Nic oh lah

We have neighbours to our left with 2 cattle dogs that bark anytime I set foot in my yard, which is a pain in the butt, but it could be much worse. They just go off their nut for a few minutes - so i've started taking a small handful of Sophies Uncle Albers and tossing it to them through the fence (wire-mesh type - all the other sides of the house are 7ft timber) and that shuts them up - lol! Sweet sweet bribery. It's actually really sad, as we've lived there 5 months and i've never seen them walked or even patted or spoken to other than "SHUT UP!" out the window occasionally. Their owner wanders out in the morning about 7.30am, gives them their kibble and goes back inside, and that's it. So I think the barking is just them being attention starved. I'd walk them but they get a bit snappy and growly when i come too close to the fence so i'm not game to enter their yard - and i can guarantee they're not socialised though they tolerate Sophie through the fence, but i'm not willing to risk her safety to give them a walk. The owner is polite enough though a bit gruff - he didn't seem too bothered when I knocked on his door to let him know i was giving them small handfuls of food to quiet them when i'm in the yard - thought i should let him know so they don't get too fat, and after seeing them eyeing Sophie with all her toys, and seeing that i'd given them a ball and a knotted tug toy to play that Soph wasn't interested in, he's given them a few squeaky toys for Christmas that they just love - so maybe i'm leading by example. The dogs on our other side are a nightmare - bark bark bark - they seem to be better in the last few weeks since I chatted to their owner - he commented on Sophie being to quiet and I explained politely that if she was a nuisance the council could slap down fines and i'd hate to let my dog disrupt my neighbours - all of a sudden after 5 months of 4am wake-up-calls of barking he's keeping them quiet - golden silence.

Your dog is not abnormally social and you sound like a very responsible dog owner. I think I just got really lucky. Sophie is quite possibly the best dog ever - sorry everyone else, lol. We adopted her not knowing much other than "she's destructive and has no training" and she's lovely - good with kids, fantastic with other dogs, loves the car, digs the lawn but i don't really care, and doesnt flinch at fireworks or storms or anything, and only barks when someone comes near her yard fence. She's a very good girl, and champ breeding, so yeah - she's perfect, absolutely perfect! In fact i'm scared to get another dog lest I have used up my perfect pooch quota and end up with a rascal next time, hehe.

I agree completely. In fact I think abnormally sociable dogs can and do contribute to dog aggression problems in other dogs. They have poor social skills and lack boundaries or respect for personal space. I don't know how many dogs I've seen not back off when asked politely so the usually polite dog suddenly learns to become impolite, which leads to all sorts of problems if not handled with consideration. Oh dear, I think Sophie is one of those "friendly" dogs. I do try and keep her calm and with me but at 19months she's pretty much still a puppy and just wants to play play play. I do tend to hold her collar until i've asked other owners if i'm fine to let them play together before i let her go bouncing with other dogs - but that's only at leash free parks and I guess i've always figured people taking their dogs to a leash free park with a heap of other dogs are expecting them to be playing and running round like loonies. I take my girl to a leash free park so that she can run, not so she can be rushed by a million out of control dogs. So we only go during the say on weekdays or when it's raining because there's nobody there. I should have been clearer - she doesn't rush other dogs or i wouldn't have her there. She is one of the freindly dogs, but she's definately under control, as I said, when she wants to play play play, which is for about the first 5 minutes after we arrive, i have to watch her like a hawk. After 5-10mins of running she's calm and cool. She will saunter up, and have a sniff, and if she gets a growl, she backs off. And when i call her away, she stays with me. I walk up to people I see playing fetch or with a few high energy pups and ask them outright if she can join in with the pack or if their dog would like to play chase with her, and 7 times out of ten the response is "he / she'd love it!" and we stand chatting about our furkids while they bounce around having happy puppy times. I always ask though. If she see's an enticing dog she can't seem to resist (why is it always the golden retreivers? I think Sophie likes blondes) then i'll call her to me and grab her collar and have her sit or drop until she's exhibiting calm behaviour before i'll wander over with her and ask if they can play. If someone say's "no, mine is a bit timid / older / just gets annoyed by it" then i usually tell them how lovely their dog is (cause aren't they all) and we go on our merry way. Oh, and this is mainly at Kroll Gardens at Redcliffe which I think is like 5 acres of parkland with anywhere from 10-40 dogs there at a time, so there's plenty of room to move and not crowd the quiet ones. There's a little dog park for the little woofs, and usually the maltese / shih-tzu / daschund / cavalier club sitting under a tree, some diligent border collies doing agility or retrieving, and the big kids (GSD, Belgian Shep, Lab's, Staffies, Mastiffs, Dalmations) all bouncing around like idiots in the biggest clearing of grass chasing balls / each other - dog heaven. We were there yesterday and Sophie was helping me with a freinds Dobe who is exhibiting fear agression with bigger dogs, she's always up for playing but is very calm in the way she relates to other dogs as when she gets growled or barked at etc she takes the hint and backs off. She's projecting calm all over the place, which is why everyone just pats her and cuddles her, haha - so much for guard dog she's got everyone there around her little paw.

I agree completely. In fact I think abnormally sociable dogs can and do contribute to dog aggression problems in other dogs. They have poor social skills and lack boundaries or respect for personal space. I don't know how many dogs I've seen not back off when asked politely so the usually polite dog suddenly learns to become impolite, which leads to all sorts of problems if not handled with consideration. Oh dear, I think Sophie is one of those "friendly" dogs. I do try and keep her calm and with me but at 19months she's pretty much still a puppy and just wants to play play play. I do tend to hold her collar until i've asked other owners if i'm fine to let them play together before i let her go bouncing with other dogs - but that's only at leash free parks and I guess i've always figured people taking their dogs to a leash free park with a heap of other dogs are expecting them to be playing and running round like loonies.

People really don't get it do they - my girl is only off lead in my yard or in a leash-free area, and then yes, she'll run up to other dogs like an idiot for a good sniff and a play, and play chasies - and i've not had a problem - she's just wanting to play. If she showed the slightest bit of aggression i wouldn't let her off leash with other dogs. I did have one person a few days ago be a bit concerned as their little Maltese X had been attacked in the past by a big dog and had needed 40 stitches, poor little guy, so he didn't want to play with Sophie - fair enough. Haven't encountered any bad off-leash dogs around our area yet but i'm sure it's just a matter of time.

Exactly. My 1st bc when she was about 9 & hadn't had many bones was told by the vet that she needed to have a scale & clean b4 too old for the anaesthetic. I changed her diet over to mostly raw chicken bones with some lamb flaps & necks. The next year when she went in for her check-up the vet said her teeth were good for her age. Saved myself over $200 at the time in vet bills. See that's the thing - everyone has a different story! Lol! And the vet was really specific that Raw chicken frames and necks will cause a perforated stomach lining, and that Femur's were the only bones she should be allowed - whereas the vet i went to for her checkup after she came home to make sure she was up to date with vacc's etc said yay the chicken, nay the femur's. GAH!!!! I might just give her my leg to chew - at least i know where it's been - lol. anyway - she's on Uncle Albers and loving it and the teeth are still looking great - i'm thinking I just sneak her the odd chicken frame and big ol' dinosaur bone and watch her like a hawk. Sigh!!!! I figured if all else fails, listen to the vet, but they don't agree!

I have trouble going near those stores without bursting into tears . I'm not even exaggerating - my husband steers me away because i create a scene! If you were at Westfields Strathpine a few months ago and saw a woman sobbing uncontrollably infront of a fullgrown 3yo pekignese that was howling inside one of their glass prisons because, according to the sign "my owner doesn't have time for me, purebred pekignese, not desexed male, could breed, $750 ono" then you were looking at me. My heart broke for him, he was terrified. I burst into tears and couldn't stop shaking - that'll teach hubby to wander off into Sanity and let me wander round that end of the centre! He gets upset too but I just cant handle it. I'd love to volunteer at a shelter but I get so emotional - both times I went to the RSPCA a few yrs ago to get my cats I cried and shook the whole way around the place - that was before i knew about non-euth shelters. I did manage to take deep breaths and keep walking past the pet store at North Lakes on Christmas Eve when I saw their "Border Collie X" pups - looked like 6 week old Bull Arab's to me ;) * edited to not name names

yup - stop taking 3rd hand advice Haha - yep. I told her that i sit with Sophie when she has them to make sure she's chewing them, but apparently it's better to be safe rather than sorry if she gets a rupture in her stomach lining. I know i'm listening to 2nd hand advice, but it is from a vet. She said give her femur bones and that's it - but she loves her chicken, so the jury's out at my house, hehe.

Is this common practice? Just asking as I was told by a few people Chicken Wings and Frames are fine for my GSD and she loves them, but just had a friend who's mum is a vet tell me not to feed them to her as the small bones in raw chicken can cause a perforation of the stomach lining resulting in crazy vet bills and possible fatality - can anyone comment? Regards the initial poster - my girl was a fusspot too - after 20mins the food went away - eventually she got hungry and ate when she was told. I've recently realised though that she hates her stainless steel bowl! When the foods in the bowl she picks at it, when i sprinkle it onto the concrete she woofs it down. Sigh. But yes - no dog will starve itself.

Just found the little buggers on my German Sheperd after noticing she'd bitten a little raw patch of skin under her front shoulder -straight to the store and on with the Advantix and a Capstar right away - within 15mins she was itching like mad as they must've been abandoning ship. The worst thing is you feel so mean for not noticing a day earlier!

Sophie sleeps outside on her trampoline bed or stretched out on the grass right under our bedroom window - we leave the window open a crack so she can hear Mum and Dad inside and every so often her smiley puppy face appears at the window to check we're still there! I feel like a mean mummy now reading that you all have your babies sleep inside! If my husband is out late or away overnight then Sophie sleeps inside on the bed with me, but otherwise we'd never get any sleep - Queensize bed is not big enough to accomodate both of us and a German Sheperd! Every morning though I wake up and stumble sleepily to the laundry door and let her bowl into the house, up the hall and onto the bed to snuggle with Mum and Dad for the last half hour before we have to get up and ready for work.

Oh - it was Monday. Do'h! This week is getting away from me! My excuse is that i've gone from couch potato to GSD handler for 2hrs of walking and running a day so my mind is melting, hehe.

Those harnesses look great but I dont have a spare $90 just at the moment! I've been a very naughty mummy the last 2 short trips and let Sophie just jump in and go as we've got the hammock back-seat protector, and as soon as she jumps in the back seat of either of our cars she just lays down and goes to sleep! She couldn't be less interested in looking out the windows or anything - she just nods right off till we turn off the engine - like clockwork, haha. We bought a Kramar car harness for her and she just gets horribly tangled and it irritates her and makes her squirm and wriggle compared to her dead-dog impersonation when we just let her sleep on the backseat. I'm just worried about her safety though in the instance that someone hit us - she won't fly into the front because of her backseat hammock but i'd rather have her secure. Will have to investigate.

I pray for this day to come quickly - lol. Sophie just gets sooooooo excited and her previous owners for the first 18months of her life let her jump all over them so it's hard going to try and break the habit. huski I was in another thread that you went to Metro Dog Club - are you still there? I was there last Friday night observing and trying to calm down my very excited GSD! I saw a few dog's that have the same colouring as your Daisy.

I've noticed when I groom Sophie with her Furminator there's static - she doesn't seem to mind though, she lays on her back with her tummy up so i can give her tummy and chest a brush! She loves the Furminator - as do i as it stops me getting fur all over the house!

From what i've read alot of people seem quite happy with Great Barko and Uncle Albers so i've sent away asking for some samples for Sophie - she's such a fussy eater!

Oh my goodness - could she be any cuter? What a honey! Hehe, Sophie has the same pink dog tag on her collar, it's almost lost of a Sheperd though! lol.

Their website does say to feed it to the dog with a raw meaty bone.

Lol. :D