Remarkabull

We used to have a Dobe that would eat anything including orange peel. We always used to joke that if we were still for long enough she would eat us too. My new 6 month old boy seems to be going in the same direction, he loves to graze and will often snatch a flower as we are walking past peoples gardens and don't get me started on the Kangaroo poo!

Depends what products you are looking for? Online shopping definately has it's advantages. I live at Puckapunyal and there is not much here in the way of pet supplies. Plenty if I travel to Shepparton but agree that they charge a fortune!

Agree with PF. With humans we all know of people that do NOT live a healthy life but live a long one! How many times have we heard 'my Pop/mum/dad/uncle smoked and they lived until they were 90'? I know that I don't eat all the right foods and I DO eat alot of the wrong ones but apart from being overweight I have no health issues at all. My SIL (very slim, fit and healthy) said to me when I had announced that I was pregnant with my second child (my first pregnancy was completely normal with no issues) "you need to be careful as 'big' people can have alot of difficulty carrying and giving birth". This coming from a woman that had to stay in hospital for 6 weeks and get stitched up twice so she didn't lose her babies. Some people (and dogs) are just lucky and/or have good genes.

When I brought my puppy he wasn't chipped. The breeder liked to wait until the last puppy vacc to get it done and I got him 2 weeks before it was due. They are registered breeders and the pup is registered with Dogs Vic and all the other requirements were met so I had no prob with getting him chipped myself.

Any news today? Hoping doggies have gone home.

When I was a kid I remember that both our Dobes started doing that as they got older. One of them had had surgery on one of his back legs but the other dog did it as well and she had never had any surgery. We thought it was just a 'getting old' thing. Maybe less painful to move the legs that way?

All you need to add is a Dr. Evil laugh mwahh ha ha ha! I no longer take one of my dogs to the beach because no one else controls their dogs. She is DA so is kept on lead and still people let their dogs (big and small) run up to us and call out 'it's ok they're friendly'! It doesn't seem to be obvious to them that my dog is not friendly, even though I have 4-5 dogs with me and she is the only 1 on lead. Obviously people don't take hints and seem to think that because their dog is friendly that mine won't have a go at them.

My little dogs (3-6kgs) have eaten more chocolate cake than that and have been fine. Dark choc and cooking choc is the worst kind but they would still have to eat more than a tablespoon to do any damage at the size your dog is.

I grew up with Dobermanns as our family pets and they have always been my dream dogs. Funnily enough as an adult no longer living at home I have recently just purchased only my 2nd Dobe. I have had lot's of other breeds before, during and probably after but Dobes will always be my dream dogs.

In no particular order: Doberman (more as I already have one)! British Bulldog French Bulldog Dogue Border Terrier Shar Pei Great Dane Mini Pin JRT (more, I have 2 already) Giant Schnauzer (black) ETA spelling

yeah i noticed that too BB, any idea why? That wouldn't stop them, my guess is they were not making enough money or they did something to #*%@ off the big guns!

Thanks for the feedback guys. Sas - I agree that to breed a dog/s that has allergies is a form of cruelty. So I guess then that another question to add to the list of questions to ask a breeder when looking at buying a pup is if either of the parents (or gradparents) have any allergies and then hope that they are honest with you about it!

There has been alot of threads recently about what to feed dogs because they have an allergy to this, that or the other. Is it just me or does there seem to be alot of dogs with allergies these days? I was at a tuppaware party last night and we were discussing allergies in kids. A couple of the ladies had allergies to certain things and they also have children with severe allergies and they were discussing the % chance of passing on allergies to their children. Apparently if 1 parent has an allergy then there is a 25% chance of their child having an allergy (not always to the same thing) and if both parents have allergies then there is a 60% chance of the children will have an allergy. So, my question is, is there any research into this kind of thing with dogs? Would/should, breeders use dogs that have known allergies in their breeding programs? Is the dogs temperament and physical appearance the only thing that breeders are looking at when preparing to breed their dogs?

I use a combination of raw and Black Hawk Hollistic. It's not perfect but it dosn't contain corn, wheat or beet pulp which are the nasties that I really want to avoid. It is also within my price range ($80 for 20kg) as I have 5 dogs. They all love it and look fantastic, no health problems either. ETA One of mine used to suffer from bad allergies. We think it was related to wheat as he has not had any itching since being on the Black Hawk.

I like her I think she makes some very good points and I hope it make people think about what they feed their dogs and not fall for the marketing.

+1. I have a DA dog and she was socialised with other dogs her whole life. She just dosn't like other dogs, never has, never will. When she was younger she would just growl at other dogs but as she got older she has gotten crankier and will attack another dog unprovoked. Of all the dogs I have owned (now and past) she is the only one like this, so I assume that it can't be all my fault she is the way she is? I was bitten by our family dog (female dobe) as a child. Nothing serious, no broken skin but a good blood blister! I deserved it, I used to drag her around and make her sit, stay etc and if she moved I would be back at it again, poor dog just got jack of it and nipped me to warn me that it was enough. And fair enough I reakon, I would've bitten me too! ETA I was agreeing with Jaxx's Buddy and Megan_. I forgot to quote them

I'm glad your rant is over, although I agree RMB would be a better option. Some people choose to give their dogs Rawhide or Schmakos or whatever, for their own personal reasons. Just because YOU believe that a piece of meat is better or a RMB is better, doesn't mean everyone else has to agree. My parents dog can't have raw meat as it doesnt agree with her dog anymore. So does that make them bad owners as THEY CHOOSE to give their dog rawhide for dental health, or as you put it CRAP. Get a life and stop worrying about so much as to what other people choose to do. It's not just what I believe, it's a fact that alot of the so called 'treats' contain ingredients that have no nutritional benefit and in fact are bad for our pets to consume. For the people that have dogs with an allergy to raw meat and bones then by all means find something else that works for them, but seeing as this is a public forum where people give their opinions, I just gave mine and am not suggesting that you or anyone else has to agree with me.

So do Royal Canin

Why do we need to give our dogs rawhide, schmackos and all those other things? I often hear people say 'my dog loves schmackos', well they would also love a piece of fresh meat or a bone or even a carrot. We are the ones that love to give them all this 'shit' because we think that they need a treat or something different. Dogs are not people, they don't think like us and we should stop pretending that they do. I don't care how 'fussy' your dog is, let them go a day or so without food and I bet that they will start to eat bones and fresh meat. One of my dogs is 3.5kg and he devours bones happily, I am sure if given the option he would also eat rawhide, schmackos and other things but he dosn't get that option, he dosn't need that crap. Sorry guys, rant over

This is the first I've heard of it but I would definately do it if I were a breeder. I think anything that is possibly going to produce dogs with better social and behavioural skills is a good thing worth trying, right? Something for me to research when looking for our next puppy!

+1

Have to agree with that! Was at the vet couple of days ago with my MaltesexShi Tzu and vet kept on about how amazing his teeth were. I said why not, he eats bones just like my other dogs do. Vet was surprised that I fed my Little Fluffy actual bones, I get the impression that alot of people think that bones are too much for their SWF, as is walking on their own 4 legs among other 'normal' doggy behaviours. Can you imagine these people with a Dobe, Rotti or other such breeds?

I think that Dobes need a strong, confident leader that knows how to be 'top dog'. If I was a breeder I would not sell (Dobermann) puppies to someone that has not owned or spent much time around dogs before. The breeder I brought my most recent pup from will not sell to people he can't meet in person and will not commit to selling a pup until he is satisfied that you know enough about the breed and what to expect from their temperament (they breed working line dobes) and that you will be able to provide them with the environment and training that they need. I would also add Bull Terriers to the list. NOT dogs for the inexperienced!

I lost my heart dog to Lymphoma. He was 8 when it was diagnosed and we had him pts just over a year later. He received no treatment for it as he was miserable at the vets and would get very depressed if he had to stay there without me. The vets were amazed that he fought it for so long and right up until the last 2 months there were no real symtoms apart from the swollen glands. In the end you could see him fight it. He would go down for a few days and I would think 'this is it, it's the end now', and I slept on the floor with him bawling for days at a time and then just as I had made the decision to have him pts he would 'recover' and be ok for another couple of weeks. In the end it was his depression that made me have him pts. The vet said it was unlikely that he was in much/any pain but you could see how confused he was. His body would no longer do what his mind told it to. He started to run into walls and stumble and fall, vets said it was affecting his brain function. Hardest thing I've ever done. That was nearly 3 years ago and I still miss him every day and cry for him from time to time (like now). I feel for you and agree that it is a tough decision to make. I chose not to do chemo as I was told that it might only give him an extra 3-6 months and I thought that it was alot to put him through for such a small amount of time. My thoughts are with you both.

This was one of the lowest acts the R$PCA have done, poor Clifford a Pitbull never had a chance. Poor Clifford was thrown from a car in Sydney in 2004, emaciated and injured he was taken to the R$PCA the society that claims to care for all creatures great and small. The R$PCA said please donate as much as you can to help poor Clifford and raised about $3500, then announced this poor dog had suddenly become aggressive or some BS to that effect and PTS poor Clifford and kept the money. :rolleyes: Why was poor Clifford PTS ? Because the R$PCA does not rehome Pitbulls that's why. Shame, Shame, Shame R$PCA. thanks for explaining Cliiford to me. What a sad story. :D It's amazing how money can change things. I'm sure when the idea of the RSPCA was first thought of it's intentions were good but as we know, money corrupts.