Golden Rules

Personally I think you should make sure your dog realises that the cat is higher up the pecking order and the dog should stay away from the cat. The cat is obviously fearful of the dog. The dog can kill the cat easily enough but the cat can hardly kill a dog too easily. Either separate them, or have lots of high up areas for the cat to escape to where the dog can't bother the cat. But as mentioned, the dog needs to know the cat is off limits no matter what. And it's not impossible. My old Goldie would stand in the hallway and whinge and whine because the cat was lying there and he was too afraid to walk past.

Your neighbour needs to provide retaining on his side if the block level is more than 500mm different to yours! You might need to speak with your local council.

If the small dog had been intent on taking the chicken from the arms of a human, then yes!

Baby wipes are great for when you can't shower every day! ;)

Well, I am happy to report my house was in one piece when I returned home last night, not a thing out of place at all so puppy and big brother likely slept all day ..... like I hope they are doing today! :D

He is my vet as well and I also only did two C3 puppy shots, not three, and not C5. You do need to find a vet you can work with, not one you end up arguing with. I used to use Subiaco Vets with my first boy Hamish, he had quite a bit of work done there and they were very nice.

Yep, fetch and new tricks. Been there, done that but it was for 12 weeks first time round and 10 weeks 2nd time round.

I have been to the beach or the river every morning for the past two weeks and I still haven't washed the dogs. The car is full of sand and so is my house, I am forever sweeping!

Well compliance would also be containing your dogs in the first place, and it seems the owner's didn't comply (yes I did read some councilmen had broken the fence) ..... so how many chances do you give the owner and at what risk to the community? In this instance, those two dogs together would be a worry. What if they are out walking on lead with their owner and they decide to chase a cat or dog? They may be the most friendly placid loving animals at home but they have proven that when out together, it's a different story.

Crossing my fingers for you! You're a brave woman, I wouldn't leave a 5 month old Lab inside. Come to think of it, I won't leave my 4 year old Labs inside I can't say they are destructive though, haven't done anything in so long, the most they do is dog holes (but the poo in the hole thing meant no holes for 2 days straight so I am hoping it wasn't just a coincidence and it actually does the trick!!) But I still wouldn't trust them inside :D Little ratbags!! Hmm, you girls have me worried now! The last 2 weeks, he has been inside all day and taking himself out to pee. He is a good wee dog....but maybe I should pop home at lunchtime :D

I have the same problem. One dog isn't in a crate so he just moves to the hallway and catches a breeze but until the puppy is older, he stays in his crate at night. The crate is large so one end has a bed and the other has nothing. It's got a plastic tray and he just sleeps on that. If the house is really hot, I will sleep with the aircon on so I figure they get the benefit of that as well. If I were you, I would just put a folded cotton sheet in the botton of the crate and no other bedding. Maybe hang a damp sheet over the crate.

I have one dog with PIA and have just changed the other dog from RSPCA to Medibank because the difference in the premium was over $200 pa. I haven't had to claim with either PIA nor Medibank (and hope not to) but I have made a lot of large claims through RSPCA for cruciate ligaments. They were great to deal with, I just didn't want to pay almost $700 pa anymore. I am happy to pay a max of $500 pa for each dog.

No, can't say I have had this done before myself! *Ouch* Poor Daisy, she will feel much better afterwards though! Have left my 5 month old puppy inside the house with his older brother today ..... he has access to outside but I have there will still be a house to get home to tonight! :D

Hi and welcome I highly recommend Carolyn Read (Train A Pup Time). Her website is HERE She is in Armadale which isn't too far from Rocky (I travelled 35 minutes each weekend to attend her classes and they are worth it!) Carolyn's classes are 5 weeks instead of the usual 4 weeks that vet puppy classes do, and the goody bag you get is full of quality toys and treats, not crappy stuff. Carolyn herself is lovely, very knowledgable and you come away armed with lots of information and training methods. Best of luck with your new puppy!! How about some photos?!

HERE'S a cheaper one on ebay

You never know who has dogs and who doesn't because the dogs are all over the place while the owners just walk up and down We are heading there tomorrow morning, last time this week before back to work on Monday.

North Freo/Cottesloe

Leighton Beach is a great place to go dog spotting! I have come across a few unusual breeds there!

Hey Carey Great news about a puppy! Same breed? When is it due? :D Sounds like 2011 is going to be a great year for you! :D

All the staff have kept their jobs, they have all been assigned to other stores and start Monday. The Wembley store will be operating again as soon as they find premises to work from while the new store is being built.

I wonder if the young goldie you had and mine are related.... I'm in Perth too. My dog is about to turn 3 next month. She has been anxious since she was a puppy - just born that way! I know there were 8 puppies in the litter, and have often wondered how the others turned out, and what became of them... The dog I had was a rescue and I suspect he came from a well known dodgy breeder here in Perth. He would have been about 5 years old now. Where did you get your Goldie?

I had a young and very anxious Goldie on Prozac a couple of years ago. He was a rescue dog and suffered separation anxiety was was in general an anxious dog anyway. I was heading off on holidays and the dogs were being kennelled for 2 weeks. I was worried how the young one would cope even though he had an older Goldie for company. Well I needn't have worried, the prozac did it's job and he was apparently very relaxed in the kennels. When I arrived to collect them, the young boy couldn't have cared less what was going on however the older one who I thought would cope fine, was a mess. I think he could have done with some prozac as well poor soul. The medication isn't a miracle worker on it's own, it is meant to be used in conjunction with behaviour modification training. Best of luck with your Goldie, hope you make great progress!

I have friends who have an 11 month old black lab called Casper. They are the friends I was with the day you saw me at Riverside.

So true!

I'm about to change one dog from RSPCA Insurance to Medibank as the policy is $200 cheaper! RSPCA adjusted my premium up by over $200 in the 4 years I have had it, presumably because of the claims I have made.