Roova

Oh my! That is a lot of deliciousness right there. Can you see your puppy in the mix?

Thanks guys. If I were to use this I would definitely be working on lots of positive association well before ever leaving the house then baby steps starting with quiet places leading to busier places. I would also work on hands and faces coming in to view while inside too. I was picturing sitting beside it once I reached a spot so I can be interacting with the puppy and treating when he wasn't on my lap or being held etc. I read on another thread holding your puppy while doing weeks of getting out and about could be detrimental too so its all a bit confusing how go about this the right way. Some questions this made me think of actually. How long do you generally stay at new places when you visit them with a young puppy? Only 5-10 minutes increasing as puppy gets older? Also if you want to give him the chance to toilet and you've been training on grass do you just try to find an area and hope to goodness its safe?

I was wondering how a bike stroller might work as a puppy socialisation tool for those weeks you're waiting on vaccinations to kick in and has anyone used one? Are there potential problems Im not seeing? The arm on the front can be removed if you don't want to pull it on your bike. I was thinking it could be handy to get pup out and about without having to hold them continually or have them on the ground (obviously tethered so they couldn't jump out). I like the fact it could be unzipped for a good view but if it were a people heavy place and you wanted less touchy feely from strangers it would be handy to zip up the front still allowing pup to see out. I was looking at baby prams but this would be a little less embarrassing pushing around I think :D

In a perfect world....yes, yes, yes :D In my world I really like a breeder two states away. She has a great website, which is how I've seen the parents and she's has done amazing work getting to where she is now. She's been around for many many years and Im totally trusting her in all aspects of the new puppy including making the right choice from the litter for me. Scary stuff but she knows way more than me so probably safer this way!

Gorgeous... I love your style!

Soooo cute! Love that second last photo, that is a basket of mischief waiting to happen lol

More reading and more questions now lol. I'm curious how to deal with treating a puppy using higher value food than kibble but still providing nutritious meals. If treats are to replace part of puppies meals and you're doing lots of tiny training events I would imagine little bellies could become full quickly? I've been dehydrating liver and heart which can be broken into pretty tiny pieces but I image I'll also use beef and chicken etc too. If I'm then stuffing kongs with kibble for during the day as a distraction\boredom buster when does puppy eat his 'main' meals, in this case barf? I could imagine a porky puppy before long lol.

I would call the police too. That is threatening inappropriate behaviour and it sounds like it could escalate to worse. He sounds like a horrible man with issues!

Great photos but I especially love the one of your dimpled son looking into the camera, very cute! What a great spot for walks and exploring with the forest, paths and the beach too. Lucky you :)

Thank you so much everyone! Your comments have really helped and I'm looked forward to watching the clips and looking up the trainers. Is it common nowadays to learn obedience through a club or do a lot of people teach themselves via online courses, websites or meeting up with smaller groups of like minded people to train together? I've read a few negatives about group training at clubs so don't want to start on the wrong foot. Also would clean run be a good place to start for puppy gear and training tools? Thanks again :)

If things work out, I’ll be a new puppy owner come this November. I’m sooo excited and nervous, its been a long time since I’ve had a baby to look after and a world of information has opened up since joining DOL a few years ago! I apologise for the length of this post, it’s a way for me to get my thoughts down and hopefully get different opinions on best approach to follow. (Also no-one else in my family gets why I would care so I’m bursting with the need to talk about it lol). I tend to research to the Nth degree and like other puppy owners probably freak myself out with too much information and worrying I’ll mess up. There is sooo much conflicting information to read through on DOL and the interwebs. Puppy will be a Border Terrier and my future intentions are for obedience and agility. Im not 100% sure at this point if puppy will be on mains\limited register so not sure if showing is an option. I’ve wanted a BT for years and have had my eye on a breeder over that time so fingers crossed there’s a puppy for me in her October litter. Also fingers crossed I don’t frighten her away with my questions! She is in another state so Im trusting the right puppy will be chosen to suit me and I can only hope she doesn’t mind me inputting what I would look for if I had access to the litter (based on 'The Focussed Puppy’). I currently have a very much loved Frenchie so Im hoping the energy level between the two isn’t too much of a problem! My main problem is choosing a training style. I haven't done obedience since I was 10 and it was very much a jerk to correct setup, and nor have I done agility before, so currently I only have online sources to learn from. I've found an obedience club which uses positive reinforcement so I might check them out one night to see what I think. I like Kikopups approach to training but have also read Leerburg and Ian Dunbar articles. Between them all, they seem sooo different! Leerburg and Dunbar are planets apart with one advocating puppy meets 100 people before a certain age and Leerburg advocating puppy should not be allowed to meet strangers and other dogs so they hold zero value to the dog. Leerburg also says his puppies are only ever trained outside the house and no toys are allowed inside. There is no interaction between puppies and other dogs (even family dogs) and family members don’t interact with other family members dogs. Is this approach for hard core trainers only? I would like to think agility and obedience (for us) will be for fun and for me to have a solid relationship with my dog. I'm curious training wise, what differences might show in a dog which has been socialised to people and other animals compared to one who has been trained to focus only on me? Another thing I’d love to know is what type of harness is recommended for a puppy as I want to avoid any chance of neck injuries etc I’m looking forward to any opinions on the above, or trainers\training styles to take a look at. It’s lovely having visions of puppies dancing through my mind now rather than normal day to day stuff lol. If you’ve read this far, thank you and hopefully I haven't rambled too much. :)

One thing, that's tough! I love how Maggie and I have a stand off just before we start playing. She looks just past me in to the distance and I look just past her. Then I creep forward really casually and we see who breaks first. It's generally her play bowing and then she zooms to her toy box to pick a toy to play with. Makes me laugh every time

Ahhh why is there no Costco near me?? That looks fabulous!

What a gorgeous old boy. Those eyes just melt my heart!

I think when we bring animals in to our life we are responsible for providing what they need to live an enriched life even if that doesn't suit what's easy for us. Even if your poultry might feed you at times all the more reason to give them a happy life while you can. There should be no reason the chooks can't have time outside their small cage while the dogs are inside or outside tied up, surely? If you do it half an hour before dusk they'll even take themselves to bed. The dogs will survive!

Growing up we had a few family members with Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. They seemed to cope really well with kids and other house hold pets and had such a gentle nature. Kids need training as well as the dogs to keep a happy medium of course. :)

What a wasted opportunity to remind the general public how important consistency and training your dog is. Rather than focus on what people shouldn't do, what they should do would be so much more useful!

I'm not sure this would be substantial enough but could you try some extra tall star pickets with chicken wire running around it? It would be cheap and you could get a decent sized yard out of it which might allow for a larger Kennel. It might be the angle in the photo but it doesn't look like your girl can stretch out on her side through the night if she didn't want to be curled up. Good luck finding a solution for your lovely girl :)

Cute pic! Love the different attitudes... 'I'll sleep if she's sleeping' and 'if I stare at her hard enough she might wake up' lol.

Poor girl Could you try her with a crate so you can put blankets over it to help keep warmth trapped inside?

This came up on my Facebook feed, my apologies if anyone else has posted it. It's quite funny and shows off some great training! I'm on my phone so can't work out how make a proper link sorry. http://vimeo.com/m/81905102

They are all SO good!!

He was a gorgeous looking pug and I'm so sorry your little mate is no longer in your life. Look after yourself at this sad time :-(

Done. You can have mine if I win too :D . It would be nice to give something back to you after enjoying your photos for so long!

Gorgeous! I particularly loved the one with the tiny spotty puppy curled on the mans neck, with the later picture showing him dwarfed with only his eyes showing :laugh: