aliwake

Thanks :) Lucky you guys are here for some distraction!

Nova is so ridiculously cute :) Nixon is at the vets again today getting another broken tooth surgically removed... He broke 1 about 2 months ago and was in so much pain - poor baby. The matching tooth on the other side broke a couple of weeks ago, and he wasn't in any pain so we've been waiting to see if it would fall out by itself. No luck though, and it was starting to turn black, so back to the vets we go. Even though I know he's fine, it's very distracting knowing he's there without me. And it's a very weird feeling having a lunch break to myself! I don't know what to do! No puppy cuddles for me til this arvo.

Yep, we use biozet for all the doggy washing. I like the smell so much I use it for our laundry too now sometimes. The enzymes in it breaks down all the wee and removes the smell properly. Sounds like Tyrion might have his wires crossed a little, and now thinks his crate is a good place to 'go'?!! You need to get on top of that asap. If the weather is going to be miserable for weeks, it might be worth investing in an inside toilet? We trained Nixon with one, because he was kept in a playpen inside when we were at work, while he was still small. He knew to poo there from day one, and lots of positive reinforcement got him weeing there fairly well also. We're just gradually switching to always going outside, and it's going pretty well now. We bought this one which was great value: http://www.topbuy.com.au/tbcart/pc/Extra-Large-Pet-Indoor-Dog-Potty-Training-Toilet-Loo-Pad-3-Tier-76x51cm-p187234.htm They have a smaller one too I think.

That's hilarious! But not such a bad idea... maybe I should get my husband onto it :)

my problem is I've started leaving my warm clothes (including ugg boots) in the bathroom at night, so Nixon won't eat/sleep on them. Makes it hard to cover up in a hurry when you need to get up for a toilet run during the night. He would never settle to sleep with ugg boots in the same room, and he's started lying on my clothes pile to put himself to sleep... Given I do have a mild dog allergy - I try to avoid wearing any clothes he's been sleeping on!

Good luck. Let us know how you go... Our first 4-6 weeks with Nixon I think I was chronically sleep deprived and felt absolutely horrendous the whole time (when I wasn't cuddling my really cute puppy). I just wish I'd known this forum was here then - some commiseration is always handy. Just knowing others had been through it and survived would have been very reassuring!

This was the article I found useful: http://www.thehousebreakingbible.com/training/surviving-night.htm

Oh no doesn't sound good. Does he have too much room in his crate? Can you get a divider to make it a lot smaller so he has no room to spare for a toilet? I know Nixon never got the idea of whining when he needs to go. Basically if we hear him stirring a lot and moving around at night then it's time to take him out. Before we caved and bought him a crate though, he was in his playpen at night, and he used to go to the toilet and then wake us up to come clean up after him. I don't miss cleaning up poo in the middle of the night, that's for sure. Not ideal, but maybe tonight you need to set your alarm for every 2 hours and take him out to toilet. Then you gradually start lengthening the intervals as he gets better with his toileting. An article I read said most pups sleep through the night by 16 weeks, but you can make it happen sooner using scheduling as above to gradually lengthen the intervals.

Congratulations! Can't wait to see Tyrion :)

Good luck Zereuloh!

I read the books years ago, but haven't seen the tv show yet... just haven't quite gotten around to it! Tyrion definitely has a good ring to it for a dog though. Different without being outrageous :)

Wow Lisa - Nova is so pretty! sounds like he's being beautifully behaved too :) Zereuloh, I'll vote for Beau (one of my favourites, but my husband didn't like it). Tyrion is also very cool (are you into game of thrones?!)

That is so hilarious! What a character! You're definitely not going OT :)

Lisa, Nixon is exactly the same with sleeping with his head hanging off things!! It's like he enjoys not being able to breathe properly!! Good to know he's a typical lab :)

I seem to be missing out on puppy yawns... if we hear him stirring we both freeze in the hope he'll go back to sleep :) And he sleeps on my husband's side, so I can't really see him easily. i do love how snuggly he is just after he wakes up from a daytime nap though. Best time for cuddles. I remembered another weird noise he makes in his sleep - it's like he's suckling really really loudly and slopping it everywhere - I've almost gotten up to check for a pile of drool a few times!

Ahhh, are yours noisy sleepers too? Nixon seems to prefer sleeping with his airways at least partially blocked (putting his head/throat on a teddy or something), and he snores so loudly, and makes the weirdest noises! Sometimes we just lie there giggling like crazy cos he sounds so bizarre.

Yeah, getting Nixon to go to bed if he doesn't feel like it sux too - if he doesn't want to settle he'll jump up on the bed with his front paws and claw you until you get up... Or start stealing tissues out of my rubbish bin. Or make a nest on top of my clothes pile. Or try to eat the socks off my feet! He sleeps in a crate, but I can't really say he's crate trained given he chewed the front wall of the (soft) crate off within the first few weeks he had it... Not ideal! So it doesn't actually confine him, but at least being in there does help him settle sometimes. He finally seems to be sleeping through the night too now, but having said that there's still days where he thinks 5am is morning, and is up and at 'em! A sleep-in sometime soon would be really nice!

That's great Gus's skin has improved already! Did you go with the Artemis? Sleeping through the night at that age sounds brilliant - I'm suffering from severe jealousy now... It took us a month to give in and let Nixon sleep in our room, and it was a month of absolute hell. Gus sounds gorgeous - it is definitely a pity a playdate isn't really do-able - I'm sure they'd get up to a lot of mischief together :)

OMG I love your vomit emoticon! hilarious!

Just thought I'd let you know I was closer to the end of the Eukanuba than I thought, so I started transitioning Nixon to the RC Labrador yesterday. So far he LOVES it (even mixed with Eukanuba). It's lucky we taught him to wait with food he didn't like, cos it would have been much harder if we were feeding RC all along :) Definitely no stuffing around - he goes straight for the bowl now and eats it all immediately. None of his old 'I'm going to take each piece of kibble out of the bowl 1 by 1 and play with it before I eat it...' I really like the smell and feel of it too, so hopefully if it agrees with him in the long term we'll be onto a winner. It smells like vegemite :) Will be interesting to see if it changes his scratching habits - I'll let you know. My gut feeling is he's just a dog that likes grooming a lot. We'll see.

Atticus is so beautiful! Lovely pics.

I feel so much better sharing the shame of having a poo eater! I am half hoping a different food might make his poo less appetising. He only started doing it after a stay at the vets - so maybe he thought he'd clean up after himself and discovered a taste for it?! We set up a ramp for Nixon for the verandah steps when he was as small as Gus, and he loved walking down it. Was happier bounding up again, but I think it was definitely better for his joints. Just used some spare fence palings we had lying around. It was so funny watching him freak out and learn to walk down steps once he was bigger and I took the ramp away. I keep his nails really short so he slides around inside like crazy, and his legs seem to go everywhere. I cringe watching it, and just have to hope we're not causing too much damage. If I thought he wouldn't chew them off I'd get him some of those non slip socks to wear inside.

I've heard that. I was tempted to try it for our big bag of Eukanuba, but it says to return to place of purchase, and I couldn't find my receipt... typical. Will be putting the next receipt straight into the dog folder. I think I will have trouble transitioning if he likes the new food - he's just going to eat around the old stuff :)

Don't tell me Gus eats poo too?!!! Nixon has been obsessed with possum poo from day 1, and now occasionally nibblies on his own So so so so so so gross! And yes, he likes it all more than his kibble! The Artemis did look good - I didn't see any specific mention of glucosamine or chondroitin though? The way Nixon slides around on our timber floors I think his joints will need as much help as they can get...

Nixon's the same with the Eukanuba - he only gets excited if it's in a kong, but if I give him some in a bowl he'll stare at it for a while and eventually cave and start eating - and he's a lab!! Not what I expected at all.... I usually give the yoghurt after, cos I'm sure he's more than capable of eating all the yoghurt from around the kibble, and refusing to eat the kibble at all! We're getting close to the end of a bag now, and I'm thinking of trying the RC lab junior, or maybe Advance? Have read a few recommendations for advance on here. They all have joint support which is what I'm most concerned with. I'd just feel a lot better if he actually liked it... Re the scratching, I know Nixon has lost most of his puppy fur now, and for a while I think all the extra grooming was to help get rid of the old coat, so maybe Gus is in the same situation?