noisymina

Just a thought. You say we can't control the number of dogs a breeder has. Well, yes we can. Simply by ENFORCING current council registration rules. I pay rego fo mine .........NEVER seen a ranger in over 25 years - the only exception being when I called them once after doing their job for them. This is only one example of people saing "We need more laws" when, in fact, current laws would go a long way to resolving an issues IF they were enforced. More laws, no matter how good they are, are only as good as the will to enforce them. Maybe a good start would be to see what we have now that just needs to be enforced?

I'm glad I'm not the only one with a toenail phobia. While the vet and I were down on the floor wrestling Kaisie for a nail clip last week, I was in the verge of asking her if we should just jab her instead. ;) We never get them all done in one go. No wonder I had problems trying to do it on my own. She's 30+kgs of muscle.

You did it by calling her Rosie ....Rosemary....PINK flowers. And your name is wrong now. I has to be PINKangel.

We have a few wasps around here and Kaisie is paranoid about any small flying insect above her. She's always checking to see that they are not coming in for the kill. Poor girl - I think she has been bitten a few times. I can often work out where a new nest is by her behaviour - and I go in and get them for her. She hates the new freezer. I think it makes too much loud noise. As soon as he sees me heading for it, she hops up and leaves, watches me do what I do, and then comes back and lies down again. A real routine. Fortunately, she has overcome her fear of brooms, mops, hoses and even the vacuum since we got her. She now sees my presence is more desireable than her need to avoid the vacuum. :cry:

Vinegar in WITH the detergent? I use vinegar as the rinse aid/fabric softener to get rid of the detergent. Usually I use the same detergent I use for all the other stuff. My current favourite is Earth Choice liquid. In the BIG bottle. If I want something strong to kill odours, I go for Wool Mix. Even add a bit more Eucalyptus if it's bad. Or some Tea Tree oil.

Mine will knock back her kibble if she is not hungry. When she is not hungry. it usually means she does not actually need more food. I'm usually prepared for it as I can see when she is getting a bit heavier than usual. Works every time. She has some sort of in-built weight control thing. I cut back for a while on her food, she gets a bit lighter, and then starts eating again. ps...if she does not eat it straight away, I pick it up and keeep it for the next morning. Don't want to feed the ants.

I just give mine a 1/2 cup in the mornings these days, and raw for the rest. Takes ages to go through a bag. But you will finish it in the end.

Warning, green potatoes aren't unripe potatoes, they have green areas or patches on them and they are poisionous to humans and dogs if eaten raw. They'd make us sick, but they might make a dog deathly ill. The green indicates the presence of a poison that does this. It is formed by the potatoes being exposed to light, mainly sunlight. If they have been growing anywhere near the surface of the ground, for example, not just post harvest. The problem is that the poison is there long before the green colour appears. So you can't tell if it is present or not. Thus RAW potatoes are best not eaten. Cooking destroys the toxin if it is there, so no prioblem once they are well cooked.

Same here. I think the GAP programme would be a good way to go as the dogs are fully grown, temp tested and matched. What a good way to get a dog that suits the need and the potential owner? Even if the one that would suit us would not be a good example of the ideal greyhound.

Brindle - your girl is lovely!

Thank you for the response, HollyE.

Does anyonbe use this kibble? Or have tried it? http://www.pricelesspets.com.au/natural-balance Any opinions on it would be appreciated, please.

Take your Mum to visit some Dobes. People who visit here are leaned upon and patting within about 5 mins - if they are welcome visitors - no matter what they thought of Dobes before. I have a friend who used to show dogs - GSPs - and even she sat patting my Dobe and saying how she never realised what sooks they really are. I wish I'd had a camera ready when our granddaugter started walking. Nothing funnier (or more cute) than a full sized Dobe play-bowing to a baby. :laugh: :D *pictures small athletic female trying to run as fast as a Dobe* By run, I mean off leash, run wiht the wind stuff. I can't imagine any Dobe being happy without a few of those each week. Our present one did grow up on a suburban block and she went crazy when she came to liove here. Even running into trees - and she did a good job on the compost bin too. My younger son still comments on that one. Fortunately, she did evetually learn to dodge immovable objects. Our vet repeatedly comments on how calm and laid back she is for a Dobe and how one of her clients is having real probelms with a young, male Dobe on a sububan block going ballistic. Young Dobes are really energetic and need lots of attention. They do not "mature" until at least 2 years of age. I think you should not eliminate the idea of a mature dog in your search.

How much room do you have for your dog to run? I mean really stretch out and RUN? Are you looking for a pup or a mature dog? Greytmate asks some very important questions.

My Dobe has one toy. It's her baby. It's a squeaking plastic hot dog. She looks after it becasue she knows what happens if she bites it too hard and kills it. Ever seen a Dobe grieve for a plastic toy? She has a squeaking plastic hamburger too, but it's not her favourite.

Approx $100 a month for our spoilt Dobe. Food, wormers. No flea treatment because we don't need it. Add a random flea collar once or twice a year. Add the random doggy bed/mattress/toy. Does not include vet costs. We are putting out for meds and the occasional visit now as she is getting older. But younger, healthy dogs don't have that expense. Maybe put a bit aside for your dog's old age. If you are going to do the annual vaccinations, add a couple of hundred a year for that. We don't carry pet insurance. I did the figures once and decided it was not worth it. We are well ahead by not doing so. Luck maybe. ;) One can always opt to run a special account (maybe with ING) to cover emergencies.

Thank you for the information. Greytmate. ;) In this case, a guard dog would be a bonus! Just wondering. I sure like to give a dog a home if it needs one if/when we also need a dog.. But our first priority is a watch/guard dog. Can't have another like the Wei that just watches them cart away the goods. I was wondering if there was any hope a grey would suit. And it seems it is not impossible.

Talk to your local locksmiths about what intruders do to dogs. Baiting is the least of it.

It's not cruel or amything to simply stop, or stop and turn facing the other way and start off in the new direstion. Actually pulling them as hard as they pulled you is not the aim of the game. I used to love the way Kaisie used to behave if I simply stopped. We would stand there for a bit while she waited for me to continue. Then she would work out that we were not actually going anywhere. She would then come back to check me out - ie stopped pulling, then we would proceed. Over and over and over. Other times I would just, stop, turn around and call her and she would happily trot in the opposite direction until she got ahead enough to pull agin. Repeat. repeat. Repeat. Agh ....we are not going anywhare! Gradually she realised we went much more slowly anywhere if we had to keep stopping and/or stopping and turning. Any walks we do are still slow porgress, but since we have heaps of room for her to run here, it's not a necessity. Now she knows that if she pulls, I will stop. So we get a pull, not a hard one, I stop, she stops - becasue she know what is coming. She now doesn't know if we are going to just stop and proceed - or if we are going to turn and go back the other way. Keeps her guessing. ;) At least she is not fighting me and pulling HARD anymore. Better than we had.

It's hard to say which dog is more or less a "heart" dog. Even tho our first Dobe was supposed to be my DH's dog, I was home most and she was pretty much mine. She also was my defender, chasing off intruders etc. She even used to keep to the property boundaries even tho we had no fences at the time. How the heck did sghe know where the boundaries were? But she did. She chased that guy right to the footpath before she left him. She stopped right at the fence line - even without a fence there. As soon as she knew where all the family were and was satisfied they were safe, she would came back to me. Kaisie does exactly the same thing. She too will defend any of the family. She is my velcro dog too. The rescue Poodle I got as a teen will always be special too. She had bad canker and would sit and cry while I cleaned and rubbed the medication into her ears. Never, ever, not once did she try to bite me - or even snap. So we had a pretty specail bond too. When she could not see where I was, she used to put her nose to the ground and track me down. ;) That was really funny when I got on a horse one day and the scnet track stopped mid-paddock. She kept going back and re-teacking - to the exact spot! I guess it is also a timing thing. Each of those, in a way, were there at a time I needed them, and for at least two of those above, they needed me in some way. So, just because a dog seems to be the most special in the world, doesn't mean another will not come along and also be just as special, if in a different way. Kaisie is 11 now and well past the normal age span for a Dobe. I will probably have her for a little while yet. But the idea of going past a Dobe for my next dog scares me something terrible. I do fear I will not "connect" with another breed.

I would say the same thing. It's not the collar per se. Some breeds, I believe, are more inlined to be pullers than others, MY present Dobe came here pulling like a steam train. I've had two others than never pulled an inch. But then, I trained them as pups. Took all of three or four session about 5 mins each and they had it for life. Full grown steam train .....well two of us with check chain and hours of walking around the property and I can now take her to the vet etc without a hassle. I do wish the previous owner had done the training when she was little. I only take her on check chain now becasue i'm about 55kg and she is 30+kg - and I just want that extra - just in case. Seldom need it these days as she sticks like velcro anyway. Looking back, we probably could have done it with a flat colar only - but at first she used to back out of that one, which was not a good idea. So we had to use something she could not back out of. Many walks - stop, change direction, stop, change direction. Stop, proceed, stop, proceed. Priase for a few steps with no pull. The occasional treat for a few metres no pull. Takes pesistence. Thank goodness my son was helping. One can get very dizzy turning around all the time. :D

bloody fantastic - they'll watch the burglers come in, and watch them leave with your stuff :D That is what our Wei did. Literally. NOT impressed.

Yes .....but what are they like as watchdogs?

We have always had dogs and cats. Sometimes it's been a stand-off. Sometimes they have been great mates. One cat used to chase our Wei around the house. The dog was petrified of her when she got in that mood. Have not "lost" any of them. Kaisie was introduced to our "family" at 4 years of age. The cat we had then and her never really hit it off. So stand-off was about it. Then we got a young kitten - and DH spent ages with them and always supervised them together during the first few months. He did LOTS of positive re-inforcement when the dog was friendly/gentle to the cat. The kitten could not have cared less either way. They were good company, but it took ages for them to actually camp on the same bed etc. But we could tell Kaisie to say hello to the cat, and she would gently target said cat and the cat would rub against her. Then she would head straight to DH for a pat and "good girl" love in. ALL our dogs have differentiated between our cats ("Family") and other cats. While ours were quite safe, any intruders have been chased off quite seriosly. In fact, Kaisie flushed out and chased off a huge ginger cat from near our dam last week.

Mine gets meaty chicken of any sort, but mainly necks. Thighs, legs, wings, frames etc are all options if they are cheap. Also Lamb flap. Turkey necks if I can get them. I never feed load bearing bone of any sort. Two reasons - one is she buries them under DHs fruit tress and this is not good for the fruit trees. And secondly, they are not recommended as they are too hard and can splinter/break etc. I also noticed that she never used her back teeth on those big bones anyway - and that is where the plaque builds up, not on the front teeth. The vet always says something about the excellent condition of her teeth.