Animal House

Nekhbet and Cosmolo are both recommended behaviorists from this forum. Send them a message. Easy. Do you want their phone numbers messaged to your inbox?

Did you get her from Staffy Rescue? Personally, I'd steer clear of anyone who calls themselves "Dog Whisperer", and go with someone who has experience and many recommendations. A fully qualified behaviorist who dealt with my Staffy and is a respected member on here is someone to consider at least. PM me if you want her contact details anyway, I did leave them in my other post. Nekhbet is my recommendation. Actually, after watching that video, yes, I would recommend you keep them separate and get onto a behaviorist asap. Is your backyard escape proof? It looks very open.

You definitely need to jump on this situation now, as she could well turn on Astro and you end up with both dogs dead/injured. Did you know she was aggressive when you took her on? Any chance you can return her to where she came from? For now, separate your two, and never leave them alone together. If you walk her, make sure she cannot get offlead (maybe muzzle her) and don't take her visiting unless she is onlead at all times, this should reduce any incidents until you work out what your going to do with her. I'd not rehome an aggressive dog, I think its just passing the buck. A good behaviourist should come out to assess her in your home (and from personal experience with my own Staffy I'd recommend NEKHBET a member on here) Then I'd go with her advice. Good luck.

You need to spend time training her not to jump. Before you even think of getting another dog, because she will be even more riled up and excited with another dog to chase/play with. With another dog around, it will make it very hard to train her and you may well have 2 misbehaving giant breeds. Please reconsider getting another dog right now, and put some training into this one. Or pay for a behaviorist to come and show you how to do it.

To be honest, with a baby due in 10 weeks, I wouldn't take on another giant breed of dog. Especially one that is costing so much. Newfies are lovely dogs, but it means twice the food, twice the grooming/exercise, twice the vets fees. I'd wait, and look for another breed, or even Newfie rescue in 6 months or so if you still want another dog.

Your post had me all teary. It's so hard to lose them, especially when they are babies. Fly free Spike.

He looks like a really cheeky character, how did Zephyr take to him?

May just be he doesn't like the dark, my staffy barks when I let her out at night for a wee break, pretty much without fail. She's a scaredy cat though. Maybe you could put a sensor light on out the back, so it comes on once it's dark? Might help.

A good update to hear PA. Sometimes, we just need to take a step back and not over think the situation. Especially when they are still puppies, and the world is their playground....just enjoy the craziness and fun stuff that pups are all about... like sniffing the grass, pouncing on shadows, doing zoomies, and then crashing and sleeping upside down. :

I instantly bonded with Charlie (my rescue boy who I adopted when he was 2). With Minty (I adopted her as a pup from an interstate rescue) it was a bit slower. It took a few months to connect, but she loves everyone, especially males, and would easily go off with one I'm sure. With my cat, I haven't really bonded yet, and I think I know why. (Long story but anyway). I had a ginger cat as a kid growing up, he was my best friend, mate, everything from age 11. He was a feral but I tamed him, he was part of my family, he would sleep in my bed and call out my name (trust me, his meow sounded like my first name ) if I forgot to let him in my room at night. He lived a long, happy life, and I miss him to this day. So when I saw 3 ginger kittens being advertised on Dol for adoption, I asked the rescuer which one would suit me. She suggested this one, as the other was a bit of a wild child. In hindsight, I think I should have met the kittens, and then made the decision myself, as sometimes, you don't bond with any of them. Now even though I haven't really bonded with him, I do love him to bits, hes a bit of a nutter, he is very dog like, he fetches things, he sleeps on my head if I let him, and he lets the neighborhood know if he is hungry, trust me, his meowing at food time makes sure he gets fed earlier every day. I think I was expecting the same feeling I had with my childhood cat, and I didn't get it. Because he was my heart cat. But in saying that, I wouldn't re-home him, I think in time he will grow on me.....he loves to be with me, hes on me, hes following me, he wants to be where I am, doing what Im doing, and that in itself probably makes it harder for me, as I like my space. Anyway, the point I was trying to make was I think sometimes if we get a puppy/cat/dog without meeting with them first to see if we bond, it's a fairly big chance we take. I think when we mourn the loss of another pet, and then try to replace them, we naturally make comparisons between the new one & the old one, and if we expect to feel the same about them, then we are setting ourselves up for disappointment. So if/when I eventually get another dog when one of mine passes, I will be meeting the pup in person and choosing one myself. However long it takes.

Thanks for the reminder Steve, I managed to win a lovely auction on Ebay.

Run free at the bridge Tiy. I'm sure she will be up there with your Mum now Perse.

You think that's a kick? It's a question about a situation the OP put to a forum. I'm interested to know if Jazzy changed or the OP's perception of Jazzy changed. My friend is removing a 10 month female because it almost killed an older dog - eventhough my friend knew the bitch's genetic potential / predisposition from the outset. These scenarios and the ruminations of the dog's owners interest me. What you call a kick I call data collection. I think 'data' collection at this time is a bit insensitive. I'd put down my Staffy if she killed my other dog as well, no qualms about it. It would mean she crossed the line between being trustworthy or not. I truly couldn't think of her as the same lovable dog anymore.

I made my dog run out of mesh panels (from our local hardware/Bunnings) and star pickets, it's not going anywhere either, sturdy as. I had to make mine a bit higher though, as Minty jumps 5 foot easily. The gal fencing panels on Ebay look much sturdier than the mesh ones though. Another option is to buy (depending on what height you need it) the temporary fencing (cyclone) that is used around building sites, but that is a bit more exy.

How awful for you and your family. Unfortunately, dogs will sometimes do this (one of mine was all set to do the other one in) and it's only luck that I was there to stop it. Run free Jazz and Odie.

Is there any way we can start a petition about this? I'm guessing someone with the appropriate qualifications (Casowner? ) would be a good one to provide the info on how wrong this is for the animal?

Very disturbing to think someone can keep a paralyzed wild animal like that. I hope he is humanely put to sleep, the quicker the better, can't imagine how stressed the poor thing is. It's quite sickening to see the photos of him dressed up, I cringe when I see people with dogs dressed up and treated like kids, let alone one of our native animals.

I'm really sorry to hear that. Run free Neil.

Sorry, I posted when you were posting. Can you get a referral to a recommended pediatrician first? He/she can then do appropriate tests and go from there. A psychologist could miss something medical if you go to them first.

It does sound like he has no "Stop" button, and the "lack of empathy" definitely is a cause for concern. I would get him to a child pediatrician (who specialises in behavioral issues) and go from there. Please keep the animals away from him (for their sake as well as his) as most dogs won't put up with being squeezed too tight, and you wouldn't want him being bitten. I feel for you, but don't take on board "boys will be boys" rubbish.

I'm sorry to hear that. Can you get in touch with her breeder you bought her from? I'm pretty sure it's genetic, and if that's the case, maybe that's why they wanted to rehome this dog? Either way, the breeder needs to know about it, so they don't knowingly breed dogs with this again. The outcome for severe cases isn't so good.

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/on...ed-with-owner/1

Beautiful boy, run free Kuga. for you HFB.

Sorry, double post.

It's a tough call. The dog may have had pups, been ill, having a hard time keeping weight on, or they could be neglecting her. Maybe keep an eye on her if you can, and if things go down hill, call the rspca and ask them to check on the dog? I've got a Staffy who can lose weight (and get quite ribby) in a couple of days, she has food/skin allergies, and trying to keep the balance right is really hard. Plus the fact that she doesn't sit still for very long, she'd play ball all day if she could. At the moment, she is a bit light on (and all muscle) because I was trying her on a new dog food that was recommended for dogs with allergies (mixing it in with her Optimum) and that set her back in a matter of 3-4 days. I don't think I'd like it if someone came to my door and said my dog was too skinny, but if they started up a conversation about Staffies/my dogs in general, and in a roundabout way asked if they were naturally lean dogs, I'd be more than happy to explain why she is a bit ribby. Good luck with it, it is nice to know there are people looking out for dogs, because for every person who says "mind your own business it might just have whelped etc etc", there is a dog out there who no one notices or cares who is severely neglected...just look in the rescue section.