Remarkabull

Bloody dogs! We just got back from the fantastic dog park (complete with agility equipment and a huge lagoon for swimming ) and I am under the impression that my 9 year old Amstaff X wasn't happy that she was left behind. She is DA so she can't come with us and I thought seeing as it is so hot today I'd leave her inside with the AC blasting. Obviously she wasn't impressed because when we arrived home and opened the door we were greeted with an awful smell. She had pulled the bin over and the contents were spread all over the kitchen and dining room, including grease soaked paper towel, rotten bananas and best of all a heap of crawling maggots! She greeted us with a wagging tail and a empty cheese sauce sachet in her mouth, like she was presenting us with a gift! She has never done this before and is normally a lazy dog that is more than happy with sleeping the day away and has never been destructive or naughty. I'm hoping that it was just a case of the bin smelling way too good to ignore and her knowing that there was no one to stop her and not a new naughty phase beginning! She is almost a old lady now, not at the age where I would expect her to start being destructive! Oh well, I've learnt my lesson and will not be leaving her inside, alone ever again!

Hahaha - That's pretty funny. There must be alot of 'pimps' out there. Do breeders have a spiel to sell your prostitues (sorry, dogs) to prospective customers? Are there different prices for different 'services' . Edit - spelling

She annoys me too, the way she was acting like a teenage girl at the lizard last night...man, if your that scared of it get someone else to treat it! I would have asked for someone else to treat it if it were mine. She comes across as a dumb, ditzy blonde. No way she'd be treating any of my pets.

While I was working at one clinic we had Talk To The Animals (I think that's what is was called, was hosted by Tom Burlinson) come and film surgery on a donkey. He was bloody rude, the film crew were bloody rude and they made it really hard to do our jobs. Alot of what we see is scripted, and Chris is not a professional actor, so it stands to reason that he says and does some things that seem silly to those with a bit of knowledge, but I bet he was asked to do most of it by the shows producers and seeing as they are paying him a s*#tload of money to go along with them he is probably happy enough to do it.

That was my thought too :D And mine. I doubt the vet believed it either. It would be interesting to know what the neighbour on the other side of the fence had to say now the show has gone to air. Silly owner was so busy playing Miss Innocent, I bet she didn't give a thought to the wreck she made of any good neighbour relationship. Dr. Chris did a good job saving that dog. He cops a lot of flack if he says anything dumb but no one ever mentions that he seems to to be a good vet who knows what he's doing. He should never have started of at the beginning of his TV show putting false nads into that Bulldog and people would probably have taken him more seriously. He sure is easy on the eye!! Agree with you, except for the bolded bit! Ughhh, every time I look at him all I can think of is Roger Ramjet! Way too much chin happening.

I think in some cases spraying the dog could make matters worse. A number of years ago we had a incident with a young postie coming into our yard to drop off a package. As usual the dogs all ran to him and barked but they didn't touch him or try to bite. Anyway, he was obviously terrified (understandable) and was turning in circles and telling the dogs to 'go away'. He then swung the parcel at my Dobe (obviously he felt he was the biggest threat) and aggressively yelled at him to go away. Worst thing he could've done. I was at the door, on my way out to call the dogs away and saw what he did and the Dobe's whole demeanor changed. He started stalking and trying to get behind the guy, I'm sure with the intention of biting him. Lucky for him I was there and called him away. He could have been seriously injured if I wasn't there and I tried to explain to him that acting aggressively towards the Dobe was not a smart thing to do. He just had no idea about how to behave around dogs. I guarantee that the Dobe would have gotten more aggressive, not less if he was sprayed with something. ETA - I would have helped the dog too. No way could I have left it on the fence to choke to death. Nice man.

I didn't see anything like that on the bag, but will add the my cats really like it! They have their own food but if they find a stray bit of dog kibble on the ground they snap it up real quick. Must be yummy.

Just as a matter of interest, is there a sticker on the bag that says this food is not suitable for cats? Did you buy it at a Pet Barn Store? Yes from pet barn, they only sell the one type from natural balance kibble range. there is "nothing" on the dog bag that says that it is only for dogs, you can feed it to puppies so it can't be bad ? but there is a rrange made for cats, but i have no clue if pet barn sell it. thanks guys looks like a good responce, it says to feed between 3-4 cup for the weight range of my adult dogs, looks to be wayyy too much, is it ?? so i decided two cups dailys for each dog here + bones and veggies when ever I never follow the feeding guide on the bags, if I did my dogs would be so fat! My AMSTAFF X gets 1.5 cups (she is 9 yrs old and not as active anymore) and she maintains her weight (30kgs) on that. My Dobe pup (now 9 months old) gets 2.5 - 3 cups (cause he is still growing, will cut it back to 2 cups when he is finished) and is lean, but well muscled and healthy. Not sure how much he weighs atm but he is definately over 30kgs. Little dogs get 3/4 of a cup each. They are small but burn alot more energy than the others!

I'm not working atm so am home all day. Mostly I put them out in the morning so I can get cleaning done but will let them in after lunch. They can stay in or go out as they wish. When I start working I will be leaving the 2 big dogs and the JRT outside. We have a large covered area at the back door and it has a ceiling fan that I would leave on, they have lot's of shady grassy spots to lay in if they want and plenty of water to drink. The 2 little boys will have to stay in while I'm not home because they both bark alot more than the others and they also snap at the Dobermann pup if he annoys them, which is fine if I'm home but I would worry in case he decides to snap back at them. They are both under 5kgs so one snap would be bad! I try not to use the AC but would leave ceiling fans on for them and plenty of water.

If they have the brains to stop trying to force him into "making friends" I'd not feel sorry for him at all. Some dogs don't give a damn about other dogs. I might mention that to my neighbours! Classic example from the other night.. out at the club walking with FHRP and her tribe. Lady opens the gate and lets her Toy Poodle in (without asking of course) to the paddock in which we've got 3 big gundogs, 2 Whippets and my poodles because "she thought the poodles would play with her dog". After convincing Howie Whippet that even though the poodle ran madly in circles, it wasn't an invitation to chase it into the ground, two of my poodles looked at it like it was an alien and Darcy had a go at it (I'd picked him up initally then put him down but the dog rushed up to him) My dogs have their 'friends' but other than Howie the Whippet, dont' give a toss about other dogs. Jazz (DA dog) is like that. She can stay at my sisters house with her 2 boxers and although she might growl at them (she growls at ALL dogs) there is no problems. My parents have a tiny Chi X and Jazz is also fine with her - in fact she 'guards' Ruby from the other dogs and tells them off if they go near her. Jazz is my oldest dog so obviously we have introduced a number of dogs into the family despite her aggression, and they all get along pretty well. She seems to understand very quickly that the new puppy is part of the pack and although she is allowed to tell them off if they annoy her she knows she can't take it further than that and never has.

She is really playing with fire. While I understand your desire to help, it's not your problem and it's not hers either. She should keep the dog in her yard, walk it alone, on a lead and leave it to the owners to sort it out. Who knows, they may have told her that the dog is DA and she thinks because it's little what harm could it really do? My sister looked after my DA dog overnight once. She knows Jazz hates other dogs and still took her for a walk OFF LEAD . Sure enough a SWF comes along - also off lead - and they sniffed, little fluffer had a snap at Jazz and then Jazz attacked it. I'm not sure what she didn't understand about me saying (and after years of knowing Jazz is a cranky bitch) that she WILL attack small dogs.

I have recently started giving it to my dogs as we can't get the food they were eating anymore. I mostly feed raw but give the DVP Ultra once or twice a week and so far so good. I'm pretty happy with it and will continue to get it. Dogs are all healthy and shining and all 5 of them love it.

As much as I love my Barkley, I would never get another cross breed dog - unless it was from a rescue and even then I would still prefer a purebred dog. I have to admit though that they (maltese x shih tzu) have a certain appeal and even my OH, who usually dislikes small fluffy dogs has come around to Barkley. Although I actually think that there might be schnauzer somewhere in his family history, going by his colour and markings (looks just like a black and silver schnauzer) Here is a pic of them snuggling together.

That was so funny. Having just spent 10 days driving from VIC to Darwin with 2 kids and 5 dogs I would also prefer to take my chances with the lava!

Hey erinonthefarm, Sniper is a cutey pie. I have just moved to the NT and have a 8 month old Dobermann puppy from VIC! Who bred your pup? He looks lovely. dobesrock.

I bet that not all shih tzu x maltese have issues with strangers or men, it isn't a particular trait of theirs. This has more to do with their upbringing rather than a breed or xbreed characteristic. I don't doubt that there are purebred dogs out there in the big wide world that may have a dislike for men or strangers alike. This has nothing to do with breed.....lest we forget - let us not blame the breed (or crossbreed) but the deed....or realistically speaking....the upbringing. A cross bred dog doesn't have traits. And I disagree that it's only upbringing which determines personality. Yes, a dogs personality may vary through the breed, but can be quite similar throughout certain lines. I have 5 dogs Moselle, and he is the only one that has that issue. They have all be 'raised' the same way by me so I reject that in this case it has anything to do with how he was raised. I have another that is DA - she is the only dog I have that is, is that my fault too? I agree that there are alot of spoilt, babied dogs out there that due to lack of training and socialisation have behaviour problems but I can promise you that it is not the case in this house. I have 2 kids - they have the same parents and are being raised the same way - they are completely different from each other. Why can't that happen with dogs too, don't they have individual personalities?

There is a natural product called Goodos Rovers Relief. We used to sell it in the shop I managed and everyone raved about it. People used to buy it for their own skin conditions too! I used it on my Bull Terrier (arm pits, belly etc) and it definately worked on her. You should be able to get it online, just google it.

I have a Maltese x Shih Tzu atm. He was for sale in a pet shop but was older and therefore bigger than the other pups so potential buyers all thought he was going to be too big. Apparently they also didn't like his colour (black & silver, marked like a shnauzer), everyone wants a white puppy . Anyway, I knew the owner of the shop and she asked if I would have him, so sucker that I am, I did. He has some issues with strangers, particularly men, and he has the messed up jaw with one tooth hanging out the side of his mouth, but so far no health issues and he is great (if a little bossy) with other dogs. I would never recommend them though, apart from the fact that they are crosses, you just never know what you're going to get. I've been a groomer and seen some with terrible health and temperament issues.

Sorry for my ignorance, but what's the BBO? Bull Breed Owners Forum - I think!

My Dobe is fed mostly raw - minced chicken frames, pumpkin, sweet potato, sardines, yoghurt, raw eggs (including the shells) and a couple of teaspoons of 'Supergreens' (a mix of spirulina, wheat grass etc, in a concentrated powder). He also gets beef/lamb meat and bones a couple of times a week. I have in the past also given him Black Hawk Holistic dry food and it was great but I can no longer get it due to my location and he can't seem to stomach other dry foods that I've tried. He never gets pasta/rice etc, he doesn't need it. He is now almost 9 months old and big, beautiful, healthy and shiny.

I can't get it anymore cause we moved to Darwin. There is nothing up here that is as good as it. I have to feed my Dobe only raw now as he gets sloppy poo syndrome on all other dry food that I've tried. Raw is good and he loves it but it was convenient to have dry that I know he could eat without causing any probs. Are there any other Darwin people that would be interested in getting it up here? If there was a few of us it would be more economical.

Parvo vomit is usually clear and really sticky. If you get any on you it's like pizza cheese - clings and stretches, and yes parvo has a very distinctive smell. The first dog was lucky to survive if indeed it was parvo that they had.

+1 I have 5 dogs of various breeds including a working line Dobermann and a JRT with high prey drive, I also have 2 cats that live happily in and outside with the dogs. We have just moved and the neighbours cat keeps coming over and trying to fight with ours, I have no doubt that if it went into my back yard it would probably end up dead. I would not blame my dogs for it and would not re-home or PTS. I have had a situation in the past where my Bull Terrier was a cat killer. We had cats before her and she was fine with them until she reached about 12 months or so. One day we came home to find one of our cats dead in our back yard with her standing over it. It was upsetting and I was angry at her but she was just following her instinct. She ended up killing our other cat and 2 strange cats that stupidly came into our yard. We just decided that there would be no more cats in our family while we still had her. She was a great pet in every other way, very affectionate and great with the kids.

2 of our Dobermann's used to do it. On stairs and chairs. Used to crack everyone up.

I'm with you Souff. The person I mentioned in an earlier post purchased 3 of the dogs from RSPCA herself before taking them back there a year later. One dog from a pet shop and one from a registered breeder. They all ended up in the same place because she couldn't be bothered. They were 'too hard' to toilet train so they were chucked into the back yard. Feeding time usually consisted of her 13 year old daughter chucking a couple of cups of dog food over the verandah into the yard and the dogs would race around trying to get what they could. Because they were so bored they started barking and became destructive, neighbours complained, so the dogs went. The RSPCA pts all of the dogs she surrendered. The rats were living in filthy, overcrowded cages and the house stunk to high heaven! This lady did not work, she had all the time in the world to do the right thing by these animals but was too lazy. She wanted a dog like mine - toilet trained, mostly obedient, non destructive. She didn't get that they didn't come that way, I had to put in the effort to get them like that. So many people think that they got a 'dud' dog because it isn't like Joe Blows over there, well trained and well behaved, without realising that it takes hard work to get that result. So dump the 'stupid' dog and start over with another one. It's too easy.