Australia, Perth - Puppy. MANY questions.
I adore Old English Sheepdogs, they're magnificent and majestic dogs. When I was growing up a friend of the family had two. Best childhood memories I have are in their yard with those dogs.. actually, not their yard, more like their front driveway, as soon as you got out of the car these dogs came out and just loved on you. Demanded your attention and affection and were just... well, just being Old English Sheepdogs! My partner and I are moving into a house we've bought in Perth, WA. We've found a breeder with a litter due next month and we have lots of questions!! 1). Is there a good airline company to bring the pup over from NSW to WA? Anyone had any good or bad experiences with this? for things we need to look out for, etc... 2). We don't want to buy pet food for the dog, we want to cook his food. Any tips on the best way to go about this? (pointers/advise, etc.. I will read through the forum on nutrition, too) 3). My partner and I work different schedules: I'm a 7am-4pm and partner is either 3pm-11pm or 11pm-8am shift, so the pup will always have someone home. I have read some articles that is best to use an immersion technique; don't take time off work, so pup can get used to the lifestyle he'll have. Of course I want to take weeks and weeks off work to play and love on our new family member, but I only want to do what is best. And if this will hinder that, I won't. What are your thoughts/experiences/observations? 4). We are moving into our own place... should we refrain from furnishing it with the stuff we want until the puppy is older (basically: is chewing/scratching an issue)? 5). What puppy classes are a must and what are better to just read online and then implement at home? Sorry for all the questions. And talking. I'm just so excited and nervous, want to give this puppy the very best life right from the start |
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You honestly expect us to say anything except wonderful things about this breed?  Like any dog, temperament is critical. Good breeders produce good dogs both structurally and......socially. BYB who say "we've never had a problem...blah, blah, blah" are to be taken with a very large grain of salt. We have several Aussies here who could guide on where to look for pups. Then once the baby is home, this breed pulls all the nasty puppy issues.......they are dogs after all. They pee, poop, chew, nip (being a herding breed they excel here) but respond well to training, if you know how. Read up on that before the pup comes home and make sure you are both on board, totally. As for cooking...........I believe the BARF feeding plan began in Australia. It stands for bones and raw food. The theory is animals don't eat cooked food, they eat raw food. I've known several OES on raw food or BARF and they do very, very well. Yahoo! Groups has a group just on raw feeding and would be good to join. I have no clue as to what is the best airline, that would be for our Aussie members to chime in. Welcome to the group, can't wait until you get the pup! |
Hi, congratulations on your puppy! Sheepdogs are THE BEST things in life!  For both my puppies, we took 1-2 weeks off and would have taken more if possible. It made housetraining much easier and fairly quick, and of course I wanted to spend as much time with the puppy as possible. I don't think you have to worry about too much time with your puppy. And you definitely don't want your dog to have accidents and believe that's ok going forwards. For our home, we picked up our Persian carpets for the first couple of months, and put some baby gates around some large plants, but didn't have any real problems with chewing. But they do nip and it is annoying! But it's just a stage. |
| Hi, I feel your excitement, I love the excitement of getting a new dog. If it is a first time dog for you I would recommend a obedience training class which implements positive training with treats or games as a reward, this helped us a lot when we got our first dog. I also read Loades of articles on training and being the alpha dog on the Internet but the class makes sure you are on the right track. It's great to be on the right track rather than having to correct training mistakes or not enough training. I would do the barf diet instead of cooked food. Unfortunately for us It is expensive to buy raw food in Alberta so we are feeding a good quality kibble instead but giving large raw bones to clean their teeth. We have hardwood, it has gotten really scratched but is ideal for the occasional accident in the house. In our case puking accidents now they are older. Hardwood is much easier to keep clean and looks cleaner compared to carpet when there are dirty dog feet. Tile is great,we have slate in the kitchen, best decision we ever made as it does not get scratched and does not show the dirt. We got our Newfy at 6months and our OES at 14 weeks, so we don't have any experience in the first puppy issues. The breeder trained him well and at 14 weeks the OES only had two accidents in the house and wasn't furniure destructive or nippy but we have lots of toys for him to play with and another dog. We had to keep shoes out of the way for over a year and he still try's to run off with the toilet paper. |
| Hi Shani, welcome to the forum. I'm in Melbourne. Firstly your breeder will arrange to have the pup shipped over to WA, all transport of dogs going interstate or overseas is done here now by reputable pet transport companies. They travel well and are cared for every step of the way till you take possession of them at the other end. Now also whatever the breeder is feeding the pup, you need to stick to that and if you want to change over you MUST do it gradually as to not upset there system. You should be supplied with a diet sheet for the puppy upon arrival of your new fur kid. What you have to cater for and be right on top of when preparing to feed your own home prepared meals for your dog is getting the balance right as this breed grows rapidly and underdoing or overdoing the essential nurients can have dire consequences. See how the breeder is feeding firstly before altering anything & talk to them about any changes you want to make as far as the diet is concerned. If you want let me know will PM you with contact details for the OES club of WA. If it is your first then great to get to know other OES owners who can help you with grooming, advice and all things OES if needed.  Lisa |
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