natamalie

Yes he is a son of Great Gatsby! Our boys are distant relatives then :rolleyes:

Yesterday I was browsing through the Royal Melbourne Show results and noticed that Zander's sire, "GR CH MIERIDGE GATSBYS APLAWZ (A.I)" won Best of Breed and Open Dog. Also his brother, "DINIZULU RISKI BIZNESS" won Junior Dog! (both in the Ridgeback section) I'm so bummed I missed out on seeing the Ridgies. I was busy all day Saturday and couldn't get to the show to watch. Next year hopefully!

Because Poodles are considered sissy dogs for sissy people and so not owned by the type who like to breed/raise thug dogs. Secondly, because the most often owned Poodles would be miniatures or toys so if a child gets bitten, the wound is small and not enough to require hospital attention. Certainly not enough to create a "newsworthy" picture of a face full of stitches. That's right, I agree. Excellent! So, no more rants about breeds then, just rants about owners. Dangerous breeds have the ability to inflict fatal injuries.There's no denying it. Constant news reports make that apparent. What do you mean by dangerous breeds? Do you consider GSDs, lab, border collies etc dangerous because they are big to inflict fatal injuries? I'm talking about dogs that were bred for guarding, protecting and fighting. The ones that are always in the NEWS. You're extremely naive if you think the 'NEWS' is a completely trust worthy source of factual information, whether reporting on dog attacks or any other current event/issue. Like it or not, mainstream media is heavily influenced by Government and whatever person/organisation owns the network/printhouse running the story. By the way I own a (gorgeous) Ridgeback so am not motivated by wanting to defend bull breeds. (Not that I have a problem with them what-so-ever. They are gorgeous dogs, given a bad name by incompetent owners/propaganda).

I vote for Bandit too! What a lovely boy he is! Hopefully he settles quickly with his new spotty family

On private property? On a lead no longer than a metre? That's not very long...

Tuffy Toys! http://www.dogtoys.com.au/ I had one delivered yesterday, the ultimate tug-o-war toy and Zander loves it! He went through a Kong Wubba in about 15 minutes. Biggest waste of money. The tuffy toy is MUCH more sturdy. I can see him getting through it eventually, but I think it will last longer than your average soft toy.

You know they're dishwasher safe? yes - but it doesn't clean out all of the grooves. Aaah bummer. I must be lucky because mine does a really good job of cleaning all the goo out, (I always double check though).

You know they're dishwasher safe?

;) Brilliant!!

This thread is fantastic! So many laughs Zander's theme song goes to the tune of 'Mr Sandman' 'Zinder Zander, he is a dog! He is the cutest, that there ever was!' Doesn't quite rhyme but you get the idea

Breeder for sure!

Totally gorgeous!! They're having so much fun! I'm so buying a bubble machine for Zander now!!

What do you mean? I guess her breed or cross breed (small) and her temprement/personality makes her a good practice baby. She loves to be with us and is oh so adorable but I think lots of breeds are like that??? Some toy breeds were developed to be baby substitutes. They have large head size compared to their small body, have large round eyes in comparison with their head size, and have had their muzzles shortened to give a round 'baby-face' appearance. They were bred to be house companions and to be cuddled. The phenomenon is called neoteny. Besides that, I do notice on DOL that a lot of owners of these sort of breeds tend to refer to themselves as their dog's Mummy and refer to their partners as their dog's Daddy. Happens with other breeds as well, but it seems to be more prevalent with young childless couples that own 'baby-faced' breeds like cavs or shih tzus. Wow that was a really interesting read Greytmate, thanks for the link! I have to confess to calling my partner 'Daddy' around our dog, (who is a Ridgeback by the way) and I've heard him call me 'Mummy', but only when we're mucking around. We got him because we wanted a dog and having him in our lives has been extremely rewarding. I think combining our efforts for the welfare of another living thing has been great not only for Zander, but for our relationship, and I guess this could in turn have a positive influence on how we might handle parenting. I say *might* though! Parenting is obviously a whole different ball game. I have to say one of my pet hates is people that completely disregard their dogs after having children. I appreciate that you wouldn't have as much time to dedicate to your pets after having a baby, but at least put *some* effort into continuing to include them in your lives!

Although path walking isn't as interesting for humans, (I much prefer exploring parks and fields!) I think it's still really interesting for doggies. If nothing else, they get to get out of the house for a while, and there are always heaps of interesting smells to check out as so many dogs get walked along surburban streets. Zander stops at nearly every tree on our walks!

I recommend clothes horses! Much less interesting than dangling, blowy, outside washing. ;) Also, is there somewhere suburban with pavements nearby you can take him walking? (to avoid the mud)

I have a very spunky Rhodesian Ridgeback and wouldn't mind a trip out to Geelong...

Teeheehee! NOOOOOOOOOO!!! I thought it was Thursday avo...

NO! Thanks for the heads up... I just bought a new bag but think I will go grab another if I can just in case.

I wouldn't, there's something disrespectful about it in my opinion... for both the dog and the tiger. Just my opinion though! Each to their own :cool:

My partner and I work full time. We have one dog. He gets walked twice a day and *heaps* of attention when we get home in the evening. I rarely go out on week nights as I like to make sure he gets some me time every day.

Hi there, How big is your pup? Our boy has always slept in our bedroom. Initially, (for the first week) we had him in a huge cardboard box, filled with blankets and pillows of course. It was very cosy. He couldn't get out and would cry when he needed to go out, I would wake up and then take him. After a week we tried him without the box and popped him into a bed we had bought for him. He slept most of the night, only waking up once and still crying to go to the toilet. He never went in our bedroom. Perhaps it was because of the first week in the box, perhaps he was just a super good puppy! This was back before I knew much about crates... if I were to get another puppy I would consider the crating option. But to be honest, Zander coped so well with the box method and pretty much treats his big bed as a crate now anyway in that he always goes to it to be calm and quiet indoors, so I'm not sure. Good luck with your pup!

Interceptor once a month for worms. Nothing for fleas. Obviously I would treat them if he ever had them.

Hey all, Just wondering what types of bones you prefer to give to your dogs? At the moment, Zander gets chicken wings and once or twice a week he'll get half a marrowbone to gnaw on. I'm interested to see if people recommend any other types as I noticed someone suggest lamb shanks in another post... Also, what type of raw meat do you feed, (if any)? Zander is fed mainly on Eagle Pack but I am considering incorporating raw meat and perhaps eventually switching to a raw diet overall... Thanks! :D

That's exactly what my ridgie does! A total mixed bag. Sometimes he changes his mind mid leg cock and decides to squat instead if he hasn't balanced himself properly. Very funny! He was desexed at 6 months and started cocking his leg at around 8 months.

What a great post! I too am not very familiar with Jed's posts but since hearing about what happened to her I've been having a look around to find some. Best wishes to you Jed! Sending healing vibes your way!! The huge amount of support from so many people on this website is a testament to your character