Tia

It was the other side of the Mountains to us, not sure where, anywhere from Kurrajong down and out to like all the farms past the Hawkesbury outer.

Hi all, I know this is a long shot and I heard about this place somewhere between the last 5 to 8 years so it's a big ask. A lady who had Golden Retrievers on her property ran a boarding house for other Goldens while you were away. They got to run around and were housed inside at night. I'm hoping someone may know of this place and if it is still running? Otherwise where would you suggest for a pup who will be just over six months old and desexed when we go away in October for 11 days. We live in the Blue Mountains NSW. Thanks. :) Edit..... Just had to include a current piccie of Honey.

Hi westiemum, I still have to do the treat to car training but we had to rush out the other night, luckily before Honey had dinner. We had to carry her into the car and put her next to the window with it opened a few inches. We had about a 20minute drive and she stayed in the car with the kids while I ran into the shop and then we went via KFC on the way home another 20minutes and all was good. It was nice knowing, no crying or anything and I think she's started to get more comfortable on shorter trips. I just have to add entering the car to my already over loaded list of things to do.

Goldens are the same, people just assume they are fantastic with kids but like any breed they need training, the children need training even the adults need training. Honey's only a puppy so she's still bouncy so I don't like any toddler near her and even today I noticed she jumped up at my 11 yr old so I got her to do the back turn and arm crossed trick to ignore her. We're all working on basic manners and look so she now will look at everyone in the eyes without feeling we're threatening her. I've also been taking treats and toys from her and then as she makes no complaints she gets them back with praise. I try to think of what kids will do to a dog as kids don't think. I think it all comes down to the childrens ages in regards to injuries to a pup or how sensitive certain breeds are and the fact new owners really need to understand it's all about training no matter what the breed is.

In a tragic turn of events far greater than anything that could play out on television, a former soap opera actor took his own life last week after he was allegedly forced to put his pet dog to sleep. According to an article in the New York Post, Nick Santino spent his 47th birthday euthanizing his dog, Rocco, after he was pressured by his condo building to get rid of the dog. The Brooklyn-born Santino adopted Rocco, a pit bull mix, from an animal shelter several years ago. Santino was raised in the foster care system, and took an instant liking to his new family member. "I did not rescue Rocco, Rocco rescued me," Santino wrote on his Facebook page. In 2010, the Manhattan building in which Santino lived adopted new dog regulations, which included a ban on pit bulls. The ban did not apply to pit bulls already in the building, but Santino's friends and neighbors say that the struggling actor was harassed by building management about having the dog. Rocco couldn't ride in the main elevators and wasn't allowed to be left in the apartment alone for more than nine hours. Santino was also assessed fines for his dog barking, claims which neighbors told the Post were unfounded. After anguishing over what to do with Rocco, Santino reportedly opted to have the healthy dog put to sleep rather than turn him over to a shelter. Santino later took his own life. "Rocco trusted me and I failed him. He didn't deserve this," Santino wrote in a suicide note, according to someone familiar with the matter. Both Santino and Rocco will be cremated, and their ashes will be reunited. The whole story... http://soapcentral.com/amc/news/2012/0130-santino_rocco.php Such a tragic story, once again 2 innocent lives lost all because of a breed title.

A friend from the US showed me this.... Many people feel that they do not have to worry about Breed Specific Legislation if they do not own a Pit Bull, however the breed list is constantly growing and now includes over 75 breeds that have restrictions or complete bans in cities across America. The current list of banned or restricted breeds includes dogs that you would never expect to be placed on such a list. These breeds include the Airedale Terrier, Alaskan Malamute, American Eskimo Dog, Australian Shepherd, Boston Terrier, Golden Retriever, Keeshond, Labrador Retriever, Pug, Samoyed and Siberian Husky. These are just eleven of the over 75 breeds that are currently being discriminated against in the United States. If a complete breed ban is enforced in your city you will be required to either move out of the city with your pet, re home your pet out of the city or turn your pet into the humane shelter to be destroyed. If the breed is restricted, these restrictions may include having to have the dog muzzled at all times while in public, you may be required to purchase insurance for the dog, the dog may be restricted to your property at all times unless it is a medical visit to your veterinarian, or keep the dog in a specific enclosure at all times. For more..... http://www.examiner.com/article/popular-breeds-being-banned-or-restricted-america As we know Australia will soon follow if this article is true.

So many things to try. I know Honey has motion sickness as my son took a picture of her on the way home from the breeder and she was already covered with drool. When we took her to the vets the next day (30 minutes away) even more drool and lots of crying in the last 10 minutes, classic motion sickness apparently. Tonight not feeding her worked well with a raw hide in the car to keep her busy, but I can see how easy motion sickness can turn into anxiety as well so will start on some of the desensitising exercises listed.

Thanks everyone, also I have to read the link Rozzie, I typed in car sick which is why it didn't come up for me. Honey is a golden and my last golden use to prefer lying on the floor of the car. I did have a doubled up sheet on the back seat the other day luckily when she was really ill. Tonight we went to puppy school 30mins away. I didn't feed her for 4hrs before hand, had my son sit in the middle back and placed her to his side with the window open a few inches. I also gave her a small rawhide and we made it there and back home with no problems. She does seem a bit anxious about getting in the car but I think it stems from her having felt ill each time she goes in it. It's only been a week since her 2nd needle so I'm only meant to walk her on the road for now. I can't wait to drive her to a close by bush walking track and start that daily but the vet advised waiting till after she has her 3rd needle. I'll start trying to take her for little drives around the neighbourhood with treats waiting in the car. It still mightn't cover real car sickness on longer trips though, which is probably confusing for a little pup.

Congrats on your new pup. Like the others have said, stick with what the breeder has been feeding and gradually swap over in tiny amounts at a time to avoid an upset tummy. I actually have a large childs play pen for my golden puppy. It took her less then a week to climb out even though it's around 90cms high. She has plenty of room for her bed and toys plus blankets straight on the ground which is all the breeder had. She knows sleep time is in the pen and willingly goes in there for her naps and over night, but the little monkey climbs out in the morning and goes and wakes my daughter up to take her toilet. She won't use her pen at all for toileting, but as she's only 10 weeks we still have the occasional accident inside when everyone's attention isn't on her. All her awake time is toileting times outside, lead training (going for small walks) or just play time with the family in the house, plus annoying the cats. :laugh: I wish they'd learn to stand up to her. After seeing that picture, I'd say crate training would be a great idea for a strong breed of dog when you can't supervise the pup. Remember the piccies. :)

Hi, Sorry I did a quick title check and couldn't find a matching thread. Honey's 10 and a half weeks and hopefully she'll out grow this but atm even with the stemetil the vet prescribed she still throws up if she's in the car more then 30 minutes. I'm hoping for some other ideas to help her especially in case she doesn't grow out (which is why I'm putting the topic in general rather than puppy)of it as I'd like her to travel in the car a lot. Any advice would be great, thanks.

I've always grown up with the dogs living outdoors. They were walked and trained by my father daily and back then as kids we were also outside most the day playing with dogs. I continued on with what I'd grown up with until we got our rescue cats a couple of years ago. Living on national Park it's safer for the wildlife and themselves to stay inside luckily we have a large house for them to play in. Having just got Honey she is to be our first indoor dog (please God hurry with this toilet training) . Where I live now our yard is limited and needs to be re-fenced before she becomes fully grown so she needs constant supervision. (Hopefully I'll have moved by then). When I take Honey to my mums I love that she has a large safe yard to play in. To me having Honey inside is great but I also want her to have a safe yard to spend a couple of hours in playing and sunning herself, so in that sense eventually she'll be an indoor/ outdoor dog decided by what she wants. As long as the dog has protection from the elements and plenty of attention from humans I think it's a personal choice for the owner.

We took Honey straight from the breeders where the pups were still in a play pen except for toileting etc. When brought home we took her straight out to the lawn which is her toilet area and just spent quiet time with her. The first time she got tired she cried in her pen alone so my son nursed her for a while but she woke up and was then happy to go to her play pen to sleep and it continues to this day. We've had Honey for just over 2 weeks, but we try to keep a routine most days. As she's got older the house has become louder but she thrives on all the excitement and we've started introducing, training etc with her. She has her first official puppy class this week and has visited with my mums dog. Apart from that we let her independence develop while stopping any unwanted actions. Like the others have mentioned go as you plan for the long term.

Agreed, this is just horrible and we'll never know the truth of how many times such incidents took place. Also these dogs were taken from a property under questionable circumstances so it really should have been a RSPCA matter to start with not a ranger. RIP

RIP Sarge, my thoughts go out to you and your family Rozzie.

Thanks for the advice. We keep her pen in the family room, I know the loudest room but with 2 kids with ADHD it was important that we picked a pup with the right temperament to handle the noise and movement and she's fine.Being the dominant pup meant she was naturally the most out going and she has been really good for my 11 year old her behaviour has calmed down a lot already she was given the rules before Honey came home about controlling herself more so she wouldn't upset the pup and they interact so well together. :D My bedroom is the only room in the house that is a no pets allowed area, otherwise the cats have free range and we have started introducing Honey into the adult lounge room after toileting (carpeted). Where her pen is it's on tiles but I also have tarp under the sheets and bedding. Honey does at least 3 poops a day sometimes 4 so it is making me question if she is getting too much food, while it looks like not much to me, being a baby she probably doesn't need as much as I give her. I brought some raw hide chews today so I was going to lay one of her spare blankets in the adult part of the house and give her one on it when she's awake. Once she's fully house trained I'd like her to spend more time in this area as Jax my male cat will spend all day in this room with me, though of course it'll be up to her where she wants to go and she'll also have free access to the kids rooms and beds then as well.

Hi all, It's been about 4.6yrs since I've owned a dog. It's taken over 4yrs just to get over the upset and then a couple more months of throwing around the idea of was I ready yet. I guess like a baby sometimes things happen and it mightn't be the right time but I'm so happy we have Honey. She'll be 9weeks on Friday and as you'll see by the picture she's a golden retriever with a colour fault down her hind left leg which just makes her more unique to me. :D Even though I've had dogs most of my life. It has always been in a pack/ outdoor setting so the new pup would follow the lead of the older dog/s. Honey is different she's our only dog and will be an indoor dog so we have a baby play pen for sleeping and when no one can watch her. We picked her up on Sunday and except for an accident today which was caused by human error (having to rush to organise emergency medical tests as I just had surgery) I wasn't really focusing on her though when I think back she did give the warning signs she wanted to go outside to toilet but basically she's been great. I'm confused by night toileting though. If I place puppy pads in the pen just in case she thinks they're a chew toy and has never used them except to rip up. I normally do a 2am toilet and she goes through and waits till someone then takes her out at 7am. I or my 17 yr old son are still up at 2 so it's not a problem what is, is that Honey thinks it's time for zoomies and a good play as well. You can spend an hour up with her and considering I'm ready to collapse playtime at that time of night isn't welcome, any ideas here? Secondly feeding, I'm changing her diet slightly to include more dry food but when I picked her up she was on 5 feeds a day at 8 weeks. Most were wasted 2 mouthfuls only taken. I did 2 days of 4 feeds and today will be my first try at 3 feeds only. We are also starting some light training sit etc so she gets small pieces of smackos for that. What amount is normal for a pup of her age? She weighs 6.1kgs? I'm currently giving her a handful of puppy biscuits softened with warm rice and some tin puppy food to give it a more tempting flavour. Does this sound about right as she leaves about half of it? Maybe after today getting 3 meals only she may eat more. Finally Honey has settled in beautifully, she starts puppy pre-school in early July. She tolerates all the noise from our hectic household her only worry seems to be our 2 rescue cats, they just won't play zoomies with her like her siblings did (she was the dominant pup). Our male cat will tolerate her sniffing him then run off while our part bengel hisses and runs. I'm just trying to let them settle it themselves for now, I read the thread about the Lab pup and cats and don't want the cats still worried about her by then. They are indoor only cats as we live in the mountains but have access to plenty of safe quiet areas. It's funny when she's in her pen asleep both cats will go up and stick their noses as close as possible trying to work just what she is. Anyway sorry for so much detail but I'm hoping to get some advice to help and of course here's the picture of her. :)

I rescued a staffy off death row from the pound, stupid me assuming she'd been assessed with other dogs. I grew up with dogs all my life such as german shepards, a rottie and a pitbull, dogs people normally fear but we never had a problem with them. I quickly learnt this girl was very animal aggressive and we started training with a top trainer to try to tone down the aggression to a level where she could be walked and ignore other dogs. Unfortunately a lot of people around our area believe it's ok to let their aggressive dogs run loose reinforcing her fighting instincts. The number of encounters we had was sickening though the other owners accepted it as their fault, one owner even got excited as he had an AM-staff and it was a full on fight between our girls, it sickened me to see them so excited. 2 owners blamed my dog though and even though we had witness statements to say my dog was on lead and always on lead when out our council declared her dangerous with all that the rules entailed (it was at the height of the BSL). After much discussion with experts it was decided having her pts would be kindest. I gave her I hope one happy year though. It really upsets me when I know someone caused our girl to be like this as I have met some of the most beautiful staffies and I often wonder if we had had her as a pup would she have turned out the same. We did all we could and she was beautiful with our kids but I wondered from the time she left the yard, the way she was on watch just waiting to fight if she was a happy dog. It's been over 4yrs now and we have slowly over the last few months started talking about getting another dog as this whole thing affected me so badly. I wish I could find her old owners and take a broom to them at the very least, we know that was one thing they used to get her going.

I'm so sorry for the little girl and yes accidents like this always seem to happen. One would have thought the dogs would have been secured with relatively unknown people on the property. Here's a comment from the newspaper link that got me though... (Lyn Posted at 2:02 PM Today Immediately eradicate all killer dog breeds Australia wide & impound any human beings who enjoy having dogs that risk innocent children's lives & damage their futures. Who's rights are more important?) Who is going to judge which breed are killers? Any dog especially in large numbers can at the very least leave some nasty physical and mental scarring on a person so where does this woman want the line drawn? It all comes down to training and proper restraint of the animal.

So glad your dog was ok. It really annoys me when people let their dogs walk off lead as even if they are friendly if they approach a dog with aggression or social problems on lead this makes it worse for that owner to work with their dog. The only place for an off lead dog is in a fully fenced yard and house or if totally trained and sociable at a dog off lead area.

You still see pitty x young dogs in pounds. If people had followed the BSL laws and de-sexed their dogs, the breed would be almost gone now. I am also NOT against pitbulls, they're lovely dogs and my daughter was in the video made here a few years back with her nans dog. A 70 + nan with an elderly pitbull and she was harassed by her council. Obviously the ones that are still out there breeding are the morons who want the tough dogs and probably don't care what they do to make the dog that way or think of the consequences. These morons will always be around, I think you're fighting a loosing battle to wish otherwise. Any breed of dog taught violent actions from a young age will have it in-ground in them and the chances of ever removing those lessons would be pretty slim. Pity we couldn't take whatever choice of training device they use on the dogs to become aggressive and use it on the owners instead.

Thankyou everyone, I've got council after Sam as well now, so please say a prayer for him.

Thankyou for everyones thoughts.

Today I had the hard decision to have Storm PTS. I consulted with my vet who told me unfortuently some people ruin dogs and no matter how hard you try to help them theres nothing you can do to save them. While Storm had animal issues I can never fault her for her beautiful human nature. She had her lovely staffy smile on her face right up till when she passed. Thankyou for the year I had with you Storm I hope we made up for whatever was done to you in your first year of life. I pray your death won't go in vain and Sam can be saved at least. Love you girl, run free. :rolleyes:

I was only going to this vet as it's the easiest one to go to with Storms aggression. They do appointments so you don't run into other dogs. I canceled the appointment and asked do they ever do the C5 anymore and they said no as it's cheaper and more cost effective for them (lets say more profit to them) to do a C7. I'll just take the dogs to mums in a few weeks and go to her vet. He has a back entrance I can use so Storm won't encounter any other animals and she'll also be due by then for her next shots. Sams just going to have to wait, he had all his puppy ones and his 1 year old ones so should be covered living in such isolation as we do.

Thanks everyone, I'll cancel the vet and organise to get Sam to a different one later. I thought it was a bit of over kill but just wanted to check.