jacqui835

Bottle or can? We taught Sammy to do that, but unfortunately, he likes beer, so when it's a can he tends to 'accidentally' puncture it and help himself to a sample... Sounds like it's going to be an awesome ad though :)

Yeah and you know they don't have to run health checks beyond that for wild canid breeding programs either. It's just there is a much greater chance of undesirable genes propping up when the animals are closely related, not to mention if they are not being bred to increase their health/well-being/ability to perform normal canine functions (but rather for looks and supposed adherence to standards that as Sandgrubber rightly stated, were written long before we knew anything about genetics). You can pay much more than $1200 for a cavalier and still end up with a sick dog - plenty of people do. There are lots of advantages to purebreds because you do have a much better idea of what you are getting. But when you start inbreeding and breeding for extreme traits and consequently negate the benefits of evolution and sexual reproduction - these are terrible things in nature that most species actively avoid (including our own), you need to fall back on science and spend mega bucks on testing just to try and combat some of the potential consequences.

I never expected to see such a controversial statement on this board. However, you express my views perfectly. And mine. I think it's terrible that so many animals are put to sleep each year but the end justifies the means for me. Dogs will be in a very dire situation the day that we only have the registered breeders producing new dogs, in my mind that is not enough to sustain the species. Nobody here can deny that a lot of breeds are in trouble. You've obviously never worked in a pound/shelter. The end certainly DOES NOT justify the means. Whether registered breeders can sustain a species means nil to the poor dogs that are killed every day. Well we will have to agree to disagree. Like I said, I would love to save every animal and gosh if I could count how many times I've been stung by rescuing bees and wasps from pools sigh... But not at the expense of dogs, they are too important and too vital to humans. If every dog aside from those from registered breeders was desexed tomorrow, it would instantly create a situation that in my opinion, would spell the end of domestic dogs improving and perhaps their very survival - not to mention, I fundamentally disagree with the direction a lot of breeds are heading in.

Yes but how often do true mongrels have trouble whelping? Unless your dog has extreme features which really can only be achieved by pure breeds they can usually mate, carry, deliver and raise perfectly fine on their own. A lot of breeds today can not reproduce without surgical intervention and I for one don't really think that's been an improvement for the dogs... The more "wolf-like" breeds have fewer issues, the more extreme you go the more issues you get eg pugs, bull dogs and dogs that are too small.

I never expected to see such a controversial statement on this board. However, you express my views perfectly. And mine. I think it's terrible that so many animals are put to sleep each year but the end justifies the means for me. Dogs will be in a very dire situation the day that we only have the registered breeders producing new dogs, in my mind that is not enough to sustain the species. Nobody here can deny that a lot of breeds are in trouble.

ETA the comment that what I've said could be damaging to the breed's reputation is just ridiculous. Dobermans can't be used for police work in a lot of countries because they get to cold, plus, the GSD's coat affords it extra protection. But in Australia, out in the sun, the doberman has an advantage because it has the shorter coat. My dobie cross has a much easier time in summer than the GSD's. In winter, it would be the other way around but our summers are much longer than our winters and so the short-coat is better suited.

You what? That seems a vast generalisation. Many coats on dogs have evolved as insulation against heat as well as cold, comments like this seem a little ignorant and potentially damaging to a breed's reputation. Plenty of coated breeds live and work successfully in hot climates without being "disabled". Well woopie dah for your dobie x! Also referring to GSDs as 'those things' is pretty offensive! There are just as many ppl out and abt who don't like dobes! (me not included). My dogs have the english style shepherd coat so no they don't walk at 11am in 35 degree heat, yet neither do I, plain stupid unless you and the dog absolutely have to! As ppl have said dogs evolved in places often quite different to where ppl keep them today, dogs with erect ears that can work, you want to pick on Huskies or Mals next? :rolleyes: I wasn't picking on any dogs. People were trying to say that you had a lot of choice if you wanted a dog with erect ears. I am arguing that I don't feel that's the case. I simply said a GSD wouldn't suit me - where I live heat tolerance is much more important than cold and my dogs sleep inside at night. If I moved to the snow, I would happily own a GSD. They are my second favourite breed of dog. Just right now and where I live, a dog with a short coat is going to be much more comfortable, and better able to accompany me when I exercise on days when the temperature is too hot really for a GSD to be outside, much less exercising. We are a very active family and I would hate to have to leave my dog at home. There are no breeds that I know of that have the working ability of the GSD, erect ears and a short coat. So if I could, I would have cropped my dog's ears - as the founder of the breed intended. Of course I'm happy with my dog anyway, I just think dogs in general (like all wild carnivores) are better with erect ears.

I don't think there are that many choices if you want a dog with erect ears. Lets say you want a dog like a doberman - very fast, very athletic, protective and loving. You could get a GSD but man those things shed and they are disabled in the heat (my dog can continue working for a long time after the GSD's have retired due to increasing temperatures). And we have had a few days recently in the high 30's. Well my dogs are still running around in the backyard, a little quieter and enjoying the water features sure, but the GSD's over the road are passed out on the floor inside next to the air conditioner. So short-coated breeds with erect ears - a basenji? a pharaoh hound? Malinois's have very different temperaments to dobermans and GSD's and again it doesn't suit me. There are much fewer breeds with erect ears than floppy, and many of those breeds are the older ones - the spitz and the basenji, pharaoh hounds etc so I don't accept the comment that we have lots of choice if we want an erect eared dog.

Article was interesting but I couldn't get passed those horrible cropped ears in the photos section. shudder For photos of extreme dogs, I recommend: dogshowpoop.blogspot.com Personally, I'm more grossed out by coiffure than ears that have been tampered with. But then, I'm not into cosmetics and I would never own a long haired dog. I'm with you sandgrubber. The ears are just a one-off procedure - couple of months and the dog has erect ears for a life time that usually don't warrant any further concern. Plus I like the look of erect ears on dobermans and great danes but that's a personal thing. Those coats though - that's a lifetime commitment and I can imagine it would be quite miserable for the dog if not maintained perfectly...

After working 3 jobs at once to save to afford my investment property I think I have every right to say what potential tennants have in MY home. Personally I really like the idea of a pet bond but think it should be more in the vacinity of $1000-$2000 to cover potenital damages. We had a tenant who fell behind in her rent by the time she was evicted (so that used up the bond)and discovered she had 2 large dogs (which being nice - never again) which we said were fine to stay so long as she repaired any damaged done by them. When she moved out the dogs had done almost $2500 worth of damage I think if landlords are forced to accept tenants with animals then perhaps there may be a few less rental properties available. That's hilarious. The person paying the mortgage has every right to be given applications by the property manager and say No, No, No, No...this one looks good - young professional non smoking skippy couple with no children and no animals. Accept it. The more demands that are placed on investment owners, the faster they'll ditch their investment properties and sink their money into something else. Then tenants will really have something to complain about. And then let's see them complain there's nothing available to rent... I've had tenants where just one of the parents earnt more than I did, so I was surprised they didn't purchase their own. I worked hard and saved hard, but it's not impossible. Turns out when I went to do a repair on something, their kids had EVERY toy they ever wanted, the house was PACKED and looked horrid. Each to their own, I just rent it out, I don't dictate how someone should live. I currently rent to a family with 4 kids and an ACD - rent is paid, and PM says property is in good order, though I'm scant to believe that myself as I am yet to find a PM I can trust sufficiently. YES. Panto has one... my friends think it's hilarious, then they sheepishly ask if they can copy it because they would like to move somewhere pet friendly :laugh: That's a total load of BS. It's tenants not prioritising things in the right order - like living a little further away or looking just that bit harder. It's not not being able to find, it's not trying hard enough. Unless it's someone with health issues that needs to be very close to a particular hospital (or other such circumstance), it's not that hard. And if its because they've got a bad credit/rental history, and get knocked back from the pet friendly rentals, then that's the reason, and not because there isn't pet friendly rentals available. This is wrong in my opinion. I work full time in the city and the longer I spend away from my pets the more likely they are to cause problems, and yet the irony is that it's much harder to get a rental close to the city that allows pets. I have no credit history problems, great references for me, my partner and the dog and we earn decent money. But finding a rental was a horrible and very stressful process and I truly hope that we have found somewhere to buy before we next have to move. I don't think people should have to disclose pets or children, but I do think references are extremely important.

Just wondering, what should your dog's ears smell like? My dog's ears have been checked by the vet, and are always deemed very clean and healthy but his are slightly pricked so there's some air flow. That said, they have a distinct, mild odour and this is probably going to sound really gross... but I kind of like it, kind of how I like the smell of his paws. It's not unpleasant at all, but they are definitely not odourless. ETA it is very faint, like you have to have your nose in the ear to be able to smell it, you would certainly never smell it when he was lying next to you or anything.

Are you for real! I'm sorry that my friend didn't have the capacity in a split instance to calcualte the angle and extension of a dogs lead, taking into consideration the length of the owners arm and elasticity of the lead. That's what I do and have had my fair share of dogs lunge at me over the years in that type of situation. The point I am making is that you can't trust people will handle their dogs accordingly and take the initiative myself. It's too late to argue who is right or wrong if perhaps you had a child with you and half his/her face missing? wow, where on earth do you walk that you have been lunged at multiple times while just trying to walk past on lead dogs without a dog yourself. Certainly sounds like a dangerous neighbourhood and one to be avoided at all costs. Nice one, put all the blame on the victim, who did try and avoid the dogs :rolleyes: She may have moved off the footpath but how far from the dog 6 inches? 4 or 5 feet away from a leashed dog and you are pretty safe. I would prefer not to take the chance and give the dog some room is all I am saying, IMHO if you get bitten by a dog on leash you are too close? I have walked out onto the side of the road to avoid small dogs on retractor leads with owners who's dog is all over the place, works for me :D I find this completely unacceptable. If dogs were so dangerous that it was reasonable to expect people to cross the road to avoid them, or in this case, get off the footpath and move to unstable/dangerous terrain (be it rocks or road or whatever) then we shouldn't be allowed to own them. I expect owners to warn me of their dog's intentions, if I need to avoid their dog then they need to warn me because I (and everyone else for that matter) has as much right to walk around the neighbourhood as they do in peace. If someone allows their dog to attack you for nothing more than walking past and giving as much room as you could, then they are completely at fault and to leave anyone on the ground injured especially if you and your 'property' are the cause of the injury is absolutely disgusting. Of course you don't antagonise dogs or people, or ignore warnings, but I truly hope that we never live in a world where it is truly reasonable to expect people to make significant effort to avoid all dogs.

I always have wondered why if they don't allow dogs why they would allow children. Well in practice, they don't, they just can't put it on the ad. The first rental I ever had the owner told me it had come down to who they thought would do less damage, the 2 children under 5, or my trained dog. Rent was $100/wk more than the other half of the semi that wasn't pet friendly, but a gay couple lived there. But the house was in better condition when I moved out, so I got fantastic references from a large real estate agency and now have secured other houses. I had a very hard time finding my first rental, even though we were prepared to pay at the higher end of the market. I can't even begin to imagine what it would be like if money was tight and we couldn't afford $100 more just to keep our dog.

Time for more pics I think :)

Don't worry, a lot of people do the same with my dog, and then half the time give up because he hasn't done it after 10 'sits'. They can learn the difference between people (as Huski was saying too) and if you always follow through with your commands, the dog should learn to listen to you even if to everyone else it appears all but deaf lol.

This. We also use give (give us a toy, bone anything they have that I want to see) and off (off furniture, feet off a person) I say down and off if I want Sammy to get off something, he seems to understand, because I can also say up. If he's lying down, up means sit, if he's sitting it means stand and if he's standing it means jump up on me or a nearby object. Drop means drop whatever he is holding onto the ground, bring it here means bring the item to me and then give means hand it to me, rather than dropping it. Down means lie down, but if he is standing up on something, it means get off it. When I read this I realise I must be one of the worst and most confusing trainers, but fortunately Sammy seems to know what I want... Wait means wait for the next command or release, which is different from stay of course which is a command in itself and it goes on lol. There are plenty of difficulties associated with having clever dogs, but also some awesome advantages :)

Thanks for sharing, that made me laugh :)

Best colours and best breed :)

Omg I've never seen people trying to drag their dogs over it but yeah that would be horrible. I have seen plenty of people begging their dogs to jump and getting the stink eye though lol. The highest I've seen are the same height as the ones we have to jump for our competitions (1m), but I've only seen those at that new park in the Hills region, all the rest seem to be a good deal lower (but then I only know 3 parks with agility equipment, the pooch park at Findon, the one in Panorama and that one in the Hills). But I never really see anyone using them - it's not like I ever have to wait for a turn or anything. Even when the parks are packed, there might be one or 2 people with dogs doing agility exercises but the rest are just doing their thing.

I kinda like the jumps... Means I can practice agility under high distraction (doesn't get much higher than being at a dog park). Why does everyone else not like them? I also taught my dog to weave at one of those parks.

This is going to depend heavily on breed. Toy breeds I think can stay longer with their families, but larger breeds are sometimes ready even before 8 weeks.

Well I have one of those big dogs - he's 45kg+ and when I have him at a the dog park there is only one type of dog I worry about - bull breeds. Any other dog and I can comfort myself with the fact that if everything went pear-shaped as much as it would be a terrible thing for both dogs, my dog would likely come out on top. But imagine owning the dog that you knew would always come last, and in fact could be killed at the first bite? It's a completely different feeling. I used to feel the same way as you, Australian Boxer, because I knew my dog knew how to play with small dogs, and I knew he would never hurt them - he can play with 8 week old kittens and grew up with toy breeds and he knows he needs to be careful. I actually used to tell people in a slightly peeved voice - seriously he won't hurt you or your dogs, or ask them why they came to the dog park when they didn't want their dogs to meet any others. But then I minded my sister's dogs for a weekend whilst they were away - 2 Papillons, and it was a completely different experience. You see these 'large' dogs (nowhere near as big as my Sammy, but still 5-10x the weight of the Papillons) and they are running and jumping around with seemingly very little care for their movements. You can pick my sister's dogs up with one hand - if a Labrador accidentally steps on one, it can be game over, and the lab might not even notice. It takes them hours to eat a chicken neck, when my dog can eat a whole chicken in about 5 minutes - there's dogs and then there's dogs and whilst they might be similar mentally you can't completely ignore the physical differences. I used to be offended when people picked their little dogs up when they saw Sammy, but how could they possibly know that my dog had been socialised with small dogs and animals? And there's just no room for error. So now when I see someone pick up their small dog, I call Sammy's attention so he doesn't even look at them (because picking a dog up always gets attention), and move past quickly. That's the only thing I think I can do that will make them feel positively about the experience. They want their dogs to get to live normal lives and do things that can make dogs happy, like playing with other dogs, but not at the risk of losing their dogs so they're just trying to protect them from accidents that could be disastrous for them.

My dogs do flyball and obedience and I hope to be doing agility in the future- they all are trained to perform without a crate ;) . I do depend on the crates at home when there is something that I consider unsafe because once something is 'done' it can't be undone. They are very polite and generally spend 90% of the day asleep on the bed, or in open crates. The dog that bit the whippersnapper and took off all its bottom incisors was 8 years old and had always been out with them while they did gardening...... They don't know why it suddenly decided after 8 years to try and take a bite but they felt bloody guilty that they didn't put the dog away. Same with the dog that took out the chain saw- he had lived on a building site and had been around lots of loud moving equipment but decided to take out the this particular piece of equipment. I own kelpies that like to help, but if they see a fly they will chase it and not look where they are going.... So for me the risk when I am using the lawn mower/whipper snipper is too great. Crates give me peace of mind. My dogs all snooze while I vacuum because there is no risk of them being hurt- but I wouldn't make the same decision with some random opening up gates on the property, even though they all have gate and door manners. Its just not worth the risk regardless of how well trained they are. Do you walk your dog near a road/motorway for example with a leash? I do- it doesn't mean they pull or behave badly but I don't want a random incident to mean my dogs end up under a car. I think of the crate as the same thing. One of my dogs was a car chaser and now does not even LOOK at cars but that one in particular is crated before I have trades people come in because I am not one to test my training when it risks my dogs life, just as she does not have off lead rights within cooooeeee of a road, even though she has not chased a car in 6 years. (NB car chasing occurred on lead). When there is a safety concern my dogs get crated... when its a training issue my dogs get trained. Also just because they are in a crate doesn't mean you don't do training- my dogs had to be trained not to bark at tradies- they got treats for being calm etc, just like you would have done with your dog. If I don't have a crate in these situations I tether my dog because once again their safety is paramount, and they know a bed on the ground means the same thing as a crate. So often they don't even realise they are tethered lol. Just like they hardly realise the crate door is open or locked. IMO- no ones ideal dog is scared of fireworks....... but sometimes you deal with what you get Thanks this makes a lot of sense. I am seeing that crate training eliminates a lot of risk - and I know what you mean because whilst I have confidence that my dog will walk beside me and stop at roads without me saying anything, I still don't take that risk and I keep him on a lead except for in areas where there are no cars and if there was a car you could see it from miles away and we do that to try and train him road safety (and wouldn't do it if his recall wasn't apparently perfect). But I guess what I really wanted to know was, is it better for the dog? Like obviously if it stops your dog from attacking a lawn mower that's an immeasurable benefit. But say your dog lived for 15 years, was never crated and never attacked any lawn mowers or annoyed tradespeople or left your property when the gates were opened, would they still have been better off had they been crated - just like is having that caged den something that makes a dog happier overall than just having a normal bed etc?

Depends on the dog and the situation. Sammy is great like that in that you don't have to worry about him being too enthusiastic with older or sick people, he just somehow knows. For example, over Christmas, we stayed with my family and everyone came over for lunch. Sammy was a big hit and everyone wanted to hug him. With the younger people, and guys especially, if they patted their laps and asked him to come up he would literally leap on them and it was funny to see. My older great aunt did the same thing, but the dog simply rested his head on her lap, and then with further prompting, gently climbed onto the couch and curled up next to her. I don't know how he works these things out because he's only 2 but I love that he does. With strange people I trust him 100%. I was showing a few people a piece of furniture in our house recently, and I was home alone with Sammy. Everyone got Sammy's usual greeting - one bark as they approach the door, then after I say it's ok, love, but one guy, he had no time for. I said the guy was coming in, so he let him in, but he wouldn't let him pat him, moved his head out of the way and just stared at him intently. The guy proceeded to laugh and tell me that I had a very serious dog - which for anyone who hasn't met Sammy, he is normally described as the happy and full of love dog. Sammy followed the guy closely and I allowed it, because the guy had a tendency to stand uncomfortably close to me. Finally he left, after like 30 minutes, and I am still receiving stalker text messages today - the latest was, "even if you don't accept my offer for the table, I would like to see you again" etc. My last dog - no, he was an idiot.

I don't want to go too far OT but I'm very curious about crating. I'm coming around to the idea of crating for puppies - I already do it to an extent in that I block off where they sleep initially and don't let them have run of the house etc until they're older. But I have to be honest, I have some concerns about crating all adults. I like that my dog is used to all sorts of things happening, from me vacuuming to my partner mowing the lawn to all sorts of people turning up at the door etc. I guess I worry that if I put a dog in a crate any time I want to focus on another activity or have people working on the house, well you would be very crate dependent and for coping strategies, well your dog would have crate and that's about it. I mean we had to do (and continue to do) a lot of training, but the result is "good guys" can easily come and deliver packages and not even get barked at. If we need we can have him stay on a blanket or towel or whatever for hours if we want him out of the way when we have guests etc. He doesn't go anywhere near the lawn mower, but he might be outside at the same time as it's going on, just chewing on a toy and keeping out the way kind of thing. I think I might be horribly confused, because I realise that some amazing dog trainers swear by crating, but in my mind, it still feels like something to train if you don't want to or can't train everything else. And I don't think my dog ever gets scared or feels overwhelmed by people or loud noises or storms etc (even on NYE in Sydney he didn't show an iota of interest towards the fireworks going off all around us) but I guess if I had a dog who did react poorly to those sorts of things I would need to provide them with a safe den to hide in - but then I have to be honest again, that wouldn't be my ideal sort of dog... I am not meaning to insult anyone who does crate train (and I hope I haven't), because I know people want different dogs for all sorts of different reasons but would people say there are ever advantages to not crating adult dogs - if of course you wanted a particular type of dog and service from your dog? And of course we only have 2 dogs - I'm sure if I had a pack well that would obviously factor into it too... And yeah SecretKei - most of the Mal's I know at our training club need to be crated even as adults - they are just too reactive and waayyy too "on". We have one who is at international competition level, and whilst with his handler he is something else, he is not a dog that can just be left to his own devices. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I definitely see a place for crates, but do the people who are knowledgeable about crate training think that they can ever get better results by not crating - or is it a your dog will always be better with crating no matter what type strategy?