Remarkabull

I hope he cops it from the judge. I would be furious if it had been my dog, although not very likely considering I have a Dobe! I used to do flyball at the Sydney Royal and one year they had us keep the dogs where the show dogs would have been. I had no choice at one point but to leave my dog for a few minutes while I went to the toilet. He was still there when I got back! (He was a large, entire male who was very indifferent to strangers so I doubt anyone would have tried to even pat him let alone steal him!)

I also would have been told it was my fault if bitten by a dog as a child. I have always said that if my kids come to me and say that one of our dogs (or any dog for that matter) had bitten them my first question would be 'What were you doing to the dog?' There is almost always an event that sparks the bite or attack and if people were more cautious and aware it wouldn't happen anywhere near as often. Last weekend I was at a fun day at the local water park and they had a reptile show. Afterwards they were letting people hold the snakes and baby crocs and while I was holding one of the snakes and talking to the partner of the guy who does the show when a boy (not sure how old but at least 12) comes up and grabs the snakes tail and pulls and twists it! The lady was lost for words and was so angry with him as was I. Some kids truly have no idea about how to behave around animals at all. I think they see animals as something to entertain us and not as a living creature that has feelings and can get annoyed.

They used to be. I don't know any breeders who it these days but I think it happens less often at least. I wouldn't think twice to make sure a black and tan, liver, blue or fawn doesn't make it past the first few hours. I'd be taking a serious look at how they've come about and making sure I take measure to prevent them popping up again. Are you serious?!? Why couldn't you just pet home, desex before you let the pup go if you're that worried?!?! Why kill it? You could still take a serious look at how they've come aobut and take measures to prevent them popping up again. If other breeders had taken that approach then ppl like my SIL wouldn't have and breed 'rare' blue and blue fawn SBT's and sell the pups for around $2500 each! It makes me so mad when she brags about one of her bitches being pregnant and so far they have always had c-sections and a high mortality rate. She is registered and has a prefix but really has no idea other than there is alot of money to be made if any of the pups survive! Her male dog is HUGE (not tall, but massive head and shoulders) definately not breed standard!

It looked like the police car tried to run the dog over on 2 occasions that I saw. :p Honestly it was the worst way to try and capture dogs that are apparently aggressive. What a complete ballsup!

I have a relative (my dads cousin) in Canada who breeds Canadian Eskimo Dogs. Don't know how to put pics up but easy to find if Googled. They seem to vary in appearance but look alot like Huskies and Mals with a much larger variety of colours.

I am completely in LOVE with the Catahoula Leopard Dog! I want one now. Only one breeder in Aus that I could find.

Fantastic thread! I LOVE that dog, just beautiful.

The vets cannot hold a dog and give it to someone else unless the owners give them permission to do so. Vets might not agree with why the dog is being pts but legally they have no right to rehome the dog because of that. At best they could refuse to pts the dog but I'm sure another vet out there will do it anyway.

I need that shirt too!

Not related to a specific breed but a dog thing in general - I always get comments about how 'skinny' my dogs are! Umm, no they are a perfect weight and they are supposed to have a waist! (I have a Doberman, a JRT, a JRTx, a Maltese x Shih Tzu and a AMSTAFFx) Must be rare though, every new vet I go to seem surprised and always comment that it is nice to see fit, lean dogs.

Questions I always get asked about my JRT's, 'Are they puppies?' - No they are small dogs, can you not see how well muscled they are? Puppies don't look like that! 'I bet they are real terrors.' - Not really, they are active and like to bark while playing but they are also obedient and well behaved (most of the time ) Doberman's are big sooks and are happiest when having a cuddle with their human. Also that dogs can be what I call 'racist'. As in my old Dobe hated ALL Rottweilers and SBT's. Male, female, didn't matter he just hated those 2 breeds with a passion! Another example is my sister has a Boxer that hates all big black dogs. Breed and sex doesn't matter he just hates them all.

I do get what you guys are getting at. But I don't agree with it nor do I have to. There was nothing wrong with the way I was raised around dogs, my dogs loved me and my 3 sisters and there was never an incident. And we hand fed them all the time. I still have all my fingers. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and just because mine is different from yours doesn't mean I'm wrong. My son and pup are supervised and everyone that comes into my house always comments on how well behaved and calm my pup is so I don't think I'm doing anything wrong. I had one incident when I was mowing the lawn, but I've learned from that and make sure that if she's out of her crate or in the backyard with my son, then I'm right there with them, and if I can't be, then she will be in her pen. I love my son and I want him to respect and care for animals the way that I was brought up to do. If I don't let him have any involvement in her training or care, then he can't have much of a relationship with her and that's not fair on either of them. I know he's only 2, but he's not stupid. Re the bolded bit. My dogs are great with my kids, in fact my dogs love all kids in general and they have a great relationship with my girls. My kids were never involved in feeding, training of the dogs when they were little. My kids were never allowed to discipline our dogs and certainly are not permitted to tease or annoy the dogs in any way. Personally I think that you are setting yourself up for the very thing you are saying you want to avoid. Your son is 2 years old , stupid has nothing to do with it, he is unable to read body language or understand that the dog may find some interactions annoying. I also think that you seem to have a lack of understanding in regards to dog behaviour and the risks associated with it. If you are so determined to do things your way why bother posting asking for advice? EFS

Re the RC - I was told by a rep that after the food is cooked it is sprayed with extra smelly stuff including some of the fatty liquid that is drained out during the manufacturing process. It is irresistable to most dogs because of it's strong odour, not sure how good it is for them though. Personally I don't like alot of the ingredients and don't think it's much better than Science Diet.

I found it at the Petbarn here in Darwin. So far it is the only pet shop that I will buy stuff from as all the others sell pups and kittens. It's also on one of those rewards programs - buy 10 get 11th bag free. Will give it a try and see what it's like as I don't like any of the other foods that I have seen available up here.

Yep thats the one! I was just on the website and was about to copy and paste the ingredients list on here but you beat me to it Looks pretty good. Has anyone tried it? (the ultra, not the australian made one)

must be made OS then as the ingredients on the pack in the shop here state a meat meal (can't remember if it was lamb or chicken) as first ingredient then brown rice, then another meat meal in the first 4 ingredients. It sounded ok because there was no corn or beet pulp that i could see. the main fillers were oats/barley and brown rice. Will have to read the bag again before I buy it to double check! I'll google it to see what website says. Brain isn't working properly, been a VERY long couple of weeks.

Hi all, As some of you know I have just moved to Darwin and can no longer get the dry food that I was feeding my dogs in VIC. I mostly feed raw but like to have some dry for the days I can't be bothered or have run out of raw. I have been looking around and have decided to try Natural Balance. Does anyone else use it? What do you think of it? I will add that I am willing to try other brands but am looking for something 'holistic' or as close to as possible as my Dobe gets the runs if given food that contains more than the minimum amount of fillers. Thanks in advance.

I am about to embark on a week long journey from VIC to Darwin with 5 dogs :rolleyes: So far the cabins I've booked do not allow pets inside but all have been fine with having the dogs in the trailer. I hate that my dogs will have to sleep in a trailer and not inside as they are used to and although I know they won't cause any damage and are all toilet trained I will be leaving them all in the trailer overnight. I wish I could bring them in with me and have considered buying a large tent so they can sleep with us but I also have 2 kids and after spending 7 hours a day driving I think air con and tv and a proper bed is a must!

My current Dobe is the first i've owned with a tail and it is always going. It's so long and thick and is also very good at knocking things off tables. It's too big to wag really fast but can deliver a hard whack when it's really moving. It took a while to get used to seeing it but I must admit it is a very expressive part of his body.

Yep I have 1 Dobe. But also have 4 other dogs. ATM only 1 of them doesn't shed (maltese X shih tzu). Am very excited about the move. Will have to find a good obedience club for the Dobe and once he's old enough would like to give flyball or agility a go with him. Any recommendations?

Bugger. Was hoping not to have to worry about shedding for a few years! Just found out today that we are moving on Saturday!

I use it. I have 5 dogs of very different breeds and sizes and they all love it and look great. (I also feed raw)

Ignore my last post. Just got a phone call from OH - we leave for Darwin on Saturday! Will miss going to Kepala. Hope you guys have fun.

In the next few weeks (hopefully if things get sorted) I will be moving to Darwin. I have never lived there before nor have I lived in a place that is so warm all year round and was wondering what, if anything, changes re shedding? I assume that due to the heat that pets don't grow a winter coat like they do in other places therefore they wouldn't shed as usual either? I know once we get there my guys will shed big time (we've just spent our first winter in VIC and it was freezing, so they have all grown very thick winter coats) but I'm hoping that once the initial shed is over I won't have to deal with anywhere near as much dog/cat hair as we do currently. Can those of you that live or have lived in such places let me know? Thanks

That shed like buggery I'm told. If your friend thinks that a short haired dog means less hair in the house I'd be thinking again. I think this needs to be a family decision based on more than what a 10 year old likes the look of. What sort of exercise and training will the next dog get? I can confirm that smooth coat JRT's shed ALOT of hair. It's unreal how much they lose. I can tell when OH has been having a cuddle with our JRT bitch cause he is covered in white and tan hairs! ETA - Despite the shedding they are great little dogs!