Staffyluv

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I agree with showdog... My last boy had cancer and we fought it for 6 years. Luckily for us his was kept at bay with chemo, diet and holistic treatment... The last 6 months was palliative care as he had reached the end of treatments and you could see the cancer was winning.. The day before he was given his wings he was playing under the sprinklers at the local park and watching him that day, I thought he was fine. We were at the vets the next day saying goodbye.. It can come so quickly and I wasn't ready for it, I don't think you can ever be ready to let them go. But we have to.. Giving them their wings when it is time is the greatest gift of all...

In all honesty, I don't know what I would do in that situation but what a horrible thing to have happen... Hindsight is a wonderful thing and thinking about it, I would have gone to the police and the RSPCA and reported them for what they had done to my dog.. I think I would have let everyone that would listen know what these people are capable of. What sort of person baits a dog (any animal for that matter).. In my mind these types of people are the lowest of the low.. I have never understood how people can harm children or animals - both so reliant on us...

I think Ziggy would be good at this.. I might have to look up the ACT group and see if they have a day when newbies can come along and give it a go.

Poor baby.. I am sure she is in good hands and getting lots of love from her carers at the vets until she comes home.

10 months today since you went away buddy.. I miss you

Hahaha, love it...

My old stafford couldn't swim. He would sink and not even try. I thInk my current lad would swim fine. He loves the water and tries to get in the bath, shower all the time. He swims in his clam shell but it's not really deep enough. He likes to put his head right under the water.

Just wanted to add, if you have a look in the palliative care section, Ollie's thread has a wealth of info about MCT and diet, as well as our journey for 6 years with the disease.. He was MCT, multiple tumours, no clear margins on excision.. They gave him 12-18 months at 8 years old and we gave him his wins last October at the ripe old age of 14 years and 5 months old..

Our guy gets on with all breeds.. If they can tolerate his exuberance... He is submissive so if a dog tells him off, he rolls over or runs away.. He seems to know he has to be more gentle with small dogs and pups but can certainly hold his own in the more full on play with the big boys... He got on particularly well with our foster kelpie cross and our foster ridgie cross.. He used to make a bee line for boxers at the park (I think he thinks they are all like his big mate who really rumbles with him)... He seems to love other staffs as well... We don't go to offlead parks at the moment due to a training issue.. Our ridgie cross foster girl was probably the one he got on best with.. Even at 4 months old she had it all over him...

We never used Palladia but I believe it has good reviews from everything I have read about it.

I agree especially about boxers. Mine gets a bad response from many dogs out in public (particularly BC's) He even play-bowed a loose dog yesterday who initially rushed us and pinned my dog (owner was weeding front yard and not watching his dog). Ziggy loves boxers.. Every one we have encountered has been as big a loon as he is.. It's one big game... Because he had a really big boxer boy as a mate when he first went to the dog park, he would make a bee line for them...

I agree with HW... I think they gravitate towards similar body language and often react accordingly. I know when I took Ziggy to dog parks, he would make a bee line for all the pups and little dogs at first but once his confidence kicked in he would go to all the boof heads who wanted to run and chase balls and play in the mud and shoulder each other... I also think most Staffords have a certain confidence and I do think this puts some dogs on edge, hence the reaction to Staffords by a lot of other dogs...

Bull breeds aren't bad.. Neither are labs.. Dogs are a product of their environment, their treatment, training and socialization...

KM, have you considered holistic support for your girl while she undergoes chemo? I found it great for my old stafford when he was dxd with MCT and was originally given 12-18 months with chemo. We got another 6 years together.. I realise it's a different cancer but it can't hurt to try if funds allow the extra expense... Wishing you many happy times together.

Some staffys can be very forward in their social interactions.. A lot of other dogs don't particularly like how forward they are and it's not unusual to get a reaction... Perhaps the staffy was being a bit forward and the lab took offense.. Maybe the lab was just being a shit to... Believe it or not the communication between dogs is often not seen by us unless we are watching very closely.. I have only recently discovered so much more to my dogs behaviour while working with a trainer that is also a behaviorist and she has shown me things that I thought were OK but are not and also reactions from him that I didn't even notice before... I have a super friendly staffy and he usually gets a good response from other dogs, but there have been occasions where his forward ness has not been welcomed.. Lucky for me he is also submissive and rolls over at the first sign of another dog not being happy with him...

Wishing you all the best for a full recovery..

I don't think anyone has this notion. I do believe APBT breed fanciers are fed up with the "wipe them out" comments, and I don't think any of the comments are defending the dogs in question. What bull breed owners want is the media to stop shouting PITBULL at every oppurtunity, the circumstances of the attack to reported accurately to stop the scourge of negativity surrounding their breeds. What I've taken from most of the posters who are anti BSL, is that these dogs could've been prevented from being in this situation and it is entirely the owners fault, especially if he knew his dogs were an issue. Pretty much how I feel, I can't speak for others though... If they were my dogs, they would have been taken directly to a vet to be PTS.. There is no excuse for the actions of these dogs (no matter what their breed/type).. Jules, I don't think they got out. I recall reading something about the fact that the owner was walking his dogs and called his dogs back when they went for the victim and the other 2 dogs... Then when the dogs attacked the owner and another guy disappeared... Link to story

I have floor boards through the house but 2 room sized rugs (one in the lounge and one in the hall, right at the front door).. Every time Ziggy chucks, it is on the rug at the front door... I use that preen carpet cleaner stuff in the pink bottle...

Wow, happy birthday pretty girl...

Asal I am as disgusted at this attack as everyone else. My first post in here was to say these animals should be put down and the owners held responsible and have the full force of the law thrust upon them... But again, this thread has turned into a bull breed bashing thread.. I will defend my breed of choice forever. I am a responsible owner and there are plenty of us out there (i dare say more responsible bull breed owners than irresponsible ones).. My pet should not be killed because some people dont like his breeding and some morons don't do the right thing with their dogs. Eradicating a whole breed solves nothing. The morons will choose another breed and it will all start again..

Wow, just wow!

I saw this on Facebook yesterday, isn't she amazing... Nice to see a good news story..

There is a difference between a restricted breed of dog and a dangerous dog... Any breed of dog can be labelled dangerous, by the actions of the individual dog.. But there are only a few breeds of dog that are on the restricted list. What breed will the morons of society move onto once our beloved breed has been eradicated? Not all restricted breeds are dangerous! There are many of these bull breeds (because according to a lot of breed bashers in this thread) that live in loving family homes. I have one, rescued from the pound. He has foster brothers and sisters from time to time... You should have seen the scary bull breed crawling on his tummy to get closer to the 15 week old lab puppy at training today... No doubt you would have been terrified for the welfare of the puppy... Lucky for us, his owner had a fit of the giggles watching a 26kg muscle mutt crawling up to her puppy... The lick the puppy wore under its chin, lifted him off the ground... For the record, I do take offense at people who know nothing about my dog stating that he and his entire type of breed should be eradicated... Wouldn't you take offense if someone suggested that your breed of choice be PTS.. I doubt there are many that could sit there and state with 100% confidence that their breed of choice is totally harmless... Back on topic again, has anyone heard any more about the other little dog involved and if he is alright?

Pers his tummy upset was from family feeding him bacon... He seems to be very sensitive tummy wise with food. The vet thinks it could have been a slight case of pancreatitis, so he is just on light meals a few times a day. The vet said he should be OK to go to training and the trainer said she was happy for him to stay, when she had a look at him... He is not really food orientated, I get a better response from him with a squeaky tennis ball.. Lucky all the other pups are food focused or that could be an issue for the other owners. He had no breaky before we went and he still wasn't interested in the chicken, turkey or cheese I had. He had a second sniff at the liver treats but still just wanted the ball.. But we are doing what Cos suggested and working with treats at home all the time to get him to value them and it is working.. His focus was so much more on me today than it has ever been with so many other dogs around..just with the smells, he wasn't really interested in eating but every time I waved it near his nose, he looked at me, just didn't take the treat. He did really well. The trainer was very impressed with how far he has come, considering he hasn't felt well most of the week. He was loose lead most of the time. Apart from when the little puppies get to close and he tries to say hello.. He just adores the little lab pup and he only gets to say a quick few second hello if he approaches properly. If he jumps towards the pup, we walk away.. He is such a boof head but so very gentle with smaller dogs and pups... He is knackered now and sound asleep on the lounge with the warm sunshine on him... He deserves a nice rest in the sunshine after how good he worked today.. I just want to say how great the advice has been and how much I appreciate it.. Dogs can be so different. Our old boy, Ollie, was a dream to train.. No real issues until later in his life when he was attacked a couple of times and became a bit iffy around other dogs as he just didn't seem to trust other dogs any more. His focus was always on me. Zig on the other hand, while an angel at home and easy to train, his focus is gone when we are out... He is an awesome little dog and when we get this all worked out, he will be even more awesome...