anna

Finnish Lapphund Newfoundland Bernese Mountain Dog Alaskan Malamute Samoyed I love those big fluffers! My little fluffers are beautiful too though :D

I love my cats and have always had lots of them. My dad is a cat person - he had 6 cats before he ever had children, and that was definitely passed on to me. I only have one cat now (a Tonkinese) but I adore him. Honestly, I appreciate him probably slightly more than I do my dogs. I love my dogs, but I relate to my cat better. And my dogs are quite cat-like in their behaviour (or at least, foreign shorthair-like!) - they're lazy, they like to lie on the couch with me, they don't make a mess, they don't demand attention all the time, etc. On the other hand, my partner has always been a cat person (it's one of the reasons I like him so much!) but has well and truly been converted. He doesn't have any time for our cat these days. Joss and Oscar are total besties:

Surely the outcome of this interaction as a puppy is determined in no small way by the dog's general temperament? We have two dogs with very different personalities, both of which have been raised around lots of children and with lots of interaction with strangers. The elder one is super excitable, the younger one doesn't bat a single eyelid at anyone (if he can even be bothered opening his eyes in the first place). Their training and socialisation has been more or less the same. The risk you run when you control every single interaction that your dog has is that one day they'll have one that you don't control and you will not be able to predict their behaviour at all. I wouldn't be comfortable with that at all. I want to know that should my dogs escape or be put in an unfamiliar situation that they will have some idea of what behaviour is appropriate. Controlled uncontrolled experiences, I guess. The world is unpredictable. At any rate, if someone asked me not to pat their puppy, I'd be fine with it.

Aw thank you, they are wonderful dogs!

I don't have any of Joss's little baby photos on this computer, but this is her the day she came home (~16 weeks): Now (17 months): And Rupert as a tiny puppy: 12? weeks: Now (8 months):

We got our second dog when our first was about 12 months old. She was fine as a single dog and I'm sure would have continued to be fine, but we wanted a second dog! OH was training our first dog and I liked the idea of having a second dog that *I* could train and show. We love having two dogs, they are such excellent company :D

She is definitely very, very cute! We all adore her, that's the main reason for my question

My sister has a 5-month-old Staffordshire Bull Terrier. Unfortunately despite my hounding her (excuse the pun) to go to a registered breeder, this pup came from an ad in the Trading Post and has no papers. Apparently the sire has papers. As the pup gets older, she looks less and less like a Stafford to my (completely untrained) eye, so we were hoping to get some insight from anyone who knows the breed better than I do. Sister is often approached by Stafford owners at the park and obedience training who ask about her pup and are surprised when they're told she is pure bred. With the talk of crackdowns on dangerous (looking) dogs, we're worried that this dog may come under some scrutiny, especially in the council my sister lives in. She has the classic Stafford scream (sounds like a pig being slaughtered ) and I guess she and I are worried that this might draw attention from concerned neighbours who perceive her to be a dangerous dog. It would be great to have a plan of attack (ugh, pun again!) should this happen. Below are a couple of photos of her. She is very leggy and lean, and at least a couple of kilos lighter than the other Staffords of the same age that we do obedience training with. Thanks so much for your insight.

Oops!

Her cough is a little bit worse today, going to take her to the vet tonight to be on the safe side.

That's what I thought :\ Joss isn't a puppy and has had her own C5 vaccination - she's just about due for her yearly vaccs. It doesn't seem to be bothering her much, but should I take her to the vet just to be safe?

Hope this isn't a totally stupid question! We have two dogs - Joss is 13 months old and Rupert is 4 months old. 10-12 days ago Rupert had his final puppy vaccination (C5). Now Joss has a persistent cough, and has had for about a week. Rupert doesn't have it, nor does my XH's pup who also had his C5 vaccination a couple of weeks ago. Is it possible that this is kennel cough as a result of the other dogs' vaccinations?

My thought ...

Ours came home on the lap, both from the airport - ~45 minute drive.

Joss came from a list of names that my sister's boss wrote down when I visited her at work with my new puppy. I absolutely couldn't find a name that fit, and she suggested Joss amongst about 10 others. Rupert is just a really tops name :D And it's a little bit serious and a little bit silly, like he is.