Aspyre

I think you would be safe in entering the pup from the 6th (which is the next weekend). If it was mine that would be its first show.

We had the same thing over Christmas... non stop barking all day from the new neighbours two mini schnaus. A polite note stuffed under their door did the trick, dogs have been quite most of the time since (only the odd bark). But I just dont get it either, do they not notice them barking!!! or do they just switch off???

From Hungary I would try Jetpets or Dogtainers. They both have experience in importing from that country. There are a few others that are just as good and are very competitive too, but cheapest is not always the best. The main bit of advice I can give you is to ring around and compare prices and what it is exactly that they cover, some will include paperwork (which is really not that hard to complete yourself online) and crate costs (crates can often be sourced cheaper online). Also check where their flights are connecting through, some flights will have longer stops than others too. Also bare in mind that from Hungary they need to have all their rabies and titre tests completed as per importing from an EU country, so this can take a bit of time if that has not already started. Good luck.

Always love coming in here to share in everyone's excitment over their babies, and am sad to see that not everything has gone well for a few of you Sending you all BIG and hoping that you all manage to enjoy the festive season and that 2010 brings more happy memories and puppy breath for you all

Aww I hate coming in here makes me want more babies but how can you not love them all they are so cute!!! Leanne - Never realise that baby stafford are so cute!! Love the pic of storm with the babies!! :rolleyes: Andisa - That black boy looks like trouble Sway - Love the face one the one with the blue collar :p

Not sure what breed you have but with an attitude like that please don't ever contact me to get one of my babies. I put my heart and soul in to each and every puppy I breed and a quick update is all it takes to let me know that the puppy is going OK. Ditto :rolleyes: I am another that loves hearing fron our puppy people!! From our last litter of 11, of the 10 we sold, I hear from 8 of them maybe once a month, and the other two every few months. 6 of the pups went to homes Interstate, so it is not possible for me to get to see them in person, and photos of the pups are the only way I can truly asses what the bitch produced. I agree Ozstar, if it is a show dog, then I would think that you would be getting in touch with your breeder more often than not. Its a great chance to ask their opinion about the pup and how they are developing compared to is parents, siblings and other relations???

LOL thanx but I meant this thrusday silly, me and some of the other girls are getting together at hillsbro to do abit of extra practise and to let our kids have abit of a play Well you can still borrow it... but you have to come to Sydney to get it...lol

We have a trolley that we are bringing if you want to use that

I'm sure you could train your OH or one of the kids to do them Oh yeah another reason... you are showing the ONLY solid pointer in Australia.... but thing is you actually need to show her

$20 car per day $40 car + trailer per day Is there exhibitor parking? Or is it just a free-for-all like it is here in Perth? Is parking close to the grounds? Still tossing up whether or not to make the trip over! You can drive up and drop all your gear (plus dogs, if you have someone to watch them) and then drive your car down to the parking lot (yes for exhibitors). If not you can park in the parking lot and make the hike with your dogs & gear down to the pavillion - Its about a 5-10min walk. We don't mind the walk, and is fine if you bring a trolley for your gear/dogs. If you have no room for your trolley near your bench, its easy enough to fold it up and put it under the benches. PLUS a trolley comes in handy when you are scooting in and out of teh ring with multiple dogs, and never enough handlers

Just realised I put the phone number wrong, should be 9606 9312

I thought that I would answer these questions as they might help someone else wanting to know the same things Theft - I guess it does depend on where you live, but I would think that if your backyard is secure then there should not be any problems. I guess if you were leaving the pup out in a front yard, in full view of any person walking past then perhaps it could be an issue. Dirt - They aren't really dirty dogs in the first place. Trimming the coat around their feet will help minimise the amount of dirt tracked into the house. Muddy paws are easily dried off with a towel (and if really wet & muddy, a touch of potato flour patted on then brushed out works miracles!!). Brushing - Daily brushing is advised. With a shorter clipped coat you can get away with less, maybe twice a week. Backyard - the area above sounds great, a nice patch of grass to toilet and play, and an undercover area to avoid the elements. Throw in a stretcher bed, a water bowl, and a few toys and you're all set. Barking - They are not yappy dogs, but some will bark more than others. I have one that will only bark warnings but another doesn't bark at all.

No worries Xaiver if you ever change your mind and want to talk Bichons just give me a call or drop me an email. I am more than happy to help put you in contact with some very good breeders.

Firstly congratulations on your new addition. Is there a reason why she would need to be inside all day?? Do you have an enclosed yard that she could stay in during the day? I am sure she would be much happier to be out in the sun (providing she has some kind of shelter) than being locked inside all day. Our little ones are outside during the day but are inside when we are home. With puppies we usually try and leave them in the laundry (or a space like that) with some paper down (in case of accidents) but from around 6months they are usually out in the yard. Personally I would not be encouraging her to go to the toilet while she was crated or in a pen. They learn pretty quick that outside is for toileting and hold on while they are locked away. Toys yes!! Food, I would probably recommend giving her breakfast as you leave (this will keep her occupied and not thinking about you going) and then dinner when you get home. You can leave out some biscuits but most will just eat them all at once anyway. You could try things like kongs filled with biscuits with a blob of peanut butter to block up the end (so the biscuits stay in), keeps them occupied for hours (in summe I add some chicken stock and freeze them). Another trick we do is we leave a radio on for the dogs while we are out, the noise also helps to keep them settled as they think someone is home. Yes the gradual seperation would be an idea, most of them happily follow you are around the house ALL THE TIME!! But our guys are happy enough when we go out, as we make a HUGE fuss over them when we come back. It is important not to give excess attention and make a big deal over them when you are going, do it when you come home. Make sure you ask your breeder for some tips on grooming, all little bits of info help when you are starting out.

I would suggest going out to Luci Ellem's. She is at Austral, so that wouldn't be too far for you. http://www.camarna.com/main.htm Vet wise Marilyn & Jim Gill's Austral Vet Clinic - Shop 4 Edmonson Ave AUSTRAL (02) 6906 9312

A lot Show preparation is a continual proceedure, I've found that the best way to keep them white is to keep onto of it. Now I am just speaking about our show dogs, anything that is not being shown is clipped nice and short to minimise grooming requirements (keep in mind that once clipped off it is a good 6months to get the coat back to showing length again ) - Dogs are bathed weekly, regardless of if we are going to a show or not. Bathing usually takes anywhere from 1/2 to 1hour. - Dried by dryer with a slicker brush - Scissored. This takes anywhere from 1/2 to 2 or more hours, depending on how much coat there is to start with and what you are aiming to achieve. You can spend hours snipping little by little and still find parts to nip and tuck later on. - Whiskers are powdered and wrapped. Wraps are changed twice a day. - Males are powdered at least twice a day to clean up any urine on legs or belly The day before a show dogs are bathed, dried and scissored. The morning of the show, we usually arrive around about 2hours before start time. This gives you time to set up, and start grooming. This is where you can see all the little bits that you missed in yesterday scissor. Probably the worst thing about grooming is the scissoring, it does take AGES to learn the correct technique. Even worse is the fact that it takes 3 or 4 weeks for the coat to grow back in around a mistake So yes there is a lot of work involved in showing bichons, and personally I would not recommend them to a novice show person.

What like this??

Colcha, I totally understand your situation, and the relief you feel when it is done. Happy to add the vet we used, the Wollongong vet (who actually travels up to a practice in Sydney twice a month). We have needed to have a couple of dogs done over the years and have never had a problem, all dogs continue to live super happy lives and my stress levels are down too

Super idea SWAY!!! Just the best idea ever!!! You have one of ours there but it is listed as unknown - ASPYRE (Pointers & Boxers) and the other is AMBICHON (Bichon Frise)

YAY another BICHON person... Welcome to the club!! You will be hooked in no time Where did you get him from??