hortfurball

Poor girl, poor puppy, and poor BT owner - sounds like he was as surprised as the girl. Why would you reassure someone unless you genuinely thought your dog was ok? I really empathise with the girl, dog bites hurt like the devil. Hope poor little Oscar will be ok physically and mentally. I avoid busy dog beaches and judge very carefully when there is another dog approaching on the beach we do go to.

Very large and giant breed dogs need extra padding where bedding is concerned. Have you ever looked at the elbows of great danes/mastiffs and seen the large patches of roughened scaly looking skin? That's generally from insufficiently padded bedding. They are large heavy dogs, and most of their owners find it better for the dogs to allocate them a proper bed or couch rather than a dog bed on the floor. A raised bed also gets them out of draughts, and makes it easier on their joints rather than getting up and down all the time. These dogs tend to have shorter lifespans than average, so looking after their joints and keeping them out of draughts is just standard for their lifetime, whereas for a smaller dog, these tend to be things only contemplated when they are older. I don't find it at all odd that they had their own bed. Half the danes I know have their own bed or couch, and the other half sleep on their owners' bed! To me, having their own bed actually suggests that they were NOT allowed on the owner's bed. Lots of toys could easily just mean that the owners valued their furniture! ETA: I know they were American Bulldogs not danes but they are still large heavy dogs and have similar care needs.

Whoops!

Custom orders available - maybe they can make more natural eared dane ones. The single choice in danes with natural ears is not very exciting and the face is too long but some of the others would be gorgeous with natural ears!

As well as going against your wishes, I'd have been absolutely ropable that they tied her to a post, and on the main street! What if she'd had a fear response, and had slipped her collar? Completely irresponsible. As soon as they told me this I would have calmly (and icily) replied that I would be submitting a written complaint. If they have advised their boss that they are competent in a dog minding situation in addition to general house sitting then I'd be expecting them to follow instructions to the letter. Any deviation from this is not acceptable. They should only mind petless houses if they are not prepared to respect the owner's wishes. It is not their right to second guess your instructions for your dog. Wow, sorry, ranted more than the OP

Yikes! What kind of snake? Probably a similar dance to the one I did when a large wolf spider leapt off the top of the verandah post while attempting to make its web, and got blown by the wind straight into my face, where it promptly freaked out and ran down my arm, but not nearly as much as I freaked out! Jerojath, it's usually referred to by those in the know as 'the spider dance'. Arachnophobes do it when a spider has jumped on them, or sometimes just after being in a situation where one might have jumped on them, but didn't. Almost everyone, arachnophobe or not, does it when they walk face first into a spider web, particularly if there is a large spider in the middle of the web that then runs 'somewhere' and you're not quite sure if that somewhere is up your shirt sleeve or down the neck of your top, or whether you have managed to shake the spider off. The spider dance usually involves a disjointed flicking of the limbs, shaking of the head and body, general random flailing of arms, with the odd involuntary shudder and usually some form of head or facial twitch.

I don't mind mice, snakes etc and am not what you would call a girly girl in that sense, I used to keep mice and rats etc but spiders...I will try and answer your question from my perspective. Everything about them creeps me out, their hairy spindly legs, the way they move, the fact they can bite, some can be life threatening, the mere thought of one makes me physcially shudder. I have nightmares about them, have trouble looking at pictures of them, quite regularly inspect areas inside before going into them to make sure there are none there and if I get one on me I become absolutely hysterical. It's out of my control. And pretty funny for anyone watching :laugh: :laugh: I could have written the above! I've had pet mice and rats, love non-venomous snakes, cockroaches are fine so long as they don't run up your leg but spiders just give me the heebie jeebies. I have come to accept and even admire golden orb spiders (they tend to not move, and when they do, move slowly) but I still can't walk under one that is sitting in its web. I have also come to quite like the little jumping spiders and I tolerate daddy long legs most of the time. Huntsmans are another story. I KNOW they are harmless but when one is on the wall above the door of the bathroom, yes I will wonder if I can squeeze out of the 20cm x 30cm window rather than have to exit through the door, and it will take me about an hour before I can get up the nerve to bolt as fast as I can while doing a fair impersonation of Quasimodo as I try to crouch and run at the same time below said creature, and then do a stupid dance of ickiness and relief at having survived the experience afterwards. There is no rhyme or reason to it, it just is. I do have a vast collection of funny scary spidey stories though, and am I the only one to read this whole thread without looking at a single picture?

:rofl: That's priceless! Simply Grand, I think Dyzney was being ironic!

Kuga was 8 weeks old and the bond took a mere 15 minutes or so. I couldn't bear the idea of him not coming home with me. Adored him to pieces his whole life. I thought he was my one and only heart dog. Ella seemed to be more of a daddy's girl, then we split and she stayed with me. I fell in love with and kept a foster puppy, Ebony (3 seconds to break my 'no fostering with Ella' rule, 3 days to love, 3 weeks to maximum bond!) Rescue group called and said they had someone who wanted to meet her and I replied "Sorry, she's staying!" A year later the girls became deadly enemies and I rehomed the foster Ebony whom I adored rather than Ella, out of a sense of duty (Ella was here first). At the time the thought briefly crossed my mind that if Ella was PTS (she's not really rehomable) I could keep Ebony, but I couldn't bring myself to do it so had to give up Ebs which nearly broke my heart. Since Kuga passed away early last year Ella and I have bonded immensely and I'd say the dog she is NOW is my heart dog as much as Kuga ever was, which surprised me when I realised it earlier this year. Only took her 10 years to do it, and she can still be an absolute ratbag! Toys are destroyed in 30 seconds, she's not always trustworthy with other dogs, she still has ADHD moments, and is an incessant barker when she's excited, regardless of the anti bark collar and every other trick in the book. She drives me bonkers at times but she and I are completely bonded. Her loyalties shifted from ex to me very gradually but she has been 'mine' for a number of years and that strengthened when we both lost our beloved Kuges. Rolfie - what can I say, I've been wanting a dane for about 5 years and he's a darling! The bond is still growing though, as we get to know and trust each other. :)

Years ago my then- housemate's 6 month old cocker puppy got into our pantry and consumed copious amounts of kibble. Vet had to slice him open because it compacted as it absorbed moisture from the intestine and could have killed him. Not sure I'd wait. Think I'd want to take them to the vet and get the vet to induce vomiting. At the very least, prod them every so often. If one whimpers when you try to pat them on the back, straight off to the vet.

Funny when I joined I thought most members would be men because of the 'computer nerd' image being mostly male. Soon worked out that most were female though. I think there are just as many male dog owners, but a lot of them don't 'chat' about their dogs the way we do (or feel the need to join a forum about dogs). Also, this being a purebred forum, I'm guessing females would outnumber males in the show and breeding world and that would be reflected here. Sabbath, they are here but you have to look hard! :laugh:

Scooby's gorgeous! Some people just suck. Sorry but :rofl: I know it's like an old chook's club ... they all get together to complain about the out of control young of today Interestingly Scooby doesn't want to really interact with other dogs, she barks at most of them confused. She has a boyfriend which is a GSD x though, he's just as special as her Ella's in the old chook's club too. We have dane playdates and Ella does her own thing on the outskirts, barks if the danes have too much fun and tells off anyone who tries to play with her. The other dane owners call her Nanna. She adores Rolfie though and will snuggle and play with him at home.

Wow, one thread, so many assumptions! To the OP if you ever come back, I saw no bullying or abuse. Maybe one or two used slightly harsh words but just brush that off as 'passionate posting'. When you write a story asking for advice, people with great dog knowledge are going to assess the entire post and offer advice on every aspect of it. I see the responses given as informing you that you acted inappropriately from a dog training point of view, and offering you training advice on recall. "If you punish your dog when she returns to you, it trains her not to return to you." Rather than take offense and think everyone is calling you a bad owner, take on board the help offered. If you ONLY want advice regarding the killing of the bobtail then just say "My dog killed a bobtail, how can I stop this happening again?" but to be honest I think you would have missed out on some valuable advice here on how to react when your dog does something you're not happy about, and then comes to you. We all learn from our mistakes, but we can't do that if nobody points them out. I'd take Hardy's Angel's advice on redirecting her response, and until it's bomb proof, either keep her on leash or use a wire muzzle. Perfumed Lillium, where did anyone say that they condoned their dog/s' hunting? The majority of posters said it's natural behaviour and then gave advice to deal with it/stop it/ direct attention away. Just because we acknowledge it's natural doesn't mean we want it to happen.

Hardy's Angel, I must admit that the idea occurred to me too that perhaps this poor creature would be better off put out of his misery, but then he does appear quite happy and mobile, if not the smoothest mover and shaker. Without seeing him in the flesh, and a vet's opinion, it's impossible to tell. Edited for clarity

Glad it went well. :) Hopefully the old guy will be happier and healthier, and you and 'dad' will benefit from smaller, less smelly poos.

Possibly, but a number of show people reading this thread will recognise the journalist's name and he does understand dogs. Whether the journalist understands dogs or not is irrelevant. The journalist is not the one who suggested this tragedy happened because the owners spoiled their dogs. Any journalist will use whatever title and rhetoric he thinks will sell the story to his editor and the public. I don't think Joe Public (or DOL public as the case may be) should pick unsupported phrases out of an article, presume they have all the answers and be so scornful. (ETA Not directed at you SSM) Pity the wife if she ever finds this public discussion. I'm with Sandgrubber on this one:

Or Rosie might have been acting in a way that made the police fearful for their own safe entry. That would be my guess rather than threatening the owner. It is a situation in which the police would feel the need to eliminate the threat to themselves inorder to help the injured man. Still sad.

What a beautiful tribute, it's clear how special he was to you. Fighting tears the whole way through.

The guy was arrested in early September, according to the article update. Thanks for letting me know, I didn't click on the link first time around, just read what was on this page. Just had a read. Sounds like he bragged and someone dobbed. More animal lovers than a$$holes among his aquaintances. The punishment won't be enough of course, but if he goes to gaol he'll be in trouble once the other prisoners find out why he's there.

Hope he brags and someone dobs. That's just indescribably evil. Just out of curiosity, if someone aimed their bike at you and your dog, wouldn't you try to get out of his path? Did the owner play chicken? Maybe he expected the guy on the bike to swerve at the last second but still... Poor Zena.

Skelp2, I don't think there was enough detail in the news coverage of this story to assume that these people babied their dogs and that's why the attack happened. 1. Title "Pampered best mate" is merely journalistic license and no proof they were 'pampered'. 2. "The couple treated the dogs as part of their family." Says who? No direct quote from the couple, nor from a 'source' so journalistic interpretation again. Even if they did 'treat them as part of their family', what exactly does this mean? Did they put bibs on them and let them sit on chairs at the dining table? I think not. Perhaps it just means they were allowed to sleep inside and were loved and respected instead of chucked out the back and forgotten about. To what degree were they treated as family? No evidence to prove a theory here. 3."The dogs had their own room fitted out with a king-size bed and filled with toys." This suggests to me that there were some rules in place and the dogs were not allowed to sleep in/on the couple's bed. 4."no amount of treatment can repair the damage caused when his "best mate" attacked him" 'Man's best friend'/'best mate' is a common phrase when referring to our dog. Should we assume he meant it literally or allow for the use of it as a common term (presuming it was a direct quote)? 5. "Now Ms Field says the couple have lost their children and best friends." Affectionate terms don't mean that people think their dogs are human. They are just looking for a way to describe how much their animal meant to them in terms that the average person would understand. Doesn't mean that they were spoiled, babied, or that the owners did anything wrong. I could go on, but it's late. Suffice to say I give the owners the benefit of the doubt and from what I read about glazed eyes etc I'd lean towards there being something medically wrong with the dog. It's just a shame Rosie had to give her life in this incident when she wasn't involved. Mixeduppup, some breeds ARE more inherently dominant than others. They are the ones who were bred to be fearless. The protectors. It even states in the breed standard of some dogs that some level of aggression is to be expected. The fila brasiliero breed standard, if I'm not mistaken, does not penalise the dog for showing aggression towards a judge, and does NOT require the judge to handle the dog. Not a dog I'd recommend to a mild mannered first time dog owner.

Well said Liebs.

I loved the look of Irish Wolfhounds when I was a kid and grew up believing it was the dog I would have as an adult. Years later, having met an Irish Wolfhound the texture of their fur doesn't personally suit me, so, as much as I still adore the look of them, they are not a breed I'd choose to own, although never say never. When it came time to get my first dog as an adult I looked through a dog breed book and tagged all the ones I liked the look of, then read all about them and removed the tags from the ones that were too much maintenance, too aggressive, too aloof/independent or too whatever else and ended up with a short list of suitable dogs whose looks appealed to me. About half of them were from the mastiff group! I ended up with a dane x lab and fell in love. I spent years reading about danes and adopted my first pure dane earlier this year. I think I will always have one dane and one little rescue mutt, until I'm too old and have to downsize to a greyhound. :laugh:

I think that photo was taken using a fish-eye lens so makes him look even weirder, not that he looks good in the vid but at least it's a bit more accurate. To give you some concept of how enormous this boy is, he's 20cm taller than Rolf at the shoulders, and Rolf is a tall dane. For those who say there's no problem with him being thin or lean, he's not lean, he's skeletal. There's a difference. He'd be lean if he gained the 8 or 10 kilos I suggested. It has further to spread on a dane, particularly one this size, so is like suggesting an ordinary sized dog gains 1 or 2 kilos. It would simply give his ribs and some of those vertebre a bit of cover, and ease the 'hollow' look he has. Hopefully half of it would be in muscle gain anyway. Danes are notorious for going off their food when they are sick, and they need a little in reserve. A friend's dane girl just lost about 6 kilos in the last week because she wasn't feeling well and stopped eating.

Yes I noticed his angulation was 'off' but I didn't know the terms to describe what I was seeing, but that's why I think he would have hip issues. I shuddered the other day when a great dane puppy owner told me he hopes his dog will get as big as Rolf.