balls and balloons
My boy loves his # 4 soccer ball and can bat it around with his front paws or pick it up with his mouth. After some months though, it does start to lose air. We also have tried a giant tennis ball. The only problem with it was that it burned his lips if he ran after it and did not pick it up on the first try. As the ball rubbed over his mouth, it took the hide off his lip because of the felt covering. I would not be comfortable about letting the dogs play with balloons. Like any small child, I am afraid that the puppy would end up trying to swallow the pieces and choke. They both love to play with their blinking ball. It is a small red rubber ball that has a blinking light inside of it that comes on when the ball is moved. The first one still is working after over a year, just not quite as brightly as before. Neither of the kids has been able to chew it up. Caddie is three and still has plush toys from his puppy days, but Divot, who is 8 months, is not so gentle on the toys. She can unstuff those babies real quick. Kay Sloate Corpus Christi, Tx
At what age?
My boy had his bozo ears until he was a year old, because my husband loved them and would not let me trim them until it was time for a show. The grooming was done with thinning shears or a mat breaker, not sure.He just hated for those last remaining signs of puppydom to be gone. My six month old girl has had all her adult teeth for about a month now. I would imagine that your boy has his too. She still will have moments that she will try to mouth on hands, mostly when she is very excited. Just keep giving your puppy the appropriate toy or bone that it is supposed to chew on and know that this behavior will stop with age and reinforced training. I believe that my boy was around 11 months when he started trying to balance on three legs and hike. Really, it was more like an adventure in hopping than balancing, and he could cover great distances while he tried to go. Don't be in any rush, my plants were much happier when they did not get rained on. As to the last part of your questions, I will apologize in advance if my answer comes across as harse, but I do not believe that there is any age that a dog should be expected to wait 9 hours to empty its bladder, not a seven month old puppy or a 10 year old adult. First, it is not healthy for the animal to go that long before being let out. Can you go 9 hours at work without a bathroom break? Would you expect a human baby to stay in the same diaper for 9 hours? That is what you are expecting from your berner baby. Maybe you could have someone come over during lunch to give them a little time outside if no one in the family is able to do it. Possibly a neighbor or hire a dog sitter to visit them and give them some play and bathroom time. Nine hours is just too long for any dog to be left and confined and expected to hold it. It is just not a question of bladder size. Good luck with and enjoy that new boy. Kay Sloate Caddie and Divot
berner car
We also have an Aztek for our berners.Realized when we went to go on our first trip with our boy, that we did not fit in my car. Armed with a tape measure and crate size, we went shopping for a new car. We tried alot of different vehicles. Salesmen thought that we were strange, but it sure did eliminate alot of cars fast. Also, we have the added problem of my husband, who is 6' 8, being able to get behind the wheel. Got the aztek when it first came out and just love it. Lots of room. You can tie the crates down to holders in the very rear, but the two berners usually ride on the back seat in a seatbelt harness.Drove 1500 miles to the specialty in Spokane right after we got it, and loaded it with dog show stuff, and all our gear to camp in Yellowstone and the Tetons on the trip home, no problem. It is lower to the ground so the dogs can get in and out. And a real plus at the moment is it gets alot better gas mileage than the other SUVs that we had been considering. Call it the Caddiemobile in honor of dog #1. Needless to say, we do get weird looks when cruising around with odd looking car and the two giant dog heads at the windows. You see, they wear their cool sunglasses when we go for a drive! Charles had the police turn their siren on behind him the other day. They just wanted to see the dogs, thought they were so cute!!! Kay Sloate Caddie and Divot
