mr.mister

Some very emotive language being used by those against de-barking. Do you feel the same way about a dog's reproductive organs being removed - ie; a routine desexing? I have met debarked dogs; their surgeries were successful and they thoroughly enjoyed barking their little heads off - whilst making hardly any noise at all. That seems like a better option to me than rehoming or being PTS.

My friend had a Tenterfield Terrier who started going grey around 2yrs and had a completely white face by around 5. I don't know a whole lot about it but liken it a little to make pattern baldness - it happens a lot earlier to some than others and is not necessarily indicative of old age. Eta: she is 15 now and still very spritely and young at heart.

Ah yes, that makes sense. And thanks for the heads up about the conveyancing - we need to organise that still!

I guess I'm curious as to whether the vendor would be prepared to wait for their deposit? We haven't spoken to the bank but I might do that next week. It's all there, we just can't access it yet. Hazy I am always so careful when I post not to post in the wrong spot, and now I've finally done it. :laugh: thought I wac going insane!

Ah!!! Yes! I was trawling OT wondering why I couldn't find it.

I know it's been done before. :laugh: My partner and I are putting an offer on a property. We have a good deposit ready, however it's in a term deposit maturing in early March. We do have a small amount of savings in an accessible bank account. We're planning on offering either a deposit bond or partial deposit, with the rest payable on maturation of the term deposit. My question is, do we need to make this clear to the agent at the time we make the offer, or once finance has been approved (we have preapproval).

Perhaps you could do a letter drop (or doorknock) to all the neighbours explaining the predicament, that it is a temporary situation and if there are any problems with the dogs, to come to you first? What a crappy situation. A shame your step dad can't be more understanding.

Oh dear. Even the sweetest tempered dog could snap under that kind of pressure. I remember playing with a next door neighbour's goldie when I was about 11, dog had a toy she was chewing and I thought I would play a game and try to get the toy from her. She had a very stable temperament, but still snapped at me when I tried to take her prize. Luckily I realised what I had been doing was stupid and stopped! I can't believe someone would allow a baby to pester a dog like that, let alone stick its hands in/around the dog's mouth. And people wonder why their sweet-tempered family dog 'suddenly' snaps at their child.

I get that, but I'm still not spending money purely on the experience. Opening a surprise is great but the enjoyment is very short lived indeed if what's inside the box is disappointing.

Wha? If I pay good money for something I pay it to get a (hopefully good quality) item - not for the excitement of opening a package. If a product doesn't live up to my expectations I don't go back to the company. That said the customer service of olly's box has been nothing short of excellent.

My mum never wanted a male dog, she hated leg-lifting and was convinced any male we owned would pee on everything inside and out. By chance we ended up with a boy and of course he was an absolute angel to housetrain - only ever squatted in the house under duress if we missed his 'I need to go pee' signals. He barely lifted his leg at all, funnily enough. I think he found squatting more civilized. :laugh: Changed my mum's tune after that! I think perhaps it's an older generation thing? Back when most dogs were outside animals and left entire, not housetrained etc.

I can't remember the name of it, but there is a slicker style brush you can get that has soft rubber teeth instead of metal ones. He might like those ones better? They feel good to me :laugh: (they are a dog brush but I use them on my cats)

My first dog as a child was a miniature poodle. She was a sweet little dog but mum rehomed her 6 weeks later as she had bought her in the middle of moving house and couldn't cope (what was she thinking??). She was from a registered breeder, sold without papers so not to be bred from. Sadly the person we rehomed her to was a backyard breeder : so she had a few litters over her lifetime.

Yes a thread for Collies both rough and smooth would be great! Plenty of Collie owners on here. :)

at the wedding reception story!! I once begged my mum to buy me a dog biscuit as I was desperately curious about how they tasted. She conceded and bought me a (non meat flavoured) biscuit as she claimed that I would get Mad Cow Disease if I ate something with pet grade meat in it! :laugh: The biscuit was dry and a tiny bit salty. I'd give it a 5/10.

I like the Sheltie - "What is this witchcraft!?"

That link that was posted earlier is well worth a read for the OP and their friend - TNS is a terrible disease in BCs and it is inheritable - if the parents haven't been tested (and if they're byb, they certainly won't have) then it's a game of russian roulette as to whether the pup will be healthy or not. Keep in mind that parents can be completely healthy but still carry the disease and pass it on to their pups. Perhaps that will jolt them into going the ethical registered breeder route - there is nothing more heartbreaking than your puppy suffering a horrible death from an inheritable (and preventable) disease.

I often stop someone with an obviously well bred dog and compliment them on it - there are a couple of people around here with Borzoi, and also some Whippets and Samoyeds, but the absolute vast majority of dogs around here are working crosses or 'staffy' types. It's a breath of fresh air to see a purebred dog. :)

I have a lovely, intelligent aunt and uncle but they still went and spent $2000 on a puppy-farmed oodle even after I'd directed them to DOL. yes smart people can sometimes be incredibly stupid.

That is horrifying, I am so sorry for your loss. Thank you so much for sharing your story so others can be warned.

I haven't read through the whole thread as I'm on my lunch break, so apologies if this has already been answered. I noticed it was mentioned that shelties aren't suitable jogging companions, why is this? Because of their size? Would the occasional 3-5k jog (like, a couple times a month) be too much?

I would just offer to buy her. If they say no, they say no. Unfortunately though now this dog has had a taste of 'the good life' it will be very hard to cease contact but will ultimately be the better option. There's also the option to report the dog to council. In no way would I offer money to have her in your yard, or even buy her things like a kennel. You can't let people take advantage of you.

Another here who would recommend a Rottie from a good breeder. Very intimidating dogs to look at, but absolute wiggle bums otherwise. My sister had a beautiful Rottie bitch who was sweet, affectionate, enjoyed two walks a day and who also had a very frightening bark and was dedicated to protecting her human charges. Beautiful, sweet animal - I was never a rottie person but that dog converted me!

Signed :)

Thanks for the suggestions! I have passed on the westie rescue site and also the suggestion of Cairn Terriers, I will let you know how it goes. :)