Sandra777

Absolutely. Assuming Ringo is a sensible and well balanced dog he is by far the best one to teach the new one how far is OK to go. Personally I wouldn't have told him off at the start but just assured him he was still "number one" and let him get used to the pup in his own time - but that's all done now. If he is uncertain, praise him calmly when he tells the pup off - don't go overboard in case he decides that telling the pup off for no reason is a good way of getting attention and praise from you. I wouldn't let them play ''all the time'' OR leave them together constantly - IMO a pup needs to learn to be alone even if they are intended to be companions.

A Maltese is a terrier breed, trainer said he wasn't a shih tzu cross in his opinion just a maltese and that these dogs are renown for being little yappers was his comment!. His former owner told me he used to bark whenever anyone walked past her place but she just ignored him as she thought he was being such a good little watch dog! Don't think a SWF would scare anyone, hopefully as he's only 3 I can train him out of it. As everyone has already said the Maltese is not a terrier and has absolutely no relationship to the terrier breeds. Yes, they are well known to be little yappers in the wrong environment, does that make them terriers?

Yes. If getting him CCCQ registered is not an option I would suggest you get him DNA tested which will give you a certificate stating that Mr xxx registered Amstaff is the sire and Mrs yyy registered Amstaff is the dam of dog zzz (your dog) with this microchip number. Do this before his mum or dad goes missing in action/moves house/dies.

What part of a Maltese x Shih Tzu is a terrier? The trainer lacks some basic dog knowledge just right there. A barker is a pain to everyone, the idea of teaching the dog to bark on command is sometimes used (on the theory that learning to bark on command includes learning to shut up on command LOL) Brennan's Mum's clicker method is good too. Whatever you do, don't yell at the dog to be quiet - most of the time they assume you're barking too and get louder!

Or two dogs which are both intent on destroying everything in the back yard. Twice the number of dogs equals about ten times the destruction

Valuheart as some already mentioned - dimmitrol usually works out cheaper but is daily and not for all dogs.

The news report was about the rising use of shock collars.

I would put no faith in spaying solving the problem. Keep them separated AT ALL TIMES until you get some training advice, but even then I would be reluctant to leave them alone unsupervised EVER. It is likely a dominance issue however because they are so close together in age and are both of breeds/crosses that are pretty dominant by nature I would not have any expectations that you will EVER be able to leave them alone all day while you're at work. If you are prepared to do some hard yards you may well be able to have them together while you are supervising, but IMO you need a professional behaviourist to assess the situation and give you guidance. This is why I will never sell a puppy to someone who already has a dog of the same sex unless the resident dog is 8 or 9 years old or more.

Apparently cocoa mulch is not sold in Australia.

I don't personally but when I worked with guide dogs we got three black litter mates back from their walkers and they were identical. Put different collars on them to tell them apart and of course one of them removed the collar from the other two. We messed about for 15 minutes trying the name thing and we think we got it right - their names all started with the same letter so it wasn't 100% ideal. We're pretty sure we got it right, but I always wondered After those three had been in training for 10 days I could have told them apart walking away from me in a storm. You get to know your own kids/dogs/cats/goldfish/horses even when others don't.

I tried fish heads once and the big brave Staffords wouldn't go near them and hid inside until I picked them up Oddly they don't mind their pig heads looking at them

Stalking you Nope - butcher won't think you're weird, promise! Lamb flaps are the flank with some rib attached, they're usually quite fatty so may need a trim, but some people stuff them, roll them up and slow cook them, make a yummy but very fatty meal, so people food anyway. Bones to chew on? - these are bones to chew on, but they eat them. Do you mean those huge bones you see sometimes? Well, decide for yourself but I never give those to my dogs - they are the hard weight bearing bones of very heavy animals, virtually undigestable and with a dog with strong jaws like yours and mine, they can break pieces off so you're begging for a blockage. If they don't break bits off the hardness of the bone grinds the dog's teeth down. ''In the wild'' the only thing I know of that cracks the leg bones of big animals are hyenas.

Oh dear, mine was an odd one because she was fertile - at least on the single occasion she was mated 2 seasons in a row (yes, 3 months apart), and if you want to know why I did this PM me. ETA: but I would be very surprised if a bitch managed to have 3 litters in 9 months.

It is impossible for a bitch to have 3 litters in the space of one year, lol. Bitches come into season twice a year, most of the time it is spaced 7-8 mths apart! I've owned a bitch who came in season every 3 months, it is perfectly possible.

I get carcases from Lenards and from the local butcher, but don't need a lot. Anything they can consume completely is a good bone IMO - size and shape depends on the size and strength of the dog. Lamb flaps, veal pieces, lamb necks (not chops) chicken maryland, all be good for an Amstaff (I have Staffords)

Give him something bigger (thigh, carcase, turkey bits) but yes, still never feed a gobbler unsupervised - not that it always helps, I lost a supervised dog eating a brisket bone.

Good chew toy - give her a carrot instead of the chicken necks and cooked mashed vege, that'll take 25 or 30 seconds for her to chew up. Mine love them. I'd be giving her wings instead of necks too - necks are just waaaay to much the same shape as a dog's trachea and too for a gobbler for my liking

It also said I should by a goldendoodle. I took that as an insult

Feed the puppy what the breeder was feeding him until he's settled in to your house - 10-14 days usually. THEN if you want to change the food, change it slowly - mix the new with the old. IMO Staffords do best on a mostly raw food diet, but if you want to feed dry or mostly dry don't fall in to the trap of adding wet food or mince or other things to entice the pup to eat - it will pick out the nice food and leave the dry food and you will find yourself feeding him more and more wet "because he won't eat the biscuits without it". As for type - everything from Uncle Albers to Artemis has been and is used by various people, so it really is a matter of what suits you, your budget and your puppy. Eagle Pack I've heard is good, never used it; look at Nutro, Royal Canine, Artemis. I would avoid anything with too much wheat or corn and wouldn't recommend Science Diet. Where's the photos

Nope, I like my dogs to keep their teeth

They obviously don't mind their kids roaming around on the street, so why would they care if the dog did? Hope the breeder can get it sorted, I'd be calling the ranger too.

I am not at all surprised that the SPCA went straight for the needle rather than any thought of rehab for a mastiff/bull breed/smooth haired boofy type dog And in response to your "header" question - yes it is perfectly possible for a nice but undersocialised dog to be so overwhealmed in a shelter situation that is appears "nasty". If that dog is a big boofer then my above statement applies Poor dog.

ANKC requirements aside - if the dog was from the "right" bloodlines I would have no qualms about using him prior to full maturity - I have used a 7 month old dog a stud and if it was possible to do so, would do it again in the right circumstances. With giant breeds I understand this wouldn't be an option No matter how often a bitch cycles, depending on the breed I would consider mating a 5 or 6 year old maiden bitch and have mated a bitch for the first time when she was nearly 6 (she only had one litter) Personally, apart from having to consider the rego rules, it's more about the individual dogs; some bitches are "old" at 5, other bitches of the same breed may not be.

Think you need to google dog anatomy