Horsefeathers!

Yeah, all eight of my dogs and often a couple of cats will usually try to accompany me in the bathroom. Not a pretty sight. :-?

Just one other thought. Was the new pup treated with any kind of topical flea control (Advantage, or anything similar)? Often, oral contact with that will make a dog drool and foam. It's not necessarily indicative of something being wrong. I believe the stuff is absolutely vile tasting and bitter to discourage them from licking it (I got some in my mouth once and it made ME foam and slobber and spit and that taste is nearly impossible to get rid of... YUCK!). Anyway, just one other thought.

Besides, the more, the hairier! :P

[quote name='courtnek'][quote]1 Standard Poodle (male~ Perry-NO) 1 Toy Poodle (female~ Peanut) 1 Black Lab (male~ Tucker Dedicated) 1 Pit Bull/Boxer mix (female~ Penny) 1 Mini Schnauzer (male~ Simon) 2 Lhasa Apso doggers (male and female~ Fred and Missy) 1 Chihuahua Mastiff... ok, no such thing, technically, but he's huge for a Chi (male~ Chico) [/quote] GEEZ Horsefeathers! you running a kennel there? :lol: :lol: :lol:[/quote] Nope, they're pretty much running me instead of the other way around. Oh well, if I'm lucky, I get a corner of the bed... the corner with NO covers. :-?

Oooooooohhhh, I LOVE Pet Silk products. The smell alone... sometimes I use it on MY hair. :oops:

See for yourself! 8) [url]http://www.neuticles.com/index1.html[/url]

I would love to see this presumptuous lady run into one of our local doctors at the dog park and ask HER that. See, all her dogs (Rotties) are neutered, BUT she has had them all implanted with "neuticles." You know... those falsies for boys (we call them clackers in our clinic :oops: )? I would love to see this lady's face when someone tells her they aren't real. Reckon she would believe it?

Oh, and I have to give a nod to my dilapidated ol' Yorkie (in my avatar), Goober, who passed away last September.

1 Standard Poodle (male~ Perry-NO) 1 Toy Poodle (female~ Peanut) 1 Black Lab (male~ Tucker Dedicated) 1 Pit Bull/Boxer mix (female~ Penny) 1 Mini Schnauzer (male~ Simon) 2 Lhasa Apso doggers (male and female~ Fred and Missy) 1 Chihuahua Mastiff... ok, no such thing, technically, but he's huge for a Chi :-? (male~ Chico)

I really should wear my glasses when I play on the computer. I swore the title of this thread said something to the effect of, "I'm tossing my boys..." I was gonna sneak a peak at someone tossing a Newfie. Am I bad or what? :o

I'm so thrilled that ol' Jeffie (Jon Frey) is getting air time here. He's actually who I "use" to help me out with some nutrition issues. He's the one who made me aware of the pentobarb in commercial food. The one thing I like about Jon is that he doesn't come off as the end-all, be-all authority on nutrition. He's willing to list references to independent studies, or say he doesn't know, but will check it out, instead of just spouting off info as if it's gospel. If anyone ever tells him I was talking about his more endearing side, I'll deny it to the bitter end. As far as he knows, I just think he's a gazillion year old short man with a funny hat who loves to hear about everyone else's weather. I wouldn't dream of shattering that illusion, though he ruined my reality by telling me that Krispy Kreme doughnuts are not a good snack for dogs (should have been obvious, but was hoping for some miraculous hidden benefit or something, or at least to hear that they aren't THAT bad... :oops: ). :cry: :-? Seriously, if anyone is interested in joining a forum or two where Jon actively participates, let me know. I don't mind passing it along, but I don't want to seem like I'm openly "advertising" another forum if it ain't cool, ya know (ok, other than my siggy thing... wasn't sure)? :-?

Tuna and garlic.... mmmmmmm, just like Mom used to make (yuck!) :-? My dogs are easy to please. For cool summer time snacks, they all enjoy just plain ol' ice. :D

Just for comparison, these are my Lhasa Apsos. The first one is my female in full coat. The second is my male in a short trim. Still, the expressions are pretty similar (and these are poorly bred, NOT show quality dogs, but you can still see the "expression). Weird thing is I recently shaved the female naked and now the male is FINALLY in coat. They are now opposite their photos. :-? [img]http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0XQDnAqUedd0EC!izW5p9mWZ8v*F8I!pJ6IUaOE*GiipVu7RhniHyI2D7v5LjJpZQqh4XYV37uxUE*4CGUwJDyr*lYCswVwpLemESm2dBCAwojQicq0EL!QmhpVhC8K7XbZGaz6tLcfA/Missyagain.jpg?dc=4675379075352103430[/img] [img]http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0WACvBOMbFOsaSYG51qsxpJYIiEKsMT9TfzZEtbLsPHvsl136frmuLk3sewvVebUwpko6MUxJ*kej4mPl8KOxjgRcUM4vV8IbCsd1UYqAP1wT45abAzPnGBMOEnW5WJaTMgAAAP****8/Fred1.JPG?dc=4675382215984683875[/img]

How to say this without sounding insulting... It doesn't look like a "proper" Shih Tzu, but I do not see that Lhasa "expression" there, either. I'm guessing Shih. Cute dog... cute as can be, but I just don't see Lhasa there. They have such a distinct expression. Lhasas were tops on my list of favorite breeds and I was studying and considering showing them for a while until I fell in love with Standard Poodles. I have two Lhasa Apsos and still do adore the breed, though. Shihs do typically tend to be more outgoing and affectionate where Lhasas are usually more reserved and wary. They don't warm up to strangers very quickly. They were actually bred for inside palace guard dogs, so they aren't really just lap dogs (again, generally speaking... I always have someone tell me, "yeah? well, my Lhasa is the sweetest, cuddliest, smoochiest thing ever...." ok, it can happen). I guess what I like about Lhasas is that they ARE more independent rather than "clingy," if that makes sense. Shihs are one of the sweetest tempered breeds I've ever known. Enjoy. :) K, [u]your[/u] Lhasa Apso is lovely. *snicker* :P

Can I interject something here? Paragraphs, please, for those of us oldsters who simply can't wade through a long post with words all jumbled together, no matter how well written. I couldn't make heads or tails of it. I'm sure it was insightful and articulate. Too bad I couldn't read it. Cut an old lady a break (ok, I'm not THAT old, but my eyesight sucks)...? :-?

I don't know, but I think that Freddie Krueger could definitely whoop Jason's butt in a scare-a-thon. I mean, I never did get the whole thing about Jason stumbling through the woods at a breakneck racing snail's pace, yet kids who were running for their very lives were ALWAYS caught and slaughtered by him. Besides, what's so scary about a freaking hockey mask? Freddie, on the other hand... well, he ROCKS. I mean, THAT'S power... and a sense of humor, too! Yesiree, I think Freddie could easily take down Jason and prolly that Michael Myers character, too (never did get what was so scary about him, either). Any other thoughts? Superman vs. Spiderman? Hulk vs. Six Million Dollar Man? :lol: 8)

[quote name='Holz_Boomer'] GEE, DADDY, U CAN NEVVERR HAVE ENOUGH DOGS!!!!! :o[/quote] No, trust me on this... you can. Want one or two or four or six of mine?:-?

:baddevil: :iloveyou: :kciuki: [img]http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0YAByAB4fcRnYN69EM6rv8tm4Zm17KxO7JccYFHL9ld!xWiHqo9AJ0PM5qKlDAYDxag3Y9nQXkHl1p53GSCKM!QbH3oA62y3bupOQEhtkgOGBTraQbK92iIVXqxx9x851YVGdqKWyOfqClvx3GAdjAQ/poodle-luv.jpg?dc=4675422080020019894[/img][img]http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0aAAAALohviHCFjJq59iEAUSxAUeVNhJsyIkiQAy9yOU5Ar6namnJv3A7Fhy82YL55zkLT5lQcg6jhnjGHj8BigEMAoRQ3DRJP43jkkZMToqkvhy!QFC2MXrZQOSs4YANWtbNSJvi5g96e2Z0IDo8kEhwww!XfLYa/standard-in-snow.jpg?dc=4675422080044803446[/img]

From a financial standpoint, spaying her NOW would be much cheaper than a difficult pregnancy and delivery which could quite possibly lead to an emergency spay, anyway. The end result will be the same except for the pain and possible death of the mother and pups, but a spay NOW would be a whooooooole lot cheaper. I would suggest exploring your resources to see if there is anything in your budget that you could do without for now, or if there is anyone or business that you could possibly borrow the money from. If you have a particular skill or trade that you can barter, some vets will barter off services (we bartered some painting and fencing for a major surgery for one of our dogs... was much easier than seeing the money come out of pocket). Basically, you will either have to pay a little now, or possibly a LOT later. My suggestion is to have the dog spayed ASAP and not have a coin toss as to whether or not the dog may or may not have a difficult time. Spaying early in a pregnancy is not usually any more difficult or much more costly than a routine spay. Again, the longer you wait, the more expensive it will get.

Just a FYI, for what it's worth (or not). My Pit bitch, hand raised from 4-5 weeks old, socialized, raised with a houseful of other dogs and spayed, was over 2 years old when she "turned."

I have heard that competition amongst Poodle people is tough. I was just wondering what kind of brick wall I am up against. I have been studying and practicing my grooming. I have no doubt that I will be able to show groom my own dog. It's part of my goals. Actually, in upcoming March, I will begin competition grooming, in an effort to polish my Poodle grooming. I've been working on this for quite a while. I may (or may not) do well in grooming competitions, but they aren't nearly as political (at least, not in the entry level divisions) as what I've heard conformation showing to be. I just wonder if I'm walking into a brick wall. Then again, ignorance may be bliss in this sense. Maybe if I go into this thinking that I can do it and it will work, it will. Again, I don't want a dog to be perfect solely in conformation... I want the perfect overall Standard Poodle, in conformation, temperament, health and ability. Thanks so much for the input.

Interesting... all eight of my dogs have been on Wellness for a while (a year maybe?) and even the fosters get Wellness and one of the things I LIKE about it is the firm, compact stools (well, as much as a person can like poop :oops: ). In the very beginning, with Wellness, one of my dogs got really super stinky, eye watering, dry heaving, make you gag gas for a while (a few months), but it eventually stopped and all are fine now. I also supplement with a cooked diet. I was contemplating switching to the Chicken Soup food, not because I think it's better, but because my local Wellness supplier seems to have such a difficult time getting Wellness, but they have shelf after shelf of the CS. I'm still not sure, though... I hate to switch. I did the BARF thing once on one of my allergy dogs and she got seriously ill.

The more I'm learning, the more overwhelmed I'm feeling. The idea of finishing a dog young and then taking off in working and agility sounds great, but it opens up another can of worms. I have NO show experience and can't find any handling classes anywhere near me (still looking, though... I'm sure SOMETHING is out there and I still have all the time in the world). I am looking right now for upcoming shows in my region, so perhaps I can bug some people there (ya, I know... beware trying to catch them on their way into the ring). What I'm wondering now is this... how likely is it that a nobody handler (me) will be able to finish a dog and so young? I mean, I hear so much about conformation sometimes being about WHO is on the other end of the leash that I wonder if I stand a snowball's chance in h*ll of actually getting anywhere with a dog... a nobody like me. I really want to do this, myself, rather than hire a handler. It's kind of the point of the whole thing. Thoughts? Dream on?

RR, that is my goal... to try to find as a mentor someone who DOES breed for conformation AND function. I'm just trying to avoid placing so much emphasis solely on conformation. While I know that the purpose of conformation is to determine that a dog is built "correctly," even still, a correctly built dog that may do beautifully in the ring may not be able, in regard to temperament and ability, do what it is he was originally "built" for. Conformation matches can ONLY determine that the dog is physically "right." I hope I'm making sense. I'm still only in the early research stages of all this. I really do want to find people who breed for correct conformation AND ability. It just seemed like an either/or situation... a profusely coated, beautifully built show dog, or a beautifully built WORKING dog.:) Carol... that is almost too brilliant to work. Could it really be that simple?? Gosh, I would have never even thought of that. So now I wonder still, when looking to purchase a puppy, what traits I should place the most emphasis on. So much to learn!!

That's true, RR, there IS a reason for that particular trim. It was to keep the vital organs and joints protected and get rid of all "unnecessary" hair that would weigh a dog down in the water. However, for working purposes, the coat was never THAT profuse. It has evolved to be way too extreme for working purposes. I have some pictures in a book around here that show the history of show Poodles from the turn of the last century until now. The "style" is basically the same, but the earlier Poodles weren't nearly so heavily coated. Thanks for the links, Kiger!