Lugeanjaam

What a brave little dude! I had my first real interaction with 3 Westie's this weekend, what awesome little dogs! They were the resident dogs at a farm stay we spent the weekend at. They happily ran with all the farm animals and greeted every guest with a madly wagging tails and demands for belly rubs. It was raining heavily last night and one of them made his way into our cottage, where he cozily slept the night at the feet of my daughter. His owner said that it was nothing unusual as they are such social dogs. What well balanced and calm dogs they were. They converted me over night, they are definitely on my wish list now.

Dora ????

This thread is very timely. I have 3 dogs, Suki Maltese x who is 11, Joey Silky x who is 6 and Flynn Belgian Shepherd coming on 3. They have all got along beautifully with the only issue being that Flynn doesn't like the other dogs near his food but it's a problem that has been easily dealt with by feeding them seperately, bones in crates only etc. In the last couple of weeks Flynn has displayed intolerance towards the smaller 2 which was nothing serious, mostly noise. This morning he attacked Joey leaving him with a nasty wound on his ear that required stitching. He has also been quite dominant with Suki but a growl from me and he backs off. The only change I can think of is that Suki has been losing her sight over the last 6 months, with a rapid decline in the last couple of weeks. Even though she weighs 5 Kgs sopping wet she ruled the roost with the boys happily submitting to her. Could this be a reason for Flynn's sudden change in behaviour? He is a very social and has never met a human, dog or cat that he doesn't like so this is out of left field. I know that I need to play musical dogs until this is sorted out and I have emailed a behaviourist this morning. We are going away over xmas for a month with family staying here to care for the menagerie but it's a heavy burden to put on them and certainly not what they signed up for. I may need to board Flynn while we are away but it's going to be tricky getting in somewhere at this late notice and Flynn is going to hate it. Sigh, awful timing boy ????

Lisa a small white patch on their chest is common, Flynn has too much white for showing though. He also has white on all 4 paws which is mismarking I believe. I have to admit when I met him for the first time at 4 weeks of age I loved those little differences about him .

Everyone's puppies have grown up so beautifully! It's been a while since I have updated, here is Flynn aged 17 months. He is such a laid back, easy going, I love everyone kind of boy. I am so happy with him, just my dream dog ❤️.

That is a wonderful outcome for you, and I also applaud how proactive you have been in addressing this. I do feel for you, but I have to admit I feel for the gentlemen that got bitten more. To see a large dog such as yours barrelling towards him so aggressively when he had his 3 year old granddaughter by his side must have been awful, and so frightening for the both of them. He sounds like a very genuine, reasonable man to have handled this so calmly. To be honest if it was me I don't know that I wouldn't have taken it further. You know your dog, and you know that she is good with kids, he doesn't. That would have been my over riding thought, what if the child had been bitten. I assume that your sincere apologies and your immediate efforts to rectify this went a long way towards his decision not to pursue having your girl declared as dangerous, I'm pleased it all worked out in the end.

I am so sorry Kirislin. Kibah was one of the special DOL dogs, her photos made me fall in love with the breed. Run free old girl.

Thanks for the advice everyone, it's much appreciated. The rescue is very aware of the moral obligation involved and has definitely not ruled out returning the cat to her original owner if she is in fact her cat. Will keep you updated, thanks again.

A cat came into the care of a rescue organisation in June 2013 after spending her stray time at the pound. The rescue had her chipped, desexed and vaccinated and she has been in foster since that time waiting for her forever home. Last night a lady claiming to be her owner contacted the rescue stating that she is her cat that she lost 12 months ago. She has sent through photos which admittedly does seem to look like the girl in question, along with photos of her last litter of kittens, she would like 'her cat back'. Can anyone help with the legal obligations in this scenario?

Thanks Garnali, a dog run is actually a viable option in their case I think. I don't know that the grandmother was on her own, I think that it all happened so quickly there wasn't a chance for her daughter to intervene.

The Bears I think you hit the nail on the head with his behavior. He is a love bug towards humans, I don't think he loves other dogs though. My friend is considering renting a house for her and the dog and leaving her mum and grandmother in the current house with the remaining cat if grandma isn't coping. It's all so sad. Was the cat ok after the fight you broke up Bears? And are you ok?

Aussie if it came to rehoming do you think a rescue would accept him, taking into account it was must likely redirection?

Assuming is the right term. This is the exact reason for my post, to get some other ideas on how to manage this. Do you have any? No one is blaming the dog, it was a tragic accident. And they were fully aware that he should not be trusted which is why I explained that he was always closely supervised. I agree that biting grandma may have been redirection, he has never shown human aggression before. It is her trauma and anxiety after the event that is the issue now. She is 91 and not of fully sound mind so she is not able to reason through this like we can. This family are loving owners and they very much want to do the right thing for everyone involved, human and animal, they are just not sure what that is yet.

A dear friend of mine experienced an awful trauma 2 days ago. My friends mother has 2 indoor cats, and a Malamute who is only allowed inside under close supervision due to the cats. He has never shown any aggression towards them, in fact when he is inside at night he has been very playful with one of them in particular. Unfortunately my friends 91 year old grandmother who is suffering from the early stages of dementia left the back door open and the dog entered the house, killed one of the cats and also bit the grandmother when she put her hand in to try and save the cat. It is such a horrible situation for everyone involved. The grandmother is now terrified of the dog to the point that she is having severe anxiety. The family are at a loss to know what to do. Does this boy (he is 8 years old) have any chance of being rehomed through a rescue with this history? I think I already know the answer but I have been wracking my brain trying to think of an outcome that would help this very traumatised family, they are so heartbroken.

That is a beautiful video Benshiva. Your love for each other shines through.

I remember Irish's story . Poor girl, I wonder how many babies she has had over the years. I hope by some miracle there is a good outcome for her.

I have about 16 internal stairs and I am paranoid about Flynn my 9 month old Groenenda racing up and down them. Once we was to big to carry I would pop his lead on him when we used the stairs and I taught him the 'slowly' command. He now heels at my side when using stairs, I still worry about his hips but its better than nothing.

Pup would love it, though many schools have a policy these days that state that dogs are not allowed to enter the school grounds. If this is the case would you be able to stand outside the school with pup and let your child come to you?

Nova ????

Wow Cassie he is gorgeous! He he the same size as Moose now or is that photo deceiving?

Smashtank we live and learn ????. I think it's great that you are aware enough to identify potential issues and take steps to resolve them before it becomes a bigger problem. Raising puppies (just like kids) can be a case of trial and error. Not all methods work for different people, and there is no 'right way'. I think that you have been doing an awesome job with Tank, he is a very lucky puppy ????.

Lhok I am so excited for you! Can't wait to hear your news.

Oh Discodobe you need that puppy. Man oh man is he cute!

Lhok I am so very sorry. He was much too young . Run free Raiden.

Thinking of you Lhok.