aliwake

Poor Nixon is very bored and doesn't understand why he can't play with anyone. We thought he'd stopped coughing, but he did it again earlier today, so the quarantine continues... Sigh. It's messed up his sleeping again too which is a PITA!,

You should be fine to give him a whole one, though he will probably inhale it and freak you out! They definitely don't last long :)

I kept that in mind when i went home at lunch - some of the whey had separated again so I tipped it straight into Nixon's bowl :) Lucky puppy! I was wondering earlier - my Jalna Greek Yoghurt is pot set, so I'm not entirely sure how it counts as Greek yoghurt? It can't have been strained! I guess it's just an extra creamy formulation.

Thanks Sheena, I'd read about using cheesecloth or muslin to make Greek yoghurt, but to be honest I'm not sure I can be bothered :) I was just thinking that tipping out the whey while it's already separated (before it goes in the fridge) might be a good shortcut to thicken it up. Will let you guys know how it works next time I do a batch. Thanks for the link to your thread though Sheena, I'll have look through it!

well, I made my first batch yesterday, and it was super easy. just mixed up my uht lactose free milk with a couple of tablespoons of the jalna greek yoghurt I had in the fridge, and let it do it's thing in the yoghurt maker all day. I tried it this morning and it was definitely well set, but I'd say softer than the starter yoghurt. Flavour wasn't bad considering I didn't add any sugar. It definitely worked without having to do the heating then cooling thing. I noticed that there was a lot of whey on the top of each jar before I put them in the fridge, but the jar I opened this morning seemed to have absorbed it all back into the yoghurt, so I think to get a thicker, more 'greek' style i might try tipping out the whey before putting it in the fridge next time, and see what happens.

We were planning to get one come summer, but it's been so damn hot here the last 2 days that there's not much point waiting I think! I have no doubt he's going to love it :) Tyrion's one ear is completely gorgeous!!

That's a really handy blog - thanks for the link! This is the first one I went to (and it shows the aldi yoghurt maker too): http://recipegeek.com.au/blog/2012/09/08/lactose-free-yoghurt-lumina-yoghurt-maker/ I've read so many different things since then that my head is spinning though! I bought no lactose UHT milk the other day, and was planning to use that, but, I've since read in some places that UHT doesn't work very well, and then again that the lactose is the sugar that the culture feeds on when it's growing, so if you don't have lactose then it won't grow?! I think that may be why the recipe that I linked to above adds sugar - to feed the culture... It's all very confusing anyway, but I think I'll just have a crack. I like what your link says about using UHT milk - it's encouraging! I had a feeling I wouldn't have to heat it, so that should be easy I hope!

Love that last pic Lisa - he clearly loves attacking the water! I think a clam will be our next purchase too.

Hankodie, maybe you could give a local snake catcher a call, and at least find out if you should be concerned? I don't really know what it would mean, but I can understand you being worried!!

That's great it worked out so well! I was going to get the Easi-Yo, except I realised you just use the sachets with water, and don't get to choose your milk etc, so I ended up getting the aldi yoghurt maker yesterday. It's basically an incubator, so you can choose your own milk and culture. Very keen to give it a go, so will let you all know what happens :)

Rangermad, I think those hellish days of puppy toilet training have already blurred in my mind, but I'm pretty sure you can expect anything at all for at least your first month. We had an inside toilet for when he was in his playpen, and he was fairly good about using it anytime. However, there were still almost constant accidents inside for many many weeks. Particularly after one of his vet visits - he came home and started peeing while walking... OMG! Give me a puddle any day over long zig zags of wee... He still does that now (though outside thankfully!). We had one of our kitchen sinks permanently full of a biozet mix ready to clean up wee. Basically, their bladders are so small you can expect anything, so I doubt there's anything wrong with Griffin. I thought we would never get Nixon fully toilet trained, but it really doesn't take all that long for them to get bladder control, and for us, once Nixon started being left outside during the day, his toilet training sorted itself out really quickly. He now just stands near the door and stares outside when he needs to go :) Or bangs our blinds with his nose (that was great at 3am the other night...) It sounds like you're doing the right things, so it's just time, patience and consistency now. And you can be extremely grateful that he's sleeping so well at night!!! That makes up for so much :)

That's great Nova is all better Lisa! Definitely don't beat yourself up about it - so much of what puppies do is outside our control. You are a first class puppy mummy for sure :) That is really sad about the vet though - I guess they get used to expecting the worst.

Thanks Steph :) I got completely sidetracked earlier and forgot to say how gorgeous and grown up Gus is looking! And welcome Rangermad! If you've been stalking then you're off to a great start :) I was unlucky enough to find this forum after the worst of all my baby dramas were past, but it's still reassuring to have other puppy people to talk to. It sounds like Griffin is going really well! I love Vizsla's - was very keen but my hubby wasn't too interested unfortunately - I think we need to see some pics asap!

Thought I should upload a pic of Nixon too, since it's been so long... I took it at lunch - he looks so concerned because he just finished eating his last ice cube... I keep telling him he'll get wrinkles! It was also the first time I haven't given him his lunchtime kong when I left, and he looked so bereft, like "mum, you've forgotten to feed me - I might starve! I can't believe you're leaving me like this!!" Arghhh, it has to be done!!

Nixon will be 6 months on Friday! Time flies... I weighed him this morning and he's 19.3kgs! It's just crazy how fast they grow... Our nieces and nephews are overseas or interstate too, but luckily we have a couple of friends with kids, and nice neighbouring kids on both sides that love to talk to Nixon through the fence. Just make it really clear to your neighbours that you'd love Hank to play with the kids next time you see them. They'll probably all be stoked :) It sounds like you're doing an amazing job with Hank! What a lucky puppy! It's sounds like he already goes out and about a lot more than Nixon did at that age, so I'm sure he'll be just fine!

don't forget vacuum cleaners and hair dryers!!

We mainly encouraged people to come visit, and had a couple of bbqs etc. If you have any friends with kids, that can be really handy too. We had a bbq for my birthday when Nixon was about 12 weeks old, and there were lots of kids running around. he played so beautifully for hours, and then when he'd had enough he took himself off to the laundry to have a lie down in peace and quiet - I was so proud of him!! I also took him to work to meet everyone on a couple of occasions - just a quick visit, but he got to meet a lot of different people, Lots of men and people with different accents etc - was very handy. One guy then brought his family with small kids around to play, which was great.

It definitely sounds like the drontal should have worked - that's really worrying! Maybe he got infected immediately after his last dose. Hopefully the Fenpral will take care of it!! Must feel pretty gross for poor Nova. Yeah, Nixon has definitely been through the works. It's been a tough few months, but totally worth it :) I just keep thinking the drama is done with and something else happens! Hopefully desexing will be the next, and last vet visit (for a while at least).

That's so annoying they wouldn't give you his vaccination early! I wonder where Nova managed to pick them up?! It has to have been since his last worming I guess. Hopefully your new wormer will do the trick. Which one did the vet suggest? I have to admit, we've still been worming fortnightly (and Nixon is almost 6 months old now), mainly cos I worry about how much possum poo he eats The vet said there's no negative to doing it, other than the cost. When he had Giardia and had tests done etc, apparently they found some hookworm eggs (despite constant worming), so I'm pretty paranoid!

Does anyone know if KC could be passed to a cat? I'm slightly paranoid because we have a tiny new kitten next door, and he tried to come visit unannounced yesterday - I would hate for Nixon to make him sick

He's doing ok thanks. He was pretty unsettled all weekend, but my husband was away at a bucks, and I think that had a lot to do with it. Seems he's greedy and needs both of us there to relax properly! :) His cough was getting a bit worse, but yesterday he improved a little I think. Not much coughing during the day at all, but he did still wake up coughing during the night several times. If he races around too much he gets a bit wheezy too. It's so weird - a week of reduced running around and he doesn't look all hard an muscley anymore Hopefully he gets better soon so we can go out and about again.

Well, it sounds like Nova just has normal ones then, which is a relief! Hope you're feeling a bit calmer :)

At least you're well prepared :) I don't know much about the hydatids - are they harder to get rid of, or just nastier?

Oh no Lisa! Hope it's easily taken care of Does he eat lizards/geckos? I think that is the other main way I've heard of to get them, and apparently needs a higher dosage of wormer to treat. Hopefully not! Let us know how he goes at the vet.

Thanks for sharing your experiences - it's reassuring to know most dogs get over it pretty easily. I know I tend to worry out of proportion when my baby is sick! :) Also, you clearly take some bloody amazing photos Hankodie! Absolutely gorgeous! I would love to have some beautiful pics of Nixon while he still has his puppy gorgeousness. He's a very handsome boy, but so hard to take pics of cos he's brown, and he seems to always have his head down unless he's about to jump on me :) Needless to say I have heaps of photos of him sleeping! I have a friend who takes great pics who has been away overseas for the last 6 months, but she's getting back in about a week, so I plan on hitting her up for some family portraits asap :) by which I mean mainly pics of the pretty one (Nixon)