tobie

I hope that whoever has Hugo is experienced and responsible but after reading their facebook page it sounds like the owners are relocating and will keep the dog. It mentioned a relative will look after the dog until they can relocate. I really hope whoever ends up with Hugo does the right thing by him and the community as I would hate to hear that he ends up attacking a person or another animal.

Further to Ish's comment the original post also states that the owner has attempted to contact the breeder but is waiting for a response.

Just out of curiosity why do you say not a Dobe?

Wow I didn't expect so many replies. Thanks everyone as I really appreciate everyone's input. I am having a lot of trouble deciding on a breed as I love so many different breeds so I thought I would ask other dog people for their thoughts and experience with what breeds maybe better suited to young children. In the past when selecting a breed of dog I never had children so things were easier. By boisterous I just mean that my kids can be noisy at times (like all kids) and I know some dogs may find that a bit overwhelming. Otherwise although young they are pretty good with dogs as I am always teaching them the appropriate behaviour around all animals and they are always supervised no matter what as we all know it is never worth the risk. I posted on here not all that long ago as our old large breed boy passed away after losing his battle with cancer and we now have a lonely large breed girl. Plus I would love another dog. I am experienced with dogs having owned small and large breeds over the years plus having worked in animal welfare for over a decade, I also used to show my dogs before I retired them due to their age. I was considering getting a Cocker Spaniel but am just unsure as there are so many other breeds I love. Now that I have children it does make things a little harder when choosing a breed as I have to make sure the dog will be happy and suited to our situation. I have been thinking maybe a medium sized dog would be best as it will be easier to take the dog with us. Large breeds can take up a lot of room and now having children we have to take so much stuff with us that we are running out of room in our 4wd. Our girl sleeps in our lounge room. She is snoring at the moment next to me LOL. Very lady like. My hubby does work back very late some nights so I do feel safer knowing that our girl is there. I would like a breed that would also allow me to feel safe when my hubby is not here. I also do enjoy clipping and grooming dogs so am not turned off by long haired dogs. I will stop rambling now as I could go on forever. If anyone has any advice they can offer it would be appreciated.

Hi Everyone, I am interested to hear peoples thoughts in general what are the most suitable breeds of dog for families with young children ie toddlers and preschoolers. I am aware there is alot more to choosing a dog breed but wanted to know from peoples experience what dog breeds are better suited to boisterous young children. Thank you :)

Just thought I would mention this incase it is of any help. I have only just skimmed over your post so maybe totally wrong but an old dog with the side of its face drooping and appears to have had a stroke can be caused by vestibular disease. I'm unsure if vestibular affects the eyes in this way but has your vet considered Vestibular Disease?

Thanks everyone for your input as I find this sort of discussion quite interesting. We can always learn from what others have to say. I guess that's why I'm studying psychology. Thanks for the link Sandgrubber. I will definately check it out. :)

I'm currently doing a degree in psychology and have been learning alot about the nature versus nurture debate. Which is about whether or not we inherit (nature) our personailities, behaviours etc or are these learnt through how we are raised (nurture). Being a bit dog obsessed it got me thinking about how this debate also affects dogs as everytime there is a dog attack everyone tends to debate this. Whether or not the reason for the attack was the upbringing of the dog (nurture) or if it was inherited (nature). I think this affects the pit bull more than any other breed as the media has made it pretty clear that they believe attacks are caused by nature rather than nurture. Hence the dangerous dog laws. I personally believe that both nature and nurture play a part in who we become except I thought that nurture played a larger part in who we became but after reading a study on twins seperated at birth it showed in this case the personalities were definately due to nature (inherited) which really suprised me. I still believe both nature and nurture play a part in who we all are whether it be human or dog. I was wondering what other peoples opinions are when it comes to dogs and their personalities, behaviours etc and does anyone know if there has been any studies done on dogs in relation to this as I would be very interested in reading them just simply out of interest. One thought I had was do you believe your own dogs good or bad traits are inherited or because of the way you raised your dog?

One thing I forgot to ask about these breeds of dogs are any of them known barkers as I'd prefer to avoid dogs that have a tendency to bark alot as I've lived next to people that have dogs that bark all day and I would hate to do that to my new neighbours. Thanks again :)

Thank you everyone for your input . You have all given me alot to think about. I must say I'm finding it a really hard decision to make as there are so many positive things about all these dogs. I'm not worried about the grooming aspects as I really enjoy grooming dogs. In the past I have owned long haired dogs for 16 years and worked in animal shelters were I groomed, clipped and bathed dogs on a daily basis and sadly alot of these dogs coats were heavily matted caused by years of neglect. I believe I would just need to learn how to prepare the breed I select for showing. I am doing as much research as possible and plan on finding a breeder who will be willing to help me learn how to correctly groom and prepare the dog for showing. Before I had my children I used to show my dogs and I really enjoyed the show atmosphere and would love to get back into it. Thanks again everyone for your input as it is much appreciated :)

Hi All, I'm hoping someone may be able to help with some advice as after the passing of our old boy to cancer I'm now looking into getting another dog. I have 2 young children aged 18 months and 4 years so it is very important that the breed I select is known for being suitable with young children. We also have a cat and a 10 year old large breed bitch who is good with other dogs of all ages and sizes. From the research I have done I am leaning towards getting a Cocker Spaniel (english) so I am very interested in hearing peoples thoughts. I do like the appearance of the American Cocker but don't really know anything about their temperaments and suitability for our situation. Does anyone know if they are the same or much different from the English Cocker? I also was interested in the Cavalier but have read some negative things about their health which has turned me off them but was interested to hear if this was true as I don't know anyone involved in the breed to get advice from. I am also unsure if the Cavalier would be active and robust enough for my family. My children are quite active, we go camping often with our dogs and I will definately be showing our new dog. There is someone home most of the time. I'm not sure what other information to provide so just ask if you need to know anything about our situation. Thank you

Hi Katie, From my understanding of your post your pup has had this for quite a few weeks now and it is not getting any better and is now getting worse. Having read this it does not sound like it will improve on its own. Personally I would be heading back to the vet before it gets any worse and I would check with my vet before applying anymore sunscreen incase this was making the problem worse. All the best with your new puppies.

Thats no good SAS I hope whoever adopted him is an experienced Dane owner. When I saw him on my facebook page I just thought I would put something on dogz online about him rather than ignore it.

Just got home and checked Renburys facebook page. He has been adopted YAY Thanks everyone.

Someone on facebook said they had advised Great Dane Rescue. It maybe worth contacting them again just incase. Does anyone have their contact details?

I just looked at Renbury Farms website and it states: Urgent Rescue/Adoption Save by 3pm Thurs 10/4. Can anyone help him

Thanks for that. Fingers crossed he will be ok as someone mentioned he only had until 3pm tomorrow.

I just saw on facebook that there is currently a Great Dane, 6 yr old male at Renbury Farm as the owner had surrendered him. Thought I'd post incase someone can help him as it mentioned that he does not have much time.

I don't want to sound mean but please don't buy another dog if you have to keep it on a chain. I saw your other post about your dobermann having to be kept chained up.

I am really touched by everyones help and kindness. Thank you all so much. You have given me some good ideas of what to do. I have always known that I would want another dog whenever one of my dogs passed. I just love dogs but I need to do my best to ensure that our girl is happy and that any of her problems would not affect a new dog. I do beleive that my girl would benefit from another dog as she is a sociable girl but think I will consult with a behaviouralist first Showdog- For her age she is a very active, fit and healthy dog without any hearing or vision problems. I think she is just simply so depressed about the loss of our boy that she simply can not tolerate our baby whilst she feels this way but I will have to see what a behaviourist advises.

Thank you everyone for sharing your experiences and thoughts as I really appreciate it. It is a very distressing situation for all of us as we all loved our boy so much and to now see our girl like this is breaking our hearts. My four year old daughter wanted to take her to her friends house so she could have a play date with their dog to make her feel better.

Thanks for your reply Kelpie cuddles. I will have to find a behaviourist in my area as I'm not from Sydney. I will speak to my vet to see who they can recommend plus I can see what his thoughts are on our situation as well. I really wanted to get another dog but am worried that she could teach the new dog some of these behaviours. She does love other dogs and has never been without another dog for company. It is just so hard to know what the right thing is to do.

We had two large breed dogs (male 14 yrs) (female 11 yrs) but sadly about a month ago we had our beautiful old boy put to sleep after succumbing to cancer. Our girl dog was very dependant on him. He was like her rock as he was always a calm laid back natured boy. She is a very nervous,emotional, highly strung girl. Since his passing she has been a bit of a mess. She is now petrified of storms to the point she ripped her dew claw off trying to get in the house. I have two young children and she has started growling at my youngest anytime he goes anywhere near her. From what I have observed she seems to be fearful of him. She never displayed any aggression towards our son prior to our other dogs death. Our dogs were always kept outdoors only occassionaly coming inside but since our boy has gone we now have our girl indoors a fair bit and she now sleeps in our house as she has been getting quite distressed on her own. I am after any advice to help my situation as I want to help our girl to be happy again and not be so distressed. I also can not risk my children being hurt. Thank you

We have just found out that our old boy has kidney failure and is not expected to live beyond 6 months We are devastated and want to do whatever we can to make our boy comfortable. I am hoping that others who have experienced this maybe able to offer their own experiences and advice/tips on what we should expect and any ways we can make our boy feel as good as possible. Thank you :)

The pounds I have worked at we always went out of our way to try and contact a breeder as we would prefer the dog to go back to the breeder. Just because the owner dumped the dog does not mean that a breeder was bad in anyway. People can seem like wonderful owners but things can change.