WeimMe

I love fun dog tags. My old Weim girl used to have "I *heart* to fart" as she was very flatulent and my little mixed breed has "I eat things"...because he does. Always got a laugh at the vet surgery :)

My little guy was escaping and we didn't even know because he'd go out and then come back under the fence like nothing had happened! I was taking him for a walk one morning and a lady in her yard remarked "Oh is he yours? He was in my kitchen having breakfast this morning!". We had to put chicken wire under the entire perimeter of the fence dug into the ground to keep the little bugger in. I'm pretty sure that he hasn't gotten out again.

Allerzeit, you have the most beautiful dogs! I'm sure that keeping your dogs lean plays a part in their longevity and quality of life as they age imo. Some dogs are easier to keep lean than others though - my mixed breed boy is a definite "good do-er". I am going to have to put him on a weight management plan before too long.

I fell pregnant not long after we brought our first weim puppy home. I do remember feeling like an octopus at times, but it all worked out OK. Would I do that again in hindsight? No way! Both are a lot of work on their own. You would be aware of your own limits, but in the early days when you just really need every spare second of sleep that you can get, I'd personally be avoiding taking on any extra responsibility if you can.

I was lucky enough that my breeder had my pup accustomed to a crate when I brought her home (mum and pups could all wander in and out of it freely and their bed was in there), so mine did not put up much of a fuss about having to sleep in there at night. She only really whined on the first night, and even then only for a short time (thank you lovely lovely breeder for giving me the precious gift of sleep!). I started with the leash from the very first time that she was taken outside to go to the toilet and she learned very quickly - the leash was used only until she had toileted and then I'd let her off. I did the same with my other dog when he was a pup too. As for trying to train two pups at once...better you than me! I don't think I would have taken that on myself. One puppy at a time is more than enough chaos for me :laugh:

To me, this is why your pup was howling - and it's not a bad thing at all. Pup was telling you that he needed to go out, and you didn't listen. I guess you will next time! Don't feel bad, you have had your pup for such a short time and you are both still learning how to read each other. Accidents in the house will happen for quite some time until your pup learns bladder control and you learn his patterns. It does not mean that your pup will never be toilet trained like a certain popular author claims. I use the leash method and take my pup to a particular spot. After a week she knows that the sooner she goes, the sooner she can get back inside the warm house. Don't worry, your pup will catch on in time. Also, it is so cold at the moment. Make sure that your pup is warm enough at night or it will be harder to settle him. The crate must be made warm and comfy and be close to your bed so you can soothe puppy if necessary. Remember first and foremost that this is a baby animal that has been taken from his mother and littermates - be kind and patient and he will adjust.

I used to take my old girl out for about a 20 minute stroll as well, but as she got older and her condition deteriorated (vet & I thought arthritis but it turned out to be something more sinister) the walks got shorter and for the last few months of her life I didn't walk her any more as she would stumble quite a bit and sometimes even fall over. She still really enjoyed the walk and I never pushed her - I think she would have continued to enjoy getting out of the house. In retrospect I wonder if the daily walks helped to slow her decline. In future I will continue to walk my dogs even for just a few minutes if they still enjoy it.

*sticks hand up to take said black dog* *giggle* T. Naaaw! He looks like Dobby the House Elf :laugh:<3

I admire him for taking a stand and I really hope that this cruel practice will end because of it. I understand that in other cultures they eat animals that we consider taboo, but do they have to treat them with such appalling cruelty beforehand? I cannot understand it. I wish that I had not looked at his facebook page as some of those images will be with me forever. I get that he wants to make people aware, but the images are truly haunting.

I've seen so many Huskys in the rescue section, which to me is always an indicator that a breed has traits that can be difficult to live with, especially for an inexperienced owner. It is sad that people will give away their dogs when they start a family though. I can't see why, with some careful management in the early years, that dogs can't stay with their families. Not that much changed for my girl when I had my daughter. You just have to use common sense.

Is your dog crate trained? My weim was not (caused her to be stressed at the vets and I regretted it), my medium bitsa boy Hugo is, the new weim puppy will be too (just a few more weeks to go before the sage begins!) When (age) did you crate train him/her? I started with Hugo when he was about 10 or 12 weeks old as I was having trouble toilet training him. Heidi the weim pup will have already been exposed to the crate at the breeder's and will be crate trained from day 1. Do they still sleep in their crate now they are older? If not where do they sleep? No. We stopped when he was about 12 months old and could be trusted not to eat the furniture while we slept!. I'm embarrassed to say that Hugo now sleeps on our bed with us. This was not how we planned things at all! When did they stop using the crate? I stopped needing to crate him during the day at about 5 or 6 months, and it was used for sleeping only until he was 12 months. Then we stopped using it altogether. Where is their crate in the house? It was in the lounge room during the day, and we'd move it into the bedroom at night. We may not be able to do this for Heidi as the crate will be huge! Does your dog use the crate only for sleeping? No. I used it to keep the pup out of trouble when I couldn't supervise him. It was the only thing that stood in the way of him destroying the entire house!

This is really scary! My dogs have always had the annual injection administered with their other shots and my vet has never said a thing about it being potentially risky. I do like the shots because I am absent-minded and heart-worm is a big risk in my area. I know people say they put the dates in their diary/set alarms on their phones etc, but things come up, I am busy and easily distracted and it's quite possible I'd forget to buy the meds so they are on hand when I needed them...and I don't want to take the risk.

Yes, they might be low maintenance in terms of coat care, but they need a lot of care. I wouldn't describe a Weim as easy going....mine was kind of bossy! She used to bite me on the bum if I wasn't paying her enough attention.

It's easy to judge - I'm sure that anyone witnessing me with either of my dogs at puppy school would have said the same. Both of them were a handful, and in fact we had to withdraw our first dog from obedience because she refused to walk with a halti and the obedience school insisted there was no other way. Puppies can be trying at the best of times! Even though I was the joke of puppy school, neither of my dogs were given up and both matured into the best companions that were/are a big part of my life. They would never rival Lassie for tricks, but they both turned out to be reasonably obedient, easy to live with dogs with wonderful temperaments and no issues. I don't think you can really tell how well a fit to a person/family a dog is going to be until the dog has matured.

My little desexed mixed breed guy is about 3 now and always kind of stretched himself out and peed like that. He has very short legs and a long body like a corgi, so I don't know if that has anything to do with it. It has only been in the last 12 months that he learned to lift his leg, and it's more lifting it out of the way than peeing ON something. Can't say that I notice any smell. Once he was toilet trained he never peed in the house, and he has never lifted his leg on anything in the house ever. I was surprised at how clean he is really.

It sounds like a lot to take on...are you sure the breeder won't offer you another pup?

I love the one inspired by Penguin books - very clever! He is one amazing knitter!

Wow! What a beautiful puppy How is it all going? My weim pup is 5 weeks old now - we bring her home in another month. I'm starting to feel very nervous!

When you say "outside dog" do you mean always or just during the day while you are at work? I assume that you only mean during the day otherwise you would not be concerned about shedding (btw - some short coated breeds shed like you would not believe!). I can't think of anything that fits your criteria and wouldn't be able to leap over the fence! Also, bear in mind that many small-medium breeds are top-class barkers or just aren't suited to outdoor life.

If you have a specific breed in mind, maybe you could consider contacting a breeder who is involved in breed rescue and let them know you are looking. Personally, I think it can be a lot harder to find an adult dog that ticks all the boxes and doesn't come with any issues than it is to find a suitable puppy. It might take a while to find the right match (but I'm sure it will be well worth the wait!). I wanted an adult dog when my old girl died, but given that we have visiting children, a cat, another dog and chickens it just seemed easier to wait for a pup in order to have the best chance of everyone getting along.

It can take a while for them to get the idea, but almost always it does sink in eventually. I used to take Hugo out on the lead and stand in one particular spot in the yard, say "toilet" and ignore him until he'd performed. The good thing about this is that eventually you will have a dog who will toilet on command - at night, you can just take them out on leash to their spot and you don't even have to say anything, they just know what's expected and will go straight away. This has turned out to be handy for me because Hugo is a barker and can't be left outside at all at night or he barks at the possums (and the neighbours complain). The downside is that it takes a while for the dog to pick this up. You will spend a lot of time standing in the designated spot saying "toilet" while your dog is a pup! It's boring and often wet/cold/itchy. :laugh: Anyway, my point is not to stress too much. Your puppy will learn eventually, just be consistent and keep at it.

How exciting! We are still getting our place puppy-proofed. There's a lot to think about. 14 is a good age for a Dobe! I think our oldest was about 12. My lovely Weim was 14 when we lost her. It's so hard when you have had them for so long isn't it? Our cat will not be thrilled either...I'm not looking forward to the transition period. The pets all get along so well together at the moment.

She will need toilet breaks during the night for a while yet but as time goes by the time between toilet breaks will increase until she can last the night. Hopefully. :laugh:

So exciting to hear about all of your puppies! I grew up with dobes, they are such beautiful dogs. We are waiting to bring our new Weim home in a little over a month. I've been waiting for a pup from this breeder since December, so I'm very excited that it is all happening. She's still very tiny and has a lot of growing to do. It was kind of strange seeing them all and now knowing which one will be ours. I had to take photos of all of them, just to be on the safe side! :laugh:

Fairy lights....Who knew they'd be appealing to dogs? Thankfully the light bulbs came out all in once piece. He must have plucked them off the wires like grapes and swallowed them whole like capsules. Naughty boy.