ACD4EVA

We got our little man from a BYB. And I wouldn't change a thing! He came vet checked, vaccinated, wormed and microchipped. He also came with a free puppy pack with all his information. I also did quite a bit of research on the breed we were after in terms of the characteristics and features.

We got to meet his parents and see his brothers and sisters. They were all very happy, healthy dogs.

He is the most adorable pup and we love him to bits!! His is part of our family now

Alot of people get dogs that are free to good home or from the animal shelters and they don't know the complete history of the dog. As long as the dog is healthy and happy... all dogs need a loving home

Did you puppy's parents have the required health testing carried out for the breed?

YES

/

/

Thats very disturbing! I can't see any sense to it no matter which way I try and figure out ... why!

Like many have said... he is your dog, its your choice.

We let ours sleep on the bed, but only for a few hours. My partner gets up at 4:30am and our dog comes and sleeps on the bed with me until 7am when I get up :rolleyes:

This morning (as we do every morning) we took our 12 week old pup out to the toilet. After he did a number 2 he started to drag his behind on the grass. At first I thought he may have been wiping his bottom :D

We then went back inside and he then started to drag his behind on the floor.

Is this a symptom of worms?

I can't say I have studied his droppings to see if I can see any but when I have looked I could not see anything.

We wormed him on wednesday this week for his 12 week worming.

Any advise??

It could be a sign of worms, but maybe he could be just cleaning out his anal glands, but probably a bit young for that. If you are in a tick area just check to see that he doesn't have a tick hanging there. You could always take a sample of poo to the vet to have it analysed for presence of worms. What did you worm him with?

We wormed him with a chewable tablet (Bay O pet, Drontal All wormer). He hasn't done it since my first post and there wasn't tick or anything on him.

Our 12 week old pup has them on the front and rear. Should we get them removed at the vet while he is still young? Should I get front and rear removed or just one?

This morning (as we do every morning) we took our 12 week old pup out to the toilet. After he did a number 2 he started to drag his behind on the grass. At first I thought he may have been wiping his bottom

We then went back inside and he then started to drag his behind on the floor.

Is this a symptom of worms?

I can't say I have studied his droppings to see if I can see any but when I have looked I could not see anything.

We wormed him on wednesday this week for his 12 week worming.

Any advise??

We had the same problem. When we would put him to bed, as soon as we were out of his sight he would start howling.

And of course, I am weak and I gave into him.

We did the worst thing and started to sit with him until he fell asleep.

We have now changed our ways and we put him to bed (own bed) and leave him. He sooks for a little but then gets over it and goes to sleep. The first time we did it was the worst but he is getting better. He still wakes up throughout the night so we take him to the toilet, put him back to bed and leave him, he then goes back to sleep. We have a touch lamp on low on for him so its not pitch black. We did also use to have a radio going... but we have now stopped and he doesn't miss it.

Now we leave the laundry door open during the day when we are home and he goes outside by himself to go the toilet or to play. He doesn't panic as much anymore when we are out of sight.

Thanks this is exactly whats happening, but he sooks for like as long as he can and could go on for half and hour to an hour. I think i need to stop giving in and ignore him.

They will cry for a while... Last night our little man howled and barked for 30 mins when we first put him to bed and then he woke up again at 1am and howled for nearly 2 hours! I felt like screaming!!

But I just keep thinking that it will only get better (hopefully )

Around what age do they stop?

are u walking him in your property? coz at 10 weeks he wouldn't have had all vaccinations, therefore wouldn't be walking him anywhere

So no other dog has ever walked on your street? It's not just active exposure, germs and viruses can live in the environment too. It's generally safest to keep your dog on your own property until 7 days after the second vaccination - unless he's on a surface that can be disinfected, such as in a puppy class. (Hint, hint)

Dont agree with this at all

There is too much important socialisation that needs to happen between 8-12 weeks

It is entirely up to the owner, do you want to 'risk' exposure to illnesses that can happen even if the dog is fully vaccinated or do you want to risk your dogs temperament being damaged?

You can still socialise your dog to the world before they are fully vaccinated, if you carry him/her in your arms.

We took our pup to heaps of places before she was fully vaccinated but we carried her everywhere.

Seven day after the second vax would be 9 weeks old anyway (usually) so still plenty of time They sepnd the first few days settling into the home anyway.

Puppies usually have a 3 course vaccination at 6,8 and 12 weeks, so even after the second vax they are not fully protected.

Not sure what vacc schedule you are thinking of but even on the old 6/10/14 regime, the pup would not have had a second vacc.

We vacc at 8 plus weeks, they have a second but not a third vacc.

Got me worried for a little bit there

Our pup had his first vac around 6-8 weeks of age (before we got him) and is due for his second next week, he will be 13 weeks then.

We haven't been walking him, we have just been playing fetch in the backyard to keep him occupied. Most of the time he just runs away with the ball, lies down and chews it

Can ACD owners please pass on their advice and experiences to my thread below.

http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?show...=209884&hl=

If you have no intention of showing him then get him desexed.

Just wait until he's matured before you do it.

How come we should wait until he is matured?

I know a few people when they got their pups at 8 weeks they were already desexed, and they seem fine.

Correct me if I am wrong, but I read if you don't desex them early enough they will still hump and spray even after being desexed?

Is there anyone who had their pup desexed younger then mature age?

We had the same problem. When we would put him to bed, as soon as we were out of his sight he would start howling.

And of course, I am weak and I gave into him.

We did the worst thing and started to sit with him until he fell asleep.

We have now changed our ways and we put him to bed (own bed) and leave him. He sooks for a little but then gets over it and goes to sleep. The first time we did it was the worst but he is getting better. He still wakes up throughout the night so we take him to the toilet, put him back to bed and leave him, he then goes back to sleep. We have a touch lamp on low on for him so its not pitch black. We did also use to have a radio going... but we have now stopped and he doesn't miss it.

Now we leave the laundry door open during the day when we are home and he goes outside by himself to go the toilet or to play. He doesn't panic as much anymore when we are out of sight.

Hi,

We have a male 12 week old ACD puppy. My partner and I have been discussing whether we get him desexed in the future or not. He will not be showed, or be used for breeding, he is a family pet.

I know that its a common procedure but I still get worried for him.

I get concerned that he won't be the same after the operation.

What are peoples views about getting a dog desexed?

I know I'm a big sook.....

Hi, I'm new around here and just read your thread with great interest as I have a 10 week old ACD puppy.

Firstly I want to commend you on a job well done with your puppy.

It sounds like you have heartfelt dedication and really love him (mind you who wouldn't love such an adorable pup)

Well done on conquring this 'phase'

I'm still waiting for Katie to hit this phase.

She amazingly has not started the whole herding and ankle biting yet, but I am sure it's not far away, so I am arming myself with all the advice I can get in anticipation. We are just starting the jumping up behaviour but we seem to be dealing with it OK.

I have been very very lucky with my puppy so far.

The breeder did a SUPERB job with her when she was very young and she seems a very well adjusted and easy to train puppy so far.

So easy, I keep wondering if there is something wrong. I have a friend who is a dog trainer and she calls Katie the Labrador in the blue heeler jacket as she is so incredibly easy going.

I must admit I did choose her out of the litter as this personality trait was quite obvious when I played with her and the litter mates.

I am sure she will push the boundaries and test the waters at some stage.

Again, I am sorry for the lengthy post, I really just wanted to say

WELL DONE !

Hi BellaDonna,

We have a ACD also but a Red Heeler.

I was wondering if your pup ended up getting to the biting/ nipping stage. Our pup is now 11 weeks old and OMG he has hit the biting stage. I understand that he is a working/ herding breed so I was expecting this to come, but we really need to do something as his little teeth hurt!

At the moment whenever he bites us we tell him 'NO' in a deep firm voice and try directing him off us by giving him one of his toys to play with. But that doesn't seem to be working so he have started putting him in time out, which we slowly have been seeing results as it makes him calm down a little. We did try the water spraying but I think he thought it was a game and would come back for more and try and get the water in his mouth haha Apart from this he is a lovely friendly little pup; he has already learnt to sit. We are quite proud of our little man

Do you have any tricks for this breed to stop the play biting?

What the??

Thanks for your responses! I will just walk him on the property. Its good to ask when your all new to this.

I have been looking at puppy classes.

are u walking him in your property? coz at 10 weeks he wouldn't have had all vaccinations, therefore wouldn't be walking him anywhere

We have been just playing with him in the backyard and a short walk up the street and back..... our street is not very long. And their isn't any other dogs.

We have got our 10 week old puppy walking on a lead; not perfectly but we are getting there.

My question is how much can we walk him?

Is to much walking at this age going to cause him problems later on?

Does it differ depending on the breed?

How long has he cried for when you have left him in the evening?

We have left him to cry for a good hour at night. He gets quite loud and I get worried that the neighbours will complain especially on a week night. Once I have sat with him for 10-15 mins and he goes to sleep we don't hear from him until the next morning.

And for the first time he let us sleep in on Sunday until 8:30am!!

We thought the same thing with the laundry door so we got a baby gate from the beginning ( i was also paranoid about him scratching the back of the door).

We have tried to ignore the crying/ howling/ barking but it just keeps on going and I don't think the neighbours would appreciate it. We will keep trying and see how we go. We have left him home on his own plenty of times and he seems fine. Its just at night time.

We have a 9 week old ACD puppy. He is good when it comes to sleeping at night. We put him to bed 9:30pm-10:00pm and he sleeps all night until 6:30am -ish.

The only problem is when we put him to bed one of us have to sit in the laundry with him and wait until he is asleep and then sneak out. We have tried to just put him into the laundry without doing this, but when we do he crys, howls, barks and scratches at the door.

Does anyone have any suggestions where we don't have to sit with him every night ? Do you think he will grow out of it?

Also do you think he will grow out of waking up at 6:30am and barking? As one day I would like my sleep in's back on the weekend .

My dog dreams often... aside from the symptoms/characteristics you mentioned, my dog sometimes wags her tail. So when that happens to your puppy, don't be alarmed... must be a good dream.

Good advice by the vet to call his name... I'll try that next time. (My dog would probably wake up) lol

Yeah we wags his tail sometimes, I think its cute

I have now come to terms with that he is just an active dreamer.

I have to say I'm enjoying having a puppy... now we just have to get passed the biting and chewing stage

Thank you everyone! You have all been a massive help. Its made me feel alot better knowing all of this. Its all new to me, I didn't realise how much they get onto their dreams.

I was watching him last night and he even started growling in his sleep haha that was very cute.

Thanks again!!!!

Hi,

We got our 8 week old ACD puppy a few days ago.

Over the last few days, i noticed something when he is having a snooze. This has happened a few times now, but not everytime he sleeps.

When sleeping he starts twitching (front legs, nose & throat), his tongue pokes out a little and his eyes are moving around (as he sometimes sleeps with his eyes slightly open).

I have contacted the vet over the phone and they said he is most likely dreaming (do they dream quite often?).... as his apetite is good, he drinks fine and he is still a playful puppy who likes to chew everything They mentioned to me to call his name when this is happening to see if he responds, so if he doesn't respond then take him to the vet.

To tell you the truth it scared my partner and I, as this is our first puppy so we don't know what to expect. We love him very much, even if he has been here a few days, he is definitely part of our family.

Can anyone please tell me their experiences? And what the symptoms are. I am quite concerned :D