dee lee

Well just a quick update. I took Honey for a run past the site this morning, a bit nervously I might add, and hooray! The dog was on a long lead!! :thumbsup: I shall continue to remain vigilant, but I'm very happy that my actions weren't wasted!! :D Kudos to City of Sydney Council!

Do you fill his water bowl in the mornings and leave it all day, and then he only drinks it at night? My dog has re-occurring hormonal incontinence. I find it mostly re-occurs when she has been drinking excessive amounts of water. So I tend to fill up her bowl during the day when necessary, then in the evenings after her last wee (at @7pm) I will only put a small amount in her bowl. Its usually still there when I go to bed, but gone in the morning when I fill her bowl up again. It has helped enormously with reducing any nocturnal accidents. There was a thread in General recently about withholding water from dogs. It generated quite a robust discussion, but I personally believe that minimising water intake just before bed and during the night should not be an issue, considering they will get most of their intake during the day and should be sleeping at night. Just like humans. ;)

At least this time you have the chance to give him a little time to come to terms with losing your dog. Lots of warning that its coming. If he is anything like my 8 year old, even the advance warning that its coming will be hard, lots of tears, but I believe it helps enormously for when the inevitable happens. Oh Teebs. This is something I have struggled with for the last 2 years. When we had Evie PTS, we told our kids that she had gone to live on a farm. I struggled so much with the decision and was distraught when it happened, I just couldnt handle telling the girls the truth. Also they were 5 and 6and a half, and we felt they were too young to understand the situation. I'm torn about telling them the truth now that they are older. They still ask about Evie and say how much they loved her (sweet kids, its nice how they only remember the good times. ). But my OH feels we should leave it alone and take the secret to our graves- lest they feel betrayed, like you do! Damned both ways.

Most people don't go straight to using a prong. In my situation, I had a dog who was very strong & reactive & I was unable to walk on a flat collar despite over a year of attempting to train her to loose lead walk. It wasn't my bad training, she, like many bull breeds (she was a staffy x) had a very "tough" neck. She also was prone to very fast lungeing in random directions if she spied a "threat", so using a halti would have been a dangerous thing for her neck. Despite me not having the nerve for it, the prong worked extremely well while I used it. It works on self correction- the dog dislikes the sensation & you can actually see their brains working it out- they learn to avoid the correction with minimal use of it. I am just too much of a softy though. I couldn't do it properly & so it wasn't a tool I'd use again. I also now have a softer temperament breed that doesn't require one. But I did try it on myself & I don't support a ban.

Photos photos photos!!!

Love your work! Perhaps it's time council change the way they deal with this tosser, what they're doing now is obviously not working. :D I have to say, I was gobsmacked when I saw it out again! I expected the guy to keep a low profile for at least a couple of days. He obviously thinks he is above the law. I did tell the officer that its always out and that I'm concerned the owner may hide the dog when he sees the rangers coming, but he assured me they would try and catch him off guard.

I support their use, but I feel they definitely need to be used in conjunction with training by a trained professional. They are not a tool for everyone. I used one on my DA dog- I was shown correct usage by a professional, but in translation on my own, I mistimed the corrections due to my own poor nerve & I believe actually made the situation worse. After several unsuccessful weeks of persisting, I reverted to managing the situation with a martingale. It was me, not the tool- the prong collar was actually pretty good and I too, like all new prong users should, tried it on myself, with minimal discomfort.

I have no idea why they think it's ok. It's so very very risky, even without taking aggression into account. I was speaking to a local friend who has a dog & she has said she avoids it because she has seen it go for other dogs. I intend on spreading the word. Well I just walked near the scene of the crime & gee, guess what?! The dally was hanging on the street again OFFLEAD. This guy truly is a dickhead. So, I dobbed again. :D The council officer I spoke to said that the owner is the subject of an ongoing investigation & he is sending the rangers there immediately.

Watching that, the handler deserves a good boot up his butt for letting the guy's face get so close!!! I always freak when I see small kids go up to dogs to "kiss" them . My kids have been taught from day one not to go near any dog's face- even our own very docile dog. There is such a miniscule margin of error that close.

Yep. Betadine antiseptic spray is awesome stuff. It will probably take a while to completely heal, just because his nose will get into everything and descab it over and over. But it will get there.

I'm sorry, I know its a serious topic, but this made me giggle. I have a vision of a dog frantically trying to open the car door with its paws! Seriously though, why would you need to? (mind you we have automatic central locking so its not really an issue for me.) And to answer the main question, my GR goes in the hatch in the back of my SUV. She lies down and waits for release... Ahh, the next car I buy will likely not have central locking. I just wondered if it'd be useful for an extra safety preventative. Prevention against what? Carjacking? Something the dog would do? Sorry, not trying to be difficult, I just cant think of why it would be safer.

I'm sorry, I know its a serious topic, but this made me giggle. I have a vision of a dog frantically trying to open the car door with its paws! Seriously though, why would you need to? (mind you we have automatic central locking so its not really an issue for me.) And to answer the main question, my GR goes in the hatch in the back of my SUV. She lies down and waits for release...

Yeah, I shouldn't have read it either and already have the young girls and dog. There is nothing at all on how to deal with dogs and children in that story. Only one paragraph mentions the accident, the rest is a horrible emotive breakdown of the tragic result. Don't worry AG, for one thing you will have a pup entering the family as the last member. You are used to being vigilant with small children, supervising their interaction with the pup will come easily. K&P- I read the links and they are great. To be honest, now that I have also read the mum's story, I think that one is more informative in regards to the dog attacking.

I think I understand your reasoning for posting this but personally I found that really distressing to read & the piece itself offers no helpful information. I am sure I won't be the only one upset by it. Is it necessary to post the story? Maybe just post the link and an explanation?

What is with that? Your dog attacks another dog, you don't JUSTIFY it or ignore it- at the very least you APOLOGISE!! Profusely. There are so many idiot owners out there. I had to laugh the other day though. I had a minor victory at the park. There was a really annoying BC cross who had started harassing & bullying Honey. It bailed her up against me and I had to intervene, yelling at it to "get out". The owner of course said "don't worry, she won't bite" So I informed her that if it scared my dog enough, she just might & so could she get her dog away!! She hurriedly grabbed her dog. Since then, everytime I see this woman she looks terrified, grabs her dog and walks to the other side of the park! Of course Honey doesnt even look their way! Blooming idiot.

Yep. City of Sydney. Big thumbs up to them. I did think about that, but he didn't see anything other than my head quickly peeking around the corner yelling at him. Fortunately its a very high foot traffic area with lots of stroppy ladies and lots of GRs around. ;) I think I will be ok.

I know. Seriously, why not leave your dog at home instead of letting it roam around a city street while you are distracted by work? I was never happy in the 4 or so years of seeing this dog roam, but as far as I knew it was friendly and I was also fairly certain it had been reported several times before for being on the street (periodically it has been on a long lead, temporarily) & yet it still was out every day. After this situation, finding out the hard way it is actually territorial and aggressive, I will be calling them every time I see it. Aztec Gold, hopefully you will manage to avoid it. If your street is really bad, you can always drive your pup to a safer area to walk it. Thanks. Honey I think saw the whole situation as a way to milk more pats!! The council staff/rangers were very obliging! I took her to the park afterwards and she seemed unbothered by the other dogs. Thankfully she is pretty chilled.

What an unpleasant morning I have had! OH and I were walking Honey (onlead) through our local streets when Honey was attacked by an offlead Dally. Its ALWAYS outside its owner's panelbeating business, patrolling the footpath and nearby area, so far I have only found it annoying and a little bullying- I usually dont walk right out the front though. This time we did and before I could avoid it, it rushed us and went for Honey's throat! Luckily she has a typical Goldie ruff and it didnt draw blood before I was able to get us away from it. I yelled at it to back off and fortunately it kept its distance. As I hurried away, I noticed the owner deep inside the shop, oblivious. I yelled at him that his dog had attacked mine and he just glared at me!!! At this stage the dally started stalking us again so I got the hell out of there. ... And promptly walked up to the (conveniently) located Council offices a five minute walk away!!! ;) I reported it. The lady at the counter was adorable, insisting Honey come in so she could see she was ok. Then later some rangers came to my house and took a statement. They advised me they would visit the owner- he would get a talking to and a $200 fine. They also advise me to immediately call them any time I see the dog offlead on the street again. I'm still a bit shaky, but I'm relieved Honey is ok and that hopefully this dog wont bother anyone else now. What an absolute twat of an owner. Phew. Sorry for the novel. Just needed to vent.

and sometimes, even for the pup!! :p

We had a pup with a 2 and a half year old, dont worry its not too hard. :D To be honest she is a very dog savvy kid now. All ( ) thats required is CONSTANT vigilance and supervision when the pup and children are in the same room. If you cant be there, put the pup somewhere safe, away from the children. You need to be consistently able to reinforce good behaviours and not allow undesirable- for both species!! When you get your pup it will be rather mouthy and bitey. All pups are. BUT you need to teach the pup nibbling the children will not be tolerated. Ever. Do a search in the puppy forum, there are lots of suggestions on how to do this. Also, constant repetition teaching the children to be gentle. Its just the same as training them not to touch the stove etc. They need to understand dog boundaries. It will take a while and you will need to use the crate A LOT. Congratulations and good luck, you will get in the swing soon enough.

What a nice idea!

My first dog as an adult was a staffy cross. It was a disastrous choice. I believe that the personality of the individual owner & their compatibility with a certain breed is far more important than if they are a first time owner. I am too easy going for the constant assertiveness needed for some breeds. I also struggle with stubbornness in training. This would be the case if it was my first dog or my 10th. Equally, I am sure there are people who thrive on these kinds of challenges & who would have no problem with "difficult" breeds straight off the bat. We all have very different expectations, requirements & abilities.

I think that's a great way to start. When I got Honey (she was 2), we both started running together, it was great because our fitness increased at the same time. I have to say though, when we were running longer distances (7-8km) several times a week, she really struggled at the end and often we'd end up having to do a very slow jog or even walk, just to get home. Some dogs/breeds just aren't as good at endurance. So now we do 5kms 4 times a week, 85% of it offlead, on grass & she is much happier. Me too actually. ;)

After owning a very difficult, dog aggressive crossbreed, I wanted the opposite- an easy, soft tempered dog that would fit in with my family. I adopted an adult Golden Retriever and she has been the most wonderful dog. We all adore her. I love the temperaments of goldies, every one that I have met has been sweet and happy (even the pushy/naughty ones ;) ). They are also absolutely beautiful. :D However... The hair has been a big pain in our tiny (black floored! ) house and I'm not sure I could do it again. But I will stick with gun dogs, I really love the way they interact with their people. Problem will be deciding which breed- they are all so gorgeous!! Stacks, my primary school best friend had a pair of pembroke corgis. They were our constant roaming companions around the nearby fields. Awesome kids dogs.

And mine have? Because they mix with strange dogs? They get traumatised? My previous dog got traumatised walking up her own driveway. There was no controlling that interaction. Recently a dog tried to traumatise the boys when they were walking on leash with me down the street. There was no controlling that interaction, either. I didnt read OSS's comment as criticising you- in fact the beginning of the post reads quite the opposite. Seems to me she was merely relating her experience. Personally, I don't have too much of an issue with my dog playing with other dogs at the park. I will only prevent it if I have observed undesirable behaviour from a distance.