Kelly_Louise

Thought so PF (and good for you!)... Not to worry, the Lyla one is growing on me

The moodle down the street actually looks very much like a miniature Old English Sheepdog - without any black Not insinuating all moodles are turds - just the one in my street... But anyway thelinks - you don't have a moodle - YOU have a maltese x poodle (without the designer name and a rescue one at that)

Yep I agree... they would be incredibly easy to sell, they are just adorable as puppies and even a bit older... but not for everyone - and probably NOT for people that would purchase from a pet shop in the first place...

Very much agree with you PF - and with this dog there is no doubt that it's their fault. While it runs across the road and is growling and snapping at the passerbys - the owner are sitting on their a$$es yelling 'WALLY COME BACK... COME BACK WALLY... NAUGHTY BOY WALLY... COME HERE WALLY... WALLYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!' In all honesty, the dog never had a chance at normality... But, it's still a moodle, and it's still a turd

Oh goodness, that made me laugh out loud spottychick!!! My water almost spouted out my nose We'll have to publish that one... a moodle is a white fluffy turd... or WFT to those in the know ETA - I know someone who bought a GSD from a petshop (apparently 'purebred' just without papers) - and it does NOT look like a purebred GSD even to my untrained eye. I would hazard a guess at GSD x kelpie maybe???

We have a 'moodle' down the street - it's an awful little turd, races across the road and bails up everyone... A moodle... seriously...

You might find that the novelty will wear off over time (hopefully)... In the meantime, I'm with Diva... work on training/controlling him when you are at home and can see the cat.

Okie dokie PF - but methinks you'll also get a Lyla

I got the Green Lyla one as well (after specifically asking for Red Dotty and being told that there was one in stock and I would get it) - then to wait until Monday because more Red Dotty were coming in... and STILL I got the Lyla... It's not a big deal - but I'm not happy. Why tell people they will get what they ask for when they won't? If anyone has a Red Dotty and wants to swap for the Lyla I'm more than happy to (and pay both postages)!!!

:rolleyes: WHAT? The angel with 'those' innocent eyes? Surely not... you MUST be making this up!! Went through the same thing with Sasha... once she settled she changed... thankfully for us, for the better (slightly)!! But you were always going to find the quirks after a while, we discovered some weird things about Sasha only after a good couple of months. But it's all part of their charm. I found that again, after about 6 - 8 months after strong leadership and training and routine had been established Sasha calmed down alot more again. Hopefully, when Asha realises she is there to stay and 'belongs' she may calm down and the novelty may wear off. Hopefully Charch will be a good influence on her - and not the other way around You guys think you have a broken dog? Sasha is only naughty when we are THERE. Total angel when we are away, not a thing out of place or touched. When we are home though that Sash gets the naughtiness bug Luckily it's nothing extreme... she likes to chew slowly unravel the carpet in her bedroom... she has a couple of sleeping holes that no matter how much we try to fill in, she re-holes... and she digs weird bodgy holes to bury her bones in weird places... and maybe once or twice a shoe has been chewed. But it's all few and far between - so it never gets stressful thankfully. It's more just surprising and... well... amusing mostly because she's so bad at being naughty. And her hole digging/burying skills are just embarassing... I hope she does settle down though and you can find a happy medium - and if not, you learn to live around their flaws. She is such a beautiful dog. I guess it's just a matter of hoping if she doesn't have access to things she may grow out of it, she really is still a baby and immature. My sister has a staffy... chews and tears apart everything at 6 still PS. I love it when you find a good excuse to post more pics... but seriously, no excuses needed... just a couple at the end of each post is fine :D

Yes thanks SecretKei - I was really shocked at the price... I actually thought it was a typo at first and the customer service was fast and polite. It will allow the long legged git to stretch out, and be a bit more comfy - although for some reason she likes sleeping just on the tiles. Can I just ask you what the firmness of the foam is like? I'm hoping not too soft and not too hard :rolleyes: Not that she will complain... if she can sleep inside if she's scared she'd sleep on a bed of nails quite happily. She deserves a nice mat though... I used to have to sleep on the floor with her overnight if she had to sleep inside (otherwise she would fret and spend her time looking for me)... but spent her first night happily on her own inside and allowed me to go back to my own bed without any fuss and didn't move all night. What a good girl she is!!! Appreciate everyone's thoughts and advice though... knew I'd find exactly what I was looking for if I asked DOLers

:rolleyes: Yep, there's always hope... just take it one step at a time so you don't get overwhelmed and stressed Best of luck - hopefully you will come back and share your progress with us?

Hi Loraine - and thank you for the thought! However, there is no way my big boofhead with the long legs will fit on that bed LOL!!! Although she'd give it a good go I actually made some enquiries at the link I was given (www.greatrugs.com.au) and they are REALLY reasonably priced for a very large custom made mat... I was very pleasantly surprised! So just looking around a bit, but I think I'll have one custom made with these guys if nothing else pops up

They are so cute they should be illegal... Hopefully they will have no problems finding loving forever homes

Ahhhhh... sensible and stable... just a dream for us

We also use regular Cartrophen injections with Chloe - and they work wonders for her (agree, no more painful than a normal injection so not traumatic). We also have Previcox tablets on hand in case she has a bad day or overdoes things too much - they have very few side effects and they work really quickly and effectively. I also have her on Sasha's Blend - of course it doesn't make a huge difference but I think it's made more of a difference to Chloe than other brands, plus it's more palatable.

Couldn't have said it better myself... conquering Sasha's fears alongside her, and seeing her smile so proudly at her achievements is an amazing feeling - makes all the blood, sweat and tears worth it My Lily went from a dog that would run away during training to the "safety" of my backpack by the fence to a dog that would blow off my cues to do the tunnels it took six months of gentle coaxing to get her through at all. I have to confess I really didn't mind that much when she did it. She was no agility star but got her JDX title before retiring. ;) She won "Most Improved Dog" one year at my dog club - an award I am very proud to have won. That's a phenomenal achievement! It takes time and alot of patience, but it does happen gradually. My proudest moments are when people are astounded at how Sasha has changed from the dog they once knew, their disbelief and wonder is actually the biggest compliment I could get - as there were many doubters who thought she would not change or become a relaxed dog :D When she is used as an 'example' in our training group, to show what commitment can do, and used to welcome and show other dogs what they should be doing... well, I'm just proud as punch The girl who once would not even walk past a group of people, now is the welcoming committee for all newcomers to our group. And it's not a big deal, really, but to us - it's all a massive achievement because we know where she's come from and what it's taken to get her here. So while I fully sympathise with OP, hang in there... with the right help you will hopefully see amazing changes

I hope I get mine today... I asked for the Red Dotty, and was told I would get a Red Dotty... FINGERS CROSSED!!!

Couldn't have said it better myself... conquering Sasha's fears alongside her, and seeing her smile so proudly at her achievements is an amazing feeling - makes all the blood, sweat and tears worth it

I totally agree with Erny here. I had the same issue with Sasha. When she first came to us, she was afraid of everything... trees moving, lights reflecting, noises, movements, clouds, wind, all the inside appliances, people etc. It was very stressful, and I was very sad for her. I spent hours desensitising her. And mostly, it worked. One problem I got stuck with was getting her to walk past the shops. There was too much activity, people, shopping trolleys, noise and lights for her liking. We'd get about 100m from it and she'd freeze up and try to pull out and run. I saw a trainer/behaviourist who advised me that it was most likely my own reactions that was making her do this. I thought PFFFFT, can't be me. BUT, I followed his advice... and she walked past. She wasn't confident and wasn't thrilled about it, but she did it without hesitation. The only difference - was my attitude and leadership. Instead of getting nervous, stopping, starting, and pre-empting what she was going to do... I walked confidently, eyes ahead and focussed on what we had to do, if she started to slow down I would keep walking determinedly and say 'come' and I made no reaction... I acted as if we were going to walk through successfully, and we did. After that, it all fell into place. She still to this day doesn't like it, but if I ask her to walk past the shops she will do it without a fuss. Not sure what technique is best… but with Sasha, I encouraged her to be curious and only looked at one fear at a time (so as not to inundate her). For example, she was terrified of the washing machine. So, I sat near it and called her to me. She wouldn't come near it of course… so I sat there next to it for a couple of hours and every now and then called her to me. She came closer and closer (of her own accord of course, no pressure), until she reached me. I had to be careful not to make any sudden moves or noises… and I would touch the washing machine, open the lid gently, close it etc… all done very gradually over time… and if she stayed there and tolerated it, I would praise her (not a big fuss, just a 'good girl'). Now, she can walk past it without giving it a second glance. For things outside etc, I would do it myself instead of leaving things to happen naturally. Ie, I would get a plastic bag, or a bottle etc and play with it with her/near her, roll it, toss it to show her it wasn't going to hurt. Of course, we were lucky that some things she naturally acclimatised to herself (for example the trees blowing etc). We still have an issue with her if she sees people's heads over the fence, and with strangers outside our home, and the vet… but we work on it slowly. I found that getting frustrated and stressed (which is natural) wasn't helping at all. So now, I try to understand – I always remain patient, and strong, and consistent. Some things took ages for Sasha to desensitise too, and took a lot of time and resilience, and she may never be 100% okay with everything… but we are now at a manageable stage, where she will tolerate most of the things that used to scare her. One mistake I made too, is that I assumed the things that she would be afraid of… and babied her or avoided them. I saw one trainer who forced me to stop doing that… and you know what, Sasha was fine. They certainly do base some of their reactions on the way we act, react etc and the difference the change can make is massive. I did a lot of Sasha's desensitisation myself, just at home using my own initiative and a lot of patience… but for the things that we couldn't get past, getting the advice of a professional was priceless – because I didn't want to make it worse. It boosted Sasha's confidence and showed me my own weaknesses (because I didn't recognise them myself). The information that I gained from seeing a professional really helped Sasha to become the fairly well adjusted dog that she is today, as well as the many hours I spent gently encouraging her to confront the things that frightened her with me there, and then without me… and honestly, people don't recognise her as the same dog anymore J Once you find the key to what will work for your girl, and implement it, the rest will just flow. Good luck.

Many of them were only being sent out Friday or today. Red Dotty ones were being sent out today (so I'm told). So I'm hoping to get something soon

Actually the Handle Beds look perfect too! Thanks for the site

I'm looking for a mat for Sasha... just for when she needs to sleep inside with us (she usually sleeps in her carpeted bedroom in the garage)... It's mostly for when there are storms/fireworks/noise outside that will upset her. I'm looking for something foam (doesn't need to be really thick, even a couple of inches will do) that has a vinyl or plastic cover that won't hold wet dog smell and that dirt/mud can just brush or wipe off. It will be covered with her blanket anyway, but just something that is easy to care for (especially if it's wet) and I don't have to wash every time it's used. Just something to make it more comfy for her, doesn't have to be extravagant it won't get used everyday, and although she LOVES to lie on her blankie on the tiles (and mostly kicks her blankie from under her) I just want something soft that she can't manipulate and won't get stiff on. Has to be a fair size though as she is quite a big dog with loooooong leggy's, but as long as most of her can fit on it! We used to have a perfect mat that would fold up and it was kind of like a car mattress... but that was many years ago and I can't find anything similar... Any ideas please?

If I am at an offlead park, I would not want strange dogs approaching mine without the owner asking my permission first. Just because I'm there letting my dog have offlead exercise isn't an open invitation for every dog to come and 'say hello' and invade our space. I think it was an error on your part to assume that the dog and owner wanted to be disturbed. The kicking might have been extreme, but perhaps the owner thought it was his only option to protect his dog in the heat of the moment - I might have even done the same thing. I wouldn't want someone to kick Sasha, however, it would be a learning experience to me to either have better control over her - or don't take her to an offlead park to upset the other users. But, that's just my opinion. ETA - SNAP poodlefan