aliwake

I tried the hairdryer on Nixon but he didn't like it at all.... We just bath him in the shower, with the heaters on in the bathroom and dry him as much as we can with microfibre towels (they absorb heaps of water), and then make him lie down in front of the aircon (on heat). I don't think he'd dry without the aircon running - it sucks the moisture out of everything... Hopefully Tyrion won't mind your hairdryer - it would be much easier!

The only other one I know of that does 24hr care is the 24hr vet at UQ in St Lucia. You're probably right in between the 2 I guess?! http://www.uq.edu.au/vetschool/after-hours-emergencies Doesn't look like it will be open after early next year though... I wonder who will step up in the western suburbs?!!

I don't think they are. In an emergency Booval would be a better bet. I've had to leave my pup overnight when he was on fluids, and I believe it's unattended from 10pm to 7am. I think if a pet is unstable after that they must have an arrangement for a 24hr vet to take over - possibly even Booval?

I know RSPCA is all positive. We're doing basic obedience at Centenary Dog Obedience (at Jindalee) at the moment, and our class is full of dogs with haltis. They actually sell them and let you try them before class, so there definitely wouldn't be any problem with that. It is reward based, but they do also use corrections though, so if she's not comfortable with that then the RSPCA might be better.

They're all fantastic pics!! He's clearly an excellent model :)

My 20wk lab pup is on about the same - 4cups of RC kibble per day, plus yoghurt and treats, and he's yet to start gaining excess weight. The vet said he looks perfect. I think he's going to be a big boy though - going from his parents. Just stick to what you're doing, and if he starts looking chubby, then drop it back. I too find the puppy feeding table based on adult weight really really annoying though!! So stupid! When I was feeding him Eukanuba he hated it, so he was never searching for food. Now he's on RC, he always seems hungry, and roams the house looking for snacks - makes it harder to be firm now, but I know it's best for him.

I go to Springfield District vet - not sure if that's different to the ones mentioned above? The staff are all lovely! I know they usually have a vet in the hospital until 10pm, and from 7am, and they have vets on call all weekend.

They can do, but only if the vet agrees - cos they're pretty much extending you credit while your claim is assessed. My first two I just paid on my credit card, but this latest one the vets offered - so I just paid them the excess amount, and they are submitting the claim to petplan themselves. I have to agree to pay anything that ends up not being paid.

Before submitting my most recently claim, which includes a routine flea treatment that We used as a treatment for mites (and not one I use as a routine flea treatment ) I emailed and asked their process for things like that. They said if the vet specifically wrote that it was a treatment for the conditions being claimed, they would pay it. So I'll be interested to see I'd they do in my case as I have that in writing from one of their people. Good to know for future reference minimax - I figured there would be a way around it, but I was just sick of drama and decided I couldn't be bothered chasing it up (not drama with petplan - just general drama!) I was probably due another $50, given there was the initial drontal treatment, then a follow-up 2 weeks later, so it would probably be worth it if I got motivated. BCNut - from what I can tell the increased premium provides an awful lot more cover for your extra $$. Petplan covers everything bar your excess, compared to an 80% payout, which would be a very big difference if you had a $10k claim... $125 out of pocket vs $2k out of pocket...

We're with Petplan, and have had 3 claims in the last couple of months. First two they paid within 2-3 weeks of receiving the forms - and paid everything bar the excess, Actually they didn't pay for drontal, even though it was used to treat Giardia rather than as a wormer. I probably could have argued, but it wasn't worth it when they'd just given me a cheque for $900 :) The current claim has only just been submitted, but I'm not expecting any problems.

I could look at pics of Nova all day :)

Nixon sometimes barks when he's dreaming - it's hilarious! scares the crap out of you though... His new bed arrived on tuesday, and he loves it so much he stayed sleeping in it in the loungeroom all night last night (rather than moving to his crate in our bedroom). He slept through beautifully too! Weirdly enough I missed having him with us, but I think I slept better not hearing every little snore... Our baby is growing up

She has been getting up every 2 hours (or less) already, to no avail!

Must be so frustrating for you Maybe he just isn't identifying with the crate as his bed? Does he have another bed he really likes to sleep on? If he settles pretty easily, you could have him unconfined on his bed instead of in the crate. Then, worst case scenario, maybe he'll get up and pee next to it? Though that wouldn't be good if you have carpet... Sorry, just typing ideas as they pop into my head! For his first month, Nixon was in his playpen at night, with access to his inside toilet. At times it would work well, though he'd usually wake us up after he'd 'gone' to clean up any mess. And he'd often wee just off the side of it :) At least the mess was just on tiles though, and not in his bedding.

Just thought I'd add that Nixon loves the bathroom drain too - he's always trying to dig through the bathmat to get to it! Must be something really good down there... He's not into the one in the shower so much, but he likes just sitting in there to hang out :) They're so funny! Good luck with the compost panels - hopefully he won't just take that as encouragement to start toileting somewhere else inside. If you can't get the panels, I bought a playpen from deals direct (or somewhere similar), for about $60 - the panels were 90cm high, and it was brilliant! of course, he did try to tear it down because he was confined inside it, but it was sturdy enough with some extra zip ties to nearby cupboards etc. I had some pretty ingenious rigging going on!

He's enormous!! And so adorable! Definitely keep up the pics :)

I've been wondering what would be the right way to dole out some tough love in this situation? How to you do it Sandra? I was on the verge of looking into it when Nixon started improving. It's all well and good to only reward good behaviour, but how do you let them know that it's undesirable for them to pee inside, particularly if you don't catch them in the act?

Good Luck Lhok - you definitely deserve good news more than most!

I'd read that puppy pads were a bad idea, because then they learn to expect that sort of surface when they're toileting. So, we bought an inside toilet with a turf top for when we had Nixon in a playpen during the day, so it still felt like grass. He pooed there without fail from day one, but wees have still been hit and miss until just recently. He'd do most either outside or on his toilet, but every now and again we'd find one on the floor somewhere... He's 20 weeks. The last week or so he's finally outside during the day when we're out, and his toileting has improved a lot. Basically, we made it harder on ourselves by initially allowing inside toileting, and now phasing it out. Maybe you could put a turf toilet in your bathroom, so at least he's going somewhere contained, and he's getting the right feeling for where to go? We bought this one which was fairly well made, and a lot cheaper than some I've seen! http://www.topbuy.com.au/tbcart/pc/Extra-Large-Pet-Indoor-Dog-Potty-Training-Toilet-Loo-Pad-3-Tier-76x51cm-p187234.htm Good luck - I feel your pain!! :)

Phew - glad it's helping :)

It does sound quite similar - he would only do it when we were both sitting on the couch, and he would target me, not my husband. Initially, turning my back on him would work for a short while, then eventually I would have to leave the room to make him stop. I'd been avoiding eye contact cos I wasn't sure if it would make it worse or not?! So glad we spoke to the puppy trainer - we took a video to show her and she had no hesitation telling me to stare him down. He probably kept it up for a week or so after that, but it wasn't as bad. He does still bark occasionally when he wants attention, but he doesn't do the creepy staring thing anymore. I was so worried my puppy was going to be an aggressive psycho, but he's adorable now :) I think he was 9 weeks when that started - I would never have expected a puppy that small to try to dominate me!! Now I know...

Hey Lisa, Nixon did the barking and staring for a couple of weeks and it was awful! Had me in tears more than once... Our puppy preschool trainer said to stare him down - lots of eye contact and get right up in his face. Weirdly enough it did make a difference. I think he was testing me. We also taught him 'enough' to cut his momentum when he was barking at us, and it helped too, to some degree. If you want to know how to teach 'enough', let me know.

OMG that is the cutest picture!!!!

Dental surgery on Friday, and I've finally ordered Nixon a new bed - which I probably should have done a week ago... He is pretty attached to his baby bed still though :)

Well, we ended up having all his remaining canine puppy teeth removed, so he had three out today. Hopefully his nice strong adult ones come through soon to replace them. I had to make a snap decision, and rather than risk another anaesthetic for a dental procedure, hopefully now there's nothing left in his mouth he can damage too easily... poor puppy. Apparently he's awake and relatively happy though, so that's good! Hope he's not too upset - we start basic obedience tomorrow morning!