suziwong66

Have you got any pics to share yet?

Latest pics of Wilbur & the girls: "does my bum look big in this?" Look who's watching the babies through the glass in the door? "What's this i've found?" 3 weeks and 3 days til he comes (24 looooong days). Flight has been booked & paid for...ETA 3:30pm. Estimated time of pick up: 4pm excitement level: off the scale

After we lost our first dog at 10years old (14 years ago) i was so down. within two weeks i broke down and told OH that i couldn't go on without another dog in our family. We immediately started looking for suitable litters. About two months later our darling Casper came home to us. We lost Casper in Late May this year and again knew right away that we weren't complete without a four legged family member and started looking for litters in mid June. Wilbur will be coming home to us in 3 1/2 weeks. For us, the introduction of a new four legged family member has helped lessen the grief of the lost four legged family member. We still grieve for Casper even though we are excited by Wilbur's imminent arrival. It was the same when Casper came; we still grieved for Keiran but were excited by Casper. You will have to find what works for you. I don't feel guilt about getting another four legged family member; we are not replacing those that have passed. We are continuing to live our lives with the inclusion of another loved one. The pain of grief thankfully fades and it is replaced by memories of the joy that each different but equally as important four legged family member brought to us.

My two cents worth :D : A den is a naturally instinctive environment for dogs. Crates provide a den-like environment for dogs/puppies to sleep in. You can achieve a den-like environment by covering the crate with blankets or a cover etc. It's great for puppy owners as they can crate train so that their puppy is safe when left alone in the house; not only is the puppy safe, but so is the house & all its contents...bored little puppies on the loose are a recipe for disaster; they can create all manner of disasters both to the house and to themselves. In the past we have found even shutting puppies in a laundry or bathroom to be problematic. Once we came home to a scratched and chewed door frame ; crating a puppy prevents this destructive behaviour and keeps them safe from hurting themselves. Some puppy owners take off the pup's collar, but others don't. I am on the 'collar-off' side of the fence so that the puppy can't choke itself accidentally by catching the collar on the crate. When crates are introduced to the dog as their special place, they can retreat to the quiet of it when they require. It is also fabulous for toilet training as dogs don't like to evacuate in their den. Part of their natural den instinct is to not evacuate in spaces where they sleep or eat. They will usually hold on as long as possible. If you buy a big adult sized crate for a puppy, you can block off one end to encourage the puppy to hold on and not use the other end as a toilet. It is important to note that a crate is not to be used as a place of punishment...it is instead a physically safe and emotionally positive environment for the dog so that it willingly uses the crate. One should train a dog to associate only positive emotions with a crate. You don't buy a crate, shove the dog in and hope for the best. I'm sure other DOLers will add more comprehensive answers and correct my input where necessary.

Hi Jass.91 awwwwww Zeus is soooo cute :love: I reckon the next 11 days will draaaaag

we've been doing the same; went and had a look at a 42" collapsable crate on wheels (that we had seen in their online store and their ebay store) while we were in Sydney and decided that it was what we wanted. So when we get back to Adelaide we'll order it online...sadly it's no cheaper to buy it while in Sydney & pay for it as excess baggage than it is to order it online & pay for freight to Adelaide. it's been 14 years since we had a puppy in the house and it's been an adventure to look at all the new toys, brushes, bowls etc that are available now...and internet shopping has been fabulous to be able to find things that I want but can't get hold of in adelaide and also for finding them cheaper. I read in one post somewhere on DOL that they put their crate under the kitchen/dining table which is a great idea if you're short on space (specially with these HUGE crates LOL)

They are so exciting!!! Wilbur is adorable too!! I can't wait until we find out which one is actually ours! That WILL be exciting!! Wilbur is the only boy and rather bigger than his sisters so it's easier to pick him out in the litter. Plus his breeder sends a few pics of him alone. Please share a pic when you know which one is yours.

awwww how cute are they?

Our family dog pre children was a German Shepherd. We got him as an 8 week old puppy at a time when I had just quit my job and had the time to invest in him. He adapted fantastically when our daughters arrived respectively 3 and 6 years later; i attribute this to the time we invested in him to train him so that he was well behaved. Our second puppy (yellow Lab) came along when I was at home raising young children so again I had the time to invest in him. Again, the time invested in raising him, i believe, was integral to his ability to fit into our family so well with few problems and certainly no major problems. Wilbur (choc Lab) is due to become part of our family in 4 weeks time; again, as luck would have it, I'm in a non-work period. After 6 years of full time study i was due to go back to full-time work this year. However, I took the year off to care for our daughter who suffered a serious illness last year and needed on-going support this year. Even though your circumstance is very different from my experiences, if you do go ahead and get a puppy, be prepared to invest a great deal of time and effort in socialisation and training so that you have a family member that fits like a glove rather than a 'problem child'. For our family, time, effort and persistence has been the key to raising four-legged family members that fit seamlessly into the family unit. good luck with your decision

terribly sad time for you; so sorry for your loss. Hugs to you xx

such a sad sad time. Hugs to you. xx

We bought our first two dogs before internet was mainstream and thus didn't get to keep in touch with their breeders. We did try to Google Casper's breeder but with no luck I did want to let her know that he lived a very long and happy 14 years after he recently passed. I had hoped she would appreciate knowing how thankful we were to have him in our lives; he was a joyful member of our family...Sadly that's not to be. This time round, Wilbur's breeder sends us regular updates and we'll send her regular updates of his progress. Additionally I have a website where I will be adding a 'Wilbur's Blog' page so that Wilbur can blog about his adventures and his breeder can read all about it. I'm considering giving the website address to the breeder so she can share it with Wilbur's sisters' families so Wilbur's sisters can read all about his adventures

Wilbur yesterday; 26 days old. having a little whinge Wilbur and his duck Tomorrow he's four weeks old...only four weeks to go till he comes home

Yesterday was Wilbur's 3 week birthday (21 days old ) This pic was taken early yesterday morning. 4 weeks and 6 days til pick up

Hi all, i thought i would share a blog post honouring Casper's life. Hope you enjoy. My link

My heart goes out to you; the loss of a dear beloved furry kid is so very deep. Rip Whitey

My suggestion is to pack a lot of plastic grocery bags or cloth laundry bags as a precaution to store any items that have been soiled from eruptions from either end! Our first four legged baby (24 years ago now ) and both of our two legged babies suffered terrible car sickness and those plastic bags came in handy; you can never have enough IMHO Our second pup never had a problem in the car (phew) and i'm hoping our third one is a good traveller as well, but hey, if he's a vomiter, we'll cope

Whilst there appears to be some 'not so obvious' social norms at the club, respectful behaviour should always be a primary objective. It appears you violated some of the social norms of the club but i'm not sure that the woman's behaviour is either justified or acceptable. Kudos to you for your restraint

Thank you Poochmad. We too loved the personal touch from our vet; it's very cherished now but the day it arrived i didn't cope too well. it was a week after saying goodbye to Casper and i opened the envelope and realised what the card was...was doing ok at the point then the card-backed paw print fell out...then i lost it once i saw it. I hadn't cried that whole day til then, then i was a mess for the rest of the day. I'm getting better at being able to manage my grief; he's missed terribly. At least i can now laugh when i think of him

CHAMPION Canine Seat Belt System I've just ordered one for Pele. I'll let you know what I think when I get it I like it because there are no plastic clips bearing weight, padding on the front and wider straps. I'm really interested in these belts but am a little worried about ordering after seeing a post on a different forum about the poor customer service by the company that makes and sells them. Did you order from the USA k9 Outfitters directly or another online store? any info would be gratefully appreciated Hi I ordered one and I did have to chase them up with an email but then I received it in around 2 weeks. I ordered mine direct from them. Thanks for the info; i feel more confident about ordering when the time comes. Are you happy with it? Any info regarding your experience of it wld be greatly appreciated. thanks.

After recently losing our beloved 14yo Casper (Yellow Lab) we quickly realised that our family wasn't complete without a four legged child So, after appropriate online searching for breeders and their litters we found a litter then due on the 18th of June. We decided to stay with Labs (converts now) but this time go with a chocolate. We've always had boys; no different this time. In the wee hours of the 18th we received on email from the breeder congratulating us on our new arrival; Wilbur Atticus (we always give our children 2 names). Here he is at 9 days old. Here's the litter as of today with their little eyes opening: Our breeder is a lovely woman with fabulous communication skills. She keeps us informed with several emails full of pics each week. We feel very comfortable in choosing a pup from her litter. 40 LONG days until he comes home to live with us...we're trying to be patient ;)

Thank you Puppy_Sniffer. the vet staff sent us the inked paw print in a card a week after we sent him off to the Rainbow Bridge; we treasure it along with our pics and memories.

CHAMPION Canine Seat Belt System I've just ordered one for Pele. I'll let you know what I think when I get it I like it because there are no plastic clips bearing weight, padding on the front and wider straps. I'm really interested in these belts but am a little worried about ordering after seeing a post on a different forum about the poor customer service by the company that makes and sells them. Did you order from the USA k9 Outfitters directly or another online store? any info would be gratefully appreciated

Thanks everyone, all of your input was valuable in that it helped us make an informed decision that works for us.