aussielover

Ummm it's letting them have a season that helps them reach full "maturity" due to hormone effect etc. There is no difference between de sexing at 8 weeks and de sexing before the first season at 6 months.

I would never recommend a medium-long haired breed for someone after an easy care "wash and wear" coat. While the dirt may easily brush off them, you can't just towel them down and they are clean and dry. I;ve noticed a huge difference in coat care required for an aussie vs a lab. The aussie you could towel down and she'd be clean but still remain damp for a while. The lab is generally clean and dry by the time we get back from a walk anyway. If you like Ridgebacks, I think they could be suitable. They probably not as easy to train as say a labrador or BC, but I wouldn't say they are overly difficult to teach manners and general obedience. If you wanted a comp obedience dog, then maybe they are not the breed for you- although I have heard of several ridgies attaining high levels of obedience trial results. They don't need as much exercise as a GSP or Weim or Kelpie

If I had the money and treatment would improve the quality of life of my dog ( to a degree i was happy with) I would spend it If I didn't have the momey and couldn't get a loan, account, borrow off friends and family... well there's nothing you can do sadly

Quite normal. There are quite a few little tricks that can make toilet training a bit easier. I'd suggest putting her on a lead for toilet breaks. That way you can confine the mess to one area of the garden which will become her "toilet area" which she will associate with toileting hopefully. You can walk around in a circle to encourage her to go as well. I'd put a command on toileting. I use "quick quick". It is REALLY useful especially later down the track if you take long car trips, visit other people's houses etc, you can easily get the dog to toilet before and then not have to worry too much. It is also really easy to teach. As they are going say the command and give a nice reward after (toy or treat). They will learn pretty quickly. It only took my pup a few days to get the hang of it and then toilet training became a lot easier.

She told him to leave her alone and most of her behaviour is saying the same thing. No need to be horrified - it was a perfectly appropriate response. Many bitches do not appreciate strange dogs sniffing them and as her owner I suggest you stop it from happening. Lots of adult dogs show little interest in meeting new dogs. Keep other dogs away from her. She's clearly not interested in being sniffed by dogs that are probably a hell of a lot bigger than she is. Many "friendly" dogs are actually quite rude in dog terms. The fact that some dog wants to greet yours doesn' mean you have to let it happen. I would recommend you read the article "he just wants to say hi". here Do you think barking and snarling is normal? In my experience, most dogs don't need to resort to barking or growling to tell another dog to back off. In fact most times body language- stiff body, raised tail, the "look" etc are enough to warn other dogs off. Many little dogs do this to my big dog and she knows to give them their space- even though they are about 1/5 of her size lol Its quite funny, she will be excited at the prospect of seeing another dog, start walking towards them, take one look at them, see they are definitely NOT interested and then slink back to me LOL

I think a Weim or GSP might suit you. I don't think they have more of a problem than your average dog with recalls, though a lot comes down to training and the individual dog. They are breeds that I would classify as "highly active" with similar energy needs to a Border Collie or Kelpie, but like all working dogs, if you provide enough exercise and mental stimulation, they should have an off switch and be fine for 8 hrs alone/inactive. I have heard English Pointers are slightly more laid back than GSPs so might me an option if you were after a less active breed? Dobermans are great people dogs and may be suitable if you have the right leadership skills. We also have quite a few ridgies in our area and they are lovely dogs too, but more laid back than the breeds I previously mentioned.

good work!!!

Mindy will be on puppy food until 12-14 months old as per Guide Dogs instructions. I always thought you swap over to adult food when the dog had stopped growing? Apparently puppy food has a different calcium:phosphate ratio?

Where does he stay when you're away? I've just finished house-sitting a dog for 10 days. The owners reported the dog sulked and ignored them the day they came home. The dog still wanted to come home with me when we met at the park a day or so later. I think they take a bit of time adjusting to an owner change, even if it has only been for a few days

Another problem with the guide dog program is that the breeding dogs aren't always proven workers. All guide dogs (in NSW) at least are desexed as it is too inconvenient for the handler to have a dog coming into season and castrating the males removes some potential behavioural problems that may hinder working ability. Unlike other types of working dogs, where only best workers are bred, guide dogs use parents who are known to produce good workers, but may or may not be good workers themselves- as they are untested.

Yes, but their standards are incredibly high as well! The failure rate isn't only due to health reasons... although there are a few dogs that don't make it due to health problems. OCD, HD and ED are major diseases that commonly rule a dog out of the program. Just because a dog doesn't make it as a guide dog doesn't mean it won't be a terrific family pet- which many of them do turn out to be. The waiting list for a failed guide dog is 2 years +

It is an area that has a reputation for people being pushy, rude, inconsiderate and basically expecting to be able to do whatever they like.... As for picnicing in the middle of a designated dog park- when i went to walk my dog at lunch there were no less than 5 groups of people attempting to do this

Your first point is very true. This needs to be addressed. However, I would say most vets do own purebred dogs or rescue dogs. A lot of dog trainers also own purebred dogs. Perhaps we should be recruiting them to take a more active role in promoting purebred dogs??? Your comment about zoo animals is not quite true. Zoo animals in captive breeding programs are often very inbred as they come from a very small pool of zoo animals. The number of captive dingoes, for example, would be a lot less than the number of purebred labradors, german shepherds, poodles etc. And yes, zoos do often test for genetic health diseases as it can be quite time consuming and expensive to breed captive animals.

Oh, well if it goes on all day, it is certainly disrespectful of the parents not to care. I don't tolerate screaming kids very well, so I probably would have had "words" with the kids LOL

I don't think the kids were doing it for 8 hrs a day though?

How much exercise and mental stimulation does he get?

I usually take some treats to the park to reward good recall from my dog and to do some training. I try to do training in an area that is away from other dogs and when i recall my dog, I usually walk away from the group of dogs and get her to come over to me. I keep my treats in my pocket usually and i NEVER give treats to other peoples dog (unless they ask me to). There was a dog that kept following me around today and oblivious to it's owners futile attempts to call it away. The owner then blamed me and said that i shouldn't have brought food to the park, she didn't want her dog to follow me around and her have to chase after it. She said bringing food only encouraged dogs to beg? My dog doesn't beg from others to get food even though I have been bringing food to the park since she was pretty young. I am aware of the risks of resource guarding around food, which is why I only bring the treats out when there are no other dogs close to me. Is it wrong to bring some kind of reward for your dog to the park? If I brought a toy (it would be stolen by another dog anyway) then there is still the potential issue of resource guarding- I have seen this happen over a stick, over owner's, over a chair even.... I feel I should be able to bring food into the park without being yelled at by other owners for distracting their dog. It is not my fault their dog has poor recall and runs away when they try to catch them. And what if I was walking through the park with a packet of chips or a sandwich... people should be able to bring food into a park without being hassled by dogs imo.

How stressful for you! This dog is not suitable to be rehomed. She has shown aggression to humans and there is no way any rescue group or pound would rehome her. If you can find an experienced person without kids who is willing to take on a "problem dog" then that may be an answer, provided they know the full history of the dog. Sadly, these people are few and far between. Your options are: 1. Keep the dog as a "dangerous dog" would be kept when you have friends over 2. Consult a behaviourist to asses your dog and help you figure out your options Good luck with your decision, it would not be an easy one to make....

It doesn't matter if your dogs are more important to you than kids or vice versa!!! The kids in this situation aren't doing anything wrong! They are playing in their own backyard. Honestly, I am sure if the neighbours are reasonable people they will be happy to move the trampoline- who wants to listen to yapping dogs anyway??? The situation as it is, probably isn't ideal for either party involved.

Just ask them nicely if they would mind moving it... explain that it is making your dogs bark. They are not actually doing anything wrong though so if they refuse I doubt you'll be able to force them to do anything. The kids do have a right to play in their own backyard after all... If they were coming over or leaning on the fence or teasing the dogs then you would have grounds to complain. However, i think in this situation a friednly request would be the best way to go about it.

I would fence a part of it off if you have trees and shrubs etc as pups can sometimes start ripping the leaves off these and can even get sick or a foreign body from ingesting sticks. If it is just grass then your pup should be fine and will enjoy the large yard.

No offence but that sounds like way to much food imo! Unless Oscar is a huge (height and build wise) lab 40kg is WAY to heavy also. I'm feeding my labrador puppy 2 cups of puppy food a day. If she gets a bone then she gets no kibble. I would cut back his dry food to 2 cups and try to increase his exercise to 30 mins 2x a day if possible. If you have access to water swimming is great exercise and burns a lot of calories and labradors just love it. My puppy is also slightly overweight She is 26kg built a lightly built lab so shouldnt be that heavy.

Do some training- trick training is great fun! A 10-15 min leash walk 2x daily will help take the edge off. Make up some doggie ice blocks- fill a plastuc container with water and add some treats such as sardines (Mindy's fav) or some beef/chicken/fish stock. This usually keeps them entertained for a while. Frozen kongs are also good. Walking around is ok, so if you can manage to do lots of short walks ( 10 mins at a time) that really tends to help keep them calm.

Wait sorry I\m confused??? If you have a debarked dog in NSW, QLD, NT WA SA etc you can't ever move to VIC unless you rehome the dog? Or dos it mean you just can't exhibit the dog if you move to VIC?

I don't think people should leave dogs in the front yard where possible- it just encourages fence aggression. If my front yard was my yard- fence off a section with a solid fence that you can't see though. Keep in mind that the dog could have bitten the man due to the fear and stress of being stuck on the fence post. Good on the postie though- he saved a life