Tilly

;) :D

My youngest is almost 12 months old and I was looking at getting him xrayed and hip-scored at about 13 months of age. I was told this is the best age to get it done ... is this right or should I wait until he is 2 years old? I wasn't overly happy with the last place we used (but I can't remember where that was) ... so I am looking for recommends - where is a good place to take a GSD's for the xrays etc? Basically somewhere where they have all the forms etc so I don't have to chase around for copies etc. I am the southside of Brisbane but don't mind a bit of a drive

My boys were absolutely perfect last night ... so they went to bed with an extra yummy treat. I love my boys soooo much right now that I didn't even get mad when I found a few chewed plants this morning and the hole. Normally I only take one of them to my mothers place for an overnight visit but I haved decided to take them both for the day instead ... stopping off for a nice swim of course

I had a large group of young guys last night (about 15 to 20) ... very loud and probably had a few drinks from the behaviour of a couple of them (language, kicking fences, knocking over bins, swinging off signs etc). They were heading towards us and were on both sides of the road so crossing the road to move away from them wasn't an option and heading back the way I came wasn't a good option because it was dark and further away from houses. I wasn't going to make the gate to the school grounds to take the dog in there to get away from them so I move to the fence as far as possible from the path/road and got the dogs to sit on each side of me. I clipped the lead around the fence post (so they couldn't pull out of my grip if there was a problem) and then held on too their collars. The older boy we full on protective and the younger one was following his lead. Thankfully both dogs never left their sit position and the couple of guys who were the worse got the message when I explained they were "security dogs" ... even though the pup isn't. At least their size and growling/barking was enough to keep them far enough away and they pasted with minimal issues. I was particularly concerned for a short period of time but thankfully there wasn't a problem ... I think I would have preferred an off-leash dog or two last night

Rogz make bigger sized ones - I have them for my GSD boys.

I think the problem is going to be proving it wasn't your dogs. My brother moved into a new rental property (first tenants after it was built) and within 2 weeks they received a show cause regarding barking dogs and dog roaming the street. Given the dogs were at my house and not with him and there wasn't anyone living in the house until they arrived - they still had to prove it wasn't their dogs causing the problems. Just telling them there wasn't any dogs on the property wasn't sufficient ....

Is there still places left? I would be interested in attending....

My brat has managed to empty or tip out his water from numerous different bowls. I tried large tubs of water, kiddie pool, 20l buckets partially and fully buried in the ground, concrete barrels ... and he has destroyed or emptied every one. I even used a concrete laundry tub with pavers in the bottom to stop his removed the plugs ... he just used the pavers to smash the concrete tub. I have just brought another 3 bay concrete tub and it is sealed off underneath so I don't need to worry about him removing the plugs. So far it has been working well.

I have sticky traps ... but I find them useless as I have to hang them from the roof and all the flies are at ground level. I went out yesterday and brought the Raid Automatic sprayers and have them set up outside on the veranda. I brought more Citronella Fogger spray and extra citronella mozzie coils. I have the coils burning night and day, the automatic sprays set, the dogs sprayed in permoxin and their ears sprayed in Cetrigen ... with another purple strip down their backs. I have to get some cream for the pup's ears as he hate the cetrigen being sprayed on his ears. I have removed all the smelly fly traps and sprayed the garden and walls (where the dogs can't get too) with outdoor surface spray. I will just keep spraying everything twice a day and see how this goes ...

I think if you are responsible for your childs welfare then it shouldn't be a problem. It worries me when I see little kids crawling around and the parents are too busy talking to keep an eye on them. I tend to avoid dog parks when they are used by others. Our local dog park has the group in the afternoon otherwise it is generally empty during the day. I tend to take my boys late in the evening or early morning and we have the park to ourselves. Slightly off-topic ... but I have actually seen people sitting at the picnic table in the off-leash area ... having a picnic. When an woman had taken her young lab into the off-leash area the people complained about the dog coming near the tables (due to the smell of the food). I had to stop and ask the people why they thought having a picnic in an off-leash area was a good idea ... when there was a number of tables scattered around the park (outside the off-leash area) ... and then I had a go at them for throwing their chicken bones on the ground (which they did in front of us). They left shortly after ... after picking up chicken bones ... of course.

The only rotten thing I can smell is the fly traps ... I am beginning wonder if they are actually attracting the flies. I currently put 2 traps out every day and replace them after 2 days (so there is 4 around the yard at any one time). I have scrubbed all the concrete and hosed the lawn, their beds have been scrubbed ... and the poor dogs have even been given a hydrobath. I have sprayed Permoxin around the place (I had forgotten that I had brought some for the ticks) so hopefully this will help. There doesn't seem to be any one place were the flies are thicker ... they just seem to stick to you as soon as you step outside. Thankfully we don't seem to have any inside the house.

The little boy has made a full recovery. I took him to Animal Options for a full assessment of his hips/back etc after it was suggested he has a problem in that area. He was given a clean bill of health and deemed to be in "superb physical condition". I was very pleased to be told he had absolutely no problems at all with his hips, back, joints etc.

The flies are still hanging around ... the fly traps just can't cope with the numbers of flies. The traps are full within 2 days ... and it takes 24 hours for the traps to start working. I brought Repel-X and Cetrigen for the dogs ears ... the pup had a serious reaction to the Repel-X so I am just using Cetrigen at the moment. The pup hates the spray can near his ears so it is a major struggle to get him to sit still long enough to spray his ears. His ears are getting worse while the older boy is slowly improving (or at least not getting worse). I am having difficulty finding anything to use on the dogs and have now started spraying citronella foggers around the yard morning and night. I burn citronella mozzie coils hoping this will help but they are still so thick ... and my neighbours don't have any flies at all.

I have 2 male GSD's. I have feed, trained and cared for both dogs since they were puppies (one still is) ... but the older dog is clearly my brothers. He still loves and obeys me but prefers to be with my brother ... probably because my brother used to take him to work and he loved going to work. Our youngest loves me the most and currently my brother doesn't exist to him.

My pup was inhaling his chicken drum sticks whole ... which scared me incase he choked on them. I started giving him his chicken necks / frames etc frozen in bundles big enough that he had to actually chew them up.

My boy had layers of that horrible sticky stuff on him - they basically wrapped it completely around his tummy area to keep a pee tube in place. On the fur I used a blade to cut the fur at the bandage but for the shaved skin areas - I took him back to the vet and they used a spray stuff to loosen the glue. It didn't remove the glue completely but it is a case of just gently working at it

I got half way to work the other day when I realised I had forgotten to feed them ... had to get off the bus and head home again.

It could just be the smell as they do smell really strong ... but to be honest if I had any concerns regarding the dog not behaving normally then I would take it off immediately.

They get the monthly Heartgard chews (silly things think they are getting a treat) and the Paragard all wormers. We went through the initially monthly worming and it was a pain but I find the 3 monthly even worse because I keep forgetting when they are due. I ended up doing a schedule and sticking that to the fridge but some days I even forget the day and month .... good thing my phone has reminders set. I was going to change them but after hearing about some dogs having reactions to some different products I am reluctant to change because they have been fine on these products.

Our security dogs basically have the same situation. They go to work at night and then they come home. Most times they were either at work or at home with us and other times they are home alone. They adjusted just fine. If you are going out for a couple of hours (ie 1 or 2hrs) then crating is fine (particularly while she is still young) ... but it will depend on how she is going with toileting. My boy was ok in the crate for about 4 hours before he needed toileting ... I could almost set my clock by him. My pup was inside most of his time - time in the backyard usually involved me walking around and him following - he didn't like being too far from me initially. As he got older and more confident then he started exploring the backyard all by himself. Once he was happy to explore by himself I would leave him outside by himself while I went inside and out of his sight for a short period of time before coming outside again ... and then increased this to longer periods over time. I never made a fuss when I was coming and going so me leaving him alone outside was never a problem.

Alfie02 - I just do it as recreational and with friends ... sometimes as part of a navigation training exercise but generally for fun.

How about a rottie X greyhound !!!! Thankfully there was only 1 pup and it had the body of a rottie and the legs of a greyhound ... I suppose they did want a fast running rottie ...

I have 2 working line GSD's. They are both very full on and get destructive if they are bored. I walked and run them (off leash park) for about 2 to 3 hours a day. We do obedience training every day. I take them swimming at least once a week - I would like to take them more often if I could find a nice river close by. The younger one does lure coursing, bushwalking, agility, tracking and search & rescue training ... and I am usually completely exhausted before he is. My boys are not the sort of dogs you could put in the back yard and not do anything with them ... they would go nuts and drive everyone crazy.

Currently our older dog is wormed on the 16th of March, June, September and December. The youngest is wormed on the 5th of January, April, July and October. They both get heartgard monthly with the older the 16th of each month and the youngest is the 5th of each month. I want to bring them both onto the same schedule so they are wormed and given their heartgard on the same days. What is the best way of going about it? The oldest was wormed this month and the youngest is due next month ... would it be a big issue if I wormed the older boy again next month when I worm the youngest. Or would it be better to wait until June and worm the youngest a month early?

I thought I would post ... I have just found a wonderful obedience/agility club. I have been out a few times to check them out before joining and I must say that in over 10 years it is the only club I have ever seen where the dogs actually look happy and enjoyed their training. At the end of the day I believe dogs works better when they are motivated and happy.