YippeeGirl

I agree. I know it can be next to impossible for some people to walk away, even if through their purchasing the puppy they are only encouraging the breeder. They figure it makes a difference for that one puppy.

We have three German Shepherds so obviously are familiar with HD. Our male is a pet and has never been x-rayed but we suspect he has HD of some grade. Our two girls are/were show dogs so were both x-rayed. I'm not the one who does the showing but I think you have to pass the hip and elbow x-rays to be able to pass breed survey, which means you can be awarded an excellent in the open classes at speciality shows. Our youngest got hers done at around twelve months and very surprisingly failed. We showed her up until she would have been in open class and then retired her. I know of a few other dogs she used to show against that also failed either their hips or elbows. I do wonder when people don't turn their x-rays in for scoring because they know their dogs will fail, does this have an affect on the numbers? Like does it sort of disguise just how prevalent this disease is in particular breeds such as German Shepherds? A lot of pet dogs are never checked unless they show lameness or other symptoms. So when you look at the numbers/percentages they produce for how many dogs in a specific breed are affected by dysplasia, is this really a true figure?

Wellness has some brands of wet dog food/toppers that tempted our old cat who has a very intermittent appetite due to issues with intestinal lymphoma and recurring pancreatitis. It's really hard and frustrating when they just won't eat, or they look interested, and then when you present them with the food they either don't touch it or eat a couple of mouthfuls before walking off. Cooking up the food has always helped because the smell seems to stimulate his appetite a bit more. Has your vet said anything about appetite stimulants? I don't know what they use in dogs, but we have a container of mirtazapine we use for his bad days and it really does get him eating again. Sorry about your girl. It's so hard to watch them getting old and sick

The dogs in that video are probably planning to suffocate their owners with those poo filled bags once they get in close enough :laugh:

I think if it's a food containing a high-quality meal product, it is better than a food whose first one or two ingredients are listed as 'whole' meat products. If I recall correctly, this is because the weight of the whole meat product is also taking into account its water content, so once the water content is removed it may be further down the ingredient list, making it a poorer quality food.

Yes that was just one of the most terrible days imaginable. I was already petrified of house fires as a child, and knowing people were literally dying only a few doors down from my grandparents' farm has only made it worse. My heart really goes out to the owners of those cats and dogs, and anyone else who has lost pets in similar circumstances. I just can't even begin to imagine how they must be hurting

I was up in Kinglake on the day of the Black Saturday fires, and saw first-hand how fast and unpredictable bushfires can get on those extreme fire days. Personally if I was the business owner I probably would have been evacuating animals when I could, even if it turned out to be a false alarm. All it takes is one wind change and that fire can be coming straight for you. It is easy to sit and judge, but the animals that perished were entrusted in the care of the kennels. I know even the best laid plans can be waylaid when you are dealing with the capricious nature of bushfires, but people are going to be upset when all those animals were essentially left to die.

Our neutered male goes crazy when our two girls come onto heat. He will certainly attempt to mount them if he gets the chance so when they are right on we have to separate them. Then we have to sit and listen to him crying and carrying on. He is a real Casonova. He really adores our oldest girl so she gets gentle ear nibbles and sweet nothings whispered to her :laugh: But yes, a crate is helpful until all those hormones settle down.

Fire is my worst nightmare. I am forever worrying about house fires with our pets, and I can't imagine a more terrifying and painful way to go. I hope they succumbed to smoke inhalation long before the fire reached them. We had one of our dogs die while we were on holiday (of bloat) and that was a harrowing enough drive back to take her body to the vet for a necropsy. I can't imagine what the owners of the dogs and the business are feeling right now. Probably a lot of 'what ifs' and 'if only'

I don't know why people think it's okay for their children to harass their dogs, and never let them have quiet time where they have some space to breathe and not be poked and prodded. I still remember our neighbours taking their lovely kelpie puppy to be put down because their youngest son picked it up and squeezed it while it was eating and it turned around and bit him in the face. I could sit there and do the same to any of our dogs right now. All it would do is prove how much of an idiot I am (or in the case of the video whoever is filming), and how saintly my dogs are. So many kids nowadays seem to have no idea how to interact appropriately with dogs, and it's no wonder when you see parents encouraging this sort of stupid behaviour.

The neighbour was rather tactless with his comment, but I think you really need the context in which the statement was originally made. For example, we have an elderly cat that we always think is going to die but somehow still keeps soldiering on. We joke around with our vet about him dying all the time because we have rushed him there so many times when he's been on death's door. I personally wouldn't be offended if any of our vets told us what was said in the OP, but based on our interactions with our vets, it would very likely have been said completely in jest.

Our three year old has hip dysplasia. Absolutely no symptoms and had a very successful show career early on. Our oldest male most likely bad hips. He's never been x-rayed but you can tell they are not right by his movement and he sometimes limps if he over exerts himself. Our middle girl really only has recurring yeast infections in her ears/feet (worse when she is on heat), but otherwise her hips and elbows are good and she has no other health issues. I agree you can sometimes end up with a skewed perspective when looking at forums/FB pages etc. because as Jemmy mentioned, a lot of people do come online to solve their problems and look for assistance. However, even though I love them, I would not own a GSD again if I had the choice. Our three are technically my mum's but I am responsible for most of their day-to-day care. I see many GSDs with poor temperaments (including our youngest) and health problems do seem prevalent enough in the breed that I would be very hesitant before ever purchasing one myself.

They sound like a bunch of ferals. It's understandable if the woman has a phobia and got a fright. However, there's no need to start dropping the C word or threatening violence when you as the dog owner, did your best to get a handle on the situation. I've had worse encounters with people's off leash dogs and I've never felt the need to start screaming at their owners. I really don't blame you for giving them the finger.

I think you could certainly manage this without the need for one dog to be PTS. We crate and rotate our two bitches, and while it can be a hassle, they live happily enough without being together. A crate and a baby gate is a life-saver for us. It is certainly stressful when you witness those first serious fights. In all our dog owning years we've never had two dogs fight that severely and on multiple occasions. We did consider re-homing at the beginning, but I've found you do settle into a routine after a while. The only time we would consider re-homing would be if our two bitches suddenly decided to kill each other and no crate or baby gate was going to stop that. Otherwise it's just a matter of organising yourself that you can spend time with them separately.

What a great old man. He looks so content all snuggled up in there.

Our two bitches started fighting once our youngest hit about 18 months, and now they have to be permanently separated. When they are alone (our male dog can open the back door so we have had a few escapes), they are perfectly fine together. However, if people are around they will immediately start to fight. So far it's mostly noise, although we've had a few stitches needed on ears and some small puncture wounds. However, each fight does seem to escalate the aggression and tension between them, and so we really try to keep them away from each other and don't let either of them intimidate the other. Being much bigger dogs than yours, it is incredibly nerve-wracking to have to wade in there and pull them off each other. Hence why it is easier just to keep them away from each other. If they were mine, I'd probably keep them separate if possible until you can get a professional opinion on the matter. Play (especially really excited play) can very easily turn into a fight, and it really looks like poor Bon is trying her best to avoid a confrontation in the video you have posted until she has no choice but to react. Hopefully this is a situation you can resolve, or at least work out how to manage. Our current experience has certainly made me aware of the issues that can exist with two bitches.

I love walking in the rain because most other dog owners are inside. In fact when it starts pouring I have been known to grab one of ours and hurry down to the nearby fenced oval as that is about the only time it is completely free of other dogs :laugh: Although I think I did break some sort of speed record when there was a really violent thunderstorm and I was halfway down our street.

I look back now and think how lucky I was that our previous dog (she was very strong and powerfully built) never did anything with me while I was out walking her. I was about eleven at the time, but have always been very petite. I went everywhere with her and my best friend and thankfully she was a good babysitter. Just recently I saw a very young girl walking a big husky down the main road while there was a festival with lots of people, loud noises, dogs etc. going on in the nearby park. Her mum was with her, but even the best dogs are still dogs and can have their moments. I doubt if that husky had gone after something she would have had the strength to hold it back. What a terrible experience for you and your boy. It's just so terrifying when dogs rush you like that.

That does sound like promising news :) And I wondered the same in regards to the 'fit' with our old girl. I can't imagine how dizzy and disoriented they must be.

Our old kelpie cross had vestibular disease. I came up from the backyard to find her staggering like a drunk around our deck. Her eyes were flickering like crazy, and after a little while, she threw up and then dropped to the ground and started basically paddling on her side like she was trying to run. I thought she was having a seizure, and it was the single most terrifying moment I've had relating to dogs. Sadly she had had problems with her hind legs and back prior to this, and even though her balance improved and her general outlook on life, she lost most of the use of her back end and ended up being put to sleep. I wasn't sure if what she was having a seizure when she was on her side or not, or was related to her balance, but it wasn't any sort of normal behaviour I've seen before.

One of our dogs is on the Wellness Core Ocean Formula as she can get a bit itchy on other foods. We had her on it while she was being biked almost daily to get fit for a show and even with just a couple cups plus some additional meat (kangaroo/salmon), she was keeping her condition nicely. We've had no issues with any of the Wellness dog foods (our other two are on the Original formula) and even our hard-keeper who has a terrible coat is doing great on it.

I wonder if next time she showed up you just had cash ready (however much you were willing/able to spend) and offered to buy the dog outright whether she would sell. Some people will go on and on about how something is worth $xxxx but suddenly if you turn up with cash in hand and are serous about buying, they will sell. However, I would seriously want some sort of bill of sale or document indicating the dog was legally yours if you did end up buying it. Even if by chance she gives it to you. I could see this type of person being one who then turns around and accuses you of 'stealing' her dog and then absconding with both it and the money. Poor dog and what an unfortunate situation for you. It would be hard not to enable her neglectful behaviour when there's a hungry dog in your yard.

Our two girls are great with their nails as they were shown so are very used to being touched all over. Our male hates having his nails done, and of course his are the thickest and fastest growing nails. They are longer than they should be because he jumps and moves around as soon as you touch his feet and the more you try to restrain him, the worse he gets. Because I couldn't stand looking at his atrocious nails any longer and because he has had a solid base of obedience lessons drilled into him, I now have a new method of doing his nails that isn't perfect, but is easier than before. I put him in a stand, stay, and then put something high-value like his squeaky tennis ball on the floor in front of him. He gets one foot done as fast as I can (I agree speed goes a long way to keeping it low stress), and then he gets to have a play with the ball. Then it's back to a stand and stay and the pattern repeats until I manage to do all his feet and then he gets a treat at the end. I just walk away if he starts getting too uncomfortable and then come back again. He really doesn't like the back feet being done so I have to be super fast with those. I find if they are slightly sleepy, you can sometimes sneak in and get a few nails done before they even notice. He is basically inside 24/7 as he hates being outside so his nails don't wear down at all. It's very difficult when they are so opposed to the whole process. We would never make the mistake about not fiddling with feet with our next puppy.

I don't know. I've seen a few show (conformation) German Shepherds who are absolutely nut cases. We own one :laugh: I still think our three would let a stranger in the yard. They might not be happy about it, but I doubt they'd do anything but bark and the only one who would possibly do something is fear-aggressive and as far from 'stable temperament' as you could get. I think many dog owners grossly overestimate what their dogs would do should a stranger come into their yard. Our next door neighbour thought our previous dog was rabid because of the way she barked but it was all talk.

This is my biggest fear with our dogs as we are looking at moving to the country in a few years. My grandparents used to own a farm up in Kinglake and one of their dogs was bitten and killed by a snake. A terrible way to go I've had at least half a dozen close run-ins with snakes but I think they would have to be moving at the speed of light to catch up with me.