dee lee

Ridgeback?

Oops double posted!!

I was actually thinking that by the time I will be getting my next dog I will (touch wood) be in my 50s. Which means I will have to consider that I will be in my 60s for the next one. I used to think I'd have to get a lower energy dog, but I think lower maintenance is probably more accurate- I hope to be active til the day I die. So it'll be short hair after the GR. And I prefer large breeds. Jeez that still doesnt hugely narrow the field of my wish list!! So many breeds so little time...

Its definitely worth heeding the advice from both these posts. Personally, I would only get an older dog from a breed rescue or a breeder. My dog was matched to my requirements by the breed rescue. We had to wait until the right dog came along and they did a great job. As for cats- the rescue indicated that our dog might chase our cat (she has a quite a bit of drive), but we were confident that our cat would handle living with a dog as she is a pretty tough old cookie. We managed the introductions very carefully and very quickly the cat was established as top animal. Now the dog will give up her bed if the cat so much as looks at it. Not that all introductions go that well, but I know of many more successes than failures. Its another reason why you should have a cooling off period. If it doesn't work out, you can return the dog.

I got my current dog from a breed rescue at 2 & a half. She has been wonderful and didn't take too long to settle into a completely new life with us. She came from a home where she was beaten & kept outside with little interaction. Initially she would flinch and flatten herself a lot, fearing a beating, but quickly learnt she was safe. It was lovely seeing her learn to play too. :D Sure she has some quirks, but I can't be sure she wouldn't have developed them even if we had her as a pup. (Chasing skywriting? I can't imagine what would cause that!) Training has been fine, she is very intuitive & follows direction pretty well. Having more maturity helps with that I think. We changed her name from Morgan to Honey & it took her only a matter of days to adapt. Honestly, I would adopt an older dog again in a heartbeat!

Have you taught Tuppy any commands? Does she sit etc? If you have a good training relationship with her, I would perhaps teach a "send" downstairs, encouraging her to go on her own. Just say "downstairs" when she is heading down in front of you & she will pick it up quickly. It's a pretty handy command I find. I feel like I am forever telling my dog to go "downstairs"! (& outside & inside & away from that!! I am such a nag! )

Whilst trying to find a pic of a couple of my favourite local places that allow dogs, I came across this site: doggydining It's a site with dog friendly dining all over Australia! ETA: Just had a good look and it seems to be fairly new- should get better with more input.

This kind of thing happened in the Mosman Council area in Sydney last year. Apparently, strictly speaking it is against Local council policy in most areas to allow animals outside cafes etc. It is up to the Council's discretion as to whether they enforce the ruling. In Mosman, one day out of the blue the council decided to enforce it. Well, all hell broke loose. The locals complained, it was in the papers, petitions were signed etc. Didnt take too long and the Council backed down and decided to turn a blind eye once again. Maybe talk to the Council, get your facts straight & and if this is the case mobilise your local dog park friends into action. Well worth the effort. I cant see why anyone would complain about a quiet well behaved dog lying under an outside table. I'd prefer that to a smoker.

Bugger.

Not in Vic! Many pitbull type dogs are registered as staffy x's to get around laws. That said, she looks kelpie and staffy "ish", so she should be fine. The same happens in NSW, but I assume that by having them legally registered as staffy x that they would be protected from the law?

What is she registered and microchipped as? AFAIK, as long as she is registered with council as a Staffordshire terrier (or even x kelpie or whatever) she should be fine.

Oh dear! Ah yes, those goldie eyes. My daughter feels sorry for Honey because she always looks so sad! I try to explain to her that its all a cunning plan to suck people (like her) into patting her or feeding her. It usually works. ;)

Ah, I see... It's the inferior tools she objects to. Well, it is time I replaced it. Do you think gold plated with bling might be more appealing?

Honey LOVES a good massage & defluff with the zoom groom (I know, not a usual grooming tool for a Goldie, but whateva. ). She will stand for ages while I use it. She adores being towel dried too. But the pin brush? It must be wrestled with & will only be tolerated whilst on her back, wriggling. Nails are just as much of a pain. Workin on that. ;)

Wouldn't Curly Coated Retrievers be too big? The two that I have met were both bigger than a GSD.

That's brilliant!

I joined PIA- Pet Insurance Australia last year. I haven't had to put them to the test but they were highly recommended on DOL and are very reasonably priced. I pay exactly $17.70 per month.

Just think of it as some pre baby bonding time with your hubby. Soon enough you will be rushed and trying to fit everything in, for now you can enjoy the relaxing walks with your man and your dog.

Lets just say, I have become much more careful at not assuming crossbreeds when I see an unusual dog these days. ;) I once made the mistake of asking a woman with a Flatcoat Retriever if it was a GR cross! I had wondered if it was, but assumed it couldnt be because they aren't very common. Wheatens I have discovered are quite popular in my area (I have seen 3 at least!), a stunning breed I would never have recognised before.

As long as the cat is able to get to a safe place when its had enough, it should be fine. Sounds so very cute!!! My dog is terrified of my cat, she will give up her huge dog bed if the cat decides she wants to sleep on it.

This is a really good point and it does make me rethink this whole discussion. I used a prong under the instruction of a very experienced trainer and still managed to stuff it up. My dog redirected its aggression to me in a similar circumstance to one that MJ described earlier. Multiple times- as obviously it learnt quickly that it was an effective way to make me back off with the correction. She would see another dog, react aggressively to it, I would correct and she would lunge and snap at me. I simply did not have the nerve to subsequently give a further correction, feeling I would not be able to prevent an even more aggressive reaction. Despite further assistance from my trainer (I just don't have it in me to use one properly), I gave up on the Prong and then used a martingale, which allowed me to hold my dog at arms length (thank god she was under 20kgs) when she redirected her aggression at me. So with all that history, I think that whilst I do not support an outright ban, they should be only used on a restricted basis, ie with correct training and ongoing support from a qualified trainer. I agree with MJ, we need to consider that the damage done may not necessarily be on the dog. If I understand your post correctly, your dog redirected aggression toward you when you applied a correction with a prong collar. Because of this, you then changed to a martingale, and still experienced the same redirection when you applied correction with that. Yet you single out the prong collar as the training tool to be wary of I have seen dogs redirect after correction on flat collars, correction chains and head collars. I have also seen dogs redirect aggression when no correction at all has been given. Should we restrict use of all these training tools as well? As many others have already stated, education is the key, and this applies to all the tools we currently use in training dogs, not just the prong. No, I was merely backing up MJ's argument that the prong can result in redirected aggression. I see your point & I will admit, this particular dog was too much for my limited training ability. It was definitely a case of the trainer not the tool. Personally, I felt better able to contain the redirection on another tool- holding a dog up by a prong is just not an option. I would hate to think someone might try if in the same situation.

UH huh! :D Gayle, I so want to come live with you!!! Ripley is so lucky, can you adopt me too?

Hi Mel This may be the case already, apparently he is under ongoing investigation.

This is a really good point and it does make me rethink this whole discussion. I used a prong under the instruction of a very experienced trainer and still managed to stuff it up. My dog redirected its aggression to me in a similar circumstance to one that MJ described earlier. Multiple times- as obviously it learnt quickly that it was an effective way to make me back off with the correction. She would see another dog, react aggressively to it, I would correct and she would lunge and snap at me. I simply did not have the nerve to subsequently give a further correction, feeling I would not be able to prevent an even more aggressive reaction. Despite further assistance from my trainer (I just don't have it in me to use one properly), I gave up on the Prong and then used a martingale, which allowed me to hold my dog at arms length (thank god she was under 20kgs) when she redirected her aggression at me. So with all that history, I think that whilst I do not support an outright ban, they should be only used on a restricted basis, ie with correct training and ongoing support from a qualified trainer. I agree with MJ, we need to consider that the damage done may not necessarily be on the dog.

Now email that to the council! ;) They'll be happy! yes, I will do that! :D