Scrappi&Monty

Oh my goodness that's tragic T! Some people are very sick individuals

Off topic.... but; Sounds like maybe since you have had a few issues with them that you subconsciously become paranoid/nervous around them and they pick up on that. You may behave differently to Pembrokes than any other regular dogs by accident. I'm sure perhaps if you wanted you could try some techniques to make yourself more confident around them ("hey you're a human, and they're just little shorties with fluffy butts and silly ears . And you like other dogs, they're no different, you can boss corgis around." I'm sure you can trick yourself into being confident around them and then they might be less feisty?) I used to be terrified of dogs as a little girl, then somewhere along the line I became confident enough that they respected me and didn't act so silly/pushy/scary. I learned how to predict their actions and now I'm a crazy dog lover! I'm sure it could apply to different breeds too. I feel a bit confused around cats because I'm not used to them, but once I get to know them better I'm sure I'd understand them more & like them more.

@mingaling Oh that's a shame you've had such bad experiences with corgis. (Cute photos though haha! Corgis are so weird ) Goes to show it doesn't matter what breed, any dog could be aggressive. (But at the same time not all dogs of a certain breed are aggressive.) Scrappi is thankfully the sweetest, friendliest dog, who knows his boundaries. He is a corgi x terrier; so would have the instincts to herd & chase, and the terrier instincts to "grab & shake" small prey. For some corgi x terriers, this could be a potentially dangerous combo. Some people don't know their dog well enough and would be alarmed when their dog chased after a chicken, cat or a small squealing child. Thankfully Scrappi knows his boundaries, and has never even so much as growled at a human. He "herds" Monty while Monty does zoomies, that's their game. And he tugs and shakes tug toys. But he knows when it's not okay. Same goes for Monty, a staffy type dog, people think his breed is aggressive and dangerous, but he is the most loving sooky cuddlebug I think I've ever met.

Without a GA it would be absolute cruelty!! Ughh makes me feel gross/freaked just thinking about it. The few dogs I've seen getting desexed, when they wake up they are obviously a bit confused, distressed and groggy. Once they woke up properly some of them tried to lick stitches or pull of cones/bandages but I didn't see any of them fussing about their ears. But they all went home pretty soon after recovery.

We feed kibble for breakfast (Black Hawk, Savourlife, Meals For Mutts etc) and Raw for dinner. I'm not sure if it's cheaper to feed the kibble or not, but the kibble we get usually costs around $5/kg (in a 20kg bag) but we feed about 200g a day between the two dogs, so approx $1 a day (I think.) To bulk out the raw a bit you can add fruit/veges, we keep our scraps (carrot peels, strawberry tops, leftover banana, apple scraps etc because they love them )

Maitland/Bolwarra area

Yes it's true that obviously a small dog won't be able to do as much damage to an adult human as a larger dog could, but BSL is proven not to work and definitely people shouldn't assume just because it's a bullmastiff it's dangerous. As most DOLers would agree, there certainly can be some lovely super gentle big dogs and some savage aggressive little dogs. Although little dogs can't do as much damage, they do seem a lot more likely to resort to agression since the owners dismiss it. That's what the general public seem to get mixed up. People assume pitbulls/staffies/rotties/gsd's are aggressive because the media has told them, and they think that giant breeds are aggressive because they are big, and they assume that small fluffy dogs are friendly because they are cute and little and fluffy.

Are you near us? Cool

@Maddy I know, I feel like it should hurt... I don't think I'd ask to get it done if I had a dog that needed to be desexed, but if it was standard procedure I wouldn't mind that much. Yes, the crunching sound is absolutely disgusting & made me squirm haha.

Imagine the vets if they accidentally went in to neuter what they thought was an "entire" dog and finding out they were prosthetic. (Although they probably look a bit different & have a scar ??)

@mackiemad Yes, I've heard it's compulsory in some states (QLD?) but it isn't in NSW I don't think... Though Scrappi was from SAFE Carnarvon (WA) and Monty was from a NSW RSPCA shelter. Maybe it's just RSPCA protocol. @Papillon Kisses What do you mean? I'm a bit confused what you meant. The desexing surgeries I've watched, they didn't tattoo the boys but they tattooed the girls while they were being spayed (& still under GA. They use a little sharp "stamp" thing to sort of poke holes and then put ink in it... looked gross but apparently they don't care when they wake up. @Scottsmum That makes sense. I know 6th (last) year vet students have to do a certain amount of time working in the uni spay/neuter clinic. (Also some uni's they get to do a c-section on a cow! )

Just curious about spay/neuter tattoos... Our 2nd male rescue dog Monty came to us already neutered and he has a tattoo in his ear. Scrappi also was neutered when we adopted him but he doesn't have a tattoo. I've always been curious as to why they would bother doing it on a male dog? And if many other people's dogs have this? I mean it's reasonably obvious to see whether he's entire or not, and most people would just check to see if a dog has testicles rather than look in their ear for a tattoo...? I know female dogs are often tattooed when they get spayed which makes sense. Also thinking would they possibly tattoo if the dog was a crypt orchid or something?

Oh that would be absolutely horrific. She'd be traumatised!

What an awful dreadful horrible tradgedy.

I can't remember exactly sorry, but somewhere between $60-$90. Usually visits cost more than that with the addition of medicines, vaccines or tests. When my dog needed follow up consults and weekly injections our vet only charged us for the initial consult fee, and the cost of the injections/screenings. We have a tiny local vet clinic in a semi-rural town. (Across the bridge from a regional "city")

Ohh I see, that's good you're feeding a balanced raw diet. I'm not sure of the health consequences of feeding only chook frames, but I don't think it would be ideal at all for the reasons sandgrubber said. On the occasion that we've run out of meat/organ meals, I have fed my dogs raw chicken bones for dinner a few days in a row (with kibble for breakfast), even that makes them constipated with small hard white feces. (Which, TMI, but if their poops are too hard it can cut/rip the skin on their anus causing it to bleed) I've heard of pups with bone development issues due to excess calcium or not enough calcium or the incorrect ratios. I wouldn't risk it with pups under the age of 2 I don't think... In my opinion, it's always best, for humans, dogs and any animal, to switch up what they consume. (Like they say; Too much of a good thing.) IMO, dogs shouldn't be fed solely on one type of food day in day out. Variety is key and it doesn't hurt to switch things up. Ours get a high quality kibble for breakfast most days and raw for dinner (chook bones, lamb meat, beef mince, rabbit BARF patties, hearts, livers, kidney, fish BARF patties, Roo BARF patties, pork meat etc.) and they get little extras sometimes too (tinned fish, suitable scraps from our meat/veg/fruit, eggs, a tiny bit of yoghurt/cottage cheese sometimes, coconut oil, treats etc.)

They'll get WAY too much calcium from my understanding, and it will make them constipated & have blockages... They need a balanced raw diet, have a Google and do some research for a more in depth answer. Look up "Raw feeding dogs calcium phosphorus ratio" that's a handy page. Also pawfectlyrawsome and raw4dogs. Also growing puppies need a perfectly balanced diet or else they might develop issues and their bones may grow wrong.

What's with you and lattes as an insult?

Ask your boss what kind of lifestyle they'd have with the dog, so there's more to narrow it down to. - How many walks a week? And how far? - Will they be going to dog training classes? - Can they deal with jumping, nipping, pulling on lead, crazy puppy? Have they researched training? Otherwise maybe a mellow adult?

Not sure if this is what all labs are like, but end of last year my younger cousins bought their first dog, a lab pup. (He's about 10 months old now) He is HYPER! He is obedient and will sit when you tell him, especially if treats are involved (that's why he's Mr Chubby) but he's bloody full of beans! Everyone is onstantly going "Sit", "ouch/no", "off" etc etc. while trying to have a chat. He looses it with excitement when guests come, (even us) he zooms around and jumps up and nips. I thought "he needs to get some energy out, let's go play fetch" we played for a bit, it was a pretty unstructured interpretation of fetch But it was all going well, until he ran up, dropped the toy, and just chomped me on the hand..! Which isn't great as he is a teenage dog and they've been trying hard to teach him not to do that but he just can't contain himself. And it does hurt now that he's a 30kg teenager! I haven't been around him long enough for him to settle properly though, I'm sure he's very good when he settles. Makes me relieved I have adult dogs! (and mine are pretty chilled by nature) I'm sure most labs aren't quite as hyper, but I'd personally not get one as a first dog. (Lab people correct me on this) unless they have a pretty big yard and are ready for lots of big walks & dog training classes. Plus if they wanted small to medium, Labs are pretty large.

Haha @Maddy I know your pain The creativity and lengths we have to go to for these cunning dogs haha! Yesterday I wrapped Scrappi's Interceptor in a tiny piece of smoked salmon... Spoilt I tell you!! (It did the job though thankfully)

A lady from our local pet supplies store reccomended this supplier, I hadnt ever even heard of him but he sells all sorts of things for really cheap prices and only lives up the road. We got some lamb chunks (bone in and really meaty) for $3.50/kg, and 5kg of beef mince as well. Very good prices! They are in Lorn, NSW (near Maitland, 40mins from Newcastle)

Looks great!! Very clever!

None of the suppliers will ship to our area, or any areas that our family live in either. Today though I was speaking to the lady at the pet shop and I bought some Big Dog BARF, she mentioned that there's a guy in our very small town (not where the pet shop is) that: a) Sells meat for prey model raw and b) Breeds boerboels I'm so surprised I haven't ever heard of someone who sells raw in our area, let alone in our small town, and I've certainly never seen a boerboel I don't think haha!

Thanks Persephone Found some Neotopic-H that was thankfully not expired, and used that, I didn't realise it could be used for cuts, I'll keep that for future reference!