Diva

I understand actually, I am the same with the Borzoi, especially when I had males who are quite a bit taller than my current girls. People tell me they have a big dog and it's a Husky or Collie or something and I'm like 'where's the big dog?'.

I used to get that with my clear red Borzoi, lots of women saying they would kill for hair that colour, lol

Such a personal decision, but I think frequent signs of distress would push me over the edge.

You have me curious as to who is ignoring what, lol. I think the way Border Collie people worked together to develop a genetic test for one of the diseaes they suffer, I think it was C L, is a great example of how it can go when people don't ignore it, and I think a champion of that was or is on DoL. But the disease was also found in humans so some research money came via that route, if I am not mangling the story. Apologies if I am remembering that wrong. And a couple of breeds have found themselves in trouble by trying to eliminate all carriers of a condition and by that inadvertently concentrating other serious disorders in the remaining gene pool, instead of using carriers sensibly. But not really what you are after I guess.

I had never used a harness for anything except tracking and sledding until I bred a litter, one owner asked I lead train her boy that way and it was very smooth. I went to flat collars as soon as they had the initial idea, and use martingales for adults. But baby training on a harness worked fine.

I laughed, but my cat is offended

I really think the overstimulation argument is a load of bull, I find it nonsensical. If they are saying keep him tethered to you, there are some cases you would do that with, but only if there was a deep deficit in the relationship between dog and owner that needed remedial work. It isn't really normal.

Mine are big athletic dogs that thrive with room to run and play, when I am home they are inside or out as they please, usually they choose wherever I am. But unless it is a very hot or very wet day, they spend my working day outside with each other, behind secure padlocked double gates and high fences and with plenty of undercover area if they want it. Much better for them than being locked inside for several hours at a time, esp as they won't toilet inside and holding on for that long on a regular basis is not a healthy thing to impose on them. On a quick skim that page is about dogs left outside in isolation. I agree no attention and kept as a backyard ornament is bad for the dog's well being. But being outside while I am at work is very different to that.

Lol, nope, we were at home

Generic byb Staffies, pure looking labs and lab mixes, kelpies, cattle dogs, cross bred working style mixes, Pei crosses, pure GSDs, swfs, pure looking Cavaliers, pugs and pug crosses, a couple of whippets, pure looking JRTs and Tenties, pit bulls, byb am staffs, very rarely a nice type Staffordshire, boxers and boxer crosses, bull mastiff, and 2 Borzoi (mine, lol)

The irony of course is that the people you need to worry about will never read any of this, no matter how many posts you make on DoL. Even the few defending off lease walking are highly unlikely to be the owners we fear. They aren't here, not even as visitors. And even if they were, they would only laugh.

Carrying a stick isn't odd here, I would say 1 in 3 walkers do and more like 2 out of 3 in magpie season. But I think where and when you walk makes a huge difference as to whether you encounter loose dog problems. I lived in a suburb 3 kms from here for years without an issue, moved a short distance and it is a different story. Even here, if you can walk during normal business hours it pretty good, only the mornings and weekends seem problematic. People moving in and out of the neighbourhood matter too, at the moment it is not bad, some of the troublesome owners have moved I would guess. But it isn't the average, able to be shooed off, dog that bothers me really. I dont even care about off lead dogs in parks, I have a choice about going there and in the unfenced parks the dogs are pretty good anyway. It is the high velocity attack with intent, sometimes by more than one dog, on the ordinary suburban street. Once you have been on the end of one of those-and it took twenty odd years of dog ownership before I was-your sense of safety changes, for the worse.

Me too ! :D

Snugglers but not needy. Cuddle for a bit then go off on their own business types. Friendly but mostly uninterested in people they don't know, but madly enthusiastic about long time friends. Active enough to always be up for a walk or gallop, but happy to sleep 20 hours a day if that's how it goes. A little snooty, quite sensitive, but trusting and reliable, go along with anything you ask but often with a look of skepticism. Very joyful and loving but like to remind me they have their own views on things. It is exactly how I like my dogs. I just couldn't live with velcro needy dogs, that would drive me insane! As for whether its from nature or nurture, its both to me.

You are right, but that is the impact a serious attack has on people. It can't just be dismissed because there are too many who now feel that way. I hate how it is now about big dogs specificaly, as if they are all wolves waiting to attack. I have big dogs, and they have been through it too. Now that they are mature adults I am a bit more relaxed, as anything that seriously takes them on is likely to get more than it bargained for. But they are gentle creatures and I resent them having to fight when it really isn't their nature, and I don't want to end up on the ground in the middle of a fight either. Although last time my best in show winning 'powerful hound' came home bleeding from the hocks because of a pair of aggressive small dogs she was too polite to pick up and toss, I resolved that anything that came at us aggressively would get the same treatment, big or small. I often carry a walking stick, and will use it, but my first line of defense these days is actually a handful of treats tossed on the ground, confuses the hell out of most rushing dogs and gives me time to move on. I doubt it would make an difference to the truly serious about it, but it feels better on my end to at least try to descalate. Some days, maybe most days, we just go out of the suburb to exercise, just because I am too much of a wimp to run the gaunlet yet again, and I want to keep my dogs as friendly as possible,

She looks exceptionally perfect. Isn't it nice when new owners fall in love :)

Maybe, I am only guessing. Whatever the cause you just need to deal with it and retrain him now, I am sure you will get lots of suggestions. I would take him out often, praise him for pooping outside, even give him a food treat for it, and get his diet right, not too high in fat.

Might be off base, impossible to tell on an internet description, but the way he tried to hold on for so many hours before and now he eats it, almost like a dog scared to mess inside, maybe punished for pooping so much previously he is hiding the evidence by eating it. Poor dog, sounds quite stressed. Certainly not touching you with a mucky paw on purpose to be dirty. Dogs have some behaviours that are very gross to us, but not to them. Dealing with that is part of caring for them

yes, which is a bit of a worry as the vet down the road may give a different answer, and unless you have had the chance to test and build trust in their expertise it can be a bit hairy sometimes. I learnt the hard way to ask detailed questions and only go to a vet who listens to me, after one vet told me my dying dog (IMHA) was perfectly well and I was overeacting to his symptoms, and two more diagnosed bone cancer as cruciate injuries despite my telling them to their face that it was almost certainly bone cancer (based on breed predisposition, age and symptoms). I have come to shop for a new vet more like mechanics than doctors - be very skeptical, shop around, get personal recommendations, take price into account but don't make it the primary criteria, and when you find one that suits, be loyal and stick to them like glue! I have the greatest respect for my current vets :)

I think it is targeting the impulse buying of the mass on-line pet market, which is a good way to impact the business model of large scale puppy famers. If the exceptions work well it might be OK. Like most others I visit a number of overseas kennels with great dogs, if I import a pup it will be based on knowledge of the line and the quality of the breeder but I might not visit just to see that litter. Hopefully this change won't make that a problem.

'Wolves'? Is that intended to be some kind of insult because they were big? If she shouldn't have been there she was clearly wrong and inconsiderate. But ball chasing dogs are the least of my concerns usually, they are focussed on the ball and their handler. They might object if another offlead dog went for their ball but otherwise they tend to be uninterested in on lead dogs in my experience. Having them run fast through people was wrong and probably scary, but it doesn't teach them to rush people. If anything it teaches them to focus on the ball and ignore people.

Zohar is nice, but I had a Zohra so probably biased. :) Jarah is pretty too, while still being masculine. When I named my second to last, one of my public servant friends formed an 'ad hoc naming committee' amongst our mutual (non-doggy non-show)friends and they all got to make nominations and lobby, before finalising their advice. It was hilarious in a very Canberra-centric way.....

I stick to busier streets now too, fewer dogs off lead and if we do get attacked more likely someone will stop. Passing motorists have saved our bacon twice now.

I liked Goldie :laugh: Zeri is a gold thread, middle eastern. Sari is blonde, Turkish Boyd means blonde too but is Celtic, wrong region I guess. Not on the gold theme, but Zidan/ Zeydan are names that come from the Arabic for ' to add', and you have added a few 'lukis lately! Maybe Dosh,slang for money, taking a wider slant on gold, lol.

for me, there is a great difference between loose leading walking and heeling. For a pleasant walk all I ask is don't pull and don't trip me up. I don't expect eye contact or formal heeling, I expect the dog to be exploring the environment and enjoying itself but in a way that doesn't pull me around. I might stop dead for a pulling dog, or change direction, or verbally remind then not to pull, or reinforce closeness with a game or treat. Heeling is a formal position, lots of attention, but only short, highly rewarded bursts. Never 30 minutes worth. It sounds a bit like you are making the walks stressful for the dog by making them long heeling sessions, far too much for a pup. Even 30 minutes of ordinary walking is likely to be tiring at that age.