trinabean

No. But I have two (human) kids so I just don't want to confuse anyone! I love my dog like another child though............ The good child who doesn't back-chat, whinge or complain about the food! :laugh:

Not all vets. My vet said he sees more health problems linked to early desexing than if dogs are desexed after they reach maturity. He mentioned a few things including the increased chance of rupturing cruciate ligaments (the sex hormones affect the ligaments). Provided the owner is responsible with containment etc. it sounded like male dogs have better health prospects if kept entire. The main health benefit of castration is that there no chance of the dog suffering testicular cancer. To be honest, I really only plan to get my dog desexed so as to reduce him attracting unwanted attention from other males (who want to pick a fight.)

Like Weasels, I have had much better success at doing my dog's nails using a dremel. I'm a novice dog owner and in hindsight I've made many mistakes with my dog. One of them was not getting him more used to having his feet handled. He has always struggled and hated his nails being clipped, right from puppyhood. He's not food motivated, so treats went untouched while he got completey stressed by the clippers. He is otherwise a sweet compliant boy but he was stressed enough to mouth my hands and try to bite the clippers. It was always hard to see what I was doing. I bought him a muzzle, just to do his nails (he has never otherwise shown any tendency to fear-bite!) It failed dismally to stay on his Brachy head, though he didn't bite me, thankfully. As he grew bigger and stronger (he's a Boxer) it became increasingly hard to do his nails. Some of them stay worn down by walking but there are a few that get long and require shortening. In desperation I bought a dremel. From the very first use, it was a success. I tired him out with a good long walk, then tethered him (very short tether) and lightly dremelled his nails. He was curious but not distressed and I rewarded him afterwards with a game, to end on a positive note. I made sure I repeated the experience regularly after that. And he now doesn't mind it at all. Good luck with your dog. :)

Slow news day?

I got our dog for me and I am totally responsible for his care. I chose the breed, his name etc, though the breeder selected the pup she thought best for a family with kids. Although I wanted a dog suitable for our family, I wouldn't ever buy a dog for young kids. My kids have participated in some of his training. My 10 year old was less interested than my 5 year old at helping with training. Bruno responds beautifully to instructions from the 5year old (simple commands like 'come, sit, and down'). I'm happy for them to help more if they are interested but won't push them. They have other chores that they are responsible for around the house. The 10 year old has his own small pets that he is responsible for (fish). :)

Me too. I can't think of a good enough punishment for the scum involved in dog-fighting.

Such sad news. Big hugs to you and Morgan.

A cot mattress is pretty cheap and cheerful. :)

I answered 'other' as it depends on the weather and how long I'll be gone. Bruno is fine loose in the house or the yard. He's neither a chewer, a barker or a digger. He is a sleeper though. He's only really active in the early morning and the early evening. I leave him wherever is most comfortable for sleeping. With temperatures around 40 degrees here for the next week, he'll be left inside the cool house if I go out. I'm looking at installing a dog door too, so that there is flexibilty for him to alternate between sunbaking and cooling off go to the toilet freely, instead of holding on. ;) PS Cointreau, I love that you 'leave a kennel.' :p

I'm glad she's safely home. I don't reckon your dad will forget this adventure of hers (and the worry that it caused) in a hurry. :)

gsIt worries me too. Do police dog handlers let the police do run off lead into someone's fenced backyard without checking if there are dogs around? And if there are dogs around, do the dog handlers have 100% control to ensure their dogs don't react to the owner's dogs? Would the police be held accountable if their dog bit someone's dog in their backyard? Would the owner be held accountable if an offlead police dog jumped into the backyard and was bitten by the owner's dog? Most police dogs I have seen have a pretty aggressive body language and I'm sure most dogs would react to them if they jumped into the yard. I can't answer the questions about who would be held accountable if there was an altercation but I can share one experience. We were woken one night by a bit of a commotion in our suburb (speeding vehicles, sirens). My OH heard a noise in our backyard and went to look through the laundry. As he approached the glass sliding door he saw something big moving outside. It was the biggest Rottweiler he'd ever seen and the handler yelled "Police! Stay inside!" The dog was running through our backyard searching for an offender who crashed a stolen car and escaped on foot through our area. The person had committed an armed robbery before stealing and crashing the car, so the police believed he might still be armed. We didn't have a dog at the time so no idea whether they would check the yard for a resident dog, but the police did enter with their dog before we were aware of it. I *think* the police dog was restrained by the handler at first, and then released to search the yard. I had no idea WA police had Rotties, he was an awesome looking dog.

Yes, I feel the same way. I generally love dogs and can appreciate dogs of all breeds, even ones that I would not own. I'm more prone to disliking owners than their dogs. :laugh: Yes, me too. Again, I think the owners are often to blame for allowing bad behaviour from small dogs. Often, not always ( I realize that a lot of small rescues may come with issues). Bad behaviour which would not be laughed at or tolerated if shown by a large breed. On one stretch of road that I walk my Boxer down we encounter 4 separate barking, aggressive fluffies. My dog walks quietly past and has never responded to another dog by barking etc. I have only ever seen one of these dogs walked once, long ago. He barked the whole time he was being walked and lunged at us as we passed (though we had crossed to the other side of the road thankfully!) I wouldn't judge an entire breed based on this one dog though. :)

Love it Snake catcher! The caption that springs to mind is "built for comfort, not for speed." :laugh:

Not sure if it's the same in Qld but in WA retail stores don't (or can't?) sell it. As BJ suggested you can shop around at local vets. Your dog doesn't need to be a patient of a clinic for you to buy prescription food from them. I do this and save myself about $10 a bag on the Hills allergen free Z/D. I didn't have much luck finding it online but didn't try too hard TBH, as I'm not going to be buying it long term. Good luck. :)

Thanks! :)

Could you tell me where you get your roo meat Mason_Gibbs? I'm going to need a lot (750g-1kg per day) for my dog to do an elimination diet, so I'm looking for a good supplier! Might PM you in case you don't look in here regularly. :)

She's getting there! You're doing a wonderful job Carlo.

Yes, me too MG! My dog has been on Hills ZD and is about to start on an elimination diet.

How awful Purdie! And yes Willow, I'm often surprised at peoples oblivion to their dogs (and kids!) safety. I probably verge on being at the other end of the spectrum though, a bit hyper-vigilant.....

I'm so happy for you that Alvin is home safely! :)

I hope Alvin is found safe and well today. Hugs to you and your family at this stressful time...

that was great! After seeing that I think there's quite a market for dog jockstraps. Gosh what graceful athletes whippets are! Love Irish Wolfhounds too.

Thanks for posting this MEH. It's very handy.

Some of my favourites of Bruno (red Boxer) and his friend Charli (brindle girl). Charli is owned by another DOLer 'Clemevi' and these photos and captions are courtesy of her. Thanks Clemevi. Next playdate I promise I'll try to stop laughing at the dogs for long enough to take a few photos too. Weeeeeeeeeeee!!!! 'Oh Mum.....really?' 'Hahahaha...OMG.....hahahaha.....do you remember when I sat on your head?.... sooooo funny!' 'Mum!! Mum!!....I did kill the stripey one!'

I found a few of Bruno's baby teeth. My son insisted on taking them to school for news. Boys...