Leah82

I agree there needs to be some regulation in the industry although I'm also secretly thankful that I was able to 'do a course and call myself a groomer' I'm honest about the fact that I'm still learning and I take every opportunity to continue my education Also the welfare of my customers is always way more important than getting their coat just right and for a part time groomer I'm pretty chuffed that a couple of new customers are willing to travel to me to get their cocker spaniels groomed, I must be doing something right

*Your Name/ State: Leah VIC *Dogs Name/Age/Breed: Sarah, Poodle x Cocker Spaniel, 9 years old *Your adoption story: We looked at getting a rescue dog when we were told our Cocker Spaniel called Collie was going blind, he also suffered from separation anxiety so needed a companion while we were at work. We wanted a female dog of similar size, similar age that we could be certain would not try and dominate Collie as he lost his sight. Enter Sarah who at 7 years old had spent her entire life as a breeder in a puppy farm, she was very nervous to start with but bonded with Collie instantly as she had spent a lot more time with dogs than people up until that point. When we had her a couple of months we started taking her to obedience classes, she didn't display the usual excitement that comes with being around so many other dogs and people which was to be expected, this actually paid off as her attention was on me constantly and she flew through the first 3 months, going up a level at the end of each month. Sometimes I'd need to be a little creative in my teaching methods (the only way I could teach her to drop was to actually drop myself in front of her) but she definitely has a good capacity for learning. 2 years on and it's only very rarely that Sarah shows any sign of her former life. Her and Collie are practically inseparable, she's showing signs of a cheeky confidence that she wouldn't dare in the early days like pulling away her paw when I trim her nails and jumping up on the couch for cuddles without being invited. After 2 years Collie now has a play mate as well as a cuddle buddy, Sarah wouldn't have a bar of Collie's attempts to get her to play with him for a long time and now play time is a daily activity. Sarah is my dog and I'm privileged to be her person who gets the extra special cuddles and excited welcome home spins. When I was younger I thought that if you wanted a dog to bond with you you need to get a puppy. Sarah is proof of how wrong I was.

you might need to provide another clue :p Briard?

Basenji?

Basset Fauve de Bretagne?

Collie turns into an absolute gem of a dog around crowds, it's like there's so many people and smells he doesn't know what to do with himself :p . Where as you take him for a walk down the street and it becomes his mission in life to trip you up. We do need to keep an eye on him otherwise he will walk straight into people, dogs or children, it's one of the reasons we got him the blind dog lead so I didn't have to keep explaining why he's so clumsy Sarah is surprisingly quite the social butterfly as well, although she doesn't like people to have to bend down to pat her so she'll conveniently use your leg to make herself taller in the most delicate of ways, however that move isn't often welcomed in the muddy winter months. My rule for taking out the dogs to a crowded place is 1 dog or less per person. No way I'm handling both of them if I actually want to buy stuff

Wow, just checked the forecast, this Saturday is going to be a cracker at Mt Margaret, 24cms predicted for Friday and another 8cms for Saturday. Freezing levels suggest the snow should stick around as well. And I'm going to Perth this weekend

Naw thanks :) it took me awhile to collate all the info so I figured I'd make it easier for everyone else. If you're going to bring Thistle up make it fairly early in the morning as the area is quite popular for locals to bring their dogs up after some snow

Is anyone in the Ballarat area able to help with a missing cocker spaniel. She's a former puppy farm dog and only been in her new home for a few weeks, she did a runner when her owner was leaving for work on Wednesday in East Ballarat. There have been a number of sightings near Ballarat uni but she's too scared to let anyone get close, I suspect those searching are getting increasingly desperate which is making her even more scared so she keeps moving further and further away. Details are here: https://www.facebook.com/bringangelcockerspanielhome?fref=ts

This weekend looks good, Generally I just go with Lake Mountain's snow forecast even though it's a bit higher. Snow usually falls a couple of hundred meters below freezing. So my rule of thumb is if there is snow at Lake Mountain there will probably be snow at Mt Margaret

If it someone I don't know very well, or if they are bringing a dog with them then our two go outside until everyone is in. Then the dogs get let in to say a very excited hello. Instructions are given if they don't want the dogs jumping up but most people are ok with it coz it's easier than bending down to pat them :p Collie has become sooooo sensitive when it comes to the front door since going blind. Dog bed in the lounge is positioned next to the front door, if Collie gets woken up suddenly he just starts barking at the front door.

Sarah is many things... Poodle x cocker spaniel Former puppy farm dog Our sweet little girl Cuddle enthusiast The latest revelation has been a bit of a shock but it seem she's also ....... A blanket hog

old english sheepdog?

There are lots of great cocker breeders out there so personally I would be looking elsewhere if you have any concerns at all about this arrangement

I'd recommend a big black standard poodle, they are lighter than similarly sized breeds so easier for kids and yourself to handle but with all that fur you can definitely make them look tougher if you find the right groomer

Mine are medium coated, they have a cosy home built kennel and if they get clipped in winter they wear a jumper as well Collie is never particularly phased by the cold, Sarah is surprisingly precious considering her past in a puppy farm

Ours are outside during the day, usually from about 8am to 5pm, Shelter is limited so I'm pretty sure they spend most of the day curled up in the kennel, during summer they have a particular spot in the dirt by the back gate that gets a workout. We haven't had any complaints about barking although I'm pretty sure with Collie's limited sight he's getting a bit more vocal when it comes to strange noises but he's never at it for long. And then there's the couple of minutes when he goes off his chop when we get home, still trying to figure out how to prevent that.

Who was the artist? Kozyndan did similar paintings awhile ago with bunnies, here's the series Summer Autumn Winter Spring

If you want to go camping I couldn't recommend Beechworth enough, There's a road called Woolshed Rd that goes between Beechworth and Eldorado and there are plenty of campsites along the Reedy Creek. We've been up there quite a few times, I think it says Dogs must be on lead but the campsites are so far apart we've never had any problems letting ours wander around the campsite and go for a swim in the creek. We've never encountered other dogs at the campsite, only in town This is proper bush camping though, no toilets or fresh water provided :p

sounds like the OP wants to play a bit of 'look at that' with her dog which sounds like a good idea the increase the exposure to other dogs Whittlesea Public Gardens in Lalor has a fenced off dog area although I'm not sure how busy it would be at the moment, it gets pretty boggy in winter If you want to go a little further afield I know Craigieburn has a fenced dog park as well Diamond creek looks good too

Smoke is a cutey but I have to admit Don is the fav over here :D

Going a little off topic here but I guess there's no harm in further educating the OP. The issue with crossbreeds is primarily a 2 fold issue. Firstly they are generally bred in varying conditions and health testing is typically non existent, many puppy farm breeders charge way more for a 'designer breed' than a typical purebred breeder for a dog with no guarantee that it won't end up with a genetic disease, hip displasia etc and no idea of what temperament you are getting. Many breeders refer to hybrid vigour but the most common genetic diseases are spread across many breeds so hybrid vigour is not actually a thing. Secondly a purebred dog is such because they have gone through many generations to create a breed standard and you can guarantee to a certain extent the look, size and temperament of the dog. Most crosses and designer dogs are first generation crosses which means you breed a poodle with a cocker spaniel, the outcome of that first generation breeding is anyone's guess, you could have a dogs that more or less looks like a poodle with a cocker spaniel temperament or vice versa or something in-between. Not to mention using this example there are 3 types of poodles (toy, mini, standard) and 3 types of cocker spaniels (English, America and Working English) so this adds a further element of surprise when you go out and buy a Spoodle puppy, who know's what you're going to get. No-one is saying cross breeds don't make wonderful companions but if you want to make sure that you limit the unexpected surprises with your new family member either go with purebred dog or fully grown cross breed from a rescue. Obviously there are never any guarantee's in life but do what you can to minimise the risk of a problem down the track.

wow! new born in serious condition and the attitude of the neighbour is 'shit happens' why are people so stupid

she's usually a bit itchy but not this bad, her fur gets pretty oily as well, I could easily bath her weekly if I could be bothered not sure how the vet goes with allergies, we've not had a problem before. I was just at a grooming conference and a vet dermatologist did a talk on identifying skin and ear issues in dogs. Most of the causes comes back to allergies either environmental or food and an elimination diet is really just to rule out a food allergy

Thanks sags, I did hear about the croc and tapioca roll but I couldn't find it on the internet for sale anywhere. Might have to look in some actual pet stores Where did your staff member get the salmon from, canned or fresh?