Staffyluv

I am limiting the time that Ziggy has there.. We only go for a very short while and nowhere near as often as we used to go... I have found this limited excitement has helped with his training so much... He is an extremely excitable dog and the more excited he gets, the less he listens to me. I agree Midol, aggressive dogs have no place running free at an off lead park with other dogs... However if the owners of said dogs wanted to give their dog a run, I would be happy to wait so the dog could have some leash free time... I know some won't agree with me but I think leash free time to have a sniff around or a good run is good for dogs...

They are about the only thing he treats as a reward, other than a tennis ball or even better, the squeaky tennis ball... Maybe I need to test him with a ball and not food...

We have been working on the leave it command and he has it down pretty good.. So I thought I would really test him tonight. I left 2 scotch finger biscuits on the floor and said leave it. Then I walked away and came back a few minutes later (honestly expecting them to be gone) and they were still there... Bless him, so I gave him some of that filthy shark cartilidge that he loves so much (that stuff makes me dry retch just opening the packet)... I think we have the leave it command conquered... Just had to share. :D

I don't like animals being sold in pet shops.. It would be better if they had open days and invited rescues to bring their fosters in for a while for a meet and greet. That way, if anyone was interested they could take it up with the rescue... Obviously they won't really get anything for it other than, maybe, extra sales from possible new owners of rescue dogs...

I am so sorry to hear this sad news... RIP Panda

My old boy used to get mucus in his poo when he had a bout of pancreatitis.. I would take food off her until you get to see the vet or just give her cooled chicken stock and rice (low salt or make your own is even better)..

Dogs can dehydrate very quickly, make sure the dog has ple ty of water and maybe even some hydralyte from the chemist in the water. I would have fasted for 24 hours but if the dog is still reacting to food even after a 12 hour fast and has been ill since Sunday, I would be inclined for a vet visit as it may be an infection of some kind... Can you check the dogs temperature, if that is raised I would definitely be off to the vets...

My old Stafford got fleas from a kennel.. We used comfortis tablets and it seemed to fix the problem because the fleas die when they bite the animal.. It is good for a whole month.. As for treating the yard and house, you would need something that kills the eggs as well as each stage of the flea... Best to speak to the professionals as it sounds like a bad infestation... I used the flea bombs in the whole house (took the dog to my mums overnight), then used the vacuum throughout... I did this two weeks running and that seems to fix our problem...

Personally, I feed kangaroo (yep he farts with this), beef (especially brisket bones), whole chicken carcasses from the meat department in Woolworths and chicken necks... He gets a whole chicken carcass for breaky (or a few necks), then at dinner time he gets roo or beef or a mixture of roo and beef (sometimes minced and other times it is whole chunks. He gets some kibble mixed with either peanut butter or cottage cheese in his king a few times a week. He gets a few brisket bones a week but lamb flaps and roo tails are just as good (I don't use lamb as I find it upsets his tips my a bit due to the fat level)... He also gets fruit and veg to just eat or chew on, carrots are great, so are apples.. He might get a raw. egg (shell and all) once a week as well.. Bones clean their teeth. Dogs have a really quick digestive tract compared to ours, raw wont upset their stomach... My old Stafford was on cooked food and his farts would clear a room in minutes... My new guy is raw, with a bit of kibble a few times a week and he hardly seems to fart at all. He never has breath issues either.. Note that all digs are different and what suits one, may not suit another dog.. Diet is pretty well trial and error until you find what works best for your dog...

We used to use a clicker when we first started training but because there is no real treat, other than a ball, he soon just ignored the click ( we have tried everything from carob buttons, yoghurt buttons, dried shark cartilidge, liver treats, cheese, cold meats, BBQ chicken and chopped up chicken necks... He will stop for a treat the first or second command and then he doesn't want it. We even dropped a heap of treats on the ground and he just sat there looking at them... In better news, we missed training last week, so I was a bit worried about today. He was fine for the most part and quite responsive.. Every time he did what he was asked he got his ball... The ball seems to be his thing and I think I am just going to have to learn how to use it as a training tool.. He has lots of normal tennis balls but for training we have a squeaky one and he is mad for it... He only gets the squeaky ball at training... He is still pretty focused on e other dogs and our trainer gave me one of her dogs to work with while she did some work with Ziggy to see if he would do better with her... Nope, he reacted the same way... We finished the lesson earlier and went for a bit of a walk and played with his other tennis ball.. When he does something good, he likes me to throw the ball up. So he can catch it.. Then he does this roll over or jump thing with the ball, like he is so stoked to have it... I know we will get there, it's just gonna take some time..

I thought all dogs chewed up tennis balls to be honest. We go through a pack of 3 a week. They are cheap and easily replaced.. The first thing Ziggy does with a new tennis ball is fetch it and pop it.. We will still keep playing with it but it will eventually get chewed to bits over time... I think we probably have about 10 to 15 tennis balls in various states of destruction around the house at any time... They and cardboard rolls and boxes are the only thing that Zig is allowed to destroy.. He is good with his other toys and I guess I am lucky as he actually seems to like to share play with his stuff... They all have their little quirks and I think we just need to work on them the best we can.

Mrs RB my Ziggy would love her.. All he wants is a dog to take the ball and run, so he has someone to chase or run with... We have a ball obsessed dog in our group, who wants the ball all the time... I guess we are lucky in that the rest of the group don't seem to care about it... They just run with whoever has the ball, challenge each other by shouldering each other as they run after who has the ball... I do see how it can become an issue but I really do think that you can get groups of dogs that seem to meld together really well. If we get dogs that come into the park that cause issues, we just leash our guys and leave... Sadly we have seen a couple of fights but none from the usual group that hangs together..

Great response... The reason we only stay for about half an hour now is that seems to be Zig's limit before his excitement escalates to a level where he forgets his recall as he is just to excited with everything going on... I forgot about the sharing stuff. We take our own water in a pop top bottle and he drinks from that... I tend to move him away from any kids if they turn up.. He seems happy to avoid kids under about 10 anyway.. We do take a ball and the whole group that we see all the time play great with it together... Dog parks are definitely a learning curve and I do understand why some people avoid them.. But if you are lucky enough to mix with a group where the dogs get along well, then it is a good form of socialisation in my opinion... Some dogs do better with it than others...

My old Stafford had oxalate stones removed. His diet was adjusted and he changed from mostly red meats to more chicken and frames and turkey and veg... But it seems to right itself and he never got anymore after the surgery... He wouldn't eat the hills stuff at all...

This... However we feed a combination of raw meat, chicken carcasses,bones and royal canin kibble for convenience... A good raw diet doesn't need the kibble, I am just getting lazy, so it makes for a quick breaky a couple of days a week.. My boy thinks kibble is a treat because we usually use it a couple of times a week mixed with cottage cheese or peanut butter to stuff into his kongs... So he is happy whenhe gets a half a cup or so for breaky now and then.

I concur.. Sadly though, one persons common sense is not the same as another's. I have a boisterous staffy cross, who is very friendly and can be quite in your face with other dogs. But he is also quite submissive and rolls over at the first sign of a more dominant dog.. My old boy didnt likemother dogs, so we never went to dog parks.. The environment can differ from park to park, depending on the dogs and people there.. The same park can also be different depending on what time you go. Ziggy has a ball when we go but we don't go as often as we used to when i first got him, as he tends to forget his recall when he spends to much time at the park. He is much better if we only go about once a month and only for about half an hour at a time.. I tend to call Ziggy away from people and dogs who have moved to the far end of the park or if I see a dog that doesn't seem comfortable running with him (he takes a ball but is happy for other dogs to have the ball as all he wants to do is run with any dog that is running). I am pretty lucky as he seems to know he has to be more gentle with smaller dogs and pups and he can be more boisterous with bigger dogs. But like all dogs, he can get caught up in the moment and run to close to smaller dogs.. So we try to keep them away from the smaller dogs when the bigger dogs are having a rougher play or run.. It's really not that hard if you meet up with the same group. Ziggy plays with the same group most of the time... There are about 8 dogs and they range from a really big lab to a pom that is so tiny.. He plays with a huge boxer and another staffy most of the time.. He loves the working dogs but they tend to snob him a bit.. We also have a very bossy Lab x poodle that thinks all the toys are his but it doesn't bother the rest of the group.. It is common sense in the end... If you or your dog feel uncomfortable at one park, try a different one or go at a different time.

I bet you mis the little chunka spunk though... I bonded with Ollie dog straight away. We were very attached to each other. He was a huge part of my life for fourteen and a half years. When I gave him his wings last year, I didn't think I could ever have another dog of my own so decided to foster... The day we picked up our first foster, we also met a a 6 month old staffy... He came home a couple of days later.. It took a few weeks but I realise he has wormed his way into my heart and I can't imagine a life without my little tennis ball freak... Ziggy was such good medicine for all of us at a time when our whole world was falling apart.. He is such fun and a real clown.. Not to mention he is very vocal and chats all the time... He is a challenge to train but we are getting there with persistence, some great advice from DOLers and our wonderful trainer (who has the patience of a saint)..

Wow, just saw this.. Congrats and it's a lovely photo...

I took most of it back to the vet and they gave me a credit for the cost - I had nearly a whole prescription of thyroxine.. I kept the polaramine and maxalon stuff here - it is human meds and you never know if you can use it again as both has a pretty long use by.. I have already used the polaramine on Ziggy..

I just thought of another thing that is an issue here in Quangers - we have signs up in the parks (that are not offlead) to say keep your dog on a lead but they are really high and quite small, so many people disregard them (probably because they don't see them and I dare say there are others who just don't give a rats).. I would like to see better signage stating keep your pets on a leash - to try and stop as many off leash issues as possible (I do realise this won't work on everyone but some might take heed if there are reasonable fines advertised on the signs as well)...

Same here.. More dog parks, better dog parks... One of our local parks is a great park but it has immature trees and no shade, so it gets very hot in summer time. One lovely lady bought 2 clam shells and put one in each fenced area, only to come back a week later and they were both full of holes (thanks to the local hooligans)... I think if they do dog parks it would be nice to do them in an area that already had good shade... I would like to see more councils working with rescue to work towards them all being no kill shelters (to me no kill means rehoming every dog that is suitable to be rehomed, I realise some are to dangerous or sick to be rehomed, so not all will make it out). More local events where you can take your dog along, so many are no dogs allowed.

My old stafford would do anything for food. Our current staffy cross is not food drive at all. He will do anything for a tennis ball and if it happens to squeal, even better.. He is getting better though, at least I can do some training with him using treats now. When we first went to training, he had no interest in food at all when there were other dogs around..

Any luck with the little lad.. He is so cute, I can't believe he hasn't been snapped up - I would take him in a heartbeat if I could

When ever I think about puppy farms and the like - Leo's Story comes to mind every time.. Leo's Story It might not be the oodles so much that end up in pounds but I bet there are lots of breeding stock that end up there...

this place makes me vomit!! Ditto.. Especially the bit about only breeding their 'girls' twice in any 18 month period as per the code of conduct.. And only up until they are about 6 years old, then they are given away to good homes...