Tassie

The advantage of being able to get them in as baby puppies. .Plenty of babies have happily kangaroo their way round the ring. The main thing is for them to hhave pleasant experiences. Definitely they can learn a stand cue for the show ring, so teaching other things doesn't matter. The contextual cues help them distinguish .. plus as babies you can support the stand till they get used to it. Agree -- Puppy Culture is great . It's really important that you spend lots of time and rewards having people handling them gently in examination. That took my BC girl quite a while .. she wasn't a fan of being examined past her waist..... But with the help of lots of patient friends and lovely people at show handling classes, she got used to it. We were lucky enough to get her Ch finished a fortnight before lockdown . Shows have just got started again down here .. but with some changes .. I think babies are all being doen on the table, and handlers are expected to mouth their own dogs .. so judge can maintain appropriate distance. Be worth checking if you can find some show handling classes.

Oh that page only shows the two breeders who have presumably paid to have their advertisements there,. To check for sure you would need to ring Dogs NSW. Not necessary though, as all the breeders on the NSW DOL page have their Dogs NSW membership number there. So it's all sounding really good .. your breeder is probably happy to know that you are experienced with the breed. Don't forget that we do love to see puppy pics! Exciting times for you.

Thanks for the cute puppy spam. He seems like a really good boy as well as being almost illegally cute!

It's tough when they get older. . The probiotic powder is worth a try .. even if only on the principle if it does no good it will do no harm. You could also try some mashed pumpkin in with her meal .. that seems to be abnle to help firm up stools.

On the face of it, that sounds legit. The first check I'd make is with Dogs NSW to check whether the breeder is ANKC registered. In some ways .. absence of a flashy website is not a bad thing at all. It might well be a sign of a breeder who is not particularly tech savvy, and who spends a lot of time with dogs and puppies, rather than on a computer. The price seems reasonable (given that a friend's daughter paid $1k for a petshop Westie puppy about 10 years ago!) It's worth checking up on the most likely health problems in the breed .. from my limited knowledge, skin allergies, heart problems and joingt problems like luxating patellas - and then maybe gently asking the breeder about those ..has she come across them in her lines, what sort of steps if any can be taken to prevent or mitigate them. HopefETF spETFully some of the Westie experts will be along with some more advice soon.

Just adorable .. especially when he's asleep . He'll get thoroughly spoilt at his vet visit, I think.

Love the DOL hive mind .. ots of great information and suggestions. I would add one more. In addition to the building side of the council, I would also be approaching the Council Animal Control Manager for advice. I would think you're entitled to ask for advice on being able to comply with your obligations to make sure your dogs are not at large, given the situation is changing through no fault or desire of yours. That might be a back door way of getting to the building section guy.

Oh wow!! How exciting. He's going to be so much fun.

He's just lovely, @Cosmolo. Lots of fun times ahead.

So very sad for you and your family. Little Doug at least was much loved and cherished and cared for for the time he was with you.... and it's good that the breeder has made appropriate response if a bit late. Take care of yourselves, and know that you did all you could for the wee man.

Sometimes (often) , the breeder will have a theme for the litter. Or is keen to use names linking to one or both parents. My girl;s breeder was keen to combine elements of both the parent's names .. which is what we've done for the 3 main registered pups. I do think it's rather nice to link back to at least one of the parents, as you are thinking. I like @Rebanne's list. And that's very exciting for you.. Sometimes the universe just manages to work things out. Can't help on the pet insurance front .... sorry..

Lots of good advice. If you do decide to go and meet him, please make sure you have another adult with you .. just for safety's sake, and also, he's less likely to try to bully. you.. And yes .. I'm a worry wort.

I was thinking scam too. You send the money and no dog. And getting a dog from one state to another is not at all easy these days, and definitely not cheap. Some clever techy person will know, but I think you can check whether a photo has been 'stolen' from someone else .. is it through putting the photo into a google search .. it would definitely be worth doing that to see if the names match. The other good way to find out if a photo has been stolen is to use a reverse image search and a bit of detective work. There are a few different reverse image sites out there. Google’s is the most well known, but Bing also has a good one. TinEye is interesting, and their matching technology is better than most. ETA Here's a 'how to" .... How to Check if a Photo is Stolen www.howtogeek.com/362946/how-to-check-if-a-photo-is-stolen/

Hi there. I know this trainer personally and for me she would make a good starting point. Not sure which areas she covers, but it would be worth sending her an email and explaining your situations and where you are. Lockdown makes things difficult, but taking the first step is important. https://www.pawsitivelygreatpets.com.au/behaviour-consultations

I agree with the other replies. Unlike other problems .. hip dysplasia for instance, there is nothing that even a breeder who knows lines really well and undertakes the normal range of testing of dogs that are planned to be bred, can reasonably do to predict or prevent cruciate damage. There is nearly always a significant traumatic component to this injury .. and presuming you've had the pup for several months, activities (such as ball chasing)hich might have contributed to the injury are out of the breeder's control. As far as what you do at this point I would be getting a referral to a specialist orthopaedic vet .. they are usually more aware of the current recommendations for particular situations. This is particularly so with a pup. There is a really well informed and sup[portive .cebook group called Canine Cruciate Recovery .

It depends on your location, but for Dances With Dogs and Trick Dogs, you could contact the Dances with Dogs Club of Queensland for a list of clubs/trrainer in your area. The Southeast has some great clubs. For Agility, there are also some great trainers in the South East .. in both the agility venues . Agility Dog Association of Australia, and ANKC Australian National Kennel Council.

I agree about the thinking what you would like/need him to do. ISTM that he is more "dangerous" when he's behind you, so I would be taking every opportunity to rget him looking and going forward ahead of you, probably starting with treat scatters ahead - visible high value treats , combined with permission to pick up the treats from the ground. I'm thinking .. time your scatter before he has time to get behind you, then as he finishes, do another scatter ahead of you... The sniffing for treats is somewhat calming in itself, and at least it has the benefit of keeping his feet on the floor and his attention down. He seems like a quick learner from this sort of repetition, so I would predict that fairly soon he would start to anticipate you coming out the door meaning good stuff for dogs on the ground. I'd be trying to keep the whole thing pretty quiet and low key ..if he's anything like my cray-cray girl, quiet, slow voices and movement do help to bring some calmness .. to both of us.

Naawwww! That's lovely/. Thanks for the update, and the video .. and so glad it went well and that he's settling in nicely.

Yes to the silicon pyramid pans. Tapioca flour is good for dog treats .. makes a nice smooth mixture, easier to get into the little moulds. And a hack for getting the mixture in neatly .. blend it to like pancake batter, then use one of those squeeze bottles that chefs use - or a clean sauce squeezer and fill the molds with that. Much less mess apparently, but time consuming. And OP .. yes I like the Savour Life ones .. but the Nature's gift / I think grain free lamb with rosemary treats from the supermarket are pretty good too .. according to my guys - mind you, they're not very choosy. The other go to treat I use .. partly because it's visible for when I want to throw treats.0 is Bega 50% fat reduced cheese. A bit expensive for dog treats, but cut up fairly small, it lasts .. and is actually a nice cheese .. the dogs are happy to share it with me.

You're very welcome! Bump!

Done! They are truly beautiful pieces .. such a generous gift for your work.

Quoting because I think this is just a beautiful post that expresses what so many of us are feeling. 6 dogs into my adult dog owning and training life, I still don't know what is worse .. the gentle passing of a much loved 15 year old who had shared many adventures, or the shock of a sudden loss to an accidental poisoning, or as in your case, the shock of losing a young puppy so suddenly when it was reasonable to think he might be out of danger. Among the old/longtimers here, we've shared those events and grieved with the humans and the other pets. Never feel bad about coming here for support .. some threads can go a bit pear shaped at times, but this is on the whole a caring and supportive community. (Thank you @Troy)

Just to reassure you some more ... my current 2 Border Collies came from interstate ... the older boy right across the country .. 2 flights with a 2 hour changeover in Melbourne. He flew overnight , and arrived down here bright eyed and bushy tailed at 10.30. He was 10 weeks old. My youngster came from up country in another state .. so 3 hour car trip. time waiting at the airport, 2 flights .. stopover in Melbourne - delayed flight (VIrgin Freight made sure I knew about the delay) .. arrived about 10.20 pm at night .. quite happy . Well raised puppies are resilient little critters. My guys have had no problems flying or travelling on the Spirit of Tasmania ferry . Now the nerves of the owner ... that's a whole different story!

That's quite a range of hugely different breeds, But anyway .... I know of no resource which would cover all breeds. Your go to source of information for particular breeds would usually be breed clubs, and long established and respected breeders will sometimes have comprehensive information on their websites. Be aware that it is a changing landscape too .. as new genetic tests are developed .. some important, some not so much, as @sandgrubber has pointed out. And there are tests which while the results can be indicative, they are not definitive. I'm thinking of polygenetic and multi causal issues like joint problems .. hip dysplasia in particular. (In such cases, breeders whom I respect will also be paying attention to familial lines, and the incidence of problems in particular lines they may be considering using. I would be taking each of those breeds and finding some good sources of information on the particular breed.

That's interesting @sandgrubber . IIt will be interesting to see if there are follow up studies.