SupaDupa Mini Cooper

I have tried a search on here but couldn't find anything. We are going away for the weekend next month and need accommodation for our dog Cooper (Cavalier). Does anyone have any recommendations for somewhere West of Melbourne? In all reality he is happy to sleep all day so exercise is not too vital, just needs a warm comfy place to sleep :) Also, as we have never gone to a kennel before is there anything I should look for or ask in particular?

I am in Melbourne, not sure where you are located, but their head office (and presumably their factory) are located in Queensland. I would assume some transport costs may be the difference? I have no idea what the loyalty program is - care to share?

I've been feeding the Big Dog BARF patties for about 5 months. The pack is 3kgs of 12 frozen patties that come in 3 strips of 4 patties that I cut up individually before storing in my freezer to make it easier to just pull one out. Where I buy it from it is $23-24 for the box, and at 1/2 pattie per day (plus chicken wing) my cost is about $1 per day ($1.50 if you count the chicken wings). Obviously my dog is a LOT smaller than a great dane! But I don't consider it an expensive way to feed. We originally started on the Turkey variety, tried a Combo when they were out of stock of the Turkey, and are currently using a Chicken one... Cooper has loved them all!

I did try chicken necks first but I would hold one end (which is slippery and hard to grip) because the first time he had one he got 2/3 down his neck whole before I grabbed it and had to pull it back out! I found the shape of the neck is too easy to swallow whole. Somewhere in my reading I found that it is very rare that a dog of Cooper's size would be able to swallow a wing whole so to me that would not be a worry. He chomps and chews on the wing for a good 5 mins or so, so I know that it gets pretty broken down, even if the skin holds it all together still. Wings are my preference as opposed to necks simply because it takes him longer to eat and he gets more chewing action, but I know even if the neck is swallowed whole, the neck bones are pretty tiny and will pass through ok. Amongst my reading I read that when a dog is regularly fed raw meat their stomachs are able to dissolve the bone, so I wasn't too worried about him swallowing pieces because it will be dissolved before it enters the bowel. That said, I would never feed cooked bones - only raw (as in, I would not give him a cooked chicken wing) because they cannot dissolve cooked bones and I'm not willing to risk it. I also read that any non-weight bearing bone dissolves more easily in their stomach - so giving big bones are not that great (thighs, legs, etc), but necks, wings, lamb flaps, etc seems fine. There is a risk to feeding raw bones - a lot less than feeding cooked bones, and a debatable less risk than feeding a cooked diet of processed foods (more in health and longevity). At the end of the day, you have to be comfortable with the choice you make - if raw bones are too concerning then don't give them. The same goes for vaccinations, collars, housing conditions, etc.

Is it the ingredients or the way it is presented? Would he eat minced up meat (i.e. no effort to eat)? Cooper is our first dog and thanks to DOL I was able to learn about raw feeding. Whoever it was above that said that commercial foods are marketed to make you feel that you "have to have them or your dog will miss out" is totally right. When we swapped from a puppy kibble to adult kibble we tried a few different varieties and none seemed to appeal to him (sniff and walk away) or on the last food he got a very upset tummy and I couldn't think what else it could have been. It was at that point I decided to try chicken wings and he went nuts for them - which was a far cry from his fussy ways on dry foods. I wasn't confident that I would get the right balance to his food so I then started buying the BARF patties and he currently gets 2 chicken necks or a wing for brekky and half a BARF patty for dinner. He will occasionally get table scraps but not very often. I'm happy that it works out cost wise cheaper (or at worst when chicken isn't on special, roughly the same price) as feeding premium kibble. I also like the fact it is closer to a natural diet (less processed) and the main part is he is so happy at meal times. :) If/when I get adventurous enough may try making up my own BARF mix and freezing them.

It makes me sad that these sweet dogs get neglected (more in terms of training and attention) and when they don't turn out perfect they become a hassle and it's easy to get rid of them.

I have never owned a dog before Cooper, and prior to joining this forum I had never even heard of "crating". My understanding of suburban dog ownership was you either let them in the house or you didn't (i.e. backyard only). Getting our puppy, I think the crate was vital in training and avoiding accidents. At the start, Cooper was in the crate any time we were not home as well as when we were asleep... more than half of the time. As he grew and became toilet trained we slowly allowed him to be in one room when not home, to gradually the point where he has majority roam of the house when we are not home. He still sleeps every night in his crate (10hrs) which is conditioned, but we do not want him on our bed, and if he had free roam of the house he would scratch at our bedroom door - which we have tried and it is not what we want (yes, what we want). End of the day, he is a dog, not a human. He is not abused, he is cared for well (I'd go so far as to say he probably eats better than some humans) and he is safe. If I still could not trust him while I was not home (i.e. destructive) then he would be crated then too (as he was as a puppy). For me, I could not leave him outside as he frets and would bark/howl the whole time (I know because we tried on numerous occasions) and apart from causing him stress he would annoy the neighbours and the last thing I want is a baited dog. I only own one dog, if we had 2, a whole other set of circumstances would dictate what we did when not at home. I personally don't believe people lock their dogs away all day and night in crates because the vast majority of Jo-blow dog owners don't know about crates, and those who do would only do so because they feel that is the best for their circumstance. Basically, if you know what a crate is, you will likely know how you should use it in the best interest of the dog. As always there will be exceptions, but that is what I feel.

Has anyone tried Tea Tree Oil as a flea treatment? I use Advocate and have never had any issues, but when the kids get head lice from school (twice so far) I have used about 10 drops in a decent amount of conditioner, combed through with a lice comb and never had any issues. You do need to do it every second day or so over a 2 week period to get any newly hatched lice but it is chemical free (except for the conditioner itself)... I haven't done any research on it but wonder if it would work the same way with fleas?

If/when you figure this out, let me know :laugh: I feed Cooper his breaky of a chicken wing outside (fling it from the back door so he has to go find it) but as soon as it's finished (about 10 minutes max) he's back at the door scratching/howling to get back in. Toilet trips take about 1 minute and he's back at the door. For him to stay any length of time outside we have to be with him. It doesn't really bother me but we can't leave him outside if we go out or he howls until we get home (we went out and snuck back to listen). He has excellent toilet holding abilities and he has not had an accident inside while we have left him (we don't have a doggy door) and that has been up to 8-9 hours. You have to get him outside quick when you get home though or he will do an excited/busting pee on the floor Dasha is an absolute cutie

This might be a bit obvious, but doesn't the second point override the third? How can you breed before 5 years of age if they have to be MVD tested until 5 and be clear? I am not a breeder (only a first time dog owner) but is there a maximum age that a dog should have it's first litter by, and is there an age at which it is best to stop breeding at? For a dog, 5 years seems like a long time to wait to have a litter. Part of me wonders how much human intervention has affected certain breeds - in most species it is expected there will be genetic factors that will affect some of the offspring, call it 'natural selection' or genetics or mutations or whatever. Not all offspring will be healthy, live to an old age and be extremely fertile and produce vigorous offspring themselves. To expect perfection is not a reality. For breeders to expect perfection is not a reality. For buyers to expect perfection is not a reality. I know that there has been a lot of good done to eradicate nasty genetics but the fact is, there are genes present in any species or breed that could potentially mutate or recessive genes that may not be "shown" but are being passed on and will in the future generations be "shown" when 2 recessive parents are mated. The reason inbreeding creates problems is that it is more likely that recessive genes end up being "shown" and mated together and carried on to offspring (like the "royals" with haemophilia in times past). Unless you can map the 2 parent's genomes and know every single possible genetic outcome of breeding them you have to take what the luck of the draw is. Breeders can do their best to predict, but none can give any sort of guarantees. Personally, I used a number of website "what breed suits me" quizzes to make a short-list of possibilities from there I did some research and decided that despite a possible short lifespan (compared with other breeds) and possible illness, that the CKCS was indeed the "perfect" breed for us. I think you firstly need to decide the best breed for your circumstances and be prepared for what that breed may entail - health-wise or other, and if you aren't prepared for that then look at another breed.

I was just searching for this exact thing - we would like to include "speak" into the repertoir but Cooper doesn't bark a lot so getting him to bark to be able to reward is the problem. He barks if he hears the doorbell or he sees someone coming at the front of the house, or he does a half-woof (more like a huff) if there is a toy stuck somewhere he can't get to... I just don't want to create a barking problem! We'll try the deep huffy bark and see if we get a response but so far that just makes him rush to lick us.

She might, which is partly why I've asked people not to say things like this: Whippetsmum I have already asked twice that people keep it constructive, this is uncalled for and rude. Have some respect for both my requests and for the author of this survey I don't want to speak on behalf of the girl who wrote this, but I believe her survey is very much aimed at "average" dog owners who probably feed Pal and occasionally splash out on Supercoat. I apologise if she didn't cater for the 1% of dog owners who are more aware of canine dietry needs, but you are the minority so therefore I can understand why she would not include that option, for all I know she's unaware of raw feeding altogether. I posted it here with her permission as a favour so she could collect as many responses as possible, not so it could be pulled apart and mocked. As I have already asked, please keep it nice and/or constructive and if you can't fill it out then don't. It's very simple. It could be that she was not allowed to ask these sorts of questions under her ethics approval conditions. -- A couple of things I think it would be helpful to remember: - We don't know if this survey is the extent or even the main part of her study. It could be just an extra part of her work and her core conclusions are coming from elsewhere. - an Honours year is very much a TRAINING position. The students are generally 21 year-olds with NO research experience. The primary objective is to provide these students with experience in designing and running a small project, and if the results turn out to be something that is publishable that is just a bonus. If the research turn out to be flawed or inadequate, it won't make it out into the peer-reviewed literature anyway. - From what I've seen, many uni's are making students do more and more peripheral work in addition to their thesis (other essays, group projects etc.). It's a tough year. Suggesting helpful advice and constructive criticism is fair and hopefully will be received in the spirit it's intended, but let's cut the kid a break, huh? Thank you Weasels, so well said :) I've bolded it in the hope more people will read it and calm down. Ok, what I said was in no way nasty - I have done a B.Sci and I was not an honours student. All I was trying to say was that the questions of the survey do not match with the aim of the survey. How can you determine if the owner is fit and/or healthy if there are now questions related to that? "The aim of this study is to investigate how a dog’s weight is influenced by its owner’s physical and emotional health. It will include an analysis of how owners feed and manage the weights of their dogs, as well as an examination of how the pet-owner relationship determines the level of anthropomorphic feeding by the owner." And as far as not being allowed to ask - so it would be ok to ask the owners weight (which is considered one of the most personal questions you could ask), and how often they exercise their pet, but not how much they exercise themselves? Or any other reasons that their BMI is what it is? "Health" is reflected in more ways than the scales. I wish the person all the best but I doubt they will get any data to reflect their aim.

I'm not sure the research will give her much information about the link between overweight dogs and physical/emotional health of the owner - it only asked about the owners' height, weight and whether you think your pet decreases your stress. I would have thought the questioning about the owner would take up as much if not more of the questions than the 'dog' ones. I don't recall a question about how much the owner exercises, whether they have health issues, if they take medications, etc... Nevertheless, I did the questionnaire and just filled it in to the best of my ability (closest fit).

I agree - when I watched the first I felt sad, but the emotion came when seeing it again with a different visual. When they took the chain from his neck I started ... It might be cr@p food, but it's probably a heck of a lot better than the dog was being fed!

Not that I want to get into arguments, but yes it is called a chemical, but so is table salt and endless other foods and substances we use on or in our bodies. Being called a "chemical" does not make it harmful, it simply has a formula of the elements that make it up. Not all chemicals are bad.

Advocate kills fleas on contact with the skin without them having to bite the animal because the chemical is in the fat on the skin surface (how the spot on works) - therefore a preventative. Sentinel as far as I know needs the flea to bite first (the chemical being in the bloodstream). Worms definitely is a treatment, but if you can prevent the infection via fleas then I guess it is the same. This is what my research has led me to believe anyway.

I have wondered what the maximum time between doses is for the heartworm treatment to be effective in Advocate. I am currently treating monthly, but a friend of mine said she was told by a vet every 6 weeks is still ok. The reason we chose this treatment is that it covers all bases in one dose, although it is recommended to treat with a wormer (e.g Drontal) every 3 months as well because Advocate doesn't cover tapeworms (which is what I worry will be passed on to the kids or us). Fleas carry the intestinal worms, so preventing fleas prevents worms, and heartworm is carried by mozzies... I would prefer to prevent them all, but at the same time I don't want to overload his system or pay more than I have to.

Ok, it seems the consensus is frozen is ok. It must just seem weird to me I'll try giving the bones frozen and see how we go. Thanks for all the replies :)

I am not opposed to feeding raw bones but would never feed cooked bones. I have about 20 chicken necks and 10 smallish brisket bones sitting in the freezer but I often forget to defrost one in the morning and I'm unsure about microwaving them... so how do people serve bones that have been frozen? I worry that if it is microwaved to defrost it, it may make the bones brittle. Thanks in advance.

If they allow pets in the store I would expect that you would not be required to purchase everything your dog comes into contact with. Our local store allows pets, and allows you (or the staff) to try on harnesses, etc. I could understand if it became damaged because of being chewed but simply being picked up by the dog, I would refuse to pay. Why was it on the ground in the first place? Probably dropped by some other dog. Edit to add: As far as the saliva issue, how is it any different to a dog drinking out of a "communal" water bowl at a cafe/vet or even a puddle off the ground? I'm sure they lick much worst things...

Perhaps what we did was not "crate training" but we were very matter of fact when we bought Cooper home at 12 weeks. He slept in the crate at night right from the first day (we did let him out the first night half way through when he started howling, but when we took him to the backyard he didn't go, so we learnt that lesson), and has every night since (with the exception of 2 nights this last week when he had the Elizabethan collar on his head and he wouldn't have fitted in there very well). I did put a worn tshirt of mine into the crate with him for the first few nights so he had a "person" smell and to not feel too lonely. Every time we went out he was put in the crate - like it or not. He howled about it for the first week or so, but he learnt that howling didn't get him let out. After about a month, one night after taking him out for his last pit stop I said "time for bed" (the same I say every night) and he voluntarily walked into the crate and laid down. You could have knocked me over with a feather - until then we had to pick him up and place him in the crate. Now, each night when we say "time for bed" he will go to his crate. This to me indicates that he has learnt the association with sleeping at night and the crate. He will not voluntarily go into the crate in the day time (even if we say "time for bed") - he thinks that the couch is his bed... But we are still matter of fact about it, and he doesn't protest. Cooper is now almost too big for his crate, and we plan to set up the laundry as his den for night time and when we are out. He has been restricted to this room a few times when we have had to go out for the day - the first time being a week after we brought him home (bad timing). We had fully expected that he would need to toilet in this time, so we made a litter tray fake grass toilet spot for him in one corner but he didn't use it. As far as toileting, our floor are tiled so it wasn't a huge issue if he had an accident. We have the sliding door open enough for him to fit out, and after encouraging regularly in the first weeks, he now just goes outside himself. We do still have to make sure when we let him out of his crate that he goes straight outside otherwise he can get a bit too excited and we end up with a puddle but he seems to be learning that he needs to go straight out, and he will head straight for the door when he is let out. One thing we didn't do was put him in the crate when we were still home (except for nights), because he would have gone nuts to see us but not be able to be with us. Make crating what you want it to be and just stick to it. They soon learn the drill and you soon learn their patterns :) Wishing you all the best.

Thanks for the replies - I didn't think anyone was going to! I think I will work at desensitising him to the harness and lead - and continue to ignore his bad behaviour. Mostly I'm glad I'm not the only one that has had this happen :) At the moment he has access to the backyard any time when we are home, so I'll tell the kids if they are going outside and plan on running around they need to make sure the door is closed first with him inside.

My 6 month old Cavalier has a tendency to get excited - especially when we are going in the car - and tonight in particular, when I was trying to put his harness on he was snapping at me trying to bite my hand. I decided that I didn't want to encourage that behaviour so I put him in his crate and left without him (he is crated when we aren't home). If he does bite, it isn't a true bite but more of a grab (never leaves a mark). He also tends to get a bit snappy if the kids are running around the backyard - I think he gets too excited and wants to play. Any suggestions on how to discourage this behaviour and get him to settle? As soon as we get his harness or lead he goes nuts.

Cooper reacted to a dog on Funniest Home Videos the other night - it's the first time he has barked at the TV. Then the next clip was a cat and he had to bark at that too, then a bird... then we said enough! It was definitely the visual because there was voice-over on the clips, although it was totally my fault because when the dog came on I pointed his head towards the TV and I said "what's that?"... :laugh:

:laugh: I'm happy to admit I don't know a lot about dogs, but don't you love it when people become "experts" about something they know nothing about!