Penny W

I have been told that a dog pulling on the lead is good for building up the muscle in his back legs.

Are there any other exercises that can help?

When I turn the computer on, sometimes the USB mouse works, sometimes it doesn't. I have to unplug it and plug it back in to get it to work. Any ideas?

As a follow up to this question I asked yesterday:

http://au.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=200...

I unplugged the other phone which only made the dropouts happen more often. With nothing else connected to the phone line, it connected and dropped out a minute after connecting. Again, it lasted two minutes. I had to turn the modem off and on again, it wouldn't reconnect itself.

One of the times I turned it off, the power light stayed red so turned it off and on and it started to work again.

Thing is, once I plugged the filter in by itself, with no phone, it stayed connected but only for an hour, then it disconnected again.

Any more clues?

My ADSL2+ internet connection constantly drops out. The modem people say it's a line fault. The ISP says it's a modem problem. I am at a loss as to what to do next. The ISP has tested the line and say that it's fine. I have done isolation tests and it stays connected in bridge mode for a longer time than "normal" mode but it DOES still drop out.

At the moment, the modem is connected in bridge mode with the wireless router doing the dialing. For a few days, this was working quite well, only dropping out once in three days but now we're back to dropping out about eight times a day.

I have tried reading up about this on various forums and some people have suggested that the filter might be faulty. We never use the phone at all. It doesn't ring very often and we very rarely call people. Does the filter only work when the phone is in use or does it filter constantly? Could this be the fault?

What else can I do to determine what is wrong?

At the moment, the DSL light goes out. Sometimes it reconnects, sometimes it doesn't and I have to turn the modem off so it reconnects.

I would appreciate any help.

I am looking for Kim Godfrey who is a hairdresser and was the manager of Christiane's at Rhodes a couple of years ago.

I have tried everything I know to find her but have had no luck, so if anybody knows where she is, could they please let me know?

Thank you.

My sister is getting married in October (spring in Australia). She is having three bridesmaids and the colour she has chosen for our dresses is a dusty pink.

Her dress has a full floor length skirt - the whole works. It is quite formal.

My question is, what etiquette do you follow for the style of the bridesmaids dresses? We have looked at a few different styles and lengths. There was one dress just below the knees (cocktail length) that was quite nice but I wasn't sure whether there was some sort of rule when it comes to dresses.

I personally prefer long bridesmaid dresses but it's not my wedding.

What are your thoughts?

Whenever I have a shower, I always make sure the taps are turned off so they don't drip.

When my fiance has a shower, he leaves the hot tap on just a tiny bit and it drips all day.

I have asked that he be more careful and turn it off tighter but he still forgets.

Is there something you can buy or some sort of special washer to make it easier and to turn it off completely and stop the drips without having to replace the taps completely?

I have been straightening my hair for a couple of years now. My hair is naturally straight, no waves at all but it just doesn't sit nicely naturally. If I straighten it one day, after I sleep on it, it sticks out all over the place and I have to straighten the ends again the following day.

The thing is, the more I straighten, the less chance there is of it looking nice without it being straightened. It's a trap.

I would love to have wavy hair or even bed hair but it's just too straight now. It just doesn't look nice when it's dried naturally. I have tried curling my hair with the straightening iron but it drops really quickly. I have tried scrunching but it looks terrible, even with styling products.

I saw a girl at work who had really nice curly hair and decided to straighten it for a while. Then she decided to go back to curly and it was just fuzzy. It took ages for it to go back to being nice and curly again.

Any advice?

We are thinking of moving from Sydney to the Newcastle area. What are the better suburbs for schools, transport and just generally nice areas, not run down and not a high crime rate.

We are in our 30s and looking for a nice relaxing suburb that's not too remote but definitely doesn't have to be in the centre of the city.

If anybody has any information at all about Newcastle and moving from Sydney, please help.

Sydney has just become ridiculous. Nobody cares. Everybody is in a rush. Traffic is terrible. Houses are expensive.

When we get home from work or anywhere and walk in the door, my female cockatiel will call out constantly. She will not settle down or stop. The only thing to settle her is to cover her. As soon as I take the cover off again, she starts up.

I don't want to keep her in a life of darkness but I have no idea what she wants and we cannot have her calling out so loud as we live in a townhouse and the neighbours might complain.

What can I do?

We currently live in Sydney but sick of it.

We're thinking of moving up the coast but we need to find an area that still has enough employment opportunities, a good place to bring up children and something affordable - a nice house for perhaps $350,000 or less.

I have looked at www.realestate.com.au and other real estate sites. Sure, I've found a heap of houses but I don't know the areas and have no idea about employment in those areas, so I guess I'm looking for information from people who have moved from Sydney themselves and have suggestions.

I have been told that South West Rocks, Coffs Harbour and Port Macquarie are nice places but is there enough work there?

Any help would be appreciated.

Thank you.

Ok, my 12 week old Cavalier just won't do it.

I have tried treats. I have tried just the collar, then letting her walk around with the lead attached. I have tried little by little.

As soon as you put her down and she sees that the lead is attached, she plants herself and doesn't look at me, almost as if she turns her back on me. She just doesn't want to know about it.

At first, she'll sniff around and chew sticks and leaves but then she'll catch a glimpse of that dreaded lead and that's it.

She's starting puppy pre-school tomorrow night.

Will this help us both out or should she be able to do it before she gets there?

Has anybody else got any other suggestions for me?

I know the outside world is just so big for her. I know she doesn't know what I expect her to do. I mean, why should she be attached - she doesn't understand that. She is such a good little puppy at home, will come (most of the time) when you call and can sit on command (most of the time).

Help????

I have a puppy, a 10 week old Cavalier.

I have to find a local vet for her vaccination at 12 weeks.

What makes a good vet and how do I know a good vet and more importantly, how do I find a good vet in my area.

I'm in the Baulkham Hills/Northmead/Winston Hills area in Sydney (Australia).

I have a 10 week old Cavalier and would like to give her a bone to chew on.

What is the best sort of bone for a puppy this young?

My puppy is only 10 weeks old. I had to make a new hole in her collar, otherwise it was way too big. It feels more snug now but I can still get two fingers in.

So, how tight should a collar be? I don't want to choke her but I know it's dangerous if it's too loose.

I have a 10 week old Cavalier and I tried her collar on her last night. She didn't like it too much. She had it on for a few minutes, so I thought I'd try her lead. She dug her heels in and didn't want to know about walking forward at all. I know it's her first time and I didn't want to make it a bad experience for her. I didn't pull her along. She pulled back further and further and then ran away. We took the lead off and then the collar.

I gave her the lead to sniff and see that it wasn't a bad thing. She took it outside (I thought she was going to bury it from the expression on her face).

I know it will take time and of course, eventually she will love it because it will mean she's going for a walk but what is the best way to introduce and get her used to this new experience, the dreaded lead?

Any ideas appreciated.

I have a 10 week old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. I am giving her an all wormer tablet today.

Which is the best brand to give or does it not matter?

I have also seen some "all wormers" that include treatment for heartworm and fleas, too. Are these just as good as the separate treatments?

Should I be treating her for fleas as yet? What is the best way?

Any advice would be appreciated. I just don't want to do the wrong thing.

I know she's only playing but I don't want to encourage her to play like this forever. She gets so excited and nips at my fingers, toes, clothes, whatever she can reach and does little growls, too.

She is only nine weeks and I worry that she may hurt little children's fingers. Those sharp little teeth can dig in.

She is such a sweet puppy but she doesn't understand the word "no" yet. I say this to her when she does it and stop her but she gets even more excited and comes back for more.

Will she grow out of this or what can I do to stop this behaviour now?

She will be going to puppy pre-school as soon as she has her second vaccination but should I be doing anything between now and then?

This is how beautiul she is:

http://img2.freeimagehosting.net/image.php?210bf22...

http://img2.freeimagehosting.net/image.php?67274ea...

I have an eight week old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel puppy.

I am feeding her chicken mince, rice with grated carrot and broccoli.

I am feeding her three times a day but she doesn't seem to eat much.

How much of this food should I be giving her?

She also has some small puppy dried biscuits.

I spoon out a couple of spoons or rice and add chicken and vegetables to this but she only eats about half.

I added some puppy milk to the mix and she seemed to enjoy this more but still didn't finish it off.

I also tried some canned food that was given to us as part of a "puppy pack". She loved it the first time but wasn't so keen today.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thank you.

I am in Sydney, Australia.

I bought a native plant from a native nursery, it's a Lechenaultia Biloba "Mullewa Blue".

I have planted it in a pot in native potting mix.

Just recently, there are toadstools/mushrooms growing in the soil.

How can I stop them and why are they growing?