Tilly

I use leads from Real Dog Equipment Company in New Zealand. Their leads are super strong with brass fittings and webbing which is a flat tube. I usually buy the Obedience Leads and with clips at both ends they can be adjusted to 3 different lengths. They are very versatile so I can walk the dog on full length, snap quick to a shorter lead or somewhere in between ... also great if I need to secure him around a tree or something for a moment

It always amazes me what a little food and love can do ... he looks wonderful

My boys do it occasionally - not so much now but when I was feeding them dry food. I think they do it because they have things to do and don't have the time to stand still Some guy in the street told me that any dog that walks while they are toileting are insecure dogs ... because this is a time when dogs are most valuable to attack. I really think I attract nutcases because I constantly get people coming up to me to tell me their view of the world.

I read all the books and found it very confusing ... so I ended up buying the Dr Billinghursts RAW BARF Patties and then basically you add the same amount of digestable bones (my guys prefer chicken necks but also get chicken frames, turkey necks, rabbit, brisket bones, roo tails, lamb leg bones etc). As the pup got bigger and I switched both dogs to raw - I changed them over to Canine Country. I give the boys whole fish at least once a week, sardines and eggs once or twice a week. I add yoghurt, flaxseed oil, ester c and brewers yeast daily. They also get any leftover vegetables. My boys are thriving. My older boy is 60kg and the little boy is 38kg!!!

We used to feed scotty's as a "treat" but they seemed to have changed the recipe or something and it wasn't the same. We have now switched to raw so the boys don't get it anymore. Have you thought of switching to raw ... I use Canine Country or BARF pre-made patties while the pup is still growing. My boys love their raw.

Maybe try a recording of a dog barking ... have it on low and then build it up to loud

Looks like they were having lots of fun. I put the sprinkler on for my boy one day when it was really hot ... then I had to go out and buy a metal sprinkler rather then the plastic one I had!!!

Ooops - double post

We have a fence down the middle of the yard (coming from the house to the back fence) and this had broken the yard into 2. The side the pup has got had a clothes line, lawn, concrete paths, dog house and garden so the garden was fenced off (so I would continue to have a garden) and the clothes line had a tarp put over the top to create additional shade over the lawn area. There is a gate between the two area as well as access from the house to each of the areas. We did build a puppy pen on the back verandah for the pup but ended up not using it very often - mainly when i want to confine a dog for a short period of time when I am home.

I found chicken and pumpkin worked better for my boy (just cook together with some diluted salt reduced chicken stock and then mashed together - leaving some extra liquid as the extra fluids are helpful). Is he still drinking? If not, then he is at higher risk of dehydration. Personally I would be delaying any surgery until he is 100%. It might be he has eaten something that has disagreed with him - hopefully he is feeling better soon.

I lost my palm trees in the backyard to possums ... the dog decapitated them at about a metre off the ground by scratching the trees. Had the dogs at the vet at least twice with scratches from the possums ... but there was a few that came off worse for wear. The message must have got around the neighbourhood as the relatives stopped turning up.

I find that if I tell people that my dog is a complete delinquent and doesn't do a single thing he is asked ... that is when he behaves himself and be completely perfect (well almost). But if I tell people how good he is, how well behaved he has been or how smart he is ... then he is a nightmare. Works every time

My two are seperated unless under direct supervision - even if I am home. Just because the pup is a total pain in the butt and the older boy is double the size. I have even witnessed the older dog trying to drown the pup.

When I brought my pup home from the airport I used a crate (wire) and it was great as he stunk big time and no-one wanted to hold him. He continued using the crate until he outgrew it and then he went on to a harness as I can't get a crate big enough for him in the car.

Prefer to see a good solid cage with a good level of coverage against the sun. Tin roof can get hot. Harness may be cheaper option but just think what happens in the event of a roll over ...

My almost 7 month old GSD is fed on BARF and is on 2 feeds a day. He is putting on a average of about 1 to 1.3kgs per week and currently weighs 34.2kg!!!! He is going to be a very big boy. I weigh him every week and check his body conditional regularly so I can adjust his food as required. We will probably look at switching to only 1 meal a day when he is 12 to 18 months - while I would prefer to stick to 2 meals when he starts working (as security) he can't get fed at night while at work. If I hadn't fed BARF then I would feeding either Royal Canin or Artemis. I would NOT recommend Eukanuba as 3 dogs that I know which have been fed it have all had serious medical conditions ranging from prostate issues to large growth on the neck - may not be related but I won't take the chance.

I have just stretched a piece of shadecloth over the length of fence (and secured with cable ties) so hopefully he shouldn't be able to get his foot caught again. ;)

The little boy seemed to be doing a lot better this morning so I let him outside for some outside time - after a while I decided to leave him to his own devices while I cleaned up the back veranda which still had some blood from his Friday night incident. I was nearly finished when he let out an almighty yelp and then was crying big time. I raced around the side of the house and found him hanging from the dividing fence by his leg. He had jumped up on the fence and his foot had slipped down between the gate and the gate post. As I was on the wrong side of the fence I could reach over and lift him up so I had to grab his collar and lift him up by that (all 34.2kg of him). I finally managed to get his leg out as the neighbours all came running - I had one neighbour come over the fence (he had a ladder against the fence so he could keep an eye on the dogs for me). When I first released him he wouldn't put any weight on the leg but after some gentle probing I can't find anything seriously wrong with it - so I am hoping it is just bruised. I have brought him back inside and he is back in the crate ... he has put a little weight on the leg but he seems a little hesitant. Bl@@dy dogs - who would own one!!!! He has just aged me 10 years Is it too early to have a :D

He has Tai-Pan (Imp NZ), Palmaleinehof (Imp USA) and Vom Oxemberg (Imp Bel) in his working bloodlines - a fair bit of his bloodline is from Belgium. Mum is a security dog and dad is a police dog.

I like Montana and Dakota

The baby boy has been to the vet. With 3 of us we have managed to get a good look at the foot. There is 2 cuts about 1/2cm long on 2 toes. One has stopped bleeding while the other bleeds a little when he walks on it - this is because it seems to go around the side of the toe and isn't completely on the pad of the paw. I have got some cream and antibiotics for him - they need to be applied twice a day. Bandaging is not staying on and the vet didn't have a boot big enough to fit his foot. I will confine him to his crate for the next day or so - so at least he is laying down and giving the foot a rest. When I take him out to toilet I hold his foot up (and support him) and basically get him to walk on 3 legs - this has been working but is not ideal. Not sure what I am going to do next week when I have to go back to work ... I can't leave him in the crate or puppy pen.

Our puppy pool usually have about an inch of mud in the bottom ... and it is usually there before the pool if filled up. I top ours up every day and probably give it a good clean out once a week or so ... depends how green it gets. I put ours out on the grass under the clothes line. We have a tarp over the clothes line to put more shade in the back yard for the dogs - I know you can get shadecloth covers for the clothes line (and they can be expensive) but I also was a little protection from the rain so an old tarp suddenly became useful again.

No ecollar ...

Bandage lasted all of 5 seconds. He won't let me touch his foot anymore and is being very difficult. I have left him in his crate and am hoping him keeping off it will help a bit. I think there is also a cut on another second toe but I can't be certain ... he is being difficult and without a second person to hold him down I can't get a good look. Well this rules out his day at the beach tomorrow ...

It thankfully doesn't look too deep - it is on the pad part of the toe about 0.75cm from the toe nail. He isn't limping and walking on it fine. I have him confined and have bathed it ... it is still bleeding a little but I think that is because of him standing on it. I will put a dressing on it now and put him in his crate for the night. My poor baby isn't happy with me And I feel really really bad for hurting him