rastus_froggy

I would deal with someone without formal qualifications if I liked the results they had with their own dogs and if I had seen or been told about what they had achieved with someone else's dog. It is hard to know when there are no 'strictly' right or wrong ways of dog training, if I felt comfortable with the person and their methods and they had no qualifications I think I would be ok with them training me and my dog.

Leads and collars have hooks inside our laundry (which is just a cupboard), training pouch and toys live in the dog cupboard in the garage and they have a LARGE box of old basketballs, soccer balls, volley balls and netballs (from work ) in a box in the garden shed which when they are very good they can go and choose one out themselves that they would like to play with.

that's exactly right. I mean it wasn't that hot - but even when its freezing i leave all the windows down. I just couldnt live with myself if something happened. I'm the kind of person who would smash a window to get a dog (or baby) out of the car if they seemed to be at ALL i distress. If you see a baby left in a car distressed or not, call the police immediately it is illegal.

When my girl was going through her chewing phase I gave her a bale of straw as her bed, I would put 5 biscuits of the bale into her kennel and let her dig through it to make her bed, nice and thick and VERY warm. It works well if you can have a board at the front of the kennel to keep the straw from going everywhere. Some people said that straw attracts fleas, but I never experienced that but in our cold climate fleas are pretty rare.

You two were both so lucky that your paths in life crossed, both of you got so much out of it, you are a gem for taking him on and bringing joy to his life. RIP Billy and bless you Lowchenlove.

Very sad situation. I hope all ends up well for the pup.

I really like them, please be sure to 1) get the number of your posts up and then 2) put some in the market place here on DOL!!! I will definately purchase one I would think starting at $20 and then going up depending on size.

I will give you one then Yesterday we got home from our honeymoon Frog spent 12 nights at a new kennel we decided to try, she was SO happy to see me (not because the kennels were bad, just because she was happy to see me!) The last time I left her at a kennel when I picked her up I put her lead on her and she RAN as fast as she could to the car. This time - at the new kennel - I put her lead on her she jumped all over me (did her 'crazy' trick where she jumps up with all 4 feet on me and does a big push and spins off me) said hi to the kennel owners dog, ran to the kennel owner said big happy hi's to her then came back to me, grabbed her deer antler threw it round then chewed on it. When we walked back up to the house area, the resident pups were let out and Frog played with them, I put her toys in the car and she jumped in but then easily came out again when I told her that we still had to go pay. At the other kennel there was NO WAY I could have gotten her out of the car again, also at the last kennel she did not play with (or chew up) one single toy the entire time she was there which is very unusual for her. I was so happy that my Froggy was happy when I picked her up So to anyone in the central west of NSW I highly recommend the dog B&B near Molong.

Thanks for all the replies, I have been away and had no internet access for a few weeks, I have learnt a lot through this and there have been some very interesting thigs brought up here. Think I may have mentioned this before, the only reason Browny has not been desexed is because the vet told his owner that in the future he would get fat if he was desexed and not walked enough. I don't thin that is a decent argument, as an entire male would get just as fat with not enough exercise as well wouldn't it? I will pop over tomorrow and see how Browny and his owner are doing.

None of the kennels in our area pen dogs together that arent from the same family. I would NEVER send my dogs to a kennel where it was done. Only one of my dogs ever goes to the kennels (the other 2 stay home and have someone look after them), she is a fence jumper and I would never want a pet sitter to have to put up with the risk of her nicking off and if she were penned it would not be long enough out time if she were only out while the pet sitter were there. The new kennel where she is - tonight is her first night there, as we are leaving for our honeymoon early tomorrow morning - has HUGE pens with amazing fences and a night pen, they are NEVER put in with other dogs, they aren't put into a specific exercise yard either due to the enormous size of their day pens. I could never leave Froggy somewhere that put dogs together for penning or playtime, she plays with some dogs but others are just too in her face and she really doesnt like that and her way out of that situation is to snap it at them.

I trained one of my dogs with almond essence, it was the first thing I put my hands on when I opened the cupboard the day I decided to start teaching him.

oh their legs look so stumpy and cute at that age! Gorgeous

She does eat from a bowl. The only thing I REALLY do not like about this place is that they fill the dogs food bowls up all day. One kong full of food is plenty for my girl, and I was thinking that maybe this could be a good guide so that she knew how much I liked her to eat in one day, plus keep Frog mentally active. It is a small kennel with a maximum of 10 dogs, so they aren't pressed for time like larger kennels. I don't mind if she doesn't use it I just dont want to come home to a fat dog, as she will gorge herself if given the opportunity.

Thanks This is my first time leaving Frog at this kennel. The lady and her husband who own it are the only workers and one of them is always home. They have a day pen 10m X 4m, or if they are lucky they may get one of the BIG 10m X 10m yards, and then they have night yards indoors 4m X 2M. I was planning on taking her wobbler kong (for her dinner to be put in) and an antler for her night pen and an antler for her day pen - so they don't have to carry it between the two. Whenever I have taken her to any other kennels I have also done up a sheet with all her info on it, her name, a photo, her habits eg fence jumper, storm phobia, her microchip details, my contact, a secondary contact, her vet details and Pets at Peace contact details then on the back I put a copy of her vaccination certificate. I laminate it and then ask for it to be hung on her pen, I know they have most of these details on file but I like them to be right there at her pen as well. I have done 2 copies for the new kennel as she has the 2 pens. I am probably over the top but I worry so much when I leave her :D, where as the other 2 just stay home and have someone come over to look after them.

What do you take to the kennels for your dogs when you leave them there? And kennel owners and workers what is too much or what don't you like people to take?

Thanks for everyones responses, I have never owned a complete male so I guess I am just going on what you hear. Which is why I love DOL because you can always get lots of facts and opinions here :D

Isn't a dog likely to grow bigger and stronger if left undesexed? I also worry that if he is being walked and comes across a female on heat he may pull his owner over to get to the female.

Wobbler Kongs are the best invention ever in my books :p I leave them with my dogs all day as they are super strong and keep them occupied for AGES, it is so cute when you first give it to them and watch them figuring out how to use them. If your dog loves to retrieve, one thing I found with my husbands dog is that he was so focused on the ball he would sit or stand right in front of us before we kicked the ball and he would usually end up copping a ball in the face when we kicked it, so what I have done to eliminate this problem is taught him to drop the ball at my feet then he has to run around the back of me before I kick it. This A: gives me time kick it and B: gives him a running start which he loves. To make it more challenging I sometimes stand next to a chair or bucket or sometimes even my pushbike so then he has to run around it as well as me before I kick it :D

Some of you may have read this thread http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?showtopic=217664 where I said I was doing some training with an elderly gentleman and his dog as he (the dog) is big and strong and pulling his owner everywhere. I had suggested desexing (along with our training) to help. Well now that I have Browny walking on a halti for this gentleman he doesn't think he needs to be desexed, PLUS it doesn't help when the vet has told him that if he does get him desexed he will get fat if he doesn't walk him enough. I have been to the RSPCA and picked up a discount voucher for the desexing so it won't cost much at all. So please give me every reason possible that may help me convince him to still take him in. Browny is a very intelligent boy and I love working with him so much :D he walks beautifully on the halti which is amazing for his owner, he could not believe it when we went for our first walk on the street.

I am with Pers here on both points. I am all for training trick for bonding, I find it my favourite type of training, just don't let it become stressful for EITHER of you, break it off before it gets to that point. I have never taken on a dog that I havent bonded with immediately, somehow my heart and my head work together and so far have been good to me in selecting my dogs, although I do want to get a puppy one day and I'm sure it is harder to pick a puppy that you will bond with. None of the dogs I have taken on have been a walk in the park, all of them have come to me with behavioural issues and have been testing but I think because I felt the instant bond with them I have been happy to work through these issues.

Thanks guys I could just see how much this gentleman was struggling and couldn't stand by and do nothing.

I had my first session with Brownie and wow isn't he just the biggest bundle of energy!! He was so excited when I went into his yard he would not accept treats of any description he was just so overwhelmed that there was someone in his yard who was energetic enough to play with him. After he settled he began taking treats - I got the halti on and gave him treats, repeated this process a few times and he was ok with it. I hooked the halti to his regular collar with the extra attachment clip and lead him around with his lead attached to his regular collar, he did very well. I am going back again tomorrow to repeat these steps again. I pointed out to his owner that this process will take time and that he wont be walking him on the hatli for a while yet. He was such a good boy I gave him a full size antler to chew on when we were finished :D His owner mentioned that he has to keep his kitchen blind down so that Brownie can't see him as if he can see him he barks continuously it is a sad situation in SO many ways, this dog is not the ideal dog for this gentleman, he has SO much energy and is such an intelligent boy. He really needs someone very active to give him the exercise he needs, but if I can just help to get his walking more managable for John I am sure he will get walked even more than he does now.

He told me he has a halti but he is unable to get it on the dog, so I was giving him a few pointers on how to introduce it to Brownie, then he asked me if I was interested in helping him to do some training as he had been looking for someone, so I am going over tomorrow morning, gee I'm a sucker for a gorgeous dog and I think this guy has done such a great thing to take Brownie on, I would hate to see him hurt if he were pulled over. Will let you know how it goes.

I have seen this dog around a fair bit lately with a very elderly gentleman walking him (or rather being dragged by the dog). This evening when I was leaving work he was being dragged by so I went and had a chat with him. Apparently the dog belonged to the gentlemans friend who fell ill went to hospital and never made it out again, so he took on the dog. He was told that the dogs mother was a pure kelpie but they have no idea on the father. Any ideas? His name is Browny and is the most adorable dog, but definately not the best thing for a man in his late 80's. Update on page 2

Some kids I know from work recently got a cavalier X Koolie, it's a pup so will have to wait to see what it really looks like when it grows. It is mainly the tan/red (sorry not sure what colour you call it on cavs) over its head, body and tail, it's underneath is white and it has the bluest eyes, it has the fur type of the cav but not quite as long. I had a picture in my phone but deleated it before I downloaded it. I will have to get them to bring it in again so I can get more pics.