megan_

OT, but another safe "fetch" toy for larger dogs is the Ring Zinger or Kong Ring Toss (the former I got from PetStock, the latter from clickertraining.com/store). They are large donut shaped toys so the risk of choking would be greatly reduced.

Can you please put this under the abuse thread, many of us don't like to see headlines about abuse.

oops. ....I realised after I posted (in response to someone else) that I hadn't read the link. My bad

my mini schnauzer knows how to kill a rat in a few seconds - she has done this twice. She doesn't shake her toys. My boy shakes his toys, kills his tug etc, but has never killed a rat? I don't think he'd know what to do with one if he caught it.

for agility, the team is you and your dog though. I love agility because it is great for building that bond between you and your dog - both of you succeed and fail together. IF you mess up, so do they and vice versa.

Or they can just break a window or crowbar a door off its hinges. Locked doors only stop honest people. Most thieves will avoid a house with a dog though. If you lock your gates and have a security system, a big dog door shouldnt be a problem IMO. Theives broke into my house and I have a teeny dog door (mini schnauzer size). They must have sent a child in. I have locks etc and my guys are very good watch dogs - they have scared delivery men off! The police said that some theives specifically target houses with dogs because that = dog door. That said, the OP has a RR so that might stop them in their tracks. I wonder if insurance will cover you if you have a large dog door? They covered me for mine, but I suspect that it could be a good outclause for them.

I always physically separate mine when eating bones - this is where the crates come in. I don't even feed them under supervision because a fight can happen in a millisecond and you being there to watch it doesn't really do much. It is worth remembering that some of the people on DOL who feed dogs together are very experienced owners who can read their dogs very well - most dog owners can't do this (I include myself in this category). A friend of a friend had a staffy and ACD that had lived together for 8 years and had bones every day in the backyard with no incidence. Until recently that is - the ACD is now dead. Not worth the risk IMO.

personally, I would focus on the need to find an ethical breeder and not focus on the whole "purebreed vs crossbreed" thing because if people have preconceptions about snobbery then this just cements it. I have never heard of an ethical cross-breeder in my travels, so this would rule them out. I'd also ask questions about what they want in a dog and use this info to come up with a list of breeds.

A lot of serious obedience dogs have problems working on both sides though when they start agility. Something to factor in to it. My dogs have great stays, focus, drive etc and we only do a few minutes of obedience a day and don't attend formal classes. Personally, I find formal obedience classes that go for an hour very boring :rolleyes: . To the OP - there is a free shipping DVD at cleanrun at the moment called the Sporting Puppy (or something like that) that is apparently very good. You can - and should - work on focus and handling skills now. Too many people focus on the obstacles but in my very limited experience, that's the easy part which most dogs get pretty quickly. The focus and control is another thing though... Unfortunately. many clubs make you go through a lot of obedience levels before you are allowed to start agility and don't let you just pass a "suitable focus and control" type test as a pre-cursor.

Don't feed her as the vet might want to take a blood test.

ahh, the old North of River, South of River divide! If I had a gundog I'd love to do some hunting training with them (where they get to do their thing). Does your boy naturally point to things? In Vic there are kennels that actually do hunting training - I'm sure there must be something in Perth? I'd contact your breeder.

If you buy human grade (ie pet stuff that comes from a butcher) it can gete expensive. I won't buy stuff from pet supply stores that don't have the same standards as human grade food (eg hyatid (sp) inspections). My girl doesn't do very well on raw so they only get it occassionally. IU have never fed them straight meat, it is the bone that seems to upset her tummy the most. They are fed a kibble that is free of artificial colours, flavours and preservatives. Their #'s are small and not smelly. The added advantage of the kibble is that they can use one of their many puzzle toys. .

can poodle x's come?

I would think it would get very hot. How much fresh air does it get in? Also, the dog would be forced to crouch down the whole ride.

I take them when I'm going alone. I don't take Lucy with other people due to her fear aggression. She is very unpredictable and after she charged at my nephew last time she remained crated for the rest of the holiday (which got cut short) and walked every 2 hours. Never again, it isn't relaxing for anyone! So she'll be boarded on the next family holiday and Fergs will come along. I ion't take them when I go to Perth to visit my family there (which only happens every few years) as my father finds closing the front door "restrictive". Not worth the risk of a lost dog in Perth, where microchipping isn't mandatory and a lot of places don't check for chips... So they stay nice and safe in the kennels where they get at least 3 plays per day and a private training lesson from Erny.

Maybe remove the "say". Just a quick "sit, free" and then increase the time between the two?

could be protective, could be inappropriate reaction due to lack of socialisation, many dogs growl out of fear and owners mistake that for protection... Regards to the whole socialisation of dominant breeds, it isn't just training that you need to put into it, you need to have a serious think about whether you have the nerves to deal with one. Puppies go through periods of finding boundaries. This can include growling at you (or your family) and even nipping. If you have a large, powerful breed this can be very unnerving. You need to think about whether you are prepared to enforce every single rule, every single minute of every single day. Personally, I'd drop the idea of the whole "dog to protect me" thing. Most dogs won't go in to bat for their owner if there is real trouble - don't confuse their barking with protecting you! The best guard dog that I have ever met is my mini schnauzer - and she is under 10kg. She can put on such a show that delivery men have run down my driveway in fear (and she is secure behind two gates). Go for a dog that you like living with, because you're going to have it for the next 10 - 15 years anyway. In practical terms, given your age, it would be a lot easier for you to find rentals etc in the future if you have a small-medium dog.

Very small backyard (decking only) with two small dogs (mini schnauzer and mini schnauzer cross). I walk them twice a day and do agility on the weekend. In addition to this, my boy goes with a dog walker off leash three times a week with his "friends". I also walk him off leash almost every night. This includes training and playing fetch. My girl goes with a dog walker once a week on leash. She has fear aggression issues and even though she has a fantastic recall, I can't let her off leash in public due to her unpredictability. I take her to KCC's fenced off leash area once a week for a good run. I do a few minutes of clicker training with each of them most nights. While I think they get enough - I feel tired just reading the description above - I would love to have a garden so that Lucy could get more free running time. She isn't particularly athletic, but she does her zoomies in the house (floorboards, not good for the joints) - I'd love to see her running in her garden! Thsi yeaer I'm going to seriously investigate my options to see if I can purchase a liveable house not too far from where I am with a nice, big garden. We stayed at a holiday house recently taht had a nice sized yard and they were both much more active during the day. That said, one of the benefits of a teeny yard is that you are forced to get out of bed to walk the dog each day, rather than fooling yourself that they're getting enough mental and physical exercise running around the yard on their own.

I don't understand why people say they're not for first time owners? The beagles I have met are happy, sociable dogs. Great with other dogs and people without too much effort put into their socialisation (obviously they need it, but unlike the terriorists for example, they tend to be really easy to socialise. There are two regular beagles at our park, including Fergus' BFF Toby the Beagle. They both have a great recall and play nicely with all sorts of dogs. They are well known and loved by everyone at the park. They also have great recalls and while their owners have done some work to achieve this, it is no more than what I've done with my dogs. Given that newbies often make mistakes with socialisation, I would think they would be a great, hardy, happy little dog for a first time owner. Obviously, locked in the backyard they are very destructive, but I think most breeds would be? The howl would be the only off-putting thing for me. Aren't they known as the Merry Hound?

Interesting that the dog ownership rate looks to be less than Australia? Only 1/5 of households in Finland have a dog? I think I read somewhere that 1/2 of Australian households have a dog. This might be (part of) the key to the reason why dogs are treated so well - people only get dogs because they really want them? Might be a bit contraversial for this forum but I think dog ownership rates in Australia are too high. I know soooo many people who have bought dogs "for the kids". Holidays end, dog gets big, locked out in the backyard before it is given "free to good home" because "we don't have time for the dog". If people only got a dog after some serious thought, planning etc and because they wanted a dog, then abandonment rates would go down IMO.

yip - I've just got two 3kg bags delivered.

West St Kilda is good if you go early in the morning (before 7am). Big beach and not crowded off peak. I used to go to Brighton Beach early in the morning so that my girl could play in peace - she reacts to dogs that get in her face too. That was until a guy started taking his out-of-control GSD down there at the same time. When I asked him to call it he laughed at me said "he won't eat your little dogs". Pig. I find West St Kilda much more civilised and less popular. East of the peir is on-leash, but there are a lot of people who let their dogs off leash. Again, if you go early in the morning you should be okay.

Does anyone know the number for the vet clinic? I can only find uni media numbers....

and if you decide to return him. don't let anyone try to guilt you into keeping him. IMO, the mark of a good rescuer or breeder is one that will take back the dog when things don't work out.

i) You can get a good strong leash and collar from k9Pro.com.au for a reasonalbe price. Whatever you do, don't get those plastic clip collars - even my mini schnauzer can break those. Secondly, I'd get professional help. Sure you should contact the rescue group, but very few that I know actually have a trained professional working for them? If you're in NSW contact Steve from K9Pro. It costs nothing to make a call! Once you've spoken to Steve, you can decide what you want to do next - return the dog (might hurt a little) or commit to putting in some money, time and effort into resolving these issues (might be easy, might be hard, but it would be irresponsible IMO to keep the dog and then not put the effort in). Thirdly, in the interim, you need to manage the situation conservatively. No walks until you get that strong leash. You can do trick training, throwing the ball in the yard in the interim.