Rascalmyshadow

We have 4 dogs,mini poodles, small xbreed, st. poodle and an afghan. They all get along well although my standard will put the others in their places occasionally. They all have their own spot in the kitchen where they eat and they don't go near each others bowls until everyones finished. We feed dry mixed with fresh or canned depending on what i've bought. At night most of the time the two littlies sleep on our bed, sometimes one of the big dogs will aswell otherwise they sleep on the bedroom floor. During the day they have the run of house and yard (except bedrooms they are the cats domain) they have a soft bed each in the loungeroom and an off ground bed each on the decking. Walking I either walk 2 at a time or my OH comes and we take them all. Vet bills do add up but working in a vet clinic I get it all a lot cheaper, same with food. I always have money owing on my account.

I know a couple of people have suggested PTS but that would be absolutely devastating for our whole family,especially since she is fine with our own kids and is such a loving girl. If she ever did serious damage to anyone (hopefully that never happens) I would make that choice but at the moment I still feel we have other avenues we can try. I am well experienced with dogs I work with them every day and have done for the last 15 years so I am by no means taking this lightly and we are not irresponsible with her but I need help to be objective and work out whats right for our situation. I need to make it clear she is not a savage dog with no manners that I can't trust with anyone. My parents and parents in law come around when I'm not at home without a problem, I have had friends I've worked with stop in when I'm not home and come in to collect my equiptment for me without a problem, I even had a dog walker at one stage who she quite happily went off with. She is quite accepting of the dogs we have fostered but if she met them in public it would be a different scenario. Her mum died of cancer earlier this year and I think she was 9 and I know that doesn't necessarily mean she will get it but it's made me realise she is getting older and I want her to be able to enjoy the rest of her life with us and be included as many family activites as possible.

TsarsMum no need to apologise, I am also protective over my kids and I am learning to put them above the dogs but it has taken a while. My life has always revolved around dogs whether my own or customers and sometimes it is hard to make the right choices when you are in the middle of a situation. I want the best for my kids and I certainly don't want the growing up detesting dogs because they caused them to lose their freedom, like a couple of people I know. Nekhbet you are awsome thanks so much my next free Monday (I seem to be grooming non stop at the moment) is the 6th of December, would that be ok for you? How many peope would be there and we can bring up some nice lunch.

nekhbet where do I get the calming paste? I will definately give it a try. Are you available on a Sunday or Monday OH and I usually work Saturdays. Would be wonderful if we could make a day of it and thanks for including my kids. Spikespuppy it is my white girl, she is 6years old now. We have done everything we could to socialise her especially when she was a puppy, but I know this temperament is in her lines (didn't know when I got her) and I feel some days I am fighting a losing battle but we will try anything within our means. She is so much a bitch I had to give up my bunnies and piggies because she jumped through the open bedroom window and killed two and she bit chunks out of the timber on a hutch. Her prey drive is very high. We are lucky that she is very obedient and will do as she's told but we always have to be ready. Worst thing is she was supposed to be the one I was going to do agility and flyball with, I wanted to be able to take her everywhere including work, which I have basically banned her from coming because of her attitude to other dogs. She does love all the staff members at work and will sit and shake hands for a treat without being asked. Here she is doesn't look like she'd harm a fly which makes it even harder.

Thankyou for so many constructive replies, I am trying to get my head around the situation. At this stage there is no risk of her being PTS she is a high strung dog and I do agree it is a management problem. I can invite adult guests into the house and she is great you would never even know there was a problem. She is wonderful with all our family including grandparents etc. She is normally exceptionally well mannered and very easy to get along with but she dislikes unfamiliar kids and dogs which is making it hard for my children. We live in a little court and the kids have friends in 5 different houses they play with on a daily basis and I am always on edge worrying incase a door gets left open, my kids are very good and careful but there can still be accidents. I was hesitant in using a muzzle because she is a large dog and damage can still be done and I also agree it would probably make her feel more out of control. I can't afford to see Robert Holmes at this stage, I am going in for surgery on my hand at the start of Jan and I will be off work for a couple of months so we have to be very careful with money for a while. Nekhbet thanks for you offer I will chat to my OH you are a long way from us but if we could organise something that would be a great help. I don't want to lose this girl she is my dream dog and apart from this one problem she is perfect in every other way. I am going to see if we can put another set of gates on our carport and turn it into a dog run, at least it is covered in and can be locked. I do have someone that would probably be willing to take her, they are on an acreage, no kids and are home a lot but I really don't want to let her go I would rather find a solution.

The reason I don't trust her is because she lunges at kids out in public, I hate to admit but she has snapped at one of my daughters friends and caught her on the face she has also bailed up one of my sons friends in the house, the only reason she didn't bite him is because my son was inbetween. She is a very reactive dog, it has a lot to do with her genetics. I have done training with her with a friend who is a delta instructor she suggested the muzzle, one of my other friends is a trainer she suggested the crate. Modifying her behaviour could be dangerous because she is more reactive when on lead and I don't trust her to have her loose. I do feel my kids are missing out they have had to work around the dogs their whole lives and it's not fair to now say they can't have friends play over. Anyone with out kids wouldn't understand.

My standard poodle girl has had temperament issues from day one but has always been great with our kids. When she was younger the next door kids would hang over the fence which would upset her and she became reactive. Now she is not trustworthy around other peoples kids either at home or in public, so far we have managed her by just keeping her away from them. I am now having a huge dilemma, my kids are at an age where they want friends over and I often say no because of her which I think is quite unfair. What do I do, it has been suggested I muzzle her while we have kids at our house (even though IMO she could still cause an injury), crate her, keep her locked in my room or rehome her becaue the environment is unsuitable. I don't want my kids to miss out on having friends visit or having sleep overs but apart from her temperament issues this girl is perfect in every way. I would like other peoples opinions on what you would do in the same situation.

I am booked to have surgery on my right hand in January and I will not be able to groom for about 8weeks, I am letting all my customers know but I will need someone to do my own dogs. They will need bathing and fluffing up once a fortnight but no clipping will be necessary. I need someone who will be gentle with them because they have never been done by anyone else and might be a little frightened, If anyone can recommend someone please let me know. The only one I could think of is no longer doing big dogs.

Frontline isn't that good, the vet I work at has stopped stocking it. Revolution is much better, I would also bomb your house.

I used to prefer the boys, they do tend to be more cuddly and affectionate, and I have found them easier to train. But I would have to now say I prefer girls, we have had so many rescue boys come through our house with disgusting habits. We currently have 3 girls and 1 boy, he is both mine and my husbands heart dog and he has wonderful manners, he is also the kids best mate. I will always have a boy but only one, I would have unlimited girls.

After having poodles for quite a few years I decided Iwould like something different, I have admired afghans for years but never thought I would get to own one. Shilo became available and we took her on. She is absolute heaven, I am used to having dogs all over me 24/7 always demanding and always there. Shilo loves a cuddle and will sleep with us sometimes but she is not demanding and is quite happy with a short walk. I think my two perfect dogs are poodles and afghans they also compliment each other very well. We also have a little (silky x lhasa?) and he is the most gorgeous dog I have ever met, I think he is both mine and my husbands heart dog.

If they like the malt shihtzu's how about one from rescue instead of looking for a purbred. Otherwise maybe a lhasa apso would be ideal.

I would love to meet up for some walks and play dates, I live in Seaford my mini poodle and little scruffer would love to socialise with some other little dogs. Let me know if you are interested.

Don't stress too much as long as you have a good vet and follow their instructions everything should be fine. My 91/2 year old mini poodle, about 8-12 months ago had surgery for stump pyometra then a week later tore her cruciate ligament and had to have surgery for that. She recovered beautifully, we made sure she had 5 minute walks 3 times a day and then built up from that so she learnt to use the leg and put pressure on it. I now give her Sasha's blend with her dinner every night and she is as bouncy as she's ever been and you would never know she had ever had surgery.

thanks k9katz that is just what I was looking for.

I asked for dog shampoo and then get questioned why I won't use human shampoo which I have explained twice maybe I'm interpreting responses incorrectly.

I want a good dog shampoo for my afghan that I can also use on clients dogs hopefully that makes sense.. Many clients want to know what I use on their dogs so they can use the same thing in between grooms. I guess some people making comments are not business owners, if I use a product not designed specifically for dogs and there is a bad reaction and it escalates, the last thing I want is to fork out 100's or 1000,s of dollars on vet treatment. Might sound far fetched but it's not. People can be completely over the top especially when it comes to their animals. I will not hide things from my clients and I groom from a vet clinic so must follow protocol. I thought that was being responsible. How does such a simple question turn in to such a silly debate.

The afghan is my own dog. If I bath a dog in human shampoo and it has a reaction the clients can say it was because it wasn't designed for dogs but if it's a dog product they will accept I just need to try something different. I have no problem using human shampoos I have used them in the past on my own dogs. I am trying to post a couple of pics but my computer won't let me save my resized photo's for some reason.

If I used human products on customers dog and any had a reaction then I am liable, at least if I am using products that say they are made for dogs it is much more simple just to try something else and the customers wont have a problem with that. I have tried tresemme in the past and it ended up drying my hair out way too much. I felt like I was being criticised for doing something different to her breeder.

Lowenhart I am not criticising her breeder but I can't use human products on customers dogs so I would rather spend money on something that I can use on dogs other than my own. Why do people have to be so reactive to such a simple question???

I would be happy to groom him at home in Seaford, you are welcomne to stay and watch.

Shilo's breeder uses Tresseme shampoo and conditioner, I was hoping to find a good dog product rather than a human one.

Thankyou will give it a go. After 15 years of grooming Shilo is the very first afghan I have ever done.

Rebanne no problem I wasn't actually having a shot at GAP I know they do a wonderful job and I admire them for doing so much for such a unique breed, I was just a little dissapointed when I spoke to them and was told if I didn't surrender her there was no help available especially when so many people want cat friendly greyhounds. I have paid for flights, desexing, vaccination, worming etc but she was already microchipped. I would love to keep her (she slept with me in bed all night last night and is such a cuddly girl) but I have some ongoing physical problems and until I see my specialist tomorrow I don't know long term if I will be capable of managing three large dogs. Edited to add: I know she must be muzzled and kept on leash (unfortunately), if we decide we can keep her she will be put through GAP asap to get her collar.

Can any afghan owners please tell me what shampoos and conditioners they recommend, our girl has still got her puppy coat although she must be pretty close to changing to adult. At the moment I am using double k grimeinator shampoo and kerri cot conditioner. She looks fine but I was wondering if something else migh be better suited.