OSoSwift

I would not say my dogs are or have been stubborn. If they do not do something it is usually because they don't understand what I am asking or I haven't trained it sufficiently as yet. The old boy has decided he can't hear you when you are trying to get him outside - I don't call that stubborn either. I think the breeds I own and have owned are not noted to be stubborn.

Oh yeh thinking of that, I had one by who just melted my heart. I LOVED him, His owner is lovely and a couple of times even let me show him - I even got a challenge once, only because he knew what he was doing! I found out he recently passed and I cried, I haven't seen him for quite a few years, but if I had ever had been asked if I would have liked to have him come and live with me, it would have been in a heartbeat. Oh those chocolate eyes, and the look up he gave - oh be still my heart.................

PAcing is easier and when we walk them (If they are bigger) a trot is quite often a bit fast and a walk too slow, so they pace. They cannot pace as fast as they can trot so generally if you move them out faster they will trot, then you can slow it down a little and they should trot, sometimes they will go back into a pace. Mine do it when they are just strolling around, if they are moving with purpose they trot. When I am doing obedience training I train for the trot and do not click/treat for pacing. As I like my dogs to lift their fronts and lighten the forequarter, they cannot physically do this when pacing.

Lewis loves who ever has a lap free, but when I sit down he is straight on mine. He vows and declares to ever lap he graces they are his only one.....................

The fact that there is "Prey Model Diet" people and "BARF" people along with the people who feed a mix or commercial only interests me as well. It just proves we can't all be wrong and amazingly an extremely large amount of dogs not only survive, but thrive and do well on any of the above diets!

Maybe I can muzzle my Whippets and pass them off as short Greyhounds??? Might work! As long as they don't stand next to Sam who is a proper Greyhound, because he is large even in Greyhound scale!

Good move as one day the dust up may result in one of the dogs dead. It is not worth the risk and your dogs body language is telling you she is no longer happy with the situation. My dogs have always been seperated when I am not home, the WHippet mainly because they have to be seperate when my bitch is in season etc and to help the male become a little more independant. I NEVER left my Dobes together and I would NEVER leave Staffords together as a dust up between these strong dogs can be heartbreaking.

Blue tounge is VERY abnormal, vet now! A blue tounge means a lack of oxygen and pale gums can mean a lack of red blood cells or shock, all of these things are very serious. I hope all goes okay

I agree fully. Like the time my Rotti had three small dogs hanging off her and the people thought it was hilarious until I said if you do not want your dogs to look like patch work quilts get them off, then I started growling at them and smacked ones bum to get it off. The guy abused me for attacking his little darlings. When I on purpose walked passed again on the way home they made sure they were caught. Or the time when the upholstered rat came screaming out of the open gate of a 6 foot high fully fenced yard and proceeded to attck my Dobe. At first she was suprised, then she started getting annoyed. It sunk it's teeth in one too many times and she started to snap at it. I had her front end up in the air so she couldn't actually connect. The guy cleared the fence to get it as the noise was a bit frightening to hear. Grabbed the dog "oh sorry"! I was pissed off and said - Sorry, bloody sorry, keep your gate closed because if my dog had of bitten yours and probably killed it, mine would have been labelled the dangerous dog purely because of her breed and you would have been to blame, keep your bloody dog locked up! Yes all sized dogs can be owned by idiots, we have heard that many times, but it really gets on my nerves when the idiot owners of small dogs think it is funny when their dog is attacking another dog or person just because the dog is small they don't think it is a problem.

Size ( or lack of) NEVER excuses bad behaviour. Idiot idiot owners who need their butts kicked!

I do not think dogs that are allergic animals should be bred from. But many people do and will continue to. I also think that mnay more things are picked up because we have the ability to do so. MAny years ago an allergic or chronically ill child would have just had a"weak chest" or been a "sickly" child. These days they are diagnosed and have a name to put to a disease. Dogs are the same. Years ago they would have been euthed or not treated and therefore not well enough to contribute to the gene pool. My very allergic dogs parents had no allergies to grasses food or otherwise, his brother also has had no problems.

S&S if it works keep doing it! I usually do around once a week, I get sardines in water as it is the fish oil in the sardines you are after not the soy oil added to the sardines if that makes sense. One of mine cannot have egg, the other two do not eat raw egg at all! Semi cooked goes down well though.

Your breeder will have her own views and reasons for doing or not doing things. This does not make her wrong and it does not make yourself wrong either, just different from each other. Some people do have the misguided notion that crates are cruel, it is her view, not one I agree with, but that is how she feels. You are not a bad owner and maybe your breeder is finding it a little hard to let go of her baby - that is in my opinion quite normal as well. I personally would not change a puppies diet quite so soon either. I usually leave it AT LEAST a fortnight if not a month with a month being what I usually do ( I would only change it more quickly if the diet was woefully inadequate for a growing puppy). If you wish to keep crate training, and I would, just don't mention it again, you know she doesn't like it, so leave it out of the conversation. You will both get to know each other over time and the relationship will become easier. Stay in contact, your breeder will be a mountain of knowledge and an ear when you need it. Like all relationships, they take time. Goodluck.

I don't mind what otehrs do and I think it is great that so many people put so much time, research and effort into feeding their dogs. I just don't like the - You can have an opinion even if you are wrong fanatics, telling me I am killing a dog who I cannot feed a raw diet to. PF Howie looks far from even slowing down! Can't be doing him much harm at all! Haven't seen a photo of the handsome boy for a while!

Could not agree more !

I have his book, I have read it from cover to cover and I got it over 15 years ago from memory. I have tried it on four different dogs, two did fine, the otehrs did not. I have one now who does not cope at all well with a raw diet and can only have certain bones and a small quantity of. He has actually ended up having to have antibiotics as a result of raw meat. My dogs do very well on what they eat, I WILL NEVER tell anyone that I know that one diet is better than another - all dogs are different. I get really sick and tired of people telling me that dogs fed anything than BARF are being poisoned, people are evil for feeding it and they are killing theri dogs - absolute rubbish. These people are no better than any other brainwashed person trying to ear bash people into their beliefs. My Dobe died at 8 and a half and I can assure you that her diet played no roll in that. She was a dog that I relgiously followed a raw diet for and it didn't work. She thrived on a good quality commercial diet. My aged Stafford was the same, he has that many environmental allergies that finding out what protein sources he was allergic to helped, but by no means stopped him having skin issues. Fanatics in any area are bloody annoying to me.

Mine was an Irish Wolfhound, I would still love one, but as yet the time has not been right, one day. I do have many on my to own one day list :D

Moselle Without Cortisone my dog would be in agony. He has had it in the past for skin issues which we did all the testing for, injection etc. He is allergic to pretty much all the trees we have, the grass, many of the weeds and many many others things. He also now has spinal arthriitis and nerve damage. He has had a good quality of life due to cortisone. I want to make his time here as pleasant as possible, if to do it I have to give him cortisone and he dies a few years earlier because of it - so be it. I would not keep him here with no cortisone and ripping his skin off, bleeding and screaming from spinal pain just to have him a few years longer. I think your assumptions are extremely arrogant and closed minded. Walk a mile in my shoes then think again - I think you may find your views may change slightly.

+1 Orbit has only ever had his puppy vaccines and minimal flea treatments etc and is on a raw diet. Yet he's still very allergic. Yes, he gets cortisone and other immune drugs, but only because they are the only thing that bring him relief. To say this is an absolute 'no no'?! How can you say this about a drug which provides comfort and quality of life for an animal? The RAW vs Kibble will always be an ongoing argument, but I think the subject is like religion - do your own research and make your own decision, but don't preach to other people. Not all dogs will do well on raw. Those who improved on raw were not 'cured' of their allergy, but merely relieved of their symptoms when the culprit allergen was no longer being fed in the dry food, eg a grain, storage mites etc. I know of one particular dog who was fed a raw diet all her life, only puppy vacc'd, never given oral treatments/chemicals/drugs, yet died at 2yo from cancer. My own family Golden Retriever was fed supermarket dry most of her life, had cortisone for flea allergy dermatitis here and there, vaccinated at times yet lived till till she was 16yo and was only pts because of joint disease. Here, here Dogs are all different - like people. Their digestive systems function the same but are not all the same, as with their bodies. If one dog thrives being fed a raw diet, then that's great, but I don't think it's fair to tell people something what they're doing is 'not the best' for their dog. Here, here!

Sorry double post, computer meltdown!

No it doesn't make you unethical as if you sell the puppy at 8 weeks it doesn't have to be chipped until 12 weeks, then what you are doing is fine. Parkeyre - As far as I am aware WA doesn't have compulsory chipping as yet. If we ever have babies I would chip them all, but at $60 per puppy I hope they have reduced their prices by then!

So sorry to hear your breeders are not being supportive, that makes it very hard. Glad to hear you are getting in a behaviourist, hope all goes well and you get back on track quickly

WHat Steve said. If a chip is compulsory in your state then I would regard someone who does not chip and does not register all their live puppies to be unethical.

I am also thinking that the dog may not see you as a pack leader. Due to his size and the potential for a major injury if he does connect, this needs to be sorted now! Please consult a behavioralist today. He is only 12months old and is yet to hit his straps. Have you contacted the breeder or been given any advice from them??

I do the warm towel trick if required.