Kaz

Could also simply be a change in sleep rhythms due to more or less exercise, stress, a difference in daily routines?

Just a quick idea to try to get over the hurdle of leash and walks - have you tried a harness? Possiby she has some bad associations with collar and leash that you will have to work through at a slower pace. This is not adressing the core issues but I am sure you will soon get some advice from some more knowledgeable Dolers

Such beautiful photos. They all look so happy. Just remember Toby will be just fine with it all when his time comes. I find it makes it easier to bear when we remind ourselves that we are the only ones that will suffer when we have to let one of our dogs go. It is you who will have to deal with a broken heart. The pain is yours Don't feel sad for Toby just be kind to yourself

So there is no rescue group operating in your area Siks? Can you tell us your general location in case someone reading this may be able to help out?

Hope we haven't scared sikhs3 away. Glad you posted for advice...... and you have recieved a lot of it (mostly good) You are doing a great thing helping this dog. Everything will turn out ok in the end there are just procedures that have to be followed to make it so. ETA don't read anything as a personal criticism. We are all learning new things every day - one of the reasons we all come to this forum

Mmmmm could be a litter of mastiffx pups......ouch! And all the puppies will have to be vet checked and microchipped before rehoming..........

Siks3, it is obvious that you have the dog's best intentions at heart however, as other have said, keepig the dog is illegal. Pleasr contact a SA rescue group, preferably not the RSPCA, for advice. If you were in NSW a rescue group could probably liase between you and the pound and have the dog listed with the pound and arrange to have the dog cared for in a temporary foster situation becuse she is pregnant. You could then arrange to adopt the dog once she had the pups. All would be official and legal that way. I don't know if this could be done in SA but a rescue organisation can help you find out. You cannot abort the dog until you have ownership.

Down to the beach every morning for mine. If its raining hard, I drag out the driazabone and the acubra......great look with board shorts My dane won't go into the yard when the grass is wet. I can drag her out but she refuses to toilet. ;)

Yeah - labs, goldies and cavs. I'm with you there! For a first timer who is prepared to put the work in, I would say GSD's And St Bernards seem like a relatively easy breed for the more enthusiastic newcomer.

The intention was to gross you guys out I try not to eat anything I would not be prepared to kill because I otherwise I would feel like a hypocrite or at the best, an ostrich with its head in the sand. So I'm pretty much a vegetarian except for seafood. It isn't my place to offer an opinion on anyone who hunts, or breeds and kills livestock I do however have an opinion on cruelty or inhumane practices.

Didn't know there was an 'ignore' option. Just had to go into controls to read about it. Geez wish I had one of those for real life! Just read that you allow your dogs to eat from your fingers. Last week I took Bozley out shopping with me and it was a very hot day so I thought I'd treat us to an icecream cone. We started on opposite sides and worked our way to the centre. It really is a bonding experience

My dogs live inside with me and share my life with me however I don't have a problem with people who prefer to have their dogs outside so long as their dogs are happy and healthy.

Wondered why so many had joined the thread

When I asked my husband what made him fall in love with me, he told me it was the special way I interacted with my dogs. In later years when he started to become more controlling and decided it was his right to tell me which dog I could or couldn't have, I made it simple for him. He could have me and the dog or I would happily move out. The next day he did apologise

Oooh. Sound like your husband is not just fussy but also very controlling of you. He must do all the housework and cleaning to give him the right to 'draw your attention' to things. I would understand if he became irritated at muddy paws on the gleaming kitchen floor he had just finished scrubbing. If he was mine he would be getting a huge kick up the whatsit.

Now you can see why Digby was terrified and hid under the house when Boz had a go at him lol

jotting that down - thaanks

Xander and Paddy - partners in crime baby Giselle break and enter Nice Boz Evil Boz

Can't do it I'm afraid. I have a great dane, a rottyxwolfy and a staffyx so I buy garbage bags to pick up pooh. Those little commercial baggies rarely fit around a single dog's pooh without getting your fingers in it.

And to think, people waste all that money on Botox when all they need to do is get a dane

The tops of my feet are covered in scars. Comes of beeing barefoot on the beach with ball obsessed dogs. Puncture marks all over my arms and legs from breaking up fights over the years. Teeth have been loosened from headbutting dogs. six stitches in my hand when my darling Bozley grabbed it during a fight with Giselle and shook the hell out of it before he reaised it was me. It was opened down to the bone and took six months to get full movement back in it.

Three large dogs here. In the city suburbs I was not comfortable walking more than two at a time. That was mainly due to the occasional aggressive mutt racing out of someone's yard when you least expected it. Now that I live in a small country town I am happy to walk the three at once as people seem far more responsible with their dogs particularly if their dog is dog aggressive. Apart from their daily walk I usually take one or other of the dogs with me if I go anywhere. This gives them one on one time with me and a nice change in their routine. Three is a good number as the ones left behind always have each other for company. Dog food is bought before I spend money on anything else. Iwill make do so long as the dogs are catered for. eta I have three or four basic dog beds that are outside but long ago I gave up buying epensive dog beds and cushions because they would always be eaten at some stage. I now collect freebie lounges, lounge cushions and mattress that people are throwing away. Mine generally prefer to stay on the lounges and sleep on my bed at night.

Great story, Babydragon Though you literally went the extra miles to get the result I did go for one session with Steve. Problem was that he was so good, he never got repeat business from me - only referals Watching him work with my dog for five minutes was enough for everything to fall into place in my mind and I didn't need to go back

Yippeeeee! After nearly 6 years, I have finally bonded with my dog! Well, he wasn't really my dog as he was chosen by my ex for my ex and when my ex passed away, I was stuck with him! Paddy just wasn't the dog I would have chosen especially as I had just lost my heart dog and was in a deep depression over it. I resented having to train and care for the new pup. I resented that my ex had had enough of the pup after around 4 months and that I had to put my foot down and refuse to allow the ex to return him to the rescue group he had been adopted from. The thing is that even though Paddy and I never bonded, he really has a brilliant temperament, he is placid, he is well behaved, is friendly with every body, is great with all other dogs and has been invauable in rehabilitating rescue dogs with behavioural problems. In the last few months Paddy and I have grown close. I would never part with him now.