snarferama

This is where "Let sleeping dogs lie" is literal. Your dog didn't do it deliberately. It's a reflex if you will. It would've seemed to him that he was being attacked and he was trying to defend himself. I know if someone grabbed my leg while I was fast asleep I'd kick out trying to get away. It's the same thing Make sure your dog has a safe spot to sleep undisturbed and that your daughter knows she can't touch the dog when he's sleeping -Elise

lmao when I first saw "condom" I thought I'd misread, then thought it was an embarrassing typo. I've seen these kind of beds before but never noticed how much they really look like condoms I'll never be able to look at them the same. -Elise

Agree with this 100% -Elise

We're having horrible problems with Hermes's biting. We've tried everything but the blowing up his nose. Nothing's worked for us. Hermes actually drew blood on O.H's hand a couple of weeks ago. He bites when he gets excited he bites if you make him do something he doesn't want to do (bring him inside when he wants to play outside). He bites really bloody hard and it's driving me nuts. You can't walk away from him because then he just bites the back of your legs. If you put him outside he just flips out barking and when you let him in when he quietens down, give it 5 mins and he's back at it. We've tried the loud "AGH". He completely ignores any verbal reprimands. We've tried water- he completely ignores that. Distracting him with toys will work for 30 seconds. We've tried turning our backs on him and completely ignoring him that just makes him bite harder. He was all worked up yesterday and bit me on the face- what if that had been a child?? Any more suggestions? -Elise

Hermes does it too. He's a shocker! He's always digging in his water bowl. He digs at it until there's no water left in there- it's a game He's got his water/food bowl and a bucket now. He finds it harder to dig in the bucket and he hasn't chewed it or knocked it over... yet It's so bad he doesn't have water in the house (he's got access to outside and inside whenever he wants) if he does get locked inside we have to put his water bowl in a big plastic tub, that way the water can't flick out of the tub works a treat.. just takes up a lot of room! -Elise

Jen! You forgot the piccies Good to hear he had a fun time! How's he settling in? Tell us about him! -Elise

That was beautiful Maxiewolf Thankyou so much for posting that We will be leaving to go bury Bonzai very shortly, we will be burying him with a few of his favourite things. One of my coloured pencils. Whenever I'd sharpen my pencils. I'd sharpen it and place it on the ground. Bonzai would dart out of nowhere grab it and bounce off he would do this with every single pencil We'll also be burying him with some toilet paper- he absolutely loved to grab hold of it and just bolt off with it in his mouth until there wasn't any toilet paper left on the roll. A button- He was a notorious button-muncher! and a few other things. We will be going to the nursery today to find a plant to plant at his grave. I've always found comfort in the idea of life coming from death. -Elise

Thankyou Piximatosis. We now have 3 rats, Otto is completely lost without his brother so I don't think he will be around too much longer. I will be completely heart broken when he passes. He is *my* boy. We just love each other. When I got back from the vet today I pleaded with Otto not to leave me We were really hoping Bonzai would live for another year at least. He passed away so early we just weren't expecting it at all. I think sometimes the most amazing things in life can only last a short while otherwise they wouldn't get the appreciation they deserve. -Elise

Here's some pics of the flying fuzzball. Bonzai with his much-loved brother Otto: In their younger days:

My beautiful ratty boy had to be put to sleep today. I found him last night laying on the floor of his cage and he wouldn't come for his food which is really unusual. I picked him up and realised he couldn't move, he wasn't in pain but he was in a very bad way. We put him a drawer with a soft jumper and left some broccoli in there for him. He wouldn't eat or drink or move. It was about 11pm at this stage so after much crying and telling him how much we loved him we brought him in the drawer into our bedroom to go to sleep. We were absolutely dreading waking up in the morning, expecting him to have passed away during the night. He held on throughout the night. His breathing was becoming increasingly shallow and I knew he didn't have long. O.H had to go to work becaus ehis work had booked him in for a seminar, Bonzai was always O.H's boy so this absolutely tore O.H up. Bonzai kept deteriorating. He was having a real problem with porphyrin and had no control over his bodliy functions. Because he couldn't move he would just lay in his urine, so I would have to move him fairly frequently. I hadn't left Bonzai's side since I woke up.. I was so afraid he'd pass when I left his side and I couldn't bear the thought of him dying alone. He was now grinding his teeth which is an indication of pain. At this point I called O.H home. I knew it was time, he had no quality of life and was now in pain. We had a hellish time at the vets- we had to give them our details 3 times, gave us the wrong appt time and the vet called him the wrong name (I know that sounds silly but when she's about to extinguish the life of my much loved pet it would be nice if she could actually get his name right ) We were told he most likely had brain or spinal lesion and she recommended we put him to sleep. O.H and I held him and told him how much we loved him and that we would take good care of his brother (they were very close). The vet then took him away gassed him, brought him back to us and then sent him to the bridge. Bonzai was about 2 yrs old, he'd shown no real signs of illness apart from he'd been losing a fair bit of weight over the last few weeks.. We went out and bought some foods to fatten him up last night, it was when I went to feed him I found him. I know most people don't understand what amazing creatures rats are.. They have a heart of gold that's bigger than an elephants, and characters that grab your love and won't let it go. Bonzai was my baby... I adored him and I feel so lucky to have had him in my life. He's brought so much happiness into my life I just wish I'd had more time to repay all the joy he's brought me. I've been crying all day and I truly ache for my boy. I miss him so much already. We will be burying him tomorrow next to O.H's old dog Zippy who passed away earlier this year. I couldn't bear to put him in the ground today. -Elise

Hey, congrats on your new puppy I can't wait to see some pics. I love the look of red and white BC's, they're so striking! We have a 36 inch crate for our Puli pup which should be just the right size for him when he's fully grown. I personally would get a 42 inch crate for a BC. It will be quite roomy but I think it will be more comfortable than a 36" one. I would really suggest you find a way to block off some of the crate (because it will initially be very large) so that he won't go to the toilet in the crate. Our breeder went through Dogtainers for shipping our pup apparently they have the best prices around. -Elise

What we do with our pup is when he nips us because he's excited we say a firm "NO" and distract him with a chew toy and give him praise for chewing on the toy. If he bites us hard to get our attention we will either say a firm "NO" turn our backs and act cross while completely ignoring him until he calms down and behaves, or if it's really bad a firm "no" and we walk away completely. That way he knows if he hurts us we won't play with him any more. -Elise

Well we ended up deciding to try out Northern Suburbs Training and Obedience puppy classes. I have to say I thought they were fab! There was one older lady who was a bit rude but otherwise everyone else was really lovely and our instructor is fantastic. We got lots of really good advice and it was so nice not having vet nurses trying to shove products down your throat. Hermes really enjoyed it too which is the main thing of course We can't wait to go back. -Elise

We decided not to go back it just wasn't worth the risk. We're in the process of finding a better puppy preschool but it's difficult ;) Only 3 more sleeps how exciting!! Make sure you post heaps of pics!! -Elise

Hi Kitakins Did you end up changing obedience club? Where did you end up going to? Would you recommend them? -Elise

How very sad what a huge loss for her, her family and the world. -Elise

I was originally looking at that one. It sounded fantastic but isn't the puppy preschool held in a park? So I was worried about Parvo. We will definitely be going there for obedience training when he's older (had full vaccinations) though. I want to change puppy preschool now. But O.H wants to give them another chance and then change if the aggressive pup is still there. -Elise

Hmmm not too impressed with Attadale Vet. At this stage no I wouldn't recommend them. The vet nurse bought along a very dog aggressive pup which lunged and bit one of the pups, luckily the pup was okay, everytime a pup went anywhere near him he would growl and try and lunge. I was pretty furious that they brought a dog aggressive pup to puppy preschool. This was our puppies first socialization with other pups apart from his litter-mates and he was quite shy I'm sure if he had been the pup that got bitten it would've put our socializing back alot. It just seemed very irresponsible to me. I met my first "schnoodle" tonight Who was also quite aggressive. -Elise

Aww he's SO cute, what a gorgeous little man! That must be fab having your breeder so close, still I bet you're counting down the days til you can bring him home Keep posting photos I'm sure everyone here would love to see more pics of him -Elise

Just wanted to add that the crate is never used for punishment. It's the equivalent of a bedroom for them. The aim is to make it a place they want to be. You can do this by feeding them in it, giving them a kong/toys in it etc. Your dog (if the crate is used properly) should love his crate. I was initially against using a crate, it seemed cruel to me. Putting a dog in cage- that's not right. But I did lots of research online, talked to people who used them and they really are wonderful. We only use the crate for when our pup goes to sleep. It takes away distractions so that he will actually sleep rather than run around being naughty We will also use a crate for when we're showing him and it really doesn't bother him. He has a bit of whine at night because he wants to do other things then go to bed but once he settles down he's happy to stay in there. -Elise

Hey Jen! It's so good that you're learning as much as you can and boy is there a lot to learn. We just brought our little Puli pup home last week, he starts puppy preschool tonight at Attadale Vet. I will let you know what they're like I know Vetwest also does puppy preschool, we decided not to go with them because they don't have classes running until the 13th and we wanted to start Hermes's socialization before then. You should book a puppy preschool asap, we found it hard to get Hermes into one as all the classes were booked out. Many vets do them, some trainers also do them too. -Elise

We crate our boy and the confined space doesn't bother him at all. He has a bit of a whine at first then goes off to sleep. I know that if our boy was outside at night, he'd bark and bark! He's a real little barker so maybe it would help you? He's crated in our bedroom at night. I'm not saying you must do this, just that it's an option for you. If he has to sleep outside at night then maybe a Home Alone dog toy and a Kong will help. Exercise before he goes to bed will definitely help, if you can wear him out I'm sure he would be a bit quieter for you. Maybe you could go over to your neighbours with your dog and introduce him to them. Explain that you've only just adopted him and he's still settling in. Apologise for the noise etc. That may bide you a bit of time while you work on this. -Elise

Hahaha, I know how it feels. Our little Hermes sometimes runs inside to pee. He is slowly learning though. It's annoying but very funny. Little bugger! He never poops inside. But when it comes to peeing he definitely prefers to pee inside. We take him out regularly as soon as he finishes eating, after a play, after something exciting happens, as soon as he wakes up etc etc. He is definitely getting there. We had the door closed today and he ran up to the door whined and stood up against the door. I nearly jumped out of my skin with excitement We watch him like a hawk as soon as his nose goes to the ground we take him out if he starts to pee we pick him up and race outside. He gets praise and a treat whenever he goes outside. He is definitely learning it just takes time :D -Elise

Our little Puli puppy loves the dirt, there's nothing more fun to him than rolling around in dirt right now. But we don't mind he's a pup he should be able to have fun. We just give him a good rub down and shake the dirt out of his fur, the amount of dirt that comes flying off him :D and he loves the rub down! Yesterday he rolled in some mud so we took him into the bathroom and just rinsed the muddy areas. Didn't use any shampoos and dried him thoroughly. Any remaining dirt we "shook out" when he dried. Be careful with bathing him too regularly, his skin is pretty fragile and you will drain all the natural oils if you bathe him too regularly. I'd suggest trying some doggy wipes and brushing/rubbing out the dirt. -Elise

Like others have said- it's what your dog does best on. I've done heaps of research over the last couple of years into diet (good diet's very crucial for a Mastiff) and IMHO I believe that the best foods out there are easily: Eagle Pack Holistic Royal Canin Innova and my personal fav by far.. Dick Van Pattens Natural Balance. <--- this food is practically perfect. Different breeds need different things. For me the Mastiff specific things I'm looking for are low protein and low fat levels. For all breeds: -Nonspecific meat sources. -Byproducts are a big no-no. -Corn is just a filler. Your dog will poop more and digest much less of the food. I'd avoid this like the plague. -Soy They're the things I will avoid at all costs. Here's a link to a great way to grade your dog food: http://mastiffonline.com/modules.php?name=...pic&t=13526 -Elise eta: I can't believe everyone gets their Eagle Pack so cheap! I can't find it anywhere here in Perth for under $113 for the Holistic range. and for the normal range it's $100+