FionaC

NO ..... gross!

One of my boys still has his the other has had his removed - my personal preference is to have them removed my OH's for them to remain .... so opinion is divided in this house

Yeayyyy to Rogan and Polo (and FHRP of course!)

Hey Sandra - sorry we didn't end up making obedience training this morning as the OH is sick - we won't be back there again for a couple of weeks now - maybe one of the girls can check for you when they go to Show Training during the week?

Lowepro girl here too! ... I have just handed my (much loved and much used) Fastpack 200 to my OH (as I have too many lens's now) http://products.lowepro.com/product/Fastpack-200,2085,14.htm

and I now have this little baby http://products.lowepro.com/product/Versap...-AW,2171,14.htm - the Versapack

they are just so comfy to use .... I love them

Where did you get the Verspack from and cost?

Nikon on Broadway in Sydney http://www.nikononbroadway.com/index_files/Page3091.htm and it was $120 ... I went to their store when I was down that way a few months ago but they do mailorder .....

Lowepro girl here too! ... I have just handed my (much loved and much used) Fastpack 200 to my OH (as I have too many lens's now) http://products.lowepro.com/product/Fastpack-200,2085,14.htm

and I now have this little baby http://products.lowepro.com/product/Versap...-AW,2171,14.htm - the Versapack

they are just so comfy to use .... I love them

We will be there on Sunday morning for class - I can check for you then if that works?

I buy mine from this ebay seller http://stores.ebay.com.au/Dog-Food-2-U

she doesn't have any listed at the moment but maybe send her a message?

darn .. the OH just bought himself the D5000 a few weeks back .....

oh dear .... naughty Hugo

on the up side Fiveplusone - sounds like Hugo is feeling better

ah yes the pre-teen and teen GSP .... I have one here at the moment and one who's just been through it .... having 2 certainly makes a big difference!

the whinging - yup they do it, especially the boys ... both mine whinge, whine, croak, woo woo and are general noisy buggers sometimes but they know when to shut it off ... but we choose to think of it as music - I mean we also have an Oriental cat and they yowl and talk all the time - so we must like noisy animals - thankfully they don't bark much so its not annoying for neighbours

energy/exercise - everything that the others have said, get him into Obedience classes as soon as possible - free running will wear them out but only for a short time, they sleep in the car going home and by the time you're home they are ready to go at it again twice as hard .... the only thing that really wears my two out is mental and physical exercise at the same time - so an Obedience class where they have to think and move is guaranteed to have them snoring for a while when its over ....

do obedience training at home in short bursts ..... make it fun - his concentration will increase I promise

Easton is looking lovely and growing up so quickly - give him a cuddle from us ....

training for recall? - initially you have to be far more interesting than what you are recalling the dog from, once they learn to come back to you then it begins to stick ... although I don't believe any dog is 100% recall-able (hmmm not sure that's even a word) , but if you're going to let any dog off lead you need a good recall first

have to start early as well, teach them that their name is for attention and a word (such as "come" or "here" is the recall word) that way they give you their attention on their name and then you give an instruction .... when they are puppies, you dance, you jump up and down you talk in high pitched excited voices, you have great smelling and tasting food and you repeat repeat repeat .....

You'll need to train a GSP, whether it is formal obedience classes, 1:1 instruction or you just working with him/her .... if you get a boy he can potentially grow up to just under 70cm at the shoulder (my oldest boy is 68cm so outside the standard) and weighing 30ish kgs .... you want him to be trained in the basics at the least....

So sorry to read this Ruth ..... the boys and I send hugs

We have 2 GSP's ... both different in personality - 1 very high drive (who is training for agility trialing), the younger boy is more laid back (he is doing Obedience training at the moment but we will give Agility a try too once he is big enough) ..... they are both affectionate, the older one doesn't drool at all but the younger one can be .... we board both boys, and they do just fine - the older boy is fine to board by himself but the younger one is better when its the two of them together ....

Our boys are inside all day when we're at work - around 8hrs, have been since we bought them home basically, the get a walk in the evening most nights in summer but rarely in winter, they are happier to curl up on the lounge with me and sleep .....

I've not owned a Pointer but I did look at them when we were deciding on a puppy ... lovely dogs but I'm glad we went with the GSP - they are the breed for us most definitely, we will never be without one ....

love the photos! and I definitely understand the tail thing .... its like a flagpole!

oh what fun the girls look like they are having!

great photos!

older boy is a flat collar with lead (occasionally we may need to get the prong collar back out) .... younger one is also flat collar with lead - not needed anything else with him - he's no where near the puller that Morty is .....

tried harnesses - makes Morty pull harder ... prong collar and a loose leash walking program worked for us....

Leads are either leather or blackdog material ones ... collars are leather or blackdog or Huga's collars ....

gosh I've been bad

Archie 19/52

(its normally me on the field with Archie but I was on the sidelines with a sore back ... so the OH got to go to class with him ...

Morty 18/52

(modeling a harness for K9Pro - he's now on the website - my boy the internet star! .....)

You'll find that most have age restrictions on the dogs that can participate in agility as dogs are still puppies with growing bodies at 9mths of age and their joints and muscles need to be protected so beginners agility classes (or Pre-agility classes) run from 12mths at Hillsborough, Obedience classes run from 4mths of age - this is pretty standard across the local clubs in the area .....

Morty never drooled until Archie came home ... and Archie drools at anything to do with food .... but now Morty will drool as well - not for his own food but if we are eating and they are close by - its odd

I saw this on FB .... and it was so beautiful .... such a lovely thing to do for a friend!

Thanks Fiona - they must be busy with such a wide territory to cover.

I don't know what their travel schedule is like - they come to Newcastle once a month (he does at day at our vet's practice) but we had to travel to Sydney for the laser treatment and the recent checkups .... but its only a couple of hours so nothing too difficult ....

As I said I can't speak highly enough of them and their skill.... I have a 7mth old pup who has come through treatment for an Iris Melanoma - we were given a 50% chance of saving his eye and some recommended the removal of the eye due to the aggressiveness of the tumor - we got the all clear last Friday at his most recent checkup - Cameron not only removed the tumor but also saved his sight ... apparently its incredible rare for a dog so young to have an Iris Melanoma - guess my boy likes being unique lol

I can highly HIGHLY recommend the vets from ARH - specifically Cameron Whitiker - he seems to be the one that does most of the travelling - we live in Newcastle and he does the trip up here once a month too ... he is based at ARH and I have nothing but good things to say about them and their treatment!

tlc I don't know how you do it but my hat's off to you getting 4 to pose together and all look amazing! I have difficulties in getting 2 to pose together lol

remember to include it in your calorie total for the day - even though its low fat it still counts ...