becks

having known a friends dog who was desexed at 9 months and the retained testicle was showing cancerous signs - it is something I wouldn't want to wait around to long for. It's made me more cautious

I've groomed a few dogs with a smaller toe pad and it hasn't made any difference to their normal lives. Nail may need cutting more often though. I wouldn't worry about it. I would however give serious thought to getting him desexed soon.

I've never seen fake grass in a whelping box before - is this a toilet area or bedding?

The only thing i have seen to stop this was made out of leather and worn by a G Dane. There was a waist strap and from that another strap went between the back legs and then formed a loop around the tail about half way down, so the dog could only wag the lower part. I've heard of a hair curler being tapped onto the end of the tail for protection and still allowing air to get in.

That is my view on this, the pups are still of an age where they are to young to leave, there are still 3 weeks to go before they could leave and that can be plenty of time to find a good home for this pup. The breeder may not need to readvertise - they may not have sold all the litter yet. Evenso, it isn't going to be an extra cost, plenty of places to advertise online for free and then there is word of mouth via other breeders, stud owner, breed club etc etc. I'd refund in full and just be glad the woman changed her mind before she got the pup. That said, even with the extra $50 this pup is still costing less then the rest of the litter for people who are collecting their pups, so this just seems a convenient excuse to get out of buying the pup.

but why would a few forward roles make a pup more intelligent?

I had this with one of mine, they came good after a few days as the milk came in stronger and i kept trying to get them to use the other nipples.

With my breed, they should have a sabre tail, so holding it up can straighten a more curled tail but more usually it is done to show the back is short - tails left to hand naturally can give the illusion of the back being longer then desirable.

I would get a stainless water bowl too. I used to use a yellow plastic bowl for water and it was amazing that soon enough the area where the water was had turned white - that can't be a good sign!

Good point about the bowl! Mine also have stainless steel bowls for food and water

Have you asked the breeder? Some have a vet check up with your own vet within a set time as a part of their contract. A vet check in the first day or 2 is also a good idea, if your vet finds a porblem and it is something you don;t want to live with, then you can return the pup before to much of a bond has formed. It is also good for pup to have a vet visit without having a needle stuck in them!

I would just refund the money and be done with it.

rule of 12 if you are running pup on http://www.dogsadversereactions.com/training.html rule of 7 http://www.echowyn.com/Ruleof7.html

With the lack of hair too, I wonder if she is rubbing her face on something?

A friend of mines dog just walked into a lake and kept walking along the bottom, owner had to go in and pull him out when the dog disappeared under the surface. Some dogs do seem to benefit from a floatation device while they are learning

Buy cheap and buy twice, clippers are cheap for a reason, they are not up to the job (unless you want to trim hubbies hair!)

Not good for you but it means I can now get my puppy while still a young pup!

That's not so easy to do with much smaller pups then yours!

Thanks for posting the videos of Ruby - lovely girl! Also nice to see it isn't as complicated as some seem to be making it sound.

I don't use stay, just the name of the position (sit, down, stand), I always use a release word once they understand the concept. In early training I use a clicker - it gives the dog a very clear sound to indicate end of exercise and treat is on the way. A lot of training is done with getting the dog excited about what they are doing so they are focused, but stays we want the opposite, a calm and relaxed dog. Using a clicker allows me to use gentle strokes and an occasional treat as a reward during the stay and the dog doesn't think the stay is ended just because i have moved towards them, that only ends with the click or 'OK' and a big change in my attitude from calm/quiet to excited. You can also then throw the treat after the OK so the dog knows they can now move. Start off slowly, if they break the stay because you have waited to long then pop them back into position in the same spot and do a shorter stay and really reward that one. This is something I do for 'kettle training' ie I practise these basics while waiting for the kettle to boil - keeps the session short and sweet and it can be done several times a day. You then really can see progress happen quite fast.

Dogs do behave differently in different homes - it can depend on house rules, how the dog is looked after (mental and physical exercise, time left alone etc etc). I was talking to a breeder awhile ago about a Giant they had back for rescue (there were 4 of us having the conversation) only 2 of us were named as potential fosters or able to take on this dog as we have right home life for that dog - the other 2 wouldn't be able to cope with the dog. I had a pup returned to me as the owners couldn't cope with a puppy and told me he was wild, biting, wouldn't walk on lead, barked at everyone etc etc. Didn't take him long to learn the rules here and be a sweet and fun dog again. So in your situation with child and stock, I would go for a pup that can be trained up to be the dog you want and not risk an unknwon dog that might turn out to not be the dog you were expecting and unsuitable for your family and difficult to return.

That's right, from Jan 1st the Uk and a few other euro countries change their import rules. For us, it means we can bring a dog in just 3 weeks after they have had the vaccination for rabies, no more titre and having to wait 6 months.

Who Let The Dog Out

Poor boy! Your dogs are keeping the vets in holiday money atm!

she could always use goats milk or if you search on the breeders forum there are several recipes for home made versions, I think the Leerburg website has one too