jacqui835

I agree 100% with everything you say except for the part about mandatory desexing. There are too many dogs being put to sleep every year, and don't think I'm not aware of it. That said, I have never had a desexed dog, I have never had a dog breed and I would hate for desexing to become mandatory. I believe there are valid excuses for not desexing your pet, and whilst there are several documents on this topic, one that I think sums it up quite well (if anyone is interested) is http://users.lavalink.com.au/theos/Spay-neuter.htm Broadly speaking, it provides an introduction to the immense amount of conflicting information out there regarding desexing and basically concludes that if you feel the need to desex your pet, you should at least wait until they are at least a year old as that minimises some of the potential negative side-effects of the procedure whilst not altering the potential positive effects. That said, I still tell just about everyone I meet to desex their dogs, because I know too many will be tempted to breed them or not stringent enough to prevent accidental matings. But I would never support the notion that it should be mandatory. Financial incentives are fine, but whilst the jury is still out, we should not be forced to do something that I believe would be to the detriment of the animal.

I would focus not so much on the possible health disasters - because although they can happen, that is not what would stop me because it's not like it's a bulldog etc, odds are the breeding and birthing will be the easy part. Instead, I would ensure that she is aware of just how many dogs die every year in our pounds, and make sure she understands that these are not bad dogs, all mixed breeds or even all old. Not that I think some dogs deserve to live more than others but just in case she tries to argue that the people down at the park are desperate for her purebred puppies - if they were super keen on the breed, they'd be making the effort to get quality ones from breeders after all. Show pictures, get the figures for the pounds. Ask her what she thinks makes her dog special enough to be bred, when that puts the lives of so many at risk. First there is the mother, then all of her puppies. Then what if, thinking it was so easy for your friend to sell the puppies and make money (given there aren't many around), the people who buy the puppies decide they think they should breed their dogs? Ask her could she really take the puppies back if the new owners couldn't handle them, or if they weren't providing the right sorts of homes. This is not an easy breed. I love my boy so much that that alone prevents me from breeding him. I couldn't bare to think of his offspring or relatives not leading the wonderful lives they would deserve in my opinion. And I have had some pretty impressive stud offers. I was able to prevent a close family friend of my own from breeding her dogs through these arguments - 2 months ago she owned an entire male and female, now she owns 2 desexed dogs. Perseverance is key, make sure she realises this is a very serious matter and not to be undertaken lightly. Good luck, at the end of the day you may not be able to change anything, and you don't need to feel guilty about that - at least you're trying

I have a large entire male, and whilst he doesn't do it often, I don't allow it under any circumstances because some dogs and some owners react poorly to it (and fair enough lol). It's unnecessary too, and I think once he got over about 8 months old, he realised that actively seeking to dominate other dogs for longer than like a few seconds really won't be tolerated. He has pinned other dogs down, and whilst he never takes it any further than that, it makes some owners very uncomfortable (even though the 'victim' nearly always returns for more) so now no humping and no pinning. That said, he has the very occasional go at it with his bed, and we just turn a blind eye. Dealing with urges is one thing, excessive displays of dominance on strange dogs is a totally different ball game. ETA: the only time now actually that he shows any interest in humping other dogs (except for bitches in season) is when other dogs have grouped together to hump one poor individual. Typically he won't actually mount the dog, but starts dry humping and I interrupt that and put him in time out.

My dog eats raw bones all the time. Sometimes, when he's eaten I guess you might refer to them as load-bearing bones, he throws them up afterward. Other times though, it all passes through and you can't tell when it comes out the other end. I think it just depends on how thoroughly he chews it. If it can't fit through, it comes back up the way it went in ;)

The intention of a prong collar is not to hurt a dog, and if used correctly, they don't. They simply ensure that you are able to keep your dog's attention even around distractions and help you to teach your dog that when you give an order, you will ensure it is carried out (and have the means to do so). Some dogs have high prey drives, low focus, high dominance whatever, and to be able to safely walk them down the street even, some people will require a tool to prevent their dog from tuning them out and disregarding instructions. If you consider the worst case scenarios from misuse of a training tool, prong collars imo would be one of the less dangerous ones when compared to check chains and haltis...

Well, 10 breeds that realistically I would like to own... there aren't 10. Dobermans dobermans and dobermans. But if I had to pick a couple of others, German Shepherd (almost as good as a dobe but smell and shed more) Italian Greyhound (a very attractive pooch in such a convenient package) Hovawart Golden Retriever (because they're just beautiful and such a dog dog) Australian Shepherd (because I've always kind of being interested in owning a dog for agility and I know they're not the best but they're the best looking imo and a good temperament match for me) That's probably it :s Since I don't really want anymore than just the one dog at a time though, perhaps 2 at most if I have to spend too many hours away, it's probably unlikely that I'll ever own anything other than a doberman... Can't think of any others right now :s

Well today a family friend of a friend (who for simplicity I will call Sally for now) was on the verge of buying a chihuahua cross puppy from the pet shop. I do not know her that well, but according to my friend, she has entertained the idea of getting a puppy for a while, and has had a chihuahua several years ago and is keen for another. I managed to convince her that she would be better off going to a breeder for several reasons, she had no idea about puppy farms (and was very upset at the idea) and right at that moment the puppy happened to fall asleep in its own faeces - which I assured her was very unnatural. She at first said she was worried puppies from a breeder would be too expensive, but whilst I am not sure what the going rates for chihuahua puppies are, I was fairly confident it couldn't be more than the $1800 they were asking for the xbreed in the petshop so at this stage she has agreed to let me look into finding the right dog for her. I have a few questions though because I have only ever had big dogs and I just don't know anything about the little guys. Before I go on though, I get the feeling that when I tell you more about what she's looking for in a dog, a lot of people are going to say that this woman shouldn't have one, and to be honest, I agree that she's far from an ideal owner. That said, she has her heart set on it and I think I'm better off trying to help her do a better job of it, rather than leaving her to just buy the next small dog she sees in a petshop :s The lady in the petshop told us that toy breeds were easier to toilet train that larger dogs as they mature faster - is this true? Sally works full-time and this was a big selling point for her. I said I doubted it was the case, and that if that was a big concern, rescuing an older dog might be the solution. She was reluctant though and seems to want to believe the pet shop lady, so I said I would check with you guys. She said if she could rescue a puppy or younger dog, she would consider it. How common are toy breeds in shelters - and young ones in particular? She claims her last chihuahua did not need to go for walks, she did take it for some, but that it didn't mind either way. Do they really not require daily exercise? She did also say though that she was trying to get fitter and went for a 4km walk at least a few times a week. She would want the dog to accompany her and her partner on this walk. (She's not very fit, it would not be a jog, just a walk.) She loves chihuahuas but also loves a lot of other toy breeds. Pomeranians were one other breed she mentioned, I'm trying to remember the others but can't think of them right now. She owns a cat that she adores and wants one that will get along with him - are any toy breeds better in that regard? This dog would not receive any formal training, so I'm thinking that perhaps a less intelligent breed might be a better idea since it would be less likely to get up to mischief? Not sure if I'm right about that though. Certainly a less dominant one, because she admitted that she would not feel comfortable disciplining the dog and she's not a pack leader type of person. The woman is loaded, and the dog would be unlikely to want for anything (so long as it wasn't wanting to compete in obedience trials etc). She'd feed it the best, all vet bills covered etc. For the Cesar Millan viewers, she would be one of those owners who mainly gives affection affection affection which I know is never great, but are there any breeds that are less likely to react poorly to this? I'm scared to post this thread because I worry it will upset some people, but in all my years of loving dogs, the toy sector has been terribly neglected and I would be very grateful for any advice or suggestions.

I wish my dog would settle for just sniffing the bums of the cats But no. He digs up their faeces in the backyard (as they bury it) even when they do it in the large potplants - he always finds it, and tries to eat it.

Ugh double post - thanks to poochy himself resting his head on the keyboard lol

Next to nothing she says, whacking them too hard against cupboards in the kitchen seems to be a common one. Wrong height I guess. My dobe broke his tail when he was little, vet told us there was nothing he could do, so my dog just has a kinky tail now - they're just not very sturdy tails, and it has proven impossible to teach them when to wag lol and to control the force with which they do. My dobe can leave marks on people's legs! She brings them to the park because as boxers, they still need a lot of exercise every day. Once she had one with a broken nail, and after 1-2 days of no exercise it was a different dog and not for the better. A walk around the block on a lead doesn't come close to cutting it... EDIT: btw we have no idea how our dog broke his tail, didn't see it happen, just he was crying when we came home one day. The noises it makes when it hits the walls etc though make me think it was something along those lines.

Gosh if only we were allowed to take this approach. There are always at least 2 sides to every story - desexing in male dogs will eliminate the risk of testicular cancer but will also statistically increase their risk of bone cancer. Additionally, their fur doesn't seem to be quite as nice or glossy - it tends to get a fluffy/frizziness to it and larger dogs tend to look long and undeveloped when desexed early. This is just in my experience though. It doesn't always happen to every dog, as I do know one GSD who was desexed early due to possessive aggressive attitudes with other males (which the desexing didn't fix btw) and he is the best looking shepherd I know. That said, mentally, the owner doesn't believe he has matured properly - and regrets her decision. I really noticed a transition from child to teenager to adult, and I do wonder if the owners of desexed dogs notice that too - or to the same extent. But I wouldn't know because I have never had a desexed dog. Cropping the ears on my dog will enable him to hear better and reduce the incidence of ear infections, but people have decided that's unnecessary surgery, and I am no longer allowed to make that choice. Or the poor boxer breeder lady I always see down at the park, and almost always one of her boxers has a broken, bleeding tail, but after 20+ years with the breed, she is not allowed to have their tails docked as everyone else has decided it's a cruel procedure. To the OP though, I do not desex my male dogs, the health benefits are imo outweighed by the detrimental effects both physically and mentally. I am able to put a lot of effort into training them, and have not had any serious behavioural issues that training alone could not at least greatly reduce. He plays with other entire male dogs, and the one time some idiot brought a female in heat down to the park, I was able to keep him sitting and calm on a lead. Once we were on the other side of the park, he ignored it. But many of the dogs didn't, and ended up nearly killing themselves by running up onto the road where the bitch had just left. So I guess if you do not have the time or inclination to do training and obedience work, desexing can make it easier, but otherwise, imo, that's an unnecessary surgery.

My dog did the same thing. A wagging tail shows only a level of excitement. When your dog sees the visitors, does he put his ears right back and put on a super cute face? My dog did the same, and we realised it was just when people gave him attention, he was worried about what they would do to him, so he needed to be as submissive as possible. The more attention they gave him, the worse he would get. At first everyone was like, oh he's just so excited and so happy to see us, but if you watch the dog really closely, you can see that they are responding to a potentially threatening situation. New people entering pack territory is a scary concept for a young pup who hasn't been with his family for too long. I know it doesn't seem like it, but ignoring the dog is actually the kinder thing to do until they settle down and realise that no-one is going to really demand anything of them or threaten them in any way when they come to visit. They learn in time to read you better, and of course get more comfortable in their situation, so it's a behaviour that generally resolves itself, especially quickly if you ignore the dog until the visitors have been there for a while and made it clear that they're not there to challenge anyone lol. EDIT: of course the puppy can also find new situations exciting, so this combined with some fear can often lead to a lapse in bladder muscle control. Again, this improves with age.

Just curious, Am I wrong in thinking that there is pretty much No way that your dog associated that wee with being told off? Unless you literally caught him in the act of peeing, he wouldn't have associated -peeing inside- with being told No. Well I would have agreed with you in the past, but I do believe my dog now knows it's wrong (in the sense that it will upset pack leader if you like). Even before I have seen it, if I'm close to it, he starts looking terribly sad with himself and starting to dip his head/display very submissive behaviour etc. Only after I see that do I start to suspect and then look for it - so I don't think he could be getting it off me. I will try to take a photo of his expression, with his little doberman marking eyebrow thingies, he has a very emotive face lol. I think what was said earlier perhaps applies here, he has a learned association that peeing indoors upsets me, and gets him into trouble. He doesn't forget about it until he has received punishment (which consists of a naughty boy and go outside) and typically, he will be hanging around the back door before I even know anything is up, because he's expecting to be put outside. EDIT: This is also perhaps because he has been caught many times (mostly when he was a puppy) in the act peeing inside and being told off for it; he knows it's wrong. I don't think you could teach a dog by punishing them for something they did hours ago, but if you've caught them in the act multiple times, I think they are able to put 2 and 2 together, when you're standing over the mess they made and upset. He is house trained btw, he just hates the rain and occasionally slips up.

A truly dominant dog would object to being placed on its back and the person attempting to do so would get hurt. If the puppy was just displaying puppy behaviour, ie, not intending to dominate, that's quite a severe and distressing punishment. I have only done that twice to my dog, never growled, just made him submit, and both times were when I was 100% sure he knew he was doing the wrong thing and continuing to do it anyway right in front of me. It has to be done correctly or it's completely ineffective, and potentially damaging. I have seen people trying to do this with their dog at the park, but never stopping the dog from looking at what got it in trouble in the first place, and stopping before the dog has actually submitted. The other thing I see a lot of is people doing this and then hugging their dog until the dog struggles away. You should be the one to walk away when the dog is doing what you want. This is after dog fight type situations as well. But yes, if the dog honestly thought it was dominant over the human, and was the type of dog to accept that position, you could get hurt for trying such a move. There would be steps to take first, starting with food and resource access etc before I would even start to think about doing something like that.

When we were toilet training him, I started with that approach - ie not telling him off for mistakes, but it was like he then decided that yeah, if we were watching, he would be praised for going outside so it was worth it, but if we weren't, well, he might as well just go in the house so I had to make him realise that going outside wasn't preferable, it was essential. I think I see what you're saying. There is a difference between knowing you have done something that will get you into trouble vs feeling bad about having done something? I'd say that's true. My dog knows he has done something that will upset me and I don't believe he wants to upset me, but I doubt he actually feels bad about having played with my hair elastic. It's interesting though, because whilst I would agree 100% that you can not punish a dog after the event has happened when he's young or in training, I think perhaps punishment once they know something is likely to upset you is potentially effective to some degree at least. I know my dog likes to test me every now and then, so perhaps this is his way of checking to see if something is still unacceptable as far as I'm concerned. He definitely understood that I was annoyed about him having played with my elastic, even though by the time I got there, the elastic was on the floor behind him.

I know everyone always says that dogs don't know if they've done something wrong or not and they only look guilty/sad etc because the owner reprimands them, but I'm feeling more and more lately that I would have to disagree. Just then for example, just got back from a 2 hour walk and having had a drink, the dog ran upstairs as is usual to curl up in his chair in my room, because I always do my facebooking and what not after our walks, it's a routine. I was held up, talking to my brother about his trip to the aquarium and didn't actually know that the dog was upstairs already. Anyway, coming up the stairs, already thinking about what my next facebook status will be, emails I have to reply to and what to do for dinner, the last thing on my mind was the dog or what he could be up to. But then, I see his head poking around the corner from upstairs, and he is looking guilty as anything. Ears way back, head down, eyes pleading, looking very sad and like he wants to make up for something and regain my approval. Still I have no idea what he could have done, so I'm just confused and say nothing. His behaviour continues, I reach the top of the stairs and notice one of my hair elastics (which he's not meant to touch) on the ground behind him. By this stage, dog is practically lying on the floor and his eyes could inspire poetry. I grab my elastic and am so shocked by the dog's behaviour that I almost forget to tell him off, but then I remember, and quickly turn to say, naughty boy etc as I pick up the elastic. Once I turn away, dog jumps up and all is forgotten and great between us again, so I'm guessing the hair elastic was the problem. This is the 2nd time I can think of that this has happened. First time was even possibly more dramatic and perhaps indicative. He had peed in the house right next to the door, because although it was open for him, it was raining outside, and being the wussy 40+kg doberman he is, the rain is just too much for him. Again though, I had no idea this had happened, and having just finished my own dinner, was calling him for his. He didn't come though which I thought was very odd (he is typically a keen eater and also usually very responsive to his name), so I started looking for him, and finally found him crouched practically hiding under the indoor clothes line thing again looking terribly sad and guilty. I was confused but at this point suspicious, and started looking around to see what could have caused it, and then saw the puddle on the floor. Told him he was a very bad boy and he ran outside into the rain without me even telling him to, as that is the usual punishment for peeing inside. Once I finished cleaning it up, I let him back in, and again we were best friends, all forgotten. It's like he knows he's done something wrong, even if sometimes I think he does it before he can think about it, but after the heat of the moment has passed, he knows it won't make me happy and he can't do anything else until I've found it and told him off for it. Has anything like this happened to anyone else?

When my red dobe was younger, I got all kinds of comments. A lot of people asked if he would darken with age, as they only knew of black dobes, which I always found amusing. And 95% of people who commented on his breed asked or just assumed he was a kelpie cross, again because of the colour. I wouldn't get too upset about it, it's like GSD's. Some people breed them to have roached, curved backs, others like the straight backs, both can be shown. When I was visiting breeders I found plenty of pin-headed whippet like dobes with impressive show titles, and I found more solid ones, but all I cared about was their temperament. I was a lot more upset by breeders telling me these days dobes should just be labs in doberman clothing because there wasn't any room for a real doberman in society anymore.

Thanks guys for all the replies. It's a lot to think about. Fortunately, the money side of things isn't really a concern. But when people say you need to devote time to each dog individually, what sort of time are you talking about? For example, I take my current dog for 2 walks a day, one on lead for an hour in the morning, and then 1 hour at the park off-lead in the arvo - almost every afternoon. Ideally I would like to be taking the 2nd dog on these walks, but do you guys think it's best to walk them separately? The truth is, I am not sure I could ever love another dog the way I love my boy, but after experiencing him and seeing the bond between me and my dog, my OH has often expressed a wish to have his own dog. He works many more hours than I do, so I would probably still be the primary care giver/trainer etc for both dogs. He wants a hungarian vizsla or a weimaraner, and I would be happy enough with either choice because my dog always plays well with those breeds - similar energy levels etc. My boy goes to obedience training every week, and my OH could take the 2nd dog alone because the training is on the weekends, so they could be trained separately. But for the most part, ideally I would like them to be together.

My dog is an only dog, but he seems to really love other dogs. Having just taken him on holidays up to a beach, nothing made him happier (or drained his energy for that matter) like the other dogs - at least the ones who also wanted to play. I had always thought myself a one dog person, but whenever I do take him to a park or beach or whatever, I am always very hopeful that there will be another friendly dog there for him to play with, and it would be great to just have that 2nd dog myself. What changes though if you get another dog? Do they bond more strongly to each other than you? I have actually only ever had 1 dog at a time, and was put off somewhat by some family who did have 2, but the 2nd dog really belonged to the first dog rather than to them - if you know what I mean. I guess I wouldn't mind that so much, like if the 2nd dog loved our boy more than us, but would it be likely to change the relationship we have with our boy?

Lol well similar sort of thing happened to me, we ended up stalking the guy back home without him noticing and then reported him. He had 2 dogs who always aggressively charged mine (and every other dog they saw) and tried to attack him but the owner would never do anything about it. My dog tried ignoring them, but I was worried a day would come when he would snap back at them, and being a doberman, I was worried he would be reported dangerous and taken away from me.

My dog is very friendly and very social, but he's huge, and he is a bit dominant around other dogs. He doesn't start any fights and backs away when unbalanced dogs try to dominate him, but, he does like to win all the games he plays. With some dogs, the game is wrestling, and he can wrestle for hours with it never going any higher. That said though, sometimes, and especially once he has managed to tire the other dog out because he has stamina like you wouldn't believe, the wrestle is more just him constantly pinning the other dog down, sitting on him and pulling him to the ground again and again. Because of this, I introduced the ' enough' command when he first started it, at about 6 months old. That basically means, either you stop playing this particular game with this particular dog or I will remove you and reprimand you. It is now enough for me to approach and stand over him and say enough, and he just moves on. I'm quite quick to issue it just because I know some owners stress about him being so large and a doberman etc, and often the other dog follows and tries to re instigate play. To begin with though, I did have to grab him and make him stay in a down, whilst maintaining eye contact for at least 10 secs before I would release him again. Initially treats helped to condition this. If he then went straight back and repeated the behaviour, he was back in a down immediately. He got the message after about 3 times of this. As for the whole having to catch your dog first thing, mine tried that out too when he was younger, but I basically did it back to him to break the habit. A few times, when he wandered too far away, I would hide behind a tree. He would race back to where he last saw me and search, and then either find me or I would reveal myself. I did this when we were on off-lead walks but where there weren't too many distractions that could occupy him for ages - ie he was checking for me often anyway. Now he will not go far away from me no matter where we are, and additionally, now when I walk away from the park and tell him it's time to go, he follows, because he thinks there's a chance he could be left behind. I don't know if this stuff will work with your dog, but at least it might give you something to start with.

My boy is absolutely shocking, and the worst are after he has egg anything - they can clear the room fast.

That almost made me cry. I just don't know how people can do that, after 11 years. You know what they say though, people are as horrible to their dogs as they are to other people. When we lost our last dog at 15 years old, we missed him so much for so long, how do you just get over someone who has been in your life for 10+ years? And yeah, the worst part is that there's just nothing to stop them doing it again.

:D I stayed there with 2 Border Collies a few years ago, and yes, it was lovely. The dogs were mosst intrigued by the big goanna that would wander around outside the screened porch. My OH and I have been wanting to go on a fishing trip to BB for some time and your advice have just decided to book ourselves in for next week Just wish the dog didn't get car sick :D

I don't really have a choice. Either I walk the dog, or he is likely to destroy my house lol. It amazes me too, we see a couple of other dog walkers, always the same ones when it's raining, and we always wonder what the other dogs do. Maybe it depends on breed. The greyhound owners often comment that their dogs can happily miss a walk a couple of days a week, but some of the working breeds just go mental without lots of exercise. My dog doesn't have a raincoat anymore, he managed to tear it up in some bushes but luckily he has a very short coat. We got so wet the other day I could wring water out of my clothes lol - and that was with an umbrella :s