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Oh I think we are all prone to this more than we'd like to admit. Who isn't proud of their babies? My mum always says her current dog is the sweetest/smartest/prettiest and of course they are! She is frequently saying how big my 5 month old standard poodle is and is going to be ... he's pretty average sized to be honest. But he is beautiful ...

I've been really lucky to have some time at home over the last few months with my puppy- he's now four and a half months old- and I also have in my care another young dog, three cats and eight horses. As of next month I'm back commuting four days a week 10 hour days. Horror. But it'll work out- it has done before. My dogs are the hardest part ... but there will be someone with them two days a week so they are only alone three days hopefully not consecutively, on those days they come out and feed the horses with me morning and night so get to run around, smell things, eat poo etc. they get quality time all evening before they go to bed. They are a bit needy but they're okay. In the mornings they get put outside with big bones in our 1.8 acre backyard (have access to house through cat door), they have one another, they have space, they have bones and toys. I have to trust that they (especially the puppy) will be okay and not destroy the house. My dogs are far, far more time consuming than my horses. Which doesn't mean it can't be done, but is something people should take into consideration when they get dogs.

Both of my dogs are from really good breeders. One came with a clause that said if we ever couldn't keep her for any reason she was to go back to the breeder. The other is from the best breeder I've ever encountered- he came with a clause that said lifetime full money back guarantee if we ever can't keep him, he is ALWAYS to be returned to the breeder with the full purchase price refunded. Not that I would EVER be separated from my dogs and both breeders only choose suitable buyers, but still, I think that's a really impressive step to take and the height of responsibility. I don't breed dogs but I have bred horses (who do go from owner to owner sometimes, that's just horses) but I sell any of my foals with 'first right to buy back' so if the seller is selling they always contact me first.

OMG VizslaMomma YOU WIN. Felix is not having a good week. He got horrific diarreah (can never spell that word) on Saturday from sneaking into the pantry and eating liver treats (dog treats now moved from bottom shelf) and now this. He was very unimpressed by the early morning bath too. This is the monsterling yesterday ...

I just have to tell SOMEONE what happened this morning and I feel like if I actually know the people I tell I will be ostracised, maybe sent to a leper colony. Let me preface this by saying I'm not squeamish- I have horses and have dealt with placentas, worms, proud flesh, pus, god know's what else and am pretty fine with anything like that. Doesn't bother me. I've had a rescue cat who ripped the lining of her stomach open and had insides sticking out ... didn't bother me. I had a very tragic thing earlier this year with my heart dog (now deceased) where a pressure sore on her broken leg meant I could see her bone and the plate in her leg. Tragic and upsetting but again, didn't bother me on a squeamish level. I've always had poodles and one of my poodles if she got to six weeks from a clip would poo and get poo all over her bum which I had to wash off. Again, not bothered. But my puppy, fourteen weeks old and only home for six weeks, he has the title of the grossest animal I have ever known in 17 years of dog ownership. He's at the age where he stuffs everything in his mouth. Mostly I get things off him easily and we have most things out of his reach (he's a tall standard poodle puppy so that's getting a bit trickier) anyway, I have no recollection of him grabbing a stocking/sock thing but he must have whilst I was putting out the washing, and more than that ... he hasn't chewed it or run away with it ... he's EATEN IT. How I know this is because this morning at 7.30 while i was getting dressed he came in from outside where he had been doing his business and gobbling his chicken wing and barked at me and sat down. I knew immediately it was something bum related, checked him, and this very long bit of poo was hanging down .... grabbed him,put him in the laundry tub and pulled a STOCKING out of his BUM. Whole and still recognisable as what it was. I am the luckiest- because OMG that could have KILLED him!!! And it just came out whole!!! And the unluckiest because I spent my morning pulling a poo covered stocking out of my puppy's bum and bathing him and now I'm traumatised and running late. BLEUGH. Just had to share :(

No sorry, two vegetables- generally it will be one carrot and one apple, or one zucchini and a couple of stalks of celery. Definitely not 2kg!!!

I never found this hard before but with my standard poodle puppy now on a raw diet too I have some questions ... so I have a 13 week old standard poodle who currently weighs 8kg and a nearly 3yo miniature poodle who weighs 6.4kg. The puppy is a bottomless pit. This is his current daily diet- 6.30am when he gets up he has either 1/2 a cup of homemade food, 1/2 a Big Dog BARF patty or 1 can of pink salmon with a scrambled egg and ricotta cheese. 9am-10am- both dogs go outside with their bones- either he gets two chicken wings or one larger lamb or beef bone 2pm- he sometimes has a snack- either a kong filled with some meat or maybe some greek yogurt with honey or a chicken wing 6pm- dinner- he gets 1 cup of homemade dog food or one full Big Dog BARF patty- he much prefers my homemade food. The mini gets 1/2 a cup. My homemade mix is: 1kg of chicken or beef mince 2 veg- either grated carrot, grated apple/celery/zucchini whatever is in the fridge 1tbsp of coconut oil 2tbsp of flax seed oil chia seeds 2 eggs (sometimes just yolks if I have made egg white omelette for me which I do quite a bit) including ground up shells honey for taste sometimes I throw in some brown rice or rolled oats but I am trying to cut down on grains. They LOVE my food and generally that much lasts about four days in between the two of them- the puppy already eats a lot more than the mini. I try to make them have BARF two or three nights a week because it has the liver and offal etc and kelp and saves me having to add those things. My main question I guess is should my puppy always be hungry? He wolfs down everything I give him and loves eating dawn til dusk- more of a labrador than any poodle I've ever known! He is well covered and gaining weight very well but he's my first big dog so I stress that he's not getting enough ... I feel like he's eating a LOT but then i have gone from toy poodles and a miniature- a big puppy is a bit different. Does all of that sound alright to you guys?

You know what, I would seriously consider spaying now. Yes there's a risk with any surgery, but if you're honest with yourself I bet you're more unhappy at the prospect of euthanising unborn puppies. I understand that so very well, but I think if you try to be as unselfish as possible you might see it's the right thing- for your dog, for the BYB staffies and for the world. You got your girl into this situation, I think you have to at least consider this option, as horrible as it is. Early last year I found an emaciated pregnant kitten in an alleyway. I scooped her up and after calling rescues who weren't interested or told me they'd just euthanise her, I took her home and to the vet. The vet told me there were about six kittens due within the week and that they would abort if I wanted. I went home and thought no way would I abort kittens at that stage, but then I began to talk to people who were knowledgeable and impartial (a few vet nurse friends and people experienced in rescue) and they told me to look at it objectively. I could have these kittens, risk my 7 month old cat to the labor, risk her as I struggled to put weight on her struggling to feed kittens, I didn't know her FIV status, I could risk rehoming the kittens and if even one of them didn't get desexed I'd restart the cycle again and I'd be responsible for it, i could desex them and rehome them but I would be adding to the oversupply of kittens and taking homes from others. No rescues wanted the kittens, it was kitten season. I cried a lot and I made the call and had my girl speyed and the kittens removed from her uterus and euthanised. I still struggle to look at kittens. I'm an animal lover, I hate I made that call, and I was the only person who made that call. But it was the right thing to do. The immature and starving cat thought so, she is now a beautiful fat girl purring on the end of my bed, and the wider society which did not in any way need more cats also thought so. You don't have to do that, you can have your puppies and I don't think anyone could possibly judge you for the decision not to do it, but really do think about it. It might not be the worst thing for your dog, for you or for all the BYB staffies already out there in less than fabulous homes and in pounds.

When I recently got my puppy I emailed the breeder with information about my history, my recent loss, my dog and what I wanted from the puppy. When I went to meet her and the puppies when they were four weeks old she said to me 'I think I know which one is your puppy' and handed me one and explained why she thought she'd be a good match. I had the option to disagree of course, but I agreed with her judgment because she knew them better, in the hour long visits every week I only got glimpses of his personality and interaction with the litter, but I liked what I saw. He came home three weeks ago- is now 11 weeks- and he's proven to be PERFECT for our household, he's a smoochy, sweet boy who doesn't instigate trouble (participates not instigates!) is very easy to discipline, loooooooves cuddles, and gets along beautifully with my other dog. My breeder told me he'd be all of that. I'm very glad I trusted her judgment. My last dog I got nearly three years ago from another very good breeder. I didn't pick the puppy. In her litter and the other litter born at the same time there was a waiting list in place and the puppies went in order of the list. I was fourth on the waiting list for a brown girl, there were five brown girls between two litters, I got the fourth born brown girl. She's wonderful and that's a pretty fair way of allotting puppies. If there was a special requirement for show then that would happen differently, but for pets that worked. I bought that puppy sight unseen from interstate, the breeder and I emailed a couple of times a week for about three months and plenty of photos were sent and I trusted the breeder's reputation and show record- I ended up with a fabulous dog. Both my dogs were selected by the breeder for me. Both came from very reputable top breeders in their breed. Both dogs suit really well. If you trust your breeder I think they are a better judge and know the litter better.

I spend a lot of time in inner suburbs of Melbourne and then also have a farm about an hour away (primary residence) in the city (hipster area) lots of rescue dogs of all types- heaps of mix breeds and they will look down on you for having a purebred from a breeder- then pugs, dachshunds, french bulldogs and some oodles. In the country it's a different story- actually far more purebreds than in the city and most people tend to stick to a breed they are passionate about. Just thinking about my immediate neighbourhood- one neighbour has hounds used for fox hunting, one neighbour breeds maremmas and there are a fair few around, one person has ovcharkas, great danes, kelpies, boarder collies, australian shepherds, yorkies, spaniels and heaps of poodles ... most popular in our little area (boutique small farms mixed with big TB studs and ALL horse people which is probably why most are into a certain breed, horse people tend to like one particular horse/discipline/dog etc.) are poodles, boarder collies and kelpies. I can think of five households in my area with poodles- all have toys except for me. I find the country people are a LOT more knowledgeable and the dogs better trained than in the city as a general rule, again perhaps surprisingly!

What kind of person would argue their point of view? Weird. I would politely accept or decline and get on with my day, rather than submit the poor volunteer/show assistant to a rant. Some people need more to do with their time!

My poodles have always loved retrieving my mini is the worst (best?) she gets obsessive about kongs, tennis balls, anything ball shaped and will bring you sticks from beside the fire place, she's obsessed with squeaky toys and will literally go all day, my poodles have all LOVED water and love going to the beach too. They are definitely not 'frou-frou' dogs and I think if people end up with snappy and neurotic dogs it would be from treating them as if they are just handbag accessories rather than smart and energetic retrievers!

With my most recent puppy (he is nine weeks so have had him two weeks) the breeder and all the experts recommended a crate. I've never used one before but could see the merit so we have one. He goes in it all night and I put him in there whenever he is napping and it's working really well. Throughout the day the door is open and he sometimes chooses to go in there and nap. Of a night he is locked in there but he is beside my bed so I can reassure him or take him to the potty if he wakes up and it's working really well. I can see it's going to be a great skill for him to have and a good tool wherever we are to reassure him. NO I don't think dogs should be locked in them all day, I think that is cruel, but I think they are a really good tool. I bought my puppy a bed and a crate, the bed is in the cupboard and hasn't come out, he has a mattress in his crate and two big blankies that smell of his litter and a big toy and he is very happy.

I like that height too and it's so hard to get- either a small standard or an outside breed standard miniature- the kleins moyenne would be amazing but we don't have those here I think a LOT of people would love to own that sized dog- between maybe 10-15kg, and so many standards are imho oversized because there is no upper height limit and you end up with lots of health problems ... That would be the problem with standards- I am on acreage with 1.8 acres fenced specifically for the dogs and they run and run and run. But that's not to say a standard wouldn't work. For minis, mine is from Darellsig Miniature Poodles, they are lovely people and really gorgeous dogs. Worth a look! I'd recommend my standard breeder in a heart beat because she's the best person I've ever dealt with and the dogs are phenomenal but she only breeds for herself and isn't planning another litter for a good four years or so! I think phoning and emailing breeders of poodles, lagottos and whatever else would be a good idea :)

You know what, reading your list, if you are interested in poodles i think I would go for a standard. I ADORE my mini but I think minis aren't quite what people think- the breed standard is 10-15 inches. My miniature is 14 inches and slightly over 6kg in perfect health. That is not a very big dog. She is also the most nervous and flighty of my dogs (she's a brown female so colour may or may not be part of this) she has been quite reactive but is now starting to settle down. On the plus side, she is hands down the sweetest dog I have ever known. Total sook who ADORES cuddles and kisses and 'her' people, if you're in Isla's list of favourite people she just wants to love you to death. Toys and standards imho tend to be a bit more robust in personality. Standards are also that bit bigger than the minis, but if you are careful with the breeder they don't have to be huge. My standard is from the creme de la creme of breeders in Aus, both parents are imported and the most incredible dogs and breeding and he won't be huge, maybe slightly over the 20kg mark, but just a good sized robust dog- at nine and a half weeks he's the same size as the mini. I certainly wouldn't write of standards, if you're careful with breeder it's not necessarily going to be much bigger than the lagotto and the temperament on the standard poodle is divine.