YvonneM

I have been recommended to get a Blackdog harness to help with my dog who pulls and lunges when walking. The harness that was described to me by the trainer at our kennel club mentioned the Blackdog Antipull harness .... having looked at the Blackdog website, there is no antipull harness, but there is a balance harness, which sounds like the same thing in the description. She did however mention that the harness had padding or sheepskin under the legs and the ones on the website don't. Does anyone have any experience with this particular harness and if so, where can I buy one from, apart from the Blackdog website themselves? I feel so inadequate not being able to walk my pup properly or keep him under control .... I wouldn't feel so bad if he wasn't a 9 months old, 4kg Maltese!! We go to obedience training and he has advanced 2 levels since we started back at the beginning of September, but we are using a halti at training which gives much more control. I'd really like to remove the halti and have a pup that walks nicely.

Oh my goodness - I love it!!! No wonder you won!!! I love the receiving and despatch signs. I will go look at reject shop on the weekend - not one near me at work ... Also phoned petbarn who said they have heaps. I do feel a but sorry for the bigger doggies

Happy Birthday Miah! Looks adorable - she will have lots of fun at her party!!

Looks like I need to visit petbarn or reject shop then

Oh I'm looking forward to this thread - I started another thread looking for ideas for Banjo's first Christmas and our kennel/obedience club Christmas party in 2 weeks. Will be watching/reading with interest

Our kennel/obedience club is having it's end of year Christmas Shin-Dig in about 2 weeks - it's our first year with the club as Banjo is just 9 months old, and apparently everyone gets dressed a bit festive for the evening .... doggies included. I have no idea where to buy a little outfit for Banjo - he's a Maltese, so only small at 4kg. I figure I could try some of the discount/dollar stores like the Reject Shop/Sams Warehouse, but I'd like to get something a bit more "special" for his first Christmas Party ..... and he's having Santa Photos the following weekend, so figure the outfit coould do double duty. Does anyone have any recommendations or ideas of where I could get something for my baby boy?? I may have left it too late to order online, but am hoping not ... particularly if I can phone the store and order over the phone and have it posted pretty fast ... otherwise a bricks and mortar store .... I'm in the western suburbs of Sydney. All suggestions greatly appreciated :D PS - I'd try to whip something up myself, but I am totally useless with a needle and thread if it is more than taking up a hem :)

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I am so sorry to hear that it's parvo - but she is now getting the care that she needs. Hope she recovers ok. You need to let anyone who puppy has come into contact with know as it is my understanding that parvo can be brought into homes on the soles of shoes etc (not sure if that is entirely true, but better safe than sorry). Sending healing vibes xx

I wish I'd have know this - but I signed up with PetPlan a couple of days before we bought our puppy home. No free period but happy to have it there.

A trip to the vet pronto is in order I would think. I wouldn't wait around too long ... little puppies can get very sick very very fast if there is a problem and it's not addressed. Better to be safe than sorry! Please post back after your vet visit to let us all know how she is doing.

I am hoping that this will work - I had to fill in a lengthy questionnaire and had a very long conversation with a lady about my requirements. She said that they would match my dog with a person suitable and then we all had to meet - dog included - to ensure that it was the right fit - if not, there is no obligation to use that person and they would find someone else - or I could cancel altogether. Sounded professional - hope it works out - I am absolutely paranoid of anything happening to my boy! Good luck with your venture - if it were me I'd be happy to pay roughly what a boarding kennel would charge - possibly a bit extra given the more personalised service.

I am curious to know why it's a "recipe for disaster" to care for someone else's dog in your own home. Not at all questioning your expertise on the subject but because I am looking at going down this path with my own dog - having him cared for in someone else's home rather than a kennel. It's through an agency who does this kind of thing. I will be away for too long to have someone visit once or twice a day to feed/walk/clean for my boy - he's an indoor boy who loves human company. I believe that I will have the opportunity to meet the carer and inspect their property before agreeing to them looking after him. Sorry to hijack thread with my own question

I've shared in my fb page - hope billy is reunited with his family very soon - safe and sound.

I wish I could take Banjo to an off leash park, but at 8 months and a Maltese, he is just so small and has absolutely no recall .... and he is still learning his canine manners around other dogs on-leash at training each week. I'd be worried he would dash off and get in another dog's face who is not so patient with little "in your face" doggies and he may come off second best ... and with no recall, it could be a disaster waiting to happen. I don't want to be the person at the dog park that everyone talks about who has no control over their pooch - luckily, our backyard is big enough for plenty of zoomies and my mum's dog is placid and very tolerant, so he runs and plays with him too.

I have nothing to offer in terms of advice re introductions to other dogs - but can offer advice re the crate - our Maltese was just 800 grams when he came home a 8 weeks back in April this year - so he was tiny (no idea how tiny your mini will be!). I bought my soft sided crate from Pet Barn - I got the smallest one because I knew that he wouldn't outgrow it. It has a zip around the front so that he could be secured inside at night and he was used to that from day one - once he was house trained and could be trusted at night he was allowed to "free range" at night. You can probably get the crates cheaper online but I'm a visual person and need to see the actual item before I will commit to buy. Enjoy your new baby when he comes home - they don't stay puppies for very long - there is lots of invaluable info here

Banjo has a crate in our bedroom but prefers the carpet next to the bed .... at some point during the night he will go to his crate, or if it's hot, he will sleep by the front door. Being a Maltese he can't jump up on our bed ... but he does come up in the mornings for a play/cuddle before we get up!

Clever girl!

Where in Sydney are you looking for??

I second the Snugglesafe - totally indestructible - I got one for my baby Maltese when he came home with us in April - so through a Sydney winter - stays warm all night and comes it it's own polar fleece cover. Pop it in the microwave for 2 mins, tuck it unto bed with puppy and he will stay warm all night. I bought mine on ebay. If you get one make sure you get the authentic Sugglesafe.

Might just try that - clever thinking!

Banjo's favourite toy is a soft unstuffed blue bear who we call "bear". He was all lovely pale blue and white when he was new and had lovely little squeekies in each of his two front paws. Bear is now a mucky blue/brown colour with only one squeekie,which has had to be resewn in a couple of times, has no nose left and both side seams are apart. It's his all time favourite toy - his prized possession if you like. He will present it to us when we come home each day and prance around showing it off - it's such a cute routine. Sadly, bears days are numbered as he is almost threadbare - I bought another one exactly the same to replace him but Banjo wants nothing to do with it!! Edited to add: Banjo is only 8 months old therefore Bear is 6 months old.

Darn it!!!

Great idea .... what are you doing in March next year .... Cazstaff and I are close to each other .... maybe we should co-ordinate our holidays :laugh:

I am in the same boat - looking for someone to look after Banjo while we are away for 3 weeks in March next year. I usually use a kennel that we have used for many years, but my last experience a few weeks ago was less than stellar. I have registered with Don't Fret Pets - anyone used them? Ideally, like you, I would have someone stay in my home, but understand that may not work for a 3 weeks stretch for someone, so this was my next best option.

When he finally settles and is quiet he gets praise and a treat, and as he is settled for longer, there is more praise. He is food motivated, but yesterday when we had the tradie there, there was pretty much no opportunity to treat/praise because he just barked continuously. In retrospect, and having thought about it and discussed it with hubby, if it is friends coming to visit, he will settle after a little bit - everyone relaxes, he relaxes and is not "on alert" and it seems he knows the visitors are not a threat to his pack. It is when someone unfamiliar comes - such as someone quoting work like yesterday, this fellow was a really tall, impressive looking fellow - perhaps he thought he was a threat?? I will look at the clicker link when I get home this afternoon. Would clicker training confuse him with the obedience training we are doing at our formal obedience training classes?