tangopatutti

We had two pups together (a gsd and a cattledog) 7.5 years ago and I swore blind that I would NEVER AGAIN have two pups together. Well they do say that time heals all wounds, (or perhaps as I grow older the pain has become fuzzier), because as of Friday just gone we have two new puppies :laugh: We are going great guns with toilet training so far (but I'm not getting too excited, it's only been a few days) and I am finding it very helpful to use word association - "Go Toilet" each and every time they go - we trained our older dogs to toilet on command with "do the business" and are endeavouring to do the same with the pups, but using "Go toilet" for the pups so we don't send the big dogs outside while the pups are in their pen and they hear the command and toilet in the pen. I think it works two-fold; it means you are training them for future toileting on command which can be very helpful, and it is also my opinion that the word association is helping with the training; once the brain has started to associate the word with the action, saying the word triggers the urge to toilet. Every time I take them outside I start repeating "go toilet" like a crazy lady and when they relieve themselves "Good Go Toilet" in a high squeaky voice and heaps of pats. For what it's worth I don't believe two pups together grow a stronger bond with each other than with you, the two dogs I raised together last time love me far more than each other - they slept together as pups, but only really tolerate each other now.

Both my GSD and Cattle Dog are obsessed with balls, they love, love, love fetch above anything else. But the GSD has a hard time giving up his "trophy" - especially if he thinks Charlie is going to end up with it. We solved the problem by using three balls for fetch - the first two we throw are Tango's, then the third one Charlie's. Then Tango is quite content to keep two balls in his mouth and run up and down beside Charlie who fetches the third ball and brings it back for another throw. Tango can't quite get three balls in his mouth at once, so he has a "swap" deal going on - when Charlie brings the ball back for another throw, Tango drops one of his balls and grabs the fresh one. We then throw the ball that Tango has dropped and the cycle begins again. Works well for us! At the same time we have a little squishy ball that our Pomeranian uses for fetch. It gets thrown in the other direction (out of the path of the two big dogs). She is brilliant at fetch. If she drops the ball too far away, you just have to say "Smudge, where's the ball?" and she'll go and grab it and bring it back to your feet. Pixie Lulubelle (our Chihuahua) thinks she is a princess and the rest of the dogs are crazy "Mum, if you throw that ball, you can just go and fetch it yourself!" And flounces off back into the house. :laugh:

"We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy Nooooooooo Yeeeeaaarrrrrr"

Poor doggie. Have signed and keeping my fingers crossed there is someone in charge who has a couple of braincells to rub together and throws this ridiculous charge straight out of court. Wish someone would come up with some sort of collar flag (i.e., a flag extending from the top of the dog's collar) so you could have a little notice on your dog when out walking - "Please do not approach my dog" or similar. Apparently Australia is now the second most litigious country after the USA - about time we all hardened up and took the attitude S*^&% Happens and took responsibility for ourselves.

Ditto this. We have four dogs (number five arives Friday ). Ten years ago we got the two older little dogs together and a few years later we got the two younger large dogs together (and I have finally learnt my lesson - only ONE pup at a time :laugh: ). For all four dogs I'm number one - I call them my entourage - where I am, they are, always. They get on okay together, but are definately more bonded with me than each other. Sorry, don't have any advice re the cats, our dogs have always been fine with the cats, chooks, pigs.... Our little chi adores the cats and wants to give them doggie kisses all the time (much to the cats' disgust), the rest of the dogs more or less completely ignore the cats - the dogs are more interested in the cats' dinner than the cats themselves.

I have no idea if this would help or not, but you can get doggy DNA kits to test your dogs DNA - I have never used one, have no idea how accurate they are, but perhaps you could do some research and see if a DNA test would be any use as evidence in court? Good luck.

Thanks Spyda. Two years ago my friend decided she wanted her first ever dog, so I managed to convince her to get one from a shelter. We went to the AWL Qld and found her a lovely pup (ridgeback/lab). He is the love of her life. The most amazing dog, even from a young pup has been very calm and well mannered - an excellent first dog. She named him after my (then) surname, and I am his godmummy. She's even written into her will that he is to go to no-one except me! I will most certainly give you a visit when we're ready to adopt in a few weeks' time. :)

Where do I find your dogs, Spyda? The only two websites I know to look at are adoptapet (which is RSPCA) and Petrescue. I've still got a couple of weeks before I can adopt, as we are waiting for our GS to completely heal up after his op before we introduce a pup/s.

Aw, he's a cutie. Unfortunately he's in Townsville and I'm just out of Toowoomba though. Also, I want to get a pup as young as possible - our existing dogs are fussy about other dogs, but are fine with young pups.

Our two big dogs have a harness each that clips into a seatbelt and our two little dogs share a doggie car seat - it is an elevated bed/basket contraption that is secured to either a front or back seat, it has two short tethers that are sewn into the basket which are then either snapped onto their harness or collars to secure the dogs to the basket. Just a word of warning for those restraining the dogs by their collars instead of a harness - in the event of an accident, the pressure on their neck can do serious damage - best to restrain with a harness instead of a collar, if possible.

Libby and her possum :D Awwww, now I want Libby AND her possum! :laugh: They're both gorgeous. We have two possums living in the roof of my home office, we call them Wodga and Pamela. Pamela is very shy, but Wodga comes out to the eaves to say hello, we give him a sliver of apple from time to time.

Awww, she sounds like a sweetheart... could I adopt her? :laugh:

Absolutely! Even hubby has nicknames (but not always nice ones :laugh: ) Dogs are Tango (GS) - Tangopatutti, Tutti, Toot toots, Tutti Putti Smudge (Pom) - Smudgie Woo, Monster, Munchkin, Moo Moo, Possum, Froggy Doggy, Monkey Dog Pixie (Chi) - started off Pixie, then became Pixie LuluBelle and now is almost exclusively called Lulu Charlie (Cattle Dog) - Charlie Boy, Charlie Warley (although Charlie's such a mischievous dog, I think he thinks his name might be "Charlie, No!") Cats Peanut - Nutter Butter, Butter Boy Willow - Willow Spileski Henry - Henry Pops, Pop pops Mr Kitty Pickles - Fatty Cat, Kitty Minipig Poppy Porkchop (usually just Poppy) - Miss Piggy, Little Piggy

runs off to google the breed... Nice looking dogs! What are they like as a family pet?

runs off to google the breed...

Just a suggestion if you are after a big strong dog with no hunting instinct - a Bullmastiff might fit the bill. Not sure about rescue ones but the well bred ones don't chase anything except burglars. I know someone that has one with valuable horses and small dogs on a property with lots of native wildlife. They chose her so she could be with them working around the property and not want to run off to hunt anything. Dancin, that's exactly what I want - I am outside most days working on the property and our dogs are running loose around the property with me - they have perfect recall (except for the little pom, who at 10 years old is becoming a bit of a madam) and I can trust them not to give chase to anything. Love mastiffs, but don't want a real slobber chops in the house - enough cleaning to do with the menagerie we already have. I adore neos, but would always have to be running around with a slobber cloth!

PS We live on 120 acres with dams, streams, and our doggies (and cats and piggy) live inside with us - doggie utopia!

Thanks Teebs, Long story as short as poss: We had a big scare with our GS last week. In fact he was scheduled to be put down today. Hip dysplasia since two (managed extremely well with meds - still runs around like a pup). Last friday I found a massive lump on his chest, vet suspected a malignant tumor. No way was I putting my boy through any more prodding and probing to treat the "cancer" what with his hips and his age (7.5), so with my husband away until yesterday, we made the decision to keep him as comfortable as possible until hubby could come home and say goodbye and we could grieve together. Two days after discovering the lump his front leg swelled up like a balloon, I rushed him up to the vet and the nasty big "tumor" was just a hideous deep tissue abscess. So my lovely boy (albeit with a big hole in his chest) is now bouncing around like a pup again and we have him for a wee while longer at least. (Tears of sorrow became wild sobs of joy and a BIG lesson for me). Besides the terrible heartache of thinking I was losing our boy, it suddenly dawned on me I would lose my security too. My husband works away two weeks out of every four, we live rurally with no close neighbours, but I never feel lonely or apprehensive with my lovely big shepherd and my cattle dog around. They sleep next to me on the bed and are always by my side. Even if the security they provide is only psychological, it works for me. After this big fright we realised we should be "growing up" another big breed pup, so when it finally is Tango's time to go, then I am not left adrift without a big dog. Actually I'm thinking very seriously of getting two pups, although hubby is stuck on one at the moment ;) Our GS is our youngest dog at 7.5, so realistically, I probably only have a couple of years left with him. I am not looking to "replace" my boy (was heartbroken at the thought rushing out to get another dog after he passed - couldn't do it). So, I am looking for a dog who will be a loving member of our family, but have the necessary looks that say "be wary". Our GS has a beautiful nature, loves people, but most people are wary of him at first meeting, just his size and looks and his deep bark. My mother, who is quite fearful of large dogs, adores our shepherd because of his gentle and fun nature. But I know that if we did have an intruder, my boy would be advising them to call an ambulance first, because he would not back off if I was being attacked. I was attracted first and foremost to the bull arab because I think they are terrific looking dogs; I love their build - solid, large, a real "dog" looking dog, IYKWIM? I have known a couple in the past and they had lovely natures, calm, friendly, outgoing, intelligent. The total package (IMO) apart from the fact they are bred to hunt I want a large breed, non slobber chops, short coat. I'm looking for a dog that looks like steel on the outside, but is a marshmallow on the inside - a loving family dog, who is great with people, kids, chooks, pigs, horses, cows, cats, but would stand up to defend his family if the need ever arose - or would at least make an intruder think twice. Hubby is keen on another shepherd, but I like having a mix of different breeds (we currently have the GS, cattle dog cross, chihuahua cross and a pom). But perhaps if we get the two pups we could get another GS and a different breed dog. Also bear in mind I really want to get a rescue pup if possible, but would be wary of taking on another shepherd if it wasn't through a registered breeder with hip scores done (we didn't know about hip scoring when we got Tango, which has given us years of heartache with his dysplasia.) Since getting Tango so many years ago, I have learned about puppy mills, backyard breeders, etc., so will only be getting a pup through a rescue organisation or a registered breeder. But would prefer to give a little lost rescue soul a forever home above a planned breed that I know will find a home. I would have loved to give a mature dog a home, but our two boys are fussy about company - no problems with a pup, but introducing a mature dog would be a challenge. Sorry for the scroller!

Thanks everyone for your input, it is greatly appreciated. I guess I kinda suspected the answer before I asked, but I do so love the look and nature of the bull arab (asides the fact it is bred for hunting I'll keep trawling through the rescue sites until we find the perfect doggie. Our GS has had a small op, so we have to wait for him to fully heal anyway before we bring a new pup into the mix.

The little doggies with poppy are our little girls, Pixie Lulubelle a chi cross, and Smudge a tiny little pomerianian (has been given a haircut for summer). Pixie is 11 years old and Smudge 10.

Hope this works! This is Poppy Porkchop. We got her just before xmas - she too, was a "rescue" pig, poor little girl had already been through two new homes before coming to us, her forever home. We get our second little piggie (one that I was on the waiting list for since September) in a few weeks time. Thanks for all your responses. I would never leave the pigs and the dogs together unsupervised, even if I thought I could 100% trust them. I am home most of the time (work from home), so Poppy is out and about with me and the dogs, but if I have to go out she is either locked into her bedroom inside the house and the dogs in the rest of the house, or if the weather is fine, into her pen outside.

My husband has finally relented and agreed that we can have a new puppy - YAY! I'm going to get a rescue doggie and have been perusing the rescue sites and a lot of the dogs are bull arabs/ bull arab crosses. I love the look of the dogs, and the two adult bull arabs I have known personally were beautifully natured dogs. After lots of googling, it seems they make terrific pets also. The problem is, I have a pet minipig, with another pet minipig on the way (our pig lives with us and the dogs, i.e, sleeps inside at night, inside the house during rainy weather and runs loose with the dogs outside during the day). Bull Arabs are bred to be pighunters. So the question arises; what is most dominant, nature or nurture - i.e., if I brought a young (10 weeks old) bull arab pup into the home and he/she grew up with our pet pigs, would they be okay with them as adults, or would the pig hunting instinct kick in? I successfully introduced the wee pig to our 7.5 year old German Shepherd and 7.5 year old Cattle Dog with no problem, and we have kept chooks in the past (and will again in the future) which we trained the dogs not to bother. Both dogs were incredibly interested by both the chookies and the pig at first, but training soon made them realise they were "family" and not to be harrassed. Would it be the same for a bull arab pup? Considered opinions greatly appreciated.