karen15

Our corgi was a brilliant mouser. Used to flood the nests under the bird cages to flush them out and boy was she quick and lethal.

I do wonder why price isn't in ads. It certainly was a consideration when I was looking for a pup. I didn't want something cheap, but I also didn't want to pay heaps. I was tossing up between several breeds and price ruled some out. In hind sight, that was a good thing due to problems in the breed. I no doubt would have found out about those if I'd looked further into the breed, but cost saw them removed from the list in the earlier stages, before I went through detailed assessments of hereditary issues. I love the dog I ended up with - a westie. He is everything I was wanting and I could not ask for a more ideal dog.

I think there were 30 or 60 tablets in the bottle. If he was too itchy for my liking, he'd get one. As westies are prone to skin issues i didn't want scratching to become learned behaviour. The vet agreed he seemed itchier than he should, so he got a medicated bath weekly and the antihistamines as needed. He's been good ever since.

Is his flea treatment up to date? My westie was itchier than i would have liked as a pup. I discussed with the vet at one of his visits and he got some antihistamines to use as needed. After the bottle finished he's been fine (now three yo).

Does he need a crate downstairs if he has the pen down there? I've got two dogs and 8 dog beds..... They have a bed where ever they will sleep for a prolonged time. You can get cheap ones from the cheap shops - the ones i have in the lounge room were $10 each and are wearing well. So, it might be possible to have a normal bed in the pen and his crate in your room.

I find people seem to make raising a dog very complicated. It's not that hard. If you start as you mean to continue then you are most of the way there. By that i mean if you want your dog to sleep in a crate next to your bed, that is where they go from day one. You're not going to keep your dog in a pen all of it's life, so start the way it will be living, whether that be inside, outside or a mix. At puppy stage, they're like toddlers exploring and learning about their environment. Allow them to do that. Allow them to move away from you, but keep an eye on them to keep them safe. As they get older (16 weeks or so) they can have small amounts of less supervision in safe areas. Yes, they need a pen if there isn't a safe place when you go out, but other than that, pens should be used sparingly IMO. They will never learn if they can't experiment and explore and won't suddenly know XYZ is right or wrong if you don't invest the time now to teach them. If you want an obedient dog, again training starts from day one, not when they reach some magic age. They can easily learn to sit before they get meals and you just build slowly on what you ask. Pups are babies with short attention spans so learn best IMO if the lesson is short ie the couple of seconds before dinner is put down. You can call them over during the day and give something yummy and bingo, you're starting to teach recall. I think the above poster didn't mean that you interact less with your pup to help them become independent. Certainly not be separated from him during the day. He needs you at the moment. But he also needs to run around and look at things and to learn how to play and amuse himself in appropriate ways.

Don't stop him napping. My westie is three and doesn't make it through the night without going to the toilet. Neither do I, so how can i expect him to? The dog door is open and on the odd occasion it isn't, he gives a single bark or a growl if it's super urgent.

Tassie, my westie has me well trained - no treats no sleeps LOL

He can still bark in a crate, so crate training won't fix your problem of barking for attention. If i were you, i would try to teach him an appropriate way to ask for attention. My preferred way is they come over and sit quietly. To do that, if he cries for attention, ask him to be quiet. As soon as he is quiet, make a fuss, give him a treat and play with him. Do not allow him to escalate to barking. If he does bark walk away, don't walk over to him as that's telling him barking gets you to come. Obviously that's not something to start in the middle of the night. Work on it during the day. Night toilet time should be toilet, back to bed. Little interaction on your part. Are you closing him in his crate at night or can he run around the pen? If he can run around, I'd be closing him in the crate. There is no reason the crate can't be in your bedroom now. My westie was in the crate next to the bed from the first night. If left loose, he'd want to play. The crate kept him quiet and he slept really well. ETA I've just reread your post. Is the pup allowed out of the pen or is it always in the pen? I only used a pen when i wasn't around to supervise ie went out. For the rest of the time pup had free rein to run around like a dervish and explore his environment. He never cried or barked for attention as he could just come to me when he wanted.

As your dog has been allowed to roam all of its life, I doubt neutering will change that. My staffy was entire until he was 11 years old. He never roamed and never displayed inappropriate behaviour. The undesexed female nearby isn't going to help, but once desexed i would say he is still going to roam at every opportunity unless you actively do something to retrain him.

Go Ziggy

I looked at breeds when my staffy was diagnosed with aggressive cancer. Luckily it went into remission for four years, but I'd contacted a breeder i liked the look of and kept her updated over the four years on his health. When he died, I contacted her and said I'd be ready for a pup in around 9 months (it takes me that long to get over losing a pet). Worked in perfectly with two litters she bred. Maxwell was born at the end of May and came home 1st August. I knew from the moment he came home he was exactly what i wanted. Sam was irreplaceable so it was wonderful to find a dog that was just as perfect. Max is nearly three now, time flies!

My experience with foxes and traps is get a good chook pen instead. Put a roof on your pen - can be chicken wire. Then wire on the ground for 2 foot inside the fence, copper logs and fill. Never lost a chook after we did that. Pen had a large tree in the middle and it wasn't hard to put the roof on.

I've met a couple of Australian Bulldogs that were lovely but don't know anything about finding a breeder. I never had issues with my staffy with me working full time. We'd do a big walk and / or dog park in the morning plus 15 mins of frisbee when we got home. Good bone for the day and allowed him inside when I was home so he was always with me. He was extremely well socialised as a pup and was a lovely dog who loved everyone.

I've got a deebot 12 in 1 from crazy sales. Cost $320. She's a robo vac (also mops) and I adore her! I have not used my vacuum cleaner in the last year and floors and rugs look great. She vacuums the carpet in the bedrooms and does a great job. I've got long hair and dogs are a cocker and westie. I would highly recommend, especially if you have mostly wooden / tiles / vinyl.

For those like me who don't know the difference between a King Charles Spaniel and a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel https://janedogs.com/cavalier-king-charles-and-king-charles-spaniel/

So sorry for your loss westiemum

Coat restored with coat king and judicious use of clippers

Clipped coat - probably for her entire three years before I got her

Here's one article on the impact of shaving / clipping. https://www.google.com.au/amp/s/albertnorthvetclinic.wordpress.com/2013/05/30/shaving-your-dogs-coat-should-you-or-shouldnt-you/amp/ there'll be more if you google. Grooming yourself is easy. I've got my first two double coated breeds - Westie and cocker- and do them myself. Friend recommended the book Theory of Five and it's easy to follow. I use a coat king to remove undercoat.

I've got a cocker spaniel and a West Highland White Terrier. Both love kids, both are chilled at home when we're not doing much. They don't need heaps of exercise but love going out. The Westie has the typical terrier joie de vivre. Compared to what I read about other cocker spaniels mine is very quiet. I got her as a nearly three year old so that may have something to do with her upbringing. Both require grooming and regular brushing to prevent matting. The Westie has a hard coat so is much easier to maintain. I groom them myself, every 4-6 weeks, and the Westie takes about an hour, the cocker 2-3 hours. Both have longer coats as that is my preference.

What food are you feeding that it amounts to 1.6 kg per day? That is a huge amount of food. I had a 21 kg staffy, full muscle, low body fat and he would get 1 cup per day of kibble and fresh mince (50-100grams) and a marrow bone a couple of times a week. To judge how much to feed - when you look down on your dog it should have a visible waist between it's hips and ribs. No waist, or just a tiny tuck, means it's fat. Don't fall for the fat = muscle trap that a lot of chunky dog owners seem to do. This is a waist. He's a solid little dog, but at this weight you can easily feel ribs.

Is it any different to getting a dog from the pound though? There is always a risk with animals and all the tests in the world can't guarantee an issue free life. Maybe the OP could look at breed specific rescue if they want an older dog. But I would assume the same unpapered issue would apply.

If being purebred isn't that important, lack of papers isn't an issue. It's an adult dog, so if you see it and like it you know what you're getting looks and temperament wise. Unlike with a pup. They can change into something unexpected if they're an undisclosed cross. For $900 though - that seems expensive.

My horse was getting welts even though I was using permoxin liberally every day. So now I drown in permoxin and do a light spray with flygon. Flygon is the same as muscaban, muscaban is just hard to source at present. So, based on my outcome, I'd do a combination of the two on your ears. Permoxin kills on contact, flygon should keep most away.