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?

I know what you mean! I'm considering getting a 'caution' collar/harness to put on my dog, just to scare people off so that they don't allow their dogs to harass her. She's the sweetest thing and will roll over as soon as another dog comes near, but they will still jump on her and mouth her quite roughly. I very clearly and loudly tell her to 'Leave it!' when another dog comes close, and this usually works too as the owners tend to abruptly veer away instead of walking right towards us.

Haha once when I was giving my dog's details to the vet's receptionist, I said her colour was fawn - kind of like an ash blonde. The vet later looked at her records and was a bit nonplussed that it was entered as 'ash blonde'.

I guess the resounding answer is no, it's not over the top at all. In addition - regarding the photos of the yard, sometimes there might be issues that you don't spot so you tell the breeder that your fences are fine. It takes an experienced eye to see possible escape routes that you may have overlooked. Nothing personal. I know I've done house-checks and have identified weak spots that a dog could've taken advantage of. And about what drives you, I agree that the breeder may be wanting to know what your plan was for the next decade or two. If you were highly focused on your career or starting a family, then they may be more cautious. All perfectly normal.

First was a fluffy Maltese x Shih Tzu pup, but he was only with me for a few months before he was stolen from my yard. A month or three later, I got a greyhound and also took in a staffy whose owner was incarcerated, but ended up rehoming her as I was going to school full-time and she wasn't coping. My beautiful grey stayed with me through five or six address changes, a child and multiple cat/dog fosters and I lost her at the age of 11 to osteosarcoma. I would only recommend a grey to a first time owner if they were aware of the breed's quirks. She was very easy for me to live with, but I do think people with different expectations of what dogs are like would struggle.

I used to take my grey on the train at least once a week. She loved it. Usually only went one stop and then walked back home. Never knew she had to be muzzled, and she had a green collar so was never muzzled. I know dogs have to be crated on trams. Brighton dog beach and cafes after is nice in summer. There are lots of off-lead parks that you can google to see which is closest to you (or close to good cafes, which is also important :p)

My answers don't really fit in the poll. If my dog feels threatened by another dog, she'll give a little cry, and snap at the air if very desperate. She is very submissive though, so I will almost always step in and get the other dog away from her. The only times she really growls is when she hears suspicious noises at night, and I pay attention to that now since twice now it's meant that someone was breaking into my car. Or if she thinks that someone is skulking, and she can't see them properly. I'm fine with that too, since I think it's entirely reasonable.

Indecisive here. My dog doesn't really like it and will eat the bare minimum. She eats a tiny amount, but maintains her weight and her coat is shiny, eyes are clear, breath isn't smelly. VAN though smells kind of weird. It also seems to plug her poop up - the first poop is very hard, and the rest that follow are kind of soft, but non-offensive to me and easy to manage. Have fed it to most of my foster dogs and they do well on it, but they don't love it.

Almost all of my pets have been female. My foster fails, and the ones that have come veeeeeeerrrry close, have all been male. The males have had the personalities to make me fall in love with them, whereas I got my female pets through chance and didn't get to know them beforehand. Although the females have always been affectionate, the males just have this laid-back tolerance to them I find.

Just wanted to add that I'm loving these photos of Didi! She looks so happy and has a great life. You're a fantastic owner.

I would not initially want to return the dog, but if the RSPCA told me what was in the article - that the woman had owned it for 7 years with no trouble, and it had escaped while being minded by a pet-sitter, I would return the dog (and ask her to refund me my adoption money! I'm poor!) Probably helps that I don't bond very quickly - usually takes at least a few weeks, but usually months, before I really feel connected with an animal or person.