poodlefan

Would it be too cynical of me to suggest that the RSPCA UK's announcement of turning away unwanted animals is using the prospect of thousands of stray dogs and cats as leverage for more donations and government funding? :nahnah:

I've had more than a few BC folk tell me their dogs don't like Boxers. The eyes seem to be the issue. Normal spitz tail carriage would be a sign of high levels of arousal in many other breeds. You can't read piloerection on Spitzs either. ETA: All of this is one reason why I'd always suggest folk do their dog training and socialisation around as many different breeds as possible.

SP, many poodle (and GSD) people will tell you that the two breeds don't mix well. I think the very great differences in their body languages don't help. Can you explain the differences of body language in more detail of both the breeds as to why they are different to standard caniine body language? GSD.. pricked ears, low set and carried tail unless highly aroused, capable of displaying distinct piloerection. This is close to standard. Poodle, Drop ears, very upright head/neck carriage, erect tail (sign of dominance in many breeds) and a coat that cannot display piloerection. Significant variations from standard. A poodle cannot pull its ears back in submission/appeasement in a manner a prick eared dog would easily read. I have had a number of GSD folk tell me that their dogs don't react well to Spitz's either. GSD/Sibe interactions were quoted as frequently problematic. Tails carried upright or over the back seem to be read by some GSDs as threat displays. On aggression incidents involving actual contact with my poodles 3/3 dogs involved have been GSDs. At least one may have been a prey response but I can assure you that one most definitely wasn't. If you want another example of how we've modified dogs so that they have issues with body language, talk to Boxer people. Boxer facial expression resembles a constant hard stare and many dogs seem to respond aggressively. I recall seeing a documentary that looked at how selective breeding had modified dogs ability to display 'normal' body language. The researchers noted 25 different head/facial expressions in wolves that have been reduced to two in the CKCS.

SP, many poodle (and GSD) people will tell you that the two breeds don't mix well. I think the very great differences in their body languages don't help.

Clearly you need more brown cardigans on your dogs and roundabouts in your suburb. :D

Lucky you Would save a lot in pet care with us, with the price of preventions! Yes, here in the nation's capital, that gives us more money to spend on buying brown cardigans and funding roundabouts.

Voted. I'm in the fortunate position of not having to use anything most of the time. When I go to a tick area I use Advantix and Proban.

That suggests to me that you should be doing a lot of work building their confidence around other dogs - in a controlled environment. How much time do these two pups spend apart. Do you do activities with them separately. If not, I suggest you start. Pups overbonded to one another can be very difficult to manage down the line.

Oooh just had a thought Jadesamara.. has you pup had its last vaccination yet? Is he on a course of two or three jabs? If he's not fully vaccinated, I'd not be taking him to public places where there are a lot of dogs.

Just keep him out of the reach of dogs that don't approach calmly.

Option 2 is to go for the socialiation/outing but skip the walk.

How far is it? Maybe take him but have something to carry him in? A stroller would work.

All chewy can have a laxative effect... but a phone call to the vet sounds like a safe bet.

Returning to the OP's post for a moment all I can advise is this: * REGARDLESS of the training method used, if you think you're going to regret it or it makes you uncomfortable having done it before, don't do it. That applies just as much to how you allow trainers to train your dog as it does to what happens at home. * When you have doubts about how to deal with a particular issue, seek experienced help. If what's going on when you get it doesn't make you comfortable, refer to point 1 above. We all feel differently about what we may or may feel comforatable doing with our dogs.

For this breed Alfie, I'd be interested in a breeder who puts titles on the front end (show) or back end (performance) of their dog's name. With such a capable breed, there are breeders around who do both! If you have a particular purpose or sport in mind for your dog, then a breeder with dogs with runs on the board for that is also a good bet. There are breeders who produce chocolate pups who tick all those boxes.

Purebred pups are more predictable in terms of the characteristics of the adult they'll become. If you are buying an adult dog, that advantage is negated. I posted a thread about this a while back. If you click here I've linked you to it. I hope you find it helpful. ;) Of course once you've got an idea about what breed you'd like, visiting the breed threads and asking for breeder recommendations is also a good idea.

You can't send him to school - you'll have to take him. ;) He's going to be past a critical socialisation period shortly so the window is closing on your chance to get him started. I cannot think of a worse place for a young Stafford pup than the local dog park where you have no control over what sorts of dogs he meets and even less over how they treat him. You don't want your dog roughed up or hurt. If you'd not turn a toddler loose into the middle of a rugby match then I'd avoid the dog park. If friends have vaccinated, well mannered adult dogs, they represent a good opportunity for your pup to do some meeting and greeting under more controlled circumstances. I hope those walks aren't more than about 5-10 minutes long. He's only a bub so you have to be careful not to over do it on growing bones.

No, he won't be "damaged" by the op. However the removal of his testes will impact on when his growth plates close. He'll grow for longer than he would have done if he'd not been desexed. That's probably going to make him taller with longer femurs than he would have had otherwise - that can impact on the angles of other bones and ligaments. Anywhoo, Dr Christine Zink explains all this in her article here

OK, I'll admit to ignorance.. who is Kamal Fernandez? ;)

You might like to know that a lot of dog sports folk favour later desexing for their dogs. One of America's foremost dog sports vets certainly recommends that.

Fantastic book. Very tempting.

Maybe not with this boy.. but next?

Seriously? They are gorgeous!! There will be a lot of photo regardless on what my decision will be (but i'm leaning on getting is if she is awesome as what the breeder has been telling me!). Pity we can't talk you into the show ring yet. ;) Me or SecretKei? You CW!

Seriously? They are gorgeous!! There will be a lot of photo regardless on what my decision will be (but i'm leaning on getting is if she is awesome as what the breeder has been telling me!). Pity we can't talk you into the show ring yet. ;)

Sandgrubber: Yep, and a hell of a lot of others milking the current demand for chocolates for all they are worth. ;) As I said in another thread on colour breeders, there are pioneers and profiteers. The latter dominate IMO.