aussielover

1. Yes, this is common and it can be quite frightening, especially if the fences do not look strong/high enough. 2. I do not believe this statement. The pack leader in a wild dog pack or wolf pack would not necessarily walk out in front anyway. The dog should know where he is supposed to walk though and not pull or lunge on the leash. This will ensure that the dog sees you as "pack leader" during the walk, where ever you decide to position him.

Ha! Probably, given how popular it is. Anyway, I'll give it a whirl. Hills is definitely not popular here at DOL but Elbie's been so happy, healthy, shiny-coated and firm poo-ed (very important! ) on it that that there never seem to be any need to switch. Will see how the monsters like Royal Canin. well, you know what, mindy is doing fabulously on PAL puppy *gasp* She actually gets 1/2 raw 1/2 PAL and her poos are so much better now! she is as shiny as anything now and has a nice sleek coat, where as before her coat was a bit rough and dandruffy.

Sending heaing vibes to Chase and for him.

Who me..... naughty???? Feeding me will make me happy!

I wonder what RC put in their kibble to make it so palatable? maybe the doggie equivalent og MSG hehehe

Not quite BYBers as they aim to produce a working dog. Unhealthy dogs will most likely not perform very well, so don't make the cut, which if one form of health control. The problem with these sort of "breeders' is that they often don't keep all the puppies and end up dumping the majority of the litter at the pound or giving them away/selling them to totally unsuitable people. This is just a generalisation though and obviously doesn't apply to all hunting dog breeders.

Vet checking of the parents means absolutely nothing. Vet checking of the puppies only means the puppies appear to be healthy at the time of the vet check. The vet cannot possibly detect genetic issues that may arise later on in life; that is the role of health testing parents. Not all registered breeders are ethical, but registration is the first step to becming a responsible breeder. BYBers have not even managed to make the first step Why bother forking out for all the necessary health tests on both parents for your breed and then not even bother to register? I honestly don't think too many BYBers actually do ALL the relevant health tests for the breed. Sure, they might do HD on one parent if its a lagre breed, but I would be highly surprised if the did the full range of tests relevant. A lot of BYBers also consider their dogs to be health tested as the dogs parent were health testes (from a registered breeder). Obviously you can never be 100% sure but you have try and choose a breeder you trust. It also works in reverse, breeders entrust their precious puppies to new owners and they have to judge whether the new owner is going to be suitable to care for the pup.

You would feed both dogs different foods? How dedicated of you! Personally i would stick to one brand unless one of the dogs had a specific dietary requirement. Fussy eating is not on in our home. Royal canin seems to be popular with dogs, I've heard most dogs like it. Maybe you culd switch elbie over to that too?

Really? they remind me a bit of the Akhal-teke horse- thin, long backes, long legged, built for desert life etc.

I didn't bond to Mindy until she was about 16 weeks. I loved her and was aware she was cute, only a puppy etc. but she was just so much hard work that i felt pretty overwhelmed by her. I was more focussed on trianing her and getting good behvaviours from her i couldn't really enjoy her, but I suppose that is normal. I've always rather enjoyed very young baby puppies (8-12 weeks) when they are somebody elses and you get to play with them for an hour and them hand them back When its your own dog, you are (rightly) to focussed on laying down ground rules and training to really enjoy. When she is older and you have formed a bond with her, you will put these hard days at the back of your mind or even look back on them and laugh.And you'll wish you dog was still the tiny pup you first got (but deep down be really glad they have matured into something more manageable lol) Maybe some more placid puppies would be easier to bond to when they are babies; I wouldn't know, Mindy is my first baby puppy, I've always gotten slightly older puppies, which does seem to make a difference. Give her and yourself more time, it is still early days yet!

You have stunning dogs parkeyre. I keep thinking there is only one breed for me but that is just not true, it is the indivdual dog i fall in love with, not really the breed. Though i like the look of some more than others

Yes! of course! However, she has to be rejected as a pet therapy dog, customs dog and police dog before we would get her. Or if she has a health issue such as hip or elbow problems we could get her back (i've heard this is reasonably common). They require prefect hip and elows xrays for the dog to even be accepted into training. I am loving all the puppy photos!!!

My goodness look at the size of Hoover's paws in comparison to Elbie's!!!

That would be because they are fed a specific amount of food, at specific times of the day, each day and every day, so their owners can time it and teach them to work to a schedule. Although, I don't know how many people in this thread own a working guide dog, so I can't understand why anyone would 'not allow' their dog to toilet in public? Unless, as someone said, it's in an unsafe place, or in an inappropriate place... I'm a guide dog puppy raiser I was merely making a point that it can be done though... If i was a jogger though, i wouldn't want my dog pooing on runs. Then i'd have to pick it up and have it jangling in my hand until we find a bin I hate it when people just chuck out their poo in other peoples bins. Its not a big deal if they're full and about to be collected, but people don't want to bring a just emptied bin in, only to find a bag of poo sitting in the bottom, which will be left to rot there for the next week and stink out the bin every time they open it, unless they fish it out My dogs poos dont stink out my own bin? I bag it, tie it and bin it. No mess, no smell? Mine do! HAhah I should say Mindy's do, sound slike i put my own poo into a bin LOL I have a separate poo bin! don't you think its rude to chuck dog poo into someones private bin?

That would be because they are fed a specific amount of food, at specific times of the day, each day and every day, so their owners can time it and teach them to work to a schedule. Although, I don't know how many people in this thread own a working guide dog, so I can't understand why anyone would 'not allow' their dog to toilet in public? Unless, as someone said, it's in an unsafe place, or in an inappropriate place... I'm a guide dog puppy raiser I was merely making a point that it can be done though... If i was a jogger though, i wouldn't want my dog pooing on runs. Then i'd have to pick it up and have it jangling in my hand until we find a bin I hate it when people just chuck out their poo in other peoples bins. Its not a big deal if they're full and about to be collected, but people don't want to bring a just emptied bin in, only to find a bag of poo sitting in the bottom, which will be left to rot there for the next week and stink out the bin every time they open it, unless they fish it out

I dont reward it either. I just pick it up and bin it. It's not difficult. I didnt mention rewarding when they poo in public - I just commented that if they have to go when we're out and about, I dont stop them. I don't think anyone in their right mind would try and stop a dog that really needs to go I don't know why people find it weird/unkind that people do try and minimise the likelihood of dogs going in public

ummm, i don't think you can actually stop a dog that needs to go..... You can only encourage them to either go in a certian spot or go on command

Interesting comparison... a dog can be trained not to toilet in certain places. I see no toileting while walking on lead pretty much the same as house training a dog. You wouldn't just let your dog cr*p all over your house? As long as the dog is provided ample opportunity to toilet throughoout the day, there is no problem. If my dog needs to go on lead, i don't drag her away or get angry or upset I simply don't reward that. I also provide ample opportunity for toileting elsewhere before we embark on "the walk" so the probability of her needing to go on walk is minimal. Healthy dogs should really only need to go 2-3 times a day anyway. I also have a toilet command so i can actually get my dog to go when it is convienent/necessary.

sadly I agree.

some strains of salmonella are more potent than others, but i feed my dog raw eggs and haven't had a problem. If anything, her poo has become firmer and more normal after being put on raw/bones etc and we've definitely had less gastro incidents.

The dog shouldn't have been there in the first place- in her arms or not. If the sign says no dogs, it means no dogs, not no large dogs that you can't carry in your arms to the adjacent rock areas. People like this just give responsible dog owners who do the right thing a bad name

Thanks for that lovely image PF. won't be having mousse for desert thats for sure

Let's imagine that this is an extreme dog (it isn't, or the handler wouldn't have got away with what he was doing), and that this is his last chance to stay on earth. The simple fact is that it isn't working. Repeated punishment that doesn't work is abuse. How do you know "it's not working" when no one really knows what behavior they are trying to fix. The dog didn't attack the handler, so perhaps the next level of arousal previously was attacking the handler then in that case, it may have worked???. Although it looks bad, I would like to think that police dog training was professional enough to use those methods for a reason assuming that the trainers do the job for a living??? I don't think the handler was performing the "correction" in a professional way- getting obviously frustrated with the dog and angry with it. If a correction is necessary, it should be carried out in a calm controlled way.

I don't get giant bags. you would if you had a great dane LOL

No, only on lead when walking. I often take my pup out on lead at work or uni for a toilet break where she can toilet on cue in the area that i choose. Sorry should have clarified before. Its funny because it seems quite easy to get them into certain toilet habits. I know some dogs who will only toilet in their yard. And some dogs won't toilet in the yard at all!