Bubblezzz

I have the same "Why does my dog..." book !!! :D But my ultimate favourite is still Suzanne Clothier's "Bones would rain from the sky". :) I have learnt so much from dogo and other forums! I also get info from books and websites. From yakking with people, I've also gleaned bits of cool stuff. :)

Wow! That's incredible luck!!! :) :) :D Congrats!!! Let's see em' earrings soon!! :D

:oops: :oops: (blush) I DID make an emergency call for this very same reason once. Turns out I had overfed him. :oops: My vet got me to give him a teaspoonful of Mylanta (the stuff WE take for gastric and indigestion), which he licked up just like that. Thank God I had it at home!! It seemed to help him really quickly. Just wanted to share the Mylanta info. :) (Mylanta by Consumer Pharmaceuticals Co. Imported by Johnson & Johnson where I am)

[quote] then he wants to drink water from a GLASS NOT a bowl, he wants to eat from a plate NOT a bowl, he wants to eat while sitting at the table, NOT the floor, if somebody puts a garden chair outside (you know... the pillow on the chair), Ben automaticly thinks it's his territory. He just sits down on the chair with his head up high and stears at people who can't stop laughing.[/quote] WOW! His Royal Highness is SOOO adorable!!!! :D :D

Floppy always kicks so hard and furious, bits of dirt and grass end up all over her!! :o (And us if we're slow to get away)

These are gorgeous! I really like Kiger's Shiba Inu - doesn't it look so like Kato??!! :angel:

spiritsmom, you're awesome! :angel: Her new family sounds wonderful! And if they're only an hour away, maybe you can set up dates or visit?

I'm a little late... but [b] [color=red] [size=Large] HAPPY BIRTHDAY INDY!!! [/b] [/color] [/size] :bday: :bday: :bday: :bday: :bday: :bday: :bday: :bday: :bday:

Thanks Nancy B! :) Yay Marble!! :D I know exactly how you feel!! :) Cosmic is understanding stuff a lot faster with the clicker - like Nancy B said, it's such an amazing tool! Almost like a communication/translator device! Good luck with your training Dresden too! :)

Thanks Nancy B!!! :angel: It's been slightly more than a week since I started clicker training and we have results!!! :D :D :D When Cosmic sees me take out the clicker (cheap party noisemaker type) he hurries up to me and sits in anticipation. :angel: I've taught him how to STAND (up on hind legs) and we're practicing LICK (lick lips), TOUCH (touch nose to my hand), TWIRL (stand on hind legs and circle) and HOP (little hops on hind legs). :D :D :D I haven't added any command words for these actions yet as they're not near 100% proofed. But I know he has fun - his wags gives him away. :) Or it could be the ultra yummy sausage & liver bits he knows I have...lol! :roll: Right now when we practice, I show him a motion cue and he'd either get it straight away or offer actions till I C&T. Our sessions last anywhere between 2-8mins each time and it's amazing how he already understands the clicker despite the short duration!!! :D I read that optimally training sessions should last about 10 mins, but I shortened that as he's still a puppy (6mths). It's SO hard to stop when the going is good though!! :D Cosmic will also follow my hand, walking or running, as an extension of TOUCH! :) Heehee... just had to brag a little... :roll: :oops: :wink:

Hi Dane Girl, The intention to 'dump' Cosmic has NEVER crossed my mind. Despite being a first-time dog owner, I understand the responsibilities of a dog. I know they are for life. I love my baby. He is MINE as I am his in EVERY way - I would NEVER give him up. Cosmic is paper-trained because we live in a flat. He hardly has accidents with potty anymore. When my mum wakes me up at ridiculous times, it's not to clean up his accidents, but to clear his messed paper in a corner. (She CANNOT wait a minute, because she thinks his poop is disgusting). Maybe if you read the rest of the posts you would understand better. Everybody, thank you for all the kind words... I'm sorry for all this whining... :oops: and I really appreciate all the suggestions. My brother & I are asking around to see if anybody we know who live in the area would be willing to walk Cosmic for a small fee. We don't think Cosmic would be jealous if he had a new playmate because we've had dogs over quite a number of times. In fact, during those visits, he'd pretty much ignore us... :roll: If we do decide to take on another dog, it'll be an older one, from a rehoming organisation. Bomber Harris, I can't believe I forgot about a scented article of mine! I'll give him my oldest jammy for a blanket - hopefully it helps. :) Thanks.

Thanks for all your replies everyone. Hiring a teen sounds like it might work, except kids here usually spend most of the morning/afternoon at school! :P I'm also a little worried about how trustworthy they might be with my dog and the keys to my house! (no offence to any teen here! :) ) But I'll discuss it with bf - hopefully my brother might have some younger friends who'd be wiling to help us out for a smaller sum. BTW, what are the dog-walking rates at your countries? Over here, it's $25-$30 per hour!! :( Cosmic also tends to make quite a mess when left alone - tearing up the papers etc. We left him alone for about 3 hours today to see what he'd do. We crated him in a pretty large area and left him some toys & 2 treat filled kongs. We also left the TV on. (Is that a good idea?) He made less of a mess than we thougt he would - but then our imaginations were running pretty wild! :P He'd torn up his papers & upset his water bowl... and he was so happy (??) to see us, he peed. :roll: Courtnek, I won't really be surprised if my mum did feel that way... :-? This is callous, but there's nothing I can bring myself to do to help the situation. I've really had it with her. Well, we'll take it one day at a time for now. :) We're still debating the friend for Cosmic decision... :-? It WOULD be really nice to have another dog... :wink:

Thanks Rowie and Mouse. Unfortunately you're wrong Mouse. She does ignore Cosmic, consistently, everyday. :( I don't understand how that can be, but there you have it. The only comments she makes are the snide kind - like how I must have 'owed' the dog something in my past life etc. etc. Everytime I try talking to her, I give up. I'm sorry to say this about my own mum, but it's like the part of her brain that REASONS short-circuited. And she is never in a good mood. :( Now we hardly even talk. My brother is incredibly rude to her at times, but she lets him get away with that and a lot more. Somehow, when it comes to me, things are a lot different. She has told all our relatives that she's been kicked out of her home because of the dog. All because she herself refuses to stay home alone with Cosmic. (In case he messes). She doesn't HATE him - I know that because she tries to feed him. (junk, but still it's the action that counts rite?) She's not AFRAID of him. I guess she just doesn't LIKE him. She'll say things like (when he's pooping) "Tell your dog to stop shitting!" or "Why can't he stop peeing?". My mum is NOT mentally challenged in any way, which makes it even worse. [/i][/list]

Thanks for replying Rowie. :( I don't want to leave Cosmic with Floppy because I would miss him too much. Right now we see Floppy every Tuesday when we go for dinner and every weekend, when we bring both the dogs out. Floppy is walked everyday (his family are dog lovers) but she doesn't get 'babied' like Cosmic. :( (Unless it's by us) I miss him when I'm at work Rowie. I miss him when I'm out with my friends. I FEEL like a mother. :o I know it's crazy, but he's my BABY. We discussed getting a pet-sitter, but I found out today that they cost way more than we can afford. It also won't be a long-term solution. Another dog would be wonderful - I don't mind the cleaning, grooming or feeding at all. I already cook for both Floppy and Cosmic and frequently for my friends' dogs when we have doggie outings on weekends. One more to cook for won't matter. But my mum might possibly drive me insane. :(

Ok, Cosmic is now 6 months old!!! :bday: :D :D BUT, we have a problem... :( My brother will be entering the army for National Service soon and that means that Cosmic will now be left alone for the most part of the day. :( :( :cry: My brother won't be able to come home for the next 3 months, and after that, depending on which unit he's posted to & his duties, he might be home daily or just for weekends. When we first decided to get Cosmic, this wasn't such a big problem, because my mum gets off on time pretty reliably everyday. She is usually the first home. We NEVER expected her to clean up after Cosmic, but it was a FAMILY AGREEMENT that Cosmic would be OUR responsibility. We agreed that she would come home and at least be with him and give him dinner, even if the cleaning had to be left to us. Now, that time has come that I need to depend on her but she is making my life a living hell. :( She DENIES that she agreed to have Cosmic - a flat out lie! and refuses to have anything to do with him. My mother is the MOST ILLOGICAL human being I know. :( (saying "Yes" ISN'T agreeing??!!) But now that my brother won't be around, I NEED my mum to hold up her end of our agreement. She usually gets home hours before us, but ever since Cosmic, she would make sure that someone was home (and the house cleaned) before she comes back. When my baby poops, she acts like a nuclear bomb exploded - she would wake me up at 5AM just to clean up his pee or poop!!! We agreed (before all this) that we would ALL be responsible for Cosmic, but look at us now. :( I hardly speak to my mum, except to argue. Just last night, she asked what we're going to do with THE DOG since my brother won't be home often. She expects us to get rid of him or GIVE HIM AWAY or some idiotic thing like that!!! :evil: :cry: :evil: I would NEVER EVER OVER MY DEAD BODY GIVE UP MY BABY!!!!!! I HATE her for being so unreasonable. Now, she flat out refuses to be the first home. By the time we make it back, Cosmic will have been all alone for 9 hours. :cry: He's extremely playful and extremely affectionate. He follows us around, banging our knees with his toys, trying to entice us into a game. What's he going to do all by himself waiting???? I feel SOOOO guilty and angry and helpless. We are thinking of getting an older dog or a cat, just so that they can keep each other company. I know that our primary reason for getting him a friend is selfish. But I know that we can grow to love another animal too. At this point, I'm like, just screw whatever she says. :evil: Since we're already doing everything, we'd be happy to have another pet. And damn whatever she says. We have treat-filled kongs, buster cubes and toys, but if there are 2 of them, at least they'd have each other during the hours we're not at home. I don't know what else I can do. :cry: :cry: :( :oops: What else CAN I do???

Angelboddy, you're not weird. :) Nostalgia is a beautiful name. Did u name her in honor of your first black lab?

[quote] That's tanamount to showing you the finger!!! What a B**CH!!!!! [/quote] sorry Kayzhond, i didn't mean to make it sound worse... :oops: :oops: i just feel so angry about what they've done... :oops:

:o :o OMG!! That's totally despicable!!! :evil: It's unbelivable how they have the cheek to post that after ripping off your photo like that!! :evil: :evil: Removing all the other pictures but yours???!! That's tanamount to showing you the finger!!! :evil: :evil: :evil: What a B**CH!!!!! :evil:

abker, sorry I can't offer any advice, but hang in there!! pei obsessed, just HAVE to say, that is an absolutely ADORABLE picture of you and Hippo!!! :sleep: :sleep2: :sheep:

Hi! My well-wishes are a little late too, but I'm glad that Rowie now has Frontline! It works wonders for us. :) :BIG: The first vet you got seems like a real idiot. :evil: I'm glad you found someone better! Whoever ever heard of medicine without labels??!!! :huh: Keeping our fingers and paws crossed for Rowie and you... Go Rowie!!! Go Frontline!!! :Dog_run:

[quote]Just remember that every pup that does not work out was not truly meant to be yours and you and your pup will meet. [/quote] I agree!! :D Hang in there and I'm sure you will meet THE dog for you and Freebee. Good luck!! :)

Hi nea, I'm really sorry that Bir isn't working out. :( It probably wasn't easy for you to reach a decision like this. I hope you and your mom find a family who are experienced enough to solve Bir's problem. I can only imagine how disappointing this must be, especially if your mum won't consider another dog. :( Hang in there. All the best to you and Bir! And Rowie is right. Please stay and chat - I've pick up lots of tips and learnt so much just by logging onto dogomania. :)

She is gorgeous! heehee... I even like her fuzzy-wuzzy look BEFORE the gooming... :lol:

:o :lol: whoo-hoo... I guess we moved to a toughie BEFORE really learning about HOW dogs learn... :P We got lucky with several other commands, teaching him stuff like SIT, DOWN, PAW (he places his paw wherever we indicate), STAY, HIGH-FIVE etc. :) I will lay off NOSE for a while, until he understands the clicker fully! Oh, Nancy, for the commands he already knows, is it good to command, click and treat? I haven't been clicking (command, treat) since he already responds to the command cue. But I was wondering if it might be good to use the clicker with commands he already knows to reinforce what the click means? We started last night with me just clicking and treating. I think he couldn't believe his luck!! :P He is learning to associate the click with a treat, looking up at me when he heard it even when bf was playing with him! :) But when I tried clicking this morning, it didn't really work. :-? Guess it would take us a few days. We'll keep at it (he's definitely having fun) and hopefully can report a new learned trick soon!! :D

Many thanks Nancy B! The links were really useful, esp. clickerlessons. :) I've printed out the beginning lessons and will start associating "click = treat" once I get home today. :) I'm so excited about this, hopefully Cosmic will catch on and then we'll have so much fun!! :D :D I've been trying to teach him 'nose' (touch your nose) for AGES :o just by using the word, showing him (moving his paw to touch his nose) and treating... but he doesn't get it on his own. :o He'd look at me quizzically and offer a sit or a down or anything else that might get him a treat!! :lol: :roll: Once this new language works with my baby, I can start Floppy on it too and we'll have 2 OBEDIANT dogs!!! :o :o :angel: Thanks everyone!! :D[/b]