maybel

thank you to everybody for your helpful comments (and for the link to the behaviouralist - will be saving that in case we need it!). We spoke with our neighbours and they were all OK - seems we heard more than they did, although I agree that barking is not going to be tolerated as he will get louder as he gets bigger. He actually settled last night without any noise but I am exploring "inside" sleeping arrangements for him based on all the comments. I must admit I was a bit surprised that I was seen as being unkind having him sleep outside - we know a lot of people with dogs and none of them sleep inside so I thought this was normal (and all our previous dogs have slept outside). However, I am open minded and the comments have given me a lot to think about so thank you.

Thanks everybody. He won't go near his crate (or the outside kennel) - we have tried food, toys etc. I don't think he likes enclosed spaces - strange dog! But he loves his ex pen so we may just have to set it up in the laundry as an oversized "crate" - I can take a couple of panels out and shrink it a bit. I may put in a doggy door so he can chose where he sleeps as it gets warmer.

I did hesitate but the breeder said it was fine from 12 weeks and a lot of advice in other posts said to "start as you mean to continue" ie if the dog is intended to sleep outside then start them off our there or yo set yourself up for future problems. Argggh - so much conflicting advice! Thanks for your input - it's given me something to think about.

Thanks for all the responses so far. I should clarify that we will of course not ignore nighttime barking on a longer term basis - it's more a matter of what to do over the next few nights. The advice given for getting puppies to settle when they first arrive is to ignore their carry on so they learn it won't get them any attention. We did this when he first arrived and was sleeping inside and it worked in 2 nights. I was just wondering if we should be adopting the same approach to him being outside for a few days - ignoring the carry on when he was first put out worked and I think the early morning barking is attention seeking - he alternates between body slamming the back door and whining/barking - he isn't chasing other animals or playing etc. I will explore the sleeping in the laundry option with a doggy door, although the layout isn't great as it is long and narrow.

Our newest family member, a finnish lapphund, arrived a few weeks ago. Most of the time he is a complete joy, apart from the usual puppy chewing/biting etc which we expected. He is now 12 weeks old. However, we are having an issue with his barking. When he first arrived we had him inside in an exercise pen with access to a crate. We had the usual crying the first couple of nights and some barking when he was left alone at first. This all seemed to settle down quite quickly and he seemed to be quite happy during the day (he has play time in the morning with the kids, I visit him at lunch time for about an hour for a feed and a play and then the kids are home with him after school - he is also inside with us whenever we are home, including in the evenings). He liked the ex pen and would take himself off to it whenever he was tired. We have recently started to transition him to being outside and this is where our problems have started. He actually loves being outside and even when we are inside with him he will often scratch at the door to be allowed outside to play. The first couple of nights he whined/barked for about an hour when he was put outside (which we expected) - this has tapered off but and he will now go out and to sleep with just a minor complaint. However, the last couple of mornings he has kicked off at about 4.30am for 1.5+ hours of barking and whining. We have put the ex pen outside (left open) around the kennel - he refuses to sleep in the kennel (or the crate or on any bedding) and seems to prefer hard surfaces - paving/floorboard etc. He won't go into the ex pen outside but has claimed a spot behind some other fencing that we put up to stop him chewing the BBQ - he has learned to move it and to sneak in behind, which is fine. For the time being we are ignoring the night time barking but I wanted to check whether this is the right thing to do? He also barks quite a bit when he is playing during the day but we can address this with training. Is this a transitional issue or should we be doing something to try to nip it in the bud? How long do we let it go on before getting professional help? I am going to contact our neighbours to explain the situation as they must hate us right now! I don't think that crate training him to sleep inside will be an option as he doesn't like any form of bedding and I think it will be too hot for him come summer, even with the aircon on. Sorry - I have just realised this is quite long! I'd love your views and, in case we need it, can anybody recommend a good in home trainer in Adelaide?

Thanks for this. I love cavs but seems my husband had some very fixed views on the health issues - I blame that terrible doco on pedigree dogs from a few years ago. Unfortunately his male brain doesn't respond to logic!! When I first started researching breeds I was also very concerned. But I have to say that since joining numerous cavalier online groups I am very pleasantly surprised to find out how many cavs live to a ripe an old. I also think that the cav personality far outweighs any potential health concerns Hi Maybel :) If you are reluctant about getting a Cav and for whatever reasons you and your husband have about them thats fine . However I'm a passionate Cavalier owner and just want to say even tho do have known genetic health issues, it doesn't mean they all going get sickly and die. There's no guarantees with life long perfect health with any breed of dog or us humans. I've owned hardy type x's and they have had their own health issues in the years I owned them. I was fully aware about Cavaliers and their known genetic issues when we started looking into them. We did our best to find breeders that were trying to do the right thing by their breed. One of Cavs 'Renae' has just turned 12 and she only now has the mildest form of a heart murmur (which the vet can only just hear) She's on no meds for it. She has had some health issues last couple years as she's gotten older as can happen with everything that gets older. Her son Joey did pass away unexpectedly last year at the age of 9 but it was from a brain tumour. He had been healthy up to the that point and was still heart clear and showing no signs of having any heart problems. When he was younger we thought he had done his patellas, but it wasn't .. It was just from him running around quickly and straining his muscle. Patella problems don't just happen in Cavaliers anyway. (BTW Joey's brothers and sisters from his litter are still going along healthily) I have a facebook group for cavalier owners, and i also know lots of people that own them and we also go along to the fun days at the Cavalier club of SA (have for many years) Many are healthy and live to good ages (altho Cavalier don't have a long life unfortunately) having said that I have known Cavs to get to about 16 or 17. Most i have known personally have passed away between 10 and 14. I also have a almost 2 year old, so far so good (she's come from a reliable registered breeder) and 4 year old (unknown background) but he's super healthy atm with no known heart issues. Sometimes heart issues don't come out till they are about 6 or 7 onwards. Altho badly bred ones that can heart problems right from when they were puppies Not all heart murmurs are sinister, some can live with them for years and not get any worse or need any meds The biggest thing they advice you (proper breeders of them) is to keep them lean, exercise them regularly and feed them healthy diets. Not allowing them to get overweight is hard but its very important! They can be as energetic or lazy as you want them to be. I have friends who compete successfully in agility with theirs. Most of them do shed to some degree and they will need regular grooming. Our house and clothes are full of hairs. We are not into clipping them (just general tidying up of their paws etc), some people do go the whole way tho (but they don't need to be) Ours prefer being indoors with us, and I am home most of the time with them. However if my husband is home and working down the back , they love going down there with him and playing ( well the 2 younger ones do ) The love they put out is exceptional and the majority of them have fantastic temperaments for being around kids, other people, other dogs and other pets. We have a bunny and 2 cats. Sure the health problems are a valid concern but they certainly haven't put me off owning them or people i know who own them :) Like any breed of dog make sure you do plenty of research, go visit some at shows, see if the breed you are interested in has a club and fun days for pet owners. That way you can see for yourself and ask owners what they are like, their health etc . Whatever breed you end up getting, I wish you all the best :) Thanks Jules that's excellent advice. We are very experienced in the "dog health lottery" - our most expensive dog (in terms of vet bills etc) was actually a cross breed. It looks like there are great breeders out there doing all the tests etc so I don't have major concerns. Such a shame the public perception has been affected by bad breeders and media.

Thanks for this. I love cavs but seems my husband had some very fixed views on the health issues - I blame that terrible doco on pedigree dogs from a few years ago. Unfortunately his male brain doesn't respond to logic!!

Just googled them and they look lovely and seem to tick quite a few of our boxes. Will investigate further - thanks so much for passing this on.

OK, so I don't think I am going to take up dog hair knitting anytime soon lol! It's great to hear real life experience with these breeds - I think that the conclusion that I have come to is that we could work with a breeder to pick the "right" puppy for the safer/lower energy breeds but would be better off looking at a mature dog for the higher energy ones if that is the direction that we wanted to go in. You have all reassured me so much - I was beginning to think that there would be nothing out there for us which would have been very sad as we have a huge hole in our family right now.

That's a stunning looking dog!

I looked at a Brittany but came to the conclusion they need a LOT of exercise! Will need to go and google some of those other breeds - thanks for the suggestions. I know any dog we have won't look like the ones at the shows but that's ok, we like a bit of scruff anyway. I appreciate all the responses.

I'd be happy with a Staffy but unfortunately my husband was bitten by one as a kid (probably very poorly bred or even a cross breed) and won't even consider it - so, no "nanny dog" for us. A question for those with longer coated breeds - with the shedding, are we talking about large amounts of hair dropping out of the coat onto floors, clothing etc (which has been my experience with smaller dogs with short coats) or lots coming out in the brush (with a weekly brush which I guess becomes a daily brush during a coat blow)? Or is it a mixture of both? Sorry if that is a stupid question....

Thanks for all these comments. We will definitely be looking at mature dogs and also speaking with breeders once we have narrowed down the list - if we went with a puppy we would rely heavily on the breeder's views as to which one (if any) is a good match for us. I should clarify that size (and to some degree the shedding issues) are of less concern to us than temperament and our ability to meet the dog's needs and keep it happy. A fabulous typo in my original post - obviously I meant "coat blow" and not "cat blow"!!!!

Thanks for your honesty Lisa. Would you elaborating a bit - is it the exercise requirements or more than this? The reason I ask is that my husband has Aussies at the top of his list so I need to be quite specific with him as to why they would not fit our lifestyle.

Thank you for all your comments so far - this is extremely helpful. In relation to the barking - our back yard is completely closed off from the front yard (solid gates) so this should help. We would definitely plan to visit dog shows to see breeds in real life (some I have some experience with - I grew up with a cocker and a corgi)- I was just wanting to reduce our list a bit or we will need days to get around to see them all! You have given me a lot to think about. Please keep the suggestions coming - any Finnish Lapphund people out there? They were scoring fairly highly in my research but I am not sure if the reality matches up to the marketing, particularly with respect to the shedding/grooming (I expect shedding to be horrendous a couple of times a year but is it bad all the time?) For those who commented in the health issues in Aussies - my concerns came from a US website which quoted survey results from the US Aust Shepherd Club that, of the dogs surveyed (survey size unknown) 28% had allergies, 19% had cancer, 18% had cataracts, 22% had hip dysplasia and 12% had epilepsy. I am definitely not saying these are true and I recognise that the US has different breeding stock, but it was enough to prompt a question! On the NBT issue, one site (US again) said "the gene for a NBT can cause a defect leading to spinal defects, more commonly seen in a NBT mated to an NBT" - based on the info posted above I susect this is just wrong/given in the wrong context. I am only providing this as background to my original comments, not to make a point that Aussies have serious health issues - I really appreciate all the responses on this. I guess it just shows that you can't rely on everything you find on so called "official" sites (which is why I came to you all in the first place!).