RuralPug

LOL ejaculation can happen at the most awkward times - never forget the look on a friend's face as she was giving a last minute grooming polish up to her dog ringside on top of the trolley and he suddenly ejaculated all over the trolley!!! "I hardly even touched it!" she said, face flaming as red as a beetroot! Sorry slightly OT but had to share that memory!

Even though she is a BYB cross bred puppy, I would hope that some generous Mastiff breeder would send you their puppy diet and advice notes to pass on. Would it be too cheeky to ask in the Mastiff thread? Not only are diet, training and socialisation important, large breed puppies need carefully monitored amounts of exercise, too much or too little can mean joint problems later. It doesn't sound as though there is much chance that the parents were hip and elbow scored etc. so it is so much more important to raise the puppy carefully to minimise the possible bad genes. Also prepare them for the shorter life expectancy of the giant breeds. Thank Dog that at least one puppy from the BYB litter has a chance at a decent life...thanks for stepping up for this little one.

My logic is a bit more like: if American Staffordshire Terriers are acceptable, then American Pit Bull Terriers should also be acceptable. A rose by any other name still smells as sweet, etc. This topic may not get a lot of traffic in here, but there are a lot of very active Internet groups, some forums, some social media that I've noted in passing that have very active anti-BSL campaigners posting daily. My own opinion is that breed specific legislation makes about as much sense as genocide - that is to say, none. By all means have rules in place to deter and punish offenders, once they HAVE offended, but to throw an entire breed or race or ethnic group into a ghetto is self-defeating in the long term.

Just want to second what Simply Grand said ^^^^^

I agree with getting the tests done (kidney/liver function first and then thyroid if those are normal) but also you may want to find out if he has become 'head-shy' for some reason or other. I have known one case where a similar reaction occurred, to one household member only, and it turned out that that was the only person who often greeted the dog with a pat on the head. Everyone else scratched that dog on the chest, or stroked his back or sides. Even though the head patter had been doing that since the dog was a tiny puppy,this dog suddenly took objection to it one day. We theorise that perhaps he had a sore tooth or ear which made the head pat uncomfortable for him and even though the sore part was now fine with no pain, he associated head pat with pain and dodged them for the rest of his life. I was reminded of that dog because this behaviour is only towards you and only sometimes (when you lift your hand?) but of course it is not necessarily the case. ETA: While I was writing this, you posted more information. I agree with tdierikx's post #24, I think he is testing you (not HATING you, just testing his boundaries).

Agree that your baby puppy needs to learn to walk nicely and learn to respond to you BEFORE she is walked together with your older dog. You are putting Boss in a situation where coming back to you means getting harassed by the baby puppy which is a negative thing - of course he is reluctant! Concentrate on training the puppy to respond to you so that Boss can trust you to keep the puppy under control. It is worth the investment of extra time to walk them separately while the baby is in early learning mode.

LOL I type far too slowly! Lots of other replies since I started my opus

I have often found that yeasty dogs respond best to a two-pronged attack - (a) modify the diet and (b) boost the immune system. At the end of this post I have given you a home recipe for a yeasty ear cleaner which really works! Diet: Every dog is slightly different, but in my experience yeast overbloom responds best to a diet where there are no grains and minimal sugars and starches. Give the new kibble a reasonable go, it may be enough if the yeast strain doesn't respond to the rice. Some have had success with adding unfiltered apple cider vinegar to meals every third day or so, but not every yeasty dog responds well to ACV. Buy the type that is marketed for horses/greyhounds, I have found that it generally has the most punch. Severe diarrhoea even with gradual introduction of raw meaty bones etc is not usually associated with yeast overbloom and I wonder if a course of probiotics would re-establish the normal balance of intestinal flora? It is worth a try and would make your life much easier if it works. If it doesn't, you may need to consider a veterinary investigation. Fresh chopped parsley added to the drinking water bowls can sometimes help to freshen breath, and is not expensive to try. A few tablespoons of low-salt chicken broth (or other meaty stock, preferably home-made) can be added to the water bowl to enncourage drinking. Immune System boost: Google to find the supplement that best suits your dog and your circumstances and give it faithfully for at least six months. For a yeasty dog, avoid any supplements that have a large amount of oil pressed from grain (e.g flaxseed oil) or added sugar. Ears and feet: Dogs with yeast overbloom usually have fungi infesting their ears and skin folds, and between their toes. This home-made antifungal astringent lotion will clear the yeast infestations in ears and folds. Ear and Facial Fold Cleaner: 1/3 cup Isopropyl alcohol (sold in chemists) 1/3 cup white vinegar 1/3 cup witch hazel 10 drops pure Tea Tree oil Mix together and pour into plastic squeeze bottles. (You can recycle an empty clean bottle or buy those air travel ones meant for make up etc.) Store at room temperature. Application: Ears - squeeze a small amount directly into the ear canal and massage for 30 to 60 seconds. Then wet a cloth or pad (cotton makeup removal pads are perfect) with the cleaner and clean the visible areas of the ear. Skin folds/nose rolls/between toe pads - wet a cloth or pad with the cleaner and wipe the affected area. To clear an existing infestation use 2 -3 times a day for 10 days, then one or twice a week after that will prevent a recurrence. (If there is no change after the 10 day course, then it is not a yeast infestation - see your vet.) The Calendula Tea rinse (mentioned above) is extremely good for soothing itching related to allergies and alters the ph of the skin to make it less accommodating for opportunistic nasties to infest skin broken by the dog by excessive scratching or rubbing.(It also smells nice!) Good luck with your new family member and keep us informed.

A plague scraper sounds like it could be a handy device to ward off infectious disease. I want one! But I guess you mean plaque scraper, for healthy teeth and gums. (sorry I just couldn't resist that one...I know it was the keyboard and not you, Jules!!!)

Thanks for the update. Glad to hear that the dog is sorted out. I hope that the poor owner now knows how rescue should work. The rescue with the 16d will hopefully rethink letting other "rescues" use their hard-won access. If another rescue is determined to save that particular dog and doesn't have a 16d, they should offer to foster and fundraise vet fees for that dog for the first rescue. It is not all that hard for rescues to work together in cases like that, but (in my opinion) the group with the permit should be the group rehoming any animals taken out under that permit, unless an official inter-rescue transfer is done ( in which case, basic vetwork needs to be done BEFORE the transfer.) I would also just like to echo Anne's comment - it would be great, Happy Camper, if you first spoke privately with an experienced rescue person for guidelines on matters like this. Public queries can cause a lot of drama plus often things get misinterpreted second and third hand. Posting in here, unless it is a hypothetical, should be last resort after all parties have had a chance to sort things out. Just my take on it.

Mama elephant with a super sized pooper scooper - What a visual image!!! Thank you for the giggle! Elephants with young can be overly protective and may easily choose to ignore training in favour of keeping the youngsters out of perceived danger. In India, they removed baby elephants from working mothers and trained the infants separately, otherwise the mothers were too unreliable to work for a year or more. I much prefer the herding to that horror.

Wise decision.

I found it really interesting. Watching it, I think that the elephants are well aware that as soon as they back away a certain distance, the human keepers call off the dogs. I've never really seen a herded animal so clearly aware of that before. Perhaps in time, the elephants will respond to the keeper's commands to the dogs before the dogs do! I doubt that there is any more danger to the dogs than if they were herding wild buffalo or feral cattle, and a lot less than if they were trying to herd wild boar. I also suspect it is a much cleverer way to ensure worker safety than having to divide the area into a series of enclosures and move the elephants from one enclosure to the next before cleaning and other maintenance.

A fantastic ending to the foster story and a fantastic beginning to the furever home story. Plus, we get to say "We told you so!"

Logan, the type of dog that you want is fairly unlikely to be content in your current living circumstances unless you provide an enormous amount of extra time, effort and money. I am willing to bet that there are more than a few dogs in your neighbourhood who would really benefit from a regular long exercise session with you, it could very easily be the one thing in their lives that is lacking. So my advice to you, considering that a dog should be a lifetime commitment, is to defer getting your own dog until your home and lifestyle are more suited to the type of dog you seek. I feel that both you and the dog would be much happier in the long run if you waited. Meanwhile you could be accompanied on your daily 45 minute run by one of the neighbourhood dogs - perhaps owned by someone who is currently injured or ill and cannot exercise their dog, or perhaps a family overwhelmed with young children or other new responsibilities that finds it difficult to make the time to exercise their dog. It is always good to make friends with the neighbours, so that is another plus.

I wish I could find the email...some years ago now, who remembers the story of the people who woke up one morning to a lot of noise on the roof and were astounded to find that their young horse had got into the house yard and clambered up onto the roof! The photos were amazing!!!

The current bylaws which say that dogs in public places must be "under control" are not enforced in Ballarat - excuse me if I am sceptical of new leash laws being enforced either. EFG

I'm a bit confused...there is no airport in Rowville is that someone who will pop him on the plane? I haven't got a car at the moment or I would give you a hand. I will put the word around locally and see if anyone is driving down next week and can take a medium size passenger. OOOH if I have a car by then, I will get spaniel cuddles yay!!

I have socialised many different breeds to cats. The hardest to socialise, in my personal experience, have been the small terrier breeds, unless reared with them from a young age. One breed that seems to fit well really with cats and may play with them is the Tibetan Spaniel, which might be a bit small for your wish list. Most of the non-terrier companion toy breeds are easily socialised to cats. I will say that a LOT depends on the individuals - especially the individual cats. A cat that will stand its ground and ignore stupid barky rushes is the main reason I have been able to successfully socialise so many foster dogs to cats. A cat that runs flat out at the first sight of a dog will naturally provoke chasing behaviour from most dogs, some will be in play mode and others may be in prey mode. Of my foster dogs that are perfectly behaved in the house with cats, some of them will chase the same cats if they encounter them outdoors. Personally I allow that, given that all my cats are indoor cats I rather like it if they are chased back into the house. Adventurous foster cats that try the doggy door soon are discouraged haha from repeating the adventure. Your best bet is to settle on a breed or mix that you like first and then start the search for an individual that has a fairly quiet temperament and/or has been already socialised to cats.

Who wants to bet that woman hasn't actually sat down with her solicitor yet but is just trying to pull a bluff? One she will certainly regret! Make sure that you get a doctor's written report on your own injuries as well as the vet report. Her lack of control over her dogs has caused a lot of pain and anguish and I know that you will do everything in your power to make sure that her dogs don't do that to someone else and that she is made to take full responsibility so that any future dogs she owns will not do the same thing.

Patience, patience and more patience. Two months is not a long time with such a damaged dog. Try to figure out ways so that you are not setting things up for failure - when she is outdoors she doesn't want to come to you if free running but is happy to walk on lead with you, so maybe for the next few months change her free running a little by buying some light but strong builders string line or similar and attaching to her collar when she is in the yard. Of course she could chew through it, but you are not trying to tether her but simply using it to reel her gently in towards you rather than you chasing her, or her ignoring your requests to come. You need to have enough control to be able to establish a routine if at all possible (sometimes it won't happen, but if you can impose a routine at least 75% of the time on her at this stage, things will settle down a lot faster). She will feel much safer and settled with a regular routine. The other thing to remember is try never to make a drama of anything. I'm not quite sure how to get this across, but even though you are trying not to trigger fear in her by ignoring her, I think it is better to be accepting rather than ignoring. No hard stares of course, but chatter away to her and do glance her way frequently - you want her to pick up "acceptance" vibes rather than "Ignoring" vibes, if that makes sense. And be as relaxed as possible around her, your anxiety about her anxiety could be a sort of feedback loop. Even dogs that have not had a lot of human interaction will pick up tension in body language and tone of voice. And have a little faith in yourself, too! You are probably doing better already than most people in the same situation!

Assuming the dog will be a puppy sourced from a carefully selected breeder who health tests and socialises well OR an adult dog from a good breeder or foster carer, then I suggest that they arrange to meet some of the following breeds: In the smaller breeds, Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Tibetan Spaniel, Japanese Chin, Pug, King Charles Spaniel, Lhasa Apso*, Shih Tzu and Havanese all fit the profile of medium drive, easy to socialise and robust enough for children. I have ignored grooming in this list - the Havanese will need regular clipping or a lot of grooming and the Pug will shed heavily. In the medium breeds ( again ignoring grooming) Cocker Spaniel, Cardigan Corgi*, Pembroke Corgi*, Whippet, Staffordshire Bull Terrier*, Bulldog, Beagle, Lapphund*, Tibetan Terrier, Grand Basset Griffon Vendeen, and Basset Hound. The ones with asterisks you may want to consider only adults as the breed may have a propensity for higher drive and/or not so friendly to other dogs, but IMO enough individuals within the breed do fit all the criteria listed here. All breeds of course do have exceptions, if you want to gamble on the luck of the draw you might get a laid back terrier or poodle or a really focused Irish Setter, but I wouldn't bet sheep stations on it. Purchasing from a BYB or puppy farm or Gumtree is not recommended as breed traits may not be optimised.

Interesting that you say pit bulls are the workingman's common dog in your area. In my part of Australia, staffies are far more common than pit bulls BUT a lot of BYB's tend to breed oversize SBT's and also pups advertised as "American [Amstaff] x English [sBT] staffies" seem really common these days and are becoming very popular, which is totally ridiculous given the current laws in this state. Quite often I find laypersons (including those responsible for applying the particularly brainless form of BSL found in my state) will categorise a bully type as pit bull/pit bull x if it is over a certain height and as a SBT type if under. So you get the ludicrous situations of litter mates being put into different categories. And if the larger ones end up in a pound and are unregistered, it is against the law in my state for the pound to release them for adoption. So forgive me if I do not share you view that it is a good thing about BSL. My view, watching it, is that the kind of responsible owner who will successfully raise and keep a well behaved, community friendly dog is not the kind of owner that is buying these possible pit bull mixes due to the new laws and there are a LOT of pups out there. I am not surprised that BSL has failed in other places. It is looking like it selects for idiot owners to have the type of restricted breed or cross and very few of them in the hands of responsible owners. Those responsible people who have this type of dog are not going to replace their pet that has died of old age or whatever with the same type and so eventually if BSL continues most of these dogs will be in the hands of idiots and incidences may well increase because of it.