Lab_Rat

Whippets are too cute!!! My sister has decided when she can have a dog where she lives, she will be getting a whippet ;) One of my ridgeback friends in Perth has whippies as well, they are such great little dogs - and seem to keep the ridgies in check too!!! I think the worst thing they do (perhaps its one of those genetic disorders, I dont know ;) ) is counter surf!!! And man are they good at that!!! I have also met Cath and her Whippets, lovely girl - and loves to chat about her dogs! You will generally find lots of Whippets people near or with Ridgeback people at shows....thats how I got introduced to this great little dog....Especially one called Jimmy, who wears a dear little Inspector Clueso jacket :) Big Happy Belated Birthday Ososwift ;) Hope you had a good one!!

Thanks for that Amypie ;) Poor lil Trixie, hope her fat little toes are better soon!

Great theres lots of interest out there WX!! Itll be good to watch an agility Xolo!! Anyone know if there is Agility on the friday or saturday night of the Western Classic??? I dunno where my k9 mag is.....

Yep! Zola just threw up................................her breakfast.................................from about 8.30 this morning!!! Yeeha!!! I can see another vet visit coming on!!! Hope everyone elses pupsters are on the mend

:laugh: Just another spanner in the works for you Mav1 - The brown or liver nosed ridgies have different general temps to the black faced ones.................Quite a lot more mischevious and ratbaggy

That is so true poodlefan!!!

LOL....We have a ridgeback and a kelpie, and if push came to shove I dont know which breed I would "choose" I love them both equally for their different qualities...They are so different, but in times of need they are both there for me - which I find so amazing! Have you visited the Ridgeback thread??? Please head there and join us with your ridgy stories :D

Beautiful post RR-Melbourne....So much more articulate than what Ive tried to put down..LOL!! It was long, but wonderful at the same time!! I enjoyed reading it and I have a ridgy!! They certainly do steal your heart, and yes your leadership skill will be tested (mine on a daily basis with my dear Zola), but they really are the best dogs :rolleyes:

I dont know Mason, I got my first ridgie after years of having kelpies and borders - and I have a soft pushover type personality.... :rolleyes: Definitely the first few months were the worst, but Miekah turned out to be THE best first ridgie someone could ever have!! Yes she was stubborn and independent, but also so forgiving, and a joy to own.We taught each other so much! I still miss that dog If I had got the beast we have now first, she wouldve been our one and only ridgie!!!!! She is a monster - defiant, feral, super independent but also has separation anxiety and dislikes strangers on her turf!!! I simply would not have coped with that years ago!! But thats my disposition!! Better suited to dogs that are trained easily without the stubbornness of a hound LOL!! Or the dependant defiant thinking!! That said, I have done obedience with Zola and she is more conducive to it than Miekah ever was....If we can get her less anxious, I would love to do some trialling with her, as she enjoys it - just not away from home LOL..... I think if someone knows what they are getting into, and have the right temperament to deal with whatever breed they are after - hell, why not give it a go!! I know a dog is for life, and i dont condone rushing into things, but by the sounds of it the OP has done their homework and just cant decide between the 2 breeds. Both are breeds that need an owner that is assertive and savvy Mav1, you could also attend some dog show if you are close enough and get to meet a few different dogs to see what they are like!

Wow - like many others I have only just checked out this thread Think I may get one for our ridgy who suffers SA and "Strange visitor Anxiety"......Just watching your videos GSDs4eva is amazing to see such a hyped up dog be more relaxed and almost indifferent to both the guy patting her and the poor cat!! Great to read all the positive feedback on the Thundershirt

Okay - ridgies are hounds, so really arent totally trustworthy off lead in areas where they might give chase to another animal, rabbits or roos! We are on five acres, surrounded by bush and all the wildlife that goes with it!! Our girl is reasonably reliable off lead, but at dawn and dusk times she is not allowed outside without being on a lead.. She will simply take herself off following a roo scent, or a roo! I would never forgive myself if something happened to her while she was off the property, so I practice being safe rather than sorry. Having done obedience training and showing our girl, she pretty much ignored other dogs unless there was one she took a shine too!! She never had a go at any other dogs, but never really wanted to play with them either - except a Wei pup from memory at obedience training, which was rather distracting for the poor Wei!!! And her owner.LOL!! I certainly wouldnt jog in suburbia with any dog offlead, but our girls are taken for walks off lead around our area. So are we making it any easier for you

How does it smell VJB??? I got an off bag of RC once, pain as I live an hour from decent dog food supplier! I took it back and the place I got it from agreed - it was off!!! It smelled strange, I guess rancid - as it wouldve been the fat that was off.....Have a good smell! Our poor girls ate two or so meals of it before I clicked there was something wrong, poor kids

Acheron is beautiful Dobesrock!!! Soooooo shiny! Your ridgie X amstaff must be a solid dog!!

Hehehe, this also applies to ridgies!!! Gee how could I forget that!! Our current girl is very pushy!!

Hi Mav 1 and welcome to DOL!!! Great choice of breeds and I was once in your position....Ridgie, Dobe or Dalmatian. I ended up going with a ridgie and couldnt have been happier. I wanted a big dog to go out horse riding with me and we lived on a farm, and after lots of mind changing ended up getting a beautiful ridgie bitch from a wonderful breeder in Perth. They are great companion dogs, love their humans and love doing what their humans are doing whether its jogging, going to the beach or lazing about watching tv Ridgebacks need socialisation - both human and dog, and good basic obedience training. Puppy pre school is also a good idea as I found with our second girl. They need firm consistent training and (compared to training our Kelpie), a ridgeback can be a challenge - but they are great fun!! You certainly learn new angles of training dogs! Ridgebacks are supposed to be aloof, not aggressive - they tend to ignore strangers rather than confront them! Once they meet a person though, they will remember them next time! Our girls cope quite well being left at home when we are working, but they only have to do that 2 days a week as Im a shift worker. They have a great run with kennels, lots of shade in the summer and nice and warm in the winter. But they certainly arent the kind of dog you can leave in the back yard - they need to be with their humans!! Sorry I cant give you any insight to Dobes, other than they are beautiful looking dogs Good luck with your decision, its not easy I know!!

After reading the thread about Puppy farms in the In the News forum, I though I would go searching to see if there are any puppy farms in WA............. In my search I found a rather disturbing blog here about the administrative side of RSPCA WA.....I cannot understand how this sort of thing can continue to happen. Its bad enough that shire councils behave in this manner (they seem to be a law unto themselves ) , but when these people are supposed to be taking care of animals that are at the end of the line I just find it incomprehensible!!! WTF????? Another disturbing thing is the high turnover of vets and nurses....These people find themselves in the situation of having to leave as they cannot do anything about the idiots above them! Surely its time for some sort of investigation about how these bodies are run?? Over the years I have supported the RSPCA in WA and felt like I was doing the right thing....Im not so sure now ;)

Ill remember that Ruthless!! It would be so much easier if they could tell us what was going on! VJB - have you had her blood tested for anything?? Maybe there is something going on in there!!

I feel for you VJB............I have a dog who lives on dry food and lamb mince (plus fruit, veges and yogurt & chia seeds)....It is the only meat that doesnt seem to make her itchy or sick.....So she doesnt get bones......I am waiting for the day she turns her nose up at her dry food.....Some days I hear her tummy grumbling away and wonder if she really isnt handling the kibble...She will eat grass frantically for a while, then seems ok...The kelpie on the other hand does really well on her kibble, mince and chicken bits.. Have you tried changing dry food brands???

I have lucky enough to be with most of my animals when they have been put to sleep.....I think our first ridgebck was the worst though, I was bawling, the vet was bawling and the vet nurse was bawling too.........When she had gone, we all had a big snotty group hug....Was the best!! We were lucky with our mare too, beautiful young vet came out. My sister and I sat with Sal and stroked her while Angel the vet did her thing. Another teary group hug!! I understand though vets not wanting owners to be hugging animals though........Its such an emotional traumatic time, and they just want to get over asap Im thinking....I wanted to be a vet when I was at school. Somehow I dont think I would have cut it though, far too much of a sook!

When we had our dear old mare pts last march, I had to ring around to find a vet to head out asap as she was in alot of pain...One vet told me I would have to pay up front, cash.....I told them as civily as I could - who has that amount of cash on them?? I live in the sticks for petes sake, dont keep a stash of cash on me!! Anyway I found a dear practice that would come out straight away, didnt even mention money!! About a week later we recieved a beautiful card in the mail, and about two weeks after that we got the account. I cried on recieving both. The card for obvious reasons, as well as the fact they werent our regular vet...the second coz the bill was so damn tiny!!! Our regular vets are pretty thoughtful too...they give us a bit of time to get the death of whichever beloved creature it was, then send the account! I hope its like that in the city too.

lol I am pretty safe in old Bunno I am hoping to have a web cam maybe from a few weeks of age, and I may have to keep them al as I just deleted my puppy list lol Cant be all bad as I seemed to get the How Much question all the time and that immediately puts me off as a first question! More for me! I say 101 Xolos! Great how that seems to be THE most important question!! I know its an important one, but its an important one of many!!! You know who genuinely wants one though, if they dont gasp at the price they are serious pup buyers! Rach still interested...LOL??? Mason - Zola only steals coffee and tea.....She does however like to slide her drooly along the edges of the cupboards and poke her tongue onto anything food like - disgusting beast!!! I have to remember to keep plates and food away from the edge

Bloody hell!!! Poor Spartan and poor you ST!!! Yep Id be putting padlock on all food storage areas Glad my girl only steals the odd cup of coffee left at ridgeback level!! Ozjen - sounds like a yukky experience!! Poor roos They dont stand a chance against a car! Certainly hope I dont have to do it again in a hurry....too upsetting. Our kyke paddock (small paddock that is supposed to be our summer paddock for the grazing animals and play area for the dogs) has just exploded with the rain weve had in the last week!! I cant believe it. It seems to have sprung up overnight! The sheepies will go in there this arvo. Hope they appreciate it!

Hehe.............havent you had enough too??? LOL Goodo, hope all goes to plan with the pup thing. Ill have to sneak in and have a peek when they eventually arrive, if I can fight off all the other dolers!

Hope the cyst aint too big WX!!! Any sign of a "season" yet?? I may be heading for Darwin, in the next few years LOL!! Would love to head up there and check out the scenery! Enjoy the show! Will probably catch up with you at the Classic - Yay, I get to go Friday and Saturday night!! I get to see both my favourite breeds Then I have to do four nightshifts Then I have 8 weeks holiday

I would have to strongly agree with you Mirawee!!!!! Weve had a fairly crappy start to the year with family illness, friends with family dramas and the list goes on ;) I hope your pupsters are all ok, and all the horses are ok! CC, sorry to hear about your poor little dog, glad she is on the mend though!! These dogs certainly know how to scare the bejesus out of us! I was just about home this morning and came across a poor young roo that some mongrel had hit and left . Poor little tyke, I had to stop and put him out of his misery, all the while crying and apologising to the poor thing. I wish people would take responsibility - you know when you hit a roo!! This isnt the first time Ive had to do it either......shits me to tears........ Ok, rant over!! Nice bit of rain we had this arvo. And its sooooo lovely and cool now...Bout time!! Not looking forward to the cyclone though - hope it fizzles out and becomes a "rain bearing depression"