Simply Grand

HazyWal, me too, I think that's what we're all agreeing is correct :) We've actually only had one Greyhound during the four months I've worked at the shelter, we all agree that she's a Greyhound, pronounced Grey Hound, and she's just lovely

Hehe, korbin on the US forum I saw (where some of them apparently have Karen Terriers :laugh: ) someone commented that they'd been to Aus and had been pronouncing Cairns as CAREns (in an American accent with the R), he said he was told it's actually Cannes (which is CARn in Aussie...and French). I thought about posting "Nah mate it's CANS"

Thank you :) I'm sure they'll keep saying CARn but I'll know I'm right :laugh:

I thought it was CAREn but people at work keep saying it CARn. Google tells me a mix, including many Americans apparently pronouncing it like the name Karen

A dog's paws will have more dirt, germs and yucky stuff on them than it's penis. When they sit on the floor (or a chair) their anal area generally makes some contact. Kids touch the floor, people put bags on the floor then later on the kitchen bench. Fact is people will come into contact with animal germs and bodily elements at a vet clinic, whether the dogs are on the floor, the chairs or the front counter What's polite and considerate is a different issue and a subjective one, but the germ argument for not having dogs on chairs doesn't really make sense. ETA - once when he was young one of my dogs peed on a shelf in a pet shop (where dogs are welcome) much to my surprise! I told the staff, wiped it up and bought the bird toy that was of no use to me but that he'd got pee on...what a bad owner I must be

I disagree with this. In my experience, owners of big dogs actually put the work into training their dogs because they know that an out of control giant is a liability and can easily lift them off their feet. They are also cognisant of the fact that the dog's size means behaviours are more noticeable than in a small dog. They are also aware of the usual bias that if a big dog and a small dog go head to head then they will get the blame simply because their dog is the big one. I also find that it is a different type of person who owns big/ giant breeds than who owns small breeds and they are also less likely to mollycoddle or treat their dog like a baby/ child. If you live with a big/ giant breed (as in share the same physical space), there is a hell of a lot less tolerance for brattish behaviour. A large percentage of the dogs surrendered to the shelter where I work are medium to large dogs who are surrendered because they become destructive and disruptive to the household because the owners have not put the effort into training them when they are young and smaller so when they get big the owners are unable to contol them to walk them or exercise them in public. Therefore the dog spends all its time at home without sufficient exercise, becomes increasingly frustrated and annoying and so is relegated to the backyard where the people spend less and less time with it because it's so aroused when it does get interaction. A vicious cycle and a common one, so I'd tend to agree with kelpiecuddles.

Jupiterlights, may I suggest you seriously consider what you yourself want and think will be best? You know your girl better than anyone else, but more importantly you will be the one who has to help her in raising this puppy - hopefully she will not need much physical help from you but you will need to watch baby's development and socialisation OR deal with your girl's reaction to not having a baby at all. There are clearly pros and cons to either keeping a singleton with mum or putting it into a litter with a foster mum and both situations have been shown (anecdotally) to work well so I don't know that there is a definitive answer to what you "should" do. I do agree with those who have advised against bringing other pups in with your girl, I just can't see the advantage to THOSE pups or to your girl, and the advantages to your singleton can be given in other ways. Best of luck with your decision and try not to stress yourself out over it. ETA - totally agree with others, don't give her a stuffed toy with the baby's scent on it, that will confuse her way too much, either she should get the baby from the start or not at all.

I really hope it's nothing to be worried about LG (and I'm sure it will be completely fine!) because the Christmas emergency twat pimple is striking me as funnier and funnier :laugh:

I'm always the bearer of disheartening news in this thread lol - my 2, 2.5 and 4.5 year olds STILL steal undies and socks at any opportunity (the dirty washing basket lives in the wardrobe with the door shut) AND they all try to eat each others bits of fur, which results in stringy poos that they sometimes need a bit of a hand getting out... :laugh: Disclaimer: I'm the first to admit I'm pretty lazy with training my own dogs!!

Oh that brought a tear to my eye, what a lovely thing to do, and a beautiful tribute to little Molly.

tell us what you really thought, why don't you LG!

So adorable, I love the look on her face in all of them - "why you do dis mum?" at the banana and Kermit, and at the pink bow :)

Dbl post

My dog isn't anxious, he's mildly uncomfortable at best when he goes to the vet. Then perhaps you aren't really in a position to be judging how people whose dogs are anxious should be dealing with it.

Anxiety is not "bad behaviour" - its very real to the dog. Many vet behaviourists do not agree with the notion that comforting a distressed dog is reinforcing the anxiety - there seems to be differing opinions on that. Completely agree Rosetta.

And some of the many outtakes...

Here is a terrible quality phone snap of my guys (Riley, Quinn in the middle and Saxon the reindeer) I tried to get them looking a bit happier but they were in serious "just tell us what to do to get the treats" mode :laugh:

That's some impressive jumping for a little dog! Poor Angie, sounds like her clever escape didn't go quite to plan :laugh:

Aww, how gorgeous, she looks so happy with him there :)

Such a gorgeous pic! Congratulations to all involved :)

Riley's just done a very good job of alerting me that someone was whipper snippering in the yard by barking the entire time it was going. Given that I was the someone doing the whipper snippering, I probably would have figured it out anyway but luckily he was here just in case...

Galatea is so pretty

Bahaha, Stan's face :D Santa's looking very youthful in that photo ;)

Hi Mogda, I know you're trying hard to do the right things, and as I've said before I think you're doing fantastically BUT I absolutely do not think a check chain (choke collar) is necessary or even at all helpful in this situation. A check chain will not give you any more control over her while she's jumping around and in fact you could very easily hurt her if she's jumping around as the check chain will tighten on her throat. I really don't think anyone who does not have a really good understanding of how to effectively use a check chain should be using one (I certainly don't know how to use them effectively) but I do know that unless they are used correctly they are not a useful tool. You can easily teach her all of the things discussed above with her wearing a flat (normal) collar. ETA - that came out wrong, I don't mean it will be easy to teach her the behaviours, just that a flat collar will give you just as good a result as a check chain, without the risks.

:rofl: I love all the facial expressions!