WeimMe

You can start training sit at a very young age Rosiesmum - you'd be surprised at how quickly they learn this. I bet that if you try this you will have your dog sitting in a day or two :) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NHqAW66-gEMy link I love kikopup - her dogs always look like they are having so much fun when they are being trained/displaying behaviours.

Being "boring" and standing still rather than reacting can make the game less attractive to them, but didn't really work on my pup. When he started nipping the backs of our legs rather than playfully tugging on pants legs we knew he needed to get the message that this isn't acceptable right away. The trainer at puppy school recommended carrying a water sprayer around for a little while and squirting the pup whenever he does this and the habit was broken within a few days. I didn't think it would work to be honest, but it was very effective (if a bit annoying, having to walk around with a spray bottle!).

I think that it depends on the dogs in some ways. I thought that my girl would like the company of another dog as she loves having other dog visitors....just not permanent houseguests as it turns out! I need to feed them separately and at times during the day they need to be apart as young pup bothers the old girl mercilessly. The household also seems much noisier with two! I am hoping that once the new addition matures a little that things will settle down somewhat as there are times when the place feels like a madhouse. I also find it harder logistically to go places with the dogs when you have two - we have a child as well, so it's a bit crowded in the back seat and as as been mentioned, people are reluctant to have 2 canine visitors where they were previously fine with just with one.

Such a beautiful dog! I agree that middle aged dogs are very much underrated - particularly in breeds that are known for being very boisterous as pups and teenagers!

My pup seemed to pee so frequently that I was convinced that he had a health issue (I had him checked thoroughly - turns out he's fine, he just needs to pee a lot!). After ruling out physical reasons, I decided that the problem was more mine than his and became more consistent with his toileting routine. He's 19 weeks now and still has the occasional accident, but generally is pretty good. This is what worked for me: Teaching him to toilet on command (use a word like "toilets" or "pee"). Take him to his toilet spot on leash and don't move around or play with him. When he's done, he gets praise, treats and a game. Restricting his access to the house. When unsupervised, he was in his crate or in his "play pen". He was only allowed loose in the house for a short time after he'd toileted. I put him on a routine like a baby - with general times for toilet, play, being outside, training and sleep. At night stay up as late as you can and before you go to bed yourself, take puppy to the toilet. If you are waking up as early as is reasonable and there's still a mess in the laundry, you'll have to toilet him during the night until he is able to hang on. I know how incredibly frustrating it is when your pup seems to have no concept that the house is not for toileting but trust me, it will get better!

I always thought it was because they felt so fresh and invigorated :) I like the "I'm so happy that's over with theory" - I'd never thought of that.

I'm sure that she was probably well intentioned, but I'd never do this myself. I have a dog who must be on a very strict low fat diet and there are very few treats on the market that she can have without becoming ill. Some of our neighbours have kindly thrown sausages and chops over the fence for her when they have a BBQ resulting in her becoming sick and costing me hundreds of dollars in vet bills. So no, it's never a good idea to feed a strange dog.

I forgot to mention, at the moment, an old knitting bag shaped like a sheep is my dogs current obsession. He lays on it and mouths the fabric handles - it's very cute!

I have two dogs, my darling Weim who I've had for 11 years (I swear she understands everything I say) and my livewire of a crossbreed pup. Both are much loved family members who share our homes and lives. But they aren't children...they are dogs and are appreciated just for their doggy selves. They like to do doggy things, like roll in detestable things if given the chance and sniff other dogs butts by way of greeting. They will happily scarf down their own vomit if they wolf down their dinner too fast and delight in the odd snack of chicken poop if the chance presents itself. The young pup likes to hump his bed and is obsessed with dirty socks and my Weim will steal and eat used tissues. I also have a child. Thankfully, she doesn't behave like that and neither do my dogs like to play Barbies or knit. Dogs are not children, and children are not dogs. In much the same way that I am neither a pony or a dinosaur, a dog is not a human child. That's just reality.

Thanks for the input! "zoomies" - best word to describe it :laugh: Out of curiosity, how short are the walks that you take your little pup on and how many times per day I only take him for 5 minute walks atm, as he's only quite young (about 16 weeks) - my dog trainer told me that long walks aren't good for pups. We go twice a day. Prior to his vaccinations taking full effect I did used to take him for drives and sometimes with me to collect my daughter from school (he was carried the whole time). He enjoyed the interaction and the new experiences, but it didn't seem to wear him out.

Anything that squeaks is a huge favourite here. Much to my husband's dismay!

Percy got all the injections and yet seemed to need to go to the vet for several things. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Of course he will...as would any dog. Dogs get infections, injuries and illnesses. The injections are vaccinations for distemper, parvo and the like, just as we receive immunisations for polio, diptheria and such. It doesn't mean we won't ever get an ear infection, break a bone or suffer from cancer.

OP, I'm so sorry that you lost your dog at such a young age. It is never easy to say goodbye, especially when the passing is sudden or unexplained. That said, as others have mentioned you have a responsibility to your new dog to give it the longest and best quality of life possible and that can only be achieved by ensuring that medical care is given when required. You refer to your new dog as your child, so you obviously value him... bearing this in mind it's completely beyond me how you could think it in your new dog's best interest to fail to provide medical care. Few dogs would enjoy a stay at the vet clinic, but sometimes it is unavoidable and necessary. I think that you perhaps should have allowed yourself more time to grieve for the loss of Percy before you brought a new dog home. Your anger and blame directed at the vet is not rational and deep down you must know that the he is not to blame. Whatever was wrong with Percy was obviously serious, the vet gave you advice which you disregarded, his condition deteriorated and ultimately you elected to have him PTS without first getting a diagnosis so you will never know if his illness was treatable. It's very sad, but nobody is to blame, it's just what happened. I really do hope that you consider the advice that espinay2 has given you. You can't change the past, but you can learn from it. Give your new dog the best chance. Train him to be the best dog he can be - confident and happy, not anxious and stressed. And please please reconsider your stance on witholding vet care. It's irresponsible, and frankly, unkind.

I have a pup that also gets the evening zoomies...not sure that you really want to hear this, but it doesn't seem to matter how much exercise he gets beforehand, he still goes nuts in the early evening. The only thing that ever seemed to exhaust him was puppy school! I tried playing with him in the early evenings - fetch, tug, going through training "homework", but nothing seems to have any real impact if he's allowed to have free run of the house at night. We have been settling him in his crate with something to chew and he eventually quiets down and falls asleep that way. I personally would not think that it was worth the risk of potentially exposing your puppy to parvo for something that may or may not settle her down. Just a few more weeks and you can walk her without having to worry. Why not wait? Our pup is old enough to go for short walks now, and this doesn't seem to have any real effect on his energy levels. He still gets the zoomies :)

I've had a dog when I had no fence for a few weeks (new house, unreliable fencing contractors, puppy I'd been waiting for ready to go...). It was not ideal or convenient but we managed - the dog stayed inside, or was with me on the lead until the fence was built. The owner absolutely should not have let her dogs wander but all the same, I'm aghast that someone was violent and cruel enough to consider shooting the dog to be a reasonable course of action. I think I'd be wanting to move, ASAP if I were her as I could not stand to live there knowing that one of my neighbours was capable of this.

I am still not quite used to seeing dobes and weims with tails, even after all this time. I completely appreciate that the docked look is unnatural and potentially cruel - it just looks strange to me. I guess it's all just a matter of what you are used to seeing.

Our pup is put in his crate at about 7.00pm and comes out again at 5.30am (with frequent toilet breaks until about 11.00pm) . He doesn't go in the crate during the day anymore as he is big enough to go outside if I need to go out now. I'd prefer to just put him in there when we go to bed at around 11.00pm but he seems to get a bit hypo around the 6.00 mark and harrasses our older dog endlessly unless he's crated. He doesn't seem to particularly mind it, but I do feel guilty about it. In your case OP, I'd think that safe and comfortable in his crate is better than him getting out and potentially getting into trouble.

I don't know much about poodles (assuming that's what she is), but from the incredibly matted state of her coat she had either been missing for a very long time or had been neglected. Either way, there's no denying that the dog was in a pitiful state and desperately needed help. I'm glad that she got some. Even if it were my dog, I'd still prefer that she was taken in and cared for by someone rather than left frightened and alone to die on the street.

A lot of people have this dewy eyed belief that all adult dogs have some kind of maternal instinct and will be friendly and tolerant of pups. In most cases this is probably true...but like you said, sometimes young large dogs have no idea that their idea of play would likely result in injury to small pups and other dogs, like some people, don't always tolerate babies all that well.

How scary to think that your dog might go missing and "rescued" so that you can't find him/her!

I guess that toilet training is of paramount importance for Danes :) I adore Danes and was tempted to get one instead of our Weim when we were selecting a large breed, the only thing that deterred me was that they are relatively short lived. Gorgeous gorgeous dogs with such a lovely nature :)

300mls of puppy pee? Dear lord....the number of pees that the average pup does in a day...you'd be nearly swimming in it!

Assuming he's only 10 - 12 weeks old I would think that you will be needing to just take him out regularly at first. He may not let you know at this stage, so after meals, after drinking, after playing, after napping....and every 1 and 1/2 hours or so in between is a good time to take him out. If he's only young, he won't be able to hold it for 4 hours at a time, so a crate isn't suitable at this stage. He should have a natural aversion to soiling where he sleeps, so by crating him for longer than he can physically hold on and so "forcing" him to eliminate in his crate, you may end up undoing some of the good work that his breeder may have done. You'd be better off making a puppy playpen of some kind or confining him to a laundry or bathroom with a designated area for toileting (pee pads/newspaper/dog toilet) until he's old enough to stay for longer in the crate. Two days without a crate won't make it harder - you can start crate training any time. Just don't throw your dog in, lock the door and expect him to be happy in there. I introduced my pup to the crate slowly over the course of a week by feeding him in there and putting him in it while he was sleeping during the day with the door open and did not confine him in it during the day until about a week after that. I would recommend Ian Dunbar's "After You Get Your Puppy" book to help you. He is a little bit full on about 100% accident proof toilet training (which sure wasn't possible for me!), but generally I found his advice very helpful. Good luck with your puppy. Great Danes are really beautiful dogs :)

I'd suggest a Cavalier King Charles - they are happy to snuggle, don't demand huge amounts of exercise but enjoy training and agility. As for the cat thing, I think that if you get the dog as a pup that most dogs can live happily with cats. Our Weim is very "interested" in other cats, but quite friendly with ours. I would be interested know if people with sight hounds find this to be true also, or if the instinct to chase runs deeper in those breeds.

Hehe..."really dopey and just likes to chew socks"!! Lucky George :) I'm happy he was rescued.