dee lee

I adopted an abused dog, we know this because she was directly rescued from the house by the breed rescue. We were given her due to her beautiful temperament but were told of certain behaviours she'd developed due to being beaten as a means to training her. She would come when called and then hit the deck at your feet. Putting a lead on had her rolling over. She also flinched and ran from brooms & raised voices. Happy to say, that after several months we were able to train these behaviours out & she remains a rocksteady (though spoilt!) dog years on. So my experience does indicate to me that it's a lot to do with innate temperament & nerve, not all about the abuse. Though I'd be happy to hear theories on why she MUST chase skywriting?!! Bloody nutter!

We have separate collars & leads for the beach. A non leather collar and a fabric lead. Best to keep the nice leather stuff dry & away from the beach. .

This is alarming in itself! I really do see a difference between suburbs though, it's incredible. Did you get incident report numbers each time? Make sure you do. Keep notes, details etc & then take it further by emailing (which is an official document) the Head Ranger of your Council, CC-ing the mayor & anyone else you can think of, everytime your report is not followed up. Be sure to emphasise that the dog is behaving aggressively & get your neighbour to do it too. The more people who complain the more weight it has. It's a legal requirement for dogs to be onlead & if said dog has rushed at you, then they can be declared a nuisance, which has further ramifications for the owner. Be persistent, don't give up. :) If everyone complained when it was warranted & kept records then the council will be forced to take action.

As a Goldie owner, I will contest matts always being the result of laziness. Yes, most of the coat is easy, but the fine top coat matts quite easily. My dog, who has sensitive skin, will chew matts into her pants overnight &, if she really gets into it, occassionally I need to cut it out. It has nothing at all to do with not brushing. As for the shedding, Summer is a freaking nightmare with my inside Goldie. The shedding occurs nonstop (around the year, but summer is particularly bad) & having spoken to a number of GR owners who shave their dogs in summer, they have found the shedding greatly reduced. That sounds pretty good to me. Personally, I would not ever see the need to visit a groomer, because yes, Goldies are easy to brush, so I imagine the only ones groomers would see are the bad care cases.

Yes, I have a friend who shaves his GR for just such a reason. And come every summer I am sorely tempted to shave mine, purely because I can brush my dog & sweep my floor 4 times a day and still have a fur carpet!!! It's not lazy, it's called not enough hours in the day!! :laugh: But then I look at her lovely coat & just can't do it.

Exactly. There is plenty of legislation, but until councils step up to the plate and regulate and enforce them, we will still be having this conversation in 50 years time. AND- I will say it again- it's up to the general public to report instances. The council don't know unless we inform them. In my situation, after my dog was attacked, I asked around the local dog park (which many dog walkers would have to walk past the roaming dog to get to) if anyone else had had any issues with the Dally. I was unsurprised to discover yes, several other dogs had been bitten by it. Had any of the owners reported it? Nope. It's the old "someone else's problem", which then means the council never finds out. My council was very supportive when I contacted them, but still had to rely on my constant reporting to actually fine the owner & subsequently slap a nuisance order on the dog. Following that, the guy still insisted on sneakily let the dog off, so every time I saw it, I reported it & he got fined. (Much to his disgust- he tried to intimidate me too, but I'm a lot tougher than I look.) It took about a year, but t's been a while now since I've seen the dog unleashed. So we can't blame the councils if we don't report these dogs. And if at first you don't see much action, keep reporting & keep records that tou can email the mayor if you still get no joy. Squeaky wheels & all that.

This is my biggest fear as an owner of reactive dogs. It does not matter if the roaming or out of control dog wants to say hello. Most dogs will react back when "greeted" with barking, snapping etc & then it is usually on for young and old. Yes, when I had my highly reactive staffy x, we were seated at an outdoor cafe (she was very well trained to quietly drop stay in those conditions), minding our own business & some fools & their offlead/no collar lab walked past. The lab decided to rush at my dog & the next thing I knew I was on the ground, between two snarling dogs. I had my dog's collar in hand & was able to restrain her, but the other dog kept lunging & the idiot owners had no way to get their dog! I kept kicking at it til they somehow got it away. Hideous experience that could have been avoided by a collar & a lead & OBEYING THE LAW. And then there has been the ongoing issue (I have reported 2 incidents of attack) with my current, non-reactive, dog and a certain tradesman's aggressively territorial Dally that he thinks should be allowed to roam offlead around his business. In my experience, most people who think their dogs are under control when deliberately (& illegally) walking them offlead around the streets (you know the type, "I dont need a lead for my dog, aren't I cool") , are fools & tend to make excuses for the inevitable issues their dogs cause. Sorry, it's a bugbear of mine. Accidentally loose dogs are another matter. Accidents sometimes happen despite our best efforts. ETA: if you have problems with a roaming dog, call the council. REPEATEDLY, everytime you see the dog. The owner of the roaming dally we had ongoing problems with, complied in the end, after a long stubborn campaign on my behalf. So the system can work, but only if you get involved.

Yes, it is weird. I also do breed rescue but all my dogs were purchased from a breeder. We sometimes get inquiries that demonstrate to me that people don't really understand what rescue means. The ones who want a cream feathered dog, good with kids and cats, not destructive or a house soiler, able to be alone all day and my favourite "not a fruitcake" - and a rescue as well. I think it would be more likely that they could adopt a unicorn ahead of a rescue Saluki with those characteristics. I love rescues, they have a lot to teach and a lot to give - but in most cases they would not be rescues if they were easy dogs. Having only ever owned rescue pets, I'm so glad you wrote that! It's the unspoken truth, that no-one seems to ever admit. Not complaining, but it's good to hear. :)

So, if a dog barks from inside the house at a door knocking sales person, it would be declared menacing? If the salesperson feels threatened then yes I would imagine if the dog is on private property & contained adequately it couldn't be declared menacing?

I occasionally use a spray leave-on shampoo between washes. It's a Fuzzyard one that smells like blueberry muffins! :D It really does seem to work, her fur feels fluffier & cleaner afterwards.

Yay I got it right! Thanks dee lee for solving this! Magnificent beast - I'd love to meet him at street level. How big is he compared with your Goldie, dee lee? I don't know, sad to say, I've only seen photos of him. But comparing him to his cocker mate, I'd estimate he'd be double Honey's height. I didn't know Kangals & Anatolians were the same- cool!! Re the privacy issue, maybe delete the photos?

Let her know she had DOL stalking her house looking for him :laugh: I so will! She will crack up!

This is so funny. :laugh: I know (of) that dog. It's owned by a friend of a friend & (according to my friend) is a Kangal. He lives with a little black cocker as a bestie. :) I havent seen the owner for ages, but she's a FB friend & has posted heaps of photos of him. He is stunning & HUGE!!!

Ok, so obviously a gifted trainer would be able to get my dog to do amazing things, (especially if they use food :laugh: ) but I would be very suprised if that hypothetical trainer would be able to leave and take my dog with them (though if they had a sausage.... :laugh: but then that's not training, it's luring) I'd probably not go so far as to say my dog loves me, but her history with me has cultivated a very strong need for her to be with me. I think for some dogs that would override a desire to obey a better leader. Does that make sense?

When "living" with a reactive dog, I used to skulk home dreaming about owning a Golden Retriever, thinking surely they were the total opposite to my dog. When I started looking for my next dog, following my various breed investigations I ended up with an adult Goldie. She has certainly been the total opposite! It was an enormous relief to find dog ownership so much more pleasurable & easy. My dog is perfect for us, everything I'd wanted- sweet temperament, biddability, total lack of aggression (!!!!), a happy simple soul who is a joy to live with. There are a few superficial things that I'd change about her though- the shedding, the shedding, the shedding :laugh: and her energy levels (typical Goldie, she gets a bit worn out after 5kms of running- sheesh!). But it's a small price to pay. :D To those of you with reactive dogs, my heart goes out to you. I know how hard it is, & about the longing for what so many other people experience as "normal" dog ownership.

Oh she is gorgeous!! I love her colouring! My friend's well bred cocker is a neurotic mess with extreme separation anxiety. It's sad to hear more stories like that. Have you noticed the Prozac makes a difference?

No flaming here. Good list Sandgrubber. :D I'll admit, my Goldie is very sooky & yes, a little nervy. But we got lucky, she's totally bombproof. Labs do seem to be much more resilient. Depends on what you like, I prefer the calmer temperament of Goldies.

My Golden is stuffed after our 30 minute run in the mornings & if we don't run then we play fetch. I don't find her exercise requirements too difficult to manage. The Standard poodles I've seen would be much higher in energy. She's a pretty relaxed dog, and yes, rather "soft". Awesome with kids, adores them. I have always found Goldies more chilled than Labs. Both breeds are goofballs though. :laugh: Oh- and my Goldie has quite a high prey drive, she's bossed around by our cat but would chase an unknown cat that was running (or anything small & running for that matter).

After reading this & Odin-genie's comments, I wonder if its common for Goldies to have fast growing nails? Honey & I jog on footpaths often & her nails never get worn down.

Ugh, hate nail trimming. I'm always terrified I'll get the quick, even though I can see it. Every couple of weeks I need to do it though.

If ours could be trusted I would love this, but not likely! Lucky you! I reckon whatever works for your dogs is fine. But IF for some reason their weight range became not ideal, would you change the arrangement though? I think the issue is more about monitoring weight gain with the dog's health in mind, rather than indulging the dog and creating weight based health problems.

Also it can take time to find the right food that will help your dog thrive. I was using an organic, low grain brand of dry food for some time & it wasn't until I swapped brands for a much more accessible one, that I realised that she hadn't been doing so well on the organic stuff. It's all trial and error. :)

I think the previous advice is good. :) My dog's weight fluctuated up and down marginally, until I hit on the right amount, it's a bit of an experimental process. Even now that she is fully matured (6 yo), depending on whether I feed my dog pigs ears or chicken wings (she gets one a day as well as her 2 cups of food) I can notice a difference in her waist.

Just quickly looking at the food thread, & noting a discussion on working out the right amount of food to give, reminded me of a couple of conversations I had this week. Firstly I bumped into a friend in the street, while I had my GR, Honey, with me. She was giving Honey a cuddle & mentioned how great it was that she is so trim & fit, then went on to say "its so hard to watch their diet isn't it?". Ummm, no. She gets a cup of food in the morning & another in the evening, nothing else. Not so hard. Then, my (obese) work colleague was telling me her 2 cats were very upset at the diet her pet sitting friend put them on while she was away. Apparently they were STARVING when she got back! I just bit my tongue... I often hear that, & it occurs to me that while Im a bit of a stickler, so many people must give in to the feelings of guilt, when those big brown STARVING eyes look at you after dinner. :laugh: Do you do it?

This! We live in a townhouse with only a tiny bark garden but our dog hardly is allowed out there as she chews on the bark and gets sick. She is only small and we have an indoor loo which is fantastic for all those reasons above. It would be a massive commitment to have to take a dog outside in all weather to the toilet at anytime of day and night, we have had our fair share of tummy upsets and the indoor loo is a lifesaver! It can be a real pain, but not much different to having an indoor dog in rainy weather. You just get used to it. But, the runny poos are why we don't have rugs... anymore... When we used to do the regular toilet walks, the worst thing was running the gauntlet past the neighbours' houses in my pjs first thing in the morning and last thing at night. :laugh: