LDR

I'm glad I'm not the only one! Ahhh there are "crazier" things to be crazy abount then dogs! :D

I just connect with dogs more then people at times I really could not stop myself from pampering her. She was so distressed and whilst I was careful to not reinforce her storm fear I made her feel like a Queen for a little while. Her owners were chuffed. She was so cute - an eleven year old JRT cross with such a lady like persona. Timmy didn't particularly like the intrusion but he coped!

the last stray I took to the vet (a sort of huge Ridgeback type) I said, I have just found this darling' thing..... and got the OMG a crazy old etc etc look...... Hehehehe! My Mum is RIDICULOUSLY frightened of "big" dogs. Buuuut in 2 years of Mr Timmy (4.2kg) and LOTS of dog park adventures meeting 45kg Gentle Benson (the bitza), Saxon the gorgeous Husky etc she now realises big dogs aren't ferocious. Imagine my shock when she was at a dog show and remarked "ooooh look at the boooooodiful boy, you like that don't you? Your tum tum scratched baby boy" and it was a massive entire Rottie!

We had a vicious storm here on a Sunday, driving home on a busy road a fluffy JRT cross darts in front of the car in front of ours. I stop immediately, lure her to me (she was so frightened she defecated poor lass :D ) and then as it was literally pounding with rain took her home rather then continue door knocking (no clue which direction she'd run from). So ... home. A few drops of Rescue Remedy. A liver treat. A warm bath and brush (little princess luuuuuurved that part) then off to the after hours vet to have her scanned .... No current number, just a name and that she is listed as living in a suburb two hours away ... Back in the car and door knock the other half of the road ... BINGO - second house is hers !!! Relieved owner ... a reminder from me to update her chip info and a HUGE thanks for making her all fluffy and gorgeous. Everyone I tell that story to (who is non "dog") finds it funny. efs

Ok, OH can be a child at times and gain amusement from riling me up ... I usually retaliate later with an unexpected cap gun attack. But I digress. On Sunday (a particularly hot day) a gentlemen was walking his Husky and OH pipes up - poor dog having to cope in this heat! - to which I start my "their coat actually insulates them ..." speech at which point he sniggers and says ahhhh CDL (my nickname short for Crazy Dog Lady), you're too easy sometimes.

Four!! He'd blow up! He manages one in a sitting - although he'd probably gladly eat 10 come to think of it. OH always jokes and says "I know we can't do it but don't you reckon for kicks it'd be fun to just throw down a whole BBQ chook - one that's bigger then him - and just see if he ever stops eating". Oh dear

Oh nooooo - not the tiles - Lord Muck's bum won't touch them without protection - we always put his chicken necks on a towel to be eaten for hygiene but I think that's the only hope we'd have of getting the "pre-tea sit" out of him! efs

~Nic~ Lord Muck aka Timmy doesn't work! Gasp! Never! Even chasing rogue minor birds out of the vegie patch is beneath him - yawn!

I got to vote "pefect" but only because Timmy is very submissive / shy / lacking in confidence with other dogs. So I will get a trainer in (we worked with one at his puppyhood) to help me learn to help him have more confidence.

Oh ... ~Nic~ ................... that poor dog looks humiliated So why am I smiling?

He moped the entire twenty minutes it was on - we only wanted it on long enough for kiddies (my neice and nephew - 2 and 4) to see and to snap some pics. We got TWO pictures. The original post and this sorry effort .....

What was the gist?

I'm not a FAcebooker but is there a way to spread the word with a Facebook group?

I loooove BARF! Well I don't but my 2 year old mini foxie does I buy the BARF patties frozen and pre prepared but have made my own in the past. They actually work out cheaper then tinned supermarket dog food too. Here is a link - BARF I also alternate his meals with chicken necks and sometimes a lamb bone. So breakie is a third of a pattie for my 4kg boy and dinner is usually a chook neck. I mix it up with the odd sardine in olive oil and raw egg (incl shell). He glows with health, has firm stools (great as he was getting blocked anal glands on tinned food), has great breath and smells fresh in general, his coat is soft and shiny, teeth pearly white - basically he is one good lookin' dog! If you can start to introduce it to your new puppy (in parallel with what the breeder has fed) until fully integrated and have a go at switching your older dog I tip that you'll be impressed with the results. BARF isn't great for all dogs but I've yet to meet a dog that doesn't thrive on it.

selecting i like to see there sites before i look into them further I wouldn't restrict your searching to the internet. You want someone who's knowledgeable about dogs, not computers. Very good point - but isn't something like this just enough to get you wishing for puppy breath?? Warning - Exceptionally Cute Puppies / Dogs!! ETA - I really think the above site is a great example of using the net to promote a fantastic breeder. If more people saw sites like this perhpas there'd be less MFs and MF mixes in pet shops? They are everywhere these days.

CDL is my nickname with OH and my mates! They actually will correspond about me in texts as dog girl - ie "we're running a little late as CDL has found a stray, we'll be there after a quick pound stop". Or "Dog girl is saying mean things to the people looking at puppies in pet stores, I'm scared!". Go the Crazy Dog Ladies of the world I want it printed on a t-shirt

CDL is my nickname with OH and my mates! They actually will correspond about me in texts as dog girl - ie "we're running a little late as CDL has found a stray, we'll be there after a quick pound stop". Or "Dog girl is saying mean things to the people looking at puppies in pet stores, I'm scared!".

Well thanks poodlefan, that’s made me feel worse!! I only have one person who always asks me if I had a show but my boss is accommodating because he knows I’m passionate about it but he has told me he doesn’t agree with it....and says that dogs belong in the backyard, not made to do ‘circus acts’. Have you pointed out to your boss how boring life in a backyard can be? Sure have, that was my first response! I said it was cruel keeping a dog in the backyard with no stimulation....I have to say it in the nicest way though which is hard and doesnt get my point across in the way i really want it too If i were you I'd find some great YouTube clips of dogs having a ball doing agility etc and email them around the office as a "oh look at this cute clip!" type of email. I know I thought crating was cruel until I understood it (now I thank DOG for crates! ).

Had the same experience .... up to 10 months he was a darling - 10-15 months he's lucky to have survived! He stole / chewed / refused to walk nicely / was nicknamed Doggo Destruct-O at one stage! Lots of one on one training with our behaviourist (we started him young at 3 months and got them back in to deal with Feral as he'd been nicknamed), lots of leading the pack by us and slowly but surely we turned a corner From about 16 months on - he's now 2 years and 2 months - he was and remains an angel. A little bit of barking at strange sounds in the street (quietened with our "good quiet" command) and the odd (1% of the time) delay in recall. He's just magic and has even convinced friends and family that dogs that are t-r-a-i-n-e-d and *part of the family* (not outdoors all day and night alone) can be really rewarding.

Agreed, lovely pittie cross girl roaming our streets (very puppy like so I'd guess twelve months old) no road sense at all, two trips to the pound and the hip pocket must've been hurt enough to learn to lock their gate properly.

1. Crate train - we only purchased our crate at the day three mark and in retrospect whilst I thought crate training was cruel the two days of confusion Timmy felt without a safe "den" were far crueler. 2. Be consistent - they are looking to you for leadership. As annoying as it might seem to have to go into training mode at 7.30pm on a Friday night and hop up off your comfy couch, put down your glass of wine and go into the whole show of "why play biting is not tolerated in our house / high squeal and back turning to ignore puppy" routine, you must do it - consistency kept Timmy on track. 3. Take lots of pictures - not really a training tip but I regret not getting weekly shots to track his progress. EFS

THat's some pretty extreme reactions given Sasha looks like a bit of a softy from your banner pics? My Mum is s-l-o-w-l-y getting used to bigger dogs (only because she loves coming to the dog park with Timmy) and it's taken 18 months. For some reason she's always had a fear of any big dogs (we're talking anything around the size of even a kelpie +). At first some owners were offended by her stand-offishness but others have been great and have really helped to a) educate her and b) help her overcome her fear. I was gobsmacked a month or two back when she approached a rottie owner to ask for a pat at a dog day out. "Oh look at his big smoochy smile" she was fawning. This was miraculous for her.

Like the little kid we saw casually riding a water buffalo in the waters of Viet Nam. That animal terrified me, yet a scrawny little 7 year old was perfectly fine around it! Some cultures just don't see certain animals the way we do and vice versa, like the sacred cows of India etc etc

the noise of 4 ferrets fighting over a rabbit head is a thing to behold ... I think you would need therapy I like the look of ferrets, they are quite cute, don't get me wrong, but yes, intensive therapy .... My chook fear extends to pretty much all birds. I went to feed the birds (lovely peach faces and the like) for my MIL and got locked in the avery. I've not been the same since!