stonecutter

urinary tract infection?

Have they been taught to bark on command? I have the opposite - but trying to find something I can use as a training trigger to teach her to bark on command, and then be quiet on command has been difficult. Look forward to reading the advice of the DOL experts

Oh thanks so much everyone! I entered us in 6-9 month puppy sweepstakes so we definitely need to be there early. No gazebo for us (yet) ;) Now just to wait for numbers to come in the mail - very excited :D

I believe that 6 months is advised - as soon as he can cock his leg is what I've been told. Only leave a dog entire if you're going to show and/or breed responsibly Our pup is a chewer but it's just about vigilance to make sure it's the right thing being chewed ;)

Well, Ziva and I are entered for our first show - North of the Harbour at Erskine Park I know it's a HUGE show but it was the first one available (that still accepted entries) once we decided to give showing a whirl. I have my trolley arriving next week, show leads, brushes/combs, wonderwash for emergencies. I know I need to buy an armband holder thingy for my number when we get there. But what is the procedure of the particular day? I'm imagining 1. Unpack the car, stuff everything in the trolley and wheel it to the organising area 2. Pick up catalogue, figure out which ring I need to go to 3. Find some of the lappie ppl who are very nicely going to let me hang out with them 4. Keep an eye on the schedule/catalogue and in the mean time get Ziva ready. When it's closer to time head towards our ring and either let the steward know we're there or keep an ear out for being called 5. Have fun! :D (and avoid spending too much $$ at the stalls) So - is there anything else I missed? Or do is it recommended to get any paperwork before I unpack the car? I know I must also find time to scoff down one of the lamingtons I hear at EP are excellent :D I'm just going to be wearing one of my suits from work - do most people turn up in their showing clothes or casual gear and then change? I've had a good read through the showing thread as well. Thanks in advance everyone

Welcome! I've heard this place is great http://www.pennanthillsvet.com.au/ One of the vet nurses is a member on DOL and has a GD - try PM stormie

I wonder, would this count as appropriately restraining a dog in a vehicle?

Crate training sounds like a good idea in this situation to help with control

We had this for the first 2-3 weeks - lots of saying her name before everything - Ziva sit, Ziva down, Ziva outside. Also - when feeding, I would say her name and when she looks at me, she gets a few pieces of kibble. It took doing this with every meal for 3 weeks for her to consistently turn and look at us when we said her name. The other option is that there is a hearing issue potentially. As for thinking their name is "no" - we barely ever use No except for dangerous situations. No doesn't tell pup what to do - do you want them to get off or down? Away/leave it?

10 hrs in the car - bring a fair few towels in case of car sickness If possible, ask them not to feed pup before he goes home with you.

Does that kill the weeds? Yep - very effectively I pour about 1/4 of a kettle's worth. Not very quick - but if it's difficult to do by hand, a good alternatively that is poison free.

As a new dog owner, I always read the signs at parks to make sure I'm doing the correct thing - if there was no sign indicating I should ask existing occupants and I wanted to go into a fenced dog park, I wouldn't have known it was common courtesy to ask. What happens in big fenced areas? Eg something football field sized? On a side note - hypothetically, if I have a totally out of control dog (off leash and not responding to voice control), I get to the fenced dog park first and we are the only ones in there. So then if others come along who would also like use the fenced park, I have the right to tell them to bugger off and according to courtesy they should go? aussielover - given what you've told us I think you handled it in a calm and reasonable manner and I probably wouldn't have done anything differently given that there were no signs saying "please ask occupants before entry" and "no balls or toys". Hope Mindy had fun at agility

We brought a gift for pup's mum What age is he going home? You might bring something that could be rubbed with mum's scent (that has your scent as well - e.g. old tshirt) and take it home with you.

I use boiling water on my gravel and paved areas

I was told the same thing by a vet science associate professor

And get the chainwire in the black PVC coating - you see straight through it to the view

If not for her second post, I doubt anyone would have. That was probably my fault - the OP called the dog a mini black lab, and being new to the dog world I hadn't heard of it before, so I asked

Our pup has been independent and happy to play with a toy out of our sight since day 1 (as long as she can come find us if she wants to - if she's in the laundry behind a baby gate she often whines but we just ignore her - usually when I'm vacuuming). But that's what we wanted in a pup - one that has enough independence to be a non-velcro dog - and our breeder selected one accordingly.

We switched from baits to traps 3 months prior to bringing our pup home - they work surprisingly well. Even though we use peanut butter on the trap and she loves PB, she stays away from the traps.

I don't have any advice - just sending positive vibes that pup gets well soon And what's a mini lab? I didn't know they came in different sizes.

MissB - can you get those from Pet Barn style shops or is it vet only?

Thanks Miss Danni - what are Puppy Pushups? I usually get her to do some obedience training when we're waiting to try and keep her mind occupied. I'll pop a tug toy in my pocket next time.

An operation is available - I know a JS who had it done (at about 11 months) Do you know what grade it is? Grade I Knee cap can be manipulated out of its groove, but returns to its normal position spontaneously Grade II Knee cap rides out of its groove occasionally and can be replaced in the groove by manipulation Grade III Knee cap rides out of its groove most of the time but can be replaced in the groove via manipulation Grade IV Knee cap rides out of its groove all the time and cannot be replaced inside the groove

We've been going to Luci's class at Austral - I can highly recommend them Luci's teaching style is no nonsense and so far we've learned heaps in the 2 classes we've been to. The learning comes from both Luci correcting you, and also watching her correct others. I certainly didn't want to be reprimanded in front of the class so you learn really quickly ;) Ziva does get bored easily (I think it comes from being a spitz!) with a lot of the time they have to be standing/stacking - I always need plenty of treats

Thanks MEH - she doesn't mind the class, but when it's large - the dogs seem to spend a lot of time standing/stacking. I know this is probably what happens in the ring (though from what I understand there aren't huge numbers in our breed) - but she does get bored of stacking. We didn't end up going this week - I got entrenched in statistical analysis for my phd thesis and didn't look at the clock!