Dory the Doted One

How do you guys socialize your dogs?

Wow. (Although the 'just a dog' comment wasn't really well thought out, was it?)

As far as Victoria goes, this is what they use to determine whether or not you own a Pitbull Type Breed. Standard for Restricted Breed Dogs in Victoria

Funny on a multiple of levels. lol

All our animals are part of our family and we try to accomodate them as much as possible. Dory comes nearly everywhere with me...however...over recent times that has changed and we've all had to put our Big Girl Pants on about it. :laugh: Status can be a bit fluid around here, depending on the circumstances. Meaning we weigh up who needs what most urgently. If someone needs something urgently and another someone's need not so great...guess what? I love my pets dearly. But the fact is they can't give me what human interaction can. sometimes I actually WANT someone's opinion. Not something I can get from a pet. Sometimes I want a verbal display of understanding, commiseration, celebration etc. Things a pet can not really give very effectively. Dory could care less about me and my emotional well being, unless it means she might have to dip out of food, pats, walks and tummy rubs. :D Yes. At least I know her intentions are very clear and honest...but her affection is also clearly a self interested one.

Unless the dogs were signed over to the RSPCA. Which 'might' have been offered to them in exchange for not automatically prosecuting. You know...sign over the dogs and we'll give you a chance to clean up...type of deal. Who really knows?

Wouldn't it defeat the purpose to have the animals names withheld in the case of providing hereditary disease status from the public? On the one hand we tell people to research, and then on the other hand we are keeping valuable information from them. I really enjoyed cruising through the OFA website and how it nicely listed related animals to the one you were searching for. Nice seeing the overall trends in results. I would think that access that information would also help breeders make more informed decisions about breeding pairs as well.

After just a very quick search I've found that the GSDCA allow public access to Hip and Elbow statistics. The NRCA (National Rottweiler Council), does not. Unless you are a member, which means also being a member of a State Club before you can be a member of the NRCA. What if you don't want to be a member, yet you want to make sure that the hip and elbow status of a particular breeding combination will result in a reduced risk of the conditions? I haven't checked other breeds, but I do wonder why public access is limited. Especially as OFA seems to allow us to have a good look at various stats. Seems a shame that even if you wanted to look and research, you can't unless you want to hassle the pants off your breeder and then just how much info would they give you anyway? Obviously if they care...a lot. Anyway...just a random question on a boring Saturday morning.

"Askit" As in, Ask It. What's your dogs name? "Askit". It wasn't mine, but I've never forgotten.

Hi Paddles, Good job!! You gave it a go, which is more than a lot of people. :) One thing I was curious about...are you more energetic when training? Do you give a lot more subtle (or even not so subtle) body signals when training? It's almost like you lost communication with each other. I don't know if you had sound on the video...I haven't got speakers on this computer. I still think well done, and you are only going to get better and better!

Must admit it is a bit of a challenge to know what the going rate for a new puppy of a particular breed is, when asking is considered a lethal question. One likely to get you canned. When it could be 10yrs between dogs, it can be a real rude shock to see how much the price has jumped if you weren't expecting it.

I've never had a pyo, had 1 mammary cancer in a bitch whose mother also developed them. We removed my bitches lump, it was only pea sized but I wanted it gone and thank god I did! (she was 4yrs when we found it)I checked her weekly and she died at the age of 11yrs for a non related issue. She was a Rottweiler. I don't think you see a true picture of the problem in a Vet Clinic. Remember in a Vet Clinic we tend to see them when they are sick. I've seen plenty enough bitches who have not been desexed live long happy event free lives. That all said. If you're not going to breed then desexing would certainly be something I recommend. As to what age? I'm still in two minds about that. I'm inclined to want my dogs to reach maturity before doing it. But as I currently have an already desexed, rescue dog...well...I haven't been in the position to have to make the decision.

Thanks Perse...these are things she loves.

I was under the impression that you needed to feed offal to get a better balance of the essential vitamins and minerals that they need. Most of the texts I've read have indicated that you should feed offal or supplement if not. Dory's an 'if not'. (Mind you, most of those texts are also pushing some of their own brands of supplement. )

I was wondering what supplements anyone would recommend for a non-offal eating, PITA. Dory will not touch the stuff, no way, no how. Try disguising it in things she does like to eat...nope...not having any of that thanks. (Not even heart!...minced up all nice and fine). And there is no way I'm cooking the stuff. Last time I cooked kidney it took weeks to get the pong out of the house. So what supplements to people use? And the best place to get them. Thanks!

Dory does. Brings smiles to our faces.

After being very slack for so long.... 1. START. 2. Find a club I like. (Positive training, some what socialable) 3. Relearn everything I thought I knew. 4. Train.

Really?? Awesome generalisation there! How so?I've no wish to deny any family the joys of having a dog, but it is not cheap. And if your beloved pet gets ill, vet care is very expensive. On a purely financial note it is a better investment to secure healthy pup from a quality breeder. The suggestion that they won't care for it properly and will dump it, might have been the 'awesome generalization', that was in contention. I must admit. I found it offensive. But that's my tough bickies. Right?

There seemed to be a lot of really awful feet and pasterns. It's great seeing dogs from other countries and noting the small little differences in grooming, presentation and conformation. I know it's only a tiny snapshot and not a great overall picture, but still interesting.

I would love to have the skill to do something like this for Dory. Cos that's how we feel about her. She is awesome, even when naughty. (Which is rare).

GSD get more dog people friends, the hair just won't matter! ;)

Just hair on everything and poo pickup. They are the only things that stick out or bug me from time to time. Hmmmm...except maybe spontaneous shopping trips. Bit hard to do that without planning when you have a Dory in your life.

Hi CHA...I can't speak for anyone else that is protesting. For me, there are a whole list of reasons why I oppose this proposal. It may never be presented for consideration...I hope not! But that doesn't stop me from wanting to take a stand against something that doesn't address the mulitude of reasons that aggressive dogs exist. The money could be better spent elsewhere (education for a start...implementing current legislation as a second). Hopefully someone else can come and present their reasons more succinctly than I can. This is just one of my reasons, I have loads of others!

Dory...steals the cat food, steals the cat poo, nudges for pats at inappropriate moments (3rd degree burns anyone?), bullies the cats away from the rubbish bin, empty food bags, full unopened food bags or anything she deems to be 'hers' (this also includes me). She licks her bum, she scoots her bum (wormed, check. anal glands, check...conclusion...itchy bum or she just likes it). Barks and growls at the neigbours routine, which they routinely do at the routine moments. (can set a clock to them, but to Dory it all seems to come as a startling surprise. *sigh*) She needs to be chained into the car so that when I quickly dash in for a coffee I don't turn around in the shop to see her standing behind me....or whizzing down the road looking for me. (Her clever car opening door trick IS very handy for those idiotic moments when you locked the keys in the car...provided you locked her in there too). She nags for pats and cuddles, will randomly jump in your lap, especially if the cats look like they might get there first. Will roll around all over you in a paroxym of joy, roughly around dinner time, as if you are the best thing ever and she just can't seem to get enough of you. Kamikaze Kisses. She gets you when you least expect and is gone before you knew what hit you. All these things also have their less annoying element. Largely that they make up who she is, and we wouldn't really change that much about her. :)

A dollop of Dory. (She's not a 'breed', but I loves her). A Rabble of Rotties. A Mischief of Minpins.