Alkhe

How about Ian Dunbar? The puppy book is free online, but also available in book format. http://www.dogstardaily.com/training/basic-manners-obedience - this is the basic obedience section of the book, which may be more what you are after. The other useful section is 'raising a puppy' - http://www.dogstardaily.com/training/raising-puppy I've just forwarded all those links to my boyfriend's sister who also did an impulse buy. She bought 2 Cavoodles on a weekend whim

I really hope that post doesn't come across the wrong way! I'm not sure how to word my thoughts properly. Basically, if you have your heart set on a TM and have done your research and go into it fully cognisant of everything that the commitment is going to involve over his/her lifetime.. don't let a steep cost for a pup put you off. I paid $800 for my 3 year old toy poodle when I got her, and I'd pay triple that again, in a heart beat. That doesn't mean I'm rolling in money and can afford whatever I want - far from it; I work part time and study. It's just about prioritising, and if you're making the commitment to a dog, you have to really make that commitment.

But if it's what you really want then it will be worth the wait and the expense. I agree - to be honest, if a few hundred dollars, or perhaps even up to a thousand dollars, is a deal breaker, perhaps look at whether you are going to be able to afford it in the long run. The upfront cost is something to wear at the start, but if it means saving for a few extra months, I really think it's worth doing. I really don't mean to be rude or offensive, or discriminatory or anything like that.. I don't think that dog ownership should be cost prohibitive at all. But you really do need to be completely aware of how much it can cost, for vet bills, good quality food, training.. I'm not just directing this at the OP, either. It's just my thoughts in general. IF someone complains that a purebred or xxx breed is expensive, I always think 'you're talking about a dog. This is a 10-15 (hopefully) year commitment - $1000, $2000 now .. just make it work, or wait until you can!'. It's something I just wouldn't skimp on. If I had my heart set on a particular breed, I would pay (within reason, of course) whatever it cost. I wouldn't go to one breeder over another based on a few hundred dollars, or one breed over another.

Forwarding this to all my 'dogs are so dumb' "friends".. amazing video. Thanks so much for sharing!

Nope - but I will now! :laugh: Look at all those ridiculous clothes! Sometimes having little "handbag dog" is brilliant.

Everyone else's questions are very important. One breed that comes to mind is Bernese Mountain Dog - my understanding is that they're great with kids, and due to their size they can look "intimidating" I suppose. There's a gorgeous one at my park, and one bark from her is enough to make people stop in their tracks because it's so deep and loud, though usually she barks to have her toy thrown for her :) I actually think that any large or giant breeds can be intimidating to many people.

Just read through this thread - sounds like a nightmare for you, I'm so glad he's looking better! In my experience eye infections take just a day or two to start clearing up. With some cream to put on the eyeball a couple of times a day, you should see an improvement very quickly. I'm not a vet or anything, but my dog had conjunctivitis a couple of months ago and it was gone in no time with the ointment.

I'm currently reading 'In Defence of Dogs' by John Bradshaw - I highly recommend it, within 10 pages I'd learnt so much, and it's really well researched and referenced. It goes through misconceptions about dogs and dog behaviour, particularly those that stem from the belief that dogs follow wolf pack behaviour. The other one I love is 'The Other End of the Leash' by Patricia McConnell. I have it on kindle but love it so much and want everyone I know to read it, so I'm buying an actual book to lend to people :)

I need to back out of this thread RIGHT NOW. I've got a kindle, but have never done that search.. Oh god, and the fact that you can just whack them onto your credit card is very dangerous. Must. Stop. Reading. Thread.

Oh wow! Ok, Chequeredblackdog - take that into account. I hope my Patricia McConnell ones don't take that long I must've just been lucky in the past, cause I'm sure that they've been quick. Unless I'm confusing bD with something else (entirely possible given my memory)..

isn't the whole point of having breeds because they have different traits? That's why it's important to choose the right breed, a breed that is compatible with someone's personality and lifestyle. Personally I don't believe in "there are no bad dogs, just bad owners". There are dogs out there with very poor temperaments that their owners have not been the cause of. I agree raineth - there's a different between generalisations like "I hate xxxx because they're dog aggressive" and "I hate xxxx because they're prissy little sh*ts that bark at my dog", and observations like "I dislike terriers/gun dogs/toys because my they wouldn't fit in with my lifestyle/I prefer dogs that need hardly any exercise/I like dogs that want to work" etc. Particular breeds and groups tend to have particular traits, and are bred with this in mind. Individual dogs all have different personalities, temperaments, likes, dislikes, etc. In my opinion it's partly genetics, partly experience.. the age old nature vs nurture debate. A bit of each, but with general tendencies toward particular behaviours and traits. Understanding that, and what that means for owning that particular type of dog isn't discriminatory, it's sensible. I don't really see people getting upset over it here, either, because people here tend to appreciate the differences between groups and breeds. As someone said, people not liking terriers for particular traits they haven't isn't a bad thing, it means less ill suited terrier + owner combinations, which is best for everyone!

I second BookDepository.co.uk - they have free shipping believe it or not! I actually ordered 2 Patricia McConnell books from there 2 days ago, and I think they had all her books available. I'm not sure about their range for dog books generally, but every time I've wanted something relatively obscure they've had it. So worth a try :) ETA - in my experience they're really quick too, I can't remember exactly how long but each time I've ordered from them I've been pleasantly surprised, particularly since they're UK based.

Well, no.. it's dog vs statute.. :laugh:

I know this is the general dog discussion forum, but really, this video.. AMAZING.

This sums up how I feel too Ellz. I can appreciate the good in many breeds, though there are many that wouldn't suit my lifestyle/ family. I wouldn't dismiss a breed as my 'least favourite' because of a few badly behaved/ tempered individuals. I can understand though, that some people might be traumatized by bad experiences (eg. dog bite) that make them wary of a particular breed. I'm not saying it was your intent Blackdogs, but this sort of thread can become quite divisive. The poor old terriers and bull breeds usually come out the worst. Just saying..... That said, they're probably the most popular dogs in Australia. I can't source it for you, but I'm sure I read recently that statistically, Staffords, Labs and JRTs are the most popular breeds, so regardless of how they come out in threads like this, they're doing well enough :)

I can think of lots of breeds that I wouldn't like to own, and they're mainly because I put them in the 'too hard' basket. I wouldn't want a Beagle or anything with working lines, and I'm generally not that into terriers. But I'm sure that I would (at least attempt to) rise to the challenge if for whatever reason I ended up with any of those. The only individual dogs I've met that I haven't really liked are Cairn Terriers and this annoying purported JRT x Fox Terrier I know, which I'm sure is a kelpie x. I also have this irrational thing about Bull Terriers, which stems from my grandma (who in all other ways is my dog hero) telling me that they’re mean, beady eyed aggressive horrible dogs. And that stemmed from her own bad experience/s with a BT earlier in her life. I know it's stupid but I just get this fearful tinge whenever I see them. So so stupid, I know - just one of those things. I'm also scared of dead birds, so.. yep. :laugh:

I love how your dream breeds are so different to your current little dog! I'm exactly the same : D I'm allergic to everything so the only breeds I can ever own are poodle and maaaybe lagotto. I'm going to have greyhounds if it kills me, though. In a perfect world I'd have a vizsla or gsp, some greys and a kooolie. Instead I have a toy poodle Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

I seriously wish I'd started down that path years ago when I first went to uni!

Zeus's story is exactly like Mim's first sting when she was a pup - went limp in my arms, vomited and lost control of her bowels.. it was terrifying. I suppose the good thing is that at least we're now prepared and know what to look out for - some kind of silver lining? I'm kind of scared to read that dogs can become allergic to them, that's terribleeeeee. I hate not being able to control things like this! It's easier with food allergies where you can at least prevent them from eating the thing in question, or control it as much as you can. You're right though - I do actually love bees, and am very disturbed that their numbers are dwindling. I just wish they didn't bloody sting!

Last week my 10 year old dog Mimi was stung by a bee at the park. I didn't know at the time what had happened, but as soon as I started describing what happened, the vet said "ahh.. sounds like a bee sting!" Sure enough, there was the stinger. She was given an antihistimine injection and cortisone also - I actually remembered while in the surgery that she had been stung as a pup and had a terrible reaction. Gone into shock and then unconscious, and I actually thought she had died in my arms on the way to the vet. She's the 3rd or 4th dog in my area to have been stung by a bee in the last month or so. And tonight it happened to Maggie! (I think - could have been an ant or something I suppose, we couldn't find the stinger this time). We rushed her to the emergency vet because I'm paranoid about allergic reactions now, and she was given the same shots etc. I'm just so annoyed at the bloody bees! I don't know what to do - they just seem to be everywhere. I've noticed a couple myself, but the dogs just seem to walk straight over them. The stings that I've seen and heard about have all been on paws. Just a little vent. Feel free to join me!

Hey jr_inoz - just thought I'd stick my head in here and suggest that they do some investigating around what exactly causes the allergies for their child. As other posters have mentioned, it's different for everyone. I've been allergic to everything except poodles since .. forever; was hospitalised with asthma for the first time at 18 months old, and have been unable to tolerate any animals since then. Hence having had poodles my whole life. I've had SO many people tell me that I'd be fine with Bichon Frises, Wheatens, Japanese Spitz, Greyhounds.. you name it. Anything that someone has heard is low shedding or hypo-allergenic, has been suggested to me. I just want to stress that it's a completely individual thing; if I or my family had trusted peoples' advice and suggestions we would've been in a horrible situation of re-homing or something. We thought that poodle crosses would be ok too, and some are (eg my poodle x Mimi) but some aren't (eg mum's poodle x maltese) - I know I'm preaching to the choir here about the risks of oodles and coat type. But just make sure that these people get their kid to spend some time with various breeds to work out whether they'll really be ok with the breeds they're considering :)

This thread has made me desperate for a shaggy Bedlington.. pleasepleasepleaseplease let me not be allergic to them!

Aside from not all of them being non-shedding, some have terrible coats, too. The other thing you could suggest is to find a "better" labradoodle breeder. I believe that there are some breeders and kennels that do health test their labradoodles and have started to develop a standard of sorts. I'm not advocating labradoodles (I'm a poodle owner!) but if it looks like they're deadset on the idea, they could at least minimise the risks they're setting themselves up for. ETA - and why do poodles always get such a bad rap! God it's annoying. I have so many small oodle owners coming up to me telling me how gorgeous my dog is and how they wished their dog was Maggie's size. WELL WHY DIDN'T YOU GET A TOY POODLE. Sigh. And standard poodles - people think they're "prissy". What does that even MEAN. URGH. Rant over.

My dog loves dentastix too, but I prefer to give her Greenies - www.greenies.com - they're a bit on the exxy side but my dog loves them, has great teeth and my vet actually recommended them after I'd started giving them to her anyway. Also, they're shaped like toothbrushes, which is the kind of gimmicky thing that I love :laugh: Just make sure that you buy the right size. I started off giving Maggie teeny greenies (smallest) but the vet said that she probably needs the next size up to really get the full benefit of chewing etc.

Pet Paraphernalia also make them, they're a supporter of the rescue I fostered for. http://www.petparaphernalia.com.au/ - haven't seen them myself but they look good in the photos? :D