Diva

I have had a compact for four years and used it in high winds and storms without a problem. It's not as strong as the deluxe, but as long as you use your guy ropes properly in high winds, it's strong enough for any weather I'd show in.

Yes I feel a bit the same way, it's misleading and appropriates the exotic looks of the Afghan Hound to promote an entirely different dog 'product'. A lot of careful breeding is behind that beautiful pure breed, but you don't hear the RSPCA giving that credit where it's due.

I'm not the average owner, but I stopped bothering with the club classes - participating and instructing - for much the same reason. In a busy week getting to the classes at the time they are run is an effort. I don't then want to spend my very precious time on tricks and tedious games, I want outcomes that matter to how I live with the dogs. I don't mean I want paddock bashing either, I'm looking to establish sound foundations and experience well managed socialisation (not free for alls) with young dogs. And then somewhere I can go for competition instruction if I decide to do that with a paticular dog. I'm looking around for private trainers for the later at the moment.

I hope you are missing a negative in there pf

I'll be interested to hear how it goes, so do come back and update us at some point. Good luck.

That's very disappointing. I was looking forward to getting a different opinion on the breed. My best wishes for Ms Dekaristou's recovery.

IWhen I picked up my second-to-last pup from the airport the cargo staff opened the crate before I reached it and just as another client came in the door. The little pup did a dash out the door, fortunately for both of us the guy coming in was quickwitted enough to grab her as she flew past. A bit nerve wracking.

What, no more takers for Akita x Basenji x Shiba Inu now we have two photos? :rofl: I agree that cattle dog cross is a very sensible and likely guess

It's probably nothing of the sort, but your description of his symptoms and the lameness that shifts from leg to leg just rings a very faint bell in my mind for immune-mediated polyarthritis. It's probably not and I'm in no way a vet, and I don't want to spook you, but when you take him back to the vet maybe just ask that they rule it out.

This. Exactly.

Aaah thanks, I never go there but should have realised that would be a likely place. I'll check them out.

I usually wear sketchers but I need something with more grip in the wet - can you buy golf shoes on-line or do I need to find a golf store? The Footlocker type places don't seem to carry them.

It's outrageous, but I have had that too - 2 JRTs running out of a house to charge and nip at my 2 on-lead dogs, owner comes out and calls one dog back succesfully, the other JRT runs off down the street. And the owner stands there wailing at me to go catch her dog. My response wasn't exactly polite, LOL.

I haven't seen an entry of 5 Pharoahs in Canberra in the time I have been showing here.

I wondered about that too, I expect they'd be classed as a pre-existing condition and excluded from cover.

That doesn't really matter to me. If the dog was in such a state that it couldn't be groomed without cutting it's skin, or it would take longer and cost more than normal to do so, the groomer should have had that out with the owner and found a way to proceed safely or not proceed at all. 20 gashes on the body is way beyond acceptable.

I think that if the owners don't want to pursue it, it would be hard for you to. I'm assuming there is no oversighting professional body or certification for groomers. Ideally the owners would take photos and a vet report to the rspca/police/council, whoever deals with abuse cases in Qld, and try to get a prosecution going. Or at least get the council to look again at her approval to operate a home business. But if they don't want to make waves that's the end of it. Unless she doesn't actually have the right land use approvals, if that's a possibility you could try and get that noticed by the authorities. Poor dog. I wonder why she didn't stop once she'd starting cutting it?

That's what I was wondering. At least strychnine will get the authorities minds focussed more than anti-freeze.

Damn, we should have been there - Arwen loves a side show nearby, really sparks her up!

That's true, you can't just assume raising them together is enough. With some it is, but with my youngest dog I had to make a real effort to change the way she viewed the cat from the time she arrived as a puppy. And that's after having owned 6 other sighthounds, so not an inexperienced owner, just a dog much more easily triggered to chase than any other I have owned. She's fine now, but it took a bit of concentrated effort. My oldest on the other hand, same breed, loved the cat from the day she arrived, including a lot of mutual grooming and smooching.

My Borzoi have always lived with cats. Not sure if they would have all been fine with cats that were unknown to them, but all have been safe with the family cats.

Do you have any idea of how many off lead dog parks and onlead parks are around the Inner West? That would be an impossible task. I have no idea....but if there is poison bread around shouldnt someone be looking? Have the posioned dogs all been in the same park? The thread title does say Earlwood. For all we know someone is, but if there is any long grass or vegetation in the park I think you'd have to do a shoulder to shoulder line search to be really sure, even if the bread is blue. That's a lot of manhours if it's a large park, probably too much for anyone to spare unless they think human life is at risk. Maybe the regular dog walkers could organise it themselves, but even then someone could drop a new piece straight after. I think I'd be avoiding letting a dog off-lead at that park for a very long time.

Safety and well being are obviously paramount, but I also wouldn't want to live with a dog that wasn't a good match for me, or me for them. They'd just add stress not joy and I'd find their behaviour a problem.

What bothers one person may not bother another. I am not bothered by a bit of counter surfing or occasionally jumping up, but it would bother other people. I know it's part of this or that dogs personality and I could train it away if I needed to, it just doesn't bother me enough to put in the effort. Same with the occasional zoomies through the house and jumping over the furniture. It just makes me laugh. In the same way, I live with independent breeds that occasionally don't respond to a command as quickly as others might expect, and I know I can't walk them safely off-lead alongside a road or leave a door open and expect them not to go for a walk. Not that I would anyway, but some people expect to be able to. I just manage around it. But excessive barking would become a problem for me very quickly, I have no tolerance at all for that. Aggression towards people unless in a protective role, or unprovoked attacks on other dogs with intent to do harm, is unacceptable. So is aggressive resource guarding. No arguing amongst the family dogs, and no hurting the cat. They are deal breakers and I could not keep a dog that didn't get along with the household. But I have had a shy dog in the past and although I felt sorry for her, she still managed to have a good life and be a good companion. We trained and managed to reduce her stress. Problems toilet training would count as problem behaviour, but I could train through it. Same with chewing up or just stealing human belongings and walking well on lead. I expect to have to train for those things. Chasing chickens or wildlfe is a management issue - we don't encounter them often enough to train it away. Edited to add: separation anxiety, or a 'velcro dog' that needed to be physically touching me all the time, would also be majorly problematic for me.

This sounds more like retrieving instinct to me My Whippet always grabs a toy when I come home too, and he's not what I regard as a natural retriever!! So does one of my Borzoi. I think it's calming/displacement, she's not allowed to jump on me in excitement so she does this instead. That's what it looks like anyway.