Expert: Wendy Grudin - 7/19/2008

Question
QUESTION: hey
the other day we bought a cattle dog puppy, we we've read that they need lots of excersise, our back yard is quite small but we do have a big park just down the road from us, if we took her there every day and let her off the lead to run and play fetch for atleast an hour each day , would that be enough to keep her happy?

also,ive read that if they dont have a job or dont get enough excersise they can develope aggression, what is the chances of that happening ithe circumstances that our puppy is in?

her parents were apparently very quiet dogs and werent aggressive at all, would this help her chance of coping with being in a small backyard??

and i was just wondering , she has fleas but we have read that fleas baths are way too dangerous for 2 month old pups
is this true?
we are going to visit the vet in  3 days about it

thanks bye
from jess

ANSWER: Throwing the ball in the park will suffice for exercise...she will not become aggressive. Talk to your vet re: fleas. They are most likely also in your home.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: great thanks heaps

umm but wouldnt the fleas just stay on her and in her bed? we havent had any bites or anything at all, she doesnt come in the house she just has a heap  of blankets and a soft warm bed outside

thanks so much for providing me with the information about the excersise and aggression thing, your a great help

Answer
I would rather that you speak to the vet re: fleas....but if she has been in the house at all.....they are most likely in the house. They breed very quickly..if you see one, you have hundreds!I am certain the vet can eliminate the fleas that are on her.