Dju

Three weeks until Hugo is here So excited, I think I must have spent $200 on stuff for him already!

Yea! That's what I think about...what if nothing ever happens or if it does you arent covered and youve forked out thusands over the years...that would rip my knickers big time I figured that keeping a piggybank and depositing $30 into it yourself would be more effective than taking out insurance (in most cases). Especially if you've got a hardy breed that doesn't usually have many illnesses to worry about. For, say, a CKCS, insurance would probably be worth getting insurance knowing how many severe illnesses are reportedly associated with the breed, but for a cattle dog or something like that.. Best off with a piggybank.

Darcy had a small cut/bite mark on his leg that got infected. He had xrays and antibiotics etc and they wouldn't cover it. I was living with OH's parents at the time and the bite was caused by one of their dogs. So it was determined that since it happened at home, amongst dogs that live together, it was apparently our fault and they wouldn't cover it. To some extent they are right but I found out that they don't actually cover anything if they can claim it is caused by a person, so in other words if Darcy were in a fight with any other dog it would be considered the owners fault and we would be expected to get compensation from them. If he got hit by a car it would be my fault because he wasn't contained. So basically any injury that can be attributed to human error is not covered. So pretty much everything, is not covered. So I figured it was a waste of money. I was paying $42 per month. Wow, that seems a bit silly! I was actually thinking of getting pet insurance for my new puppy, thank Dog for this thread or I might have actually gotten Petplan I want to be covered for everything!

I found the opposite for fleas. I usually use Frontline in summer and usually get 6 weeks out of it for fleas. A couple of years ago I decided to use Advantix instead and they were crawling with fleas within a week. I am not in a tick area but treat them with Frontline if going anywhere near a tick area. If really venturing to the coast for longer than a day I put them on Proban. Is it possible that different dogs react differently to flea/tick treatments? I mean, I hear that can happen with food so I'm sure the same goes for flea/tick treatments.I'm not sure which ones I'll be using myself once I get my puppy.. I don't think there are any ticks in the city so I probably don't need the tick treatment but I dunno how rampant the fleas are in the city.

Woo yeah I mean that lol! I do check out their free shipping range once in a while, bought something today actually, BUT for everything else, it's cheaper at those two stores. Costs like $50 to ship an item from Cleanrun or something! ;) Arcata Pet has always done me good, I've saved a bundle of money from shopping for toys and training equipment there.

Freerun shipping is waaaaaaay too expensive. Arcata Pet all the way! Or Pawtastic Pets maybe, they've also got fantastic shipping rates.

I heard that the Great Barko/Uncle Alber's range is good for adding weight to dogs. It's relatively cheap and there are a few recommendations of the food from this forum. This is just hearsay though.

Now if only there was one of these for Vallhunds Almost makes me want a Boxer, this does!

Do they actually understand the notion of crawling inside the sleeping bag? I would have thought that they would just immediately chose to lie on top.

:D No kidding!And people are still tooting the "allergy" trumpet, why does this not surprise me. :rolleyes:

I'm still trying to wrap my head around the concept that "Pet-friendly hotels stopped being pet-friendly because dogs destroyed things and messed up the place so naturally sneaking dogs in once they stopped being pet-friendly is also a reason they stopped being pet-friendly". :D I don't get it.. they'd ban pets regardless of people sneaking them in or not.. I agree Dju. I think there is two separate isues here. 1. Screwing up pet friendly accomodation with irresponsibilty. It's a real shame when this has happened and I feel for the owners who are left with a mess to clean up. Can't blame them for banning dogs in that instance. But it is different to: 2. Sneaking a dog into accommodation thats already not dog freindly. PROVIDED you are responsible and leave no trace I don't really see it as a big issue. Ok so your dog may get the squirts or vomit, but seriously what are the chances of that? I'll admit to having have done this while on a long trip. I had planned to make it to a dog freindly motel but felt I would have been pushing myself to keep driving. Better that than falling asleep at the wheel and potentially taking someone else out. IMO. Yep, I see a lot of mixing up two different issues in this thread. People who sneak dogs into no-pet hotels are being lumped into the same category as people who allow their dogs to take a crap on the carpet of a dog-friendly hotel. I think the added argument about "allergies" being a serious issue is, well, stupid because I'm allergic to cats, there has never been a cat in this house, and yet when my cat-owning friend comes over, I'll be sneezing and puffy for days just because she also carries in a whole lot of cat hairs through her clothing and sits on our furniture (I mean we can't very well force her to sit on the floor or not touch anything when she's in our house, can we?). People could just as easily be covered in dog hair because they own a heavily shedding breed and throw their clothes all around the furniture in a hotel and people with allergies would still be affected, despite the fact an animal has not physically been in that room. :rolleyes: I agree to a point that if hotels have the ban in place it should be respected, but why did they have that ban in the first place? Dogs toileting everywhere, chewing things etc etc are probably most of the reasons, but as you said, if the dog leaves no trace behind, what's the issue?

I'm still trying to wrap my head around the concept that "Pet-friendly hotels stopped being pet-friendly because dogs destroyed things and messed up the place so naturally sneaking dogs in once they stopped being pet-friendly is also a reason they stopped being pet-friendly". I don't get it.. they'd ban pets regardless of people sneaking them in or not..

I was honestly thinking about this when it came to the subject of "oh god, we don't have a caravan and we're getting a dog soon, buh-bye holidaying!". I think Vallhunds in general like talking too much to be able to do something like that, unfortunately. I need to teach him to be as quiet as Noelle's GSD!

She's found what she's good at and she's sticking to it to make you proud of her practicing for you! That's so cute.

These weren't the type of people one would be civil to. They were nasty, bitter and cranky women. I would have picked another descriptor if it fitted them, but this was the only way to describe them. I had had the pleasure of (unintentionally) overhearing the conversation for a few blocks and can tell you they would complain about winning the lotto, they were bemoaning just about everything else. Sorry if I have offended you, but that's them apples. No, they're not apples. They're human beings. Two strangers behind you, & you put yourself in the position of coming up with an assessment of them as 'nasty & bitter'. So now you come up with the 'rider' that you listened to their conversation 'for a few blocks'. Your story rings of contrivance. Did it really happen? And, I repeat, it's uncivil to refer to older women as 'old crones'. For god's sake, build a bridge.. You weren't in that situation, I don't think you're more fit than Kuma to make a judgment call on their personalities, opinion-based or otherwise (and let's admit, calling people bitter and nasty is nothing more than an opinion and at the very least, we are all entitled to that). People of all ages are subject to people's opinions (and I mean it's not like it will hurt their feelings because nothing was ever said to them); the old ladies' ages don't make them more or less deserving of nothing but a little (opinion-based) criticism. Is it uncivil because the label "old crones" can only be applied to old people? Does that make it an offense to call bogans "stupid bogans" because one half of the name is true? Is it uncivil to refer to me as a "young hooligan"? (Because the names I've gotten from my grandmother.. ) So on and so forth, criticism flies all over this forum about the stupid people in this world and I haven't ever seen you kick up this much of a fuss over it. It's just an opinion; old people are allowed to be bitter and nasty, just like people are allowed to comment on their bitter-and-nastiness, if that makes sense. But yay for the young mom! I've always seen people letting their dog toilet just anywhere around my neighborhood but I feel so awkward approaching them to point it out. :D

I think a SV would be perfect. Exercise requirements--they're apparently happy on 30 minutes a day with play time as well but they can go for longer. They're not particularly heavy shedders and you're right, they're very robust dogs. A Swedish Vallhund is definitely too big for a 10 year old to carry ;) Not while it's a puppy!!! :D Besides, most of the girly dogs I know like chihuahuas and poms and stuff would prefer to walk alongside their owner, not be carried.

I think a SV would be perfect. Exercise requirements--they're apparently happy on 30 minutes a day with play time as well but they can go for longer. They're not particularly heavy shedders and you're right, they're very robust dogs.

A real executioner, eh? I might try the same with my dog and hope it works that way.

Hi guys, Have any of you got any experience with really heavy chewers and bought toys that have survived for ages? I'm getting a Vallhund pup soon and a breeder advises me that they have the teeth of a GSD and not afraid to use them I assume that would mean that they're pretty aggressive chewers. I already bought a Cuz ball which is apparently really tough, but I was thinking maybe something soft this time. I wanted to buy him a plushie of some sort but I mean.. come on, plushies, most of them aren't really advertised as really resilient and I don't want to have to go through a million of them in a month ;) Suggestions?

Ick, the Weimaraner with the terrible misuse of the Photoshop motion blur tool! "I'm actually trotting but let's pretend like I'm racing at a mile a minute". Why is there so much horrendous Photoshopping going on in the world of dogs, I wonder I like the dachshunds the best, they're so cute. In general though, all of them sort of look like candid shots, so they weren't judged on expertise with their cameras (nor composition really), so I wonder what the criteria was for judging Cute dogs though, congrats to the winners.

It's an ordinary choke chain which simply has a shoelace threaded through the links, pretty much I mean you can see that much yourself, really..

Yeah I dismissed the Vallhund review as well. "Heavy shedders"? All the breeders I know classed them as light to moderate shedders, with only one major coat blow a year.

Which insurance company is that?

When I have a dog, I want him to be a total mumma's boy. There's just something about a dog's snuggles that are absolutely wonderful.

I've heard of Sharky before and watched his interactions with baby chicks as well! How does one raise a dog to be so tolerant to other animals like that? I'm pretty interested on the subject as I am going to have a new puppy living with us soon and I want him to live in harmony with our chickens because they're very important to us.