Remarkabull

Things like this happen a lot I think. My ex BIL had a pig dog of his killed by their neighbors 2 BT's. They dug under the fence and tore him to pieces. He was a gentle giant of a dog, mostly wolfhound with a bit a Mastiff in there and no dog aggression in him. I think the flowers idea is good. It will let her know that I'm thinking of her without her having to talk about it while it is still so raw. Thanks for the replies :)

I have just found out that my pup's mum was killed a few days ago by the breeders neighbors dogs. I don't know the details as I haven't spoken with her yet but saw mention of it between another owner of one of her pups (previous litter) and the breeder on facebook. I remember about a week after we picked Simi up the breeder came to our house to drop off her papers and mentioned that Sophie (dog that was killed) had bite marks on her neck but that she didn't know where they had come from as the only other dogs she has are a 8 month old male who is as soft in temperament as they come and wouldn't hurt a fly and Simi's litter sister. From what I can gather, these dogs have caused problems before and she is now trying to have them taken and PTS before it happens again. I'm so sad about this, Sophie was such a lovely dog and I really want to express my sadness to her and offer support if needed but how? I don't know what to say. RIP Sophie, you were a beautiful girl and will be missed so very much.

I haven't treated my dogs for fleas in years (they haven't had any)and they only get wormed once or twice a year. They do get given a heartworm tablet once a month but that is the only regular medication they receive. They get vaccinated as puppies and I wouldn't get them done again, however Darwin is a bit backwards and I have to have the Dobe done again so he will be accepted into a boarding kennel at the end of the month. I have asked a number of vets up here about titre testing and a few looked at me blankly, a few lectured me on why I should vaccinate my dog and only one has actually looked into it for me and called me back with a price ($250 ) I figure that if your dog NEEDS medication then absolutely give it to them but if not why?

I had my male Dobe neutered when he was almost 2yrs old. It has not changed his appearance or his personality at all. The only reason I had it done was because we were expecting a new, female pup and as she will remain entire we didn't want any 'oops' litters.

YES!! She did mention a number of times about wolves and pack behavior etc. I wonder how 'wolf like' her 2 oodles are :laugh:

Thanks Nekhbet, I have sent you a email on your website. It's actually quite funny you mention Cesar Milan because when I googled Alpha Dog Training they highly recommend his training methods and suggest watching his videos! It made me laugh considering so much of what this lady said was nothing like Cesar Milan at all.

And yes, OH has been told to not intervene when it comes to the dogs, even though he thought he was helping me :laugh:

Thanks for the replies. I must admit to being a benevolent leader and generally the dogs can do as they like at home but I am the boss and they all understand this. He is great to walk and doesn't lunge, bark or growl at dogs while we are out and about so until we move back south I will manage this as best I can and then will get some help from someone I trust. It's funny, I told this lady that I would not have a problem if people would just walk their dogs on lead like they are supposed to and she says 'well, mine are 100% off lead trained so I just make them sit if another dog is walking past'. I didn't know what to say so I just let her keep talking and made some vague excuses about money being tight right now so I wouldn't be employing her services.

I just googled Alpha Dog Training and had a read on their web page, will definitely not be going there! Not that I planned on it anyway, but some of their methods and thoughts on dog behavior are a bit outdated. :laugh:

My husband (without my knowledge) contacted a 'dog trainer' today and she called tonight to chat about our 'problem' with Acheron. (He has what I think is fear aggression towards other dogs. He is not out of control aggressive but he is definitely uncomfortable around other dogs and I think he could bite if he felt 'cornered'. He has been like this from the day we got him and after talking to his breeders we believe it is genetic.) So this lady has recently moved up from Melbourne and teaches what she called "Alpha Dog" training. I spoke with her for more than half an hour and I didn't agree with much of what she told me. Apparently I should immediately stop letting all 4 dogs sleep in our room. They should be outside or in the laundry. I should get rid of my check chain and prong collar and buy a halti. I should make the dogs sit and wait before letting them inside (which they do IF I ask them too, but I don't always make them). She thinks he (acheron) doesn't trust me and I lack leadership and authority. Apparently, by telling him 'no' in a firm voice and turning him in a circle every time he becomes aroused when he see's another dog he will understand that he is doing the wrong thing and will then improve very quickly. She also said that she always brings her own 2 dogs to the sessions (a 'labradoodle and a cavoodle' - her words) and 'when he (Acheron) is under control she will introduce them to him'. A lot of this doesn't sit with me and I just wanted to know has anyone here used this method? Has anyone even heard of this before? I believe every dog and every situation is different and a blanket training method is not going to work with all dogs and she was very determined that if we did things her way then he will be fine.

Why is a BYB worse than a pet shop? I think a pet shop is by far worse than BYB. At least you can see where the pup has been raised, what the parents are like and the people who raised them. I would want to be able to meet the parents (both preferably but at least the mother), see what they are like physically and temperament wise. Definitely ask for health checks etc, and be able to actually see proof of the results. Do research on the breed. Don't just take one persons word/opinion on a breed, talk to as many people as you can about them.

Favorite is Dobermann's and now the Australasian Bosdog is right up there with them. Very different both physically and personality wise. I love the sleek, athletic look of Dobes, they are stunning to look at, I like the close bond they form with their owners (almost obsessive!). I also love the cute, squishyness of the bulldogs, and every one I have met has been extremely friendly, social and just lovely in nature. I don't hate any breed but there are plenty I would never own for a variety of reasons.

I'll be taking Simi to the one up here. We recently took her to the Pet Expo and she loved all the attention! I'm not keen on the RSPCA so this is just to go out with my dog and have a fun day.

I also own one of these unmentionables and she is an absolute joy and a credit to her breeder. There are a number of registries but the Australasian Bosdog Society is the one that is aiming for ANKC recognition and the one that my AB is registered with. The papers I received with her are very similar to the papers I have for my ANKC registered Dobermann. They have a code of ethics and a standard to which breeders are supposed to aim for. Just recently they have brought in a new rule that all breeding dogs are to have their hips scored. I don't agree with randomly crossing any 2 dogs but this is not the case with AB's. There was a time in history when many breeds we know today were not 'made' yet, but they are recognised now. AB's are currently up to 6th generation puppies and no matter how much some disagree with them, they are here to stay.

I recently completed a 4 week puppy pre school. It was ok, mostly they promoted Science Diet and gave some pretty dodgy advice regarding behavior. I really only went for the socialisation and nothing else. I knew I would not take on board anything that I didn't agree with but it was scary how much some of the other owners did not know and were willing to believe anything that the 2 nurses said, even if most of it was crap! I very quietly mentioned DOL to a couple of the owners as a great place to learn about dogs and I gave all my free samples (food, Frontline etc) to some of the other people there.

4 dogs here, just gone up from 3, but I have had up to 6 in the past. We have a JRT who is 5yrs, a small fluffy cross breed who is 3yrs, a Dobermann who is 2yrs and an Australasian Bosdog (Aussie bulldog) who is 14 weeks! All 4 sleep in our room every night and I wouldn't have it any other way. My family also think I'm nuts. Actually I still have not told my mum about the new pup although she will be visiting here soon so will see her soon enough :D

I had a dog who did it, just the one time. There were about 5 of my ex's mates leaning on the tray of a ute, all in a row and Harley (SBTxCorgi) walked along sniffing at each pair of boots and cocked his leg on the pair that belonged to the one person who had previously told him off and had an obvious dislike of him. I didn't tell him off, I think he was just expressing his opinion of this particular bloke :D

I have never seen a dog with a badly damaged tail in all my life. I spent years around hunting dogs and despite running in scrub, bush and through fences not one damaged tail on the hundred plus dogs I encountered. I've owned plenty of dogs with long tails and again, no damage. I've also worked in a number of vet clinics and never saw a dog come in with a damaged tail. I can understand that on occasion accidents happen but not with the frequency that some would try and suggest. What on earth are Dobe people doing with their dogs that there are so many damaged tails? Very clumsy people/dogs maybe

I have 4 dogs and I have never had a problem with any of the dogs bonding more with each other than me. Not all of the dogs like each other a lot but they all co exist with no major problems. My 2 little dogs are not that interested in playing all that much, especially with a 40kg Dobermann who can be pretty rough at times. Thankfully the new pup loves the rough play and she and the Dobe have become great friends so everyone is happy as he no longer bothers the smaller dogs to play :) .

I'm so used to seeing tails that I find it unusual to see a dog that has been docked. I saw a Dobe at the beach a few days ago and he had been docked. It looked really strange which is so funny because only a few years ago I thought Dobes looked strange with a tail :) ETA My boy, with tail

I have used both, at the same time, and my dogs did well on them but I think the VAN didn't do alot for the condition of their coats and the new puppy did not do as well on the VAN and so we are now back to me making my own raw mix as well as Holistic Select kibble. Definitely a winner, everyone's coats are gleaming and all are healthy as horses .

I have a now 13 week old bulldog puppy and a 2 year old Dobermann and although he really likes her and they play all the time I keep the pup inside while nobody is home. She is just too small to risk it and they both like to play roughly so until she is much bigger they will remain separated unless supervised. I would hate to come home and find that she had been injured.

2 cups of dry for an Aussie sounds like a lot. My 40kg, 2 year old Dobermann gets 2 and a half cups of dry (when he gets dry) or half to 3/4kg of whatever raw mix I've made that day and he poos twice a day, total. He is very active and lean but very muscular.

Everyone's puppies are beautiful! We took Simi to the beach today for the first time. She loved it and went straight into the water. She swims really well considering she is built like a cinder block!

I have fed many different foods over the years but have recently started feeding a combination of Holistic Select and home made raw. It works well for my dogs and it doesn't work out to be overly expensive for me and I have 4 dogs!