YippeeGirl

We've got a Staffy x Husky that lives behind us, and it's not a particularly attractive cross. He favours the Staffy type more than the Husky type. He's also forever getting out of the backyard, and of course, is an intact male!

I was rushed by a Labrador not long ago. It came bolting up to us, with its hackles up and growling. The dog I was walking is very reactive and so I did the only thing that came to mind. As the dog got within a couple of metres of us, I threw the full poo bag I was carrying and hit it square in the face. This coupled with me hollering at the top of my lungs was enough to get it to turn around and run back to its oblivious owner. So I think for some dogs something smacking them in the face can be enough to deter them, but I would definitely not count on it working for every dog, especially not if it really means business. I swear our older bitch once defused what could have been a very ugly situation. This Mastiff looking dog came rushing up, and based on the owner's reaction, and the dog's body language, I think it could have ended very differently had we been with one of our other dogs. Our bitch isn't that big, but she eyeballed this dog, drew herself right up, stuck her tail in the air and that dog literally stopped in its tracks.

When our two bitches have fought (German Shepherds so not a similar breed), we've always separated them by grabbing their hind legs and pulling them backwards. However, their fights have never resulted in serious injury. I'm sure when one dog is trying to kill the other, this makes a difference as to how difficult they are to separate. You also still have to be careful they don't swing around and bite you. I nearly got nailed by one of the bitches, and it was only that she stopped herself once she realised it was me. I probably wouldn't want to put myself anywhere near the mouth of either dog, so prising jaws open etc. would have to be a pretty last resort for me. Personally I've always wondered if hitting the attacking dog over the head hard, with a heavy object like a rock, would be enough to stop the attack. Seems like when you do something like kick or scream at the dogs it just riles them up more, but I wonder if a whack over the head hard enough to do some damage would be enough.

Our 12 month old is always digging on the dog beds. While she digs, she growls and barks and bites at them. She also does the same when she gets up on the people beds. However, she also digs holes everywhere in the yard. You have to watch where you are walking or you'll break an ankle :laugh:

One of our dogs hates bees. I think he got stung when he was young, and ever since then, he has been stung probably dozens of times. You can tell by his body language that he anticipates being stung, but it doesn't stop him. If you watch him, you can see him hunting them out. I try to keep flowering weeds cut short in our lawn because this is the main area the bees congregate, and I go around emptying any full pot bottoms on hot days because this definitely attracts the bees. Apart from that, all I can do is yell from the window when I see him chasing the bees, and bring him inside if the bees are particularly bad (we have a lot of flowering plants and shrubs in the garden and our neighbour has a bee hive in the wall of his house).

I'm clumsy and share a house with four dogs and three cats, so I'm always covered in cuts and scratches. I've also stood on two nails (not at the same time) and I never got sick, even though I didn't receive a tetanus shot. The only time I've ever had a problem following some sort of wound, was when our now deceased rooster punctured the skin on the top of my foot with his spur. I didn't bother to wash it out, but some nasty bacteria must have got in, because within a couple of hours my foot was red and painful, and I ended up being diagnosed with cellulitis.

The general public already seem to believe that show bred German Shepherds are 'cripples' with their curved backs and trailing hocks. So I don't know why judges continue to reward such ugliness, and it is ugly. Surely they must know that placing dogs like this just encourages a storm of controversy. Unfortunately, if judges are rewarding animals that look and move like that, (certain) breeders are going to keep producing them.

I was thinking more along the lines of Franklin doing his business on nature strips and front yards. I personally hate when dog owners don't pick-up their dog poo, especially if they let their dog go to the toilet in the same place multiple times. I assume no one is picking up after Franklin?

I'm wondering what's happening to all the waste Franklin produces? Then again, if he's waiting at traffic lights to cross the road, maybe he's worked out how to use the public toilets :laugh: I'm also wondering what happens if/when Franklin comes to strife and upon whose shoulders responsibility is going to fall for his care. No dog lives forever, and while it seems like he's doing okay now, I personally wouldn't want to be watching some elderly dog slowly deteriorating in health as it gimps around my neighbourhood.

Our adult dogs are all fed Wellness Core. Our male has a sensitive stomach and can be hard to keep weight on. We tried him on Black Hawk and most recently, the grain free flavour from Meals For Mutts, and he dropped condition on both. Never had any issues with the Wellness Core. They maintain a nice weight with only a small amount of dry compared to what I was feeding with other brands, and their coats are always gleaming. Their kibble is supplemented with roo meat, and they get roo tails a couple times a week. Sometimes they might also get chicken necks or chicken frames to munch on. For rewards, especially during training, they get the K9 Naturals frozen green tripe, and they also get the freeze dried/air dried treats from K9 Naturals and ZiwiPeak.

Our 'middle' bitch is dog reactive. She's terrified of other dogs, but her response is to behave aggressively towards them. It's even worse if the other dog reacts to her. Once the dog is past, she either tries to climb into my skin, or tries to bolt in the opposite direction. We've always had dogs, and I've never had a dog like this before. Personally, I really hope I never have another dog like this again. Just a walk around the block can be a challenge, as you always have to be vigilant. Going to the vet's is a nightmare. We don't even attempt to sit in the waiting room with her. I'm embarrassed every time she has a meltdown in public. I feel it just reaffirms the idea that German Shepherds are an 'aggressive' breed, and I'm sure a lot of dog owners look down their noses at me for my failure to control my dog. It's just hard when you put so much work into a dog and they still have issues, and then you have these people that put in no work at all, and they've just been fortunate to get a naturally good-natured dog.

There's an article I read just now that says the sitter's name is 'Tim' and his son's name is Sean.

Ares will 'give me a kiss' (although sometimes it's more like a black eye :laugh: ). He also taught himself how to play doggy soccer. He will hold a ball or toy in his mouth, and at the same time, push a ball around on the ground. You tell him 'hit it' and he will either use his paw or his nose to guide the ball to you.

When you have multiple dogs running together, you also have to watch that other dogs don't jump in if a fight does break out. First thing we had to do when our bitches started fighting, was to grab our male and get him out of there. Otherwise, he would get stuck into one of the girls (usually whoever I was holding for some reason), and just escalate things even further.

Our two bitches fight if they are together. Originally, they got along very well. Our 'middle' bitch Nike, is not quite right in the head. She's reactive with other dogs and seems to have a lot of difficulty in reading other dogs' body language. Eos meanwhile, has quite a dominant, almost bullying personality. I think Nike was a little over a year when the two of them had their first fight. They went back to being friends after that for a while, and then they had several more fights. The fights while fairly terrifying to watch and listen to, really didn't cause all that much damage (Nike had a small nick in her ear and a shallow gash over her eye that needed stitching) to either dog. They never really lost themselves completely that they were actively trying to kill each other, or would redirect on one of us when we came in to separate them. Obviously, there is some tension that exists between them because of this. However, it's not anywhere near a level where I would say one dog needs to be re-homed. It has made life slightly more difficult, because we have to crate and rotate, and have to be more vigilant about leaving doors/gates/crates unlocked. This is the first time we've ever had issues with our dogs fighting. Although same-sex aggression does seem more prevalent among German Shepherds as I know other people that can't run bitches together because they will try and kill each other.

The lady that lives across the road from us, has a fear of dogs. I believe it came about because when she was younger, she once saw her sister get bitten by a German Shepherd. While some kids may brush off being nipped by a dog as an inconsequential event, I'm sure there are others for whom this is the cause of a lifelong fear. Young children aren't robots. I'm sure a great many of us on this forum, would have approached or patted strange dogs as children, without asking permission from the owner first. I know that there were a couple of dogs that I would pat through the fence on the way to and from primary school.

Nike does not like one of my cousins. He's the only person I worry about her having a go at. She's always been uneasy around youngish men because she was badly startled by one of my younger brother's friends when she was young, and she doesn't have the best nerves. I think it's made worse by the fact my cousin isn't particularly good with dogs, and I think he gets a bit nervous around her. His body language puts her on edge, and so she gets locked in the crate when he comes over.

Kids are unpredictable. I was a fairly well behaved child, but I was a bolter. My mum could turn her back for a second and I'd be gone. She actually used to threaten to put me on a leash like a dog if I didn't behave :laugh: The dog didn't just snap or growl at the girl. It bit her. Even if the parents should have had better control over their daughter, I still think that people shouldn't be bringing dogs into stores that have such weak nerves that they will bite a stranger or child if approached. Unfortunately, I do think many dog owners are blind to the limitations of their dogs.

Some dog owners are pretty bad at telling when their dogs are showing signs of stress. Bunnings can be fairly overwhelming for humans at times (I swear some people are as bad at navigating with trolleys as they are at driving), so I could very easily see how a bite could happen. I feel bad for both the young girl and the dog owner. There's definitely no winners in this story. I like the idea of being able to bring my dogs into various stores, as I feel that it can be a good learning experience for them, and a good opportunity for socialisation. Unfortunately, not all dogs have the nerves/temperament to be able to handle these sorts of environments. There's one of ours who can be leery with people, so I certainly wouldn't bring her to a place where she is likely to feel trapped if she is approached by a random member of the public.

I usually move over for bicycle riders just to be polite, and I hate when they come flying up behind you without any warning at all. Sometimes they can be hard to hear coming up behind you until they are almost on top of you. It's just bad manners. One thing that always surprised and annoyed me, was people who let their loose dogs run up to our dogs when we were biking them. We had dogs run right out in front of us, and come running right up after our dogs and their owners making no attempts to call them even though they technically weren't supposed to be off lead within several metres of the path.

I've always stayed with our pets when they've had to be put down. I'm not casting judgement on anyone who chooses not to stay with the following statement, but personally I feel it is my last duty to my pets to comfort them or at least be there for their final moments, and that is why I stay.

If your cats are permitted to roam off your property, and no one actually saw the attack, I'd say you probably can't accuse the neighbour's dog of being the culprit. I once watched a loose dog that had come some distance down the side of our house, attack our elderly cat. It was all over in a matter of minutes, and sadly once we got her to the vet, it was obvious that the damage done to her back/spine was too severe for there to be any other option but euthanasia. Hopefully Cookie makes a speedy recovery. It's always devastating when something like this happens.

What is this 'lawn' you speak of? :laugh: I agree that some dogs just like to dig. One of our bitches does this weird yelping squeal while she is digging. I have to be careful how I move my feet when I am out in the backyard because otherwise she pounces on them thinking I am about to start digging a hole. Our other bitch just likes it when another dog digs so that she can stand behind them catching the dirt in her mouth.

I think the majority of dog owners have never witnessed (in person) a fight where dogs are seriously trying to cause harm to each other. Our two bitches have got into several scuffles in the past, and it's an incredibly terrifying experience. It's not just a matter of yelling at them or smacking them and they'll stop. We're lucky in that our bitches have never redirected, but some dogs are going to turn around and bite at whatever's within reach when they are in such an agitated state. I wonder if this is why so many owners have a very blase attitude when it comes to letting their dogs run up to strange dogs. They simply don't understand just what it's like to have to pull apart two or more fighting dogs.

I was reminded of this topic when I saw someone out walking their dog across the road and on the footpath (neither of which were shaded) in the middle of the 35 degree day we had recently in Melbourne. The dog didn't look too distressed, but I wonder how hot all that asphalt and concrete was on its paws. At least it was a short-haired breed.