poodlefan

A Standard Poodle can be a VERY tall dog and a lot of groomers won't groom them. I can think of easier options if grooming is a concern. I don't give a toss what other people call my dogs. If they think poodles are girly dogs its their loss. Consider how your existing dogs will deal with a new puppy far larger than they are.. you certainly won't be able leave them together unsupervised for months. If grooming is an issue, go for a smooth coated dog. Long coated dogs get burrs and knots just as easily as non-shedding ones. They take longer to dry too!

Not necessarily. They might fence fight or wind each other up.

I may or may not show a dog but I'd care if it lacked bone density, had an increased chance of HD or cruciate ligament rupture or cancer because someone decided that it should be desexed as a tiny baby pup. But hey, that's just me. Rescues care about reducing the number of unwanted dogs. Personally I think mandatory desexing is not the way to do it but I'm not making the decisions for them. I can tell you this though. Hell would freeze over before I'd buy any pup desexed at 6 weeks.

Personally I think a good Miniature Poodle would tick all the boxes in a smaller package. They'd walk your legs off given half a chance.

It's not unheard of but its not what the breed standard calls for and I'd not call it 'common'. I think socialisation plays a big part of this and genetics does the rest. Most of the Whippets I know are quite outgoing. My Whippet boy is confident and outgoing. However Whippets don't do well with owners who throw tantrums, heavy handed training and stressful households. Can't say I blame them.

For a breed known for skin allergies in a region not known for fleas I'd be avoiding all spot treatments like the plague. Dore, use an all wormer once every three months for intestinal worms, a monthly heart worm tablet like Proheart in Spring, Summer and Autumn and only treat fleas when you need to (Capstar tablets are fine) You should also consider that your pup's itching has nothing to do with fleas. It could be a contact allergy and it could also be diet related. What are you feeding the pup?

PF so far they are at the top of my list My guess is meeting a few will cement them there. They aren't common as pets but I think for an active home they should be more popular.

If I were looking for a medium gundog for dog sports and I wasnt interested in showing, I don't think I'd be going past a working English Springer Spaniel.

Kirislin, she might have a disc that gets pinched from time to time.. you can't see that on x-ray and the symptoms would match. I'd work on the "if it ain't broke don't fix it" principle and not worry too much. However if you've been thinking about regular chiro visits, Penny might profit from them. It helps keep my IVDD boy free of incidents. Chiros prefer to see dogs before they get to the "in pain" stage.

And all utterly pointless when you can travel 10 minutes over the border and buy a dog without any of these restrictions.. and my guess is puppy owners will vote with their wallets and do just that. Its the dogs that will pay the price for early desexing when the existing restrictions on owners are more than adequate but unenforced.

I would get a set of solids and some silver shade mesh. The solid ones are worth their weight in gold when its windy or rainy.

A fly trap is probably your best bet. Ask at a rural supply place.

I have patted and done a body condition check on a Rottweiler than growled and curled its lip at another person who went to touch the dog after me. He came in fast, got close to the dog directly in front of it, bent over the top of it, looked directly into the dog's eyes and went to pat it on the top of its head. I came in from the side, spoke to the dog, offered the back of my hand and then rubbed it on the chest before touching it elsewhere. Same dog, two different approaches. Crowding, direct eye contact and top of head pats are not the way to go on some dogs. Tiny dogs can be defensive out of sheer self protection. I'd be saving my derogatory comments for the owners who should have known better.

I think this pup is beyond its current owners capacity to train. Time to rehome and not get another dog until she is in a stable domestic situation again.

I've had a vet tell me (when I was in a tick area) that Permoxin and regular checks were a lot less hard on a dog than the chemical cocktails we subject them too. My vet certainly recommends it.

As it isn't absorbed by the skin, its probably one of the safer products. Give your vet a call Cowanbree!

The hoops you'll have to jump through to get a breeder's license are new though. And lets face it, the kinds of people this legislation is aimed to control will pay as much attention to it as they currently do. None whatsoever. Perhaps if we'd had decent enforcement of existing laws we wouldn't need new ones. The only impact these laws will have is to place further restrictions on those responsible enough to obey them. The local puppy farms are in NSW, not the ACT. These laws won't affect them at all. What I don't understand is why the ACT, which has a very low number of dogs PTS every year needs such draconian legislation. It will make it more difficult and more expensive to buy a pup from a responsible breeder. I hardly think that's an ideal result. Neither is the RSPCA. Didn't seem to impact on the Green's ability to consult with them though.

Dyzney: x 2 There are also a couple of breeds who's temperaments generally do nothing for me.

I'd be planning for some snake proofing of a run Warnsey.. they're bad around Canberra this year.

I probably would have given a simple very loud "Oi" and left it at that. If you don't know why the dog snapped I'd sure as hell wouldn't be putting my hands near his head. There's no way I'd be letting this dog near my child unless under close supervision though - clearly there's something going on and you need to be in prevention mode now.

Start with the simple method - remove anything from close to her mouth if she goes to lick it.. hands, feet etc. They can't lick what they can't reach.

K9Pro does phone consults I think. That would be my starting point. If your dog isn't crate trained, I'd be starting that. Giving him a place where he knows he will be left alone and educating your daughter to that end would be a valuable management tool. And bear this in mind. Your dog SNAPPED. He warned... and you're acting on the warning. Teach your daughter the same and be very carefull about disciplining that snapping. Extinguishing warnings is never a good thing.

It was Sue Sternberg. Two things worry me about this story. 1. The owner had never seen signs of aggression in the dog. 2. It appears that the attack was more than a bite? No amount of rehab can guarantee that given similar circumstances, the dog wont' react similarly. Dogs that attack when 'startled' can do it again. You can't keep a dog in a bubble for the rest of its life. Good natured, non-aggressive ACDs die every day due to lack of homes. PTS and I'd strongly recommend the owner choose another breed. Sounds like a bit too much dog for them. -

The GSD and the two utility gundogs have quite different temperaments. I suggest you visit with breeders and check them out for yourself. You'll be the best judge of what breed best fits you but I'd not recommned a Wei for agility and you'll be hard pressed to find a suitable GSD these days. If you can't keep the dog securely confined, don't get any of them. All have decent prey drive and all would have potential for chasing stock and wild life.

Your baby is getting bigger and your dog is getting older. Stop the baby climbing on him NOW. He shouldn't have to "tolerate it". And its a dangerous lesson to teach a child that a living animal is to be treated like that. He isn't a bean bag. Get a full vet check - this may be pain related. And for your dog's and your child's sake, please stop seeing their interactions as all about dominance and pack hierarchy. Nothing you do will make your dog see your toddler as "higher in the pack order". Get a professional in to assess this NOW.