Sandra777

But to a large degree it IS the breed not just the dog itself. That is one of the reasons there are different breeds - because people manipulated the breeding of dogs to create different characteristics. Some are placid and have virtually no aggression eg the Cavalier Some are extremely active and need to have "their job" - eg a Border Collie Not all breeds suit all circumstances. Yes I agree that not all individuals within that breed will have the same temperament, drive, energy levels etc, but if you want a placid dog with no prey drive you would have more luck finding one within the CKCS breed than you would within virtually any terrier breed (just as an example).

Definitely NOT. A Stafford (no such thing as an "English Staffy") would either eat the house from the outside in or be off over the fence and GONE! They are people dogs through and through and the 3 hours they spend outside is in nice weather only remember!

Thing is that breeds which have been developed to cope better without human company tend to be strong minded individuals which don't much care for having nothing to do so will either create their own fun (aka destroying the garden) or will simply escape and find something better to do. Sorry I think they need to reconsider and perhaps look at a cat (indoors of course)

Liver cake - whizz up the liver in a blender, mix in however much flour you need to make it the consistency of scone dough, add some garlic if you want to, press out in a tin, thickness is whatever you like, bake at 160-180 until it's solid. Turn out on to a rack or board then when it's cool/cold cut however small you like.

Concrete garden ornament. Sorry but "if the weather is fine" the dog will get "quite a few" hours company? If they're not prepared to have a medium sized dog inside why don't they look at small dogs that could be an inside dog? (Yes I understand rentals can be an issue with inside dogs)

Worm AND flea, unless you have an actual issue with either. Ticks I have no argument with preventing and use permoxin too :D By mange I assume you are talking demodex, which is immune related more than anything else, if it sarcoptic then of course it needs to be treated, but more by removing the source (foxes are a biggy apparently) than by constantly treating the symptoms.

You may want to do some heavy thinking about why you are putting so many chemicals in to and on to a dog which already has shown to have immune issues. Is monthly worming really necessary? Does she actually have fleas so is constant flea control necessary? Ticks, absolutely understand the concern there!

I agree, he would never have come to the door if he was planning on stealing him... Zig is mostly inside with me in my office or outside when we go walking, playing or training.. We seem to spend a lot of time together, so I am confident he is safe. It just freaked me a bit that someone would come to my door after seeing us a block away from home... I feel much better about it this morning. Don't count on it - not intending to freak you out but many years ago some young guys came to my house asking about puppies then returned that night and stole 2 of them. Yes of course I got them back (idiots!) but don't assume people who are low enough to steal a dog are smart enough to think it through.

Very dangerous suggestion, if Bear decides that he won't be 'put in his place' you could have a fight on your hands. Taking Bear to a dog park and allowing him to play rough with strange dogs is a disaster waiting to happen. x2!!!!!!! That is shocking advice from a trainer :

IMO whether it was a designated off-leash beach or not doesn't absolve the OP of the responsibility of having THEIR dog under adequate control. They know the dog "runs off", they know the dog doesn't have good dog-on-dog skills but they still don't keep it on a leash - obviously they didn't have adequate control over THEIR dog to start with. I am sorry when any dog gets hurt and I hope the Grey heals quickly, but in the overall scheme of things it is up to every owner to protect their dog first and foremost and if we do the best we can and something bad still happens then it's time to start saying who's to blame. A Greyhound vs any large strong dog is not going to end well for the Greyhound, and the other dog doesn't even have to be particularly aggressive or "nasty" for this to be so. I have owned a Greyhound, she was NEVER off leash unless in a fenced area, not once in her entire life.

Not sure a crate fan would be the best - they aren't very strong and might not move enough air, but with a small breed you're talking a smaller area than I'm used to so, tryit out and see. AFAIK the liver remedy is beef, never heard any other type being used - that said it's never worked for me either so don't go by my experiences :laugh:

I'd love to give mine some padded bedding, but all this talk of doonas and foam rubber is making me go wish I had nice dogs. For destructive dogs straw can be good - but doubt you'd like it with the Kees Rysup

Get a small box (how small - depends on your breed :D ) and a hot water bottle with a good thick cover. If you bring her home from her caesar while she's still not 100% back with it this is the safest place for the pups should she get restless or a little silly. Cover the box with a very light cloth (piece of sheet or old tea-towel works well) to keep the warmth in, but check every ten minutes or so by slipping your hand under the cloth that the heat hasn't built up too much. I doubt you will need a heated whelping box - me I wouldn't even plug it in, but again that would depend on the breed. After the first two or three days, if all is going well, a fan on medium directing air over the top of the whelping box will help keep things cool without endangering the pups.

Err - don't try savlon again - it tends to irritate many dogs IME. As it's not a one off it might be worth having a vet visit, but it depends on how serious the other instances have been and how much it really bothers him. If he's obviously uncomfortable or distressed then I'm sure he would've been to the vet already :) Irritation under the front legs (you mean in the 'arm pit'?) is not uncommon in a lot of dogs - did it co-incide with the sudden grass growth recently? A lot of dogs react to different species of grass especially when they're growing fast and the conditions are moist and warm, and it seems to be that the skin in that fold is a favourite place - I guess because of the moistness and because of the slight friction that only encourages things to irritate and because when a dog lies down on the grass this area is exposed and is probably more tender than many other areas. Do you notice he's worse at certain times of the year? FIL's dog had these issues all the time (a foxy cross type) and in the end they believed us and just put on a barrier cream (either nappy cream or rawleighs) when the dog's bad-time-of-year came up.

The collar MIGHT have caused a slight irritation - those ones with studs sometimes do because of the metal coming through the back onto the dog's neck - but obviously it's gone past that now. What have you tried? I would be inclined to use something that would sooth the irritation and itch and stop him actually doing more harm, then move on to something more healing. A cream for children with stings and insect bites could be the go (check the label about applying to broken skin though!). Has he had this sort of problem anywhere else or is this the first?

What collar does he wear?

It's hideous stuff (unless it's different to the same-named stuff I saw, in which case I apologise to the manufacturers!) Get some out of the bag, spread it out and actually look at it. There's no way on earth that stuff is real anything. I fed it to pups who had been eating raw since 5 weeks and they all threw it up and got the runs. Threw the rest of it out. And the "steaks" - WTF is that about - never seen anything so artifical in all my life. If you don't have access to actual fresh food from a pet food supplier (ask Greyhound trainers, they always know where to buy good quality meat cheap!) go to the butcher and buy human-grade mince if you must feed mince. IMO it's better to just feed lumps and chunks but some people are never going to be able to do that.

Bet they have since they don't want the dog to have a future as a "domestic" species Just don't sell them from your house without council approval :D

One thing to remember when teaching a Stafford to free stack is either you have to bend over to be closer to their height OR get them to stand a long way back - their height & shorter neck means the second you stand close to them and start waving things over their eye height they prop back, dip their top line, poke out their elbows and look just gorgeous :laugh:

And what about the SAHM who sews up dog coats for a bit of cash? or Granny who knits sweaters for people?

No idea if they're common in Poms or not but I would guess so from what your research has turned up. I have a short coated breed and ALWAYS check, even though I've never found one in 30+ years! :laugh:

The biting, as Leema has already said is nothing to do with authority or a deep voice or a commanding voice. Puppies this age bite because that's what young predators do It's their way of exploring their world (you may have noticed they they don't have hands :laugh: ) and it's their way of PLAYING. I second the idea that another puppy sounds like a really bad idea until you have the problems with one sorted out. Use the techniques Leema outlined and forget about dominance or a deep voice or anything else. Puppies this age don't do the concept of dominance to a large degree - they have no need for it just yet.

Yes. You are way off.

I think it's a fantastic idea - imagine Rhino steaks & Elephant burgers on the menu on those outback tourist adventure tours :laugh:

How and why does it even matter what the address on his certificate is? If you are planning on showing/breeding then you will be a member and I assume your membership address is correct. If it's your actual name as well and you want to show/breed then, yes this would matter as "Jane Smith" beng the registered owner of Mr Zora would create all sorts of issues if it's actually "Joan Smith" that owns him. For a pet - doesn't really matter quite frankly. Certainly, get it sorted to give yourself the satisfaction if you want to but no need to lose any sleep over it until it's done. As for his name - perhaps your choices were not acceptable to the CCCQ, there's plenty of reasons why a name you want may not end up being the name you get.