badboyz

I'm pretty sure the grape/sultana thing is true. An ex-neighbours dog almost died due to eating a bag of sultanas. I am sure one or two wouldn't do any harm, but larger quantity - yes.

Could you afford a pet sitter to visit for a half hour during the day and take him for a walk or just play in the yard and give him a treat. If it was a regular arrangement, they would probably give you a very good price.

Only one I like is Scotty's http://www.scottys.com.au/ Not sure if it is availble interstate though. They do make good training treats though

Turkey necks are excellent and kangaroo tails. Don't forget about fish (raw or tinned)

Vari, now you are on the northside, you may want to check out http://www.bigdogpetfoods.com/ at Lawnton. They manufacture the barf patties and also their own line of raw foods. I buy my meat from there.

Can't beat disorder's dog's name - it is the most original ever! SNOT!

Never hit your dogs Kyra, especially after the event. They will not understand and just become shy of you. As others have suggested, find a more suitable way of securing your dogs when you can't be with them, either with a crate or secure run. When you do catch them in the act, an angry growl or a water spray bottle (very effective with pei, not sure about with Kyra) will do. If they stop what they are doing then call them to you and praise them. Remove the offending item and give them something more suitable to play with.

I must say I get a bit sick of these threads about what this and that breeder charges and why. A breeder is welcome to charge anything they want for any puppy they have - be it male/female/blue/green/purple with pink pokadots. What they charge may or may not have any bearing on the breeder's ethics. It is up to the purchaser to do their research, talk to many different breeders and not just by email, prefereably meet their dogs and judge at face value. If they do not like what they find then they should move on - if they do then buy. When I bred beagles and belonged to the breed club, it was pretty standard for all breeder members to charge basically the same amount regardless - when one breeder started asking more - all did. This was great as all pitential buyers had to do was find the breeder they were comfortable with, without the pricing war crap. Also with more or less 2 colour choices, it was pretty straightforward there also. With my currrent breed there is no decent club and breeders that tend to keep very much to themselves. While my pricing is similar to what my breeder charges, it is not set. I change my pricing a little, with about every litter I have. Once I charged more for the girls than the boys, because the girls were very good in that litter and I had higher demand for them. Another time I charged more for one colour than another, because the demand was far greater, and putting a higher price on "popular" colours can scare off those (often byb's) after a bargain. Another time I charged more for one particular bitch, because she was the standout pick of the litter. I may quote a high price to one person, who I am not so sure about, and a cheaper price for the same pup to someone who I know will show or desex that pup, depending on my wishes for the pup concernered. When I get enquiries, even after the pups are born, I generally give a price range rather than a set price. A lot of it depends on how the individual pup turns out, and with my breed - they do change a great deal and it is not easy to sort them out till they are up on their feet, and even then they continue to change alot. When looking at chihuahuas, the pricing is absolutely all over the place. To judge breeders on their pricing alone is just ridiculous. In fact I have found in some cases that some very knowledgable breeders are sometimes far more reasonable in their pricing then some of the reg'd puppy farmer types.

I agree with the minimum 12mth gap. I would also add that 6 - 9mth olds tend to still think and play like puppies and will often be too rough for an 8wk old baby. Between about 9 - 12mths (or longer depending on breed) they are teenagers who may see the newcomer as competition. Around 12 -18mths they have usually matured enough to realize that they need to be more gentle when playing with a baby, and the baby will more likely respect the adult dogs postition.

Am I the only one who growls at my dogs if they are not doing what I want? Maybe I've been hanging around them too long but they sure understand when I am not happy. If they are not standing still I grab them firmly with a grumble and put them where I want them. When they stand still they are rewarded with sweet talk. I never have trouble with bathing or grooming, though it is a pretty rare event here. I know alot of shar pei pet owners have trouble bathing/grooming, as pei really do not like to be held down at all, but mine are all perfectly behaved and know what is expected. Your pup should not have the opportunity to back away, as you should be holding on to her until she knows what is expected. When mother dogs are unimpressed with their pups they will growl quietly and deeply and grab hold of the puppy firmly. The puppy understands this and usually stops the undesirable behaviour. Mother lets go and all is forgiven and forgotton.

Yes Pine Rivers is close to me, I may even be still a member. If you have contacts there it would be great if you could pm me. Hopefully they will train.

Yes, I'm a bit inspired too! Mrs D where do you do it in Brisbane? Do you know anywhere on the northside? Though not sure how I would manage getting a fat pei head to slip between my legs Be worth the laugh anyway!

Love it - well done! I did not know they were having DWD comp at the Ekka - what day was that on?

Now I remember why I usually avoid the puppy forum! How rude to insult me and the very sad event that I and my babies experienced! Good luck whoever you are - you'll need it!

Hi cocosonni. It is great you have joined this forum, and hopefully you will find lots of helpful advice. The reason you are getting such strong encouragement to rethink your decision is because it is not too late to do so. At least if you go ahead now you will have some very useful tips and warnings on how to cope. Separating them alot will be very important. With obedience training, if they can go to separate groups even better, as they will be constantly looking out for each other, which will make it difficult for your children to handle them. Hopefully some of the very experienced trainers on here can give you advice on whether it is better to have one dog under the care of one child, or best to mix with both. Perhaps you could ask in the training section for the best answers. As a breeder I have only ever allowed a brother and sister to go to the same home once. They were beagles, which are about 1/3 of the size and weight of labs. It was a responsible family with 2 sons, probably just a tad older than yours. The pups did not go together but about a month apart. They bought a female and returned to me a month later requesting the male I had run on for myself, as they were so happy with their girl. I thought it would work well, as the pups were of different natures, one outgoing (girl) one quieter (boy) and they had had time apart. Sadly it did not end well. I did a home check about a month after and found the boy was quite thin compared to the girl. The bitch was very dominant and would steal his food and try to keep him off the verandah. The family came home one night from work/school to find a very sick little boy. The vet said his injuries were similar to being hit by a car, but his was absolutely impossible as there was no way out of the yard. We presume the boy must have fallen from the verandah or down the stairs while the pups had been roughhousing. Sadly he died at the vets the next day. I am not suggesting that anything as tragic as this could happen to your pups, but is the one and only experience I have had of homing siblings together and I will never do so again. Even pups from different breeders would be a better choice, in my opinion. They will bond very closely, but may also fight as only siblings can, especially as teenagers. I often have maybe 2 puppies still here at 12-16 wks, but I must say I find it a relief when one of them goes to it's new home. It is very difficult to train 2 together. Good luck in your choice. I am sure if you are determined and are a strong leader you can make it work.

Thanks Cavandra and I hope you don't mind me posting it on here - but is sounded so interesting. I wondered if I should have waited to let the OP post it on here but was not sure you were a Doler or not. What bothers me most is that article is 4yrs old. Surely there must be a vet somewhere in Australia interested!

This was posted on an email list I am on. Anyone heard of it? http://www.wreg.com/global/story.asp?s=8733108 MEMPHIS 7/23/2004) -- What if you could take a dog that's struggling to walk, and within a couple days have him out chasing frisbees again? It might sound impossible but a cutting edge treatment offered in Memphis is making it happen. Blue, a German Shepard with a disposition that's made her many friends, loved playing catch at Shelby Farms. But one day her owner, Twyla Waters, noticed something strange. Blue went from the life of the party, to a dog who could barley walk. If you told Waters eight months ago that her best friend would be catching frisbees again, she probably would have thought you were crazy. "I think it had progressed over time. She started slowing down," she says. Blue's vets diagnosed her with hip dysplasia. The disease crippled the canine's ability to do just about anything. "For example, run in the park and play, go to the beach and run, catch frisbees, jump and do all the things that a young dog should be able to do," says Dr. Kathy Mitchener. Just about the time Blue was starting to slow down, Dr. Mitchener was returning from Canada where she was certified in a technique called stem cell transplant. "The revolutionary part of this technique is you take cells from the patient, process them and then put those cells back into the patient in such a way they can actually re-generate their joint," says Mitchener. She removed fat from Blue's abdomen, then sent it off to a lab to have it processed. Within days, the lab returned harvested stem cells that Mitchener injected into Blue's joints. "Within a couple days we started to see some pretty dramatic improvement," she says. Blue went from dragging her hind quarters because walking was so painful, to once again chasing that frisbee. The stem cells that helped Blue are not the embryonic stem cells you might be thinking of. "The controversy with embryonic stem cells is not there. I'm using her cells to help her," says Mitchener. "I can take an old dog who can't get up the steps anymore, doesn't jump in the car anymore, and whose quality of life has declined, and make them essentially new again." A cycle of the treatment costs anywhere from two to four thousand dollars.

If I were you I would take her off the orijen and feed her plain chicken minced & rice for a few days and see if that stops the vomitting. That way you will soon no if it is the food. If the vomitting continues obviously you will need to see a vet.

I would presume she means ulceration on the eye which causes a cloudy effect.

I have been told by vets to kill the tick first using any insecticide - even fly spray will work - before attempting to remove. Less chance of it injecting more into the dog.

If I had one or two pet dogs, and could afford it, I think I would definately have insurance. However as a breeder, it is just too expensive for multiple dogs, and I doubt it would cover the things I would need for my dogs. I do sell my pups with the 6weeks pet health cover though, to get them off safely. It is then up to the owners whether or not to continue. I did have one pup (boy in my avatar) I bought with the 6week puppy cover and did make a claim when he cut his foot pad on fencing about a week before it expired. I had no trouble with the claim, though it was minimal as I still had to pay the first $100. That is the only dog I have had with insurance, and I did not continue it after.

Motherking, you can also buy a cheap, sturdy puppy pen from Bunnings - sold as a compost cage in the gardening area. Costs only $20. would be suitable for a cavy. I have two which I join together for a puppy pen when I have puppies outside. Have also used it inside when I went overnight with my chi pup. You could use that for toiletting and playing, and the crate you already have for sleeping.

One of my sons asked "why do you like these dogs" - thank you all for reminding me again! Shar Pei don't really do things like that - well mine don't anyway. Even the young ones. This is coming from someone who used to have beagles - so I know all about doggy destructing, and escaping thrown in as well at the most inconvenient times! Threads like this remind me why shar pei are a breed I can live with!

Recently paid $220 to have a 5yr old Shar Pei bitch speyed (the extra $20 was for pain relief). Umbilical hernia was also repaired at no extra cost. Seems to be reasonable, compared to some of the other prices. That's good to know.

Anyone looking for Eaglepack/Dick Van Pattens etc, I've found out my pet sitters are now suppling these and are looking into Orijen also. PM if you want details. They are based in Samford area. Better still here is the web link: http://www.animalhealthstore.com.au/