Aroura

A bulldog did come to mind for me also for a brief moment, until I came across the 'low maintenence', training, low cost etc... they are good apartment dogs though! Other things that crossed my mind were bull terriers, cocker spaniels and of course, Papillons! If you can get over their size they match everything you just asked for! :D

Yay for you both!!!! Agility is sooo much fun!!! I've just started Lily on it the other month, she's learning so quickly!!! I remember the anxious wait until she was old enough, now that she finally is I have to go through the same wait with Montie!!! :lol:

Sasha and Sassy are gorgeous :wink: Here's Montie - only one more week until I can get him!!! :angel: [img]http://home.austarnet.com.au/creamy_pumkin/Dogs/other_dogs/Joytoy%20Frankincense.JPG[/img] Of course there'll be plenty more Montie photos up when I actually get him!!! :D

Thats ok Lucky, glad to be of help. I was quite suprised when I first heard of the technique, after the old belief of maintaining the 'pack order' by doing things with the 'dominant dog' first, but new studies have proved that thats not how it works with domestic dogs, thats when this idea came in and I'm so glad too because otherwise Lily would never have gotton over her aggression problems!!! :D With the food sharing thing, the dogs are normally on lead so that they are all under control, but the main thing to make sure of is that you are treating Chaos ONLY when she is NOT eying the other dogs (I'm sure you know what I mean by 'eyeing', its different to just looking at them...). Anyway, good luck and I hope it all works out for you! :angel:

Thanks every one for all the excellent information!!! :angel: Well he's not exactly puppy puppy, I still don't know how old he is (breeder doesn't go on the net every day) though he's still young (less than 6 months) so I'm assuming he's already potty trained. I bought him the big one - I can block half of it off if i have to but figured its better to buy the big one for $90 than to order in a small one for $120 (different shops, last one in town etc). It's pretty big!!! I decided on this mainly because he will be eating his bones in there every day so would prefer him to have an eating area big enough to move, as well as an area to play when he was crated during the day. I also bought him a heap of toys and a bed etc :D He wont often be in it, he's going to be sleeping in my bed and just running around the house during the day. There's nearly always some one at home so most of the time he can just be curled up on a lap!!! If he can only be left in it a few hours at a time I'll have to leave him with mum while I'm at uni and dads away, but thats ok, I havn't told mum about him yet but she's going to love him as soon as she sees him!!! She'll be more than happy to have him at hers during the day :wink: Debbie, Montie is a Papillon, a very cute one at that :wink: The reason the breeder wants him crated when he's with the other dogs unsupervised is because Papillons have very fragile bones and it isn't unheard of for them to get injured while playing with a well meaning bigger dog. I know with Lily for example, she has this style of playing where she trys to squash the other dog with her chest (its actually quite funny to see!), with Donna thats fine, but with a little Papillon it could be quite disasterous. We've got a little travel cab that we use for the cats, but i think that would be too small for a papillon to be comfortably in for longer than a few minutes (I hate confining animals! Even the rats always had their cage lid open!). Another thing I'm beggining to wonder about is how I'm going to introduce him to the others. Puddles I've decided can meet him at dog training, Puddles will stay at Claires the night we get back and we can go to dog training the next morning and they can meet in neutral, happy grounds. The rest of the dogs... well I don't know, should I let them in while he is in the crate (provided he isn't scared) so they can investigate him one at a time while he is secure from them? I'm so worried they might think he is a rabbit or something! I'll want to just say "hey look guys, I've brought you a new friend!" but don't want to risk it if it doesn't work out so well!!! I'm all paranoid now, I know they wont hurt him but I just want to wrap him in cotton wool his whole life!!! :lol: Hope you can come up with some introduction ideas, Tessa should be fine so long as she doesn't think he's food, Donna should be ok but can get excited, Puddles will be ok if they meet on neutral grounds and Lily... well I don't know about Lily, she wont attack him or anything, but I just don't know how she'll react to such a small dog. Maybe I could get her in a down/stay position while someone lets him in and he can investigate her while she's calm? She's very good with her stays and thats usually how I get her used to other dogs, but they have all been bigger dogs :-?

Oh thats the most terrible thing I've heard in ages!!! Thats so sad, I'm crying now (at uni, and everyone is giving me weird looks, but i don't care)... Your poor sweetheart. How can people do that? What gives them the right to take some ones beloved pet and torture it? She may never be the same again once you get her back (if you get her back). My heart has broken, thats just awful!!! :cry: Good luck, my thoughts and prayers are with you, I really hope you get her back before anything terrible happens to her :cry:

My main problem with Labradoodles is that although there are some breeding programmes out there where people are breeding dogs to a set standard (temprement, hypo allergenic) and have had an ongoing breeding programme for years, most Labradoodles are simply a Labrador and a Poodle chucked together, simply with the assumption that all the BEST qualitys will come through in the pup. IT JUST MAKES ME SO ANGRY!!! :evil: :evil: :evil: The first labradoodle i saw was a rescue dog, it was fat, brown and had a curly coat - probably what labradoodles are supposed to be, but still at the pound all the same. Since then I have seen a variety of labradoodles, from dogs with labrador hair, that shed every where, hyper active, tall... all sorts of mixes, so how can you breed these dogs and pretend that you know what they will turn out like? Although Labradoodles are the ONLY designer breed that I see a valid future in, I believe that 99% of their breeders have no clue what they are doing, nor do they really care :evil:

Ah... this sounds all too familiar to me!!! :wink: Chaos is what they call "status seeking", pretty much means that they want things and nobody else is allowed to share!!! Lilys the same, she protects me, food, balls... anything that makes her "special" :wink: What you have to do with dogs like these is show them that they are not the ants pants and that every other dog has just as many rights as them. That could mean you playing with the other dogs, cuddling up to them etc while someone else who Chaos doesn't find so important distracts her with food, as long as she is not eying the other dog. Another thing is to let the dogs in the house randomly, teach them to sit at the door until you let each one in by name, it always has to be random so that none of the dogs get the idea that they are being treated as 'special'. I have been doing this sort of thing with Lily for a while now, feeding the other dogs first, letting them inside first and generally letting Lily know that she hasn't got the right to stomp all over the others. I also rouse on her pretty severly (no hitting, just yelling and standing her down so she knows that I'M the boss) and put her on the chain while I tend to the under dog, while she looks on. As soon as she is settle and has excepted that she was in the wrong and that I'm allowed to pat the other dog, I let her off and give her a big hug and a treat. This has worked wonders for us!!!! No more fights and I can even roll around on the floor with Tessa AND Lily now and its all tail wags and doggie grins!!! You have to work up to this gradually though, slowly introducing things that demote the dogs feelings that they are special until you can do things with the underdog with no conciquences, but I can assure you once you are there you will be alot happier for it, and so will your dogs :D

Just a few questions about crating before I bring Montie home :angel: Firstly, should I buy the biggest crate possible? He's only a tiny dog, but how big does their crate really have to be? Either way, I think I'm going to have to order one in, or buy one in sydney, because they only had one in the whole of town the other day, and I wouldn't be suprised if that ones gone! It was large by the way, golden retriever size. Are they generally easy to put up/take down? I'm going to be travelling with him for a few days, so it will need to be easy to assemble. When I get him home, why do I put him in it? I know that it seems like a crazy question but I've never had to crate a dog before!!! Like, how long will he be able to stay in it for? Dad will be away for the first two weeks and I will have uni 4 days a week, longest day from 9 - 5, plus if i can't find a lift I will have to walk (takes over an hour), should I leave him with mum? On other days when we are out, how long is it fair to leave him in there? Our dogs usually stay outside, but he's so tiney I can't do that, plus the contract... well the contract itself doesn't say that I can't leave him with the other dogs, but the breeder is selling him to me on condition that I don't leave him with the others unsupervised as they may squash him, and I couldn't have that!!! Is there anything else I should know about the crate? I don't know anyone personally who has ever used one so I'm a little in the dark here. I just had a thought, if I get the big one, if one of the big dogs needs to be separated from the others for any reason, could I put one of them in it? Or would Montie get upset that some one is invading his home? Ha, I can't wait to get him!!! :angel:

Boxers are hard to put the weight on when they are growing, they are always so skinny!!! I found that the only way to stop Lily looking anerexic at that stage of life was to give her a meat meal every day, lots of meaty bones. Of course, I advocate 100% raw now but i realise it isn't convenient for every one. Another thing I do for younger dogs (our Lab is on it at the moment, along with her meat meal) is instead of buying puppy food we buy them active food, has more calories that growing dogs need.

I KNOW HOW YOU FEEL!!!! I have to wait nearly TWO WEEKS before I can get Montie and its sending me crazy!!! I've just finnished a 1500 word essay on bananas (a day late mind you, now thanks to dogo!!!) and all I can think about it bringing Montie home!!! I have 3 more 1500 word essay I have to do before I get him too!!! Then I have to... go to gosford with dad (6 hours), catch a train from there to Sydney the next morning (another hour), get a lift from Sydney to Wollongong (a few more hours), stay with my friend in Wollongong until I can meet up with the breeder (or if she can't make it up, travell another 75 minutes to Penrose!)... then at the end of all that I have to go back to Sydney, stay there for a few nights, get a lift back to Gosford and stay there for another few nights, get dad to give me a lift to newcastle where I'm meeting my friend who is going to drive me all the way back to Armidale and then finally I can be home with my new baby!!!! What an effort!!! Good thing he's so cute!!! And I'm spending so much time just thinking of all the ways under the sun that I can spoil him!!! Plus travelling on a BARF diet etc... so much to think about!!!! Well, the crazy thing is that I've thought over it all about 1000 times, but am still thinking about it non stop!!! Oh gosh, I just realised I have a psych lab/test tomorrow and a biology lab/test the day after :o Better run, just keep in mind you are not the only crazy one on this planet!!!

Thanks angel!!! :lol: :D

Thank you HorseFeathers!!!! Good to hear you like the name :wink: [img]http://forums.dogzonline.com.au/uploads/post-6-1063579793.gif[/img]

Ok, I want to start one of those accumulating lists like the country list in ndr, but with breeds of dog!!! If you have a mutt, choose the breed it most resembles and put that down (we could just have a Mutt one, but then it would take up too many of our dogs!!!). I'll start: Boxer: 1 Kelpie: 1 Labradore: 1 Mini Poodle: 1 Papillon: 1 (soon!!!) :angel: Lets see what we've got!!! :D

[quote]If Luv Me Do Kennels is still reading this post, which I doubt, I would like to point out the following: (1) It is against forum rules to name call. Please refrain from doing so in the future. (2) Dimwit is spelled with one t, 'mutt' is spelled with two t's, and the word is 'lose' not 'loose.' I find it highly ironic that you suggest we read. Perhaps you should read some yourself, or at least get spellcheck, before you call names. (3) Review the forum rules before posting again. And be polite. We don't tolerate excessive rudeness here. (4) Have fun. [/quote] Haha, great post Mei Mei!!! :D So straight to the point, you tell 'em girl :wink:

Woohoo!!! I'm so happy for you!!! And Riley is absolutly gorgeous!!! You need to update us at least 5 times a day and get lots of piccies for us to see!!! :angel:

I'm in love :D He looks so innocent!!! I'm counting down the days, it is 11 days now until I go to Wollongong!!! I'll be staying there for 4 days, so the breeder is seeing if she can meet me there (she lives 75 minutes from Wollongong, but has a sister in Wollongong she's been needing an excuse to see) so I can get him between 11 and 14 days!!! Aonir, yes he is a Pap!!! Soon he will be MY Pap!!! (you have no idea how good it feels to say that!) :angel: I will definatly take my camera with me, the breeder will be brining all her other Paps along so I can meet the parents and all the other puppys she has can get some socialisation! So hopefully I will have lots of little Pappy pics to get developed and post all over the forum! :D

Thanks guys :D Yes, those widdle paws tucked underneath... I can't wait to feel his soft, snuggly fur!

Well said StarFox!!! I'm going down in less than two weeks to buy a pure bred dog for $400, he is not show quality, but he has good lines, has been health tested and is on a desexing contract. People who really care about breeding do it for the betterment of the breed, you can't do that when you are randomly breeding dogs to produce "new" breeds, as there is no breed to make better! I'm buying a pure bred Papillon because I want a pure bred Papillon - always have. If I just wanted a companion and didn't care much for a particular temprement or look, I would have gone to the pound and would save myself a few 100 dollars and had the satisfaction of saving a life. Just because purebreds all started out as mutts doesn't mean that thats what they still are, they have been selectivly breed for 100s of years, designer breeds have not and are no different in predictability than those dogs in the pound who's heratige is not known. Have some compassion Luv me do, stop breeding these mutts so that these poor dogs at the pound have a greater chance at life.

Luv me do, I suggest you take some of your own advice and then come back here and say what you need to say, because I'm sure once you do you will have an entirely different oppinion on things.

I still like the border collie, play half an hour of fetch each day, a long walk and lots of obedience and it will be fine :wink:

Yes I will!!! The next thing I'm going to buy after Frankie is a Digital Camera!!! The prices are already going down heaps to what they were six months ago, so I'm not going to rush it too much because there are always great specials going on the digis! I'm going to have to stop referring to him as Frankie now I can have him though, because I'll be changing his name to Montie, does every one like that? I think its a cute name :wink: Awww, hasn't he got just the cutest little nose? He's gonna be my little snuggle bunny :D :angel:

I'm getting my dream dog!!!! From a great breeder, and for only $400!!!!!!! I JUST GOT THE EMAIL FROM HER SAYING I CAN HAVE HIM!!!!! :cry: with happyness :wink: :angel: :angel: :angel: OH THANK YOU GOD!!!! For anyone who missed my last post, here is a pic of Frankie!!! [img]http://home.austarnet.com.au/creamy_pumkin/Dogs/other_dogs/Joytoy%20Frankincense.JPG[/img] Isn't he just the cutest!!!!! :angel:

[quote name='Lucky Chaos'][quote]Lily has taken to SITTING on all the dogs at training [/quote] :lol: Thats just too funny! :lol: [/quote] Yeah, you should see it!!! Its one thing when she's plonking her arse on the little cocker spaniel, but when she wriggles up and trys to menouver her but over the other boxer, the border collie or the pit bull its quite amusing to see!!! Of course they all wriggle out and play with her, but the cocker just sits there and takes it!!! :lol: Go with what your heart says, the two week trial period sounds great, but just keep in mind that if it doesn't work out with the Pit, the Border Collie might be gone when you get back :wink:

Its easy to over look things when you want something so much!!! I don't know how over dominating Pits are in general, its probably an individual thing. Some dogs just like to push their dominance on every thing, Lily has taken to SITTING on all the dogs at training (I guess its better than what she used to do - attacking them!). LOL, she knows she's not allowed to be angry anymore now so she's found another way to express her dominance! :lol: You get varying degrees of dominance and different dogs express it in different ways. Like I said, you'd need to see the dog in YOUR home environment before you can assess how it will fit in with your gang :wink: