indigirl

Hiya, iggies are pretty fragile while they are growing. Most leg break occur between 4 -12 months of age. My 4yr old iggy Capri scales the fences between the dog yards without a problem. He can also jump from the ground the top of the outdoor table and down again. Once they are adults the chances of a broken leg are much less. Kids and iggies are ok IF you teach your child how to handle a toy sized dog. If you think your child may be a bruiser then perhaps a larger sighthound would be better. Housebreaking can be an issue, but if you are consistent and determined you can successfully housebreak them. I have two iggy bitches that are litter trained. They use a large litter tray lined with newspaper. Some ppl could not live with this - I can. However I cant live with a dog that yaps, but many can. Iggies are definately not for everybody, they are quirky eccentric little dogs who are bursting with character. They bond closely with their owner but are often aloof with strangers. Personally I prefer iggies to the larger sighthounds- but i am a TAD biased. Once you've owned and loved an iggy, you will be a devotee for life Albury dog rescue has some gorgeous whippet crosses at the moment too!

nixon i am so sorry to hear about your puppy, and so sorry your kids had to lose their new puppy so soon. If I were you I would take Jed's advice, and hit them where it hurts - in the pocket. Then order another puppy thru one of the breeder's Jed recommends. Good luck!

I will never have jsut one dog again. I work fulltime and the dogs love having each otjher for company while Im not at home. I now have 7 dogs. A golden and a kelpie cross, 4 iggies, and an elderly sheltie. The two bigger dogs have a seperate yard to the little guys. The bigger dogs are very bonded to each other, as are all the iggies with each other. I found its much easier if you have at least 12 months between puppies. Rasing two puppies at once is hard work - I have a 15 month old iggy and an 8 month old iggy. Its definately easier only having one puppy to raise and train than having two. All my dogs are still very bonded to me. I find that I need to take the extra time with the two larger dogs, and give them regular walks and trainign times etc. The iggies are happy to be with me all at once and will take turns snuggling on my lap (I can only fit two at a time) in front of the TV. I also usually have a foster or two. I dont thinkmy dogs miss out on anything having to share me with so many other dogs.

LOL Great to see your sense of humour is still intact Jed I remmebr reading a thread about Chi where you described putting a jacket on her for the first time. I laughed so hard i nearly wet myself.

I got some stuff off ebay - pics of dogs etc, and Ive jsut ordered thingy from Vistaprint with the kennel name on it. its sold as a decal that sticks to the outside of a window, but I plan to stick it on the back of my dog trailer. It should arrive in the next few days, can take pics so you can see what its like. it was under $20 from memory. Some ppl on ebay also do custom decals - words etc.

I think your best bet would be to email all the IG breeders in Adelaide/SA with your request. The IG breeders are listed under the breed listings on the DOL homepage. Good luck!

If you want to really lash out try Karens Kollars, shes in USA but will ship them here. My iggies have one each. They are the rollsroyce of sighthound collars. fantastic quality. Unfortunatly the cost means they only get one each LOL. linky

If you can get a psychiatrist to say you are unfit for work due to depression/ PTSD from the fire etc, it will last 3 months and can be renewed with another form from psychiatrist in 3 months time.

Hi Jed, great news that your flash new joggers were found safe and sound! Im sure it was good to see your ponies too. Im wrapt you will get to see your dogs Monday - will you get to see Chi Chi too? Your dogs will turn themselves inside out with joy when they see you. You best be sitting down or they will bowl you over ;) Your strength of spirit is truly inspiring. Not a day goes by that you arent continually in my thoughts.

Karma is storm phobic... thank god I live in an arid area so not many storms here. Wally lives in fear that all the dog food in the world will suddenly vanish - hence his obsession with stealing food lol

Considering it lost its leg in a combine harvester im guessing its an outdoor cat! Poor cat should have been PTS

Ok now that looks freaky.

I think they have to be in the mail by 7th July. Thanks.. she best get sewing then LOL

I found a friend who can sew Im gonna get her to make a broken hill scene for my square I think. When do they have to be in by?

I bought a 2nd washing machine just for the dogs washing. Best decision i ever made.

I should add Spud was only chained to my bed as I knew i had men coming over to quote me on the fencing work. This is not where Spud normally spent his time lol. He was a big sookie boy with me and fine with my own dogs. He lived inside and had the run of most of the house. Another toddler gate prevented him entering the room where the front door was. Again this was an added safety measure to protect Joe Public.

+1

I owned a dog that was dog aggressive and human aggressive for 13yrs. In that time he killed another dog, he also bit 3 ppl. Spud was a bullmastiff x ridgeback and weighed 50kilos so a bite from him was no laughing matter. Its a miracle he lived to 13 really. I will describe his behaviour on one of the occasions where he inflicted a bite to an absolute Moron. Spud was chained to my bed, there was a toddler gate on my bedroom doorway which was beyond the reach of the chain. At that time I had no bedroom door. Moron came to quote me on some fencing work. He saw Spud laying quietly in my bedroom and commented on what a beautiful looking dog he was. I agreed but told Moron he was aggressive etc. Moron announced "Im a dog trainer and its all about how you approach dogs that determines aggression". I told Moron that was a lovely theory but no matter how he approached Spud he would be bitten. Moron then pushes past me and walks towards my bedroom telling me 'Look Ill show you'. I tell Moron that he has rocks in his head and to stay away from Spud. Moron ignores me walks through the toddler gate and approaches Spud with his hand stuck out. I call out to Moron that Spud is unpredictable and he WILL be bitten if he gets too close to him. Morons co-worker tells him to get away from the dog as well. Moron announces that Spud is calm and its fine. Jsut then he gets close enough to Spud so he is in reach of his chain. Spud lunges at Moron and bites his hand hard, his teeth meeting through his hand in 2 spots. Moron sprints from the room holding his injured hand. Moron's coworker is laughing so hard he can hardly breathe. They leave and drive to the hospital to get Morons hand attended to and get him a tetanus shot. I saw Morons co-worker down the street the following week and he was still laughing about it. Whilst its kind of a funny story and it really did happen jsut as I described, the point is that Spud was laying quietly on the floor not displaying any outwardly aggressive behaviour. He calmly waited till Moron was within reach then in a flash he bit him. There was no growl, no visible or audible warning before he bit. The moment after the bite he was again lying quietly on the floor. So please dont assume all aggressive dog's behave in a certain manner. Spud looked calm and settled, but he was just waiting for Moron to get within the reach of his chain.

When ive got an unhoused trained dog I always use very easily washed polar fleece blankets or similar. They are washed and go straight in the dryer. Ive never had a problem, I jsut have a huge collection of doggie blankies LOL. I dont use foam or a mat that cant be easily washed until they are reliably housetained. I buy them from Big W. The really soft ones are $10 each, the cheaper ones are 2 for $14. If you had half a dozen it would be easy enough to change them everyday, and wash once a week. I have a washing basket jsut for pet bedding etc and throw it thriugh the machine when ive got enough for a load. Snowysal also makes brilliant doggy doonas that wash up very easily. I have a ton of those too. I currently have 2 unhousebroken dogs plus two more that are jsut newspaper trained, so Im the queen of piddled blankies LOL

If you have persistent barkers who do not respond to training/bark collars etc, and have neighbours threatening your dogs or a nuicance dog order from the noise, de-barking is often the best option. I use barking collars on my dogs that like to bark, thankfully this has worked. But if it hadnt I would probably de-bark them as I have very nasty neighbours.

oops dble post

HAHAHA omg bedlam! mayhem! Work would KILL me!

That made me cry.. that poor dog.. how can ppl be so bloody heartless? Thank god he was rescued!

I have evil neighbours.. if they thought my animals were in my house and it was on fire they would probably throw petrol on the fire. NO chance of them risking even a fingernail for an animal.

I ordered one too, but will put in on the gate at the back of the driveway not at the front door. If there was a fire at my house they would be accessing the rear of the house through the gate. At least this way I wont be advertising my mobile number to the world - I have a silent number for a reason.