LizT

I'm the only one in my family who catches the huntsman and releases it! Always have. A plastic jug and an ice cream container lid are my equipment of choice. They are the spiders that eat the nasty little venomous ones. Squish those redbacks, best method EVER... We tried to catch a Red bellied Black once, kept picking him up with spade and putting him in horse feed bucket but kept getting out before we could get lid on. After 4 attempts we decided it was getting dangerous and snake was getting annoyed. Sadly it was off with his head. When snake catcher FINALLY arrived he was very understanding about it. Wouldn't worry quite as much about a python. Although it too can bite, a very painful bite with possible infection.

Yep, about to say something relevant and important and Dr. Katrina is cut off...... (sad about Toby but every dog has it's day). Almost mentioned that purebred problems could be avoided IF both parents didn't have any problems but that is also the case with Purebreds!! She was about to say that if the Parents had problems so would the X Breed dogs but no.... cut off....Thanks Dr. Katrina and Goodbye. These 60 second stories do nothing to help the public about informed choices.

Probably yet another media story that tell us NOTHING!!??

Quote That sliding door is the door that leads from the kitchen/family out into the dog yard, the dogs were let out atleast 3 times overnight (puppy house-training) from about 11pm until about 8am when I got up... no idea when it got there, but I can only assume its been there most of the night. I freaked when I saw it. And I thought catching "Huntsmen" (spider) was tricky!!! And I freaked when one was on my wardrobe door last night....still put him outside though. Glad it all went well, probably be years before you see another one.

LOL CDL Baited!!! :D

I was at a Park once when another dog was continually hassling my GSD who was on lead beside me. They were aggressive confrontations. After numerous 'hit and runs' by this dog I told the owner to either control her dog or I would let my fellow off his lead so that he could sort it out HIS own way. She then put her dog on it's lead! Perhaps what your stupid woman was trying to say was that maybe her three dogs would not have been so 'brave' had your dog been off lead??? Perhaps he was viewed on by them as an easy target?? Some people are fools.

That's a lovely story. Your husband was lucky indeed. When I was a child I had a book about true dog stories (I still have it!!) and there was a similar story about a plucky Jack Russell whose elderly owner slipped whilst walking in a field (in England) and a bull happened to come into the field from a nearby paddock and charged her. She had hurt herself in the fall and the brave little dog took the bull by the nose and distracted it away from the old woman until some farmers heard her calls and were able to help. The little dog was given a Bravery Award.

Who 'smacked' your dog???

Hang in there Goldie Girl. You're doing everything right! :D Keeping the curious and therefore potentially threating away from the snake is the best thing. I'm a snake 'fan' (prefer non venomous python types though!) but my heart still skipped a beat when a big Tiger glided past my boot when I was hammering star pickets around our dam last Spring! Must have just come out of hybernation and was potentially grumpy! What's your geography? I got really pissed off with a so called snake expert at our Local Agi Show a couple of years ago when he told me (and other onlookers) that red-bellied blacks were not indiginous to Victoria and if I saw some down here they must have "hitch hiked" What an IDIOT!! Wouldn't have been so bad except that he was there to inform the Public. :D I've got heaps of books showing that they are along the east Coast all the way to the Otways. Hopefully your snake will stay put and the catcher will be there soon.

Thanks Sheree e4 That's certainly the type of dog I remember seeing, yes more like a Kelpie build really. Often called a German Koolie. I've googled more info and it seems they are not as yet recognised by KCC as no records were kept in the early days and you need seven generations of breeding records to be recognised as a breed?? Pity. They look a lovely 'switched on' dog.

My daughters friend asked me the other day and I am not 100% certain. I've seen many dogs that have been pointed out to me as 'Cooli' or Cooli X but am not really sure as to the origin of this term or if it is a recognised breed? One thing that I've noticed about these dogs is that they are similar in build to Australian Cattle Dogs, have blue eyes and are a merle colour. Anyone?

Were they expecting to find a labradoodle at a dog show?????

Your Borzoi is "wery lufly darlink"! LOL I must admit I'm a bit stupid about breeds sometimes and I've been a dog fancier ALL my life. I just get confused sometimes, particulary breeds I'm not around much. True it would be better I suppose to ASK rather than GUESS or ASSUME but the English language is very clumsy and doesn't alway work in the most sensible ways! Funnily enough your young dog (whos markings are beautiful by the way) does slightly resemble a "Whippet X Collie" that I once knew, and cared for, strange that. I'm sure the resemblance will pass as he matures. He is a very striking dog and will attract attention. I saw a lady get all cut up at the vets once because someone called her Italian Greyhound a Whippet. I think we need to be a bit more tolerant. There are a lot of breeds out there and enless combinations thereof.

Definitely GSD/LAB I had one as a child (35+ years ago LOL) he looked like a white GSD with floppy ears though. How old is your boy? He looks quite well grown. Did you get him from a pet shop recently or have you had him for a while now? He looks a sweet dog.

You don't have to clip nails for the Show Ring. It is just general dog husbandry that require regular clipping to keep nails in good condition. It's part of the overal grooming picture. If your dogs nails are kept trimmed by regular walks that's great. It is a good idea however to have your pup used to having her nails trimmed so you should probably regularly go through the motions with her even if you just shave off the tiniest bit, which is probably all she needs at present. Less chance of nicking her that way too.

I couldn't fit my trolley in our Pulsar Sedan boot, fortunately I also have a Rodeo with canopy (as I need it to tow the horse float with) and it's a great height to unload gear. If I need to use the pulsar then I have to take the crate and not the trolley. It's a nice height trolley for grooming (kind to my back) and can divide into four berths if I want, so I can load a fair bit of gear into it but I often wish I had a smaller one!

I love how there is even a "heat policy"! I have a Jumps trial (horses) this Sunday and I'm hoping the weather will be kind! I've NEVER heard of a Horse Show cancelled due to hot weather and I 've even seen horses colapse with heat stroke! No Gazebos either or anything more than whatever shade you can find either! AND if you've got a kind (and sensible) Judge you are sometimes permited to take your jackets off!

When my GSD had only one testicle down at his 3 months vaccination the Vet told me it was unlikely that the retained teste would come down. When we had his desexed at 7 months (we were planning to desex him in any case) the poor boy has to be Castrated and Spayed! Adominal surgery and a slit sac. My point being it is vital to desex an animal with only one teste as the retained teste atrophies and becomes cancerous. So at some point (clearly variying with different breeds???) a single testicle has to be "accepted" as such for the well being of the animal. Still plenty of time to hope for the best for your little fella.

Lil' devil !!! Silly BB

Your puppy could get destressed by the crowd and absolutely long for peace and quiet. IMI NOT a good idea as much as you love your pet. Try and make it a stress free day for yourself and everyone else especially your dog. PS. I had my 3 dogs in my wedding photos taken before we left the house. They sat beside me in my dress. It was lovely. Congratulations and have a wonderful special day.

Our first Cav started out in a pen as a puppy, then as an adult she finished up on our bed as I worked night shift and when I went to get a few hours sleep before work my then 7 year old daughter would often lie down with me in my bed to spend a bit of time together and the young dog would jump up onto the bed and the three of us would fall asleep. My OH would then put both girls into there respective beds and go to bed. I'd then get up and go to work. When we got the 2nd Cav she started out in the pen and yep, ended up on the bed too! It started getting silly (and crowded) but the bigger problem was after I went to work the dogs wanted to go to the toilet and Captain Oblivious would keep on snoring so they'd soil in the house. Now they are both in seperate crates as the older is expecting puppies New Years Eve and they are both happy with there little houses. They still both start out on the bed in the evening for 'special time' but I put them in the crates when I go to work. OH toilets them when he gets up and puts them back in. Then I let them out when I get home in the morning. We have our mornings fun and then later on when I catch up on a few more hours sleep they then sleep on the bed with me until it's time to get ready to pick my daughter up from school. More fun and games with my daughter and then the cycle continues.

Congratulations on your new family member. Cavs are a great family dogs and very versatile. ALL of your family will be smitten with this little guy in about...too late you already are!! I've had many dogs over the years but within a year of getting our first Cav we had two! Very addictive. Your children are a great age to have a Cav. You will get lots of useful and terrific advice on this forum. Read books, internet and forums like this. As has been said, do what you intend to have done when the dog is an adult (within reason of course! Puppies have different needs to adults) One bit of important advise is to not let your puppy run up and down stairs AND be ever so careful of him jumping off things when he starts to try and climb, say couches. beds or even the back steps, out of cars, etc. Cavalier LOVE to 'perch' on things, they are quite catlike in this I'm afraid. If you do not want him on furniture or beds you will need to be firm right from the start! He is a baby and could do some serious damage to himself jumping off things. That said puppies are robust so don't wrap him in cotton wool, he needs to romp and play too. Have fun and remember they are puppies for such a short time (remeber how quickly your children have grown up!) so if it gets a bit tiring remember...this to will pass.

If a big dog is on lead & is in the control of a sensible person, I'm happy for some controlled socialiation with my small dog. All my little dogs were brought up with their breeders' GSD or Tibetan Mastiff anyway! :D And one was the greyhound adoption program small dog tester. But I understand the protectiveness that some older ladies feel, when they come across a big dog. Their small dogs are not likely to have had a history of controlled socialisation with big dogs. And if anything goes pear-shaped in a passing interaction with a big dog, an older lady doesn't have the strength to intervene. And may be at risk herself, for a fall or from some health matter. OK, in a perfect world, there would have been controlled socialisation. But, it's not. And I'm happy to cut those older ladies some slack. I quite agree with what you're saying but don't see the need to enhance neurotic behaviour by setting a 'trigger' reaction. My brother used to do it with my parents GSD. Everytime he saw someone walking another dog on the footpath up ahead he would cross the road. The dog was poorly socialised with other dogs and soon became quite aggressive towards any dog he saw coming towards him. Action creates reaction. I'd rather stop and have a natter with the old ladies, they usually end up putting their dog back down and are amazed at how friendly and gentle my boy is.

I get a similar reaction from older ladies with little dogs! They usually pick them up and when I pass by the say "Oh he/she is SO afraid of big dogs!" I wonder why!!! Funnily enough I don't have that same problem whem my Cavalier is attached to the Shepherd! Kinda softens the "picture huh!"

I "grew up" with these dogs too. They were often "PTS" by the owners and never taken to the vets either! Not all lived to a ripe old age. They never got sick because conditions were not left to manifest.