raineth

Oh no, that's such a shame I was so pleased for you both when I read she's been doing really well. Is she ok if she's in the house when the boy is playing basketball? I wonder if you could record the noise of the boy playing. Then you could play it so it is barely audible in the house. Gradually increasing the noise (over a period of weeks) as long as she is fine with it, until it is as loud, or louder even than the noise of the boy playing.

Oh right, i wasn't intending to bring up anything controversial :) I know of a Dane who had a ridge, but on her back, just like a RR, and she was a pedigree, and her owners were told by the vets that it is one of those things that can just happen sometimes. The photos are all lovely btw :) The fourth one makes me giggle!

She looks like a sweety! Is that a kind of ridge of fur that she has running down the length of her snout? I haven't seen that before, it makes her very distinctive :)

What sort of times are you talking? 8-5, 5 days per week? And will the dog mostly have access to your company when you are at home?

This was my first sighting of one, raineth ... I think they have a very short lifespan, because they are so magical ;) Ahh well then maybe one day I'll be lucky enough :D

I love this :laugh: You live in a such a special part of the work Perse, I'm sure I've never seen a barking snail here

Oh so sad I'm sorry for your loss.

Wow isn't that great what a happy ending for everyone too.

Good post Terri :)

Yes, definitely get advice on diets that mastiff people use. Also tell them to grow her lean, and have her nails nice and short always, if they are allowed to get too long it's not great for the conformation of the foot. Also they need to be careful with exercise. Obviously, as you yourself are more than aware, the situation is less than ideal. However, as the owner of a mastiff x who we got at 2.5 years old, I can say that bad hips and poor temperament are not necessarily her destiny. You've already said that her temperament seems good, so that's a good sign. My boy has a temperament of gold. His hips have been fine, even though I think he probably wasn't raised on the best food. The only problem is that his nails were allowed to grow too long, so his feet are not as tight as they should be, however this hasn't caused us any problems. Apart from that, he had some skin issues when we first adopted him which cleared up within the first year, and have never been back since. Ofcourse as you know, he know has cancer at age 7. So all I'm saying is that there is a chance she'll turn out ok, and not a health and temperament car wreck. The other thing they need to keep in mind is just that what can be cute in a puppy can be awful when the dog is bigger. So they need to always keep in mind 'will I like this when she's fifty kgs?'

Good luck at the vet. Hopefully it's just a little stomach upset and he'll be all better by tomorrow :)

Thankyou, yes he is sooo beautiful. He's my big ol' handsome man, with the most gentle soul. We didn't have a great night last night. But he's way better today and after our walk, Digby had some retail therapy with my money. He chose a packed of dried green-lipped mussels and apricot yoghurt drops. I'm sure this is the dog equivalent of camembert and quince paste :)

Happy Birthday Odie! What a lovely cake you had! :)

Either that, or they were two very epic dog poos.....

OMG! The cuteness!

Oh dear! Those tweets are pretty funny :laugh: Was it an assistance dog I wonder?

Maybe just have a play around with it T. Not necessarily at the zoo at first. Maybe just your own dogs in your house and backyard, so you can be more casual and not feel like you're wasting some good opportunities. But otherwise if your photos are working for you on sports mode, then don't feel like you should switch just because others use manual or priority modes :) That's my thoughts but I'm a pretty poor photographer.

Yeah, whether you use a halti, or a collar or a harness you still have to train the dog to loose leash walk :) Also with haltis it is often important to have the dog fully accustomed to the feel of it before you begin using it. You can do this by starting slowly and building up the time they wear it for, and making it all a positive experience :) Was she pawing at it all? I bet she'll enjoy training, provided the club you take her to uses rewards, rather than lots of corrections to teach behaviour.

They are cool, and one of them even has the sunnies to prove it!

Actually, their first Kelpie was raised alone. She is a dog that has not the least bit of interest in other dogs. She was about 13 I think when they got the second kelpie pup. So the second has definitely not been raised alone. However you make a very valid point as, many dogs do benefit substantially from the companionship of other dogs.

Yes, the Kelpies who are raised well, actually seem to bridge the gap between biddability/loyalty and adapting quite well to alone time. But by 'alone time' I don't mean stuck in the backyard with an hour of contact with the family a day. I just mean, they seem to cope well with the time alone while their owners are at work :)

I'm not a Kelpie expert, but my friend's Kelpies have a lot of those traits you find desirable. However both dogs are inside/outside dogs (access to both 24/7), and both have been trained and socialized extensively. Both Humans work full time, but a lot of the time they are not working is devoted to activities with the dogs. They also still had some destruction when they were young dogs. edit for clarity

Yes, the dots and dashes are Morse Code. :) ooh Morse would be a cool name :cool:

Digby got a surprise in the mail today, and he thoroughly enjoyed them :D

My old Great Dane learnt fetch by having play dates with a Labrador who was proficient at fetch. And Danes aren't exactly the sort of breed known to play fetch. He definitely learnt through observing the Labrador. So if you know anyone with a dog who fetches well you could let your girl join in (provided the other dog doesn't have resource guarding issues with the ball of course!).