tdierikx

Pups are very cute at 5-6 weeks of age... not so cute when they are 30kg and eating your house, shedding coat everywhere, and generally being a lot of hard work. I have a smallish Labrador (crossbred at some stage of parentage) - she is now 4 years old and weighs around 28kg. She has a short coat, but sheds like an absolute bitch at this time of year. She is generally well behaved now - but during her adolescence was a complete PITA. I wouldn't swap her for anything in the world though... *grin* If you are wanting to get a pup - make sure that the seller has vaccinated, wormed, and microchipped the pups - and they shouldn't be leaving their mother until at least 8 weeks of age... also, when choosing a pup, let the pup choose you - not the other way around. I've found that it's much easier to live with a dog that wants to be with you from the start... T.

I reckon he's just doing it to show off his ever so sexy butt... hehe! My Lab girl walks like that, and there is nothing at all physically wrong with her - just an adorable booty to show off! T.

What area do you live in Bartok? And what do you feed your babies? These things need to be taken into consideration... *grin* T.

My 4 rescue foster Staffy cross pups are named Merlin, Connor, Joshua, and Elmer (but he answers to Fuddy) - their sisters are named Marlie, Molly, Dottie, and Izzy We had another litter of Staffy/Bully/Cattle cross pups that we named Calvin, Cody, Casper, Cory, Clayton, Cade, Charlie Girl, and Cara The 3 Dane cross pups were called Dominic, Dante, and Dakota (girl) We have some little JRT cross pups we are calling Cyril, Cecil, Cedric, and Cynthia My own 2 dogs are named Zeddy and Trouble (both girls), and I used to have a big Rottie girl named Woosie (it suited her, OK?) T.

Did your friend ever leave him outside when she wasn't at home? He may have had a nasty experience, and is now frightened to go outside or on walks because of that. I'd be calling a behaviourist, and seeing if they can help - especially if there is no sign of any physical issues... T.

My girls know that "leave it" means stop begging for whatever and come here... *grin* The only unfortunate thing about dog parks is some of the people who go there... no regard for other people or dogs - the park is there for free use, and they don't seem to understand that it would be a much nicer place if they gave their dogs at least some BASIC obedience. The other side of the coin is the "park nazis" - those that expect every dog there to be a bloody robot and not play silly games like zoomies, etc... T.

My girls reckon that Atlas needs some extra treats for the next week for looking after his mummy so well... T.

I have met some of the loveliest bull breed dogs walking off lead with their "tuff" looking owners - funnily enough, quite of a few of these dogs have only their owner in their minds and sight... until I ask if I can give them a cuddle... *grin*... the owners are 99% of the time quite flattered that someone wants to cuddle their best mate... T.

I'd just take the lead off myself and hand it to her - and collude with others at the park to do the same... if she letting the dog run unattended in an off leash park, and it's a friendly dog, then the lead should be off to avoid injury to her dog and others. If she wants to keep the lead on, then one end of it should be in her hand. T.

I don't go on holidays because the only place I trust to look after my dogs costs more than my own holiday... I don't go out with friends much because I foster for rescue, and my little charges need their playtime and socialisation time every day... that one ticks off the boss when she wants to get us all out for drinks after work, etc - not to mention that I'm teetotal and really don't fancy watching my workmates get drunk... *sigh* I have a low paying job (when I could have a much higher paying one elsewhere) because where I work, everyone understands that my dogs come first, and if I need time off to care for them for any reason, I get it with no hassles... and worst case, I can hook into work from my own computer and do some from home... My mum has finally accepted that sometimes dogs will chew parts of the house (or shed everywhere), and has stopped nagging me about it when she comes to visit. She has also learned that the "other" couch belongs to the dogs, and that she shouldn't sit on that one unless she wants a 30kg dog on her lap. Last time she visited, she even let one of my fosters sleep with her... I get up very early and go to bed very late, so that all of my dogs get plenty of exercise and cuddle time due to them being cooped up while I'm at work. T.

:D Trust me - you'll learn exactly what the meaning of a "three dog night" is when your power goes out on a cold winter night... I used Rottweilers for mine... *grin* As for the larger bed... I thought that was a given... mine is a Queen... T.

I'm with Cynthia on the wonderful world of cleaning up rescue dogs' messes... I foster pups, so mucky crates just come with the territory there... *grin* The number one thing I wish I knew before I got a dog is how wonderful a crate can be... I'm a firm believer in crate training now that I foster... Other things include:- a. Labradors can be very chewy... mine chewed my walls, the doorframes, and various other items for ages!! she's nearly 4 now, and only chews occasionally now... b. The love and respect you give your best friend is returned a thousandfold. c. Having lots of large dogs can come in very handy for cold winter nights when the power goes out and your electric blanket doesn't work! d. Picking and training your vet is almost as important as choosing and training your dog - YOU know the dog - THEY need to listen to what you are saying as well as what the dog is displaying. e. Don't ever be alarmed at what you find in your dog's droppings when doing the daily poo patrol - it's simply amazing what can pass through... errr! f. Dogs can be just like us in that they are all individuals - find what works best for YOU and your best friend, and you will be rewarded with a wonderful companion. Above all - ENJOY your dog - don't OWN it... T.

I leave my back door open when I'm at home - my dogs take themselves out as the need arises. They will only bark or patrol if there is actually something there, which I then go and investigate. Maybe Shyla saw something on the fence top at some time and she's looking for it again? Possum, cat, owl, etc? T.

Ring council and complain When I worked at the kennels, I stayed on site for a few weeks, none of the dogs barked at all at night time, and if they did (even one bark) the next door neighbors would be on the phone to council about it! The friendly local council contact has numerous voicemails (with timestamps) at all hours of the night with the choruses of barking at a pitch that he reckons it's hard to hear the actual speaking. There is also a diary with decibel meter readings that is being sent in every week. The police have been called regularly for noise complaints after midnight - not that they care much about it, or are actually willing to do much... Community mediation has been suggested, but considering that the owners of the boarding kennels seem to take great delight in yelling abuse at anyone on our side of the fence, I don't see that as a viable option... grrr! Is it a bad thing to wish that someone's business venture fails just so you can get some bloody sleep at night - it's OK for them, their house is way down the other end of their property from their kennels - THEY get a great night's sleep by all accounts... T.

Happy Birthday Rex!!! T.

Try being next door to a boarding kennel whose proprietors have no idea how to keep their charges quiet... barking 24 hours a day from about 30 dogs who aren't exactly happy about being dumped into kennels while their humans go for a holiday... You don't even want to hear the excuses that the proprietors have come up with as to why their charges bark non-stop. Maybe exercising the poor buggers for more than 1 hour a day would be a start... or moving the fence fighters to kennels next to non-reactive dogs so they won't set each other off... don't let 5 bloody dogs loose in the area directly in front of the kennels where all the others can see them... grrr! T.

I forgot about the chewing on the house stuff... I must fix the hole in the kitchen wall and put in new door frames... errr! Suggestion: my neighbour brought home a chunk of railway sleeper for her Goldie/Lab cross to chew on... it worked a treat, and they don't have house damage... *grin* T.

My 4 year old Lab girl is STILL pushing boundaries... but she's been doing that since she was 10 weeks old... I'm used to it now...lol! T.

I find it's amazing how quickly one can crate train a puppy. I have crates in my bedroom where my rescue fosters can see me or my adult dogs on the bed - they tend to settle pretty darned quickly if they don't feel abandoned and lonely... they hardly ever poop in their crates (wee a bit though), and the current lot have got the routine of storming for the back door and out into the yard as soon as the crate door opens. They squeal a bit for a feed, but that only lasts a few minutes while I'm preparing their bowls - then they are totally happy to spend time in the yard exploring or playing. I'm sure that when these (currently 9 week old) pups go up for adoption, I'll be fielding the calls asking whether they are obedience trained and/or fully house trained, whether they are good with kids and cats, etc... ummm... they are 9 week old puppies for dog's sake! My standard talk to prospective new owners of a pup is that how the adult dog turns out is a reflection of the amount of time, effort, training, love, attention, and respect you give the pup. Give it all of that, and it will be returned a thousandfold for many happy years... T.

Happy to hang out in the corner with you fine folk... *grin* T.

Funnily enough, my dogs are the ones that get the invites to come over for dinner... I'm just their chauffeur... lol! Seriously though - what person in their right mind brings a dog to a get together without an express invite to bring the dog in question? T.

We got through last night pretty unscathed - even though some yobbo neighbours had been letting off fireworks since the minute it got dark enough to see the pretty colours... grrr! I had the TV up loud tuned to the fireworks on Sydney Harbour, and Zeddy was more settled than normal - only popping her head up from beside the couch when the local bangs were too close for comfort. Trouble slept through it all as normal - and the foster pups were totally unfazed by it all, even when they were outside going potty... I didn't get to bed until after 1am due to the neigbours and their seemingly endless supply of fireworks... and back up again at 5:30am when the foster pups decided it was time to go outside, have breakfast, and play in the yard... *yawn*... guess who is going to be having a nanna nap on the couch later? T.

I have the black metal crates with metal trays for my foster pups - they have bedding and water in there (they get fed outside) - and a toy or two... my current 4 fosters share - two pups in each large crate... T.

Well - when I was feeding and playing with both of your dogs at Christmas - there were absolutely no signs of any lumps on Jodie's face - and we had lots of kissy cuddles. I'd be going with the most probable diagnosis of an infected follicle or gland - Jodie could have been rooting around under a bush for her ball and spiked herself on something, and it's just got a bit of dirt in it and gotten a bit of an infection... see how it responds to the AB's and cream... ... and you know that Stephen is great at giving the possible worst case scenarios for things that may be simple - Karen or Julie would have most likely given a better diagnosis methinks - they practice (and see) much more than Stephen does nowadays. Just think - if Jodie had a secondary cancer lump that came up in a matter of a couple of days - she would definitely be showing other signs of an underlying bigger problem - especially for a skin mum who is attentive to her babies as you are. Besides - who did the FNA on the lump? They may have gotten it in the wrong spot... has happened before... When you go back for the followup, try to get Karen or Julie to look at Jodie - they will work out what it is pretty quickly I reckon, and put your mind at rest. T.

And this is exactly why many people here will be reluctant to participate in your study... Personally, I would be reluctant to have a DNA swab done on my dogs to be potentially used in another study of which I have no knowledge of the desired outcome. My girls have been brought up to not be overly friendly to strangers when I'm not at home - however, they are totally differently behaved when not on their own territory. How do you measure that? I see the potential for misuse of your results by certain lobby groups to "prove" their points about certain types of dogs. Dogs are also like people when it comes to developing certain behavioural traits - environment plays a MUCH larger part than genetics in how an animal will "turn out"... T.