aussielover

Yes, I often find that people whose dogs have been hit by cars are outraged that the driver didn't stop. Though having said that, if I hit an animal I would most definitely stop. They should actually be thankful the driver isn't suing them for any damages. Of course it is very sad and upsetting when a beloved family pet is injured or killed (even more sad when it is preventable).

You could try to get her attention on you when you see a person/dog approaching. Do this by teaching the "look" command. Practice at home in a very low distraction environment. say "Puppy (your dogs name), look" and reward her when her eyes look to your face. This needs to be repeated a lot. Practice having her looking at you for longer periods of time as well. It *may* be something she is just going thru at the moment and will grow out of, especially if you just keeping walking forward in a confident manner and completely ignoring her and the distraction. HOwever, it could be something more serious, it is pretty hard to diagnose over the net, so again, would recommend getting a private consultation with a good trainer.

:D So true ... It's so sad when they're not cute little puppies anymore! But other delightfulness awaits as their personalities develop. Elbie has lost his soft puppy coat but his head - particularly ears are still soooooo soft and lovely. I have to admit I like stroking and pinching his ears (very gently of course) because they're so soft. He rests his head on my knee to let me do his. ;) I love Mindy's ears too! She is also very tolerant of my ear-stroking and squishing.

Yes, but did they actually have dependents? Perhaps they were more functional than this woman, or perhaps they really did have at least one person looking out for them and their dependents. I think the worst thing about this situation is that it took everyone so long to find out about it. RIP doggies. I don't think it is beneficial to punish this person. She is clearly unwell and suffering from some sort of mental breakdown. A healthy person would not leaving the rotting bodies of 2 dogs in the house. It is so easy for us to judge, but really we don't know the whole situation, and you never know how you would cope under the same circumstances.

Back in the '80s I lived with my boyfriend Scott that had a white bull terrier (Max). Max was kept in a small courtyard and Scott only let him in once a day, in the evening. He was so excited when he came in he used to jump up and snap and Scott would punch him in the head to try to make him stop. I would tell him not to do it but to no avail. Max was manic for quite some time, and it took a long time till he settled. Scott went to see his folks in Qld for a week, so what did I do, I let Max stay inside the for the whole time Scott was away and guess what, the dog wasn't manic at all. I liked Max a lot and I thought that Scott was cruel to leave the dog in the courtyard by it's self 22 hours a day. When Scott returned, Max was put back in the yard and his manic behavior returned. It turned out that Max was actually deaf, hence why he didn't listen. I ended up leaving Scott due to his violent tendencies. Does this sound like someone that hates bulls? NO. It's the thugs that own them and don't know how to treat them that get up my nose. And the breeders that sell the thugs the dogs that need to be accountable. And yes, I'm sick of hearing, it the deed not the breed whenever there's a dog attack. Agree with you there. I am glad to see that you can see that in the right hands, Bull breeds can make great pets :D I think we can all agree that certain irresponsible people who should not even own a pet rock, are attracted to a "tough" looking dog. These people are less likely to be responsible owners, therefore their dogs are more likely to behave aggresisvely and attack someone.

How awful for you! I think more knowledgable people than I will be able to give you some better advice. Do you know why she is barking at other dogs/people, as this can be important when considering how to correct it. I would probably consider getting a professional trainer or behaviourist to assess the problem and give you a bit of a plan to work on.

I know how you feel! We are lucky enough now to have friends who live on the south coast and are retired and will mind our dog if we go away. They are very experienced dog owners, so an ideal situation. When we left Clover for the first time I practically cried the whole time! Didn't make for a very enjoyable holiday! But at least your guys have each other and as Frufru said, will be as safe as possible. Personally I would not want to board a dog for more than 2 weeks as I have found that after that they do start going a bit cage crazy, or become depressed. But you're only gone for 10 days so they should be fine :D I assume your dogs will be taken out for walks every day etc?

You didn't mention before that both you AND OH are fed up with Dupree. No wonder Kuma is acting strangely towards this guy. I am sure he can sense that both of you don't want Dupree there anymore and Akita's do have quite a strong protective instinct. He probably thinks he is doing his job, because you guys can't do it. You can't really change how you feel about Dupree, so I think the only safe situation is to get Dupree out of the house ASAP and completely separate Kuma from Dupree until then (you could make dupree sleep in Kuma's kennel outside or something :D ) To be fair to Dupree about backing down to Kuma- I would imagine a big Akita nipping. biting, growling and jumping at you would be pretty intimidating! Also, if he does try to assert himslef, Kuma may actually escalate and bite/attack.

Voltaren is a non steriodal anti inflmammatory drug similar to metcam, rimadyl, previcox etc. There is always the risk of kidney failure when using these drugs, which is why it is ideal to check kidney and liver parameters before admisitering them. Of course this is very rarely done in an otherwise healthy young dog. I am not sure voltaren is commonly used in dogs? I know nurofen (ibuprofen) is toxic to dogs and cats. Personally I think there are safer alteernatives, approved for use in animals, but maybe they were more expensive.

The harder areas are her adult coat, which will be the same as an adult GSD. It is sad when they lose their puppy fluff! Mindy only has puppy hair on her ears now

Steve so so well said. It does my head in to see unleashed dogs walking along the street with their owners. Not to mention my poor friend who is trying to rehabilitate her DA dog and is constantly having to deal with idiots who let their dogs rush up to hers on the street. Not to mention the poor drivers who have to deal with having run over someones pet when it rushes across the road having spotted something that takes its fancy. Everyone suffers potentially, the dog, the owner and the the poor unsuspecting motorist. Then if you try and tell people to put their dog on a lead they just tell you to f** off. I wish I could on the spot fine everyone I found walking their dog off leash on the street. Drives me mental. Not to mention these idiots give dog owners a bad name and mean yet more laws get introduced. Well said by both you guys I am currently experiencing some difficulty in training my dog to ignore other dog whilst on leash and "working" because all these idiotic people let their dogs run up to mine (both on leash and off leash). I get lots of rude comments about how my dog will become aggressive etc if she is not allowed to socialise or how i am a "mean mum" for not letting her get harrassed by a "friendly" dogs, most of whoms approach is so dominant and confrontational I actually have to step between the dogs to stop mine from becoming freaked out and intimidated I really feel for people with DA dogs. I think they should be able to walk on the street without being under constant stress.

I have to say it is pretty hard to get my dog to ignore other dogs when there are so many idiots around who either have their dog off leash under no control or purposely walk their dog up to mine to say "hello" even though I tell them I am trying to train her to ignore other dogs. Then they go on about how she will become aggressive etc if I don't let her socialise... I can only imgaine how bad it must be for people who have hyper or DA dogs

Haha so I could bite my dog harder than she could bite me??? She has pointier teeth though....

If you don't want him in the house, get rid of him! I think it is perfectly possible that Kuma is sensing that you are uncomfortable with the guy and is therefore reacting in an abnormal way. The behaviour he is displaying is as others have said, potentially dangerous. You could get in a behaviourist, but perhaps that would lead to you feel even more resentful of the guy (I know it would make me feel very annoyed). Personally I think it is difficult enough to have someone in the house living with you whom you don't like or resent their presence. For me it would have to come down to who I would rather have in the house with me- Kuma or the Guy? If Kuma's behaviour towards visitors persists after he leaves, then definitely see a behaviourist.

Rip Cooper:( I nearly hit a dog the other day when it ran across the road. I also had to wait in my car for a few minutes while the owner casually strolled over to get it. It kept running on and off the road. Stupid person.

I wonder how people train their dogs to totally ignore other dogs on lead ie. keep looking forward whilst walking by another dog I have not been able to master that consistently yet, but when it does occur, I have noticed its when I just keeping walking forward in a no fuss manner and expect her to do the right thing, completely ignoring the other dog and completely ignoring HER so in other words, my own confidence, not hers. I also found this with recalls, if I thought "oh shes not gonna come", she wouldn't come but since I have started to expect her to come everytime, she actually does. weird. Perhaps the Prong Collar is a tool where the owner can feel more confident and therefore need to use it less?? Personally I think things like check chains and prong collars, even haltis should only be used by those who know what they are doing (I wouldn't know what to do with it) or under guidance from an experienced trainer.

Well, the crate is leaving us in a month. Its almost too small for her anyway. Its really too small to have her in for more than an hour or so I'm not buying another crate because she will be returning for training in a year. They are going to give us another dog bed instead. We did ask what happens when the crate goes back, they said most people have just one room the dog can stay in.

Then breeds like rotties, GSDs, dobes, LGDs such as maremmas would feautre in the news more often wouldn't they? Just so you know, dog fighting breeds were actually selected for LOW human aggression as they had to be pulled out of fights and handled a lot when they were patched up. I have a friend who's an animal behaviorist who says LSGs like Mareemas have about the highest bite threshold its possible to breed into a dog. Sorry what does that mean A dog's bite threshold is the point at which it can be triggered to bite. It takes a hell of a lot to get an LGD to bite.. but when they do (hopefully Lilli will confirm) my understanding is that they don't have much bite inhibition (ie they bite HARD) Contrast this with a gundog that has a low bite threshold (will mouth readily) but tends to have very high bite inhibition (they don't tend to bite hard). Now enter a dickhead puppy farmer who decides to cross these breeds. One potential result is a pup with a very low bite inhibiton (hard biter) and a very low bite threshold (bites readily). Potential problems anyone? Oh god, don't give them any ideas.... Thanks for the explanation :D

If you're talking about socialisation then the window for opportunity is only from 8-16 weeks, so you're well past that In terms of other training, like walking on a lead, intially he might be a bit excited the first time (but i;m pretty sure they can start short leash walks a fe weeks after surgery) but will soon settle. You can practice recall in the house. I would be doing lots of other training like maybe tricks (if he is allowed) while he is recovering. I'm sure he will be fine

Then breeds like rotties, GSDs, dobes, LGDs such as maremmas would feautre in the news more often wouldn't they? Just so you know, dog fighting breeds were actually selected for LOW human aggression as they had to be pulled out of fights and handled a lot when they were patched up. I have a friend who's an animal behaviorist who says LSGs like Mareemas have about the highest bite threshold its possible to breed into a dog. Sorry what does that mean

I cried when I read this. Rusky reminded me of my old girl RIP Rusky run free

RIP lovely Gypsy Kritta, so sorry for your loss, losing a loved one is always so hard

Then breeds like rotties, GSDs, dobes, LGDs such as maremmas would feautre in the news more often wouldn't they? Just so you know, dog fighting breeds were actually selected for LOW human aggression as they had to be pulled out of fights and handled a lot when they were patched up. erm i think you'll find its other way way- deed not breed. Breed not deed is YOUR opinion

Mindy has gone from waking at 7.30 when we first got her, to 6.30 and in the last few weeks 5.30am :D. I couldn't figure it out at first but now I realise she wakes as soon as it startes to get light. I really don't want her to persist with this because 5.30am is just way too early for me, I am NOT a morning person and I work/study until quite late at night so currently have been surviving on 5hrs sleep ;) The trouble once she is up she really needs to have a run around and toilet and by then we are both too awake to go back to sleep. I also find it hard to sleep once I am woken, especially if it is light. I have tried crating her after her toilet break which is fine, but then I just lie in bed for an hour or so awake, which is pointless. So ideally I would like her to wake at 6.30 am (about the same time I get up) so we can make it in time for her 6.45am playdate with friends at the park (she has a better social life than me!) I am considering leaving her downstairs to sleep at night and leaving the back door open as we did for our old dog. As I have said before, the house is open plan, so this would give her access to pretty much all the rooms. She is currently sleeping in my room just on the floor (on my crumpled up clothes ) and can wander around my room which is reasonably large. She doesn't actually wander at night though and stays sleeping till 5.30am. There have been no accidents after about a month of this, which i was intially worried about. But if she has access to a larger area, do you think she will just go where she feels like it? I am also worried she will destroy things during the night, though she hasn't done that in my room (and believe me, there is plenty of potential there-messy room ) The only other thing I can think of would be to put her in the laundary as it has no windows so is dark all the time, but as some of you may recall, that didn't work out when she was a young puppy. Now she is older she may accept it more easily though? This happened with her travel crate, so maybe possible? Also, she starts falling asleep at around7/8pm in the family room on her (well actually it's our old dog Clover's) trampoline bed and blanky, it is quite hard to get her to go outside to toilet and move upstairs into my room even, so I am guessing she will not like being shoved in the laundary! What do reckon I should do? Has anyone ever transitioned their pup/dog from sleeping in a crate/small space to having free run of the house at night?

Is he a baby berner? If you can't handle, I will have