Skitch

I have an Italian greyhound with this problem.. we've tried everything and cant seem to get him to ask us to open the door! It's so annoying because if the door is left open he has no problems with going out but due to the way our house is we cant have it open all the time . Good luck with your girl!

I would never do this because my dogs would both hate me! I say go for it if your dog doesn't mind.. but I just know that mine would not appreciate being wet. One of them is an italian greyhound though.. what do you expect!? Biggest princesses ever LOL.

Perhaps she could carry around a basket of something packaged.. like lollies! Or those little cakes that come in packages. I wouldn't be comfortable eating from an unlidded basket unless it was something packaged.

Wow, beautiful photos.. the dogs all look so happy! You're a real talent.. the owners of these dogs will be ecstatic I'm sure . I particularly like 2, 5, 8 and 10 .

Hmm.. I didn't know there was such a negative feeling about haltis! I suppose the fact that they are freely available for relatively cheap (and there are several 'knock off' brands that are of lesser quality) makes them dangerous because people with little idea about training dogs or handling them correctly can buy them. Being that they around the dogs head and nose there is a possibility of injuring the dogs neck if you jerk on them suddenly and god forbid use them with an extenda lead.. how stupid! I've used haltis to train all of my dogs to walk nicely.. never had any problems with them but I was taught how to use them properly at an obedience school. Definitely agree with you here, I think your sister is doing the right thing. Perhaps she could join an obedience class if she has the time.. it would be a way for her dog to get exercise and would also be handy to teach him how to walk nicely on lead for her .

What sort of creams have you tried? We had a foster dog for a while that had bad feet and found that pawpaw cream really helped . I used booties on my medium sized mutt when she got really bad bitumen burn from running around on the roads for several days (how that came to be is another story!) and at first she hated them and wanted them off but after a few hours she was pretty content with them.. they looked pretty hilarious on her though. Lol

How cool! Do you have videos? I "clicker trained" my hare to target and stand on his hind legs, but I used a visual marker because he seemed to respond to it better. He isn't all that great at sounds. My first foray into clicker training was with my rescue bunny, who at the time was less tame than my wild hare was. She wouldn't let anyone touch her. I got so far with various markers, but it wasn't until I tried the clicker that we finally broke through that last wall and she let me touch something other than her nose. She is now a lap bunny and lies upside down in my arms while I trim her nails. I still find it hard to believe she has come so far from that jumpy, timid rabbit we started out with. I don't know why a clicker worked where nothing else had. No idea. But it did something different. I do have this super old video of my favourite rat spinning but this was before I learnt the joys of clicker training: . He now does it so much faster with the clicker ! Must get some new vids sometime.. Wow how strange! Rabbits are such clever animals. .

Kongs! Cant reccomend them enough . You can fill them with so many different things which keeps the pup amused.. like a different toy everyday! Lol

I gotta agree - Clicker training is great! It really helps to define positve reinforcement to pups.. you can let them know that they've done the right thing soon as they do it once you've conditioned them to the clicker . Everyone told me Italian Greyhounds are impossible to train but my little chap can do some very advanced tricks all thanks to clicker training! It works well for lots of species too.. I have clicker trained rats that can spin on command and run little agility courses .

I have always stayed with my pets, I could never bear the thought of them being held by someone unfamiliar as they passed. I used to be a vet nurse and played the part of the stranger holding the beloved family pet as it was given its wings while the family waited outside or had left countless times. A few of these animals were really confused and scared, peering at the door waiting for their owners to come in again as I held up the vein and stroked them. A few of them particularly stick in my mind and I will never forget their big sad eyes. It's understandable that some people are too sad to be with their pets as they go.. but having seen it first hand I dont think I could ever do it - no matter how sad I am it will never stop me from being with my pet as it takes its last breaths.

I'm so sorry to hear.. it is never nice to have to make this decision. In your case it is especially sad.. 15 years means that Kuga is a very old friend . I think the mobile vet is an excellent idea. It would mean that Kuga would be in the comfort of his own home and would probably feel more at ease. I saw that you mentioned he didn't particularly like visits to the vets on page 2.. I think a mobile vet or a house call from your regular vet would be a fantastic option if this is the case. I always have my pets euthanised at home because I feel it's less stressful for them and also for me! I find I get very emotional and upset and wouldn't be comfortable doing that at a vets office.. it's just more pleasant for everyone to have our regular vet come to us. You are making the right decision and Kuga is very lucky to have you.

I would, definitely! It would seem like such a good opportunity to help other dogs, couldn't say no to that. I dont have a real connection to the bodies of pets when they die.. in my opinion it's just all that's left behind and if that can be put to good use I'd have no hesitation.

... All the talk about staffies being Dog Aggressive just because of their breed is absolutely RIDICULOUS. I've known so many staffies, staffy crosses and other bully breed crosses who have been perfect with other dogs.. very friendly, very happy and very unlikely to start any fights! How the hell can people make such a blank generalization? ANY breed can be dog aggressive if not socialized properly from a young age, for instance my neighbours dog was badly savaged by a purebred GOLDEN RETRIEVER, of all things! It's just ridiculous to make such a huge statement like that and then only back it up with "well every staffy mix I've known has been aggressive so therefore they are all aggressive!" Seriously? Honestly, this has all to do with the person who owned the dogs.. not the dogs themselves. ANY breed is capable of being dog aggressive, ALL dogs should be socialized, trained, and kept in secure yards.. people that dont realize this (such as the guy who owns these three dogs) are f***wits who dont deserve the companionship of a dog.

Without a doubt, report it. It's probably not worthy of the cops attention (You could give it a go? But being that you dont have much info I doubt they'd do much).. but I'd definitely report it the council area who runs the dog park.

Oh my goodness, that face! He/she looks so crazy hehe

I haven't watched the clip.. but even if these dogs were somehow saved from euthanasia, who would be willing to adopt them? I certainly wouldn't - I would think it too risky. If they've done it before I think their chances of doing it again are so much higher. It's very true that all dogs have a prey drive to an extent.. but ones that have been given the opportunity to exercise it with 'success' are surely going to strike again. I'm not saying that these dogs couldn't be rehabilitated.. but there are so many staffy mixes out there looking for homes and getting PTS due to a lack of homes every day.. neither dog is more deserving but I dont think it's hard to see what choice should and will be made. It's unfortunate that all three get the blame though.. how are they to know that all three participated in the kill? It could have just been the one.. but I guess no one will ever know. Staffies are not a hard dog to train.. it's a shame that their owner did not invest more time in getting them used to small animals and dogs. I have a staffy mix who originally had a very high prey drive.. but with a bit of reinforcement training she was very easily taught to be 'gentle' and has been placid and kind to many small animals and dogs there on out. It's even more of a shame that the staffies owner didn't bother to have proper fencing erected on his property.. if these dogs are so much "one of the family" why did he not do them the justice of keeping them safe with secure fencing? Some people just shouldn't be allowed to own dogs.

People love to tell me that I'm not feeding my dog enough and that he is far too skinny! He's an Italian Greyhound and we get lots of people in our town stopping to pet him on walks which is lovely because it's made him very friendly.. but I wish people would understand when I say that he's a sight hound and he's SUPPOSED to be very slender!

Aww.. they look so very happy. I particularly like the second photo!

Wait a second.. these people actually came onto your property and filmed your dog?! Isn't that kind of.. illegal? I'd be contacting my lawyers if someone told me they had done that, it's a huge invasion of privacy. They sound very picky.. why would they have a problem with your dog looking at their kids!? Seems very odd. And your dogs cant go on YOUR deck because their kids bark at them to stir them up - did I read that right? Completely ridiculous.. these people need a reality check. Do you have any friends close by with dogs.. ? Perhaps your dog could go 'visiting' while you're at work. I dont work many long days a week but the ones that I do I sent our pup off too a friends house where he has another dog to play with . Hope you are able to resolve the issue soon.. personally I think your neighbours are jerks! Lol ((Edited to fix my crap spelling lol))

Oh dear lol.. my internet was slow to load the photos and the whole time I was thinking "Oh my god.. I think I should close the window before this loads!". Look at it's poor sad little face.. you whippets are heartless! Lol

I agree with the other posts in this thread so far.. dogs that have killed in such an unprovoked manner need to be put down. If it's happened once, it's entirely possible it could happen again and while I am a big believer in second chances.. this is one of the cases where there shouldn't be one given.

Wow.. that was hilarious but also a little freaky! I'm not sure if I'd have the guts to chase that thing LOL

I imagine that all animals which pass through the RSPCA are sent to the dead animal dump, as the horse was. That would be standard practice, so the horse was sent there as standard practice. That was exactly my thoughts.. why lie about it? I'm sure the lady would have been much less offended if she was just told the horse was euthanized and disposed of.. even better they could have given her the opportunity to dispose if it herself since she seems particularly sensitive about it and saved themselves the trouble! It just seems so silly that they lied about it and I think it proves that they are running scared and trying to patch things up.. silly silly. Maybe they didn't lie, maybe whoever she spoke to genuinely didn't know. I enquired about a horse at the council animal management centre once the woman at the desk said when the time for reclaiming is up the horses go to the sales. I said "oh so they get dogged", she said "no they go to the sale", turns out she genuinely didn't know that an unknown, unridden horse at the sales has a snowballs chance in hell of not being dogged, a ridden horse is generally better off but still not necessarily safe. I rode a horse in a sale a while back because the chicken s*** owner wouldn't even give the poor bugger that chance and I still had to specify to the auctioneer he wasn't to be dogged because the first bidder was a dogger! Combine that with the fact that most non-horsey people (and even some horsey people) are unaware of the regulations surrounding the burial of horses and it's entirely possible that many of the people without this knowledge assume that horses are generally buried. I've known people who've had horses die and they've just dragged them down to the back of the property - out of sight out of mind for some, well except for the poor buggers on neighbouring properties downstream That is a very good point.. it could have just been a break down in communication. Perhaps whoever it was that told the lady her horse had been "buried" was just putting it politely that the horse had been disposed of. BreaK downs in communication are just not acceptable where lives are at stake. Maybe they should put people in the rescue roles with better communication skills. Judging by the original story this horse should not have died and it certainly doesn't take a brain surgeon to work that out. I dont think anyone is denying that the RSPCA has severeley effed up and it's highly plausible that horse did not need to be put to sleep.. the discussion was specifically about the disposal of the horses body itself.

I imagine that all animals which pass through the RSPCA are sent to the dead animal dump, as the horse was. That would be standard practice, so the horse was sent there as standard practice. That was exactly my thoughts.. why lie about it? I'm sure the lady would have been much less offended if she was just told the horse was euthanized and disposed of.. even better they could have given her the opportunity to dispose if it herself since she seems particularly sensitive about it and saved themselves the trouble! It just seems so silly that they lied about it and I think it proves that they are running scared and trying to patch things up.. silly silly. Maybe they didn't lie, maybe whoever she spoke to genuinely didn't know. I enquired about a horse at the council animal management centre once the woman at the desk said when the time for reclaiming is up the horses go to the sales. I said "oh so they get dogged", she said "no they go to the sale", turns out she genuinely didn't know that an unknown, unridden horse at the sales has a snowballs chance in hell of not being dogged, a ridden horse is generally better off but still not necessarily safe. I rode a horse in a sale a while back because the chicken s*** owner wouldn't even give the poor bugger that chance and I still had to specify to the auctioneer he wasn't to be dogged because the first bidder was a dogger! Combine that with the fact that most non-horsey people (and even some horsey people) are unaware of the regulations surrounding the burial of horses and it's entirely possible that many of the people without this knowledge assume that horses are generally buried. I've known people who've had horses die and they've just dragged them down to the back of the property - out of sight out of mind for some, well except for the poor buggers on neighbouring properties downstream That is a very good point.. it could have just been a break down in communication. Perhaps whoever it was that told the lady her horse had been "buried" was just putting it politely that the horse had been disposed of.

Haha this certainly has some truth to it! I've never met a cat that would be given a pill easily.. and ones that will eat pills disguised in food are far and in between! Cats are too smart for their own good sometimes