Christina

One breeder I know who has a breed where life expectancy is down to around 4 and half years is actively working on selecting for longer lives. Curious. What breed is this ? I didn't know that there were any dog breeds with such a short life expectancy.

Some of the tiny breeds can be very lightweight. Probably healthier than being the opposite. She would only need a small amount of food & small breeds often don't do well with too much fatty stuff. I would cut the vegetables a little & replace with a tablespoon of Farex baby food for 2 weeks & see if it makes any difference. Its good for fattening up pups & kittens quickly when needed. If dog is healthy, acts normal, eats etc I can't see the problem really.

Some thunder & a little rain cooled it down nicely here to a muggy bearable but we could have done without the power going off at 4.55pm & not coming on until 4.50 this morning. So worried about how to keep us all cool today that I hardly slept. Not good.

Awww how cute is she :) Natural to cry being away from her mum & litter mates. All alone & in a strange place with a strange person too. Yes it probably would be better training to ignore it but can you be so tough ? Is the pen next to your bed ? Instant cure is to let her sleep with you. She would curl up blissfully content & not even wake up to want to go the toilet. Must admit that I can't have my tiny ones on the bed for about 6 months as its not safe, so fragile, but I have done it with bigger pups. If they keep on crying I tend to verbally reassure them but not pat them or pick them up. They soon settle as they feel more secure & get used to everything. You will get more answers from some that use small crate training & taking pup outside for toilet every couple of hours & ignoring at other times. Its your pup & it really a question of how you want to raise is & what you are comfortable with. She is a very new baby & it will get better.Love her

No idea but wishing you very good luck. How upsetting. Hope we see nice photos & hear of a happy ending from you in a couple of weeks.

Stick to the basic & just give them the price to start with if you feel you are wasting time. People do have to know as they may not be able to afford a puppy or may not want to spend the amount so its no use going into lengthy discussion until this is established. The alternatives are as suggested by mini girl or to put the price on your website when you have a litter of pups. Its not a state secret so may be easier for you to do it that way. People have to be dealt with one way or another.

It does all rather depend on what one's definition & interpretation of Fear actually is. It doesn't have to mean quaking in their shoes, mine certainly aren't, but a certain lets say healthy respect, oh we had better watch it when we hear that tone or volume of voice is needed. Otherwise some dogs depending on their personality & the situation may become uncontrollable. I was being slightly cynical using that phrase from a prior post. Anyone with any sense & kindness towards animals would realise that its not the done thing to have a dog terrified of its owner.

I also think it is too much but if people will pay it good luck to them. A few years ago there was some idiot throwing litters of kittens over my fence at about 4 weeks old. I desexed & vaccinated them all & was asking $50 for them. Just on principle to stop those who take freebies without any thought, obviously it nowhere near covered anything & couldn't believe that so many people phoned & emailed & complained about paying that amount. Found out who it was & it stopped them but was amazed at peoples attitude.

When you have multiple dogs someone has to be the feared pack leader & that is or should be the owner ME. It doesn't mean that the person has to beat or do anything cruel but they do have to assert themselves by some means.

No, because the dog is not in any danger. Would only apply to the idiots leaving them in hot cars. However even if only a slight touch warm one dare not leave a small gap in the top of the window with it open a little because now some police will fine you for that too. Its good & about time they got tougher about the dogs in hot car part.

Does it matter ? Very cute & now you can get rid of that ugly crate out of your bedroom. Its not a nice piece of furniture is it. Love the photo :)

From the part above it does sound as though this had been an ongoing problem as most people with multiple dogs don't get bitten by their dogs. It does sound like the 3 younger dogs were a result of a mating between the 2 older dogs. Maybe pack order wasn't established well. Not easy to manage & they were fairly large dogs too. Tragic that it ended this way.

Some 18 or so years ago when there didn't seem to be all these doggy prams I made one for my old girl so she wouldn't miss outings. It was one of those metal grid type shopping trolleys. Cut some of the front grid out leaving enough to stop her toppling out but enough that she could have her head & neck free. Thick padded cushion in the bottom for her to sit on & off we went for many a happy stroll with one of the other dogs beside her walking on the lead. She loved it.

Mine are all variable. Tara is the funniest. When its hot she lies on her back with her legs in the air. Sometimes she paddles her front legs like she is doing doggy paddle except that she is flat on her back. Its when she is awake too not in dreaming.

Big burst of laughter out loud at the towel part. This kind of garbage is completely beneath poodles but they can be very silly for such clever dogs. Mine make me laugh every day.

It may help but some people are very good at giving you the answers you want to see. Especially if they have been knocked back by a few other people. I don't have one but some things I ask potential owners are Have you had a poodle before. Grooming knowledge & what they think are requirements. How long did it live, if they say it is deceased now. What other animals do you have. Children & ages. Will your dog be an inside dog. Do you work. I don't fire these off as a barrage of questions but more slowly find out in the course of conversation as a matter of interest when chatting. More likely to get honest answers. For example Q do you have other animals. A yes I have a little boy poodle Q oh so you want a girl to breed then A no, not really but some puppies like my cute little whatever his name would be so nice & I have friends & family that want them Reply so you won't be interested in my puppies then because they are desexed before they leave home. They always say no thanks. Most enquiries I get are from people who have already got or have had a poodle before. For the few that haven't I tell them about them & go from there on suitability. It can be upsetting & worrying but you do meet some great owners & follow on & photos always set your mind at ease & make you smile again. Be ready to cry when the last one leaves.

:laugh: how odd & annoying I imagine but it is funny.

Angie has done a new thing today :laugh: On the phone in the kitchen & had some already cooked pork defrosting in the microwave. The microwave went ding & in waltzed Angie. Literally. On her hind legs, scenting the air with her nose upwards, doing pirouettes around & around like the poodles in the old circus days wearing their tutus. Had to give her a piece for that performance when I had stopped laughing.

Only wishing you good luck with this dog. So sad that some are passed around like playing pass the parcel. Poor dog she won't know who her owner/pack leader is, where she lives, where & when she is going or how she is supposed to behave. She may not be a lost cause when she becomes secure in her place & owners as long as she is in situations she can cope with. It can also depend a lot on what owners want & expect from a dog. Hoping for a happy outcome.

Having not heard of this before I did some research. It seems that although some dogs do get pregnancy diabetes & require glucose supplement its not too common a problem so unless you have had previous issues with this or can test for it without undue stress to your dog (home monitor ?) I personally wouldn't but its your decision. Just her being in late pregnancy, being huge & not an athletic type breed would make her feel lethargic anyway. Let alone the horrible heat we have been having.I am letharagic in it. Most are not energetic at this stage. Forget exercise & worrying about her weight now because it won't make any difference to anything at this stage. That can all be sorted out after the birth. Good luck. Here's hoping she has an easy & non stressful birth & a lovely litter that we will be seeing photos of in a few weeks.

More decent reputable registered breeders need to & should advertise on sites like Gumtree & Petlink & in the newspapers. How on earth are people going to know where to find them if they are not on the most common & popular places people look & the sites that come up most in the search engines when they go looking ? If people looking in these places can see a registered breeder advertising & what they offer for a comparative price to some of these ridiculous crosses & pure breeds that don't even look like the breed, let alone know about health tests, then maybe they would be more inclined to go to a registered breeder. They can't come to you if they don't know you are there. Unless a person is particularly dog savvy there is so much the general public don't know about dogs & many think if they only want a pet it doesn't matter where it comes from. Its not sinking low & many good & reputable cat breeders do advertise on such sites without all this judgemental crap from other breeders. Where a breeder advertises is the least factor in whether they are a good breeder.

Flopsy

Not sure if my Angie is a dope or as sharp as a tack. Her antics have me in stitches but her latest last week was beyond belief. In season & eager to be mated. The boy was so desperately trying to do his job but for some reason couldn't quite do it. After a short time I thought he will wear himself out so I will put him in the lounge for a rest & try him later. As I went up behind him & scooped one hand under his belly to lift him, with my other hand on his back to carry him inside she stood up on her back legs & wrapped both her paws around his neck to try & get him back off me. Quite persistently I didn't even know a dog could do that with its front legs. What a little tart :laugh: Anyway he had his rest & hopefully we will have tiny toy poodle puppies in a few weeks.

There is a free legal advice service in every state. It is listed in the white pages phone book. Give them a ring & see if you can get some advice.

I will never post on here anything about how I select my puppy buyers People don't even read it properly. Somewhere recently I read that people tend to grasp onto the first 3 sentences they read or 3 opening lines they hear & later on they can put in anything & many won't even notice. Must be how some lunatic laws & regulations get passed. Crazy thread but still entertaining.