Kirra_Bomber_Zeus

What are satin balls? This rings some faraway bell in my mind.....but I dont remember exactly what they are!

I've never had a fussy dog before either - it's totally thrown me :rolleyes: Yep, Zeus has gone for several days without eating - I wasnt taking the food away but it was all still there when I went to feed the next meal. I put the next meal down and he gives it a sniff and walks away! However, last night, he decided to eat almost all of his dinner. Maybe he heard us talking about taking his food away

Weellll ... maybe I did a geeky experiment too... 3 parts morning fresh, 7 parts water. At first it sucked but then I read another site and it said its gets better the longer you leave it and keep it in an airtight container. I did this yesterday and today its AWESOME!! Ok.. enough getting excited about bubbles now Awesome Now....if I can just get some photos as good as yours...then I'll be happy

Ahaha! Bubble recipe! Totally geeky..... <runs off to google bubble recipes immediately>

OMG. Coloured bubbles. Most. Awesome. Idea. ;) I have gotten thoroughly over excited about the bubble machine - looked at the Big W website and discovered there is only one store that still has some. Luckily they are near me. Im about to call them to explain why it is vitally important they put one aside so I can come in and pick it up. I'm picturing 2 scenarios - either Zeus will be more excited than ever before, or, I'll be prancing around in the bubbles convincing him its the most exciting thing ever while he stands there giving me 'the look'.

Really? I'll get the vet to check that out, thanks. He has definitely been more lethargic than normal, especially in the mornings when he yawns constantly and droops around the house.

Ooh I hadn't thought of something like that. Although, he does seem to still dig up old bones he has lying around and chew those?

Gorgeous photos!! That's it, I'm getting a bubble machine. Zeus will stand for hours waiting for drips of water to fall off the roof so he can catch them so I'll work on the assumption that he will thoroughly enjoy a bubble machine Hold up - anniek - bacon and chicken flavoured bubbles????? I gotta get me some of those!

Tilly that made me laugh - I love it. I can picture it and it sounds like you really outsmarted him Yes, persephone that is true, he cant graze if it's not there all the time - I'm sure he will quickly learn there is an allocated time for eating! and... I will no longer have to sound like some idiot trying to convince him to eat "its yummy I promise! Go-on have a sausage!" Seriously, how embarrassing, if I saw someone else pleading with their dog to eat like I've seen myself do I would tell them to get their head read!

Thanks guys You're probably right about the warm weather too - I hadnt really considered that because my other dog gobbles her food up no matter what...but that's just the way she always is. He doesnt seem to have had any changes in behaviour really, although, there have been days where he does seem really tired - but in this humid horrible weather I've felt like that myself - and hes always back to normal a few days later doing zoomies around the back yard and bouncing about in his shell pool. And yes - I probably have given him too much choice and variety I will give the taking the food away after 10 minutes and fasting for a day a go and see if it changes his mind. He always used to be a gobbler, but I have noticed after it became necessary to keep my 2 dogs separated at all times due to fighting he started 'grazing' instead - I guess because theres no threat that any other dog will be taking his food if he walks away for hours at a time! It probably wouldnt hurt for him to go in for a check up at the vet anyway, so I'll take him along and make sure it's a mental thing, not a physical thing

Hi all I haven't posted for a loooooong time but I'm hoping someone might be able to help me out with some ideas here - or tell me whether I need to stress over it! I've fed my dogs on a raw diet (meat, veggies, fish etc etc) for about 8 years and all has been fine, however, over the last few months my 2 year old Amstaff has decided he doesnt want to eat ANYTHING I offer him other than biscuits. I haven't fed any type of biscuits to him ever, but in a desperate attempt to figure out what he would eat I gave some a go - now he refuses to eat anything else. After he stopped eating raw meat (and this includes chicken, beef, pork, lamb, goat, roo, veal, camel and probably others Im forgetting, minced or chopped as well as chicken legs which he used to love, any type of fish - canned or fresh) or vegetables of any description, I started trying anything else - I've tried lightly cooking the meat, I've bought every flavour of the 4 Legs balls, "Chunkers", the 4 Legs meat roll, another brand of meat and veggie type stuff in something that looks like a meat tray - the name of it escapes me right now, sausages (really fatty I know, but I was getting desperate) and then, finally, biscuits. Some of the things he would eat on the first day....then after that..nope. The thing is, he doesnt seem to be losing any weight, in fact, it looks to me like he's really starting to fill out and other people keep commenting that he's looking bigger. I'm honestly not sure whether Im just over reacting and I shouldnt be too concerned, if he's not showing any signs of deteriorating health, and just keep feeding him biscuits while offering other stuff to see if he goes for it for now or whether to try and get to the bottom of it. I havent taken him in to the vet or anything like that yet - simply because he doesnt seem to be in poor health - in fact to look at him he looks in great health - maybe even a little too plump if anything. And I kind of pictured myself going into the vet saying "erm, he's really healthy, but he's just too fussy" and getting 'the look'

Awwww they are all beautiful!

Its amazing how many people believe this one - and just cant be convinced that its rubbish! Sometimes it makes me wonder what people think happens if an APBT is crossbred with another dog - does it retain its so called 'locking jaws' then? I completely understand your reluctance to get into an argument with your boss on the issue After 5 or 6 years of explaining the 'myths' to people over and over again I get so so tired. It makes me really sad and I wish I knew where to go next to help educate more people.

Thanks

Great - thanks for the info Nekhbet

Really? I was under the impression that at his age he shouldnt go under anesthetic unless absolutely necessary? I discussed it with a vet at one stage (having him desexed) and they were of the opinion that it would make no difference now? Maybe though if it is his hormones going a bit crazy it would help - maybe they were referring to the learned mounting behavior...

Aha - I hadnt thought of that - good idea! Thanks - I will do!

Definitely just depends on the dog - my girl needs to eat much more than my male who weighs more than her to maintain her weight. My male puts on weight really easily, so he gets less. Sometimes it takes a while to get it right, you just need to muck around with the amount of food a bit

I havent heard about the implant? Can you tell me about it? The reason we're not getting him desexed is because we think he's a little old to put him through an 'unnecessary' operation. He most definitely should have been desexed many years ago but we were inexperienced dog owners all those years ago and just didnt do it.

Really? Interesting - she doesnt see many other dogs other than her 'family' so Im not sure whether other dogs would try and mount her or not. The only other dog she sees is my Mums dog on occassion (and he tries to mount everything in sight anyway - she doesnt normally worry about him as he's only 3kgs and can only attach himself to her leg )

Hmmm, maybe there is another dog around - all of our neighbours have dogs - although he mostly does it when she's inside, not out (unless he can still smell them?) She tolerates it for a while from the older dog (because she only has to lift a lip at him when she's had enough and he'll stop trying to mount her and just whine next to her) she doesnt tolerate it at all from the younger dog - and there has already been a few fights

How exciting for you Good on you for asking questions before you get her too We have an SBT too and yes, generally they dont like to be left at home alone - however, we too live in the real world and have to work We have 2 other dogs as well so Kirra isnt really left 'alone' during the day, but I know other people who just have the 1 and they seem to do fine. Research some good enrichment toys for her to give her something to do during the day. I think someone else mentioned a dog walker too? We have one that comes twice a week - and I think its money well spent - I like knowing they have something to look forward to in the middle of their day I wish I could afford to have her come everyday - however, with 3 dogs its a bit too costly If you havent had a dog before it might be worth having a chat to a good dog behaviourist for some tips on successfully integrating your new dog with your son. I dont have children, but if I did I would do this - (although Im in the opposite situation as you - i know a fair amount about dogs but next to nothing about kids ) Better to be armed with as much info as possible and have someone you can yell 'help!' to if you need it (Ive got three dogs and Ive still had to yell 'help' when we got our most recent puppy ) Good luck with your choice - and please post some puppy pics if you do get her!

Hi all Wondering if anyone knows or can give me an opinion: My female Kirra is 6 years old, she was sterilized 5 and 1/2 years ago. My oldest dog Bomber (he is 11) 'freaks out' around her every so often (seems to be sometimes once a month, sometimes every couple of months) he basically acts how I would think he would act if she was on heat. He continuously tries to mount her, whines constantly, pants all the time and is just really restless. This goes on for about 3 or 4 days then everything is back to normal. Its happening again at the moment, but now we also have Zeus who is 8 months old - he is also trying to mount her (not a good thing at all because they are already tetchy with each other at the moment and when he does it they end up fighting). BUT Kirra has also has had bad allergies since she was a pup (allergies are mostly under control but sometimes they flare up due to weather changes etc). Im wondering whether the behavior by the boys is bought on purely by her allergies, or if she could be giving off some sort of scent when she would normally go on heat if she hadnt been sterilized, and even whether her hormones still change at this time and maybe this sets off her allergies..... Oh, and Zeus is sterilized, Bomber is not. Hope that rambling post makes some sense!

Good news Enjoy your new guy - they grow up so fast! My new pup was 4kg 4 months ago, now he's 20kg ;) Oh, and how about uploading some pics of your pups for us? ;)

I agree - you have a situation coming up that will force your dog to share you (and a new baby in the house will change your relationship with your dog too - once again, not because you dont love your dog, but because you will need to devote lots of time to the baby) Everyone has commented that my middle dog has actually become much less 'clingy' since we bought home the new pup (and I dont mean that she has distanced herself from me, she just doesnt get as stressed as she used to when Im not paying her attention). So maybe it was me that needed to let go a little bit... ;)