trojka

This is her website: http://inlinek9.webs.com/

Personally, I'd run a mile, cancel the appointment and listen to the recommendations you've received here.

Did you get her from Staffy Rescue? Personally, I'd steer clear of anyone who calls themselves "Dog Whisperer", and go with someone who has experience and many recommendations. A fully qualified behaviorist who dealt with my Staffy and is a respected member on here is someone to consider at least. PM me if you want her contact details anyway, I did leave them in my other post. Nekhbet is my recommendation. Actually, after watching that video, yes, I would recommend you keep them separate and get onto a behaviorist asap. Is your backyard escape proof? It looks very open. This. Do you have crates for them, so you can rotate them? Or at least one? Where are you located?

That's interesting, I don't know when you were there, but Paris used to have a reputation as being the dog poo capital. I've just done some googling, and the council forked out a lot of money in 2002 for a campaign to try and get people to pick up their dog's poo (and from what you say it seems to have paid off, although I have different memories). 200,000 dogs produced 16 tons of poo. A day!! The new dog poo central of Europe is definitely Berlin, though.

Why would I respect the opinion of somebody that doesn't want dogs in their vicinity? Would you respect my opinion that I don't want people's children near me? I understand that I have to obey the requests of shopping centre management, or risk never being allowed back in K-Mart again, but there is no respect there. I do think dogs should be allowed anywhere except for food preparation areas, and only dogs that are inadequately controlled be asked to leave. My dog won't affect you, and so it is irrational for you to demand I don't have it near you. I agree. Just because you don't like something doesn't mean you have the right to demand you never be confronted with it. I may not like children (actually, I do, just not always their parents, quite similar to dogs and their owners, really), body odour, loud voices or a number of other things, but I realise I have to put up with them at times, and that those people have the same rights I do. However, this does of course require respect and consideration from all parties. Returning to the kids analogy, I can't expect everyone to keep their kids far away from me, but I think I can expect for you to tell your kid to stop kicking the back of my seat for hours on end on a long distance flight (speaking from experience here). Equally, I will make sure nobody is annoyed by my dogs behaviour when out in public. I think there's a bit of a vicious cycle here in Australia. Dogs aren't allowed in many places and are therefore often not used to being out in public, therefore they often aren't as well behaved as they could be when they do get out of the backyard. People see this and make the rules even stricter. Which brings us back to the start. I grew up in Switzerland and lived there for most of my life, and from my experience, what a lot of people here are saying is true. Dogs are allowed in restaurants, shops (other than supermarkets), on public transport....They are used to it from a young age, and are generally well behaved. Kids (and adults) also seem to know not to approach strange dogs without asking. An important thing to note, from my point of view, is that very few people in Switzerland live in a house (especially not one with a big backyard), most live in apartments, therefore their dogs have to get out and about a lot. Having a "backyard ornament" like a lot of people in Australia seem to, is simply not an option. My girl I had in Switzerland went to a restaurant for the first time as an 11 week old puppy, when I had had her for a week and was perfectly behaved, sleeping under the table the whole time. She was very well socialised with dogs and people and great in all sorts of situations, I could take her anywhere and she never bothered anyone. With my boy I got here in Australia, I had a lot more trouble I have to admit (but we're getting there), and a lot of that had to do with the fact he never got to experience all those things. Just a few days ago I took him to a cafe and the lady at the table next to us was completely baffled, saying "what a lovely dog, so well behaved (haha, if only she knew), amazing you are able to take him out for coffee...."To me, that should be a normal thing and not at all surprising.

Lilli, could you maybe explain this a little further? Aggression towards those strange to the Anatolian was not selected against. It is not regarded as unusual if they show aggression and while they will not go from stop to go at provocation, their mindset is not set to do all they can to avoid attack. This should not be confused with the bond they have towards their family/pack. Anatolians are inextricably loyal. But just because you want them to accept somebody and not growl at them, it doesn't mean they will. Some Anatolians are very much one person dogs, it can make you feel quite chuffed that they have chosen you, but you have to remember that this generally means from their perspective, or Anatolian world Order: there is the sun that their owner basks in their rightful glory in, and then there is them. and a loonnnng long way way off, is everybody else on the planet. Of course It is just that the difference between Maremma and ASD in general is that the Anatolian may be more prone to exhibit aggression. Not at their family, but at what they dont know. The Antolian is defending its territory; the Maremma semes to have a more holistic approach and defends the pack. The outcome is the same. I am not sure how DA maremmas are, but ASD can be DA. Though not as DA as Central Asian. (**in general**) Yes and they will tell you their Anatolian is a big softy a lounge lizard smooch Anatolian can and do work really good as family companions / guardians but imo everything depends on the temperament of the dog they start out with. Base temperament is pretty much determined by the dogs lineage. ie litter A, 7 out of 9 were sharp to extremely sharp, and none I would happily send to a suburban family home (rural family home okay). litter B, 2 out of 7 were sharp, but really more willful than sharp, they were more gregarious than litter A. litter A was a strong working line lineage; litter B, my soft female with v.assertive male. I recommend maremma or pyrenean mountain dogs or newfoundlands (depending on the context) to homes where I think it sounds like they really dont want the traits of an Anatolian. ie they may want a dog to only bark, to be gregarious and enjoy off lead areas, or things like play dates that an adult Anatolian doesn't really care about. Sorry, lilli, I completely forgot to thank you for your reply, those answers definitely helped make things a little clearer. With regards to the last part, I think I'm a little divided. When confronted with a real threat, I wouldn't mind a dog that doesn't just bark. On the other hand, I'm not sure how much management that would take. I certainly wouldn't want to constantly worry about what might happen if I made a mistake for some reason, or someone walked up a little close, visitors and their kids.....I wouldn't mind if the dog's not interested in play dates, but it wouldn't hurt if it was used to being taken out occasionally and wasn't completely miserable at such times. Espinay's description of the Pyr's temperament did appeal to me, especially the fact they seem to be able to adapt well to situations with more people coming and going. If you don't mind, lilli, could you describe your "softer" girl a little more? How would an Anatolian of this temperament deal with such situations? What do you do in terms of management to prevent accidents? It's so interesting reading about all these breeds, but just making me more confused. I think the problem is that I used to live with a Maremma cross that looked a lot like an Anatolian, so I may be a little confused already :D Maybe that's why I'm hoping for a Pyr/Maremma temperament in an Anatolian body. He was a fantastic dog.

I'd thought about using chain, but then thought he might try chewing that.... Maybe I'll hang it a little higher so he can't reach the top of the tyre. Although I was thinking of using a rope toy this time and see if he enjoys that more.

Here's the link to a recent thread about home alone tug toys http://www.dolforums.com.au/topic/221474-home-alone-tug-toy/ They're reasonably easy and cheap to make yourself, and that way it's no drama if your dogs don't enjoy it :D Mine was too smart, he realised that if he just chewed through the twine the tyre was tied up with, he could get the tyre off the stupid contraption, which was all he wanted. Now it's boring, apparently ;) I might have to come up with a better plan. He loves tugging, but not on his own, it seems.

Alternatively, you could go with the Nature's Gift cans. There are two chicken varieties that contain no red meat. Or a fish-based dry food?

Oh, I remember seeing Tiger Lilly on petrescue, she looks gorgeous! Looking forward to some photos of the two of them

I made my own as well, similar to the one above, but I tied an old motorbike tyre to it. Got all the material I needed from the tip shop, and it cost me about $2. It got used a bit, but I doubt he ever used it when he was alone, it seemed to take a bit of encouragement. Once he was tugging, he enjoyed it, although he seemed to be more interested in chewing the twine I used to tie up the tyre, and currently the tyre is lying on the ground. I'll have to put it up again, or maybe I'll try a rope toy this time around. It's great, but I wouldn't have wanted to spend over $100 on it, just for him to lose interest that quickly.

In general: The Anatolian is in the middle between Maremma and Central Asian, wrt using physical confrontation as their defence response. By that I mean maremma innate response is to bark and warn from a distance, Central Asian innate response is active physical confrontation; Anatolian is generally warn first followed by physical confrontation. That said, It depends on the lineage of the dog, some Anatolians you can leave out the front to bark at unknown arrivals and some you cannot, because they will attack unknown arrivals. How they work is not the only difference, but it represents a lot about the dogs' general temperament and character traits. Probably Anatolians are more likely to exhibit aggression towards people than the maremma, but you will have to check with steve. Anatolians are expected to take the lead if there is leadership lacking and it is not unusual for this to manifest into human aggression if raised the wrong way. Generally if an Anatolian is 'not working out', it is because the dog is exhibitng aggresion towards the owner / family. Nothing wrog with the dog. Just the wrong temperament type for the home. My ideal Anatolian has a strong pscychological ascendancy and I will use an alpha assertive temperament type in at least either the sire or dam when breeding. Not all Anatolian breeders share this ideal, nor will a whole litter be this way. Yep maremmas are never aggressive and do all they can to avoid attacking. I believe the dogs are very much the result of their homelands. The Maremma is from Italy. Anatolian from Turkey. Central Asian from Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan. The Anatolian had less day to day interaction with people than the Central Asian, it needed to protect a lone shepherd and his flock. Being good with people was not a requirement. It was necessary that the dogs did not need people The dogs were never part of the family. The dogs of Central Asia were family guardians, expected to be a canine warrior of sorts and evolved to be physically so hardy because basically there is nothing there to support them. I dont mean 1000 years ago or 100 years ago. I mean even now. The landscape of Italy I cannot relate as I have not been there to look at the dogs in their environment, but if you extrapolate what you know of the three geographical regions, and the histories of the peoples that lived on them, then you will also see and understand the psyches of the dogs who lived with them. It is probably true to say that the Central Asia dogs can be as volatile as the histories of the lands they are from. But they are also survivors. I arrived in Kazakhstan with a lot of speculation and arrogance about how we look after our dogs, and left humbled with a lot of admiration and realisation there is so much for me to learn Lilli, could you maybe explain this a little further? Do you find that Anatolians bond to their family less than a Maremma? The scenarios Steve was describing, with the house Maremmas and her children and visitors, would this be possible with an Anatolian of the right temperament and from the right lines? Have you placed Anatolians in pet/predominantly non-working homes? If so, what are your experiences? Under what circumstances (or to what owner/family) would you recommend either breed over the other? Sorry about the many questions, but it has been my dream for years to one day be owned by an Anatolian and I have read the entire LGD thread, and now this one. But I would of course want to get it right and have to think about whether a Maremma may be better suited than the breed of my dreams.

My guess is that you are reasonably experienced at handling a pack .. and your dogs are housed in kennels, managed according to compatabilty, and worked as a pack? That is a different scenario to living in a house/backyard as pets .... and, yes you are crazy :p :p but having FUN!!! For the average pet owner , I would not recommend getting brother littermates. This. Plus, your dogs get to work, doing what they were bred to do. For the average person, getting litter mates sounds like a bit of a recipe for disaster. Why risk it? Get one dog, bond with it, train it, watch it grow up into a teenager and then an adult and then think about getting another.

here's the link to the pointer in the rescue section: http://www.dolforums.com.au/topic/220804-bruno-65yr-old-german-shorthaired-pointer/

I just thought I'd add: You might want to do a search on Great Barko/Uncle Albers if you want to try another dry food. I've been feeding my dog this, combined with raw meat and bones, for quite a while now, and his poos have definitely become less. He also maintains his weight very well on less food, and generally just does well on it. From what I can tell, the ingredient list looks pretty good, the first ingredient is meat, and there don't seem to be too many fillers (I'm sure there are "better" ones, but they come at a price, and in the end it's just about what your dog does well on). The price is very good (I pay about $30 for 22 kg), and it's produced in South Australia. Someone more knowledgeable might be able to tell you if it could be suitable in your situation.

When I tried that, I got some rather strange responses. Before it got nuked, that is. When I wanted to check the replies the next morning, it had mysteriously vanished.

I agree with the others who said you should report it. I have reported a neighbour, whose human and dog aggressive amstaff cross was regularly out on the road with nobody to be seen, after it attacked me and my dog one morning. Less than 5 minutes after I called animal control, the ranger was there trying to talk to the owner (who wasn't home, who would have thought?), found the dog roaming the streets and took him to the pound. I have also recently been rushed at (in two separate instances!) by a large rottweiler and the aggressive large boxer down the road, and I adore (large) dogs, especially rottweilers, so I can only imagine how someone who's afraid of dogs would have felt (I know my heart missed a beat or two). I regret not having reported those instances, especially since the boxer is about to pop out a colourbond panel one of these days when it charges at the fence (it's already completely bent and looks like it's very close to coming out). I'm actually thinking about putting a note about it in their mailbox. I don't know where you live or how your council deals with these things, but I know the rangers here are very helpful. Edit: I just saw that you live in Bendigo! So do I. It's pretty bad up here, even a behaviourist that came up here last week mentioned that she noticed it straight away when driving up. But at least the rangers are good, so definitely report it!

That's really interesting! Why is that?? Is it because long hair is easier to catch ina brush/vacuum whereas short hair isd harder?? Long hair just "lies there" (for lack of a better word), whereas short hair sticks to everything. I never had any problems with my Aussie x's hair. However now, with a lab/kelpie x......give me a long haired dog any time! (and no, of course he's not going anywhere, even though his shedding is a bit of a pita, and I'm no clean freak).

With these changes, I'd think an Australian Shepherd would suit. Maybe not exactly low shedding, but not high maintenance either. Robust and active, but not too over the top, and good with children and other dogs.

I was going to suggest the same thing. I didn't actually start running my dog next to the bike till he was over a year old, but I did start walking him next to the bike, teaching him not to pull and to be comfortable about being close to the bike, before that.

Just remembered this topic and found it again. Yes Keira&Phoenix, they look more like the ones i knew, especially the one in the front, I've actually never met a cream coloured one. And the ones I knew weren't pushy at all, I'd describe them as sweet and rather easy going.

Well, that's what I was trying to say Although, as far as I know, they were only clipped once a year when it started to get warm. During the autumn, winter and spring months, regular brushing kept their coat from matting. They were pets, and I doubt their owners would have been very impressed with a matted coat like the ones that come up when you do a google search. They look like Komondors (?), but scruffier, shaggier. I had dreadlocks for seven years, and they were a lot more tidy than that

they had a long, fairly fluffy coat. maybe a bit like a bearded collie, but a little "rougher", or more wiry (?). this was the best picture i could find, and it's not a very good one: http://www.lupercali.it/news-e-link/index.php?idn=16 although, the ones i knew were always clipped over summer, so that may have helped. my bergamasco/australian shepherd mix had a similar coat, and the only places she'd get dreadlocks if she didn't get brushed for a while was behind the ears and on her pants.

It sounds like it, although the bergamascos i knew (in Switzerland) were never matted (and i knew a few). I was very surprised when I recently googled images of bergamascos and most of them were completely matted. I don't like it, but then I guess, the shepherds don't have much time to groom their dogs (or the dogs don't have much time to be groomed).

I agree with this. I used to have a book on dog intelligence (I think it was just called "The intelligence of dogs"), it was in German, but I'm not sure where it was from and unfortunately can't remember the author. There was a very similar list in there, but more importantly, it contained an "iq test" for dogs that really made a lot of sense and didn't seem to test for trainability, but problem solving skills (from memory). I wish I still had that book.