dee lee

I have several lint brushes at home, every day I forget to use them and invariably get on the bus to work, look down and see my (always) black pants covered in white fur and dried drool. I give up!

My boy has a similar experience - he has an excellent recall and is great at reading dogs so he goes off leash every day. My girl has issues though (doesn't like dogs in her face, just not trustworthy/bomb proof) so I can't let her offleash unless we go to a private park (once a week, 2 hour round trip). This makes living with no yard really hard as she doesn't get to run, duck and weave like she should. Megan, I really feel for you, our previous dog (in the same house) was very DA and the only place she was allowed offlead was at home. It did make it very tricky, she was walked onlead everyday for over an hour and taken on an onlead run a couple of times a week. It wasnt an ideal situation but we had no choice. Our other issue was that she was a very destructive staffy x so needed to be in the courtyard when we left the house. So she would not have coped in an apartment.

I live in a small terrace house with a tiny courtyard. My GR is an inside dog and could easily live in an apartment (she may as well be). No zoomies in her own backyard, but she gets ample opportunity at the park. She gets exercised offlead everyday and I take her for toilet trips to the park a couple of times a day. She gets lots of company most days and is walked to school and coffee every morning. She seems pretty happy. I imagine its a big improvement on being locked outside with no interaction or walks, which is apparently what her previous life was pre-rescue. Only problem is that I would love a second dog but wont get one unless we move to somewhere with a yard big enough for doggie chasey.

Thanks for the tip. Is that the Island Bed (more rectangular) or the Oasis Bed (oval shaped)? And when you say you bought the large, do you mean the largest size ie. extra large? That's the one they recommend for Goldens on the site for the Island bed. Yes, the largest one of the island beds. I bought it without measuring Honey- if she stretched out she'd fill it but she usually smuggles into one end of it. Considering it's almost as big as our couch, the next size down may have been a better fit. If you can find one in a shop, take your dog & try both sizes.

I have a large Kakadu dog bed for my Goldie. It has a base that has soft raised sides that the cushion fits into. It is enormous- I could have gone a size smaller! Very comfy for Honey though. She has only just started using it again- over summer she preferred to lie on the floorboards (or the couch when we weren't around, the naughty girl!).

However, some breed websites do recognise certain breeds' tendency towards possible DA.

What are the points? That a GR is capable of attack/defending its owner? And I agree with LizT, there is a lot of surprise in the general community at a GR attacking its family. I was out and about with my Goldie all weekend and had several people stop and talk to me about it. I just commented that all dogs are capable of biting.

Its my understanding that Golden Retriever Rescue is working with the council to help Buster. Might want to give them a call with your offer, they may be in more of a position to accept it?

:D It seems you may need reiki Or maybe Tony can help you?

Sorry, D22, was momentarily distracted by the funny man... You came for advice... What OSoSwift said is very good advice. I have done this often to good effect. Please, dont listen to the nutter advocating poking a strange dog!!!

My friend has a crazy looking little dog. My guess is she's dachshund cross stafford. She looked like a stafford pup in shape when she was little, but has only grown lengthways! Her legs are hilariously short. She has wall eyes and white and black patches and is so friggin' adorable and naughty.

Yes, welcome, d22.

And I was bored at work... the universe provides...

Unfortunately I come across many of those stupid dog owners. There was a silly, over-the-top pup who goes to my regular park. Her owner on many occasions lamented her silliness and wished she was better behaved (I directed him to the nearby dog club ). Imagine my horror when seeing them both crossing a major 4 lane city street and the dog OFFLEAD!!!! I just don't understand.

Its getting ridiculous how many of these threads are popping up- its obviously not just me who is finding that the number of illegally offlead dogs has climbed to outrageous levels. On our jog this morning, Honey and I were heading home down Oxford st (for those that dont know, this is a very busy thoroughfare - even early) at about 7am and I was forced to stop and go down a side street due to an offlead medium sized black dog. It spotted us coming and made a beeline, exhibiting dominant posturing. I put Honey behind me and yelled NO at it several times before its owner came around the corner and called it back and walked on, looking at me like I was an idiot! ;) WHY WHY WHY do owners think that is ok?? Offlead AND dominant posturing??? If it had've come closer I would have kicked it and abused the woman for her idiocy. I agree calling the ranger is the way to go and I'm all for it, but often its just a random dog that will be gone by the time the ranger gets there. :D

Oh you poor thing. So many of us have been there, it totally sux. It's just not fair. :p Big hugs & I hope you feel better soon.

A few years ago I was out walking my silky and a ridgeback came running over picked him up, shook him from side to side and dropped him and walked off. My dog didnt have a mark on him- but died in my arms on way to vet. The other dog broke his ribs and they punctured his internal organs and with in about 15 minutes he was gone. So just because there is not a mark, doesnt mean there isnt damage. I think you made the best of a horrific situation Jimmay, and to be honest after having a dog attacked I would do the same thing. Why make a situation worse by walking two dogs over to a couple of dogs which are obviously dog aggressive and attacking another? I dont see how that could be a logical decision to make. Am glad to hear the man and baby were ok, I just hope the little dog was ok later on. Sadly, I also carry a simialr memory. A beloved childhood Pug named Roscoe was attacked by the Labrador next door. My family were not able to afford a Vet and he had little external injuries. We thought he was just a bit shaken up. He died two days later after lying sick for two days. I believe though it was more the boot of the neighbour that killed him though...but I was only alittle girl and I could be wrong. Me too. My keeshond was attacked by an offlead RR. We took her to the vet for some puncture marks on her neck, 2 days later she died.

There have been many threads about the legalities of restraining dogs in nsw. It is not illegal for a dog to be unrestrained. But as has been quoted, the dog must not interfere with the driver. Jimmay, I think you did the right thing by removing your dogs from the situation & then returning to assist.

I agree with Corvus about learning about dog body language- it will help your confidence enormously if you feel you can to a degree predict what an approaching dog wants to do. When I owned my DA dog I really had to be observant of her and other dogs' reactions. It was vital for management of her behaviour. I no longer have her but am now a lot more comfortable around dogs in general, purely because I am more aware of certain signs. Not all approaching dogs mean malice, some are just interested, some just a little dominant. Much of the time in these cases, a dog can be deterred by a confident and forceful NO & stepping between it & your dog. Panicking is not helpful as the idea is to make them see you as the authority figure & so obey you. I imagine if you have only ever owned easy going dogs it would not be something you are necessarily familiar with though. The umbrella is a good idea too. I pushed a stool over at a pushy dog recently- whatever it takes!

I read your thread, and I'm so sorry you have had to deal with all that. :D I completely understand your fears, I used to have a DA (Dog Aggressive) dog who I was scared to walk, for the opposite reason- that is, I was scared offlead dogs would run up to her and there would be a fight. :D So now when I walk my (non DA) dog and see an offlead dog, I am nervous that she will be attacked. I trust no dog I don't know. Even at a local offlead park this morning I had to contend with an idiot and his 2 extremely large (a Dane x mastiff and a Sharpei x lab is my guess) and dominant dogs. They entered the smallish park and proceeded to assert themselves over all other dogs- including Honey. :D One poor man was there with his rescue cattledog pup who they chased onto a road!! Luckily no harm done, the guy just belted his "bad" dog and came back to the park. So the rest of us cut our losses and left. Its irresponsible owners that are completely the problem. My DA dog I used to walk at 5.30am onlead for an hour and a half to keep her exercised and away from other dogs. I got very good at spotting offlead dogs and crossing the road. I accepted responsibilty. So frustrating. eta: No sign of the BM this morning though.

Dobesrock, I remember your post about the fight- I cannot believe that dog is offlead!!! How frightening!!! Can you call the council and dob her in? Sounds like a disaster waiting to happen. Speaking of which, Wolfgirl, I'm planning to dob the BM owner in if I see her again- I think you are right, she's dumb enough to do it in the first place, she'll just think I'm being "uptight". Aussielover, I'm a mean mum too (to my kids too ). Wear it proudly when Mindy is showing up all the naughty dogs at the park. Aaah, it's good to share isn't it? :D My OH was getting that glazed look in his eye when I wouldn't stop talking about it.

That is exactly why I got upset, despite the fact that I was able to prevent it getting closer. This dog was coming into maturity, the owner did not have good control of it and obviously had no clue about dog body language. We would have had no chance if it had decided to attack Honey. My past experiences have shown me that most owners will say, "dont worry" and THEN say "Oh gosh he's never done that before..." I'm sorry but I'm not playing russian roulette with my dog. There are so many reasons why it isnt a good idea- how can anyone be 100% sure they can stop their dog from bolting onto a road after something or being attacked by an onlead dog? Stupid. AND what are the benefits of having a dog offlead on the street? The only thing I can think of is that these people think its COOL.

I'm so cranky right now. Yesterday when walking with my dog up to my local cafe, along a busy inner city street, I came across an offlead bull mastiff "puppy" (must be about 2 and weighing roughly 40kgs). Now I know this dog, when it was little its owner let it jump all over Honey, who didnt appreciate it and grumped at her. Silly woman had no idea so I would avoid going near them (our kids go to the same school). So this time when it approached us OFFlead, stalking, I became rather uncomfortable. The silly woman was seated outside another cafe and tried unsuccessfully to call it over, I put my hand up flat to it and said "NO"! to stop it coming any closer to Honey. I kept walking and finally she got hold of the dog. :p I made an angry comment about how "a lead would be helpful"- her response? "its ok he's a puppy" (WTF? ) and "he's under control" I said, "yes I can see that..." and walked away fuming. I saw them again this morning but made an obvious move to cross the road when I saw her get up to grab her dog. Once I have calmed down a bit I am going to approach her and explain how not only is it illegal, but dangerous. I have had a dog die from being attacked by an offlead dog (who was "fine"!) and have owned a DA dog who would have attacked an offlead dog that got into her space. To complement this little scenario, when afterwards sitting down at our usual cafe, an ON-lead GSD tried to attack Honey as it walked past. Now, I do have some sympathy for the owner in this instance- at least he had his dog under control (though not managing the situation correctly to my mind, but that's another rant...). Can you imagine if it had been walked past the offlead BM? So in the way of all these kinds of threads- bring it on, let lose with all your Stupid owner stories.

When I first adopted Honey at 2.5, she was fairly socially inept but generally good natured. She wasn't interested in other dogs at all and looked quite bothered if any approached her. I don't think she even knew how to play. She would strongly correct any rude dogs that got in her face with a gruff growl and possible air snap if they ignored that. Most puppies got this for even sniffing at her. 18 months down the track with a lot of low stress socialisation under her belt (ie being around other dogs but not being forced into close contact), I barely see this behaviour any longer! She is much more tolerant of puppies now and on occasion even plays with other dogs briefly. I assume that she was able to learn, after many positive experiences, that she did not need to be so defensive. Of course, I have had a much different experience in the past, so I'm inclined to think that nature can be a big contributor. ie, that by temperament Honey is more inclined to be tolerant and that previously her experiences had led to her needing to use corrections to avoid further conflict.

I use Advocate which covers fleas and heartworm. Its a monthly topical treatment. Additionally we give Proban when we go to a tick area. Sydney has a flea plague and we tried a few products, this was the one that worked in our house. If we didnt have a flea issue I'd probably just do the once yearly heartworm. Is your area bad for fleas?