RuralPug

I do pretty much the same with rice flour and tinned mackerel from Woolies. Mix into a dough, roll thin, cut into small bits and bake in a moderate oven until golden in colour. You can freeze them, or they will keep in a biscuit tin for weeks. Most dogs love them! My cats will also filch them when they can LOL

Yep, watch for a media beat up which loses the main message. A huge proportion of the problem dogs are from BYB and cross-breeders but the media has already lost that part of the message. At the same time, ethical breeders need to go public louder with demonstrations of well bred brachies who are excelling in dog sports, living long healthy lives etc.

Are these your own cats or neighbourhood blow-ins? If they're yours, well I suggest you build them their own run with their very own sandpit LOL. If they are not your cats, and the dogs permit them in the yard (or they sneak in while the dogs are indoors) then covering the pit is probably your only option. Which means that the dogs will only be able to enjoy their sandpit under supervision.

Perhaps they could have a chat with Big Dog Rescue near Lake Macquarie. Assuming that Odie has already been desexed, if they are willing to act as foster carers then possibly Big Dog would list him on PetRescue? Can't hurt to ask.

^ ^ ^ This is me, exactly!

How on earth are we supposed to choose between those two names without a photo???????

Haha don't blame your dear old dad for getting it wrong. More than likely he based that hypothesis on too small a sample - probably the dogs he had known. . Some are buriers of the "save it for later" type, some are buriers of the "aging the food 'cos its more delicious rotten" type and many others don't bury at all. I've never noticed any bias for one gender or the other to bury.

Ears go all over the place when they are young, occassionally you will end up with two differently shaped ears, it won't affect his hearing at all. You can gently massage the fold at the top of the ear to help train it into place if it really worries you. LOL chances are that once you have that ear behaving as you like, the other one will go and you have to massage that! Exhibitors sometimes use medical tape to gently hold ears in place while pup is going through this stage. If your breeder is an exhibitor, they can show you how.

It seems just a bad habit - one that does not carry over in different surroundings, so I suggest that it will be reasonably straightforward to train him out of the habit, with persistence. I would suggest a belly band go on the dog while he is indoors whilst your son and his family work on training him out of the habit. They should put the belly band on him at random times so that he does not learn to associate it with you arriving, but he should always wear it when you are arriving. If you are the only one that he pees with excitement for, then the retraining will basically be up to you. It will basically consist of you cold-shouldering him, doing IGNORE loudly with your body language until he has given up with his greeting. The belly band will save the carpet. Then try approaching him, if he stays calm, greet him and praise him, if he gets over-excited again, you start the ignore again. Eventually he will realise that his greeting is only returned when he is calm and quiet. Belly bands are easy to sew or you can buy them online. (Sewing patterns are available online too.) Heavy duty feminine hygiene pads are used to line them.

If it is just a hard surface callous (in a dog that is probably ignoring three outdoor beds and a houseful of furniture to doze on concrete SIGH) then Bag Balm (ask at your chemist or stock feed supplier) will soften and then heal it. The hair will regrow. Here is a link from a happy Bag Balm user.

RIP dear Michael. An absolute institution in animal photography and so generous and helpful in sharing his skills. My link

Using a human comb, unless it is stainless steel with deep wide teeth, is just making an enormous rod for your own back, and will take forever to do just one trouser! Any leave-in product is a waste of money as will just wash off in the dam. Honestly you really can't go past an undercoat rake or similar product for this sort of thing. So much faster. Plus by removing the dead undercoat, you will get less matting altogether. This is the sort of undercoat rake I recommend. You can get cheaper ones ($8- $12) in pet shops and some supermarkets. They do just as good a job, but need replacing much sooner than an Oster or similar. If for some reason there is a really stubborn matt, then cutting it out with a bladed matt removing comb will save save coat and not make the result look like he's fought with a lawn mover. There are DIY videos showing how to use the things, but if he is being raked regularly, you won't really need this. (I just googled for a clear picture not recommending this particular site or anything. Large pet stores stock these.) And finally, get yourself a dog comb. A decent stainless steel one.

Given that the dog is going to be alone most school days, you won't want a high drive breed. So most of the herding breeds are out plus most of the terriers. Given the prickles, you will want either a smooth coat or a wire coat - both of which shed, so you would want a lower-shedding type, hound rather than labrador. Long coated and fluffy coated dogs you would be forever removing prickles, unless you had them shaved every few weeks. Assuming that you can securely fence off the house yard the dog to securely contain the dog during school/work hours, then I am thinking that a Beagle might be a good fit. They do shed moderately throughout the year but a 5 minute daily brush outside will mean you don't have much shedding inside at all. They may blow their coat heavily once a year, depending on your climate. If however, you can only fence a small area to secure the dog during school/work hours, then a Beagle won't suit. They will exercise themselves just fine in a large yard, but will follow a scent for miles and not come home so you MUST have good fences. A Beagle confined in a very small yard without sufficient daily exercise will probably howl. If you can only make a small area plus indoors secure for when you are not home, then perhaps you might want to consider a Whippet. They are not a really high shedding breed, a brush every few days will probably manage the worst of it. They are somewhat more delicate than a Beagle, you will find that their skin tears easily and they can be perhaps over-sensitive to any family disruption so if you have kids that quarrell a lot, they might not be the best idea. They do need regular exercise including some free-running, but again this must be directly supervised. A sighthound like a Whippet can be just as single minded as a scent hound like the Beagle.

Without knowing the details, it sounds, sadly, like a case of very poor sportsmanship.

Yes the rice is just a fairly easy to digest grain but it would have been cooked - quite possibly in stock which adds to the flavour. The VAN mix does smell strong but most dogs quite like it. No accounting for taste I suppose! Perhaps she thinks that it is - horror - medicine LOL. I appreciate keeping dogs separate during meals, some breeds more than others ,but sometimes if it is possible to just have a gate or something between them so they can see hear and smell another dog it then stimulates them to eat the most horrible dinner just so the other dog can't get it. No set rule, each household knows what works for them.

I am assuming that you are adding the dry supplement Complete Mix to mince and she does not like that. Personally I would probably go the extra mile to get her to eat the diet that I want her to eat before trying new foods. Have you tried the "fussy eater" slow transition to a new diet? You start by feeding her the diet from the previous home for the first few days, then you offer a dish of 90% old diet and 10% new diet, well mixed. If she eats that, fine next day it is 80% old and 20% new, then 70%/30% the day after and so forth. Ok it is often messy and fiddly to slowly change, but it is only for 3 weeks maximum and then you are on 100% new. Apologies if you have done it that way already and she is still refusing. The next thing that I would try is changing the presentation a little. Do you just sprinkle the supplement on top of mince or just stir it in a little? I would be trying to change the texture of the VAN mix before adding it to the meat - you might try mixing her portion with a little plain yoghurt or mashing it with a canned sardine for added flavour and texture. Then stir that into the mince. Also, even though you've been advised of previous diet, were you told precisely how it was presented. For instance, the mince and brown rice may have been in a home cooked casserole served separately from the kibble, or all mixed together. Some serve kibble soaked in water to make a gravy, some dry. Lastly, was she fed within sight or sound of other dogs and bitches eating, and if so, is this still the case at your home? Sometimes a rehomed ex-breeding or show dog takes a while to get accustomed to new feeding styles and it will just take time if that is the real problem.

If for some reason you can't feed puppy indoors, then get a decent sized soft crate (these are insect proof when zipped up) and pop that outdoors at feed time, zipping puppy inside for the duration of the meal. Follow the wasps to your fence line so you can at least point council in the right direction.

Second hand couch or freebie couch from the freecycle sites is what I recommend for the giant breeds if they are too big for a cot mattress. They can look quite respectable with queen size, easily washable bed linen draped over them plus they take up a little less floorspace than a single mattress, but because they are up off the floor, no pressure on dangling limbs. :) Mind you, I have not one but TWO single beds on my covered deck for big fosters, one with mattress and carpet, one with only plywood and carpet - but the mastiff types seem to prefer the park bench-type seat that is also on the deck. (wood slats only). Go figure. Also never overlook the excellent support that a super XXL trampoline style bed will give - you can make it cosy with as many nests and cushions as you like.

Alpha bitches can happen in any breed. Challenging a 13 y.o. at age 4 is typical of an alpha bitch, I'm so sorry that this turned out so sadly. They are usually tolerant of bitches outside of their own home. Sometimes an alpha bitch will accept a submissive one on the household but two alpha bitches together does not work and sometimes the submissive one will suddenly decide not to be submissive any more, and the cycle starts again. Vet plus behaviourist yes to rule out any medical issues, but in my experience, alpha bitches simply will not tolerate other bitches in their household. So it is either resign yourself to keeping her separated from any other adult bitches in your household or rehoming her as an only dog.

This ^ plus - has this bitch always "ruled the roost" or is/was there another bitch that does/did?

That only works when the entire household is on board with the training. And OP has already stated that her sister, living in the same home, LIKES dogs to be excitable and bouncy. I feel that you will need a particularly laid back breed (even those can be rambunctious as puppies). And keep them separate unless you are there to supervise (which is the best rule for a very young puppy anyway until it has learned manners).

Bed wetting protectors - tick! Discussing the situation with your vet - tick! :) An enzyme cleaner such as Urine Off will remove all trace of the existing smells on the mattress. Washable bedding can be washed with Biozet laundry powder or liquid to remove all trace of smell. A black light/UV will reveal invisible urine remnants. Widely available online, for example here.

Getting a dog that a toddler will like is not really a good reason for getting a dog, I'm sorry, and no guarantee that the toddler will cooperate. As long as you teach your child how to behave around dogs and your dogs how to behave around children, you are parenting correctly. But if you want a taller, slightly muzzled bulldog yourself then google Australian Bosdog and see if you like those. :) Basically they are the British Bulldog bred back to its earlier form.

The OP is referring to this page: My link, the DOL breed information page.

I am in agreement with you - as far as I know, all terrier breeds were developed by humans. In my opinion (for what it is worth LOL) the only "not man made" breeds would be those distinct populations of wild dogs that have evolved without any human interference or selection for a thousand years or so, such as the dingo, the pariah dog, the new guinea singing dog etc. There are also breeds which developed without human assistance that are now selectively bred by humans which originally would have fit my definition of not man made, for example the Basenji, the Xoloitzcuintle, the Canaan dog etc. Perhaps the author of that "not man made statement" re Cairn Terriers was trying to imply that instead of being scientifically designed and created to suit a defined goal, as the Doberman and a few other modern breeds were(can't think of any others of the top of my head), that the Cairn was developed slowly by farmers and vermin hunters who simply put the most successful dogs together over a hundred years or so. (Which is how the vast majority of breeds were actually developed.) No offence to the spirited and rigged little Cairn, but I think the author of the "not man made" label is unhelpful if that is the intention, as is is hardly a point of difference when there are so very few scientifically designed breeds, like the Doberman.