ruthless

I don't necessarily want to change their minds, I just want them to get their facts straight before they go persecuting people. That's awful. What ignorant people. That'd be good, thanks I really don't have issue with the saying I'm not to turn up to class with Chopper wearing it, it was the total attack on my character that really upset me. I'm happy to abide by their rules, but maybe it's not the right club for me and I should look for an alternative. Still can't find any information on legality. Anyone?

I just got home from a rather humiliating experience! I brought Chopper to dog training at Centennial Park. After you fill out the forms you have your equipment inspected. I had him wearing his flat collar and prong. I was told I couldn’t train with one of those and how it was disgusting and cruel. She then called all the other trainers over to show them what a horrible person I am! I walked away but one of the trainers came running after me and convinced me to stay and try the check chain. I told her that I accept that they don’t want me to use my prong in class, but the way it was handled was degrading and made out that I was a bad owner. I left his collars on a table during class. Afterwards, when I went to pick them up I was approached by another man and told they were illegal in NSW. I told him they weren’t and he said he’s a judge and he knows that they are. He called over another man to back him up and I told them that they’re not illegal and I bought it from a registered supplier and I’ve been trained in how to use it and why I chose it over a check chain or a halti, but they were completely self righteous and refused to listen. I eventually just said that I don’t accept what they’re saying as true and if I come back next week with proof, that I expect an apology. Am I right? They are legal in NSW aren’t they? Does anyone know where I could find information online? [steve K9's on holidays!] Also, I'd like to supply them with proof that they're less damaging to the dogs neck than the check chain or Halti. Does anyone have those links handy? I'm happy to not use a prong collar in class, as they're their rules, but I'm not happy to be treated like scum by these people. Can anyone suggest an alternative dog training class that's as cheap and not too far away from Kingsford?

I noticed this morning that he's not as bad as I make him out to be. I want him to walk right beside me [as that's what Cesar said to do!], so I keep the leash really short and correct him if it goes taught. Today however, I let him have the whole length of the leash, while keeping Ivan very close to my other side, and he only went half a body length in front of my leg for most of the walk. If he "forgot" for a minute and went any further I stopped and he walked back to beside me and sat down. Maybe I'm setting him up for failure by walking them together, so I'll try them seperately and see how we go. Thanks for all your replies!

i do correct him, he doesn't care, he returns to beside me immediately, he know's that's where he's supposed to be, and seconds later he's pulling to get in front again. i've heard it said many times that it's about consistency, which i guess is one area where i've gone wrong. i'll try all these things. i know deep down that he'll be heaps better on his own, so i'll try and make it work. or hey, maybe hubby can haul ass out of bed to walk ivan!!! thanks for the advice

I may make excuses, but I am going to take all suggestions on board, I swear The reason I walk them together is cause I only have an hour available and as it is we get home from our walk and Chopper still has energy to spend another half an hour tearing around the garden with Angel, and then he still gets bored enough to rip up his blanket or rope or rubber toy, or whatever else I leave with him when we're at work. I'm worried that if he gets less exercise he'll be even more destructive [if that's possible!]. Another reason I walk them together is cause when I take Chopper out first and then bring him home and then bring Ivan out, he'll spend the whole time I'm gone crying and whinging. Bear in mind it's very early, the neighbours wouldn't want to have to put up with that I'm sure!!

Every day I get up at 6am to walk Chopper and Ivan for an hour. Every day I get angry and frustrated. I've tried a prong collar for the last 6+ months. It's definitely better than nothing, but it has never had the result on him that it did on Ivan and Angel. He's not out in front dragging me along, but the leash is never loose. I realise that he's pulling to get in front of Ivan. I have to walk them together, so I try having one on either side of me and give them very little leash. I noticed he was getting pock marks on his neck from the prong cause he walks in such a way that it's always digging in to him, so I've changed over to a Halti. It's equally ineffective. I've heard people saying that you should stop and turn around everytime they pull, but my walk is for my exercise as much as it is for theirs, so I haven't tried that. I've been doing the whole Cesar Milan method of not letting them out the door before you, making them come to you to have their collar and leash put on and making them walk beside you for all but the last 5mins of the walk. Ivan's fine. Chopper's a bloody nightmare. I get so frustrated, that the calm assertive energy isn't happening at all My heart's broken!!

Thanks, but we've got the shade cloth ones here. Good to know though.

is dermaveen from the chemist or the petshop? also, does anyone know how long will it take to notice the effects of the fish oil?

i found a container of fish oil capsules in the cupboard, must be hubbys. watching angel and chopper trying to figure out what to do with them was too funny! they had it sussed by the time i gave them the 2nd one though

oh cool, thanks. i was only washing her that often since the flea issue as it seemed to give her relief from the itchiness. she gets quite dirty sometimes [she wrestles with chopper in the dust bowl that is our garden and she likes to wade in a muddy stream at the park!], but maybe she could just be hosed off afterwards as opposed to getting a proper wash.

I did a search, but can't find the information I'm looking for... When we got Angel from Staffy Rescue she had pretty flakey skin, but it cleared up within a few weeks. That was almost a year ago. She hasn't had it since. For the last few months we've had flea allergy problems with her, but I think that's all under control now. She's on Sentinel and Advantix. She also had hives a fortnight ago. She gets washed every week or two weeks with Fidos oatmeal shampoo and conditioner. She sleeps in a crate in our bedroom and sometimes she wakes me up in the middle of the night with all her scratching and chewing herself. I was just giving her a tummy rub and I noticed she's got lots of flakey skin around her bum, on her tummy and behind her ears. Her skin doesn't feel dry, which I thought was odd. I also noticed a few bites, but I think/hope they're fly bites. I rubbed some Vit E cream onto her and sprayed her with fly repellant. I think she might just have dodgy skin and be prone to allergies. What is the best way to manage it? I know Supercoat isn't the best, but her and Ivan have been doing fine on it. We put Chopper on Eukanuba cause his farts were rancid! She gets kibble for breakfast, some sort of long lasting treat when I go to work [rawhide, pigs ear, Everlasting Treat Ball, kong, lamb shank, etc.] and for dinner she gets more kibble with ACV, sprint oil and either kangaroo, beef, tuna, mackerel, salmon or chicken necks. Do you think something in her diet could be causing it?

If they had fleas on Sentinel then there must have been fleas in the environment. Fleas can't breed when the dog is on Sentinel but it won't stop them from picking up fleas already in the yard or house. Yeah, I think they picked them up in the dog park or on holidays, or they were brought into our yard on a visiting dog or a roaming cat, possum, rat, etc.. Who bloody knows. I think it's all under control now anyway, yay!

we use sentinel and advantix as they got fleas when we were treating with sentinel alone.

we had a recent bout of fleas and allergies. i was about to go to the vets AGAIN when i felt their backs and the lumps had gone down. i rang her to cancel and she said they were probably hives from a food or pollen allergy. they weren't scratching like crazy this time, so we just let them sort themselves out.

excellent, now i have a lumpy rash on my shoulder. is it possible that i'm allregic to fleas too? i've been reading that apple cider vinegar will help alleviate angels itching. has anyone tried this?

haha, he sounds just like chopper, i feel your pain! we used to leave our lot in the garden for 9 hours a day while we were at work and the list of things he destroyed is too long to go into. they also used to run the fenceline and fight and bark. now him and angel are shut inside the back door on tiles with a trampoline bed, chewy treat and a toy each. they can't do any damage. recently i didn't close the door to the rest of the house properly and they got in and ran riot, but i take full responsibility for being careless as i know what they're capable of. it may take time with your boy to learn what he can be trusted with. in the meantime i'd definitely be leaving him in a crate, especially if it's only for a few hours and he's happy enough in there. i've been using a water spray bottle to stop the dogs from jumping on visitors. it's working for us, it might help stop your fella jumping on the board.

thanks everyone. i bathed the dogs on fri eve and just dosed with advantage. angel's covered in lumps, she must be really allergic to the bites. might have to bring her to the vets tomorrow cause she's scratching herself raw still. going to pix up some permoxin for spraying the garden too. cheers.

Thanks Bel... I'm alright though. I think it was for the best. My Dad, even though he bought her and brought her to shows for a few years, grew to hate her and she wasn't allowed in the house very much. Something to do with her clawing the furniture and animals carrying germs etc. We smuggled her in a lot tho and hid her under blankets and doonas! My Mum looked after her very well but she wasn't really allowed to be part of the family. I love my Dad to bits, but he's just one of those people who gets crankier with age. He'll be horrified if he comes to visit and sees our furkids sitting on the sofa and getting fed our leftovers. Can't wait!!!

thanks mate ;)

thanks for that... she had a good long life alright. would love to get a burmese kitty, but ivan hates cats. we minded our friends burmese for a week a while ago and they had a few stand offs at the screen door! do you've any pics of your cats?

We ran out of Sentinel so when OH was gettting Sprint Oil the other day he got something by Ranvet to use instead. Has anyone ever used it? You're right Sandgrubber, I hate pumping all these chemicals into the furry ones, it can't be good for them longterm. Chopper was on 3wks of anti-biotics recently for a bad reaction to insect bites. I need to get rid of the fleas for their sake more than mine though as they have reactions to them. I've tried the garlic in the food thing before and they don't really like it. Does it really work? Jenna, I don't think we have a flea problem as such, so we won't bomb, but I'll try the Advantage, thanks. It's what we used to use anyway until the Pet Shop told OH that Spectrum was better as it did more stuff.

Poor Puss got her wings today. She was our 19yo chocolate Burmese. She was my familys cat, back home. I left Ireland over 2yrs ago and even then you could tell she was getting old. My mum emailed me this morning to tell me she had her pts as she was very thin and frail and she couldn't bear to see her suffering. She was a great cat and she gave me lots of laughter when I needed it most. Goodbye Puss xx

is treating the yard necessary? if your garden is 80% dirt/black sand and 20% grass where would fleas live? no trees or bushes. [i know, i'm painting a very pretty picture of our back yard!!] also, the staffies live inside during the day. don't lie around in the garden very much. the vet nurse guy said that the flea rinses weren't very effective. since angel now has had a reaction to the fleas i thought i'd use the pyotex (medicated shampoo) followed by conditioner. god i hate fleas

Hi, We found 2 fleas on Angel this morn. She's been scratching like crazy for the last week but we didn't know why till today. She's scratched herself raw in places. I rang the vets and they said to wash all the dogs tonight with their normal shampoo and treat with spray on frontline tomorrow or the next day and wash all their bedding and hoover the house. I told him she gets Sentinel at the start of every month and he said that's not enough as it only sterilizes the eggs. He said we should use that and topical Advantage. Either all year round, but especially in the hotter months. We're in Sydney and they don't hang out with other dogs very often, so I don't know where they could've come from. What's everyone elses flea routine? Thanks

pooh, the photos didn't work maybe try http://www.photobucket.com