AmandaJ

bumping it up to keep it on top....

If Bonnie wants out at night she has to give "human dad" a kiss first....she zooms over the furniture, gives him a kiss, zooms back to the door and waits. If he takes to long - she does it again.

I'll be belting down Wolfgangs door in the new year too......he's not going to say no twice in a row!

Done - and happy to do it....

Erny - that's exactly the same thing I was told at Sunbry - If you want a thyroid test done - get Dr J Dodds to it......apparently there are quite a lot of tests which can not be done reliably here.

I'm not sure what type of sand is under and over our artificial turf but between the two of them - no more fleas. We do sanitize the area every few months and because it's artificial we can also flea treat the environment rather than the dogs. Food Grade diatomaceous earth can be used to control intestinal worms which use host enzymes to "hide" from the host immune system. It scratches the enzyme cover from the worm and makes it "visible" to the immune system. There is a lot more to it than just feeding diatomaceous earth though.

Do not allow puppy to see your son at eye level - He (Iyour son) must maintain control - your son MUST be above puppy's level. I know this is not easy with children -been there...done that....it is IMPERATIVE

I know this is a heart breaker - I have been there- I miss my "Boo" to bits sometimes "shit happens" and nature needs to take her course- they are dogs- they come from wolf lines - they are predators - their need to feed is paramount - pack control is the driving force. I do understand what you are going through...I've been there.. I'm here if you need me

Those are the things I remember...dogs....dogs smells doggy stuff, and we grew up with that..puppies...puppy smell..puppy poo...clean up..teaching puppies...baking " puppy cake '...also did bird cake back then...good lord that was yonks ago...

Agreed - GOOD homes are hard hard to find. When you find one stick with them. What we do is not about money - it's happy puppies and happy families.

You obviously have not "tried separation" or there would never have been a second fight, let alone a third. Separate these bitches PERMANENTLY. Personally I think it about shows you the ethics of the person who sold you the American Bulldog - most people I know won't sell a second animal of the same sex into the situation you describe and would have either told you to buy a dog or not sold you a puppy at all. Correct - PURE separation will stop the fighting...It will not fix the problem. It does not matter what the breed is. I had a very enlightening conversation with a psychologist a few weeks ago on behavioral psychology. Human psychologists believe that behavior is 100% genetic - it is only our ability for cognitive thinking that alters our reaction to a situation.

The spider is brilliant!!!!!

If the bulldog begins to shows signs of aggression towards the other dog we separete them - also we sepearte them when they are eating (which is normal) We have not seen a behaviourist - and i dont have the belief that a dog therapist can help resolve aggression issues. I guess i may be naive in that area but i have never heard of it actually working? I have seen a behaviourist and my dog is a different dog. Her issue wasn't aggression it was extreme fear - fear to even look at a human. She is now a happy little dog who even does agility (training). A behaviourist isn't a dog therapist. They are there to tell YOU what you need to do to manage your dogs behaviour. Correct and agreed....which in my case is why he is back with his breeder. My dogs are house/yard dogs - they run together. The pack order must be reinforced so there is no confusion for them. It was hard for me - he was my first show dog and I titled him...I love that boy...but when he started attacking the others - I wouldn't stand for it. Understanding why and how to modify it was easy - re-training him was easy - separating them was NOT!

Take both dogs to a behaviorist. Believe me - it's worth the money.

The right decision is not always the easiest.....Good luck and give her cuddle for me.

Depending on what the "X" is just keep a good eye on her when she is whelping. If the "X" is from a larger breed with the possibility of the sire being her brother you may find that you end up with large pups - that may cause her some problems. Good luck

Agreed... What breed is she?

I am REALLY sorry about this - but - if you don't know what the colour permutations are for the breeding you are planning then you should not be doing it!

Gotta love the Colonel...finger lickin' good

Behavioral psychology - the need to feed

Ditto here, except they are fed twice daily instead of once. However, sometimes I give them meaty bones to eat outside, they may rediscover them 6 months later, I suppose the flies have had a go at some stage but they have no ill effects from another chew (unless they try to bring them indoors - then there is the ill effect of instant confiscation.) Agreed.....I can't stand the smell of 6 month old bones in the house...

Sorry - I don't have that problem. Mine are fed once a day and inside. What they don't finish in ten minutes is picked up (not that there is usually anything left). If anyone is off their food I keep an eye on their temperature just in case.

I agree - most council animal control officers would have trouble identifying a third of common pure breeds anyway. I'd just go for red.

I really must find out what is so "to die for" in Bonnies mouth that all the birds around here are willing to commit suicide to find out.... She now averages a bird every 2 days - those are the ones we find! :D

GSD's are prone to pyoderma (my Blackwell's says so .) I assume the vet checked the risk factors - Allergy, parasites, fungal infection, conformation (short coat, skin folds), seborrhea (acne) , trauma, and foreign body - so that only leaves Endocrine disease and Immune incompetency. "Steve" is right - try boosting the immune system. The Bearded Collie Club of NSW recently ran an article by Mogens Eliasen on boosting the immune system. You might like to check his web site out. As it is common with GSD's you could also try contacting one of the local breed clubs and ask for advice. There are vets - and then there are vets - we've used the ones that see all manner of animals but now only use a "specialist" vet - he knows what he's doing, breeds, shows and judges...