hippo

Search Facebook for "Take them around" with Ashley Reid. His place is about 10 mins from JCC

Instead of looking for a replacement dog, perhaps you could focus on Oak, who would only be 3 or so months old right now? (and work on a 100% reliable emergency recall)

I don't think people were replying to you - Jessica Parker was the one saying 'most people go for GSDs, Labs, or Pitbulls if they're brave', disregarding the fact that none of these breeds would do well mostly outside, nor do they have minimal grooming needs.

I think it's do-able but definitely wouldn't be giving staffy unsupervised access to the balcony with such low clearance. A friend of mine has lived with her GSD from puppyhood to present (5 years old) purely in apartments. I've lived in single room sharehouses with my cattle cross. It's do-able if you put the time and effort in. I would rethink the blue colour though. It's irrelevant to the staffy personality.

I'm surprised you added a second male. Same sex aggression is noted in the breed, particularly male/male pairings. Excellent training and socialisation unfortunately do not determine whether or not SSA occurs. This can help explain why your guys are showing aggression with other dogs. Most dobes I've met in the dog park are young. I'm guessing as they grow older, their tolerance for other dogs' shenanigans decreases. However they wouldn't be the breed of choice for most dog park people, who usually have easier dogs (in terms of requiring mental and physical stimulation), so that also explains why dobes aren't very common in dog park type situations where there can be little supervision and ability to separate your own dogs from strange ones who may not have the best manners. I think if you're after a dog that loves playing with other dogs and is very forgiving and tolerant of them, a Dobe wouldn't be right.

I'm planning on a black male Dobie end of this year too (fingers crossed everything goes well with the bitch and she has a decent sized litter!) and I might have to invest in a pair of fluffy dog slippers so I can steal this name!! OP, where are you getting yours from? PM me please, I love hearing about breeders :)

I agree with Sheridan. Very frustrating to put work into a dog only to see the owner fall back into their habits and see all your work come undone. She's on a retractable lead. You're supposed to pull on a retractable lead. Unless you can be bothered getting her a lightweight small lead, and start lead training from scratch (or even worse than scratch, as she's already been taught to pull), there's not much you can do there.

Haha you're quite right! Sorry about that.

I agree with Stressmagnet - the first trimester is usually the worst for tiredness and morning sickness that lasts all day. You really don't feel like doing anything but napping all day. How old does Lucy behave? Is she a 'young' 8 year old that wouldn't mind a pup around the place, or is she quite sedate and set in her ways? I think if Lucy doesn't mind a new pup, it's great timing. I surprised my 6 year old greyhound with a baby (human), and then a few months on, surprised her with another baby (puppy). She was such a laidback dog that it was fine with her. Juggling a newish baby with a new puppy was a bit difficult, but you'll hopefully have your pup already house trained and with routine in place before your bubs comes along. And not having to go back to work, and with your hubby around most of them, will be a huge help.

Haha that is one annoying kitten! Pia is just gorgeous.

I feel that's common with many dogs, though. Having had greys, staffie crosses, cattle dog crosses and even small dog breeds through my home, they've all lived happily with the cats inside but when outside need supervision and if it's a strange cat, then it had better be very quick.

It's illegal to keep an intact dog in ACT without a permit, so if the breeder isn't from there and not aware, and happy to let the dog go intact, then it would be up to you to desex him/her. I have found that most breeders prefer a short initial email giving out a bit of information about yourself, and then if they respond favourably then you could call them.

Ha. Yes, cat litter can be dangerous for dogs if it builds up in their gut. Plus dogs usually think the best time to lick you is right after cleaning the litter tray. The easiest thing I've found is to put a baby gate in place and raise it a few inches off the ground for the cats to crawl under, in case your cats aren't happy jumping over/squeezing through the slats.

Well for a start, you didn't need the PVC pipe as that would have left only the size of the circle for the earth to work. Just dig a hole and if you think that isn't going to be enough, then rake in leaves and garden litter. And if you still think that won't work, get a bag of garden soil and sprinkle some over every time you give the hole a deposit. :laugh: Ouch. Painful lightbulb moment!

I tried using a post hole digger and filling it with poo. Really should have put other stuff in there, though. My ground was quite hard, so all that happened was when it rained, it filled up with poo water and never really went down. Smelled a bit in summer. Moved house and wonder what the new occupiers think of that strange PVC pipe in the ground with brown liquid?