Awww, they are SOOO cute! Thanks for sharing them with us, Diana... Are Santa's ears that way since she was little? Too cute! Their faces look similar...which is why in the past, Scottie has been mistaken as a girl a lot. heh!

If Kimmy is too excited, you would have to teach her to be calm. When you come back from work, maybe you could try not to go towards her too quickly...sometimes they pick up on our body language and mimic our excitedness when we see them Scottie doesn't pee when I come home, but his you-know-what will umm...you know? So, when I come back I don't acknowledge him first...I put down my bags and do whatever to lengthen the time a bit to 1-2 mins before I go to greet him. And when I do, I greet him in a soft, calm tone, or if it doesn't work, I make him sit first before I greet him. Of course, sometimes it's hard to greet him like that especially when he looks at me like so 'kesian' wan, but I try to do that as much as possible When you enrol Kimmy into obedience classes, perhaps you could ask your trainer for some tips too...they will try their best to help you sort things out


EDIT: Perhaps it's a better idea to get a playpen for Kimmy than to lock her up in the toilet. With a playpen, she can at least familiarize herself with your whole house, coz she can see her surroundings without being able to roam around and destroy stuff. You can also put the pee tray in the playpen and potty train her there. That way, even if you turn around, and she pees somewhere else, you got a smaller place to clean up

This post has been edited by Rayne: Jun 11 2009, 09:12 AM

She's probably bored since you left her in the toilet alone... Maybe you could have a try by letting her be in the playpen during the weekends..that way you can observe her and see if she really can climb over it. Don't hover over her of course...just leave her there and do whatever you do during the weekends, but keep an eye on her every now and then. If she's bored and is in a chewing phase, some chew toys would be great. Rawhides are okay for puppies too, since they are too small to be able to eat the rawhides with their small teeth. Once they're bigger, it's a different thing, and I wouldn't advise for rawhides to be given a lot.

Errm...why are you feeling pressure? If it's about the toilet training thing, as everyone also faced it before, it takes time and lots of patience. I'm not too sure about you, but were you too hasty in purchasing Kimmy? As in, you just bought her because she was available? Did you feel sort of like a 'connection' when you first saw Kimmy? Yeah, I know it sounds very cliched and kinda lame, but I honestly felt that when I first saw Scottie...I dunno, probably I'm too into all this mojo stuff, but it felt so right when I saw him and decided to get him (at the time, I was not looking for a pet. At all.). Sure, we hit a few bumps along the way in training and what not, but I still think he's my darling boy

Not judging you about this though. Everyone has the right to buy whichever pet they want. Perhaps you just need more time playing with her? Hang around her more often, and observe her little quirks and stuff...I'm sure you'll be falling in love again soon

Could it be that you feel tired after work, and when you come home, you have to take care of a new pup as well? It's still quite early to tell that you do or not like dogs, I think..Kimmy has only been at your house for just a short while only, yes? Maybe after a while you've spent some time training, playing with her, and getting to know her personality more, you'll feel different...try bringing her out to socialize by going to gatherings and obedience classes..she will tire out more easily, plus you get to know more ppl and learn a little more on caring for your pup. Another plus would be after you've done your obedience classes, you pup would have probably known a few basic commands and you would have an easier time letting her know what you want her to do

Well, it's very normal for a puppy to not want to do anything in the first class...your trainer would have helped you a little with that After your first few lessons, you would be able to get the gist of how to handle your pup.
My trainer did...the first time Scottie was on leash, he just sat there and wouldn't budge, no matter how I coaxed him with a treat. But after my trainer took the leash, she just walked confidently forward and called out his name in a very cheerful manner (plus some treats) and he followed her by the side...so cute! haha!

First time classes are no real judge for a good obedience class, in my opinion

Pups tend to easily get rashes and stuff...especially for Min. Schnauzers. I remember when Scottie was small, he's got quite a few problems. I've been sending him to the vet so frequently during that phase that I think the whole clinic recognises me already

Hmm...hormone imbalance maybe? No worries la...sometimes I also feel like that when things are not going smoothly. Give it some time, and not over analyze things. The learning curve for a wee pup is quite long so we all have to be patient.. But after they start getting the concept of learning, you'll feel very proud that you stuck to it

I feel that it's so cute when the puppy follows you around...not all pups do that. Kenji (my sister's Chihuahua) is like a lone ranger...he doesn't like to follow us around, preferring to do his own thing. But Scottie would drop whatever he's doing (even if he's chewing his favourite toy or sleeping) and follow me. Sometimes I feel bad for him, coz he would literally jump up and follow me when he hears me get up (he likes to sleep / sit just at my feet so whenever I get up, he knows... ) so what I do now if I don't want him to follow, I ask him to stay where he is. Usually he will stay, but if he wants to, he'll just follow me regardless...haha! My mom says I have a very manja male dog...sometimes she even doubts that he is male


P/S: I don't think when she looks at you, she is accusing you...rather, she just wants you to play or give her a hug. Not really pressure, in my opinion. I don't think she can help looking at you that way...it's just the way they communicate. Letting her go just because of that is not really a good excuse, in my opinion

This post has been edited by Rayne: Jun 16 2009, 09:19 AM

Same here! But these days, because he likes to do marking, I don't let him upstairs as often as before. Still, whenever he gets the chance to sneak upstairs, he would sit outside the bathroom to wait for me, or if I'm sleeping in my bedroom, jump on my bed to wake me up Scottie has been following me since the first day he came home...dunno why though. Maybe his own 'bad' habit, but I love him for that! haha!

It seems as if you have already made your mind. Might we suggest that if you decide to let Kimmy go, you would at least screen through your potential new owners to ensure that they would really take care of Kimmy until the end of her days? Don't want the same thing happening to Kimmy in the new owner's place...it can be very depressing and traumatizing for a pup to be rehomed too many times.

This post has been edited by Rayne: Jun 16 2009, 05:45 PM

Of course Kimmy would go 'berserk'...she's been left in the toilet for quite a period of time. She needs an outlet for her bundle of energy, especially when she's so small. When you say berserk, do u mean she runs around the place like a crazy dog? Scottie does that A LOT too...even now. Although I have people at home everyday, he spends quite a big chunk of the day at his playpen because my Mom babysits children, and their parents are not too fond of dogs, hence Scottie and Kenji had no choice but to stay in the playpen. When I come home from work, I let them out to walk and play, and they would do their 'zoomies' around the house until they're tired and calm down. So, it's fairly normal for them to release their pent up energy by running around. Min. Schnauzers have a lot of energy

Because she was left alone, I think that is why Kimmy has become destructive. Puppies like to shred and chew things if they're bored. Scottie does the same thing also if I left him alone too long. If you leave her toys, you would need to ensure that the toys are puppy-proof, like real dog toys...plastic containers are a big no no especially if you're not around to supervise her.

Heartgard is the most popular brand for heartworm prevention, but I think there are other brands also. There was one called Interceptor that my sister bought for Kenji since he was so small (the vet recommended this). It costs more than Heartgard though...about RM80 plus for 6 months compared to Heartgard's RM50 plus for 6 months

It depends on you I guess...my sister bought Interceptor because Kenji absolutely HATES taking any form of pills. Since Interceptor is small, it's easier to force feed him that compared to Heartgard. But you would have to take care NOT to give any more deworming pills after giving Interceptor. My sister forgot about that once (she fed him a normal deworming pill the day after giving him Interceptor). Kenji had to be warded and was on IV drips for a whole day...

I found this link with regards to heartworm preventions: http://achinook.squarespace.com/storage/He...ormJE082408.pdf

Very good read... I used to feed Scottie Heartgard every month since he was 6 months old, but after I've started feeding him a raw diet and reading more about natural rearing, it kind of gives me second thoughts about the whole Heartgard thing, so I've stopped giving Scottie that. (Please read the article to see why I would do that).

I would like to say though, that it is up to you as the owners to decide what to give or not give to your pets...for me, after reading up on this, I don't feel the need to keep giving a parasiticide every month when I know that my dog is living a healthy life by eating species appropriate food,and has a good immune system. However, I would also send him for a heartworm test every year to make sure he is free from them.

More links with regards to this and vaccinations:
http://www.rawfed.com/vax/vax.html
http://www.kaossiberians.com/health/Bellov...m%20article.pdf

To me, they are the same thing. Both contain the chemicals that would kill off heartworms, so no difference if you give Heartgard every month or take a one-year injection.

Why not join as an MKA member before changing transferring the ownership? MKA member fees are RM180 (if I remember correctly) and transferring the ownership is only RM20 for members. Sort of a 'better deal'..

I don't think it's possible to change the official names in the certs...when you transfer ownership, the only thing that they do is to add your name and address to the back of Ramses' cert saying that he has been transferred from the breeder to you, and possibly updating their database. That's about it. I did that for Scottie in the beginning of the year, and got this done in about...30 minutes? RM200 gone just like that *sigh*

Yup, basically that's what was done.

Let me know if they can change names anot..I don't like Scottie's official name as well: Rhythmkel New Fangled Sounds so weird! But I guess it's not really possible, as the names actually trace back to the lineages and stuff.

Another thing with transferring your name is that should you plan to breed Ramses, the ownership MUST be transferred to you, if not they would assume that the litter from Ramses' breeding is from your breeder (where you bought Ramses from). Also, should anything untoward happen (like Ramses getting lost *touch wood*), if anybody found Ramses and decided to check with MKA, it's easier to trace it back to you if you transferred ownership. Otherwise, they would just refer back to the breeder, and I can bet that the guy/girl would probably have no clue who bought his/her puppies, since they have so many. I've seen this happen one time in another forum...a lady found a Labrador wandering about the streets, took the dog in, and tried to locate the owner (after finding out the dog has a microchip) by contacting MKA with the microchip number. They could only trace back to the breeder coz the owner didn't transfer the ownership, and when the lady tried to contact the breeder, she found out the breeder is no longer living at that particular address. So, in the end, she kept the dog for herself, since she ran out of places to look for the owner.

Yeah, actually it is in-breeding...not very good also. Same like Scottie. I had a look at his lineage, at first I thought his lineage was quite impressive also...he came from a line of champions (American and Hong Kong), but his parents weren't champions. Meh. No big thing for me, but I also noticed this: his dad is also the granddad of his mother

Sad.

EDIT: My gosh, it took me a few readings to understand which is which in the bloodline...haha! It's scary sometimes to see what some unethical breeders would go to to earn a profit.

This post has been edited by Rayne: Jun 18 2009, 04:40 PM

Well, you're quite lucky...I think Scottie's mom and dad are from the same breeder, so, they're like intermixed like crazy. Scary to think about these people man...I think we should enforce the licensing to become a breeder like in the Western countries to control the number of unethical breeders. Now, any Tom d*** or Harry can become so-called breeder, and it's very freaky. >.<

True,true...not sure how these things work out in the end,I guess. The only people that can clarify this would probably be the MKA people as they know about the protocols and what not. *shrugs*

Nobody here said that a Min. Schnauzer with an MKA cert is more superior than one without...like what Jason said, most of the time, the certs are just requirements if one wants to show their dogs and also to trace back their lineage (hence the name 'pedigree dogs'). But there were also some people that are of the opinion if a dog has no certification, that dog MIGHT (but not necessarily is) not be a purebred dog, as we can't tell the lineage of the dog. Personally, it's not really THAT important for me, but if Scottie has it, so be it. There is no bragging rights to it for me.