BigDaz

It may be just me but a double ended lead scares me. I just can imagine something unforseen happening and having my to Staffy's tethered together, it could end in disaster. As I said, it may be just me, being over cautious. I walk my two with one one each hand, but I am progressing them to two in one hand as I feel more comfortable having one hand free.

I think the fact the dog was wearing choker allowed it to jump over the edge of the ute and nearly hang itself, as opposed to its normal collar which would not have allowed the dog to reach the edge. I just hope the OP is not breeding..........and I am not talking about the dog.

I declined a party to stay home with my girls............and nothing, bangs going off all round, it didnt phase them. This is one Staffy that is scared of the sound of strong wind in the trees, or her sister that jumps up if a car goes past with loud music. But they hardly flinch at fireworks or even the police chopper hovering overhead.......I dont get it. I remember being about 10 years old watching the Fireworks at Port Lincoln, seeing a young bird fall out of the tree at the first bang and think, this should be banned, I still think the same.

Thanks, it was actually looking at a couple of your photo's a few months ago that inspired me to buy a better camera and take more photos of my dogs.

Vets are there to maintain the health and welfare of the animals. If they are required to check all chips, then report any dog that is not chipped, the owners of unchipped dogs will not seek medical aid for that animal. The responsibility of the vet is to the animal, not to enforce legislation. Having said that I am in favour of compulsory chipping- if all cattle and horses can be chipped in the uk then i'm sure all dogs can be. Why do we chip then if not to help protect our dogs and make it easier for them to find their way home if stolen or lost?? Are we to carry scanners in our hip pockets....you tell me where else does a dog get scanned other than if they end up in the pound. Also a vet is making money, big money implanting them and yet not required to scan....doesnt make sense. From an animal welfare point of view I think it does make sense. If someone took ownership of their dog via questionable means, although not great, you don’t want the dog to have to suffer because of this. If people like this knew the dog would be scanned if taken to the vet, they just won’t take it and the dog would be made to suffer. Let’s face it, scum like this probably don’t take their pets to the vet anyway, regardless, you can’t legislate with the end result being increasing the suffering of animals. I dont I would think differently if my dogs were stolen, if it is a choice of my stolen dog getting appropriate medical treatment or being made to suffer, I will take medical treatement.

I havent done photos before, so not sure if this will work, but these are my favourite:

I have two Staffy female siblings who are now 3 years old and have not had a serious fight, although it is something I think about often as they are always together. If they do get a bit agressive when I am home it is stopped right away. Should there always be an obviously dominant bitch? With my two girls it is really hard to tell and seems to vary depending on the situation. When it comes to food Tippi can eat Zena's food or even take her bone and the worst Zena will do is come to me to get it back for her. Then when it comes to toys Zena seems to have the upper hand, Tippi wont take the toy off Zena, although Zena seems to love being chased for the toy regardless.

My two Staffy's do this all the time if I feed them beef, it doesnt seem to agree with them, it took me a little while to work that one out. When not feeding beef, it still happens occasionally. I still dont like it, although they never seem stressed when it is happening.

You have done your bit. Go out. Some people will never learn and its a shame their dogs may just end up paying for it. You have done your best. I feel for the OP, but I dont like this advice. I could never just leave a dog to fend for itself regardless of how stupid the owners are. The dog ends up getting hit by a car and has to suffer.......something I couldnt risk.

I have never seen a Prong Collar so I am happy to be wrong, but they look like they could inflict some pain. As such I have no issues with a trained professional, or even someone with common sense using them, but arent we under an obligation to protect dogs from morons, so banning them is not such a bad idea. Its like banning smoking in cars with kids, we shouldnt need to legislate it, but because there are so many idiots out there it needs to be done.

My Staffy's pretty much chose when they preferred to eat, which was at night time, so they get their main meal at night. I go against most advice and actually leave dry out for them during the day so they can eat as they wish. I do this as I am confident they will not fight over it, even being two female siblings. Sometimes they will finish this off before we have left for work, sometimes it will still be in touched all day.

Why do it this way. If she wants a dog let her pick the dog herself over there, offer to pay or whatever you need to do. I hope this isnt something you are planning as a surprise.

I have a weak nerve, timid SBT, who I would trust around and any kid or animal. I also have a strong, confident SBT who I would not trust 100% around kids or other animals. My timid girl is one of the most beautiful dogs you will ever meet, she looks at everyone she meets with love in her eyes, I would hate to see her PTS because she is timid Generalisations are not always correct.

You really need to cross the Staffy off your list. Getting a Staffy with the restrictions you have will turn you off dogs for life. ( unless you patient enough to realise they are the best dogs ever, but I dont think you are) A Staffy left alone for an extended period will: - Chew walls - Rip up carpet - Chew door frames - Rip up lino - Chew doors - Chew anything wooded, not wooden, electrical cords I had all of the above happen in the first 6 months.

I would get another dog, doesnt have to be a Staffy though, maybe a pound puppy might be a good idea. I have two Staffy's, one cracks it if she doesnt get a walk everyday, the other prefers not to leave the house. Although they keep each other company it doesnt stop the destruction, I think they spur each other on. Having two does help stop them escaping though, mine havent tried to get out in the 2.5 years I have had them.

I thought apples were bad for dogs. Let me know if I am wrong here as my girls love them but I wont let them have any.

Are you allowed to name them?

Personally I would never muzzle my dogs if I left them unattended, a stray dog could attack and they would have no defence at all. I would just leave my dogs at home.

One of my Staffy's had s slight limp at 5 months old, the problem was when we were at the Vets she was so excited she didnt limp. Upon referral to a specalist I didnt want to go in there with nothing, so I video taped her limping. From the video the Vet could tell there was defenitely something wrong and was able to pinpoint which leg had the issue.

I have crates for my two Staffy's, they like having their own place. Being littermates they slept together until they were 7-8 months old, then one didnt like that anymore so moved into the other crate. I tried for a long time to put Snooza's in their crates, after having 8 or so ripped to shreds I gave up. Now I just fold up a blanket and put it in the crate for a bit of padding, then have another blanket loose on top in cold weather so they can snuggle up in it. I mean human single bed blankets folded up, not crappy dog blankets which they have also ripped to shreds. BTW, excellent photos in the link embedded in your signature.

I am just wondering if the dog has "issues" or is just a really good judge of character. As such in a different, friendly environment may not exhibit the same agression.

One of my Staffy's looked similar to this about a year ago, took her straight to the emergency Vet thinking she had been stung by a bee or a wasp. The anti-histamine shot settled it down over night. Hopefully it works out that well for you.

We stayed in a cabin here a couple of months ago, we really enjoyed it. The beach is a about 30 minutes away but is dog friendly. They have fenced off leash areas within the site itself so you dog can get in there and go nuts. One of mine ran so fast she was nearly tripping heself over, and I realised she runs like a rabbit.

Could also be something as simple as a swollen \ scratched Oesophagus, which is what one of my dogs had. An anti-inflammatory shot cleared it up.

My two havent worn collars for 12 months, since I got home and found one had tightened the colloar on the other so much while playing I couldnt get any fingers in between. I have however just bought two breakaway collars for them, just getting them use to them now. I made this decision after finding a stray and cursing the fact he didnt have a phone number on his collar. I had the patience to walk around the neighbourhood with him for an hour before the ownsers eventually found us. Someone finding my dog may not do the same thing, they may have the decency to phone if there is a collar with a tag, if not they may just think, this is too hard, Ill just let the dog go and hope if finds its way home.