FranVT

Want to borrow Kaos? She can drag a full one around the yard!! PHWOAAR Teebs! That is crazy! Though Atlas did drag a tractor tyre around the yard once while the neighbours watched in amazement. I am going to buy one of these after work, it's been so hot, I wish we had a shady spot in the yard though, the only shade really is under the house on the cement but I don't want to put it there as I would like it to water the grass ;)

Yep our problems aren't really major either, it is mostly me that needs training I reckon

That is what am I told by various and numerous sources, so am happy to make the drive. My OH (who actually owns Atlas "technically") thinks I am absolutely mad. Must not break out the 'well if your dog had reliable recall maybe he wouldn't have been under the wheels of a 4wd recently!' Too soon!

This is what we're dealing with. Rocky - Bris is 616km, Bris - Kurrajong Heights is 950 = 1566km. Thanks google maps! Glad I have you on my iPhone too! Better remember to bring Atlas' "bully" toy, there shall be much sleeping on the trip for him I believe! (Gratuitous cute dog shot)

Ohhh wow, Atlas would think those chooks look like juicy morsels I think! Where do the dogs stay at Madison's? Do you keep them with you? We will probably go straight to Steve's from Brisbane, then check in at Madison's afterwards I think. Mmmm breaky basket!

I think it will take you about 12 hours at least. Can't you drive at least some of the way the day before, I'm sure there is some friendly dog accomodation somewhere. Otherwise you will be exhausted for the lesson. When I took Onsy and Tilly we went the afternoon and then the next morning. We stayed in a place that had accommodation in train carriages, it was cool, at Bilpin from memory! THAT IS WHERE WE'RE STAYING! Madison's! Should be great. I will have a think about staying somewhere maybe at Glen Innes or something, but I really don't mind long drives I think I will be too excited to be tired and I will have my friend with me. And Red Bull :D We're going the next morning as well, at 9am, then head back to ?Bris after that or stay somewhere along the way. The plan is to get into Brisbane early afternoon, have a drink with my bro as it will be his birthday and he lives there, then get an early night say 6pm or so that way I will be rested to leave at 2am. I have done a few drives to Townsville, Cairns, Longreach and HEAPS to Brisbane so I am fairly experienced at long drives and know my limits also.

:D He scarfed it down very quickly raw, especially as I'd just made him eat some yukky antibiotics. He is a love though, looks at the tablets in my hand, looks at me, looks at the tablets, then has a big sigh and licks them up out of my hand. Reece said "your dad will have a coronary if he knows you fed that to Atlas" - it was dad's receptionist's hubby who gave them to him and he passed them on to us because HE couldn't eat them all, then I couldn't eat it all, what would be better - throwing it in the bin? Nah give them to someone who appreciates them, like Atlas!

Yep the NE was the plan for sure! I would have liked to go inland and avoid Brisbane except my mate who has graciously agreed to come along lives there plus I will need a rest! We are planning on leaving at around 3 or 4am on the Friday morning as our lesson is at 3pm. Allowing time for stops, will that be enough time? Also allowing for getting lost?

I have some fresh barra fillets and OH doesn't eat fish. Eating one now, really delicious, def won't get a chance to eat the other one before it goes bad. Can I give it to Atlas? Never thought of giving him fish before. If so, should I cook it first?

Yep sorry Steve from K9 Force! Should have mentioned that... It's funny, I was thinking "ohh I'll stay in Bris Thurs night and drive to Kurrajong Heights Sat morning" then I googlemapped it and I was like 929km! Eeeek maybe better leave VERY early! Your issues sound very similar to mine - he thinks he can do what he likes (because we let him for ages! ), he is dominant towards other dogs and displays some dog aggression though I believe he is reactive not aggressive. Anyway, it's gonna be awesome, can't wait to learn lots of good techniques to make us a happy family as I would love to get another dog but at this point I wouldn't risk it.

Just took the plunge and booked in with Steve for a weekend in December! Can't wait! :rofl: :eek: Atlas is a good dog but I need to learn how to be a strong / calm / assertive leader and I can't wait to be able to work with Atlas as a team rather than the kind of semi-battle we have going on now hahah. It's nearly 1600km away from where I live so that will be a very long drive - going to stop in Brisbane and pick up my bestie so she can come on the trip with me the rest of the way. Sooooo excited! Big thanks to Steve for replying promptly and being incredibly helpful with all my silly questions and rambling on about Atlas.... as I tend to do!

Cool! Atlas actually does tend to like smallish spaces, I think they help him feel safe, it's just that he kind of gets free reign of the house Not like he can do whatever he wants but no areas are "out of bounds" areas so I wonder if this will make things harder. I have found him to be an extreme challenge to train to do anything so not looking forward to it but I will definitely try to make it fun for both of us.

I have a question too - this thread was really helpful to me thank you Shann and sorry to butt in! I would like to crate train my 22 month old bull terrier... is this possible or have I missed the boat?

Yep the house is looking good! Hmm you seem to be quite far away however I have always wanted to see Western Australia so you pay for flights and I will clean your house in between sightseeing!

Well today I scrubbed the house from top to bottom (was distracting me from worrying about my dad's house burning down) and washed all the couch covers, towels, bedding everything on super hot in the machine as suggested. Considering it's been there for ages and neither me, my partner nor anyone we know (regular visitors, parents-in-law who get him all the time for dogsits) has had it I think we must be lucky enough to have the not-very-contagious strain of it as the vet suggested OR it is something closely resembling ringworm that is not contagious. The vet said that was a possibility too. The spot on his head is clearing up really well and already new hair is coming through looks a thousand times better. Thanks so much for all advice guys.

It's so weird (and lucky) that it's just in the one localised spot because it's been untreated for months (because I'm an IDIOT mostly) so hopefully the cream will clear it up. BAD MUM.

The vet said I should see complete healing in about 3 - 4 weeks but to keep smearing the cream on until I can't even tell where it was anymore. I hope that happens! I am an IDIOT for not getting it checked out sooner, we must have been to the vets like 4 times while it was there! She also said that if it's not clearing as quickly as we'd like there's a wash we can get for him or if we start to see it spreading (would be pretty random if it started spreading now) then to get straight on with the wash.

It's really weird because I thought it was a bald spot I would sometimes poke it and prod it and be like 'wtf is that' and rub his head and stuff, it's been there for MONTHS and I never thought anything of it it didn't look red, itchy and it never seemed to bother him (ie I never saw him rubbing his head on anything etc). Neither OH or I has had it (we are quite hygienic people and would definitely have noticed we are fairly ... free ... with nudity around each other so we would have noticed if we'd caught it. THe vet said that some forms of it are more contagious than others, and some are hardly contagious at all so maybe that is this form? Stil ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww ew ew ewwww ringworm! The vet gave him a thorough checking for other spots of it, definitely none. He doesn't have much contact with kids or other animals, we don't have cats or another dog, but I will make sure he doesn't touch other dogs at dog obedience. Shudderrrrr, ringworm

Took Atlas to the vet today for his suprelorin implant (he was so good, I put him in drop on the table and the vet asked if he needed to be muzzled, I said nah just put some bits of liver chew in front of him so she did that and he snarfed them up, when the HUGE needle went in he sort of put his head up like 'wtf?!' then went back to eating ) and asked her about the baldy patch on his head, it's about the size of a 5c piece maybe a bit bigger and we thought he'd just been rubbing it on something. She had a look with the special light thingy and it was RINGWORM ewwwwwwwwwww! I am so glad neither OH or I has got it, yukko! I said "but we worm him!" and she told me it's actually a fungus which I thought was interesting, it's not a worm at all. Anyway she gave us some fungal cream stuff but I am worried that his hair won't grow back. Has anyone else's dog had this and did the hair grow back properly? I don't really care as long as he is healthy and free of disease but it would be great if the weird baldy patch went away!

Yep. My mother in law has a horrible little toy poodle that was badly socialised, it was also mauled by 2 roaming GSDs when it escaped its yard and hit by a car nearly dying both times (IMO should have been allowed to, it can only walk for about 5 mins before it can't use its back left hip joint anymore and has many other lasting but more minor physical & mental/psychological injuries) which didn't help. When MIL takes Atlas and the poodle walking people avoid Atlas and gush over the poodle and she says "it's not the white one you should be worried about it's the poodle".

Atlas sleeps in our bed, but sometimes in the morning when I get up early he bails out and goes and lies on the top of the front steps in the sun ... for a few mins then back into bed with OH. During the day it's on the veranda or in the yard on his back (sick of suncreaming his very pink bits) and he is also partial to laundry baskets full of clean clothes. Oh and if you stand still long enough anywhere but particularly the kitchen he sleeps draped across your feet. He's spethul.

I had absolutely zero luck with Atlas until I moved him to a check chain, he responded really really well to it and he still does. As soon as the check chain goes on he knows it's work time and he only needs little "pops" on the lead for correction it's very rarely tight on him, usually only when he's determined to get to another dog to sniff and even then only briefly. It's lovely having a strong dog walking/trotting on my left not pulling on the lead at all. I am intrigued by snake chains though, are they a similar concept to check chains or a totally different thing? They sure are pretty.

Yep that looks good, will order one!

Hi DOLers ;) My bull terrier Atlas is shedding horribly at the moment. Our house is usually covered in white hair but it is really bad at the moment, today in the sun you could just about see a halo of shedding hair around him. I have a rubber brush like this: but it doesn't seem to do the job I just brush over and over and over and nothing really changes it just keeps coming out! Is there a more effective way to get rid of the hair? It is driving me mad at the moment!

Bully, have you found clicker training to be effective with Pele? I just wonder whether starting it now would be too late? Atlas is 22 months old.