bex

Myszka, I'm really getting tired of your patronising attitude towards me, so this will be my last post on this topic. You appear to have a self-inflated opinion of yourself and cannot accept anothers point of view. You appear to be missing my point entirely about everything and seem to want to "test" my knowledge and discourage me from doing something because you seem to think you have ALL the knowledge on EVERYTHING and I couldn't possibly know what I'm getting myself into. I believe your last question is actually very presumptous and patronising; I didn't think about what I wanted to do BEFORE I got the dog. Stuff you pal!!! You know nothing about me, and frankly I ddon't give a stuff about what you did with you dogs. I shouldn't dignify your remarks with an answer as I don't have to justify to anyone any decisions I have made, however, for the benefit of other people who read this thread and may take the same patronising attitude as you towards me, because of you patronising remarks, I will clarify the process I took to getting the pup I have now. I wanted a second dog about three years ago. I already had a staffy which I take to agility, but is really my OH's dog and I felt that I wanted a dog of my very own. Also the situation was right to get a second dog and seeing as my staffy is perfectly behaved already, I thought it would be a nice addition to the family. So, I began my quest for a new dog about 3 years ago. Originally, I wanted another Staffy, but my hankering for a large dog and the challenge that that entailed overcame me (I have previously owned GSD's). So basically I formed a checklist of what I wanted in a dog and what would fit in with our active life style. I basically was just after a pet and at that time had not considered showing or doing shutzhund. I decided on the DDB about 12 months ago and then started looking around for a breeder and a pup. I finally found the right breeder and had my name down on a pup from a particular litter. Once I started talking to the breeder and his mentor, they could see how interested and devoted I was to the dogs and encouraged me to perhaps look into showing the dog and in the future perhaps breeding. I have previously shown my aunty's silky terriers, but never my own dogs.The breeder ended up losing the bitch that I was supposed to get my pup from, so said he would give me the pick of the litter from the next litter, which is the male I have now. Considering the amount of money he cost and the fact that the breeder thinks that he is turning into a very nice dog, has made start to think seriously that showing and breeding is something I want to get into and something that I can very well get into with this dog. As for the thought of doing schutzhund, it wasn't until I decided on the breed that I happened upon some info on shutzhund. At that time I thought that it was very possible that I could train my new pup in the sport as I had seen other breeds such as labs in other states doing it. It wasn't until a month ago when I posted this topic that I actually started looking into seriously and hence found that there is not a club near me that will train "any" breed. I hope this clarifys everything for you your highness!!! As I said earlier, this will be my last post on this topic as I am sick and tired of being patronised by you. Actually this will be my last post on DOL for a while as I am tired of the whole thing at the moment. There are way too many people on here that have their head up their own asses and can't smell the elbow from the roses. Perhaps when people have removed their heads from said asses and come back to reality I may post again. You're wrong... dogs protect reources, territory and pack mates, as well as themselves... look it up. He sees me as the pack mate that provides the resources / alpha dog. He is protecting "the pack" - which is me and my family and also the territory, therefore I believe I have an excellent guard. P.S. You don't know everything. I can accept that I don't have all the knowledge, but have you done a four year university degree in zoology and parasitology including a focus on animal behaviour???

I think I know the difference between a fearful dog and one that is showing guarding ability. Perhaps you have never had a strong bond with any of your dogs for it to show this behaviour at a young age?? Actually, he is virtually fearless. He will go up to any dog of any size and say hello. He will go up to any person. He will investigate anything he's unsure of, he even jumped in a pool when I called him in, without even seeing one before. The behaviour he is showing is this. Basically he is my shadow and will sit on my feet when we stop somewhere and when he's inside with me. He will bark at anyone who comes to the gate and will actually stand between myself and another person when we are out. He is a little aloof with strangers, but once he sees that I am ok with them he goes over for cuddles. When standing on the front lawn I had a neighbour approach us and begin to talk to me. He stood up and moved across in front of me and began barking at the neighbour. Once I told him to sit and settle he stopped barking and as soon as the neighbour approached him and said his name he became a big waggly bum He does not appear to be aggressive at all. He is neither animal aggressive nor human aggressive and has virtually no fear! He is even very gentle with my two siamese cats, and has contact with young children. I have never had a dog with as little fear as he does. Which can be a bit of a pain sometimes as I have to watch what he gets into. But it is very clear to other people that I am his master and that he will protect me - which is just by barking and putting himself between me and the "intruder".

Hey Kavik, I can't get another dog - we don't have enough room. So if I did want another dog to do schutzhund than I would have to get rid of one I've already got or buy a new house with more land! But yes, in the future I am planning on moving to acreage and ceratinly planning on getting more dogs!! Phatdex, I'm in Brissy, a little out of K9's way! Myszka, .Yes, certainly after I had got some instruction and was feeling comfortable with it I could certainly look into doing it myself. I don't know yet he's only 4 months old! Yes, I enjoy the comradarie that a club provides and the information and experiences of other members. Yes, I know I can do ob and tracking in any club, as I pointed out earlier am not an idiot and also that I just want to join a sch club. Obviously that's what I intend on doing once he's a little older and I work out exactly what I want to do with him. But since I joined this forum, I thought I had just as much right to get "worked up" about something as every other person on this forum who starts threads about things that have annoyed them! No he's only 4 months old. But as soon as I feel he's ready that is the first thing I will be doing. I also have to decide fairly shortly, whether I will show him or not. Hence the reson why I am looking into this now whilst he's still young. I guess the fact that there is no available club will decide it for me. Why can't I have a whinge??? If you don't want to listen then don't. There are other people who will have a whinge along with me! Would love to see a clip.... I don't know just what he's capable of yet, cos as I said he's only 4 months old. Mentally he looks promising. He has drive and is obedient and intelligent, has a natural tendency to guard and be protective of me already, but has a little spunky attitude as well. Whether he turns out to have the physical or mental ability is anyones guess. I guess my whole point is that I wanted to have the oppurtunity to see or not. I have seen sch before and I do know whats entailed... it seems like you think I have no idea about what is required both pysically and mentally. I am aware of what sch is all about, I'm not just a gung-ho cowboy!

Myszka, I don't have the money for this sort of thing and as said before am not ONLY interested in the bite work. As is the case with agility (if you have the equipment) and obedience, however, I wish to do as part of a club. As is the case with agility and obedience. But you do benefit from others experience whether they be volunteers or not. Because I'd be a paying member .... duh!!! Why do you think any sort of dog club exists?? You think it's just from all the awards their students win??? I don't think so!! This is too expensive and I would be certainly not willing to go off by myself with a sleeve with no prior instructions... thats how idiots are born! Costs of personal trainers yes. Look this thread was just me having a bleet about being disappointed. I would like to know this too. I personally think that if someone wants to teach their dobe to do earth dog comps than good on em! Why do we have to keep specifically with what the breed was designed for in the first place, when the breeds have changed so much over the years anyway (debates on working dog vs show dog "tyoes" pop into mind). Who cares..... if you want to do something with your pet... do it. I've seen SWF at agility that certainly aren't good by any stretch of the imagination, but they're having fun and the owner is having fun and they're bonding. Who am I to say who can do what? And what difference does it make really??? Is the world going to stop spinning because a bul terrier successfully herded sheep into a pen??? If the dog can do it, then great!!! Well my dog isn't going to be anywhere near 120kg!!! That is one massive dog!!! My dog will end up prolly around 70 kg. And you're forgetting that the strike on the decoy is not necessarily to do with the size of the animal at all!! I've seen small amstaffs in the US hit harder than a large GSD. The saliva!!!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!! Any decoy that can't handle a little saliva shouldn't be doing it. Of course his hips would be of upmost concern to me and I would never put his health in danger. What about all those GSD's with poor hips doing it??? I would never consider doing it unless I thought that my dog was capable and not suffering. That would be more likely something that you could tell whilst you were doing it. Once again, no sh*t!!! I am aware that just because I want to do it, doesn't mean that the dog is suitable, I'm not 12 years old! My point is that I am not going to have the oppurtunity to even see if he is capable because I can't get into a club to be assessed. Kavik, Well sooner or later someone had to come up with this one . Because I don't want to get rid of a much loved member of the family just so I can get another dog that may or may not have the abiltiy to do something I want to do. Otherwise I could move house and suburb.. another hour away from work, so I had enough land to get another dog just so I could do something that I may or may not actually be any good at doing. Kavik, my point is that I should be able to at least try out with the dog I have, just like people in other states!!!

Because I can. Who are you to question why I want to do something? I currently train my other dog in agility and have constantly been told I should compete, but I have never competed and I don't wish to. Has anyone ever heard of doing something just for the sheer enjoyment and satisfaction??? Life is not a competition and I choose to have fun with my dog. If I choose not to compete than thats my business and I don't have to justify that to anyone. I don't want to miss out on any side. I enjoy watching the sport .... I want to participate like people in other states can, even though they don't have the "right" breed. Why is that so hard for you to understand?? Say you like netball, but you're not eligible to play, so someone says to you here you can have the ball we use but you can't use the court or the rules or the other players. Do you think you'd feel a bit shafted that you got the half-assed version of the sport??? Surely you can't honestly believe that there are no people out there who misunderstand the sport. Why then are dogs trained in sch in some states considered dangerous dogs??? Why then the big rigmarole on what the sport is exactly like on websites??? Surely you can see that if more people participated in the sport, then it would gain greater understanding in the general public. No sh*t!!! Obviously I know what is entailed in the sport because I have an interest in it and have researched it, not like other "drop kicks". So explain to me why any dog can compete in a herding comp, even when they aren't a herding breed??? And a utility dog is not a WORKING dog??? My breed is counted in the utility breeds. Well, obviously!!! That's exactly my point. Any dog can try out in agility, herding, fly ball, tracking etc but it doesn't mean that they are going to be particularly good at it. So why the different rules for some sch clubs??? At least people get the oppurtunity to do something with their dog and bond with them on a different level! Why is it so hard for anyone to understand that I am extremely interested in the sport and so hence would love to be able to train my dog in it, but am disappointed that there are no clubs in Brisbane that allow for different breeds. I don't give a stuff about the individual clubs, they can do what they want. I'm just bloody disappointed.

This is my sentiments exactly!!! So what if I can't compete here - don't they think that by opening up the sport to other breeds, people might gain a better understanding of the sport, and hence there will less issues with the sport being called an "attack dogs sport". Just wanted to have whinge about it, because there appears to be no clubs in my area willing to train any breed!

Was not talking about trialing... I know why you can't trial a different breed. Was just talking about training them in the sport... you know for the enjoyment and satisfaction of it.

Puppy food is find to give to an adult dog, as long as the adult dog is not overweight or verging on overweight. Puppy food just has extra proteins and fats, some also have extra calcium. Since Bondi, has such a trim figure and is very active, feeding her a good quality puppy food may be just the ticket! Have you tried Royal Canin?? It is a bit more expensive but is excellent!! For a cheaper alternative, try Supercoat or Bonnie.

Ok, so I have a response back from the club about this issue, just in case anyone was interested, which no one really appears to be!! "Our Club's constitution prevents us from accepting other breeds. Our club considers itself very focused on active member participation toward the goal of trialing both locally and Nationally in sport of Schutzhund so we only accept dogs that can trial under AUS rules. Different Clubs may have different policies. " So there is one other local club who I have checked with, but looks like those clubs that are really focused on excellence in this sport will only accept the breeds that can compete. Fair enough I guess!! A pity for those interested in the sport that don't own one of the required breeds, though! Not everyone wants to compete, but that is the clubs prerogative, I guess!

I didn't think there was any herding in shutzhund ?

I contacted a brisbane shutzhund training club and was referrred to this website: http://www.dogs4sale.com.au/Schutzhund.htm and was told that I would find the list of eligible dogs, which I have posted. I didn't know that you could do just certain "parts" of the training. Perhaps I will contact this club again to clarify. It did appear that the only dogs in this club were GSD's from the pics on their website.

I wash mine about once a week. The staffy soemtimes gets two baths a week in aloveen for her skin and this perseverance has made all the difference! I usually bath when they get smelly - slobby and rolling in dirt. P.S. Dogs don't get "sweaty" - they don't sweat - that's why they pant!

Hi Guys, Now I understand fundamentally why certain breeds will perform better than others in this sport, but why have they put a restriction on breeds that are eligible to be trained?? If dogs are assessed as to their capabilites in the sport already, then why can't they open it up to all large breeds (for example) and assess eligibility on case by case basis?? For example why couldn't any of the mastiff breeds be involved in shutzhund?? I'm sure there would be some dogs out there of different breeds who would be quite capable of achieving good results in this sport. For those who don't know these are the only breeds eligible for Shutzhund training; BREEDS ELIGIBLE FOR SCHUTZHUND TRAINING German Shepherd Dog, Boxer, Dobermann, Rottweiler, Giant Schnauzer, Airedale Terrier, Bouvier Des Flandres, Hovawart, Belgian Shepherd (Groendael, Malinois, Tervueren, Laekenois), Berger de Beauce, Berger de Brie, Berger Des Pyrenees A Face Rase, Berger Des Pyrenees A Museau Normal, Berger Picard, Lapinkoira, Suomenpystykorva. Bex

I washed my long-haired GSD once a week for 12 years with Martha Gardners Wool Mix. It was actually the only stuff that I could work through his coat properly. And it would have cost me a fortune to use a commercial dog shampoo brand to wash him, as I used to have to use so much on him. He had a beautiful shiny coat, and never once had a flea or skin problem.

Thx very much, guys!! Am currently buying mince from Pet Cafe - which is expensive. Wanted to move to a BARF diet for my staffy, before I get my Dogue de bordeaux pup in January. Breeder feeds them barf diet, so wanted to get into the habit of it!!