in pounds or USD? i'm curious to know if having the AUD so high against the Greenback works in my favour by using the US site. If you go to booko.com.au and search for the title of your book, it will convert the currency for you and you will be able to see which one ends up cheaper. I find sometimes the US one cheaper and sometimes the UK one cheaper, so this is why there's a search engine available to compare all the options available. thanks for that comparative resource; i hadn't come across it before....Although my bank balance may not be as healthy now

Delivery is same no matter as all books sent fom Uk warehouse, prices seem to be nearly the same as well And another thumbs down here for fishpond,awful delivery time and had to keep following up Does the UK site charge in pounds or USD? i'm curious to know if having the AUD so high against the Greenback works in my favour by using the US site.

I use both the book depository and Fishpond and have been doing so for the past 4 years. in other times, Fishpond only had free shipping with orders over $50. I've never had any issues with either suppliers...although the book depository did send me a crochet book that i hadn't ordered; the book that was supposed to come, had already arrived! I still use both suppliers and my order depends on which can supply the cheapest price. I tend to use the American book depository rather than the UK one though. I always use PayPal for all my online shopping where it's available.

Good idea! Yoink! May be doing it the way you are When you say Wilbur will be crated at night does this mean using the crate like a bed? or containment? (fully closed it so they cant escape?) When you first get them, how many times should you take them out a night to do wees and such? I suppose they will let you know when they need to go out at night? So many questions Just curious because I've only heard of crates on this site and after some further research I plan to buy one for Zeus. As we have a 5year old (very loud and very in your face) daughter. I feel like the crate will be a good idea for when our puppy needs some time out from her. She can get so full on when she's excited. I don't want Zeus to feel like he can't escape her terror Yes, Wilbur will be crated next to my bed so that he is contained in a safe environment near to me- the crate will be his bed in my bedroom and i'll move it to the kitchen during the day. Yes, the wire crate door will be closed during the night. I will be setting my alarm hourly at the beginning for wee breaks and if there are no mistakes i'll be extending the time between waking; perhaps 1 1/2 hours...when there are no mistakes between 1 1/2 hourly breaks i'll extend to two hours. Mostly i'll be following his lead in terms of no mistakes. Initially, Wilbur will be crated in his travel crate and as soon as he grows out of it he'll be crated in a 42" two door wire crate on lockable wheels from vebo pets. Since i'd like to do obedience with him and take us on holidays i figure crate training will be necessary for pet friendly accommodation. hope this helps

*sigh* me toooooo

oh yes dslr are very addictive...in no time at all you'll be looking at extra lenses I have a wishlist for a macro lense and a long range zoom...cant afford either just yet

NO you didn't do it wrong previously...i didn't crate either of my last two boys but we did pay for it with our lab Casper; he made a mess of the door frame in the bathroom when locked in there when i had to pop out. This time with another lab coming in 3 weeks we will be crating; i don't want the destruction again. No it won't be a problem if you change your mind down the track; nothing is set in stone and dogs are pretty flexible imo. You can still have a designated bed in the lounge etc and crate too; there are lots of variations that can work for you. With Wilbur we'll be crating him at night (at first in our bedroom and then later when he's settled, he'll be in the kitchen) and when we're out during the day as he'll be inside the first few months. He will also have a bed in the lounge room but only allowed to sleep there in the evenings when we're all watching tv. It's not mandatory to crate your dog; you do what suits you. Many don't. as i said previously i haven't in the past, but will be doing this time round. hope this helps