raineth

RidgieMal I completely agree with you about getting the owner and dog to a good behaviourist. Although if the owner isn't going to do this... Then I do lean toward the pts option as they don't appear to have the wherewithal to safely manage the dog. The dog has attacked another dog that later died, so to me that dog is aggressive, or is it more complex than that?

Some of it is about calories from carbs vs calories from fat I think - mine do better on higher fat, lower carb regimes. Ahhh o.k. That is an interesting distinction :) I wonder if its the same for Digby. I noticed though that the fat content was only 2% more than the BH, so I had put it down to the higher protein in his case.

Many sighthound people feed higher fat, higher protein diets. While sighthounds may not go all day, their exercise can be very explosive and they seem to burn through it. Perhaps it relates to how accessible the nutrients are in such foods? You definitely seem to get better muscle condition and coat condition on some diets than others. I know switching my younger Whippet onto his current diet (different to what his breeder fed) definitely sparked up his coat. I do believe that some dogs just run "hotter" than others. They feel hotter, they eat harder and they just seem to burn it. Just higher metabolisms. Wish I had that problem. That's really interesting about many sight hounds being fed the higher fat and protein foods. I tend to think of most sight hounds tending towards being harder to keep weight on than off, would that be accurate? Yeah it would be great to just burn through those calories wouldn't it!? If I had Digby's metabolism I would have to live like a reptile and only eat every two days! It would be awful!

Amen sista! First the dogs: Digby, gorgeous, massive mutt, 60 kgs. Is extremely inactive by nature, but does love his walks. 1 hour every day with some running 3-4 times a week. Lives and thrives on 2 cups a day - yes seriously Artemis with the higher protein and fat. Delta, small Great Dane, 50 kgs, has the energy of a gun dog! We run 5-6 Km 3 or four times a week, walked everyday. 6 cups a day black hawke. Both get the occasional raw, beef heart, fish, chicken neck, turkey. But only a couple of times a week. 1. Do you have to feed tons of food or hardly anything in order to keep your dog at a decent weight? If you have to shovel food into the dog or its constantly hungry (yeah I know that's nearly all dogs all the time) I'd say the fat content of the diet needs tweaking up or down. Have to feed Digby hardly anything, and delta quite a bit to maintain healthy weight. Both are always up for eating :laugh: But the interesting thing is, that Digby is doing better on the same amount of high protein and fat food that with the normal food. He hasn't put on weight but his coat is better and he looks like a sculpted muscle man. So if you are having weight trouble with your dog it might be an idea to do the counter intuitive thing and feed them a higher calorie diet! 2. Is your dog at the vets a fair bit for minor skin irritations, ear or other infections or hot spots? If so, I'd say that avoiding some types of food in the diet is worth trying. A lot of dogs are gluten intolerant and changing the diet can help with these issues. Digby used to be before, when we were on nitro - it didn't suit him. Delta has always been fine. 3. What's going on at the back end? Does your dog produce firm stools? Or are they large mounds of mousse like poo (see this quite a bit) and are they foul smelling? I'd say a diet that sees your dog produce masses of soft smelly stools on a regular basis isn't ideal. If you could describe poo as perfect that is how you would describe it. 4. Does your dog smell? Teeth, anal glands, general odour? Diet can be frequent cause of these issues and making sure that your dog gets a decent amount of tooth cleaning via its diet and a decent amount of fibre can help with some of these issues. Again Digby used to smell. He's now much better, although he will always be a little more smelly than Delta. 5. Does your dog LIKE its food? Some dogs are just picky but what you feed should be enjoyed by the dog. If you're constantly having to spice up the main part of your dog's diet with additives, I'd say its time to try something else. Delta loves Blackhawks. They both like it more than nutro, but I would say raw would be the favourite taste wise. Delta turns her nose up at Artemis, but Digby thinks it is good stuff, which is why we swapped him to it in the first place! We had bought it for Delta because she tends to need so much more, but it has been truly serendipitous because Digby is doing so well on it. Thoughts?? I think it's not enough to look just at weight, over weight or underweight. Look at muscles compared to fat :) I was Surprised at how much this can change depending on the food :)

Tell him to contact k9Pro! Seriously!

So he spent $1500 on a boot camp program to help his dog? I actually see that as a very positive sign, it shows he does indeed recognise there is a problem and is willing to expend resources to fix the problem. I wonder if you could refer him to a good behaviourist whether he would go. Forgot to see what state you're in. Maybe if you tell us location someone here would know a good behaviourist in that area?

Hey Roka :) No it is not at all good etiquette for people to let their dogs run up to other people and other dogs. Having other dogs running up to your dog while it's on lead also one of the most sure-fire ways to make your dog reactive; after all your dog has no control over the encounter and cannot get away. I would avoid the park and try to find alternative place where there aren't so many offload dogs. Also teach both your dogs a command that tell them to get behind you (will take some practice to be reliable) and that will help in an offload dog encounter as it will free you to frighten off the other dog. I can understand where you are coming from as many people leave their dogs off lead here too

great to hear :)

A couple of tips I can think of: There are quite a few effective methods to train loose leash walking, the key to them is timing, consistency, and where you practice :) Start in the backyard where she is familiar and when she is reliable there move to the front yard and get her reliable there before you start practicing in the street in front of you house and so on. Definitely do small training sessions, interactive toys, and play with her :) I can't paste the link at the moment but you might enjoy reading a recent article by Karen Pryor. If you google Karen Pryor + Don't Socialise the Dog! You should find it :) it has really good guidelines on socialisation :)

Ironic, considering the huge assumptions you made of the OP. And you came out looking like the ass. I have to agree, it is cruzzi making all the assumptions here what a disappointing way to treat someone who is looking to acquire information and knowledge.

I'm not thinking about breeding, but I think this is great topic schnooze and I have enjoyed reading all the posters that wrote about their experiences of starting out, and I hope more breeders will respond with their story of starting out.

Oh he is just gorgeous!

Not intending to take this off topic but if you're making a brief reference to the current Victorian laws that affect our dogs on the basis of aesthetics, the point is that the Government and the Councils they have empowered with their disgusting laws are seizing dogs forcibly from their homes - dogs who have never done anything wrong and who are great with other dogs and people and who are not a nuisance to the community. Consequently, temperament testing in that respect is a non-consideration by the authorities as that doesn't even come into the equation with those laws. No I'm not making a reference to that :) It is disgraceful hey

I hadn't actually thought of that I do admit. I still thought rescue orgs could pull dogs from pounds in Vic. Is it possible though that dogs who might not normally be given much of a chance due to their appearance, be given a chance because they will have positive temp test results to back them up? There has been a couple of times I've been to the pound and a ranger will disparage particular dogs based on their looks (ie what breed they appear to be derived from) rather than their temp. So maybe a temp test like this would put the focus back on temperament and degrade some of the bias that people have towards certain types of dogs.

But they won't be filtered to the right owners. They'll be pts. Why are people continually saying 'Oh they'll be rehomed to the right owner?' If they are in a pound, they'll be pts. As was pointed out early in this thread, pounds don't have the resources. I don't know about that. I follow what goes in and out of my local pound and these decisions are made by rescue orgs and whether they have room. They seem to take everything as long as its not overtly aggressive and as long as there's room. My big black dog was even held over after his time was up in one of the busiest pounds in NSW even though he certainly didn't meet the criteria of an easily adoptable dog. So I don't necessarily think that the results of the temp test will just be a ticket to euthanasia.

We do have temperament tests for people - they are called personality tests. They are not pass/fail and I don't think the point of this test is pass/fail either. The point of this research is to develop a test that reliably and validly determines features of dogs' temperaments so that they can be best matched to appropriate homes. Sheridan I believe you have often said that Kerries and Wheatens aren't for everyone, the home and the owner probably need certain features for a Kerry or Wheaten to be a good fit. Well no doubt it is the same to a certain extent for every dog; what if a mix-breed dog came through the shelter with temperament attributes similar to a Kerry? IT doesn't have the benefit of a breed that suggests it has these attributes. It would be good to identify its relatively quickly so that this dog can then be filtered to the right foster carer and then on to the right owner. And for people who say they don't want a "Macdog" (which by the way is totally understandable from my perspective) then a good temperament test will also identify these dogs and enable them to be filtered to the right owners. It works both ways.

I really think this is taking a terrible toll on you, as it pull on anyone in the same situation. You are important too, and I can't help but wonder about your quality of life at the moment You need freedom and to be able to socialise, and you need to be financially stable and to not be under so much stress. I really think you have gone above and beyond with Roo, and your endurance and perseverance is really to be admired. Perhaps though it has got to the point where it is unendurable for both of you. No dog could have asked for more dedication from their owner than what you've given to Roo, but you really do have to look after yourself as well.

He most definitely is, someone must be missing him terribly We have a vet that travels here once a month (not here atm) or so otherwise it's a 2 and a bit hours drive to the nearest big town. Even in emergencies we would have to make the drive, they don't come out here for emergency calls. This is my first time living in such a tiny community, I'm not used to having so little. You pretty much do have to fend for yourself in most things out here. Even for the human side we miss out, like the dentist comes once every couple/few months, highschoolers go to boarding school, our gp runs two clinics in separate towns as well as being the hospital doctor.... we're very small lol Yeah I can imagine that sort of isolation would take a bit of getting used to! Puppy is very lucky you found him too. Well it looks like you are definitely stuck with him for the time being! Hopefully all the work you're putting in will locate his owners soon :)

What exactly is she terrified of Jo_C? As others have said if you want to tire her out a bit try some training at home :) I especially reccommend introducing her to the clicker because not only does that style of training really tire them out mentally but if she has developed a fear of something the clicker can be used in a desensitisation program to rid her of her fear.

Ashli, I know you said that there is no pound, but is there a vet close by? A vet will be able to scan him for a micro-chip and find his owners that way :) he sounds like such a lovely pup :)

I am so glad he made it :)

wishing spud all the best. I hope you've had good news Miss2

Look at her go! That's really cool Sares :) my dogs have also been playing around with the skateboard since my daughter got one for christmas. The Dane is completely insane and has no concern for her personal safety whatsoever, so she is only allowed on it with strict supervision. While Mr Digby is much more tentative and is really probably only giving it a go because we tell him how clever he is :D Ofcourse they can't get around on it so well as Ruby can as they are too big. I would love to see some video footage if you have it :)

Here's to Fergus what a great dog

Hey jellybean I just want to wish you and Roo the best for whatever lies ahead.