Remarkabull

I agree with cosmolo - I have 1 JRT and 1 JRTx. They are both fantastic dogs that fit in with us and our lifestyle. They can be full on when playing (the JRTx loves balls and will chase one for as long as you will throw it, but will happily sleep the day away on the lounge if you don't) and my pure JRT bitch is very typical of the breed. She is a hunter (rodents, birds, bugs and beetles) and is quite focused while hunting something and could run all day if needed, but will also lay around the whole day without making any fuss. They are real characters and are a barrel of fun. They are really outgoing and friendly towards other dogs and people.

The tattoo is really not that big, about the size of a 5 cent piece. They can really vary in colour (darkness) though. It depends on who does it. There is quite an art to getting it right. 3 of my dogs are desexed and they have tattoos. My oldest girl (7) I tattoo'ed myself! (I was a vet nurse for the clinic she was done at) ETA - both of my cats are done too, hardly notice them unless you look closely.

The bolded bit (or variences of) is not that uncommon. The ex I spoke of in my first post has already bred a litter of Bull Terriers from a different bitch. During a phone conversation he bragged to me that a registered breeder was buying one of the female pups and also the mother of the pups. (when I asked why he was getting rid of his pet that he apparently loved he said that she got excited and jumped on his girlfriends daughter, made her cry and his girlfriend told him he had to get rid of the dog. ) It's not just dimwits that don't know any better that are doing the wrong thing. Unless there is another reason that I don't know of that a registered breeder would buy 2 bitches from a unregistered BYB?

My ex-husband recently purchased a Bull Terrier pup (female) to breed with. He already has a male that he got for free. The poor thing was passed around from home to home for about a year before he said he would have him. Apparently (so my ex tells me) the dog has papers that are 'on the way' and the previous owners paid $4000 for him as he is imported or some such bullshit. The sad thing is my ex believes all this crap and he and his girlfriend have $$$ in their eyes. They are going to sell the pups for $1200 each. Sadly, people will buy them even though you can get a pup from a registered breeder for that. I really worry about the kind of people that will end up with these pups. Makes me very sad.

This one is a bit more extreme than bad weather. Years ago I used to do flyball with my old Dobe and one of the ladies that was in our team had a miscarriage the day before a comp. She insisted on still coming and competing with her dog, partly because she didn't want to lets us down (we didn't have a reliable reserve) and also because she loved it so much and didn't want to miss out. I think that it helped her cope at the time. She didn't want to sit around and dwell on it I think. We all used to turn up to training rain or shine. We all got on very well together and as well as being a dog training club, we were all friends and it was a social thing too. We would often be there hours after the classes had finished, chatting and helping each other out. I will ad that the rest of the team placed NO pressure on her to compete. In fact she had to work hard to convince us that we shouldn't pull out of the comp.

What does that tell me about you? the fact that none of my dogs have ever been red zone cases actually says quite a lot about me (not to mention I use one of my "killing machines" to help rehabilitate aggro dogs!)...... ANY dog can be made red zone REGARDLESS of breed because of the owner, that is the point I was trying to make.... in fact ceaser has taken fluffies and chi's back to his rehab centre on plenty of episodes, like I said, if you watched it you would know... i have to disagree with the opinion that ANY dog can be made into an aggressive dog. There are some dogs (of any/all breeds) that no matter what you do to them will not become aggressive. Some dogs just don't have it in them, no matter what. In saying that I also think that some dogs (again of any breed, no particular one) are predisposed to acting or reacting aggressively to any number of things. It is not always because of some a*#!hole owner that did this, that or the other wrong. lol, well you have your opinion, and I have mine, thing is I make my living from working with dogs, I see between 10-20 dogs per day (depending on how busy the day is) and they are all different breeds... so I see it first hand on a daily basis..... do you see such a wide variety of dogs/breeds and owners on a daily basis? like I said though, you have your opinion and I have mine.... I (and my family) have owned many different breeds of dogs in our lifetime, amongst which have been many Bull Terriers (and crosses), Dobermanns, Rotty X's and I have looked after and housed many 'pig dog' crosses. I really like bull breeds. I'm not bagging them or saying they should be banned, in fact if you read my post all I said was that I disagreed with the idea that ANY dog can be made aggressive. There are many dogs (including bull breeds) that would cope with things in ways that doesn't include any aggression at all. I believe that just like humans, some are just born that way. Definately not always, but certainly some of the time.

What does that tell me about you? the fact that none of my dogs have ever been red zone cases actually says quite a lot about me (not to mention I use one of my "killing machines" to help rehabilitate aggro dogs!)...... ANY dog can be made red zone REGARDLESS of breed because of the owner, that is the point I was trying to make.... in fact ceaser has taken fluffies and chi's back to his rehab centre on plenty of episodes, like I said, if you watched it you would know... i have to disagree with the opinion that ANY dog can be made into an aggressive dog. There are some dogs (of any/all breeds) that no matter what you do to them will not become aggressive. Some dogs just don't have it in them, no matter what. In saying that I also think that some dogs (again of any breed, no particular one) are predisposed to acting or reacting aggressively to any number of things. It is not always because of some a*#!hole owner that did this, that or the other wrong.

You can get kelp from a health food store. It comes in granules or powder, either is fine. Don't cook the meat, it's better raw. I agree with persephone - ask the breeder to email you the list of ingredients and the quantities to use. Good luck and feel free to post pics of your puppy, I would love to see it.

I feed the Woolworths Select to my cats. They do normal, firm poos and are very shiny and healthy. (they also get raw cat mince every day). I agree that it is better than Whiskas and Friskies and many other brands because at least it doesn't contain colours and preservatives. Years ago I fed Bonnie to my dogs (from a tiny Chi X to Bull Terriers and Dobermanns) And they always looked great and had no health problems. I feed mostly raw now with some holistic dry food, but if I had to I would feed them Bonnie or similar again.

I would add dolphins and elephants as well. And primates.

Hmmm.... I'm really not sure about this one. I don't believe in God or any kind of religion so therefore I don't believe in heaven and hell. However I WANT to believe that dying isn't the end and that a part of us (our souls, I guess) move on to some other place or something like that anyway. And if we (humans) have souls that can move on to another place then I don't see why dogs and other animals wouldn't have them either. Sorry if that doesn't make sense, it's hard to put into words.

I can't answer the question re the health issues, however I just wanted to say how sorry I am that you lost her. Dobes are my heart breed and It took me almost 3 years after losing my last Dobe before I got another. We are now the very happy owners of a 6 month old male working line Dobe puppy. I still miss my other one every day, but Acheron (new pup) puts a smile on my face and brings me much joy. I will be interested in what others have to say about this. Oh, have you spoken to the breeder about this? What do they say?

I've used it in the past and had no problems with it. I tried it again a few months ago on my Dobe puppy and unfortunately it gave him the runs, really really badly. Took him off it, problem went away, introduced it again, got the runs again. All my other dogs were fine on it though so he obviously has an issue with something in it.

Veal bones earlier in the day and dry food tonight. Tomorrow is 'slops' night - chicken mince, yoghurt, sardines, eggs (inc shells), sweet potato and zuchinni. Looks like vomit when it's all mixed together but it is their favourite meal. Usually only get fed once a day (except Dobe pup, he still gets some breakfast)

He took a real liking to Dexter. He even tried to initiate play with him at some points through the day so maybe he would be a good starting point. I also noticed that Echo was following him around a fair bit. She seemed very interested in him and was very unobtrusive. She didn't push herself on him but just seemed curious about him. Both she and Alera are really good around him and he isn't too worried about them. Silly boy is his own worst enemy, the more he carries on like a pork chop the more the other dogs want to come close and check him out! I hope I can come to at least one more Kepala meet.

You have to be realistic Dobesrock. No dog can meet that list. If you're prepared to compromise on coat, I'm still breading these: Hmmmm.... very tempting, still a bit more work than I'd like. However, if we come up with a good marketing plan I think they would really take off! Now for what to call them Toodles? Shellydoodles? Giant Snapping Oodle?

I would like a dog that I can leave in the backyard and ignore, not need to do any kind of training or socialising with. One that only requires feeding when I can be bothered to remember (and it must be able to live on bread crusts, cooked bones and vegie peel as I don't want to spend any money on dog food). Also one that will never need to go to the vet as I couldn't be bothered with that either. Preferably a large fluffy dog that requires no grooming/bathing or general care whatsoever. Do you have anything like that available? ETA - I will pay anything you want for it, especially if you can come up with a very cute sounding breed name for it.

There seems to be alot of 'white' Dobermanns available in the US, will you be importing any of these as I would like to start breeding them myself (I will of course send some of the pups back to you for you to sell/breed) . Also would love a few brindle and harlequin Dobes too please. Then I can have a Dober-rainbow-mann!

What a horrible, scarey thing to happen. Unfortunately alot of dog owners simply don't care if their dog is terrorising others. when I was a kid there was a family that lived across the road from us. They lived in a caravan and had no fencing around their block. They had a large female GSD that was very territorial and unpredictable. One afternoon there was a group of us kids (including the kids from across the road) playing out the front of my house and we were patting a cat (from the same house as the GSD) when out of nowhere this dog came flying at us and straight for my younger cousin. Even at that age (i was about 12) I could see that the dog was after her in particular and I yelled at her to run and climb up on our 4WD that was parked out the front. The dog jumped up and grabbed her on the back and pinned her to the ground and was really mauling her. I still don't know how we got the dog off her but somehow we did and she was not as badly hurt as you would expect after something like that. (lot's of puncture wounds and bruising though). 3 hours after the attack the police came out to shoot the dog only to discover that they had already given the dog to someone else (and wouldn't say who) so it didn't have to get pts I hope that they find the dog that did this to you and your daughter and take it from the irresponsible people that own it.

The problem with that is that I now live in VIC and will be moving to Darwin soon. My sister lives in NSW. Odie has been to her house before, we have stayed there a number of times prior to us moving and he has fit in there very well. He is a very easy going dog and loves everyone and everything. Whenever we have been together (our families) her boys spend the whole time playing with Odie, and he loves every minute of it. He is very ball focused and is happiest when someone is either throwing his ball for him or chasing him to get it. At the moment we have decided to take all of the dogs with us when we move and see what happens. If we need to re-home any of them then at least we know that Odie has a great home to go to if it is needed. Thanks for all the support guys, it's been a tough few days even just contemplating giving up one of the 'pack' but at least the option is better than sending him to live with someone I don't know and won't be able to keep tabs on!

Almost a year ago I had a complete 'breakdown'. I have suffered depression in the past but I had no idea that I could ever get as bad as I did at that time. For 2 weeks I physically could not care for my children, couldn't drive my car, couldn't eat or sleep. To get up and walk to the bathroom was a massive event that left me even more drained. I had nothing to give anyone, even my own children. For those that have never been to that point I know it must seem like it would be impossible, but I can tell you it's not. It was the most terrifying time of my life and I am extremely lucky that I had someone to come and stay with me and help me throught it (my mum). While I agree there is an increase in the number of people using the 'mental illness' get out of gaol card (and it really makes me mad) there are some people that are genuinely affected by a illness to such a degree that it renders them incapable of noticing or caring about the destruction around them. They need help not gaol.

I have owned Bull terriers in the past and I currently have a Amstaff X Ridgeback but I am not in any way offended by Poodiful's comments. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and anyway I think that when Poodiful made reference to bull breed owners being dickheads they weren't talking about every single person that owns a bull breed but the irresponsible ones that want them for the wrong reasons and the byb that are supplying them to these idiots. Many years ago I was enquiring about a Bull Terrier from what everyone here would call a ethical, registered breeder and was horrified to hear her say (after me reassuring them that I was responsible and didn't want the dog for the wrong reasons) that if I was paying them $X amount then I could do whatever I wanted with the dog and she didn't care! It's these people that are the d*!#heads for selling their dogs to anyone that has the cash to pay for them (it's not just the pet shops and byb that do it). efs

I agree with Nekhbet, I wouldn't fee any of that to my dogs. I don't understand how people can read that list of ingedients and then think that it sounds like a good combination of ingredients to feed a dog? Maybe feed it to a rabbit and then give the rabbit to the dog to eat?

Thanks everyone for your replies. I have just taken Odie and Acheron for a big walk and had a good think about it and at this stage I am leaning towards letting my sister have him. All of my dogs get alot of love from our family and are a huge part of our lives. I just feel like I have bitten off more than I can chew atm and with one less I would be able to spend more time with the others and give them the kind of attention they deserve. It is a great home for a dog (my whole family are huge dog lovers), they would spend alot of quality time with him and during the times he would be alone he would probably just sleep or potter around the yard and amuse himself (they have a 2 acre block). They are finacially stable and own their own home, so the cost of keeping him would not be an issue for them nor would any surprise vet costs etc. He would get a huge amount of attention and play time with their sons (who funnily enough are not really interested in their Boxer, but LOVE my small dogs). I wouldn't get to see him much (they live in NSW) but I know for certain the kind of love and care he would receive and that definately makes it easier to bare. Still a very sad decision for me to make but all in all I think it's probably the right one.

I just got a phone call from my sister and she informed me that after discussing it with her husband they would be willing to take one of my dogs (Odie - JRT X Chi). It was a bit out of the blue as although it has been discussed in the past (due to uncertainty in our ability to find a rental that will allow 5 dogs) it was moot point in the end as OH joined the Army and we live in Defence housing and they don't have a problem with it and neither do our neighbours (here). Having said that, we will be moving to Darwin in the next month or so and I know that the council in Darwin has a 2 dog, 2 cat per household rule. You can apply to have more than that but have to state the reasons why and they then check with your neighbours and check the yard and fencing etc. In all honesty, it would probably be the best thing to do as with 5 dogs (and 2 kids, and I will be looking for work when we get to Darwin) I am stretched to give them all the time they require (and Odie is the most active). My sister has a 13 year old Boxer who is not in the best health and will probably not live another year, but has always taken great care of her dogs and they are a part of the family and he will be allowed inside as he wishes and will have her 2 sons (8 & 10) to play with. They both work (sister only works 4 days a week) but otherwise spend alot of time at home and love to go to the beach and for walks etc. In every way it would be the right thing to do, but I am finding it very hard to give the go ahead as I really love this little dog. He is such a special little guy and I would miss him terribly. I am crying just typing this because I feel so bad that I am even considering giving him up. I feel like a terrible owner, but I also feel selfish to want to keep him when it would be better for him to go. What would you all do in this situation?