Odin-Genie

I wash my dogs' towels and blankets in the washing machine with liquid Surf with a warm wash setting. The blankets are line dried, the towels go in the drier.

My elkhound also goes nuts over other spitz breeds. Every time a husky gets to the park, he is desperate to play with the dog. Though he does play very well with a staffy x. My goldy only plays with my elkhound, or smaller dogs. She is quite timid and doesn't much care for other dogs. Her favourite play time is when there are no other strange dogs in the dog park, and she can do zoomies, chase Odin!!!

This might sound paranoid, but couldn't putting a sticker with the number of dogs inside encourage cranky neighbours to complain about your dogs every time a dog barks in the vicinity? Or for teenagers with nothing better to do to try and let the dogs out?

Do desexed dogs need less nourishment? I haven't heard that before.

Advantix every fortnight. Yearly heartworm shots. Worming tablets every quarter. I live in a high tick area next to the bush.

My dogs get the Anchovy holistic in the morning and Ian B's barf patties in the evening. That seems to be working really well.

Mine walk anywhere they please as long as there is no pulling. However, my preference is to have them either on my side or in front of me so that I can see what they are doing at all times. I usually get off the sidewalk into the grassy area if anyone is coming (with or without dog) and wait till they are gone.

A dog that does not react. A dog that is able to ignore inapproproate / unwelcome approaches by other dogs / humans; ignores hyperactive / over enthusiastic dogs bounding over to 'play'. A dog that treats all aberrations of other dog behaviour (and human) as a tolerable part of the norm. I would qualify that with "a dog that does not react 'easily'". Most well behaved dogs I know would ignore inappropriate behaviour the first time, but if it goes on, they would tell the other dog off. That is not necessarily aggressive or anti-social.

Same here. To me not only my dogs are family but my sister's dog as well, or my dog's littermate who is with my sister's BL. They are included in all dinner/family invitations. Sometimes the dogs have sleepovers.

Same here. My elkhound wouldn't even step out in the backyard when the grass is wet Also his coat takes ages to dry.

I have an elkhound (spitz) who sheds a lot and a goldy who also sheds a lot. However, it is much easier to manage my elkhound's shedding since when he is brushed, the hair gets collected in tiny bundles. With the goldy, the hair flies everywhere!!!!!

I would not want my dogs to protect me, or show any aggression whatsoever towards burglars. I would prefer that they quietly go outside and not bother the burglar. At least they would be safe that way. It is my responsibility to protect my dogs, not vice versa. I have a back to base alarm system for burglars. I wouldn't mind them cooking my dinner though

Try and teach a dog maths and we'll see :p Human are mostly rules by emotions. Dogs aren't. No, dogs are ruled by instincts. Try and teach a 3 year old child and a dog the same set of skills and see who gets it faster.

Ok, I don't agree that dogs only like people because they see them as a meal ticket. Perhaps when they're in a bad environment they would feel that way. Your comment about it getting something out of the deal is exactly my point, most humans have an alterior motive, animals don't. They don't, because they aren't *capable* of it. Humans can choose to be 'good' or 'bad' and so that is why our choices can be judged. Dogs are intelligent, but aren't capable of moral choices, and so it doesn't make sense to admire them for their complete inability to do so. Exactly. Animals are honest because they don't have the ability to be dishonest. All creativity is make believe. All science is questioning. Human beings have the ability to go beyond the simplicity of animal existence. What they do with that ability defines their ethical standing. I am crazy about my dogs, but I wouldn't think they are more intelligent. They are perhaps more perceptive, since it is likely we have lost some of our instinctive abilities through disuse.

Or do the sorts of people who let their entire male dogs get into dust ups in dog parks have no bloody idea about managing dogs? I'd not judge every entire male dog based on the sorts of behaviours you see in a dog park anymore than I'd judge a breed by the same standard. My entire male dog has never had a fight in his life. He regularly runs with other entire males owned by responsible dog owners. It's the breed/temperament/management mix that needs to be considered as a whole. Some entire males will challenge others.. but not all. ETA: There are 9 entire male dogs in this photo.. and not a grumble out of any of them towards one another That's a valid point poodlefan (and a great photo too). However, perhaps that does indicate that entire dogs are not for everyone. The average dog owner would be better off with desexed dogs.

I can only see the difference in my female goldy. My male looks the same as other undesexed showdogs. However, I must say that I like my goldy's lean and tall look better than the normal stocky look.

My elkhound and his litter brother both have lovely temperaments but radically different personalities.

How difficult are Akitas to train, compared to other spitz breeds?

My male elkhound was desexed at 6 months (medium breed), so was my female goldy. My goldy does look taller and leaner compared to other goldies, but there is no discernible difference in my male dog compared to other elkies. I do have a question about entire male dogs though. Every single entire male dog I have seen in dog parks ends up getting into fights with other males. Particularly if there are two entire male dogs around. Do entire males bring out aggressiveness in other male dogs? Do they tend to be more aggressive towards other males, including other entire male dogs? Would anyone here leave two entire male dogs unsupervised for a whole day if they know each other very well?

Not so lucky. I wish I could. My dogs could quietly sit in my office. But I work in a multistoried corporate building. Don't see that happening very soon.

Hi, can I ask which dog park this happened at - I live in Sydney's north and want to avoid this one. This is the Thornleigh dog park on Dawson Avenue, behind Woolworths. It's a comparatively new dog park. Very clean, well maintained and usually not very busy. Which is why I initially started taking my dogs there. Now, if I see anyone with two greys, I'll leave.

Dogmad, I go to this dogpark once in a while and it's usually quite empty. However, after seeing the notice on the gates about this incident, I'm a bit vary.

suit on You would not catch me dead at a dog park with any of my kids. That said, I have been in a situation at a dog obedience club where my 2 Salukis, a friend's 2 Salukis, and 2 Afghan Hounds were running together in the back paddock. Someone with a Cav rocked up and calmly entered the gate and was about to let their dog off when I and the other woman ran towards her with waving arms yelling NO NO NO. If we hadn't spotted her entering it could have been a disaster. And we only spotted her entering because nothing else was going on at the time. I can see how someone might get in the gate, be naive enough to think that any dog in a dog park is OK, and wind up in trouble. And I can see why the guys owning the greyhounds would have thought the person owning the small dog was nuts to let their dog off in a park with two unmuzzled greys. FWIW, muzzling solves some problems but not others - a powerful sighthound can still soccer a small dog into a serious injury even if muzzled. I think it is the responsibility of a person entering any space with their dogs to check that it is OK for their dog. But there have been a few arguments on DOL recently about where the buck stops, and from my perspective, it stops with me. I would no more release a small dog into a park with running greys than I would fly to the moon. OTOH, I would no more take my dogs to a dog park than fly to the moon either. I suppose I'm just saying I can see why this clusterf*** occurred and it's a good example of why ultimately I agree with you, that dog parks are dangerous. If I had a dog who was DA or had a high prey drive and was likely to harm other dogs, I would take him to dogparks only when no one was there and then position myself at the gates (with OH near the other gate) to ensure we can grab our dogs before any other dogs come in. I do this anyway when I take my dogs to the dogpark when it's dark in winters to ensure no strange dogs come in. If anyone comes in we ask them to wait while we put our dogs on lead and take them out. As a public place, I don't think each person should have to check with others before coming in. We might do that for the dafety of our dogs, but the responsibility should rest with the possibly aggressive dogs' owners.

I wash my dogs in the bath. My spare bathroom has more doggy shampoos, conditioners, detanglers and deodorants than human ones

Harnessed and buckled with the seat belt on the back seat. I have a wagon, but my dogs ride in the boot only when we have extra people in the car. I also have a car seat protector to ensure the car seats don't turn furry