Misteri

Steph M - congrats for surviving the torturous puppy wait! He's gorgeous :)

Don't stress too much about being under-prepared, the judges should be very forgiving of your baby puppy, especially if you let them know it's his first time :)

Now that it's officially winter I'm thinking of all you poor people still toilet training your baby puppies! I'm so glad I got Tango in nice, warm February :) I'm loving reading all your updates. Isn't the size and weight difference hilarious between the little babies and the not-so-little babies?

Aww Nixon is adorable! Glad to hear he is doing better now :)

You must be a tidy chef. Whenever I'm chopping or cooking anything, my dogs are at my feet staring at the floor, they know I'm likely to drop something! Tango is a very cautious puppy, he likes to sit back and observe, and think serious doggy thoughts. I wouldn't say that he's scared of much though, other than unknown dogs getting into his space too quickly.

Smashtank - you are so lucky to be working somewhere that you can bring your dog to the office! Dory - Sumo is just beautiful, and I love the name :)

Wow Koda is super cute!

Which one did you get? I've just ordered an OKS one. I decided I couldn't be bothered dismantling Tango's crate every time we go to a show, because it doubles as my bedside table, and I needed something to groom him on as well. Now I have 2-3 weeks to convince the husband that I absolutely needed it!

Another +1 for this. My puppy's first collar was a really skinny lightweight one, he'd scratch at it a little but didn't bother him too much. It's just a new sensation they have to get used to... like when you wear a new ring and it feels weird at first. Our first leash was quite lightweight too.

Yup, I think it's okay, but I would keep them in the house / backyard just in case :)

cnsunshine - thanks! We think he's absolutely stunning too. Justrace - Tango is a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever, or Toller for short. Re toilet training - Tango also just stands there and pees. I can only tell he's going because he stops and holds his tail very still... the rest of the time he is on the move and his tail is swishing constantly, or he's asleep. Re desexing - I think everyone has a different opinion. For both my dogs, the vet recommended doing it at 6 months. I think we got our older girl done around 5-6 months (small xbreed), and we are waiting until Tango is at least 12 months before he will be done because I want to wait until he's done growing, and I'm showing him in the meantime.

Aww so cute Moosepup! My dogs are too busy playing to snuggle each other. We are still using a puppy pen to separate them sometimes. My older dog is SO noisy when she plays, it's almost impossible to watch TV with them in the room playing. Sujo - Tango's birthday is December 20th, so he's one day younger than Flynn.

Jules - I think you're on the right track by distracting her. Here's Tango at one week shy of five months old. He is super leggy ATM! I am loving training my wonderful red boy, he's super smart and his focus on me is just superb. He's perfectly happy to ignore the other bouncy puppies in favour for working with me, which is great! We need to build his confidence around other dogs, but other than that he's is developing really nicely. Tango at 4 months 23 days by misteri82, on Flickr Tango at 4 months 23 days by misteri82, on Flickr

Hi Mel and welcome :) I'm currently taking my puppy to school at the RSPCA, and we are both enjoying it. The classes are an hour long, and the puppies need to have had at least one vaccination when they start. I think our class goes for 7 weeks with the first being a no dogs lecture, but I've lost track due to all the public holidays. They seem to run new classes quite often. With my older dog, I took her through class at our vet, and that was also good. It was run by a Delta certified instructor and included lots of info that's helpful for new puppy owners. The RSPCA class doesn't touch on that stuff much. There are also a few dog clubs to choose from in the ACT, but you may find the ages of the dogs in your class may vary. Also you might not get that useful first dog owner info there either. They are definitely cheaper than the vet or RSPCA classes, I'm not sure about all the clubs, but at our club you pay for a whole year of classes, so it's much better value.

Me too, but that innocent face usually comes about three seconds before the crazy I'm-going-to-bite-your-face face :)

And now for some Toller puppy pictures! Our baby boy Tango is doing wonderfully. He's very smart and is learning fast, hopefully the good things and not the bad! He's getting bigger every day and is so adorably out of proportion. He's still falling over himself all the time, especially when he's chasing his big sister around. HIs bladder can now make it through the night (hooray), though I think it's twenty times smaller during the day. We took him out yesterday for his first big outing, and he was lovely, quiet and calm, just happy to sit back and watch everything. I'm so proud of him already! _MG_1932 by misteri82, on Flickr _MG_2089 by misteri82, on Flickr _MG_2135 by misteri82, on Flickr _MG_2150 by misteri82, on Flickr

I took Tango outside this morning and I swear he has gotten taller already! I took him out at 3 hour intervals overnight and each time he peed really quickly. My other dog I had to take out on leash because she wanted to zoom around, but he just does his business where he's put and then follows me back into the house. I basically just have to put him down onto the grass and he just goes, it's kind of wonderful. Also because he is so quick, it kind of looks like he is doing it on command already, but I think it's just coincidence. He also settled back in his crate quicker than he did last night, he only cried for maybe a minute or two before settling down. We've already had some people over to meet him, and he has been displaying some beautiful manners. I'm so proud of my fluffball already :)

Kyky - he's super fluffy and incredibly soft! Poochmad - He has a teeny amount of white on his chest. The whole litter didn't have much white on them, mostly just on their toes and some tiny white tail tips. And not all Tollers have the scream. Jules - such a good feeling, I love it when the stars align and everything falls into place :)

*yawn* First night was not so bad. We didn't get home until about 11.30pm, so we let Tango explore a bit and introduced him to our other dog Chloe. He's sleeping in a wire crate at night, so I took him out to pee three times at two hour intervals, and all three times he went very quickly and without fuss (phew!). Each time he took about 5-10 minutes to settle back into the crate, and he is LOUD at 3:30am! He has come from a very big doggy household so it might take him a little bit to adjust to only having one other dog around. And here's a picture! _MG_1840 by misteri82, on Flickr

We are currently waiting at Perth airport for our flight back home. Tango is beautiful and fluffy and oh so adorable! I hope we have as smooth a first night as you did Sujo!

I wasn't sure before, but I now know it will be a boy. Our favourite name ATM is Tango :)

YAY!!! But first I have to get though a very slow work day *taps foot*

Those are great books, I hope you enjoy them :) Sujo - yay! One more sleep for me too, I'm heading off to Perth after work tomorrow night to meet and bring home my puppy :)

Sujo - a Toller :) Oneteaspoon - it's a hard decision. It sounds like having a new dog around would be good for both of you, but you probably shouldn't make the decision without your mum on board.

So excited that I can also now say it's puppy week :) I'll be meeting the litter on Thursday and bringing home my puppy on Friday. Sounds like you had an easy first night with Miah. We won't get our puppy home until 11pm so I'm expecting to have a very late and restless first night. Miah looks like a real sweetie, she will have you wrapped around her little paws in no time!