fuzzy82

Why has the dog that killed the 4 year old suddenly become a "pit bull mastiff"? I noticed that the other day in a different dog bite story too. Does that mean it was actually a pit bull x mastiff, not a pit bull as previously reported? Or do they think there is a breed called the pit bull mastiff?

Pit bulls aren't really my type of dog, but there are plenty of dogs I wouldn't own or don't like the look of etc, so that doesn't bother me at all. But now that we are getting all these restrictions on them, why would you bother? You'd have to be pretty passionate about the breed to go through all the expense and hassle to own a pit bull. And I'm guessing a lot of the people who would get pit bulls for the wrong reasons wouldn't bother anymore. And I guess that means they will pick a new scary looking breed and the same thing will happen to that breed.

Wow, I would never let anyone touch my dogs like that. There were some posters and business cards put up around here a few weeks ago, someone claiming to be a dog trainer using CM's methods, and they also pointed out that they were 'fully qualified' and 'police checked'.

Dunno if it's legal or not, but I leave mine in the car to pop into the supermarket on our way home from training pretty much every time. Always at night though, wouldn't do it during the day.

I could, but I am rather paranoid about them getting out, and would prefer to keep their tags on them at all times. They're both microchipped, but if they are found it will be quicker if they can call us when they get back to their house rather than taking them to the pound etc. You can buy them with a snap hook or just fix it with the leash. http://www.fordogtrainers.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=66_79&products_id=3939 This might suit better? Rope collar http://waggle.com.au/ruff-wear-b1/knot-a-just-collar-p336 Thanks for the links, will check them out

I am using the salmon one as well. The poodle x seems fine on it, but the JRT x's poos are just a tiny bit softer than I would life. He's been like that on every food I've tried him on though.

I don't think the docco was meant to be about backyard breeding, or showing why it was wrong or anything like that. They looooove their reality shows in UK, and I think it was just another excuse to film ordinary people, from an angle that hadn't been done before. If it had been about BYB they would have asked more questions and spent a little less time interviewing the buyers about their personal lives.

Thanks for the link:) Do you mean fursaver as in the chain type that tightens? I prefer the look of rolled collars, and it's just for everyday use, to put his name tag on.

I'm looking for a rolled leather collar for my JRT x, because his fur goes weird under the flat collar. Just can't seem to find any good quality that I like the look of, or the ones I find don't give enough details for me to decide to get them, and they don't like to reply to emails either by the looks of it. I need the collar to be 35 cm length (his neck is 30-31 cm) and I would like the width to be 0.6 cm, but 0.8 cm would be ok too. I just don't know how wide a 3/4'' collar is going to be. I understand that that's the flat area where the buckle sits, but it doesn't tell me anything about the diameter of the rolled area. Preferably I would also like the seam to not be touching his fur, but it seems I can't be too picky about that... I would like either dark brown or black. Anyone know any good quality rolled collars that meet these criteria?

Yep, there is the ttouch wrap. I have used this on my dog that is terrified of the car. It didn't fix him, but he was a lot better than normal. http://www.crvetcenter.com/ttouch.php

I see not reason to desex a male dog that is always under your control and supervised. Desexing doesn't prevent humping or marking, my male dog was desexed at 2,5 months and he both humps and marks. If I bought a dog from a breeder I would probably keep it intact.

Moosepup i think we will probably be more upset than the dogs too. I went to the vet this morning and he thought my dog has anxiety issues and that by getting them off our bed and into there own would help. We are also having a few other issues with them which just stems from lack of leadership by us. I just read an article on the net that sleeping together doesnt affect the pack leadership relationship. What does everyone else think? I have heard the opposite. Being allowed to sleep on the bed can calm an anxious dog down and make them more relaxed, which in turn reduces their reactivity to things. When I got my poodle x she was used to sleeping on the bed in her foster home. I just put her bed next to our and put her back on it every time she jumped up on ours. I did that about 5-6 times the first night before she settled, then once the next night, and then never again.

So you're not trying to train "heel", you're trying to train loose leash walking. Search on youtube for "silky leash", IMO it's the best method out there for teaching it. For a formal heel, I wouldn't use a check chain, because it's inherently not a very interesting behaviour for the dog, so you'd be better off using favourite rewards and games etc to teach it. If you want to use a check chain once the dog has learnt the behaviour but for whatever reason doesn't cooperate, then that's a different matter.

If her name is on the microchip and the microchips were registered before the dogs were registered with the council in Vic, I'd say she has a chance. Just depends if she wants to spend the money.

Most people make no distinction between human and dog aggression. Tell the average person on the street that pit bulls were bred to dog aggression and they will assume the dog is overall aggressive.

IMO, the major problem in Australia is that most people don't train and socialise their dogs, no matter what breed it is. I had never seen so many badly berhaved semi aggressive dogs the whole time I grew up in Europe, as I have seen since moving to Australia 4 years ago. It was one of the main things that stood out to me when I got here. Every single dog we encounter will pull towards us, choking itself, try to jump, bark, growl and/or snap at us, when we have done nothing to provoke them. As for pit bulls, yes they were bred to fight, which makes them inherently more prone to dog aggression than other breeds. But, they are also bred to be people friendly, because the people who fought them needed to be able to handle them easily between fights. They are not inherently human aggressive. I think the issue with the kid who was killed was a lack of socialisation more than a breed issue.

Wow, you sound like you have issues. Talk about over reacting.

The other dog wasn't under effective control, and not on leash, so clearly the other owner is at fault. I have a fear aggressive dog, he is on leash at all times so he can't bother anyone, and I manage him so that he won't have a reaction to other dogs, and I put a lot of effort into managing him and his environment. He's the aggressive one, but I have effective control, so if another off leash dog runs up to us and my dog takes a chunk out of him, the other owner is still at fault. Btw, your partner can't forbid you from doing anything.

I think I would pick a breed that I liked and wanted, and then just train it to do whatever sports I wanted to do. The type of sport I wanted to do would have to be pretty important to make me get a dog specifically to do that sport with. Which is actually something I have been thinking about, because I have been getting into flyball and agility lately, and I toyed with the idea of getting a BC because of it. But after a few weeks I realised I'm not really that into BC's, and I would rather get a breed that I have always liked, rather than get one just to do sports with. And if I pick a dog that I like, and it turns out to not be very good at the sport I like, then oh well. At least I have a pet dog I enjoy living with.

Obi is terrifed of wood smoke. No idea why, I first noticed it when he was a tiny puppy, we went out in the backyard for him to pee, and he smelled smoke, tucked his tail and ran for the door and would not calm down. Then another 2-3 times there has been smoke and he's a shivering mess. I haven't done anything to fix it, as it's not really a regular occurrence.

If the dog sleeps nicely on his bed at night, I see no reason to start crating him. Just have one crate for the lounge to crate train him etc, and let him sleep on his bed at night.

Why socialise him at the dog park? That has to be the worst place to socialise a puppy. Get him to puppy classes for the dog socialisation, and to friends' places, supermarkets, shopping centres, pet stores etc for the people socialisation. It's far far more important to socialise with people than with dogs. I don't see any value in running around with unfamiliar dogs on a regular basis, you'd be much better off letting him make friends with a few of your friends' dogs and let him have regular play dates with dogs that he knows.

I agree, I didn't realise this was inside the home. In that case, I would let them know that you have a puppy, he might jump up, but you are working on it, and would appreciate some understanding and would like to explain to the kids how to behave if it happens. If the guy still threatens to hit your dog, then I wouldn't let him come over until the dog is trainer, OR crate the dog while they are over. I would probably also tell them off for threatening violence against my dog, but that's just me.

I would not allow any sort of physical punishment of my dogs. But, if I'm unable to control my dogs and they run up to someone and do something that the other person finds unacceptable, I can't really complain if my dogs get a kick in the ribs. I could point out that it was excessive, but I should have been in control, so it would be my fault. As for other people "training" my dogs, I don't mind, as long as they are gentle and just withholding affection or treats etc. Even if it's something I don't care about, they care about it, and as long as they are being nice about it I won't care. But, if they decided to train my dogs by giving them a slap on the face or a smack or alpha rolling etc, I would have a go at them for it. So if you allow your dog to jump on his kid, then fair enough if he decides to punish your dog. He has even told you that that's what will happen, so if you now choose to not have sufficient control to prevent it, it's all on you.

It's not one or the other. You don't choose between letting a dog mouth you or teaching the dog to not bite humans. When it's a puppy you teach it to be gentle with human skin, and you also let it do lots of playing with other puppies, because other puppies will let it know when it's biting too hard. Thus the puppy learn bite inhibition. When the puppy has learnt to be gentle, you teach it not to let its teeth come in contact with human skin, ever. You do this by saying 'ow' and using time-outs or ending the game etc every time the dog's teeth make contact. Soon enough the dog will stop mouthing and will be very careful during playing. It doesn't want the game to end after all. Teaching bite inhibition doesn't mean that you have to let the dog mouth you forever. Once it has learnt it, it's automatic. So if the dog is ever stepped on or a kid falls on it, and it instinctively turns around and lashes out, bite inhibition will kick in before it can do any damage. Also, if the dog ever gets in a scrap with another dog, it won't do any damage to the other dog. If the dog has no bite inhibition, it's dangerous. Even though the dog has learnt not to mouth humans, you can't guarantee that the dog will never ever lash out when in pain, or that it will never get in a fight with another dog. Bite inhibition is the single most important thing to teach a dog.