Quickasyoucan

Do you mean this Ruthless?

Jake and I are heading up to the mountains tonight so we are already packed! Hoping for a fine and sunny day! Only 6 more hours of work to get through (not counting or anything!) Looking forward to meeting everyone tomorrow.

If you want your dog to have any canines left, then you do need to restrict them! In the 4 years I have had him I would say that ball-obssessed Jake's canines have worn down by 1 third!! I have asked the vet about it and she told me that he will not lose his teeth so I am not so worried about it as he is a pet. However, if you are showing or you want your dog to have nice teeth, you definitely need to limit it. I would add that Jake plays fetch for a max of 40 mins per day, but it is every day. I tried the soccer ball as an alternative (well giant tennis ball), which he also loves, but he has now worn the hair off his nose!! If he plays too much with that his nose starts to bleed from the friction Jakes other teeth are pretty fine. Now when I see other dogs with proper teeth it looks strange to me!!!

Hi I am curious as to how you would test a dog as to whether it is cat friendly and what you would classify as cat friendly? I have been toying with the idea of giving a home to a rescue cat and I do see in ads cats that are tolerant of dogs etc. My boy does spend time indoors with a cat as my friend, di, who walks him in the arvo has a confident old cat, Ellie. Ellie just miaows if a dog gets in her face so Jake (apart from trying to smell her behind and occasionally trying to lick her in the face) leaves her alone. Di's mum also has a confident dog savvy cat who Jake will again try to irritate occasinoally by sniffing his bum but otherwise ignores, because the cat ignores him. However, he will definitely (or would if I let him and he wasn't on the lead) chase cats that run off in the street. We did meet a dog friendly cat in the street and Jake was waggy and bum sniffy but I thought still just a tad too interested. He has what I would call a fairly strong prey drive ie ball crazy, skateboard obssessed. I know there are no guarantees in life, but does anyone have any cat testing guidelines, recommendations?

Yes I am in Sydney, the Hills can is about $2.65. We were told the Eagle Pack was I think over $4 per can ie nearly twice the price. I am not stingy about what I feed jake and maybe Eagle Pack would be better value anyway. Jake has a tendency to sensitive and itchy skin so I would definitely like to look at something additive free. Thanks for the link.

I have found this interesting. I feed Jake dry Eukanuba but he does also get half a can of the soft Hills Science Diet at night. Is that as bad? I rang up the pet store about Eagle Pack cans but apparently they are more than 2x the price of the Hills Science cans. Does anyone have any middle of the road suggestions for a soft type food?

A friend of mine's baby was born with an extra toe! They just "shaved" it off. I think it is good to be different!!

Yes I'm looking really forward to it too. So many questions... I will be bringing my staffy (with a hint of kelpie) Jake. He's pretty good apart from the skateboard obssession - but I expect there won't be too much of those around. Otherwise you will all be treated to a classic case of "displaced prey drive" (or so I am told).

That all sounds right up Jake's alley! gonna have to find out when the next date is!! (and pre-book and appointment with the physio for the day after!! ) :D

Yep so am I! Thanks for your info Ruthless and Monelite. Ruthless your first pic is unbelievable, hope you have it framed somewhere. I reckon Jakey would love lure coursing. Would make a change from the ball!! Thanks again.

Have heard a few references in the forum to lure coursing. Would be interested to know a bit more about it. If there is an old thread I have missed, link to that would be fine. Otherwise: What exactly does it consist of? Is it open to all breeds/novices? What type of dog is it suitable for ie high energy, high prey drive etc? Does anyone do it in the Sydney Region? Clubs etc? Any info would be much appreciated. Thanks. :rolleyes:

Thank you for those suggestions. I will give the on-lead exercise option a go. Jake is very keen to learn and, although not that food motivated, is definitely ball motivated! So I can use that as a reward for good work hopefully. I didn't see the Caesar Milan Episode as I don't have Foxtel though I think someone has mentioned it to me in the past. Jake doesn't really seem "aggressive" towards the noise, more "anxious and obssessed". Will start work this weekend! Wish I could teach him to ride the skateboard instead but I think that might be a stretch!! :rolleyes:

Yes, though it is not certain he is staffy/kelpie, as he is a rescue, looks more staffy than anything else, but I did suspect it might be something like that as he is very ball oriented. To my untrained eye he definitely has some working dog traits.

Hi there, this is my first time posting, but I just thought I would give it a try. I am the proud owner of 5 year old Jake the Staffy/Kelpie Cross. Of course like all dog owners I think Jake is the best dog in the world . However, Jake does have one "achilles heel" he goes nuts when he sees or hears a skateboard. By nuts I mean lunging around on the lead yelping, desperately trying to get to the skateboard in question. I have tried to densensitise him by getting an old skateboard but he just turns it over and over trying to bite the wheels in a totally obsessive kind of way and gets completely worked up. It is just skateboards (and the odd wheelie suitcase!!), in line skates are generally fine as are scooters. Has anyone had similar experiences? Any tips for dealing with this. He really has a nose for when the skateboard hits the ground!!