piperspal

I walk 4 dogs at once, ranging from 45kgs down to about 4kgs. My pet hate is owners who let thier dogs run up to mine, even while mine are on lead, and then say 'Oh dont worry about him.her, he's friendly, he just wants to play with yours.'. My usual reply? 'I wouldnt worry about the dogs if i was you, its the owner thats gonna hurt your dog if he comes any closer....' They usually put thier dog ona lead after that....

Bought a tear to my eye, what a well written article.

I would rather they put thier money and resources into dealing with the hoons that come around at ungodly hours doing burnouts, I find them more annoying than barking dogs, as well as more dangerous.

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/ipad/barking...m-1226021308492 Now I think they have gone too far, they're dogs, for crying out loud, barking is what they do. For some of us its the reason we have them, as a deterrant to coming in the yard. However mine (AFAIK) would not b e considered a problem, in that they are walked every day, well socialised and shut up when told to. If they dont, I know something is seriously up in the street and will go and investigate.

From my own observations as a step mum to a young adult who was given everything he wanted as a way of easing his parents guilt, it seems to be the gimme attitude of a lot of people. He decided he wanted a bulldog, and no amount of reasoning would change his mind. I tried the old "but its a dog that doesnt really like the heat" through to "we already have 3 dogs", the only things that worked was to tell him that if he looked after hte other 3 dogs for a month we would think about it. He walked them once and was sick when he had to do the 'poo patrol', so he kinda stopped wanting one. He wasnt prepared to put in the work he needed to. There is also the attitude of "but its only a dog!", especially when you see some of the ones around Alice. People want to have something that is cute, or a status symbol, but dont appreciate the hard work that someone eklse has put in to the animal previously.

Mine bark more, more zoomies, and I notice the old dog is a lot stiffer when he does not get a daily walk, so for his health we go.

Maeve. Such a distinguished name for some reason I like it for a tough girl dog?

Yep, my female will go and sit on the boys heads, i'm forever telling her to close her legs and act like a lady!!!

My Poodle girl will just lay beside me when I am sick, if I start to feel really bad she will actually come in and lay with her head on me. When I had my back operation and was confined to 'really light movement' she was almost dangerous as she would not leave me and I was worried I would fall over her. But it is nice to ahve someone that just wants to be there when you are not at your best.

I walk 4 together, ranging in size from 3kgs through to 42kgs. They all know thier place and as long as I am on the ball with the leads they are fine,. I thought about the leads where you clip them all to the one, but as I have one still learning, and one that needs the odd correction, its easier to have individual leads so I dont confuse any of them. The leads are all different colours and are always used for the same dogs, so I just naturlly grab the lead of whatever dogs I want to correct when I need to. Mind you, nearly grief this morning, about 2 mins from arriving home and we get rushed by another dog who was out with his owners on bikes. It was funny as, she started to charge up the path with them yelling at her, I waited until she was about 6 mts away them stamped and yelled at her. She actaully left scratch marks on the concrete where she braked and turned tail back to her humans, the look on her face was priceless!!!! "Crazy dog person " My dogs were doing the big posturing then, I could hear them saying "Yeah and if you come back we will let Mum off the lead at ya!!!!!"

Happy Birthday Charlie, many happy returns!!! A maccas ice cream, you lucky thing you!!!! ;)

Magnum (Rotti X Pitbull)- gets magnabum, boofhead, big boofa, dribble d@*$ (he's 10 and starting to get incontinent) Addy (Whippet X)- addy daddy dingle dog, biatch, lazy cow (she expects you to step over her, not happening in this household) Piper (Toy poodle) - Pricess Piper, butt breath, nutter, Milo (terrier X) - Milo the didlio, milo the brave, licky dog (Yes his tongue can go up your nose) feather butt, We have so many, there are also the ones like "you jealous cow" 'stop being a tart', "move it fart face" etc etc. And they all answer to "Oi!!", "You mob" and my personal fav, "get your furry little arse over here NOW". The two little ones also come to 'little dogs'.

So sorry to hear this, to you all.

Magnum (as in the caliber) Howitzer (howie for short)

Thats lovely!!!!

Magnum will drag heavy stuff for me if he can (he's a big dog), while Addy is just a lady and ladies dont do manual labour. Piper is the bug dog, as well as the mouser, lizard and anything else dog. Milo, well he is just a clown, so nothing there....... Piper would have to be the best at healping tho, she is a toy poodle, and will help when I am gardening by hanging off the end of whatever I am carrying. although if I tell her to carry something she will, as long as it is not too heavy.

Good luck!!!!!!!

Milo is a licker, one of the first things I say to guests when they sit down is 'watch him, his tongue can fit right up your nose if you are not careful', he's also good at cleaning ears, human and all. Piper does lick, but she knows not to when told 'no kisses'. She tends to lick one paw more than anything tho, although if not careful she does 'sneaky licky' when you are not prepared..... One of the other dogs, I cant get her to lick if I tried, its just not something a lady does. And the big dog, well it's like getting hit in the face with a wet flannel....

Oh that is so cute!!!!

At least it wasnt just me that thought that !!! I read it and thought 'hold the phone that cant be right....'

I walk 4 together, a rotti cross, whippet cross, toy poodle and small terrier cross. They all walk at a different pace, but as long as I let the whippet cross get in front a bit, theyall tend to walk to the pace of the slowest one, who happens to be the biggest dog, as he is the oldest. They all know not to pull, and I find that once we get up a bit of pace, they are fine. Even if I try jogging, they stay in 'formation'. The hardest thing is trying to explain to strangers who want me to walk thier dog as 'with that many you must walk them for money' that they are actually all mine!

I walk 4 dogs at the same time, ranging in size from 40+ kgs down to 4 kgs, and I use a combination of ways to do this. The big dog is the best walker, he will walk on a loose lead no problems, however I usually slip a check chain over him for the walks. The middle size dog, about 20kgs, gets a halti as she is an arrogant biatch that thinks commands arent actually directed at her LOL. The two little dogs at 5kgs and 4kgs, get harnesses. The reasons are as follows- The big dog, although he is the best and most obediant of them, is also the one that people worry about (although the worst he would do if you are friendly is lick you), so when people see he has on a chack chain they seem to not worry about him so much. Plus putting that on means leaving the yard, so its a signal to him to get ready. The middle dog, who like I said is arrogant, would like to think she is alpha dog. So she always has to be that little bit in front. With the halti, if she starts to pull, I am not trying to break my arm getting her to stay in position. And yes, I have spent hours with her walking 1 on 1, she walks beautifully. Put all 4 together and she is a cow. Plus I can use the lead to reinforce that the command I have given (whatever that may be) is actually directed at her as well. A wiggle of the lead will get her attention and then she will decide if she will comply.........lol. The two little ones get harnesses for a different reason, they walk well on anything, but if we are rushed by dogs while we are out and I cant stop them (although it has never happened) should they go for the little dogs I can lift them up and out of the way simply by jerking (for want of a better word) them up with the harness, and hold them out of the way. Mine get walked nearly everyday, depending on what is happening. Its not viable to leave one behind as the noise would upset the neighbours. So while it would be nice to walk them all on a loose lead and flat collar, its not practicable.

I have 4 dogs that play together all the time, they range in size from 45kgs down to 3kgs, I have found it is often the little dogs that initiate the play. The big dogs tailor thier level of play to the size of the dog. The only thing I have found to be a bit of a worry is when the little dogs get accidently stood on, but that doesn't happen much and seres as a reminder for the little dogs to get out of the way and the big dogs to be careful where they put thier feet.

I have a toy poodle and find that over summer I clip her about every 3 weeks, she gets a straight blade (no combs) all over except the legs, ears and top of her head. Around the bum, through to under the belly and around the face I go against the lay of the hair, so she is ultra short there (Read- bald). I basically try and expose as much of the belly as I can. I also take her feet up to just above her ankles so she does not pick up as many prickles when we are out walking. Probably a bit over the top, I guess, however we all (4 dogs) walk every afternoon and when it is 40+ degrees (even after 6pm) she needs to be as cool as possible. Plus she has a black coat so as soon as she is in the sun she heats up in a hurry. I have tried telling the groomer what I wanted her to do when she clipped her, but am never happy and it is easier to do myself.

My smallest sounds like balloon when you let the air out while holding the moth of hte balloon stretched...... the middle one gets an excited 'hum' happening, hard to describe, just happens to be very loud when she does.