KnucklesDutchnUs

shert up you! that's terrible my filthy dogs are too well known, yes the kennels bathed them. It'll last about a day, Dutch already has dirty paws from digging ;)

10 Facts about Dutch 1. He’s a rescue puppy. Who had a crappy start to life having being found in a park wrapped in a towel at 5 weeks old but has been really lucky ever since. He got rescued by an awesome foster carer, and then he won over Knuckles and my husband. I took a little longer to come around but would come home to find large print photos of a blue puppy that just happen to be lying around the house (there was a conspiracy between the foster carer and my husband). And now he is a spoilt, loved member of our family. 2. Since he got taken away from his mum so early he had no bite inhibition for a reeeeeally long time and no matter how hard we tired to train him, he would still bite and nip when he got excited or we tried to have a cuddle. Having a bulldog (Knuckles) with a high pain threshold didn’t help deter him either as she would just ignore him chewing on her. However only now at 11 months has he started to calm down and enjoys getting the cuddles without giving us the chews. 3. Dutch is cheeky!! He steals things and then runs around you with it, teasing you. He also ‘Roo-roo’s’ and is generally a very chatty pooch. It’s very funny to watch him prance about giving cheek, but very annoying when he’s actually been naughty and still giving you cheek. 4. He has a piercing stare, with blue-grey eyes and when he first came to live with us would sit on his bed and watch us, it was a bit unnerving. He was wrinkly too and acted like an older dog, leading to his nickname ‘Pappa Nugge’ because my friend and I thought he looked like a Russian Grandpa… he’s a Benjamin Button dog. 5. Because he was a Benjamin Button dog, and settled so well and so quickly into our home he reminded me very much of my old dog Thorn, who had passed 1 month before Dutch was born. The fact that he also had a few mannerisms that were just like Thorn made me think that perhaps Thorn had found us again in different dog form, it made me cry but it also made me happy. 6. Dutch had mouth worts. They were gross!! A couple of months after he came to live with us Dutch started developing knobbly things on his lip. On closer inspection they had spread through his mouth, when we took him to the vet she told us they were Viral Papilloma. They eventually went away but no one wanted kisses from him for a while. 7. We have no idea what breeds he is. He’s chipped as a staffy, he has distinct colouring and he is a nugget of muscle but he is so narrow! He looks like someone put a staffy in a press and squished him. He’s not a big dog, but he’s not a little dog either. 8. He snores like a freight-train. Barks in his sleep and if he’s put outside because he’s been naughty he’ll make the strangest noises at the back door – sort of like a whinny and a sighing screech, yeah I told you it was strange. 9. He ate an apple tree. It was only a few years old so it wasn’t huge but all the same it was a tree and the biggest bit left was around 10cm’s. He also stripped the other apple tree so now it looks like a big stick with 3 spindly branches at the top. He pretty much decimated our backyard, pulling up every plant and digging up the grass. The backyard is a dustbowl now, helped along by both dogs wrestling. It’s the one thing that really makes me unhappy, because the dirt blows in the house or travels in on the dogs and everything gets unbelievably dirty no matter how much I clean. 10. Dutch likes to keep you company in the bathroom. Sitting on the loo? Goodo, Dutch will push the door open and come sit on the bathmat and hang out with you. Having a shower? No worries everyone needs an audience for their shower-singing. And he’ll even help you towel off by licking your legs.

Okay wedding and honeymoon over, now it's down to business - couple of new photos taken this morning so I can finally add my two pooches! YAY! 10 Facts about Knuckles 1. My old dog Thorn was 15 when we got Knuckles, and she instantly adored him. He on the other hand wasn’t too sure. However when they both contracted kennel-cough (from another pooch at puppy school) Thorn got really sick and was too weak to stand, so Knuckles wriggled next to him and wouldn’t leave him until he was better. When he passed away, OH and I shut ourselves off from the world for three days and she mourned with us. 2. She was a perfect puppy except for one thing – she would occasionally growl at us when we tried to pick her up to get her out of the car or for a cuddle. We got a behaviourist in and found she was challenging for dominance in pack (a usual adolescent thing) so we had to train her a slightly different way: hand feeding her dinner. It was an amazing change and we haven’t had a problem since. 3. She’s a tart. From very early on we took Knuckles to our local (amazing) dog park and she would play with every dog in the park but one big fella, Max, was her favourite and he took a liking to her too. They have formed such a bond that he is now her protector. If he feels another dog is playing too rough with her he’ll tell them to take a hike. I think this is a really interesting survival instinct I’ve seen her do with other dogs too, she’ll choose the alpha male in the pack and endear herself to him and then he’ll protect her. 4. She doesn’t like other dogs on the TV. I have never seen another dog watch the telly the way she does. She will bark and get her hackles up when there are dogs and other 4 legged animals on screen, she has even run into the kitchen to find those dogs – the kitchen is behind the wall with the TV on it, I guess she must have thought it was a window. 5. She is American Bulldog X British Bulldog, so she is an Aussie Bulldog but since it’s not a registered breed and leans more towards looking like an AmBull, for ease we usually tell people she’s AmBull. But we’ve have people ask if she’s a Boxer, AmStaff, Pitbull, and Mastiff. 6. She is a big placid smoocher. Even though she can get silly and run around, her usual mood as very relaxed and calm and boy does she looooove tummy rubs and kisses on her big square head. 7. She has ‘her side’ of the backseat of the car. Left side backseat, next to the window. My husband didn’t believe me until one trip he strapped her on the right side and Dutch (our other dog) on the left and she fussed and whined and wouldn’t settle until we pulled over and swapped them. Then she was happy as Larry. 8. I used to take Knuckles to vintage markets when she was a puppy, she was my good luck charm. I would pick up some of the best pieces of 50s homewares when she came with me but she is way too big to take now 9. She knows when it’s 4.30pm, which in her mind is the perfect time for dinner. She will come over and place her head on my knee and ‘huff’ through her jowls. I tend to ignore her until I am ready, but it doesn’t stop her trying it on. Both dogs also sleep in our bedroom (on their own beds) and in the morning she will do the same thing to wake me up – always me, never my husband. Soft touch much? 10. She loves other dogs. She loves the dog park and wrestling and after Thorn passed we knew she had to have another companion after I came home one day to her crying. Luckily a plucky little puppy came to the park one day and that was it – they decided they were gonna be Partners in Crime for life.

More please! Am loving the 10 things about your dogs

Chopper! Chopper! Ra! Ra! Ra!! Knuckles and Dutch will be your cheerleaders

Juno reminds me so much of Knuckles when she was a tiny puppy:

he's soooo beautiful!! What a gorgeous face ^_^ Love the first photo :D

These are a few shots from a photo shoot I did with my heart dog, Thorn. They were taken a few years ago and he is now in doggie heaven. The photographer was Petrina Hicks who is an awarded Australian photographer. It was a lot of fun to do, but when she asked me to start laughing, Thorn started licking my face - which she loved and asked me to keep going. By the end most of my make up was gone and I pointed out I just took a big one for the team, as Thorn had a partiality for eating his poo.

Thanks! But Knuckles really is the looker in our family

I don't have anything recent - other then photobooth pix - but these are my favourites of me and Knuckles this time last year, when she was a cuddley puppy

I love the photo in your signature - and I love your dogs name, suits her perfectly - Astred

OMG! This is just too darn cute!! What a little sweetie you have - Astred

Yeah teething had crossed my mind as well. We have had Dutch for about three weeks. He had been fostered by another board member. He has a thread over in Rescue. http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?showtopic=156624 Cheers Bob

Hi. Last night I found a caulliflower looking wart on Dutch's lip Dutch is our 17wk old amstaff type rescue pup, he has had bad breath for a little while now. Not the kind of I've just eaten poo and a dead lizzard type breath but it almost smells metalic ( can't really think of a better way to explain it). On doing some reading last night I think it is viral papilloma, general consensus seems to be let it run it's course and it will go away on it's own. My question is do you think the bad breath may be caused by some kind of secondary infection or is it part and parcel of the whole papilloma experience? We will take him to the vet in the next week or so anyway as he is due for a check up. But I'm curious about others thoughts or experiences. Cheers Bob

Thanks! - she's looking very regal in that photo, most of the time she just looks concerned (frinkles do that to a dog) Ruthless: She's a pretty princess! - Astred

That's a pity about the accident, but sounds like you guys have found an excellent solution and Enya is oh-so cool now in her rad bootys! Knuckles puppy: 11 weeks old 11 months old - Astred

Allerzeit - your dogs a hilarious! Why does Enya have (very cool) booty's? - Astred

That is AWESOME! Great composition, lighting and hilarious model - Astred

Bobby Dog wind = Farting. Cheers Bob

Royal Canin large breed puppy. We originally fed science diet but the dog wind was rediculous. RC fixed that. Once we have finished this bag we are going to change to an adult food (still RC) as Knuckles needs to tone up a bit and although we have reduced the amount we are feeding her she isnt cutting weight. Cheers Bob

If you are offended by the smell from Leigh's behind I would suggest get him/her on a stable diet, a premium kibble or BARF ( though I don't know enough about it to guide you there are plenty of threads on it if you search.) It's my opinion that you shouldn't be feeding them enough treats that it affects their farts. Although if I feed Knuckles beef bones an hour later she can strip wallpaper. She now gets turkey knecks instead. Edit: I am assuming the rear end smell you are talking about is farts. If not I would suggest you take on board peoples comments on anal glands. Cheers Bob

Good for you Nixter. If your anything like me ( and a lot of other posters on here) you may still have the "what have we done", "are we doing something wrong" thoughts. But it's obvious you have the puppies best interests at heart. Trust yourself and ensure you set the puppy rules and give it a stable environment. Oh and post some pictures. Cheers Bob

Not really much to add on how to stop the barking. But if you are going to work on keeping them in their runs perhaps a letter box drop to your neighbours explaining that you are working to stop their barking etc, but it will get worse before it get's better might help with any possible complaints. Cheers Bob

Knuckles is a X so may not be comparable but at 5 months she was 17kg and at 10 months she is about 27kg. She was probably a little chubby at 5 months but has now leaned out and is more toned. I would guess she probably has another 10kg in her to fill out her features. I had heard double their 5 month weight, This looks like it might be pretty close for Knuckles ( still a lot of guess work on her final weight though.) Her brother was in our puppy preschool class and I think he was probably twice the weight of Knuckles. Haven't seen him since though. Great looking pup BTW. Cheers Bob

Hi I had the same problem with our 9 month Aussie bulldog. first thing we did was give her a sandpit to dig in. I also took to scooping up her poops and sprinkling them through the garden beds. She hasn't dug in the garden beds since. Cant remember where I heard about the poo thing but it has worked a treat for us. cheers Bob