blakkjackal

I won't let my dog pace because it is not a natural movement for a dog, it will quickly lead to soreness and can also cause muscle knots. Trotting on hard surfaces is less hard on the joints than cantering, but I'd still be a bit hesitant about letting them run on concrete for long distances. Apart from that it sounds great though, I wish I could do that!

But the thing is, in a lot of breeds the colour names are just made up names that don't have anything to do with genetics. E.g. a merle Mudi is a cifra whereas a Beauceron of the same colour would be a harlequin (which is actuall a genetically different pattern, compare to harlequin Great danes for example). Blue is grey and grey is blue, white can mean a genetically yellow dog and so forth. Names are just names. I wish though that all colour names were universal, would make things a lot less complicated when one word wouldn't mean ten different things depending on context.

Lol, I've heard of that mysterious magnetic field before. Do a google search on "Shoo Tag", I assume the principle is the same. Basically you get the same effect -- which is none, apart from the placebo -- from hanging an old credit card off your dog's collar... Be a much cheaper option for sure. :p

I'm interesting in this statement - probably a bit off topic. I know the idea of being a registered breeders is to continue and better the breed. If you have a recessive colour that is not considered a fault in the dog and you don't have breeders with an interest in keeping that specific colour in the gene pool then don't you risk making that colour practically extinct and therefore wouldn't that be detrimental to the breed? Just a quick example, you can see my Liver Roan cocker spaniel below. Liver Roan while acceptable in the breed standard is rarely found in the show circuit these days. The Cocker Spaniel Club of Victoria website doesn't even include liver in their list of cocker spaniel colours. If there aren't any breeders with an interest to continue the colour then it will likely end up being a rare throw back colour that is considered a fault. I actually have sort of a real life example for this one. It's not about dogs but I'd imagine it's relevant anyway. The Finnhorse originally came in a variety of colours, including chestnut, grey, bay, palomino, buckskin and roan. In about the 30's or 40's someone decided that all colours except for chestnut were indicators of foreign blood (especially grey, as the Orlov trotters from neighbouring country Russia often were grey), therefore all Finnhorses should be chestnut. People started leaving all the undesirable colours out of their breeding and slowly over the decades the situation grew up to the point that there were only a handful of greys left, not to mention the roans and palominos. Most of them were related to each other too. Up to this day there is only one line that carries the colour roan and it is under the threat of dying out completely as there are currently only 2 living roan mares, one of them being the other one's dam, and zero stallions. With greys the situation is ever so slightly better, as there are at least two lines (as far as I know) that carry it. With bays it was never that bad as a couple of well-known trotters were bay and frequently bred, leaving bay offspring. So in this case focusing on breeding a single colour led to the near extinction of a few colours. Obvious, really. I really cannot see not being selective on colour as a threat for diversity as good individuals will reproduce and vice versa, regardless of coat colour. If a colour would become extinct it would probably be for a reason (e.g. solid whites with little pigment) and I cannot see that as a very bad thing at all. After all we'd never be in this situation unless people started favoring certain colours in the show ring.

Danny's Darling, what else is mixed in your dog? How common are Finnish Spitzes in Australia? I've never met one over here and didn't think there would be many as they are mainly used for hunting game birds. I could imagine your dog being rather vocal. :D

Just my personal opinion, but I would never buy from a breeder that focuses on a single colour. In my opinion colour is pretty much irrelevant (apart from the ones associated with health problems) and anyone breeding for a certain colour is breeding for the wrong reasons.

Bottom one isn't a dogo, more like a bully again. Ah ok you edited while I was posting, anyway it's not a pit bull either. :D

During warmer months he'll move onto the floor or even onto the cool bathroom tiles after he gets too warm but most of the time I get to snuggle with him for at least a little while. :D

It's an American Bully, an "ornament breed" that supposedly started off from pit bulls but quickly became something completely different. They've used mastiffs, bulldogs (especially BB's and Frenchies in the pocket variety) and god knows what to create this mess of a dog breed. The Bully has only just been recognised by the UKC, I'm hoping this means a change to all the paper hanging, cross breeding and purposely breeding for ridiculous, faulty conformation.

That white pup with the bad feet is not a pit bull. :p More likely a badly bred bully or other mutt.

I'd imagine that would depend entirely on the insurance provider and state.

What insurance companies? Depends on area/country. The people who I know that have dogos don't have any trouble with stuff like that. They're treated just like any other dog.

Not to mention they like to guard pretty seriously. That alone rules out a lot of suitable homes for this breed. Huge liability right there and maybe not best suited in a busy neighbourhood.

Keasarge, just google Dogo Argentino and you should be able to find plenty of photos of uncropped dogs. I know a couple from Europe, they're lovely dogs but really not for the novice owner. One of the breeds on my "hopefully someday" list.

Here's an interesting topic for anyone interested in how to recognise a pit bull terrier. http://www.dolforums.com.au/topic/235004-what-constitutes-a-pit-bull-terrier/

Agree. "Bull breeds" describes a range of breeds bred for completely different purposes. Bullmastiffs, Bulldogs and SBTs are going to be very different behaviourally. Then we add another good word, "molossers" and we've pretty much covered the spectrum.

Hey, it's all in the training now isn't it... ;) I prefer to use the term "bull type terriers", I think it represents the breeds I mean a lot better than just bull type dogs.

Not to mention the stress of an overseas flight to the dog itself.. They're a huge stress factor for them, I'm already dreading our 3 day journey back O/S some time next year. :/ Never ever would I put my dog through something like that just for my own enjoyment.

Haredown Whippets; that would have been the goal. A good, smart game dog would know when it was "go" time and when to ignore silly overexcited youngsters. They would be safe around puppies and most dogs of other breeds too as they didn't represent a challenge to them. In a way I believe that's one of the reasons why my boy doesn't give a crap about small dogs displaying aggression, maybe they're too much of an "obvious win" if that makes any sense... Their background is also the primary reason for their lovable natures and human friendliness. Not all bad things at all. :) (and actually, I personally don't mind DA, it's really an attitude and management "issue")

He probably did too. An alarming percentage of bull breed owners, so called enthusiasts and even breeders have absolutely no clue about what their dogs are and what they were originally bred for. The whole nanny dog myth is dangerous to start with, you do not want to put that idea into anyones head really. I mean, nanny dog... That to me translates as a dog that was bred to take care of kids, a dog that can be left alone with kiddos with not a single worry in the world. Very very dangerous thinking there.Bull type dogs are prone to dog aggression due to their genetic background and decades of selective breeding. However that does not mean that they will be dog aggressive. My entire male tolerates all small dogs, even the yappy and aggressive ones. He loves females and so far hasn't had trouble with any desexed males either. Really only other entire, medium to large sized males are a no go.

If you ever have to break up a fight involving a bull breed dog... ...Don't try to pull them apart. They latch on pretty damn hard and can cause a lot of damage when you're trying to pull the dog off the other one. Keep the dogs steady and either hold them still and wait until the bully changes positions and pull them apart (gotta be quick), or even better, grab a (breaking) stick or whatever skinny hard object that fits between their jaws and pry them open. Don't do this with other breeds though as they tend to snap and change positions a lot more often, not grab and hold, you'll just end up getting hurt in the process..

Also go easy on the bone, looks like you're feeding a lot of bone which leaves a lot less room for meat (and fat, their primary source of energy) in her diet. I'd also suggest red meat instead of chicken.

That is a great idea and the Sheepdog Trial people have got it right about keeping them as pets only. They're a working breed, suited to working environments. I don't think anyone would consider getting a working border collie or kelpie as a pet only, I don't see how this is any different.

If this was my dog I'd be introducing the clicker. It's a great tool for loose lead walking. :) With my own dog I stop whenever he crosses my "line" (which I imagine around the dog's shoulders, I don't want his front end to go past my legs) and wait for him to return next to me, sit and look. I never really taught that to him as sitting down is one of the behaviours he offers most often and that I reward for a lot. At first I would stop when the lead tightened (obviously don't worry about the position of the dog if it doesn't bother you and if you're not as much of a lead nazi as I am... :D) and just wait until he got sick of not doing anything and sat down. Click and treat, move on until you have to stop again -- which is probably very soon. Mind you I did not let the dog sniff around and entertain himself after we had stopped. All he got to do was stand there and do nothing or try to figure out what would get us moving again (=sit & look). For my dog it didn't take long at all to make the connection and he would very quickly start turning around into a nice sitting position behind me offering eye contact whenever I stopped. After that I'd start clicking randomly when he stayed behind my imaginary line for a few seconds without pulling. We never really had a pulling problem as I started teaching him to walk nicely from day one. I did get a little lazy with maintaining this and allowed him to wander a little more than what I like so I'm back at having the clicker with me on our walks but that's ok, it's fun for both me and the dog. :)

How much is rabbit going for at the moment? My butcher only sells it for around $15/kg which is way too much for dog food... I'd actually prefer the whole thing, fur and everything so if anyone knows where I could get entire rabbits hit me up!