Snowball

anywwhere in the Wantirna, Waverly, FTGully, Dandenong, rowville, Burwood area is fine.....

Hi Our local puppy school is full up and as I really wouldnt know a good one from a bad one, I thought rather than blindly find some - can anyone recommend any to us? Our pup is nearly 9 weeks old. cheers Snowball

Hi My 8 week old puppy (golden retriever) has setteld in well in her new home. However, goldie has a new found love of chasing the cat and letting out an excited bark . (the cat doesnt seem to mind, they get on quite well ) Now since I live next door to an absolutely nightmare barking dog, I do not want my puppy to go down that path and be a nuisance. what can I do to discourage her when she barks? What techniques do you use to nip this in the bud. Have tried squirt of water, but she doesnt care - being a retriever loves water. Have tried shaking a noisy bottle with coins at the time, but dont think that did much ... so any hints, what to do??????? thanks heaps Snowball

Thanks for your replies She loves hiding under the bush and mouthing branches. It is really hard to see her when she is in the bushes, maybey that is her aim?? Snowball

Hi Our back area which will be the dog run has a beautiful fuchsia bush with reg/pink/purple flowers, are they poisonous for dogs if eaten? Does anyone know, or sites to check thanks Snowball

thanks Seven, that is really useful. Snowball

goldieboy, , another great solution.... now why didnt I think of that !! Snowball[ quote name=GoldieBoy' date='30th Oct 2009 - 01:01 PM' post='4083685] Hi SB, our solution to this problem is to install the gate about 15cm off the ground so the cats can fit under. The only annoying part is having to step over the bottom part of the gate when you open it but our two gates are not in high access areas so it's not so bad.

goldieboy, , another great solution.... now why didnt I think of that !! Snowball[ quote name=GoldieBoy' date='30th Oct 2009 - 01:01 PM' post='4083685] Hi SB, our solution to this problem is to install the gate about 15cm off the ground so the cats can fit under. The only annoying part is having to step over the bottom part of the gate when you open it but our two gates are not in high access areas so it's not so bad.

Serket, I feel for you, at least yours yell at them to shut up, mine never say a word - every!!!! I would feel a bit better, if they at least pretended to try and keep their dog quiet. arhhhh, fingers crossed I can keep my goldie from being corrupted

thanks for your replies. You are all so helpful. I must say I was in tears reading this, as my neighbours little dog just barks all day, at anything - he is driving me crazy and the neighbours dont care. I think I am overplanning this as I am scarred that 1. - that dog will corrupt my beautiful puppy and 2. that we end up with a horrid barking nightmare. I have talked to them, but there not that fussed. I have had the dog over for a few hours a few times so it gets used to me, and our yard, that has helped a little, he no longer barks when he sees me, but will still bark when I go into the backyard and he cant see me, or go to the car, or the garage, or the bin, or it is windy, or their are birds in the yard, visitors, schookids walking past, etc etc, you get the idea. he really is a sweet dog, just not stimulated at all - no walks etc. I paid him a bit of attention and he started to jump over the fence to come and sit by my backdoor waiting for me - poor thing. But I just cant handle it. Anyway, I am venting. I am just so scarred of what will happen when we get our puppy, plus it is ruining my enjoyment of my backyard. I will propbably start a seperate thread about what to do so my puppy doesnt pick up bad habits - but reading all your lovely replies and the others I have had, it is reassuring to know that there are lovely dog owners who care about their dogs and others around them. i cant believe how a barking dog has gotten me down. anyway, thanks for all your tips, I will refer to them and use them. Cant wait to post picture. cheers Snowball

Hmm, just saw all my spelling mistakes and tired to edit, but somehow isnt working for me, - sorry, cant even blame sleep deprevation yet

Hi Ok, have been reading the tired puppy owenrs thread and starting to get mildy worried routine seems to come accross as important - so is anyone willing to share their routine for their new 8 week puppy and then how it is modiefied as she gets older. We are getting a golden retriever and have a crate etc, all ready, but am concerned about the night times, I have gone through sleep deprevationa and toilet training with a child and did not expect to go through it again :p So share your routines please, it looks like I will need them for my sanity. thanks heaps Snowball

thanks everyone. Kirty, that is a great idea, will show your diagram to my husband and if we cant find anything cheaper than what I have, we will do the modifications. It really is ridiculous, I survived one very active toddler without baby gates and now I am having to get 3 ;) Rosie, will chase down a BigW, - they are around in Melbourne, just got to find one. I need to keep the doors open, as I need to see what my lovable preschooler is up to, closed doors and an active boy is never a good idea, plus our cat will like to know he can escape from both my son and from our puppy to be Thanks agian, all your help is really appreicated cheers Snowball

Hi, a ray of hope , I am getting a bit down with all the preperation. what is the make/brand of it? where did you buy it? I tell you it is much easier with just my cat (will I get thrown out of here saying that Snowball

Hi Yep, it is my night of questions . OK, we have bought babygates to have our new puppy in one part of the house and keep bedrooms / carpet areas puppy free. Now, the only problem is that the cat cant fit through them, and it sort of is a pain for him to have to hurdle over the gates to get from part a of the house to part b, Anyone experienced this, what gates did you use to let the cat through, but dog out. ????? thanks again Snowball

Thanks everyone, your replies are really helpful and great to read Snowball

thanks everyone, pretty much what I thought, drat, was hoping there was some magic way they could all get long beautifully in the same room with minimum clutter for the rest of the house Well, I will have to move the cat bed (igloo) somewhere else, I will also get the relaxing cat spray (forgot the name now). have allready moved his food and scratching post, he is not happy with me at all, oh if he only knew what was about to come soon - poor thing, he is such a cat iykwim, he will not be impressed with a puppy. on the plus side, he is only 10 months or so, so maybey they will become firm friends Snowball

OK, getting ready for the bundle of cute golden retriever puppy to arrive over the next 2 weeks, so ..... we have our cat bowls with food water in the living room which will be goldies area, the rest of the house will be baby gated off limits, so any hope of teaching her to leave the cat stuff alone or do I just need to find a new spot for it away from the living room. Is she likely to be interested in it? My guess is yes, but mayeby she wont like cat food? I am starting to feel like I will have stuff spread allover the house, there go my vague dreams of having anything resembling a tidy neat clutter free house But seriously, what to do witht he cat things, and the cats sleeping igloo is in the living room too, but I cant just move the cat out, he will get a wee bit annoyed, and rightly so, he was here first. oh dear, any help appreciated Snowball

thanks heaps everyone. I had assumed so, but you never know and being new to this - i thought I would better check thanks again

Hi OK, here is my stupid question :D , I accidently bought the royal canin junior lab retiever dry food thinking it would be suitable for my golden retirever ( i thought it was for both ) but have since found out they have a golden retirever version (although it appears not available here) So does anyone know if this is suitable for my goldie puppy or is the lab mix not suitable? I can try and swap it, havnt opened the packets, so any help appreciated thanks snowball

thanks will do. new to the forum and still trying to figure out where to post what, iykwim. cheeers Snowball

Hi We are in the process of getting a golden retriever puppy and have been doing heaps of reading etc to understand what I need to do to look after her properly. Due to the breed being suscetible to HD and ED, can anyone give me link or guide as to the correct amount of excercise/type of activity to do and avoid in order to minimise HD and ED (Hip Displacia) in later life. We will be getting the puppy at 8 weeks of age. thanks SB edited to add: my understanding is that no long walks/catching ball in the first year of life - so I guess I am trying to figure out what I can do to keep her healthy, that is age appropriate and will provide excercise, whilst not be bad for her hips/elbows in the 1st year thanks again