RubyBlue

Oh yeh....I've been bitten and we're practicing our sits and holds :D Em is absolutely brilliant!!! Thanks so much for that. Am now thinking Ill put my trip to Wagga on hold so I can to the RAT day at the end of the month.

Jackson used to have hotspots all the time until we started washing him in QV. We tried several other dog specific shampoos before that but they didn't work as well for him. It seemed to me that the QV took away some of the courseness of his coat though. We never showed him but it could be something to think about.

I always thought that the satisfaction of a soft toy was in the destruction of it. My dogs have only been interested in them until they have been de-fluffed.

Clearly no more pitbulls means no more bite problems......

Brilliant :D

The paper was comparing rehomed adult breeding dogs vs pets which have been socialised since puppyhood. I would say that this is a case of nurture and a puppyfarm puppy brought up as a pet would be a different situation.

We had one dog for 9 years. After getting the second I definitely prefer having 2. Down to one dog again since January but hopefully not for long

Or....you could remove the fly screen and invest in a fly swat

I thought I was missing something with this market place thing.....now it makes sense

:rofl: :rofl:

Yep hes the only one. Sadly his siblings didn't make it

Digs is one very hansom man The pup I am hoping for is a singleton so I am really hoping that the breeder thinks I'm worthy of him. These are his parents. I've met Mum, she is beautiful and a sweetheart. Apparently Dad has a nice temperament too. http://www.dogzonline.com.au/breeds/profile.asp?dog=23190 http://www.dogzonline.com.au/breeds/profile.asp?dog=37231

I did with my first dog - the club I went to at the time was very anti food reward and big on physical correction. It worked......sorta. With my second dog (rescue) I did for a while more because she would freakout and bolt and at least she couldn't get her head out of it. Now I use a limited slip collar and positive re-enforcement. I think its a much better system and ever won't use a choker on any of my dogs again. I think there is still a place for them - mine is holding the garage door shut

Agreed! I personally recon my dog would be fine with kids but its never worth the risk in testing that theory - it only takes one wrong move. I feel sorry for the parents but in both these cases it was their responsibility to keep both their child and dog safe.

I got a 13 month old lab who had no training - I mean no training. She wasn't toilet trained, jumped on the kitchen bench top, couldn't walk on a lead, forget sit, come, drop, etc. Now 4 years on she is fantastic and has even earned herself some titles. Just be consistent and make him earn everything and he'll pick it up very quickly. As others have said, long lead or fully fenced enclosure is important until he's got a consistent recall. My older well behaved lab was a great roll model and I also found that training sessions were more exhausting then free running which worked well for both of us. Her energy levels are lower now shes reached middle age but she was an absolute nut when she was younger. Good luck and keep us up to date

(or motivation) I know where your coming from I'm supposed to be writing a thesis - *looks at windows and thinks they should be cleaner* I know a lovely golden called Abbey. Its such a sweet name

Mine can't drink without wet feet I have two stainless steel buckets and a clam shell. I also used to have a large shallowish ceramic bowl and a slightly deeper one both now broken With labs you need lots of water both deep and shallow so there is always some left to drink after the digging frenzy is over. The clam shell is fantastic as they can stand in it, dig in it, wallow in it and basically get as much of it on them as possible. After getting back from a walk the first thing mine does is submerge herself.

My sister flew her cat down from Brisbane as excess baggage with Virgin I don't remember what she paid though and it was few years ago so has probably changed anyway. When I was looking at an interstate breeder, I got an online quote through jetpets or dogtainers or both maybe. I think I was quoted around the $200 mark for a lab puppy from Tassie to Melb all up from the potential breeders door to my door. It was certainly a lot less that I expected. Weight is the big factor.

Ahhh! Treibball cool

Whats Treibball?

This sounds a lot like my adult dog. When she was younger there were very few occasions where she didn't present her belly to a new dog (much to my embarrassment ). Now she uses a much more subtle head turn eyes down submission and will only roll over on occasion. Shes just a submissive dog and I think will always be content to be a follower. Providing your puppy is not bolting in fear I don't think you need to be too concerned. She is extremely cute by the way

I don't know bout that - I think Ill be counting down the sleeps so it will feel like forever but what a fantastic Christmas prezzie Have you got any name ideas yet?

Oooh look at those stunning eyes 'Aurora blue' is a beautiful name and suits her perfectly

We got our first lab as a pup when I was 10 and my sis 8. I don't know how my mum did it, especially now I am starting to ready myself for raising a pup. To top it off we moved interstate the same year..... definitely starting to appreciate how brilliant she was From a kids point of view he was absolutely was fantastic to grow up with. We had very strict rules with him (I think they were as much for us as him lol) he wasn't allowed in the kitchen or near the dinner table whilst we were eating nor upstairs (I think this was so we didn't fight over who's room/bed he was in). If he was on his bed we weren't allowed to join him :p Great fun though - we spent hours everyday playing soccer, teaching tricks, hide n seek, rollerblading. He was always a part of our lives and we probably wouldn't have been anywhere near as active if he wasn't in our lives. I think that and the walk/play down the park with my parents daily kept him exhausted too

Fantastic photo