Scottsmum

Found this buried away on facebook. Old Maj died just before facebook really took off and well before smartphones so there aren't many photos of him online. This photo was taken on his 14th birthday - which he just so happened to share with my Step-mum. He was a lovely boy. The product of my dads weimaraner bitch getting out one season and having a bit of a date with the local rotty who lived lis life on a chain out the back of the local fish and chip shop (well, we assume). Major was one of 5 - 2 black, 2 brown and one grey like a weim. All heavy set and most often mistaken for Labradors in looks and nature. Maj stayed with Dad after 3 unsuccessful attempts to home him. One where they drove him out, took one look at the place and turned around and bought him home and two where he was returned for crying non-stop. He lived his life with him Mum, Brit, until she passed away in 1998 and a few months later I moved in, bringing Guinea, my bossy boots fox terrier with me. After her arrival was a kept man, providing the muscle to Guinea's brains. Oh - he also came with XL everything - which she thought was wonderful as she could boss him off his extra large bed and out of his gigantic kennel. He really was a wonderful, gentle giant and is still very much missed even though he's been gone 8 years now.

I was standing less than a meter from the tracks. We went for this walk... I followed her up and all of a sudden we were on the tracks and I said "Oh - I thought this track was active" and she said "Yeh - it is"... the look on my face must have said it all. We went straight back down.

Thanks for that - I really enjoyed seeing it :) Shes so lovely.

Week 11? I was good this week - a return to the park with Scottie after just not making it there while I was on placement. I grabbed the camera, checked the battery - I thought it was low - hurrah! Full bars of battery. Toddled off to the park. So much has changed in 3 weeks. Get there - battery dead. Hrm. So I took some snaps on my phone but they don't do it justice. Then today, in usual fashion, I forgot to take my camera to "obedience" & we went for a really lovely walk. So regardless, you all get a phone snap this week. TLDR: I am crap at remembering my camera. Windfarm-new by Superspanger, on Flickr

Too cute. Mum (was telling me) she washed and blow dried her chickens for a show today (I cant even begin to cover that...) but her naughty Dachshund Ruby would have loved to have "helped" in the drying department.

It's funny we've had life time rego in NSW for ages now - so long I thouught we were going back to the dark ages when we got here and I had to have Scottie registered annually - then I got to thinking - if the annual rego can 'force' this kind of thing to be an attractive incentive then that's not such a bad thing. It also helps create a culture of pets being looked for and looked after - not such a set and forget. I've never once had my dogs rego questioned in NSW - since annual tags went out the window - yet over here you DO NOT see a dog out & about without it's tag on (unless it's out on its own having adventures). (in my limited experience) I wont even start on the whole "oh hes so cute" when a little dog is a menace...

Oh. Sorry but that made me laugh. I can see a mass reporting of dog sports related injuries - the headlines read "Pets across Australia injure owners in over enthusiastic games of 'Oi come here'" Hope you're not too battered. Again - thankful that my shin height foxie is only just over 10kgs - not more hefty. He plays with great gusto.

Yeh TD, I've been Mr Sheening them thrive daily :D Oh hey and mate, please don't think you should explain who your preferred breeder is. I am a huge believer that all owners should research their breeder first and feel comfortable with them. And when you get to that point, the puppy will come. You should stick with allerzeit, she is terrific. Plus my puppies are all sold and have been for months. Saw this comment earlier and had a chuckle - thought nothing more of it, Then my (crazy) mother posts a photo on facebook of her prepping one of her hens for a show tomorrow and she'd been Mr Sheaning her!!! LOL :)

oh. That sounds a bit advanced for us - but I hadn't really thought of building on the game. I mean it took me 4 months to get this far but that's a good idea - maybe I could use the hat to try and get him to come to either side bit nicer - back to what our 'almost' return to heel used to look like before it became a contact sport. I don't think full body slams into my shins are all that good for him.

Exactly Kirislin. And that is why we have to monitor ours so closely for several weeks... the puppies are not very different in size to any breed of puppies but the bitch is 40-48kgs by the time she whelps. Puppies get crushed and suffocated so easily. Neko almost gave birth to a rotti pup!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Kirislin - paint your boofer boys eye brows orange and send him to Starkehre - no one will ever tell the difference.

I'd like dog owners to pass a test too. When is it ok for your dog to be off lead? When is it ok for your dog to approach a dog you don't know? What must you provide for your dog at home? Must your dog be registered - who with? If your dog is not desexed... precautions and breeding questions How often should your dog be vaccinated and wormed... (more than one answer but I don't want to see "never") stuff like that. that other dog owners don't seem to know Check this out. Not quite a pet ownership test but a nice little incentive. My new home town: http://www.pncc.govt.nz/local-regulations-and-licences/dogs-and-other-animals/animalcontrol/preferred-owner-scheme/ Simialr from Auckland http://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/en/licencesregulations/dogsandanimals/registration/pages/dogownerlicence.aspx And this, totally different - but in the theme of regulated trainers - a program which is standardised. Very clever idea - you can progress through the levels and, of course, the assessors all have to meet the same standards.

Have used them a lot over the years - "upgraded" to the noodle bowls for Scottie - he's a bit too bit for the cereal bowls. A cat rescue in NSW uses them a lot too. Very handy for smaller pets ;)

Really cute. :) Gosh they're grown fast. Have you decided if you're keeping one?

What a lovely boy :D Happy birthday to Scout!

Hope I didn't sound like I was questioning it - I was just really interested.

It's been 10 degrees, windy and raining - side sideways rain - for the last 2 days straight - which has meant lots of inside time and very short walks - if at all. I tried some conditioning games - but apparently he doesnt like the treats I bought most recently. Today we managed to go for a 'normal' walk and even had some sneaky off leash - we're not supposed to be off anywhere in our housing estate - but we have about 2 streets worth of empty land where they removed some homes a few years ago. It's fenced and out of the way. Anyhow - Scotties off leash behaviour can be sketchy - the less he gets the worse behaved he is. Usually - if we're not / can't play fetch we play a game where I get him to come then I send him away with a "go" and recall him again - he gets really fired up and his "return to heel" becomes more of a full body sideways slam into my shins. I'm always greatful he's a foxie when he does this - nothing bigger :) Anyhow... within 5 or 6 "go's" he gets over excited and buggers off. (only started doing it since we've lived here and we can't get him off lead every day ) I usually manage it by reading him or taking hubby with me so there's two of us - which helps. So today I had a lightbulb moment. Instead of sending him out I can back away and recall or make him stay while I run away from him. I have one very happy, sleepy puppy now... Can't believe it's taken close to 4 months to figure this out.

Oh - I assumed they were the same thing similar :) so thanks for that. I went and did a quick search - this access to the university database has to be useful for something ;) I found this paper: The Journal of small animal practice, December 1998, Vol.39(12), pp.592-4 Successful long-term treatment of congenital nephrogenic diabetes insipidus in a dog Takemura, N They recommended the dog gets put on Hills H/D http://www.hillspet.com/en/us/products/pd-canine-hd-dry

Two very general questions... 1. What is considered low? (Westiemum - your link isn't working) and 2. Surely "natural" salts occurring in raw (eg grass fed beef) would be better / preferable with other benefits that come from raw compared to a low sodium kibble? (not having a dig - just wondering? you know lke the human sugar debate - do you cut all sugar as much as possible or just added sugar...)

Depends on your budget and what kind of puppy you're getting. :) Mixing bowls from kmart make good bowls for pups who will eventually grow into huge dogs or rough and tumble puppies - like labradors- they're nice and tough. http://www.kmart.com.au/wcsstore/Kmart/images/catalog/f/3/42123613-f-1.jpg The noodle bowls from Kmart are also good - I use them for my dog. http://www.kmart.com.au/wcsstore/Kmart/images/catalog/f/0/42103240-f-1.jpg I've also used the cereal bowls in the past http://www.kmart.com.au/product/cereal-bowl---stone-stripe/124316 I like all of the above because they're really cheap, easy to clean and are less likely to scratch. I'm also currently using an ice cream container which happens to fit perfectly in the end space of his crate between his bed and the door - for treats and a scoop ofdry when he's locked in his box. Also I can put the lid on it and take it away when/if I need to - but I have an old dog who doesn't destroy things (other than carpet but that's another post) but he does like to carry plastic food containers away if I give them to him - which is another negative in my view. Then you have slow feeders http://www.dogue.com.au/product/dog-maze-slow-feeder-bowl-2/# Cute bowls (depending on your taste - I think these are adorable) http://www.dogue.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/GROUP-BOWL-LARGE_med-387x394.jpg Or you know, if you have a lazy $700 this one from Versace http://incrediblethings.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/Versace-Barocco-Pet-Bowl.jpg But really, just go to a kmart or big W, supermarket or any pet shop and grab something you like. I don't tend to like plastic - I prefer ceramic, china or metal - but that's personal preference. By the way, welcome to the forum - you'll quickly learn we love puppy photos :)

As others have said... Nope I suppose the next question is so then what do you look for in a trainer? For me - Its a personal connection - Do I like the person? Are they good to me, my dog, other dogs in the class? Their own dog? I've tried about 6 training places all up. The first was amazing. I actually cried when we finished up there. I loved everything about them - except for their price - it was a big exxy - but I liked Dianne and Pete and Scottie ADORED them - Especially Pete who was always forth coming with a good massage :) http://www.procanine.com.au/about.html Then we tried two local dog training clubs both were dismal (places 2 and 3). One was very much stuck in the past and it was horrible being there. I wanted to leave half way through the lesson (and should have). To their credit -they were showing me something I'd never done before and scottie yelped (he can be a bit of a pansy at times) but they went right off at me "never cause your dog to scream, what did you do to him?" & so on and so forth made me feel like shit - but I gave them points for being protective of their doggy clients. The other place was OK - but I never clicked with them and found it too disorganised. You just kind of milled around waiting for your go on what ever was set up some agility, jumps, kids toys for touch, rally-O. To be honest I had a bit of a personality clash with the head trainer too. Then there was two places I went to do some classes - not "training" as in once a week walking around a field sitting and staying - but classes in a dog sport. Another personality clash at place number 4 - with the trainer taking my class (sense a theme here?) a bit of an argument over treats - where she made me empty my treat pouch and break the treats "into at least half" before I could come to class. She also liked to check my treats after that. However, I didn't go back because they could never get around to running stage 2 of the class and I eventually found another provider who offered a better offering with clear progression up the stages. Plus, ah, that particular facility started getting a lot of bad press and I decided to not support them anymore. Place number 5 was incredible. I can't say enough good things about place 5. I'd still be there if not for the move. Really caring, well organised, clear progression, well rounded classes. Staff who are amazingly well qualified from all walks of life. Just such a pleasure to be associated with. I think the big things about place 1 and 5 - they have people who are willing to put their face and name to *some* qualification. Ideally that quali would be something real - that you can google and find info on - like the NDTF or others. And now we're at place 6 - unfortunately the woman who takes the classes doesn't appear to have any formal quals. But she's totally lovely, generous to a fault and knows her stuff (long term owner, breeder and so on). I adore her so that helps and we just go to do lappies of the park. It's more for Scottie to get out and have mental stimulation more than anything else now. Her "about me" page reads like ... a dating site I think. Some info on her, her home town, her dogs, other interests ... not a word on any qualifications But she accommodates us I approached her and said I have an elderly dog, it's really just enrichment for him, I'm willing to pay casual rates can you help and she could / did. So I can't complain. And as I said - she has a lifetimes worth of experience and she helped / talked me throug options for our S.A. problems too. As I've said - I pick this type of training based on how I like the person. I never leave Scottie unattended in these places and I think that's the other difference. The biggest risk we run is a loose dog getting him in one of these scenarios - no more or less risky than a walk at the park. If I was looking for a trainer to help me with a serious problem (other than our SA) or looking to leave my dog at one of those places where you leave your dog for intensive training I'd probably be asking my vet and places like here (and before leaving Sydney) my doggy friends from real life and I'd be researching the crap out of them before I even stepped foot on the property to inspect it. But then I'm like that with boarding kennels and other places too ... Anyhow - that was a long ramble and I really wanted to be in bed ages ago ;)

Careful.... ;) I woke up with a stuffed warthog toy in bed with me and Scottie today. Hubby is away for work - I assume he figured Hubby and Warthog - same same.

Profile says NT - Alice actually. :/

Everything OK? Or are you just totally besotted? PS - they're adorable. With large breeds this is simply how it is for the first few weeks, unless breeder removes the bitch from the puppies and I prefer not to do that. She is happier being with them. And as careful, body aware and sensible as Seven is (brilliant for a maiden bitch) puppies very easily get squash or suffocated... not even remotely worth the risk. ...plus I am totally besotted :) Ah. There you go. Didn't know that - good to know all is well - and I fully expected you to be besotted too

Everything OK? Or are you just totally besotted? PS - they're adorable.

Obviously depending on where the funeral is could you take her with you?