Hi all! Here I attempt to cover every factor, topic, event or question you may have with what I have learnt over the years. As with anything on the internet, this may not all be the very best approach for everything, especially pertaining to your dog in particular as an individual, nor the most comprehensive, however please use this as a guide and resource in raising your lappie to be one amazing dog, and don’t forget to speak to many other people for advice including other dog and/or lappie owners, your vet and family, and to do more of your own research. If this is your first dog, first dog in a while or only dog, things can be more difficult and extra effort may need to be made in socialising and helping them meet your boundaries and expectations. I have provided some resources (books, websites, articles, groups, forums etc.) at the bottom that you can head to for further information. These are not only a reference for you, but for me too!
Consider this an information encyclopaedia/database that I’ll be adding to as I can think of topics to add to it, or if something isn’t listed below that you would like me to attempt to cover let me know and I shall do so.
We want to encourage you to be proactive with your new lappie, and to give them the very best nutrition, lifestyle and care that will help them thrive. We want your lappie to be with you, their family, for the entirety of their life, which we hope is long, active and healthy.
Please don’t take everything written as gospel – every dog is different and although I try to cover a variety of different approaches for each topic to deal with different dogs, families and situations, every instance might not be covered in the guides below, and this is also going off my own knowledge, some of which may be incorrect and/or out-dated. In fact if you see something that you believe to be incorrect or out of date, or have any suggestions to add to a particular section, please feel free to email me J I am also not a vet and although there may be some handy emergency or health tips in here, please do not use this in place of taking your dog to a vet. I am not a veterinarian and although I have experience in parts of the veterinary field, I am also unable to examine your dog and make any particular diagnosis. I have provided references at the bottom of each page that have required additional research for more accurate information. There are of course important things to consider and consistencies that should be kept for every dog, or at least information that should be acknowledged, and I will highlight these links in red so that you know that I feel it is important that these articles are read. Feel free to ask me any further questions that I will answer to the best of my ability, and as always I will be more than happy to refer you on to someone with more knowledge in any one area in an instance that I cannot aid you. Many of the links may not apply to you and your dog and/or family, however please know that they are here in case any situation does arise in which you may need them.
Consider this an information encyclopaedia/database that I’ll be adding to as I can think of topics to add to it, or if something isn’t listed below that you would like me to attempt to cover let me know and I shall do so.
We want to encourage you to be proactive with your new lappie, and to give them the very best nutrition, lifestyle and care that will help them thrive. We want your lappie to be with you, their family, for the entirety of their life, which we hope is long, active and healthy.
Please don’t take everything written as gospel – every dog is different and although I try to cover a variety of different approaches for each topic to deal with different dogs, families and situations, every instance might not be covered in the guides below, and this is also going off my own knowledge, some of which may be incorrect and/or out-dated. In fact if you see something that you believe to be incorrect or out of date, or have any suggestions to add to a particular section, please feel free to email me J I am also not a vet and although there may be some handy emergency or health tips in here, please do not use this in place of taking your dog to a vet. I am not a veterinarian and although I have experience in parts of the veterinary field, I am also unable to examine your dog and make any particular diagnosis. I have provided references at the bottom of each page that have required additional research for more accurate information. There are of course important things to consider and consistencies that should be kept for every dog, or at least information that should be acknowledged, and I will highlight these links in red so that you know that I feel it is important that these articles are read. Feel free to ask me any further questions that I will answer to the best of my ability, and as always I will be more than happy to refer you on to someone with more knowledge in any one area in an instance that I cannot aid you. Many of the links may not apply to you and your dog and/or family, however please know that they are here in case any situation does arise in which you may need them.
- Equipment
It is important to be ready for your puppy, especially depending on your lifestyle. If you are not going to be home for a majority of the day and the puppy will likely be left alone for long periods of time, it is important to invest in things like quality puppy pens, food dispensing toys, boredom busters, and a space that is hygienic and easy to clean if your puppy is likely to have accidents early on. Likewise if you are at home often, you may want to organise having play and sleeping areas that aren’t directly with you that are puppy safe to encourage the puppy to learn independence and be less likely to have issues with separation from you. You should make sure that your bank account is ready for the worst, and that you aren’t left with huge shopping bills when you first get your puppy. Here we really recommend crate training your puppy, showing or not. We encourage raw feeding however understandably this may not be in your time/financial budget, in which case a number of kibbles have been recommended. Please read these instructions carefully as it is important not to upset your puppy’s stomach within the first couple of months. We also encourage beginning grooming sessions from a very young age (although they physically won’t need it) to prevent issues such as dogs not allowing themselves to be groomed later, and as described below recommend a number of basic products to get you started with your lappie and prepare them for adulthood.- Recommended: general shopping list
- Crate
- Nail clipper and/or Dremel
- Dryer
- Line comb
- Pin brush
- Slicker brush
- Food
- Treats
- Toys (See below)
- Pooper scooper
- Poo bags
- Puppy pads
- Puppy safe area
- Cooling facilities
- Bowls
- Optional/specific
- Crates
- Beds
- Preparing your yard
- Grass
- Artificial
- What type of grass?
-More allergenic
Worse grass seeds
- Fencing
- Blocking off undesired areas
- Toad proofing
- Snake proofing
- Dig/hole proofing
- Making sure it is secure and your dog cannot escape
- Dog runs
- Shade
- Enrichment
- Access to water
- Outdoor cooling
- Grass
- Grooming
- Finding a groomer
- Grooming tables
- Nails
- Dremel
- Nail clipper types
- Baths
- Shampoo
- Shower heads
- Hydrobaths
- Bath accessories
- Apron
- Brushing
- Line comb (greyhound comb)
- Double rake
- Matt splitter
- Pin brush
- Slicker brushes
- What not to use
- Drying
- Blow dryers
- Blow dry agents
- Conformation show grooming products
- OMG spray
- Cholesterol
- Hair spray
- Coat dressing
- Thick and thicker
- Blow dry cream (with cholesterol)
- Eyes and ears
- Eye wipes
- Eye drops
- Ear wipes
- Teeth
- Tooth brushes
- Tooth pastes
- Mouth rinses
- Bowls
- Water
- Fountains
- Bowls
- Autorefill systems
- Buckets
- Cement bowls
- Cleaning
- Food
- Fast eaters
- Food dispensing toys
- Training feeding
- Bowls
- Bowls to go
- Travelling systems for water and food.
- Water
- Food
- Kibble
- Weaning them off soaked/raw to dry
- Enticing them to eat
- Recommended brands and formulas
- Bones
- Bone safety
- Raw feeding
- BARF
- Store bought
- Home made
- Prey model
- Store bought
- Home made
- Single protein diets
- Store bought
- Home made
- BARF
- Feeding issues
- Fussy eaters
- Fast eaters
- Resource guarding
- Making food fun – food for thought
- Growth issues – how to maintain healthy growth
Feet turning out
Jaws
- Treats
- Home made
- Food dehydrator
- Cooking trays
- Vacuum sealers
- Summer/frozen treats
- Toy dispensing treats
- Store bought
- Home made
- Supplements and their qualities
- Tumeric
- Coconut oil
- Spirulina
- Garlic
- K9 gold puppy, show stopper, lean muscle etc
- Rose hip vital
- Omega 3 and 6 (flaxseed no for breeding dogs)
- Bone broth
- Tripe
- Storage
- Freezers (chest freezers)
- Kibble storage
- How long things last
- How to package treats for preservation
- Kibble
- Toys/enrichment
- Fetching
- Ifetch
- Chuckits
- Kong air squeaker balls
- Tyres
- Puppods
- Snuggle puppy
- Tug
- Flirts
- Plaited tugs
- Hole tugs
- Rabbit skin tugs with pouch
- Bite tugs
- Bungee tugs
- Food dispensing toys
- Food puzzles
- Wobblers
- Kongs
- Soft toys/squeaky toys
- Teething
- Antlers
- Coats horns
- Cow hooves
- Bones
- Plastic bones
- Gnawees
- Dentastix/green chews
- Pizzles
- Cow/Pigs ears
- Rawhide XXXX
- Enrichment
- Snufflemats
- Sand pits
- Obstacles for puppies
- Fetching
- Heat packs
- Toilet training aids + cleaners
- Pooper scoop
- Poo bags
- Puppy pads
- Artificial turf – mats
- Artificial turf – yard
- Choosing a grass
- Urine off
- Carpet cleaners – bottle, spray and machines
- Vacuum cleaners
- Puppy monitors
- Collars, leads and harnesses, ID tags
- Car safety
- House barriers/play pens
- Performance/training equipment (Mostly for adults)
- Conditioning equipment
- Conformation show equipment
- Agility equipment
- Tracking equipment
- Herding equipment
- Obedience equipment
- Rally-O equipment
- Nose-work equipment
- Working pack dog equipment
- Endurance Test equipment
- Flyball equipment
- Cooling
- Cool mats
- Cool coats
- Fans
- Shell pools
- Ice treats
- Air-conditioning
- Flooring
- Frozen water bottles
- First aid
Do not give your dogs any medicine without direction from your vet.- Tick remover
- Bandages
- Gauze
- Eye drops
- Wound guard
- Antihistamines
- Potassium permanganate
- Recommended: general shopping list
- Puppy guide
- Our breeding ethics
- Females here at …. We believe that no female should be bred more than three times except on very rare occasions a maximum of five (such as in the case of extremely small litter sizes, rare/new lines, imports etc. in order to maintain breed diversity and add ethically and responsibly to the breed’s gene pool). In the case of our breeding program, we only wish to ever have our girls have a maximum of three litters, with the majority only having one to two (especially those in co-ownership) litters, so that they get to enjoy the majority of their lives nursing/pregnant free and doing what they love with their family, whether this be with us or homes in partnership. We also will not breed our females before a minimum of 18 months at mating date, preferably closer to 2 to 3 years. This is to ensure that the dog is both physically and mentally mature for puppies.
- Males
- COI
- Health testing
- Breeding with health issues. This is a very touchy subject, and one that I may not entirely be followed upon within this breed here in Australia. No puppy is perfect and although we only aim to ever breed healthy puppies, unfortunately unforeseen issues do arise, such as independent, non-congenital disease or illness, in-utero/congenital dysmorphia, or unknown hereditary diseases that we are not yet able to test for. The severity of these issues and research done into particular diseases will impact on our decision whether to use a particular dog, its siblings or lines with careful consideration when choosing a mate if it has proven to be a case within the lines or individual dog. We do not want to cause more potential issues to arise within the breed but we also feel that breed diversity and type is very important in preserving this special breed, and may on occasion breed a dog with a particular issue (such as an umbilical hernia, for example) in foresight of this. In the instance that an unforeseen issue does arise in your puppy, particularly before 3-4 years of age, please keep us posted as we will offer you, your family and your lappie as much support that we can in any particular situation.
- Keeping puppies. For all of the reasons above, we choose to keep as many show-potential puppies in co-ownership as we can,
- Breeding/line selection. We select our lines based on health, temperament, type, structure, breed diversity and COI, availability amongst many other considerations...
- What happens with your puppy here
- Season
Females in Finnish Lapphunds come into season roughly every six months. This can vary from dog to dog and I have heard of dogs coming into season as little as every two months from start to start, to every 9 or so months. The age at which a female can have their first season is also sporadic and not necessarily dependant on lines – I have heard of females coming into their first season at 5 months whilst their sibling may have come in at 22+ months, such as in the case of our Kiita. The average seems to be about 9-10 months however 13-16 months is not uncommon. A season is defined usually by the first show of colour. You can swab the vulva daily when a bitch is due into season to check if they are showing, as some bitches are very clean and you will never see any blood. A season is normally about 28 days long, with the female ovulating somewhere between 8 and 17 days. When they ovulate, their progesterone level is above 14ng/L (?) or xxx ug/L. It then raises through the roof and then goes right back down again. They are still fertile around 30-70 ng/L. At this time the discharge appears a peach colour and generally the vulva is swollen, and for natural matings and shallow (to the start of the cervix) fresh AIs, this is the opportune time to mate. When it reaches xxxxxxxxx then it is the opportune time for TCIs and Frozen AIs. - Mating
We have a multitude of tools these days which allow us to do what was once thought impossible – deceased dogs are able to become fathers to new puppies, overseas dogs can conceive never having been out of their country and much more. There are four main types of matings. These are: Natural mating, Fresh AI, Surgical AI and TCI. Both Surgical AIs and TCIs can be done with thawed (or fresh) frozen semen and therefore can even be 30 years old, or across the globe, whilst Natural matings and Fresh AIs require the male to be close by and present for the mating. Matings, both fresh AI and natural are generally done over a maximum of 3 days, at a maximum of about once per day to allow the male enough time for his sperm to regenerate and to reduce trauma to both the male and female. A successful natural mating ends in a ‘tie’. This lasts anywhere from a couple of minutes to over half an hour. Any more than than this can mean that there may be something wrong. It is important that both dogs stay still while this occurs. A fresh AI consists of a male being freshly collected with a penile sleeve, which is then syringed up, then using a catheter entered into the vagina up to the cervix is syringed in. A TCI is ………………………….. A surgical AI includes …………………………….. - 9 weeks prenatal (conception)
- 8 weeks prenatal
- 7 weeks prenatal
- 6 weeks prenatal
- 5 weeks prenatal
- 4 weeks prenatal
- 3 weeks prenatal
- 2 weeks prenatal
- 1 week prenatal
This is when mum may start to nest - Whelping
- Signs/Stages of labour
- Problems
- First few days
- Bottle feeding
- Tube feeding
- Week 1
- Week 2
- Week 3
- Week 4
- Week 5
- Week 6
- Week 7
- Week 8
- Flying your puppy
- Pickup
- Can I see my puppy before I get her/him?
With some hygienic preventative measures, we do allow puppy parents to see the litters when they are over 2 weeks old. Read as above though as they are much more active from 4 weeks onward and if you can only make one or so trips out to us, you might want to wait till they are older. We do not allow people to come see the puppies prior to this as this is a critical period for the puppies, being rather vulnerable and receiving their mum’s antibodies and develop their immune system. - Do I get to choose my puppy?
This is a tricky one. First and foremost our aim is to better the breed and our lines, so we will be choosing puppies that closest conform to the ‘breed standard’ at 7.5 weeks to go on to be shown, in co-ownership or staying with us and potentially (pending health results and conformation as an adult) bred from when they are mature. The remaining puppies will not be ‘ugly’ or ‘not as nice’, it is just that they don’t conform to what we would like to see in our breeding in the future as well as their sibling may. These ‘show potential puppies’ will only go to homes willing to work with us in a breeding agreement that may not have a choice in which puppy they get, other than maybe they prefer a male over female or vice versa. The remaining puppies that are not chosen to be a part of our breeding program will then be hopefully allocated based on the information you have provided to us on what you are looking for in a dog and your plans with them. Of course there may always be a time that someone who spends a lot of time with the litter may fall in love with a puppy, and this will be taken into consideration, but you must be as equally happy with another puppy in the litter if you agree to get a puppy from us, especially if we think they may be better suited for you and your family, and the puppy you like may be better suited to someone else and their family. So although you may very well get the puppy you were hoping for, you also may not, depending on the situation. - What is a ‘show-potential puppy’?
We try to keep at least one to three show-potential puppies per litter. We do this by either keeping them in partnership, or keeping them ourselves. If you are open to or would like a show-potential puppy, but are not willing to show the dog yourself but are in our area, we are more than happy to take them to shows to title them in their Australian Championship. Showing is definitely not for everyone and this can be a good alternative for those not wishing to become involved in the show/breeding scene, but would still like to contribute to the breed/our breeding program or are open to doing so. This would likely be every second to third weekend and involve us ‘dognapping’ your Lappie baby for a good ¾ of a weekend day. On occasion we allow males to go to pet homes to only be collected from once they are health tested and of age, then you are free to de-sex them (without us showing them to title, if this is something you are uncomfortable with or you are interstate and unwilling to show them yourself). We sometimes have show-potential puppies available to other breeders, aspiring-to-be breeders or dedicated show homes without co-ownership in place, if we feel that a puppy is worthy of being bred from or shown and we do not have plans for him or her within our own breeding program. We try to put mostly males in co-owned homes, as once he has been utilised in our breeding program as per our agreements (whether after full health testing clearance this be natural mating/s or collected for frozen semen), the dog will be then signed over to the co-owner in full and depending whether they are breeders/show home or not may use him himself in a registered breeding and/or stud him out, or have him de-sexed as per contract (in the case of a pet home). Females are a little trickier as we require either a litter to be taken place with us (in most cases) or a puppy back (in very few cases). This means that the dam will have to be with us for at least 2 or so weeks whilst mating (whether AI or natural) takes place, then at least further 9 weeks whilst we prepare for the litter (at least one week before due date) and whilst the puppies grow. This is a long time for a family to be without their dog and carries some risk (see the whelping issues section) and if you are thinking that you would like to be the owner of a show-potential female from us, it is very important you think about whether this is something you would be open to. Because of this we try to home out our show-potential females to people familiar with the breed, who show and/or are close with us, if we are not to keep them ourselves. If you go into this agreement with us planning to breed your dog or keep them entire for possible stud/leasing opportunities, we will agree to cover half the costs of their health testing. If you go into agreement with us with the plans of de-sexing your dog after we utilise them in our breeding plans, we will cover the entire cost of their health testing before they are signed over to you. Once they are signed fully into your name it is up to you whether any further health testing is performed (DNA profiling and screening, Hips and Elbows, Eye testing and possibly cardio testing depending on the lines will be performed by us).
- Season
- Preparing for your puppy
- Ian Dunbar’s Before you get your puppy
- Puppy-proofing
- Fences
- Household agreements
Please make sure that all occupants in your house are in agreement with you adding a Lappie member to your family, or at least that compromise is made. It is important to make good with those around you as you may at some time be relying on them to help you with pet sitting or other. If someone in the family/household isn’t entirely enthusiastic about the idea of you getting a dog, maybe offer to take them to meet some Lappies, show them what you intend to do with your lappie and explain to them them why it means so much to you. Puppies are easily influenced and bad experiences CAN impact on puppies and how they mentally develop, much like children. A house with negative energy, constant arguing and tension can influence your puppy, and this is not something you want to bring them into when you could be concentrating on socialising them to the best of your ability! - Landlords/renting
One of the main reasons people need to rehome their animals is because of rental properties. In Sydney, it is becoming increasingly harder to afford to buy a house and the competition for pet friendly rentals is fierce.
It is extremely difficult to find a rental that is pet friendly these days, even harder than searching for properties with children. Below is our guide (along with some references and articles) that you can refer to when searching for a new rental , or to ask your current landlord if you can add a gorgeous lappie to your family.
One of the most important things you can have is a reference. If you have any past rental history of renting with pets, make sure you get written references from your real estate agencies and landlords just how good your track record is. Whenever you move to a new property, always make sure you obtain this from your previous landlord/real estate. It can also help to have personal references too that can vouch for you and your lappie.
One thing that you can do that is on the rise is to offer a pet bond, as well as a promise to fix/cover any damages caused by your pet. These usually consist of at least $500 but can extend to $4000+ or equivalent to your house’s normal bond, and vouch to cover damages caused by digging, soiling, chewing or any other destruction of property.
Make sure your dog is well behaved or not there for inspections, and that you have the house well cleaned (as you would for any other inspection). Take special care in cleaning hair and even carpet cleaning if necessary. If your dog barks at intruders, this would be an ideal time to practice ‘quiet’, and either having your dog in a contained area such as the yard, play pen or crate, otherwise taking them out for a walk during the inspection.
It is especially important to reduce barking in your dog while renting.
Keep your puppy well contained or supervised when out and about the house. Make sure in their safe area they do not have access to walls, doors, skirting boards etc. especially for more destructive puppies. Leave them with plenty to teethe on and play with.
If any damages have occurred, have these fixed/replaced before following inspections
Especially on inspection day make sure that the yard is clean and completely without waste. Disinfect/alkalinise your grass with lime often, and keep your grass in good condition. You can use turf to patch your grass and feed it often with Seasol (supposedly quite safe for dogs as long as you don’t let them drink it or lick it off the grass – give about a day or two grace period before you let them free roam the yard after use). See our grass section for hand hints on keeping your yard green and bacteria-free. - A puppy is for life
- Shopping (refer to equipment)
- Research
- Selecting a breeder
- Selecting lines
- Puppy/obedience classes
- Do you have time for a dog/puppy?
- Do you have the finance available for a puppy/dog? Estimated costs.
- Breeding agreements (if this applies to you)
- Can I breed my Lappie?
- We will be allowing a very few select puppies to go on to lappie breeders or aspiring lappie breeders to be. We do not make this decision lightly, and one, if wishing to become an ANKC breeder for lappies must be willing to learn about the breed, have a good understanding of the direction of the breed as a whole and want to do the entire process in a respectable, responsible and ethical manner. We do not often make ‘profits’ from our breedings and whatever money we do ‘make’, goes back into further breeding plans, bringing in new lines in the form of frozen semen or imports, into raising more litters and/or improving our facilities and providing additional health testing for our breeding stock, especially as we do not have many dogs at home ourselves and often pay or part-pay for dogs in breeding arrangements to have health testing performed before they are utilised in our breeding program.
- Choosing a vet
- Preparing your yard
- Grass types
- Synthetic grass
- Grass care
- Hygiene
- Do you have other animals? Would a new puppy fit in okay?
- Ian Dunbar’s after your get your puppy
- The first day
- The airport trip
- The car trip
- When you first get home
- The first day
- The first night
- Introducing your puppy to your other dog/s
- Introducing your puppy to your other pets
- Prey animals (rabbits, rats, chickens, ducks)
- Cats
- Other
- Socialisation
- Dog parks
- Out and about
- Handling your dog (getting used to touch)
- Puppy foundations
- Puppy conditioning, awareness (rear end etc.), shaping etc.
- What’s my name?
- Crate training
- Toilet training
- Puppy pens/separated areas for when you are out
- Feeding guidelines for puppies
- Routine
- 12 month time line
- Immunisation
- Insurance
- Preventing
- Separation anxiety
- Storm/noise anxiety
- Resource guarding
- Barking
- Territorial behaviour
- Timidness/shyness
- Humping
- Boredom
- Fussy eating
- Fast eating
- Leash pulling
- Recall issues
- Car sickness
- Biting/mouthing/nipping
- Jumping
- Incontinence
- The teenage dog
- The ‘furbaby’ dilemma
- Whilst it’s okay to actually call your dogs your children or furbabies, and even refer to yourself as Mum or Dad (we do it too!), it is not okay to treat your dog like a human or child. They have specific behavioural and environmental needs that are not one and the same as children, although many of the techniques used in both dog training and parenting are just as useful to the other. So please don’t be blindsided by your dog – if there are particular behaviours you don’t want them to display, don’t coddle them, but use techniques to decrease these behaviours and increase good behaviours.
- Issues, problems and learnt behaviour – how to approach
- Barking
- Resource guarding
- Territorial behaviour
- Timidness/shy dogs
- Humping
- The active puppy
- Leash pulling
- Fussy eaters
- Fast eaters
- Car sickness
- Biting/mouthing/nipping
- Jumping
- Marking
- Recall
- Incontinence
- Separation anxiety
- Storms/fireworks
- Behaviourists/private trainers
- De-sexing
- We recommend de-sexing your puppy at 18+ months of age if they are not intended for breeding. The minimum age in certain situations that we would recommend de-sexing is 12 months, but closer to two years is preferable. This is to allow the hormones to mostly finish their job in aiding in the dog’s skeletal growth. Certain cancers such as bone cancer has been related to early de-sexing in dogs. Patellar and growth plate issues. Dull coat. However in the interest of responsible pet ownership and practice, if you are not going to work towards being an ANKC registered show home and breeder, it is in the breed’s best interest that we have a de-sexing clause. At the time that you provide veterinarian proof of de-sexing, we will refund you $400 from the price of your puppy, if this is done at an agreed age and time with us. It is also much cheaper to register your puppy when de-sexed, especially in the case of most councils in Queensland, for example where the rates are charged annually. There are often behavioural changes that may occur following de-sexing including decreased humping, pack dominance etc. however this is not always the case and is dependant from dog to dog.
- Pros and cons of de-sexing
- Health/vet visits
- Our breeding ethics
- Paperwork
Paperwork when it comes to purebred dogs can be very confusing. Below I will try to best cover what paperwork you should receive with your puppy along with an explanation of what to do with them, how to fill them out and/or what they mean.- Pedigree
- Blue (Full register) – full ownership
- Blue (Full register) – co-ownership
- Orange (Limit register)
- Change of owner/Registration papers
- Registering your dog in NSW
- Registering your dog in QLD
- Registering your dog in VIC
- Registering your dog in ACT
- Registering your dog in SA
- Registering your dog in NT
- Registering your dog in WA
- Registering your dog in TAS
- Parent health screening results
- Hips and Elbows
- Eye tests
- DNA tests
- Proof of parentage
- DNA traits
- Disease carriers etc
- Heart tests
- Your puppy’s health results
You cannot receive hip and elbow tests for your puppies as dogs should be at least 12 months, preferably closer to 18+ months before this is proceeded. This is not necessary in dogs that aren’t breeding unless showing problems within their hips/elbows, as directed as needed by a vet. We also do not heart test our puppies unless they are going to be used for breeding purposes.- Vet certificate
- DNA test
- Eye test
- Vaccination card
- Worming card
- Pedigree
- Finnish Lapphund Health
- Choosing a vet
- Regular vet
- Reproductive vets
- Emergency vets
- SASH
- Specialist vets
- Dermatologists
- Oncologists
- Cardiologists
- Ophthalmologists
- General problems in the breed
- Diseases that can be tested for
- Hip dysplasia
- Prcd-PRA
- Pompes
- DM
- MRD
- Hereditary cataracts
- Lupus
- Heart diseases
- Cancers
- Diseases that can be tested for
- Health screening
- Eye tests
- Hips and elbows
- DNA testing
- Heart checks – Ultrasounds and stethoscope
- Basic genetics
- Genetic diseases
- Colours and coat patterns
- Visual colours and patterns
COLOURS
Black and Tan
Solid black
Brown and Tan
Solid brown
Wolf Sable
-Brown base
-Black base
Domino
Cream
Sable
-Black base
-Brown base
Dilute brown (Lilac)
-Lilac domino
-Lilac and tan
-Lilac wolf sable
-Solid Lilac
Dilute blue
-Blue domino
-Blue and tan
-Blue wolf sable
-Solid blue
Undesirable colours
Brindle
Saddleback
Too much white
PATTERNS
Tan points
Domino
Spectacles
White spotting
Masking - Colour genetics in lapphunds
- Visual colours and patterns
- Genetic behavioural traits to look for
- Vet certificate
- Immunisation
- Check ups
- De-sexing
- Food and nutrition
- Fitness
- Conditioning
- Teeth
- Ears and eyes
- Nutrition
- How to do an examination of my dog.
- When should I take my dog to the vet?
- Any sign of lethargy. That is –
- A large number of vomits or strong diarrhoea
- Sad demeanour
- Physical injuries – especially if you see it take place and can estimate the severity.
- The dog showing pain – either by squinting, cries, flinching etc.
- Extreme dehydration (check lips)
- High temperature (over xx)
- If you have a gut feeling that you should. Don’t toss or turn about it, just do it!
- Ticks
- Fleas
- Mites
- Intestinal parasites
- Heartworm
- Gastritis and its causes (Vomiting/diarrhoea)
If toxins and poisons can be ruled out, there are a number of things that can cause an upset stomach. - Grass seeds
- Skin issues
- Hot spots
- Dandruff
- Dull coat
- Puppy pimples
- Dermatitis
- Toxins and poisons (including toads, snakes and spiders)
- Toads
- Toxic food
- Plants
- Toxins
- Snakes
- Spiders
- Reproductive health
- First aid for dogs (an encouraged course)
- Equipment
- Instructions
- CPR
- Wounds/bleeding
- Snake bites
- Toads
- Spider bites
- Ticks
- Poisonous plants and food
- Rat poison
- Other poisons
- Dehydration/hyperthermia
- Hypothermia
- Cutting nail quicks
- Mental health
- Mental stimulation
- Puppy growth
- Insurance, accounts, and savings.
- We recommend taking insurance on your dog, especially if you only have one or two. Unfortunately pet insurance does not work quite like health insurance for humans (or even car insurance), and you still must pay your vet upfront whilst you make your claim, unless you have a good rapport with your vet and have an account with them. Most vets do not allow for an account, but it may be worth looking into finding a good vet that does. So despite having insurance, it is always a good idea to have a savings account with money put aside (or a credit card) dedicated to your dog/s so that you will be able to give them the treatment they need with no issues. Pet insurance can be very expensive and for a decent amount of cover you may be looking at around $60-$90 AU per month per dog, with between $0 and $100 excess. Please take careful consideration when choosing an insurer and take time to read through the PDS. Many things which you may consider routine will not be covered through your pet insurance, even including something like dental injuries (Once our Demo fractured a tooth and the gum and root became infected, costing us $550 to have it removed, however it was much to our surprise that this wasn’t covered at all under our comprehensive top level policy!) It is still a good idea to put money aside for emergencies, regardless if your dog is insured or not. We ourselves do not take insurance out on our dogs as we have five animals, and to have insurance for all of them would cost us a silly $400 or so a month. Instead, we put the money that we would be spending in insurance into a savings account (or this could be your vet’s account!) and hold a credit card for just in case moments especially for the dogs and cats.
- Choosing an insurance
- Other options
- Recovery from Illness and Injury
- Choosing a vet
- Exercise
- Puppies
- Timeline
- Adults
- Training
- Conformation show training
- Crate training
- Toilet training
- Teething
- Puppy training
- Relationship building
- Free shaping
- Solid recall
- Learning name
- Introduction to Clicker training
- Trick training
- Place training
- Loose leash walking
- Fun games to play with your dog
- Building drive and tug play
- Creating the performance dog
- Clubs throughout the country
- Obedience training and resources
- Rally-O resources
- Agility resources
- Tracking resources
- Lure coursing resources
- Herding resources
- Nosework resources
- Working pack dog resources
- Sledding resources
- Weight pull resources
- Treibball resources
- Dancing with dogs resources
- Dock diving resources
- Endurance test resources
- Behaviourists/private trainers
- Holidays
- Where to board/have your lappie stay if you are going without them
- Boarding kennels
- Friends and family
- House sitters
- Lappie families
- Home stay for dogs
- Going on holidays with your lappie
- Pet friendly accommodation
- Flights
- Quarantine information about overseas trips
- Destinations
- Dinner plain + council information
- Pet friendly beaches and parks
- Road trips
- Conformation showing your lappie around Australia
- Where to board/have your lappie stay if you are going without them
- Grooming
- Equipment
See equipment list. - Brushing
Line comb, pin brush and slicker brush. Visual aids. - Dematting
- Drying
- Nails
- Eyes and ears
- Washing
- Conformation show grooming with products
- Finding a groomer
- Equipment
- Playing with your dog
- Puppies
- Safe games to play
- Adults
- Fun games to play
- Teaching your dog to fetch
- Puppies
- Is two better than one?
- I want to breed and/or show lappies, where do I start?
- Showing
- Equipment
- Grooming
- Point system
- Training and clubs
- Show grounds
- Mentors
- Support
- Breeding
- Bettering the breed?
- Are you breeding for the right reasons?
- Costs
- Choosing lines
- Dogs in partnership/co-ownership/breeding agreements
- A good vet
- Relationships with other breeders
- Equipment
- Breeding timeline
- Showing
- I want to do performance sports with my lappie, where do I start?
- Foundations
- Choosing a sport
- Sport resources
- Conditioning
- Exercise
- Treat recipes
- Lappies with other pets
- Other dogs
- Cats
- Prey animals
- Other
- I want to have my dog certified as a therapy dog, or an assistance/service dog, where do I start?
- Useful books
- Useful links
- Useful support groups/forums