Simply Grand

Beautifully said Terri. Karen, I was having trouble making sense of what you were trying to say before but bringing in that specific tragic case as any sort of representation of anything to do with the impact of legislation on dog breeding and welfare, let alone what registered pedigree breeders have to do with that, is utterly ridiculous. You "rest your case" based on an irrelevant misquote? Righto.

I think it's so arrogant. I'm all for exercising dogs off leash if you want to but do it at an off leash area! Or at the very least a deserted area, NOT in an area where there are other members of society who have every right to be there. I always think, if a dog is really good enough to be off lead then it's good enough to be on lead. So excuses like "he walks badly on lead but nicely off lead" says to me that you don't have the knowledge or the commitment to train your dog properly so how can I trust what it will do off lead, or "he never goes further than 2 meters from me anyway" says well just put a bloody lead on him if he's really right there anyway so you're obeying the law and respecting everyone else!

I am right now parked about to get the dogs out for a walk around our central town park. A woman just pulled in, parked behind me on the busy main road through town, opened the car door, let her little Shih Tzu dog jump out off leash onto the on leash area foot path then walked off across the on leash area park. The little dog sniffed around the foot path right next to the road and peed on things for a good little while as the woman wandered off to about 200m before stopping to turn around and look for the dog, who eventually move away from the road and ran across the park to her. She doesn't appear to have a lead with her. Nope, can't see how anything could possibly go wrong there

What a great update :) fantastic work from all of you.

Oh, I think White's my little fuzzy headed fave now Interesting about the pigment, I've certainly seen the mottling and filling in in other breeds/mixes but hadn't thought about it in Rottis, I guess because they don't have white on them it hadn't occurred to me. Slightly OT, but when Quinn, my Aussie Shepherd was growing it looked to me like the amount of pink pigment on her nose stayed the same but as she grew bigger the new skin was black so the pink bits ended up inside her nostrils (you can still see bits) but I've seen other vey spotty pink noses fill right in, so is it a case of the pink skin turning black or of new skin growing in black so the pink looks proportionately less... anyone know?

"Sitting: You're doing it wrong"

Do they not always have the full black mouth Starkehre/Allerzeit? I've never looked :) And is that little miss white in both the bad hair day pics? The little fuzzy head is soooo cute!

I feel like there is a significant difference between a specific fenced dog park and a shared area where dogs are allowed to be off leash. Probably not legally but pragmatically. I think many dogs are not suited to free running and interactions with other dogs and would be better off not attending dog-specific parks, because I do think it is inevitable, and natural, that there will be interactions, some challenging, and both dogs and humans need to be able to handle that. How it is handled depends on so, so many factors though so it's not black and white. However I think any dog or human should be able to be at a shared off leash area without fear of unsolicited interaction with other dogs. So again, not all dogs are suitable to be off leash in those areas, but I think the onus is slightly different in each situation.

That's the thing Blackdogs, people often think a dog responding entirely reasonably to another dog's rude or inappropriate behaviour is being aggressive when in fact it isn't. Then there's the other side of the coin where people think their dog is just playing or was provoked when it fact it is displaying aggressive behaviour. People often panic in an altercation too so don't actually observe what is happening or know how to diffuse a situation between dogs. ETA - so true, if only it was a requirement for owning a dog

Yes, I agree with your thinking. I also allow a lot more "sorting it out themselves" amongst my own dogs than I do with other dogs, partly because I can't be sure how the other dog will react and need to ensure my own dogs' safety and partly because I don't know how the other dog will respond to my dogs' behaviour and don't want to cause a negative effect for them. It's hard because people have such different levels of understanding of dog behaviour and expectations of what's ok and what isn't and things can go very wrong very fast.

Thanks OSo. Interesting to hear. I'm trying to think through what I think is appropriate and inappropriate in these types of situations (just for my own sake, I know it doesn't matter to everyone else what I sort out in my head :laugh: ) and it's good to hear other people's experiences and expectations.

What do you mean by nailed OSo? What would your boy do?

Riley's reactivity has never been that severe (only certain dogs, in certain situations and mostly just noise) but he has just come along in leaps and bounds since we started a modified BAT style training to teach him alternative responses when faced with his triggers. His mortal enemy has always been adolescent GSDs with softer natures, they were the first and most regular type of dogs that he's reacted to. I'm always careful about him meeting new dogs but particularly GSDs. Today at the dog park he met TWO new ones and was completely appropriate. After being in the vicinity for a while he was able to approach each of them, do a polite sniff greeting then turn around and come back to me without me prompting him. He looked so happy about it all too, like he was saying "look what I can do and it's fine". His confidence is so much better now that he has a little plan of action :)

That is a good article starkehre Hopefully when I eventually get a Rotti I'll finally get my water dog. I was hoping it would be the Aussie Shepherd but she won't have a bar of it, sigh... Loving all the stories, they are so touching

In that case I'd be going tough love! Kibble or nothing :) You could try soaking the kibble in hot water till it's soft and serve it while it's still warm. Then you can gradually start to do some soaked, some hard and wean her onto hard only. We often do that with shelter dogs who won't eat kibble. Again, only do small serves and throw out each meal if she doesn't eat it then give her a fresh serve each time. I know you'll feel mean but don't fall for her cute puppy dog eyes, it's for her own good. Obviously if she goes more than a couple of days and/or is losing weight she can't afford to lose you may need to re-think but dogs can be much more stubborn than humans when it comes to things they really want so sometimes we have to out-stubborn them.

If I'm reading your second post correctly, she's been on wet and cooked food only for a while now and you've just today re-introduced dry kibble? If that is the case, of course she doesn't want it, she's been getting the super yummy stuff and kibble is kinda boring compared to that. If she's been on wet/cooked only for a while now you don't need to worry about mixing wet through the kibble making her fussy, she's already being fussy about it. Mix a little wet through, give her only a small serve and do as you have been with put it down, leave it down for 5 mins then take it away, morning and night. Don't give her ANYTHING else to eat, she WILL eat when she's really hungry (unless she has a health issue, which it sounds like she doesn't). Alternatively, keep her on a good quality wet food or balanced home made diet and give her regular bones to keep her teeth in good condition. Personally I prefer kibble for their main meal so I know they're getting balance but plenty of people are less lazy than me and successfully feed without it ;)

OH MY GOD!!! So gorgeous, love love love their little eyes :)

Beautiful Now that face definitely says seriously, the camera again?!

She's hilarious! In every photo she looks like she's saying "whose idea was this exactly?"

Hahaha, so do I :laugh: May as well put their annoying habits to practical use.

So cute! Mine don't really have comfort toys but I got teary when Saxon's very first toy Tigey (the tiger) finally lost his tail when Saxon was about 3

It really does, doesn't it. Very cute!

I wanna know!! Assuming it's a pure breed, I keep coming back to a Chihuahua, but it looks too big for a puppy Chi. Tell us......

I guess there are a bunch of places I could go - but I'd have to drive to get there. And I'd be alone. There'd be no social catch up for me - let alone Frosty. We had another mixed night tonight. While the football was on - the oval was pretty much deserted - good. But Frosty found probably a bit of cooked chicken leg and ate it. I think we have some work to do there. So I put her back on lead. And later - there was a small poodle x - and it came zooming over to greet all the people and dogs I was with, so I took Frosty and me apart and away - all good - except the stupid dog chased us and I told it to go away but it didn't. The owners were half an oval away. I can't believe they let their dog do that - but they will learn - Frosty is not the only reactive dog out there. And then Frosty told it to clear off. Curses... and it ran back to "mummy". It came around for a second go - from behind but Frosty didn't see it. So overall we had a lot more good behaviour than bad from Frosty but there was some pretty bad stuff eg the food. I wasn't so bothered with her sending off that dog. Personally I think it deserved it and got off lightly. I blame puppy mills. We wouldn't have so many dogs that can't read other dogs if it wasn't for puppy mills... If you continue to take Frosty to places where there are lots of other dogs around she is going to continue to have issues, simple as that. It is unrealistic to expect that in an area multiple people take their dogs, particularly if it is an off leash area, you will not have other dogs approaching Frosty. Right, wrong or in between, it happens. TBH I think you're being a little unfair on other people, many stable dogs are fine with other dogs running up to say hello, your dog is the one with the issue here. I know that sounds harsh but I think you need to understand this. (Btw I try hard not to let my own dogs approach others inappropriately but I have a lot of knowledge and experience and don't expect the lay person to have anywhere near that level of knowledge). If you want to effectively modify Frosty's behaviour you need to separate her rehabilitation from your social life. It won't necessarily be forever, she probably has a good chance of being effectively rehabilitated and able to socialise with other dogs nicely, but you need to change her behaviour patterns first, without the complication of other dogs and situations you cannot control. If you can find a decent trainer in your area I think you and Frosty would really benefit from some sessions.

Oh you have my total sympathy and admiration! I HATE slimy crawly things chooky must have felt soooo much better though. I know it's not crossing a boundary, just a necessity of having an entire bitch inside, but I still find it hilariously weird to have to take my dog's undies on and off so she can go to the toilet :laugh: ETA oh, only when she's in season!