poodlefan

You might want to rethink an annual heartworm injection KTB... not good stuff at all. I would not be giving Ivermectin to any dog with collie breeding. A Moxidectin based heartworm preventative like the Proheart monthly tablets would be a much safer bet. Order them online and you'll save a fortune over vets prices.

Some Australian dog clubs are like this. Mine is one. ;)

I think it IS different. Arousal levels and dog numbers in offleash parks tend to be higher than out on the street. In my experience, most dog owners who cannot control their dogs are less likely to let them offlead outside of a fenced area.

No off leash dog park is a good place to have a puppy. You cannot control the sorts of dogs they will meet and one bad experience can see your pup killed, injured or with behavioural issues for life. Personally I'd not take any pup to a dog park before its second fear period was over and I probably wouldn't take a small breed dog to a general dog park at all.

If you go grain free, as far as I can figure, all kibbles will have very high protein levels. Artemis Maximal is around the 40% protein level too from memory.

You put your puppy into arguably the highest level of distraction I can think of for a dog. You just need to dial it down a bit until he's got the training, maturity and focus to cope with that. One thing you can think about doing is teaching him the behaviour you want in that situation, rather than managing what he offers. A good solid sit can really help. My guess is if you teach him that he does not get to greet people until he is sitting, he'll soon learn to plant his bottom very firmly on the ground.

No I don't permit it. Not from my dogs and not to my dogs. I have yet to see a dog that gave any indication whatsoever that it "enjoyed" the experience and I see no reason to expect a dog to put up with it.

There are too many variables to offer a 'one size fits all view". My dogs do not run in fenced or popular public offleash areas. I've yet to see one run in a manner that would make me review that decision. Those who cannot recall their dogs gravitate to the fenced areas like bees to honey. Frankly the biggest risk IMO is handlers who have no idea of dog body language and next to no control over their dogs.

Geo: I'd appreciate someone explaining why a Canine Control that raises its money from litter registrations and memberships could reasonably be expected to spend those funds on dogs that are not registered with it and in support of folk who aren't members either? They've protected their own. Perhaps if those who were responsible for the APBT not being a CC recognised dog had thought harder about the decision to go their own way, the outcome may have been different. CC Papers were the best protection a bull breed could ever have in Queensland. That hasn't changed and how any person could breed OR buy a dog without that protection in that State beggars belief.

Sorry to hear about the attack. You did the right thing reporting it. First goal should be that the dog that attacked yours NEVER sets foot in an offleash park again. With the attitude the owner of that dog was displaying, only council involvement will achieve that goal. These sorts of things happen more often than a lot of folk realise.

whippets are pretty popular too. Thats just because they are so good! Poetry in motion, good looking and sooky - perfect combination - oh and not much hair to drop is a good thing too I have a Whippet AND Poodles - how lucky am I?

Nice to see poodles coming up on people's lists. They seriously are such awesome dogs! Not that I'm biased or anything.

Archerlove, even if she CAN swim, she'd have to know where to get out AND not to panic and do so. Pools are death sentences for many dogs.

What is she crossed with? The difficulty with any crossbred dog is trying to figure out which of its attributes it got from which breed in its parentage. I'd not rate an ACD as high on the list of likely dog park social butterflies. When you consider how and what they were bred, that's no big surprise.

Putting another twist on this issue, I'd never recommend a dog with a very high pack drive like a Beagle for a household where it will be the sole dog and kept outside. Two of the most notorious breeds for escaping their yards are Beagles and Siberian Huskies. If you consider the high levels of activity both breeds enjoyed in their working lives and their pack habitats, it should be a no brainer that a single dog kept isolated from family and with little stimulation will seek company elsewhere.

I'd get Whippets and Pugs! Howie the Whippet lubs Puggies

With so many variables (age, gender, temperament of individual dogs, owner knowledge), I'd not like to predict an outcome.

I dont think you can lump all the sighthounds in together.. they come from very different areas/cultures and husbandry practices varied accordingly. My understanding is that some did perform a guarding/protection function in addition to hunting. I know in Whippets that is its very common at a show to see dogs that have never met being held in groups on leashes by strangers while other dogs and handlers are busy. People would look askance at any serious display of aggression between Whippets, including entire males. Nonetheless, when running many are muzzled but I'd suggest this would be due to the high levels of arousal of dogs and the potential for that arousal to result in transferred aggression. For hare coursing, the dogs are hunted as a brace and expected to give chase and catch together. Whippets often love to sleep in a grouping known as a "pile" Saluki folk know better than I but I have read that male and female dogs were kept separate, with the bitches often housed with a family's women (in a harem if wealthy enough). Amongst other things, this totally prevented accidental matings. Nonetheless, I believe sighthounds are generally regarded as fairly tolerant of both strange dogs and people but may be somewhat aloof with both.

I would expect a very high level of tolerance from dogs that both live and work in a pack and that would put the scent hounds like Foxhounds, Beagles and Basset Hounds top of the list. Dogs that are expected to tolerate the presence of other dogs in their daily lives would be animals like sight hounds, sledding breeds, gundogs and toys that are either worked or kept in the presence of other dogs. I'd expect lower levels of tolerance from the majority of terriers, working dogs and guarding breeds. Livestock guardians and dogs of fighting ancestry would be bottom of the list. There are, of course always exceptions to every rule and the further a dog moves from its original function, the less they might apply. Personally I think far too many people are either ignorant of the original function of their chosen breed or choose to ignore it and experience difficulties as a result. Of course combining dogs of very different function into crossbreds creates a whole new level of potential behavioural challenges. I always advise potential breed owners to study the original function of their dog and to be sure they actually want to live with a dog that has those traits. We developed breeds with varying levels of bite threshold, bite inhibition, people focus, independence AND tolerance of other animals. Its dogs that suffer when people ignore those characteristics in the dog they choose.

Both dogs don't require testicles to get in a serious barney Poodlemum. You've seen it yourself. I recall being at the vet's one night when a roughly 6 month old pup was brought in seriously injured. Male pup had been attacked by his mother.. I think it was PTS.

Bless your kids for caring so much about their pet. Perhaps they need to talk about how getting a new pet would not be "disloyal" or giving up on a chance of finding your missing girl. Time for a talk maybe?

Easiest way would be for the dog's owner to control everything. Health test dog Harvest and store semen Charge for use of straws. Owner will need to be CC registered and dog on Main Register. Any other situation means an ongoing relationship between owner and kennels that will need to be managed.

And far too many owners who ignore the history and temperament of the breed to its peril. If you want dogs that are the most likely to get on with one another, then look to breeds that were kept and/or worked in groups. Many breeds of hounds, gundogs and sledding breeds would appear to be likely candidates. There's a REASON the Beagle is among the most popular dogs for scientifc research and its not just because of its appetite. To keep two mature dogs of a breed of fighting ancestry together requires vigilance, preparation and separation if not supervised. Years of dumb luck won't help a bit if you come home to the situaton Silverblue describes. I'd argue most experienced Stafford folk would not advise it and most could describe such incidents. Anecdotal evidence adds up. Most mulitple dog owners can describe scraps that have occurred between their dogs. Add a breed renowned for its courage, tenacity and power to the mix and the outcome can be disastrous.

Fret not Sheridan. Second post was the OP making light of people's concern for her dog. That follows the colourful language towards posters yesterday. Hence my addition of a pic to this thread today.

pretty poor joke - there are a lot of sincere, caring and knowledable people here who don't deserve the p*ss taken. fifi I suspect if the OP turns around, she might see something like this As far as I'm concerned, that's what she's done to her credibility with me.