Simply Grand

What I find strange about that ad is that they've put in the prices paid for the dogs after saying they aren't asking anything for them- "Eddie was $500 from the RSPCA 2 years ago, Max was $900 from a pet shop". Makes it sound like they're selling a car or something and are showing what good value you're getting... I am all for people rehoming dogs if they can't/don't want to give them what they need, but that ad doesake me feel a bit uncomfortable.

What I find strange about that ad is that they've put in the prices paid for the dogs after saying they aren't asking anything for them- "Eddie was $500 from the RSPCA 2 years ago, Max was $900 from a pet shop". Makes it sound like they're selling a car or something and are showing what good value you're getting... I am all for people rehoming dogs if they can't/don't want to give them what they need, but that ad doesake me feel a bit uncomfortable.

Saxon sleeps on top of my bed, somewhere down the end, unless he gets a hankering to get IN the bed, then he crawls under the covers and settles next to my legs. Riley sleeps on the pillow next to me it was just meant to be on the bed, but he picked the pillow so now that's his spot. Quinn is in the crate next to the bed. I'm not sure yet whether she'll eventually be allowed on the bed if she wants to (she probably will ;) ) The two friend's dogs who come to stay sometimes sleep on the bed too!

Oh how very annoying! What about they need their parents to tell them not to do that to learn their lesson... The other day I told a little kid at the dog park not to pull his own dog's tail.I didn't even mean to, I'd just been keeping a close eye on him as he was running round the park stirring up the dogs, including Quinn and I was trying to stop her jumping up on him and scratching or knocking him over (I was slightly annoyed that the mum was just letting her two little boys carry on). Anyway, he ran up to his own dog and grabbed her by the tail and I just yelled out "don't pull her tail!" Kid looked at me in surprise, mum paid no attention.

Aaww, they are gorgeous! I love Evie's little face :)

So adorable! And so little :) they make my 15 week old fatty look huuuuge, can't believe she was that small only weeks ago. I love stacks on! And is that Oscar hugging mum?? Too cute.

Well that was a DOL baptism of fire for you! Don't take it personally, Troy will have deleted the thread because of the liability issues mentioned. Happens to most of us at some stage! I hope you do stick around DOL, there is lots of good stuff here :)

I don't know anything about staffys in particular but I find feeding a good quality dry food as the main food is the easiest way to ensure my pups get all the nutrients they need during their important growing time. I feed Advance Puppy, available in pet shops and some vets. I feed about 2/3 - 3/4 of the daily recommended amount of dry and add some human grade mince or fish, sometimes mixed with cook rice and veggies to make it go further, for dinner. Plus extras like chicken wings, bones etc sometimes. I've tried a few other brands as Advance is not cheap but I find that their poos are so much better (smaller, firmer, less smelly) with Advance so I figure they're getting much better nutrition with it, plus clean up is much nicer for me!!

huski, fwiw I totally agree with you. My dogs are most definitely my family, I feel a huge responsibility to protect them, but in reality in a fire if it was my dog/s or an unknown child I would prioritise the child too. Obviously I love my dogs (well all my pets) more than some strange child but when it comes down to it, I fully expect to outlive my dogs, however sad that may be, but for a parent to outlive their child when I could have prevented that is not ok with me.

Oh noes! Gave in after 30 minutes ;) puppy now thinks "oh I only have to cry for 30 mins and I get some people company". Just like Telida says, earplugs and ignore, they can go for much longer than 30 mins and when you respond to the crying in any way, even after hours of it, they win and learn to do it again. It will definitely pass, be patient and consistent.

Onyx and Benny, toooo gorgeous! Riley's ears went up, down and all over the place when he was teething. Breed standard calls for tips flopped forward on erect ears. As a baby his ears were straight, between 4 and 6 months both ear tips swapped around. He retained his puppy canines and lost his last one at 6 or 7 months and only after that did his ears settle. He's ended up with 1 up, 1 down, which hasn't changed in about 3 months now so I suspect is permanent. ETA - no hang on, I think his ears were flopped over as a baby! Point is they didn't settle until his puppy teeth were well and truly gone and his adult teeth thru :)

Look at that gorgeous face! Like Rosaline says, stick with what you're doing and you'll be fine :)

Hehe, Katie do some people have a problem with ham, cheese and dog hair sandwiches??

Lyndsay, oh yes! Been asked "what's wrong with her eye, can she see, is that normal" etc etc. Here are some other descriptions: Oh she looks like a cat She looks like a tiger She looks like a snow leopard She looks like an African wild dog She looks like she's wearing a coat, a la 101 Dalmatians! (coz of the spots) I'm not complaining though, I'd happily talk about her all day :)

They are just tooooo gorgeous!! Little fatties :) I love how they cuddle and pile on top of each other. It must be very hard work being a puppy, all that sleeping and eating ;)

I love How I Met Your Mother and also the name Zitch but I don't remember that episode! Will keep an eye out for it. You're getting all sorts of advice here, my main advice is to have your pup sleep where you want him to sleep in future, ensure he is not in pain, too hot or too cold and then ignore ignore ignore! My first puppy (now 2.5 yrs) slept in the bathroom them the laundry with a soft bed on a piece of carpet, an oil heater in cold weather and a puppy pee pad. My second puppy (now 10 months) slept in a soft crate in my room but with side of the crate open and access to the ensuite with puppy pee pad. Third pup (now 3 months) is in the crate in my room, one toilet break about 4am when she fidgeted for the first 2 weeks, since then she has held on until morning. All different methods, all were completely fine and all are great sleepers now! Crying/whinging from any of them was completely ignored - do whatever you need to do, ear plugs, fan for white noise, whatever. And don't feel guilty, he can't hurt himself by whinging and even after the few days you've had him, if he does get hurt you will most likely hear the difference in the noise he makes. I know the whinging can go for hours and hours, I actually think they get in a bit of a trance where they are actually half asleep but just keep making the noise... Then if we respond after however long their brain goes "oh, that wasn't so hard and I got my way in the end!l" I definitely agree with keeping them awake as late as possible, mine have always hung out around me until I go to bed so they don't properly settle to sleep until I do and by then they are tired, which I'm sure helps. Good luck, you sound like great owners and you will get there, just try not to stress :)

I have client dogs that I wash called Basil and Polly from Fawlty Towers. Cute :) I don't know if there was originally a Cybil.

I didn't put any "don'ts" for Aussie Shepherds before but a couple of weeks later I have some :D... (and yes I was warned about them). Don't get an Aussie Shepherd (at least a Blue Merle with 1 blue and 1 brown eye) unless you don't mind: CONSTANTLY being asked "what kind of dog is THAT?" and hearing "oh look at the different coloured eyes!" And anything at all within mouth reach being destroyed! Again, I was warned but it turns out they are very clever at figuring out how to get hold of things you thought they had no chance of reaching...

Mine aren't really named after anything... The only name that was actually based on something is Chops, my old girl cat, her name was suggested by a friend as when she (Chops) first came to live with me she used to try to bite ankles whenever anyone walked past. The others (Charlie the cat, Saxon, Riley and Quinn the dogs) have names that just came into my head as the right names for them.

If a parent allowed a blind child to wander alone in a dog park and said child startled my dog I would be concerned for the welfare of the child. My response to the parents would depend on their reaction. In reality if a blind child walked into my path I would intervene, avoid the child tripping me or startling my dog and try to help the child back to wherever they were supposed to be. Different situation to what the OP has posted about. And I don't think she is angry, just concerned.

Oh she's so lovely! And you are taking such good care of her. I don't have any food suggestions as I've not been through having an unwell dog yet, but everyone has great suggestions and I suspect the love and cuddles from you mean even more than the yummy food she's getting xx

This is such an interesting scenario to me! I have encountered several children over the last couple of years of taking my dogs to our local off leash park who I would say are on the autism or mental disability spectrum (I'm definitely no expert but have tertiary psychology study). I have 2 small dogs and one medium breed puppy and they all get a LOT of attention from children. It surprises me how much parents let their children wander off and "play with" strange dogs and hang around with me when parents are out of sight. I've seen a maybe 6 year old child run up and hug (grab) an unknown Husky from behind, many kids have grabbed Saxon, thankfully he is pretty indifferent to it. Riley also has kids chasing him, he doesn't like being grabbed by strangers so keeps out of reach but I've had a child of about 11 angrily tell me that I'm not helping him catch Riley... Dad was 100m away, outside the park with their dog. I told the kid that it's his game and I'm not in it... Had Riley gotten more stressed or the kid actually caught him I would have said ok, game over. After the first time or two I decided that if the parents won't take charge I will. I will protect my dogs but try to respect the child, regardless of if they have a disability/health issue. So I stick close, watch my dogs and intervene of needed. Like Whippetsmum said, I would use the same sort of 1 word commands and hand signals I would use with a dog bothering my dogs. Not saying a kid is the same as a puppy but I don't know these kids so will do what works to keep the peace. ETA - And protect my dogs. They are not the slightest bit aggressive but I have no intention of letting them become so by allowing strangers of any age grab and scare them.

And yes, there is a lot if concern for the dog in these posts, but also for the family! A puppy is stressful and hard work, a dog with behavioral problems is super stressful and tiring! As is a toddler, let alone another baby. The focus on finding an appropriate dog to get, and when, is for the benefit of all involved.

.

.