ravenau1

Ah I didn't see this! I'll send them a email and ask why. If that is the case I'll only stay two nights. I'd probably be out and about with the dogs anyway. If you're down there at the same time the dogs can have a play At this stage it will be the last week and a half, for Easter and Anzac Day My folks are heading away in May until November so it will be our last chance to stay with them for a while We stayed down there for a few nights just a couple of weeks ago, Astrid loved it. Lots of places to take her, and lovely and cool in the evenings for walks. Plus my Dad bought her an icecream on the foreshore so she had possibly the best time ever :rolleyes:

Thanks everyone :rolleyes: Erny, Calendula is marigold? I grew them once upon a time. Where would I get a tea from? I presume that I pour it on her as a rinse or such? Pls excuse my ignorance She doesn't seem to be in any discomfort which is good.

My folks live in Busso and we'll be down there in April too! They want you to not be in the B&B between 9:30am and 3pm every day you stay there? That's a bit odd! My folks worked in hospitality down there for years, and still know heaps of people and I've never heard of that before!

Hi all! This morning when we got up I noticed that the fur on my 17 week old Dobe's back looked a bit funny. I took her outside into the sun to have a good look and her skin is covered in bumps in a line down her back approx 15cms wide. Here's a couple of pics You can see that her fur looks uneven. Here's a shot from the bottom up, against the direction of the fur, I've circled a couple of areas I managed to get a bit of a shot of. She's acting fine, her normal 'full of beans' self, she's currently running zoomies in the yard! It doesn't seem to be itchy at all either. There have been a couple of things happening this week. I washed her the day before yesterday, her last bath was about a month ago as she doesn't smell and dirt just brushes off her. The only reason I washed her this week was that she was dripping in Stafford spit. I also tried to feed her some raw beef the day before yesterday (which made her sick as usual) and some oats, both things she doesn't normally get. I am sure that if it was like this yesterday I would have noticed, it was the first thing I saw when I got her out of bed this morning and I was half asleep! I don't know how I would have missed it so I am assuming that it's happened during the night, but I don't know. She is usually very sleek furred along the back so it is very noticeable. I have made a vet appt for later on this arvo (when OH gets home) but just wondered if anyone had ideas in the meantime. Thanks! Oh and she looks blue in the last pic but it's just the light.

Aww, great shots! I just love the zoo ;) I go there for my Birthday every year ;)

Hi everyone! Some great posts in here lately! Thanks for all the tips about training treats, there are some things we haven't tried before in there and we are always looking for things our little non food motivated muppet will work for How are Max and James feeling today? Aww, poor Orca! We had our very first soft toy casualty the day before yesterday. Her very favourite toy, Mr Pink Bunny lost an arm (oh noes!) and will require reconstructive surgery when I get around to getting the needle and thread out. I would just sew up the hole but it's the arm with a squeaker in! We've been having some issues lately, from lunging at cars to barking at everything while out on walks but after getting advice/tips from our trainer we are having some success! Here's a quick pic of a couple of our critters . Please excuse the stylish black cover, that's supposed to be my comfy reading chair but it's constantly covered in cat hair, and cat hair is hard to get off whatever velvety stuff my Grandmother had that chair covered in! Some days there are four cats sleeping on it

My Dobe definitely barks more with me than when the OH is with us. Not at home thought, just when we're out and about on walks. At home she's the same, only barks occasionally if there's something unusual going on and is generally pretty relaxed. Recently she was barking at pretty much everything while we were walking (everything from people to grasshoppers), and lunging at cars as they would go by. We've been working with our trainer about it and having some success now and I now think that a great deal of it has to do with my tension. I'm recovering physically from a chronic and long term illness and now I have so much more freedom than before. I simply would not have been allowed to walk around outside the house unsupervised. And even though now I am encouraged to, and it's an important part of my physical rehab and I really do enjoy it I think some part of me is still a bit nervous about it, but I am relaxed when the OH is with us. As I feel more in control and calm about the situation, Astrid is calming down too. I would say that I do 99% of the pet duties here, feeding/training/walking/general care etc as I am home 6 days per week. And Astrid does seem to prefer my company to my OH's, though she does check the bed in the early mornings to see if he's there or not (shiftworker) and will happily snuggle up to him on the couch or play with him in the yard. I do all the hands on type training, though OH always comes with us to class because he drives and I don't.

We have used Dea at Four Little Paws when we went away mid last year and will be using her again this year. She's really lovely and we were very happy! http://www.fourlittlepaws.com.au/ We didn't have her 'stay in' but I'm pretty sure she does offer that service too.

I know, that's why I thought it was funny that they thought I would know all about them Thanks everyone!

Thanks GayleK, I am trying to nudge them in that direction. I would be shocked, stunned and amazed if they had!

When our Dobe was smaller and we used to carry her everywhere we would get people asking if she was a Dachshund too! Not now that she has long legs though

Thanks Nekhbet, that's what I thought. I think they're fairly used to higher energy dogs, they currently have Jack Russel cross, two White Shepherds and two Pitties. In the past they've also had working Labs for hunting. Not sure what they have to herd though, maybe the kids!

A family member overseas has contact me and said that they are looking at buying a 'Miniature Australian Shepherd' so were asking me for advice... because I'm Australian so of course would know all there is to know . Right. I've never heard of mini, and there aren't any DOL listings for them. I have a sneaking suspicion it's a bit like 'Teacup Chihuahuas'?

My Mal's favourite place to spend a hot day was a nice deepish hole (freshly dug) near a shady tree, even though he had access to a house with aircon

The exact same thing happened to us with Astrid. She refused to eat the very same food we had watched her eat enthusiastically at her breeders on several occasions! It was really frustrating as I had never had a fussy cat or dog before and I was really stressed about it as she gets skinny so quickly. In the end, it was me that needed to 'harden up' . After turning myself inside out for a week I did what Sandra777 and it works well. She's still not the best eater so I still do it and there is the occasion that she won't eat all her food so I take it away after 15mins, and you can be sure she eats well the next meal!

And here's one after they cleaned up a bit

kyliegirl: It's great when you find something they will work enthusiastically for How do you give him the tuna, do you roll it in a ball or some such? foxiboi: I need to do deals like that more often! Pics are great, Ike is gorgeous Shiba's are on my 'doggie wish list' :D I thought some peeps here might be interested in some international doggies. Got these pics this morning of some of the dogs belonging to OH's family in the US. The had a HUGE blizzard and the doggies just love the snow This is Copper (OH Misses him a lot ;) ) Isabella who belongs to OH's Brother and his wife Radar (also belongs to OH's Brother and his wife) Oops! Radar went in a bit too deep lol

It certainly could be a fear period, as it fits in with the time scale, but in that case wouldn't she be like that all the time, not just when I'm walking her? She's fine when OH is with us. It's quite perplexing! foxyboi: I got them from: http://www.etsy.com/shop/bowwowzerz and http://www.etsy.com/shop/DogTagArt Now, in payment for the info I need to see some Shiba pics wizzle: There won't be any birthday parties for Astrid either, OH wouldn't even let me put a santa hat on her for Christmas! I showed him the cute doggie cupcakes and he looked at me like I was an alien lilli_star: Wow, great shots to show how much she's grown! She looks comfy lol Poor trampoline bed! We are picking up one similar for Astrid this weekend, I hope she doesn't eat it! Loving all the doggies in their stylish headwear Regarding the blue colour in dogs. I don't quite get the attraction but OH LOVES blue dogs. We saw a blue and white Amstaff a little while ago and I thought he was going to steal it lol. Loves blue Great Danes too. And a pic for today, not a doggie but how cute is this pic of Tiger? I love it. Snapped it while we were visiting my family. Oh, and an update on the toilet training! We've been trying to teach her to scratch at the door when she wants to go out, and she's getting the message, kind of! Now she sits and stares at the closed door, then when we notice and start to walk over to her, then she scratches ETA: I take so long to post that there are more by the time I actually hit the button to post lol. OH has several Furbies, I HATE them... he also has a horrid creepy stuffed monkey thing that he insists must sit on our bookcase. I am convinced it wanders the house at night plotting evil

On a lighter note, I came across these online today http://sweetchops.com.au/ Cupcake kits for doggies ;) so cute!

Kyliegirl: Aww, Echo looks so stately in that pic! I've never tried Astrid on raw fish, might pick up some and give it a go, Echo sure looks like he's enjoying them! KumaAkita: Haha! Yes, she for sure has my Dad wrapped around her paw! Dad is a Dog Person, particularly large-ish dogs and Mum isn't so they're unlikely to every get another dog (they have two cats though!) so Astrid is the closest he will get! I just noticed your new sig, I love it the party hat! KTB: Hmm, interesting that you say that neither Elbie or Hoover seemed to have discomfort while teething. Astrid definitely seems to! The other day she was chewing and giving a little yelp every now and again. I checked that there was nothing sharp etc in what she was chewing on, and her mouth looked fine so I just assumed it was the teething. Perhaps we will get the vet to have a look when we get her titre tested before we start obedience in the next couple of weeks. Poor Elbie and poor you! There's nothing quite like doggie vomit. ~blech~ Niques: Well you and James are jogging about 500m more than I could Clastic: Plaster too What kind of blender was it? Very sharp and powerful by the sounds of it! Wizzle: Is it a soft crate so it's like a little hammock on top? How cute! That thread it's even worse now. I wonder if some puppy farmer somewhere has that bookmarked so they can refer people to it who ask them about 'Registered Ethical Breeders'. It probably will be deleted, which would be a shame in my opinion. We had our photo viewing at Houndstooth Studio this morning and ordered a couple of canvasses and various prints, can't wait to get them! ;) I have a bit of a question if anyone has any ideas? Astrid is starting to behave quite differently on walks depending on whether my OH is with us or not. Now, I am at home mostly and OH is at work a fair bit so I do 99% of the pet duties (Dog, cats and fish) and all of the training with Astrid though OH accompanies us to puppy school. He does feed her on occasion though. On weekends and when he's on early shift we all go for a walk together in the evenings and Astrid is pretty chilled out, walks in between us usually and while sometimes she 'whuffs' at things she doesn't like (or are a bit weird) she's generally pretty relaxed. I am finding now that when I walk her on my own (while OH is at work for instance) she gets very 'barky' and seems to be much more alert. By barky I mean that she growls and barks at all sorts of things, from our garbage bin, to sprinklers that come on as we walk past, and the other day she barked at a couple of guys walking past us. I don't feel more nervous or anything but I think that perhaps I am unconsciously communicating some sort of stress or alarm to her, it's the only thing I can think of. But I'm not sure if that's the case, and if it is, how do I stop? Anyone else's dogs behave differently if their OH is around? And now for some pics! In addition to her regular boring id tag, we ordered a couple of new ones and they arrived this week This one is because when people would ask my OH (usually with a horrified expression) why we were getting a Dobermann, my OH would say that she's the 'Last Line in our Zombie Defence System' and this one because OH seems to love barcodes. His fave shirt has a barcode with 'human' underneath, and he's planning on a barcode tatt at some stage. They both have all the details on the back of the tag

I have to agree with Dobesrock, that Dobes... well.. Rock! We've only had our girl since early December though, and she's our first Dobe so I can't shed too much light for you unfortunately. Astrid sounds a lot like Archeron (who is gorgeous! ) though, follows me everywhere, touching me if possible! It works well for me since I am home 6 days per week and we wanted a companion for me. Very easy so far to train, very eager to please. Also she's very sensitive! I met a gorgeous Ridgie recently while we were on Holidays, he was huge! He goes swimming while his owner kayaks and jogs on the beach with her. He was just magnificent so I can certainly see the attraction there too.

Clastic: Great shots of Mars and Pepper ;) I particularly love the snoozy doggie on the windowsil! Your poor OH, ouch! SammieS: Awwww! Asti is gorgeous! Frenchies always look like such characters betsy: Sounds like you had a great time at the doggie party at the dog beach! Astrid loves the beach but I don't trust her off lead yet unfortunately, though I know she'd love it. We put her on a 15m lead so she could have a bit of a run. I really need to do more work on recalls :D KTB: Lovely snake! :D I love snakes but could never have one because my Dad is a serious snake-a-phobe. Can't even look at pics of them so if I had one he would never set foot in the house again. I am jealous of your SIL Hoover looks so grown up in those pics, where does the time go? I just can't believe it! I have never in my whole life patted someone's dog without asking! Part of the reason I got a Dobermann was so that people would keep their distance while I'm out walking etc, it's not working so far Hahaha! The clamshell is only nice and clean because we have HEAPS of mozzies around here, almost in plague proportions lately so we don't leave any kind of standing water around so the clamshell gets emptied and dried most nights. I've been keeping tabs on the media around the 'Vick Dogs' and it's good to see some of them come out ok. The whole thing is sickening really, so sad. Always makes me think of this anti dog fighting ad About the threads... yes indeed. A lot of threads here make me raise my eyebrows and I have absolutely not doubt are puppy farmers and BYB's best friends. I am sure there are lots of people who read things here, like a thread in general at the moment about puppy inquiries, that send people running screaming away ;). I have to say that it was partly things I read on DOL that made us decide against getting a dog from a breeder who shows. No offense to the show people, I just read enough here, and spoke to people at shows and it was enough to scare me completely off. I think people sometimes don't realise how things come off to someone who is really just a member of the general doggy public. Wizzle: Aww, I can just picture little Genevieve draped in a wet towel! Seems like there are lots of doggie dreams around lately! I never dream fun stuff about dogs ;) Astrid is teething at the moment and has some fairly large and scary looking chompers coming through she's also chewing like a maniac, we're going to have to buy shares in the company that makes her favourite chews. I feel sorry for the little muppet though, it looks like it must be uncomfortable. None of her little teeth seem to have fallen out yet though. I am embarrassed to admit that with my last dog, Odin the Malamute, I had no idea that dogs had adult and baby teeth ;) :D I freaked out when he lost his first baby tooth!

Abbey Addie AJ Ajanta Akira Alera Ali x 2 Alice Alika Alchemy Amber Amelia Amy x 2 Anais Aneira Annie x 2 Anastacia (Annie) Angel X 6 Angelina Anishinaabe Annabelle Annabella Anouk April April RIP x 2 Ari Arizona Arki Asante sana Asha Ashka Askari Ashleigh Astrid Astro Athena Aubrey Audrey Aura Aurora Ayla Baba Babe Margaret Hoolihan Baci Bailey Basha Beanie Beans Becky Bella x 5 Billie Bianca Bit Blaize Blossom Bonny x 5 (Bonnie) Bonita Boss Brandi Brandy x 2 Bree x 3 Brianna Bridie Bronte Buffy Buttercup Cally Cara Casey Cassie Casper CC Cedar Chapparelle (pronounced Shapparelle, and shortened to Chappa (Shappa)) Chalice aka 'Chali' Chelsea x 2 Cherrie Chevy x 2 Chloe x 3 Charley Chanel Charli Charlie Charlie-May Charlotte Cherry Chiko Chilli Choo Choo Chops Cider Cinders Cinta CJ x 2 Claire Claudia Clover x 2 Cleo Cleoparta Coco x4 CocoNut Colour (for a greyhound who's not grey!) Cookie Cossette Cossi Courtney Cricket Crystal Cristie x 2 Crupi Daisy x 3 Dallas Dancer Danika x2 Darla Delilah Delta Demi Dempsie Dexta Diazz Didge Dinky Dixie Diva x 2 Dizzy Durham Dusty Dyzney Ebony Echo x 2 Electra Elizabeth Ella x2 Elley Ellie x3 Elsa x 2 Elsie Emily Emilly Emma Emmy Enya Erin Esky Evie Faith Fanta Feather Feonix Finta Flame Flash Fleur Flossy Flute Frenchie Froggy Gabbie Gabby Gael Galadriel(Gala) Gemma x 4 Genie (not exactly a girly name but I thought it suited my goldy) Genevieve George Gertrude Ginger Ginny Gina Gita Glitter Goldie Gooby Grace x 2 Griffin x 2 GT Gypsy x 7 Gyrle Halo Harlow Havarna Hayley x2 Heather Heddy Heidi x2 Holly x 7 Honeyx3 Honour Hope Imme Imogen - Imy Indi India x 2 Indigo Georgia Ingrid Isabella Issie Jade Jamie Lee Jane Jasmine x2 Jaxx Jay Jay Jazz Jazzman Jedda RIP Jelly Bean Jenna x 2 Jersey Jess x2 Jessi Jesie Jessica Jessie x 4 Jeune Jezebel x 2 Jicin Jindi Jinxy Jodie x 2 JoJo Jovi Joy Juliet Juno Kamikaze Kara X 2 Kari Karma Karmen Kaos Kassy Katie x 3 Katy Kayla X2 KC Keeta Keilani Keira Keirra Keisha x 2 Kelli Kelsey Kenzie Kibah Kiesha Kimba Kiri Kiri-Lu Kirra (agility name Kiz) Kishka (called Kish most of the time) Kisses Kitty Kizzey Krissy Kuean - (Queen) Lacey x 2 Layla x 2 Lea (lele) Leader Leia Leila Lexi x 2 Lexie Libby Lily x 3 Lizzy Lobo Logan Lola x 2 Lotta (as in Li'l Lotta) Lottie Lucia Lucky (yes, a bit tacky, but I loved her) Lucy x5 Lucinda Luka Luna Luuka Mable Mac Maddie x2 Maddison Maeby Magali Maggie x3 Magic Maia Mallee Marie Claudette Marina Mary Marlo Matilda Maya Meeka Meg x 2 Meisha Meggz Merrique Mia X 3 Miekah Migaloo Mika Milky Milla Millie x5 (Milli) Mimi Mindy x 2 Minky Minnie x 2 (Mynni) Minouche Mischa Mischka Misha Missy Missie Mistletoe Misty Mitzi Molly x 9 Molly Coddle Monet Moochie Mung Bean Mya Nala Nandi Narla Natasha Nena Ness Nora Nyima Olivia Ollie Pagan x 3 Panda x 2 Paris Paxy Pchelka Pearl Pebbles Peggie Penelope Penny x 2 Pepper x 4 Perry Phoebe x 2 Phoenix Pink Pip Pippin Piper x 2 Pixie Polly x 2 Popcorn Porridge Porscha Poung Prada Priah Quince Quinn x 2 Rani Razzle Reba Rebel Reno Rhoda Riki Ricky River Rizzi Rogue Rommi Rose Rosey Rosie x 2 Roxy x 3 Ruby x 6 Rumour Sabine Sabrina Sachi Sadie Saffron Safire Sahli Sally x4 Sarah Sarah Jane Sari Sascha x 2 Sasha x3 Sarsha Satu Savannah Scandal Scarlet Scruffy Serena Sha Shae Shandy Shannon Sharnie Sharon Sharna Sheba Shelby Shimmer Shine Siann or Cyan Sinta Sienna X 3 Skye x 2 SkySnow Snotty Dotty Sola Sooki Sooty Sophie x2 Sophia Sparkles Springy Sputnik Spook Stella x2 Stimpy X2 Storm Stussy Sue Summa Suzie x 2 Sybill Tait Tamar Tameeka Tango Tara x 3 Tasha Tashi Tassie (with a s sound NOT a z) Taya Tayla Teegan X 2 Tess x 6 Tessa Texas The Divine miss Sophie Tia x 2 Tieke Tikaani Tilba Tilli Tilly x3 Tinka Tinny (tin tin) Toot Tori Tully Tyche Tyra Tyneal Ulla Vada Vicki Vienna Viviane Voodoo Wandy White Whitey Whitney (reg'd) Whitneigh) Winnie Winter Wilhelmina Willow Wolf Xena Xanthe Zara Zahli Zillah Zippedeedoodah Ziva x 3 Zena Zoe x 4

Well, busy day here! We might have a cyclone on the way :p and the Bureau of Meteorology is talking about flooding in coastal areas in Geographe Bay which is where my folks live so they are busy too! We've just secured stuff in the yard etc just in case, will see how it goes. Our holiday away went well as I posted the other day. Astrid was well behaved and didn't seem stressed by the new environment at all, if anything she loved the extra attention she got because my folks just love her. Even Mum and Dad's cats were pretty good with her. A few weeks ago we taught her 'go to your mat' and it came in handy for Mum and Dad's house. If she was getting too excited, or getting into things we just told her to go to her mat and she'd go and lay down for a while. The only 'naughty' thing that she did was pick flowers . My Mum has a beautiful garden, with everything from petunias to roses. Astrid would grab a flower whenever it was in reach, pick it then drop it on the ground then try for the next one! Luckily Mum is too enamored of her to really care lol It was a great experience for her as my folks live in a tourist hot spot down south and there were HEAPS of people around. We went to the beach every morning, and then went down to the grassed foreshore/jetty area where there are cafe's etc to mingle with more people and she had a blast. One thing I was quite shocked at was the amount of people that would approach us and just grab Astrid and start patting, talking and playing with her without asking if it was ok first! And 99% of the people that did it said that they had dogs. Maybe it's because she's a puppy and people don't worry? I know she's little in comparison to how she will be but really, her back is knee height on me now (and I'm about 5'11") so she's not a tiny puppy. The only people who ever asked if they could pat her were kids! I don't mind people patting her, but isn't is common courtesy to ask first? Or is it just me? Never once had it happen at home. When we first got there it was raining and in my folk's street the storm drain grates are in the middle of the road, not to the sides. Astrid decided that grates in the middle of the road with water running through them was against the natural order of things and she wouldn't go anywhere near them! We tried treats, coaxing, everything! She wasn't having anything to do with the Evil Pits of Doom. That is, until it stopped raining and they dried out, then they became The Most Interesting Things in the World. I think if she could have dug through the pavement and gone down into the drains she would have. Weird Dog. The only other thing that really worried her was one of the people who live in the area. She hated him. Barks, growls, hackles raised and everything. Every single time she saw him, even if she was inside and could glimpse him through the door outside. It worried me to start with as she has never had a reaction like that to anyone, but she didn't react to anyone else like it, even the strangers that came up and accosted her. I spoke to my family about it and, well it seems that dogs might be a good judge of character. Let's just say that in future, if she reacts like that to anyone else, I will take notice of her. Interesting though, what dogs can sense! On a lighter note while we were out one day my Dad bought her a vanilla soft serve in a cone she loved it. She loved my folks so much she moped all day Friday She loves beach soccer with my Dad But she decided yesterday that her little clamshell pool is a pretty poor substitute for the ocean! So all in all it was a pretty good experience! Even though it was a bit sad for me as it's the first time we've stayed down there and not been able to hang out with Dad's best mate, who passed away on Boxing Day. Australia Day was always spent out on his boat. We are heading back over Easter though, and we are going to make more of an effort to get Astrid to some of our local beaches since she loved it so much. Sorry for the long post!

Hi everyone! Just a quick post as we have just got back from our little holiday staying at my folks place. We had a great time and I was stressing for nothing! Astrid was great, really well behaved and she had an awesome time, particularly loved playing at the beach and the long cool walks we got to take her on in the evenings. A couple of weird/funny things happened and hopefully I will have some time to write about them tomorrow and catch up on all your posts! A quick pic! Here she is chilling at Grandma and Grandpa's place Just quickly, Kyliegirl, I walk Astrid on a martingale or on a check chain as she pulls like a demon on a flat collar. Martingale seems to work best for her mostly, perhaps give one a try if you haven't already. I also taught her a "wait" command, where she has to wait while sitting at the door for the 'ok' command before she can come through or go out. Sometimes if she is getting sort of overstimulated on a walk I tell her to wait and she sits for a few moments and calms down. Might be worth a shot too.