minxy

Oh my gosh. Poor dog

My two love them. Nah they're not hard like antlers, they can chew on them and easily scrape teeth marks into them. I think they're great.

I've been using Pet Circle for about 11 years now. I get all my dog, cat and chicken supplies from there with the exception of cat litter, only because I like a particular brand that they don't sell. They're great. We've had the occasional hiccup but it's always resolved very quickly and easily. You can just order as you need, or set up automatic deliveries of items at whatever frequency you want, and they'll remind you a week beforehand to give you the opportunity to change it if needed. Edited to add: Budget Pet Products is who I get my cat litter from. I prefer Pet Circle overall but to be honest it's been a very long time since I've checked to see whether I can get the same items I like from BPP and how their price compares.

I'm also late to the thread, sorry. I hope everything worked out okay @Bexrose. What did you decide on in the end?

Oh daaaamn they are all so beautiful! I'd LOVE to own bunnies and pigs! I can't have either here

Oh damn, I remember reading about them on here about 9 years ago when we got Kyojin! They would have been sooo handy when we got Dash, he was a terror of a puppy.

I heard about it on the radio this morning. So horrible. The poor husband must be devastated.

So cute

I get Dash's Leading Raw at Petstock (they sell Big Dog too). That's in Brisbane, but hopefully your closest one will have them too. You'll want some decent freezer space!

I started Dash on Black Hawk (as per his breeder) but then 6 months later transitioned him onto Leading Raw BARF patties for dinner (He still has kibble for breakfast, which I don't mind continuing because I can scatter it for him to find or stuff into things etc).

I can't say for sure, but there was a dog at the dog park I ran into a few weeks ago and the owner said he was a Catahoula. Definitely didn't look like either of those two links, but moreso like the actual one from the AKC. It was a crossbred rescue for sure and about 11 years old.

I only have a 7 month BC, so I'm not the most experienced, but yes, I would say that all sounds pretty great. Right now Dash still gets tired very easily (but recharges just as quickly). He loves to fetch, swim (he's a natural swimmer and LOVES it!), play tug, solve treat puzzles, run around the yard with me and go for walks. And also sit in my lap and cuddle for as long as I'm there. If I'm sitting on the ground, he'll want to be in my lap. He's an amazing dog and I love him to pieces, but right now (and I'm hoping he grows out of it once he stops teething and matures past puppy stage) but he's also by far the most destructive dog I've ever had or heard of in my life. He eats EVERYTHING. From the plaster of the laundry (when confined as a tiny pup) to the floor of my deck, to my wooden front door, to my daughter's swing set etc.... I even bought him a clam shell pool yesterday to swim in which he was happily doing, but two seconds later he was chewing it to pieces. So it doesn't seem to be a boredom thing for him as he will happily try and destroy stuff in front of me and even after I've taken him out somewhere etc. Having said that, even though he has damaged a LOT around the house he's also a pretty amazing dog and I still love him to pieces. He learns everything (except not to chew!!) VERY quickly and is the friendliest, most affectionate dog I've ever had. He is always up for some exercise or adventure and as soon as the hatch of my car opens, he jumps in. He doesn't even wait for it to be opened fully, he just leaps in underneath it whether he's supposed to be going for a drive or not. They are amazing at agility and you'll probably find that if you did do agility, that most of the other dogs there are also BCs.

We have a 5 month old border collie puppy and we've just started leaving him outside when we go to work in the last week, but that's because we live on 2 acres with rural mesh fencing so we got an electric collar system installed to make sure he can't get out (some spots he could probably crawl under, but being a border collie, when he's bigger he'd definitely be able to clear them if he really wanted to). So as Dogsfevr said, it'd depend on the security of your yard in particular. Making sure there's nowhere he can escape, nothing he can hurt himself on/eat anything dangerous, have good access to shelter and water etc. Before that we had Dash living on our deck. We did try and build him a run in the yard underneath the deck but he kept getting out somehow so it was safest to leave him on our deck until we had the Hidden Fence installed.

Thanks everyone! I've passed your feedback onto my sister to do some research now with her husband. I don't think that would really work for them to be honest. It would definitely be possible to add a doggy door to their laundry but with the two young kids they always have clothes overflowing in the laundry or toys around the house etc that I don't think it'd work having a dog inside when they're not around to supervise unfortunately.

Thanks so much guys, a few breed suggestions we'd never thought of so I'll get her to have a look at them. Funnily enough, she got a reply from another Cav breeder later that said they sounded perfect and that while Cavs would love to have someone home with them they cope better with being alone than some other breeds. Okay yep, I can definitely understand your reasoning here! That wasn't said by the breeder at all unfortunately, she seemed to think working part time was absolutely absurd and literally said she would never consider selling her a dog. I definitely agree that if they do get a pup now, they'll have to make sure it's well prepared for her return to work! A reasonable backyard size. Shady trees and plants to lie under, lots of grass, as well as a huge covered patio area.

Hey guys Just after some breed suggestions for my sister and her family please. - My sister, her husband and their two kids aged 4 and 7 - My sister's Rottie passed away before the kids and my brother-in-law has only had family dogs when he was a child - Brother in law works full time, and my sister is currently home full time, looking to return part time in about 6 months. - After a small to medium sized dog that must be good with kids - Independent but happy to have cuddles - Not yappy - The kids are outside a lot when home and the pup will be allowed to sleep inside and come inside sometimes during the day when they're home but will be outside when they're out - Will go on short walks and when the girls go for bike rides - Happy to brush as much as daily as long as they're fairly short grooming sessions They were interested in a Cavalier but the first response they got from a breeder was that her going back to work part time at the end of the year meant the dog was going to be left alone for far too long and she would never let her have one of her dogs and to go and find another breed. So as you can imagine she's feeling pretty disheartened and wanting to see if there's something else suited to them. Thank you!!

Thank you all xxx

It's so hard knowing when the right time is. You want them with you as long as possible but then you don't want to keep them here selfishly when you know it's not in their best interest anymore. 14 is wonderful, so many lovely memories you'd have together.

Thank you so much everyone. It was hard even posting it here as it brought so much emotion back up but I really appreciate your kind words. He was a beautiful boy and will be loved and remembered forever.

It's with a very heavy heart that I update you all to say that Kyojin was put to sleep a couple of weeks ago. I spoke to both of the vets that have looked after him throughout his life (same clinic) and both felt that he was deteriorating cognitively. We found a few lumps on his body including one inside his nose. His eyesight was starting to go as well (already been deaf for a few years now), particularly struggling to see when it started to get dark and was getting even jumpier than normal. He had started to appear quite sad really, sleeping even more than normal and withdrawing contact from my husband and I as well. No further altercations with the neighbour, however one morning I also caught him snapping at our goats as well narrowly missing one of them (poor things have no survival skills and just stood there at the fence eating while he was trying to get to them). It seemed the right thing to do both for his own health which seemed to be increasingly declining as well as for everyone elses' safety as well as his behaviour was getting unpredictable. At the vets we noticed he'd also lost a significant amount of weight as well (not really visible due to his thick coat). It was a horrible decision to make and I didn't sleep for a good week afterwards and still miss him terribly, but I know it was also the kindest decision to make. My husband and I planted a pink tabebuia tree in our front yard that afternoon with his collars buried under it. It's going to be a glorious tree one day that will stand out from the rest of the bush surrounding us so that everyone who drives past can see his beautiful tree and smile too.

Kyojin started to bark last night so I went straight down and when I got there, DH neighbour was talking to my other neighbour at the fenceline. They both turned around and said hi, it's all good, don't worry about him. The other neighbour said "So I've just heard about the vicious dog attack" (in a completely joking voice). I can't remember who said what next but then he said "Don't worry about it, he was the one stupid enough to put his hand through the fence of a barking dog". DH neighbour said "I wasn't trying to spread rumours or anything, just thought I'd let him know" I said that was all good, I was planning on letting him know as soon as I saw him too just in case he also had the same idea of trying to pat him to reassure him if Kyojin ever barked at him too. I could see him just rolling his eyes thinking what an idiot. I said I was planning on putting some bamboo screen across that side and they both said don't worry about it, Kyojin's never been a problem whatsoever before. He never barks, they always just see him sleep etc. DH neighbour then said he was tempted to see what happened if we let him into the yard with us!! I said please don't come in my yard, your last experiment didn't work so well. You're more than welcome to come to my house, but I wouldn't go near Kyojin again. Kyojin was definitely VERY upset by his presence at the fence yesterday. He didn't at all seem phased by my other neighbour but he REALLY doesn't like this one. I was glad that my other neighbour was supportive and that whatever DH had said to him about Kyojin or us hadn't changed his opinion in any way.

Wow Juice, that's insane! Thanks everyone for your kind words and advice. We are thinking we'll add some bamboo screening along the fence on that side of our property so that he can't put his hands in again and will get Kyojin vet checked to see whether there's anything else going on with him. We patted him down all over after it happened and he didn't flinch at anything, but obviously that doesn't mean there isn't something else wrong.

I know. That's what really bothers me. We moved out here to acreage for space and privacy. We've already spent a lot of time and money constructing more fencing to secure the property and section it off. (Not because we were worried about Kyojin as I wasn't until today, but to give him and my daughter separate yards and just keep him away from the yard and driveway etc). So his fenceline is about 80m back from the road and the neighbour lives below us on a hill, so he has to come up the hill in order to be able to even reach Kyojin. Which he did deliberately today as he intentionally stuck his hand in while Kyojin was barking at him just to see what he would do. We shouldn't have issues with anyone being able to just approach Kyojin otherwise and he sleeps the entire day minding his own business. The plan was for him to just see his days out here thinking he'd be comfortable.

Thank you for your replies, I appreciate it. I don't think I would want to do a run given that our property should be secure and private enough as is, his age and the fact that he sleeps underneath our house almost the entire day anyway and doesn't bother anyone. He only bit my neighbour because he was idiotic enough to walk up the entire length of his driveway and come onto our property and stick his hand over "just to see what he'd do". He's already admitted that it was "90% his fault, 10% Kyojin's". He's never had a problem with anyone else coming to our property or had a go at anyone before. But obviously it is a huge concern to me now that this has happened. The first time he growled at my daughter was when she and I were walking back inside the house at our old place and he came right up to the door too. She wrapped her arms around his neck to give him a hug and he growled at her. She was only 1 and as I said, we were in the doorway when he approached us so we weren't intentionally anywhere near him at all. I understand that as he's always hated anyone grabbing around his neck, but the second time he did it, maybe 6 months later, she was just sitting down on our patio outside and he went right over to her and gave out a quick growl. After this I never let her in the yard unless he was crated first. I know he's old (8 this year) and obviously having always had health issues and often been in pain etc that he's probably only likely to get worse but I don't know. BUT this also wouldn't have happened if my neighbour hadn't intentionally walked up the hill to come and test him in front of me. So I'm a bit torn. Possibly the muzzle idea Sandgrubber? I've never used one with a dog before but could be something to look into.

Pretty upset right now so please bear with me. Kyojin has just bitten my neighbour through the fence. My neighbour had come up to apologise to me for the disturbance the other night - a few nights ago I heard dogs snarling and barking and it sounded like someone was being mauled and I came out and their dog had gotten loose(usually chained up as he's dog aggressive and they have two other dogs that live in the backyard) and roamed up to our yard (we're on acreage so rural chain fencing and long driveways etc) and gone up to the fence line. I've just been told today that Kyojin bit him through the fence. So my neighbour and I were talking for a few minutes and he said "While you're here, I just want to try something" and walked closer to the fence. Kyojin jumped off the retaining wall and shoved his nose through the fence towards my neighbour. The man lifted his hand up (closed fist) and Kyojin immediately had a go at him and drew some blood and left a few marks. This all happened super quickly. I wasn't expecting my neighbour to put his hand up at all (thought he was just going to get closer and say hi while I was there too) but Kyojin didn't really give him much of a warning either. Kyojin has had minor fights with other dogs before (he was attacked a few times as a puppy and eventually stopped liking other dogs) and also growled at my daughter twice before so I don't let them go anywhere near each other. We've only moved into this property just over a month ago so we have fenced the yard so that Kyojin has the back yard and Aria has the front and they don't go near each other. He has never bitten anyone before but has growled at another child before - about the age of 10 at the time, not sure why as we were hosting a party and no one saw the interaction between the two as to whether the boy had done anything to antagonise him or not. Otherwise he had ALWAYS been very friendly with people his entire life. Bark if people would come near the fence, but no growling or snarling, and would wag his tail if they tried to go near him. He's had health issues his entire life. Vomiting almost daily for as long as we can remember, luxating patella surgery 12 months, ACL surgery maybe two years after that, lupus since almost 3 years ago, and has been deaf for a year or two now as well. I know he's getting old and grumpy and particularly struggling since losing his hearing. Obviously we'll take him to our vet first just to check him out but I don't know... is this now the time we need to be putting him down so that nothing more serious happens? I wouldn't say he has a great life anymore anyway but shit, this is not how this was supposed to happen. This wasn't supposed to be a decision I would have to consider.