RiverStar-Aura

I've always used: Drop = lie down Down/Off = get off furniture etc Leave It = don't touch/leave it My problem is that Zeus is very hand signal orientated to the point I don't have to say anything. A slight hand movement and he does what I want. How do I go about getting him to learn voice commands too? He does know roll over both by voice and hand signal. If I wanted to trial in obedience do I need voice commands?

Can I ask why you consider an inside dog as a huge plus? My 2 dogs are outside only dogs and are still VERY well loved; as much (if not more so) as inside dogs. I'd be very disappointed if I wasn't given a puppy based on the fact that he/she would live outside. Especially since it's a parental rule as I'd be more than happy to let the dogs inside on occasion.

I completely agree with you Donatella. While my Kirah isn't as small as your gorgeous pom (she's about 6.5 kilos), there's no way I'd let her romp around with unknown big dogs. She wouldn't be to much of a problem as she drops onto her back and submits immediately but she could still get squished by an overly boisterous big woofa. However, being an Aussie Terrier, she has a tendency to prefer playing rough and tumble with larger dogs rather than ones her own size so it can be a struggle to keep her away from the labradors, boxers, mastiffs etc. There's a gorgeous mastiff cross at our local off leash park who I have no problems letting Kirah play with (as well as a GSD) because I've known these dogs for nearly 3 years now. Zeus (beagle cross and 13.8 kilos) has grown up around them and has a rough play style to match theirs. Kirah stays out of the way because her idea of playing with large dogs is to bounce around them in the puppy play pose. If the bigger dogs get too rough I simply call her over and she comes immediately. Zeus is a little tricker but I'm always working on his recall. I actually find it embarrassing that my 8 month old puppy has a far better recall than Zeus (nearly 3) but I have to work with his stubborn, independent streak and beagle nose -- he's my WIP (in fandom terms). We're not actually debating whether or not accidents happen but the point of the matter is we can't PREVENT them happening. An accident by definition is an accident, after all! ;) I'm sure Donatella would much rather stop her little pom from playing with rough, much larger and unknown dogs, than to have to possibly experience it being maimed, hurt (either severely or not) or mauled. And then have to deal with the after-effects such as costly vet bills or in worst case scenario, have to PTS her best friend/family member. You should be lucky you've only seen large dogs play chasey because I've sure as h*ll seen a LOT more. The mastiff cross and GSD I mentioned above go as far as mouthing, jumping and grabbing on hind legs and bouncing around (as much as an 80/90 kilo mastiff cross can "bounce" :laugh:) -- basically they go nuts but it's okay because we're all a tight-knit dog park community and we've all known each other for years. However, we all still call our dogs off to give them a chance to settle down. But I was nowhere near as sure of these dogs when I first arrived at the park. Zeus was still a smallish puppy at the time and yes, I do find large dogs intimidating, but it's just a matter of getting to know their owners and their temperaments. I also wasn't rushed at by these dogs either and that makes all the difference too! No. That's not always the case. I sometimes use the off leash park as a training ground while I work on Zeus's recall and focus on me. I can't do this effectively if owners continue to let their dogs rush up and distract him by bouncing everywhere and playing with him. How can I train my dog to ignore other dogs who are up in his face and racing towards him? Zeus's problem is that he sees another dog coming towards him and he instantly thinks "ooooh FRIEND!!!!" and races off. I don't want him doing this because one day, said dog might not be "ooooh FRIEND!!!" and he could get seriously hurt. I think it's wrong to assume that all dogs at the off leash park are friendly. Humans have bad days and I'm sure dogs can too. One day, something might just set a normally happy dog off and I want to make sure I can get my 2 dogs away before they become a target. You'd be surprised! But then again, those are the owners who claim their dog just plays "rough". I once met a woman when I was leaving my local dog beach who told me to keep my LEASHED dogs away from her dogs as they were service dogs. No problem I told her, only to continue to my car (on the other side of the parking lot) and have her dogs start growling, barking and lunging aggressively at my guys. Service dogs my @$$!! I think you're seriously misjudging the fragility of a small dog's bones. I once owned a cat who broke his leg by falling off a TV, which would've only been about 1.5 metres high and I'm sure if a 50 kilo dog landed on my terrier's leg/foot/back the wrong way and in the wrong place it could end up broken too. Or if not broken, have you thought about the possibility of a slipped vertebra/disc; muscle, cartilage or tendon damage or even a dislocation? Small dogs can be very seriously hurt by larger dogs and that doesn't always mean a broken bone. There are numerous ways to be hurt. What if the big dog decided to shake the little one by the scruff? Would it still be okay as it's just "play"? It's really got nothing to do with teaching the dog how not to socialise. You're forgetting that it is the RIGHT of EVERY dog owner to decide who they want their pet to interact with. Not just "oh, that boxer is bounding at you at a million miles per hour and doesn't look like stopping. It must be friendly and if you get bowled over/hurt in the process … meh. *shrug*" If I don't want my dog interacting with a dog I don't know then that's my RIGHT as an owner. It doesn't give you the right to be offended because I want to get to know you and your dog first. You're just assuming that because your boxers are boisterous that every dog, regardless of size, will play the same way. My terrier was in puppy obedience with an Akita owner who wanted to teach her dog manners when playing with smaller dogs. She'd get her dog to calmly lie down and play in a "drop", so it wasn't walking over and squishing the much smaller puppies. I'd gladly let my guys interact with her dogs as I know she cares about other people's pets as much as her own. And it didn't matter how psycho my little pup got, she'd always make her Akita lie down to play with dogs smaller than her -- and in turn, Kirah learnt how to take a time out when she got too "feral". :laugh:

That makes a bit more sense. I thought we were talking about a puppy being taken back by the breeders to use as a stud dog. I know my boy couldn't even cock his leg to pee until 6 months old so I couldn't see how a puppy could sire a litter! Edited to say: I'm sorry that the breeder didn't give him back. That's downright despicable and horrid!!

I've just google imaged the American Bulldog and as I expected, Hooche does not look like what I pictured an Am. Bulldog to look like. His nose seems way too long and pointy, whereas the bulldog has a more squished in face. Regardless of his breed though, he is stunning!! :D

I agree with everyone above too. My 2 dogs and cats are on a Royal Canin only diet and are fantastic. They have lovely shiny coats, are the correct weight and since putting my 5.8 kilo cat onto the weight management RC diet she's now sitting pretty on 4.8 kilos and is happier than I've seen her in a while. Diet is all trial and error and I think people forget that they need to find the correct balance fof their pets like we do with our own diets.

While I understand there are laws in place preventing people from hanging washing from balconies in particular properties and locations ... Seriously who cares? It's washing! Is it really that offensive to some people that there needs to be a law against it? And more to the point, these are residential properties meaning humans who wear clothes reside in said buildings therefore washing is to be expected. Dog forbid the elitist, snobby areas of Australia have washing!!

Is Digby crate trained? And whereabouts is his bed for nighttime? The problems you're having could be very well to do with the fact that he's deaf and if he's barking at lights flashing, he can't really hear that they're not coming closer. Does he have free reign of the backyard at night because if so, maybe you could look at somehow sectioning it off so he only has a small area to feel safe and unthreatened in. If he is crate trained, maybe you could put his crate inside a puppy pen at night so he has a den and a secure little play area. Also, I've read from other DOLers who've suggested placing a blanket over the crate to make it dark and snuggly.

:hug: to you and little Abbey. I hope she goes well through the night and continues to recover. It must've been so horrible for you. :hug:

Congrats on the new venture. Your place sounds like a dream and as I'd guessed, you'll be getting lots of e-mails and PM wanting to book. I want to book and I don't even know when my next time off work is due!

You must be so excited over the prospective of getting another puppy so soon. Even though it's still another 12 months away, like others have said the time will fly!! And now you've got 12 months to really sit down and go through all the suitable breeds and find one that you really love! Medium-large breed have you considered a dalmatian? I don't know anything about them other than my youngest brother keeps harping on that my next dog shuld be one. But from lurking around DOL I have fallen in love with the Aussies -- they have such beautiful coats and seem like very loveable dogs!

To me her nose seems fine, however, like any dogs with white/pink noses you'll need to keep an eye out. My Zeus has a black nose but has a white/pink and almost bald muzzle so I've got to keep an eye on that. As long as you're aware of the potential risks your pup should be fine. BTW she's very, very cute!! What's her name?

Kirah had those too not long ago (I even posted about it here somewhere too!). The pustules looked nasty and sore to touch and my vet said to just keep an eye on them. I gave her a small dose of Claratyne for a few days and even tried applying Paw Paw Ointment (Kirah liked its taste though) and it cleared up. She hasn't had them since but I'm keeping an eye out because I don't really know what caused them. I've even had her back at the dog park, which was when I first notcied them, but still nothing. It's a complete puzzle.

Thanks SecretKei! I'll probably get my reply tomorrow and reading the prices I'm thinking that $16.60 doesn't sound too bad for a nice certificate of registration! Sandgrubber that's ridiculous! $21 per dog per year?! I think I'm starting to like my local council's once-off lifetime rego payment.

When I brought Kirah home at 8 weeks I wasn't really worried about Zeus not liking her, I was more stressed over the size difference. In the end, I set up a play pen in our garage (my car now lives outside) and placed a baby gate across the door so the two could see each other, but were separated when unsupervised. If our backyard didn't have a 1.5 metre high retaining wall I probably wouldn't have worried so much either but because Zeus is a boofhead, I'm sure he would've have knocked Kirah off during his uncontrollable zoomies!! At nearly 9 months Kirah still sleeps in her pen in the garage at night because we don't have any cover outside so if it rains, they'd only have their kennels to sleep in. Only problem with this is that Kirah has adopted my old dog Poochie's wooden box to sleep in so if I put that outside and it rained, it'd get soaked. We will be getting covering in the new year and she can move outside once it's up and as she's pretty easy going I'm not seeing it will be a problem moving her outside. She sleeps where her wooden box is!

That's correct Anne. If you live in NSW, your pet's details are added to the NSW Companion Animal Registry but you still must register with your local council too. I wasn't even aware that the NSW CAR wasn't a national database and have just now e-mailed the people at the CAR registry (national) to see about getting my pets added. NSW does seem to be a PITA to deal with as only approved members (e.g. council workers) can access the database whereas the national CAR, anyone can enter a microchip number.

Both you and Zedley will be in my thoughts tomorrow. :hug:

LMAO love it Amps! still wondering how I ended up with 17 collars LOL Don't feel too bad Huski. I swear each of my two dogs has a different collar for every day of the year! Every time I go into Pet Barn to pick up either cat or dog food I come out with an armful of new collars and leads.

I've always thought the Norwich Terriers look a lot like an Aussie Terrier only with a shorter, more square-looking nose. I met one at the local dog park and he was a gorgeous show boy (Rufus if memory serves). They're on my "want to own" list, however, they're very hard to find. There are few breeders, litters are small and the waiting lists enormous. Their temperament seems very much like an Aussie Terrier too; very happy-go-lucky, determined and loveable!

Do you use any type of flea/tick preventative? If so, which one(s)? Types of worming treatment used. What sort of toys and treats do you buy for your dog?

When you're not at home during the day have you considered putting the puppy pen in the backyard on the grass rather than on the back deck? Other than that, I like the idea of the artificial grass!

I'm looking into using this product for my two dogs. I've had them on the liquid Plaque Off before but it just gets to confusing trying to convert ounces into millilitres. Plus it's been hard getting the family to put it in the water as they usually just top up the bowls if they're low. I'm sure they'll have no problems if I tell them to add ½ or 1 scoop to their food!

My pup Kirah used to destroy her collars too. We'd find it chewed in half every morning as she'd never had a collar on before (apparently the Pups chewed them off each other). I worked out that she managed to get it into her mouth and chew on it til she broke free. Thankfully she's out of this habit now but I don't keep her collared as I don't like what it does to her fur. I'd definitely be taking her to the vet for a new puppy check-up. Only do you can introduce her to the vet clinic, have her checked out and ask any questions you have. Photos are a must -- post some

What an absolute cutie! RIP gorgeous boy!!

In regard to the greyhound colours, I have a nagging feeling in the back of my mind that keeps suggesting that I think black was regarded as being bad luck when it comes to greyhound racing. If this is a correct superstition, could that account for the lack of popularity in black greyhounds? Heh! Just realised that's like an oxymoron "black greyhound"!