OH got mugged by a very keen male dog this morning... Barney is a very nice, normally well-behaved intact male from next-door-but-one, who was not on the lead. He charged over the road and tried to get to Poppy (who is now in the most 'interesting' phase of her season, I think). She got very frightened and tried to run away, but was on the lead, so was almost strangling herself. :-[ The owners were very apologetic, when they eventually managed to catch their dog. OH panicked a bit I think, and forgot all the advice about covering your dog and shouting for help - he ended up picking Poppy up and trying to run for home!!! While being mounted by an Australian sheepdog!!! Must have been quite a funny picture (although he was less than amused...) Anyway, no real harm done, one bemused and rather nervous Poppy - and an exhausted OH moaning about his back... : I am back to work tomorrow, and OH will be away for the rest of the week on business. I can see fun and games ahead for me, trying to keep Pops busy and exercised, while not ending up with mongrel puppies... Though I am sure they would be sweet, but that's not really the issue.
Re: ON HEAT My sincere sympathies Karen having recently weathered the storm with Millie , it really is a nightmare trying to deal with attention from off lead entire boys , soon be over, chin up chicken
Re: ON HEAT Ah I bet your OH got a fright,I'm sure it's instinct to want to pick her up...I'd have done the same I bet you....I know she's a dinky dot but she's still a good armful!he did well to make it home! Hope the rest of the time passes without incident....are you walking on unsocial hours at the moment like I was in the summer? X
Re: ON HEAT Linus the next-door retriever was VERY interested in Pops this evening - and he's neutered!! We retreated to the garden for a bit of safe dummy training in the lovely autumn air - punctuated only by the gentle sound of the breeze in the branches of the cherry tree. Oh yes, and the howling from Barney, two doors down...
Re: ON HEAT [quote author=drjs@5 link=topic=2982.msg31604#msg31604 date=1382387449] ;D ;D ;D ;D (that is SUCH a funny post - sorry!) [/quote] Jac you are wicked ;D It was funny Karen, ;D shame you didn't film it. Poppy will be through this in no time, keep away from the boys Poppy Helen xx
Re: ON HEAT [quote author=tartanmouse link=topic=2982.msg31455#msg31455 date=1382350479] You just don't want to be a glamorous granny... ;D [/quote] Oh, but I do!!! I'd love puppies; wouldn't mind at all if they were a cross with a different breed! Depending on what breed of course - I think I'd draw the line at the whippet down the road as a possible father for Poppy's pups... But there is a serious side to this. Apart from the timing (which would be appalling for us right now), I would worry so much about where the puppies would end up... If there were 3 or 4 pups it would be ok I am sure, we would keep one and I expect neighbours would LOVE to have one... But imagine if there were 8 or 9 puppies?? How could you be sure that they would end up in the right homes??? OH is determined that Pops will be a mother one day. He is researching the whole pedigree labrador breeding route. While I am enthusiastic, nonetheless I still worry. I know that Poppy, while she is now a very easy-going and equable character, was very nervous when a puppy and needed a lot of careful, gentle training. Also, her character is such that she NEEDS to work and retrieve. Without that, I think she might be bored and destructive. So - how could we be sure that her puppies would be treated right? Sigh. At any rate, I don't want that to happen for at least another year. I have had a terrible time this summer, and next year I just want to be able to RELAX for once during my long summer break, without any health or familial issues, and without looking after a pregnant dog or any puppies!!!! So vigilance remains the name of the game for the next few seasons, I guess.
Re: ON HEAT Poppy would have beautiful pups ! Have you got The Book Of The Bitch? Apparently it's the bible of breeding your girl A nice bold, black dog carrying yellow so you get a lovely mix of pups mmmmmm scrumptious !!!! Might you be able to suss out the likelihood of finding homes from your classes? You might get a feel for how easy it would be to pick and choose nice homes and even get some prospective owners.....
Re: ON HEAT That's the plan, Barbara. I am going to keep going to training, and am going to enter her for tests and competitions, and see how she does for the next year. Then, if she does well, and if there is interest, we will probably look further into a mate for her... If we do go down that route I think we would only have one litter, and keep a pup... but that is all in the future... Exciting though, huh? And yes, I have The Book of the Bitch, which is very helpful and clear. Actually, I have quite a library of dog books!!! I keep buying them, it's a bit of an obsession. OH just rolls his eyes... :
Re: ON HEAT What a lovely dream to have Karen ;D ;D I too would be worried about the homing aspect more than anything , Millie is incredibly maternal and whilst part of me would love to let her have a litter , this undershot jaw is the deal breaker for me but Poppy is a very pretty girl indeed with good conformation , sighs, if only Sam were entire :
Re: ON HEAT [quote author=bbrown link=topic=2982.msg31902#msg31902 date=1382555917] That would be amazing and he does have yellow in him [/quote] Sorted ;D ;D
