Oskar & Zsa Zsa

I woke up in the best possible way this morning. I was laying on my left side, with my arm sort of under my head and stretched out across the bed. Zsa Zsa had her head on my shoulder, being the little spoon and I had my right arm tucked over the top of her. She was dead to the world when I woke up and I just lay there listening to her occasional snore as she slept soundly. I then just nudged my cheek and nose onto the soft part of her neck and dozed back off like this till it was time to get up....... i could wake up like that everyday! :D

There is a place called Curtin Square which has a fully fenced off leash area. Some local residents tried to have it closed, but some research by council found it to be well utilised by local residents with dogs and kept it. They have only restricted hours to before 10pm and after 7am, which is fair. A link to the article is below. I hope you enjoy the move to Melbourne. Carlton is right in the heart of things. There are some gorgeous parks you can walk your boxer through too. Maybe not off lead all of them, but just beautiful parks and gardens which go for miles. Lots of trees and plenty of room for a boxer to run. http://melbourne-leader.whereilive.com.au/news/story/dog-zone-at-north-carlton-park-set-to-stay/

I have just recently converted Zsa Zsa over to Royal Canin Maxi Junior. she is a GSP, so not a giant breed. But, I was interested to hear your positive feedback. Zsa Zsa seems to like it. Her poos seem to like it and I find less mess, more consistency and less volume. The smell seems a little less offensive also. (This last bit is important to me, I have had a few abdominal surgeries and for whatever reason, since then, I have a weak stomach. A bad smell will literally have me projectile vomitting. So, a poo which is less offensive to pick up, especially when fresh, is a bons.) She also stacked the weight on the moment she started on it. I have had to reduce the amount I am feeding her to keep the weight in check. I was sticking to the recommendations on the packet, but it appears this is too much for this little girl. I don't want people pointing at my fat GSP!!!!!

that story made me smile

Agreed, Zsa Zsa was 11 months old and called Greta when I got her. It took a day and she knew who Zsa Zsa was!! Treats and lots of praise and they soon work it out!

I see you are in victoria. If you are Melbourne Metro, the weather may have something to do with it. I have Zsa Zsa house trained, but, when it's raining, she will not go out in the rain, but rather do it on the pavers not the grass. So perhaps your puppy is a little reluctant to go out into the weather at the moment. What I have been doing, is just taking Zsa Zsa out onto the grass regularly and praising her when she does it. She did go through a stage for a few days where she did the same thing as you are saying and went inside. When she did, I mopped it up with a paper towel, took her and the wet towel out onto the grass, put the paper towel down, let her sniff it, then praised her. It took a day and she hasn't done it inside again. Is it dry on the balcony where puppy can go? If not, that may be part of the reason. Also, as someone else suggested, if he has been OK up till now, it could also be a little bladder infection.

Why not google up some websites from other photographers who take bike pics, gain an understanding of where they price things and then work from there as to what you feel is fair and reasonable as well as being viable to you and the buyer. SD pics is one I remember from name, but if you google up motorcycle ride day pics, you will come up with a few I am sure....

Ozkar sleeps under the doona at my feet and Zsa Zsa lays next to me on top of the doona. It's the perfect combination really. I usually wake up with Zsa Zsa's pretty little face on my shoulder. She curls up with her back against me, her head resting on my shoulder, often drooling... Wouldn't have it any other way!

No, I'm not being precious and I don't humanise my dogs. I simply don't encourage them to behave in a manner that could result in serious injury. In the case of one of my dogs, it did. So strangers in public dog parks deserve less courtesy than elsewhere?? Your expectation is not only false but potentially dangerous to the health of your dogs and others. Dogs are injured by other dogs (both intentionally and unintentionally) and occasionally die in public dog parks. Don't believe me? Ask other DOLers. You don't get to renew the license. Other dogs won't grant him one. Once again you miss the point. It's not Oscar's behaviour you have only to worry about but how other dogs will react to a maturing male. Telling the wrong dog to back off will result in a full on dust up. My advice to you is to intervene before your dog needs to tell others to back off or he'll end up in an incident. Suit yourself though It seems you're going to have to learn about this the hard way. If you read my post, your reply is only re wording what I said? I don't understand what you are arguing about? I already agreed it will be interesting to see how he changes and that includes the way other dogs interact with him. As for learning the hard way, I've been with dogs my entire life, they all seem to have survived the experience.

Sticks are a common source of mouth and upper respiratory tract injuries. Ask your vet. I think you're missing the point here. Its not about what works for YOU. Its about preventing incidents and giving other dog owners choices about who their dogs run with. The issue is not how nice or how gently any one here's dogs are with other dogs. The issue is that unless someone knows your dogs, they don't know that. You also don't know about dogs you're just seeing for the first time. So asking a stranger if its OK for your dogs to mix gives them time to inform you if there's an issue and protects your dogs from any adverse reactions they might have encountered. An ounce of prevention and all that... It will be interesting if Oscar's behaviour changes as he matures and with Zsa Zsa on the scene. Many male dogs (desexed or not) tend to be protective of bitches in their pack. What you can rest assured about is that other male dogs attitudes to Oscar will start to change now. His puppy license is about to expire. Sticks may well be a source of mouth and respitory tract infection, but I am not in the mindset where I am going to wrap my dog up in cotton wool and avoid him or her playing with things they find fun and which in 40 years of having dogs I have never had an issue with. I think you are being a little precious on that issue. They are dogs at the end of the day even though we do try to humanise them often. PF, I don't think I am missing any point. As for asking a stranger, if it were not in a public dog park, then yes, it is not only common courtesy, but also safe for all dogs and owners concerned no arguments from me. However, with a public fenced off lead area, it is reasonable to expect that the dogs in there are safe to socialise with. Of course as with all dogs, supervision is paramount, as they sometimes have similiar reactions as we humans do, where they just don't like someone. But it is reasonable to expect a respectable level of behaviour of dogs in a dog park. Thanks for the heads up on Ozkar's puppy Licence. I will try and renew it this month It will however be an interesting journey to see how he changes as he goes from puppy to dog. I hope his current persona doesn't alter too much, as he is such a beautiful natured boy right now. He is a rare Vizsla, in that he is quite chilled out. He doesn't have an aggressive bone in his body, but, he is also not a cowering fearful puppy. He will submit and let them know all he wants to do is be friends, but, if after warning 3 they don't take heed, he will make them well aware, without too much aggression, to back off. It's a nice balance in him which I hope stays. He is gentle around little kids too, and really careful with the smaller dogs. It's cute to watch him gently paw a small dog and bounce back, encouraging it to come play. He usually succeeds..

Do you also assume that the dogs will enjoy being visited by large dogs, who may have different play styles, arent' old, or young or mildly dog aggressive? The reason so many of us can't or won't use public dog parks is complete lack of courtesly and lack of consideration by folk who assume because their dogs can pretty much tolerate anything, that everyone else can just suck it up or leave. And yet, with the use of a few courtesies to other dog owners, more folk can use such areas and encounters like the one Aussielover had won't happen. If nothing else, asking if you can enter gives the other owners a chance to leave. And no, Oscar and Zsa Zsa, it is not fair to throw a ball into a park full of dogs and expect that other folks dogs will ignore it, not want it, not chase it and not compete to get it. In a park full of strange dogs already at heightened levels of arousal, that's an invitation for aggression. Do it often enough and you'll start a dog fight. We must have the most lucky dog park in the world, as i have never seen a fight over balls, sticks or toys in the 6 months I have been going there almost daily!!! As for dogs who are larger. I find that the big dogs at our park, potentially owner inspired, are very gentle and play well with the little dogs. Even boofy 7 month old Ozkar knows the rules with the littlies. Zsa Zsa has a favourite little Beagle X Cav which is tiny and they play gorgeously together. It's the owners of the small dogs who won't allow them to interact with larger dogs which causes most of those issues anyway in my opinion. There are some small dogs that go to the park where I go and they are just fantastic! More front than Myers!! But hey, we all have our own opinions on how things should or shouldn't be and what you believe is what works for you and vice versa. I can only talk from my experience and in my experience, balls and sticks are wonderful playthings in a puppy park.

I am with you. If you go to a fenced off lead area, I would assume it is a reasonable expectation that the animals in that area are well socialised and under control from the owners. Therefore, it is not neccessary to "ASK" permission to enter the area. As for dogs not being allowed to play with toys or sticks, are you Effing kidding me???? They are dogs!!!! It's what they do!!! You want to roll them up in cotton wool now too???? (Rolling eyes) If my dog and I had a toy we were playing with in a fenced off leash area and another dog started to try and play with it too, what's the big deal?? My dog would probably enjoy it too. If it didn't I would interupt the other dog, either through it's owner or if neccesary, directly. I am confused as to how people expect to go into a fenced off leash dog park and not have another dog come near them either?? (talking about the lady with the small dog sitting on the bench) Some people are just so anal about this sort of stuff. I had a lady at our local who had treats in her pocket. Naturally, every dog that got wind of it was hassling her for the food. She got really nasty with the owners of the dogs. One of which was mine. I made it very clear that if you bring treats to a dog park like this, expect to be hassled for them, if you are not comfortable with that, then you have a choice.....leave! As for entering a fenced off lead area with my dog on the lead, no way!!!! I don't care what people say about control, I want my dog to be able to extracate itself from a potentially dangerous situation without the hinderence of a lead. I am also of the belief that off lead introductions produce less agression from most dogs. I will not walk into the puppy park with my two until they are off the lead. At least that way, when the hordes of dogs run down to greet them, they are able to interact immediately and appropriately without fear of hinderence from the lead. Back to the original post, I can see why this puppy park prefect as poodlefan so rightly called her, annoyed you so greatly. I may not have been as polite to her as you were!!!! Well done!!

If I were in a difficult position financially, I doubt i would consider getting a dog if I didn't already have one. But, If I did have one, then my first priority is to ensure the dog's health and wellbeing. If that meant that i ate cheap to do so, then so be it. If it got to the point where I couldn't afford to feed and care for us both, i would put the bite on one of my mate's who has put the bite on me over the years. If that option were not available, I would make sure one of my friends looked after my dog/s till I was back on my feet. But it's not their fault whatever the predicament and not fair that they be punished for it. Having said that, if the dogs had to eat cheap for a little while, I am sure I could find a healthy substitute to royal Canin!! As for Vet bills, find a good vet is the first thing. I know I was ripped off blindly till I found a vet which was not only a professional, but also charged about 1/3 of the others I had been to. My fault, i had opted for ease of location firstly and hadn't really done much research apart from asking a few people who I work with who they took their dogs to. Now, however, through a friends recommendation, I have found a cracking vet! My puppies like them too, which is important.

It is interesting to read how some are flexible on eating regimes and others are clearly defined.. Growing up on a farm, I have a laid back mantality to food. They eat what they would in the wild. Mine get bones and fur and lots of other stuff too. I actually encourage loads of variety with mine. Even my 7 month old puppy gets some variety. He has his regulation meals which are always the same (Minced meat and royal Canin junior) but, the in betweens are varied to extend his palate. What is interesting, is that when the two of mine are together, a bone is not finished until there is no bone left, however, when on their own, a bone is finished once all the juicy bits of meat are gone from the outside! They all have differing palates too. Zsa Zsa loves a pigs ear, Oskar prefers a piece of Kangaroo Jerky. she likes dog biscuits, he like liver treats. They are all different.

Dogs are sometimes a journey, sometimes fate. As in, sometimes you head out on a path pre-determined, other times, dogs land in your lap. So it is hard to say what I will end up with next, should I ever discover that Oskar and Zsa Zsa will not live forever!!!! I have had Kelpies, Border Collies, Heelers, a Lab X Corgi, Bull terrier, Cocker Spaniels a Vizsla and a German Short haired Pointer. next on the wish list I think would be some more gun dogs. Maybe an English Pointer, maybe a Dalmation or perhaps even a Springer Spaniel or Brittany. Most likely though, another V and another GSP!!! I am in love!!! (Ooohh pew...apart from their fantastic bum action....especially the two together, as if one is not letting off, the other is!! Thank god for windows and Air Freshener!!!

No, it was stressed to me not to get on the outside of a turn, I was mostly on the inside or catching them as they straightened up. The distance ones of them going on the outside turn were taken from a long way off and behind a fence, too far really for my 70-200. The photos have had the most hits on my flickr account. Normally not many people look at my photos of whippets but they like these ones. Personally I'd still go for the whippets No, what I meant, is that apart from a few shots, you have had to take the pics from the outside of the circuit...ie; the viewing or spectator area. I was more refering to being able to be say, on the inside of the last turn onto the main straight. So you can get pics which show the bikes REALLY cranked over!!! Kinda like this little avatar pic...... This is the last left onto the main straight. Because the road is cambered off to the outside of the turn, it gives a a greater impression of lean angle. For those who ride, this is often an influencer in purchasing pics.....

That is a frightening thing to happen. I may not have reacted as calmly as you had. I think considering you did extremely well to keep a large lab off Kobi. I hope someone speaks to the owner of the dog? that shouldn't be allowed to happen!

that made me laugh. I started reading thinking it would end totally differently!!! Very good story.

Goodness gracious, have you never seen two dogs having a really good rumble? It is the most blissfully joyful experience, and it puts a smile on my face every time. The creativity my dogs display when they play with each other is not replicated anywhere else in their lives, including when I'm shaping them! They learn all sorts of things in play, and there is nothing on this earth I can do with them that is more fun to them than wrestling with each other. Except maybe playing with the flirt pole for Erik. He's nuts about that thing. I wouldn't have it any other way. Seeing that pure joy, laughing when they do something unexpected or outrageously obnoxious to each other, being incredulous when they use a behaviour they learnt in training to evade a pursuer, and just enjoying watching them in full flight... Why WOULDN'T you want that?? It's my greatest joy in owning two dogs. I don't know what I'd ever do if I had dogs that didn't love to rumble. It would be boring. Yes, I would have to totally agree with you Corvus. The high light of each & everyday for me is to watch my dogs playing together Makes me smile with heart felt warmth. Very dull world if we can't have a little bit of play !! I'm with you two. Watching my two together makes me smile sometimes, but mostly has me pissing myself laughing!! The sheer joy they get when playing with each other is obvious. When they are not together, I take Zsa Zsa to the puppy park where she just absolutely goes nuts playing with whoever is up for it.

And Broadford is a fun track too. I have turned a fair few laps around that place over the years. Great pics considering you had to take them from outside the turns for the most part.

Oskar has always been fine to ne left at home inside without supervision. He has never chewed or destroyed anything. However, since Zsa Zsa has arrived, it is not possible to leave the two of them alone inside anymore. Last time I came home to a lounge suite destroyed and a large A3 envelope with all my MRI's, X-Rays and results chewed to bits. She is also a shoe theif and has taught him the same trick. If you don't put hte shoes away straight away, they dissapear

To be honest, although the advice was correct in having her checked for a bladder infection, I don't think it was the reason she did it. If I think back carefully, it started the last time Oskar came over. So perhaps it was her re scenting her house? She has been a model dog since and I don't think anti-biotics react instantly, so am not putting it down to that. We will see, as Oskar is coming over again this afternoon. If I have the same problem again after he goes, I will know what is causing it. If it doesn't happen again, we might chalk it up to bladder infection and amazing antibiotics.

Pleased to report we have had two full days and nights of no accidents inside the house. But best of all, we have also turned the corner outside as well. Not one little wet spot or poo on the pavers for the last few days either!!! She's a very good little girl!!

Maybe try and get introduced to the two dogs? See if you can develop a bit of a familiarity so that they are happy to be around and vice versa. Sure, you shouldn't have these dogs being aggressive towards you, but perhaps once they establish some knowledge they may actually be nice to have come visit occasionally! just looking for a positive way to end your torment without upsetting your neighbours....

I didn't catch all of it, but from what I saw, it certainly took a very selective view of what was obviously an underexercised over fed dog. No wonder it had skin and breathing issues!! But, once again, I didn't see too much sting in what the show portrayed. It was certainly selective in it's balance and balanced opinion was said, but said rapidly and was difficult to hear or pick up mixed in with all the negatives.