Amazetl

Just a few suggestions that might help: Go online and look up dog tricks, teach him them. There are so many things you can teach them, and online there are several steps on how to work through it so they learn something new - works out their brain like wild, great bonding exercises too. Mine were extremely proud of themselves when they learnt how to ‘speak’ when asked. Being a kelpie he should be able to learn advanced tricks. If you’re struggling to get his attention while training try a different incentive/treat/toy. Another suggestion is to only reward when he’s well behaved. So no shortcutting. No it’s too exhausting to wait for him to sit and be quiet before coming inside so I just let him in when he’s wild - that is teaching them that it’s good to be wild when coming inside. They don’t understand. Start as you mean to go. Tell them you can stand here waiting all day. Dogs are smart and pick up on every cue fast so they’ll get the message and you won’t really be standing there all day. Do enrichment exercises - kongs, treat toys, puzzle toys, hide treats and ask him to find them, etc. You may already do a lot of these things but those are my top suggestions on calm behaviour and bonding. Also, be careful not to over stimulate them or over exercise them because it can actually make them more active and hyper. Reward for when he’s calm, quiet praise or a treat thrown in front of him when he’s lying down or being calm. You can also try tethering if you need to, either to something or to your belt but just don’t leave him unsupervised with a tether incase it gets caught on something. Also, make sure he’s having plenty of naps. They go crazy if they don’t get enough sleep. Some find it very hard to shut off when there’s so much stimulation around so him having a crate like he does is a good idea for quiet time. You can also try calming music - youtube has lots of sleep and anti anxiety/calm music specifically for dogs. Some have video of dogs and some are just a blank screen if that is too over stimulating. I’ve taught mine that when their music goes on, it’s quiet relax time. Some of the titles say ‘send your dog to sleep in just a few mins’ or something like that and it really does work. Of course make sure he’s getting enough physical exercise too but just don’t over do it. Mental stimulation is much stronger to tire them out. Think about enrolling in some advanced obedience classes too or agility. You can also try to work on anything he’s scared of as conquering fears works out their brains and brings them satisfaction and confidence. For example, scared of water, get them swimming, scared of a type of surface, get them to walk over it and see that it’s not so bad. Anything you can think of, it can become a game and bonding exercise for you both and will bring great trust - just don’t force. Lastly, when you are struggling or exhausted remind yourself that this shall pass, once he hits age two things are going to be a lot easier. All the best.

Such a shame. So sad for the little girl and also for the dog. Unsupervised and not a good match. These things shouldn’t be able to happen. I don’t think bans will go through and they shouldn’t have to - there should be common sense though. So sad. The dog was thrown outside and then the neighbour grabbed him and put him in their garage and the dog wasn’t being aggressive, I read. That poor little girl though. Why do people leave any child alone or near a large dog that just a little nip even could do considerable damage? Babies, toddlers, young children and people who don’t have experience or knowledge on dog body language should never be left alone with any dog. I know sometimes life gets busy or it’s just a quick dash to the toilet or whatever but NO, don’t leave them alone for a moment. You are endangering the life of the child and of the dog and if something happens it will affect you for the rest of your life. Not worth it.

I like the purple coat in the pic - loud and clear, people can’t miss it even from a distance. Some may still approach, some can’t help it, it seems. I sometimes have kids running behind us to catch up shouting if they can pet my now 1 year old. Thankfully my big puppy (Golden Retriever) is not a jumper or excitable on walks or meeting people. I think some of that is nature but also I’ve made a point since the beginning to go out as much as possible and have as much as possible interactions. People would even hold her and pat her and get on the floor with her in their lap. But she was never an excitable pup in those situations so I admit I never had to really train her to be calm… However, keep doing what you are doing and try to work through anyone or any dog coming up in the best way you can for your pup. It’s so essential to get them as much exposure to everything so when they are a big unruly pup everything is just normal and sort of even boring so they don’t react. I have a big senior Lab who as a puppy had people running over to us and it was just crazy at times and he reacted all excitably, became so hard that I didn’t take him out to populated areas much and now as he’s older he’s much better but it can still be a struggle if he’s going to get overly excited at someone who smiles at him. You’re doing a good job!

I’m not sure what the answer could be really but definitely there are dogs out there being bred in terrible circumstances and that needs to be stopped. It sounds like a real balance between stopping what needs to be stopped without also impeding on the good ones, sadly that’s what a lot of laws do, and those who are really the bad ones still often times go undetected. What is the solution to advocate for those who truly need it without just throwing out laws that don’t seem to really do a lot of good in the end?

Different reasons but often the dog is offered at a much cheaper price and sometimes through mentorship if you want to become a breeder too.

Thank you for that info.

Yes I think that’s what I think too. Trying to figure out all the info seems difficult. I know that many breeders do guardian homes but not sure I really want to be a part of it. I was offered to do it years ago with a male and perhaps I should have but it didn’t feel right at the time.

So they would keep ownership but just register the dog in your name? Thanks.

Hi, does anyone know when you agree to have a dog but the dog is still owned by the breeder whether they are responsible for keeping the dog registered in their name and at their residence or do they register it in their name but at your residence? How does that part work with council? Thanks!

Very true. And to an outsider or someone who doesn’t have the knowledge the thought for a dog breeding more than a couple times might make them think it’s mean or something. I think the myth of mother dogs being drank dry by their puppies is still in a lot of peoples minds when they think about it. Animal welfare is all over the place and I know a lot of amazing goodness has come from it but sometimes the other side of the coin is forgotten and they only show you one aspect of it, such as horrible puppy farms and then the public has that in their minds for all dogs. Being a dog breeder I imagine can have with it a bit of a taboo for some people, yet they still want their puppy. Interesting.

Sorry, I mean why would they want to limit how many times they can have litters compared to larger breeds? A small dog isn’t having large breed pups so their litter size and size of pups are relative to the size of the mum so why put restrictions on how many times they can have puppies compared to larger breed dogs? Do they believe smaller dogs struggle more?

I think it’s expected that one day dogs will go extinct. Not for a long time though. Once robotic dogs come in that look and act more dog like numbers will diminish significantly. The ‘cavoodle’ has become the most popular dog. For whatever reason people want this instead of so many other breeds that they and most people haven’t even come across. What’s the purpose of smaller dog breeds being treated differently for breeding than larger dog breeds? It’s not like the little ones mate with large dogs. What’s the difference? They need to cut out puppy farming but leave the papered experienced dog breeders alone, other than to make sure they aren’t becoming puppy farms etc.

I agree that it’s messy to try to figure out the appropriate course. Maybe you could contact trainers who are already qualified and see what they have to say, or look at their credentials.

Zeus is adorable. What a cutie.

There was a video of a vet talking about syringomyelia and he showed a video of a cavalier with it and then after it had pain relief. I was surprised that the dog looked pretty normal. He also claims that 90 percent of them have this and it varies in levels of it and pain. They are some of the sweetest dogs I must say but their health issues are extremely concerning. I wonder if this is part the reason that poodle cross cavaliers have become so popular, people get turned off by all the info out there on the health of the breed and somehow think mixing it with a poodle will be fine.

They seem to be only expensive if getting them from a puppy broker who markets itself as amazing when it’s not. If they combed their hair out properly then they wouldn’t need to be shaved down. Purebred poodles need to be groomed/shaved far more than the mixes but the mixes have such difficult mix of hair that people struggle brushing them properly and they end up needing to be shaved. Defeats the purpose of the ‘teddy bear’ look I imagine a lot are going for. I think also mixes tend to have all different hair to one another, some need more grooming than others I’d imagine so ‘breeders’ struggle in telling them exactly what will be needed. Many long haired dog breeds seem to be shaved down in pet homes due to unwillingness to properly groom them. And it is hard if you have little time or have to do it so often and can’t stick to it. Easier to just shave them down I guess but then you have to do it so often. I feel for these mixed dogs and it’s probably the biggest reason why I’m generally against poodle mixes. Even if they got all the testing in the world done and were super well bred and reared, they still have difficult hair and tend to suffer for it with mats etc and I can’t stand the thought of a dog in pain and discomfort from mats.

It’s up to each individual to decide what level of risk they want to take. Personally I took my older dogs for walks still. I wouldn’t go to high risk areas, so no dog parks or grassed areas. I think the idea is to lower the risk of parvo but you can’t really eliminate it completely. It can stay pretty much everywhere for years without you knowing (including on shoes) unless it’s been cleaned properly with bleach etc. Puppies also need lots of socialisation. I took my dogs as puppies out straight away, carrying them everywhere I could, on their mat in a trolley, lots of car rides and taking minor risks such as puppy class where they do clean the area. It’s a risk to weigh up, most of the time it’s fine but sadly I have heard too many stories where it hasn’t been fine so it is still a very real risk. It can be helpful to ask the vet in your area if cases are high or not. What does everyone else do on here?

My lab won’t hurt anything, not a fly or an ant or a lizard. My Goldens are much more into birds and my older girl has been successful there. Probably depends on lines as I’m sure there are labs out there who do or is that a lab thing to be gentle to all creatures? If I were in your situation I would put up a smaller mesh fenced area closer to the house and then a gate out to the bigger area. That way they can stay closer in, you can more easily supervise and then they get to go wild when you take them out to the larger area on the property.

I haven’t had personal experience with Flat Coats but they look so beautiful. They can be pretty high energy too, one of the more higher energy of the retrievers but are very kid friendly. Vizslas are very high energy dogs, very needy. They love to run and zoom around and can be highly strung in some lines. They love to work so probably wouldn’t just be able to entertain itself even with a huge yard. They have short hair but need a good brushing to deshed often otherwise a simple pat to them will have you come back with hair all over you hand (easy to brush them though). They are very sweet dogs but kind of silly and crazy. They are great with kids but could knock them over and be a bit too high energy if the kids aren’t into running around and rough housing etc. They aren’t a dog to just lounge around, they will do that and lots of cuddles but after a lot of work and running first. They have same joint issues as most large dogs so can’t go for jogs and really long on leash walks until their joints have closed at about 18 months - 2 years. So it’s a lot to manage in getting their energy out in a safe way before then. I’d love to get one but I personally think they’d be too high energy on the commitment level to that every day but I’m tempted after knowing some very sweet ones. I have a Lab and Goldens. In my opinion you can’t really go wrong with a well bred lab. They shed too but have the shorter hair so easier to manage. They can get grass seeds still but they don’t pick up leaves etc in their coat. A show line lab can be crazy fun playing and then laid back at the same time. They don’t need to go all day. Similar with Goldens. But I’m not suggesting one to you if you would prefer one of the breeds you mentioned, just trying to offer a comparison. Vizslas are much easier to find than Flatties. As long as the commitment is there and the awareness is there, talk to some breeders and find out from them whether their lines might suit you. Try to steer away from the more highly strung lines and definitely not working lines. Vizslas aren’t great off leash either just a note if you want to do that sort of thing. Curly Coats tend to be a little more watch dog material of the retrievers but most dogs will alert you to anything unusual or anyone coming to the house, they just might then want to be their friend too. You can look into the smaller Murray River Retriever if that style of dog suits you too.

They are so adorable. Give them time, they will get it before you know it. At 8 weeks old they normally go to their new homes right and eat solids for sure so I bet they’ll pick it up any day. It’s not unusual at all for 6 week or even 7 or 8 week old puppies to still love a little milk from mum if she lets them. It’s a transition and takes some time mixing the both for a bit. You did a brilliant job feeding the little bro and keeping him alive early on.

Are they lapping the milk? If they are doing that you shouldn’t need to hand feed them and then start mixing the milk with solids/mush until they are eating it up nicely.

I would be putting their formula into their bowl and not adding in anything else until they get the idea what the bowl means. Are they lapping up water? They should be lapping at the milk and then after a few days of that add in some mush. Allow mum to have an area to go to if she wants to escape her pups but don’t take her away fully unless mum doesn’t want anything to do with them.

It varies for different breeds so best to do a specific search with the breed club. They all have a criteria that must be met if they are to be registered. If not getting papers then do what’s best for her. If she had a difficult time, not enough milk, didn’t eat enough, struggled in any way and difficulty with energy levels or looks like she needs a good rest then definitely no back to back breeding. Particularly if she comes into season every 6 months. Some are much longer in between so they have a longer time to recover but even they will rest them for a cycle. If she didn’t enjoy motherhood and struggled I’d reconsider putting her through it again, as you will potentially be putting yourself through raising them again or even worse.

I’m not experienced in small breeds but I would imagine a reason could be that they have such a smaller face and mouth to eat. The first several days could be just playing in the mush before they decide to eat some. Are you mixing plenty of formula with the mush the first few times? Introduce the mush in small quantities and mostly milk still and then each time increase a bit until the mush is with water. Some puppies fall asleep next to the water bowl or even with their face in it so make sure it’s a small bowl or not too full and check they always have some water in there but not enough that they could drown. They should be better with water and being safer in a couple weeks time or so. They shouldn’t need a heat pad anymore as they can better manage their temperature but have a cosy area for them and an area they can get to if they are too hot.

I have a lab and goldens. My lab is the sweetest happiest go lucky gentle dog in the world. He has been attacked in the past and try as much as I did I could not stop it. The dog was so quick, circling around him taking bites, that I couldn’t get my hand or leg in anywhere. It was only when the owner who was in their front yard with the dog came running over, took her shoe off and whacked her dog with it that he leg go and she yelled at him to go inside, she grabbed him and quickly hurried away into her house with him, never asking if we were ok or checking us at all. The screams from my dog were just horrible. Nothing he ever has done does he deserve that. Thankfully we weren’t far from home and I was able to check him over and tend to his wounds. They weren’t deep but lots of small bite marks all over his belly. No blood. It was a collie cross I believe and had it been a different dog or had she not been there I don’t know what I would have been able to do. I don’t walk my dogs in suburbia, it’s too risky. There’s too many dogs out there off leash when they shouldn’t or people who have no control over their dog or just don’t care. I only walk around lakes or in highly populated areas now. It’s sad.