poodlefan

Smart move. Colour should be a preference, not a priority. And with livers being less common than black, best not limit your options.

I only say “largest” to illustrate that they are the ones with the pups, and so if I don’t take one from there it is hard to find another in WA. The whole purpose of my thread is to get other recommendations because this large breeder has such a bad rep in these forums. So why you would say “if you like their stock go buy it” is beyond me? I said it because any criticism of this breeder appears to be rejected by you. If you've been perfectly happy with two dogs from this breeder why wouldn't you go back? ;) What's the hang up with getting a dog in WA? It's no big deal to buy a pup from interstate. Oh and no one's going to come right out and dish dirt on a public forum. It's the fast track to a defamation suit AND a breach of forum rules. ETA: Hawksdale are advertising a litter due next month.

There isn't a single purebred dog breed that hasn't been developed through line breeding. All purebreds are a limited genepool. If you are talking about "inbreeding" which is breeding animals that are too closely related then that's another thing entirely. If you are happy with the WA Breeder then buy a dog from there. It's certainly not where I'd be shopping but each to their own. ;)

An underage surprise gift.... just bloody wonderful. RIP puppy, you never had a chance. I hope the friend dropped her like a hot potato. Clearly someone reported her.

We aren't talking about a working dog. We are talking about pet dog. A pet dog with aggression issues that no one giving advice on this forum had seen. And most of us had to good sense to tailor advice in the direction of muzzles, separation from other dogs and consulting a professional for help. Most, but not the "GSD expert" who knew what had to be done based solely on the dogs breed. That's when I posted asking the "GSD expert" not give advice based on assumptions about dogs and handlers and it went from there. My credentials were questioned, the GSD cavalry arrived and poor Rock Dog got a sore brain. A good dog trainer gathers information about the dog, its behaviour and its owner before coming up with a method. It doesn't matter if you're training GSDs or poodles, using check chains or clickers, no one with any sense of responsibility gives advice that's potentially dangerous. And all but one person in this thread appeared to acknowledge that.

Poodlefan did what she had to do when an idiot with a dog aggressive GSD that had to be screamed at to put his effing dog on lead, HANDED THE LEASH TO HIS CHILD and the dog broke free and ran straight at my dog to grab it. Did you miss the bit when the guy snatched the lead from my hands and the dog latched onto his arm. Can't say I was too upset. Poodlefan DID NOT recommend a person she's never met, perform the technique on a dog she'd never seen as a method of correcting this behaviour. Turns out the OP isn't physcially capable of doing it but that came out well after the GSD expert had delivered the diagnosis and recommended cure. I have also said the technique has its uses. Try taking off those breed blinkers and actually reading my posts for a change rather than turning this into some sort of GSD owner/working dog trainer vs the rest argument. The facts are that a person with no knowledge of the dog or owner prescribed a training technique that requires strength and timing to pull off safely. Lament all you like that a "experienced GSD trainer" has left but he/she will be back, in yet another manifestation to prescribe yet more unsafe techniqueas to pet dog owners. I'd love to know how much succes that person has had rehabilitating aggressive dogs over the internet with no background evaluations. Eff all would be my guess And when he/she emerges with a new name and hands out the kind of advice that puts owners in hospital and GSDs to sleep, I'll take issue with the advice again.

Try upping the reward to a treat.

SpecTraining: And there's a very good chance he'd not have made the grade. I live next door to the head of a police dog team and I know how many dogs they look at before they find one that will suit. Lots of GSD's lack the nerve and drive and soundness to work for a living. This is not news to anyone I thought. :D

She's better off with toys than sticks.. vets remove lots of sticks from dog's soft palates and worse. You'd have to back chain teaching her to retrieve. A trainer could teach you this. Did you reward her for bringing it back? He could drag something for her to pounce on. My dogs have a large fur snake that's popular for that game. Or you could get a kids play tunnel and they can crawl through that.

God I hate raining on this parade but I'd discourage this game too. (I sound so negative) She's going to be a big powerful dog. She needs to learn that chasing kids is not OK. If she does it to the wrong child she could bowl them over AND her behaviour can be misinterpreted. You need to introduce some other games to this friendship. Will she case a toy.

I call it frog dog and it doesn't mean anything other than a dog that likes its tummy on the floor. :D

Being offended happens here all the time. Ignore those that offend - retaliation will get you a one way trip out the door or a holiday at the least. There really are situations where people realise they've taken on way too much and that its in both theirs and the pups interests that it be returned. Most of your early posts in this thread have expressed total frustration and (lets be frank) very unrealistic expectations of your puppy. You also said if you had your time again, you'd not have got her now. What did you think folk were to conclude? You say you're venting but we have to take these things as you paint them. Were those views not to change then return WOULD be the way to go. Sift through the advice in this thread and use the gems. That's what the rest of us do.

Can't comment on the kibble but feed any meat on the bone. Human grade chicken wings and drumstcks and lamb necks and ribs would be good.

No, its not abuse. Calling people pathetic nasty ignorant low lifes that need to grow up and telling them to f#ck off is abuse. People telling you to return you pup is advice you don't want to hear. You've concluded that people think you're a bad person when all some think is that this is not a good time for you to be trying to manage a sick Dad and a baby pup. Ignore that if you wish but responding by labelling people who are actively trying to help you in such insulting terms is self destructive behaviour. For one they'll stop trying (and you clearly need help) and for another if they tire of it you'll get reported and booted off the forum.

And this is not the first time. When you're making your judgements of those responding Staffygirl, consider for a moment that you don't appear to have been reported for that charming post that it is very clear breach of forum rules. My guess is that most of us are feeling some empathy for your situation and concern for the welfare of your pup. Rather than see you booted off, I'd say most would like you to stay and get some help. No one has sworn at you or abused you. You cannot say the same. If you cannot control your temper sufficiently to post in accordance with the rules, log off, take a break and go pat your pup. She's the one most of us are trying to help.

Spotty: No way!!! ;) I'd have said, "oh your poor little bugger", donned a pair of rubber gloves and carried her straight to the tub for a bath!

If you cannot supervise her that's where she should be. Of course she'll still need to be fed. How many "I can't deal with this today" days do you think it will take before that happy little puppy loses focus on you and finds ways to amuse herself.. you know, barking, digging, trying to get under the fence etc. She won't learn a damn thing else by being ignored. All jokes aside, you really need to consider if you're up to this. There's a life completely dependent on you sitting in that back yard. If I were her breeder I'd be very worried about her.

PF: I always love revisiting your posts after you edit them. They always change and this time there was a dramatic colour change, too!!! ;) People didn't seem to be getting my point.

;) And a big sigh of relief. Smart move. If you want to do some reading about puppy raising read the training stuff on this website. Lots of good advice there.

I can tell you have a short fuse, no real knowledge of the breed you have now and unrealistic expectations of a baby pup. Your reaction to her being covered in shit appeared to be annoyance, not guilt for leaving her too long and her having to endure that situation. If you think it stank how do you think an animal with far better sense of smell liked it. You did the equivalent of leaving a baby in a dirty nappy for hours and you blamed her for it. Try being a little kinder to her if you're going to keep her. Channel your frustration into improving your management and educating yourself so that you can raise a happy, healthy well mannered dog. Most issues with pups come down to owners. If you start looking at what you can change rather than how your puppy should change you'l get further quicker. How you choose to manage your dog with your child is your business. Just don't expect dog people to support what you're doing in that regard.

Everything I've read so far suggests to me that the OP has bitten off more than she can chew and she knows it. If I were this pup's breeder and your rang me I'd give you your money back AND pay for the pup's flight home. I think this is a case of wrong dog, wrong time for this family.

That's scarey goosebumps behaviour.. if you see it BIG warning sign. I sure as hell hope that shelter carefully temperment tested dogs prior to rehoming. Someone I know has seen 3 week olds behaving like that towards people.

You know the biggest problem with this practice? It fails to take into account that even the lowest pack members will defend their food . And bitches more than most. No alpha male in their right mind tackles an adult bitch who is eating and expects submission. Let alone a 3 or 4 year old boy child. ;)

You have no idea what you're talking about I'm afraid. Food aggression is hard wired into some dogs and learned by others. Your dog will NEVER regard your child as pack leader. He is a pack member. There's only ever one leader and it should be you. I cannot overemphasise how potentially dangerous a lesson you a teaching your son. This is literally making my blood run cold. For pity's sake, stop watching Cesar Millan and start listening to folk who want to keep your child safe. I've said my piece. If I read about some poor kid getting 'mauled' in Tasmania, I'll do the stats: Powerful dog - tick Male child - tick Child interfered with food - tick Parent distracted or absent - tick And we'll all nod and go 'yep, classic completely preventable bite scenario'. And because you have a bull breed, you'll just have made the breed one step closer to complete extinction. For pity's sake there was one of these in Darwin only last week. Go look at that poor little girl with a head full of stitches. That's what happens when it goes wrong. ;) I'm out of here. I can't bear this.

Where did you read that? Its a very simplistic take on issues of resources and dominance. This kind of advice tends to go hand in had with no dogs on furniture and alpharolls as ways of "ensuring dominance" Yes, as the people we're supposed to control all resources but increasing anxiety about food can be an unintended consequence of this process. If a pup is a resource guarder, increasing anxiety about food ESCALATES the problem. And the pup is only half the equation - we have a 2 year old learning here too. He's learning that its a good thing to interfere with a dog when its eating. It's rewarded behaviour for him too. Here we have a baby puppy that's going to grow into a very powerful dog and that is displaying a high degree of arousal around food. Add a 2 year old being encouraged to interfere when pup is feeding. What we want is a puppy that displays a high degree of self control and calmness around food and a child that knows that when a dog is eating (that's any dog) you leave it alone. That pup will be an adolescent soon and mum might not always watch the entire meal every time dog is fed. And we have a boy child just about to start experimenting with higher risk behaviours. Simply not safe.