skip

Thanks for this post- my dog could do with boots as he is allergic to grass and becoming more so and we back onto lovely parkland. I brought here particularly as we are near all this open grassland! I will try Ruffwear. It is more for walks then in the house ( thou they are scratching the wooden floors). Not sure he will wear them. Have to go slow. Anne - If Juice's dog is too big for those boots?? maybe they would fit my small 10 kg kelpie x? If you did want to sell them , that is? His feet are about 4 to 5 cm across. I heard pawpaw cream is very good too and it was suggested to me.

Hi staffy lover, I missed Kuta running but I was laughing at your poor blue dog having his say when you left him to run Kuta. As we were packing up I was saying hello to your dogs and asked about Austin's bare patch on his face/neck. I was dogless then, dressed in blue. Lucky you running on that lovely ground all the time. I thought the place was lovely and I had a nice day. I only moved to Wollongong a bit over a year ago and haven't travelled round much. Our grounds at South Coast look really sad in comparison. I have a black mini dog which looks like a small kelpie and a gold chi x foxy. I was very pleased as the chi x is nervous of other dogs but now she is enjoying it more and has more confidence. She was only entered in the novice jumping as I wasn't sure she would run. She was keen and ran pretty solidly thru the course. In fact she was so keen she beat my mini dog ( slower due to sore paws from slight grass allergy) by 6 sec . They came 7th and 9th overall. I like the ANKC as it seems you can go up in jumping and stay at a suitable level for agility courses. I have only been twice now. If your dog is mini you must have run with me in agility. My black dog ran a lovely couse and I was pleased he hit both contacts. Pity he ran round the first jump and took the second spread as his first. And I know how you feel about being the odd height out at training. Gemma is the only regular ADAA toy at our club. Most toys there jump 25 and so do the mini's. I let Gemma jump 25 too but I must stop doing this. Its the same height the mini dogs do so not very helpful. We don't have that many BC really , its a very mixed pot. So I will see you at Wollongong. It is at my obedience club grounds. And I will be doing both novice tests again. I hope!

I would report it. Get your arm checked anyway but would be good if there is a record. I would be angry at the owner. If my dogs bit somebody like that I would have a fit! She needs a wake up call.

I am not one to be involved in discussion about BSL or whatever but I must say I am surprised at what Poodlemum has said. It is a broad generalisation indeed to say all staffies are DA? I am not that experienced but even I go to training with a entire male staffy who is built like the proverbial S***house. My small dog dislikes full on bully breeds maybe because of a past incident. I find I have to watch my guy doesn't go near the staffy at training as he hates him. The staffy is oblivious and couldn't give a stuff. The first time my dog met him and had a snap at him, the staffy just went the other way. I am not a huge fan of some breeds but you can't say all are the same.

I will be! :D Did you go to the Shoalhaven one today by any chance as those dogs a lot like the ones I was patting today?

I had a mini poodle once but the ones I train with in agility are mostly toys with a few mini. There is a local lady here who has silver std's who do well in obedience and agility but she does mainly do obedience. Maybe somebody like her would be good to discuss the choice with? I know she was telling me she had a poodle std at home with my name on it. I love the std as they are so grand but would go the mini ( or toy) as I have more than one dog and small are so practical. Easier to wash, fit in the bed/car and travel with. Good luck with the search.

I decided to pick my own first dog so looked at all the rescue pics. Saw such a little black dog with the best expressive eyes. He was a a guess as to his age but young and said to be a kelpie x chi. As I wanted to do agility but wasn't sure about a full working breed _ thought this cross would be good. I drove from Orange and met the foster carer from Campbelltown at Penrith Panthers car park. I had only seen a head shot so far and when they drove him with him I was smitten. I said a quick hello and gave him a pat. The foster carer was happy to let me have him and thought he would be happy. I put him in his brand new blue car harness and off we went. He looked back at his foster family once but came with me. It must have been so confusing for him. A rough start, then the pound, then rescue and a new family of kids and dogs. Then I turn up in the car park and take him away. He was in the front and strapped in ( I didn't know about crates etc then). I had covered the seat and surrounds with a sheet in case of car sickness. Unforunately I didn't cover the gear stick a bit which is were he projectile vomited to. He was very timid but I just patted him and we went home. He is the best bargain ever.

I have a metal crate tied down in the car. I use a soft crate in its carry bag at training. I also have a large fold up pen for shows. Lucky enogh to get a 2nd hand crate for $20 at dog training!

Glad you are both OK. I can relate to feeling guilty when you have put your dog in such a situation. You have got the right idea thou in terms of being aware of what is happening and trusting your instincts. I watch for the overly excited or energetic dog as these don't get on so much with mine. If I am unsure I watch how the dogs greet other dogs if I can. I move away if I think this is a better move. Good on the beach as you can go into the sandhills. I lived on a property with GSD's and a rottie who ended up with me as he was a bit much for the owner. Now I have chi x and small 10kg kelpie x. I am surprised at the number of DOL s who have small dogs hassle theirs. How rude and potentially dangerous of the small dog owners. There is no way I let mine give crap to any other dog. Although I do try and not give offence if I leash or pick up my small chi girl when I meet a large well behaved dog. The owners assume I am scared but I normally let them know it is because I don't trust her not to give cheek. She is normally well behaved at my heels but a more submissive dog = she thinks she is very tough then. Thou she would never bark or confront them. Saxonpup - you said you were uncomfortable and didn't know what to say to the other owner. I sometimes just tell other owners that my dog is rude or not suitable to play with. Even if sometimes it is because their dog seems to be really pushy and over bearing. Easier and keeps the peace. Enjoy your walk next time. Sure it will be more pleasant.

I moved a while back. I asked both my neighbours to let me know if the dogs were annoying anyone while I am at work. Mine have a dog door now and stay in at night too. It would drive me batty. I would rather know if it were my dog. However chances are these owners may not. Maybe I would tell them you are worried about your dog barking with theirs and see what they say. Maybe they don't know about exercise and toys/bones etc to keep dogs occupied. Don't know what you have dogwise but you could ask if they wanted it walked when you walk yours. Thou I would worry I would get too attached to it. My yard backs on to parkland so dogs will bark at people passing by with dogs. But even if mine are asleep inside, when the BC's one house down go off, mine fly out to try and join in. Same if the SWF barks the other way. Thank heavens the park is not too busy. Good luck. Maybe just bite the bullet and go knock. Worst they just look at you like you are mad. I knocked next door when I moved in - woke up a big islander bloke who didn't open the screen but just grunted at me. Bit embarassed. But got to chatting another time (when he wasn't woken from his nap )and he is fine. Hope you get a good nights sleep.

We used to also call any vet in the area as for some reason people call the vets to ask for lost dogs. I am surprised you can keep the pup. That is a great way to go. We found a dog in terrible condition and took it to the vet for treatment. It was chipped to owners in the Central coast who didn't answer the phone. We had no option to keep it at home and it had to go to the local pound. After a while nobody claimed it and my friend thought it was so ratty looking nobody would take it. So he went back and paid the money ( on top of vet bill already) to get the dog. Hope the owners are found and more so hope they are nice. Cute dog! Lucky you found him.

Why not use baby gates to block off a room for her. And being outside during the day won't really affect the dog in the short term. Depends on a lot of other considerations. I would explain thou that you are only concerned about her and the safety of her child.

mY house has pine? floorboards. I used matt polish as the polish guy told me better 4 dogs. Noticed a few scratches only in the hall way where they bolt outside to check out a person walking past in the park behind my place. Haven't decided about a hall runner for this reason cause it means a bit more vacuming. Lived in a house tiled thru out except for the bedroom and the tiled floor was good and easy to clean. It is cooler on feet but I wear Ugg boots in winter so i did not care. The house I brought had wood floors and cheaper to polish that to tile or cover. It was suuggested to put tiles or cork in kitchen but to just polih the whole house was easier. I can always re polish. Cost me $1600 to sand and repolish my smaller house anyway.

I haven't had dogs very long but my BIL feeds his dogs the cheapest no brand dry food and assorted chicken or bones at times. Dogs both lived very long lives. Go figure?

Had a cat before the dogs. The cat did not like dogs but had lived with dogs on a property in the past. I made sure the cat was never chased by the dogs and as the cat thought he was safe he didn't run. This gave the small dogs a chance to get used to him. Eventually they all lived happily ever after. But my dogs will chase anything feline besides the one I owned. Luckily I don't want another cat so it shouldn't be a problem.

I don't think it is choice of Purebred that makes for snobs it is a rotten attitude towards crosses and their owners that makes one a snob. As Crisovar posted - I don't think purebred dog owners are snobs. People who only like PB dogs and are dismissive of any dog not PB are a different kettle of fish. As thou the dog is not worthy because it is not a pb. I have 2 rescue dogs who are crossbred. And regardless of how they come about, I appreciate all dogs for what they are. Many people have x bred dogs for what ever reason and increasingly I meet people who have pound or rescue dogs. They do not appreciate their dogs being dismissed cause they are not papered. Of couse not all PB dog lovers feel this way. Most are genuine dog lovers with a particular devotion for the dog breed they admire most.

I don't do obedience as such and I don't know what a kick back stand is - but my dogs sit automatically as I stop when I bring my left leg up to my stationary right leg. But when doing a stand I stop on my left leg first. How dogs get the difference? I don't know but I found it helps. Originally I used more hand signal as well but eventually the sit just happens and the stand needs a small hand signal. You said you try and hold him up? My dog wouldn't let me touch his belly so I used food in my hand with the hand signal to stand at his nose at first. Eventually the food and the hand signal disappear. Of course I have just come across a problem as now I was asked to give drop sit/drop command when walking without stopping. I was not alone as others found this hard too. Good luck!

My dogs are fed only during training in terms of anything beside dry food. I don't train my dogs before a trial like I never trained my horses before I competed as I find the day before a comp is not the best time I train. So the day before I go for a walk instead - if they don't know it the day before too late to change now. I would give my dogs dry food the day before a trial. And as they would probably leave that I supose they would go empty. At a trial I need all the drive they can muster. No treats either of course the day before as I don't train. I read recently ( on DOL I think )where a trainer crated her dogs the day before a trial to help with drive on the day. She was saying her hubby was home on Fridays so he could toilet the dog. A BC I think. I supose this is more what you are talking about. At the time I thought I can see why and how it would work. But due to a few niggley thoughts, this is more then what I would do. Althou I won't say she is wrong, depends how serious you are and what you want to get out of competing. But a day without yummy food and days without treats wouldn't worry me. This reminds me of working dogs I had to leave alone as they don't get affection unless it is a good word for working. And if it was toys I would do the same as food- take faves away for a bit before.

Yes , I know it has been said on DOL that it is our need for our dogs to play as such. But I get a kick out of my dog doing burnouts with some dog in hot pursuit. My girl only plays with a toy poodle my aunt owns but I like to visit and watch them play chasies. LIke your dog for some reason the poodle adores my somewhat dominant wild little girl. Which I find surprising as the chi x plants a foot on the toy poodle face to stop the pooodle from trying lick her to death. My aunt thinks it looks a bit wild but the poodle just keeps coming back for more so I let them rip. Hope you meet again and the play goes on.

Me and Kavik must think alike - our commands are so similar. Except I am lazy and say Walk not WALK IT. And "A" for A frame. Both tunnels are just tunnel. I name the tunnel as on course if I say tunnel they know to go to the tunnel from distance. And GO Thru for tyre. For some reason when running I could never get Tyre right. I chose BREAK for the stay release as it is something you don't normally say and sounds different. At first we tried to teach the dogs drive for every piece of equipment so commands are less vital and I don't say jump normally unless I think the line or the dog needs a hand. Dog should take whatever is in his path. At our club it is very structured and in the beginner class we just worked on running with dog on each side, the stay, the drop to a target, 2 poles . From memory the next level was more the same but obstacles started to be introduced. No name as such cause the dog was rewarded very heavily for doing anything in front of it. So if the dog saw a plank or a table, it waS ON IT. Should see how hard it was to get your training plank up without a dog getting on and touching for a reward. Good luck with it all! Have fun with your dog.

I'm only quessing but maybe the pap x gave off all the right signals so that your dog wasn't threatened and so wasn't afraid. But the pap was also hardy enough that your dog didn't think giving him a snap or barking at him was a good idea either. Hence your dog thougth I had better just play nice. My small girl can decide at once from a distance what dogs she is timid of and who she can boss around. Not an appealing trait really but I can understand it and I only let her meet well behaved dogs. If the dog we meet is timid or reallly full on pushy I don't let her interact. She will either be scared or have a go at the timid dog. But she is oK with dogs that are well behaved and confident as well. I meet a breeder on our off leash beach who walks 3 lots of Swedish valhunds a lot and just recently Gemma saw them coming and bolted up to one of her dogs and jumped up to give it a big hello. My friend was really surprised as she had never seen my girl that friendly before. But it takes her a while to feel confident. I walk on off lead beaches nearly daily. My boy likes to sniff bums, quick hello and move on. BUt the way he reacts to different sorts of dog is interesting. I have learnt what he likes and not. And sometimes I meet that dog that really switches him on, he goes into a play bow etc. straight away. Glad for your dog that he made a friend.

I left my dogs at home recently to go to markets at Berry,NSW. Wish I didn't as there were dogs everywhere and it was very open and not crowded. Next time. I must watch out thou cause at a market day once I was leaving the RSPCA stall and the lady selling asked me very seriously if I was going to pay for that. I had no idea what she meant and then she laughingly pointed out my dog had stood up (he is little) and dragged a toy off the bench. He still had it in his mouth. Can't remember but I was impressed he was getting more confident so I think I brought it for him.

I will ask about treatments every other week too as I like that idea. I know mozzies are the culprit in terms of spreading heartworm. But if you stop treatment when mozzies stop over winter say, is there are chance then you start treatment again when your dog may have become infected? I found when I had to start treatment on a dog once that I had to test first in case he had exsisting heartworms. Do many stop treatment for winter?

I agree that loose collars could be more dangerous. When I read about the dangers of collars being left on here I took mine off. Still off. The dogs did get out recently but they stayed at home near my yard. Not ideal but I am glad that they would not just go walkabout. I did always wonder if they would. It is a hard decision as I know that if I find dogs wandering with tags I call the number. But where I live it is very normal to let dogs out to wander. So if dogs seem happy and wear no collar or tag I leave them. Never sure of the right thing to do.

Do you have carpet or something down so she can grip the floor when travelling. It is rocky specially if she stands. If so she should get used to it. My small dog used to travel in the 4WD under my seat. ( Naughty I know now but she is small and that is where she crawled to every time). She has coped with going to a crate tied down in the back of my new small wagon. They must realise the end result is worth the trip! Remember in the wagon she was closer to you. The back of a 4WD is simply that little further away as well.