Clyde

Bright red working dog kibble , table scraps, the odd roo meat/tail, and whatever they found in the compost. Although I should clarify this was about 30 yrs ago rather than 15.

As a temporary measure you could try Bunnings then put in an order with Oldfields. Maybe Oldfields might even be able to Express Post you some more hose.

Ever thought that you might turn up in the middle of cleaning? Some dogs get stressed at feed times too. Visitors often set all the dogs off at once at a time which is their rest time. I work in the pet industry and would turn you away if you just rocked up at my door for a squiz. It's polite to make an appointment to visit someones property.

Thanks for the heads up! My daughter hates loud noises so we'll take ear plugs

OMG who does that?

CavsRCute will probably know a Chiro in your area however one of the staff here: ...used to do dogs in conjunction with your vet.

Do many people show at the Robertson Show? http://www.robertsonshow.org.au

Pull back your sheets and invite her under for a cuddle. Hubby will eventually learn that in order for him to have a good nights sleep that he needs to crash on the sofa while you and Mia share the main bed. ;) Congrats on your new family member! And photos please : )

Lagotto's kind of look Oodley, (totally different temp though) but have her look them up and see if one would suit. I know it's a lottery with the cross breeds and shedding but I've not ever met a Goldie/Poodle mix who sheds. They can be enormous, especially when purchased from a certain vet who desex's them (thankfully) as puppies - thus getting even taller than one would expect. I don't think a lot of people realise how big a Standard Poodle can be either.

To be fair I've not ever come across a Goldie X Poodle that I didn't like, and I've groomed heaps. Years ago I managed to talk my brother out of a 'Labradoodle' but when they switched to Schnauzer I really had to put the hard yards in They ended up with a rescue Border Collie.

I lived in that area for years and didn't ever hear one bad thing about Woodcroft. Although I went there to sus it out for my dogs and no way would I use them. Helpful much? :D

What's the 'something else' Kirty? TBH Im surprised the vet said no to the thyroid test. Usually it's a process of elimination - being that he is showing some symptoms and it's something the breed is prone too, I would have thought a vet would rule it out medically rather than guess work. I am guessing this boy is costing you a fair bit of money?

I think a big difference is that most of the not so good groomers don't realise they aren't any good as they don't know any different. Half the time the clients don't know any different so they're happy with the work. Another groomer gave me her client list years ago when she moved. She was a terrible groomer (she told me herself), and the dogs did all look terrible. It was amazing that the owners had no idea, but if the groomer is happy and the owner is happy then no one is none the wiser.

I find it odd you say learning shouldn't be about the breeds??So as a teacher what do you actually teach them then?? She's said 'what not' as in the ins and outs, so she does mean people should learn about the breeds.

It makes me cry too. Single eye brows, skirts like Westies gone wrong, no blending, beards gone or beards that cover most of the face. My fave is seeing how some clip right down the nose

Wow, that's a good price! I paid around that for four days. I've often thought I'd like to teach. My body is packing it in, so it's an income doing something I would enjoy.

sorry, double post.

It's a tough one. No point telling people they have to get experience in a salon first as Ive seen some terrible work done in salons. So who exactly regulates it? Private grooming courses are very expensive. So can only more financial people become groomers? Hardly seems fair. Yet the TAFE course is shite. Around 15yrs ago I trained in a salon under 'old school' groomers and a qualified Japanese groomer. She studied for four years to be a groomer o/s I then started my own business and down the track did an advanced course with a grooming school to refine my skills with certain breed clips. It was absolutely frightening seeing other groomers there who had their businesses for years yet no clue how to clip or even handle a dog properly. So I would say I am not qualified. I am certainly not going to go and complete tests or enter comps to become formally qualified. I know I can groom properly and that's enough for me. However I think that if more proper groomers would be prepared to help out newbies then that would be a good head start. I've had girls come and watch to see if it's for them. One poor woman did a dodgy online course and rang so many groomers in her area to see if she could sit in and watch and none would let her. Her skills were so bad yet she was 'qualified'. She chucked it in in the end as she had no repeat business. A shame as she could have been good if correctly trained. I agree.

Get a Shih Tzu Terrific little dogs with loads of character. IMO they seem to have more personality than Malt's and a bit cheekier too. They're better looking too, of course :D

I love it when the HV dryer hits a hidden skin lesion and the skin debris sprays your face. Or a stressed ancient Maltese huffing and puffing in my face with their toxic death breath. I literally vomited one day from a dogs breath. Also quite partial to be pooed on and spewed on. All in a days work.

For sure. I know a groomer who can only charge $45 for a groom. She's an average groomer and surrounded by average groomers so has to be priced competitively in a low income area.

They are supposed to be very good. I haven't heard anything negative.

That's a very good price. I charge around 65-75 for Westies and don't give discounts for multiple dogs.

Thanks Burkes I'll have a look. Do you mean the marketplace (OT) or the for sale section on the main page? Main page section

Small breed, only 9 weeks old. I would give him more time and then I am sure he will broaden his horizons with the toys.