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Lovely babies doing well! We have our first "points" show this weekend, such a tiny show...there are only 4 Dalmatians entered, and 2 of those belong to me - one is my neuter girl (who will be the only neuter in the whole group). Might be nice, being small there is less pressure and I might relax more - I can't stress or Nala will get nervous too!

17/52 Nala Show training in the backyard...

:laugh: that's good :)

I'm loving using the computer entries now. Show Manager is my favourite, very easy to use and when I had an issue I asked on their FB page and he solved it straight away (I had a glitch with one of my dogs) Makes it easy when you don't have a Cheque book (and the post office here don't understand why I get money orders for such small amounts)

I've always put their title (abbreviated) and number. eg. Gr. Ch. Paceaway Fiery Devil. I wonder how you do it if the parents have multiple titles - could get cramped! I'm not sure if it would make it invalid though, sorry.

I never really knew about the notion of crate training until I got Cleo in 2011. Then, I trained her to go in it from 6 months of age (didn't close it at home, only at shows) and now I've discovered it's a very useful tool. When she was desexed, it was easy to keep her calm and confined while she recovered, as she loved being in there. She was also the most relaxed dog in the vet surgery pen area when I visited her during her illness last year - all the other dogs were barking and jumping around, she just laid there wagging her tail. Now, with my 6mo puppy I can't get her OUT of the crate, I literally have to bribe her out when I take her out to pee before bed :laugh: I also like to think that in an emergency, if we need to leave home - we can just take the crate and the dogs have their "safe" place. I only ever use it for sleeping, recuperation, shows/trials and housetraining. The only time they go in there in the day is if I bring them inside for a pig ear each, they go to their crates because a certain dog eats a lot faster than the puppy. Or if Nala runs inside and starts playing with her toys...

Maybe get some Capstar? It's a packet of 6 tablets (made by the same people as Sentinel). All Capstar does is kill the adult fleas, and each tablet lasts for 24 hours in the dogs' system. Capstar is about $25-$30 depending on the size of the dog and where you live (regional towns have higher prices I've found)

I wouldn't say it's negativity towards the lagotti but rather very honest opinions. I love my own breed the Dalmatian, but I have never made a recommendation to anyone to get one - they are so high energy and can be problematic if not satisfied. Out of my whole family, I only have one relative that I would even consider allowing to have one of my puppies. Better if someone knows EVERYTHING about a breed before jumping in and possibly getting burnt. I meet my first lagotto tomorrow hopefully!

I'm lucky and glad that so far nothing has happened, in a household with 3 bitches - 2 of whom are desexed (and the non desexed is only 6 months old). I think it helps that 2 are Dalmatians, who are much more interested in wrestling and playing bitey face. That said, I won't give pig ears or bones when all 3 are together - I either crate them or separate them so there is no chance of resource guarding. I'm aware of the fact that females are more likely to fight though, and thought about this before deciding to get my last puppy. When we finally get our own house, I want to have runs in the backyard in the event of needing separation. As it is now, I could separate them, but it have to revolve lots of rotation to make it fair re. which parts of the yard they could access.

She's 6.5 months old, and no sign of coming into heat just yet (her Aunt came in right on 6 months, so I've been expecting it, but nothing). I think this all stemmed from her first show, if I had known what it would do to her, I would take it all back. She was teething at the time and the very first judge was quite rough with her mouth. She got worse over the weekend, and I received conflicting advice re. keep going or pull her out. I've been taking her out and about, and she is enjoying it - she showed a little bit of fear in a new environment the other day while my husband had her (so I didn't see it) but we went to 3 different places last Friday and she was quite happy the whole time. At the end of the day, she is the most amazing little girl - at home she is my perfect puppy. She's a snuggle monster and a huge cuddler. I really feel that her naturally curious and spunky spirit will overcome this fear, as long as I manage it correctly!

Sorry I can't help re the nose, but this popped up on my Facebook today and I remembered it when you asked why it's bad to raise two puppies together. http://blog.betternaturedogtraining.com/2013/07/18/littermate-syndrome/ I wouldn't say it's "bad" but it can be difficult and requires a different approach than if you were just raising one. It can be great that they keep each other company, but they need alone time and one on one time too.

I don't particularly know the places to stay with a dog, seeing as I live here but possibly try Katleybarns for somewhere to look after the dogs. I'm not sure if she does day care, but she's a lovely lady and it's a very small scale kennel and it's worth asking. http://www.localdirectories.com.au/Coffs-Harbour,NSW/Katleybarns-Boarding-Kennels/profile/FJ1q There is no where else here that I would trust with my dogs, other than maybe TLC pet care, but they are having council issues and aren't quite up and running yet. They may be by October. http://www.localdirectories.com.au/Moonee-Beach,NSW/TLC-Pet-Care-Coffs-Harbour/profile/StFA As far as places to stay, maybe grab the book "Holidaying with Dogs"? Dog friendly beaches - there are many. Park Beach (south of the Coffs Creek) is where every man and his dog does. I've had good experiences there, but idiots do go there. It's off lead and plenty of swimming either in the creek or the waves. Boambee Beach is the other big one, but 4wds use this one a lot. Boambee Creek reserve is lovely, I spent hours there on Friday. It was busy (Good Friday, awesome weather) but we had the best time. This is the other end of Boambee Beach basically, it is in Sawtell (15 mins south of Coffs). I live down south, and I go to North Beach (confusing, because it's south of the main town). It's huge and open and usually very quiet. I avoid the surf club (where all the people hang out) and can have a long walk and barely see a person. 4wds can use this beach too, but it's less common unless there is a fishing comp on. There are more, but I have only taken my dogs to these ones. Ticks are a given here, you WILL need protection that time of year. I pulled 6 baby para ticks off a dog in the middle of winter last year - they just didn't go away at all. I use and recommend Advantix fortnightly.

Ok, had a read of the steady feet game, and I reckon I understand how it works. Sheena, I will PM you now. Do you know the times/days of the week that the Grafton show training runs? I wish the Coffs Kennel Club ran one. I feel confident enough in my handling, but would be fantastic for exposing my dogs to the exams (not that Cleo cares, she knows the drill)

Correct. :D Thanks

If you get it right you will end up with a dog that sees another person and connects that 'trigger' to the awesome game they play with you, which means seeing another person will boost the dogs confidence and drive due to what reward history tells them. For a SFE we really want the dog to completely ignore the person examining them, I know showing isn't as strict as obedience (in that the dog will lose points for moving) but the goal is really the same. Building a dogs confidence in the SFE is a really common problem, we have and do use targets but in a slightly different way, this vid may help give you some ideas; I think I get you, so instead of a food reward, have a fun game to play? Is your target the yellow round thing on the ground in that video? That video shows exactly what I want basically! Plus a mouth exam.

Just to check is TSD the spotted devil? Don't want to PM the wrong person :laugh: I have Canine College (puppy obedience/foundation agility) this Saturday, so hopefully this will help.

Just saw your response Huski I think I would be the only one handing out treats - I don't want her expecting food off strangers.

Yep Staff n Toller, that's when her first (and really, only) negative experience happened, so now if someone bends over to pat her she freaks. She will come back though, but i'd prefer her to be happy and look forward to it. Aidan, that seems like a great idea - targeting is something i'm very familiar with, so I would be quite confident to use that method. We just did some work on loading the clicker, then tried playing with a box - she's getting the concept!

My puppy Nala is still showing shyness and a bit of fear in some situations, and with a show coming up I really want her to be her happy, confident self that she is at home. I've read about how to instill a dog with more confidence, slowly getting them to interact with a new person with no help from the owner/handler. Could I possibly speed this process up by using a clicker? I've not really used them with dogs before, but I have used a whistle with other animals and have a good understanding of how it all works. Nala is quite smart, and food driven - could this overcome her shy/fear reaction? (i.e, can I have her so focused on getting that reward that she won't worry?) And just to add, she normally WILL relax in a situation if given time - she is SUPER curious, and while she might initially tuck her tail and sneak away, she will usually come back and want to sniff. And at the dog beach, she LOVES it! She will play with other dogs quite happily, even initiating play. Problem is, at a show I can't exactly say to the judge, just gimme five and she'll be happier. I'd ultimately love her to see showing as a "job", where she's happy to perform and then it's all over. Thanks :)

Haha yes i'm used to "spotting" things. 16/52 Here is Nala having some backyard fun at my Mum's house... she was most interested in Mum's cucumber that she had just picked!

Lovely photos! I haven't uploaded mine yet. Flying Furball, is that last one on Ile Des Pins? (Isle of Pines) I remember walking back through an area like that on our visit, and I wanted to take a pic but couldn't quite find a central focus point - I just thought the whole area was gorgeous!

Ok, I just found her vaccination record, on the 16/12 she weighed 6.6kgs (11 weeks old) and this guesstimates her weight to be 18.3kgs, which she's already heavier than! She's still got plenty of filling out to do.

That's a great tool - thanks for sharing! I can't remember Nala's exact weights - only vague ideas but from what I did plug in, she will be bigger than Cleo which is what I thought. If i can find recorded weights, i will try again!

Looking good - and so powerful. He'll be incredible once he's filled out. I'll be honest, bullarabs are not "my" style of dog (i'm more into dals and aussies) but he is pretty good looking. Nala would love to play with him I reckon! Speaking of Nala, the last couple of weeks we've visited dog beaches and had some great times. She is a bit shy, but once she finds a dog who wants to play she has a lot of fun. She also finds me more interesting than other dogs, so will recall even if other dogs are around (fat chance of this with Cleo!) We spent a few hours at the beach yesterday, just sitting and swimming and slept so soundly last night! Trying to get her out of her crate to do wees before bed was a challenge - never had a dog NOT want to leave the crate as much as this girl! :laugh:

When I was 10 we got our lab on breeders terms (to have one litter). At six months, she came into heat and a male dog scaled our 6ft fence to get to her. The owner of the male dog paid for the abortion then, and she went on to whelp 8 puppies at age 2. Six of the pups survived, 2 were stillborn.