lanabanana

I do know a bit about dogs (even though I am not a breeder or by any means an expert) and while thembeing separate breeds is obvious to me and you...my experience has been (particularly online) that a lot of people (particularly in areas where Am Staffs are popular) refer to Am Staffs as Staffies or do not know which "Staffy" you are talking about. I assume when I hear Staffs/Staffies etc that they are talking about Staffs...however, others may asume you are talking about Am Staffs - I was trying to ensure there was no confusion. If that is a problem, I shall allow it next time and assume it is obvious to all and sundry which I am talking about (maybe I should have assume as I am on a dog website everyone calls them their proper name - but I didnt). Calling them "creatures" wasn't meant to 'offend'. I don't have a problem with the breed at all...creatures is a word I use often in reference to a number of creatures. Etc etc blah blah so on and so forth

Hey OP - Good luck with your search. I was in a similar position to you...kinda. My partner (a man - I am the female this time) likes dogs but would prefer to not have pets at all. We both work full time and also have a child. The below are my opinions on a few breeds: Vizsla - My friend owns two of these dogs. They are goergeous and beautifully trained but they never leave his side. They are literally glued to the guys hip. He is home with them all day and they spend most of the day out walking along the beach, or in the forest. Staffy - (when i talk about staffies, I am talking about proper ones, not those Am Staff creatures - no offence to Am Staff fans). I grew up with a Staffy and she was awesome. Fantastic size, super easy to toilet train and train fullstop because they are really eager to please. Excellent with kids (nicknamed the nanny dog after all). They can go for a decent amount of exercise and can be good for a play. however, our one was dog aggressive and had to be kept separate from our other dog. She was a beautiful little dog and was socialised but just developed an attitude. So if they are not socialised well (and sometimes that doesnt matter) you may not be able to take them to the dog park. They leave a bit of hair but its short so you don't really notice it. they do love their owners though. Border Collie - I grew up with a border collie called Missy and she was the best dog. Super smart and easily trained. However they really have to be stimulated - especially mentally but ours did OK with being at home alone. Not sure about shedding but they would probably want a decent amount of exercise. Poodles - A guy I know was a major anti-poodle person until his daughter brang one home. They kept it with the "dreadlocked" appearance and he used to absolutely rave about the dog. Noone was home all day and they said the dog handled it fine, was super smart and they used to take her our rough and tumbling. Greyhounds - We looked into gettign a greyhound before we got our little mixed girl. They usually do not have any of the other bad dog behaviours other dogs have (like scrounging, pulling on lead etc) because they are brought up differently. They are quite happy just to laze around and chill. I personally generally always own mix breeds (though a Bulldog will be the next addition to our family) and have had the following - which will give you an idea of soem good and bad traits that can appear in mixes: Staffy/lab mix - gorgeous dog. Was quite happy to stay home alone. Was very easily trained and super well behaved. Not destructive at all and was very happy with a half hour walk or trot per day providing she got lots of love when we got home. Bit of a shdder and smelly dog though. Good size - about knee height or just above and pretty robust. Great with other dogs. Staffy/boxer mix - dont recommend this mix at all. What a little power pack this dog was. Just on the go 24/7. He had a gorgeous personality but had a very very short attention span so was never properly trained, though he was always well behaved. He was great with other dogs, unless they displayed aggression and then he would become super sggresive. He had minimal shedding and was about the same size as the dog above. He was really fun, but he never got as much exercise as he needed. He could run for hours on end. He was also a bad escape artist, managing to jump 6 foot fences without even touching the sides. Lab/rotty mix (assumption as his true parentage is unknown) - lovely nature. Major shedding issues. Beautiful dog but soooo ridiculously clingy as to be annoying. He weighs 40 kilos and thinks he can sit in your lap. Was destructive when young and we were at work (even though he had the staffy/lab mix above to keep him company) although he will not now chew or destroy anything he thinks isnt his. he hates being told off so is generally well behaved. 5 years old though and still super supe rboisterous so has knocked me over a number of times. Foxy/Shih tz mix - this dog has turned me right onto small breeds. She is pretty little - 5 kgs...head like a foxy, body like a shih tzu. I think she has thrown more to the foxy nature as she will dig and is highly energetic and her little short legs will happily go for a run as long as you want to. On the flip side though she is also quite happy to just have a play in the yard or house and then have a cuddle in front of the heater. She has a big attitude. Can be very naughty and if not watched will chew everything in site. She is a great little dog and doesnt shed too much although she has that "scruffy" look. However, she can be quite obnoxious and arrogant and when being called will often look at you and ignore which means she is no good off lead....she is literally the onyl dog I have ever met who when called inside the house does not come running in a split second (if she even deigns to come). She is super friendly and gorgeous though so that makes up for all her crap traits lol. Personally, I think the fact you are working is not an issue, providing you make the effort to put the time in when you get home. ANY dog will adjust to it's environment providing they get adequate care when the rest of the pack gets home. Some breeds are definitely better suited than others but most will adjust once they know the rules. I think it is fantastic you are waiting til you have time off, that is what we do when we bring a new addition in also. I am sure your wife will come round once you get that small bundle of love home - how anyone can resist a puppy, or a dogs beautiful eyes I have no idea. I would personally recommend to you a greyhound, or a staffy (yep they are quite different breeds) based on what I personally know about each breed (I am not an expert by any means however and a breeder of each would be more qualified to give a proper opinion). Or, I would go the rescue route and get a pure rescue or even a regular old mutt. Most dogs with the right family and training will turn out OK temperament wise and it is sometimes nice to get a bit of a surprise looks and personality wise. Good luck - I am sure you will provide a fanastic home. Disclaimer: I am currently typing this at work so if it doesnt make sense its because I didnt proof read LOL

Your pictures are stunning and made me feel a little bit homesick (I am from NZ) - even though I have never been to the south island Next time you are there, if you go again, may I suggest heading up Coromandel way on th eNorth Island - soem fantastic scenery up there too which I imagine would photograph superbly by you

The pics on your site are fantastic Ruthless!! Just gorgeous! I try to get all creative taking pics (I have taken thousands of pics of my dogs) and some I think look pretty good and then I see proper photos like yours and mine feel very inadequate lol

Thanks! I have added your website to my faves Ruthless and will have a look - may be in touch shortly lol Do you do people too (we are quite beastly) LOL

"Our 7 year old dog needs a new home because she does not like our new puppy" WTF - take th epuppy back!

I would love to get some pro shots of my dogs - I have taken a couple of pics with the "pet" setting on my camera which look pretty good but I'd like some real fancy ones. I have googled but would like some recommendations?

What was the new swearword - I am always keen for new ones, I use the old ones far too often! Thanks for the tips and the pm with trainer details. I haven't tried a clicker, as someone previously mentioned I imagine it would be quite hard managing a clicker, treats and a large boisterous dog. I find it hard just with the dog and the treats! I do have two dogs (the second is only 5 kgs) and I never walk them together because the large one is so unmanageable. I have looked at the prong collars online and also the front harnesses so we will see what we can do before we go to a trainer (he is a fantastic dog other this pulling). What is especially annoying is he used to be perfect on lead...until he was about 1 or 1 and a half and then he became a puller....grrr

I have a question about british bulldogs.....my partner and I have wanted to own one for years. W eused to live in NZ and over there they are the mascot for one of the gangs which means they get stolen a lot so this made us a bit wary, but did not put us off. A year ago we moved to Australia and we would like our next dog to be a BB but I am concerned with how well they are able to handle the heat in summer? And also, if we decided to go back to NZ ever, or possible to England (my partner is English) can they fly OK - we would never leave a dog behind (and in fact brang our two mutts from NZ to AUs) so if we were to get a BB and they were unable to fly due to whatever reason they are unable to fly for, we would not move overseas. Any advice - greatly appreciated.

Hey everyone, I am new here and have read a few of the topics and it seems like there is some pretty good advice thrown around so thought I would join (I don't actually own any purebred dogs but hopefully that won't go against me too much). Anyway, back to my issue. I have a big dog (not giant by any standards but he is maybe up to my hip and weighs about 40 or so kgs) who is an absolutely chronic lead puller. I have tried heaps of different ways to get him to walk nicely, and nothing so far works. We have tried the following: > Check chain corrections > Food for heeling > Stopping the minute he pulls and only resuming walking once he falls in beside > Constantly changing directions so he always needs ot be mindful of where I am And other stuff. He knows "heel" and will immediately go to the right positon but the second he is there he leaves and is straight out at the end of the lead again. It's really important to me to have him walk nicely as I am not a big person so having him pull is painful on top of being stressfuk. Not to mention that when he is on-lead if he sees another dog he goes nuts. He is such a big beautiful looking boy that I would love nothing better than to be able to have him walking nicely on the lead so everyone can see how beautiful he is but it has got to the point where the dog walks have dwindled right down into prettty much none because I can't handle him. My partner will sometimes take him out for a walk but then the nex time I take him he seems worse. I am pretty much at my wits end, Id like to walk him, but it is not fun for either of us (all previious dogs have been beautiful walkers so not sure why he isnt getting the hint). He has a powerful neck so anything round the neck doesnt seem to bother him, he is 5 of that helps and we tried a halti a while back and he somehow got it in his mouth one of the walks and chewed through it in about one second. Any other tips on tools I can use to help us take a nice walk together (with or without the pocket monster)?