cassie

Julie and Michael, I am so sorry to hear of your loss. He was an absolutely beautiful boy and will be hugely missed I'm sure. Thinking of you at this difficult time. What a tragedy Hugs and best wishes, Cassie

Which state are you located in? If you are in SA or VIC, contact the Bernese Mountain Dog club in your state. They do carting and also weight pull and would probably be able to direct you to someone who makes the carts

Agree with what everyone else has written, just thought I'd add that GUILT is a human emotion, not a dog emotion. Dogs do not feel guilt, they do not feel sorry for doing something wrong. They may not be very pleased that you are telling them off, but they do not feel guilty. Unless you catch them IN THE ACT and tell them off, they cannot make the connection between what they did wrong and what they're being reprimanded for, even if it's 20 seconds later!

No sorry, haven't seen it here anywhere, I had a sample sent over by a friend in Victoria.

$28.00 for how much? I've heard it's VERRRRRY expensive, could be wrong, I think I'm thinking of the right brand?? We had a small sample and Zephyr loved it!

My pup is on Glucosamine (as recommended by the breeder) and I bought it from just a normal human health store. It's called "MICROgenics Glucosamine MSM & Chondroitin" and I paid $28.75 for a 250g tub. It comes in a powder, which I find easy to mix in with his food. Human varieties are fine to give them. I cannot comment on Joint Guard or any of the other producs specifically for dogs as I've never used them.

Hey Sally yes that's the one, right next to Bunnings! You can't miss it! You're allowed to take your dog there too, provided they're on lead and well behaved. They have a self-serve doggy wash there too! LOL can you tell it's my favourite store??? :p

I'm in the North East area too. I buy all of my doggie products either online or at Petstock at Parafield. It's a HUGE store and they have a great range of, well, everything! And yes they sell the Aloveen shampoo and conditioner. You can buy them seperatley or they also sell them together in a pack. Hope this helps! :D

We love Aloveen in this house too! Makes them smell divine. We always get comments on how good the pooches smell after we've bathed them with it! Hey imagine how good the dogs smell to themselves! Considering their sense of smell is what, hundreds or thousands (not sure?) times better than ours!!!

Hey Ruthless, sorry to hear of your experience, I had one similar not so long ago. Like you, I sourced my prong from a reputable importer who has a permit, and I was taught how to use it and how NOT to use it. I'd done my research and knew they were not illegal in my state, and that there was really nothing wrong with them, providing you knew how to use them (as with ANY training tool). Zephyr and I and our new friend (prong! ) returned to the training school we had previously quit, due to the fact that he was too strong and jumpy and exciteable and way too hard for me to control on a check chain. We had to sign up all over again, and pay our annual fee. Our training equipment was checked (while I held my breath!) but we were given the all-clear. Great I thought, I can use my prong here without fear of being told off! We continued through the Beginners classes, which Zephyr passed with flying colours, and made it into level 1. One day, our level 1 instructor couldn't make it, so the president of the club actually instructed us instead. He went round to everyone, again checking their equipment, and when he got to me he just stopped and looked at me in disgust, and asked why I was using such a cruel and inhumane collar! I asked, if they weren't allowed, why the hell wasn't I told this upon signing up and paying my fee? Well, long story short, I got into a huge argument with him in front of everyone, and was practically reduced to tears! I knew I was right and was doing nothing wrong but because he was making me so angry and frustrated, all the facts and evidence I know in my mind just escaped me and all I could say was "They're not cruel, they're not illegal" but I had no "real" case. Anyway he eventually asked me to leave and said next class I should bring him on a check chain. I said yeah no worries but don't expect me to be able to control him! Luckily next class Zephyr actually wasn't too bad, like someone else said, I think he knows now that I am boss and so he does SORT OF obey me still on the check chain, not nearly as well as on the prong mind you! So anyway at this next class I came armed with my evidence, pages and pages printed out from the net about why prong collars are NOT evil torturous tools! I gave them to the president and asked him to please read them and get back to me with his thoughts, yeah well that was over a month ago, I'm still waiting! Like you, I didn't want to change his mind necessarily, but just allow him to see that they are not what a lot of people think they are. Sorry for long post

I have heard of people in the same situation as you who instead of feeding from a bowl, they will spread the dog's food out over an area (for example a tiled or concrete floor - wouldn't work so well on carpet or grass) and the dog eats that way. Of course this would really only work with dry food, but might be worth a shot? It means that the food is not just there in one big pile for the dog to gobble down, but instead it is scattered around, so the dog has to move around a bit, from piece to piece, and they really only get one maybe two pieces of food at a time. Just a suggestion, I personally don't have this problem and therefore have never tried this method, so I can't tell you that it will definitely work. :D Also how many times a day do you feed her? If once, I would try feeding her twice a day. Good luck!! ETA: Oops looks like I was posting at the same time as several others! So my ideas have already been mentioned - LOL nevermind!

Excellent! Thankyou for the ideas!

Sorry - off topic We have a concrete ramp outside and are looking for something (black rubber matting as blacklab has suggested!) to lay over it so it is not so slippery. Well, that's not to say that it's HEAPS slippery, but just to give it more grip if that makes sense, for the dogs. Where could I buy something like this?

Thankyou Roo I think that is good advice As my current dog (berner) is my first dog, I made a few mistakes when he was a puppy in regards to letting him pull on the leash. So now with my second dog (saint) I intend to do a much better job, especially considering he is going to be MUCH bigger and stronger!

Thanks Staff'n'Toller, and yes I think that's a very good point. I will definitely be taking him out and about ASAP so he gets used to everything. You're right, by four months old he will already be HUGE! So yes, must start early! Thanks for bringing that up

Thankyou very much for your reply showdog, I do appreciate it and I will take your advice on board. Thankyou!

BUMP

My boy gets a tin of sardines 3-4 times a week over his Nutro, and a whole (raw - kamuzz) egg once or twice a week.

Thanks nume, have PMed you back

Thanks very very much for your suggestions guys! I will definitely keep visitors to a minimum, or nil if I can help it, for the first week. It is hard though as naturally everyone wants to see the new pup! Is it better then if I take him to them instead? Or just have no contact with other people at all for the first week (or so)? Thankyou!!!

Hi all, Just looking for some advice. I'm bringing my Saint pup home in just under three weeks time. What are some opinions on the best way to socialise him when people come to the house? What I mean is, should I get him to sit first, and then people can pat him? Or should I allow him to approach them at his own free will? Or should I restrain him at first, letting him see that there are people in the house, and once he seems calm, then let him greet them? Or none of these, something else perhaps? At the moment, Zephyr (my Berner) barks when people first come to the house, but settles down once we let them in and he can see that we're comfortable with them. We are working on stopping this, and he has improved a great deal, but it is something I don't want to encourage in the Saint pup. Obviously he's going to be a BIG dog, much bigger than Zephyr! I want to get this right straight from the word go, so he (hopefully) won't present a problem as he gets bigger and stronger. Of course, the Saint will also be socialised outside of our home, once he is vaccinated. We will be taking him to Puppy Preschool as well as obedience training once he reaches 16 weeks old, and on many short walks and anywhere else we can think of so that he can meet lots of different people out and about. My main query, as I stated, is about people who come to the house. Thanks!

Thanks nume I can always count on you for good advice on Berners!!!

Thanks for that Cosmolo. *Heads off to eBay*

Has anyone got a Large sized one? I'm considering buying one to use on my Bernese and Saint (when I get him!) but not sure if the Large is a bit too big to be able to use easily enough? I like Sway's idea that the Medium can get into tight/small spaces. Just wondering what others think? Should I get Medium or Large?

R.I.P. dear little girl At least she was surrounded by those who love her. Deepest condolences and sympathies to her family and friends.