poodlefan

And you allow this? Haha Oh ffs. No I don't 'allow' him to bully her. She absolutely LOVES it. she sneaks up when he isnt watching and then they do zoomies around the backyard for ages. Then she runs back down the stairs again and he waits for her... then she sneaks back up and they start wrestling again. She absolutely loves it. Perhaps my post wasn't that clear... he leaves her alone when she needs to go to the toilet etc. the rest of the time while they're up there they are either waiting for the horse to walk past or playing. Nope it wasn't. Read the bits in bold above. No mention of play behaviour at all. You painted a picture of a dog behaving territorially towards your other dog and denying her access to parts of your yard. Forgive me for not being a mind reader.

Chemical castration or total separation. I can't see any other safe options.

I'll confess that I simply do not understand how any vet could conclude that removal of a growing animal's testes or uterus would have "no effect" on it. These are probably the same vets who'll tell you that desexing will stop some unwanted behaviours. You can't have it both ways.

If a cause of death isn't obvious or needs to be put beyond doubt, then this is how you proceed. A young fit? dog left in a car on a mild day is an unlikely candidate for death by heat stress. If it wasn't that, then facts need to be established before charges can be laid. I'd have thought asking whether or not a necropsy was performed would have been part of any follow up. The facts are that thousands of dogs spend thousands of hours in cars every year and very very few of them come to grief outside of summer months. Of course "dog waits in car for owner without incident" stories don't sell papers.

I have said it before but I am finding that an emerging theme of dogs with little self control around others seems to come from those who go to offlead dog parks regularly. CG, what do you do when you go to the dog park.. just turn him loose and let him do what he wants or require him to 'check in' with you regularly? He sounds like a dog that sees other dogs as high value and you as being less so. This is something that training can address. The Triangle of Temptation (pinned at the top of the training forum) would be a very good place to start working on improving your value to him.

Ted my poodle FOUND a freshly dead rat once when we out walking in the bush. After much squealing in horror, I managed to convince him to let it go and I put him on lead for a while. "Let him go" says my friend, "we've gone far enough now". I said if he went back, my friend had to deal with it. He went back. I can tell you for a fact that picking up a determined poodle and shaking him up and down will NOT get a rat released. She had to grab it by the tail.

I think you need to rethink the issue. Sounds to me like your dog needs to learn to focus on you and have some self control. You don't want him to switch off to other dogs.. rather you want him to switch on to YOU! Have any of the dog club instructors offered suggestions?

Feed her separately. She can't steal food if there's a fence or a door between her and your other dogs. Sounds like she's a resource guarder. Ring the old owner up, tell him its not working out and unless he takes her back you're going to surrender her. Then do it - recommend RSPCA or another shelter that will give her the best chance of a new home.

You might like to read this paper Given that you own a breed prone to thyroid issues, you might want to keep that in your mind as you read it. A copy for your vet might not go astray either.

Wait. Personally I'd wait until 12 months. Your vet's advice is strange to put it mildly. No testicles, no risk of testicular cancer. Are they really saying a 7 month old pup is at risk?? If you want him to be more confident then socialisation, not testicles is what he needs.

Think of it also as the dog not being right for your home. It's a mismatch and my guess is that if Bindi goes anywhere, its best she go as an only dog. She's clearly not feeling happy or secure with you now. Hey, you tried. But if the dog and you are stressed, best to make other arrangements. My guess is you might hear a slightly different tale from the owner when she pick the dog up.

Anyone want to educate this one? Nope It's completely pointless.

I buy Drontal tablets and Proheart tablets from Vet Products Direct.

Who'd have thought a 2 year old had the skills to place an ad on Gumtree

How old is he? What we read as "depression" can sometimes be symptomatic of pain or illness. If it were my dog and he'd been out of sorts for a few days, I'd be off to the vet.

Retrieving is modified prey drive. I'm not surprised she showed that instinct.. but did she bring it to you?? Lots of dogs are good at vermin elimination but some breeds were expressly developed for that purpose. My poodles nail mice and my Whippet has nailed a rat but I'd not back them against a motivated JRT, Fox Terrier or other breed bred for this purpose.

I'll give you some advice from a very experienced American shelter manager that really resonated with me. 1. Don't make excuses for this dog. Deal with the behaviour. It doesn't matter that she's in a new home or overwhelmed. You are dealing with aggression and that is one behaviour that in my book ALWAYS requires a very experienced analysis of the dog. Some posters have settled one one possible explanation for the behaviour. There are others and only a very experienced dog professional can tell you what you're actually dealing with. 2. Breed doesn't matter. Deal with the dog in front of you. Yes, BCs can be more prone to some behaviours than others but writing her reactions off as a "Border Collie" thing is not wise. Border Collies ( and dogs of any other breed) don't come out of a cookie cutter and their socialisation, training and environment matter just as much as their breed in explaining behaviour. Vickie is right. Stop feeling sorry for her, give her some security in routine and boundaries and get some professional help. The consequences of reading this dog wrong can be expensive or fatal to your pets. If she attacks another dog in public, you'll be in for a world of hurt. I think its great that you took this dog on but I really doubt that the previous owners assurances that she is "usually great with other dogs" are on the level. BE CAREFUL!!

I have the last model Mitsubishi Magna Wagon (with the VRX engine) and I LOVE it. They have plenty of space and plenty of grunt, but better fuel economy than the Holdens or Fords. The youngest models would be five years old but a fairly low KM one probably wouldn't set you back much more than $15K. Mine's never put a foot wrong.

Either get her a secure dog run or keep her inside unless she's on lead. It's a damn hard habit to undo. Is she likely to attack a person?

I think the more important questions to ask are why would you put your own animals under the stress of such a situation and how can such a dog be safely/responsibly rehomed. This is probably going to make it worse and it certainly isn't going to destress the dog. Sounds to me like you've taken on a dog that's outside your capacity to deal with on your own. Keep it up and she may end up biting you. Either get a qualified professsional assessment of this dog or return her. She sounds like an accident waiting to happen. Sounds to me like its possible you've been told a bit of a story by the previous owners.

tollersowned, when are these shows please? This is very exciting news, much closer. 1st weekend in September. I've already booked my accommodation for this year. ;)

Geeze, an necropsy would be a good thing. The dog may have died of something entirely unrelated to its being in the car. And if it was in shock for a non heat related cause, pouring cold water on it would have made things worse.

Is he drinking? If not, I'd be off to the vet today. Otherwise, I'd be taking him tomorrow if he still won't eat. Try some roast chook - a dog that won't eat that, is usually unwell.

And you allow this?

There is no guarantee that getting another dog will make your current one less clingy. You might end up with two clingy dogs! I'd be strongly recommending you get a male, not another female. It lowers the risk of any friction between two dogs in a household. Golden Retriever or not, your current girl is still a dog and pack issues are a possibility.