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Here is Willow - part Boston Terrier, part Golden Retriever according to BITSA

10 Facts about Willow 1. Willow is my psychologist. I was scared of dogs before I got Willow. I went to several pounds several times until I found a dog I wasn't scared of. Willow was the right size, really sweet, didn't bark and as soon as I saw her I knew she was the dog for me. We bonded instantly. 2. Willow hates to be uncomfortable. Willow hates being wet or dirty and spends a long time licking herself clean. She hates to sit on hard floors so if I give her the sit command she will go and find a rug/dog bed/article of clothing to sit on. 3. Willow is antisocial. Willow loves to say hello to other dogs, but after she has checked them out she is over them. When living with my parents and their GSD, Willow used to jump over the fence and go and curl up on the neighbours couch to get some peace and quiet! 4. Willow loves to sleep in. One weekend she didn't get out of bed until 1pm. I have to coax her out of bed to go outside in the mornings before work. She takes herself to bed too. It's 7pm and she's been in bed for half an hour 5. Willow has a crooked toe and a scar on her paw. From being hit by a car. The vet said she was paralized but she made a full recovery. 6. Willow loves her treat ball. She will ignore food in her bowl in favour of eating out of her treat ball. If the food is in her bowl she will either tip it over to eat it piece by piece of the floor, or she will take a mouthful over to her bed, drop it and then eat it piece by piece. 7. Willow can play the cello. Willow knows exactly where to stand so her tail will strum the strings of my cello in its stand. She will stand there for ages wagging her tail and strumming the strings. 8. Willow totally overcame food aggression. When we first got her from the pound, Willow was very food aggressive around other dogs. She would growl and snarl at my parents GSD when we fed her, even though he was outside and she was inside. Now even the cat can stick her head in Willows bowl and Willow won't bat an eyelid. 9. It's Willows goal in life to be 100% on you. When sitting down, Willow is not content to just curl up next to you or even rest her head on you. She must get 100% of her body onto your body. Not even her tail must touch the ground/couch etc. 10. Willow can break your heart. Willow always looks worried, pouty or stressted out. She is very concerned about you.

I've always thought Willow was too skinny, but vet says she's fine. She eats a lot - lamb offcuts, fresh mince, dry food, lots of treats and a kong with a big dollop of Peanut butter every day. I guess she just has a fast metabolism.

My dog loooooves to sniff things, and happily spends an entire walk with her nose to the ground, and I am happy to pause for a moment when she finds a spot that is a bit more interesting to sniff. She is pretty good at continuing the walk when I say "come on". She used to pull like a steam train and although this has improved, she still does pull. I have taught her to heel by doing the thing where you keep turning around before they get to the end of the leash, and when I start doing that she does focus on me and will walk nicely next to me. But I don't want the whole walk to be like that, I'd still like her to be able to sniff around. Today she saw some other dogs as soon as we left the house, and even though they went in another direction, she got over excited and pulled like you wouldn't believe. She does this every now and again. Is there a middle ground where you can train a dog to stay on a loose lead but still do what they want? I walk her on a check chain but she also has a martingale, prong collar, halti and harness with a bungee type lead. The bungee type lead results in walks that go pull, sit, pull, sit, pull, sit

When I bought it about a year ago Vet n Pet direct was the cheapest i found once you factor in postage.

When I was house training the foster, he took about 20 mins to pee the first time I took him out at night. He wanted to come inside too but you just have to be patient. As soon as he started weeing I praised the hell outta him, then I immediately let him inside again. The 2nd night it took him about 10mins to wee and I did the same thing. From then on he learnt that when he wees, he gets to go back inside. After that it took about 5 seconds. It is annoying standing outside at night but you just have to be patient.

She was sick that's why the vet recommended chicken and rice, as the vet said "to help push the nasty stuff out". She was doing black sloppy poo's. My vet didn't recommend it as a normal diet, I just thought my dog likes it and seems to be thriving, but I guess 10 days isn't long enough to tell, maybe she is just looking better compared to when she was sick. Before this, she was on a mostly raw diet, chicken necks/wings/frames, raw puppy mince, lamp off-cuts and other bones when I could get them but she would have kibble in her treat ball in the morning to play with throughout the day. The only problem with that was if I bought a kilo of chicken necks she would wolf them down for the first meal, then not touch them the next day so the rest would go off. Same with lamb off cuts or mince. Now that I have a foster boy here though that isn't as much of a problem as the food gets used up twice as fast. Anyway thanks everyone for the info, I will stop feeding her cooked chicken and rice now that I know it's not a good long-term diet.

Fair enough. I'll start transitioning her back to her usual diet while I use up the rest of my last batch of the chicken and rice mix. Thanks for your input everyone, I didnt realise there isn't much nutrition in cooked chicken for a dog.

She is about 18 months.

My dog was feeling a bit sick in the tummy so I took her to the vet who gave anitbiotics and told me to feed her nothing but cooked chicken (meat only) and white rice for the 10 days. Normally she is a bit of a picky eater, sometimes she loves something then the next time she wont eat it. She has thrived on the chicken and rice mix, warmed up or cold she has wolfed it down every time. She seems to have gained a bit of weight too, which is great because she has been a bit bony ever since I got her from the pound. He coat seems softer, eyes brighter. I doubt chicken and rice is 100% nutritionally complete for a dog, but is it okay to feed it to her as her main diet, say 80%. If so, what should I supplement for the other 20% to give her other nutrients?

I really want to go to this and have emailed twice... does anyone know who else I can contact or is the seminar fully booked?

Nekhbet - thank you so much!! I will PM you, I really appreciate it. persephone - thanks, I will try that. They have sniffed each others faces (noses touching) through the dog run but I will try out your suggestion. I know the bum's the important bit when it comes to dogs sniffing.

I am in Sydney. The dog was not released from the pound by a rescue group. I have volunteered and provided transport for some rescue groups but not very much and I am not with any rescue group.

Hoping to get some advice here. I recently took on a new foster dog, who got into a fight with his last fosters own dogs. The reason I took him on is because the way my house is set up makes it easy for me to keep two dogs seperate if necessary (I have a dog run for during the day and he is crated at night, my dog lives inside). I have a desexed female, when I got the new foster he wasn't desexed but he was done on Friday. My OH and I walked seperately to neutral territory with a dog each to introduce them (I had foster, OH had our dog). OH went before me, and I followed 5 mins after. When I got to the agreed meeting place which is NOT off-leash, I saw two SWF off-leash barking madly in my dogs face while she just sat there with OH keeping her focused on him. I was about 50m away and yelled out to the man with the SWF to please leash his dogs, he just waved. He didn't even have a leash on him. He finally wandered away calling his dogs, which he had very little control over. My OH called me on the phone because we were too far away to talk and he told me that one of the dogs BIT my dog in the face. Thank god she didn't react. I couldn't help but get angry, annoyed and a bit shaken up. I tried to calm myself down but I was still feeling angry. Stupidly we proceeded with trying to introduce the two dogs. Everything I read said to introduce them on a loose leash but from about 25m away the foster was straining at the leash trying to get to my dog, barking madly in a really high pitch. I was already worried about my girl having already been bitten once that day, so I called out to my OH that we should try to walk them together. My dog was pulling on her leash at this point too so we tried walking them together but they both were going nuts trying to get to one another. I was still shaken at this point because I couldn't stop thinking about the a**hole and his SWF, and I was stressing a lot about the dogs getting into a fight, so I called to my OH that we would just walk each dog on a seperate route for the day. At home the foster was in the dog run but my girl still needed to go outside to toilet so I was taking her out on a lead and keeping her clear of the run. At first the foster barked and barked, each time we went out he was a bit calmer and a bit calmer until I went out with my girl and the foster didn't even get up from where he was laying. My girl likes to go right down to the bottom of the yard to toilet and usually takes about 5-10mins to sniff out a good spot, so while I was out there I let her off the lead to do that, and she ignored the foster and went about her business. Both dogs seemed relaxed, foster wasn't barking so when my girl trotted back up I let her approach the run to see what would happen, I am not sure if this was a mistake or not. They sniffed each others faces, my girl bowed, then darted in one direction then came back to then run, I think this is playing??? Foster still barks or whinges sometimes when I let my girl out but I haven't let them out together because I am scared of a fight, and because the foster still has stiches in from his desexing. What should I do? I really have no idea? Both dogs seem playful but I just don't know how to read their body language, I've read some conflicting things online. I think I should wait until the foster's stitches come out at least but I dont know if letting them play on either side of the run is benefitting or harming them. Can anyone give me any advice? I have looked into getting a behaviorist but after finding out the prices I can't afford it.

If you are in Sydney you can rent a crate from Vebo Pet Supplies http://www.vebopet.com.au I ended up buying one outright from them when I had to keep my staffy x quiet after being hit by a car and I have used it countless times since then, so it really has come in handy.

Whoops, I gave my dog heaps of xmas ham :rolleyes: It was a half ham between OH and I and we needed help eating it - ended up throwing a lot out anyway because it went off before we could finish it. She seemed fine though, thank god!! I'll know better next year.

Thanks to those who helped with my problem. bj2circeleb - my dog isn't a police, guide or assistance dog so maybe you could start another thread to push your agenda. De-railing of threads is actually against the forum rules. Thanks.

No, she has attacked another dog before, seemingly unprovoked (she was off-lead, other dog was on-lead). She does not have reliable recall so I don't take her to off lead parks. Frankly I am terrified that she will attack again so I am even weary to let her off lead around my sisters smaller dogs. She and the GSD play very rough, biting each other etc and if my dog trys to run away from the GSD he pounces on her or puts his paw on her back to drag her closer to him and I am scared one day she'll snap. She had serious food aggression when I got her, but has calmed down a lot now and even lets the cats eat out of her bowl (I dont know how she would be with another dog as we have since moved out). I take her to obedience where she seems fine with the other dogs. A lady there had a DA staffy and she and my girl got along quite well, the DA dog did snap at my girl once, but she didn't react. I don't have any friends with dogs that can come over to play except my sisters. Would getting a 2nd dog help? (I know I shouldn't get another dog to fix the problems of the first, just wishful thinking as I would love another one!)

My two sisters and I tool our dogs to the beach yesterday for xmas (2 shih tzu's, my staffy x and a GSD). They have all played together before so after the inital sniffing etc my dog completely loses interest in my sisters dogs and want's go and sniff other things. If an unknown dog comes anywhere near us she goes mental trying to get to it, she makes these monkey noises and will lunge at the end of her leesh. Her tail is wagging so I don't know if she is being aggressive or she just want's to play. At the beach yesterday we saw lots of other dogs, most of them off lead, and they just toally ignored all 4 dogs, they were happy to just play with their owners. One dog trotted past behind his owner, about 2m from where we were standing without batting an eyelid (meanwhile I am walking further up the beach with my dog going mental). Her recall is great at home and she very trustworthy and obedient at home or familar places where we walk, but because of the way she reacts to strange dogs I can't trust her off lead outside the backyard so yesterday she was the only dog who didn't get to play off-lead. My sister said I was being too controlling and that I never let my dog have any fun. I got my dog from the pound just over 12 months ago, and I think she is about 18 months old now. So is it an age thing, a training thing, a temperament thing, all three?? I think she had fun at the beach despite not being let off-lead, I did have her on a long lead and we did run around a lot... The other reason I didn't want to let her off is because the GSD is sometimes a bit full-on and will interrut my girl when she is trying to sniff very important things, so she will run off trying to get some peace! (When they lived together my girl used to jump the fence to get away fromt the GSD just so she could have a quiet lay down because he always wants to play).

Clever dogs managed to kill the same woman twice!

My dog (staffy cross) jumps on people. I have tried totally ignoring her when she jumps and praising her when all four paws are on the ground (the praising only seemed to get her more excited and she would jump as soon as I praised). I tried this for several months but it seemed to make it worse. I also tried turning around and facing the door (the jumping mostly happens as soon as I walk in the front door) and she would just jump onto my back for ages then when I turned around she keeps jumping. I have tried physically blocking her from jumping by taking a step towards her or away from her, or putting my knee up. I've tried pushing her down saing "NO" loudly and angrily. She jumps on guests, the other day my sister came over wearing shorts and a t-shirt and left with big red scratch marks all down her legs and arms. She learns obedience really fast but whenever I get home after being out or whenever guests come over she just gets so overexcited and won't do listen. She just jumps and jumps. I've tried crating her when guests come over and only letting her out when she appears to have calmed down, then as soon as I let her out she goes mental again. Any other ideas I can try?

Natures Gift contains Ash... around 3.6% Since my dog can't eat anything hard (not even dry kibble) for 4 weeks, I have been feeding her a mixture of - Excellence Plus canned food (has added nutrients like protien, calcium or omega 3) - Pet Mince available in a 3kg pink bag in the refridgerated section at Woolies - Offal mixed in with the above mince (hearts, liver) - Kibble soaked in beef stock until mushy - Pet mince from butcher and chicken shop I also give her a can of sardines in oil once a week mixed into the mince. I don't know what it is about this diet but her coat is becoming really, really soft and she seems happy.

I thoght I read in another thread like this to mix a tin of sardines in oil into their food once or twice a week....... I cant find it now though. I hope this is true because I have been doing it.

Thanks persephone, they have a Nerve Repair product that looks good as the vet said Willow may have nerve damage. I have emailed them as they give free consultations! I have found a couple of other products for joint repair, one called Sashas Blend and another that is also called Joint Guard. Does anyone use these? Do they help?

I have just seen an ad in Urban Animal magazine for Rufus and Coco powder suppliments http://shop.rufusandcoco.com.au/c-1-vitami...upplements.aspx I'm thinking about getting both the Inner Balance and the Joint Guard for my dog who is recovering from being hit by a car and has a neck injury. She is on steroids for swelling in her neck and antibiotics as her front legs are badly grazed. Are suppliments necessary and would they help? I thought the Joint Guard might help her neck and legs heal (her legs are very wobbly and painful for her to move). It says the joint guard helps with sore joints an inflammation. The Inner Balance says it helps dogs recovering from injury and also to replace healthy gut bacteria that antibiotics can destroy. ETA: The vet told me not to feed her anything that she needs to chew a lot, so soft food or soaked dry food. We are currently feeding her pet mince, sometimes mixed with heart, liver or lambs fry. I also bought some canned food called Excellence but she doesn't like it.