Prydenjoy

I don't have it, but am curious whether it is similar to what Pat Miller suggests in her book Positive Perspectives 2 (for anyone who has both). I couldn't let Berri off leash when he was younger because he'd just run off and frollick until HE was ready to come back. He's mostly good now, the only time he doesn't come back when I call is when he has to do a number two or have a drink, which is fair enough I guess!

I can't say I've been doing much of that (although I should start!) but I do always put my hand out in Meika's (my toddler) face when I want her to wait somewhere out of habit, and speak to her as though she is a dog.

http://www.youtube.com/user/xxMissMeiksxx I've only got one training video so far, but plenty more to come, I promise

That brought a tear to my eye, very touching. It's amazing what dogs can do.

Not sure if this has been asked, but what is the price range for a male show quality Sheltie? And can anyone recommend a breeder in NSW or QLD with dogs with an outstanding temperament?

I've heard that the Standards tend to have aggression issues and a lot end up in breed rescue, is this true?

Thanks heaps for all of the info - And thank you TB for the tip re size and agility, I wouldn't have even thought about that!! Although if I did get one I would also be interested in sheep dog trialling, just for a bit of fun on the side. I think I'll meet a few at the Uralla and Armidale shows, so I hope a few turn up! I love going to dog shows and meeting the breeders and their dogs, I've met some wonderful people over the years. You're right panda, we don't have problems with ticks here. Never seen a tick in the area.

1. What is my relationship with the breed? (ie breeder, first time owner etc) I got my first Papillon 5 years ago, and also own a 2 year old now 3. How common is it in Australia? Most people here have never seen one before, there are a couple around that I have heard about but not many 5. What is the general temperament/personality? Happy go lucky, zoomy, playful. They do vary greatly though and I have come across some nervous Paps, in particular those who weren't socialised from an early age. Early socialisation is imperative for this breed, as is treating them as a "dog" ie not carrying them everywhere and allowing them to get "small dog syndrome". If treated like a big dog they will behave just like a scaled down big dog, only you get the bonus that they eat less and can go everywhere with you! 6. How much daily exercise is needed for the average adult? They are a very intellegent breed and thrive on training/agility to exercise their brain. They will quite happilly zoom around your house to burn up excess energy but do love a go for walk. 7. Is it a breed that a first time dog owner could easily cope with? I think so, but would strongly recommend Puppy Pre School and lots of socialisation so that they have a well adjusted dog without anxiety issues. 8. Can solo dogs of this breed easily occupy themselves for long periods? Berri lives here on his own now as Montie is on a holiday at mums - I got him as a 14 month old and he has had severe anxiety problems for a long time, living with my partner (who I have now kicked out indefinitely) and now, our baby, was proving very detrimental to his health. Hence why I say it is so important to socialise them as pups, they have memories like elephants and can get very stuck in their ways. I'm still trying to work out if there is a way he can co exist with my baby without being too stressed. Meanwhile Berri would love a friend, I'm sure. He is my shadow when I'm not working, and when I'm working (Family Day Care) he has to spend the day between my bedroom and outside, with a quick training session and play time when the kids are napping. It is a long day of isolation for him and he has become an expert escape artist. Papillons are not easy to keep in! We have foot netting around the whole perimetre of the yard, we have raised our fences and even have cemented some areas to keep him in! I give him bones every day to keep him occupied, throw treats around the yard for him to find, give him a treat ball/kong etc and he still gets bored and tries to find a way out. He really craves attention, so whenever I'm not working he's in the house playing with Meika or snuggling with me. Because they are so highly intellegent they are not a breed really suited to occupying themselves for long periods in my opinion. 9. How much grooming is required? I'll spend a few minutes once a week grooming Berri, they are really easy care. People always comment on how clean Berri is, their fur repels dirt and they will look clean even when they haven't had a bath for a few weeks! 10. Is it too boisterous for very small children or for infirm people (unless the dog is well trained)? Berri plays with my 15 month old daughter all the time, he plays so gently with her (supervised, of course). They even play fetch together and she is always feeding him her food! They are absolutely perfect together. He had a bad experience with a little kid though and suffers from fear aggression with children, which is something we are working on. Children can be very rough and you should never let a Pap play with a child unless you know the child well and are sure they wont hurt the dog. One bad experience may stay with them for life. 11. Are there any common hereditary problems a puppy buyer should be aware of? As well as those already mentioned by other people, I have found a particular line of Paps to have anxiety issues. Not a hereditary problem as such, but something to beware of. Always meet the parents of a pup before you make a decision. 12. When buying a puppy, what are the things you should ask of the breeder? (eg what health tests have been done (if applicable) and what is an acceptable result to those tests so the buyer has an idea of what the result should be) Where the pups are raised, indoors or close to the family is best.

I have always loved Shelties and am so glad I have found this thread so I can learn more about this beautiful breed! For anyone who has had experience with Shelties and Paps, how do they compare to Papillons in the areas of: Grooming Trainability Exercise requirements As an agility dog Also, is Sentinal and Capstar safe for Shelties? I use Sentinal. I see that desexing contracts are common in this breed, which I think is great

*Insert mental image of itty bitty puppy chewing on big meaty bone* ;) The general rule is that you can feed 10% extras ontop of a regular dried food, chicken wings are great. It is true that if you substitute too much of their meals with meaty bones or whatever else you could cause some imbalances, without properly researching how to balance their diet outside their kibble. If you were to give them the occasional chicken liver and a bit of mashed veggies it would balance out the occasional wing a little bit. There is a lot of info out there on the web about preparing home made meals etc, but without thorough research it's a good idea to stick to the 10% rule, the last thing you want is to accidentally give them an imbalance while trying to do the best by them ;) Perhaps you could give them half a wing each 2 or three times a week? They are easy to chop in half with a sharp knife. I steer clear of necks, heard of too many dogs choking on them and it makes me nervous! :D

Glad to hear all is well! Keep us posted on how they do on the Royal Canin. It's great to see improvements in a new pup when you get it and improve it's diet. Chino was being fed cat food before I got him and it was great to see his tear stains disappear, his energy levels pick up and his coat get softer after changing his diet

Why is that? Cheers Plants have a rigid cell wall that dogs digestive systems aren't built to break down. Animal products are more easily digested, and the short digestive tracts of dogs are designed specifically to do this. That's not to say veggies aren't great for dogs, just that they need a little assistance to extract the nutrients. When juiced or pureed the cell wall is smashed, meaning dogs can extract the nutrients. In cooking the cell wall is also damaged and the nutrients become available to the dog.

The BARF diet is more straight to the point, his other books have a lot of garbage you don't need to know in them, although Give Your Dog A Bone is quite an interesting read anyway. If you're microwaving your veggies or cooking them otherwise, you don't really need to puree the veggies. So long as they aren't raw and unpureed! You'll get the same result if you cook them, although you will lose a small amount of nutrients (not as many as some would have you believe!) Good luck

Stick with the Royal Canin for both pups. Fill a bowl up, put it down and let the pups eat (seperate bowls may be necessary), 5 minutes later pick it up and put it away. Do this 4 or 5 times a day while they are really small, reducing to 2 meals a day by the time they finish growing. They'll soon learn that if they don't eat in their "window" they wont have any food until the next meal. Don't fold and offer meals between meals, or when the pup begs for it. Stick to certain times and they will learn pretty quickly. I've been slack with Chino and left his and Monties food out until they ate it, they'd pick at it and it would sit there all day. Then I decided to toughen up and offer them 4 meals a day (Montie is an adult, but he chooses only to eat twice a day anyway) and each time I put the bowl down Chino digs in. Montie is actually eating better now too. Many people choose to leave food out all day, but from a training perspective this isn't the best method. When you offer a dog food, and make it sit before it eats, you are controlling its resources, and it sees you as a leader. If they always have food there they think it is their entitlement and you mean less to them as you are not controlling the vital resources. Also, some dogs get fat on this method of feeding because they'll over eat, others will get skinny (like Montie did) because they are a bit fussy and only have a few bites here and there until they aren't hungry and not eat much. If you offer them a set number of meals a day they are generally hungry at meal times and will eat, especially if their unfinished food gets taken away. Also, set meal times can make house training easier, as a general rule pups will go to the toilet after eating, if they nibble and snack all day you don't get that opportunity to go outside and praise them for going when you know they will.

Puppy pre school is very important from the socialisation aspect. Personally I know how to train a dog, I don't go to puppy pre school to learn how to train a dog, I go for the socialisation for the puppy in its critical stages of development. Even for the puppy to learn to be in a room with many other puppys and distractions and learn how to react in a stressful (well, not too stressful for the pup, but very stressful for an adult dog that's never been in that situation!) environment, with so many people and dogs crowded into one room, it sets them up for life. I missed PPS with Chino (I live in a country town with only one vet that does PPS and the service there is hopeless, they called me back 3 weeks after I enquired about it and said "oh sorry, classes started 2 weeks ago" Grr!) and when I was at the vet in Willoughby with him when he was 16 weeks I thought I'd sit out the front for a while to get him the socialisation he missed by missing PPS. Unfortunately he went ballistic, he barked at every dog that came in and tried to bite it! I had people visit us with dogs since I got him and had many visitors every week, and took him to other peoples houses to meet their dogs, but when it came to a situation of being in a strange room and meeting lots of new dogs he didn't know how to cope. Fortunately I got him into training the next weekend and he was a bit ballistic then as well, but I think I caught him just in time because I used some distraction techniques and a few other techniques I know and by the end of the lesson he was ok. If I'd waited a few more weeks I'd probably have a very ill adjusted dog that I had to work hard with his whole life because he wasn't socialised in the critical window. But something I must point out to the OP, that I'm surprised nobody else has, is that you shouldn't be walking any pup, especially something like a daschound, when they are 3 months of age. Firstly, if it hasn't finished its shots you might subject it to a deadly disease, but more importantly, you could injure it's joints for life. Puppys should only run as far as they do in play, they should be allowed to tire themselves out, any extra walking can injure their joints which is something I'd be particularly worried about in that kind of breed. I take Chino for little walks, just up the road and back, but if you had to walk more than a block to and from PPS you are placing your pup at serious risk. Especially considering it'll probably be romping around for an hour or so with other puppies in between walks! Please be aware of this, if you need to go somewhere with your pup and can't get a lift, carry it instead

I cook my dogs patties now (they don't like the raw as much) and Montie's fur is fluffier and healthier than ever. I used to feed BARF (make the patties myself) and the dogs looked stunning. Then I fed the "prey model" diet, ie like BARF but with no veggies etc, and their health deteriorated dramatically. I then fed Eagle Pack for a while and they picked up a bit, then I bought the pre mix patties (Dr Billinghurst) for Montie and his health declined a little, he didn't thrive on them, though he did lose the doggy odour that he got after a few months of being fed kibble! Now I've started cooking for him (he still gets half a chicken wing a day) his health has picked right up again and he's beginning to look better than ever (his prime was when he was on the BARF patties I made at home, he's at that stage again now, but 5 years old now as opposed to 2 years). Between the time when I started feeding the prey model diet, up until I started cooking for him he had recurring staff infections and his fur lost some of its gloss and length. Because of the staff he got shaved a few times and his fur grew back slightly duller than it used to be and he was a very itchy dog. He doesn't scratch now and his skin is nice and healthy, his fur is thick and longer than it's been in years and he's put on a bit of weight because he actually enjoys his food now! So, in my experience (all dogs are different), the way to go is home made BARF patties (if your dog will eat them) or home cooked hybrid BARF (or FARB - Food and Raw Bones LOL). Montie didn't thrive on the Billinghurst patties, he was still soft and healthy, but not as healthy as on the BARF or FARB Oh and the puppy, Chino, he's doing wonderfully on the FARB. I'm very happy with the results

Oh please tell me that was a one off! I know lots of dogs who will ONLY eat chicken and rice because they "wouldn't eat" anything else so their owners just started feeding them the one thing they would eat, chicken and rice, and this stayed their diet for their whole life. There are a number of deficincies that can arise from this diet, besides, a pup will eat if it is hungry enough!! Good on you though for being prepared to spend the extra money buying premium foods for your dog... Even if it wont eat them

I'll bet that's pleasant for you... The things we do for our dogs!! On avocado though, you might want to read this

Oh really? That's news to me! I'd better get on her back about it - I believe he is registered because she was going to keep him, I know his dad was registered so I doubt he would be used at stud to an unregistered breeder. I'm in NSW, he came from NSW also. I can't believe she would sell me a pup and hold onto his papers, even though the rules state that the papers should come with him Does anyone have the clause number and a quote explaining this part of the rules? If so could you please post them, so I can get a letter together to send to her to request his papers? Thanks so much!

I got a bag of the Vets all Natural with Montie, that was years ago though and it wasn't a full bag, just a sample his breeder gave me, so I'm not sure of the results... I'm not sure, based on the information provided. It uses soy, I beleive some dogs do not do well on soy, I avoid it altogether for my dogs. Also, it says it is available for dogs of different energy levels, weight loss etc, but then it only has one list of ingredients? One other thing, it didn't mention what percentage you are supposed to feed of that, and how many bones, how much offal etc. You'd probably be able to do much better preparing meals yourself, but if you don't have time then it would certainly be better to use some of that than follow one of those "prey model" diets that just consist of meat and offal. I think if you fed raw chicken wings (skin removed), as well as offal, meat and veggie meals (I cook these meals for a variety of reasons), then two or three meals of the Vets all Natural per week might be good as a supplement, better than used as a staple at least :D You might want to experiment with the frozen BARF patties as well, they are pre prepared, which makes it easy if you don't have time to make your own dog food, and I think have a better list of ingredients than the Vets all Natural (though for variety you could mix it up and feed a couple of meals of each per week with some offal and wings). The BARF patties come in roo variety as well, which is a bonus. Again, it isn't very specific in the packaging if or how much extra RMBs to feed, and wheather you'll unbalance the offal percentages etc by feeding such and such amounts of chicken bones, so there's a lot of guess work. I did use the BARF patties for a while with Montie, but his health declined and since doing his meals up for him at home again his fur has fluffed up and shined up again and he's on the road to better health. All dogs do better on different things though! I've probably just succeeded in confusing you more... Basically, if you are short on time and don't have the time or resources to formulate and make up a great meal for the dog, use the pre packaged stuff. Variety is great, so I'd be using the Roo formula BARF patties 4 evenings per week, vets all natural 3 evenings a week, as well as a chicken wing (skin removed) 5 or 6 mornings a week, and a bit of liver one or two mornings a week (perhaps lightly fried if she is a fussy eater). Even mash some cooked pumpkin with the Vets all Natural for an even lighter meal Let us know how you go.

Staffies are quite a heavy breed, so it takes longer to heal properly - As opposed to a little dog who only puts 1kg of weight on the leg so and may heal in just a few months. I'm not an expert, but I would think to wait at least 6 months before any vigourous exercise, such as running with another dog. It's not worth it, if it did more damage the dog would have to go through a lot more trauma. Speak to your vet, even if it is just to ask the question of when it should be healed well enough to run about with other dogs. Also, adding vitamin C to the diet can strengthen ligaments. Good luck, hope everything is ok.

I wont do up a recipe (sorry, that would take ages by the time I analysed it and made sure it was perfect, wouldn't want to post it otherwise!) but do some research on home made diets and use roo meat and turkey meat primarily for the meat component (turkey meat is more nutrient rich than chicken anyway), as well as fish. Use lots of beans for the veggie component (very filling and very nutritious), considering supplementing with Kelp (only a little bit, don't want to overdo it) and if you are a RMB feeder (as opposed to someone who cooks their food and adds calcium supps) use chicken or turkey wings (depending on the size of the dog!) and be sure to remove the skin (very fattening). If you want more advice on a home made diet see my response to Palane in the puppy forum (about the puppy who only eats meat). And of course, go for walkies every day

Spoke to the vet today, she said it's unlikely to be anything serious - She saw him at his 12 week vaccinations and when she saw him today she said "wow, he's shot up!", because he has shot up so quickly and had a growth spurt his ligaments probably haven't caught up with the bones yet. I'll just give him some extra vitamin C for that and try to prevent him shooting up and down the stairs

What about that Orange Power carpet cleaner? Would that one be ok?

Sounds like it may be an irritation to something. Has he ever had anything like this before? It is the time of year for allergies, have you moved or changed anything in your garden?