# Do we have a Random Dog Chat thread?



## Christie_ZXR

We've got cats, rats, ferrets and possibly others I don't know about. If we haven't already got one, I reckon we should have a random doggy chat thread too. :2thumb:

I'm new to having a dog, and some of the daft things he does constantly amaze me!!

Meet Buster, we're told he's a a Jack Russell Chihuahua cross. You can only hope it was the dad that was the Chi!!










You wouldn't think that adorable little thing is actually a bundle of destruction in disguise :devil:

He's perfectly capable of covering the ENTIRE living room carpet with bits of chewed up tennis ball and doggy toys within half an hour!!

Couldn't live without him now he's here though, luffs him to bits :flrt:

What have you guys all got? And what sort of things do they get up to to drive you up the wall or to make you smile? I've seen threads about some people with puppies...all I can say is you must have the patience of a saint!!

:2thumb:


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## DavieB

I just invade the random cat chat thread with doggy chat and Yuri pictures. Almost all the posters are dog people and their is lots of dog chat.

Have a Yuri pic anyway though or 2 lol


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## Rach1

Start one....
Whats the worst that can happen?
Lol


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## Christie_ZXR

I just did  Where's your doggy pics? 

Yuri's lovely, big bundle of fluff! What made you choose the name? I like it.


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## DavieB

He's a russian black terrier, and Yuri was a russian name lol, it was between Stalin, Ivan, Lenin (although ruled out due to the celtic manager) and Yuri.


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## Rach1

Hang on....








Brodie 









Gus









Ridley









Gus again.









Raggs









Gus looking proud!


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## feorag

Over the last few years there've been a few random dog threads that haven't lasted the course.

This one died in January 2009 http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/forums/other-pets-exotics/230539-random-dog-chat-thread.html

This one died in January 2010 http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/forums/other-pets-exotics/446354-random-dog-chat-thread.html

And this one died in May 2010 http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/forums/other-pets-exotics/359856-random-dog-chat-thread.html

but happy to try and keep this one going!


DavieB said:


> He's a russian black terrier, and Yuri was a russian name lol, it was between Stalin, Ivan, Lenin (although ruled out due to the celtic manager) and Yuri.


I much prefer Yuri over your other options, Davie

And now the requisite pictures of my PITA dog - PITA being "pain in the arse" cos he is, although he is getting better!!!

2 days after we got him when he was 11 months old.












A year later













And last week on our holidays


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## DavieB

feorag said:


> but happy to try and keep this one going!I much prefer Yuri over your other options, Davie
> 
> And now the requisite pictures of my PINA dog - PINA being "pain in the arse" cos he is, although he is getting better!!!
> 
> 2 days after we got him when he was 11 months old.


Should that not be PITA dog Eileen 

I'm really broody for another dog (can men get broody?) Yuri is so happy playing with other dogs I think he'd love a friend. Cant afford another RBT right now though. I may get one at xmas time.


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## feorag

DavieB said:


> Should that not pe PITA dog Eileen


:roll2: It should indeed Davie. Another senior moment! :roll:


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## em_40

My dog, doing what he does best!










...and another for good measure










(sorry they're so big, I resized them, but it doesn't seem to make a difference)


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## viperdan

I think this must be the only one..

(change the title of the first post) :2thumb:


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## PPVallhunds

Heres mine, took 2 years of waiting for waiting to get her se is a swedish vallhund. i was hoping for a boy and was going to call him fabian but mum only had 2 girls so called her Fay. She is destruction on paws! she destroyed a kong when she was 11weeks old, we can only get her toys for large dogs and she still destroys them. :devil:


The day she came home









2 weeks later destroying the garden









Her first trip to a beach (but she is banned from that beach as every time she goes there she gets sick)









At 5 months









and 2 months ago









Dont have any reasont ones as we had to qurentieen her so not taken her anywhere, it turned out her puppy vacs didnt take and she had no imunity and caught parvo (pritty sure form the beach), but she is all better now, stopped shadding the virus and now revacinated and covered for everything except distanper for some reason. So she ia allowed out again and need to be revacinated with another brand again in around 8 months. Shes also accident prone and reasontly twisted her leg.
I never get normal pets.


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## feorag

Did you do a titre test this time to ensure the vaccine worked??

A friend of a friend breeds Bernese Mountain Dogs and she vaccinates her puppies and then titre tests and she has found that the vaccination hasn't worked and so re-vaccinated, sometimes it's taken 3 sets of vaccinations to get a good antibody reading. After the first year's booster she doesn't vaccinate, she titre tests every 2 years and the antibodies have always been good, so no need to booster.


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## sarahc

the cat went over,the dog went through








repair job done








but when that puss cat comes back,I'll be waiting


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## PPVallhunds

feorag said:


> Did you do a titre test this time to ensure the vaccine worked??
> 
> A friend of a friend breeds Bernese Mountain Dogs and she vaccinates her puppies and then titre tests and she has found that the vaccination hasn't worked and so re-vaccinated, sometimes it's taken 3 sets of vaccinations to get a good antibody reading. After the first year's booster she doesn't vaccinate, she titre tests every 2 years and the antibodies have always been good, so no need to booster.


 
Yeah they tested her just befor sending her home which said no imunity to any but parvo (but that was expicted as she had just gotton over it) so revacinated and tested again and test came back as covered for everything else except distemper. Spoken to a few vets and advice is not to revac again as she has had 2 (so 4 doses) in 9 months and would worrie about over vacinating and causing an autoimune prob, and as vets arounnd here and by the breeders in england havent have a case of it in years my vets never had a case, one is llanelli said non in last 15 years, and one in england says never that they can rember, the testing lab also says its no common anymore) they advised waithing untill a few months befor boster is due and do it all again.
Her breeder even emailed a guy in america who writes the vac protocals over there and he thinks its was maternal antiboidies that stopped the first set and that its stastickly more likley that thre was a fault with the distamper one in the second than her being a non respondant (1 in 5000 dogs are non respondents apperantly). so fingers crossed when she is done again it will all take and i wont have to worrie any more.


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## Kare

Been to the beach today with our "pack"

One pyrennes
One Czech wolfdog
Four German Shepherds
and one muppet type Golden retriever.
As normal the most well behaved dogs on the beach :no1: well bar the czech, but we hide her faults well when there are 7 humans there to watch/distract her (never buy a GSD cross sled dog, inuit or these wolf dogs, no matter what shiny name they put on them, they are all nightmares :bash

There is a puppy walker for Guide dogs that goes down there and the dog is a nightmare, steals balls, would not leave us alone in the cafe area. She even climbed on the bench we sat at! Constantly upsetting our dogs when they are settled as they are trying so hard to be good and lay down and she is always on them, I think she may have even been in season the upset she was causing. The walker was a nice enough lady when I spoke to her a few months back, but frankly seems lazy or just lacking the energy to deal with her, leaving us have to do everything to get her away. The dog is just a nightmare and so the walker hangs out with the other special needs dogs, like a staffy that chews rocks and a kelpie cross that cannot stop barking!! I cannot see how they can make a good guide dog out of the raw materials this walker has crafted together and all the habits she has picked up from the dogs she is exposed to.


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## feorag

PPVallhunds said:


> Yeah they tested her just befor sending her home which said no imunity to any but parvo (but that was expicted as she had just gotton over it) so revacinated and tested again and test came back as covered for everything else except distemper. Spoken to a few vets and advice is not to revac again as she has had 2 (so 4 doses) in 9 months and would worrie about over vacinating and causing an autoimune prob, and as vets arounnd here and by the breeders in england havent have a case of it in years my vets never had a case, one is llanelli said non in last 15 years, and one in england says never that they can rember, the testing lab also says its no common anymore) they advised waithing untill a few months befor boster is due and do it all again.
> Her breeder even emailed a guy in america who writes the vac protocals over there and he thinks its was maternal antiboidies that stopped the first set and that its stastickly more likley that thre was a fault with the distamper one in the second than her being a non respondant (1 in 5000 dogs are non respondents apperantly). so fingers crossed when she is done again it will all take and i wont have to worrie any more.


The only thing that would worry me is the distemper that's going around in the ferret community. If it continues to spread it could end up causing problems in the dog community too. 


Kare said:


> There is a puppy walker for Guide dogs that goes down there and the dog is a nightmare, steals balls, would not leave us alone in the cafe area. She even climbed on the bench we sat at! Constantly upsetting our dogs when they are settled as they are trying so hard to be good and lay down and she is always on them, I think she may have even been in season the upset she was causing. The walker was a nice enough lady when I spoke to her a few months back, but frankly seems lazy or just lacking the energy to deal with her, leaving us have to do everything to get her away. The dog is just a nightmare and so the walker hangs out with the other special needs dogs, like a staffy that chews rocks and a kelpie cross that cannot stop barking!! I cannot see how they can make a good guide dog out of the raw materials this walker has crafted together and all the habits she has picked up from the dogs she is exposed to.


I would tend to agree with you about that! :gasp:

That's not what I would expect from a puppy walker, but that poor puppy is gonna have a rude awakening when it goes into training and all those bad habits have to be dealt with! :bash:


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## Kare

feorag said:


> The only thing that would worry me is the distemper that's going around in the ferret community. If it continues to spread it could end up causing problems in the dog community too.


Just what I was going to say. 
Huge groups of ferrets are being wiped out by it, and they must be getting it from somewhere. Maybe not many dogs have symptoms because they have some immunisation coverage, but with ferrets and perhaps I guess wild foxes suffering there is no saying it is not out there


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## PPVallhunds

yeah its the ferrit thing thats been worring me. but not found anythink mentioned for south wales. Does anyone know how they have been comming in contact with it? ferret shows or something? Also read it doesnt last that long in the enviroment unlike parvo.


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## Kare

I think the big groups are in reScues from new ferrets coming in. But many small groups have suffered with no real known source.


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## kellogg

My baby boys 

Harvey - 1 year old staffy 

















Chance - 2 year old american bulldog (rescue)


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## DavieB

Yuri playing with his brother and cousins!


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## HABU

got three dogs...

they wear me out... it's all about them... i love them to death... but i sooo hate them at times...

4am... someone has to poo... it's raining...

5am... someone else has to poo...

all dog... all day....


got a small dog, medium dog and a large one...

dogs, dogs, dogs... all day, everyday...


and they all want to lay up with me all day and night...


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## RhianB87

I don't have a dog anymore since moving out but this boy will always be mine, even though he is at my parents house:flrt:


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## HABU

my big dog...

100 pounds+... whatever that is in kilos...


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## kellogg

about 45kg i do believe


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## jaykickboxer

Here's my two I don't no how anybody can have more then two dogs I defiantly would struggle roll on the end of the pup stage makes u relise how good ur other dog is anyways here's my two 

13 week old DDb 










And almost 3 year old olde tyme bully










Took both pics today


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## HABU

my biggest and smallest...


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## HABU

my "problem child"....


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## HABU




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## feorag

HABU said:


> my "problem child"....
> 
> image


Aw, bless her! :flrt: I can't believe she's a problem! :bash:


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## HABU

feorag said:


> Aw, bless her! :flrt: I can't believe she's a problem! :bash:


she's a sweetheart... but... she's half corgi...

hardheaded... :lol2:


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## Christie_ZXR

Kare said:


> ...a staffy that chews rocks...


And I thought ours was bad for chewing :gasp: He's never tried his luck with rocks, can't see how they could possibly be appealing for chewing on!!

I accidently locked his toys in the lounge when I went out once. He made his point by chewing every single flower off my lovely white sandals and flicking them around the house. Lesson learned! Do not leave a dog alone without his toys. Ever. :lol2:

Habu, She looks too cute to be a problem! What's her name? :flrt:

I don't know anything about canine distemper, but by the sounds of things, I ought to. There's a ton of foxes where we are, and plenty of dotty little old ladies that thing the "poor foxies" need cat food left out for them regularly or they'll starve!! :bash:
Can anyone give me a brief run down of the symptoms? Just so I know what to look out for just in case! Ta :2thumb:


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## DavieB

I read an article last night about a fox living on the 72nd floor of rhe shard whilst in construction surviving on construction workers waste. 

Yuri is needing to go back to basic training I think, He's good as gold command wise in the house but really stubborn outside I need to shout at him to get him to sit. Its annoying me a little now.


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## Postcard

What is it about dogs and fox poo? :devil::lol2:

Stinkerbell rolled in some (lots) earlier and even after a bath she's still a bit pongy...


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## DavieB

Username change confused me there... I was thinking Annabel has that avatar pic..

I've not had the pleasure of fox poo yet. Thankfully.


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## Kare

Postcard said:


> Stinkerbell rolled in some (lots) earlier and even after a bath she's still a bit pongy...


Nothing cures that smell like tomato ketchup


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## shadow05

this is my moms dog Amy i basically helped to raise her we got her when i was 12ish. she was 8 weeks old and a small black fur ball that liked to chew ur socks. she was one of 11 and the last to go. she is an black and white English Springer spaniel mixed with a chocolate Labrador retriever u can just see the evidence of that in her beard/mustache. she is currently 8 years old. this picture was taken when she was 2 years old. over the years amy has done many silly things all connect with labrador and spaniel characteristics. these include running in a figure of 8 for no reason, getting her head stuck in a fence, trying to catch pigeons, actually catching a pigeon and then spitting out its tail feathers while trying to look srry about it when my mom was telling her off lol  i felt so srry for the pigeon but i cudnt do nothing but laugh at her while she was making these weird faces and spitting feathers out :roll2:


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## Postcard

DavieB said:


> Username change confused me there... I was thinking Annabel has that avatar pic..
> 
> I've not had the pleasure of fox poo yet. Thankfully.


Just you wait - you'll have it soon enough!! Mine manages to sniff it out like a mini bloodhound - I'd stop her rolling but most of the time she rolls it's not in anything offensive and she LOVES it so I'd feel far too harsh...



Kare said:


> Nothing cures that smell like tomato ketchup


I have an irrational phobia of tomato ketchup after being covered head to toe in the stuff as a kid by my dad shaking a glass bottle... hahaha... will need to sort that, I reckon! Not got any in the house today so will buy some tommorrow.


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## DavieB

Yuri started the RAW diet tonight. Can't believe how excited he was about his dinner. I had to take the fish out the hall about 3 or 4 times lol. Glad he's not food agressive id have lost my fingers taking something so exciting out his grasp lol.









Yuri's dinner for the next few days!!! He got fish and chicken breast tonight. Ill give him a turkey leg tomorrow. He's so happy!


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## feorag

DavieB said:


> Yuri is needing to go back to basic training I think, He's good as gold command wise in the house but really stubborn outside I need to shout at him to get him to sit. Its annoying me a little now.


He's a teenager! They all go through that stage of 'trying their luck'.


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## kellogg

DavieB said:


> Yuri started the RAW diet tonight. Can't believe how excited he was about his dinner. I had to take the fish out the hall about 3 or 4 times lol. Glad he's not food agressive id have lost my fingers taking something so exciting out his grasp lol.
> image
> 
> Yuri's dinner for the next few days!!! He got fish and chicken breast tonight. Ill give him a turkey leg tomorrow. He's so happy!


ahhh good old morissons


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## *H*

Cass won't eat raw meat, he takes it from me then spits it straight out and sits staring at me, the freak.


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## beckyj

Thought I'd share my terrible trio! :flrt:

Poppy, she's a 6 year old Pug X Lhasa Apso



















Milly my 9 month old Chihuahua



















And my new 13 week old French Bulldog puppy Harvey



















And a silly, sleepy tongue pic!


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## feorag

Aw, bless him that last piccie is adorable!!

Some videos of Skye on his holidays!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KprqCsJWe90&list=UU-0b9zFk1Pc2NeZEjIcvMOA&index=3&feature=plcp

Well not so much swimming as leaping :lol2:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unII0PuT-i4&list=UU-0b9zFk1Pc2NeZEjIcvMOA&index=2&feature=plcp

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJGtHckE9C4&list=UU-0b9zFk1Pc2NeZEjIcvMOA&index=1&feature=plcp


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## kellogg




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## DavieB

Yuri recently moved onto a RAW diet, he has developed the skitters and has an upset stomach I expected that to be honest. Two minutes ago I walked into the hall and seen 2 piles of runny poo, looking a bit jelly like Thought oh no he has a bowel infection  Went to clean it up he's only dragged his OX liver into the hall and dropped it LMAO. He's off the food a wee bit the now usually wolfs it down but hasn't touched his breakfast yet. Any advice?


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## Christie_ZXR

Can't help with that one I'm afraid. Buster's going through a phase of refusing to finish his brekkie atm too  
Although I strongly suspect it's "daddy's" fault for spoiling him rotten and constantly changing his food because "he doesn't like the old one any more"....
We've got more dog food in the cupboard than we do people food!!

On a brighter note, got a hilarious video of him trying to get his tennis ball out of a motorcycle boot the other day, will try to work out how to upload it!


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## Christie_ZXR

Not sure if this will work...

But if it does, this is Buster trying to get his tennis ball out of a motorcycle boot!! :lol2:

Buster's Tennis Ball - YouTube


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## feorag

:lol2:


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## kellogg

DavieB said:


> Yuri recently moved onto a RAW diet, he has developed the skitters and has an upset stomach I expected that to be honest. Two minutes ago I walked into the hall and seen 2 piles of runny poo, looking a bit jelly like Thought oh no he has a bowel infection  Went to clean it up he's only dragged his OX liver into the hall and dropped it LMAO. He's off the food a wee bit the now usually wolfs it down but hasn't touched his breakfast yet. Any advice?


You don't need to add organs into his diet until he's been on it and had no problems for about 2 months.

Also alot of dogs don't like offal especially liver anyway, some when you get round to feeding it, try feeding it frozen and flash fried


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## Griffon

Just thought I would add some pictures of mine

*This is a picture of Bailey with my mother's new Chihuahua Gidget*










*This is Bailey and Gidget with Lucy my Yorkie and Ollie my Griffon Bruxellois*


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## feorag

What lovely photographs of gorgeous dogs! :flrt:


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## DavieB

A wee video of Yuri swimming, click to watch.


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## feorag

Yeh!!! This time he got it! :2thumb: Twice! :no1:

And flushed a heron! :lol2:


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## DavieB

feorag said:


> Yeh!!! This time he got it! :2thumb: Twice! :no1:
> 
> And flushed a heron! :lol2:


I thought that was a Heron, was going to ask. I thought Herons were slightly bigger, their stance can't really be mistaken though can it.

I have another of him swimming for fun Eileen. (although he is in reeds and you can't really see him lol)

Yuri has been a little overheated and panting a fair bit since he went onto RAW, has anyone else experienced this and do you think it will pass? I'll give it a few days and take him to the vet if it does not pass.


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## PPVallhunds

Fay yesterday looking daft, dont ask me what shes looking at i have no idea. lol


















Because of me panicking over the ferrits with distemper ive had her done with another brand of vacine but only had 1 shot of the combo, isntead of haveing lepto as well and a second dose, and will be blood tested again in a 4weeks. everyone keep your fingers and paws crossed this one works.


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## Griffon

While I am at it I must not forget the oldest member of our lot, Presley my Pug who is 10 next month. We thought he would not make it to this age with all his health problems. As you can see he only has 1 eye. But I think he is reverting back to puppy hood lol.


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## Christie_ZXR

I lust love that pic of Gidget sitting on top of Bailey! So gorgeous :flrt:
I want one!! :lol2:


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## jaykickboxer

Griffon said:


> Just thought I would add some pictures of mine
> 
> *This is a picture of Bailey with my mother's new Chihuahua Gidget*
> 
> image
> 
> *This is Bailey and Gidget with Lucy my Yorkie and Ollie my Griffon Bruxellois*
> 
> image


Very nice as are all the rest of the dogs on this page not looked bk thought the other pages yet


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## jaykickboxer

My girl getting bigger 15.5 kilos now


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## Kare

jaykickboxer said:


> My girl getting bigger 15.5 kilos now
> 
> image


Is that you holding her? You look scary skinny :lol2:


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## feorag

:lol2:


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## jaykickboxer

Kare said:


> Is that you holding her? You look scary skinny :lol2:


Nah that's my missed brother she got two identical twin brothers who just play guiter all day and do nothing else I ain't skinny


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## jaykickboxer

Here's a pic of me and my little girl from today not the best pic to prove it but I ain't skinny


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## feorag

Aha! That explains it cos you used to have a photo of yourself in your Avatar didn't you and I thought you looked different when you posted that piccie - so I was right, cos it wasn't you! :2thumb:


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## jaykickboxer

feorag said:


> Aha! That explains it cos you used to have a photo of yourself in your Avatar didn't you and I thought you looked different when you posted that piccie - so I was right, cos it wasn't you! :2thumb:


Yeh I did I changed it to a new one on my phone but it didn't work so I've just got the top corner of the pic in my avator it's annoying but I can't botherd to fix it , my misses brothers both come round the other day To help me in the garden which I'm half way through sorting one was taking a pic of the other holding bella so I took a pic aswell I thought most people new what I looked like as I've been hanging round here for years so didn't bother mentioning it weren't me .


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## Kare

jaykickboxer said:


> I thought most people new what I looked like as I've been hanging round here for years so didn't bother mentioning it weren't me .


LOL I doubt it, why would they? You could post a million pictures, I still doubt most would know what you look like, there are 1000s of members here and a doubt it matters to 90% what anyone here looks like bar the off chance they need to recognise you at a show etc even then they will likely forget what you look like a few weeks/months later.

Ill only recall the skinny guy cause his arms look so so thin...and even then just for about a week, and never associate it with a user name I am sure.

Bet most of the people you will meet with your dog you would not recognise in Tesco without a dog.


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## jaykickboxer

Kare said:


> LOL I doubt it, why would they? You could post a million pictures, I still doubt most would know what you look like, there are 1000s of members here and a doubt it matters to 90% what anyone here looks like bar the off chance they need to recognise you at a show etc even then they will likely forget what you look like a few weeks/months later.
> 
> Ill only recall the skinny guy cause his arms look so so thin...and even then just for about a week, and never associate it with a user name I am sure.
> 
> Bet most of the people you will meet with your dog you would not recognise in Tesco without a dog.


Fair enough I recognise a lot of people on here from noticing pics next to there name although I've been to quiet a few of the shows so have met a lot of the members on here in person must just be me then


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## feorag

Have to be fair and say I do too. That's how I could remember that he had a photo of himself sitting on a couch (I think) as his Avatar.

I tend to recognise the Avatars of people I speak to a lot and so get thrown when they change it!


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## Christie_ZXR

Very happy bunny today :no1:

Buster's been to the vets for his final appointment after his knee op, and the vet said he's very happy to sign him off as pretty much recovered!!
No more appointments and no more bills!! Woohoo! 

This means he's FINALLY allowed a proper run around in the park!! Which should also mean he won't be so bored all the time any more, and he'll stop barking at the world through the window to let the world know he's bored... :lol2:


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## feorag

That's excellent news!! :2thumb: I bet he won't half enjoy his new-found freedom!


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## jaykickboxer

I no what feorag looks like from watching her videos also remember she's a jordie or at least sounds like one to me I've also watched ur videos in the past Kare but not sure what u look like as the video I see had a few people in it so not sure which was u if any if I rember correctly. when u spend as much time on here as I do I notice


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## jaykickboxer

Christie_ZXR said:


> Very happy bunny today :no1:
> 
> Buster's been to the vets for his final appointment after his knee op, and the vet said he's very happy to sign him off as pretty much recovered!!
> No more appointments and no more bills!! Woohoo!
> 
> This means he's FINALLY allowed a proper run around in the park!! Which should also mean he won't be so bored all the time any more, and he'll stop barking at the world through the window to let the world know he's bored... :lol2:


Glad for u must have been a nightmare can't wait for my pup to get older so she can have a long decent walk rather then A quick 15-20 minutes


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## feorag

jaykickboxer said:


> I no what feorag looks like from watching her videos also remember she's a jordie or at least sounds like one to me I've also watched ur videos in the past Kare but not sure what u look like as the video I see had a few people in it so not sure which was u if any if I rember correctly. when u spend as much time on here as I do I notice


Sadly right on both counts. I'm a Geordie and I spend far too much time on here!! :2thumb:


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## Christie_ZXR

Cheers  Can't wait! We've been gradually taking him for longer walks to build it up slowly. But before his leg got bad, he'd run around like a loony for a few hours happily. Right now, he's curled up on the sofa fast asleep!! Just hope he hasn't got too lazy!

Biggest relief is the money tbh. It was a right stretch to pay for the op itself in the first place, and the return appointments have been 30 quid a pop. I don't mind too much, our vets so good, and when you find a good one you've got to stick with them really if you can and say tits to the cost as much as possible! (and eat nothing but breadcrumbs for a month or so to pay for it all....)

Scuse me if I'm asking an obv q, but why can't pups go for long walks?


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## feorag

Pups can't do long walks, especially the large breeds that have a lot of growing to do as over-exercising affects the bones. Until the puppies are fully grown and the growth plates close there is risk of skeletal deformity and injury.

The general guideline is 5 mins of exercise per month of puppy age *per *day - not per walk. They can run and play in the garden, must mustn't be "force exercised".


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## Christie_ZXR

I suppose that figures. But puppies must have bundles of energy! I can imagine it might be difficult to cope. 

The o/h was awwing over some JR puppies the RSPCA had a while ago, cute as they were, I'm kinda glad I put my foot down and said no! Even though the bloody things really were very cute... I was sitting there saying "nope...think of the poo..." over and over before he gave in and agreed!

That said...I secretly have plans to come home with a pomeranian one day...


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## BMo1979

Yay, random dog chat (I'm a bit slow to notice this, I know, lol).

Any excuse to post Trigger pictures, so here we go:

With our foster dog "Sheba" (would have loved to keep her, but had to move into temporary accommodation after my OH medical discharge from the Army (less than 2 months notice) and sneaking 1 big dog by the council was hard enough. She found a great home though, clearly loves her owner. We only had her for a year).


















GSDs and water... that's all









Just throw the bleeping thing already









Chaaaarge!!









And some recent ones (they are in in the picture forum, but any excuse to shoe them again)

Trigger and my youngest boy have a very special relationship. These pictures capture this relationship very well, IMHO


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## BMo1979

While browsing my computer for Trigger pictures, I found these older ones.

Who says only Collies play Frisbee??


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## Christie_ZXR

aww! Loving the frisbee pics! Will so have to try that on our little man...if we can find a frisbee little enough that is! lol.

How long you had trigger for? Gorgeous looking dog


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## BMo1979

Christie_ZXR said:


> aww! Loving the frisbee pics! Will so have to try that on our little man...if we can find a frisbee little enough that is! lol.
> 
> How long you had trigger for? Gorgeous looking dog


Thank you. You should be able to get frisbees in all sizes (ranging from soft to hard).

We've had Trigger since he was 9 weeks old (unfortunately from a backyard breeder, only found out afterwards). He will be 7 in November (Bonfire Night), but he still got that puppy attitude in a lot of ways (apart from with other intact male dogs).


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## feorag

BMo1979 said:


> Any excuse to post Trigger pictures, so here we go:
> 
> With our foster dog "Sheba" (would have loved to keep her, but had to move into temporary accommodation after my OH medical discharge from the Army (less than 2 months notice) and sneaking 1 big dog by the council was hard enough. She found a great home though, clearly loves her owner. We only had her for a year).


:flrt: :flrt: :flrt:

Skye loves a frisbee too! :2thumb:


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## feorag

BMo1979 said:


> Any excuse to post Trigger pictures, so here we go:
> 
> With our foster dog "Sheba" (would have loved to keep her, but had to move into temporary accommodation after my OH medical discharge from the Army (less than 2 months notice) and sneaking 1 big dog by the council was hard enough. She found a great home though, clearly loves her owner. We only had her for a year).


:flrt: :flrt: :flrt:

Skye loves a frisbee too! :2thumb:

However, I simply cannot see a German Shepherd and a frisbee together with giggling to myself imagining the beach/frisbee scene in "K9" :roll2:

I took my children to see that film and that scene reminded me so much of Amber, Barry's GSD and I laughed so much for so long that my daughter refused to go to the cinema with me ever again! :lol2:


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## DavieB

Yuris play date this morning.




























BEHAVE YURI!


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## feorag

Great photos, Dave! :2thumb:


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## jaykickboxer

Bella started one of her pup classes today she's at 2 different ones anyways all was good reward based basics and socialisation but was surprised when I asked the trainer what dogs were coming she said a French mastiff and I said the same as mine and she said no u got a douge de Bordeaux I told her they were the same breed and she said loads of people think so (so annoying she was adamant ) anyways I quizzed her as to what the difference was all she could come up with was there's a lot of difference in colour seriously I was soo tempted to educate her with google but my misses made me leave it maybe next week .


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## Kare

People are always adamant that German Shepherds and Alsatians are different breeds too. :whistling2:


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## feorag

That is so true, when we had Amber and Leo I was always being asked if they were Alsations. Now I have Skye I'm always being asked if he's a Belgian Shepherd! :gasp:


----------



## Montage_Morphs

Anyone remember this wee ball of sickly cute fluff?




























3 and a half years on and Charlie Bear Wooflington is just a bigger ball of hair now. 




























A girl and her dug  Happy happy!


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## feorag

:lol2: What funny faces he pulls! :lol2:

Nothing like walking in the sea or a lake with a dog! :2thumb:


----------



## Montage_Morphs

feorag said:


> :lol2: What funny faces he pulls! :lol2:
> 
> Nothing like walking in the sea or a lake with a dog! :2thumb:


He is a paddle pup! Will paddle right up to his neck but refuses to swim. Very strange...

Oh and some of the faces he pulls are hilarious!




























Puppy stage, out grew his crate methinks 










Ok one more puppy shot!


----------



## jaykickboxer

Kare said:


> People are always adamant that German Shepherds and Alsatians are different breeds too. :whistling2:


To be fair even I'm not 100 percent sure on this I googled it years ago when my misses thought they were different if I rember rightly they changed the name after the war due to anything German being unpopular but are the same breed , to be fair I'd expect a trainer to no more then me generally although I've wanted a DDb for about ten years so am probably more clued up on them then her although seriously she was going on about colours being different a DDb is one of the breeds with the least colour variations there all red although mines really light as she's what is known as a Isabella she's still red and darkening up


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## Christie_ZXR

I've heard that about german shepherds being changed to Alsatians too. I supposed it sort of makes sense. All the "hitlers" disappeared from germany after the war too, everyone changed their surnames.

Little funny story about an alsatian. My uncle used to have one called Mitchy when I was little, he was bloody enormous! Lovely dog though. He got out once and pinned a very terrified postman up against the wall, paws on his shoulders, and proceeded to lick his face all over before letting him go!! :lol2:


----------



## feorag

Yes, that's it - anti-German propaganda even extended to dog! So they became know as Alsations, even though Alsace was part of the German Republic at that time as it was regularly swapped between France and Germany! :roll: 

Not a lot of people knew that so they remained a 'German' dog, but the name was dropped. Breeders decided it was 'safe' to call them German Shepherd again in the mid 70's I think.

All my dogs before Skye were strictly paddlers too - unless I went out too far and they had to swim to stay with me, otherwise they loved the water as long as they didn't have to swim! :lol2:


----------



## Christie_ZXR

Just got some great piccies of Buster so had to share!

Stealing a cat-mat!










Getting caught stealing a cat-mat...









...and couldn't care less he's been caught! Having a scratch...









...then having a stretch!









And showing off his latest "trick", do the meerkat!! :lol2:









and the reward for doing the meerkat properly!


----------



## Kare

feorag said:


> Yes, that's it - anti-German propaganda even extended to dog! So they became know as Alsations, even though Alsace was part of the German Republic at that time as it was regularly swapped between France and Germany! :roll:
> 
> Not a lot of people knew that so they remained a 'German' dog, but the name was dropped. Breeders decided it was 'safe' to call them German Shepherd again in the mid 70's I think.


They were called an Alsatian Wolfdog (or often more directly translated from the German hund to be called the Alsatian Wolfhound) before the wolfdog bit was dropped. This is why it is such a joke to me that people think they have a wolf hybrid when they buy a Czech wolfdog. Both breeds were crossed with fresh wolf genetics, just one more recent that the other, they are both DOGS!!

It was 1977 the name changed. The year I was born.


----------



## jaykickboxer

Kare said:


> They were called an Alsatian Wolfdog (or often more directly translated from the German hund to be called the Alsatian Wolfhound) before the wolfdog bit was dropped. This is why it is such a joke to me that people think they have a wolf hybrid when they buy a Czech wolfdog. Both breeds were crossed with fresh wolf genetics, just one more recent that the other, they are both DOGS!!
> 
> It was 1977 the name changed. The year I was born.


Ur younger then I assumed only 7 years older then me


----------



## kellogg




----------



## Kare

I am distantly looking around for another dog and keep glancing through the Pet4Homes listings. 

I know people say that you should not give dogs free to good home, but there are some people seriously kidding themselves, in the current climate with so many rehoming dogs to make ends meet, as to how much they want for their older dogs.

There is one person rehoming 3 separate Golden retrievers, and asking £800 each. I mean, unless they are genuinely made of gold how can they ask that much, that is at least 1/2 as much again as any other golden on the site (well at least as far as I looked down the site organised in distance from me.


----------



## jaykickboxer

Kare said:


> I am distantly looking around for another dog and keep glancing through the Pet4Homes listings.
> 
> I know people say that you should not give dogs free to good home, but there are some people seriously kidding themselves, in the current climate with so many rehoming dogs to make ends meet, as to how much they want for their older dogs.
> 
> There is one person rehoming 3 separate Golden retrievers, and asking £800 each. I mean, unless they are genuinely made of gold how can they ask that much, that is at least 1/2 as much again as any other golden on the site (well at least as far as I looked down the site organised in distance from me.


I noticed this I wanted to rehome a French bulldog as I got a littlen I personally thought anything big would be a greater risk to my littlen we viewed one which was 800 quid and 3 yr old not neuted not even a particuly good example of the breed the lady was saying I'd much rather it went to a family then a breeder and I made clear I had no intention of breeding from her she would be a companion for my other dog as well as a spoilt pet and offerd her 700 and told her to keep the papers as I would be neutering her she said shed rather hold out for more as far as I'm concerned she was a twat in that situation I'd rather give my dog away then them get constantly bred,I could have easily paid 800 but didn't out of principal then we bought another two year old frenchy which was apparently good with other dogs although it attacked my other dog about 6 times a day attacked my misses mums Labrador and bite her brother needless to say that had to go bk after a week hence me ending up with a pup I thought rehoming would be easier but not for me


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## jaykickboxer




----------



## jaykickboxer

My bulldogs 3 yr old today happy birthday mr Winston


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## feorag

Happy birthday mr Winston! :2thumb:


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## Christie_ZXR

Ooh! Happy birthday Winston! Love me and Buster xx :cheers:

Trying to type a reply here on the laptop, and trouble decides he wants to come up for a cuddle...so had to grab the camera!

Yep, that'd be my foot he's using as a pillow! :devil:


"What? There a problem with me sitting here?"









"I am comfy here...honest!"









"Tummy tickle? Aww...go on then..."









"This is the life boys!"










Gotta love some of the odd positions that mutt gets himself into! :lol2:


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## Kare

Wow, and to think i saw your dog when he was just a little ad on Preloved lol!!

Have to say I could have nightmares about a velociraptor length dew claw like he has on his front paw there, Are you not afraid of him using it like a flick knife against you.

Is it just my dogs that stand in front of you in the morning when you are on the side of the bed working up the energy to stand, then they decide to stretch and stick all their front nails into your undefended toes?


----------



## Christie_ZXR

Ah! Was it you that found the preloved ad? I couldn't remember who it was! Thank you :2thumb:

We sort of "impulse-bought" him after only meeting him once, and I'm soooo glad we did! He's totally perfect! :flrt: and the previous owner is lovely, she was really honest about the problems and reason for rehoming. (Buster doesn't "do" other dogs, he was fighting with his brother) 

I think the claw maybe looks longer than it is in that photo, just woken a stroppy pooch up to have a look at it...:lol2: I'll ask the o/h when he last trimmed them when he gets in.

As for claws in the toes, Buster doesn't do that, he prefers to jump on you to have a stretch and dig the claws into your belly...!! :devil: Luckily he's walked at least 4 times a day on pavements, so the claws naturally keep fairly trimmed. Still hurts though!! What with him and that bloody cat of mine that likes to grab a clawfull of your hair and tug it to wake you up for breakfast, mornings aren't always nice!! :bash:


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## jaykickboxer

Christie_ZXR said:


> Ooh! Happy birthday Winston! Love me and Buster xx :cheers:
> 
> Trying to type a reply here on the laptop, and trouble decides he wants to come up for a cuddle...so had to grab the camera!
> 
> Yep, that'd be my foot he's using as a pillow! :devil:
> 
> 
> "What? There a problem with me sitting here?"
> image
> 
> "I am comfy here...honest!"
> image
> 
> "Tummy tickle? Aww...go on then..."
> image
> 
> "This is the life boys!"
> image
> 
> 
> Gotta love some of the odd positions that mutt gets himself into! :lol2:





Cheers, he looks a happy dog my dogs are always sneeking on my sofa with me


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## Christie_ZXR

I think Buster reckons he's a cat.... sooo cuddly! He "claimed" the rocking chair in the lounge as his as soon as he moved in by curling up into a ball and falling asleep on it! He now knows "on your chair" if we're eating or whatever and don't want him bugging us


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## Christie_ZXR

Finally just caught that bloody one show on "dangerous" dogs on iplayer.

Makes my blood boil!! :devil:

I'd quite like to lock that flippin woman up in the back of a van!
Not too sure what I'd do with her once I had mind you, drive around for a bit then let her out again probably! :lol2: But it's the thought that counts!

On a nicer note, Buster got his claws chopped yesterday! So he's not so vicious looking now! :no1:


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## sammy1969

I dont think i have posted a yet on here although I have meant to. 
I have two dogs Mysty is a red miniature poodle who is 12 years and Storm who is a black steel yorkshire terrier x miniature poodle and will be 12 in April next year. Mysty is a real prima donna which i suppose is a privalege she has earned after being my support dog for 6 years and still works to this day when she feels like it. Stormy is my little comedian and a very loving dog who unfortunately been diagnosed with inoperable cancer and so wont be with me much longer but his last few months will be special.I call him my little wookie due to his fur and the way he sleeps at times. He is avery licky dog and due to his has had a number of different species of animals attach themselves to his nose where he does insist on washing them lol, these include snakes,lizards, rats, mice, gerbils,hamsters and goodness knows whatelse and all he ever did was whimper and look at me as if to say "Mum get it off of me pleaasssseeee". where he is such a sweetie.


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## jaykickboxer

Getting big


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## Christie_ZXR

I had to do a double take with that photo...that is a length of cable isn't it?? lol!

Must be my little netbook screen...makes things look dodgy!

Btw, sammy, where's the piccies! We need piccies!


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## Christie_ZXR

Some more Busterwuster pics! :flrt:

Dead Dog!! :lol2:









Knackered after a long walk.

Sleeping on the windowsill on a stolen cat-mat!!


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## jaykickboxer

jaykickboxer said:


> Getting big
> 
> image


Yeh lol SHE was hanging out the window when I was cutting the hedge


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## feorag

Christie_ZXR said:


> I had to do a double take with that photo...that is a length of cable isn't it?? lol!


 :lol2: Did you think it was her umbilical cord? :roll2:


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## ermgravy

3months ish worth of ruff n smooth life of bear:


Southampton-20120701-00011 by MrBisto, on Flickr


New Forest-20120701-00007 by MrBisto, on Flickr


IMG-20120701-00031 by MrBisto, on Flickr


IMG-20120701-00006 by MrBisto, on Flickr


IMG-20120701-00029 by MrBisto, on Flickr


IMG-20120701-00005 by MrBisto, on Flickr


IMG-20120701-00001 by MrBisto, on Flickr


2012-05-19-444 by MrBisto, on Flickr


2012-05-19-443 by MrBisto, on Flickr


IMG-20120704-00041 by MrBisto, on Flickr


IMG-20120701-00023 by MrBisto, on Flickr

and the ruff:


IMG-20120705-00052 by MrBisto, on Flickr


IMG-20120705-00051 by MrBisto, on Flickr

Dog home after escaping crash | Meridian - ITV News


think he deserved a lil treat after all the excitement so hopefully his new bonkers big bed turns up 2mo :gasp: Raised Dog Beds, Dog Bed, Dog Beds For Sale how big!!!???


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## BMo1979

Just a few photos from our local country park (the old bit, where nobody goes):

Nothing better than cooling down after a long walk









Trigger trying to catch "skipping stones"


























He'll always be my puppy, even so he'll be 7 this year...


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## feorag

He's gorgeous! :flrt: And lovely photos! :2thumb:


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## Christie_ZXR

feorag said:


> :lol2: Did you think it was her umbilical cord? :roll2:


Um...er....um...

I am not at liberty to answer that question yer honour :lol2:








Oh alright...I thought it was doggy bits for a minute there!! My netbook screen really is very pooh so you have to let me off!! :blush: The fact that she's a she didn't register! :lol2:


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## feorag

:gasp:


----------



## Jaydan

Thought i'd throw my Jess in to the mix :2thumb: She is collie x gsd and 2 & a half, such a baby :flrt:

Having a cuddle with my son









When she was a pup









After a swim









Sorry for the crap quality of the pics, didnt realise they were so bnad :O will need to take new ones with the camera


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## sarahc

Having seen the recent thread where a young person is desperate for their first dog it took me back years to my own.I wondered when everyone else got their first dog and if they have stuck with the breed.Mine was a german shepherd called Sally when I was 16yrs.A family friend had a marriage break up and Sally was out of a home at 4 months,I begged and begged for her and my Mum gave in.She was a great dog although I cringe now that I trained her using 'Training Dogs The Woodhouse Way' which was rather harsh but accepted without question at the time.Sally lived til she was 12.When I was 19 I got a stafford Amy and then another Cleo and then the french bulldogs followed. I've only ever wanted bull breeds since.My dream was a bull terrier after reading the incredible journey and knowing my uncles 2 Bertie and Bodger.I never did get one but maybe next time round which is a few years away yet,I hope.


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## feorag

My first dog was a yellow labrador and I absolutey adored him!










I asked for a dog more or less from the moment I could actually say the word and my mother said no! She used to fob me off with "you can have a dog when we get a house with a garden". So when we got a house with a garden when I was 9 year old and I asked I was fobbed off with "when we can afford the wire netting to keep the dog in you can get one". I then offered to save up my pocket money to pay for the wire netting - she still said no. I tried everything - went on hunger strike for a weekend (ended up with a budgie! :roll even brought bitches home who'd had pups so she could see it was only a small dog.

I ended up knocking on people's doors and asking if I could walk their dog. There was a family at the end of our street and the guy was in prison. the wife had 4 children and a juvenile GSD and was grateful for me to walk her. I absolutely adored that dog, I took her all over the place, had her out most of the day, pretending she was mine and was absolutely gutted when the husband came out of prison and sold her!  When i started work at 16 I came home once and told my mother I'd put a deposit on a puppy in the city centre pet shop and she still said no. 

Suddenly when I was 18 she relented and agreed to have a Jack Russell (the lady she worked for had 2 and my mother discovered she liked them!) I wanted a big dog like an Afghan Hound/Great Dane/irish wolfhouse/borzoi (I knew them all from my "I Spy Dogs" book :lol: )

Eventually we came to the agreement that a beagle might be good, being the smallest big dog she would accept and the largest small dog I would accept. So armed with the dog magazine I started phoning beagle breeders and couldn't find a pup anywhere. On the following Saturday my mum, dad and I went into the city centre to the pet shop and they had a litter of labradors, but my mum said they would be too big. At the back was a little runty pup, paler in colour than the rest and slightly smaller, so I suggested we got him, because he was runty and so wouldn't grow very big  and she relented! Jason went everywhere with me, except for my office job. At night I worked in a garage selling petrol, he came with me, he went baby sitting with me, he even went on my honeymoon. Here we are on honeymoon, when he was 6 year old - sorry for crap quality - photos of old faded photos don't come out too well.










Losing him at 11 was every bit as bad as losing my first husband 3 years earlier and it took me years to get over him.

I haven't stuck with the breed, although I still love them. As soon as I was married and had a home of my own, I realised my dream and got the dog i'd always wanted, which was an Afghan Hound and then another Afghan Hound.

After losing Jason and Tara I then got a German Shepherd and I've stuck with German Shepherds since then.


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## sarahc

I loved reading that and you look so happy.We used to beg for pups from the petshop but we never got one.I did get a border collie when I was 9 that followed me home from school and never left.We found his owner and returned him but everyday he cleared their fence and met me out of school and eventually stayed for ever.He had many many issues and we never knew anything about dog psychology back in the day.He bit us all and my mum sent him to be put down.After much wailing she relented and he came back castrated which improved him a lot .It never crossed my mind to take pics of old photos:gasp:Most of mine will be at my parents but I've got a few I can dig out and I'd love to see archive pics from others of a more mature era or childhood pics of the more youthful.


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## feorag

I did have a scanner, but all the new software didn't recognise it so I couldn't scan the photos. With a digi camera I just decided to take photos of the photos. Part of the problem is that a lot of my photos have faded and turned 'pinky', but an instant fix on my photographic software brings the colour back in reasonably well.

I was indeed very happy when those were taken - my life went a bit sh*t not long after that though! :sad:

Second dog and second honeymoon :lol2:











Third dog










Fourth dog and imminent divorce! :lol2:











Present dog, and very happy again! :2thumb: :roll2:


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## jaykickboxer

I had a jack Russell when I was a baby but it got run over when I was young then at about 7 yrs old my mum bought me and my sister a staff each mine used to sleep at the end of my bed alot she was quality a big softy after they died my mum got another and eventually another one recently , the older one died so she only has one now as soon as I was older I was looking at dogs and my mum
Didn't mind me getting one I wanted to rescue a American bulldog but we moved into my girlfriends mum and dads and they wouldn't of appreciated it they already had a lab , 
But within a few months of moving out we bought a olde Tyme bulldog as we loved ddbs and they looked like a smaller version of one nOw we also have one of them in not to sure if il stick to these breeds I realy like mini schnauzers aswell But would imagine il always Have some sort of mastiffs in the future il realy do love a lot of traits about both the dogs I own tho so may always have the same But also like a lot of other dogs especially the Caucasian shepard dogs but living in London the chances of me having enough land to have a big pack of dogs are very slim so prob only ever have 1 or 2 dogs at once and I hope my two are around for quit a few more


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## Evilshiddenclaws

I wasnt allowed a dog growing up, I was told I could get one when i moved out, so i moved in with my then boy friend and his mum and I got my first dog who was a 8 year old lurcher. The second best dog I've ever owned, but I can't take any credit for his brhaviour, he was ready made when I got him out the doghome.

Later on I'll post pictures and continue with the other dogs ive had.


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## Daisyy

So many lovely dogs! Here's my 2 year old otterhound Odi


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## jaykickboxer

Il have to get some pics from my mans of my first dogs here's my two now the pics were taken a few seconds ago they look tired after there walk 


He lays so weird sometimes complete with slobber patch from before he moved his head Hence me tiling the hallway floor 










And bella 










They've moved now although not far there next to each on floor


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## jaykickboxer

Like this


----------



## Evilshiddenclaws

i dont currently have any pictures on my photobucket account of my first two dogs but i do of my last two.

Here is my pride and joy, the best thing i've ever had in my life. RIP my bestest boy










and this is Dexter with Ally, the female had to be rehomed due to her bat crap crazy nature, i tried so hard with her but living at the kennels just did not suit her. i miss my girly bum.










very very soon i'll be posting constantly with pictures of my new baby :flrt:


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## Christie_ZXR

Evilshiddenclaws said:


> very very soon i'll be posting constantly with pictures of my new baby :flrt:


Must have missed this bit! Who and what's the new baby going to be? :2thumb:


Buster's been driving me up the wall recently!! :devil: He's taken to chasing the cats pretty badly  
We sat down and had a chat about it, and reckon it's boredom. We've both had a lot on recently, and I don't think he's been getting enough of the right sort of attention. He's been getting tons of cuddles and plenty of walks as usual, but not enough play at home we reckon. So we're going with a combination of more play-time, more clicker training and time outs if he does it. Hate the time outs  little sod knows exactly how to make the most horrible "I'm in agony and you don't love me any more" whining noise...and he's only getting shut into the spare room for 5 minutes at a time!! :whip:

Pandora gave him a nasty scratch on the belly a couple of weeks ago, which I would have thought would be deterrent enough! (He's fine, it looked bad, but it was only on the surface and healed in a day or two) Pandora's the only one who'll turn round and scratch him, the other three just run, which he thinks is a great game :devil: Hopefully it'll sort itself out soon enough, but any advice is more than welcome! :notworthy: Really don't want any one getting hurt


----------



## Evilshiddenclaws

Christie_ZXR said:


> Must have missed this bit! Who and what's the new baby going to be? :2thumb:
> 
> 
> Buster's been driving me up the wall recently!! :devil: He's taken to chasing the cats pretty badly
> We sat down and had a chat about it, and reckon it's boredom. We've both had a lot on recently, and I don't think he's been getting enough of the right sort of attention. He's been getting tons of cuddles and plenty of walks as usual, but not enough play at home we reckon. So we're going with a combination of more play-time, more clicker training and time outs if he does it. Hate the time outs  little sod knows exactly how to make the most horrible "I'm in agony and you don't love me any more" whining noise...and he's only getting shut into the spare room for 5 minutes at a time!! :whip:
> 
> Pandora gave him a nasty scratch on the belly a couple of weeks ago, which I would have thought would be deterrent enough! (He's fine, it looked bad, but it was only on the surface and healed in a day or two) Pandora's the only one who'll turn round and scratch him, the other three just run, which he thinks is a great game :devil: Hopefully it'll sort itself out soon enough, but any advice is more than welcome! :notworthy: Really don't want any one getting hurt


I'm getting a dobermann. 7 sleeps to Go! :lol2:


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## Christie_ZXR

Aww. Puppy? What's he/she going to be called?


----------



## Evilshiddenclaws

Yup just a baby. A baby girl and her name will be 'morgan'. She's coming up from way down south, the breeder is coming up for SKC dog show so has kindly said she will bring my pup up with them. It means she'll only be 7 weeks old but it saves me about 200 quid in fuel! Lol 

I'm so excited. I'm like a kid waiting on Christmas!


----------



## Kare

Been to a Fun Dog show today. 
Edenn came third in Waggiest Tail and second in Best Trick.

Morgan then went in with my friend and her long coated shepherd and the two of them came 1st in Best Pair!!


----------



## feorag

That's great! :2thumb: when I decided it was time to have another dog, I intended to do that too! :roll:


----------



## Kare




----------



## Christie_ZXR

Love it. So very true.


----------



## feorag

Yup - absolutely true!!!


----------



## jaykickboxer

That dog poster is how it should be we've moved ,and had a baby since wee got our dog getting rid of him is not something that would ever cross my mind as a possibility he's like our kid , hate it when I see dogs advertised for rehoming when people have got kids on the way or moving shocking, when we had the trainer round for a few one on ones he asked was we gonna get rid of him if he didn't improve me and the Misses looked at him shocked like it was ever a possibility and both said no instantly , he's a pleasure to own but was realy boisterous when we was out with him he's much better now tho .


----------



## jaykickboxer

Took this the other day it's not something I encourage but looked over and she was lying down on him hugging him as she sat up I snapped a quick pic before I got her off ,


----------



## BMo1979

Took Trigger to the School bus drop off point this morning and as usual he was centre of attention. He's such a tart, lol! 
Cos he does a couple of tricks (roll-over, bark on command, paws, spin round, etc) he kept entertaining all the kids while the bus was late, not to mention getting cuddles of everyone around. The teachers will be wondering why all the kids from our area are covered in dog hairs this morning, lol.

When the bus finally arrived it was "Bye Trigger!"... what about "Bye Mum"? *sulks*


----------



## Christie_ZXR

lol!!

Buster comes to work with me sometimes, and most of my regular customers come in and say hello to him and totally ignore me when he's there so I know how you feel!!


----------



## Christie_ZXR

Hahaha!!

O/h informed me there is "a seriously cute all white jr/chi cross puppy" advertised for sale in the widow of the shop over the road.

I don't think I've ever said "no" so many times in my life...!!

Give him that, he's determined! Every time he sees another jr puppy he decides it's perfect and wants it!! 

One of these days, I'm going to come home and there's going to be six little furry poop-machines in the house...I just know it...someone help me please!!


----------



## BMo1979

I can totally relate to..... your OH, :lol2:!

Puppies are just too irresistible and there are too many beautiful dogs to own within a lifetime :-(.


----------



## Christie_ZXR

I know, but still! 

If I'd said yes to every puppy he's wanted so far, the house would be like the ending of 101 dalmatians...only full of jack russells!!




Although to be far...just nipped over the road for some milk and saw the ad, and the puppy is pretty damn cute!!


----------



## feorag

I fell for a Jack Russell puppy which was for sale at a tearoom on the isle of Arran over 30 years ago. I would have taken him home with me no problem, but my then husband (now ex for obvious reasons) didn't like dogs and at the time we had 2 Afghans and a car full cos my parents and 2 children were with us, so common sense prevailed. :roll:


----------



## Evilshiddenclaws

That common sense stuff is a pain in the neck isn't it lol


----------



## feorag

It sure is, but I need to keep it otherwise I'd have wall-to-wall animals.

Even that in itself isn't a problem, but i do enjoy my annual holiday and everything that can, comes with us. Barry refused point blank to kennel or leave our dog and cats and would do without the holiday than leave them behind. Also if I keep too many smaller critters it creates a problem getting them cared for, so common sense prevails at all times.


----------



## Christie_ZXR

Tell me about it! Just wish he'd go get himself some of that common sense stuff so I didn't have to be the bad guy that says no to cute puppies all the time! :lol2:


----------



## feorag

Have to say it's my husband who is the voice of reason in our house. My heart will always rule my head, whereas he has more control and his head rules his heart where getting more pets is concerned.

When we're too old to go on holiday, we'll also be too old to have long lived animals, then I'll rescue old cats and dogs and concentrate on those which don't live so long and fill the house with them! :lol2:


----------



## jaykickboxer

feorag said:


> I fell for a Jack Russell puppy which was for sale at a tearoom on the isle of Arran over 30 years ago. I would have taken him home with me no problem, but my then husband (now ex for obvious reasons) didn't like dogs and at the time we had 2 Afghans and a car full cos my parents and 2 children were with us, so common sense prevailed. :roll:


My mates Missus wanted a chi and my mate bought her a great Dane , luckily they got a huge house bet she was surprised, as u said so hard to say no to a pup as soon as we turned up at the breeders house To look at the DDb I new wed order one there and then , even tho they were only 2 weeks old


----------



## feorag

Yup, I don't think there's a puppy or a kitten that isn't adorable when you first see them, it's just unfortunate that some of them don't stay that way when they grow up! :lol2:


----------



## Kare

feorag said:


> Yup, I don't think there's a puppy or a kitten that isn't adorable when you first see them, it's just unfortunate that some of them don't stay that way when they grow up! :lol2:


I guess I am quite lucky in that I do not find most puppies that cute, cuter than adults no question, but show me a small terrier bred or toy breed pup and I would not see the attraction at all any more than I would see the attraction of the adult dog.

My husband is the voice of reason here too, or else i would be collecting a new year old German shepherd from Bedfordshire right about now!! though to be honest I would probably enter a state of panic if he were to say yes suddenly and a new dog really was coming.


----------



## FLINTUS

The Lennox Campaign
Don't know whether someone's made this post, but I think it needs to be raised.


----------



## Evilshiddenclaws

i posted this on the smile thread. thought i'd share it here seen as you lot are doggy people and might like it.

did it using some kind of image thingy on facebook.


----------



## jaykickboxer

FLINTUS said:


> The Lennox Campaign
> Don't know whether someone's made this post, but I think it needs to be raised.


Think we've all seen this mate very sad situation


----------



## Christie_ZXR

feorag said:


> Yup, I don't think there's a puppy or a kitten that isn't adorable when you first see them, it's just unfortunate that some of them don't stay that way when they grow up! :lol2:


See, that's why I like little animals, they're like perma-puppies!! Specially with Buster being such a lively little thing, he'll always look like a puppy, and he'll probably always think he is one too!!

Although, that said, the problem I have with actually getting a puppy/kitten or anything else from a young age myself, is you can never be 100% sure how they'll turn out. An adult, or at least older, rescue dog is a "finished package" :lol2: you know for sure what they'll be like when they grow up because they're already like it. Plus, puppies look so fragile! I'd be frightened of breaking one!!

Not that puppies aren't cute though!! They really are! But personally I'd rather coo over other people's pups than wander around the house picking up the pooh...:whistling2: :lol2:


Evilshiddenclaws, that's a lovely pic  What's doggy's name?


----------



## Evilshiddenclaws

Christie_ZXR said:


> See, that's why I like little animals, they're like perma-puppies!! Specially with Buster being such a lively little thing, he'll always look like a puppy, and he'll probably always think he is one too!!
> 
> Although, that said, the problem I have with actually getting a puppy/kitten or anything else from a young age myself, is you can never be 100% sure how they'll turn out. An adult, or at least older, rescue dog is a "finished package" :lol2: you know for sure what they'll be like when they grow up because they're already like it. Plus, puppies look so fragile! I'd be frightened of breaking one!!
> 
> Not that puppies aren't cute though!! They really are! But personally I'd rather coo over other people's pups than wander around the house picking up the pooh...:whistling2: :lol2:
> 
> 
> Evilshiddenclaws, that's a lovely pic  What's doggy's name?


you couldn't be further from the truth, there are exceptions but the mjority of 'rescues' are mych harder work than a well bred pure breed puppy, you know exactly what you get when you buy from a responsible breeder. If you pick up a cross breed how do you know how that will turn out? Unless you just mean size of a fully grown dog, but that has nothing to do with what temperment you'd end up with.

That picture is of 'Dexter' my pride and joy who past away last november.


----------



## Christie_ZXR

Yes, I do mean size. Well, as well as looks. Even if you can be pretty certain what they'll look like based on the parents, I'd guess there'd still be the odd exception who turns out looking a bit different to what you'd expect.

Temperament I'm figuring is a totally different thing, and one I have no clue about! I was just referring to cuteness! :lol2:

Dexter is lovely  you should print that picture off and stick it on the wall


----------



## Kare

Evilshiddenclaws said:


> you couldn't be further from the truth, there are exceptions but the mjority of 'rescues' are mych harder work than a well bred pure breed puppy


I have to agree with Christie on this one.

I think there was a time when the majority (maybe not a large majority, but a majority) of dogs in rescues were problem dogs. 

Now though there are so many looking for new homes just because their owners can no longer afford them or can no longer afford to not work full time to give them the time that they need in the current climate. There are still the problem dogs out there, but I would say the majority now by quite a long way are not coming with major issues, just a few corners that need rounding off. Although I can understand you may see the worst cases, those that actually end up abandoned or in actual rescue places are probably the ones with more problems who did not go to new homes from the internet ad's or word of mouth etc. maybe

I honestly believe a rehomed dog to be a great deal less trouble than a puppy in most cases. I am actually quite anxious having to do the puppy bit again, it is such hard work compared the the rehoming or fostering of rescues in my experience...and I have never cherry picked my rescues other than saying the ones I take have had to get on with other dogs as I have other dogs.

I very much understand what Christie said, the biggest worry for me is that if an older dog has something bad happen to it it is normally just one event amongst 1000's they are fairly stable mentally and reaction wise. Where as a puppy can become very hard work to bring back to normal if say another dog attacks it or a child hurts it (accidentally I would hope) that event has a good chance to stick with them and become more of an issue.


----------



## Evilshiddenclaws

Christie_ZXR said:


> Yes, I do mean size. Well, as well as looks. Even if you can be pretty certain what they'll look like based on the parents, I'd guess there'd still be the odd exception who turns out looking a bit different to what you'd expect.
> 
> Temperament I'm figuring is a totally different thing, and one I have no clue about! I was just referring to cuteness! :lol2:
> 
> Dexter is lovely  you should print that picture off and stick it on the wall


That's why there are breed standards :Na_Na_Na_Na:

I have quite a few nice pictures of him I plan to have framed, its just getting the time and money for it. I don't have a printer just now


----------



## BMo1979

Weird day... Our next door neighbour's 2 dogs were taken away by the SSPCA earlier. I don't know whether she has given them up voluntarily due to health reasons or whether someone has reported the circumstances (I'll explain in a bit), but while I actually feel really sad for the elderly lady I know it was probably the best thing to happen for those dogs.
It was still quite sad to see the officers bringing them out and the younger dog whining and yelping, too scared to jump into the van.
Problem is though, that our neighbour has had several strokes, is severely disabled and I believe the dogs hadn't been walked for years despite people offering to do it for her (including me). The younger dog used to spend most days in the back garden, where she had made tracks along the fence similar to what you find in zoos. The older dog escaped at least once every day. Fair enough she never caused any bother and always came back eventually, but as a driver you would have to be very careful as she had the habit of running very close to cars to "say hello". According to our neighbour she had already been returned to the shelter by several previous owners cos she kept running away. 
I know that our neighbour has recently had more health problems and has not left her house for months, so hopefully she finally saw that it wasn'T fair on the dogs to be locked up with her. Still it must be incredibly hard having to give up your pets even if it is for the better...
I just hope that despite their age and the need of intense training the dogs will find a better home or at least are looked after well at whatever shelter they'll go (I reckon either Lanarkshire or Glasgow). 
They're a small(ish) black Labrador mix called Jasmine and a ginger wire haired Terrier Mix called Bonnie. I think they're between 7-10 years old. :,-(


----------



## Christie_ZXR

Poor things 

I really hope it turns out for the best for them though. If she has done it voluntarily, good on her for doing the right thing for them. Hopefully they'll go to a good home 

Had a strange experience with Buster yesterday. Poor little sod had been on his own longer than usual because of the work yesterday, so when I had to go round to my folks for something after work I took him with me to walk him there. For some reason, he decided he didn't like that idea. When I got to the top of their road I had to turn back. He was ears back, and cowering behind me terrified of something, but I have no idea what it could have been. Really odd. He's not a nervous dog at all, if anything, he's a bit too bold!
I picked him up when it happened, and carried him for a bit. Could feel his little heart going nuts  but after about 5 mins, he was totally fine! Back to normal sniffing at everything and all excited to be out on his walk.
Wish I knew what it was that spooked him, it was really horrible to see him like that  He's fine today though, even though I'm fussing over him! He probably has no idea why and is just enjoying the extra treats!! lol


----------



## Evilshiddenclaws

What age is he?


----------



## lespaul

Oh, dog thread :whistling2:
Just come back from Anglesey with my pair

Ben









Tia









Both having a run on the beach









Darren


----------



## Revobuzz

Is tia a saluki lurcher? Cracking looking dog! Must find picture of my lurcher!


----------



## feorag

2 gorgeous dogs you've got there - Tia looks like a full Saluki to me, not a lurcher! :flrt::flrt:


----------



## lespaul

Revobuzz said:


> Is tia a saluki lurcher? Cracking looking dog! Must find picture of my lurcher!


Thanks 
Ben is a longdog Saluki/Greyhound cross approx 4 years old, Tia is a lurcher Bull/Greyhound cross approx 6 years old. 

Darren


----------



## lespaul

feorag said:


> 2 gorgeous dogs you've got there - Tia looks like a full Saluki to me, noy a lurcher! :flrt::flrt:


Thanks

Ben's the fluffy one :lol2:
We do meet and greets at [email protected] with our dogs to raise awairness and money for the rescue Ben came from, the amount of times I get asked "is he a fluffy Greyhound" :blush: nice that people recognize a Saluki :2thumb:

Darren


----------



## Revobuzz

lespaul said:


> Thanks
> Ben is a longdog Saluki/Greyhound cross approx 4 years old, Tia is a lurcher Bull/Greyhound cross approx 6 years old.
> 
> Darren


Oops yeah, name is above photo d'oh! I meant Ben not Tia. Anyway great looking dogs and looking like they are loving the beach.


----------



## Revobuzz

Not a great photo, but here's my lurcher "Beamish". Got her from RSPCA nearly 10 years ago, she's now 12 so slowing up a bit. Still super fast when wants to be though!


----------



## feorag

I followed suit with Tia, but Ben does look like a Saluki - they're gorgeous! :flrt:


----------



## Christie_ZXR

Evilshiddenclaws said:


> What age is he?


Buster's coming up 2. But we're the 4th owners. He's actually been moved 5 times, one person gave him away, then got him back, then gave him away again. To the best of our knowledge he came from slightly dubious "breeders" in the first place. The lady we got him from seemed really nice, but we've no idea if he was mistreated in any way by any of the others before she had him.


----------



## Kare

It is strange what unusual things can spook them though. Edenn went nuts once because there was a traffic cone lying on the beach on its side in the waves.:flrt:

She has no traffic cone issues, I think if it was stood up she would have been fine, if it was in a more normal place for a traffic cone to be and was lying down I still think she would have been fine

But lying on a beach really freaked her out, plus the waves may have made it appear to be moving, or maybe that is an optical illusion only humans are stupid enough to fall for :blush:


----------



## BMo1979

I remember when Trigger was about 18 months old he went through a phase where the a lot of things would scare him:
Building site barrier with light, a tree stump, our soda streamer...

I never made any fuss, just calmly walked up to the objects and carried on as normal so he could see it was nothing out of the ordinary.


----------



## Kare

BMo1979 said:


> I remember when Trigger was about 18 months old he went through a phase where the a lot of things would scare him:
> Building site barrier with light, a tree stump, our soda streamer...
> 
> I never made any fuss, just calmly walked up to the objects and carried on as normal so he could see it was nothing out of the ordinary.


The soda stream thing reminded me to share the fact that Morgan believes I am too stupid to be in charge of fly spray. Steve can use it no issues, but if I spray it she gives me a good telling off!!


----------



## Kare

I have really started to have enough of the situation with the dog next door. It is a little chihuahua and is always crying next to a hole in the fence between the gardens. It is breaking my heart.

To start with it only cried when we (the dogs and I) were out there, but now it is crying a lot, whether we are outside or not

I have only stroked the dog twice, it is not like i have ever rewarded it with tons of attention.

Correct me if I am wrong, but isn't this meant to be a breed of dog that is quite aloof with non family members. I am really starting to feel that surely he would not be acting this way if he was getting what he needed from his owners? They are a retired couple and I think their son is recently back from Iraq or Afghanistan so it is not like there are not people around, I just don't think they seem to like the dog. I think the main issue is that in the time they have had it (I think he is likely about 8-9 months old) they are still heard yelling about its toilet training.


----------



## Evilshiddenclaws

I got some very sad news earlier on today. Some if you might recall this very handsome chap called 'Naz' who was a stunning elderly German shepherd that I fostered for a few weeks.

Unfortunately he passed away yesterday morning, his new owners had taken him to the vet because he was very unwell and apparently his stomach had twisted and due to the severity and his age the vet said the kindest thing to do was have him pts.

I was in tears when I heard and almost again writing this.

RIP handsome man x


----------



## feorag

Is that the boy that Kare offered to take if we could all organise a way to get him down to Devon? If it is I've been meaning to ask you for a few weeks now whatever happened to him.

If it was him, what sad news! :sad:


----------



## Evilshiddenclaws

feorag said:


> Is that the boy that Kare offered to take if we could all organise a way to get him down to Devon? If it is I've been meaning to ask you for a few weeks now whatever happened to him.
> 
> If it was him, what sad news! :sad:


no that was the female *black* german shepherd, she was rehomed to someone else through my idiotic manageress. thankfully a nice home though! but it was on one of my days off so i never knew anything about it until i got back to work, i wasnt a very happy bunny.

This was after Suzanne had told me they didnt want to arrange such a long journey for a dog with such severe travel sickness. But we had someone lined up through german shepherd rescue because my Aunty is a volunteer for them. but naturally Liz goes against common sense and does her own thing. Thankfully as far as i am aware she is doing very well.

no, Naz is this boy


----------



## Evilshiddenclaws

here he is 










this was a picture my mum took of him when she visited while he was with me, it's the picture Suzanne used on her facebook for him, also the picture she posted with the sad news.

he was so proud looking.

such a shame


----------



## feorag

What a shame - he really was a handsome boy! :sad:


----------



## Evilshiddenclaws

And an absolute sweetheart . He did drive me up the wall with his whining and when he'd pace up and down on the laminate with his long nails but he was such a lovely old man.


----------



## jaykickboxer

Realy bad quality photos but still what a difference 4 months makes
from this 








to this


----------



## Postcard

Kare said:


> It is strange what unusual things can spook them though. Edenn went nuts once because there was a traffic cone lying on the beach on its side in the waves.:flrt:
> 
> She has no traffic cone issues, I think if it was stood up she would have been fine, if it was in a more normal place for a traffic cone to be and was lying down I still think she would have been fine
> 
> But lying on a beach really freaked her out, plus the waves may have made it appear to be moving, or maybe that is an optical illusion only humans are stupid enough to fall for :blush:


Mine was spooked by a sideyways traffic cone that appeared on our usual walk for a few days earlier this year - like yours, no problem if they're upright! 


Poor wee dogface has a buster collar on so she's not too happy - stitches out monday but she's doing very well.

Also Ben is a beaut, I love his saluki ears. And kickboxwerjay your DDB is MASSIVE, like a mini pony already...


----------



## DavieB

Helen, with your experience would you consider opening your own boarding kennels with a small recue attached? Iirc your on,y 26 and looking for a new job. You could contact the princes trust with some sort of business plan, they do low interest loans and grants for people's your age looking to become self employed, it may be pie in the sky but it. Ay be worth a look. I heard something about this on 5 live the other day, I know nothing about kennels btw but in an area like the borders jobs are hard to come by.






A small plot of land a load of kennels and a static caravan for a nightshift type role would get you going surely.


----------



## feorag

jaykickboxer said:


> Realy bad quality photos but still what a difference 4 months makes
> from this
> image
> to this
> image
> 
> image


Aye, she's grown all right! :gasp:



DavieB said:


> Helen, with your experience would you consider opening your own boarding kennels with a small recue attached? Iirc your on,y 26 and looking for a new job. You could contact the princes trust with some sort of business plan, they do low interest loans and grants for people's your age looking to become self employed, it may be pie in the sky but it. Ay be worth a look. I heard something about this on 5 live the other day, I know nothing about kennels btw but in an area like the borders jobs are hard to come by.
> 
> A small plot of land a load of kennels and a static caravan for a nightshift type role would get you going surely.


That's not a bad idea Davie - not totally sure about the rescue part, cos that eats up the money and Helen will want to keep them all :lol:, but the grant is a great idea.

My friend opened her own hairdressing business with a friend using a Princes Trust Grant about 20 years ago and is still going strong! :2thumb:


----------



## Evilshiddenclaws

DavieB said:


> Helen, with your experience would you consider opening your own boarding kennels with a small recue attached? Iirc your on,y 26 and looking for a new job. You could contact the princes trust with some sort of business plan, they do low interest loans and grants for people's your age looking to become self employed, it may be pie in the sky but it. Ay be worth a look. I heard something about this on 5 live the other day, I know nothing about kennels btw but in an area like the borders jobs are hard to come by.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> A small plot of land a load of kennels and a static caravan for a nightshift type role would get you going surely.


It's a good idea, perfect in theory but I honestly doubt it would be a smart move right now. I did think about this a few years ago but never fully looked into it. I dunno bout rescues... Bit too heartbreaking lol



feorag said:


> Aye, she's grown all right! :gasp:
> 
> That's not a bad idea Davie - not totally sure about the rescue part, cos that eats up the money and Helen will want to keep them all :lol:, but the grant is a great idea.
> 
> My friend opened her own hairdressing business with a friend using a Princes Trust Grant about 20 years ago and is still going strong! :2thumb:


If I had my own rescues I'd be bankrupt within a week lol


----------



## Evilshiddenclaws

Sneak preview :whistling2:









:flrt:

Meet Morgan. My puppy to be. Just two more sleeps and hopefully providing plans aren't changed again, she'll be MINE! :2thumb:


----------



## feorag

Oh My!! She's gorgeous! :flrt: I'm really looking forward to following her growth and show career! :2thumb:

Could you not look into starting your own pet sitting service?? Maybe you could still apply for a grant to buy a reliable car to allow you to travel??? At least doing that leaves you time to spend time with Morgan too?


----------



## jaykickboxer

Cheers everyone and evils hidden she looks quality u must be so excited , I couldn't wait to get my pup


----------



## Evilshiddenclaws

Quality is one way to put it. She's very well bred lol


----------



## FreddiesMum

Oh that wee puppy is stunning lucky you :flrt:


----------



## Postcard

She's a stunner, Evils. We're thinking of doing SKC if the weather's nice as you can take spectator dogs now - if I am, I'll try and catch you!!


----------



## jaykickboxer

Postcard said:


> She's a stunner, Evils. We're thinking of doing SKC if the weather's nice as you can take spectator dogs now - if I am, I'll try and catch you!!


Skc???


----------



## Postcard

jaykickboxer said:


> Skc???


Welcome to The Scottish Kennel Club


----------



## jaykickboxer

Postcard said:


> Welcome to The Scottish Kennel Club


Ah right Scotland way to far thought it might have stood for that


----------



## Evilshiddenclaws

FreddiesMum said:


> Oh that wee puppy is stunning lucky you :flrt:


Thanks she is gorgeous



Postcard said:


> She's a stunner, Evils. We're thinking of doing SKC if the weather's nice as you can take spectator dogs now - if I am, I'll try and catch you!!


I'll be working  I won't be there this time.



jaykickboxer said:


> Skc???


Scottish kennel club show. It's held at the highland show ground next to Edinburgh airport. I might be able to get hold of a free pass


----------



## Christie_ZXR

Buster's learned a new trick!!! :no1:

He can give paw now  although instead of "paw", we thought it might be funny to teach him "how d'ya do"... :lol2:

Gotta think of another new silly thing to add to his repertoire now! Might try a high five for the next one.


----------



## jaykickboxer

Christie_ZXR said:


> Buster's learned a new trick!!! :no1:
> 
> He can give paw now  although instead of "paw", we thought it might be funny to teach him "how d'ya do"... :lol2:
> 
> Gotta think of another new silly thing to add to his repertoire now! Might try a high five for the next one.


It's all about walking handstands with little dogs would like my bulldog to do it but there's no chance his legs are that strong u might have a chance with a jack


----------



## PPVallhunds

Christie_ZXR said:


> Buster's learned a new trick!!! :no1:
> 
> He can give paw now  although instead of "paw", we thought it might be funny to teach him "how d'ya do"... :lol2:
> 
> Gotta think of another new silly thing to add to his repertoire now! Might try a high five for the next one.


Now he knows paw you can trach him to wave. Thats my girls fav trick at the moment it it seems to realy impress people when she does it.

ask buster to give paw a few times, then hold out your hand as if your going to ask for paw. He should go to give you his paw and when he does pull your hand away so he misses and say wave and reward him.


----------



## PPVallhunds

Fay last week at a show.










She has had some problems with being afraid of strangers but has improved so much, she was able to have the judge go over her and approached a few strangers at the show. But i need to do more work on men as the male stuard was still scairy lol and she even get best puppy in breed. 
:no1:










But shes now on house rest today as she slipped yesterday and was limping a bit. Shes off to her breeders next weekend for a weeks holliday as we were going to take her but all the places in the area to vist all said no dogs.


----------



## feorag

Congratulations - well done! :2thumb:

My Afghan Hound was always frightened of men and when I first started to show him I used to have to kneel on one knee and put the other one under his chest to stop him leaning backwards as the judge approached (not that you would be able to do that! :lol. Eventually he began to learn what was expected of him and that nothing awful was going to happen and I could stand alongside him, drop the lead and he would stand like a rock, but he remained frightened of men everywhere else but in a show ring.

One day we had a lady judge, but she appeared wearing a trouser suit and trilby hat and that threw him for a while!


----------



## PPVallhunds

Arh your boy sounds loverly. She use to love strangers but after the parvo and having to be in quantien for 3 months she was scaired. She did get spooked as the scairy male stood behind us and shouted the next class and she thought he was shouting at her. But the lady judge was soo good with her and took her time and kept telling her she was a good girl. 
At ringclass she seems much better and if other people have dogs with them (it they have dogs they must be ok lol)


----------



## Christie_ZXR

I can't imagine Buster doing a handstand and not falling flat on his face!! The wave sounds like fun though. He did give me both paws at once a few times when he was learning to give one, so that could be "give me five" if I can convince him to do it again 

Gotta get some more treats though...I was so impressed with him when he finally got it that we may have finished them off yesterday...:whistling2:


----------



## Nerve

Meet Jess, my new 4 year old Rottie rescue =]










Just chillin'


----------



## feorag

PPVallhunds said:


> Arh your boy sounds loverly. She use to love strangers but after the parvo and having to be in quantien for 3 months she was scaired. She did get spooked as the scairy male stood behind us and shouted the next class and she thought he was shouting at her. But the lady judge was soo good with her and took her time and kept telling her she was a good girl.
> At ringclass she seems much better and if other people have dogs with them (it they have dogs they must be ok lol)


If you have a good judge, they will take their time with a young dog who is nervous and bring them on. :2thumb:



Christie_ZXR said:


> I can't imagine Buster doing a handstand and not falling flat on his face!! The wave sounds like fun though. He did give me both paws at once a few times when he was learning to give one, so that could be "give me five" if I can convince him to do it again


:hmm: Would that not be "give me ten"??



Nerve said:


> image
> 
> Meet Jess, my new 4 year old Rottie rescue =]
> 
> image
> 
> Just chillin'


She's beatiful! :flrt:


----------



## Evilshiddenclaws

Awwwww rottie snuggles, they're the bestest kind of snuggles :flrt:


----------



## Nerve

feorag said:


> She's beatiful! :flrt:


Ta  she really is a stunner!



Evilshiddenclaws said:


> Awwwww rottie snuggles, they're the bestest kind of snuggles :flrt:


I have learned this quickly! She's such a soppy affectionate girly


----------



## Moosey

feorag said:


> If you have a good judge, they will take their time with a young dog who is nervous and bring them on. :2thumb:
> 
> :hmm: Would that not be "give me ten"??
> 
> She's beatiful! :flrt:


She's so small as well! She's about the size of a lab, if not smaller! she's full Rottie as well, I ADORE her!


Nerve said:


> Ta  she really is a stunner!
> 
> 
> I have learned this quickly! She's such a soppy affectionate girly


She's also Mummy's Shadow when I'm at home :flrt: Her arse STINKS though!! A diet change is being implemented!


----------



## Evilshiddenclaws

Posted this pic of my baby on cat chat thread, thought this was more appropriate lol


----------



## Evilshiddenclaws

'no wanna get out now, its cosy warm in the car'


----------



## Christie_ZXR

feorag said:


> :hmm: Would that not be "give me ten"??


Poohsticks. Yes it would. And I thought it was such a brill idea I've started teaching him it already!!! :lol2:


----------



## feorag

:roll2: PMSL!!!


----------



## Kare

Following a close investigation of one of the 8 paws on the sofa next to me, I believe I would have to go for "give me 8"


----------



## feorag

:lol2: Now you're splitting hairs! :lol2:


----------



## Christie_ZXR

Well he sort of knows it now, but not properly yet. Either way I don't think I can change the command without confusing him...

I shall just have to tell people he can't count!! :lol2:


----------



## Christie_ZXR

Evilshiddenclaws said:


> 'no wanna get out now, its cosy warm in the car'
> 
> image


That is ridiculously cute!! :flrt:


----------



## Evilshiddenclaws

Christie_ZXR said:


> That is ridiculously cute!! :flrt:


she is :flrt: 

my little baby doll, shes just perfect.


----------



## feorag

Christie_ZXR said:


> Well he sort of knows it now, but not properly yet. Either way I don't think I can change the command without confusing him...
> 
> I shall just have to tell people he can't count!! :lol2:


Don't change the command, just add "doubled" at the end of it - then people will think he's ultra intelligent and can count! :lol2:


----------



## IngloriousJD

Suzy and her best bud buster 








Suzy and her favourite past time


----------



## sarahc

copying feorags idea for taking photos of old pics,not made such a good job.Some of my past dogs,loved and lost
Sally,German Shepherd








Staffords Cleo,Joe and Chelsea








and with the cat Poppy








Tommy the g hound,Heide a friends Doby cross,Staffords and my first ever French bulldog Janet








Bosey








Graham who was deaf








Peewee








Jess my brothers pitbull before they were banned,Sally,Sheba,Staffords and Janet


----------



## sarahc

Makes me sad that they are gone.


----------



## fay-leanne

I posted pictures of my boy in another thread but this is my dog called Kaos!!
He's 3 and a bit loopy. Anyone no how to stop a dog from chasing shadows!?! 




























Kaos as a puppy









Sent from my Galaxy Nexus


----------



## feorag

Oh! He's gorgeous! :flrt:


----------



## Christie_ZXR

Love the puppy pic!! :flrt:


Love that pic of the staffies and the cat too, just looks like a big pile of animals!! :lol2:


Had a right scare with Buster yesterday... :whip: Went to see my mum, and she'd put mouse posion down in the corner of her kitchen! :devil: Buster went into the kitchen and chomped a mouthful of something, so we were straight on the phone to the emergency vets to find out what on earth to do. Got quoted about £600 for him to be sorted if he had eaten it. 

Turns out he hadn't eaten it anyway! He'd just helped himself to some spilt cat food which was at that end of the kitchen too. Mum said the poison had none missing from it since last time she'd looked!! Scared the life out of me and we spend all evening watching Buster like a hawk for anything out of the ordinary. He's fine though thankfully. And the posion went straight in the bin!!! Don't know why she's worried about mice anyway with this flipping great ginger cat she's got! That posion is bloody horrible stuff. The emergency vet told me what it could do to a dog if they eat enough of it, and it's pretty unpleasant. Hate to think what it would do to a mouse. Not that a cat would be much kinder!! But hopefully a bit quicker at least.


----------



## Christie_ZXR

Anyone want an evil doggy...??!!* 

Buster spent the whole night whining and barking yesterday because my o/h's away working!! Whilst it's very sweet that he missed him, I got no flipping sleep!!









*btw...I will need him back in a few days when the o/h is home or I'll get shot!!


----------



## feorag

:lol2:


----------



## Montage_Morphs

It's tough being a Charlie Bear on a Monday morning...


----------



## Christie_ZXR

That is very cute! "Sleepy...go away..."


----------



## feorag

Bless him, he certainly isn't looking "bright eyed and bushy tailed" :lol2:

The phrase "p*ssholes in the snow came to mind" :lol2:


----------



## Kare

http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/forums/breeding/889604-cross-breed.html

:bash:


----------



## feorag

Speechless!!! :devil:


----------



## midnite3006

Beauiful pics, This is my boy 11 month old rescue with issues, but i lovehim to pieces


----------



## jaykickboxer

midnite3006 said:


> Beauiful pics, This is my boy 11 month old rescue with issues, but i lovehim to pieces
> 
> 
> image
> 
> image


Very nice what is he ?


----------



## midnite3006

jaykickboxer said:


> Very nice what is he ?


he's a samoyed :no1:


----------



## Evilshiddenclaws

Kare said:


> http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/forums/breeding/889604-cross-breed.html
> 
> :bash:


:censor:

two breeds i really cannot stand, and beagles should be bloody banned along with collies and border terriers as pets :whistling2:

anyone stupid enough to mate a beagle to a lab should have his animals removed and neutered/spayed before he gets a chance to do anything. :bash:


----------



## Kare

Evilshiddenclaws said:


> :censor:
> 
> two breeds i really cannot stand, and beagles should be bloody banned along with collies and border terriers as pets :whistling2:
> 
> anyone stupid enough to mate a beagle to a lab should have his animals removed and neutered/spayed before he gets a chance to do anything. :bash:


My husbands brother and sister in law have two beagles. I have to admit I no longer dislike them as individuals until the point we are in the middle of some woodland waiting for 15-20 mins because they have :censor: off and will not come back.

I guess I am that shallow type of dog owner that enjoys having breeds who actually care what you want!


----------



## Disillusioned

Thought I'd add a couple of my chihuahua pup. She still can't go for walks yet but has a little jumper for cold nights anyway.


----------



## feorag

She is sooooo pretty! :flrt:


----------



## Disillusioned

feorag said:


> She is sooooo pretty! :flrt:


Thank you lol. Definitely makes going places twice as long with the amount of people who want to stop me to have a look at her! Already got her collar and tag for when she's allowed on the floor...so excited to take her over the park etc haha, she will love it.


----------



## Evilshiddenclaws

Kare said:


> My husbands brother and sister in law have two beagles. I have to admit I no longer dislike them as individuals until the point we are in the middle of some woodland waiting for 15-20 mins because they have :censor: off and will not come back.
> 
> I guess I am that shallow type of dog owner that enjoys having breeds who actually care what you want!


i just cant stand them, selective deafness and a complete disregard for their owner is not what i would call 'pet' material. Cats are better than bloody beagles! 



Disillusioned said:


> Thought I'd add a couple of my chihuahua pup. She still can't go for walks yet but has a little jumper for cold nights anyway.
> 
> image
> 
> image
> 
> image
> 
> image


she's so small :flrt:


----------



## DavieB

Just out the shower. Kids in bed, night to ourselves so decided to have a shower... With Yuri not the mrs . you know you have a big dog when its easier to get in the shower (with shorts on, so as not to be toooo wierd) with him to clean him than it is to lean over the shower lol.


----------



## Evilshiddenclaws

DavieB said:


> Just out the shower. Kids in bed, night to ourselves so decided to have a shower... With Yuri not the mrs . you know you have a big dog when its easier to get in the shower (with shorts on, so as not to be toooo wierd) with him to clean him than it is to lean over the shower lol.


i had to do this with Dexter a couple times. I couldnt put him in the bath and before i got him to cooperate in the shower it was much easier to get in with him lmao


----------



## Kare

DavieB said:


> Just out the shower. Kids in bed, night to ourselves so decided to have a shower... With Yuri not the mrs . you know you have a big dog when its easier to get in the shower (with shorts on, so as not to be toooo wierd) with him to clean him than it is to lean over the shower lol.


What a posh dog. My dogs get hosed down in the garden


----------



## feorag

:lol2: That's what I thought! :2thumb:


----------



## DavieB

I don't have a hose lol. Takes ages getting him shampood and conditioned too , is that any less posh.


The lochs all blue green algae so he's been short on swims lately, I'm normally happy with his coat after a swim tbh but that's nearly 2 months the lochs been unswimmable.


----------



## Evilshiddenclaws

i live in scotland, if i tried to hose down my dog outside he'd have frozen!

he only ever got a bath when he really needed one


----------



## DavieB

My mutts pretty much made for the cold so I couldn't use that excuse Helen lol


----------



## Raynor_NFFC

Well.....

I owned dogs a few years ago but i lost them in a breakup (various different reason why i couldn't take them) and theres not a day go by where i dont think about them. 

A week ago it looked like i would have to wait at least 3 years before getting one again. However my situation has changed dramatically and i now can have one.

So im kind of happy but really nervous now!

AND i dont know what to get..... Malamute or a Springer Spaniel :hmm:

I'll have both eventually but i'm only going to get one for a few years : victory:


----------



## Evilshiddenclaws

Raynor_NFFC said:


> Well.....
> 
> I owned dogs a few years ago but i lost them in a breakup (various different reason why i couldn't take them) and theres not a day go by where i dont think about them.
> 
> A week ago it looked like i would have to wait at least 3 years before getting one again. However my situation has changed dramatically and i now can have one.
> 
> So im kind of happy but really nervous now!
> 
> AND i dont know what to get..... Malamute or a Springer Spaniel :hmm:
> 
> I'll have both eventually but i'm only going to get one for a few years : victory:


malamute :flrt:


----------



## Raynor_NFFC

Evilshiddenclaws said:


> malamute :flrt:


There's only one slight thing....... THE HAIR! I'll be constantly hoovering :lol2:

Im hoping that if i keep on top of the grooming then it wont be too bad


----------



## sarahc

My dogs are eating large amounts of windfall apples.Today I thought I'd try them on raw carrots which my mum used to give to her obese stafford and to my surprise they have gone down very well.I'm becoming disillusioned with high cost dog foods having any major health benefits.They've been on the fish (most expensive)James wellbeloved but I can't see any physical difference and it doesn't make a difference to the itchy skin which both white dogs have,paws and chin.I'm thinking of halving the manufactured food and replacing it with adult pre killed mice which they love and brown bread,maybe half a cup of James wellbeloved.They have liver twice a week as well.Only the dogs can have the mice the bitches cart them around as trophies and cause upset and jealousy,the boys are down the hatch in one it's a definate temperament difference between the sexes.


----------



## Evilshiddenclaws

Raynor_NFFC said:


> There's only one slight thing....... THE HAIR! I'll be constantly hoovering :lol2:
> 
> Im hoping that if i keep on top of the grooming then it wont be too bad


true, this was why i decided against getting an akita, i love the breed but couldnt handle the fur. but spaniels are really hair too, unless you keep them shaved lol


----------



## feorag

Skye gets all my carrot peelings on his food when we have carrots.


----------



## Kare

sarahc said:


> My dogs are eating large amounts of windfall apples.Today I thought I'd try them on raw carrots which my mum used to give to her obese stafford and to my surprise they have gone down very well.I'm becoming disillusioned with high cost dog foods having any major health benefits.They've been on the fish (most expensive)James wellbeloved but I can't see any physical difference and it doesn't make a difference to the itchy skin which both white dogs have,paws and chin.I'm thinking of halving the manufactured food and replacing it with adult pre killed mice which they love and brown bread,maybe half a cup of James wellbeloved.They have liver twice a week as well.Only the dogs can have the mice the bitches cart them around as trophies and cause upset and jealousy,the boys are down the hatch in one it's a definate temperament difference between the sexes.


The fish JWB was the last straw for Morgan before we went on to a raw diet. She was becoming unwilling to eat any of the flavours, but once she had the fish one she point blank refused, and then would not eat any of the other flavours she had previously just about deigned to eat.

My dogs do occasionally have some crusts or something off what I have eaten but it could never be recommended as a regular part of a dogs diet. Bread is not really digestible for a dogs system. What I mean is pay for bread to feed to them is a little pointless as they can barely get nutrients from it at best and will suffer upsets (like wind and/or cramping) at worse.


----------



## sarahc

Maybe I'll go back to free flow mince,nicer poo on the dry food though and they aren't fussy about food brands .


----------



## Christie_ZXR

Buster's had fleas!!!! :gasp:

And it happened while the o/h was still away :whip: So I went into uber-panic mode, spent nearly 40 quid on various bottles of nasty little bitey thing killing sprays and, um, blitzed the house. Pinned down all four cats, got very scratched and blitzed them too! 

I hate fleas.

On the bright side, I bought this cool little exploding flea killing thingumy which fogged out the car and made it look like it was on fire! Had to stand and guard it in case any of the dotty little old ladies down the road called the fire brigade.

If there is one thing on this planet which serves no purpose at all and really ought to become extinct, it's bloody fleas. :devil:


----------



## Evilshiddenclaws

Christie_ZXR said:


> Buster's had fleas!!!! :gasp:
> 
> And it happened while the o/h was still away :whip: So I went into uber-panic mode, spent nearly 40 quid on various bottles of nasty little bitey thing killing sprays and, um, blitzed the house. Pinned down all four cats, got very scratched and blitzed them too!
> 
> I hate fleas.
> 
> On the bright side, I bought this cool little exploding flea killing thingumy which fogged out the car and made it look like it was on fire! Had to stand and guard it in case any of the dotty little old ladies down the road called the fire brigade.
> 
> If there is one thing on this planet which serves no purpose at all and really ought to become extinct, it's bloody fleas. :devil:


Ditto, I despise fleas. And I think Morgan might have them, she only just got advocat two weeks ago!


----------



## feorag

Christie_ZXR said:


> If there is one thing on this planet which serves no purpose at all and really ought to become extinct, it's bloody fleas. :devil:


I sooo agree, but would also like to add ticks to that list!! :bash:


----------



## Evilshiddenclaws

feorag said:


> I sooo agree, but would also like to add ticks to that list!! :bash:


Can I add wasps and bed bugs lol


----------



## Christie_ZXR

Ugh. Seconded! Dearest flatmate brought some bedbugs back from Amsterdam when I first moved out. Bloody horrible things!! Had to have the little pest control man in for those!

Ask a silly question...but can fleas bite humans? Or is the worrying itchy bit on my arm a knat bite and I'm being paranoid? :blush:

Poor Buster's been hosed down and everything! Had the flea comb out and examined him too. Just not grabbed all of the cats yet to check them since Siobhan hasn't yet forgiven me for pinning her down and won't let me near her with a comb at the moment! 

Much as I'd love to shampoo the lot of 'em with bleach...I think that's what they call animal cruelty!! :gasp:


----------



## Evilshiddenclaws

Christie_ZXR said:


> Ugh. Seconded! Dearest flatmate brought some bedbugs back from Amsterdam when I first moved out. Bloody horrible things!! Had to have the little pest control man in for those!
> 
> Ask a silly question...but can fleas bite humans? Or is the worrying itchy bit on my arm a knat bite and I'm being paranoid? :blush:
> 
> Poor Buster's been hosed down and everything! Had the flea comb out and examined him too. Just not grabbed all of the cats yet to check them since Siobhan hasn't yet forgiven me for pinning her down and won't let me near her with a comb at the moment!
> 
> Much as I'd love to shampoo the lot of 'em with bleach...I think that's what they call animal cruelty!! :gasp:


they bite us but dont like living on us, thats why we treat the house and pets but not ourselves.

cat fleas and dog fleas are different but i cant remember how. i just know they all die when i use frontline or advocat lmao!


----------



## vorny

Christie_ZXR said:


> Ugh. Seconded! Dearest flatmate brought some bedbugs back from Amsterdam when I first moved out. Bloody horrible things!! Had to have the little pest control man in for those!
> 
> Ask a silly question...but can fleas bite humans? Or is the worrying itchy bit on my arm a knat bite and I'm being paranoid? :blush:
> 
> Poor Buster's been hosed down and everything! Had the flea comb out and examined him too. Just not grabbed all of the cats yet to check them since Siobhan hasn't yet forgiven me for pinning her down and won't let me near her with a comb at the moment!
> 
> Much as I'd love to shampoo the lot of 'em with bleach...I think that's what they call animal cruelty!! :gasp:


yep, my cat used to come home in all sorts of states and one of the was with fleas...bites all up my legs 
And, siobhan? I share my name with a cat lol


----------



## feorag

A lot of fleas are 'host specific', but cat flease definitely aren't, they'll live on anything if their preferred host isn't around. Most of the fleas found on dogs are apparently more often cat fleas than dog fleas.


----------



## Christie_ZXR

Siobhan's actually named after a friend of mine. 

Thanks guys. This bite on my arm is icky!! Really hope it's gone soon  

Did manage to have a brief examination of Siobhan, was all she'd allow!! But she seems good, and she's not been scratching at all so hopefully we're all clear 

I seriously hate bloody fleas!!! :devil:


----------



## x Sarah x

Well i came into this thread to look at the picture of SarahC's past pit, but i ended up going back to page one and reading the entire thread :whip:

Well i currently have 2 dogs, and one i call mine but she no longer lives with me, i shall explain when i find some pics, hold on...


Ok so my first dog was a little terrier mix suspected JRT x Chi, poss Italian Greyhound, dunno.
Anyway she was spotted by my nan in the local paper, an old lady was advertising her free to a good home, the woman said she purchased her for 100 pounds off a young family who bought her as an 8 week old pup for the kids, they lived in a flat and she'd never been outside, they sold her after she snapped at one of the kids. The old lady bought her but at just 9 months old she had way too much energy for the woman, so she was passing her on.
At the time i was suffering anxiety and depression, i was only 9 years old, very nearly 10 and as a massive animal lover my nan got her for me to try and help with my problems.
She's a very special little pup our Meggie and she means the world to me.
As i say she was 9 months old when i got her, i was 9 years old and Meg's date of birth is 9-9-99, she's still alive and kicking and turned 12 this month, still as crazy as ever, just slightly grey now.
Unfortunately Meg does not live with me, when my nan passed away Meg went to live with my grandad and keep him company, after seeing what they went through together, Meg got very sick when my nan died and my grandad has has a couple of strokes since too and Meg never left his side, they have a very special friendship and i couldn't take that away from either of them, so she's been there ever since.
Anyway, Meg was my best friend for quite a few years, i owe her my life, some pics? and yes that is me in the pics over 10 years ago with my little pup 




































With my aunties Dach and Poody, Fizz and Tilly.


















My next encounter with a pup was when i found a tiny little pup wandering up and down the back of my house, i picked her up and rushed home to my mum, everyone melted at the sight of her, we called her Leah, she was a JRT x Springer spaniel, all white with black dots on her ears. We took her to the petshop and bought her a bed, collar, leads and toys. The shop owner suspected she was about 12 weeks old.
One day about 2 weeks after i'd found her, a neighbour spotted her in the garden and turned out they knew the owner and contacted them. Ironically her name was Meg. I was devastated when he came to pick her up, and later on very angry when i found out he just takes free puppies and sells them on, she was gone a week later to a family round the corner and has been passed on since when i last saw her a year ago, she's also very overweight... Seem to have misplaced my only pic of her sadly...


----------



## x Sarah x

About 7 years ago i became a fosterer for The Cinnamon Trust, my first and only foster was a 7 year old Boxer called Cleo, she had already been in foster for a while, but the old man who was caring for her couldn't do it any longer and we decided to carry on where he was leaving.
He brought her round and i think it was love at first sight, those big brown eyes and that little wagging stump, she was just adorable.
Her elderly owner had been in a fire, suffering extreme burns and was in and out of hospital having skin graphs and all sorts, hense Cleo being in care.
Cleo turned out to be the most loving, well behaved dog i'd ever come across and have yet to come across one still.

She suffered minor arthritis in her back legs, but that didn't stop her, she was an absolute gem on walks and would carry her lead and trot along beside you, her only downfall was that she disliked Border collies, but that was nothing in my eyes.

We had Cleo in our care for about 2 years, she went home briefly in this time but was back again when her owner needed more treatment.
When she did return she had developed a lump on her head, she had it removed and tested, it turned out to be cancer, but had not spread, and so it was hoped we had caught it early enough.
Nearing the end of this second stay with us i was contacted by the owners son, to inform me his mother was not in a good way and we must prepare for the worse, they could not take Cleo as they had 6 working huskies of their own who would not accept Cleo. The Cinnamon Trust told us they would take her or we could find her a home ourselves with the Son's consent.
Without thinking we said she will stay, but after thinking about it, although i could afford to keep her, with her arthritis and possibility of the cancer returning i would never be able to afford veterinary treatment for her.
We made a heart breaking decision to rehome her and when we did receive the news that her owner had indeed passed away, we found her a home with a lady and 3 other dogs.
and with that, we never contacted her again. Reason being i just could not face staying in contact and one day hearing of her passing, it would have hurt too much. She'll be long gone now, and i can only imagine she had a wonderful life and went on a few more years happy and comfortable.
Will never forget this dog, one in a million.


----------



## x Sarah x

and that leaves me with my current pups, my two English Bull Terriers, Kizzy who will be 6 in January, and Bruno who was 3 in June.

When i met my fella he already had Kizzy, she was a present for his ex who left him 3 months prior to me meeting him, Kizzy was 6 months old when i met her, beautiful little dog and soooo much energy. Anyway 6 months after we met i moved in and Kizzy officially became my baby.
She's my little princess and i dunno what i'd do without her! well actually i do because we split for 6 months last year and it broke my heart, not having her was the torture i can tell you, just thinking about it makes me well up!
This is in the past now anyway, we sorted out our problems and i have my family back again 
I moved back in about 13 months ago now, while i had been gone my fella has acquired a new pup, Bruno another bullie, he adopted him from Bullie SOS as company for Kizz who would be alone in working hours, otherwise.
So i had a new baby to get to know, well he was a bit of a rascal, no manners whatsoever but was a good chap and would obey you and take full notice if he did wrong.
Bruno was kept in a crate all his life, 2 walks a day and food/water, but he was only there as a guard dog for expensive greyhounds, and he would get sprayed with a hose whenever he was out of line, hense his severe phobia of hoses and anything that sprays water now.
Anyway he's so much better now, well behaved, extremely soppy, hardly barks and him and Kizz are inseparable now, they love each other to bits 

Like Kare we are distantly looking for a third pup, but until one jumps out at us or needs us then i'm completely happy with my current arrangement, if we do though, it will be another rescue bullie.

I think i wrote enough books now anyway, so i'll just post some piccies of my babs.


----------



## feorag

I so *LOVE *your bullies! :flrt: :flrt: :flrt: :flrt: :flrt:


----------



## x Sarah x

Not a breed i ever saw myself owning before, as much as i admired them, i always wanted a dalmatian or a greyhound. Wouldn't look back now 

I'd still love a Boston Terrier though no doubt about that!


----------



## Raynor_NFFC

My old dog.... I miss her everyday


----------



## Evilshiddenclaws

x Sarah x said:


> and that leaves me with my current pups, my two English Bull Terriers, Kizzy who will be 6 in January, and Bruno who was 3 in June.
> 
> When i met my fella he already had Kizzy, she was a present for his ex who left him 3 months prior to me meeting him, Kizzy was 6 months old when i met her, beautiful little dog and soooo much energy. Anyway 6 months after we met i moved in and Kizzy officially became my baby.
> She's my little princess and i dunno what i'd do without her! well actually i do because we split for 6 months last year and it broke my heart, not having her was the torture i can tell you, just thinking about it makes me well up!
> This is in the past now anyway, we sorted out our problems and i have my family back again
> I moved back in about 13 months ago now, while i had been gone my fella has acquired a new pup, Bruno another bullie, he adopted him from Bullie SOS as company for Kizz who would be alone in working hours, otherwise.
> So i had a new baby to get to know, well he was a bit of a rascal, no manners whatsoever but was a good chap and would obey you and take full notice if he did wrong.
> Bruno was kept in a crate all his life, 2 walks a day and food/water, but he was only there as a guard dog for expensive greyhounds, and he would get sprayed with a hose whenever he was out of line, hense his severe phobia of hoses and anything that sprays water now.
> Anyway he's so much better now, well behaved, extremely soppy, hardly barks and him and Kizz are inseparable now, they love each other to bits
> 
> Like Kare we are distantly looking for a third pup, but until one jumps out at us or needs us then i'm completely happy with my current arrangement, if we do though, it will be another rescue bullie.
> 
> I think i wrote enough books now anyway, so i'll just post some piccies of my babs.
> 
> image
> 
> image
> 
> image
> 
> image
> 
> image
> 
> image
> 
> image
> 
> image
> 
> image
> 
> image
> 
> image


:flrt: i ADORE EBT's or 'toby dogs' as i've always called them, my mums friend had one and i loved him so much, i just cant resist they're gorgeousness. love love love them


----------



## Kare

Raynor_NFFC said:


> My old dog.... I miss her everyday
> 
> 
> image
> 
> image


I love the picture with the duck, a gundog is never ever so proud in their entire lives than when they have a prey item to bring home.

My retriever is just bursting with happiness when she finds a bunny to bring home.


----------



## Raynor_NFFC

Kare said:


> I love the picture with the duck, a gundog is never ever so proud in their entire lives than when they have a prey item to bring home.
> 
> My retriever is just bursting with happiness when she finds a bunny to bring home.


Aww bless!

She loved her pheasants! Its was funny in winter when we just wanted a nice chilled walk and shes quartering flushing massive pheasants right into our faces.

Im ready for getting a dog soon but i cant decide what i want. :hmm:


----------



## Kare

Look into working type golden retrievers. I am a GSD owner by nature but working retrievers are the best. Get energy live every second to the full. Would. Never have a reg ular fat unfit type retriever though has to be working type


----------



## Raynor_NFFC

Kare said:


> Look into working type golden retrievers. I am a GSD owner by nature but working retrievers are the best. Get energy live every second to the full. Would. Never have a reg ular fat unfit type retriever though has to be working type


Well its either another Springer as i miss my others so much (lost them in a break up) Or a malamute its just the fur thing with a mal


----------



## Kare

I like making friends when walking so the pronenes of mallies to dog aggression would make them a no go for me


----------



## Raynor_NFFC

Kare said:


> I like making friends when walking so the pronenes of mallies to dog aggression would make them a no go for me


Id not heard about that but ive looked into a bit now.... interesting

Its looking like its going to be a working springer then


----------



## Evilshiddenclaws

Kare said:


> I like making friends when walking so the pronenes of mallies to dog aggression would make them a no go for me


thats why early socialising is key for dominant breeds... 

any breed is dog aggressive if allowed to be


----------



## Kare

Evilshiddenclaws said:


> thats why early socialising is key for dominant breeds...
> 
> any breed is dog aggressive if allowed to be


Yes socialisation is key, but I do believe there are breeds more prone to it that in many cases socialisation can greatly help, but not really 100% combat. Not insurmountable but strong.

In my case a strong influence in my choice of dogs is that I enjoy walking with other people and having dogs that are compatible with that is important to me, therefore the dogs I have rescued are those good with dogs.

But those are my wants, if this is something I want as I say above I would not get a malamute because what about the dogs wants? Why buy a dog which you could well be setting up to fail. If natural traits of a malamute is towards driving away other dogs of the same gender would it be really fair on the dog? Although I could greatly greatly curb this desire I really do not think that you would end up with a dog that is happy/relaxed/comfortable with the large pack walking I enjoy.


----------



## Kare

Sorry that was a waffling :censor:. My excuse is I was out really late and brain not yet back with me.

In short what I mean is yes with a ton of socialisation a good malamute owner could likely get their dog to accept other same gender dogs whenever and wherever they wish their dog to.

But with a hundred other breeds that would be far happier in the situation I want, how would choosing a breed that would find it difficult and so against their natural instincts be the right thing?


----------



## Evilshiddenclaws

your waffling because your being breedist


----------



## Kare

It is not breedist to say dogs have different traits. The fact they have different traits is what defines them as breeds

Recommending a malamute to a person that wants a dog happy to socialise in large groups is as ridiculous to me as recommending a basset to a person wanting a long distance running companion or a golden retriever to an allergy suffer. 

Find a breed to meet you needs rather than try to twist the dog you like the look of to comply to someone against its nature. That is a lousy thing to do to a dog.


----------



## Raynor_NFFC

Just to let you know im 100% getting a springer. I'm not in a position for a malamute just yet.

Plus it not look so dodgy when I apply for a shotgun license :lol2:


----------



## sarahc

I really do agree with Kare.I would never have an energetic herding breed or a breed with a strong guarding instinct,I'd be irritated by them which wouldn't be fair.My french bulldogs never bark or guard which suits me.They are prepared to have a no holds barred punch up and don't really like small furry animals other than to kill them but I can live with that.My world isn't ruined if a fight breaks out over a peanut the parrot dropped,the Jack russel runs for cover,she'd never engage in such behaviour.


----------



## DavieB

On a lighter note me Yuri and my daughters met Postcard and tallulah today for a walk. Yuri managed not to step on Tallulah so I guess it all went quite well apart from the cockashit we met trying to take Yuri's nose off


----------



## feorag

Sounds great! I wish I had a dog walking friend, or should I say a dog friendly dog! :sad:


----------



## sarahc

cockashit:roll2:


----------



## Evilshiddenclaws

once my little girl is able to go out and about in the big bad world i'll be hopefully meeting up with other doggy people.


----------



## DavieB

Annabel mentioned that today Helen she was wanting to see your dobe! Seen a nice 9 month old one today.


----------



## Evilshiddenclaws

DavieB said:


> Annabel mentioned that today Helen she was wanting to see your dobe! Seen a nice 9 month old one today.


Morgan only just got her second jag yesterday so she still has another week.


----------



## Postcard

sarahc said:


> cockashit:roll2:


It was aswell! 
Tallu was a right wee bossy ratbag today but yuri's golden, think she was wanting to show me up :whistling2::lol2:

Helen yeah that'd be ace, I've changed phones but I'll send you a memo if I'm across your way + if you + pupple fancy a trip through west coast than you can kip at mine!


----------



## DavieB

Postcard said:


> It was aswell!
> Tallu was a right wee bossy ratbag today but *yuri's golden*, think she was wanting to show me up :whistling2::lol2:
> 
> Helen yeah that'd be ace, I've changed phones but I'll send you a memo if I'm across your way + if you + pupple fancy a trip through west coast than you can kip at mine!


Clearly you missed him abusing Tahl for an hour and a half and his lead skills as he was attempting to pull me off my feet! Tallulah needed to be bossing him about or he'd have never left her alone, saying that he never left her alone anyway lol. :blush:


----------



## x Sarah x

Just on the walking buddies subject, my two pence about my breed of choice 

Wouldn't say EBT's make good walking partners for most part.
I know some brilliant ones who love everything, but mostly they can be a little dominant, they do tend to throw their weight around and stand over other dogs, and even provoke others and test them. I've noticed as long as other dogs are equally matched in personality or generally uncaring to those kind of bullies then they tend to be fine about it, you give them a submissive dog and they will try to provoke a reaction out of them, pushing them around and being rough, you give them an aggressive dog and they will go hulk on their ass, lol, but as i say not all of them, i know lots of English Bulls who are no bother whatsoever.

Mine are little unpredictable with other dogs, some they like and some they don't, no preference to colour, breed etc that i've noticed.

Saying that. i noticed even at Crufts when watching the dogs in the ring, staffies all waggy tails, lovey dovey, wanting to play with each other while they get judged.
EBT's, quite a separation between most dogs, some trying to get at one another and a few scraps broke out when people stood too close together with the dogs...

Generally my two like to walk, just walk. They aren't all up for meeting and greeting or play dates. They will walk alongside other dogs no problem as long as all parties are on a lead, they are more interested in their surroundings than playing with other dogs.
As much as they love playing with each other, you would never think they'd have any issues with other dogs, but you just don't know how they are going to react from one dog to the next, it did take time for them to form a bond, i'm talking 6 months at least, but now they would not be without each other.
You'll notice most of the EBT's at rescues will say they must be homed as only dogs. Kinda sad really as most can be worked around given enough time, but many do just enjoy human only company. My two certainly don't have any problems with people, whatever age or colour, they love everyone unconditionally 

I'd love to attend a bullie walk one day, loads of bullie people on my FB go to them and they look a lot of fun, just finding the time and one close enough so they aren't in car too long is the main problem.


----------



## Kare

Yesterday we were at the beach when unexpectedly we had to leave and go on a 2 hour round trip to collect something for Steves work.

On the spur of the moment I decided to leave Edenn at the beach with her best friend and if course his owner Gill.

Apparently she barely cared we were gone, little cow! Morgan bless her kept trying to tell us there was someone missing.:flrt:


----------



## Whosthedaddy

x Sarah x said:


> Just on the walking buddies subject, my two pence about my breed of choice


When we lost our SBT we looked at an EBT breeder as an alternative but similar spec to them.

They are such lovely dogs and just wanted to have a fuss and play where he in lies the problem considering there size and need for attention with small children at home.

Shame, but still a dog I'd have a little later down the line but not just yet.


----------



## feorag

Kare said:


> Yesterday we were at the beach when unexpectedly we had to leave and go on a 2 hour round trip to collect something for Steves work.
> 
> On the spur of the moment I decided to leave Edenn at the beach with her best friend and if course his owner Gill.
> 
> Apparently she barely cared we were gone, little cow! Morgan bless her kept trying to tell us there was someone missing.:flrt:


:lol2: Great to find out your dispensable isn't it?

At least Morgan wouldn't have let you leave without her.


----------



## Montage_Morphs

Charlie Bear spotted something to chase... Excuse the rubbish phone snap.


----------



## x Sarah x

Whosthedaddy said:


> When we lost our SBT we looked at an EBT breeder as an alternative but similar spec to them.
> 
> They are such lovely dogs and just wanted to have a fuss and play where he in lies the problem considering there size and need for attention with small children at home.
> 
> Shame, but still a dog I'd have a little later down the line but not just yet.


Yes they do demand a lot of attention, they have to be _on_ you not _beside_ you and don't like to be ignored.

I can't say for sure how mine would react to a baby in the house, i think i'd be more worried about them trying to lie on it, or sit on it then anything else, lol

A toddler might be a risk to bully play. They do throw their weight around and don't care who or what is in the way when on a bully run.

But a child that can cuddle them and climb all over them they would love it, they never get fed up of attention and being smothered.

To be honest, people often assume that SBT's and EBT's are alike, but they are different in a lot of ways. To put it shortly, i often refer to staffs as the 'whimps' of the bullie world, they're a lot more passive.
It really does surprise me how they have become such a status symbol for aggressive dogs, its just not in their nature. 
An EBT in general is a more difficult breed to keep in line, you'd think they'd be easier to lead a stray by uneducated owners, but they are just not desired physically like staffs.
Saying that though i've never actually owned a staff, only known or looked after them, so i only have a handful to compare to, and of course i would hate to tar them all with the same brush. After all one of my biggest pet hates is someone telling me how my dogs are when they don't know the first thing about them let alone met/lived with them, simply by going on what they've observed about the breed in general.


----------



## Whosthedaddy

Anyone know a good method for stopping a dog digging?


----------



## x Sarah x

Whosthedaddy said:


> Anyone know a good method for stopping a dog digging?


I've no idea to be honest!

Maybe some sort of distraction method, seeing the dog digging and taking a toy over to distract it with and reward. Scold for digging, distract and reward for moving away...?


----------



## Raynor_NFFC

Struggling to find a puppy for sale :whip:


----------



## PPVallhunds

Raynor_NFFC said:


> Struggling to find a puppy for sale :whip:


Wha sort to dog are your looking for?
The best thing to do in my opyion is to look for a breder rather than a puppy. Find a good breeder first then waite for your pup.


----------



## Raynor_NFFC

PPVallhunds said:


> Wha sort to dog are your looking for?
> The best thing to do in my opyion is to look for a breder rather than a puppy. Find a good breeder first then waite for your pup.


Im after a Springer Spaniel but it needs to be working stock with a good pedigree.

There are a few breeders out there i would love to go too but most bitches will be out on shoots as of next week. So it looks like a wait until spring now for me

I dont mind though because it will mean i get what i want

Just seems ages away!


----------



## PPVallhunds

Raynor_NFFC said:


> I dont mind though because it will mean i get what i want


Thats the exact way to think about it :2thumb:

I know a few people who didnt want to wait or travil ect ect so went for any local pup and ended up dissapointed. I had to waite 2 years for my girl now thats a waite lol


----------



## Christie_ZXR

I think we've made a teeny mistake with Buster's training...

Now he's learned to give paw, he thinks it's the coolest thing since sliced bread and he now does it to your feet when you're sat on the sofa!! Problem is, it's so funny we keep laughing, so he keeps doing it!!

On another note, he's been invited to come along with some friends of ours and have a go at retrieving shot rabbits on a farm. I'm not sure if I'm excited because he might well think it's a great game, or terrified at the prospect of shot rabbits...


----------



## feorag

I remember when I had Jason (my first dog and a yellow labrador from field trial and show lines) when I was in my late teens, I was at my friend's farm with him one day and he asked if I fancied going and having a try at shooting. So we went a couple of fields away from the farm, he showed me how to hold the shotgun and said to me to try and hit a tree in the distance. I fired the gun once, handed it to him, turned around and there was no sign of Jason. I went back to the farm and found him cowering under my car! :roll: Obviously not a natural with guns! :lol2:

To be honest he ran a mile when I put milk on Rice Crispies, so I had no chance of using him as a shooting dog. :roll2:


----------



## Raynor_NFFC

PPVallhunds said:


> Thats the exact way to think about it :2thumb:
> 
> I know a few people who didnt want to wait or travil ect ect so went for any local pup and ended up dissapointed. I had to waite 2 years for my girl now thats a waite lol


Well ive found my breeder I think. 4 hours away but the Bitch is a stonker!

Only thing is the pups are that sought after that i need to put a deposit down now and she hasnt even been mated yet. I know its all legit and it just goes to show how good the bitch is 



feorag said:


> I remember when I had Jason (my first dog and a yellow labrador from field trial and show lines) when I was in my late teens, I was at my friend's farm with him one day and he asked if I fancied going and having a try at shooting. So we went a couple of fields away from the farm, he showed me how to hold the shotgun and said to me to try and hit a tree in the distance. I fired the gun once, handed it to him, turned around and there was no sign of Jason. I went back to the farm and found him cowering under my car! :roll: Obviously not a natural with guns! :lol2:
> 
> To be honest he ran a mile when I put milk on Rice Crispies, so I had no chance of using him as a shooting dog. :roll2:


Purhaps he was more scared of his mum wielding a shotgun! :lol2:

Yeah gun shyness can be a sticking point when training, especially when they are young. If you get them scared young it can be un fixable. Always a slightly nervous time doing the training


----------



## Evilshiddenclaws

I had to put down a deposit for my puppy months before the bitch was mated. If it wasn't fot the fact that they bred such nice dogs I wouldn't have


----------



## DavieB

Some one else had already put a deposit down on my dog, and then cancelled and lost their deposit which was nice as it meant I got yuri a few hundred pounds cheaper. Still had to put my own deposit down too though.


----------



## Kare

Raynor_NFFC said:


> Im after a Springer Spaniel but it needs to be working stock with a good pedigree.
> 
> There are a few breeders out there i would love to go too but most bitches will be out on shoots as of next week. So it looks like a wait until spring now for me
> 
> I dont mind though because it will mean i get what i want
> 
> Just seems ages away!


I like the working lines, unfortunately they are hard to find without amputations, and they make me feel like vomiting.

Some nice working sprocker lines around here that have not been butchered, but I have a plan for my next dog so not looking for anything else.


----------



## Christie_ZXR

Buster's used to bikes, so hopefully noise won't be a problem, but we'll have to see. I'm optimistic! It's not going to be for a while yet, we've got a fake "rabbit" to try him with over the park first and see if he can get the hang of picking it up and actually giving it back.


----------



## Evilshiddenclaws

trying to get morgan used to the bikes is very trying, she's been well socialised around noises but just doesnt seem to get used to them.


----------



## Raynor_NFFC

Kare said:


> I like the working lines, unfortunately they are hard to find without amputations, and they make me feel like vomiting.
> 
> Some nice working sprocker lines around here that have not been butchered, but I have a plan for my next dog so not looking for anything else.


The ones we have had have only had a 1/3 of their tail off so it's not been too bad. I'm not a fan of stumps especially on spaniels.


----------



## Christie_ZXR

I think its just sort of happened accidentally with Buster. He hears a bike pull up and associates that with either a "new friend" to play with, or one of us coming home to play with him! 

Sent from my BlackBerry 9300 using Tapatalk - so if my post makes no sense you know why!!


----------



## ruukasuu

Christie_ZXR said:


> Meet Buster, we're told he's a a Jack Russell Chihuahua cross. You can only hope it was the dad that was the Chi!!
> 
> :2thumb:


 
hes cute, we also have a wee jackahuahua 
shes took on more of the jack russell though, her name is Tsuki and we rescued her when she was 10 weeks old from ppl who were really not takin car of her..
we had her less than a week and we had to take her to the vets for sugery!
she swollowed a dummy teat and couldnt pass it, she was lucky to survive 

here she is now, 4 years later 

bath time !!!


















we found her sleepin like this one day ! 









she loves to sleep  notice her eyes?


----------



## DavieB

Sister in laws new frenchie pup.


----------



## Evilshiddenclaws

DavieB said:


> image
> 
> Sister in laws new frenchie pup.


AWWWWWWW too cute!!!!!!!!!

i so want one!


----------



## Christie_ZXR

Just aww at the frenchie pup!! 

Tsuki's gorgeous too  Is that an "I'm not getting in the bath" pose or an "I want to play up here" pose?

Our local rspca charity shop's having an animal awareness day next thurs, so I'm hoping to go along so Buster can make some new friends. Wish me luck!! They're doing free microchipping and flea/worming too so I'm going to take one of my cats in too for another go at microchipping. He's rejected two chips already, so hopefully third time lucky and he can be done! They don't go out, but it does worry me that if he ever escapes and loses his collar, there's no way of tracing him, so I really hope it'll work this time.


----------



## ruukasuu

Christie_ZXR said:


> Just aww at the frenchie pup!!
> 
> Tsuki's gorgeous too  Is that an "I'm not getting in the bath" pose or an "I want to play up here" pose?
> .


 
i want a frenchie pup tooo :0


hahaha that was a ïm not going in that bath¨ pose 
it was her very first bath as we have just moved house and we only had a shower before ... nedless to say she fell out with me when i managed to get her in the bath lol


----------



## jaykickboxer

Kare said:


> I like the working lines, unfortunately they are hard to find without amputations, and they make me feel like vomiting.
> 
> Some nice working sprocker lines around here that have not been butchered, but I have a plan for my next dog so not looking for anything else.


Same here as far as next dog plans go when one of mine eventually go hopefully not for a very long time tho il be getting a neopolitan mastiff think there stunning that and sable German shepards are growing on me think that's what there called there's a few in my dog training class there realy nice


----------



## Whosthedaddy

Had our 5 month old Bullmastiff weighed today, 28.5kg. Man she's fat!!!

I keep looking at a Neapolitan but too much of a beast for a second dog when Bo is fully grown.


----------



## Moosey

£800 to insure my dog?!


----------



## jaykickboxer

Whosthedaddy said:


> Had our 5 month old Bullmastiff weighed today, 28.5kg. Man she's fat!!!
> 
> I keep looking at a Neapolitan but too much of a beast for a second dog when Bo is fully grown.


Yeah my bordeauxs 30 kilo at 6 months so sounds about right my Bordeaux is still realy lean tho needs to bulk out soon


----------



## Whosthedaddy

Moosey said:


> £800 to insure my dog?!


Kennel Club wanted £80 a month for ours.

Buddys is £24.


----------



## Moosey

Whosthedaddy said:


> Kennel Club wanted £80 a month for ours.
> 
> Buddys is £24.


What are they like for paying out though? :hmm:


----------



## Christie_ZXR

ruukasuu said:


> i want a frenchie pup tooo :0
> 
> 
> hahaha that was a ïm not going in that bath¨ pose
> it was her very first bath as we have just moved house and we only had a shower before ... nedless to say she fell out with me when i managed to get her in the bath lol


lol! And I thought Buster was bad. He just stands there dead still and gives you the saddest puppy dog eyes ever, then he starts shivering, no matter what temperature the water is! I swear I could get him a job pretending to be a sad looking rescue dog on a telly advert! 

At least he actually lets me put him in the bath though :lol2:


----------



## x Sarah x

Kizzy shakes uncontrollably when she's holding in excitement, like at dinner and walkies time, she knows she'll get nothing if she starts bouncing off the walls, so she sits there trying not to implode :lol2:


----------



## jaykickboxer

Moosey said:


> What are they like for paying out though? :hmm:


I'm with teach which was cheap but ad I've claimed it's gone up to 50 quid a month now it was 20 for my olde tyme as far as I'm concerned its a liberty my excess has gone up to 250 it's getting to the point now were I'd rather put 50 quid a month away instead to cover anything


----------



## jaykickboxer

Should say Tesco


----------



## x Sarah x

Here enjoy some spaniel ears while the threads quiet 

Some from when i did dog boarding.

Harry









Annie




































Annie and Monty









Monty who injured his neck after jumping into a pond he thought was solid and hitting the water so hard he got whiplash. Owners accused me of injuring him.









One that bit me after owners failed to tell he suffers with blocked anal glands


















Charlie 13 years old here, who was poisoned 3 days before coming for a holiday, ended up in critical care unit at the vets during his stay but made a full recovery and was soon back to himself.









One who's name escapes me


----------



## x Sarah x

Maisy who arrived overgrown and infested with fleas, after a brief talk with the owners that should they not take action she won't be welcome again, she arrived the next time lovely and clean, free of fleas and clipped, sorted 
Before


















after









Harry pup, brought over by a chauffeur, completely spoiled animal, no manners at all, luckily we only had him for the weekend!


















Jessica, another spoiled pup, pooed on the floor every night and was snappy if you tried to move her off the bed or sofa.


















There you go, post another type another day


----------



## feorag

I've just seen some very disturbing footage of dogs being stolen from a kennel in Rochdale. It was on the Crime section that they do weekly on "This Morning" and apparently this has happened at this kennels a few times whee dogs have been stolen. It showed 3 men ripping up the roof of the kennel building and literally dragging the dogs out! Anyone in that area heard of this???


----------



## Christie_ZXR

I'm loving the big pink fairy wings!! :lol2:

Went to the rspca's thingy day today to get Cerny chipped. Turns out he's already done! Whilst I'm really chuffed, I'd like to know what exactly the microchip shaped thing that came out of his skin before was... :hmm:I'd also like to know why my vet couldn't find a chip, and the rspca lady managed to find one instantly with her scanner!

Finally got round to swapping Buster's chip details over today too, so all in all was a productive day! :2thumb:


----------



## DavieB

feorag said:


> I've just seen some very disturbing footage of dogs being stolen from a kennel in Rochdale. It was on the Crime section that they do weekly on "This Morning" and apparently this has happened at this kennels a few times whee dogs have been stolen. It showed 3 men ripping up the roof of the kennel building and literally dragging the dogs out! Anyone in that area heard of this???


Was it this one Eileen?

STOLEN: 12 dogs stolen from boarding kennels, Rochdale. - Rescue Helpers Unite Forum

A lot of the people on there reckon he is a puppy farmer and it may habe been "libbers" breaking them out. He claimed that he lost all his breeding stock in the attack. The fact he says he knows who it was points to him having bother from activists before. The breeds and ages of dogs stolen certainly doenst point towards fighting or selling. Also they chose not to steal peoples pets that were boarding which for me points against fighting or selling.


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## feorag

Yes, it is Davie. Puppy farmer or not, the video footage was horrible the way they were dragging the dogs out of the kennels. 

I admit I did think 'puppy farm' because all the photos they showed were of puppies, but the police woman did say that boarding dogs were also stolen and some were badly beaten and killed, so I can't imagine it was 'libbers', more likely people looking to steal dogs to sell.

He's been broken into quite a few times now and is apparently talking about giving up, so if it is 'libbers' then they've achieved their aims.


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## Montage_Morphs

Charlie Bear is all excited about his holiday! We are picking up a campervan today and whisking him away to the Highlands. I need to show my pup where I grew up and what he is missing out on!


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## feorag

Any room in your boot?? :grin1:


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## DavieB

feorag said:


> Yes, it is Davie. Puppy farmer or not, the video footage was horrible the way they were dragging the dogs out of the kennels.
> 
> I admit I did think 'puppy farm' because all the photos they showed were of puppies, but the police woman did say that boarding dogs were also stolen and some were badly beaten and killed, so I can't imagine it was 'libbers', more likely people looking to steal dogs to sell.
> 
> He's been broken into quite a few times now and is apparently talking about giving up, so if it is 'libbers' then they've achieved their aims.


The article I read said it was all his own "breeding stock" which was stolen, maybe in previous robberies other animals have been stolen. It's just the fact he thinks he knows who done it that made me thing maybe it was "libbers" People wouldn't steal blind 17 and 18 year old dogs to sell though would they? Unless they just grabbed anything they could see and never had time to look around. I've not seen the video though only read the news reports.


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## feorag

Well it was the crimstoppers section of "This Morning" where they were asking for help to identify the thieves and the ex-policewoman who is interviewed for that section definitely said that boarding dogs had been taken and dogs had been beaten and killed - I don't think they'd put that on TV through an official source like the police if it wasn't true - would they?


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## DavieB

I'm not questioning you or doubting you Eileen just repeating what i read in the newspaper reports. And even if it was "libbers" it's something I disagree with totally any animal rights stuff should be done through the courts not ripping up people's property. I'm on the phone just now so I've not got article so i cant quote the part where he says it was his breeding stock and has cost him 75k and he was so glad he never had to tell boarding customers any of their dogs had been taken a he has had to do before. He apparently supplies petsrus with pups.


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## feorag

I know you're not Davie :2thumb: but there is no question that the policewoman on TV said that boarding dogs were stolen and that the owner had said it was the hardest thing to do to tell their owners coming back from holiday that their dog had been stolen???

So someone is telling porkie pies.


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## JackieL

Our dopey dog !!


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## feorag

:lol2: I love that!! He's obviously in love! :lol2:


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## JackieL

feorag said:


> :lol2: I love that!! He's obviously in love! :lol2:


:lol2::lol2: Replace the word 'love' with spoilt hahaha !


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## Christie_ZXR

Buster's got a new tshirt....:whistling2:










I'm not convinced he likes it tbh :lol2:But he doesn't half look cute in it!!


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## Raynor_NFFC

Deposit on a puppy paid :no1:


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## x Sarah x

Was at the AES all day Sat and my neighbour came to let dogs out. 
Kizzy didn't go for a poo that morning and didn't go when my neighbour came round, probably as they get so excited when she comes round and just rushed for a wee and came in again.

Poor bugger must have held it in all day and had chronic stomach cramps when we got in, went straight for a poo and then stood in the middle of the lounge whining and refused her dinner until later that night.

Silly puppy, did half look sorry for herself. But a couple hours in front of the stove and some cuddles (and maybe a few smelly love puffs) later and she was fit to go!


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## Christie_ZXR

Raynor_NFFC said:


> Deposit on a puppy paid :no1:


Which breed?


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## Raynor_NFFC

Christie_ZXR said:


> Which breed?


Springer. Hard to get too excited at the minute though because she's not been born yet. Technically I'm just on a waiting list. Went up yesterday though to meet the mother and she's fantastic :2thumb:


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## Christie_ZXR

Aww  Springers are very cute as puppies! Do you know how long you'll be waiting?


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## Raynor_NFFC

Christie_ZXR said:


> Aww  Springers are very cute as puppies! Do you know how long you'll be waiting?


Well she's in season now so hopefully shell get pregnant so I suppose I'm looking at march *sighs*


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## Christie_ZXR

Quite a wait, but on the bright side that's plenty of time for doggy shopping!


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## Raynor_NFFC

Well I really don't want to tempt fate by buying but I've been having a GOOD luck. I'm trying to find a good kennel and run but they are about £600. Looking at them I think I could build something just as good for half the price


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## Zoo-Man

Raynor_NFFC said:


> Springer. Hard to get too excited at the minute though because she's not been born yet. Technically I'm just on a waiting list. Went up yesterday though to meet the mother and she's fantastic :2thumb:


You've paid a deposit on a pup that doesn't even exist yet??? :hmm:


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## feorag

Zoo-Man said:


> You've paid a deposit on a pup that doesn't even exist yet??? :hmm:


You took the words right out of my mouth! :gasp:


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## Raynor_NFFC

Yeah. It's secures you a place on a 'list'. The puppies are in that high demand. Theres been people on the list for 10 months now. Luckily though I'm after a bitch but the dog list is nearlly full.


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## Zoo-Man

Raynor_NFFC said:


> Yeah. It's secures you a place on a 'list'. The puppies are in that high demand. Theres been people on the list for 10 months now. Luckily though I'm after a bitch but the dog list is nearlly full.


Mmmm, I still find it strange them taking a deposit. I have people interested in my days-old Chihuahua puppies, but I wouldn't take any money from them until they have seen the puppies & chosen, then I will either take a deposit, or as 2 of the interested people are friends, I would just take the full amount from them when the puppie are ready to leave. I cretainly woulnd't pay money on something I havent even seen or won't see for quite some time. Can you not go to another breeder?


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## Raynor_NFFC

I want a pup from this bitch. It's hard to find a good quality bitch with all the champions in her bloodline. Hence the list. It's totally normally in the gundog world to do it like this. Most of the pups from top dogs never get advertised because they are all pre sold


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## PPVallhunds

I was first on the list for my girls litter, i was second after the breeder but they then had a new pup from another breeder so didnt want to keep another pup so close but as they have people waiting they went ahead. So i had first pic, they had to call one person to tell them there wasnt a puppy for them.


*Fay was a year old last month! *
For her birthday i used a pet photo shoot voucher i was given for christmas. Heres the pics.


















And i video of pics of her growing up
https://s-static.ak.facebook.com/rsrc.php/v1/y2/r/5l8_EVv_jyW.swf?v=10151028281306901&ev=0


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## Zoo-Man

Raynor_NFFC said:


> I want a pup from this bitch. It's hard to find a good quality bitch with all the champions in her bloodline. Hence the list. It's totally normally in the gundog world to do it like this. Most of the pups from top dogs never get advertised because they are all pre sold


Mmmm. I have a few friends who breed & show gundog breeds & they have never done anything like this.


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## Kare

Nope in the years I have had Edenn I have contacted a number of working type golden breeders and not heard of this. However this breeder does and if people willing to do it for these pups then that us their choice.

Can always go to small claims court if they do not give it back!


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## Raynor_NFFC

Zoo-Man said:


> Mmmm. I have a few friends who breed & show gundog breeds & they have never done anything like this.


I didn't have to pay a deposit. I could have gone on the 'interested' list which meant I didn't pay a deposit so anything thats left from the pre sold old bunch go out too those people. I wanted to make sure I had a my name down for pup so I paid. 

When I bought my working cocker she had 4 dogs sold before they were born. We wanted a bitch though so we were golden


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## Raynor_NFFC

I'm happy anyway


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## feorag

I guess you do what you have to do to get what you want and if a pup from this breeder and these lines is what you want, then you'll do it, but I could never work that way.

In all my years of cat breeding I took a deposit once and that was at the buyer's insistence, even though I told them I didn't take deposits. I had a waiting list of people who wanted a particular colour of kitten and wanted it from me, so I kept a list until I bred what they wanted, but even when someone came and booked a kitten i never took a deposit.


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## williams22

Rach1 said:


> Hang on....
> image
> Brodie
> 
> image
> Gus
> 
> image
> Ridley
> 
> image
> Gus again.
> 
> image
> Raggs
> 
> image
> Gus looking proud!



Your dogs are looking good and enjoying their life a lot!!


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## Raynor_NFFC

feorag said:


> I guess you do what you have to do to get what you want and if a pup from this breeder and these lines is what you want, then you'll do it, but I could never work that way.
> 
> In all my years of cat breeding I took a deposit once and that was at the buyer's insistence, even though I told them I didn't take deposits. I had a waiting list of people who wanted a particular colour of kitten and wanted it from me, so I kept a list until I bred what they wanted, but even when someone came and booked a kitten i never took a deposit.


I can see why people would be hesitant. As you said, It's just what I needed to do to secure a dog with such amazing bloodlines and the amount champions in it. Exactly what I set out to get : victory:

If it was just a standard breeder selling working dogs I wouldn't. But as soon as you start getting in touch with the breeders who have the most sort after and demanded bloodlines. Deposits need to be made to sure up a pup. I'm happy though because it removes the 'free for all' at birth. It also removes the time waste element because I've had to be vetted by a questionaire which then got me an interview. I passed both so I've totally confidence the breeder knows what's best :lol2:


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## Raynor_NFFC

Double post


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## Evilshiddenclaws

i had to pay a deposit before my puppy was even thought of, the bitch wasnt even in season when i paid. but because so many people were after a pup from this litter it was the only way i'd be getting a puppy.

i'll not do it again, but it was the right choice at the time. i now have a very well bred puppy from excellent pedigree lines who will hopefully do well in the show ring.


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## feorag

Raynor_NFFC said:


> I can see why people would be hesitant. As you said, It's just what I needed to do to secure a dog with such amazing bloodlines and the amount champions in it. Exactly what I set out to get : victory:
> 
> If it was just a standard breeder selling working dogs I wouldn't. But as soon as you start getting in touch with the breeders who have the most sort after and demanded bloodlines. Deposits need to be made to sure up a pup. I'm happy though because it removes the 'free for all' at birth. It also removes the time waste element because I've had to be vetted by a questionaire which then got me an interview. I passed both so I've totally confidence the breeder knows what's best :lol2:


As I said you do what you have to do if you want specific breeding and lines. :2thumb:


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## Raynor_NFFC

It's the loooonnnngggg wait now


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## feorag

:lol2:


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## DavieB

7 BRT's left from my breeders latest litter if anyones interested


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## Raynor_NFFC

Has anyway had a puppies tail docked recently?


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## Evilshiddenclaws

Raynor_NFFC said:


> Has anyway had a puppies tail docked recently?


the majority of people on this forum are from the uk so they wouldnt unless they've imported a dog from ireland or europe or if they have a working dog bred in england.


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## Raynor_NFFC

Evilshiddenclaws said:


> the majority of people on this forum are from the uk so they wouldnt unless they've imported a dog from ireland or europe or if they have a working dog bred in england.


Sorry, yeah I'm referring to working dogs


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## Zoo-Man

Raynor_NFFC said:


> Has anyway had a puppies tail docked recently?





Raynor_NFFC said:


> Sorry, yeah I'm referring to working dogs


Does the breeder you are getting a pup from work their dogs or show them?


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## Raynor_NFFC

Zoo-Man said:


> Does the breeder you are getting a pup from work their dogs or show them?


TBH I kind if worded the question wrong.

It's okay though, like evil mentioned, I don't think anyone on this forum is going to know anyway


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## Zoo-Man

Raynor_NFFC said:


> TBH I kind if worded the question wrong.
> 
> It's okay though, like evil mentioned, I don't think anyone on this forum is going to know anyway


try us.....


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## feorag

I would have thought that, as the breeder breeds working dog and you are buying the pup to work, that the breeder would get it done when the pup was young??? As I understand it, it can be done by vet if the owner can prove the dog is going to be worked and the owner isn't just having it done for 'aesthetic reasons'.


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## Raynor_NFFC

feorag said:


> I would have thought that, as the breeder breeds working dog and you are buying the pup to work, that the breeder would get it done when the pup was young??? As I understand it, it can be done by vet if the owner can prove the dog is going to be worked and the owner isn't just having it done for 'aesthetic reasons'.


Yeah that's all correct. The pup is docked at 3 days old. I'm clued up on that bit :lol: It was about linking the microchip to the docking certificate side of things I got confused about but I've sorted it now :2thumb:


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## Postcard

This really made me smile today / I cried at the end but I've gone all soft now I have an oldie who's showing her age...

My dog: the paradox - The Oatmeal

If you don't want to click the link, google 'the oatmeal dog paradox'


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## DavieB

Yuri and I wnet and done a bit of hill walking today. He lvoed it! I'm tired though... Thought I'd share some nice pics.


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## feorag

Great pictures Davie - I love the top one - he looks like a mop with a tongue! :lol2:


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## DavieB

Cheers Eileen. Had a right good day apart from when he took off for 10 minutes and I couldn't find him. He panicked more than me I think. 

Got a large copy of the panoramic from the other thread if you want an email. I know you like the area lol. 

When Yuri's a bit older we're going to be Munro baggers lol. Think We're doing Ben Lomond at the end of the month. 

Groomer has some very hard work to do tomorrow lol.


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## feorag

Yes, please e-mail me it, so I can sigh again cos I'm not there.

I presume that is Loch Lomond in the distance??


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## beckyj

Couple of pics of Harvey now he's getting a big boy!


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## DavieB

Yuri was at the groomers today she done a great job!


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## feorag

She sure did! Can't believe that the scraggy pom pom critter that was running in the Scottish hills just the other day.


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## DavieB

I knew he had bad matting about his neck that I couldnt get out and chose not to shave out as I never thought it was that bad, but he'w went down three holes on his collar she said it was very tight. Bar that she was very impressed withhow well his coat was kept considering its length.


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## Christie_ZXR

Just wanted to share! Buster's got another new trick  

He can do "spin" now and dance round in a circle!! Do wish we'd taught the command as "pirouette" though, would have been funny! 

Having a teeny bit of trouble with the "gimme 5" (10? 8? lol!) I wanted him to be sitting when he does it, but he seems to have understood that as get up on the back legs, give me both paws, then sit down, rather than sit down and then give both paws. Going to need a bit more work on that one to get the order right! 
Do really want to try the wave that was suggested, but I'm waiting till he's totally got the hang of gimme 5, don't want to confuse him with too many arm-wavey tricks till he knows the ones he's got perfectly.

I need to get a video of his repertoire to show it off at some point! I'm so proud of him :flrt:


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## feorag

I've just taught Skye to open the door on command (our door lock doesn't click tight, so he just has to push it, but he knows if he pushes it from the bottom it opens easier) and am busy trying 'speak', but our training sessions have to be very short (*very *short) as his anxieties come in after one attempt and he gets panicky. Even now after a lot of attempts, he thinks I'm wanting the dead trick and throws himself on the ground, so we only have 2 or 3 goes and then stop.


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## BMo1979

We play a lot of sniff/search games with Trigger and IMHO the police are missing out on a good detection dog here, lol.
We started off by letting him find money and he understood straight away when being given a "sample" to smell that this is what he's meant to be looking for. Now, he finds about anything we ask off him (provided we have some sort of "sample" he can smell before tracking). 
His favourite though is still finding "his" people when we're out walking. My boys are still trying to outsmart him and we keep telling them if Trigger finds them very quickly it means they need a bath cos they smell, lol.


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## Whosthedaddy

Just found out that the mother of our Bullmastiff pup died in her sleep at the age of 3.

Quite sad news and a little worrying about any problems that may or may not be a problem. in the future.

RIP Monabris Dancing Queen aka Sky

MONABRIS DANCING QUEEN


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## Christie_ZXR

Sorry to hear that 

Do they know what happened?


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## Kare

We took the dog to the Beach races again last weekend. It is held twice a year in aid of the Blue Cross (even though the local Blue Cross handles cats only :whistling2

Edenn has been the fastest dog in the race every time we have gone. Though as she will be nearing 5 next year she may have to start thinking of letting another dog win lol!

Even against Greyhounds and whippets my little retriever wins, She won both the Large breed and the All over dog race (all the dogs from the small,medium and large races-a lot of dogs!!)

Not just her though, my 9 year old (next month) Morgan came second in the veteran race :flrt:

Sorry to boast so much, but nice to have dogs win something about Fit of Function, rather than just a beauty competition! (though we did enter one of those too as did all our friends, our friends boy came 3rd in handsomest male)


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## Kare

Whosthedaddy said:


> Just found out that the mother of our Bullmastiff pup died in her sleep at the age of 3.
> 
> Quite sad news and a little worrying about any problems that may or may not be a problem. in the future.
> 
> RIP Monabris Dancing Queen aka Sky
> 
> MONABRIS DANCING QUEEN


Did they have a Post mortem to leave the owners of offspring any idea what they should be looking for?

<thank Dog this post has kicked over to a new page, looking at the bulldog at the top of the other page and its complete lack of muzzle actually physically makes me feel I cannot breathe, I have been avoiding checking the thread but it has taken forever to get too a new page.


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## feorag

Kare said:


> We took the dog to the Beach races again last weekend. It is held twice a year in aid of the Blue Cross (even though the local Blue Cross handles cats only :whistling2
> 
> Edenn has been the fastest dog in the race every time we have gone. Though as she will be nearing 5 next year she may have to start thinking of letting another dog win lol!
> 
> Even against Greyhounds and whippets my little retriever wins, She won both the Large breed and the All over dog race (all the dogs from the small,medium and large races-a lot of dogs!!)
> 
> Not just her though, my 9 year old (next month) Morgan came second in the veteran race :flrt:
> 
> Sorry to boast so much, but nice to have dogs win something about Fit of Function, rather than just a beauty competition! (though we did enter one of those too as did all our friends, our friends boy came 3rd in handsomest male)


No need to apologise for your dogs achieving something - I was quite jealous reading that, cos that's something I would have loved to have done with Skye. I think he could have been quite successful at it too, cos he's very fast.


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## Disillusioned

Kare said:


> We took the dog to the Beach races again last weekend. It is held twice a year in aid of the Blue Cross (even though the local Blue Cross handles cats only :whistling2
> 
> Edenn has been the fastest dog in the race every time we have gone. Though as she will be nearing 5 next year she may have to start thinking of letting another dog win lol!
> 
> Even against Greyhounds and whippets my little retriever wins, She won both the Large breed and the All over dog race (all the dogs from the small,medium and large races-a lot of dogs!!)
> 
> Not just her though, my 9 year old (next month) Morgan came second in the veteran race :flrt:
> 
> Sorry to boast so much, but nice to have dogs win something about Fit of Function, rather than just a beauty competition! (though we did enter one of those too as did all our friends, our friends boy came 3rd in handsomest male)


Don't apologise! Be proud! Bet they had a brilliant time too!


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## jaykickboxer

Still growing she's turning into a realy good dog aswell gonna be such a big softy ,


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## Whosthedaddy

Kare said:


> Did they have a Post mortem to leave the owners of offspring any idea what they should be looking for?
> 
> <thank Dog this post has kicked over to a new page, looking at the bulldog at the top of the other page and its complete lack of muzzle actually physically makes me feel I cannot breathe, I have been avoiding checking the thread but it has taken forever to get too a new page.


We will wait a few weeks before contacting them as it may be a little insensitive to start asking just yet.


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## Whosthedaddy

jaykickboxer said:


> image
> 
> Still growing she's turning into a realy good dog aswell gonna be such a big softy ,


Such a sad face!

It seems strange looking at our bullmastiff as our staff would always appear to be smiling when panting but alas, Bo now just looks as if the world is on her shoulders.


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## jaykickboxer

Whosthedaddy said:


> Such a sad face!
> 
> It seems strange looking at our bullmastiff as our staff would always appear to be smiling when panting but alas, Bo now just looks as if the world is on her shoulders.


Yeh I no staffs always look like there smiling I'm used to dogs looking grumpy I got a bulldog aswell , sorry to hear about the mum , id like to think the breeder would keep me informed if anything happend to my dogs mam or dad but I doubt she would


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## Christie_ZXR

After a bit of training advice please guys 

We want to get a better "come here and look at me" command into Buster. At the moment, he's pretty good with just "come here", but he's not always there straight away if he's doing something. Wanted to find something we could really reinforce that would get him to stop whatever he's doing, no matter how interesting, and come to us. Hoping it will be a useful thing to help with his stroppiness with other dogs (he is getting better! but still needs work) and with anything else we want to stop him doing.

Thought we could do it by one of us playing with him with the ball he's so obsessed with, then the other calling him away. But it's how to get him to think that whatever command we choose is the better option than the interesting thing!

We were thinking a new command, then it can be trained from scratch and reinforced as a totally good thing, I think "come here" in the past has sort of translated to "come here so I can tell you off for barking/chasing cats/etc" quite probably from previous owners as well as us. Not sure if that's best, or if it's better to use come here anyway, which he already knows, and just work on getting him to be better at it?

Anyone got any tips or suggestions?

ty


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## PPVallhunds

how odsessed is he with his ball Christie_ZXR?

My girl is like that with her recall, if she has pinched something or is doing something she is intrested in more she wont come when i call, but she is obsessed with her ball so when we go on our walk i keep a ball with me and when i throw any toy for her i say 1....2.... then throw it, so now if she doesnt come or i need her back asap i get the ball out and say 1....2... and she is back like lightning. Also makes me look so much better infrount of the other dog wlakers when she is walking off lead in a prefect heal looking at my hand lol :whistling2:

Also a 'leave it' commarned can help.


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## Christie_ZXR

Pretty obsessed! It does work like that on walks and we use it as a reward for walking nicely. It helps when he's being stroppy with other dogs, when he's got it in his mouth and he's carrying it to the park, he can't bark without dropping it, so he generally behaves!! And it gets put in a pocket if he doesn't, then given back when he does. I was wondering if we could find something even more interesting than the ball, so the ball can be the thing to distract him from. If that makes sense! Like put the ball down, let him play with it, and then get him to come and leave it.

He does know leave, but shakily! He'll let go of the ball if he's told to leave it, but he'll then nudge it towards you with his paw as if to say, I've done what you told me now throw the damn thing! So if he's not near you and you say leave, he'll bring it to you, then leave it. I'm after a command that's truly "leave it alone whatever it is and come here now" but want to get it really straight how to train it, so we can repeat it over and over and hopefully end up with a really well behaved dog!! Nothing like aiming for the seemingly impossible...:lol2:


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## x Sarah x

Kizzy knows 'Look at me' command, mainly through feeding, at feeding i put their bowls in their crates, then they have to 'get back' and 'lie down' and then 'look at me' for 7-9 seconds then 'go on' and sometimes 'in' if they're butts are sticking out their crates  Bruno just knows the routine and he won't look at me, he'll just look at Kizz and go when she does :roll:

I sometimes say 'look at me' when doing other things to see how well it works, but if she's so focused on something like when we have visitors or something then it goes straight over her head!


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## Evilshiddenclaws

beckyj said:


> Couple of pics of Harvey now he's getting a big boy!
> 
> image
> 
> image


he's gorgeous! i love frenchies, hopefully one day i'll have one, such amazing characters.


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## feorag

I use the command "watch" when I want Skye's attention.


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## PPVallhunds

Christie_ZXR said:


> He does know leave, but shakily! He'll let go of the ball if he's told to leave it, but he'll then nudge it towards you with his paw as if to say, I've done what you told me now throw the damn thing! So if he's not near you and you say leave, he'll bring it to you, then leave it. I'm after a command that's truly "leave it alone whatever it is and come here now" but want to get it really straight how to train it, so we can repeat it over and over and hopefully end up with a really well behaved dog!! Nothing like aiming for the seemingly impossible...:lol2:


Wish my girl was that good, she will drop her ball but if you try to touch it she grabs it and runs off unless you have something to traid for it lol same goes for anything stolen normaly. Luckerly she is much better not at not pinching thing, when she was a pup id have to chace her about every walk as she had pinched some rubbish and was running off eating it!


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## PPVallhunds

Fay got a package today through the post today, her new thunder shirt. Its ment to help with anxiaty and fear so hoping it will help her fear of strangers.


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## feorag

I'll be interested to hear how she gets on with it. I tried it out with Skye, but didn't notice any difference. :sad:


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## PPVallhunds

Poor skye hope shes getting better with out it.
i thought it couldnt hurt so might as well try it, if it doesnt work she has a pricy jacket to keep her clean in winter and if it does then its money well spent. It was ment to take 5 - 15 weeks to come from america but it only took 3 weeks. It was much cheaper to get in directly from the company than to go through the uk supplyer. I payed £26 and had free emboridy as its my first order and got free shipping.
The only bit im not impressed with is it onnly says it should be snug but doesnt say how tight it sould be, as my idea of snug may be someone elses too tight.

She is also going to a flyball class soon hopefully having fun around strangers whill also help her.


----------



## PPVallhunds

I think some of it is me, as we took her to a breed champ show and couldnt get her to let the judge go over her, we came out of the ring and sat down and she junped up on a chair next a strange man and sat there with him stroking her! Then a few days later at her ringcraft class the teacher took her and stood her on the table and she let a strange man go over her and didnt move or complain at all but when i tryed it she was bucking like a wild horse. 
I think she likes to make me look like an idiot


----------



## Kare

PPVallhunds said:


> I think she likes to make me look like an idiot


Dogs do have that kind of sense of humour. 

My retriever will walk past 20 people on the beach and not lift her nose from sniffing the ground....but if someone should turn up in clean white trousers and a pale pastel top. She will make a bee line for that person to wag her soaking wet sandy tail against and hop around them (she doesn't really make contact so can't say she jumps up, move a bucking movement in a humans general vicinity)


----------



## feorag

PPVallhunds said:


> I think some of it is me, as we took her to a breed champ show and couldnt get her to let the judge go over her, we came out of the ring and sat down and she junped up on a chair next a strange man and sat there with him stroking her! Then a few days later at her ringcraft class the teacher took her and stood her on the table and she let a strange man go over her and didnt move or complain at all but when i tryed it she was bucking like a wild horse.
> I think she likes to make me look like an idiot


Was the judge a male or female? It may be that she prefers men??


----------



## PPVallhunds

lol Kare thats funny

male judge, she is better with strange females but still not happy. At her last show befro this she stod for the female judge much better and i can now have the female owners go over her at class normaly with out too much fuss. Still got more work to do on scairy men.

The funnyets thing is with other dog owners, if they have there dogs they are fine but if tey dont have there dogs then they can be scairy lol


----------



## Zoo-Man

PPVallhunds said:


> I think some of it is me, as we took her to a breed champ show and couldnt get her to let the judge go over her, we came out of the ring and sat down and she junped up on a chair next a strange man and sat there with him stroking her! Then a few days later at her ringcraft class the teacher took her and stood her on the table and she let a strange man go over her and didnt move or complain at all but when i tryed it she was bucking like a wild horse.
> I think she likes to make me look like an idiot


Are you nervous when handling her for show? If so, she will be picking up on that. When we first started showing, our nerves went right down the lead to our dog & it showed.


----------



## PPVallhunds

Befor i go in the ring im not bothered at all but once im in i get a bit flustered, also now im expecting her to freak out all the time. Once she starts i get realy embarised and panick myself which doesnt help. 
I asked the other teacher at ringcraft who is into natural meds/hurbs ect if dorwest do things to chill things out and if people can take them lol


----------



## Christie_ZXR

Buster's thundershirt didn't make a blind bit of difference  But a lot of people swear by them. 

The o/hs decided on "come here" and just retrain it. So I need to go and buy a gigantic bag of treats...lol!! We've decided he's going to get at least 10 minutes a day for the next week of me and the o/h in different rooms just calling "come here" and giving him a treat to begin with. Then it's off out into the big wide world to see if it still works or if his selective memory kicks in!!


----------



## feorag

PPVallhunds said:


> Befor i go in the ring im not bothered at all but once im in i get a bit flustered, also now im expecting her to freak out all the time. Once she starts i get realy embarised and panick myself which doesnt help.
> I asked the other teacher at ringcraft who is into natural meds/hurbs ect if dorwest do things to chill things out and if people can take them lol


Dorwest do a range of natural calming herb tablets, such as Skullcap & Valerian, or neat Valerian.

Have you considered CSJ's herbal range?? I've had Skye on their "Calm Down" more or less since we got him, which is 3 years agio. We've tried taking him off them after a while, but within a few days he gets 'fidgety' and seems to find it harder to settle. We put him on twice the dose for a few weeks until it was in his system and then he was on the normal dose which is 2 scoops a day (1 on each meal), now he's on 1 scoop a day, so now a tub of this lasts Skye about 5-6 months. CSJ Herbs for Dogs - CSJK9 Ltd.

He also is on a special mix they do called "Ulca Mix" which isn't on their website, but which they suggested to me might help him with his nervous digestion problems, which causes him to burp for England (I've never had a dog that burped so violently as much as he does) and when he gets very stressed have diarrhoea. These herbs also seem to help him a lot and he very rarely now has diarrhoea and only burps occasionally, compared to all day every day.


----------



## Kare

feorag said:


> He also is on a special mix they do called "Ulca Mix" which isn't on their website, but which they suggested to me might help him with his nervous digestion problems, which causes him to burp for England (I've never had a dog that burped so violently as much as he does) and when he gets very stressed have diarrhoea. These herbs also seem to help him a lot and he very rarely now has diarrhoea and only burps occasionally, compared to all day every day.


German shepherds as a rule can burp like no other breed, where as bulldog/boxer owners get wind the other way the GSD delivers power burps. Even a drink of water or a single crumb can give Morgan wind.

I am sure I have shared the fact that when in the car and the engine is on if we stop for any reason this acts to "wind" her like a baby. Of course when getting directions from a gentleman in a very posh quiet fishing village last summer my husband who was driving can be seen to not be the one burping loudly...so who must the gentleman think it is but ME!! or when waiting to pull out at the end of the road and she burps in hearing distance of a neighbour at their front door!! Or whilst ordering at the drive through window....over and over. 

Also when hungry her tummy can rumble like no other dogs, I have had occasions when they have eaten early so we can go out or something (with the breed prone to bloat we don't feed them within an hour of taking them out if that includes any exercise) and I have had to get up in the night to feed her a biscuit so I could get back to sleep over the rumbles.

Still she is completely unknown to blow off, maybe once I can recall even suspecting she had.


----------



## PPVallhunds

Christie_ZXR said:


> The o/hs decided on "come here" and just retrain it. So I need to go and buy a gigantic bag of treats...lol!! We've decided he's going to get at least 10 minutes a day for the next week of me and the o/h in different rooms just calling "come here" and giving him a treat to begin with. Then it's off out into the big wide world to see if it still works or if his selective memory kicks in!!


That sounds like a plan, good luck


----------



## PPVallhunds

feorag said:


> Dorwest do a range of natural calming herb tablets, such as Skullcap & Valerian, or neat Valerian.
> 
> Have you considered CSJ's herbal range?? I've had Skye on their "Calm Down" more or less since we got him, which is 3 years agio. We've tried taking him off them after a while, but within a few days he gets 'fidgety' and seems to find it harder to settle. We put him on twice the dose for a few weeks until it was in his system and then he was on the normal dose which is 2 scoops a day (1 on each meal), now he's on 1 scoop a day, so now a tub of this lasts Skye about 5-6 months. CSJ Herbs for Dogs - CSJK9 Ltd.


Im going to try the skullcap & Valerian tablets for use both and see if thats helps. Im also changing her food from royal canin to cjs super duper champ to see of diet change helps.


----------



## feorag

Kare said:


> German shepherds as a rule can burp like no other breed, where as bulldog/boxer owners get wind the other way the GSD delivers power burps. Even a drink of water or a single crumb can give Morgan wind.


Neither of our two previous Shepherds burped anywhere near as often as Skye, but it's true it does only come up the one way, thank goodness! :roll:



PPVallhunds said:


> Im going to try the skullcap & Valerian tablets for use both and see if thats helps. Im also changing her food from royal canin to cjs super duper champ to see of diet change helps.


CSJ Champ, the basic one, is the only food that hasn't upset Skye's stomach, ever since we got him at 11 months old he's had terrible diarrhoea problems, but when we moved him onto Champ it very rarely happens now - in fact I can't remember the last time it did.


----------



## Whosthedaddy

Oh yes, our Bullmastiff farts like a trooper even on a BARF diet. We never hear them but oh my do we smell them!


----------



## PPVallhunds

feorag said:


> CSJ Champ, the basic one, is the only food that hasn't upset Skye's stomach, ever since we got him at 11 months old he's had terrible diarrhoea problems, but when we moved him onto Champ it very rarely happens now - in fact I can't remember the last time it did.


I had never hurd of it befor i saw you post a while ago menchering it and the price and i must admit i looked into it purly to see what crap was in it as all the dog foods ive seen so far at that price range was full of things i wouldnt feed a stray, but was realy suprised when i looked at it and asked them for some samples of a few things and settled with the super one. 
I have problems with mine if she steals dog food when were at others houses, she normaly vomits or gets dirohia after but she has been fine on it and told my friend about it and now she feeds it lol and smaller poops to so another pluss.


----------



## feorag

We tried Chappie which I've always related to the cheapest of the cheap, on our vet's suggestion because he thought maybe Skye just couldn't handle the richer protein source in the more expensive foods and it did stop the diarrhoea, but he lost weight and condition and his poos were so dry instead of squeezing through my fingers when I was picking it up :gasp: it was just falling apart like a crumblre! :roll: So I wasn't happy keeping him on that.

Champ works well for him because it stabilises his stomach and he looks good on it.


----------



## x Sarah x

feorag said:


> We tried Chappie which I've always related to the cheapest of the cheap, on our vet's suggestion because he thought maybe Skye just couldn't handle the richer protein source in the more expensive foods and it did stop the diarrhoea, but he lost weight and condition and his poos were so dry instead of squeezing through my fingers when I was picking it up :gasp: it was just falling apart like a crumblre! :roll: So I wasn't happy keeping him on that.
> 
> Champ works well for him because it stabilises his stomach and he looks good on it.


Ours were on Chappie too for Kizzy's allergies, it made them poo more often and was bright orange! and they lost so much weight on it that Kizzy actually became underweight and it worried me, they're now on Wagg complete worker, they're poo's are healthier and average two a day instead of 4-8 when on Chappie.

The weight is back on and they have never looked better, Kizzy's has no reactions on it, or bouts of the squits like she regularly did on Chappie randomly.


----------



## Zoo-Man

Whosthedaddy said:


> Oh yes, our Bullmastiff farts like a trooper even on a BARF diet. We never hear them but oh my do we smell them!


Our Boston Terriers fart for Britain, you hear them & smell them!


----------



## Christie_ZXR

Buster's the master of the silent fart. He'd be able to get away with it, but the thing is he looks straight at you after he's done it, almost as if he's looking for marks out of ten or something!! 

Doggy farts really aren't nice! :devil:


----------



## x Sarah x

Oh yes my two regularly trot about merrily botty burping as they go!

They don't always smell, but when they do my god they are chewy!


----------



## BMo1979

Arrgh, one of these days where I could ring Trigger's neck!

I took him to the Clyde for a nice splash in the river. Let him off the lead so he could play in the water, there was seemingly no-one around. Trigger disappears around a bridge pillar and didn't come back. I climb up the river bank and there he was making contact with a jogger's Dalmation. Now normally his recall is very good (not a 100% with other dogs distracting him, but he does come when I use a certain tone), but today he behaved like a hormonal teenager.
Now as an explanation, my dog is gay. Put a bitch in heat and a neutered male in front of him and I can guarantee you he'll "go for" the male. This was the case of the Dalmation: Neutered male, his owner didn't seem to want to interrupt his running routine and carried on jogging so there was a chasing game involved (which Trigger loves), dog wasn't afraid to beat Trigger up (he likes the "hard to get" types, lol). There was me running after them, calling (using my whole repertoire of calling voices) realising how unfit I am. Trigger occasionally glancing over to me as if to say "I can still see her, all is well" before happily pouncing alongside the jogger and his dog. I tried the "Bye bye" and turning around walking away method, but Trigger didn't care. 
Eventually the jogger crouched down to hold Trigger, but by then he'd obviously decided that maybe there's no place like home and came back looking rather sheepish. He's 7 next months by the way but acts like a juvenile!:whip:

Also, in an unrelated matter and not really Trigger's fault: Why do random strangers think it's appropriate to make "clicking" noises when I walk by with the dog (I know they mean well)? Trigger is very very (nearly too) friendly to all humans and has been getting a lot of positive attention since we moved here, so now he thinks everyone wants to meet him and be his friend, lol. People encouraging him without my permission doesn't make it easier to teach him (again) that not everybody appreciates a rather large GSD snuggling up to them...


----------



## Christie_ZXR

Oh that is so familiar! Buster's "cute" so he's forever getting stroked and cuddled without anyone asking. I'm pretty sure my mum taught me when I was quite little that you can only stroke someone's dog if you ask them first. 

When he comes to work with me, he'll sometimes bark when someone comes in the door, but because he's wagging his tail and looking all excited, whoever he's barking at nearly always gives him a fuss. Doesn't make it easy to teach him barking is not the way to get attention!!


----------



## jaykickboxer

Bulking up now


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## feorag

She is, isn't she! :2thumb:


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## Kare

My dogs are having a great night of Bark and Treating. It's a little like Trick or Treating, but you stay at home and get Treats for barking at small scary creatures at the door!


----------



## feorag

I was dreading tonight because of the way Skye goes on where there is someone at the door - but so far we've had no one. Long may it continue. :2thumb:


----------



## jaykickboxer

Shocking these were my friends dogs just found out from the Missus after she read it she told me All are being put to sleep so weird my two year old kid has played with 4 if these dogs there realy friendly the alpha blue blood was a bit of a handful but only 10 months old they were always walked twice a day for a decent walk and kept as house dogs the blue blood came from a breeder on here he was the main culprits from what I've herd only him and the American bulldog had blood on them and they were coverd the Bordeauxs didn't have any 

Woman dies after she is savaged by her daughter's pack of dogs - London - News - London Evening Standard


----------



## Kare

That is shocking, I would expect that the Heart attack occurred and then the dog attack. People with Heart conditions often experience Angina under stressful situations which is why people think it happens a lot but an actual Heart attack as a result far rarer than people think.


----------



## jaykickboxer

Kare said:


> That is shocking, I would expect that the Heart attack occurred and then the dog attack. People with Heart conditions often experience Angina under stressful situations which is why people think it happens a lot but an actual Heart attack as a result far rarer than people think.


I'd hope so still pretty dusturbing they were fed the Barf diet ?


----------



## Postcard

That's pretty nasty, the other neighbour did say though that they were 'nice dogs' so something must have happened...

do you think their diet made them act like that? 

Poor woman, at least people have said her dogs were normally nice because she's in a really horrible situation.


----------



## jaykickboxer

Postcard said:


> That's pretty nasty, the other neighbour did say though that they were 'nice dogs' so something must have happened...
> 
> do you think their diet made them act like that?
> 
> Poor woman, at least people have said her dogs were normally nice because she's in a really horrible situation.


It's weird I'm not saying its the barf diet autopsy today , I'm just saying if the mother in law has gone out with raw meat and say had a stroke and banged her head and they think em smells like dinner gotta make u question it its something I was debating but honestly defantly won't be doing now even if it was co incerdance


----------



## jaykickboxer

Here's the Bordeauxs 









The littlen mine


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## Kare

jaykickboxer said:


> It's weird I'm not saying its the barf diet autopsy today , I'm just saying if the mother in law has gone out with raw meat and say had a stroke and banged her head and they think em smells like dinner gotta make u question it its something I was debating but honestly defantly won't be doing now even if it was co incerdance


I am sorry but you believing it is linked is laughable at best.

My dogs can go out for a wee next to my free roaming bunnies then come in and eat rabbit breakfast, raw fed dogs in no way think "that smells like lunch" more than any other dog. 

In fact think how you would feel eating nothing but salad then smelt a steak. Think if anything your kibble fed dog would be more anxious to get some quality meat and eat you :lol2:


----------



## jaykickboxer

Kare said:


> I am sorry but you believing it is linked is laughable at best.
> 
> My dogs can go out for a wee next to my free roaming bunnies then come in and eat rabbit breakfast, raw fed dogs in no way think "that smells like lunch" more than any other dog.
> 
> In fact think how you would feel eating nothing but salad then smelt a steak. Think if anything your kibble fed dog would be more anxious to get some quality meat and eat you :lol2:


Maybe but If ur rabbit had a bad cut and ur dog got a taste for the loos would it be the same , I'm probably well off but still trying to understand why it happend


----------



## PPVallhunds

can only imaging how terrible you friends family must feel, what a terrible thing to have happen.
I guess they will never turley know what happened but i supose some sort of educated guess whould help them with there greaving.


----------



## ShaneLuvsMonitors

My little lass:


----------



## BMo1979

Aww, she's a cutie. I love puppy bellies, lol.


I don't want to cause any offense to anyone but is it just me or have Shi Tzus become some sort of FAD? They seem to be everywhere at the moment. On our walk today 6 out of 10 dogs on average where Shi Tzus!


----------



## Kare

BMo1979 said:


> Aww, she's a cutie. I love puppy bellies, lol.
> 
> 
> I don't want to cause any offense to anyone but is it just me or have Shi Tzus become some sort of FAD? They seem to be everywhere at the moment. On our walk today 6 out of 10 dogs on average where Shi Tzus!


No not down here, though seem to be a ton of Pug crosses, one today was refered too as a Porkie, and was a pug x yorkie. Ugly buggers one and all!!

Still better than pure pugs, they are about the only breed so screwed up that anything crossed in HAS to produce a healthier dog IMO.


----------



## PPVallhunds

loverly puppy ShaneLuvsMonitors!


----------



## Postcard

BMo1979 said:


> Aww, she's a cutie. I love puppy bellies, lol.
> 
> 
> I don't want to cause any offense to anyone but is it just me or have Shi Tzus become some sort of FAD? They seem to be everywhere at the moment. On our walk today 6 out of 10 dogs on average where Shi Tzus!


think it must be a scottish thing, mum's and round here are hooching with them


----------



## Whosthedaddy

6 months yesterday:


----------



## Postcard

Pretty sure my old dog's going a bit senile - although there have been a lot of changes lately so that might have just made her weirdness worse - anything I can do about it?


----------



## Zoo-Man

Postcard said:


> Pretty sure my old dog's going a bit senile - although there have been a lot of changes lately so that might have just made her weirdness worse - anything I can do about it?


I went through my elderly dog's senility some time ago. I made a thread about it here http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/forums/other-pets-exotics/683073-senility-elderly-dogs-help.html


----------



## PPVallhunds

Postcard said:


> Pretty sure my old dog's going a bit senile - although there have been a lot of changes lately so that might have just made her weirdness worse - anything I can do about it?


Im pritty sure i read in a dog mag ages a go that there was some sort of medication you can give dogs to help, they were calling it a cure for doggy altzymers, this site mentions it hear as well as other non medical things to try.
Doggy Alzheimer's Disease - Dogs

My friend had a 19 year old dog who had compleatly lost his marbles, he would stair into space most of the day and would forget what he was doing all the time, like eating and looking up then forgetting he was eating. One day he even walked into there lit fire place! then when pulled out of the fire went to do it again!!


----------



## Postcard

Thanks you two, will ask the vet next time I'm in. She's not totally off her rocker but she's definitely a LOT more dithery than this time last year although as we speak she's play fighting with the puppy like she's a mini boxer!

Her liver was x-rayed / ultrasounded / wee sample tested in August when her mammary lump op was done and it looked healthy so fingers x'd her incontinence isn't anything too horrible (we leave pup pads down which makes life much easier)


----------



## HABU




----------



## Whosthedaddy

Tried a whole pigeon today.

Clipped the wings, feet and tail off.

Nothing more than small sniff.

Plucked it

Sniffing and playing with it like a chew toy and tossing it about. Growling and hackles up when near her but dropping it on the floor and looking at me.

Chopped the head off.

More playing and randomly dropping it about the utility room and garden but alas nothing even though the carcass had been punctured by her teeth exposing various entrails and blood.

The dog can chew through trotters and yet a small bird is too much to crunch!

Oh well so thats snakes and dog that have now refused this, only 7 more in the freezer to waste!


----------



## purpleskyes

I will soon be able to join in with the random doggie chat, puppy has been reserved picking him up in a months time. :no1:


----------



## feorag

Ooh! How exciting!! :jump:

What are you getting?


----------



## purpleskyes

feorag said:


> Ooh! How exciting!! :jump:
> 
> What are you getting?


We are getting an American Akita puppy. This is him although the picture is abit rubbish! :flrt:


----------



## feorag

Aw, little teddy bear! :flrt:

Barry was asked last night if Skye was an Akita! :crazy:


----------



## purpleskyes

feorag said:


> Aw, little teddy bear! :flrt:
> 
> Barry was asked last night if Skye was an Akita! :crazy:


Cute isn't he? :flrt:
Haha really? had they never seen a black GSD before?


----------



## feorag

Obviously not! :lol2:


A new idea - shame your dog!!! I lol'd at most of these!


----------



## Postcard

I LOVE dogshaming - makes mine look like an angel :lol2:

My favourites:



















:gasp:


----------



## vorny

hehe, these made me giggle, but trying to be quiet as not to wake the sleeping partner and molly the dog...somehow makes it more funny


----------



## sarahc

has anyone had the equivelant of hip displacia but in the shoulders?


----------



## Kare

sarahc said:


> has anyone had the equivelant of hip displacia but in the shoulders?


Most people owning a show type Lab in the UK would have had a dog experience it. Most the large breed dogs high up for Hip issues also suffer elbow issues as well as Bulldogs (all types), Pugs (though what DON'T they have? The breed needs banning through it being cruelty to even make a dog that deformed) the unusal spaniels like Clumber and Sussex and Bassetts all rank highly also


----------



## sarahc

I haven't got plans to buy or breed any dogs but thanks for the info.I was more wondering about management and longterm outcome for the dog.Not that one of mine def has it.He's always limped,if you saw him walk you'd think from the gait that one leg was shorter than the other although it's not noticable at faster paces.He was looked at by a specialist at a year old who said that as there isn't any pain and quality off life isn't reduced it was best to leave well alone.I just thought it had become more pronounced lately,could be wrong and there still isn't pain.It's the shoulder that is the cause of the abnormal gait but only one.


----------



## feorag

Some more funny dog pics!









....... 

















....... 







....... 







....... 

















....... 

















....... 







....


----------



## ShaneLuvsMonitors

A few more pics:


----------



## sarahc

Took the cover off the bed to wash and left the inner on the settee.They still found it.









and non pack member,excluded by popular vote.Sometimes in winter when I think how much easier life could be without the furries I think how bereft Bandit would be.He lives for the furries although his motives are naughty


----------



## Christie_ZXR

Buster's been eating friendly bacteria recently...

By friendly bacteria I mean a yogurt. MY yougurt. 

He didn't manage to pinch very much of it, so hopefully a slightly upset tummy will teach him a lesson!!


----------



## Kare

Christie_ZXR said:


> Buster's been eating friendly bacteria recently...
> 
> By friendly bacteria I mean a yogurt. MY yougurt.
> 
> He didn't manage to pinch very much of it, so hopefully a slightly upset tummy will teach him a lesson!!


Yoghurt is actually good for settling their tummies...sorry!


----------



## feorag

I agree - pro-biotic yoghurt will actually be good for his stomach, so he certainly won't feel any regret at stealing it. :lol2:


----------



## DavieB




----------



## FreddiesMum

:rotflavie B that is superb!


----------



## feorag

I totally agree - I lol'd - *A LOT!!!*


----------



## BMo1979

:lol2:. Great pic! Do you mind if I nick it for my FB?


----------



## feorag

:lol2: I did the same, 'cept I didn't ask. :gasp: :blush:


----------



## Christie_ZXR

feorag said:


> I agree - pro-biotic yoghurt will actually be good for his stomach, so he certainly won't feel any regret at stealing it. :lol2:


Oh damn it! :lol2:

I'll have to make sure I put down future yoghurts out of his reach!!


----------



## feorag

DavieB said:


> image


You really need to post this in "Funny Stuff MK2" in the 18+ section, Davie.


----------



## Christie_ZXR

Met a "Jug" yesterday. Ridiculous name, but I've got to say, it was the cutest thing I've ever seen!! As a rule, I'm not wonderfully keen on pugs and their squished faces, but this thing had the eyes and face of a pug, but a long nose, if that makes sense. And hopefully a lot healthier for it. I'm not exactly up on genetics, but I hope any cross that means pugs can breathe a bit better is some sort of improvement. 

I wouldn't have had a clue what it was without chatting to the owner. I honestly thought at first she'd tell me it was some kind of fancy pedigree I'd never have heard of!


----------



## Kare

Christie_ZXR said:


> Met a "Jug" yesterday. Ridiculous name, but I've got to say, it was the cutest thing I've ever seen!! As a rule, I'm not wonderfully keen on pugs and their squished faces, but this thing had the eyes and face of a pug, but a long nose, if that makes sense. And hopefully a lot healthier for it. I'm not exactly up on genetics, but I hope any cross that means pugs can breathe a bit better is some sort of improvement.
> 
> I wouldn't have had a clue what it was without chatting to the owner. I honestly thought at first she'd tell me it was some kind of fancy pedigree I'd never have heard of!


As a general rule there are a few dogs who are so physically deformed that the only hope for anything healthier is a cross, those being the Pug, the Cavalier King Charles and the Bulldog (list by the top German Vet advising the FCI). So yes a Jug is one of the few cross breeds that can be pretty much guaranteed to be healthier that one of the parent breeds. Of course the Jack Russell parent is likely healthier than the Jug. 

A friend of mine was saying they saw the ugliest dog they had ever seen and that too was a Jug lol. Apparently this one had a great deal of teeth outside its gums, similar to a bad example of a bulldogs, so it could be a risk getting one lol. 

I would never had a Pug cross, but saying it was the last 3 dogs on earth, a Pug, a Jug or a Puggle. I would have to choose the Puggle!!


----------



## Zoo-Man

Took this photo yesterday. Roxy, looking the best she has so far on the table (albeit, our coffee table, lol)










Its hard, because as her handler in the show ring, you don't see quite what the judge gets to see, due to where you are, etc. But if she looks this good in the ring, then she should be getting many more awards to come.


----------



## Kare

Dogs Gone Wild on the Swimming Pool Slide - YouTube


----------



## feorag

I would agree with that Colin - she stacks up beautifully and look very promising - although I admit I know nothing about Bostons. :blush:


----------



## Christie_ZXR

Kare said:


> As a general rule there are a few dogs who are so physically deformed that the only hope for anything healthier is a cross, those being the Pug, the Cavalier King Charles and the Bulldog (list by the top German Vet advising the FCI). So yes a Jug is one of the few cross breeds that can be pretty much guaranteed to be healthier that one of the parent breeds. Of course the Jack Russell parent is likely healthier than the Jug.
> 
> A friend of mine was saying they saw the ugliest dog they had ever seen and that too was a Jug lol. Apparently this one had a great deal of teeth outside its gums, similar to a bad example of a bulldogs, so it could be a risk getting one lol.
> 
> I would never had a Pug cross, but saying it was the last 3 dogs on earth, a Pug, a Jug or a Puggle. I would have to choose the Puggle!!


Had to look up a puggle...:gasp: Funny looking thing!

Don't worry, I've no intention of getting another dog, one is more than enough to handle!! 


Buster met my uncle for the first time yesterday, and he was really impressed with his little repertoire of tricks and said he thought Buster was an amazingly well trained dog! My uncle's definitely a doggy person, so I was so chuffed and so proud of Buster :flrt:


----------



## Zoo-Man

feorag said:


> I would agree with that Colin - she stacks up beautifully and look very promising - although I admit I know nothing about Bostons. :blush:


She could do with a bit less length of body, & her front legs could be in a bit more on the move, but other than that, she is a good example of the breed. Some Boston Terriers are rather French Bulldog like, ie short & squat, but I prefer my Bostons to have more leg & less stockiness.


----------



## PPVallhunds

love her zoo-man, i saw some at an open show last weekend and didnt like them, they were squished looking, no neck and and shorter legs but im not a fan of the small breeds anyway but i like roxey.


----------



## Zoo-Man

PPVallhunds said:


> love her zoo-man, i saw some at an open show last weekend and didnt like them, they were squished looking, no neck and and shorter legs but im not a fan of the small breeds anyway but i like roxey.


Thanks. To me, thats what differentiates a Boston Terrier from a French Bulldog (apart from the ears & colours), Bostons are leaner, leggier, longer & more athletic looking.


----------



## feorag

Just had to share


----------



## Christie_ZXR

O/h seems to keep hinting he wants another dog to "keep Buster company".

Wonder if I should start hinting about wanting another o/h to keep the o/h company....


----------



## feorag

:lol2:


----------



## Kare

Christie_ZXR said:


> O/h seems to keep hinting he wants another dog to "keep Buster company".
> 
> Wonder if I should start hinting about wanting another o/h to keep the o/h company....


Someone I know tried that, it didn't work out she left the first o/h and went to IoW with the other guy.


----------



## Christie_ZXR

Ooh no! Couldn't do that!

I mean, once you've made that commitment to care for an animal for the rest of it's life you can't just go getting rid of it just because you've got a new one...

...besides, Buster might miss him!! :lol2:


----------



## feorag




----------



## purpleskyes

This time next week we shall be on our way to pick him up, literally cannot wait.

I am just about to order a snuggle puppy, has anyone used one before? Basically a cuddly puppy with an inbuilt realistic heart beat and heat pads which are meant to be really good at helping puppies settle in.


----------



## BMo1979

purpleskyes said:


> This time next week we shall be on our way to pick him up, literally cannot wait.
> 
> I am just about to order a snuggle puppy, has anyone used one before? Basically a cuddly puppy with an inbuilt realistic heart beat and heat pads which are meant to be really good at helping puppies settle in.


We never had one and didn't really feel we needed one for Trigger neither. For his "bed training" I would normally give him and old worn top of mine, but I don't actually know whether it benefited him or not. 
Friends of ours had a life size Golden Retriever soft toy for their GR puppy. He ended up humping it, lol.


Arrgh, Satan, don't tempt me:
Omar (Utonagan Dog) | Rehoming

Exactly the kind of dog I have always wanted (apart from GSD which I've got and a Standard Poodle). I can't, just can't :,-(!


----------



## Postcard

purpleskyes said:


> This time next week we shall be on our way to pick him up, literally cannot wait.
> 
> I am just about to order a snuggle puppy, has anyone used one before? Basically a cuddly puppy with an inbuilt realistic heart beat and heat pads which are meant to be really good at helping puppies settle in.


That sounds like SUCH a good idea, wish I'd known about them before!


----------



## purpleskyes

Postcard said:


> That sounds like SUCH a good idea, wish I'd known about them before!


I had never heard of them a friend recommended them as they worked a treat with her husky pup and majority of online reviews are really good.


----------



## jaykickboxer

She's defantly getting to big to be a lapdog


----------



## Christie_ZXR

Put some piccies in the other thread, but this is Buster in his ridiculously cute handmade doggy jumper!










:flrt:


----------



## feorag

jaykickboxer said:


> She's defantly getting to big to be a lapdog
> 
> image


That's some size head she's got!



Christie_ZXR said:


> Put some piccies in the other thread, but this is Buster in his ridiculously cute handmade doggy jumper!
> 
> image
> 
> :flrt:


Ridiculously cute all right! :flrt:


----------



## Christie_ZXR

Don't worry about missing the pattern...made my own! :Na_Na_Na_Na: :lol2:

Just want to make him more cute little coats and jumpers now! He looks so adorable! But the o/hs not impressed and thinks he looks daft...:whistling2:

He's getting a fluffy xmas jumper either way and he's going to wear it christmas day or else!! :whip:


----------



## purpleskyes

We are setting off in a few hours to get the puppy!!!!!!


----------



## XOX

purpleskyes said:


> We are setting off in a few hours to get the puppy!!!!!!


 Good luck with the new puppy and dont forget to be strickt as now is when it matters most...

here is baby boxer cooper who is now 2 and a half 

Just chillin in the sun...








After i dressed him up too keep him clean after his bath lol...








In my school uniform...








And i had to add one of when i first met him at 5 weeks old 








Sorry for the picture overload...


----------



## Evilshiddenclaws

would anyone be interested in buying a calendar to help raise pennies for Dobermann Rescue?

if so please go to the thread i just made for all those who might like one

http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/foru...ue-charity-calendars-2013-a.html#post10748939


----------



## *H*

Loki @17 weeks old


----------



## feorag

Bless that sweet face! :flrt:

I see he's at *that *age, when the lipstick's always out! :whistling2:


----------



## *H*

feorag said:


> Bless that sweet face! :flrt:
> 
> I see he's at *that *age, when the lipstick's always out! :whistling2:


:lol2: haha, I had hoped no one would notice :lol2:


----------



## SUPER HANS

Haha! Yeah I see his lipstick :lol2:


----------



## Kare

*H* said:


> :lol2: haha, I had hoped no one would notice :lol2:


I did not notice.....pure and innocent me!

Very cute pup.


----------



## SUPER HANS

Ok I have a question to ask. I have a young terrier that keeps humping the other dogs (constantly), and my mum wants to get him done, which I am against (being a man, it's a touchy subject). My argument being that he's only young (under 2) and may grow out of it. 

So, do you think it's something he'll grow out of or should he be neutered, opinions please.


----------



## feorag

*H* said:


> :lol2: haha, I had hoped no one would notice :lol2:





Kare said:


> I did not notice.....pure and innocent me!


Sorry, unfortunately I'm a bit cock-eyed! :whistling2:

And just couldn't resist this - how cute are they?


----------



## Evilshiddenclaws

SUPER HANS said:


> Ok I have a question to ask. I have a young terrier that keeps humping the other dogs (constantly), and my mum wants to get him done, which I am against (being a man, it's a touchy subject). My argument being that he's only young (under 2) and may grow out of it.
> 
> So, do you think it's something he'll grow out of or should he be neutered, opinions please.


it's something you need to train him out of, not something he will automatically 'grow out of' having him neutered without training the behaviour out will probably only help a tiny bit. having him neutered removes the instict but not the habit he has already developed.

in my opinion he is old enough to be neutered and should be. it's not cruel in the slightest.


----------



## SUPER HANS

Evilshiddenclaws said:


> it's something you need to train him out of, not something he will automatically 'grow out of' having him neutered without training the behaviour out will probably only help a tiny bit. having him neutered removes the instict but not the habit he has already developed.
> 
> in my opinion he is old enough to be neutered and should be. it's not cruel in the slightest.


Yeah, this makes sense, thank you.


----------



## BMo1979

It's snowing here!

What are your dogs like in snow?
Trigger (7) turns into a little puppy, so excited. Unfortunately he also suffers from "Snow deafness", meaning that he tends to completely ignore me when he races around in the snow.


----------



## *H*

SUPER HANS said:


> Haha! Yeah I see his lipstick :lol2:


Dog perve! :lol2:



Kare said:


> I did not notice.....pure and innocent me!
> 
> Very cute pup.


Thanks Kare, he's a good lad, so quick to learn and for a pup, good as gold!



feorag said:


> Sorry, unfortunately I'm a bit cock-eyed! :whistling2:
> 
> And just couldn't resist this - how cute are they?
> 
> image


:lol2: 

Awwwwww :flrt: Labs really will do anything if it seems like a fun game :lol2:


----------



## steve111

any one keep dogue de bordeaux what the like thanks


----------



## *H*

BMo1979 said:


> It's snowing here!
> 
> What are your dogs like in snow?
> Trigger (7) turns into a little puppy, so excited. Unfortunately he also suffers from "Snow deafness", meaning that he tends to completely ignore me when he races around in the snow.


My eldest likes to go out to eat it, but gets bored easy and wants to be back in the warm, sleeping.

Cass my nearly 4 year old wants to be out in it allllll day! lol Charges about like a idiot as if it's the best.thing.ever! And he'll ask to go out every 5 minutes when it's been snowing. He's the same, deaf when the white stuff is on the ground.

No idea what the pup think's as he's not seen snow yet... Hoping he loves it too, so him and Cass can charge about together in it


----------



## Evilshiddenclaws

steve111 said:


> any one keep dogue de bordeaux what the like thanks


There are a a cpuple people on the forum who keep them, fantastoc breed but i cant comment on what they're like to have full time


----------



## Kare

steve111 said:


> any one keep dogue de bordeaux what the like thanks


I have known a great deal, including for a short time having a housemate with one. 

They are great puppies and so adorable, unfortunately without fail the ones I have known have turned into characterless lumps of drooling meat at around 18-24 months old. I have no idea for what causes the change, whether they just mature that way, whether their weight causes discomfort and a type of depression when they hit fully grown, whether it is some kind of brain issue...I have no idea.

The closest I can describe it like is a dog who has suffered so much punishment that they just close down and stop trying to do anything. They still move, they still eat and drink and walk, but they just seem depressed and like noone is really at home.

The only character you see after that in all the ones I have known has been one that was aggressive, he saw another dog, he switched on, barked pulled and growled, the dog disappeared and he went right back to being empty!


----------



## Evilshiddenclaws

Kare said:


> I have known a great deal, including for a short time having a housemate with one.
> 
> They are great puppies and so adorable, unfortunately without fail the ones I have known have turned into characterless lumps of drooling meat at around 18-24 months old. I have no idea for what causes the change, whether they just mature that way, whether their weight causes discomfort and a type of depression when they hit fully grown, whether it is some kind of brain issue...I have no idea.
> 
> The closest I can describe it like is a dog who has suffered so much punishment that they just close down and stop trying to do anything. They still move, they still eat and drink and walk, but they just seem depressed and like noone is really at home.
> 
> The only character you see after that in all the ones I have known has been one that was aggressive, he saw another dog, he switched on, barked pulled and growled, the dog disappeared and he went right back to being empty!


you seem to have no luck at all with any of the decent breeds. every dogue i've ever met was so happy and bouncy and loving, they're such clowns, they're strength and weight makes them into great big soppy lumps, they have a stand offish attitude and without the right training can become fearful or even aggressive towards strangers but i've never met a nasty one. we had an 8 year old bitch who boarded with us at the kennels and she was such a sweet angel, slobbery though, very slobbery lol


----------



## Kare

Not sure it is bad luck. I have known a number of other mastiffs breeds which have not changed and remained full of personality...


----------



## jaykickboxer

Bordeauxs are the nuts , mines still young stubborn big dumb and docile her mum and dad especially dad were full of charector and well over 2 yr old if u see one walking down the road ask them about them I've never heard any previous owners say a bad word about them


----------



## jaykickboxer




----------



## Zoo-Man

jaykickboxer said:


> image
> 
> image
> 
> image


I love the top photo! Very sweet!


----------



## Christie_ZXR

BBC News - Driving school for dogs in New Zealand

Genius!

:2thumb:


----------



## jaykickboxer

Christie_ZXR said:


> BBC News - Driving school for dogs in New Zealand
> 
> Genius!
> 
> :2thumb:


I Donno if there's a video coz I'm on my fone bits that's gotta be dodgey alot of people can't drive let alone dogs , 
Although I got rid if this recently but used to take the bulldog out in it he used to lean into the corners as we went round em was like watching him surf I should have got a video it's was well funny to watch


----------



## feorag




----------



## Whosthedaddy

Just a quickie.

Bullmastiff pup, read huge beast that pulls like a train on the lead but better when on the halti head collar. But, we have a constant head bobbing and attempts to remove even after a mile or so into a walk*. Anyone have good reviews or experiences on the anti pull harness'? We did have one for our old Staff and she pulled just as bad in it that when not.





* If we are going to the park, after a run around she is much better on the lead and no halti required. I think she gets so excited about being out that she pulls, oh and if kids are around as she is too friendly and wants to pull to see them. Walking her at the school run time is a nightmare.

:lol2:


----------



## BMo1979

Whosthedaddy said:


> Just a quickie.
> 
> Bullmastiff pup, read huge beast that pulls like a train on the lead but better when on the halti head collar. But, we have a constant head bobbing and attempts to remove even after a mile or so into a walk*. Anyone have good reviews or experiences on the anti pull harness'? We did have one for our old Staff and she pulled just as bad in it that when not.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> * If we are going to the park, after a run around she is much better on the lead and no halti required. I think she gets so excited about being out that she pulls, oh and if kids are around as she is too friendly and wants to pull to see them. Walking her at the school run time is a nightmare.
> 
> :lol2:


I've got the Easy Walk harness for Trigger. The lead attaches to the front, which is suppose to stop the dog from using his chest to pull.
It works for us but my only niggle is that you constantly have to adjust the straps, otherwise they loosen too much.


----------



## Whosthedaddy

Got fed up wiping it as she had no interest in doing it!


----------



## PPVallhunds

lol my girl has one of those hygeen pants


----------



## feorag

Hoping everyone has had a good Christmas.

Ending the good day on a laugh!!
































I'm sure we all feel like this. 













And finally something all we animal lovers agree on! :2thumb:


----------



## Kare

PPVallhunds said:


> lol my girl has one of those hygeen pants


Just a tip for anyone else considering buying the same, buy a pack of suitably sized brief type pants (for majority of breeds this would be a childs size) in a dark colour. Normally 5 for a fraction of the price of one hygiene pant. 

Place them on backwards and the tail goes out the hole where...well you know...through which men access their peeing equipment when they need a wee.

You can use panty liners or could even not need pads as they are normally a couple of layers thick, at least for young boys and you have 5 sets so have a fair few spare for regular changes as long as you wash out the old ones.


----------



## Postcard

anyone else's dogs LOVE junkies more than anyone else? no?


----------



## jaykickboxer

Postcard said:


> anyone else's dogs LOVE junkies more than anyone else? no?


Junkies ?


----------



## Postcard

jaykickboxer said:


> Junkies ?


yeah, drug addicts

eta - there's a halfway house we pass on one of the walks round here, they've not given me any bother just been friendly but the puppy LOVES them


----------



## jaykickboxer

Postcard said:


> yeah, drug addicts
> 
> eta - there's a halfway house we pass on one of the walks round here, they've not given me any bother just been friendly but the puppy LOVES them


Ah right I thought I read that wrong mine don't really come into contact with any I no off but my Bordeaux likes everyone way too much


----------



## Kare

Postcard said:


> anyone else's dogs LOVE junkies more than anyone else? no?




I had a young foster German Shepherd once who adored men, and would escape at any chance possible to find one. (I never experienced this with another GSD, they are normally quick to bond with me and most rescues do not want you out of their sight for a second even whilst they take a pee!) 

This dogs man of choice was my husband, but failing that he ran most often to the freeholding next door where there was a homeless man living in their caravan!! The number of times I had to try and get him back and the man would say how much he wished he could stay :blush:


----------



## feorag

My last German Shepherd was just over 3 months old when I bought him from a neighbour and when I was walking him and let him off the leash on the way back to our house he always ran back home to her house! :blush:

It was very embarrassing to be caught lurking around her side door in the early hours of the morning trying to find the black dog in the dark.

Skye and I are off in 20 minutes for our first GSD walk. This will be an education! :roll:


----------



## Postcard

Kare said:


> I had a young foster German Shepherd once who adored men, and would escape at any chance possible to find one. (I never experienced this with another GSD, they are normally quick to bond with me and most rescues do not want you out of their sight for a second even whilst they take a pee!)
> 
> This dogs man of choice was my husband, but failing that he ran most often to the freeholding next door where there was a homeless man living in their caravan!! The number of times I had to try and get him back and the man would say how much he wished he could stay :blush:





feorag said:


> My last German Shepherd was just over 3 months old when I bought him from a neighbour and when I was walking him and let him off the leash on the way back to our house he always ran back home to her house! :blush:
> 
> It was very embarrassing to be caught lurking around her side door in the early hours of the morning trying to find the black dog in the dark.
> 
> Skye and I are off in 20 minutes for our first GSD walk. This will be an education! :roll:


Glad it's not just mine with funny tastes :lol2:

Tallu's a judas, too - tried to follow a man home in the park because he was carrying a tesco bag, cupboard love or what. :roll:

Good luck Feorag, fingers x'd it goes well!


----------



## Whosthedaddy

Kare said:


> Just a tip for anyone else considering buying the same, buy a pack of suitably sized brief type pants (for majority of breeds this would be a childs size) in a dark colour. Normally 5 for a fraction of the price of one hygiene pant.
> 
> Place them on backwards and the tail goes out the hole where...well you know...through which men access their peeing equipment when they need a wee.
> 
> You can use panty liners or could even not need pads as they are normally a couple of layers thick, at least for young boys and you have 5 sets so have a fair few spare for regular changes as long as you wash out the old ones.


Tried a pair of my boxers on her and not big enough.

:gasp:

She fat!!!!


----------



## feorag

Well we had a wonderful day. We arrived and Skye started barking, got him out the car and walked over to join the others and he just kept on barking, and kept on barking, and kept on barking and lunging at any dog that got near us, then eventually he shut up!!! :2thumb:

I stayed at the back and obviously he was pulling to get at them, cos I couldn't get the head collar on over the muzzle, so he was on a half-check collar, but he didn't bark again and although he pulled towards the other dogs that were walking in the park, he didn't bark at them. Then halway round we came to the fields and everyone started to let off their dogs. Everyone was happy for me to let him off, so I did and he lunged at the first dog near him to grab his neck, but of course couldn't. The dog snapped back and told him to "F off" and after that he just didn't bother. He ran around following one dog, then stopping to get a fuss from someone and basically just ran around with all the dogs and I was absolutely made up. Even it if doesn't stop him being aggressive to every dog he meets, at least he can get a monthly walk where he can relax and just have fun with other dogs.

So photos






































And a little video.

Skye's first GSD walk - YouTube

.


----------



## Zoo-Man

Im not surprised you were so chuffed Eilen, he must have learnt a good lesson there, & maybe he'll remember it :lol2:


----------



## feorag

I do hope so Colin. If we can get to one of these walks every month it's got to help. Also there is a dog day care facility not far from me and a couple of the people on this walk go every 2nd Saturday morning for an hour where they just socialise big dogs (they do smaller dogs an hour later), so I'm going to take him to that too, now that I've done this walk and had a chance to assess his reaction when he's absolutely surrounded by dogs rather than meeting them one (or two) on one. :2thumb:


----------



## Kare

I'm really happy for you and Skye Eileen. 

Actually brought a little tear to my eye did that little video. You can tell he is a little anxious, which will pass I am sure with experience, but he is clearly good with being there and heading back out to meet the dogs

I knew he could do it!!:flrt:


----------



## Kare

Do check out 
Phoenix Martingale Headcollars
They do headcollars they say work well below or above muzzles, and I think £10 including the postage is a great price. :2thumb:

I love my one, and it is so easy to get on and off even my husband cannot screw it up (I once found my retriever returning from a walk with him with the ring bit of her old head collar attached to the lead, but the whole affair was on upside down so the ring and lead was suspended a fair way above her nose rather than under the chin!)

She is a lovely lady and a great dog trainer apparently, so I would recommend if you want a good discussion of what your needs are and together working out the best way to meet them (ie a slightly bigger one with longer adjustment bit to go over the muzzle or a thinner arrangement to go inside etc etc then contact her on Facebook here http://www.facebook.com/FleecyDog. She does lovely strong work in great colours. I have to stick with dark colours though, two dogs and the red Devon mud will never equal a pretty pastal pink collar being a good idea!!


----------



## feorag

I was going to pm you last night and direct you to the thread, but was sure you'd see it.

I was easily recognised, once we hit the field, as the one with the biggest smile on my face! He was a bit anxious, but he did soon settle down and his tail was up and waving most of the time and I was thrilled because he just about totally ignored the 2 Jack Russels and I've often wondered if he sees little dogs as 'prey'

I actually looked at those Martingale head collars a while ago and bookmarked the website intending to buy one, but somehow forgot! :crazy:

If it would fit through the muzzle it would probably be better because I'm reasonably hopeful that after a few of these walks and sessions at Central Bark that we might be able to ditch the muzzle.


----------



## Shell195

feorag said:


> Well we had a wonderful day. We arrived and Skye started barking, got him out the car and walked over to join the others and he just kept on barking, and kept on barking, and kept on barking and lunging at any dog that got near us, then eventually he shut up!!! :2thumb:
> 
> I stayed at the back and obviously he was pulling to get at them, cos I couldn't get the head collar on over the muzzle, so he was on a half-check collar, but he didn't bark again and although he pulled towards the other dogs that were walking in the park, he didn't bark at them. Then halway round we came to the fields and everyone started to let off their dogs. Everyone was happy for me to let him off, so I did and he lunged at the first dog near him to grab his neck, but of course couldn't. The dog snapped back and told him to "F off" and after that he just didn't bother. He ran around following one dog, then stopping to get a fuss from someone and basically just ran around with all the dogs and I was absolutely made up. Even it if doesn't stop him being aggressive to every dog he meets, at least he can get a monthly walk where he can relax and just have fun with other dogs.
> 
> So photos
> 
> image
> 
> image
> 
> image
> 
> image
> 
> 
> And a little video.
> 
> Skye's first GSD walk - YouTube
> 
> .


 

Amazing:2thumb: it looks like he actually enjoyed it too  What kind of basket muzzle is that as I thin Imay invest in one for Kalos while we are out on his socialising walks as I dont trust him with strangers


----------



## feorag

Ooh , I don't know Shell. We got it at PaH. Of course he doesn't have a collar that opens and it has to attach to a collar, so we just cut up the collar end of the first Halti we got which was too big, so the basket muzzle is tied to the collar and then the centre strap clips onto the back of the muzzle.


----------



## Kare

It appears to be a Baskerville ULTRA so should be available most places not just PAH, or online if you know/find out his size I guess.


----------



## BMo1979

What a nice thing to happen, Feorag, and great pictures and video. :2thumb:.

I wish, Trigger had more opportunity to play with other large dogs. Every time I walk him down the Clyde and we find a dog he can be let off with another smaller pesky one tips up and if there's one thing Trigger doesn't like is pesky dogs that invade his space without his permission, especially smaller males. He doesn't have any intention to hurt (yet) but for the other dogs owners it looks that way (few of them can tell a normal telling off from aggression) and a large growling dog always seems to be the loser these days.
The other thing is that he is more of a dog on dog rough play type (playing with other GSDs or bull breeds is great for him cos they tend to play rough, too, and don't yelp as soon as it's getting a bit wilder) and gets stressed out in a larger group.
I guess, it's just his personality. I've always socialised him from puppyhood with all kind of dogs, but to be honest I'm ok now with him not getting on with every dog he meets but on the other hand being the friendliest dog when it comes to all kinds of people. I think that's more important to me.


----------



## feorag

Kare said:


> It appears to be a Baskerville ULTRA so should be available most places not just PAH, or online if you know/find out his size I guess.


Could be right! We took him to PaH for it because you can open the packets and try them on. His head is deceiving in that it's finer than it looks, so standard GSD sizes are too big for him.



BMo1979 said:


> What a nice thing to happen, Feorag, and great pictures and video. :2thumb:.
> 
> I wish, Trigger had more opportunity to play with other large dogs. Every time I walk him down the Clyde and we find a dog he can be let off with another smaller pesky one tips up and if there's one thing Trigger doesn't like is pesky dogs that invade his space without his permission, especially smaller males. He doesn't have any intention to hurt (yet) but for the other dogs owners it looks that way (few of them can tell a normal telling off from aggression) and a large growling dog always seems to be the loser these days.
> The other thing is that he is more of a dog on dog rough play type (playing with other GSDs or bull breeds is great for him cos they tend to play rough, too, and don't yelp as soon as it's getting a bit wilder) and gets stressed out in a larger group.
> I guess, it's just his personality. I've always socialised him from puppyhood with all kind of dogs, but to be honest I'm ok now with him not getting on with every dog he meets but on the other hand being the friendliest dog when it comes to all kinds of people. I think that's more important to me.


It was great, honestly.

When we first got Skye he wasn't as aggressive to other dogs, but he just didn't understand 'dog language' and if a dog was too friendly he would snap at it and if he saw a dog he would run over to it and literally just bulldoze into it and knock it over, so any attempts to socialise him with my friends' dogs just didn't work.

I agree I'd rather have him dog aggressive than people aggressive though and I was pleased to see that he went up to people and accepted their fusses, as that doesn't often happen when we're out - people tend to avoid us! :roll:


----------



## purpleskyes

We took little Hudson to Brighton today to enjoy the nice weather, got stopped every 5 mins by people wanting to cuddle and fuss him. We met some nice doggies and some not so nice dogs!


----------



## Christie_ZXR

Buster's just got the best xmas prezzie ever from a friend of mine.  He's ball obsessed, so she bought him a big dustbin full of tennis balls! He actually unwrapped it himself, bit off all the wrapping paper and spat it out and then pulled the lid off and wallowed around in a sea of balls!! lol She did get a video of it, so if I can get her to send me it I'll put it up.

I'm now working on teaching him his next trick, picking up tennis balls and putting them all away in the bin!! So far it's going okay, he can put the balls away, but gets them straight back out again...


----------



## Kare

purpleskyes said:


> We took little Hudson to Brighton today to enjoy the nice weather, got stopped every 5 mins by people wanting to cuddle and fuss him. We met some nice doggies and some not so nice dogs!


We saw an older akita pup today on the beach. Nightmare owners. It was on a long lead, then permitted to lunge on top of every dog it could reach :devil:


----------



## Whosthedaddy

With all this GSD talk...





My in laws old male, a huge beast in the end but such a sweet dog to me...he loved me!

In the days of me courting my wife 15 odd years ago and staying round her parents place I'd have him trying to 'break down' the door so that he could sleep with us, I couldn't move for him trying to sit on me and become really protective when trying to leave. Other family members got a much different response from him.

:whistling2:

Even after not seeing him for the best part of a few years straight away I had an 8 stone fatty trying to sit on me from the get go.



















Such a beauty but the shedding!


----------



## Whosthedaddy




----------



## feorag

Aw!!! Lovely! :flrt:


----------



## purpleskyes

Kare said:


> We saw an older akita pup today on the beach. Nightmare owners. It was on a long lead, then permitted to lunge on top of every dog it could reach :devil:


Haha promise that wasn't mine he is only 12 weeks and on a normal lead. He does like to bop dogs on the head with his paws although I am sure that's just him playing.


----------



## purpleskyes

Nothing cuter than a man who loves his dog!


Untitled by purplepixie87, on Flickr

I love this picture


----------



## feorag

Have to agree with you there Mel!!

And still on the subject of GSD - this is very true!


----------



## feorag

If only the last line of this was true!!!


----------



## jaykickboxer

Found this old pic of my boy the other day he looks soo young think there bordeaux a aged him 










And had to get her in here after a walk in the rain , it was eventful washing her


----------



## Disillusioned

Lol she's bigger than the bath! Beautiful dogs you have. Bet it's lovely when she shakes all over ya lol


----------



## Zoo-Man

Jesus, I don't think people read adverts anymore before they reply! I've had many people wanting my Chihuahua puppies who I've had to refuse. 

If you have a 7 year old child, a 1 year old child & 3 week old twins, why on earth would you want 2 puppies???

Another person wanted to come & get a puppy on the train, but sh elived down south, so I said I wouldn't let one of my pups travel by noisy stressful train all that way. 

And why do people ask the price, even though it is clearly stated in the ad??? And then they haggle, like your selling something off a car boot sale! 

:bash:


----------



## Disillusioned

Zoo-Man said:


> Jesus, I don't think people read adverts anymore before they reply! I've had many people wanting my Chihuahua puppies who I've had to refuse.
> 
> If you have a 7 year old child, a 1 year old child & 3 week old twins, why on earth would you want 2 puppies???
> 
> Another person wanted to come & get a puppy on the train, but sh elived down south, so I said I wouldn't let one of my pups travel by noisy stressful train all that way.
> 
> And why do people ask the price, even though it is clearly stated in the ad??? And then they haggle, like your selling something off a car boot sale!
> 
> :bash:


My chihuahua is scared of children and I think it's because she is fully aware that she would be squished if they accidentally fell on her.
I found another dog she actually likes the other day and funnily enough she's her her double! She has good taste lol. Chihuahuas love company from their own kind haha.
Don't blame you for being cautious though, especially with the amount that end up in shelters nowadays!


----------



## SUPER HANS

jaykickboxer said:


> image


Hahahaha!


That face :flrt:


----------



## jaykickboxer

Disillusioned said:


> Lol she's bigger than the bath! Beautiful dogs you have. Bet it's lovely when she shakes all over ya lol


And she's still growing the shaking was a nightmare I had to scrub the bathroom she always does the hooch shake


----------



## cornflakes

we do the spaniel thing in our house...
They don't get on- the springer hates the puppy, she thinks she's human and hates most dogs as she thinks she's above them, she has the best temperament though.
















I don't always dress my dog up, but you know...


----------



## feorag

:gasp: What's happened to the thread.

All posts from the 11th January until 9:44 last night have vanished???


----------



## Christie_ZXR

Anyone seen this yet?

Something interesting about doggy evolution. Apparently dogs could tend to root through bins because they evolved on rubbish tips thousands of years ago!

BBC News - Dog evolved 'on the waste dump'


----------



## Kare

Christie_ZXR said:


> Anyone seen this yet?
> 
> Something interesting about doggy evolution. Apparently dogs could tend to root through bins because they evolved on rubbish tips thousands of years ago!
> 
> BBC News - Dog evolved 'on the waste dump'


I have always believed this as a route to domestication. 

I am not even convinced that the taming of dogs through this route was even conscious action for a long time after this began either. 

I think it was simply that the dogs that were least scared of humans were the ones to run less far from the dump and therefore got back quicker. They returned sooner for the most food and earned better survival rates as a result, and therefore were the ones around to pass on their genetics and behaviour for a less scared ie even tamer next generation. All without any conscious action on the part of humans.


----------



## Christie_ZXR

Wouldn't surprise me if it's a combination of both.

Never really read up properly on the evolution of dogs. It's pretty interesting! Something I'll have to look into more


----------



## Kare

Christie_ZXR said:


> Wouldn't surprise me if it's a combination of both.
> 
> Never really read up properly on the evolution of dogs. It's pretty interesting! Something I'll have to look into more


It is all theories, and likely most theories are true, both that there were multiple points and causes of domestication, and that dogs were bred back to wolves frequently. 

There is official paper work from just before WWII about German shepherd lines getting fresh wolf blood. German Shepherds likely have as much % wolf blood as these wolfdog breeds lol

They do say black fur is a colouring which likely started in domestic dogs rather than wolves, so black wolves are physical displays of the fact wolves have dog genes.


----------



## Dannyk79

Here is the latest addition to our family..
We re-homed him on Wednesday night. His name is Bailey and he is a 15 Week old male Staffy : victory:..
:flrt:









Will get some better pictures up later..

Danny


----------



## Christie_ZXR

Aww! He just looks like he needs to be cuddled!


----------



## Kare

Christie_ZXR said:


> Aww! He just looks like he needs to be cuddled!


Yep definitely should be a lap dog that one


----------



## ImAly

Crazy cat-dog lady will post her dogs.. :lol2:

Chaise









Billy, Noah and Ronnie

















and my new addition who doesn't have a name yet :Na_Na_Na_Na:


----------



## Dannyk79

Ok got a quick question for all you dog lovers.. As you might know we have a 15 week old staffy, the issue we have is since last night when we go to stroke him, all he wants to do is nibble and nip our hands. What is the best way to get him out of this other than saying No.. As he has sharpe teeth and my youngest son is a little jumpy..

Thanks in advance..

Danny


----------



## jaykickboxer

Dannyk79 said:


> Ok got a quick question for all you dog lovers.. As you might know we have a 15 week old staffy, the issue we have is since last night when we go to stroke him, all he wants to do is nibble and nip our hands. What is the best way to get him out of this other than saying No.. As he has sharpe teeth and my youngest son is a little jumpy..
> 
> Thanks in advance..
> 
> Danny


This is common whenever my dog did it I made a louse noise withdrew my hand and didn't stroke her again for a few minutes it took a few weeks but she stopped by about ten weeks old and I got her at 6 weeks old


----------



## Kare

Dannyk79 said:


> Ok got a quick question for all you dog lovers.. As you might know we have a 15 week old staffy, the issue we have is since last night when we go to stroke him, all he wants to do is nibble and nip our hands. What is the best way to get him out of this other than saying No.. As he has sharpe teeth and my youngest son is a little jumpy..
> 
> Thanks in advance..
> 
> Danny


It would be a good idea to not have the children stroke the dog until you have made some progress in stopping the play biting.

If they really want to stroke the dog then you stroke the dogs head whilst holding a collar, in doing this you should be able to be controlling the head, but in a non restrictive way, stopping the dog being able to nip hands.

Like jaykickboxer says a reasonably loud noise, I find an "Utt" sound is ideal, as it is sharp and sounds the same from anyone. Doesn't need to be much more than normal speaking volume so not scaring the dog, but enough to slightly startle, and then the end of the dog getting any attention, either by removing yourself from the dog, or removing the dog from your presence (ie if you both on the sofa you do not want to move yourself off, your dog could be clever enough to catch on you will give him all the space if he nips you) so send the dog off. 

Some dogs think the sending away is part of the game so a short thin puppy lead tied to something maybe needed, just thinking of holding it away from you for say 30 sec or a minute then try again. Repeating it over and over until it catches on. The more repeatitions you can give in a fairly short period of time the better, to help you not get annoyed it is good to have in mind that you want it to nip at first (without enticing a nip) so you get more chances to teach it. Obviously if the dog is getting more and more hyper, and this can happen then it is time to stop, calm everything down and try another time.


----------



## feorag

Our GSD walk last weekend. An hour walking around a huge field and then an hour on the beach, followed by coffee and cake in the car park during a small hailstorm! :lol2:

There were 19 dogs, 17 GSDs and 2 JRT's, one of which was not in the mood and spent most of the time inside his owner's jacket or on her back as you can see in the photograph!


----------



## x Sarah x

Brilliant pics Eileen, i do envy those who get to go on these breed specific walks, oh how i wish i could drive!


----------



## feorag

Well hopefully it's helping Skye to relax with other dogs and stop his dog aggression. As you can see he is muzzled, but this was our third walk and on here and the last one, he didn't go straight for the nearest dog when we let him off, so that's good. Also after a while on the beach we walked a wee bit away from the group to the sea and took his muzzle off so he could have fun with a stick and he took no notice of the other dogs and walked back with the group on his leader with no muzzle and no aggression, so maybe we are winning! :2thumb:


----------



## Kare

feorag said:


> Well hopefully it's helping Skye to relax with other dogs and stop his dog aggression. As you can see he is muzzled, but this was our third walk and on here and the last one, he didn't go straight for the nearest dog when we let him off, so that's good. Also after a while on the beach we walked a wee bit away from the group to the sea and took his muzzle off so he could have fun with a stick and he took no notice of the other dogs and walked back with the group on his leader with no muzzle and no aggression, so maybe we are winning! :2thumb:


I think Skye is winning, he is getting some lovely walks and more relaxed Mummy to walk with at least :2thumb:


----------



## feorag

There's usually a comment about the big smile on my face, because I enjoy it so much.


----------



## Kare

Sorry to rant here....but

I am part of a local raw feeding group, where a lady who works for a butchers whilst delivering to local restaurants delivers items to members on the way of meats not used to feed humans, bones, chicken/duck necks, chicken/duck hearts fatty meat scraps, offals etc etc etc

However as part of the group there are many many discussions mainly loosely based on the discussion of feeding.

I really think I will have to scream if there is one more comment along to lines of "if you do that, your dog will get bloat" everything, from walking your dog within 2 hours of food, to a bit of liver cake WILL give your dog bloat!!


----------



## BMo1979

feorag said:


> Our GSD walk last weekend. An hour walking around a huge field and then an hour on the beach, followed by coffee and cake in the car park during a small hailstorm! :lol2:
> 
> There were 19 dogs, 17 GSDs and 2 JRT's, one of which was not in the mood and spent most of the time inside his owner's jacket or on her back as you can see in the photograph!
> 
> image image image image image image


Heaven! All those lovely dogs and Skye looks fantastic. Trigger could do with something like that, but most of the dogs around here are very small and old. Mind you we've been trying to arrange a "play-date" with my friends' 3 dogs (GSD, Staffy and Collie Mix, all female), but you know what it's like even when you live in the same neighbourhood. There's always something else to do.
He's met the Staffy once and it was ok, but both dogs had to be kept on the lead cos it was on the School (bus) pick up run. Trigger was generally fine, but Millie is a bit too hyper submissive and he was getting a bit annoyed with her constant licking and grovelling (he likes the b*tchy type, lol, there's a Collie in one of the end houses who always snaps at him which he absolutely adores). 
He's only met the other 2 through the fence, when I walked the friends' son home and this was just a big barking match because Carly, the GSD is very territorial. The Collie-Mix was completely ignored and Millie, the Staffy stayed out of it and was more interested in cuddles from the kids, lol.
We really need to meet on neutral ground. There's a couple of fenced off fields here which are ideal for this.


----------



## feorag

When we first got Skye I tried introducing him to friend's dogs, but my friends who have dogs have small/medium dogs and he would just bulldoze right into them in his excitement and knock them for 6. So they all ended up frightened of him. Sadly, I have no friends with dogs the size of him.

I've also (through the GSDR walk group) discovered a dog training centre only about 5 miles from me who hold dog socialisation sessions. They do a small dog one at 10:00 and a large one at 11:00 every other Saturday morning. We went to our first one last Saturday. We started off in their indoor arena. The trainer put him on a long line and told me to walk him around for a bit and then drop the line. When I did he went straight for a 9mth old GSD and she banged 2 tin feeder bowls and shouted 'no' and he stopped - after that he was fine and he had great fun playing out in the field in the deep snow. There was us, an adult GSD rescue who is a bit dog aggressive, the 9 month old pup, a giant Schnauzer, labradoodle, border collie, labrador and the trainers 3 spaniels, so a good choice of different appearances.


----------



## Whosthedaddy

I bought the dog some whole partridges for a treat as opposed to chicken legs at the moment, do you think she ate them? Nope! Snubbed pigeon too, I thought dogs oofed anything, it would appear that our dainty little girl is a little fussy for her meat.

:bash:


----------



## jaykickboxer

Whosthedaddy said:


> I bought the dog some whole partridges for a treat as opposed to chicken legs at the moment, do you think she ate them? Nope! Snubbed pigeon too, I thought dogs oofed anything, it would appear that our dainty little girl is a little fussy for her meat.
> 
> :bash:


My bulldogs fussy but the Bordeaux will eat anything


----------



## *H*

Whosthedaddy said:


> I bought the dog some whole partridges for a treat as opposed to chicken legs at the moment, do you think she ate them? Nope! Snubbed pigeon too, I thought dogs oofed anything, it would appear that our dainty little girl is a little fussy for her meat.
> 
> :bash:


Cass refuses to eat raw meat, turns his nose up and leaves it. But cook it and he loves it! strange mutt.


----------



## BMo1979

*H* said:


> Cass refuses to eat raw meat, turns his nose up and leaves it. But cook it and he loves it! strange mutt.


Trigger's the same. I can just about get medium rare beef and mince into him, but he turns his nose up at raw bones, meat veg and co.


----------



## Whosthedaddy

Our little 'sad face'


----------



## x Sarah x

My pair will eat anything that's edible! even mustard :gasp:

Though Kizzy did take her time eating her worming tablets the other day, she sort of bit them into quarters and then ate them one by one before looking up at me with a face of disgust like she's just swallowed talc powder, hahahaha!


----------



## Kare

x Sarah x said:


> My pair will eat anything that's edible! even mustard :gasp:
> 
> Though Kizzy did take her time eating her worming tablets the other day, she sort of bit them into quarters and then ate them one by one before looking up at me with a face of disgust like she's just swallowed talc powder, hahahaha!


My dog will also eat anything
She eats all meat, all kibbles, all treats...fruit, veg...the stalk bits from where I cut the tops off of strawberries.....even tissue and the tubes from inside the toilet roll.


----------



## feorag

So does Skye. I was making a sandwich at lunch time and offered him a chunk of cucumber and he ate it.

I dropped a piece of raw potato on the kitchen floor tonight and he snaffled it up! :roll: Anything that's dropped on the floor is eaten by him, grapes, blueberries and any vegetable!


----------



## *H*

Mine love the cucumber ends! and Cass loves lettuce, he'll also eat veg, although when having roast dinner left overs, he'll take out the spouts and place them next to his bowl to eat at the end, after he's sucked them clean of gravy of course. The other two aren't fussy at all and will eat anything going, Cass just has strange (and rather special) ways.


----------



## feorag

:lol2:

TWO DOGS DINING - YouTube


----------



## BMo1979

feorag said:


> :lol2:
> 
> TWO DOGS DINING - YouTube


The poor Lab's like "Stop faffing around with that fork, put it in my mouth!"


Can someone please talk me out of my broodiness for a second dog? I keep "window-shopping" on the SSPCA and Dogstrust pages. 
My husband is dead against it at the moment and my head can see his point, but I'm just so bl**y broody, lol.
Points for it for be:
Canine companionship for Trigger.
Giving a rescue a forever home.
A new challenge, integrating a new "pack member".

Against:
Cost (which I think is the biggest issue, second being space)
Space in the house (unless it's a small dog or Trigger is willing to share his bedsite)
Most dogs I like are for families without children, older children (my youngest is 5) or no other dogs/pets. The others are mainly Staffies, Greyhounds and Lurchers and as much as I like to meet and greet them, they're just not for me (it's all personal preference, isn't it?)
My husband (is against it) and with a big decision like this, you need to sing from the same song sheet, don't you?

As you can tell, the cons outweigh the pros. Maybe it's not meant to be :,(.


----------



## feorag

I agree with you about your husband being as committed as you - after all you share the house, you share the children and you share your pets, or you should imao. I've never brought any animals into my house without my husband's agreement. People may think that's a bit 'wet', but I respect my husband and I know that there are times when he will have to share the care. 

I have always wanted a lizard and when I suggested buying a double stacker viv and putting a lizard in one, he told me flat out that he wouldn't feed a live critter to another. I respected that and didn't get a lizard because at that time I was going up to Scotland 3 or 4 times a year to spend time with my son and his family and during that time he has to look after all the animals.

My 2 APDs arrived while I was ill in bed last March and unable to physically get out of it, so he had to sort them out, settle them in and look after them and the rats (which are mine) and the snakes (which are mine) for 4 weeks while I was stuck upstairs. So to me saying "I'll do everything for them and you won't be involved, may not always work".


----------



## Kare

BMo1979 said:


> The poor Lab's like "Stop faffing around with that fork, put it in my mouth!"
> 
> 
> Can someone please talk me out of my broodiness for a second dog? I keep "window-shopping" on the SSPCA and Dogstrust pages.
> My husband is dead against it at the moment and my head can see his point, but I'm just so bl**y broody, lol.
> Points for it for be:
> Canine companionship for Trigger.
> Giving a rescue a forever home.
> A new challenge, integrating a new "pack member".
> 
> Against:
> Cost (which I think is the biggest issue, second being space)
> Space in the house (unless it's a small dog or Trigger is willing to share his bedsite)
> Most dogs I like are for families without children, older children (my youngest is 5) or no other dogs/pets. The others are mainly Staffies, Greyhounds and Lurchers and as much as I like to meet and greet them, they're just not for me (it's all personal preference, isn't it?)
> My husband (is against it) and with a big decision like this, you need to sing from the same song sheet, don't you?
> 
> As you can tell, the cons outweigh the pros. Maybe it's not meant to be :,(.


It is hard, I too have stupid levels of broodiness. It seems for me, that the worst time it is to get a dog the more broody I am. I think there is also a bearing of age of the dog you have, as they hit the years counting up to 10 there for me starts to be a fear of loss and the desire to have "someone" else around to carry me forward. 

Have you considered offering to foster dogs, maybe with a GSD specialist rescue? It may give you all the pleasure of the challenge, and see if Trigger would actually appreciate a friend (we were looking at getting another dog, and in the end got our first ever foster dog, everyone before had told me that because I had a bitch my next dog should be a dog, turned out Morgan HATES having a male dog in the house, she took to her basket and did not wish to leave it to do anything, she was really down. So good thing it was just a short trial rather than finding that out after a full rescue) You will help any number of dogs until there will eventually be that dog you know you do not wish to leave you again.:whistling2:

Although on the BIGGSD site linked in my signiture at least who they place dogs with to me seems very odd. There can be one person offering a great foster home with them and their dog, and on the other hand one person with a handful of their own dogs and a handful of fosters and if that second person says they still have room for another, the dog will go to them...how can someone with 10 dogs already, no matter how skilled they are, really give time to a new foster dog in the same way as someone with only one other?


----------



## *H*

We ended up getting Loki as _Hubby_ was the one who got broody :gasp:


----------



## BMo1979

Kare said:


> It is hard, I too have stupid levels of broodiness. It seems for me, that the worst time it is to get a dog the more broody I am. I think there is also a bearing of age of the dog you have, as they hit the years counting up to 10 there for me starts to be a fear of loss and the desire to have "someone" else around to carry me forward.
> 
> *Have you considered offering to foster dogs, maybe with a GSD specialist rescue? It may give you all the pleasure of the challenge, and see if Trigger would actually appreciate a friend (we were looking at getting another dog, and in the end got our first ever foster dog, everyone before had told me that because I had a bitch my next dog should be a dog, turned out Morgan HATES having a male dog in the house, she took to her basket and did not wish to leave it to do anything, she was really down. So good thing it was just a short trial rather than finding that out after a full rescue) You will help any number of dogs until there will eventually be that dog you know you do not wish to leave you again.*:whistling2:
> 
> Although on the BIGGSD site linked in my signiture at least who they place dogs with to me seems very odd. There can be one person offering a great foster home with them and their dog, and on the other hand one person with a handful of their own dogs and a handful of fosters and if that second person says they still have room for another, the dog will go to them...how can someone with 10 dogs already, no matter how skilled they are, really give time to a new foster dog in the same way as someone with only one other?


I was actually thinking about that before (GSD Rescue Scotland). I really need to look into it, but again it stands and falls with my husband agreeing with it and space issues. But thank you for suggestion!
With Trigger he would be great with any dog in the house. Funnily enough when outside he doesn't like other intact males, but he's fine with all genders (neutered/intact) when at home. I guess it's a good sign that he accepts that WE decide who's allowed in.


----------



## feorag




----------



## BMo1979

Well worth a watch:

The Secret Life of Dogs: UTV Player | Watch The Secret Life of Dogs


----------



## feorag

I watched it last night. A lot of it I was aware of from previous programmes, but I was fascinated to see in close up and slow motion how they actually drink! Now I understand why we have to put Skye's water dish on an acrylic tray to catch all the splashes.


----------



## Kare

http://www.gumtree.com/p/pets/shephard-puppies/1008691283
My broodiness has hit an all new level seeing this little girl (the cream one with the dark muzzle). I want her so much she is so pretty.

I wish I had the £200 to bring her home with me today!! Oh how much I could cuddle and be snug on the sofa between her and the pretty angel I already have....and the retriever would fit in somewhere I am sure.


----------



## feorag

Oh dear!! :sad: She's a bonny one, but I have to say I prefer the black.


----------



## *H*

The black one looks like trouble, You can see the naughtiness in her eyes :lol2:

They are both adorable though. It's a breed I have always loved, but I am so allergic to their fur, my face melts within minutes of being around shepherds.


----------



## Kare

feorag said:


> Oh dear!! :sad: She's a bonny one, but I have to say I prefer the black.


I think the black one looks very sad. She makes me feel sad too

I know post me £300 I will negotiate the release of them both for that price and deliver you the black, and your money back asap :lol2:


----------



## feorag

Kare said:


> I think the black one looks very sad. She makes me feel sad too
> 
> I know post me £300 I will negotiate the release of them both for that price and deliver you the black, and your money back asap :lol2:


:lol2: If I only had the space (and the cash!)


----------



## BMo1979

Aww, I can see why you're tempted. They're both gorgeous dogs, especially the cream.


----------



## Kare

feorag said:


> :lol2: If I only had the space (and the cash!)


Yeah I wish I did too. :flrt:

Although I have to say the space is never an issue with a German shepherd, they'll always inhabit the one square foot behind you. 

Whether there is one of them in a palace or 10 of them in a bedsit, that will be the only space they ever seem to wish to be in.


----------



## feorag

You are so right!!! The number of times Skye has tripped me up because he's so close behind me that he stands on the back of my backless slippers and prevents that foot from moving forward! :roll:

By the way, did you see my post on the small dog thread about the Blue Cross?? http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/forums/10917014-post50.html


----------



## Kare

No I had not seen it. I think my phone logs in and reads threads when I am not looking lol, I find a number I have not read marked as read, especially over night

Strange to remove messages. It is a shame, because Edenn would be really good at it, but I honestly believe that her health would be adversely affected by feeding her kibble. Knowing how hyper she was on it, and an unpleasant edgy kind of energy as well. 

I often wonder how many less dogs would be in rescues like the Bluecross if their owners just stopped the kibble and fed meat. There are no behaviour issues I do not believe would not be helped by raw feeding, even if the only help from it was to allow the dog to relax and focus their mind a little better on the alternative behaviours the humans are trying to teach.


----------



## feorag

The whole idea just doesn't make sense to me. A BARF fed dog doesn't impose any more threat to a child's health than a kibble fed one!


----------



## x Sarah x

Kizzy likes the cold weather.....means lots of nice hot open fires :roll:


----------



## feorag

Looking at that photo I'm sure she could get an inch or two closer!! :whistling2:


----------



## x Sarah x

If the door was closed she'd be sat with her face pressed against it, fortunately the flames keep her a good distance from the pure heat they give off (that and she's not allowed to sit closer then her blanket is placed to the stove :razz: )


----------



## Kare

I was reading this BBC News - Dogs in England must be microchipped from 2016 about compulsory microchipping.

I was interested to read they say Eight children and six adults have been killed in dog attacks in the UK since 2005, that's what, seven years? So 2 a year. Tragic losses....

However every 10 DAYS a child in just England and Wales dies at the hands of a parent. 
56 children a year die at the hands of a person.

I think maybe we do not have our priorities straight :whistling2:


----------



## feorag

Does make you think doesn't. And if you checked, some of the children who've been killed by dogs, have been killed by dogs owned by a member of the family!


----------



## Kare

feorag said:


> Does make you think doesn't. And if you checked, some of the children who've been killed by dogs, have been killed by dogs owned by a member of the family!


The vast majority are unfortunately.


----------



## feorag

Exactly! :bash:


----------



## ashanddaz

feorag said:


> image


my mums dog done this to her couch after she told the people she had rescued him off that he hadnt ate the couch so all was fine then he destroyed it the next day


----------



## feorag

Oops!! :lol2:


----------



## ashanddaz

with his big sad look on his face he got away with it lol


----------



## feorag

Yes, that sad look can get them away with murder. I'm sure they perfect it in front of a mirror when they're left alone! :lol2:


----------



## *H*

I'm sure you're right! The amount of time I've discovered something, turned around to tell off the culprit, took one look at those big feel sorry for me eyes, and I just can't seem to tell them off and mean it.... Then they look all pleased with themselves that Mum's fallen for it again :devil:


----------



## ashanddaz

my nutcase of a dog if she steals something or eats somthing shes not ment to she hides lol


----------



## BMo1979

I always know if Trigger has stolen something over night. Normally he gets up and greets me in the morning or is in the boys' room, watching them getting ready. 
If he was naughty (i.e. stealing out of the bin), he just lies in his bed, avoiding eye contact and only wagging the tip of his tail. This is even before I notice anything wrong or react. This dog definitely knows right from wrong, cos it's not like he even gets shouted at or told off for something he isn't caught red-handed at.

P.S.: It happens really rarely though, he's usually really good, but sometimes there is just something that is simply irresistible to him.


----------



## feorag

Skye does exactly the same! I know if he thinks he's in trouble, because he goes to bed! :lol2:


----------



## BMo1979

Love the way Trigger drops his 7 years of age when running around on the fields.

A bit blurry (my camera's playing up)



























Hoverdog, lol


----------



## Christie_ZXR

That last one is a brilliant photo!


----------



## feorag

I agree - excellent photo! :2thumb:


----------



## BMo1979

YOu're probably getting sick and tired of me posting photos, but hey... here's some more:










































Trigger's gone incognito (joined the Special Canine Service)









Some more to come


----------



## BMo1979

Not a dog, a doe


























Finally caught the "Erskine Eagle" (Buzzard) on camera









Trigger can't figure out where his snowball's gone


----------



## *H*

I managed to get some of Loki in his first snow a few weeks back, actually managed to get a single one of him looking like a normal dog;











and all the rest came out like this;


----------



## BMo1979

*H* said:


> I managed to get some of Loki in his first snow a few weeks back, actually managed to get a single one of him looking like a normal dog;
> 
> image


Haha, visible lipstick. Typical male dog, mine's the same when I take pics of him sitting like that. 

Gorgeous Lab, btw.


----------



## *H*

BMo1979 said:


> Haha, visible lipstick. Typical male dog, mine's the same when I take pics of him sitting like that.
> 
> Gorgeous Lab, btw.


:lol2: It's in all his photos, I don't even notice it now as I'm so used to seeing it :lol2: 

Thankyou : victory:


----------



## jaykickboxer

Nice and tired after a walk 

B1 and b2


----------



## Whosthedaddy

Our dogs the same, goes for a short walk and spends the rest of the day sleeping, these mastiff breeds are not designed for high impact and seem easily pleased.

:lol2:


----------



## Moosey

I've just spent maybe 4 hours reading this thread start to finish! Man I love dogs :flrt:

Question for the GSD owners: what are they like as companion/family pets? Things like training, temperament, patience etc


----------



## ashanddaz

Moosey said:


> Question for the GSD owners: what are they like as companion/family pets? Things like training, temperament, patience etc


my father in law has one and he is fantastic with kids, when my youngest is in her bed he will go through to the room and lie on the bed with his head over the travel cot watchi her to make sure she is ok.

he is a bit bouncy though but you gotta love him lol


----------



## feorag

Can't be beaten imao!! 

Of course they are an intelligent, working breed and need to be mentally as well as physically stimulated and socialisation is the most important part of owning a GSD. Lack of socialisation as a youngster creates problems - this happens in most breeds, but GSDs seem to suffer more than some if this doesn't happen.


----------



## *H*

A friend had one and I used to dog sit for her for weekends/holidays here with me, and she was as good as gold! She could be a bit of a cow for my friend - destructive + restless, but I honestly only noticed she was here because she followed me everywhere. She did everything I asked of her, gladly, and she got on really well with my dogs.
They are highly intelligent - you can see them working stuff out, although I did notice a stubborn side come out now and again when she was at her own home around her owner.
I would have had one in a heartbeat if I wasn't so allergic to their fur.


----------



## Kare

Moosey said:


> I've just spent maybe 4 hours reading this thread start to finish! Man I love dogs :flrt:
> 
> Question for the GSD owners: what are they like as companion/family pets? Things like training, temperament, patience etc


I think they vary a great deal, I honestly see them almost as 2 or even three different breeds.

There are many in the UK especially due to the quarantine in place for so many decades that I feel are close to the calm breed they would have been as a shepherds companion and sheep guarding breed. 

On the other hand there are many many lines now, especially working lines, but also show type lines that are very much an edgy and reactive energy dog that they may prefer for guard dogs, security and police work etc. I personally would never have one in the house of this sort.

I must have long haired shepherds because I react to the oiler shorter coat, the same reason I cannot have a rottie, but even if this was not the case I would go for the long haired ones with the flat backs. They still need work but I feel generally they will have more chance of coming from a less edgy type.

The one big thing, as both a rottie and a German shepherd lover that I have in my mind as a big difference is their reaction to things that make you nervous is...for example you are nervous how your dog will react to another dogs and the dog picks up that nervousness, in both cases they will easily pick that up and both cases will want to make it better for you, however the rottie will most often go ahead and see the thing it considers has made you nervous and check it out, maybe judge it needs to bee seen away or maybe come back after and pretty much say "its ok, it was fine, don't be anxious" in its behaviour. The shepherd will take the same situation, likely not leave you and when the dog came close will pretty much say "my Mum/Dad is anxious about you coming close, do not come close" likely by body language, then a possible growl then maybe an air snap warning. Not meaning aggression, just stay away you making my human nervous.

This is the Catch 22 though, the owner misunderstands, holds the dog back more next time and is more nervous, the GSD thinking they are acting on the humans behalf reacts more and the circle goes down and down, the human not understanding the dog and the dog unable to fix it for the human until he is stuck 24/7 on a short lead and a muzzle.

Just my experience of the difference that the rottie can make just by basically clowning it out at times. I think the German shepherd can take it all just that bit too seriously in comparison!!


----------



## BMo1979

Fantastic family dogs and I agree with all of the above. 
IMHO, and others may disagree, but I believe they are very loyal and protective over their lot. This can lead to problems (in worst case scenario biting incidents) if they're not taught that they are NOT in charge of "security". 

Most GSDs I know are "shadow dogs", i.e. like to follow their owner(s) around the house, even to the bathroom. Some people might not like it, I'm not bothered by the fact that every time I turn around my dog's near me.

As for the socialisation part, Feorag has mentioned, I agree, but even with a lot of early months/weeks socialisation Trigger isn't the best with certain groups of dogs on the lead (and off lead with small light coloured yappy ones and intact males), but with him it's more defensiveness with some and desperately wanting to meet with others. I know that 90% of that is my fault, because when we lived in Germany I used to get a lot of hostility from other dog owners for having a barking GSD on the lead. I get nervous and embarrassed and Trigger picks up on this. 
I know what dogs he is "safe" with though, so it's not something that majorly affects our lives and it can be controlled. 
He's great however with humans of all ages and that's more important to me. He's got a lot of intuition and is absolutely great with disabled people (physical and mental), elderly frail people (we live next to a Veterans' home) and children.


----------



## Moosey

Thanks so much for your answers guys, really enlightening! It's a breed my Husband is really interested in getting in the future, but I've not been to sure despite growing up with one who kept adopting kittens! She used to take my sisters nappy off and clean her arse as well! She was lovely, but when she got hip dysplasia it broke my heart, and because I was quite young, I seem to strongly associate it with the breed now. 

How common is hip dysplasia in this breed? (Just if anyone happens to know, or has any experience with it)


----------



## Kare

Moosey said:


> Thanks so much for your answers guys, really enlightening! It's a breed my Husband is really interested in getting in the future, but I've not been to sure despite growing up with one who kept adopting kittens! She used to take my sisters nappy off and clean her arse as well! She was lovely, but when she got hip dysplasia it broke my heart, and because I was quite young, I seem to strongly associate it with the breed now.
> 
> How common is hip dysplasia in this breed? (Just if anyone happens to know, or has any experience with it)


The breed average is no different to in rotties. Was very surprised you have one listed as a 0...never heard of a 0/0


----------



## feorag

My previous GSD was like that - we called him "Nanny Welsh". Every new animal that was brought into our house, he took it upon himself to 'protect' from our existing animals. When any of our male cats had play fights and boxing matches, he would walk up to them and stick his head in between to stop them, usually then walking away with at least one of them with their claws stuck in his ruff, cos he was a longhaired! :lol2:

Our 5 week old kittens used to use him as a 'step stool' to get on and off the settee when having a mad, charge around, half hour.

My present one, who is an unsocialised rescue, wouldn't do that and I wouldn't trust him to be around tiny furry exciteable critters.


----------



## Matt king

Moosey said:


> Thanks so much for your answers guys, really enlightening! It's a breed my Husband is really interested in getting in the future, but I've not been to sure despite growing up with one who kept adopting kittens! She used to take my sisters nappy off and clean her arse as well! She was lovely, but when she got hip dysplasia it broke my heart, and because I was quite young, I seem to strongly associate it with the breed now.
> 
> How common is hip dysplasia in this breed? (Just if anyone happens to know, or has any experience with it)


There are still some good ones out there you just need to do a bit of homework. Hips are the first thing you think of but gsd's can also suffer from skin dissorders and some lack an enzyme that helps process food. Personally I would go for a working line as they are more likely to be physically and mentally sound.


----------



## mrandmrsk

dont they have a blood disorder also to look out for ? maybe totally wrong.....

cheri


----------



## Kare

Matt king said:


> Personally I would go for a working line as they are more likely to be physically and mentally sound.


Physically sound wise, in working gundogs this may be true, in working German shepherd lines I honestly believe it to be far from the truth. As for mentally sound, they are mentally on edge the whole time, you can feel the energy coming off them.

For the role they would be good, directed well they can be great for their function. For a pet...sorry but most of them are unsuitable as pets, it would be hard for most owners, let alone a first time owner of the breed and hard for them to try to live as a pet. Undirected the energy just becomes nervous anxiety.

The hips are only the first thing people think off because of the breeders going for roached backs for the show ring. It was necessary to point out the issue, it was horrible, but unfortunately the programme didn't get across that hips are bad in most popular breeds. the light was shone correctly on the issue, but with no illumination on the other breeds, for example generally the breed suffers no worse mean hip scores than 90% of similar sized breeds (all in mid teens) and score a great deal lower on shoulder scores than similarly as popular breeds for example Labradors.

As to blood disorders, males are tested for haemophyllia, as are many breeds. Worth testing for, but I am still yet to find one with it and I am a member of a number of large German shepherd walking groups.


----------



## jaykickboxer

Whosthedaddy said:


> Our dogs the same, goes for a short walk and spends the rest of the day sleeping, these mastiff breeds are not designed for high impact and seem easily pleased.
> 
> :lol2:


That's what I thought I bought her With the laziness being something I like in a dog , buys she's can run forever that was her 3rd walk that day I don't normally walk her that much if she hasn't had a decent 50 minute walk I can feel her energy mentally she's getting lazier tho which is all good


----------



## ashanddaz

Matt king said:


> There are still some good ones out there you just need to do a bit of homework. Hips are the first thing you think of but gsd's can also suffer from skin dissorders and some lack an enzyme that helps process food. Personally I would go for a working line as they are more likely to be physically and mentally sound.


my father in laws gsd is like that it took them ages to find foood that he could actually eat but every now and then he stops eating and they have to change his food for a while


----------



## biggie01

My two Great Danes when they was 8 week old, the fawn coloured one is Star and the Harliquin one is Harley 












My two Great Danes now black and white one is nearly 3 and the fawn one is 18 month





Last two pictures are around 4 month old need too get some new ones as they are both bigger and filled out lol


----------



## Kare

ashanddaz said:


> my father in laws gsd is like that it took them ages to find foood that he could actually eat but every now and then he stops eating and they have to change his food for a while


I am a member of a German shepherd owner based raw feeding group.

I think basic biology is often the key. 

From a recent report from BBC News page 


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-21142870 said:


> In the case of the latter, it seems dogs have many more genes that encode the enzymes needed to break down starch, something that would have been advantageous in an ancestor scavenging on the discarded wheat and other crop products of early farmers.
> "Wolves also have these genes but they don't use them as efficiently as dogs," said Dr Axelsson.
> "When we look at the wolf genome, we only see one copy of the gene [for the amylase enzyme] on each chromosome. When we look at the dog genome, we see a range from two to 15 copies; and on average a dog carries seven copies more than the wolf.
> "That means the dog is a lot more efficient at making use of the nutrition in starch than the wolf."


There is a wide range between breeds, from being only twice as capable of digesting carbohydrates to being 15 times more capable in some cases of being able to breakdown carbs than a wolf.

Seeing as German Shepherd lines were officially breeding in fresh wolf blood as late as the 1941...and likely unofficially doing it since then too I think it would be a safe bet that on that range of 2-16 they are going to be on the lower end.

All foods sold commercially, from tinned to kibble contain starches (including the ones Vets try to sell you to control these conditions) which I strongly believe your average German shepherd is going to have more issues processing than say your average Papillon. 

In my experience not breaking these down well does not just result in unsettle stomaches or anything so obvious, but also in many behaviours including affecting concentration and reactions to things such as commands and other stimulus.


----------



## Matt king

Kare said:


> Physically sound wise, in working gundogs this may be true, in working German shepherd lines I honestly believe it to be far from the truth. As for mentally sound, they are mentally on edge the whole time, you can feel the energy coming off them.
> 
> For the role they would be good, directed well they can be great for their function. For a pet...sorry but most of them are unsuitable as pets, it would be hard for most owners, let alone a first time owner of the breed and hard for them to try to live as a pet. Undirected the energy just becomes nervous anxiety.
> 
> The hips are only the first thing people think off because of the breeders going for roached backs for the show ring. It was necessary to point out the issue, it was horrible, but unfortunately the programme didn't get across that hips are bad in most popular breeds. the light was shone correctly on the issue, but with no illumination on the other breeds, for example generally the breed suffers no worse mean hip scores than 90% of similar sized breeds (all in mid teens) and score a great deal lower on shoulder scores than similarly as popular breeds for example Labradors.
> 
> As to blood disorders, males are tested for haemophyllia, as are many breeds. Worth testing for, but I am still yet to find one with it and I am a member of a number of large German shepherd walking groups.


Fundamentaly I agree with you and this is the reason some collies and springer spaniels dont make good house dogs, there inate desire to work and hunt needs channeling. maybe things have changed in the german shepherd world but ive trained GSd's with the police, been a puppy walker for them and trained dogs to schutzhund level. Both my dogs come from true working lines and the grand parents of both were 13-15 when they died and reletively health free in this tiime. Both mine are kenneled outside but are lovely around the family, the bitch is as daft as they come, the dog is keen but ive trained him to be protective and indeed he is trained to the bite sleeve but he is extremely loyal and still a member of the family. I appreciate what you say about this energy and drive that some need and perhaps i should have stated that they should go to an experianced home, that said I sold a bitch from my last litter to a family with a severely disabled daughter, the bitch had a lovely temperamaent and they became inseperable and it worked out really well.


----------



## Matt king

Kare said:


> I am a member of a German shepherd owner based raw feeding group.
> 
> I think basic biology is often the key.
> 
> From a recent report from BBC News page
> 
> 
> There is a wide range between breeds, from being only twice as capable of digesting carbohydrates to being 15 times more capable in some cases of being able to breakdown carbs than a wolf.
> 
> Seeing as German Shepherd lines were officially breeding in fresh wolf blood as late as the 1941...and likely unofficially doing it since then too I think it would be a safe bet that on that range of 2-16 they are going to be on the lower end.
> 
> All foods sold commercially, from tinned to kibble contain starches (including the ones Vets try to sell you to control these conditions) which I strongly believe your average German shepherd is going to have more issues processing than say your average Papillon.
> 
> In my experience not breaking these down well does not just result in unsettle stomaches or anything so obvious, but also in many behaviours including affecting concentration and reactions to things such as commands and other stimulus.


All my dogs have a high amount of raw meat and bones in there diet, bones from the butcher and a lot of raw rabbits throughout the year, i believe it is far better for them and they certainly seem to look good on it.


----------



## Kare

Matt king said:


> All my dogs have a high amount of raw meat and bones in there diet, bones from the butcher and a lot of raw rabbits throughout the year, i believe it is far better for them and they certainly seem to look good on it.


I have a 9 year old German shepherd and physically she looks barely different now to when she was half that age. 

Being pure black in the face I would have expected her to have quite a grey muzzle now but she has the tiniest grey "goaty" sized beard. 

She has slowed down over say the last 6 months or so, but when I see these other dogs on the beach aged 10 I feel that a raw diet has played a massive part in her health and vitality.

I use to occasionally (about once a month) feed them kibble, because really it is only me and hubbie so if we died in a car crash or even just hospitalised then the dogs could end up in kennels (hopefully until my friends collected them) and I would hate for them to not eat because they do not recognise kibble as food (silly I know) and afterwards I can tell, they are never bad dogs, but Morgan becomes more likely to wander off to check something or another dog out at a greater distance from it than she would normally (though only a squirrel has ever made her choose to go somewhere out of my eye line) the retriever is a pain, scatty and running off to greet strange people (sounds worse than it is, the beach where we walk them is full of friendly dogs that just greet freely and friendly people) Frankly a walk is twice as tiring. 

Raw feeding may take some work, but I guarantee no amount of work I do for it in the kitchen could be as bad as the hard work they can be after just one bowl of kibble. If 2 out 2 of my dogs react that differently then seriously I cannot believe that raw feeding would help a huge number of dogs become more settled and less hyper.


----------



## Postcard

Spring is here! Finally :flrt:

Been ill in bed for a couple of days so today I was naughty and took the dogs out for ages in the park... I'm not sure I believe the 5mins per month rule anyway for small dogs...

Was gorgeous, blissful, perfect - left my phone and watch at home and just took my keys

Saw two bernese and two tibetan mastiffs as well, gorgeous big things! I'm always jealous of how chilled out the big dogs we meet are - my two are on the go constantly checking things out and patrolling.


----------



## ashanddaz

biggie01 said:


> My two Great Danes when they was 8 week old, the fawn coloured one is Star and the Harliquin one is Harley
> 
> image
> 
> [URL=http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/forums/members/biggie01-albums-my-reptiles-exotics-other-animals-picture194464-when-he-8-week-old.jpg]image[/URL]
> 
> My two Great Danes now black and white one is nearly 3 and the fawn one is 18 month
> 
> [URL=http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/forums/members/biggie01-albums-my-reptiles-exotics-other-animals-picture182326-star-getting-bigger.jpg]image[/URL]
> 
> [URL=http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/forums/members/biggie01-albums-my-reptiles-exotics-other-animals-picture194466-wp-000344.jpg]image[/URL]
> 
> Last two pictures are around 4 month old need too get some new ones as they are both bigger and filled out lol



aww there are soo cute my mum has 3 at the minute


----------



## Amber

Smiling in the snow


----------



## *H*

We took Cass and Loki out for a walk in the peak district today, found some public land absolutely miles away from everything and everyone, and let them off to run wild 
Made me smile so much when Cass bolted it into the distance, followed of course by the pup who wasn't listening to the OH's call at all because following Cass was so much more fun. I had to make myself stop laughing to Call Cass after OH turned to me as white as a sheet and said "I don't think they're coming back!" when they was nothing but two specks in the distance :lol2: Cass of course came running straight back - followed by Loki, both grinning like loons. I love seeing them run like that. :flrt:


----------



## Moosey

I'm finding it so hard to find anyone to socialize Jess with :< people are so wary of her, and she sooo needs socializing. I suppose the only option left to me is classes I suppose. anyone got any ideas? Anyone live within an hour drive of Wolverhampton who fancies a walk with a spacky Rottie and her owner?


----------



## lisadew24

I'm going to put a pics of my newish pup sheldon


----------



## feorag

Moosey said:


> I'm finding it so hard to find anyone to socialize Jess with :< people are so wary of her, and she sooo needs socializing. I suppose the only option left to me is classes I suppose. anyone got any ideas? Anyone live within an hour drive of Wolverhampton who fancies a walk with a spacky Rottie and her owner?


That was my problem with Skye and the longer I had him the more dog aggressive he came and obviously I couldn't ask a stranger to allow my dog to possibly attack him if I let him off the leash!

Then Kare put me onto GSDRescue who have organised group walks all over England, so we 'joined up' and so far we've done 3 walks and I've done one without him when he wasn't well and just walked my friend's dog.

There's someone with a rottie who goes to all the Northern group walks and someone else with 2 dalmations. In the North East group we have 2 JRTs and a labrador guide dog in training.



lisadew24 said:


> I'm going to put a pics of my newish pup sheldon
> image
> image
> image


Cute critter!


----------



## lisadew24

He is when his stomach behaves and not annoying the cats. He came with Campylobacter from the breeder I thought I had it treated and on sat diarrhea started again so I have to do another poo test


----------



## SUPER HANS

My gang of boys.


----------



## jaykickboxer

My dog can now do this although my mouthy two year old keeps her in check she's allowed in anyways its only for when she's hyper when guests first turn up she can also jump it so Pretty pointless but anyways 


Bella on Vimeo


----------



## Postcard

SUPER HANS said:


> My gang of boys.
> 
> [URL=http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8373/8489334289_a4bbe85439.jpg]image[/url]


They left a seat in the middle :flrt:
What's the scruffy one?

Also Bella's looking gorgeous, what a clever cookie


----------



## SUPER HANS

Postcard said:


> They left a seat in the middle :flrt:


Haha, yeah, that's my seat.



> What's the scruffy one?


He's a jack x yorkie. Yappy little bugger but tough as old boots :lol2:


----------



## Jamiioo

I never post in these threads because i have no idea what to say :gasp:


----------



## Moosey

Kare said:


> The breed average is no different to in rotties. Was very surprised you have one listed as a 0...never heard of a 0/0


I May have got that confused with some other score :blush: I got very excited when I was doing all my searching, and even more when the breeders we loved had a litter! Shame getting a pup from them isnt going to be doable, as both mine and Husband's new jobs are being held up way more than forseen :< oh well.



SUPER HANS said:


> My gang of boys.
> 
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/superhans88/8489334289/image


I'll have the black and tan one, matches my existing fart machine :flrt:


Jamiioo said:


> I never post in these threads because i have no idea what to say :gasp:


"Here are my dogs:
<pics>
What do you guys have?"

Seriously, people never get bored of talking about their dogs on here! :flrt:

MORE dog questions, as you lot seem to be the best source of info I have found :flrt:

wtf can I do to keep Jess stimulated in the day? Husband takes her for a 2 hour walk, and she gets a shorter walk with me plus some cardio (read - chasing a ball around like a loon), plus she had a kong, and a squeaky hippo that is pretty much her baby, we do "hunt the treats" games with lots of tiny bits of treat hidden all around the house/garden, and some obediance work, but it doesnt seem to be enough. She just seems bored so much of the time, and I dont really know what else to do with her!


----------



## Ally

Counting down to the days until the end of March...

(so excited I might explode before then though)


----------



## feorag

Aw! :flrt: Cuteness overload! :flrt:


----------



## Ally

Moosey said:


> I May have got that confused with some other score :blush: I got very excited when I was doing all my searching, and even more when the breeders we loved had a litter! Shame getting a pup from them isnt going to be doable, as both mine and Husband's new jobs are being held up way more than forseen :< oh well.


When we were looking at mastiffs we found a sire with a 0/0 score, but talking to a few people and other breeders they can have as much trouble as a really high score because there is no 'play' in the joints. Obviously he was good as a breeder because to an average-scoring female, the babies often came out with a lower than average. But not great for him I imagine once he gets older...
A small score is apparently better than a 0 one!


----------



## Ally

feorag said:


> Aw! :flrt: Cuteness overload! :flrt:


You should have seen us given a beanbag covered in 8 of the buggers!! They were all squeaking and tottering...


----------



## Esarosa

Ally said:


> You should have seen us given a beanbag covered in 8 of the buggers!! They were all squeaking and tottering...


 Oh my goodness how did you decide, I'd have wanted them all:flrt:


----------



## feorag

I remember going to choose Zorah (my black & tan Afghan hound). There were 8 of them too and I think something inside me just melted! :lol2:


----------



## Ally

Esarosa said:


> Oh my goodness how did you decide, I'd have wanted them all:flrt:





feorag said:


> I remember going to choose Zorah (my black & tan Afghan hound). There were 8 of them too and I think something inside me just melted! :lol2:


We were fairly lucky that there were only three left to choose from! We've been getting on 'lists' for German Shorthaired Pointers for a couple of months but nothing came of them - too many other people getting there first.
Then all of a sudden three litters with available pups came up all at once! It meant that there was no pressure to decide if we didn't like the owner/place/mum/whatever, which was nice 
A girl was the intention (Pipit was the only female left) but one of the boys did make a big impression on Lex! 

The mother is owned by a farmer and a vet, she's a pet but from working lines and the dad is a worker with the occasional show title tucked under his belt - just the mix we wanted with all the checks and scores that you could ever wish for. It's our first dog (Lex grew up with them, I've never had one) so we are being really fussy!
The house was lovely, the mum was lovely, the owners were lovely... We really couldn't be happier! They've offered so much help if we need it too!


----------



## Postcard

Moosey said:


> I May have got that confused with some other score :blush: I got very excited when I was doing all my searching, and even more when the breeders we loved had a litter! Shame getting a pup from them isnt going to be doable, as both mine and Husband's new jobs are being held up way more than forseen :< oh well.
> 
> 
> I'll have the black and tan one, matches my existing fart machine :flrt:
> 
> "Here are my dogs:
> <pics>
> What do you guys have?"
> 
> Seriously, people never get bored of talking about their dogs on here! :flrt:
> 
> MORE dog questions, as you lot seem to be the best source of info I have found :flrt:
> 
> wtf can I do to keep Jess stimulated in the day? Husband takes her for a 2 hour walk, and she gets a shorter walk with me plus some cardio (read - chasing a ball around like a loon), plus she had a kong, and a squeaky hippo that is pretty much her baby, we do "hunt the treats" games with lots of tiny bits of treat hidden all around the house/garden, and some obediance work, but it doesnt seem to be enough. She just seems bored so much of the time, and I dont really know what else to do with her!


Is there any chance you're doing TOO much?

Honestly, with cheekychops I spend so much time on training, games, stuffed kongs / bamboozles, 'find the treat' etc like you, walk him (longer than recommended for his age) on lead and lots of off-lead on soft ground... and he's always ready for more...

Last week I was ill in bed for a couple of days and he just lazed around being chilled out and quiet and snuggled with oldie who loved her holiday!


----------



## *H*

I play find the treat with mine! I kick them out the room, hide treats all over, under things, on things and open the door and tell them to find. All 3 charge about putting their noses to good use till everything has been found and eaten 

The older two are a bit put out now that they are playing it with a retriever pup, who has a bit of an unfair advantage :lol2: 

Mine are the same with exercise/stimulation. They're happy to take anything thrown at them, without tiring out, but on quiet days they're more than happy to just chill and laze with me.


----------



## Moosey

Ally said:


> image
> 
> Counting down to the days until the end of March...
> 
> (so excited I might explode before then though)


IT'S SO LITTLE.


Postcard said:


> Is there any chance you're doing TOO much?
> 
> Honestly, with cheekychops I spend so much time on training, games, stuffed kongs / bamboozles, 'find the treat' etc like you, walk him (longer than recommended for his age) on lead and lots of off-lead on soft ground... and he's always ready for more...
> 
> Last week I was ill in bed for a couple of days and he just lazed around being chilled out and quiet and snuggled with oldie who loved her holiday!


Oh she doesnt get all of them every day  she snoozes a lot, but when she's awake she just kind of...watches us, or grooms herself, or wants fuss. I feel like a bad Mummy :blush:


----------



## jaykickboxer

Cheers anabel she's come along way recently especially the way she acts she's a quality dog now there was a few times my missus acted like she was gonna have a breakdown but she's really good behaved now and has defantly become one of the family 

Had a mates ridgeback round for a few hours earlier as his misses met into labour he's a similar age to mine


----------



## BMo1979

I'm now sure that my OH's family are mad!

Two of them have just got themselves Whippet/Collie cross puppies from the same litter. Now, I'm not a fan of mindless cross breeding (and let's be honest breeding those 2 breeds together is mindless and screams money grabbing), but other opinions will differ.
What I'm sure everyone with a bit of knowledge about dogs/puppies will agree on is that 6 weeks (the age those pups are) is way too young to be leaving their litter! Anyone got a good scientific link I can send them to explain why, because they don't want to listen to us?
THe other thing that gripes me is this:
In one family the husband works full time, the son is college all day and the mum is not able to walk far at all due to an illness. Which means that the dog will probably not be taken out until at night or at the weekend. Great for such a high energy mix, isn't it?
The other pup went into a family where yet again the main "carer" is disabled and to her own admission never walks anywhere due to chronic pain. I'm also a bit *** about pics posted on FB where the BF balances this poor 6 week old pup on his head :gasp:. Poor thing must have been terrified.

My OH says to keep quiet about it as especially the latter owner is quite volatile and doesn't take well to criticism (been there before, it's not pretty with their threatening behaviour), but I guess when it comes to animal welfare, I just can't be diplomatic. 
To be clear, I didn't see anything wrong with either getting a dog, but the shelters are full with older, calmer dogs that would fit into their lifestyle and yet they go and support some irresponsible "breeder" (for want of a better word).


----------



## Kare

BMo1979 said:


> I'm now sure that my OH's family are mad!
> 
> Two of them have just got themselves Whippet/Collie cross puppies from the same litter. Now, I'm not a fan of mindless cross breeding (and let's be honest breeding those 2 breeds together is mindless and screams money grabbing), but other opinions will differ.
> What I'm sure everyone with a bit of knowledge about dogs/puppies will agree on is that 6 weeks (the age those pups are) is way too young to be leaving their litter! Anyone got a good scientific link I can send them to explain why, because they don't want to listen to us?
> THe other thing that gripes me is this:
> In one family the husband works full time, the son is college all day and the mum is not able to walk far at all due to an illness. Which means that the dog will probably not be taken out until at night or at the weekend. Great for such a high energy mix, isn't it?
> The other pup went into a family where yet again the main "carer" is disabled and to her own admission never walks anywhere due to chronic pain. I'm also a bit *** about pics posted on FB where the BF balances this poor 6 week old pup on his head :gasp:. Poor thing must have been terrified.
> 
> My OH says to keep quiet about it as especially the latter owner is quite volatile and doesn't take well to criticism (been there before, it's not pretty with their threatening behaviour), but I guess when it comes to animal welfare, I just can't be diplomatic.
> To be clear, I didn't see anything wrong with either getting a dog, but the shelters are full with older, calmer dogs that would fit into their lifestyle and yet they go and support some irresponsible "breeder" (for want of a better word).


TBH I would have to stay quiet myself purely because the damage is done, muppets have brought made the dogs, more muppets have brought the dogs and already have them at home. Little you can do to fix that.

Most of the damage from buying a pup at 6 weeks, other than lower immunity that is natural for any baby, is from lack of bite inhibitions, this is the period Mum and siblings (and any other dogs in the home) will be teaching pup how to limit their bite to suitable play levels. If these people have the dogs can possibly be encouraged to walk them together (once vaccinated) this could go some way to helping...or they may just turn into hooligans with each other...sorry. 

The dogs could be good at agility...I would imagine once they work out how hard work they are it may be easy to find them a suitable home with local agility folks if they are still under about 6 months at the time :whistling2:

It is all a shame, but I have found charging into the middle of a battleground on issues you really cannot fix to any great extent is just pointless...and without fail you will find you are out there all alone and unsupported!!


----------



## feorag

Sadly I tend to agree with Kare on this, but I think I'd need to have my mouth sellotaped shut when I saw them!!!


----------



## BMo1979

You are both right of course, it's not worth the bother it would cause, as I said one of them doesn't take any criticism towards them and explodes at the most minor things (I'm waiting for the kick off because my OH mentioned that the puppies were too young). I'll keep shtum, lol!

I might actually suggest agility to them, just to see their faces, when realising that those dogs might need more than the occasional walk around the block... I'll be nice, mind you!


----------



## lisadew24

I would say to your oh family to get those dogs socialised with other dogs on their own not together otherwise you might have two dogs that are fine with dogs together but if they get walked alone they turn into nervous wreaks, vets run puppy party's also taking them to a good dog training classes will help. We had trouble with a German shepherd bitch when you would walk her with my mums older German shepherd she was fine but on her own she would be scared of everything.


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## Kare

That always goes down well "mind if my dog bites yours until it works out how hard is too hard" and of course the dog aggression develops if another dog bites back once to often.

Sounds like you did not balance it well at all between being together and being alone. How many hours a day were they together? Almost sounds like two dogsvthat live together get because the pups trust is in the other dog not the human.


----------



## lisadew24

I don't know what your problem is. I didn't say anything about letting the dogs bite other dogs I said socialising that's meeting other dogs of shapes and sizes. isnt that what you are suppose to do with any dog I just said do it seprate as they are brother and sister they will have a close bond.


----------



## Esarosa

BMo1979 said:


> I'm now sure that my OH's family are mad!
> 
> Two of them have just got themselves Whippet/Collie cross puppies from the same litter. Now, I'm not a fan of mindless cross breeding (and let's be honest breeding those 2 breeds together is mindless and screams money grabbing), but other opinions will differ.
> What I'm sure everyone with a bit of knowledge about dogs/puppies will agree on is that 6 weeks (the age those pups are) is way too young to be leaving their litter! Anyone got a good scientific link I can send them to explain why, because they don't want to listen to us?
> THe other thing that gripes me is this:
> In one family the husband works full time, the son is college all day and the mum is not able to walk far at all due to an illness. Which means that the dog will probably not be taken out until at night or at the weekend. Great for such a high energy mix, isn't it?
> The other pup went into a family where yet again the main "carer" is disabled and to her own admission never walks anywhere due to chronic pain. I'm also a bit *** about pics posted on FB where the BF balances this poor 6 week old pup on his head :gasp:. Poor thing must have been terrified.
> 
> My OH says to keep quiet about it as especially the latter owner is quite volatile and doesn't take well to criticism (been there before, it's not pretty with their threatening behaviour), but I guess when it comes to animal welfare, I just can't be diplomatic.
> To be clear, I didn't see anything wrong with either getting a dog, but the shelters are full with older, calmer dogs that would fit into their lifestyle and yet they go and support some irresponsible "breeder" (for want of a better word).


 Ok balancing on head makes him sound like a tit..

Our old dog Lady was a collie x whippet. She had the intelligence, stamina, herding, need to please from the collie and the speed, laid back nature of the whippet. With a cross breed it's always a question of what will be more dominant. Apart from being nervy ( rescue dog) she was practically perfect in every way. 

We got her predominantly too give my mum (who was terminal with cancer)company,(I was in school) and as such she couldn't walk very far. That didn't mean the dog didn't get exercised (my dad worked twelve hour shifts so didn't often help). It meant my mum taught her to fetch a ball, so when we went for walks if mum tired she could sit down and just throw a ball. Some days when she was bad, she'd just throw the ball in the garden, and I'd walk lady when I got in from school (11 going on 31 lol).So please don't assume that because they have an illness the dog won't be exercised, there are ways around it.

We lucked out with lady tbh, she could walk and run for hours, but was quite happy to curl up and go to sleep when we weren't out. If she got bored mum would hide scents around the house and garden to give her some mental stimulation.


----------



## trogdorable

theres a discussion in the snake section on that any profit you make breeding and selling your snakes should be declared to the tax man.
is this the norm for doggy breeders?


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## feorag

As far as I'm aware you don't have to declare earnings from breeding.

We've looked at this in the cat fancy. A long time ago someone reported a friend of mine down south who bred cats to the Inland Revenue for running a business. They came to the house to interview her and she basically agreed that she sold her kittens and told them the price she charged, then she explained her costs in terms of building stud houses for her stud cats, the price she paid for all the blood tests, vaccinations, food, going out to stud to avoid inbreeding and her exhorbitant vet bill and they realised that there was little or no profit to make and left it at that.


----------



## trogdorable

feorag said:


> As far as I'm aware you don't have to declare earnings from breeding.
> 
> We've looked at this in the cat fancy. A long time ago someone reported a friend of mine down south who bred cats to the Inland Revenue for running a business. They came to the house to interview her and she basically agreed that she sold her kittens and told them the price she charged, then she explained her costs in terms of building stud houses for her stud cats, the price she paid for all the blood tests, vaccinations, food, going out to stud to avoid inbreeding and her exhorbitant vet bill and they realised that there was little or no profit to make and left it at that.


yeah, thats what i thought, theres no real profit at the end off it after expenses unless you dealing in something very special / unusual?
but apparently people should still declare it? 
i never thought you would have from breeding unless your doing at as an actual declared business.


----------



## lisadew24

trogdorable said:


> yeah, thats what i thought, theres no real profit at the end off it after expenses unless you dealing in something very special / unusual?
> but apparently people should still declare it?
> i never thought you would have from breeding unless your doing at as an actual declared business.


I know in some areas if you have more than 5 litters per year your suppose to have a dog breeding licence


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## trogdorable

lisadew24 said:


> I know in some areas if you have more than 5 litters per year your suppose to have a dog breeding licence


 not in some areas lol. doesnt matter where you live in uk if you are breeding over 5 litters a year you need one.


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## Esarosa

lisadew24 said:


> I know in some areas if you have more than 5 litters per year your suppose to have a dog breeding licence


^ this is what I thought. With reptiles I believe if you're just selling excess animals from a breeding you don't have too, but if it's for business purposes you're expected to declare it.. not sure how they decide that though.. unless it's changed.


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## lisadew24

You would think they should be able to clamp down on puppy farms, as I doubt they have that licence


----------



## feorag

trogdorable said:


> yeah, thats what i thought, theres no real profit at the end off it after expenses unless you dealing in something very special / unusual?
> but apparently people should still declare it?
> i never thought you would have from breeding unless your doing at as an actual declared business.


 I'm sure the puppy farmers who aren't health testing etc will b making a very good profit. It's the committed breeders who r doing it right who won't


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## PPVallhunds

lisadew24 said:


> You would think they should be able to clamp down on puppy farms, as I doubt they have that licence


Most do have the licence, you can get one's for 80+ breeding bitches! But I know when an undercover program on puppy farms exposed an unlienced one to the council in its area they just gave them a licenced and that was the end of it, they also had ones on there who had a licence where they were in terrible state but council just said they were fine on there inspection so that was that. There was one in my county only licenced for 5 breeding bitches, turned out the converted a barn and had around 60 breeding bitches so when the council found out did they take there licence, no they upgraded it so they could keep more dogs and told them to apply for change of use on the barn.!


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## lisadew24

Well that's discusting cuz as part of the license the bitch is only aloud one litter a year , must be exercised and other stuff like that or you get a 2,500 fine. It makes me sick that councils don't do their jobs.


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## Moosey

How do you guys source a reputable breeder? I've just been googling tbh :blush: we just want a nice, healthy Rottie pup thats raised in the home, around kids and other dogs. Where is a good place to start looking? Because people can pretty much say anything on the internet :hmm:


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## BMo1979

I would probably go through the Kennel Club's "Find a Puppy" option or look on Champdogs. They give you the search option by breed and region.


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## Ally

We found champdogs really helpful and really frustrating! So many litters only put on there when they already have a massive waiting list. We persevered and got one in the end though.
When we went to view we made it clear that we weren't making any promises until we saw the pups, that way it's easier to back out if you don't like something about it all.


----------



## PPVallhunds

Moosey said:


> How do you guys source a reputable breeder? I've just been googling tbh :blush: we just want a nice, healthy Rottie pup thats raised in the home, around kids and other dogs. Where is a good place to start looking? Because people can pretty much say anything on the internet :hmm:


Can be lots of searching in some breeds. First go to the breeds page on the kc site to see what health tests your breed should have. Then check kc puppy finder or list of assured breeders, check out champdogs website too. Or contact the breed club, or pop to a local show. You can check adverts locally for litters but any your interested in no matter where you found them make sure they are health testing and that they Can show proof it's been done and with good results. Many good breeders will have a waiting list so you may need to wait for a pup. Ask to come see there dogs and look for your self to see how the dogs live and act.
You can also check the kc health test checker to see what health tests any kc registered dog has had done, you just need to know the dogs kc name.
This aplys to any one looking to get a pup.


----------



## Kare

PPVallhunds said:


> Can be lots of searching in some breeds. First go to the breeds page on the kc site to see what health tests your breed should have. Then check kc puppy finder or list of assured breeders, check out champdogs website too. Or contact the breed club, or pop to a local show. You can check adverts locally for litters but any your interested in no matter where you found them make sure they are health testing and that they Can show proof it's been done and with good results. Many good breeders will have a waiting list so you may need to wait for a pup. Ask to come see there dogs and look for your self to see how the dogs live and act.
> You can also check the kc health test checker to see what health tests any kc registered dog has had done, you just need to know the dogs kc name.
> This aplys to any one looking to get a pup.


I may be confused, but doesn't an assured breeder need to breed a certain number of litters a year? Im sure I found most breeders breeding from friendly well rounded pets cannot make themselves an assured breeder as they do not breed enough.


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## Ally

Kare said:


> I may be confused, but doesn't an assured breeder need to breed a certain number of litters a year? Im sure I found most breeders breeding from friendly well rounded pets cannot make themselves an assured breeder as they do not breed enough.


We found three first-time litters (and at least one was the only intended from the female) but all were assured breeders.
I *think* both parents have to be kc registered and have some health test results, that's all.


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## lisadew24

Hopefully I did this right this is a link to the kennel club assured breeders what they must be to be one.
Assured Breeder Scheme (information for pedigree puppy buyers) - The Kennel Club


----------



## PPVallhunds

Kare said:


> I may be confused, but doesn't an assured breeder need to breed a certain number of litters a year? Im sure I found most breeders breeding from friendly well rounded pets cannot make themselves an assured breeder as they do not breed enough.


 
No amount olitters have nother to do with it, to be an asured breeder you need to have bred a litter, cant go on the list if you have never bred a litter but once you breed your fist litter if you meet the requirments you can go on it when they are born. breeding dogs must be KC reg, permentaly ID dogs, follow kc breeding rules eg ages, max number of litters ect, provide paperwork eg kc reg, puppy packs and contracts ect and parents of litters must have had the required health tests and some others stuff. The are also ment to have an inspection to make sure they are housing there dogs propperly and all stuff is on order.

Number of litters bred a year is for a dog breeding lience from the councle, you need if you breed 4 or more litters a year.

So only people who breed from dogs with out doing the requiered breed health tests, dont follow the kc breeding recomendations eg over breeds, breeds too young ect or meet the other requirments cant join the asured breeders sceem. But all are things any good breeders should be doing anyway so it should be they cant join just the chose not to. many good breeders havent joined it as they dont agree with paying extra fee to join the sceam when they allready do it and they would rather they make it so you have to do that for any kc reg litter, there have also been bad breeders on the the sceam (hurd of some being kicked off) so its still not perfect. 

So its not to say anyone one who isnt an asured breeder is automaticaly bad or that anyone on there is automaticaly good especialy if they havent been inspected yet. All breeders need checking out but if they are following the ABS rules its a good sign.


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## Moosey

Thankyou guys! you never let me down :flrt:


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## Kare

They may have changed it, I do seem to recall when looking for my Flatcoat puppy that the things you now need to do to be the Experience Accolade was listed as requirements to be on the scheme, or maybe I got the wrong end of the stick at the time.


----------



## PPVallhunds

Ah The accolades, yep there's a breeding experience one, they are extra things when you do certain things, like join the breed club, have bred at least 5 litters before (not a year just in the past), bred 3 or more dogs who are listed in the kc stud book, and the accolade of exalence which they get nominated for by breeders and breed clubs and should have bred 5 dogs with titles (in any kc thing like show, work, agility) and passed breed advisor visit.

You don't have to earn any of them to get on or stay on the Abs, think it's like a quick guide for people looking for a breeder to see a bit of what they have done before contacting them.

All though I don't see the point for the breeding experience one as breeding 5 or more litters don't make you any better a breeder than someone who has bred 1 or 2. My friend has has her first litter, she read books, helped in other people's whelpings, health tested, done everything by the book, her house mate is about to have there 3rd and 4th litters soon (bred both her girls) she is the worse sort of breeder and is only after money and still don't know what she is doing and doesn't care to lurn.

Assured Breeder Accolades - The Kennel Club


----------



## feorag

PPVallhunds said:


> All though I don't see the point for the breeding experience one as breeding 5 or more litters don't make you any better a breeder than someone who has bred 1 or 2.


Have to say I totally agree with this. Quantity doesn't make a better breeder than someone who does it in a small way for quality.


----------



## BMo1979

This is soo tempting and the weird thing is when I showed my husband (just hypothetically of course) he really liked her, even made me take down the number to inquire:
DogsTrust - MARLENE

Shall I, shan't I? Anyone got experience with Dog's Trust? Will they be really strict on the childrens' ages - my youngest is 5 - even if the kids have dogs experience. I always wanted a Nordic breed and even so Marlene looks more like a White Shepherd/Husky mix than a pure Husky she's gorgeous. All depending of course if we all get on (including Trigger)...


----------



## Ally

4 weeks (possibly 5 depending on when we're both off work) until we get the pup. How do people manage, I'm so impatient!


----------



## BMo1979

Wish me luck for today!

I'll be looking at the Husky(mix) at Dogs Trust today and hopefully can reserve her for the weekend to she can meet the rest of the family. 
I went yesterday, but they couldn't do anything cos my landlord was on holiday until today and they need written permission (should have thought about that, d'oh!), but she's done it this morning and I'll have a letter by 11 o' clock. DT open at 12, it takes me 30 minutes to get there. 
Marlene (name will be changed if we get her) is lovely by the way. Very small and skinny for a Husky, but she's still very young. She came up straight away, licking the airholes, trying to get stroked. She seems quite quiet, never barked once while I was there and gets on really well with her kennel partner. I'd take him, too, if I didn't have Trigger, he's a nice Collie mix.

So please hold your thumbs, paws and claws, that we can give this little gorgeous girl a nice home!


----------



## feorag

Fingers crossed that it works out for you! :2thumb:

Skye was at the vets yesterday as he's done something to his cruciate ligament. He's on anti-inflammatories for 5 days to relieve the pain and is on 'bed rest', so only short lead walks for the necessary. Fingers crossed the damage isn't severe! :sad:


----------



## BMo1979

Oh, poor thing. I hope the anti-inflammatories and bed rest work (Trigger would go mental, lol) and I hope it's "only" an inflammation. 
My friends' GSD ripped her cruciate ligament 2 years ago and it took very long for it to heal.
Give him a big cuddle for me.


P.S.:
When Trigger was still growing he had an inflammation of the bone tissue. The vet gave him anti inflammatory infections and we had to put "devil's claw" powder on his food for a couple of weeks (cost a fortune).


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## feorag

That's what worries me - if he's torn it! He's a very high energy excitable dog and doesn't know when to stop, which is why he's probably done it in the first place.

He was squealing like a stuck pig yesterday morning when he just got up and followed me to the kitchen, bless him. Unfortunately our house has steps, 2 at the front door, one at the back door and at the minute he can't manage the 2 at the front without a little squeak! :sad:


----------



## BMo1979

Fingers crossed it's not torn and gets better soon.

Getting excited now: Marlene (What a name!) is reserved for us. We'll go back on Saturday, this time taking the whole family, including Trigger. It all stands and falls with how the two dogs get on. It'll be a bit difficult, because they have to meet on the lead (which I don't really agree on, as most dogs better meet off lead), but Marlene has only been neutered on the 19th and her stitches are still healing, so things can't get too wild.
I got some more background information:
She came in as a stray. She's chipped and her owner could be traced, but when they phoned him, he wasn't even interested, didn't even want to know what rescue she was in. B***rd! After 7 days of not being claimed she became Dogs Trust's property. Right from the start she's been a sweetheart towards everyone.
She needs a lot of work still (the only command she does is sit), but she's only about a year old. I could only take her for a short walk, because she's still on rest from her op, but she pulls quite a bit, especially trying to meet other dogs, but they had her on one of those Norwegian type harnesses and they seem to encourage pulling rather than stopping it. I sat down with her and she calmed down immediately and sat nicely. Thank God, I still got our long tracking lead, because she's not had any recall training yet and a Husky typical prey drive.


----------



## feorag

Sounds very promising! :2thumb:

We changed Skye's name - he was called Bizzie?? :crazy: WTF would call a dog a stupid name like that?? :roll:


----------



## BMo1979

feorag said:


> Sounds very promising! :2thumb:
> 
> We changed Skye's name - he was called Bizzie?? :crazy: WTF would call a dog a stupid name like that?? :roll:


It makes you wonder what goes through people's minds... 
Did he adapt to his new name quickly?
Friends of ours adopted a dog called "Pao", which is Chinese for Leopard (?). They didn't want a dog named after a cat (if that makes sense) and renamed him Pal.
Husband wants to name Marlene "Storm". I'm ok with that. If we get her she'll probably be called all sorts, like Trigger is (Puppy - he's 7, lol -, Trigster, Dog - when he was naughty, Big Ears, etc).


----------



## jaykickboxer

My littlen renamed mr Winston din din now most her family call him that he answers to it she also spotted this and said it was din din so its now our doorstop , I donno y she started calling him din din I don't call anything out wen I feed him he's by my feet as soon as I good near the food so don't need to


----------



## jaykickboxer

Winston 1 and Winston two they even got the same goggly eyes


----------



## feorag

BMo1979 said:


> It makes you wonder what goes through people's minds...
> Did he adapt to his new name quickly?
> Friends of ours adopted a dog called "Pao", which is Chinese for Leopard (?). They didn't want a dog named after a cat (if that makes sense) and renamed him Pal.
> Husband wants to name Marlene "Storm". I'm ok with that. If we get her she'll probably be called all sorts, like Trigger is (Puppy - he's 7, lol -, Trigster, Dog - when he was naughty, Big Ears, etc).


He adapted very quickly. For the first couple of days we called him Bizzie and got little or no reaction, so then we called him Bizzie Skye for another couple of days and then just dropped the Bizzie.

Storm's a nice name!


----------



## Kare

I have always changed dogs names. I like to have a clean break with possibly negative connections with their name from the past, even if it was just a word the dog had learnt to ignore and not come back to.

I believe they adjust immediately, just as any puppy would learn a new name.

Morgan was Ebony, Edenn was Roxy, but Morgan was from up north and Edenns old owner scottish, so with my mixed Hertfordshire and 10 years in Devon accent I do not think us keeping the old names would have sounded the same name in our accents anyway!!


----------



## Moosey

Jess was called "Violet" at the rescue, but as it was Hubby's dead grandmother's name, we thought it needed changing. We just used little bits of treat to get her to associate with her name, worked for recall as well. We just said "Jess" a lot when we were talking to her as well, within a couple of days she realized it was her new name! 
Clever girl :flrt:


----------



## purpleskyes

I just love people who feel the need to offer criticism on a breed they know nothing about.

Walking the pup today 2 women with CKC, oh why is he on a lead? That's not fair on him... Explain he gets distracted by other dogs and runs off. Their reply well have you actually tried training him?

Oh of course not how silly of me! Sweet Jesus I had to walk off at that point, I bet they also ask husky owners why their dogs are on leads as well.


----------



## feorag

:lol2: Know just how you feel - been there, done that and got the t-shirt!


----------



## BMo1979

Well, we've just come back from Dogs Trust there and it all went really well. 
Marlene, soon to be Storm, gave all the kids a little kiss and my husband got a cuddle (he's in lurve, lol).
We then walked the dogs to the park area, so they could meet on the lead first. When she first came towards him, Trigger barked, but he calmed down almost immediately, letting her sniff, walking next and in front of her. He was more relaxed than I'd seen him for a while meeting another dog and responded to her asking for play. The handler then decided we could get into the paddock area to let them off the leads and that went absolutely fine, too. They chased each other for a little bit (well, it was mainly Marlene teasing Trigger into chasing her by running up to him, giving him a quick "kiss" and then bouncing away), but they never invaded each others space too much and were quite respectful towards each other. 
So, now it's all about the home check on Tuesday. I hope that goes well. The fence around our garden is at least 6ft, but the fence between our garden is just about 4ft. The furthest she could get would be into our neighbours garden (who also have a 6ft fence around the property, who don't have any pets or children, but don't mind dogs). I really hope that won't be a problem...
If this all works out we can pick her up on Saturday! So excited!:2thumb:


----------



## Kare

Best of Luck with Storm


----------



## Moosey

Jess was sick, and when I went to fuss her to reassure her, she flinched and started shaking  I think she used to get punished or hit or something for being ill by her previous owners. Poor puppy


----------



## feorag

Yes, good luck - hope the homecheck goes well! :2thumb:


----------



## lisadew24

Has anyone on here tried a flirt pole with their dog if so are they a good idea, I have a collie and when he gets older I would like to try it with him. For people who don't know what a flirt pole is it a giant cat teaser.


----------



## feorag

Well I've used cat teasers a lot with my cats, but never even thought about anything similar with my dog. I've never needed to find anything to encourage him to play and interact - he's always ready to!


----------



## *H*

I think the pup (now 7 months old) is starting to become a little man dog... He's not taking as much of Cass's grumpiness now, and Cass isn't pushing it as much as before, infact, Cass seems a little wary of the pup that's now alot bigger than him. 
Just hoping for a smooth transition into how their relationship is going to be. It's quite fun watching their communication, Cass doing the " I'm the boss, you do as I tell you" then the pup going "er, nope" and then Cass going "Oh, ok then, let's just wash each other for a while, yeah?" and then the pup "yeah that sounds like fun, Ok!" ...Pair of idiots together.


----------



## lisadew24

feorag said:


> Well I've used cat teasers a lot with my cats, but never even thought about anything similar with my dog. I've never needed to find anything to encourage him to play and interact - he's always ready to!


It's suppose to be a great way of exercising them in a short period of time here's a link to show you what it's like
Training Video: Flirt Pole Basics on Vimeo


----------



## feorag

Hmmm - to be honest I can get exactly the same effect with a ball and certainly with Skye I wouldn't want to encourage sharp turns and jumping.


----------



## lisadew24

Sheldon loves his balls too he also likes it when I throw his kong cuz it bounces differently and he already has to sit or lie down before I throw it.


----------



## feorag

I bought a good toy for Skye a few weeks ago at TKMaxx - by the way have to say I *LOVE *TKMaxx for good quality, low priced pet stuff.

The only way I can describe it is it looks kinda like an egg timer. It's made of strong quality rubber like 2 cups 'v' shaped cups joined together at the base. It bounces, so when thrown the dog can never be sure which way it will bounce and it floats so he can use it in ponds and the sea. Also he can't choke on it as a couple of times he's caught the ball with his mouth open and it's gone too far into his mouth and his teeth have sunk into it so he can't spit it out. I didn't like that, so he rarely gets a ball now. With this new toy he gets the best of both worlds. :2thumb:


----------



## x Sarah x

Hoping to get them something from Crufts, they have this thing its like a plastic bone that goes through the middle of a rubber ball, but they've started biting little bits of plastic off and eating it and its worried me so took it of them...


----------



## lisadew24

My local Tkmaxx must be rubbish compared to yours as I don't think we get dog toys.


----------



## feorag

I've bought loads from them. I got an excellent heavy duty, waterproof canvas car hammock, designed to either fit between the front and rear seats over the head rests, or in our case we have it in the boot of the estate car. it came in its own canvas bag with a water bottle attached for £20. It's a Kurgo Wander Hammock and they sell for over £40.

I've also bought collars and leads that are better quality and cheaper than my local PaH and great toys! At the minute there's a giant 2" thick 2' long knotted rope meant for giant dogs in my rats' cage that was only £5.99 - that's incredibly cheap! I never go in there without coming out with something for one of the animals.


----------



## feorag

Couldn't resist posting this - it's so true! :lol2:


----------



## BMo1979

feorag said:


> Couldn't resist posting this - it's so true! :lol2:
> 
> image


LOL! With Trigger I'd probably have his backside in my face...


----------



## BMo1979

We just had our home check and everything went well. The dogs trust lady was really friendly and it only took a couple of minutes. 
Had to laugh at the curtain twitching when the big yellow van tipped up. Some people probably thought we're getting rid of Trigger (no chance, hubby goes before him, lol).

So Saturday it is for picking up the new girl in my OH's life. :2thumb:


----------



## x Sarah x

We nearly acquired a 10 week old westie pup at the weekend after my neighbours friend split with his partner forcing him to move into rented accommodation who wouldn't allow dogs, he was devastated...

Luckily he's managed to place the pup with a family member albeit in Wales, it does mean in the long run he might be able to have the dog back when he's in a more stable situation, which is brill.

Problem is, now i've got puppy fever, at the prospect of having a little baby around my ovaries are now pining for one :blush:

NOT helped by the fact my next door neighbour has just had a 9 week old black Pomeranian pup that's like a little squeaky teddy bear and keeps passing me her over the fence for a squidge, i'm going to implode soon!


----------



## feorag

BMo1979 said:


> LOL! With Trigger I'd probably have his backside in my face...


I wake up every morning with a cat's backside in my face - goes with the territory! :lol2:



BMo1979 said:


> We just had our home check and everything went well. The dogs trust lady was really friendly and it only took a couple of minutes.
> Had to laugh at the curtain twitching when the big yellow van tipped up. Some people probably thought we're getting rid of Trigger (no chance, hubby goes before him, lol).
> 
> So Saturday it is for picking up the new girl in my OH's life. :2thumb:


Excellent news - I'm so happy for you! :jump:



x Sarah x said:


> We nearly acquired a 10 week old westie pup at the weekend after my neighbours friend split with his partner forcing him to move into rented accommodation who wouldn't allow dogs, he was devastated...
> 
> Luckily he's managed to place the pup with a family member albeit in Wales, it does mean in the long run he might be able to have the dog back when he's in a more stable situation, which is brill.
> 
> Problem is, now i've got puppy fever, at the prospect of having a little baby around my ovaries are now pining for one :blush:
> 
> NOT helped by the fact my next door neighbour has just had a 9 week old black Pomeranian pup that's like a little squeaky teddy bear and keeps passing me her over the fence for a squidge, i'm going to implode soon!


Oh dear!!! :whistling2:


----------



## *H*

They grow too quick  
This was only taken 4 months ago
VIDEO0009 - YouTube

and this today
VIDEO0010 - YouTube


----------



## akuma 天

*H* said:


> They grow too quick
> This was only taken 4 months ago
> VIDEO0009 - YouTube
> 
> and this today
> VIDEO0010 - YouTube


Indeed they do.

This is Ripley at 4 months, and then in the same spot 2 months later.


----------



## *H*

akuma 天;11013285 said:


> Indeed they do.
> 
> This is Ripley at 4 months, and then in the same spot 2 months later.
> 
> image


 
Wow, that's a growth spurt! Gorgeous pooch :flrt:


----------



## feorag

*H* said:


> They grow too quick
> This was only taken 4 months ago
> VIDEO0009 - YouTube
> 
> and this today
> VIDEO0010 - YouTube


They do indeed!! 



akuma 天;11013285 said:


> This is Ripley at 4 months, and then in the same spot 2 months later.
> 
> image


Now this has set me thinking :hmm: 

This Ripley couldn't possibly be the muddy clarty GSD puppy who was on the GSDR dog walk at Coatham Woods in January, could it???

I mean this one?











Your snakes and cats tie in with the conversation I had with this Ripley's owner on the GSDR Walk Facebook page a couple of days ago.


----------



## lisadew24

And I thought sheldon got muddy but Ripley wins paws down


----------



## akuma 天

feorag said:


> They do indeed!!
> 
> Now this has set me thinking :hmm:
> 
> This Ripley couldn't possibly be the muddy clarty GSD puppy who was on the GSDR dog walk at Coatham Woods in January, could it???
> 
> I mean this one?
> 
> image
> 
> 
> Your snakes and cats tie in with the conversation I had with this Ripley's owner on the GSDR Walk Facebook page a couple of days ago.


That's me.


----------



## feorag

Well small world. We were on that walk too with Skye! :2thumb:


----------



## purpleskyes

*H* said:


> They grow too quick
> This was only taken 4 months ago
> VIDEO0009 - YouTube
> 
> and this today
> VIDEO0010 - YouTube





akuma 天;11013285 said:


> Indeed they do.
> 
> This is Ripley at 4 months, and then in the same spot 2 months later.
> 
> image


Aww bless them, the problem is you don't even notice the growing until you look at pictures.

This was Hudson 4 months ago, so cute had to go on his hind legs to rear the OH's face.


Untitled by purplepixie87, on Flickr

then this was him in January


Untitled by purplepixie87, on Flickr

and finally this is him this evening, I dont think the OH will be able to pick him up much longer...


Untitled by purplepixie87, on Flickr


----------



## Ally

purpleskyes said:


> Aww bless them, the problem is you don't even notice the growing until you look at pictures.
> 
> This was Hudson 4 months ago, so cute had to go on his hind legs to rear the OH's face.
> 
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/8532443060/image
> Untitled by purplepixie87, on Flickr
> 
> then this was him in January
> 
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/8532441778/image
> Untitled by purplepixie87, on Flickr
> 
> and finally this is him this evening, I dont think the OH will be able to pick him up much longer...
> 
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/8531331657/image
> Untitled by purplepixie87, on Flickr


He's just so cute and snuggly looking!!

*squish*


----------



## feorag

feorag said:


> Now this has set me thinking :hmm:
> 
> This Ripley couldn't possibly be the muddy clarty GSD puppy who was on the GSDR dog walk at Coatham Woods in January, could it???
> 
> I mean this one?
> 
> image
> 
> 
> Your snakes and cats tie in with the conversation I had with this Ripley's owner on the GSDR Walk Facebook page a couple of days ago.


My Skye on that walk!


----------



## lisadew24

Your dog must be part pig


----------



## Kare

Morgan could never get that dirty, she even walks around puddles she comes to on paths...normally to the point where if I do not see them she will go around on the right hand side of it as I am walking on her left and as a result will lead me to walk right through it myself!!!


----------



## akuma 天

feorag said:


> My Skye on that walk!
> 
> image


Small world indeed.

It seems you also have a mud seeking missile of a dog too!


----------



## Whosthedaddy

akuma 天;11015350 said:



> Small world indeed.
> 
> It seems you also have a mud seeking missile of a dog too!


Given half a chance and ours seems to go straight through a muddy patch rather than walk round!


----------



## feorag

lisadew24 said:


> Your dog must be part pig


:roll2: PMSL!!

That puddle was a very deep puddle and Skye was actually standing in it!!

He's not so much a mudskipper as a water baby. :lol2: He just loves water, although he won't walk around a muddy puddle. 


akuma 天;11015350 said:


> Small world indeed.
> 
> It seems you also have a mud seeking missile of a dog too!


So we've been chatting on here on various threads for years and then spent 2 hours together and didn't even know!! I have to say I sigh every time I see Ripley! :flrt:


----------



## x Sarah x

This was Kizzy...











and 6 months later in same place...


----------



## feorag

And I love your bullies too! :flrt:


----------



## *H*

purpleskyes said:


> Aww bless them, the problem is you don't even notice the growing until you look at pictures.
> 
> This was Hudson 4 months ago, so cute had to go on his hind legs to rear the OH's face.
> 
> [URL="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8513/8532443060_41d6e085db.jpg"]image[/URL]
> Untitled by purplepixie87, on Flickr
> 
> then this was him in January
> 
> [URL="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8513/8532441778_16c252f8c5.jpg"]image[/URL]
> Untitled by purplepixie87, on Flickr
> 
> and finally this is him this evening, I dont think the OH will be able to pick him up much longer...
> 
> [URL="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8091/8531331657_a2a37c47ee.jpg"]image[/URL]
> Untitled by purplepixie87, on Flickr


Oh my goodness :flrt: He's growing really well :gasp:


----------



## Whosthedaddy

A rather vocal 'Bo' no idea why but suspect its because she wants the pear our daughter is eating.

10 month Bullmastiff - YouTube

Bless her, not the brightest of dogs.


----------



## akuma 天

feorag said:


> So we've been chatting on here on various threads for years and then spent 2 hours together and didn't even know!! I have to say I sigh every time I see Ripley! :flrt:


It looks like the April walk is back at Cootham Woods, so see you again soon?


----------



## feorag

akuma 天;11021298 said:


> It looks like the April walk is back at Cootham Woods, so see you again soon?


I'm totally gutted cos I don't think we'll be able to go. My granddaughter is coming to stay from Scotland for a week and will be going home that weekend, either on the Saturday or Sunday. If it's the Sunday i doubt she'll be able to walk as far as that group walk, cos she's no big walker, and if it's not the Sunday it'll be the Saturday, so I don't think we'll be able to go! :sad: 


I have to say x Sarah x that every time I look at this, something inside me melts! :flrt:


----------



## purpleskyes

*H* said:


> Oh my goodness :flrt: He's growing really well :gasp:


I still think he is abit small, everyone else seems to think he is a big fella.


----------



## zoe6660

anyone keep they dogs outside in kennels?


----------



## Whosthedaddy

zoe6660 said:


> anyone keep they dogs outside in kennels?


If they do, what do they clean the floors with please.


----------



## Kare

Whosthedaddy said:


> If they do, what do they clean the floors with please.


I would never ever conceive of keeping a dog outside of the home, they are far too social based animals for that to not be cruelty in my eyes....however I believe a large amount of people swear by Zoflora for cleaning down tiles and paving where their dogs have been.


----------



## feorag

I agree - my whole purpose of keeping a dog is to spend time with it and so I wouldn't dream of having it living outside.


----------



## Whosthedaddy

Kare said:


> I would never ever conceive of keeping a dog outside of the home, they are far too social based animals for that to not be cruelty in my eyes....however I believe a large amount of people swear by Zoflora for cleaning down tiles and paving where their dogs have been.


Our garden is bricked and being banned from the dirty bits due to digging she is penned in a smallish area when let out till the weather is better!!!! We're using Jayes fluid but a little odd in smell?

We've used simple bleach and washed with plenty of water but a day or so later the 'smell' is back.

Never thought of Zoflora.

I agree I'd never keep a dog outside


----------



## feorag

Zoflora has a much better smell than Jeyes fluid, but I have to say I really like the smell of Jeyes, just can't use it cos it poisonous to cats.


----------



## purpleskyes

purpleskyes said:


> I still think he is abit small, everyone else seems to think he is a big fella.


I take that back actually, checked his weight and height. He is 20kg and 19" at the withers at 5 months. He might just turn out to reach the breed standard afterall.


----------



## BMo1979

I'm back after over 2 days of no phone and internet connection (apparently a BT system fault, took them long enough to sort out, the whole area was cut off) and here's an update on our new girl "Storm":

We picked her up from Dogs Trust on Saturday. I must say I'm quite impressed about their re-homing process. Everyone had to be there at 9am and the second manager held a sort of seminar on behaviour, training and settling in, addressing the individual needs as well as overall advice. 
After that (and paying the fee, lol) we could take our dogs home. 
Back home, before even bringing her into the house we took both dogs for a short walk and then let them into the garden.
She is starting to settle really well, but needs a lot of work (especially lead work and learning to settle). But we expected that, as she is such a young dog and had already been a stray. 
Storm is quite cheeky towards Trigger (typical adolescent dog, lol), who shows the patience of an angel. He growls at her (though it's not really an aggressive growl, more of a grumpy one), paws her when she pushes him, but rather walks away from her than snapping. He knows she's just teasing, but can't be bothered with it in the house. Outside they play just fine.
Storm is also very food orientated. It's a new thing for us having to remove anything that is edible out of her reach. She actually watches us eat and drools. We're basically having to treat it like having a puppy in the house (minus the house training). She has to learn not to beg and stay on her bed during our mealtimes and not to just dash for her food bowl but wait. 
The greatest thing about her is that she is an absolute sweetheart to people. She's very affectionate but not too demanding like Trigger can be.
She is however a typical Husky and is very much after the rats, so our youngest son's room is out of bounds for her at the moment.
She loves toys, especially noisy toys, so we can use this to our advantage, especially for distraction/interrupting unwanted behaviour. However, we had a bit of a challenge last night, when she refused to hand over her "Quacky Duck". She swapped it for a treat eventually. Toys have now been removed until we decide to use them.

One thing about taking in a rescue like her is that it makes you appreciate, that despite his "flaws" (barking at smaller/male dogs on the lead, barking at visitors) what a high level of obedience Trigger really is and how well he communicates without getting aggressive.

P.S: Pics will follow later!


----------



## feorag

that all sounds very promising! :2thumb:

Shall look forward to photos!


----------



## *H*

*Yawn* the pup has woke me up barking the house down as soon as the sun comes up these last few mornings, so tired.
I'd usually ignore it to a degree as I know he's learning - Bark = Mum comes and pays me attention, but my next door neighbour isn't well at the moment, and don't want him to disturb her - he's not got a sweet quieter puppy bark anymore, he's got his deep loud big boy bark. Apart from taking him out for a long walk just before bedtime, I'm a bit stuck what to do.


----------



## x Sarah x

Not sure how well you can hear from your bedroom, but would a little radio beside his bed, on low perhaps help?


----------



## *H*

x Sarah x said:


> Not sure how well you can hear from your bedroom, but would a little radio beside his bed, on low perhaps help?


I'm not sure, our bitch is downstairs with him too, so he does have some company. I think it's because OH gets in at just gone 6am, so he's used to getting up for a wee and his breakfast around the time when it used to get light. He doesn't understand that it's getting lighter long before getting up time now :roll: ... Hope I can cure it before it starts to get light at 3am.
He's also coming upto 8 months old - _that_ age *sigh*. So all the manners and rules he's learnt over the past 6 months are being forgotton and pushed - I hate puppies :lol2:


----------



## PPVallhunds

If it's the light setting him off maby worth getting some thick heavy curtains on the Windows to block out the light.


----------



## x Sarah x

My fella's mum has to cover her dogs crate with a blanket or he won't settle at all.


----------



## feorag

PPVallhunds said:


> If it's the light setting him off maby worth getting some thick heavy curtains on the Windows to block out the light.


You could try buying a paire of blackout curtain linings, or a blackout blind to keep the room dark.


----------



## Tyzer

Nice gsd akuma 

Sadly had to get my white gsd put down last month he was 9 years old weighed over 55kg was the biggest gsd the vet had seen 
Sadly got hip dysplasia and back legs begun knuckling

Heres a few pics
















Lol he thought he could fit in my mums lhasa apsos bed haha 
Was a great dog


----------



## feorag

Lovely dog! :2thumb:


----------



## lisadew24

My mum had her black German shepherd put down in August because his back legs went he was 10. Sorry for your loss


----------



## Tyzer

lisadew24 said:


> My mum had her black German shepherd put down in August because his back legs went he was 10. Sorry for your loss


There great dogs just have there problems


----------



## Moosey

.oO(It's a hard life)


----------



## feorag

German Shepherd Dogfest! :lol2:

This morning was our monthly GSD Rescue dog walk and this time we went to Holy Island. There were 20 dogs, including 2 JRTs (who come on every walk and are our 'mascots'), 4 black labradors and a yellow lab who will be away in 2 weeks to begin his guide dog training.

Setting off and on the beach





































































































And coffee, cake and biscuits afterwards in the car park.


----------



## Zoo-Man

Don't know if any of you have seen a post doing the rounds on Facebook, photos of an Indian guy's Stafford attacking a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. Well I question who the hell took the photos. Surely it would have been of more use to help stave the Stafford's head in or throttle it than to start taking pictures. What does anyone else think?


----------



## feorag

There's a thread on it on here Colin and most people are of the same opinion, although someone has said they've seen an update on Facebook that the owner took the photos - the Staffie had bitten her when the 2 guys in the hats started trying to get it off her dog. I think she thought the dog would die and took the photos for proof, but it does beggar belief because i couldn't stand and take photographs of a dog attacking my dog like that - I'd be in doing my best to get it off, bite or no bite.


----------



## BMo1979

Very nice photos again! Shadow looks like he's having a ball.

About the dog fight incident: I, too, cannot for the life understand how someone would rather give up on their dog and have the nerve to take quite clear photos (dare I say, to get at least financial compensation?).
Trigger has been attacked before (I think it happens to most dog owners at one point) and of course had scraps himself with other dogs and every time I wouldn't even think before jumping straight in between to break it up no matter what size/breed the "opponent" (even at 8 months pregnant at one point). What I found is that a lot of owners make matters worse by screaming hysterically and the "braver" ones grabbing the dogs by the scruff of the neck and pulling back, which will only increase the strength of the hold.


----------



## BMo1979

Storm loves her cuddles. Look at their wee faces, lol. If she were human I'd have to be jealous, lol









Poor Trigger doesn't get a choice. When the missus wants cuddles she gets cuddles. I think, he just takes it cos he can't be bothered moving:


----------



## feorag

Oh my, she is so pretty! :flrt:


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## Kare

She soo knows she has landed on her paws!!


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## x Sarah x

Had my fella's sister's westie stay over Sat night, good god what a night, he's such a pest, lol

I may just be ok not having a puppy anymore, hahahahaha!

Good job he's just been neutered , he was only done because of what a trouble maker is was so can't imagine having had him and 2 bullies running riot.

He also follows you everywhere and gets under your feet, something i'm not used to as my dogs aren't small, he eats ab-lib so had to have his bowl out the way and keep offering it him or else mine would have eaten it! He won't poo in the garden, only out on a walk and only on grass! His bark goes right through you, not good when you have 12 ferrets of which he's never come across before and so barks at them non stop! and he hates his back end being touched, yet reverses right up to you when he's on your lap so have to sit there scared to unknowingly touch his tail or bum and get growled at! also not good when 2 bullies are trying to sniff his bottom constantly and will react negatively from being snapped at, tsk, not something i'd stand for if he was mine, but he's not and it was only for a night so i won't complain or try change things.

oh and if any animal comes on TV or any animal sound, he runs at it barking and jumping, argh! he even knows the adverts that have animals in, so soon as he hears the music or familiar sounds he knows an animal is coming up and starts :roll:

He is pretty cute though, this is Mr Darcy.


----------



## feorag

:lol2: Love 'em when they come, love 'em more when they go! :lol2:


----------



## *H*

I think someones still got some growing into his skin to do :lol2:











and took this a while later, this is the first time they've cuddled up together to sleep


----------



## feorag

Aw, how cute is that! :flrt:


----------



## *H*

They are when they're asleep :lol2:
All they do when they're awake is play fight/wrestle and chase each other around like a pair of idiots :roll: Cass has reverted back to being 6 months old again :lol:


----------



## SUPER HANS

*H* said:


> I think someones still got some growing into his skin to do :lol2:
> 
> image
> 
> 
> and took this a while later, this is the first time they've cuddled up together to sleep
> 
> image


Awww they're spooning. 


My dogs have never done this


----------



## Christie_ZXR

Following on from those dogs having a fight, (horrible) does anyone know the best thing to do if you need to break up a fight? Was thinking about it today and realised I don't actually have a clue what to do if Buster got in a real scrap, other than try and pick him up and get him out of the way because he's little enough! But that's not going to help if something's got hold of him and doesn't want to let go. Hopefully that'll never happen, but I'd rather I had some clue what to do if it ever did.


----------



## *H*

SUPER HANS said:


> Awww they're spooning.
> 
> 
> My dogs have never done this


Yes, Cass is now officially Loki's little spoon bi**h :lol2:

I'm shocked them two did tbh, they have slept near each other but never touching. But saying that, me and OH was taking up the rest of the sofa, so Cass had two options - sleep with Loki or on the floor, he took the most comfy one :2thumb:


----------



## x Sarah x

Christie_ZXR said:


> Following on from those dogs having a fight, (horrible) does anyone know the best thing to do if you need to break up a fight? Was thinking about it today and realised I don't actually have a clue what to do if Buster got in a real scrap, other than try and pick him up and get him out of the way because he's little enough! But that's not going to help if something's got hold of him and doesn't want to let go. Hopefully that'll never happen, but I'd rather I had some clue what to do if it ever did.


I hear a lot of people say a cold bucket of water over them both, but i've also heard particularly in the case of bull breeds that doesn't always work... other says rape alarm or if you have a fire extinguisher to hand that can be effective.

Unfortunately i don't even know what i'd do if my two fell out, i don't even believe a swift boot would make any difference...perhaps throw a duvet over them both (if at home) and hope they 'lose' eachother for a second to give me time to grab one, i really don't know without bringing harm to either, it's in their breeding to shrug off pain and injury and keep fighting...


----------



## BMo1979

Christie_ZXR said:


> Following on from those dogs having a fight, (horrible) does anyone know the best thing to do if you need to break up a fight? Was thinking about it today and realised I don't actually have a clue what to do if Buster got in a real scrap, other than try and pick him up and get him out of the way because he's little enough! But that's not going to help if something's got hold of him and doesn't want to let go. Hopefully that'll never happen, but I'd rather I had some clue what to do if it ever did.


If available: Cold water straight in between the dogs. Most dogs would let go.
Other than that never pull a dog back, cos that would just increase the bite, if you pull, pull up. Never scream or cry, cos your distress will just encourage the aggression.
One method, which might sound a bit brutal and might only work if there's two people involved is to grab the dogs under the waist just next to the hind legs and lift up. They should lose balance and let go. Thing is, you would have to be fast, so a panicky dog won't spin around and get you and not too harsh, as to injure them.


----------



## feorag

Water is the first choice and always has been, but really it's not very practical, because to have an effect you'd need a bucketful and who carries a bucket of water with them on a dog walk??

The rape alarm sounds a good idea, another choice would be a can of "Pet Corrector" which emits a loud hiss of air and which would be easy to carry in the pocket. The idea is to try and shock the dogs to hesitate and give you a chance to intervene. 

I worried about the spaniel in those photographs, because in one of them it looked like the owner was pulling the dog off the spaniel, but it had the spaniel's hindleg in its mouth and it obviously wasn't letting go and that could damage the spaniel more, particulary because it appears that someone else was holding the front end!!! So pulling a dog away isn't always the right thing to do either, as you can cause more damage by means of skin tearing to the dog being attacked.

And personally I think the stupid owners who start kicking the dog to get it off (such as in that footage where the guide dog was attacked by the bull breed in the railways station) is the worst thing to do, because that actually will only enrage the attacking dog and make it worse.


----------



## jaykickboxer

if that situation arised i honestly can't help but think a kick is the best method lets be honest no one wants to kick there dog but us have to be mental to put ur fingers inbetween there mouths u could so easily lose fingers if u kick a dog in the ribs it will let go i cant see it gettting more stressed mpst fogs srent savages that wanna kill other dogs theyd rather be away from it and most dogs srent gane enough to keep going , I wouldn't wanna kick my dogs however in desperation I would if the situation arises it isn't ideal but isn't gonna kill it , on the other hand if I had a jack Russell that bit something being so small I'd try not to kick a dog that small but kicking say a bordeaux I'd imagine should be enough to get a reaction in which it would let go so I could quickly grab it , like I said I've had to do it in the past and it worked neither of my dogs ever got seriously hurt from it and didn't kill each other and I've still got ten fingers


----------



## Zoo-Man

Christie_ZXR said:


> Following on from those dogs having a fight, (horrible) does anyone know the best thing to do if you need to break up a fight? Was thinking about it today and realised I don't actually have a clue what to do if Buster got in a real scrap, other than try and pick him up and get him out of the way because he's little enough! But that's not going to help if something's got hold of him and doesn't want to let go. Hopefully that'll never happen, but I'd rather I had some clue what to do if it ever did.


If the attacking dog is wearing a collar or even better a choke chain, grab that & lift the dog's front end up off the ground whilst twisting the collar or chain, so that the dog is choked. It might take a minute or two, but the dog wont be able to breathe & will let go of the victim dog. I have done this myself, when my neighbour's American Bulldog attacked my elderly Jack Russell Terrier. The dog had my dog by the neck & was trying to shake him, but once I did the above trick, it released my dog after a couple of minutes & I kept hold of the dog until my partner had gotten my dog to safety. When I let go of the American Bulldog, it dropped to the ground, gagging & choking. If Id kept hold of it a bit longer I would have killed it. I wish I had, as the next morning it broke through a fence panel in the back garden, smashed into my ferret hutch & killed my 2 ferrets.

If the attacking dog has no collar or chain on, then Im afraid Id resort to a brick or rock to it's head.


----------



## Mrs dirtydozen

Zoo-Man said:


> If the attacking dog is wearing a collar or even better a choke chain, grab that & lift the dog's front end up off the ground whilst twisting the collar or chain, so that the dog is choked. It might take a minute or two, but the dog wont be able to breathe & will let go of the victim dog. I have done this myself, when my neighbour's American Bulldog attacked my elderly Jack Russell Terrier. The dog had my dog by the neck & was trying to shake him, but once I did the above trick, it released my dog after a couple of minutes & I kept hold of the dog until my partner had gotten my dog to safety. When I let go of the American Bulldog, it dropped to the ground, gagging & choking. If Id kept hold of it a bit longer I would have killed it. I wish I had, as the next morning it broke through a fence panel in the back garden, smashed into my ferret hutch & killed my 2 ferrets.
> 
> If the attacking dog has no collar or chain on, then Im afraid Id resort to a brick or rock to it's head.


And then do the same to the other dog owner :lol2:


----------



## BMo1979

First "casualty" reported today: A brand new padded webbing lead bitten right through!
I walk both dogs in the mornings when I take my sons to their school bus. My middle son had Trigger and I was walking Storm. Out of nowhere she started jumping and biting on the lead. I put her into a sit and when she dropped the lead I gave her a treat. It must have already started ripping then. At the bus stop I got talking to a friend and obviously she must have gotten bored and started biting again. Before I knew it, the damage was done and the lead bitten right through. Luckily I noticed before she did and managed to hold her on the undamaged part. It might have been faulty material in the first place, cos it broke so easily. 
It's interesting, I think she has settled in, so now she's starting to test and push. She doesn't realise, that we've been there before, having raised Trigger from puppyhood with the "teenage years" having been challenging, and won't let her rule the roost. It's all about patience and consistency now and not taking it personally. Storm also tries to bully Trigger, but only when we're around and especially when she encounters boundaries. He's doing the right thing by just ignoring her or when she doesn't give in, which is often the case, coming to either me or my husband to sort it out. She'll get there, she's only young. I'm not giving up on her like her previous owners did!


----------



## feorag

That's the point isn't it? Nowadays people seem to want everything perfect and if the dog isn't, then it's moved on!

If I had £1 for every time I felt like giving up on Skye I'd be a millionaire :lol2: but I couldn't send him back, my conscience wouldn't let me put him back into that situation.

So we persevered and, even though 3 years later he still has problems, he's a very different dog to the dog that we took on and the rewards are great! :2thumb:


----------



## BMo1979

feorag said:


> That's the point isn't it? Nowadays people seem to want everything perfect and if the dog isn't, then it's moved on!


Exactly! One thing that winds me up, too, is some owners (very few luckily) of very sociable dogs like Golden Retrievers/Labs or certain spaniel types, tend to judge me, because my GSD likes his personal space and does not take too well to have it invaded by another dog without permission. He's not snapped (yet) but is very vocal about it and straight away some owners call him aggressive and dangerous when it was THEIR dog that was being rude! I socialised Trigger left right and centre, but it's just his personality and as long as no other dog comes to harm, what's the problem? I hate it when people take it personally, if their "poochy-woochy" isn't liked by another dog!
One of the reasons why I'm not too keen on letting my in-laws bring their puppy here. They tend to humanise their pets (no kidding, he put a video up of the pup meeting my BIL's dog titled "**** meets COUSIN ****". In this video the pup paws the bigger dog at one point and the reaction is "Why did you do that? Oh, that wasn't very nice! Poor ***, was *** being mean to you?":gasp and probably couldn't cope with "baby" getting a telling when it pesters a grumpy old dog. Storm would be absolutely fine though.


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## Christie_ZXR

Ta for the advise 

I would have thought shouting might help though, as in a loud noise to distract them. Reckon that's not the case?


----------



## PPVallhunds

If the fighting dogs can be held but one's still holding on you can use a good stick to leaver it's jaws open, that's how dog fighters split two dogs when one won't let go. So if it works on fighting dogs I'd assume it would work for other dogs.
(Found this out while researching for college not personal experience)


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## Kare

BMo1979 said:


> Exactly! One thing that winds me up, too, is some owners (very few luckily) of very sociable dogs like Golden Retrievers/Labs or certain spaniel types, tend to judge me, because my GSD likes his personal space and does not take too well to have it invaded by another dog without permission. He's not snapped (yet) but is very vocal about it and straight away some owners call him aggressive and dangerous when it was THEIR dog that was being rude! I socialised Trigger left right and centre, but it's just his personality and as long as no other dog comes to harm, what's the problem? I hate it when people take it personally, if their "poochy-woochy" isn't liked by another dog!
> One of the reasons why I'm not too keen on letting my in-laws bring their puppy here. They tend to humanise their pets (no kidding, he put a video up of the pup meeting my BIL's dog titled "**** meets COUSIN ****". In this video the pup paws the bigger dog at one point and the reaction is "Why did you do that? Oh, that wasn't very nice! Poor ***, was *** being mean to you?":gasp and probably couldn't cope with "baby" getting a telling when it pesters a grumpy old dog. Storm would be absolutely fine though.


:blush: I don't see anything wrong with calling another dog cousin, When we talk about seeing Steve brother and their beagles we say we are off to see the cousins. I think it is something from Nanny McPhee 2 I picked it up from "the cousins are coming" It is just words, and to be frank because the dogs meet their cousins so rarely (maybe twice-three times a year) the dogs understand not one of them in the sentence we are saying.

I have to admit I also say "excuse me" and often "excuse me please" or "can you bring your ball please" to my dogs rather than move or out the way etc etc. It is a command like any other and they follow it as they would any other, it just happens to be the way most will talk to a human rather than a dog. It would just not sit comfortably with who I am to say it first time in such a blunt way, and as they say manners cost nothing, so I see no harm using them on a dog as long as they understand, and Morgan is intelligent enough to pick the word BALL from the rest of the waffle!!


----------



## Tyzer

BMo1979 said:


> Exactly! One thing that winds me up, too, is some owners (very few luckily) of very sociable dogs like Golden Retrievers/Labs or certain spaniel types, tend to judge me, because my GSD likes his personal space and does not take too well to have it invaded by another dog without permission. He's not snapped (yet) but is very vocal about it and straight away some owners call him aggressive and dangerous when it was THEIR dog that was being rude! I socialised Trigger left right and centre, but it's just his personality and as long as no other dog comes to harm, what's the problem? I hate it when people take it personally, if their "poochy-woochy" isn't liked by another dog!
> One of the reasons why I'm not too keen on letting my in-laws bring their puppy here. They tend to humanise their pets (no kidding, he put a video up of the pup meeting my BIL's dog titled "**** meets COUSIN ****". In this video the pup paws the bigger dog at one point and the reaction is "Why did you do that? Oh, that wasn't very nice! Poor ***, was *** being mean to you?":gasp and probably couldn't cope with "baby" getting a telling when it pesters a grumpy old dog. Storm would be absolutely fine though.


same with my rotweiler everyone thinks because its a rotti its suddenly a aggresive dog and as soon as he barks i got a owner saying he should be put to sleep cause he tries jumping up at dogs


----------



## BMo1979

*Snow!!!!*

Finally some snow (I know it's only a light dusting compared to what most of the UK seems to have).
Lol, neighbours must think we're having illegal dog fights in the garden. As little as Storm barks, when she plays it's a different matter. She sounds like a sea lion, lol.









Eating snow (we've all done it)









Come and play!









A 7 year old GSD trying to outrun a 1-2 year old possible Northern Inuit/Husky Mix










































Randomly digging out a skateboard...


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## feorag

Great photos and she certainly seems to have settled down very well with you. She must think she's died and gone to heaven! :lol2:

BTW a post was made on the GSDR website about a pup being stolen from its owner up in Erskine - have you heard about it?


----------



## BMo1979

feorag said:


> Great photos and she certainly seems to have settled down very well with you. She must think she's died and gone to heaven! :lol2:
> 
> BTW a post was made on the GSDR website about a pup being stolen from its owner up in Erskine - have you heard about it?


Thanks. I took both of them on the fields today. Storm was on the tracking (10m) lead. I let go of the lead in a secure fenced off area and she was absolutely fine. She orientated herself on Trigger a lot, so came back as soon as I called her. I think, she'll be fine off lead, but probably not during dusk hours when the wildlife comes out to play.

The dog that was stolen: Is that a GSD-Terrier Mix? I had a picture of that pop up on my FB newsfeed. It's in a different area from where we live (technically we're in Bishopton, but call the estate Erskine, cos it's part of the veterans' home), so I don't know the dog myself. It's a shame and I hope he'll be found. Apparently there's CCTV in the area of the theft, so hopefully they can get some pictures of the thieving b***d.

BTW: On the "Missing dogs in Scotland" Facebook page are pics of a Northern Inuit dog (luckily he's since been found), who could be Storm's brother, that's how similar he looks. He's from Edinburgh area though, IIRC.


----------



## RexyboyandCharlotte

In my house we have many animals but the biggest and most expensive by far is our newfie (bungle/luna), shes such a big bundle of fluff. We also have a tri colour collie (codie) but she is only half the size and less than half the price haha. We had alot of trouble with the newfie when we first brought her, she didnt take a single bit of notice and was the most stubborn dog i had ever met in my life, we took her to puppy training and that still didnt make a difference. As she got to about a 1/2 years old she began to finally calm down and now she and codie are the best residents of this house. She has been my baby (rather big baby) since we got her 7 years ago and we are all glad we didnt give up on her. Shes beautiful :2thumb: just thought i would share this to keep it going


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## jaykickboxer

I walked the dogs today wiTh two friends, it was quality after my bully got attacked by a pit he went funny with all dogs he had'nt met previously I tried dog trainers and loads of different methods to fix it , he has never bitten another dog but will lunge growing if they come to close it was a annoying situation as I no he's a friendly dog just scared I haven't had him play with random dogs in years I always avoid them whilst walking I've tried muzzles but because he doesn't really have a muzzle they never stay on for more then a few seconds today I managed to get one to stay on for a few minutes let him off a lead with friends dogs he's never met before and about 3 minutes later he managed to get it off and I left him without it he was perfect with them no growling or anything he wasn't really playing like the other 3 but he was running round with em a s they were brushing into him and all sorts he didn't care , I had almost given up on him being ok with random dogs but think it could be a easy fix after that I feel so much more confident about it whilst going through the wood he come across 3 other dogs and didn't do anything , it was really good the most enjoyable walk I've had with them in ages


----------



## jaykickboxer

Watch this video: Winston on Vimeo

Donno if that works it mostly me talking but my speakers dodge on my phone so makes me sound weird


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## jaykickboxer

My littlen makes me laugh she likes to have a go at walking the dogs when she out I let her hold winstons lead in the park as I no he will stay by my side If I say 

Watch this video: Bella and Paige on Vimeo


----------



## feorag

I loved the "Heel Baby" command! :lol2:

Well I can't say that my trip to the beach today was much fun - I was totally cream crackered! It wasn't a GSDR group walk, just a few of us from the group who decided a beach walk would be good.

Psycho dog lived up to his name today and was just so over the top it was ridiculous. unfortunately one of the girls let her dog out of her car and it went mad at Skye, which set him off barking, then another bitch arrived and he started barking at her, so they headed off while I waited for my friend to arrive with her dogs. We walked through the dunes to meet the rest and Skye was just so stupid - "heel" and "back" appeared to be words he'd never heard before as he was just about on the ceiling with excitement. The wind was blowing a hoolie and as soon as we hit the beach the sand was blowing into our faces like sandblasting so I could barely open my eyes. he then ran at my friend's dog behind my back and pulled me over! :roll: So I sat in the sand and made him sit until he shut up, by which time everyone was way ahead of us and he was in an even bigger panic to get to them. My shoulders were aching with his pulling and my hips were screaming with the soft sand, so in the end I just let him off - I don't usually let him off until I'm in the middle of the group.

Thankfully, he ran like a bullet out of a gun after them, but when he got there he just started running around between them all and then came back to me!

By the time we got back to the car I was buggered in no uncertain terms. Thankfully we retired to the pub for a drink and half of bitter restored my mood and my energy. Got home and I've got sand in my ears, sand up my nose, in my hair, my pockets even down my bra and I should have a beautiful soft complexion when I get up tomorrow, cos my whole face has been sandblasted. I don't ever remember sand being so painful!

And here I am trying to get my breath back before turning around to have the wind behind us on the way back.


----------



## jaykickboxer

feorag said:


> I loved the "Heel Baby" command! :lol2:
> 
> Well I can't say that my trip to the beach today was much fun - I was totally cream crackered! It wasn't a GSDR group walk, just a few of us from the group who decided a beach walk would be good.
> 
> Psycho dog lived up to his name today and was just so over the top it was ridiculous. unfortunately one of the girls let her dog out of her car and it went mad at Skye, which set him off barking, then another bitch arrived and he started barking at her, so they headed off while I waited for my friend to arrive with her dogs. We walked through the dunes to meet the rest and Skye was just so stupid - "heel" and "back" appeared to be words he'd never heard before as he was just about on the ceiling with excitement. The wind was blowing a hoolie and as soon as we hit the beach the sand was blowing into our faces like sandblasting so I could barely open my eyes. he then ran at my friend's dog behind my back and pulled me over! :roll: So I sat in the sand and made him sit until he shut up, by which time everyone was way ahead of us and he was in an even bigger panic to get to them. My shoulders were aching with his pulling and my hips were screaming with the soft sand, so in the end I just let him off - I don't usually let him off until I'm in the middle of the group.
> 
> Thankfully, he ran like a bullet out of a gun after them, but when he got there he just started running around between them all and then came back to me!
> 
> By the time we got back to the car I was buggered in no uncertain terms. Thankfully we retired to the pub for a drink and half of bitter restored my mood and my energy. Got home and I've got sand in my ears, sand up my nose, in my hair, my pockets even down my bra and I should have a beautiful soft complexion when I get up tomorrow, cos my whole face has been sandblasted. I don't every remember sand being so painful!
> 
> And here I am trying to get my breath back before turning around to have the wind behind us on the way back.
> 
> image




She's a nutter I donno where she got the word baby from maybe coz my misses is preggers , I'm surprised U ain't got any snow we only got a little sounds like u had a hard day , I can't believe Winston was so good Im normally running round fields avoiding other dogs I won't normally get him out the motor wen there about as he normally gets all alert and starts barking my dogs have never been to the beach I'd imagine it must tire them out quickly tho its not easy running on sand


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## feorag

Too right it's not easy for us walking on sand either. Unfortunately the tide was in, so no nice firm damp sand to walk on. Man it was heavy going for me today!

I have to muzzle Skye when I'm on a group walk, but after our first walk he hasn't actually gone for a dog, but I'm not ready to trust him with the muzzle off. such a shame he's been spoiled just because someone obviously didn't make an effort to socialise him when he was young. :bash:


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## jaykickboxer

feorag said:


> Too right it's not easy for us walking on sand either. Unfortunately the tide was in, so no nice firm damp sand to walk on. Man it was heavy going for me today!
> 
> I have to muzzle Skye when I'm on a group walk, but after our first walk he hasn't actually gone for a dog, but I'm not ready to trust him with the muzzle off. such a shame he's been spoiled just because someone obviously didn't make an effort to socialise him when he was young. :bash:


Yeh he might come round be nice if he does nothing worse then having a dog kicking off at every other dog its embarrassing , hopefully Winston starts to improve he was well socialised not to sure what went wrong


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## feorag

We did a big walk in January with the Northern Group (the North East group is my local group) and there were 3 dogs there that just went for every dog that got near them, they were dreadful and one wasn't even a GSD!! At least after the first time he hasn't actually tried to bite another dog - he just runs into the middle and then stops because he doesn't know what to do! :roll:


----------



## jaykickboxer

feorag said:


> We did a big walk in January with the Northern Group (the North East group is my local group) and there were 3 dogs there that just went for every dog that got near them, they were dreadful and one wasn't even a GSD!! At least after the first time he hasn't actually tried to bite another dog - he just runs into the middle and then stops because he doesn't know what to do! :roll:


That's what my bully was like u need a friends dog that is reasonable sized to try remove the muzzle with my bulldog is fine although if I pull him bk or something around other dogs the tension will make him lunge


----------



## feorag

I tried socialising him with my friends' dogs when I first got him, but they're all smaller than him and although he wasn't going for dogs at that stage, he just ran into them and bulldozed them over, so they became frightened of him and in the end I gave up. I don't have any friends with big dogs nowadays, so as time has passed his behaviour has worsened until it has become aggressive.

So having the chance to walk him with other dogs the same size and breed is definitely helping.


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## purpleskyes

The dog is becoming so destructive I am losing the will to live!


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## ermgravy

purpleskyes said:


> The dog is becoming so destructive I am losing the will to live!


ya know you have destruction issues when a CO starts eating plasterboard... im actually thinking of renting mine out to a demolition company he would do it so well..


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## purpleskyes

ermgravy said:


> ya know you have destruction issues when a CO starts eating plasterboard... im actually thinking of renting mine out to a demolition company he would do it so well..


Mine isn't that bad yet it's all about destroying the land lady's sofa at the moment. He is going back to being locked in his crate when no one is home.


----------



## Christie_ZXR

Buster had a devil dog day yesterday :whip: He can be such a monster when he wants to!! Walked him up to the bank, which is about 10 minutes away (and the cashier really likes him and asks where he is if I go in without him!) First he had a pop at a retriever. Had a good old bark at it, all from hiding behind my legs!! Then he had a go at a shepherd, this time from between my legs, and I nearly ended up on the floor! And to cap it all off, he spotted a pair of policemen on the way back and had a little squeak at them too!!! 

And he had been getting so much better :devil:


----------



## BMo1979

After a recent case of dog theft (dog has been found today, thankfully) and another one foiled not long ago, it makes me wonder: Why do people still leave their dogs unattended outside shops?
I went to a small shop in one of those typically run down "squares" today. A lady walked up with a Collie, off-lead, and went straight into the shop, where she spent quite a long amount of time (went in before me and still wasn't out by the time I drove away). She didn't tie her dog up and though you could argue that the dog could have the chance to run away that way, it would have been so easy to snatch it, cos it seemed very friendly. 
And it's not just the risk of the dog being stolen (which seems to occur more and more), but also the fact that the dog was standing right in front of the shop door, barking away. Not everybody likes dogs and some people are very afraid of them, too, and they would have had to pass a barking dog on their way in or out of the shop. Luckily, when I came out, there was an elderly lady there standing with the collie (though it wasn't her dog, she was asking people who it belonged to), otherwise I would have probably kept an eye on it.:bash:


----------



## purpleskyes

I downloaded a photo app that allows you to put multiply pictures into one frame so I got straight on that with some now and then shots of Hudson. Rather pleased with the result, might even put it on a canvas. 


Untitled by purplepixie87, on Flickr

Looking at the size of him in the pic on the right from yesterday at only 5 and half months I do laugh at myself for worrying that he was too small for his breed at one point.


----------



## *H*

purpleskyes said:


> I downloaded a photo app that allows you to put multiply pictures into one frame so I got straight on that with some now and then shots of Hudson. Rather pleased with the result, might even put it on a canvas.
> 
> [URL="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8508/8596452141_b3061446b6.jpg"]image[/URL]
> Untitled by purplepixie87, on Flickr
> 
> Looking at the size of him in the pic on the right from yesterday at only 5 and half months I do laugh at myself for worrying that he was too small for his breed at one point.


He's looking a bit guilty in that photo :lol2:
That would look amazing on canvas


----------



## purpleskyes

*H* said:


> He's looking a bit guilty in that photo :lol2:
> That would look amazing on canvas


That is his not that bloody camera again I just want to go into the garden face lol


----------



## Kare

All the Tesco, Boots, Snapfish and Truprint canvases are printed by the company I work for so if you pick one of them I may even see it first!!


----------



## FLINTUS

Our goldie:
http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/forums/other-pets-exotics/947906-flint-our-dog.html


----------



## Nikkifer

purpleskyes said:


> I downloaded a photo app that allows you to put multiply pictures into one frame so I got straight on that with some now and then shots of Hudson. Rather pleased with the result, might even put it on a canvas.
> 
> [URL="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8508/8596452141_b3061446b6.jpg"]image[/URL]
> Untitled by purplepixie87, on Flickr
> 
> Looking at the size of him in the pic on the right from yesterday at only 5 and half months I do laugh at myself for worrying that he was too small for his breed at one point.


 He is gorgeous, those ears are amazing! :flrt:


----------



## PPVallhunds

BMo1979 said:


> After a recent case of dog theft (dog has been found today, thankfully) and another one foiled not long ago, it makes me wonder: Why do people still leave their dogs unattended outside shops?
> I went to a small shop in one of those typically run down "squares" today. A lady walked up with a Collie, off-lead, and went straight into the shop, where she spent quite a long amount of time (went in before me and still wasn't out by the time I drove away). She didn't tie her dog up and though you could argue that the dog could have the chance to run away that way, it would have been so easy to snatch it, cos it seemed very friendly.
> And it's not just the risk of the dog being stolen (which seems to occur more and more), but also the fact that the dog was standing right in front of the shop door, barking away. Not everybody likes dogs and some people are very afraid of them, too, and they would have had to pass a barking dog on their way in or out of the shop. Luckily, when I came out, there was an elderly lady there standing with the collie (though it wasn't her dog, she was asking people who it belonged to), otherwise I would have probably kept an eye on it.:bash:


 
That realy bugs me, not only is there a risk of the dog being stolen there is the risk or kids tormenting it and then you could end up with a bitten kid and a dead dog, or some idiot owner setting there dog on it for 'fun'.

It happened to a couple on holliday years ago, left dog tied up outside there caravan and the first paper report was the dog attacked and bit a kid totaly unprevoked and it later came out that there was a group of kids teesing the dog by putting fishing nets over its head and the owners told the kids to stop, they didnt and one got bit. The dog was putdown.


id never leave my dog unatended in public, even at dog shows she never leaves my side or a trusted firend/family members side.


----------



## Kare

What Causes Fatal Dog Attacks & How Can We Prevent Death by Dogs?

This guy makes sense to me!!


----------



## Montage_Morphs

A bunch of shots I pulled from Instagram of our latest Charlie Bear Adventures


----------



## Kare

Postcard said:


> I actually think he's ignoring the hard evidence, which is that certain breeds are much more frequently implicated in fatalities.
> 
> It doesn't matter if a dog is a good dog when the owner is around if it is going to be frequently left without the owner there - from another perspective, the borde collie example just underlines the breed's reputation as a 'one man dog' and reinforces breed stereotypes that have been developed to give potential owners an idea of what they're getting into _before_ they choose that breed of dog.
> 
> Even though my dogs live with me and they're *my* dogs, because sometimes other family members look after them and I take them with me when I stay with family, much as I would love to own some breeds with strong guarding heritage, I just wouldn't at this point in my life _because_ I know they need leadership which for instance my kid sisters couldn't provide, especially as they wouldn't be living with the dog.
> 
> It's just my opinion but breed is a big deal to me - I'm not saying they're not great dogs, what I'm saying is you have to *respect* breed type and *expect* to treat your dogs differently accordingly.


I don't think he is ignoring anything, but he is saying that the answer is not in banning breeds, but in education in the way dogs think and being more aware about if your dogs are safe around people and children in particular when you are not there no matter what the breed.

One picture of one of the singly worse attacks that a child has survived in the UK was used regularly in sites against "dangerous dog breeds" whilst noone mentions or perhaps is even aware of the fact that the breed of dog that did the damage was in fact a terrier/small schnauzer type dog owned by an elderly lady. 

There are dogs that can kill more easily, but it doesn't 1) make all of that breed need banning when may other events aligned to lead to the death or 2) stop that fact that it is much more common to be bitten by a dog than ever killed by one, and if they want to get rid of the more aggressive dogs from a bite number perspective they need to start at the bottom with the top three being daschund chihuahuas and jack russells. 

Of course if people are going to completely knee jerk on death numbers, on average in just England and Wales one child every 10 days is killed by a parent (or equivalent ie step parent or other main carer) ...maybe ban parents?


----------



## feorag

I thought it made interesting and very sensible reading too.


----------



## Ally

Well today was puppy pick up day!

Meet Pipit, she's a German Shorthair Pointer, 8 1/2 weeks old


----------



## Zoo-Man

Ally said:


> Well today was puppy pick up day!
> 
> Meet Pipit, she's a German Shorthair Pointer, 8 1/2 weeks old
> 
> image
> 
> image
> 
> image


Very cute! My friend breeds & shows GSPs, & recently had a litter of 13. She has 2 male pups left to shift.


----------



## feorag

Ally said:


> Well today was puppy pick up day!
> 
> Meet Pipit, she's a German Shorthair Pointer, 8 1/2 weeks old
> 
> image
> 
> image
> 
> image


Gorgeous little girl! :flrt:


----------



## Kare

Postcard said:


> Ally, she is absolutely gorgeous <3
> Good luck... you'll need it!
> 
> 
> 
> Firstly, just because I didn't think the article was brilliant doesn't mean I'm pro breed specific legislation. I absolutely am not.
> 
> Secondly I'm sure half the forum is sick to death with both of us for getting heated in doggy points of views :lol2:
> 
> My point is this: I think it's actually potentially dangerous to promote 'Deed not breed' to the extent that breed traits are no longer recognised or deliberately denied by people who tell you anecdotal stories about how their [insert breed here] was the gentlest creature in the world with their 6 month grandson etc etc etc.
> 
> If people are armed with information (e.g. don't let your huskies offlead, especially not in rural areas with livestock; weimeraners are more prone to separation anxiety; certain breeds need certain types of socialisation) you're much more likely to get a positive outcome.
> 
> So often BSL conversations and discussions are full of statements like 'It's not the breed it's how you train / raise them' - I am sorry, a beagle is not a border collie, and a border collie is not a rhodesian ridgeback.
> 
> I don't think people should necessarily make excuses for certain breeds - which I feel lots of anti-BSL info does - not all dogs act the same, not all bites are the same. If you still want that breed, go ahead - but be honest with yourself about the level of risk in the situation.


Whoa whoa whoa
I do agree that breed knowledge is important, I hate that people get dogs on looks with no idea what their personality is. Huskies, weimeraners dalmatians and chihuahuas are wide spread victims of this.
I would very unhappy to ever allow a child of mine if I should ever have one in a home with the dogs listed above as being the top biters 
But I am just saying I think you are incorrect in saying he dismisses breeds traits, just that he is taking those and asking to also look at what else is involved in each case. In fact I quote from the article



> Forget breed traits for a moment (and please don’t think for a second that I am ignoring the importance of genetics and breeding in what makes a particular dog tick)


That's not saying in anyway anything about them not applying, it is just saying yes, and lets now think passed them to what else applies. The big thing being that there is no predicting what a dog without its owner will behave like.

I am not disagreeing with your ideas or thoughts on dogs, I am just discussing what each of us got from what the guy said as it seems to be very different. 
No where did I intend to say you are for BSL, but just saying the wider picture is that this article is written as a response to those that are.

Bottom line for me, treat a dog like a gun, no matter what the make (and yes some are more efficient at killing people than others) keep it with you or keep it put away especially from children


----------



## BMo1979

*Happy Easter from Trigger and Storm


















*Disclaimer 1: I know that technically they're cat ears, lol.
Disclaimer 2: We do not usually tend to dress up our dogs in silly costumes neither ...


----------



## feorag

:lol2:


----------



## Ally

I have so many photos of the pup...

Stupid running face









Nice face...

















Making some friends at the vets


----------



## feorag

She really is very pretty - love her markings! :flrt:


----------



## ami_j

http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/foru...108-dexters-walk-park-woods.html#post11105589

some pics of my loony mutt having a good run at the park :flrt:


----------



## feorag

This is Flora, who is doing a lot to get good publicity for Akitas.

Not only is she a show dog, but she's also a Blue Cross education dog and goes into schools with her owners to educate children about safety around dogs etc. 

Yesterday she was named as Britains Next Dog Model 2013. Her owner Robert is justifiably very proud of this beautiful girl.


----------



## x Sarah x

The kids, chilling.


----------



## purpleskyes

feorag said:


> This is Flora, who is doing a lot to get good publicity for Akitas.
> 
> Not only is she a show dog, but she's also a Blue Cross education dog and goes into schools with her owners to educate children about safety around dogs etc.
> 
> Yesterday she was named as Britains Next Dog Model 2013. Her owner Robert is justifiably very proud of this beautiful girl.
> 
> image


She is stunning and looks alot like Hudson!


----------



## Whosthedaddy

Ally said:


> I have so many photos of the pup...
> 
> Stupid running face
> image
> 
> Nice face...
> image
> image
> 
> Making some friends at the vets
> image


Very pretty, always fancied a gun dog breed



x Sarah x said:


> The kids, chilling.
> 
> image
> 
> image
> 
> image
> 
> image
> 
> image
> 
> image
> 
> image


Bless them, little piglets.


----------



## feorag

x Sarah x said:


> The kids, chilling.
> 
> image
> 
> image
> 
> image
> 
> image
> 
> image
> 
> image
> 
> image


Yup!! That's chillin' all right! Skye doesn't do much of that though! :sad:



purpleskyes said:


> She is stunning and looks alot like Hudson!


I thought that when he first started posting her photo on the Blue Cross Volunteer Facebook Page!


----------



## Kare

Ally said:


> I have so many photos of the pup...
> 
> Stupid running face
> image
> 
> Nice face...
> image
> image
> 
> Making some friends at the vets
> image


She is adorable!!


----------



## x Sarah x

Not sure if i ever posted my Woolly Bullies, but i will post them here, i just love them, so much so they have been in a draw under my bed since i bought them as i didn't want them getting dusty and dirty :whistling2:
Me thinks i need a cabinet or glass boxes for them, hehe

Beautifully hand crafted and personalised to your specific dog by my friend Angie, she specialises in the bullies but will do anything that isn't long/curly coated  here is immortal Kizzy and Bruno!


----------



## Ally

Thanks everyone! She's proving to be a proper little madam, very sweet and very headstrong 

Got ourselves booked in with a gundog trainer to make sure we get this right! She's not going to be working but it does seem the best way to train with them - we need to learn the ropes too!


----------



## Jay84

My 2 little mischiefs Dante and Luna. They are Italian Greyhounds.


----------



## feorag

Gorgeous! :flrt:

I love Italian Greyhounds! :flrt:


----------



## Evilshiddenclaws

Ally said:


> I have so many photos of the pup...
> 
> Stupid running face
> image
> 
> Nice face...
> image
> image
> 
> Making some friends at the vets
> image


she has the exact same collar i had on my little princess when i first got her, i cant believe morgan was ever that tiny, wish they stayed that size!



x Sarah x said:


> Not sure if i ever posted my Woolly Bullies, but i will post them here, i just love them, so much so they have been in a draw under my bed since i bought them as i didn't want them getting dusty and dirty :whistling2:
> Me thinks i need a cabinet or glass boxes for them, hehe
> 
> Beautifully hand crafted and personalised to your specific dog by my friend Angie, she specialises in the bullies but will do anything that isn't long/curly coated  here is immortal Kizzy and Bruno!
> image
> 
> image


wow! those are fantastic! i love toby dogs, always have ever since i was little, does she sell them? i'd love a dobermann and rottweiler one!


----------



## x Sarah x

Yes she does, the waiting list is very long though, probably about 12 months now.

Angie does the personalised pups and Kerry does the fantasy/themed bullies.

Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/groups/crocheterofcute/


----------



## ami_j

got this adorable shot of Dex just now :flrt:


----------



## feorag

Cute!!


----------



## BMo1979

Some pics of the "Stormy Girl" and the "Old boy" (I mean Trigger, not my OH in case you're wondering)

"Found the bad man" (my husband played hide and seek)


























Trigger's attitude to all this:









He's too busy posing









Alien dog









Destroyer of sticks









and Beast of Erskine









Soon she'll have him snuggled up to her


----------



## feorag

:roll2: PMSL!! A picture paints a thousand words


----------



## BMo1979

That's him a lot of times these days. He was a bit "off colour" for a couple of days, but thankfully is back to normal now (even Storm left him alone, lol, she could pick up he wasn't himself). 
He's just an old grump sometimes, lol. Still comes up for cuddles and plays on his walks, but there are times when he seems more tired, walks behind me rather than next to me and just wants to have some peace and quiet in his bed. Or maybe it just seems like that, 'cause Storm, being young has tons of energy and demands attention (or tries to, lol) and is quite frankly still a bit naughty at times.


----------



## x Sarah x

Saw this and thought of some of you guys :lol2:


----------



## purpleskyes

My big fella now!


CSC_4356 by purplepixie87, on Flickr


----------



## vonnie

Worst week of my life. Had to see four vets before one felt a lump. Xrays, scan, surgery, and today the biopsy results back and Nika's tumour was malignant.

She's only 7-ish and I've only had 4 years with her. She's my shadow 

Back at the vets on Friday to discuss options


----------



## x Sarah x

vonnie said:


> Worst week of my life. Had to see four vets before one felt a lump. Xrays, scan, surgery, and today the biopsy results back and Nika's tumour was malignant.
> 
> She's only 7-ish and I've only had 4 years with her. She's my shadow
> 
> Back at the vets on Friday to discuss options


So sorry  Sending positive vibes your way.x

Kizzy has throat trouble at the moment and it's gotten gradually worse, going to get the vet to take a look while she's under for her spay, hoping it' just nodules or something and not a tumor.


----------



## feorag

vonnie said:


> Worst week of my life. Had to see four vets before one felt a lump. Xrays, scan, surgery, and today the biopsy results back and Nika's tumour was malignant.
> 
> She's only 7-ish and I've only had 4 years with her. She's my shadow
> 
> Back at the vets on Friday to discuss options


I'm so sorry to hear this Yvonne. :sad:

Let us know what the result of the vet discussion is.


----------



## lisadew24

I thought I would share this


----------



## feorag

Jaime - you could do this for Dexter! :lol2:


----------



## BMo1979

Note to myself: Taking a mostly white dog (Storm) to the Clyde at low tide was definitely not the best idea I've ever had, lol.
We came back absolutely caked in mud and ended up having to take a shower together.

She also managed to break her harness, cos she decided to say hello to a swan whom was less than impressed with meeting her. She panicked, took off along the "beach" and because she was on the long tracking lead, I tried to step on it and it ripped the harness.
One good thing about her is that she always comes back (eventually)!
After that, Storm decided to disappear up the embankment, where I found her trying to play with 2 Bracco Italianos. Neither dog was in a playing mood unfortunately, but the owner was dead nice about it when I explained that we'd not had her for that long and she's still learning. I'm really glad that she shows no aggression whatsoever towards other dogs, no matter what size, gender and how much they bark at her. 
She had the time of her life and I've got a few more grey hair, lol.


----------



## BMo1979

Another "arrgh!" walk this morning:
After having had a great day with Storm yesterday when she walked fine, could be let off the lead, had good recall, etc, today was a completely different matter. :2thumb:
From the instance of leaving the house she pulled like she's never pulled before to the point of spinning on her back legs. Once we left the estate she was a lot better, waiting patiently at the bus stop for the kids to be picked up.
Back through the "gates" it started again. Paid absolutely no attention to me nor Trigger, seemed constantly edgy. 
When we walked by one of the care home I think I found an explanation for her behaviour:
We approached a "lump" on the road, what I thought to be a run over squirrel or rabbit. When we got closer, I saw that it was actually the 2 ripped off legs of a deer . The worst thing is that it doesn't look like roadkill (why would only the carcass be removed but not the 2 legs?). I hope the CCTV cameras are working and they find out what happened.

Even now, back in the house, Storm is restless. She's back and forth between the front and back door and occasionally whines. I think she has discovered "a kill" and desperately wants to get it. She's a hunter, no doubt about it!


----------



## Nikki1234

I bought some lovey fluffy cushions for my sofa, i can't see them lasting long ...


----------



## Whosthedaddy

We've often said that our Bullmastiff was a pants guard dog, however, last night she proved us wrong.

In short:

Dog barking like a mad man downstairs
Wife* goes downstairs to shush her
It turns out that living room door was open and the light turned on and then realised that the front door was also open!
There was also a muddy shoe print on the cream carpet in the living room doorway
:gasp:
From reporting it today and having SOCO round it would appear that the door was forced open and then made off when the dog went mental.
Thankfully or not, she was locked in her cage in the very room they went into first. 
I do suspect that she would have done some serious damage should she have been loose, and the fact that the noise made the neighbours look out the window and see him running down the street, she may have followed and no idea what would have happened at 02.30 in the morning.

She's a good girl!

:no1:







* I know bad of me laying there and letting the wife go into the darkness to investigate but she was closest to the door.

:whistling2:


----------



## Kare

Wow scary


----------



## Whosthedaddy

Kare said:


> Wow scary


Oh yes, knowing that someone was in your house is one thing, but I work nights as well and if she was alone with the kids...?

Thankfully nothing was damaged and nothing taken so hopefully this 'warning' from the dog has put doubt into their minds to try again?


----------



## feorag

Let's hope so!! Horrible thing to happen though!


----------



## lisadew24

He proberly won't come back, i had someone break into my store, they sawed through the bars on my toilet window disabled my alarm all to get £2 out of my charity box what was on top of the safe because they couldnt get into my safe. They where so stupid they didn't take the charity pot on top of my till area, they broke open the frontline cupboard didn't take anything and they didn't take any of my £30 collars or £100 cat flaps .


----------



## feorag

Obviously just after cash - so glad they only got £2 - what dipsticks!!!


----------



## lisadew24

We think they where junkies or just idiots. I have staff that think my shop is haunted so we joke that the ghost scared them off.


----------



## Kare

lisadew24 said:


> We think they where junkies or just idiots. I have staff that think my shop is haunted so we joke that the ghost scared them off.


About a year after my Mum died (who was a cleaning obsessive) I was so busy I hired a cleaner, she came once then played us about for months saying she was coming and then not, until eventually she passed the key back through the door with a bizarre note saying she couldn't come back and she thought I would know why....I wondered whether my Mother turned up to scare her off so I would have to do my own bloody cleaning!!


----------



## lisadew24

Kare said:


> About a year after my Mum died (who was a cleaning obsessive) I was so busy I hired a cleaner, she came once then played us about for months saying she was coming and then not, until eventually she passed the key back through the door with a bizarre note saying she couldn't come back and she thought I would know why....I wondered whether my Mother turned up to scare her off so I would have to do my own bloody cleaning!!


:lol2:


----------



## purpleskyes

Well we nearly had a very nasty run in with an off lead rottie yesterday, I dread to think what would have happened if the owner hadn't managed to get it back on lead before things got physical!

On the topic of guarding I always thought Hudson would be pants as up until now he hasn't shown any of the guarding traits of the Akita. That was until last night there were some bangs from next door, he was up like a shot. He was properly barking first time I have heard do that, he whined to get into the garden to check that out as well. Then as we turned off the lights and went upstairs to bed we heard him growling and he started barking like mad at the front door? I couldn't see anyone out there and stayed with him for 10 mins to settle him back down.

Here is me enjoying some cuddles with my little man last night before his I am a big bad guard dog act.


Untitled by purplepixie87, on Flickr


----------



## Tyzer

purpleskyes said:


> Well we nearly had a very nasty run in with an off lead rottie yesterday, I dread to think what would have happened if the owner hadn't managed to get it back on lead before things got physical!
> 
> On the topic of guarding I always thought Hudson would be pants as up until now he hasn't shown any of the guarding traits of the akita. That was until last night there were some bangs from next door, he was up like a shot. He was properly barking first time I have heard that, he whined to get into the garden to check that out as well. Then as we turned off the lights and went upstairs to bed we heard him growling and he started barking like mad at the front door? I couldn't see anyone out there and stayed with him for 10mins to settle him back down.
> 
> Here is me enjoying some cuddles with my little man last night before his I am a big bad guard dog act.
> 
> [URL=http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8405/8671838886_c2577c461a.jpg]image[/url]
> Untitled by purplepixie87, on Flickr


dont mean to sound rude but why because its a rotti did you think it would turn physical unless your dog aggresive towards other dogs


----------



## purpleskyes

Tyzer said:


> dont mean to sound rude but why because its a rotti did you think it would turn physical unless your dog aggresive towards other dogs


Where did I mentioned it would have turned physical because it was a rottie? I mentioned the breed as they are a large powerful dog hence why it was scary. Why did I think it was going to get physical well... The rottie was acting aggressively, snarling, lip curling, we walked away from the situation our dog is friendly and only a pup so we don't want him having negative experiences. 

The rottie who was off lead then came after us and was trying to get at our dog through my boyfriends legs who was blocking the way. It was at this point the owner came running over and managed thankfully to get him back on his lead and dragged him off.


----------



## Ally

purpleskyes said:


> Where did I mentioned it would have turned physical because it was a rottie? I mentioned the breed as they are a large powerful dog hence why it was scary. Why did I think it was going to get physical well... The rottie was acting aggressively, snarling, lip curling, we walked away from the situation our dog is friendly and only a pup so we don't want him having negative experiences.
> 
> The rottie who was off lead then came after us and was trying to get at our dog through my boyfriends legs who was blocking the way. It was at this point the owner came running over and managed thankfully to get him back on his lead and dragged him off.


We have a fantastic dog that our neighbour looks after for her daughter a few times a week. She isn't keen on people and doesn't really like other dogs.
She is let out onto the common and runs and runs for miles, then comes back to a whistle (she has INCREDIBLE muscles on her legs!) and we meet her when she's called back in from time to time (we hear her bell out and about but she avoids us), she's really helping Pipit to realise that not every dog wants her in their face.
She does really good facial expressions, barks and does all the vocal and body language things, then basically flattens Pip (no teeth involved, just pushing and bulk).

It's a fantastic lesson that never goes any further than a 'telling off' and Pip listens. At the moment we're more worried about her being the instigator of hassle because she just gets too excited when she meets other dogs. We're getting there though!

Looking forward to our puppy-walk, hopefully they're as mental as each other and can run some energy off!
We're counting down practically every week for the extra couple of minutes exercise that she's allowed...


----------



## Tyzer

purpleskyes said:


> Where did I mentioned it would have turned physical because it was a rottie? I mentioned the breed as they are a large powerful dog hence why it was scary. Why did I think it was going to get physical well... The rottie was acting aggressively, snarling, lip curling, we walked away from the situation our dog is friendly and only a pup so we don't want him having negative experiences.
> 
> The rottie who was off lead then came after us and was trying to get at our dog through my boyfriends legs who was blocking the way. It was at this point the owner came running over and managed thankfully to get him back on his lead and dragged him off.


Should have wrote that first makes sense now 

Altgough talking about it i had a staffie try to attack my rotti then when i told the owner to get his dog on a lead he threatened to kick my head in fair to say my rottie is quite protictive over me as you can imagine it was some junkie (the people that give staffies there bad name)before he could do anything my mate held the staffie so i could walk away


----------



## Amber

Dogs make great pillows


----------



## feorag

Tyzer said:


> Should have wrote that first makes sense now


To be honest it made perfect sense to me when she wrote it the first time , because I assumed she could tell when a dog was approaching aggressively and in a challenging manner towards her dog!


----------



## Tyzer

feorag said:


> To be honest it made perfect sense to me when she wrote it the first time , because I assumed she could tell when a dog was approaching aggressively and in a challenging manner towards her dog!


As said i ment no offence by it just wasent sure if she could tell it was aggresive or she thought because it was a big dog and a rotti it was aggresive 

Like when i walk past people with my rotti they get scared and assume its aggresive when really hes just a pup haha 
But she saidtue reason and i understand now


----------



## feorag

Yes, people do that with my German Shepherd - big dogs have bad (and unjustified) reputations. 

I just took it that her reference to the fact that it was nearly a nasty run in, was from the rottie's body language, not the fact that it was a rottie.


----------



## BMo1979

Ew, ew, ew!
Remember I was writing about finding 2 ripped off deer legs on the road the other day?
Well, tonight we, as in Storm and me found the rest of the body quite some distance away from the first find.
I was letting her off lead a little bit in a quite enclosed area (secluded car park and small woods). She ran into the tree area next to a large opening. I could see her sniffing around one area. When I called her back to continue on my way she came carrying something which looked like a rag or a stick with something dangling from it. She got closer and I realised it was a deer leg *puke*. Luckily she dropped it straight away when I told her to.
I then put her on the lead and asked her to show me where she found it. She pulled me into the woods where we found the rest of the body: Spine, ribs, another leg and pulled out fur. All the bones were completely stripped of any meat or skin, which I find strange considering the "leg incident" was only 2 days ago.
I went back later with Trigger and actually found the head :gasp:, too. The top was still "intact", apart from eyes and antlers missing, but the bottom jaw was separated and again stripped to the bone. Luckily Trigger is not remotely interested in dead animals. 
I'm probably going to report it to the land owner tomorrow and also mention the fact that both my husband and a lady who lives across the road heard a lot of shouting the night before I found the first body parts. It sounded like someone was frantically shouting at their dog and we DO have a dog in the area who has a bit of a reputation of being let to hunt rabbits. It's quite a large dog so could potentially take down a smaller deer.
I just don't want an incident like that backfire on other owners of larger dogs (like us)...
Not a nice thing to happen!


----------



## purpleskyes

Tyzer said:


> As said i ment no offence by it just wasent sure if she could tell it was aggresive or she thought because it was a big dog and a rotti it was aggresive
> 
> Like when i walk past people with my rotti they get scared and assume its aggresive when really hes just a pup haha
> But she saidtue reason and i understand now


My dog is actually an Akita? They are also big "scary" dogs so no I don't have any problem with big dogs infact I only really like the big breeds nothing else really takes my fancy. 

On the Akita note read in the paper this morning how some idiot soldier and his wife let their Akita off lead infront of a school during finishing time to murder a 16 year old cat? I mean what the hell is wrong with some people! That's also more bad press for the breed which we do not need.


----------



## feorag

That made me feel physically sick!!! Unbelievable that the idiot thinks his sentence was unfair! *shakes head in disbelief* I thought it was lenient under the circumstances.

I have to agree though, there's nothing wrong with the dog, but there's something badly wrong with the owners! :bash:

Personally nothing would make me happier than if he lost his job, what sort of an advertisement is that for our armed forces!

This is what a responsible owner does with their Akita. Flora is a Blue Cross dog who goes into schools etc to educate children about caring for dogs and safety around dogs. Her owner has entered her into this competition and plans to give the prize, if he wins, to Blue Cross for all their dogs in kennels. Please vote for her! Be aware the site is incredibly slow and if you try to click on anything before the whole page has downloaded it freezes the computer. At least it did mine!!!

https://www.facebook.com/MuddyPawsUK?sk=app_451684954848385&app_data=view-vote%2Cfor-465720


----------



## purpleskyes

feorag said:


> That made me feel physically sick!!! Unbelievable that the idiot thinks his sentence was unfair! *shakes head in disbelief* I thought it was lenient under the circumstances.
> 
> I have to agree though, there's nothing wrong with the dog, but there's something badly wrong with the owners! :bash:
> 
> Personally nothing would make me happier than if he lost his job, what sort of an advertisement is that for our armed forces!


I could not agree more they need to give him dis honourable discharge and made sure he doesn't see a penny of any pension schemes. I mean you have to be sick in the head to do something like that. 

Good old daily mail have to mention that a child was mauled by an Akita recently yet that isn't related to the story at all? At least they said they were used for hunting bear and not fighting dogs this time. They put a picture f the dead cat as well?? Who wants to see that? I am sure the owners don't, they could have used a nice one of the cat when it was alive...


----------



## feorag

Absolutely agree! But goryness sells papers! Sad isn't it?

Did you see that I'd just amended my post to say that Flora is now entered in the Muddy Paws competition. Please vote for her! :2thumb:


----------



## x Sarah x

RSPCA refuse to comment on whether the dogs been PTS too apparently...doesn't sound very promising, but why would it need to be? it's done nothing wrong.


----------



## Tyzer

I find it sick all the press our big dogs get i have never been a fan of little dog have had german shepards and rotties but recently my mum decided to get a lhasp aspso fair to say ive been bitten more by that than my rotti there evil little things


----------



## purpleskyes

feorag said:


> Absolutely agree! But goryness sells papers! Sad isn't it?
> 
> Did you see that I'd just amended my post to say that Flora is now entered in the Muddy Paws competition. Please vote for her! :2thumb:


Voted!


----------



## feorag

x Sarah x said:


> RSPCA refuse to comment on whether the dogs been PTS too apparently...doesn't sound very promising, but why would it need to be? it's done nothing wrong.


Of course it hasn't, it's the owners who should be PTS. What sort of mentality deliberately sets a dog off to kill any animal, least of all a cat! Just can't get my head around it to be honest.



purpleskyes said:


> Voted!


Thanks! :2thumb:


----------



## Kare

Sick, people like this are another of the million reasons cats should be kept safe in their owners property at all times, but at least it was a quick death by the sounds of it. 

Even without psychos like this, I think the owners of the cat were endangering their cats life allowing it out at all, let alone that close to a school at school drop off/pick up time.

My father lives in the same road as the primary school I attended. Every time I return to visit him it is more and more crazy. These woman (mainly mothers I have to say) almost without fail are driving massive cars, people carriers and 4x4's, and would rather write off their cars than go the way they do not wish to.

Last month there was a woman who wanted to leave by the nearest exit (the road is a banana shape, with maybe 200 houses in it, my Dad lives at number 10 so this woman was a lot closer to one end than the other) She preferred to mount a kerb backwards, into the wooden posts which are placed to stop them mounting the kerb and mowing down children, and resulted in her displacing her bumper...rather than carry on through.

Trust me she is not alone. 

Wonder if these people will think twice about allowing their next cat out.

There is another report on the dog owner complaining about the sentence, in it he states that the dog has attended training classes since, so no reason to think she is not alive and well and still with the people who owned her.


----------



## PPVallhunds

The story I read said the rspca were asking why the dog hasn't been putdown, so I assume they want it to be putdown. They have to keep it on lead and muzzled in public now.

The dog needs taking from them and given to proper responsible owners.


----------



## lisadew24

That was horrible and doing it infront of children as well freaks. The way I read it the reporter asked the rspca why the dog hasn't been put down, don't know why anyone would want it put down the dog was only doing what comes naturally know one demands a cat gets put down after it kills a bird. I think the dog should have been taken off them


----------



## lisadew24

Had a stupid woman think sheldon is scared of other dogs because he wasn't interested in playing with her dog he wanted me to throw his ball but I don't when other dogs are near just incase they fight over it.


----------



## Whosthedaddy




----------



## feorag

Playgroup today! Skye was as high as a kite again before we even got inside the building and when we let him off he just wanted to go for everything!

He had a set-to with a Giant Schnauzer who turned back on him and put him firmly in his place, so after that kept his distance a bit and he showed a healthy regard for the dog, but he didn't like the 2 new yellow labs at all and was constantly chasing them and trying to nip them. The Golden Doodle he met last week (me thought it was a labradoodle :roll he wasn't too bothered about, but it and the 2 labs were having a great time rolling around the floor and having great fun and Skye was really struggling to cope with it.

Strangely enough he just about ignored the very quiet GSD who hadn't been before, the female Leonberger who comes every week and Polly the trainer's Springer spaniel. It's seems to be like he knows these dogs and now accepts them and maybe recognised the GSD for 'his own kind', but the Schnauzer, the labs and the doodle he struggled with.


----------



## BMo1979

Trigger tends to do that to the more hyper dogs, i.e. chasing them and trying to nip them.
I think he's trying to herd them in and control and correct their behaviour, as if saying "Oi, calm down, you lot!". I don't like it when he does that!

He also tends to ignore the calmer dogs or the ones that tell him off (unfortunately there's not many of them).
Maybe a group with older, calmer and more assertive dogs would benefit Skye, as they could guide him along.

P.S.: Lol about the "Goldendoodle". I met a couple with 2 Whateverdoodles years ago and one of my boys asked what kind of dogs they were. The owners replied either Labra/ or Goldendoodle (I can't remember) and when my son didn't know what that was I explained it was a mixed breed (and what it consisted of). The owners were very insistent of how their dogs were real pedigrees with papers and all the bells and whistles of world champion parents and not ordinary mixed breeds. Ok... 
Why do they give them such stupid titles anyway, the worst one being "Affenpoo" (Affenpincher/Poodle)? "Affe" is the German word for "monkey", so these dog's are basically monkey sh*ts?
And a doodle is something I do on paper while making a boring phone call!? I.e. something randomly created... then again, it kind of fits, doesn't it?


----------



## lisadew24

The only dog that's made sheldon wee himself is a labradoodle


----------



## feorag

Today we were back at Central Bark, this time doing obedience. Skye is extremely obedient and always does what he's told with 100% recall - as long as there isn't a dog too close to him. So i decided to join the obedience classes to again mix him with dogs.

Last week he was so silly, but this week he was so much better. The old Victoria Stillwell "gravel in a bottle" worked brilliantly at stopping his excited barking and he calmed down and was so well behaved I was chuffed to bits with him.

Susan, who runs the class said he was much better this week and when I was telling her how much he cannot cope with highly excitable dogs (like himself :roll she said that they are starting to do the socialisation classes every week next month, so we could try him out with different dogs that are calmer. Fingers crossed we can and it works. :2thumb:


----------



## purpleskyes

Hudson has been losing the fur around his eyes, I feared the worst condition called VKH that is on the rise in Akitas and kills them usually in 18 months. Vet said we shouldn't jump to that right away and he think it's actually mange? 

He also met a not very nice GSD at the vets that was barking and growling at him only this time he started barking and growling back. Not good signs need him to have more positive interactions before he ends up DA.


----------



## x Sarah x

Bruno doing a cute...




I don't have any pics of me and the pups so thought id try, however it's so difficult when the buggers don't keep still!!!


----------



## feorag

purpleskyes said:


> Hudson has been losing the fur around his eyes, I feared the worst condition called VKH that is on the rise in Akitas and kills them usually in 18 months. Vet said we shouldn't jump to that right away and he think it's actually mange?
> 
> He also met a not very nice GSD at the vets that was barking and growling at him only this time he started barking and growling back. Not good signs need him to have more positive interactions before he ends up DA.


Fingers crossed it's just mange which at least is treatable.

Sorry about the GSD, god help him if he met Skye! :roll: Seriously though he's getting to that age when he'll be 'feeling his balls' and challenging dogs back. Positive interaction with all breeds of dogs is definitely the way. :2thumb:



x Sarah x said:


> Bruno doing a cute...
> [URL="http://i906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/felix5889/meh/P4237888_zpsf67dc547.jpg"]image[/URL]
> 
> [URL="http://i906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/felix5889/meh/P4237893_zpse0d58ea0.jpg"]image[/URL]
> 
> I don't have any pics of me and the pups so thought id try, however it's so difficult when the buggers don't keep still!!!
> [URL="http://i906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/felix5889/meh/P4247897_zps564d79a5.jpg"]image[/URL]
> 
> [URL="http://i906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/felix5889/meh/zP4247900_zpsfb99ea9f.jpg"]image[/URL]


You alread know I love your dogs! :flrt: and I love these photos!


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## BMo1979

I forgot what it's like having a teenage dog (especially one that has not had any previous discipline and training) :devil:.
Storm has managed to break another lead (3 leads and 1 harness so far). This time it was my favourite, a red horse rope. She's going through one of her challenging phases again (it could be down to my husband's mental state at the moment - he's not in a good phase  ).
I usually take both dogs on the School (Bus) run for their first toilet break and exercise (they can't go in the garden as we have grass seed and feeder down). This morning I got as far as my friends house down the road, before Storm "kicked off" by trying to playfight with Trigger. When I stopped her she started biting and pulling on her lead and because I had 3 kids needing to get to their bus stop on time and she wouldn't snap out of it, I decided to put her back in the house (Why reward her bad behaviour with a walk?). I'd hoped that my OH would have taken her harness and lead off, but because he hadn't slept all night until 6am he wasn't up, so she decided to completely chew the lead. :whip:
I ended up taking her by herself when I came back, using an old leather retriever lead (with stopper so it doesn't tighten too much) and gave her a strict training walk, going through heel, back, sit stay down and co. before giving her some off lead time and guess what? She behaved impeccably all the way (apart from a short episode when a rabbit ran across our path, but that would be a challenge for most dogs with a bit of prey drive). 
So now I've decided to walk them separately for now. Storm can't do the pack walk until she masters her individual exercise. She seems to crave discipline because she's never had any before we got her and although she plays up at first, if you show her clearly that this is unacceptable (without being brutal or violent of course, or hurting her!!!) she seems a lot more satisfied and happier. 
I'm glad we got her though, as I'm sure in the wrong hands she would be catastrophic and some people would just give up, like they seem to have before.:flrt:


----------



## Revobuzz

*Lead Rage*

Anyone else got a dog that is friendly with all other dogs off lead, but will attack everything when on lead?


----------



## feorag

BMo1979 said:


> I'm glad we got her though, as I'm sure in the wrong hands she would be catastrophic and some people would just give up, like they seem to have before.:flrt:


That's exactly how I feel about Skye - in the wrong hands he would have gone back to the breeder, she would have sold him again and he would just keep bouncing until he ended up unhomeable. My conscience wouldn't let that happen, so we kept him. He's been a real challenge, but after 3 years we are seeing light at the end of the tunnel.



Revobuzz said:


> Anyone else got a dog that is friendly with all other dogs off lead, but will attack everything when on lead?


Loads of people I suspect!


----------



## BMo1979

Revobuzz said:


> Anyone else got a dog that is friendly with all other dogs off lead, but will attack everything when on lead?


Trigger's not too great at meeting dogs on lead and can be a bit reactive. With him it's more of a "I'm walking here and I want you to stay away from us" thing. It's a bit of a vicious cycle cos I kind of anticipate him barking thus tensing up and he reacts to my mood and I dare say that might be the problem with most lead aggression. I guess I just need to chill out a bit more, but I'm too conscious of what other people might think about us . 
Off lead the only dogs he's got problems with is small intrusive and/or loud ones (especially white ones, he was badly bullied by some as a juvie) and intact males. The rest is usually no problem.


----------



## jaykickboxer

Revobuzz said:


> Anyone else got a dog that is friendly with all other dogs off lead, but will attack everything when on lead?


Yeh my bully's pretty much like that


----------



## BMo1979

Quite proud of Trigger after last nights walk:
We were just walking by my friends' house when I heard someone shout "K*, no, back!" and next thing saw my friends' German Shepherd run after us, snarling and barking.
She tried to jump on Trigger, but when he turned around she obviously thought better of it and backed off (the look on her phase was a picture, "Oh Sh*t! What am I doing?", lol). 
All Trigger did during this was snap her back without even attempting to make contact and occasionally gave a warning "Stay away" bark. Other than that he was just happy to ignore her and carry on walking. In his younger days it would have been harder for him to "let go" and he used to hold grudges against dogs that went for him. Now he seems to have chilled out so much.
My friend was of course horrified but these things happen in the dog world and sound worse than they are. IMHO, if their dog had really wanted to attack with the intention to cause harm, she wouldn't have gone in all "guns blazing", giving Trigger the chance to counter it in time. She's just very territorial but at the same time very insecure. It's a shame cos she's scared of Trigger and Storm, cos they're both quite confident with big dogs and won't let them go near her at all (bares teeth, hides behind owners and snaps). I think they could really help her gain confidence if she's just let them. My friends other 2 dogs are quite submissive, especially the Staff (so much for the big bad Staff, isn't it?), so they just let her be the boss, which must be stressful for an insecure dog.


----------



## feorag

Just curious, remind me how old Trigger is?


----------



## BMo1979

feorag said:


> Just curious, remind me how old Trigger is?


He's 7 1/2 now. We've had him from 9 weeks. There are times when he shows his age, especially now we've got energetic Storm, other times he's like a young dog.


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## feorag

I thought he was an older dog - they do settle down with age.

When we got Skye and realised just how many problems he had, Barry said to me "he'll settle down eventually - maybe when he's 5-6 he'll be the dog we were told he was".

Well he's 5 in April and although he is settling down he's nowhere near that yet, so we've revised that comment to "maybe when he's 8-9" :lol2:

My last GSD was a very nervous boy and wouldn't go anywhere near visitors to our house, he would sit and growl at them if they so much as looked at him, then suddenly when he was about 7 he seemed to realise that attention was good and turned into velcro! :lol2: loving the attention he was getting from our visitors.


----------



## BMo1979

Maybe GSDs are like men? They take a very long time to mature, lol.

At 5 Trigger was at his peak. Very virile, active up for anything I "threw" at him. Still followed me everywhere. But he was also very dominant and assertive towards other dogs whereas now he's more tolerant and prefers to walk away/ignore conflicts.

Now, he also prefers to lie in his bed, doesn't follow me everywhere, unless I spend time on the computer, which is in the hall. He still loves his walks but if it was a very active walk with lots of running around and play, I sometimes have to "drag" him back home, cos he's lagging behind (we have to walk up a hill to get to our house). He also walks great on the lead now and I sometimes have to check if he's still there, cos the lead is slack, lol.


----------



## feorag

BMo1979 said:


> He also walks great on the lead now and I sometimes have to check if he's still there, cos the lead is slack, lol.


that's the bit I'm waiting for - he is so hyper and up in the air and I get fed up of constantly reminding him that he's supposed to be alongside me when he's on the lead.

He is definitely relaxing more and now doesn't seem to feel the need to follow me every time I leave the room when we're on our own and often I can actually go into the kitchen and come back and he's still lying where he was in the living room, previously he would be stepping on the back of my slipper and tripping me up he was so close to me.

Also, Barry and I laugh, because Barry takes him out for his last walk and when he comes back, he usually goes straight to bed, whereas I sit up for maybe another hour after him and lately Skye has taken to going off to bed when he comes back from his walk, instead of being back beside me as he used to.


----------



## Moosey

Jess let Mr Moose brush her teefs! I'm so proud :')


----------



## purpleskyes

Local dog kennels had an open day with lots of stalls and a dog show. My handsome Mr Hudson came 3rd for best puppy. Here is he showing off his Rosette after he tried ripping it off several times!


----------



## jaykickboxer

I was watching a show on dogs last night and they were talking about bulldogs from the 18 th century and how they changed for the worse and I see a picture of my bulldogs twin


----------



## jaykickboxer

What do u think


----------



## Kare

Morgan has seemed to be a little out of breath for the past few days, but because Edenn had had a cough we didn't really worry until the weekend, where we took her to the vets.

In the past few days she has gone down hill quickly and today she had a chest x-ray.

The results are bad news. We are collecting her from the vets soon, but in the next few days it is expected we will have to make the decision to say good night.

I am in so much pain


----------



## lisadew24

That's horrible so sorry for upsetting news


----------



## feorag

Kare said:


> Morgan has seemed to be a little out of breath for the past few days, but because Edenn had had a cough we didn't really worry until the weekend, where we took her to the vets.
> 
> In the past few days she has gone down hill quickly and today she had a chest x-ray.
> 
> The results are bad news. We are collecting her from the vets soon, but in the next few days it is expected we will have to make the decision to say good night.
> 
> I am in so much pain


I absolutely know you are - I'm gutted for you! I know how much Morgan means to you and I'm so very sorry that you now find yourself in the position you're in.

Enjoy your next few days with her - you will know when the time is right to let her go. :sad:


----------



## jaykickboxer

Kare said:


> Morgan has seemed to be a little out of breath for the past few days, but because Edenn had had a cough we didn't really worry until the weekend, where we took her to the vets.
> 
> In the past few days she has gone down hill quickly and today she had a chest x-ray.
> 
> The results are bad news. We are collecting her from the vets soon, but in the next few days it is expected we will have to make the decision to say good night.
> 
> I am in so much pain


Must be devastating I feel for u


----------



## BMo1979

Kare said:


> Morgan has seemed to be a little out of breath for the past few days, but because Edenn had had a cough we didn't really worry until the weekend, where we took her to the vets.
> 
> In the past few days she has gone down hill quickly and today she had a chest x-ray.
> 
> The results are bad news. We are collecting her from the vets soon, but in the next few days it is expected we will have to make the decision to say good night.
> 
> I am in so much pain


Oh no, that's terrible news. I can only imagine what you're feeling right now and my heart goes out to you.


----------



## x Sarah x

I don't really know what to say, words escape me.

I am so very sorry, stay strong for her, don't let her pick up on your sadness, i'm sure it's the last thing she wants, try to enjoy your last days together and cherish them.x


----------



## Zoo-Man

Oh Kare, Im so sorry to hear that! xx


----------



## BMo1979

*Junior Dog Handler*

My 5 year old showing off his handling skills with Trigger. They are really close as you can tell and Arran is very confident with dogs in general which definitely helps.

























Mind you, he started early, lol:


----------



## feorag

I love that! Children and dogs together with a mutual respect for each other - brilliant.

Skye's Playgroup was a bit more relaxed than last fortnight! Phew!!! His biggest problem today was Bob the Beagle. The owner had had him for a couple of months, got him at 9 months and was his 4th home! :roll:

He was a lovely dog and so friendly, but what a barker, so Skye struggled with him, because of both the barking and the enthusiasm, cos the dog just seemed to love him! :lol2: Other than that though he was very well behaved and I was chuffed to bit with him!


----------



## x Sarah x

Well least we got to enjoy the sunshine briefly before it disappeared!!!!
We've got snow forecast this week :gasp:


----------



## BMo1979

Gorgeous dogs. I've got a massive soft spot for Bullterriers. 

Trigger and Storm all tired after their morning walk. 









Well, Trigger is tired. Storm is more likely plotting about what she can get up to next.


----------



## Whosthedaddy

x Sarah x said:


> Well least we got to enjoy the sunshine briefly before it disappeared!!!!
> We've got snow forecast this week :gasp:
> 
> http://s906.photobucket.com/user/felix5889/media/meh/P5028264_zps39f45975.jpg.htmlimage
> 
> http://s906.photobucket.com/user/felix5889/media/meh/P5028274_zps3088cff1.jpg.htmlimage
> 
> http://s906.photobucket.com/user/felix5889/media/meh/Meh 2/P5028317_zpsd77aa737.jpg.htmlimage
> 
> http://s906.photobucket.com/user/felix5889/media/meh/Meh 2/P5028332_zps1ef7dba1.jpg.htmlimage
> 
> http://s906.photobucket.com/user/felix5889/media/meh/Meh 2/P5028333_zps552384df.jpg.htmlimage
> 
> http://s906.photobucket.com/user/felix5889/media/meh/Meh 2/P5028335_zps98d0ef00.jpg.htmlimage
> 
> http://s906.photobucket.com/user/felix5889/media/meh/Meh 2/P5028338_zps8d140c3d.jpg.htmlimage
> 
> http://s906.photobucket.com/user/felix5889/media/meh/Meh 2/P5028354_zps297b81d6.jpg.htmlimage


Awesome pics, opted for the Bullmastiff over EBT's but still wouldn't say no.


----------



## x Sarah x

For anyone considering a bullie i recommend reading this page, and possibly look into purchasing the book too 

Bull Terrier Savvy


----------



## feorag

x Sarah x said:


> Well least we got to enjoy the sunshine briefly before it disappeared!!!!
> We've got snow forecast this week :gasp:
> image


*Sigh* <3


----------



## bampoisongirl

Hi guys!

Quick question about breeding KC registered beagles, am thinking about breeding my bitch maybe next year. I've been doing a lot of reading about it, and there is a lot of mention about health tests on dogs with inheritable health problems. Obviously High Profile Breeds should all have these tests, but do others such as beagles with no known problems have them too? I've read about hip scoring etc, should I get her done?

Sorry if I sound like a complete noob, this is completely new to me!


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## x Sarah x

bampoisongirl said:


> Hi guys!
> 
> Quick question about breeding KC registered beagles, am thinking about breeding my bitch maybe next year. I've been doing a lot of reading about it, and there is a lot of mention about health tests on dogs with inheritable health problems. Obviously High Profile Breeds should all have these tests, but do others such as beagles with no known problems have them too? I've read about hip scoring etc, should I get her done?
> 
> Sorry if I sound like a complete noob, this is completely new to me!


What ever you can get done, do it. It's always better to be safe than sorry.
They are not prone to problems but still can suffer them and if she was hiding an issue and it didn't become apparent until her pups suffered, how guilty would you feel?

If it was me i'd follow the general rule of testing my bitch first to be on the safe side, and it also puts you across to potential buyers as a responsible breeder, you will be able to charge full price and guarantee buyers that both parents are tested and don't suffer with any hereditary health issues so pups will be top notch in every way that is within your control


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## bampoisongirl

x Sarah x said:


> What ever you can get done, do it. It's always better to be safe than sorry.
> They are not prone to problems but still can suffer them and if she was hiding an issue and it didn't become apparent until her pups suffered, how guilty would you feel?
> 
> If it was me i'd follow the general rule of testing my bitch first to be on the safe side, and it also puts you across to potential buyers as a responsible breeder, you will be able to charge full price and guarantee buyers that both parents are tested and don't suffer with any hereditary health issues so pups will be top notch in every way that is within your control


Fabulous thank you, I'll look into it a bit more then and ask the vet what we can test for. 

I was looking at her certificate yesterday, and I'm not sure but it looks like she has already had some kind of DNA health test? It states exactly the same under health tests as her mother and father, do breeders do the tests on puppies also? I tried to search on KC website but it said there were no results, but it could just mean the results weren't uploaded.


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## bampoisongirl

So in laymans terms I need hip-scoring, DNA health test for MLS and carefully pick a sire? That's not a bad idea about contacting the breeder, I'll drop her an email. Thanks


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## bampoisongirl

Postcard said:


> You don't HAVE to hip score but I probably would, depending on cost?


I've just googled it and on KC website it said around £55?


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## Zoo-Man

With our Chihuahuas, there are no required health tests that the KC ask us breeders to test for, but as responsible breeders, we do take note of a few things when looking to mate up a bitch: - 

whether the chosen stud dog has any sign of patella luxation
whether the chosen stud dog is on the British Chihuahua Club's merle register
whether the chosen stud dog has the traits we require, that our bitch lacks
whether the pedigrees of the stud & bitch are a good match
With our second breed, Boston Terriers, we have to be a little more careful. Boston Terriers are the only breed of dog that can suffer from 2 different kinds of cataract. Currently, only one of them (juvenile hereditary cataract) is testable. Obviously we must chose a stud dog who is clear of this, as well as signs of patella luxation, pedigrees that make a good match, the right traits you want to put into your puppies, etc.


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## Spaceisdeep

two staffies here, a very cute 6 year old girl and a big chunky 3 year old boy


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## BMo1979

Just some pics from walking Storm this morning.


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## lisadew24

I love storm such a pretty dog


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## feorag

She really is a beauty! :flrt:

we're off in 10 minutes for our GSDR walk. The walk will be boggy and wet from all the rain yesterday and it's drizzly today, but we'll enjoy it.


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## Middleton Mouse

We got a cross-breed from the dogs trust last year, because she was quite old and had a massive lipoma they kindly offered to help with non-routine vet bills. Our vet suggested we have the fatty lump removed from our fatty lump and kindly kept it for us to look at afterwards.


See it sticking out the side of her shoulder









This was the lump after it had been removed *don't click link if you're easily grossed out*

http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o263/CrunchieMac/lump.jpg

Her the following day









A week later


















She's a good dog. :2thumb:


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## BMo1979

@Lisa and Feorag: Thanks. She is very pretty, but she's a bit of a pain at times, lol. Typical teenager: Authority? What's that? Rules? Never heard of them (which she probably hadn't before coming to us, lol). 
But her lovely character makes up for it and she's a fast learner.

@Middleton Mouse:
That's really great of you to give the old girl a loving home. What a change you've made. It's as if she's found her youth again. :flrt:


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## feorag

Middleton Mouse said:


> This was the lump after it had been removed *don't click link if you're easily grossed out*
> 
> http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o263/CrunchieMac/lump.jpg
> 
> Her the following day
> image
> 
> A week later
> image
> 
> image
> 
> She's a good dog. :2thumb:


My God - that's some lump! :gasp:

Today was our GSDR walk group's monthly walk. 17 GSDs and 1 tiny wee black labrador guide dog in training :flrt:

 



 

Skye coming to find me cos I was bringing up the rear and Barry was way ahead of me!

 

 


My lovely drippy boy! The muzzle is now just a safety measure. .................................... Sabre is a real water baby - loves it! :flrt:
 

And the little black pudding in her purpose made 'baby carrier' so she didn't over-exercise. This was her first real walk as she's just finished her injections and she was absolutely brilliant! :flrt: Course when it came to my turn to carry her, we arrived at an open field and when she saw all the dogs running around, it was a case of "Put me down, put me down" :lo2:


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## *H*

That last photo reminds me of Cass when he was a pup. Up till he got to about 5 months old, he had this thing of having enough of walking all of a sudden and refuse to move anymore. He'd then ask to be picked up, lay on his back in my arms with all 4 paws in the air, then something would catch his attention and he'd want to be put down again - by trying to just launch himself out of my arms. Felt like I was juggling with a pup


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## Middleton Mouse

Sansa is rubbish in water but I imagine she'd have enjoyed that walk with all those big handsome GSD's. She's a bit of a tart when it comes to handsome dogs. :mf_dribble:


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## Whosthedaddy

Came home from work yesterday and not only did I have a house full of guests but also 2 more dogs, our Bullmastiff, a 6 month Border Collie (that we'll be dog sitting for half term) and the inlaws GSD pup.

Lets just say that the fatty of the group is still rather tired today and was 'running' rather slowly and apathetically when over the park.

Bo has never had an issue with other dogs but appears to not really know how to play with them? Instead she was just following them and drooling and slobering on them so not even chasing them. She is not one for stamina.

:lol2:


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## feorag

Bless her! I know how you feel. Try introducing a 4 year old dog who hadn't mixed with other dogs into a group! My Skye is a bit like Billy-no-Mates. He hasn't a clue how to integrate, he just follows whoever is running and when that dog stops, he stops and looks for another running dog and if there isn't another running dog, he just runs himself. For the first few walks, he never stopped, never stood still, never walked, just ran aimlessly, although Barry and I were chuffed to bit watching him yesterday that he did actually just stop and stand looking around him on a few occasions, so these group walks are certainly helping his dog aggression and his hyperactivity-ness!


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## *H*

Bought the dogs some large teds at the weekend, someone on my local facebook was selling them all 4 for £7 :gasp: They LOVE them. Have had to administer a few stitches here and there, but on the whole they seem to be lasting.





























Loki woke up after playing with them and went and sat next to them so got a photo...










And because Loki had his photo took next to them, Cass had to lol











Loki's losing the pup look now (nearly 10 months old)





































Is still a bit gormless though


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## Whosthedaddy

feorag said:


> Bless her! I know how you feel. Try introducing a 4 year old dog who hadn't mixed with other dogs into a group! My Skye is a bit like Billy-no-Mates. He hasn't a clue how to integrate, he just follows whoever is running and when that dog stops, he stops and looks for another running dog and if there isn't another running dog, he just runs himself. For the first few walks, he never stopped, never stood still, never walked, just ran aimlessly, although Barry and I were chuffed to bit watching him yesterday that he did actually just stop and stand looking around him on a few occasions, so these group walks are certainly helping his dog aggression and his hyperactivity-ness!



As soon as she was allowed to meet other dogs following her jabs she was over different parks to try and socialise but she is just like the fat kid in the playground, rather off sniffing on her own or annoying the kids trying to play football!

It is funny watching chav like kids freak when they see a slobbering beast bearing down on them and their female companions...not so brave then.

:whistling2:


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## Whosthedaddy

*H* said:


> Bought the dogs some large teds at the weekend, someone on my local facebook was selling them all 4 for £7 :gasp: They LOVE them. Have had to administer a few stitches here and there, but on the whole they seem to be lasting.
> 
> image
> 
> image
> 
> image
> 
> 
> Loki woke up after playing with them and went and sat next to them so got a photo...
> 
> image
> 
> And because Loki had his photo took next to them, Cass had to lol
> 
> image
> 
> 
> Loki's losing the pup look now (nearly 10 months old)
> 
> image
> 
> image
> 
> image
> 
> image
> 
> Is still a bit gormless though
> 
> image


We used to buy our old Staff loads of furry teddies to play with, funny that she knew which ones she could play with and which of the kids ones to leave alone.


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## BMo1979

Lovely start to the morning, lol:
First Storm leaves a number 2 on the living room carpet just before we were ready to leave. Should have gotten the hint. When she desperately needs out she takes socks form the wash pile (household of 5 - there always is a wash pile, lol) and carries them around.
Then half way through the walk I had her on the long lead, looked behind me and find her rolling in what looked like mud. I called her over and realised that it had been a patch of runny fox poo. Half of her head was covered in it. Lovely!
Unfortunately we still had about 30 minutes to get home, which is great when you have a reeking mutt all of a sudden deciding to practice her heeling, lol.
Back home, took her straight into the shower, not before she managed to smear the bathroom door in it. When the first drop of water hit her, she decided to shake, to the whole bathroom (and me) ended up being covered in splatters of fox poo.
2 showers later (her, me and a good bathroom clean out) and she doesn't even look ashamed of herself:

















I love her to bits, but she'll be the end of me one day, lol.
Never had all this fox poo malarkey with Trigger. He's too much of a sissy for that.


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## x Sarah x

Oh dear, a bit of a Marley and Me moment there huh!


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## Ally

Toot the pup to the bootsale again yesterday, people are finally becoming 'white noise' when there's so many about! She'll still spot a dog a mile off though, becomes totally deaf to me and goes on a serious mission to garotte herself. 

On a plus note, when I walk (drag) past she forgets about them after about 5 or 6 metres, whereas before she didn't calm as long as they were in eyesight.

It would be easier if she wasn't such a retard with other dogs. Bigger then her ans she flops upside down and wiggles so much she ends up punching them in the face, smaller than her and she pounces to play - again punching the poor things in the face. The only dogs she's better with are the ones that snap or bark when she starts!
If they let her, she NEVER stops trying to play. Sigh.


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## feorag

*H* said:


> Loki's losing the pup look now (nearly 10 months old)


You're right, she's growing up fast. Love the one of her sat among the teddies and Cass of course. :flrt:



Whosthedaddy said:


> It is funny watching chav like kids freak when they see a slobbering beast bearing down on them and their female companions...not so brave then.
> 
> :whistling2:


I bet tey aren't.



BMo1979 said:


> Lovely start to the morning, lol:
> First Storm leaves a number 2 on the living room carpet just before we were ready to leave. Should have gotten the hint. When she desperately needs out she takes socks form the wash pile (household of 5 - there always is a wash pile, lol) and carries them around.
> Then half way through the walk I had her on the long lead, looked behind me and find her rolling in what looked like mud. I called her over and realised that it had been a patch of runny fox poo. Half of her head was covered in it. Lovely!
> Unfortunately we still had about 30 minutes to get home, which is great when you have a reeking mutt all of a sudden deciding to practice her heeling, lol.
> Back home, took her straight into the shower, not before she managed to smear the bathroom door in it. When the first drop of water hit her, she decided to shake, to the whole bathroom (and me) ended up being covered in splatters of fox poo.
> 2 showers later (her, me and a good bathroom clean out) and she doesn't even look ashamed of herself:
> image
> image
> 
> I love her to bits, but she'll be the end of me one day, lol.
> Never had all this fox poo malarkey with Trigger. He's too much of a sissy for that.


Fox poo! :gasp: Nothing smells as bad as fox poo! Poor you!


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## Kare

BMo1979 said:


> Lovely start to the morning, lol:
> First Storm leaves a number 2 on the living room carpet just before we were ready to leave. Should have gotten the hint. When she desperately needs out she takes socks form the wash pile (household of 5 - there always is a wash pile, lol) and carries them around.
> Then half way through the walk I had her on the long lead, looked behind me and find her rolling in what looked like mud. I called her over and realised that it had been a patch of runny fox poo. Half of her head was covered in it. Lovely!
> Unfortunately we still had about 30 minutes to get home, which is great when you have a reeking mutt all of a sudden deciding to practice her heeling, lol.
> Back home, took her straight into the shower, not before she managed to smear the bathroom door in it. When the first drop of water hit her, she decided to shake, to the whole bathroom (and me) ended up being covered in splatters of fox poo.
> 2 showers later (her, me and a good bathroom clean out) and she doesn't even look ashamed of herself:
> image
> image
> 
> I love her to bits, but she'll be the end of me one day, lol.
> Never had all this fox poo malarkey with Trigger. He's too much of a sissy for that.


Did you use tomato sauce? I find it is the only thing short of 5 baths that gets the smell gone.


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## *H*

feorag said:


> You're right, *she's* growing up fast. Love the one of *her* sat among the teddies and Cass of course. :flrt:


He's a boy Eileen :lol2: 
Cass is still the handsomer of the two isn't he :flrt: but don't tell him I said that... they're all equal in this house :whistling2:



Whosthedaddy said:


> We used to buy our old Staff loads of furry teddies to play with, funny that she knew which ones she could play with and which of the kids ones to leave alone.


It's about the only things they won't destroy. Rope toys, plastic toys, rubber toys.. all gone within minutes, even the tougher ones don't last them long.


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## BMo1979

Kare said:


> Did you use tomato sauce? I find it is the only thing short of 5 baths that gets the smell gone.


Luckily it wasn't a big amount and didn't smell as bad as I thought it would. Mmh, thinking about it now I'm wondering whether it was another animals poo after all, because it washed off quite easily. I just assumed it was fox, because Storm usually ignores other dogs' No. 2s and it didn't look like rabbit or deer. I got rid of it with "Stay Fresh" dog shampoo and dog wet wipes.

Some pics from earlier, making use of the nice weather here:


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## feorag

*H* said:


> He's a boy Eileen :lol2:
> Cass is still the handsomer of the two isn't he :flrt: but don't tell him I said that... they're all equal in this house :whistling2:
> 
> 
> 
> It's about the only things they won't destroy. Rope toys, plastic toys, rubber toys.. all gone within minutes, even the tougher ones don't last them long.


Ha ha! I think I've done that before??? Sorry Loki - a boy you are and a boy you'll stay! *makes mental not to concentrate a bit better* :lol:



BMo1979 said:


> Luckily it wasn't a big amount and didn't smell as bad as I thought it would. Mmh, thinking about it now I'm wondering whether it was another animals poo after all, because it washed off quite easily. I just assumed it was fox, because Storm usually ignores other dogs' No. 2s and it didn't look like rabbit or deer. I got rid of it with "Stay Fresh" dog shampoo and dog wet wipes.
> 
> Some pics from earlier, making use of the nice weather here:
> 
> image
> image
> image
> image
> image
> image
> image
> image
> image


Trust me, if that had been fox poo you'd not be in any doubt at all and you wouldn't get rid of it with a couple of shampoos I think.

That last photo of Trigger is beautiful! :flrt:


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## kemist

Can I invade this thread to show you the new addition to our family?





She is a 9 week old JRT cross called simmi.


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## *H*

kemist said:


> Can I invade this thread to show you the new addition to our family?
> 
> [URL="http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa3/tankbag/DSC02841.jpg"]image[/URL]
> 
> [URL="http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa3/tankbag/DSC02853.jpg"]image[/URL]
> 
> She is a 9 week old JRT cross called simmi.


Awww, congrats!! She's adorable :flrt:


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## feorag

feorag said:


> Ha ha! I think I've done that before??? Sorry Loki - a boy you are and a boy you'll stay! *makes mental *not* to concentrate a bit better* :lol:


Well that bloody didn't work did it?? I couldn't even concentrate to say that right! :roll: :roll2:



kemist said:


> Can I invade this thread to show you the new addition to our family?
> 
> [URL="http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa3/tankbag/DSC02841.jpg"]image[/URL]
> 
> [URL="http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa3/tankbag/DSC02853.jpg"]image[/URL]
> 
> She is a 9 week old JRT cross called simmi.


Gorgeous! :flrt:


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## *H*

feorag said:


> Well that bloody didn't work did it?? I couldn't even concentrate to say that right! :roll: :roll2:


:lol2: I hadn't even noticed! Just blame it on the thyroid, I type a completely different word to what I meant to sometimes :lol2:


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## feorag

It's more to do with senility in my case than thyroid, I'm sure!


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## detail3r

Thought i'd pop in here now i'm once again a dog owner 

Would like your opinions if possible please....

I got a 12 week old rough haired collie bitch last week, she was the last of the litter who went a few weeks earlier, and was kept in kennels outdoors with her mother who was very nervous and tentative around humans, although once she was comfortable loved a fuss.

Now the puppy was also very nervous, huddled in a corner. A week later, she's nowhere near as nervous though can be tentative approaching me still.

The thing that's worrying me though is she shows no sign of pleasure in seeing me, i've never seen her wag her tail, she isn't bothered by being stroked, or by being near me (she'd much rather lay in her bed in the kitchen). It's the only puppy i've experienced who really shows no affection whatsover?

Her appetite is great, she's housetrained already and happily chases me around the garen though.

Thoughts?


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## kemist

*H* said:


> Awww, congrats!! She's adorable :flrt:





feorag said:


> Gorgeous! :flrt:


 We picked her up today, there has been a couple of accidents in the house but she has been fab for her first day here. Already bounces over when you call her and LOVES the garden she was only out 10 mins though as it wasn't that warm and we didn't want her getting too cold. All clear to go see the big wide world in 2 days so proper walks can start.:2thumb:


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## lisadew24

detail3r said:


> Thought i'd pop in here now i'm once again a dog owner
> 
> Would like your opinions if possible please....
> 
> I got a 12 week old rough haired collie bitch last week, she was the last of the litter who went a few weeks earlier, and was kept in kennels outdoors with her mother who was very nervous and tentative around humans, although once she was comfortable loved a fuss.
> 
> Now the puppy was also very nervous, huddled in a corner. A week later, she's nowhere near as nervous though can be tentative approaching me still.
> 
> The thing that's worrying me though is she shows no sign of pleasure in seeing me, i've never seen her wag her tail, she isn't bothered by being stroked, or by being near me (she'd much rather lay in her bed in the kitchen). It's the only puppy i've experienced who really shows no affection whatsover?
> 
> Her appetite is great, she's housetrained already and happily chases me around the garen though.
> 
> Thoughts?


I would try using a dap at home with her that will help her feel more confident


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## kemist

First of what will no doubt be loads of silly questions, Should I be worrying that she gets so excited she seems to give herself hiccups? She has hyper moments and her belly twitches with hiccup/going to be sick sounds for a few minutes but it doesn't bother her or slow her down and it stops when she calms down and crashes out.


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## *H*

kemist said:


> We picked her up today, there has been a couple of accidents in the house but she has been fab for her first day here. Already bounces over when you call her and LOVES the garden she was only out 10 mins though as it wasn't that warm and we didn't want her getting too cold. All clear to go see the big wide world in 2 days so proper walks can start.:2thumb:


That's the best time ever - first walkies! Watching them take everything in, smelling new smells, meeting new things 



kemist said:


> First of what will no doubt be loads of silly questions, Should I be worrying that she gets so excited she seems to give herself hiccups? She has hyper moments and her belly twitches with hiccup/going to be sick sounds for a few minutes but it doesn't bother her or slow her down and it stops when she calms down and crashes out.


It's funny you should ask that, it was suspected that Cass had a bit of JRT in him somewhere and he still, even to this day starts making this weird retching sound if he gets over excited/too giddy. Vet checked him over when he was smaller, and wasn't too concerned. Asked if he was upto date with his worming (which he was) as it was a similar sound to just before a dog would hack something up, but with a nasal snort thrown in too? (really hard to explain lol) Cass always had hiccups aswell when he was a pup. So if it sounds similar, it may be a JRT thing? I'm sure it's nothing to be concerned about, maybe just hiccups from getting too hyper, but you could always mention it next time you're at the vets if you're worried.


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## kemist

*H* said:


> It's funny you should ask that, it was suspected that Cass had a bit of JRT in him somewhere and he still, even to this day starts making this weird retching sound if he gets over excited/too giddy. Vet checked him over when he was smaller, and wasn't too concerned. Asked if he was upto date with his worming (which he was) as it was a similar sound to just before a dog would hack something up, but with a nasal snort thrown in too? (really hard to explain lol) Cass always had hiccups aswell when he was a pup. So if it sounds similar, it may be a JRT thing? I'm sure it's nothing to be concerned about, maybe just hiccups from getting too hyper, but you could always mention it next time you're at the vets if you're worried.


 
Cheers ours friends JRT occasionally has hiccups so I am not panicing too much. We have got to worm her Friday at the vets so will mention it then. It sounds like the same noise though, a huff type noise so I think its a JRT thing. I think she is going to be a fussy eater though as she only picked at her food yesterday, although that could be excitement or her tummy being a bit delicate from being sick in the car. I think the vomiting was car sick though because the journey from the rescue was nearly an hour and she has been fine since and drunk enough to replace the fluid lost.


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## Ally

Pipit got hiccups ALL the time at first! It's calmed down now to when she really gets over excited. 
The vet and receptionist (who specialises in training gundogs) said it's normal for them so we didn't worry 

We had the same with the food, again asked at the vets (as we were continuously told she looked skinny - she doesn't, but she's not a barrel-pup!) and were told that as long as she was a healthy weight then she'd get there. She often gets too excited to eat so we have to sit in a quiet room with her. 
As I type this she's tucking into a nice big bowl, wandering the room between mouthfuls and growling at the tegus, she rarely settles and just eats!


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## kemist

She is currently asleep in her cat igloo as the dog beds were all HUGE. The cat still doesn't like her but is not aggressive just disgusted at us! Pup is confused why her new friend wont play with her though. Her recall is already improving, although she is getting a little more whiney if she cannot be right by me in the house.
Her eating has improved a little so I think we are going to try feeding after playtime so she is tired rather than bouncey.


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## purpleskyes

What a difference a few months make!

January til Last night this year....


Untitled by purplepixie87, on Flickr


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## kemist

Next of the stupid questions is, can someone recommend a puppy shampoo? Since she is a white dog she of course loves to sit and roll in anything mucky and is obsessed with the cats litter tray so will no doubt find every rabbit, dear and fox poo and cover herself in it when we go to the chase so I would like to be prepared.


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## bampoisongirl

I personally LOVE the pet head shampoo. It's quite pricey but god do they smell good afterwards!


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## lisadew24

I love pet head too


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## kemist

I saw some at the vets and we have to go for worming tomorrow so will pick up a bottle.


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## feorag

Pinched this from Facebook - love it!!! :flrt:


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## kemist

Have ordered the fears for tears pet head. Cheers ladies!


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## PPVallhunds

kemist said:


> Next of the stupid questions is, can someone recommend a puppy shampoo? Since she is a white dog she of course loves to sit and roll in anything mucky and is obsessed with the cats litter tray so will no doubt find every rabbit, dear and fox poo and cover herself in it when we go to the chase so I would like to be prepared.


You can get white dog shampoo, it's ment to help reduce staining and keep the coat white.


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## feorag

http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/forums/other-pets-exotics/963204-looking-sponsors.html#post11232428


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## HABU

i'm part of a pack.....

i'm a dog now.... they trained me...:gasp::lol2::lol2::lol2:


but then i get pissed!:lol2::lol2:


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## kemist

I think we have got the hang of house training, no accidents in the house or crate for 48 hours!!!! It may not sound much but for 10 weeks old and only 4 days living here I think its brilliant.


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## feorag

So do I!! :2thumb:


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## Kare

kemist said:


> Next of the stupid questions is, can someone recommend a puppy shampoo? Since she is a white dog she of course loves to sit and roll in anything mucky and is obsessed with the cats litter tray so will no doubt find every rabbit, dear and fox poo and cover herself in it when we go to the chase so I would like to be prepared.


I have taken to washing my dog in the sea or rivers as she is wet anyway! So whilst looking for an environmentally friendly soap I have taken to using Castile Soap, there are lots of smells Buy Dr Bronner Liquid Soaps | Bath & Unwind I mix it equal amounts of water to soap.


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## PPVallhunds

Has anyone had a dog have a tooth out? Fay is having her back top one out after breaking somewhow. Its comming out on wensday. Just wondering how long to expect her to take to get over it, have been told it will be sore for a day or two and will be swelling and some bleeding afterwards.


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## kemist

OMG she went into her crate for the night with no whining, just straight into her bed out for a drink and back again. On the down side the accident free streak is broken it was my fault though she woke up while I was in the bath so was not taken out when she normally would be.


----------



## Whosthedaddy

PPVallhunds said:


> Has anyone had a dog have a tooth out? Fay is having her back top one out after breaking somewhow. Its comming out on wensday. Just wondering how long to expect her to take to get over it, have been told it will be sore for a day or two and will be swelling and some bleeding afterwards.


My mums old greyhounds had several out wjfh no real problems albeit front teeth and not back ones.


----------



## feorag

PPVallhunds said:


> Has anyone had a dog have a tooth out? Fay is having her back top one out after breaking somewhow. Its comming out on wensday. Just wondering how long to expect her to take to get over it, have been told it will be sore for a day or two and will be swelling and some bleeding afterwards.


To be honest I think dogs 'knock this off' pretty quickly. I've had dogs had teeth out and not shown any problems at all. Obviously a back tooth is a big 'un, but I'm sure she'll be fine in a couple of days. :2thumb:


----------



## kemist

Sorry for boring you all with updates but we had our first walk and she was an angel walked ok on the lead and met 3 new dogs a 1yo spaniel, 5yo JRT and a 13yo terrier cross. No barking or nipping at any of them, I kept her on her lead as her recall is shocking when she is distracted and hyper. Also a big truck came thundering past us on the way and she didn't even flinch, I swear she is completely fearless. It sounds nuts but I feel loads better in myself since getting her I hadn't realised how much time I spend in the house on my own doing nothing.


----------



## Kare

kemist said:


> It sounds nuts but I feel loads better in myself since getting her I hadn't realised how much time I spend in the house on my own doing nothing.


That's good

Every single dog I have ever rescued or fostered (all my dogs were rescues or fostered) I have always gone into a complete state of panic feelings, I always feel I have just made a massive massive mistake, like huge level of buyer remorse....then I just put my head down and get on with it and after a week or two it is always the best thing in the world


----------



## kemist

Kare said:


> That's good
> 
> Every single dog I have ever rescued or fostered (all my dogs were rescues or fostered) I have always gone into a complete state of panic feelings, I always feel I have just made a massive massive mistake, like huge level of buyer remorse....then I just put my head down and get on with it and after a week or two it is always the best thing in the world


It felt as though she was the right dog from day one to be honest. I wanted an older (1yo+) rescue as I would feel guilty buying a pup privately when so many dogs are sitting in rescues needing a home, OH wanted a pup so it was young enough to not have bad habits and be trainable and we both wanted a JRT. 
It was fate when the rescue had a 9 week JRT left from a litter of 5. She was the perfect compromise for us as well as being the cutest pup I've ever seen.

I am doing the panicky parent thing though. Is she eating enough? Is the dirt in her ear soil from rolling in the garden or mites? Is she grooming or is it a skin problem? I am sure i'll calm down but for now I cant help worrying.


----------



## PPVallhunds

Whosthedaddy said:


> My mums old greyhounds had several out wjfh no real problems albeit front teeth and not back ones.





feorag said:


> To be honest I think dogs 'knock this off' pretty quickly. I've had dogs had teeth out and not shown any problems at all. Obviously a back tooth is a big 'un, but I'm sure she'll be fine in a couple of days. :2thumb:


Thanks guys, puts my mind at rest. No idea how she broke it but i think she may have done it when she bit threw a bone, it was one for large dogs as well! shes only small/medium.


----------



## PPVallhunds

A Pic of Fay after we got back from the Bath Champshow today. She has been sleeping now for about 2 and a half hours, i didnt realise how tiring it is trotting around a ring lol There was only one other bitch who was a puppy so only had to place over one to get best opersit sex, but she behaved herself very well so were both happy, me for not coming 2nd out of 2 and her for getting mcdounalds chickin nuggets. lol


----------



## Whosthedaddy

Our new dog, 6 month old Border Collie called 'Tilly'














Until Friday when the in laws get back.

:whistling2:

Apart from a definite no sharing of food rule as even a sniff of the others empty bowl starts a fight they are getting on well. Ok so our BUllmastiff bitch has tried to mount and hump her a few times but who doesn't do this right?

:bash:


----------



## PPVallhunds

she is a beautyfull border collie, whats a hump between friends :whistling2:


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## BMo1979

Some people, lol!
We went to a motorbike meet/festival today. I ended up taking both dogs one after the other (it was on the estate we live).
Storm did really well, but is still too obsessed with meeting other dogs (once she's met them she's calm and carries on) and it was getting pretty warm, so I "swapped" her over with Trigger.
The kids wanted to go on a couple of rides and Trigger was starting to get tired, so I asked my husband to quickly take him home, too (which was a bit of a disaster, because Trigger doesn't like to walk away from me, lol).
Anyway, soon after I was approached by the guy that ran the trampolines, asking me what age my dog was. I explained that he would be 8 in November. He then explained that he had a German Shepherd bitch who would _NEED _to be bred soon and he was desperately looking for a stud.
I replied that I didn't have any papers for Trigger, so had no way of providing proof of pedigree and/or healthy lineage. 
He said it didn't matter cos his dog didn't have any papers neither but that she was healthy.
Again I explained, that although Trigger had always been a healthy dog I could not be sure that he wasn't a carrier of any hereditary health problem as there were no records of parents/grandparents and beyond, but I don't think the bloke got it or even cared because he still kept going on about if Trigger was healthy himself was all that mattered.
I think he was a bit peeved when I insisted that my dog will definitely die a virgin, lol.

What is it that people don't get about what responsible breeding involves?


----------



## feorag

PPVallhunds said:


> A Pic of Fay after we got back from the Bath Champshow today. She has been sleeping now for about 2 and a half hours, i didnt realise how tiring it is trotting around a ring lol There was only one other bitch who was a puppy so only had to place over one to get best opersit sex, but she behaved herself very well so were both happy, me for not coming 2nd out of 2 and her for getting mcdounalds chickin nuggets. lol
> 
> image


Well done!

I've been doing dog training with Skye, not because he isn't obedient, but to try to help him to concentrate on me and what he has to do when there are other dogs around. So for almost an hour we are walking, sitting, staying & walking in the training ring. Last week I put on a pedometer and when I got home I'd walked over a mile and a half.



BMo1979 said:


> What is it that people don't get about what responsible breeding involves?


What is it that people don't get about a bitch NOT HAVING to have a litter of pups??? :bash:


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## PPVallhunds

thank you, fay has come on so much, its been a year since she had the parvo and went afraid of people. Her first show back she allmost fell off the table when a judge tryed to go over her, but now she stands and leans faward to sniff the judge. sometimes she shakes a tiny bit and will have a bit of a lean at times but so much progress in the last few months.
She is better out and about too except in your local field as apperantly its her field and horrible strangers are not allowed in it and she will tell them that if she gets the chance.


----------



## PPVallhunds

feorag said:


> Well done!
> 
> 
> What is it that people don't get about a bitch NOT HAVING to have a litter of pups??? :bash:


It seems every time it comes out while talking to people/owners that fay isnt spayed they allways ask 'are you going to breed her then?'
Iv also been told im mad for not breeding her even if its just to get back the money i payed to buy her.


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## BMo1979

There still seems to be the misconception that a bitch needs to have at least one litter in her life. Allegedly there are even vets still spouting this nonsense. 

PPVallhunds, I know what you mean. Just cause a dog is intact doesn't mean they're ready and available to produce puppies. It also doesn't mean that you're irresponsible for not neutering/spaying if you know how to prevent any "act" from happening (Trigger's not shown much interest in females in heat and I doubt that'll change at nearly 8 anyway, he prefers neutered males, lol).


----------



## Whosthedaddy

We were visited by the Wifes parents 12 week old GSD.










When I've met little Kira at home she has been quite timid but in the garden when she got over the fear of a large dog sniffing her all the time she was really bold and even fetching a ball thrown for her. Of course our big girl was just starring at them all and just waddling about like a fat kid in the playground.

:lol2:


----------



## feorag

Whosthedaddy said:


> Of course our big girl was just starring at them all and just waddling about like a fat kid in the playground.
> 
> :lol2:


:roll2: PMSL!!! I've just got a mental picture of that!


----------



## BMo1979

I was just playing about with the effects on Photobucket, so here are my attempts.
Storm in the Bluebells









Trigger (different day, at dusk). My SIL would say there's a spirit/fairy floating by, I call it dust, lol:








Ignore the date. It's my son's camera and the date's not set.

Also some "non-effect" pictures from our walk this morning:
My favourite of them. Storm is like "Chase me, big guy!"


















Trigger just watches on as Storm goes in search of rabbits









Roles reversed: Storm lying down so Trigger stops chasing her


















Off exploring together


























Unfortunately, the playtime came to an abrupt end, because "Madam" picked up a scent and followed it across the whole field, completely ignoring the whistle and my calls. Only when she was stopped by a fence she decided to come to me. Still a lot of work to be done. I've got to find that one thing that is more interesting for her than the hunt.


----------



## Christie_ZXR

Went to Harrods with a friend of mine over the bank holl. (How posh do I sound?? lol) And since you just have to buy something so you can have a green carrier bag....I bought Buster a super posh Harrods collar! Spoilt pooch :lol2:




























How cute does he look!! :flrt: Slightly girly...but dead cute!!


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## BMo1979

Looking good, Buster! :flrt:


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## Christie_ZXR

Ty :2thumb:

Just need a new tag for him now. His ID barrel would look silly on that. Reckon it needs some sort of sparkly engraved heart shaped tag....:blush:


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## Tyzer

Christie_ZXR said:


> Ty :2thumb:
> 
> Just need a new tag for him now. His ID barrel would look silly on that. Reckon it needs some sort of sparkly engraved heart shaped tag....:blush:


http://item.mobileweb.ebay.co.uk/viewitem?itemId=251131140187&index=5&nav=SEARCH&nid=93955533576

http://item.mobileweb.ebay.co.uk/viewitem?itemId=260938849782&index=1&nav=SEARCH&nid=01766537940

http://item.mobileweb.ebay.co.uk/viewitem?itemId=261132178935&index=10&nav=SEARCH&nid=12547834398



Haha I like eBay 
Have fun


----------



## Christie_ZXR

omg!!! Ty!! :2thumb:

I love that second one! He's sooo getting one of those!!

Edit: He's got one! Ordered


----------



## Tyzer

Christie_ZXR said:


> omg!!! Ty!! :2thumb:
> 
> I love that second one! He's sooo getting one of those!!
> 
> Edit: He's got one! Ordered



Haha no worries update pics when you get it haha


----------



## feorag

Christie_ZXR said:


> Went to Harrods with a friend of mine over the bank holl. (How posh do I sound?? lol) And since you just have to buy something so you can have a green carrier bag....I bought Buster a super posh Harrods collar! Spoilt pooch :lol2:
> 
> image
> 
> image
> 
> image
> 
> How cute does he look!! :flrt: Slightly girly...but dead cute!!


So posh!!


----------



## Christie_ZXR

It's here!! 










Talk about sparkly! Buster hasn't come to work with me today so no photo of it on  but will put one up once I've been home this eve and put it on him!!


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## BMo1979

Ooh, shiny!

My husband would murder me if I put something sparkly on either of the dogs, lol. I always threaten him to buy a pink diamontes (sp?) harness for Storm and make him walk her up and down the street.

Speaking of murder: Had one of those walks again with Storm this morning . I took both of them on the school (bus) run and the long walk after and she was just a nightmare from the word "go". 
I know due to the common excitement with 3-4 kids running around (usually late, lol) she can get a bit hyper on the way to the bus stop, so I'm used to this, but today took the biscuit.
Trigger had to do his no.2s on a bit of grass right next to the main road (NSL single carriage way) and while I pick it up she somehow slips the lead out of my hand and walks straight onto the road, completely ignoring the fact that she was put into the sit/stay! 2 cars had to swerve to avoid her and she didn't even notice (or understand the danger of) this. I grabbed her and more or less yanked her back onto the pavement, grateful that Trigger is so well behaved and didn't follow her. 
Because I got scared/angry/frustrated (in that order), that more or less sealed the fate for the rest of the walk. Storm is quite sensitive and because of my state-of-mind she just wouldn't want to come on re-call (she was on the long lead), walk heel, wait, so I could clip the "normal" walking lead back on or have anything to do with me for until just before we got home :,(.
I know, this was my fault as much as the person who had her as a puppy/youngster and never socialised/taught her. I should have not expected of her to be patient and wait while I pick up Trigger's poo and kept the lead shorter. After it happened I should have either pulled myself together or taken her home to give us both a break. 
Oh, well, no use pondering on it...


----------



## kemist

I am assuming its normal for a puppy to start off fairly calm and well behaved and then suddenly have a personality transplant and turn into a stroppy madam when she doesn't get her way. 
She can and does walk well on a lead, and has learned to sit and lie down with hand signals (and treats) BUT it all goes to pot if she sees people and all she focuses on is going to say hello. Her recall and looking at me to her name being called is getting better. Is it just patience and time to get her to pay less attention to distractions?


----------



## feorag

BMo1979 said:


> I know, this was my fault as much as the person who had her as a puppy/youngster and never socialised/taught her. I should have not expected of her to be patient and wait while I pick up Trigger's poo and kept the lead shorter. After it happened I should have either pulled myself together or taken her home to give us both a break.
> Oh, well, no use pondering on it...


Yup! Too late now! You'll have to do what I do - chalk it down to experience and box on!


----------



## BMo1979

Interesting...
It seems that Storm is actually younger than we were told/thought. 
I was always amazed about how fluffy and soft her fur is and was getting quite worried that she seems to be losing it in big patches at the moment. There is no obvious inflammation, soreness or itchiness, only longer straight hair underneath (I'll still keep an eye on it and if it gets worse contact the vet). 
It seems as if she is losing her puppy fur, which I thought was a bit late, as we were told she was between 1-2 years old (although we thought she was closer to the 1)!
Now today on my walked I was approached by one of the gardeners who recognized her straightaway as a Northern Inuit (a first! Most people have never heard of the "breed"). He used to breed Utonagans(sp) years ago, but had to give up for whatever reasons.
He is convinced that Storm has not reached a year yet and if you google images of NIs from the age of 6 months upwards (don't think she's that young) she does look more like a juvenile than a fully grown dog. :gasp:

Could we be onto something here? It would explain a lot of her still very puppyish behaviour.


----------



## Tyzer

Christie_ZXR said:


> It's here!!
> 
> image
> 
> Talk about sparkly! Buster hasn't come to work with me today so no photo of it on  but will put one up once I've been home this eve and put it on him!!


Haha looks good


----------



## Christie_ZXR

Buster looking smart in his nice new collar and tag 



















And Buster's new "bed". I popped over to the other shop and put him behind the till whilst I grabbed something, and he decided that box looked comfy!!


----------



## feorag

kemist said:


> I am assuming its normal for a puppy to start off fairly calm and well behaved and then suddenly have a personality transplant and turn into a stroppy madam when she doesn't get her way.
> She can and does walk well on a lead, and has learned to sit and lie down with hand signals (and treats) BUT it all goes to pot if she sees people and all she focuses on is going to say hello. Her recall and looking at me to her name being called is getting better. Is it just patience and time to get her to pay less attention to distractions?


Just spotted this. I think it's perfectly normal. Don't know if you have children, but the loveliest children turn into moody, rebellious teenagers and dogs do the same. Also when they are young, they have a short attention span and are easily distracted (sadly my Skye is over 4 and still has the same problem!). You just have to be more interesting than the distractions.

So yes, it's just patience until she gets through the 'teenage years' and if you handle it right, she'll be back to her obedient little self! :2thumb:



BMo1979 said:


> Interesting...
> It seems that Storm is actually younger than we were told/thought.
> I was always amazed about how fluffy and soft her fur is and was getting quite worried that she seems to be losing it in big patches at the moment. There is no obvious inflammation, soreness or itchiness, only longer straight hair underneath (I'll still keep an eye on it and if it gets worse contact the vet).
> It seems as if she is losing her puppy fur, which I thought was a bit late, as we were told she was between 1-2 years old (although we thought she was closer to the 1)!
> Now today on my walked I was approached by one of the gardeners who recognized her straightaway as a Northern Inuit (a first! Most people have never heard of the "breed"). He used to breed Utonagans(sp) years ago, but had to give up for whatever reasons.
> He is convinced that Storm has not reached a year yet and if you google images of NIs from the age of 6 months upwards (don't think she's that young) she does look more like a juvenile than a fully grown dog. :gasp:
> 
> Could we be onto something here? It would explain a lot of her still very puppyish behaviour.


I've no idea as I know nothing about NIs, but I do know GSDs and so do you. They take a few years to mature and settle down, so it could just be the GSD in conjunction with the other breeds causing this.

As far as the coat is concerned is she not 'blowing' because of the husky in the breeding?

I'd have said Laura (Pimperella on here) was the one to ask as she bred them, but she hasn't been on the forum since last year. You could try pm-ing Clare (BossHogg) as she has a couple of Pimp's puppies and has bred a litter - she might be able to offer some advice on this?


----------



## Whosthedaddy

Mmm, lamb bones from the butchers!


----------



## kemist

feorag said:


> Just spotted this. I think it's perfectly normal. Don't know if you have children, but the loveliest children turn into moody, rebellious teenagers and dogs do the same. Also when they are young, they have a short attention span and are easily distracted (sadly my Skye is over 4 and still has the same problem!). You just have to be more interesting than the distractions.
> 
> So yes, it's just patience until she gets through the 'teenage years' and if you handle it right, she'll be back to her obedient little self! :2thumb:


 
She is 12 weeks and can be the sweetest best behaved pup ever seen, or can be a little monster that wants bark at the cat, or run to strangers. We are winning the battle though we are using pieces of chicken for training and it seems to work 80% of the time in gaining her attention. I just wish I could reset her body clock 6AM every morning she wants out of the crate, we have tried crating her later, leaving food overnight, not leaving food. I think I will have to get used to that hour of the day:lol2:


----------



## feorag

Aw, bless her, she's still a baby yet with a lot to learn. :flrt: The 'teenage years/months" are yet to come.

She's not long been able to go out into the big wide world and there is soooo much stimulation there for her, it's no surprise she's easily distracted. 

Again just patience!


----------



## Kare

Where did you get that she was a Northern Inuit? 

She looks more like a straight husky German shepherd first cross to me rather than a Northern inuit which should be a more fixed breed closer in looks/shape/coat to a german shepherd whilst retaining the husky colouring.

I thought the rescue also where saying she was a german shepherd/husky cross?


----------



## lisadew24

I agree with kare, storm looks like a husky cross German shepherd a pretty one specially because I have one that comes in my shop that looks the same but coat colour is different


----------



## x Sarah x

For gods sake! Can i have your view please?

My fella was walking our two Bull terriers earlier when a collie came running out and started snapping at them and trying to bite them, now bear in mind my dogs don't like other dogs at the best of times and they would not hesitate to rip one to shreds if they felt it necessary.

Anyway guys comes running out, and grabs the dogs collar, the collie hesitates and the guy lets go of the collar again, the collie then proceeds to snap at my dogs, Kizzy is starting to lose it and Bruno is not far behind.

My fella shouts at the bloke to get hold of his dog or else there is going to be blood shed when our two finally lose it, calls him a moron and tells him he should not have a dog if he can't control it.

After giving him plenty of time and warning he has no choice but to kick the dog away, he uses the bit between the foot and the shin and kicks the dog away, hard but not enough that the dog stumbles.

A neighbour of this bloke and their family then start shouting from a car that he can't kick a dog like that. My fella shouts that he can't let a dog loose attacking other dogs like that, and carries on home.

Now the dogs owner has reported us to the police and they are coming tomorrow to speak to us. They have claimed that my fella kicked the dog so hard it landed in the road, and that he has verbally abused them.
They are taking the dog to the vet tomorrow also to get it checked over.

We have no witnesses to this event other than the dogs owners friends and neighbours (hmm wonder who they will back up).

So, what do we think? 

I know he should not have kicked the dog, and he knows that, but felt he had no choice at the moment in time, the bloke was doing nothing to stop it and my fella was trying to control his own dogs, it was that or that collie getting ripped to shreds by two bull terriers, putting it's life in danger and also my dogs lives in danger when they are reported as dangerous dogs which they inevitably would have been by these jerks!!!

But at the same time this dog was loose, not on a leash and attacking my dogs on public land (the sidewalk). My two dogs on short leashes, just going for a walk round the block... so who's in the wrong here? seriously.


----------



## Ally

kemist said:


> I am assuming its normal for a puppy to start off fairly calm and well behaved and then suddenly have a personality transplant and turn into a stroppy madam when she doesn't get her way.
> She can and does walk well on a lead, and has learned to sit and lie down with hand signals (and treats) BUT it all goes to pot if she sees people and all she focuses on is going to say hello. Her recall and looking at me to her name being called is getting better. Is it just patience and time to get her to pay less attention to distractions?


I feel your pain at the moment :/

Thanks to you lot, Pip got a new tag too...


----------



## lisadew24

He should tell the truth and i belive your oh was protecting your dogs and really protecting the collie because if your dogs bit back bullies have more bite power the collie owner should have been responible and have his dog pn lead. few months ago this was in the paper as far as im aware he didnt get charged. Dog stabbed 23 times in front of owner in revenge attack in Hampstead - Telegraph


----------



## kemist

Ally said:


> I feel your pain at the moment :/
> 
> Thanks to you lot, Pip got a new tag too...
> image


 
Guilty simmi got a new tag too:blush: but in my defence the one she came with was huge and she is teeny.


----------



## Whosthedaddy

x Sarah x said:


> For gods sake! Can i have your view please?


Never be nice to be in this situation but doubt this will even happen to be honest, at best an community officer will visit and thats that.

A dog that is out of control and not on a lead puts that owner in the wrong, a kick to remove said dog is a moo point at the end of the day. 

What people see is that you are in the wrong for having two dangerous dogs as opposed to a BC that wouldn't hurt a fly..? We recently looked after a BC pup and she was always goading and instigating the 'fighting' with our Bullmastiff.


----------



## x Sarah x

It was a rough collie, but beside the point.

The officer has just been, my fella is at work but he said he'd file it off and just pull the dogs away and keep walking next time (easier said than done though with 3 fighting dogs)...

He said they are taking the dog to the vet today but personally he thinks it will be fine (dunno what happens next if it isn't though)...

According to the other family my fella kicked the living daylights out of the dog (wtf?) and proceeded to throw abuse at the family particularly the son who just so happened to be ginger and so was called everything under the sun that is offensive and that the family are bricking it thinking my fella is going to go down and deck him (what are these people on!?!?!?!)

But he said at the same time, he is aware i, nor anyone else we know saw what happened, so it's their word against ours, and with nothing else to go by, we are just getting a warning.... 

Friggin' neighbours, this is why i want to live in the middle of nowhere :whip:


----------



## Tyzer

x Sarah x said:


> It was a rough collie, but beside the point.
> 
> The officer has just been, my fella is at work but he said he'd file it off and just pull the dogs away and keep walking next time (easier said than done though with 3 fighting dogs)...
> 
> He said they are taking the dog to the vet today but personally he thinks it will be fine (dunno what happens next if it isn't though)...
> 
> According to the other family my fella kicked the living daylights out of the dog (wtf?) and proceeded to throw abuse at the family particularly the son who just so happened to be ginger and so was called everything under the sun that is offensive and that the family are bricking it thinking my fella is going to go down and deck him (what are these people on!?!?!?!)
> 
> But he said at the same time, he is aware i, nor anyone else we know saw what happened, so it's their word against ours, and with nothing else to go by, we are just getting a warning....
> 
> Friggin' neighbours, this is why i want to live in the middle of nowhere :whip:


I've done it myself some ones staffs attacked my Rottweiler had him locked by the legs and my dog was bleeding I screamed at the owner as I couldent see my dog lasting much longer without snapping he just laughed and said a Rottweiler taken Down by a staffie haha which I then replied not for much longer as my dog was growling snarling so I kicked the staffie to get it of bear in mind my mate was recording this the the owner threatened to kick my head in he tried.
But my dog is really defensive over family dog didn't hurt him just jumped up on him a brought him to the ground.
He phoned the police saying my dog attacked him and I threatened to kill him 
Ill take it as he didn't notice my mate was recording 

My dog was fine a few teeth holes but nothing to bad and I think they took the staffie of the owner plus he had to pay the vet bills


----------



## kemist

If one more person tells me my pup is too young/small to be walked or trained I am going to start swearing at them and force feeding them the used poo bags.


----------



## lisadew24

I used to get the same. I always get sheldon to sit when I'm crossing the road or stopped and someone told me the same thing and they also said I should just let him be a puppy


----------



## kemist

lisadew24 said:


> I used to get the same. I always get sheldon to sit when I'm crossing the road or stopped and someone told me the same thing and they also said I should just let him be a puppy


She is fairly small but she is a small breed and only just 12 weeks, but she is clever she already sits, lies down, and only whines when she wants a wee so she can be taken out rather than using the house. I feel like saying "I am doing it so she doesn't become a naughty/uncontrollable adult like their dog"


----------



## feorag

Can I ask a favour folks??? The dog training centre we go to is running a competition entitled "I love my dog because" and I've entered Skye in it.

If you're on Facebook will you give us a vote by hovering your mouse over Skye's photo and clicking 'like'? He's in the top right hand corner (with the blue face painted nose!!!) of the page. :2thumb:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.548501888524188.1073741830.238215026219544&type=1


----------



## Zoo-Man

feorag said:


> Can I ask a favour folks??? The dog training centre we go to is running a competition entitled "I love my dog because" and I've entered Skye in it.
> 
> If you're on Facebook will you give us a vote by hovering your mouse over Skye's photo and clicking 'like'? He's in the top right hand corner (with the blue face painted nose!!!) of the page. :2thumb:
> 
> https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.548501888524188.1073741830.238215026219544&type=1


Done : victory:


----------



## Tanzer

So hi! :flrt:

Along with my small collection of reptiles comes my larger obsession with dogs. So much so, it's my career <3 I started doing work experience in the local dog groomers when I was 16 to go along with my animal care courses (NC, HNC, HND) and when I left dog grooming had became a passion over all those years! I've now done my city and guilds - preparing to do the next level and work full time as a dog groomer  it's such a blessing and I couldn't think of anything else I'd rather do...

Anyway that little introduction is really just to explain why I have...

Diego - Blue Standard Poodle 




























And Rugrat - Tri Jack Russell



















And Tequila - Cream Toy Poodle (who is everyones grooming guinea pig!)


----------



## jaykickboxer

Heres A few updated pics of Bella


----------



## Whosthedaddy

After a short walk this morning.


----------



## *H*

Any idea how I can encourage Loki to come down the stairs? He'll go up, no problem but just will not come down them. He's nearly 11 months old now, and he's getting a bit too big to carry down. I've tried all sorts, tempting him by different foods, leaving them on the steps, have sat there myself offering him different stuff, working my way down step by step, but he'll stretch so far and refuse to come any further. Have left him to try and work it out by himself too, but he just sits up there. He's petrified of them!
Don't think it's his hips either, have kept a close eye on him (bit of a paranoia with having a lab) and he's got no problems with jumping up, climbing on furniture, doesn't bunny hop or sit funny, nothing is showing at all so think it's just fear.


----------



## feorag

Never had this happen, but have you tried carrying him down to the last 2-3 steps and then putting him down and encouraging him, then gradually building up to the whole flight?

Maybe the height is worrying him, but if he's only a couple of feet from the floor he might find the courage to manage it?

Alternatively are there not any outdoor steps that you can try him with on the lead, so he gets the confidence?


----------



## *H*

The last 4-5 stairs are on a bend, and I think it would be quite hard to place him down due to how precarious I carry him because of how heavy he is now.
We have got a couple of steps in the garden, which he goes up and down no problem, but I can't think of anywhere that has quite a few. Will keep an eye out for some while we're out and about.
It's a strange one, I've known them to be a bit nervous as pups, but they soon get over it, he's just petrified of coming back down. I wonder if he had a bad experience with his breeder, we didn't get him till he was nearly 11 weeks old, so a bad memory may have stuck.


----------



## feorag

Maybe he did - it does seem odd as they're normally the sort of dog that won't like to be left at the top of a flight of stairs if you go down and leave him.

I would look for stairs out and about in the open and try walking him down there. I can't think of any where I live, but there's a park in the next town where I was this morning and it's built on a slope so there are lots of small flights of about 5-6 stairs that would be great to start him off.

Move down here! :roll2:


----------



## *H*

The breeder had 5/6 young kids so the house was quite lively. BUT that was one of the reasons why we chose Loki - He was nice and laid back but confident and happy with it, dispite the hecticness of the house. I figured he would be pretty much bomb proof :lol: He is of course, not much fazes him apart from the stairs. I'm just wondering if one of the youngsters took him up one day.. we all know what littlens can be like with pups :roll:
Yeah he normally follows everyone, everywhere. Doesn't like to not know what's going on, but even his curiosity isn't strong enough to combat the scary stairs. 
We're in the middle of the peak district, there should be some steps somewhere! :lol2:


----------



## Kare

German Shepherd Bitch For Breeding. *NOT FOR SALE* | Exeter, Devon | Pets4Homes

Not even 12 months!!
Some sick people just cannot wait to make money off their poor animals!!


----------



## lisadew24

Kare said:


> German Shepherd Bitch For Breeding. *NOT FOR SALE* | Exeter, Devon | Pets4Homes
> 
> Not even 12 months!!
> Some sick people just cannot wait to make money off their poor animals!!


That is sick you can just see the pound signs in the owners eyes when looking at that poor dog.

Sheldon had the same problem with stairs all I did was put him on a lead and just walk him down I just kept calm and ignored any hesitation now he's fine


----------



## feorag

Would love to breed her with a Shepherd or a Husky??? :bash:


----------



## Dannyk79

A few recent pictures of my Staffy ( Bailey ) He is 8 months old now.































Sent from my GT-N7100 using Tapatalk 4 Beta


----------



## Christie_ZXR

Beautiful :flrt:


----------



## skilzo

My parents just got their first puppy in about 10 years tho we have another cocker spaniels  

Heres a couple of rubbish pictures


----------



## kemist

skilzo said:


> My parents just got their first puppy in about 10 years tho we have another cocker spaniels
> 
> Heres a couple of rubbish pictures
> 
> [URL="http://i1337.photobucket.com/albums/o679/Skil-zo/IMAG0328_zpsac2d8927.jpg"]image[/URL]
> 
> [URL="http://i1337.photobucket.com/albums/o679/Skil-zo/IMAG0332_zps94bf9da6.jpg"]image[/URL]


A springy spaniel:flrt:


----------



## Whosthedaddy

skilzo said:


> My parents just got their first puppy in about 10 years tho we have another cocker spaniels
> 
> Heres a couple of rubbish pictures
> 
> http://s1337.photobucket.com/user/Skil-zo/media/IMAG0328_zpsac2d8927.jpg.htmlimage
> 
> http://s1337.photobucket.com/user/Skil-zo/media/IMAG0332_zps94bf9da6.jpg.htmlimage


Lovely little dog, would love a gun dog but not sure I'd be able to match the enthusiasm and energy to make it happy?


----------



## skilzo

She's just settling in her name Kali its great having a puppy again  

Sent from my HTC One X+ using Tapatalk 2


----------



## Whosthedaddy

Anyones dog gone off their food lately? Not sure if its the heat or weather? Any ideas as to how and try and improve her appetite? She's on BARF but snubbed her favourites and alternatives?


----------



## steve111

my girl been off her food abit wont hert her tho lol


----------



## feorag

We are finding Skye is maybe eating his breakfast in the middle of the day and then eating his supper at bedtime. We often find they go off their food in the summer, I'm sure she'll be fine and her appetite will pick up when the weather changes - not that it's anywhere near summer weather where we are! :roll:


----------



## *H*

Managed to get a pic of my 3 last week without one looking like an idiot


----------



## PPVallhunds

My girls picking at her food more, often she don't finish breakfast untill later on (I leave her food down untill she eats it)
She realy went off it at one point but she gets board with her food so we changed the wet food to another brand for a week then back to her normal stuff. We only use a small amount of wet with her dry for extra flavour.


----------



## PPVallhunds

Was really proud of Fay on Sunday, for the last year we have been working on her fear of people and reasontly got her to the point where she would stand for a judge but would still shake or lean, she is worse with men. Well I entered her into Windsor champ show and she stood on the table like a statue for the judge to go over her and it was a man judge too! She got 2nd out of 4 as well.


----------



## feorag

Well done! Patience wins out in the end, it's just a question of the dog realising what exactly is going to happen and when they realise there's nothing to be frightened of, they are fine.

Great news and great result at the show! :2thumb:


----------



## Zoo-Man

PPVallhunds said:


> Was really proud of Fay on Sunday, for the last year we have been working on her fear of people and reasontly got her to the point where she would stand for a judge but would still shake or lean, she is worse with men. Well I entered her into Windsor champ show and she stood on the table like a statue for the judge to go over her and it was a man judge too! She got 2nd out of 4 as well.
> 
> image


Excellent, well done! Bet you floated home! Shame you aren't closer to Blackpool, as our club has put Swedish Vallhund classes on for our open show this year.


----------



## PPVallhunds

That is a shame, we seem to be getting more breed classes at open shows now, was none here but had one a few months this back, one next month and one in September. Will be nice not to be in AVNSC or AV as there is all ways either German shepherds in there or Belgium shepherds and they all ways get the class.


----------



## purpleskyes

Someone was very happy with his new pink hippo!


Untitled by purplepixie87, on Flickr


----------



## Zoo-Man

PPVallhunds said:


> That is a shame, we seem to be getting more breed classes at open shows now, was none here but had one a few months this back, one next month and one in September. Will be nice not to be in AVNSC or AV as there is all ways either German shepherds in there or Belgium shepherds and they all ways get the class.


We have a couple of exhibitors with Vallhunds up here, so it should work well for us to put classes on for the breed. Funnily enough, we don't see many German Shepard Dogs being shown.


----------



## Ameliaxx

Im going to see a litter of Manchester terriers tomorrow to hopefully put my name down for one


----------



## feorag

*How does Skye keep cool in this heat?*

Well both Skye and I are struggling with this heat. All my back doors and patio doors and windows are open and I have the tower fan on full blast to blow on me and guess what - Skye's discovered it and has been lying in the full blast for the most of the day!


----------



## PPVallhunds

Zoo-Man said:


> We have a couple of exhibitors with Vallhunds up here, so it should work well for us to put classes on for the breed. Funnily enough, we don't see many German Shepard Dogs being shown.


There's only normally 2 people showing gsd here at open shows too.

What gets me is when we're stuck in AVNSC when they have breed classes for breeds when no one enters them, border collies normally have classes but only once was any entered.


----------



## kemist

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=136530309887106&set=p.136530309887106&type=2&theater

My mutt found a way to stay cool too!

And she has been in the sea and loves playing with water!


----------



## Morpheus Pythons

Lovin the dog thread, this is Scooby with his "I want a walk" sulk face on...
Usually works too!


----------



## feorag

Yup!! That's a sulk face all right! :2thumb:


----------



## feorag

I don't think anyone can really advise you what to do, because you know the dog so the final decision has to be yours.

Personally, I certainly don't agree with your partner - if you are still seeing a quality in her life, then I certainly wouldn't euthanse. I think when you know your pets you know when the time is right because they will tell you when they've had enough and want to go - the signs will all be there. If they aren't at the minute, then carry on.

If you feel she may be more settled at your parents you could give it a try and see how she gets on, but if she loves you and is attached to you, then she will want to be where you are. 

So really, not a lot of help at all - sorry! :blush:


----------



## feorag

And that's why nobody else can make that decision for you, sadly!

If it was me I'd give her a trial first and see how she gets on. 



Yeh! :2thumb: German Shepherds!!!

The German Shepherd Song - YouTube


----------



## feorag

Quite a while ago I posted a link to the photo of Schoep and his owner in the lake. I've just found out today that Schoep has died just after his 20th birthday. :sad: 

Incredible achievement for a GSD to get to 20 years old.

Here's his story! :whistling2:

Schoep the arthritic dog pictured in heartwarming photo of his owner easing his pain dies after celebrating his 20th birthday | Mail Online


----------



## Whosthedaddy

Busy day and now have a rather tired dog!

At a dog show and then for walkies afterwards.










Nice park and even had a designated area for swimming and paddling. Of course this being the first time she has been near water like this only paddled till she missed the ramp and went head under.

:lol2:

She took it in her stride and still enjoyed splashing about with the other dogs.


----------



## feorag

I bet there were a few 'double takes' when people saw the size of her! :lol2:


----------



## Ally

We had a great weekend last weekend meeting new dogs. We're taking it easy and making sure the dogs are 'with us' rather than randomly met dogs because of her terrible recall when over excited. 
First we went to a friends BBQ in the field out the back of her house, we finally found an energy match (and Pip was a bit faster on the flat) for our 6 month old German Shorthair Pointer... A 1 year old Collie :/
Eek!
They ran far more than she should be at her age, but trying to stop them just resulted in lots of lead twirling and noise. Once the'd run the worst off it was really nice to see her relax with another dog!

Sunday was another BBQ, but this time with two older dogs that made it clear they didn't want to play, or have any fuss. She relaxed really quickly and although it took a few tellings off, was really calm. That could have been the running from the night before though 

She's still mental when out on walks and meets a dog, but I really feel like we might crack this eventually!

She's not bad with dogs, just rude to them and far too pushy for play.


----------



## feorag

Blind dog and deaf dog who became best friends at shelter find forever home together » DogHeirs | Where Dogs Are Family « Keywords: blind, deaf, Marley's Mutts Dog Rescue, California


----------



## feorag

Just had to share this photograph of German Shepherds having fun in the surf, taken by a friend of mine.

I think it is awesome!!!


----------



## Whosthedaddy

feorag said:


> Just had to share this photograph of German Shepherds having fun in the surf, taken by a friend of mine.
> 
> I think it is awesome!!!
> 
> [URL=http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u289/feorag/animal%20photos/dogs%20and%20horses/557967_499653073445283_783539206_n_zpsdbbe09d0.jpg]image[/URL]


I'd like to take our beast to the beach and see what she makes of the surf.


----------



## Whosthedaddy

Making short work of a whole chicken carcass.










Why she doesn't lay down like most sensible animals and chow down instead of standing there chewing like a piece of gum.


----------



## feorag

Whosthedaddy said:


> I'd like to take our beast to the beach and see what she makes of the surf.


Skye loves swimming, but isn't so keen on the waves. On Saturday the waves were quite gentle, but he'd swum out to get his rope and on the way back a big roll came in and lifting him up - his face was a picture!!! I swear his eyes widened!! :lol2:

If the waves are big he will stand and wait for them to break before swimming out.


----------



## x Sarah x

Have just put antler chews up in pets classifieds  got a bunch to sell if anyone is interested!

My pair of bull terriers are still on their first ones i gave them over 2 weeks ago! Just a few chew marks on the ends nothing more, amazing : victory:


----------



## Whosthedaddy

x Sarah x said:


> Have just put antler chews up in pets classifieds  got a bunch to sell if anyone is interested!
> 
> My pair of bull terriers are still on their first ones i gave them over 2 weeks ago! Just a few chew marks on the ends nothing more, amazing : victory:












Straight from the postman so to speak.


----------



## Middleton Mouse

we're off to the dogs trust today. We lost one of our dogs in May and now that I'm back at work our remaining dog seems a bit lonely.


----------



## x Sarah x

Whosthedaddy said:


> image
> 
> Straight from the postman so to speak.


Brilliant! I'm glad i picked out a nice thick piece when my instinct told me this would be for a strong dog :lol2:

Glad she likes!


----------



## feorag

Please will everyone vote for Skye in this competition? :flrt:

https://www.facebook.com/MuddyPawsUK?sk=app_422118604517529&app_data=view-vote,for-1113556


----------



## Middleton Mouse

Reserved this wee guy from the Dogs Trust:flrt: He's 9.









He's very stressed in the kennels so was constantly looking for a means of escape on the way back but he got on well with our GSD cross which is a miracle in itself.


----------



## feorag

Bonnie dog! :flrt:


----------



## Montage_Morphs

Hope the link works, this is Charlie Bear influenced by the power of snusages. His bark is hilariously pitiful in this helium video hahaha!

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10151801842306113&set=vb.600371112&type=2&theater


----------



## Montage_Morphs

Just a wee day in the life of a Charlie Bear 

Wakey wakey! 










Fancy the beach today Charlie Bear?




























Quick stop off at the pub on the way home...










Both my boys passed out on me...










Curly wurly sleepy puppy...


----------



## Montage_Morphs

Some random shots of his other adventures over the summer...

Best pal Pebbles, the south african boerboel










Free spirit, flowers in his hair...










Paddling with Belle his staffy pal










Bounding like a bunneh through long grass and open fields 



















Rolling in things he shouldnt be...










Paddle paddle










Megatired, his wee legs are all zoomied out!


----------



## feorag

Great photos! 

Where was the "paddle paddle" photo taken. It looks very familiar to me, but I can't remember where it is?


----------



## Montage_Morphs

feorag said:


> Great photos!
> 
> Where was the "paddle paddle" photo taken. It looks very familiar to me, but I can't remember where it is?


That was at Largs seafront. He had a wee lick of my cone from Nardinis as well :blush:


----------



## feorag

Yes! At first I though it was Oban but remembered that St Columba's doesn't have a spire.

But I was right about it being St Columba's. 

I always go to Largs when I visit my son in Irvine. :2thumb:


----------



## JustJack

Thought I'd pop in and say hi, this is my first dog. Pedro the pug puppy!

Here he is 





































: victory:


----------



## feorag

Cute guy! :flrt:

This looks like the rear window of my estate car, so had to share!


----------



## feorag

Not all these are available in the UK, but an interesting read!!!

Top 12 Worst Dog Food Brands - Holistic And Organix Pet Shoppe


----------



## JustJack

He's cute but he's a little terror!

He is TERRIBLE on walks, unless there is another dog to chase, or he is running after you in a field, he just sits in the middle of the pavement! Grr


----------



## Middleton Mouse

feorag said:


> Not all these are available in the UK, but an interesting read!!!
> 
> Top 12 Worst Dog Food Brands - Holistic And Organix Pet Shoppe


Always wondered how some manufacturers get away with marketing such garbage as dog food. Our oldest doggy is quite sensitive but the only decent food that seems to agree with her is taste of the wild.


----------



## feorag

Favour from Facebookers.

Can you please vote for Ollie??

His story is there, but he has helped his owner to raise thousands of pounds almost every weekend at PaH branches for GSDR (German Shepherd Dog Rescue). Sadly he died in March, but he deserves being chose as their cover photo as he was a brilliant ambassador for the breed.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Pets-at-Home-Harrogate/218687124816751?hc_location=stream


----------



## Middleton Mouse

Thought I'd share some photos of Jake the dog we got from the dogs trust last weekend. 

Lovely lovely slobber









Best two quid spent ever, he loves this toy









With my dog Sansa









9 year old but still acts like a pup









Run Jake run









Not sure why he got all excited about pooping


















They played football




































Then sansa decided the football was hers









and my dog Sansa just coz I loves her even if she is a grump


















Jake has some incredibly irritating habits that we're trying to break hm of and he's terrible on a lead. Does anyone have any (humane) tips to stop a dog pulling when out? Being on a lead and being taken for a walk seems to be an alien concept to him. 

Also he tends to mouth hands when we're playing with him, it's almost like he hasn't grown out of certain habits. We've not been able to let him off leash yet as his recall is practicaly non existant and yet he's shown that he recognises his new name. We've a fairly good idea of how to fix that though and he just won't be let off leash until we're confident he'll come back.



> Favour from Facebookers.
> 
> Can you please vote for Ollie??
> 
> His story is there, but he has helped his owner to raise thousands of pounds almost every weekend at PaH branches for GSDR (German Shepherd Dog Rescue). Sadly he died in March, but he deserves being chose as their cover photo as he was a brilliant ambassador for the breed.
> 
> https://www.facebook.com/pages/Pets-...ocation=stream


I've voted for ollie, he's a very handsome lad.


----------



## feorag

He looks a very happy dog! :2thumb:

I bought Skye one of those tennis balls on a rope - it lasted half a day and he'd split the tennis ball and was left with a rope. Now we have a solid heavyweight rubber on a rope and that's so far proved to be indestructible! :lol2:

Thank you for voting for Ollie - he really was a wonderful ambassador for the German Shepherd Dog - not like my Skye :lol2: He'd put most people off having one! :roll:


----------



## Ameliaxx

pick up day tomorrow of my little Manchester terrier bitch pup ;D soooo excited bought lots and lots  I've been waiting 2 years for this little pup and her name will be Inca


----------



## Ameliaxx

feorag said:


> Favour from Facebookers.
> 
> Can you please vote for Ollie??
> 
> His story is there, but he has helped his owner to raise thousands of pounds almost every weekend at PaH branches for GSDR (German Shepherd Dog Rescue). Sadly he died in March, but he deserves being chose as their cover photo as he was a brilliant ambassador for the breed.
> 
> https://www.facebook.com/pages/Pets-at-Home-Harrogate/218687124816751?hc_location=stream


voted :2thumb:


----------



## Middleton Mouse

feorag said:


> Thank you for voting for Ollie - he really was a wonderful ambassador for the German Shepherd Dog - not like my Skye :lol2: He'd put most people off having one! :roll:


Our Sansa is an alsatian cross, she's a great dog and really does seem to understand everything we say. Picked up all of her commands very quickly and with minimal training.


----------



## lisadew24

feorag said:


> Favour from Facebookers.
> 
> Can you please vote for Ollie??
> 
> His story is there, but he has helped his owner to raise thousands of pounds almost every weekend at PaH branches for GSDR (German Shepherd Dog Rescue). Sadly he died in March, but he deserves being chose as their cover photo as he was a brilliant ambassador for the breed.
> 
> https://www.facebook.com/pages/Pets-at-Home-Harrogate/218687124816751?hc_location=stream


Voted


----------



## PPVallhunds

Middleton Mouse said:


> Jake has some incredibly irritating habits that we're trying to break hm of and he's terrible on a lead. Does anyone have any (humane) tips to stop a dog pulling when out? Being on a lead and being taken for a walk seems to be an alien concept to him.
> 
> Also he tends to mouth hands when we're playing with him, it's almost like he hasn't grown out of certain habits. We've not been able to let him off leash yet as his recall is practicaly non existant and yet he's shown that he recognises his new name. We've a fairly good idea of how to fix that though and he just won't be let off leash until we're confident he'll come back.


For the pulling you could try a harness with a ring at the front of the chest to clip the lead two, my girls one has a chest ring and you can see the difference when she is walked on it as if she pulls she gets turned around. You could also try one of the head coller thing, never tryed one myself.
Every time he pulls just stop and take a step back, don't go untill he has come back then reward and carry on and repeat many many times.


----------



## feorag

I was going to say Halti/Dogmatic/Phoenix or PaH Headcollar. Any of these will stop a dog from pulling cos when they get ahead, it turns their head to face you and they can't pull. A harness tends to encourage pulling imao!

Our Skye had had no lead training and just pulled and choked when he was on a lead. We bought a PaH Headcollar and that stopped him.


----------



## feorag

Ollie won the PaH competition so thank you to everyone who voted for him! : victory:


----------



## Whosthedaddy

Had lunch with the inlaws today and had a play date with the 9 month old Collie and a 6 month old GSD.

Only a few 'moments' including our big girl getting into the chicken coop! I swear she was going to come it with one in her mouth.

Anyways she seemed to enjoy being the fat kid in the playground chasing the cool kids about.



















And daddy spent most of the day with the kids...


----------



## feorag

Great photos - loving the GSD babby!!! :flrt:


----------



## purpleskyes

We may be adding another dog to the family. This lovely little lady has been in Battersea for the last 6 months and fingers crossed if she gets along with Hudson she will be coming to live with us.


Untitled by purplepixie87, on Flickr


Untitled by purplepixie87, on Flickr


----------



## x Sarah x

Is it Friday yet?


No but nearly!!!


----------



## JustJack

purpleskyes said:


> We may be adding another dog to the family. This lovely little lady has been in Battersea for the last 6 months and fingers crossed if she gets along with Hudson she will be coming to live with us.
> 
> [URL=http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3791/9621075635_05e363babf.jpg]image[/url]
> Untitled by purplepixie87, on Flickr
> 
> [URL=http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3786/9624313238_1679acc9d5.jpg]image[/url]
> Untitled by purplepixie87, on Flickr


Akita? Lovely dogs!


----------



## feorag

purpleskyes said:


> We may be adding another dog to the family. This lovely little lady has been in Battersea for the last 6 months and fingers crossed if she gets along with Hudson she will be coming to live with us.
> 
> [URL="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3791/9621075635_05e363babf.jpg"]image[/URL]
> Untitled by purplepixie87, on Flickr
> 
> [URL="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3786/9624313238_1679acc9d5.jpg"]image[/URL]
> Untitled by purplepixie87, on Flickr


She looks lovely! :flrt:

Hope it works out for you!



x Sarah x said:


> Is it Friday yet?
> [URL="http://i906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/felix5889/meh/Meh%202/1083425_10153042032955416_352630480_o_zps131d197f.jpg"]image[/URL]
> 
> No but nearly!!!
> [URL="http://i906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/felix5889/meh/Meh%202/1093700_10153124941870416_2059196703_o_zpse849c615.jpg"]image[/URL]


Just love both those photos :flrt:

I'm gonna have to share that top one on Facebook! :2thumb:


----------



## JustJack

Think it's safe to say h'es comfy haha!










Snuck into my bed, couldn't resist those eyes!


----------



## purpleskyes

Trootle said:


> Akita? Lovely dogs!


Yea she is not sure if she is 100% Akita as she is just tiny. Hudson is our male akita and is much bigger.



feorag said:


> She looks lovely! :flrt:
> 
> Hope it works out for you!
> 
> Just love both those photos :flrt:
> 
> I'm gonna have to share that top one on Facebook! :2thumb:


I hope so the land lady has given consent so it all depends on how Foxy interacts with Hudson. She is very wary of people and dogs as she was never socialised plus the last 6 months in kennels can't have helped either.


----------



## freekygeeky

purpleskyes said:


> Yea she is not sure if she is 100% Akita as she is just tiny. Hudson is our male akita and is much bigger.
> 
> 
> 
> I hope so the land lady has given consent so it all depends on how Foxy interacts with Hudson. She is very wary of people and dogs as she was never socialised plus the last 6 months in kennels can't have helped either.


I thought of you the other day when i saw Samson, sadly he can only be an only dog..stunning boy!

Samson - Dog Rehoming - Adopting a Dog - Wood Green, The Animals Charity.


----------



## feorag

Just had to share this!!1

Teaching wolf cub to howl - Ensinando o filhote de lobo a uivar - YouTube


----------



## BMo1979

Going to a fundraiser dog show today reminded me again of one of the reasons why I stopped doing Agility with Trigger (the others being that the club at that time was overrun with Australian Shepherds and Border Collies and didn't cater for larger dogs and a certain group of owners of said dogs just got too competitive):
Why do most of the participants have to scream and shout at their dogs all the way through the course? Do they not realise that a dog's hearing is times better than a human's?
Worst thing was, the dogs taking part were getting completely hyped up, too, and were "shouting" back at their owners, making the whole thing a complete racket, cos it set all the dogs off that were watching.
I think my head would explode after 10 minutes, lol.

I found some of the owners (particularly one) got quite grumpy when their dog didn't run the right way. It wasn't even a competition just a bit of a display. Isn't it meant to be fun?

There other thing that made me laugh rather than annoyed was that there were a few classes to get judged (they had a "proper" Scottish Kennel Club Judge). The first lot was the usual puppy, working, utility, toy, etc and the next lot things like prettiest bitch, waggiest tail, etc. 
Again some owners took it way way too seriously, even within the fun classes, putting their dogs into the proper show stance, holding up tails and heads, prancing around like ponies (it's not like they were actually being judged for pedigree - everyone could enter, papers or not).
I entered Trigger into the Veterans (7+), but he didn't win anything, cos he decided he couldn't be bothered to pose and sat down (found out after that he needed a no.2, thankfully he held out, lol).
Storm took part in the Prettiest Bitch (of course), she got into final 10, but lost out on the 4 placing (rather average looking Collie won it, an impressive (but too massive IMHO) Great Dane, a Husky and a black Mix whose owner loudly complained that only pedigrees were picked, so they gave her a price to shut her up, lol). 
I found that the "professional" dog show world often seems a bit too serious and competitive to me and some people seem to forget to have fun with it. I mean, if they can't have fun at a charity show, what will they be like at a proper one?


----------



## x Sarah x

I really don't have enough pics of Smeg, my little fruitbat is going to 14 years old in a couple of weeks, she's still very much a livewire, bit grey round the muzzle and her teeth are nothing to be proud of but she bounces up and down the garden like any puppy


----------



## feorag

She's beautiful! :flrt:

I'm not sure that I even knew you had her?? Have you posted her photos before? If not then you're a bad girl! :bash:

She's a stunner!


----------



## x Sarah x

I post pics now and then. She doesn't live with me, i've had her since i was 9 and when i moved out at 18 she was getting on, i didn't want to stress her with the move but also my fella already had Kizzy and she's not so keen on other dogs, so i think it would have been too much for little Meg, i lost my nan a few years before and my grandad was lonely so the decision was that she'd go to him to keep him company and he could keep her company and i'd see her whenever i visit the family which i do so everyone wins 

It does scare me that she's getting old now, i worry i won't be there to say goodbye when she goes, if i ever get the call i will be down there like a shot on the train, but it still scares me she will go before i get to say goodbye, she means the world to me, she got me through some very difficult times in my life, i owe her so much. But we will tackle that hurdle when it comes, right now she isn't showing any signs of slowing down 

I'm sure i mentioned this before, i was 9 years old when i got her, she was 9 months old, her birthday is 9-9-99  as you can imagine, her 9th birthday was a very special one!!! lol


----------



## feorag

Ah! That explains it! I thought she didn't live with you.

I had the same thoughts with my first dog who was 6 when I got married, but sadly he had other ideas. When I lived at home my mum would let him out and he would sit at the front gate waiting for me to get home from work. He always knew the right time and sat at the front door until she opened it.

When I got married and was still working so couldn't start again with a puppy I used to pick him up from work on Friday evenings and take him home with me and then drop him off at my mum's on the way to work on Monday mornings. I still called in on my way home from work every night, cos I finished an hour before my husband, so I'd have a cuppa with my mum and then go and pick John up.

However, what happened then was that he wouldn't just sit at the gate as before, he began to jump over the gatepost and sit in the middle of the road waiting for me. My mum said it would never work to leave him with them permanently because he was just too attached to me, so he came with me. Never regretted it though and I totally understand your worries about something happening to her when you are too far away to get there.


----------



## Zoo-Man

BMo1979 said:


> Going to a fundraiser dog show today reminded me again of one of the reasons why I stopped doing Agility with Trigger (the others being that the club at that time was overrun with Australian Shepherds and Border Collies and didn't cater for larger dogs and a certain group of owners of said dogs just got too competitive):
> Why do most of the participants have to scream and shout at their dogs all the way through the course? Do they not realise that a dog's hearing is times better than a human's?
> Worst thing was, the dogs taking part were getting completely hyped up, too, and were "shouting" back at their owners, making the whole thing a complete racket, cos it set all the dogs off that were watching.
> I think my head would explode after 10 minutes, lol.
> 
> I found some of the owners (particularly one) got quite grumpy when their dog didn't run the right way. It wasn't even a competition just a bit of a display. Isn't it meant to be fun?
> 
> There other thing that made me laugh rather than annoyed was that there were a few classes to get judged (they had a "proper" Scottish Kennel Club Judge). The first lot was the usual puppy, working, utility, toy, etc and the next lot things like prettiest bitch, waggiest tail, etc.
> Again some owners took it way way too seriously, even within the fun classes, putting their dogs into the proper show stance, holding up tails and heads, prancing around like ponies (it's not like they were actually being judged for pedigree - everyone could enter, papers or not).
> I entered Trigger into the Veterans (7+), but he didn't win anything, cos he decided he couldn't be bothered to pose and sat down (found out after that he needed a no.2, thankfully he held out, lol).
> Storm took part in the Prettiest Bitch (of course), she got into final 10, but lost out on the 4 placing (rather average looking Collie won it, an impressive (but too massive IMHO) Great Dane, a Husky and a black Mix whose owner loudly complained that only pedigrees were picked, so they gave her a price to shut her up, lol).
> I found that the "professional" dog show world often seems a bit too serious and competitive to me and some people seem to forget to have fun with it. I mean, if they can't have fun at a charity show, what will they be like at a proper one?


Haha, I guess you will always get some overly competitive people in all hobbies. Whilst we are at the KC dog shows, we see some sights. One woman's Chihuahua came 2nd out of 2 in one class. I thought it was the better dog than the one placed 1st, but I wasn't judging. The woman was asked by the judge to wait in line for the judge to write a critique. The woman yelled "No, I wont have one done" at the judge. All rather embarrassing.


----------



## BMo1979

Zoo-Man said:


> Haha, I guess you will always get some overly competitive people in all hobbies. Whilst we are at the KC dog shows, we see some sights. One woman's Chihuahua came 2nd out of 2 in one class. I thought it was the better dog than the one placed 1st, but I wasn't judging. The woman was asked by the judge to wait in line for the judge to write a critique. The woman yelled "No, I wont have one done" at the judge. All rather embarrassing.



I was watching a program about people showing dogs. Naturally, the majority they showed on tv were picked for their wackiness for entertainment purposes, but some I thought were just absolutely bonkers and mega competitive. 
I always find it refreshing to see handlers at crufts who are not dolled up to the max and sparkle like disco balls (although the ones wearing high heels in the ring can provide a good laugh when they can't run in them). After all the focus should be on the dogs. 
I think on our show that day, it was mainly one group of people (Boxers) who took it a bit too seriously (including the "judge").
There was another girl there with whom I had a right good giggle, especially when I jokingly tried to jokingly pose Storm and she spun around and looked at me as if to say "Have you lost your mind, woman?".
Found out today that the "average looking Collie" (my quote, lol) belongs to the person who organised the show and that this dog had won at least 3 prices throughout the day. Fix, pmsl!!!


----------



## Zoo-Man

BMo1979 said:


> I was watching a program about people showing dogs. Naturally, the majority they showed on tv were picked for their wackiness for entertainment purposes, but some I thought were just absolutely bonkers and mega competitive.
> I always find it refreshing to see handlers at crufts who are not dolled up to the max and sparkle like disco balls (although the ones wearing high heels in the ring can provide a good laugh when they can't run in them). After all the focus should be on the dogs.
> I think on our show that day, it was mainly one group of people (Boxers) who took it a bit too seriously (including the "judge").
> There was another girl there with whom I had a right good giggle, especially when I jokingly tried to jokingly pose Storm and she spun around and looked at me as if to say "Have you lost your mind, woman?".
> Found out today that the "average looking Collie" (my quote, lol) belongs to the person who organised the show and that this dog had won at least 3 prices throughout the day. Fix, pmsl!!!


 
I don't go mad when dressing for the ring, the wackiest I've ever dressed in for a show was a lime green waistcoat :lol2:


----------



## x Sarah x

Omg i want to be her :flrt:

Eileen you will like this one!!! 

Litle girl 5 years playing with 14 german shepherds. - YouTube


----------



## ChelsNLuke

It has dropped quite a bit colder ...in north wales anyway and dora our seven and a half year old great dane is refusing to go for walkies...anyone else get this from their dogs :lol2:?
-Chels


----------



## feorag

x Sarah x said:


> Omg i want to be her :flrt:
> 
> Eileen you will like this one!!!
> 
> Litle girl 5 years playing with 14 german shepherds. - YouTube


You're right - I Do! :flrt: Lovely!



ChelsNLuke said:


> It has dropped quite a bit colder ...in north wales anyway and dora our seven and a half year old great dane is refusing to go for walkies...anyone else get this from their dogs :lol2:?
> -Chels


What! :gasp: Skye refuse to go out for a walk! :gasp:

NEVER!!! :roll2: PMSL!!


----------



## ChelsNLuke

Dora picks and chooses her walks , I open the door and shout walk and she just looks up at me like "seriously"
:lol2:


----------



## feorag

:lol2: I can't even put a pair of shoes on without him jumping up and down for joy and rushing to sit and wait 'in position' at the front door! :roll:

Course this makes me feel very guilty if I'm going somewhere and he can't come! :sad:


----------



## ChelsNLuke

feorag said:


> :lol2: I can't even put a pair of shoes on without him jumping up and down for joy and rushing to sit and wait 'in position' at the front door! :roll:
> 
> Course this makes me feel very guilty if I'm going somewhere and he can't come! :sad:


Aw bless him! I can relate to you there dora will ignore my walk offers all day but the moment I go to work...
:lol2:
-Chels


----------



## feorag

Yup! :2thumb:


----------



## BMo1979

I've heard of a couple of dogs before that were very picky when it came to walking times. One of my neighbour's dogs doesn't go out in the dark for example, whereas his other one does (both Shih Tzus), lol.

Trigger and Storm would spend all day walking around outside if the could. Trigger has calmed down a bit but Storm gets really excited and starts whining and "talking" when I put my muck boots and walking jacket on.

Speaking of walkies: While I appreciate that some people are very scared of dogs (or just don't like them), when someone walks towards me and I get the dogs to heel right next to me, even move about 6 feet away onto the grass, all the while the dogs are not even looking at said person. If that person still feels like they have to cross the road and walk alongside where there is no path and when I say a polite "Good Morning" just give me a very sour-faced look, IMHO it would be time to seek professional help to deal with their fears.... that, or maybe that woman was just a miserable old trout, lol.


----------



## _simon_

Ours doesn't seem bothered by cold but if it's raining then it's not so much a walk but a race to get home. He won't even walk through puddles on the pavement! This will be the 2nd winter with our lab, last winter I had to stop walking him due to ice. He couldn't get a grip, never mind me. I had to tire him out in the garden instead everyday. It's a shame councils won't grit the pavements. Walking my step son to school was a nightmare last year! 

People with smaller dogs aren't keen on our lad. Because he still pulls he can sound like a steam train/snarling dog at times. On the way back from his morning walk there was a lady who had she dragged her dog any further off to the side from us would have been peering out from behind a bush. She wouldn't even look at us, eyes fixed firmly at the floor. If she had bothered to look she would have seen he wasn't snarling, just being a bugger. That's the only thing I can fault our lab on is his pulling. He's excellent with his behaviour and doing what we tell him to do but as soon as he's on the lead he's in a world of his own. I'm finding that having him on a short lead and walking much slower than he wants to is slowly reducing the pulling. We've not had him castrated yet, some people say this can have an affect on the pulling but others say it's mostly an age thing and he might not properly calm down till 2 years+ in age.

Here's a recent pic, he's 17 months old, we've had him since he was just over 8 weeks old.


----------



## JustJack

_simon_ said:


> Ours doesn't seem bothered by cold but if it's raining then it's not so much a walk but a race to get home. He won't even walk through puddles on the pavement! This will be the 2nd winter with our lab, last winter I had to stop walking him due to ice. He couldn't get a grip, never mind me. I had to tire him out in the garden instead everyday. It's a shame councils won't grit the pavements. Walking my step son to school was a nightmare last year!
> 
> People with smaller dogs aren't keen on our lad. Because he still pulls he can sound like a steam train/snarling dog at times. On the way back from his morning walk there was a lady who had she dragged her dog any further off to the side from us would have been peering out from behind a bush. She wouldn't even look at us, eyes fixed firmly at the floor. If she had bothered to look she would have seen he wasn't snarling, just being a bugger. That's the only thing I can fault our lab on is his pulling. He's excellent with his behaviour and doing what we tell him to do but as soon as he's on the lead he's in a world of his own. I'm finding that having him on a short lead and walking much slower than he wants to is slowly reducing the pulling. We've not had him castrated yet, some people say this can have an affect on the pulling but others say it's mostly an age thing and he might not properly calm down till 2 years+ in age.
> 
> Here's a recent pic, he's 17 months old, we've had him since he was just over 8 weeks old.
> image


He's very handsome!


----------



## feorag

Are you waking him on the collar?? If you are I would say try a headcollar, cos they can't really pull on that.

Our Skye is great on a headcollar, but attach his lead to a collar and he pulls and chokes, heavy breaths and basically sounds godawful!


----------



## BMo1979

feorag said:


> Are you waking him on the collar?? If you are I would say try a headcollar, cos they can't really pull on that.
> 
> *Our Skye is great on a headcollar, but attach his lead to a collar and he pulls and chokes, heavy breaths and basically sounds godawful*!


It's not just the sound, it's the danger of a collapsed trachea which in itself could cause respiratory and heart problems. 
Storm can be an awful puller on the lead (she's usually better after doing the toilet and running around on the fields), but she just doesn't take to the head collar at all. We've tried the normal Halti which kept going into her eyes, a padded headcollar, which she manage to rip at the strap that clips onto the collar and until her new harness arrives, a horse tack based figure of 8 head rope. Even so we use tons of positive reinforcement and rewards, she just hates to have anything on her head and even the latest one is starting to fray from her standing on her hind legs scratching it (it looks horrible when she does it).
I've now ordered her a Freedom Harness Wiggles Wags & Whiskers, which is an American product and has a clip on the back and one in the front, which brakes (not breaks, lol) the dog gently (I think it's based on Tellington Touch?).
There's also a thing called the Mekuti Balance Harness, which uses a similar method. A lot of Nordic Breed owners use them, because a normal harness just encourages pulling in a lot of dogs apparently.


----------



## feorag

Skye has no problems with headcollars, because they mean he's going out for a walk - pure and simple. He will throw his head inside the muzzle, cos that means walks with other dogs!


----------



## ermgravy

ditto with the right motivation a collar or muzzle should be easy to get on the roughest, most aggressive dogs... 










looking tiny in this pic...


----------



## _simon_

feorag said:


> Are you waking him on the collar?? If you are I would say try a headcollar, cos they can't really pull on that.
> 
> Our Skye is great on a headcollar, but attach his lead to a collar and he pulls and chokes, heavy breaths and basically sounds godawful!


Walking him on his normal collar is impossible, he chokes himself really bad. I bought a full body halti harness given that they were marketed at problem dogs and it seemed a better option than a head harness and I bought the double ended halti lead for it as well but he would pull with his full body strength and I just had no control whatsoever. He's not exactly a huge dog but its incredible how hard he can pull. Right now I use the official halti head collar and that makes the world of difference but he still pulls with it on. If I wasn't such a fat b*****d he'd pull me over. Sometimes he'll pull so hard he sounds like a pig but most of the time he's pretty well behaved, still pulling but what I would consider bearable. He's usually worst at the start of the walk as he's got a favourite toilet spot and wants to get there yesterday.


----------



## feorag

ermgravy said:


> ditto with the right motivation a collar or muzzle should be easy to get on the roughest, most aggressive dogs...
> 
> image
> 
> looking tiny in this pic...


He does, doesn't he??

Course we all know he's feckin' enormous! :lol2:


----------



## ermgravy

_simon_ said:


> *Walking him on his normal collar is impossible, he chokes himself really bad.* I bought a full body halti harness given that they were marketed at problem dogs and it seemed a better option than a head harness and I bought the double ended halti lead for it as well but he would pull with his full body strength and I just had no control whatsoever. He's not exactly a huge dog but its incredible how hard he can pull. Right now I use the official halti head collar and that makes the world of difference but he still pulls with it on. If I wasn't such a fat b*****d he'd pull me over. Sometimes he'll pull so hard he sounds like a pig but most of the time he's pretty well behaved, still pulling but what I would consider bearable. He's usually worst at the start of the walk as he's got a favourite toilet spot and wants to get there yesterday.


put him on prong and hard three correction burst first time, repeat with single medium strength corrections as needed and watch this stop in 10min. (obviously gage the corrections to temperament and drive state of dog in question.) 

head collars fix nothing not a cure. lots of older dogs who have walked fine in a head collar pull again when ever the head collar is removed. Tools will never replace proper training bottom line.

And no amount of love or food will fix a pulling dog either so don't go there. that is just silly.


----------



## _simon_

ermgravy said:


> put him on prong and hard three correction burst first time, repeat with single medium strength corrections as needed and watch this stop in 10min. (obviously gage the corrections to temperament and drive state of dog in question.)
> 
> head collars fix nothing not a cure. lots of older dogs who have walked fine in a head collar pull again when ever the head collar is removed. Tools will never replace proper training bottom line.
> 
> And no amount of love or food will fix a pulling dog either so don't go there. that is just silly.


Is prong a term or a typo? Not being funny just confused.


----------



## _simon_

Today as I've got a double ended lead I fastened one to the halti head collar and one to his normal collar leaving the side attached to the halti slack and tugged him via his normal collar followed by the sharp ah sound each time he started pulling. (not the first time I've tried tugging and ah, but haven't tried it in a while and not with the halti on) Surprisingly it worked very well and we had a very calm walk with little noise other than a light pant.


----------



## x Sarah x

_simon_ said:


> Is prong a term or a typo? Not being funny just confused.


Prong collars are collars with inward facing spikes (prongs) that, when the dog pulls or you jerk the lead, will stab the dog in the neck.


----------



## _simon_

x Sarah x said:


> Prong collars are collars with inward facing spikes (prongs) that, when the dog pulls or you jerk the lead, will stab the dog in the neck.


That sounds horrible! Not a method I want to consider.


----------



## x Sarah x

_simon_ said:


> That sounds horrible! Not a method I want to consider.


Yeah i don't think they are necessary at all, if all else failed and they were used resonsibly and very temporary then i could be swayed for that, but i still think any dog can be turned around without such methods as prongs and shock collars.


----------



## JustJack

Does anyone else find when its pouring down with rain their dogs won't go out at all?

Pedro (pug), will not step foot out side, for a walk or for the toilet even when you put him out and wait with him to go, he runs back in and does it inside. Grr!


----------



## feorag

Skye never, ever, ever refuses a walk. When I put my shoes on regardless of the time of day he's ready and is on the ceiling with excitement.

Rain, hail, snow or shine - he's there ready for a walk.


----------



## JustJack

feorag said:


> Skye never, ever, ever refuses a walk. When I put my shoes on regardless of the time of day he's ready and is on the ceiling with excitement.
> 
> Rain, hail, snow or shine - he's there ready for a walk.


Aw bless him, he sounds like a lovely dog :2thumb:


----------



## feorag

If you like psycho dogs, he is! :flrt:

He has loads of anxieties and very high energy levels, which means he's like a ticking time bomb so taking him out is pretty stressful and I can never totally relax and just enjoy him unless I'm in the middle of an empty beach or field and then it's wonderful!


----------



## JustJack

feorag said:


> If you like psycho dogs, he is! :flrt:
> 
> He has loads of anxieties and very high energy levels, which means he's like a ticking time bomb so taking him out is pretty stressful and I can never totally relax and just enjoy him unless I'm in the middle of an empty beach or field and then it's wonderful!


I do haha! Got any pics of him?!

Yeah, I have read through a few threads where you mentioned him and his training and going for walks etc!

I loved being on the beach with Pedro, he could just run for as long as he likes and as far as he likes without worrying about other dogs etc.


----------



## feorag

With my granddaughter



And the dramatic shot






This is the sort of beach where I can really relax with him!


----------



## JustJack

feorag said:


> With my granddaughter
> 
> [URL=http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u289/feorag/animal%20photos/dogs%20and%20horses/DSCF1558_zps621ca18d.jpg]image[/URL]
> 
> And the dramatic shot
> 
> [URL=http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u289/feorag/2013June-12_zpse78d2f09.jpg]image[/URL]
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This is the sort of beach where I can really relax with him!
> 
> 
> [URL=http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u289/feorag/Sunday1st-4_zpsb960f939.jpg]image[/URL]


He is a very handsome chap! :flrt: Love the beach shot!

I really do like German Sheperds.


----------



## ChelsNLuke

Trootle said:


> Does anyone else find when its pouring down with rain their dogs won't go out at all?
> 
> Pedro (pug), will not step foot out side, for a walk or for the toilet even when you put him out and wait with him to go, he runs back in and does it inside. Grr!


I love the name pedro :flrt: and I love pugs! Doras the same you have to push her from behind out the door.
-Chels


----------



## JustJack

ChelsNLuke said:


> I love the name pedro :flrt: and I love pugs! Doras the same you have to push her from behind out the door.
> -Chels


I see you have a Great Dane, my favourite dogs! Absolutely love them :flrt:

Yeah he is a reyt pain in the back side in this weather.


----------



## feorag

Trootle said:


> He is a very handsome chap! :flrt: Love the beach shot!
> 
> I really do like German Sheperds.


They are a special breed! :flrt:

None of my previous GSDs had a problem about walking - when we said "walk" they said "Yeh!"

My Afghan Hounds were always ready to walk and didn't mind the rain, but they didn't like the snow. It would cling to their leg hair and make snowballs and because they have tufts between their toes they would end up walking on these huge snowballs stuck to their feet. The dog wasn't too bad, but the bitch hated it. One day when we were out sledging with the children on a school field opposite my mother's, Tara vanished. I assumed she'd just gone back to my mum's because that field was the only field I could let her off leash and when we were ready to go home I would just shout "home Tara" and she'd go, cos she wouldn't come back to me!!

Well she wasn't at my mum's she was nowhere to be seen. In a panic I went to the police, the local dog shelters and walked the streets calling for her - nothing! At about 7:00 that night the phone rang and it was the police. She was in a house barely across the road from my mum's, just behind the school that my mum's house faced. She had apparently just walked into the house through their back door, into the living room and laid down in front of the fire and made herself at home! :roll: She was always totally self assured and I was always totally dispensable! :lol2:


----------



## JustJack

feorag said:


> They are a special breed! :flrt:
> 
> None of my previous GSDs had a problem about walking - when we said "walk" they said "Yeh!"
> 
> My Afghan Hounds were always ready to walk and didn't mind the rain, but they didn't like the snow. It would cling to their leg hair and make snowballs and because they have tufts between their toes they would end up walking on these huge snowballs stuck to their feet. The dog wasn't too bad, but the bitch hated it. One day when we were out sledging with the children on a school field opposite my mother's, Tara vanished. I assumed she'd just gone back to my mum's because that field was the only field I could let her off leash and when we were ready to go home I would just shout "home Tara" and she'd go, cos she wouldn't come back to me!!
> 
> Well she wasn't at my mum's she was nowhere to be seen. In a panic I went to the police, the local dog shelters and walked the streets calling for her - nothing! At about 7:00 that night the phone rang and it was the police. She was in a house barely across the road from my mum's, just behind the school that my mum's house faced. She had apparently just walked into the house through their back door, into the living room and laid down in front of the fire and made herself at home! :roll: She was always totally self assured and I was always totally dispensable! :lol2:


They are!

Haha, aww how cute! Never been a fan of Afhgan hounds though, just something about them I don't like!


----------



## feorag

Well apart from not being able to let them off leash (well my bitch, I could actually let the dog off he was glued to my side cos he was a bit of a scaredy cat) and the regular brushing, they were incredibly easy dog to look after. Hounds are very laidback!


----------



## JustJack

feorag said:


> Well apart from not being able to let them off leash (well my bitch, I could actually let the dog off he was glued to my side cos he was a bit of a scaredy cat) and the regular brushing, they were incredibly easy dog to look after. Hounds are very laidback!


Pedro has been so naughty today, desptite going for a walk when it had stopped raining for a bit, and being taken outside at hour intervals and waiting with him in the rain. He wee'd twice by the back door WHILST the door was open and once in the kitchen.

And I think I am not a fan of the long hair! I like short haired, beffy kinda dogs. Alway have as opposed to the greyhounds, Afghan hounds etc. Plus the long hair would send my allergy hay wire


----------



## feorag

Skye pees on demand! :2thumb: Even if he doesn't want to go, if I keep telling him he'll try his hardest to produce something! :flrt:


----------



## JustJack

feorag said:


> Skye pees on demand! :2thumb: Even if he doesn't want to go, if I keep telling him he'll try his hardest to produce something! :flrt:


We are trying with Pedro, from the start we have been saying "do a wee" when we take him out and when he does, praise him for it. But it just hasn't clicked yet. Sometimes he needs one reminder and he will, the other times he won't have any of it.


----------



## feorag

I just say "shwee shwee shwee shwee" - I started doing it whenever he peed or pood and then started telling him when I knew he was about ready to do one and praising when he did it.

Now it works great!


----------



## x Sarah x

My pair also go for 'Wee wee's' and 'Poo poo's' on command, though if i tell them to go poo poo's and they squeeze the most pathetic little wee out then i know they really don't need to go, however i know their routine by heart and i know they go for a poo at about 6am and again at 4.30, Bruno sometimes go's for nuggets in between of his own accord :razz:

Does anyone else with two dogs also know which poo belongs to which dog even without seeing them go? :blush: or am i just weird, haha!


----------



## BMo1979

x Sarah x said:


> My pair also go for 'Wee wee's' and 'Poo poo's' on command, though if i tell them to go poo poo's and they squeeze the most pathetic little wee out then i know they really don't need to go, however i know their routine by heart and i know they go for a poo at about 6am and again at 4.30, Bruno sometimes go's for nuggets in between of his own accord :razz:
> 
> *Does anyone else with two dogs also know which poo belongs to which dog even without seeing them go? :blush: or am i just weird, haha!*


Our command is "Be clean". Trigger's usually no problem, cos we trained him to go on command from being a puppy (he usually does it within the first 10 minutes anyway). Storm's learning fast though. When we adopted her, she would refuse to "go toilet" outside our garden or next to house and now she goes on our walks. She also wouldn't tell us when she needed, apart from being weird and bringing us socks, lol.

As for the BIB: You're not the only one. Storm's no. 2s are normally 1 piece works and slim, whereas Trigger's are proper blokeish "2 baggers", lol.


----------



## _simon_

Our Sam usually goes for a wee whenever I take him out to the garden. Very rare he needs to tell me he wants it but if that's the case he'll stand in the lounge where I can see him looking between me and the back door in the kitchen. If I don't notice or ignore him then he'll come and nudge me then go back and if that fails he does a little jump on the spot with his front legs. For a poo he'll do his previous nights and the morning poo both on his morning walk. Why he doesn't spread them morning and night anymore I don't know.


----------



## BMo1979

Forgot to write:

Trigger's got a certain bark (short woof, always in the same pitch), which tells us he's desperate to go out. He only uses it if he really, really needs, otherwise he waits until the walks.


----------



## feorag

Skye's the same, on the rare occasions that he's desperate he'll come to me, push his face onto my knee, whine and generally fidget, so I know that's what's wrong.

He has a walk at 7:00 with my husband and about 10:30 with my husband and I take him out in the middle of the afternoon, so he's very rarely 'caught short'. That usually only happens when we've been out for a longer than usual afternoon walk somewhere quiet when I've been able to let him off leash and he's been running around like a demented dervish, so he comes home and drinks a bowlful of water and then can't quite manage to hold it until 10:30-ish.


----------



## x Sarah x

Kizzy will sit at the door and whine/grumble non stop and the louder she is the more desparate she is. If she is sitting there in silence then she doesn't want to go out for the toilet but for another reason such as sitting in the sun or if rabbits are out running around.

Bruno doesn't make any noise but we quickly picked up on him pacing from the back door to the living room door and back repeatedly as a sign he needs to go out.


----------



## JustJack

x Sarah x said:


> Kizzy will sit at the door and whine/grumble non stop and the louder she is the more desparate she is. If she is sitting there in silence then she doesn't want to go out for the toilet but for another reason such as sitting in the sun or if rabbits are out running around.
> 
> Bruno doesn't make any noise but we quickly picked up on him pacing from the back door to the living room door and back repeatedly as a sign he needs to go out.


Pedro either waits patiently by the back door with a few barks, or just goes wherever he fancies inside!


----------



## ChelsNLuke

Trootle said:


> I see you have a Great Dane, my favourite dogs! Absolutely love them :flrt:
> 
> Yeah he is a reyt pain in the back side in this weather.


Dora is lucky to be called a great dane :lol2:. She was the runt of the litter and is in the lowest band of size for them. She has two different coloured eyes and really webbed feet.

On the topic of going out to do the wee's and poos she will go in the garden more than she will on a walk she will wait patiently by the back door to go out and if I am upstairs she will come and find me or do a little bark. She is getting a little old and has a few accidents now. Mostly from waking up too late to get to the back door, it is only ever by accident though.
-Chels


----------



## feorag

We don't let Skye use the garden, we've never really encouraged our dogs to use the garden, but if the door is open for the cats and he needs to go,he will, rather than come and ask.


----------



## _simon_

We graveled half the garden and fenced off the bushes just for the dog. He kept running into the shrubbery when younger and coming out at great speed with chunks of shrub and digging holes in the ground. The lawn had to go after last winter, there was no grass left at all just from him walking/playing etc on it. He used to come in filthy, we got so sick of washing his feet everytime he came back in. The Gravel was much needed.


----------



## BMo1979

Not posted any "walkies" pictures for a while, so here's some from earlier.

Every off-lead time begins with a wild chase. Storm has speed, agility and youth on her side, but Trigger, as a herding breed can predict her movement and has more determination (can concentrate on the "task" until it's done)

































First attempt at "group" photo (better one later on)









Storm hunting mice...








...while Trigger hunts her


















Who can pull a dafter face?
Trigger








or Storm?









Trigger always has to check where I am

















Trigger found a tiny log to carry, lol

















more to follow


----------



## BMo1979

Good thing about having a Shepherd is you can teach them to heard the others in, lol









Can I bring it home, mum, please?


























Attempt 2 (the magic of treats)









Still carrying his log









finishing off with another chase

























Tired Trigger







:flrt:


----------



## JustJack

BMo1979 said:


> Not posted any "walkies" pictures for a while, so here's some from earlier.
> 
> Every off-lead time begins with a wild chase. Storm has speed, agility and youth on her side, but Trigger, as a herding breed can predict her movement and has more determination (can concentrate on the "task" until it's done)
> image
> image
> image
> image
> 
> First attempt at "group" photo (better one later on)
> image
> 
> Storm hunting mice...
> image
> ...while Trigger hunts her
> image
> 
> image
> 
> Who can pull a dafter face?
> Trigger
> image
> or Storm?
> image
> 
> Trigger always has to check where I am
> image
> image
> 
> Trigger found a tiny log to carry, lol
> image
> image
> 
> more to follow


Storm is beautiful and Trigger is a very handsome chap!


----------



## kemist

We found a local agility training session to try as the normal training didn't seem to be suiting the puppy and OMG its like she is a different dog. She has jumped bars off lead with direction, done the weave and a tunnel:flrt: really well, trainer was really impressed with her for a first timer and for her age. Only thing is she is scared of heights on the dog walk she avoided going on it, then kept trying to come off the side to me, and finally running to get off it ASAP. It wasn't even full height it was a lower version used to introduce dogs gently. The session has killed her off though she has been asleep since we got back.


----------



## lisadew24

Thats brill that shes took to agility only thing I found weird your not suppose to start things like agility till their 1 year didn't think your dog was that old yet, I'm going to have to find either a local agility school or flyball school for my dog Sheldon


----------



## feorag

BMo1979 said:


> Good thing about having a Shepherd is you can teach them to heard the others in, lol
> image
> 
> Can I bring it home, mum, please?
> image
> image
> 
> image
> 
> Attempt 2 (the magic of treats)
> image
> 
> Still carrying his log
> image
> 
> finishing off with another chase
> image
> image
> image
> 
> Tired Trigger
> image:flrt:


Love the way shepherds love to carry things - especially if they found them themselves.


----------



## BMo1979

:devil: Just read a post by my husband's cousin on Facebook:
She's ready to get rid of her dog (Shih Tzu) cos he barks at night and because she's expecting twins, it's unacceptable to her. Something about "when you first meet someone, everything's great, but then that "person" turns out to be an arse and it's over". Now, how do I put it without being my usual sarky self, that lo behold, dogs are not machines that work without human input, but indeed need to be taught right from wrong and how sometimes a little effort (for example dog trainer) is needed and if you can't commit to that you should maybe stick to stuffed toys?


----------



## feorag

Depends on your relationship with her and whether you care.

If it was me, I'd tell her up front what I think and if it knackers the relationship, well do you want a relationship with someone who is so shallow and uncaring???


----------



## BMo1979

I don't really have any relationship with her, having never met her in real life, so couldn't care less about her being offended. It's more for my OH's parents sake, whom admire her for some reason(for being a nurse and having money), I've kept quiet so far. 

It's too late now anyway, one of her friends has offered to take the dog and it seems she's taking him up on it. Better for the dog anyway.

It's just that attitude that annoys me: People get a dog, cos somehow that's the thing to do, then expect it to function without putting the works in. When it doesn't work, they'll get rid and seemingly without any regret (she seems very light-hearted and jokey about it). It makes me wonder how people like that are not able to form an emotional bond with a pet (especially since they've had that dog for years). 
I'm not judging people on re-homing a pet in general as there could be so many reasons for it and in many cases it could be beneficial for the animal, but it's this whole seemingly careless attitude of it that this person shows to have.


----------



## feorag

Totally agree! If that's how much she loves the dog, then it's better with someone else who will love it as it deserves. 

That attitude really ssips me off too. It's the 'baby replacement' animal that is no longer needed when the baby comes along that really get me! :bash:

I have no problem with rehoming if the circumstances are better for the animal, but not because they develop a bad habit (usually the owner's fault in the first place) or a baby is coming along!


----------



## JustJack

Pedro's been really good the last week, had his bad moments, but he's had no accidents inside even if it was raining outside. He's also A LOT better on walks. No more stopping, not walking and generally being a pain.

He know sits by his cage and crys/jumps up as his harness and lead are generally on top when he wants his walk and he usually has 2 hourly walk if not more each day, he's full of energy! He doesn't stop at all, he usually walks fine but he's taken to pulling a lot, especially if a car goes past, he will try and chase it which is becoming quite bad as if the lead is slightly slack he will just jump off the pavement after the car!

But his recall is getting better, he goes off the lead when we go to the if field, and generally doesn't run off after people anymore, still try's and plays with any dog he sees even if it's on the otherside of the field :lol2:


----------



## feorag

Is that 2 hours of forced exercise - by "forced" I mean lead walking? If it is you could be over-exercising him. Remember the 5 minute rule.


----------



## JustJack

feorag said:


> Is that 2 hours of forced exercise - by "forced" I mean lead walking? If it is you could be over-exercising him. Remember the 5 minute rule.


No, not at all! I used to take him round the churchyard and around the block and he used to literally be dragged around, he would not move.

Now he walks without stopping at all, he stops when he's had enough and we go home, or I just carry him. 

I don't walk him for the sake of it or force him to walk.


----------



## feorag

How old is he? Cos if he's still a puppy a 2 hour walk is too much and he could end up damaging his growing bones resulting in arthritis or other problems when he's older. That was what I meant.

Force exercise doesn't mean actually "forcing" the dog to walk when it doesn't want to - not many dogs need forcing to walk for miles, it means exercising it on lead or off lead for any distance, rather than the dog playing itself and running around a garden.


----------



## JustJack

feorag said:


> How old is he? Cos if he's still a puppy a 2 hour walk is too much and he could end up damaging his growing bones resulting in arthritis or other problems when he's older. That was what I meant.
> 
> Force exercise doesn't mean actually "forcing" the dog to walk when it doesn't want to - not many dogs need forcing to walk for miles, it means exercising it on lead or off lead for any distance, rather than the dog playing itself and running around a garden.


Nearly 6 months.

I think I worded it wrong, he doesn't walk solidly for 2 hours a day, it's not a 2 hour a day "walk". In the morning we walk up a 5 minute hill to the big field, where he goes off the lead and explores or plays with other dogs, sits with me on the bench, then we walk home but we are usually at the field for about an hour. Same in the afternoon. Without this he is very hyper active, and the vet has checked him over a few weeks back and we mentioned the long walks and he said there were no problems with his joints etc and he was in good shape as far as pugs go.


----------



## feorag

I wasn't thinking that you were walking him for a full 2 hours in one go.

However, he's your dog, so it's your choice, but I was just pointing out that the Kennel Club advises that exercise in puppies in general should be 5 minutes per month of age twice a day, so at 6 months your puppy should really only be walking for 30 minutes a day.

As I said that doesn't include generally playing in the garden at his own pace, it means walking with you.

Even though he's a small breed that will mature earlier than the larger breeds, his bones are still growing at 6 months.


----------



## JustJack

feorag said:


> I wasn't thinking that you were walking him for a full 2 hours in one go.
> 
> However, he's your dog, so it's your choice, but I was just pointing out that the Kennel Club advises that exercise in puppies in general should be 5 minutes per month of age twice a day, so at 6 months your puppy should really only be walking for 30 minutes a day.
> 
> As I said that doesn't include generally playing in the garden at his own pace, it means walking with you.
> 
> Even though he's a small breed that will mature earlier than the larger breeds, his bones are still growing at 6 months.


We don't have a proper garden, just a patio. So he doesn't have much space to run around.

I am just go on what he's like on the day, also the breeders, vets and pug owners near by used to take their pugs on big walks, and the vet said it wasn't doing him any harm :2thumb:


----------



## Montage_Morphs

Charlie bear spent 3 hours exploring the Botanical gadrens yesterday, then stopped off at a dog friendly pub! Out of the 40 million dogs he met yesterday, he decided a big gentle white GSD was the spawn on Satan and he must protect me. Embarrassing!










Then passed out on muh belleh pretty much as soon as we came in 




















Some more of his recent adventures























































Sometimes being a super adventure pup just gets too much....


----------



## feorag

Looks like he had a great time! :2thumb:

3rd photo down, that's not a tick attached to his chest is it??? :gasp:


----------



## Montage_Morphs

Nooooooo, he has lots of patches and colours running through him. If you shaved him, hes brindle in parts! Strange dug lol. He's a country bumpkin so regularly checked for ticks etc


----------



## kemist

lisadew24 said:


> Thats brill that shes took to agility only thing I found weird your not suppose to start things like agility till their 1 year didn't think your dog was that old yet, I'm going to have to find either a local agility school or flyball school for my dog Sheldon


She is 6 months, he did say he had deliberately only given her gentle short courses and low bars to jump. It is not KC affiliated just a fun thing so he may be more flexible with the rules. Out of a 2 hour session she was doing stuff for about half an hour and was resting while the other dogs had a go. We are looking at going every other week because of other commitments.


----------



## feorag

Montage_Morphs said:


> Nooooooo, he has lots of patches and colours running through him. If you shaved him, hes brindle in parts! Strange dug lol. He's a country bumpkin so regularly checked for ticks etc


It was the colour and the 'smoothness' of it that worried me, but great that it wasn't one! :2thumb:


----------



## _simon_

I replaced our halti head collar with a dogmatic one today on the recommendation of someone on another forum and what a difference. Such a great fit, doesn't move around our labs head and the main thing is that it does not ride up under/into the eyes like the halti did. If anyone is using a head collar they're not happy with or are thinking about trying one then I can definitely recommend dogmatic: Dogmatic Headcollar


----------



## x Sarah x

Kizzy's had a swollen face, bless her, was tender when it first came up, yesterday it was still swollen a bit but causing her no discomfort in the slightest, today you can hardly tell. I checked her teeth and gums but can't see anything out of the ordinary so just going to leave it a few days, if it doesn't go away a vet visit will be in order but as it is now she seems fine, eating and running riot  it wouldn't be unusual for her to have just headbutted something solid!

Pic taken yesterday


----------



## feorag

Aw, bless her! :flrt:

Hope you don't have to go to the vets!


----------



## BMo1979

x Sarah x said:


> Kizzy's had a swollen face, bless her, was tender when it first came up, yesterday it was still swollen a bit but causing her no discomfort in the slightest, today you can hardly tell. I checked her teeth and gums but can't see anything out of the ordinary so just going to leave it a few days, if it doesn't go away a vet visit will be in order but as it is now she seems fine, eating and running riot * it wouldn't be unusual for her to have just headbutted something solid!*
> 
> Pic taken yesterday
> 
> http://s906.photobucket.com/user/fe...67023970416_1230067458_o_zps97f98be8.jpg.htmlimage


Aww, hope she's better soon. 
My friends' Staffy does that regularly. She ended up with a huge lump on her forehead once, because she tried to headbutt the kitchen door open, not realising that it was shut. She doesn't quite seem to get the idea of closed doors and how you can't just push them open, bless her.


----------



## purpleskyes

Hudson just took a wee on the kitchen floor?!?! While I was sitting on the sofa (open plan kitchen/ living room) while the back door was open?!


----------



## x Sarah x

feorag said:


> Aw, bless her! :flrt:
> 
> Hope you don't have to go to the vets!


She seems absolutely fine today, can't see any swelling and she's acting completely normal, hopefully it was just a bump but will keep an eye out for anything


----------



## BMo1979

LOL:


----------



## feorag

Go Trigger!!!! :flrt: :lol2:


----------



## _simon_

Lately Sam has decided that my chair would be best suited to him.









Sam in his new dogmatic









Nosey


----------



## x Sarah x

Teaching our puppy Pacino how to catch - YouTube


----------



## BMo1979

My OH's relative ended up keeping her barking dog, but things got worse, cos she's now using an e-collar on him :devil:. She's even going so far as to recommend it to every one with a dog and her "friends" are dumb enough to fall for it. My husband put some links up about dog training, (I cba with her and her attention seeking anymore any more and "unfriended" her, not before commenting on e-collars, which got deleted, lol).
Thing is, the dog had only started barking since they moved house, so there's obviously a reason that can be helped, but just too darn lazy to do it, so of course terrifying the dog into being quiet is by far the easier option. I hope someone breaks into their house and the dog won't bark and warn them, cos he's too scared of the "pain of barking".


----------



## feorag

Totally agree with you! I cba with someone like that either, because they don't want to do the work and they don't want to listen to what they don't want to hear.

it will serve them right if they do get burgled and if they did I'd be the first at their door saying "bet you wished you hadn't stopped the dog from barking!"


----------



## Morpheus Pythons

A recent picture of Scooby.


----------



## feorag

Very handsome! :flrt:


----------



## BMo1979

Morpheus Pythons said:


> A recent picture of Scooby.
> image


He suits the name. :flrt:


----------



## BMo1979

Just found this photo of Trigger when sorting out my pictures.
Looking very much like an old gentleman:


----------



## freekygeeky

Its been a week since my little dude was wrongly PTS.

Cannot believe he's gone. 

In fact I still think hes gonna come back ... I think it's because I didnt see him dead


----------



## BMo1979

Oh no, what happened? Very sorry.


----------



## feorag

BMo1979 said:


> Just found this photo of Trigger when sorting out my pictures.
> Looking very much like an old gentleman:
> 
> image


:flrt:



freekygeeky said:


> Its been a week since my little dude was wrongly PTS.
> 
> Cannot believe he's gone.
> 
> In fact I still think hes gonna come back ... I think it's because I didnt see him dead
> 
> image


Bloody hell Gina - how did that happen???


----------



## BMo1979

Anyone else "torture" their dogs before feeding, lol?
Storm and Trigger having to wait for their after walk breakfast.

Trigger checking that Storm does not get more food than him









What you obviously can't hear is Storms constant whimpering and whining, because it's about 14 hours since their evening meal, lol.


----------



## feorag

:naughty: Aw, bless them! :flrt:


----------



## feorag

Had to share this - the section where he chews off the faces of stuffed animals had me PMSL - especially the 4th, 5th & 6th photos.

Very helpful dog! - YouTube


----------



## BMo1979

feorag said:


> Had to share this - the section where he chews off the faces of stuffed animals had me PMSL - especially the 4th, 5th & 6th photos.
> 
> Very helpful dog! - YouTube


LOL! Probably wouldn't laugh as much if they were my dogs, lol.

Le Joie de Vivre: Trigger and Storm enjoying their off lead play time this morning









My new favourite picture of Storm









Coming, mum!









And me, too!









Throw the toy!









Weeeeee!









Trigger with a halo









Off exploring together









The Favourite puddle (though Trigger always drops his toy in there and I have to find it)


















Model face, lol









She's on her tip toes so her belly doesn't get wet









Prancing Pony


----------



## feorag

Lovely photos! I love seeing 2 dogs playing together. :flrt:


----------



## BMo1979

It makes you feel better, no matter how cr*p your week has been. I think before we had Storm, it's something Trigger missed. All the dog walking groups around here seem to only consist of small terriers and the neighbourhood dogs are mostly older than him or just don't like to play with other dogs. 
Trigger acts like a grumpy old dog towards Storm a lot of times, but when she's out of sight, he won't budge until she's back and when he accidentally makes contact during play or when he tells her off he immediately checks if she's ok (licks her face). I also catch him more and more letting her lie body to body or using him as a pillow. He loves her really, lol.

It's hilarious to watch them play, because she might be faster than him, but he still got quite a lot of herding instinct and can predict her movements in a split second. Plus he's a very determined dog and doesn't give up on a task (sometimes meaning he spends 20 minutes looking for a toy or stick he's dropped). Storm has learned that to stop him from chasing her is to run up behind me and sit down, lol. :2thumb:


----------



## BMo1979

She's such a lady (not!), she even gets a mud mask every morning.


















Suppose, it could be worse, 2 weeks ago it was the latest trend: Badger poop peeling:

















She was very upset with me for showering off her lovely fragrance.


----------



## feorag

We've just got back from the beach and Skye's headcollar was encrusted with sand!!

Is it my imagination, but has her face lost some of the darker colour since you first got her?? I don't remember her being so white!!


----------



## BMo1979

Not that I'm aware of. Maybe her face was always dirty on my photos, lol. The only obvious colour change is that some of her white is a little bit creamy coloured now. 

This is 1 or 2 days after we got her









This is her 2 nights ago









She's grown a little bit, both up the way and out the way, lol.


----------



## feorag

Old age memory then! I could have sworn she had some grey shading on her face when you first got her!

She's still a beauty though! :flrt:


----------



## JungleRich

This is my dog Buck










he's a 10 month old staffy mastiff thing (his dad is a pure staffy, his mum is a staffy mastiff cross)
he's dumb as a rock, cheeky and regularly steals my food/possesions
but i wouldnt change him for the world.

he also has lazer eyes apparently (his eyes are always this creepy blue colour at night


























generally being lazy as usual



























and this is him and my mums dog Ruby (a jack russell) setting eachother off howling which they do far too often. 
though its pretty hilarious at times as buck still hasnt 100% grasped how to howl and just ends up making wookiee noises.


----------



## Whosthedaddy

We need a bigger chair or a smaller dog?










Yes, this is how she sleeps...all day!


----------



## feorag

JungleRich said:


> This is my dog Buck
> and this is him and my mums dog Ruby (a jack russell) setting eachother off howling which they do far too often.
> though its pretty hilarious at times as buck still hasnt 100% grasped how to howl and just ends up making wookiee noises.
> 
> [URL="http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b236/DeAdBeAt_RoMeO/th_319A590B-2B1A-48ED-A167-B7CB57265554-6446-00000F0CA15C7060_zpsadf4540b.jpg"]image[/URL]


:lol2: glad I'm not her neighbour! :gasp:



Whosthedaddy said:


> We need a bigger chair or a smaller dog?
> 
> image
> 
> Yes, this is how she sleeps...all day!


You certainly do!


----------



## allymac

Hiya 

just thought i'd post a couple of pics of my 2 boys, Tummel is 3 and a rhodesian ridgeback X Rottyxlab, he's my baby but he is a complete butthole!!!




and Dan, an 18 month old Italian Spinone, he's a total dafty and physically the complete opposite to Tummel 





and some of them together


----------



## feorag

Lovely! :flrt:


----------



## Evilshiddenclaws

Loving the doggy pictures


----------



## BMo1979

Storm will be on long lead sentence for the next eternity or so, lol (can laugh about it now, earlier it was closer to a panic attack).

I normally walk by the Erskine Bridge in the morning and usually she's on the long lead, because the fence that borders to the park area, aka dog walker meeting point, has a couple of gaps and there is quite a bit of wildlife in the dense vegetation.
Today though, I couldn't find my long lead and the boys had to catch the school bus, I thought I'd risk letting her off the lead (she's 95% great off lead). Bad mistake!
About 3/4 of the way her head went up, the nose started going and she disappeared through one of those gaps, completely blanking me out. I'm glad Trigger's recall, who was about to follow her (bring her back), is about 99%, so I could put him on the lead. I followed through the gap, but Storm was nowhere to be seen. I walked through the park, right down to the Clyde, no dog, not even other people around. Shouted, whistled, nothing apart from a sore throat. 
I decided to head back home, thinking best case scenario, Storm would have decided to walk home herself or worst case scenario, someone took her to keep (she is a pretty and friendly dog). At home I brought Trigger in and decided to take the car down to the Clyde and just keep asking and searching.
On the lane down to the visitor car park a small car drove towards me and who sits in the front seat??? Storm, looking all smiley and happy.
I flagged the car down and it turns out that the guy who found her was jogging in the park with his Staffy and Storm had obviously taken a like to his dog. She ended up following them for about 20 minutes and we must have missed each other by moments. He'd already phoned his wife to let her know he'd be bringing a dog home to take to the SSPCA. Had I not seen him this wouldn't have been too bad, because she's chipped and registered under our address. He took a photo, maybe to have proof in case I were a fraud, lol.
I'm still shaking and will be avoiding that path for a while.


----------



## feorag

Scary experience indeed! I'd have been beside myself too. So glad you found her! :2thumb:


Evilshiddenclaws said:


> Loving the doggy pictures


How's your doberman getting on?

Klaatu42's latest talking dog video!!

Punk'd Puppy - YouTube


----------



## Payne

Thought I'd post some pics of my old dogs - 
First up is a Leonberger named Hallie - 
and here is my Newfoundland named Bear -


----------



## feorag

2 gorgeous dogs you've got there! :flrt: You say 'old dogs' - how old are they?


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## Scriv

A few of my De Bordeux from the day we got him to him being 5 1/2 months now  




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## Payne

feorag said:


> 2 gorgeous dogs you've got there! :flrt: You say 'old dogs' - how old are they?


They are so old that they are no longer with us


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## Whosthedaddy

Scriv said:


> A few of my De Bordeux from the day we got him to him being 5 1/2 months now
> 
> 
> [URL=http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/194/srm0.jpg]image[/URL]
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Gorgeous breed.


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## Whosthedaddy

Couldn't sleep last night so come down for TV at 2am and had a little bundle on me for a while. Dog first then the cat must have got jealous and joined in.


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## feorag

Scriv said:


> A few of my De Bordeux from the day we got him to him being 5 1/2 months now


I lol'd at the second photo - just gorgeous! :flrt:



Payne said:


> They are so old that they are no longer with us


Oh! So sorry to hear that, it's hard when we lose them! :sad:



Whosthedaddy said:


> Couldn't sleep last night so come down for TV at 2am and had a little bundle on me for a while. Dog first then the cat must have got jealous and joined in.
> 
> image


It's great that they get on so well. I love seeing dogs and cats being good friends. :flrt:


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## feorag

Does any feed Bakers or Pedigree?? Maybe they should read this?

http://www.doglistener.co.uk/bakers-pedigree-dogfood


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## HABU

my dogs are doing great... the hard work is paying off...:2thumb:


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## Paul Yates

This is jess, my dimwit shepherd crossed with god knows what! Since we got croc our Bosc monitor she's taken to stealing one of the baby's toys, dunno whether she wants to eat it or befriend it!!! (I mean the Bosc btw.. )


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## Paul Yates

And this is Oscar the chow, who would be upset if I didn't include him....


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## Evilshiddenclaws

Gorgeous bordeux pics. Thats the breed my b.f wants when his rottie eventually passes but I want another rotty :lol2:


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## Scriv

Evilshiddenclaws said:


> Gorgeous bordeux pics. Thats the breed my b.f wants when his rottie eventually passes but I want another rotty :lol2:


Thanks  First Bordeux I've owned and i don't know anyone with one. Such a great temperament and they are sure lazy buggers!! He'll happily crash out on his chair for 4-5 hours and he snoars like crazy lol. Wouldn't be without him now  Would recommend the breed to anyone if you can put up with alot of slobber!
You'll no what i mean if you've watched Turner & Hooch :whistling2:


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## Evilshiddenclaws

Thats the main reason I dont want one! Im not a fan of slobber. Id have a St Bernard ifit wasnt for the slobber. So rottie it has to be lol


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## feorag

I can't bear slobber in any shape or form 

That why I like long clean noses!

Helen, did you see my response to your last post asking how your Doberman was getting on??


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## Scriv

lol! It's not to bad all the time! Just gotta run for the towel if he's just had food or you hear him drinking! :2thumb:


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## Johnsteele1984

Scriv said:


> A few of my De Bordeux from the day we got him to him being 5 1/2 months now
> 
> 
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That dog is stunning :flrt:


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## Johnsteele1984

Scriv said:


> A few of my De Bordeux from the day we got him to him being 5 1/2 months now
> 
> 
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That dog is stunning:flrt:


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## feorag




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## RhianB87

After a bit of advice, 

Who would be the people to complain to about a shop selling puppies? Would it be the council?
I went to a garden centre today that had several shih tzu puppies and lab puppies kept in small pens and no mum and after speaking to a friend who works in a different part there she has said they are from a puppy farm. It was horrible to see them


----------



## feorag

I would say Council as the pet shop has to have a licence from the Council to sell pets. It may be that they are licenced to sell puppies, but that doesn't make it right and so I would complain to them.


----------



## BMo1979

Unfortunately it is not illegal in the UK for pet shops to sell dogs and cats, it is just some kind of agreement not to that the more decent shops stick to. It's something for example Dogs Trust have been campaigning against for ages.
It is probably worth reporting it to the council, just to see if they have a license, but I think unless there are welfare issues for the animals (and unfortunately for the authorities it seems to be the bare minimum) the only way to stop this from happening is to stop stupid people from buying from them.
I remember watching the programme "The Dog Rescuers" were the RSPCA raided a puppy farm. They were able to take the parent dogs straight away, because they were kept in horrible conditions, but had to fight quite hard to obtain the puppies (who also were separated from the mothers), because they had clean enclosures with food and water and all looked physically healthy. 
IMHO, there has to be stricter guidelines regarding animal welfare and not just providing food and water and a clean environment.


----------



## feorag

Totally agree! :2thumb:

It's really been a beautiful day up here today, so Barry, Skye and I headed for the beach. The wind made us think forests would likely be better, but the beauty of the beach is the open space so Skye can be let off his leash and have fun, ...but be called back and put on it when dogs get too near.

So he had fun and we had fun watching him. He was squealing with excitement when we got out of the car and being really silly, which he isn't normally, but when I thought about it I wondered whether he thought he was going on a group walk, because Barry and I were both there and usually when he's at the beach he's just with me unless we're doing a group walk.

Anyway, some piccies of a beautiful day. Not the best quality cos I forgot my camera so only had phone available.

 

Can't wait to get in there!!!


----------



## RhianB87

I thought as much, will write to them tomorrow to see if there is anything they can be done.
They also had 3 very young African greys on their own as well just sitting on the bottom of the cage calling. 

And to make my day even worse I went to a funfair which has goldfish as prized! :bash:


Beautiful photos! Skye is such a good looking doggy! Looks like he really enjoyed himself


----------



## feorag

Thank you - have to admit, psychotic as he is, he's a very handsome psycho! :lol2:

I thought giving goldfish as prizes had been stopped?


----------



## RhianB87

feorag said:


> Thank you - have to admit, psychotic as he is, he's a very handsome psycho! :lol2:
> 
> I thought giving goldfish as prizes had been stopped?


Hehe, better than an ugly psycho I guess :lol2:

That's what I thought! Was really annoyed with it as they were also selling the rubbish plastic bowls to go with me! 


Back to dogs! 

This is my old man Tyler (the ginger one!) and his friend who is looking her finest :whistling2: Flossy










Tyler, bless him, has hurt his leg at the moment so is on sofa rest! He needs to learn to act his age.


----------



## JustJack

Taking Pedro to the vets at 5. He's not been himself the last couple of days, he's barking at things a lot more, his eyes are a little gunky and watery and this morning he decided to wee inside right infront of my mum which he never does.

He's also quite boisterous atm, we think it's because he's starting to turn into a little man, he cocks his legs to wee now, and he's getting very excited around my friends 2 pugs.


----------



## JustJack

Just got back from the vets, god Pedro hated being held so she could see in his eyes. She said she couldn't see any ulcers or anything, it looked clear just a bit gunky, and he has eye drops for the next 7 days.

But unfortunately it looks like he will need to be castrated, as one of his testicles still hasn't come down (she could feel it and tried to gently see if it'd move down. But it wouldn't budge). Which is a real shame, as he is a pedigree white gene carrier pug with a long line of champion pugs. So it would of been nice to have mini Pedro's but his health comes first!


----------



## Ryanbrown89

Paul Yates said:


> And this is Oscar the chow, who would be upset if I didn't include him....
> 
> [URL=http://i1360.photobucket.com/albums/r652/yates22p2002/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zps52d9d4d5.jpg]image[/URL]


Gorgeous dog!! Love chows one of my favourites I hope to have one join the family one day


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## Ryanbrown89

Scriv said:


> A few of my De Bordeux from the day we got him to him being 5 1/2 months now
> 
> 
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Absolutely gorgeous dogue de bordeaux another of one of my favourite breeds I plan on getting a bordeaux to join the family early next year


----------



## Ryanbrown89

My baby girl Winnie absolutely love her


----------



## PPVallhunds

FallenAngel said:


> After a bit of advice,
> 
> Who would be the people to complain to about a shop selling puppies? Would it be the council?
> I went to a garden centre today that had several shih tzu puppies and lab puppies kept in small pens and no mum and after speaking to a friend who works in a different part there she has said they are from a puppy farm. It was horrible to see them


Your local council is the own to speak to to make a complaint about a pet shop However pet shops are allowed to sell puppies and kittens if they have it on there licence to allow them to. A pet shop can buy puppies in that are under 8 weeks old but don't think they can sell them untill they are 8 weeks. There are condition they need to meet to have puppies such as size of enclosure exersize Times ext. 
Your friend is right they will be from licenced puppy farms who are also licenced by the council to breed dogs for money, you can get a licence for 80+ breeding bitches and only need 1 person to look after them!


----------



## Paul Yates

Ryanbrown89 said:


> Gorgeous dog!! Love chows one of my favourites I hope to have one join the family one day


He's beautiful. Best dog I've ever had in the family, such a good temperament couldn't recommend more highly you should get one


----------



## Paul Yates

Btw ryan Winnie's a beauty


----------



## Ryanbrown89

Paul Yates said:


> Btw ryan Winnie's a beauty


Cheers Paul :2thumb: oh I defiantly am that's good to know how do you find grooming bud


----------



## Paul Yates

Once a week minimum. Got to keep him deodorised tho he stinks! (Really that's the one problem with him. )


----------



## Daisyy

Odi loving the snow last year!


And her favourite toy which we have to keep re buying :lol2:


----------



## Nerve

And new pup!



















Growing up fast!


----------



## Whosthedaddy




----------



## Montage_Morphs

Some recent shots of my darling Charlie Bear


----------



## JustJack

Brought Pedro a new harness today as he's grown out of his old one! I think he looks so smart in it :lol2:. It's padded and should keep him a little warmer, he's getting a jumper/coat soon.

















He was being naughty just before I called him so got a pic. Cheeky little thing!








Also looking into getting another dog soon, once I have a job that suits school times. Unsure whether to get another pug, or a french bulldog.


----------



## Whosthedaddy

After munching her way through the large stag bar in a couple of months despite only chewing it for 30 odd mins a day, thought I'd try a bull horn instead.










The loud cracks coming from her direction I don't think it's going to last that long.


----------



## JustJack

Whosthedaddy said:


> After munching her way through the large stag bar in a couple of months despite only chewing it for 30 odd mins a day, thought I'd try a bull horn instead.
> 
> image
> 
> The loud cracks coming from her direction I don't think it's going to last that long.
> 
> image


Your dog is awesome!


----------



## feorag

What Type of Dog Are You?


Apparently I'm a bulldog


----------



## BMo1979

I'm 88% Border Collie - meh - 88% Rottweiler - ok
followed by Labrador and Husky.

I can't see the Collie although the real Rottie (not the media portrayal) could fit.


----------



## Whosthedaddy

feorag said:


> What Type of Dog Are You?
> 
> 
> Apparently I'm a bulldog
> 
> [URL=http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u289/feorag/dog_zps471632f8.jpg]image[/URL]


I'm a Beagle?


----------



## BMo1979

Some photos (been sorting out my files)

Storm's usual sleeping position- Is Madam Comfortable enough?









In the summer. Storm had lost all her puppy and winter fur at the same time, hence why she looks a bit funny









Fiiiight!









Recent photos









My old boy









After walk/breakfast snooze


----------



## JustJack

Preloved | champion sired cane corso puppies fci registered for sale in Gloucester, Gloucestershire

Just seen these. Anyone know much about them? Never heard of them, but they do look lovely (if a bit mean!).


----------



## Whosthedaddy

Trootle said:


> Preloved | champion sired cane corso puppies fci registered for sale in Gloucester, Gloucestershire
> 
> Just seen these. Anyone know much about them? Never heard of them, but they do look lovely (if a bit mean!).


Looked into these as the same size as our Bullmastiff but put off a little due to the guarding aspect bred into them. Lovely looking dogs even if half the pics you see of them have cropped ears!


----------



## JustJack

Whosthedaddy said:


> Looked into these as the same size as our Bullmastiff but put off a little due to the guarding aspect bred into them. Lovely looking dogs even if half the pics you see of them have cropped ears!


Yeah, I do like the larger dog breeds (despite having the smallest :lol2.

Yeah I did wonder whether the ears were cropped or not. They are nice looking. One day I'll have a big dog I think.


----------



## BMo1979

More photo spam from the terrible two:

Storm always looks like she's smiling when she runs back to me (she's on the lead because there's a group of deer in the woods behind the field at the moment)









Yummy, frozen rabbit poo:bash:









Practising "Stay"









She heard a mouse


















Trying to dig out the mouse again










Trigger's turn next...


----------



## BMo1979

Throw the toy!









Kill!


----------



## _simon_

BMo1979 said:


> Some photos (been sorting out my files)
> 
> Storm's usual sleeping position- Is Madam Comfortable enough?
> image
> 
> In the summer. Storm had lost all her puppy and winter fur at the same time, hence why she looks a bit funny
> image
> 
> Fiiiight!
> image
> 
> Recent photos
> image
> 
> My old boy
> image
> 
> After walk/breakfast snooze
> image


2 dogs and a green lawn, how do you manage that! Our dog was a puppy last winter and come spring the lawn was only fit for hippos. We made the decision to get rid of the back lawn and gravel the lot.


----------



## BMo1979

_simon_ said:


> 2 dogs and a green lawn, how do you manage that! Our dog was a puppy last winter and come spring the lawn was only fit for hippos. We made the decision to get rid of the back lawn and gravel the lot.


LOL, I know what you mean! We've only moved into our house a little over a year ago and only got our second dog (Storm) in March, so there is still time to ruin the grass yet.
It does have some yellow patches though, from when our self discipline lacks and we let the dogs toilet in the garden, added to that the building company used quite cheap turf, so it grows quite irregular. 
Trigger's usually good, he doesn't mark or dig, but leave Storm unsupervised and you'll find your garden transformed into a moonscape, lol. She's a super fast digger and if she hears a mouse or mole underground she tries to get them.

P.S.: Our last house's garden was prone to flooding (clay) and even with just Trigger and my kids playing in there it looked bad. Before we moved we invested in really fast growing grass seed and barred both dog and children from the garden for weeks.


----------



## Montage_Morphs

snuggle day


----------



## feorag

I would love a snuggle day too with my Skye, but I've got to go out today, so will even miss his afternoon walk! :sad:


----------



## purpleskyes

I took Hudson to the local common for a walk this afternoon. That place is abit of minefield with plenty of dogs at any time during the day so he always stays on lead. 

He is very friendly but still abit dog obsessed and it's a breed trait that if challenged they will usually go back at the other dog. So for piece of mind I keep him on lead at this place. 

So we were coming to the end of our walk when a mini schnauzer appeared round the corner followed by two women. Immediately this dog was displaying none friendly behaviour barking like mad thing while running at us. 

I said to them " can you please keep your dog away from him " dog was about 10 feet away at that time. 

They just stood there looking at me making a poor attempt at re calling the dog. Who at this point was now directly infront of me trying to go through my legs at Hudson. I was doing my best at body blocking and then it whipped round the side and went to nip his leg!!

They then managed to get the dog to come back but still didn't put it on a lead. I then had to go back on myself and take a different route. I looked back and it was started to run back towards us but the owner manged to call it back again thankfully. 

Times like that make me think an all dogs on lead policy wouldn't be the worse thing ever.


----------



## feorag

Just selfish people!


----------



## BMo1979

That behaviour is one of the reasons I now avoid walking along the Clyde with either dog. 
Trigger these days doesn't like to be pestered by cheeky dogs (or too hyper, playful ones) that he doesn't know (once he gets to know them and they're neutered or female he's usually fine) and Storm is still too obsessed with being everybody's friend. Trigger I can usually distract, but if you've got owners like you described, it's quite hard to continue on your walk.
Storm is really friendly (she's all over small dogs, maybe she lived with one as a puppy), but it gets annoying when you want to have a relaxed walk and she pulls and jumps around to get to every dog in sight, so she has to learn that greeting and playing is ok, but only when I and the other dogs' owners say so, if that makes sense. I want to be able to walk her by other dogs without fuss, because that can create frustration lead aggression.

That said, I felt quite sorry for us the other week when against my better judgement I took her through the park at the Clyde. I had her on her long lead (15m), so she could run around and (if it's ok with both parties) socialise. I don't know whether it was the lead or her Husky like look, but there was a group of Spaniel owners whom treated her with near contempt. One even shouted when her puppy approached Storm (whose body language was all playful friendly) "You leave my dog alone!", but was all too happy for another Spaniel to approach it. I just said to Storm "Common' you might catch something nasty from that" and walked on. Breedists, lol!


----------



## Kiel

My little Tifa the day I got her at 8 weeks on 30 Sep.










Being adorable









On our walk last weekend


----------



## JustJack

Kiel said:


> My little Tifa the day I got her at 8 weeks on 30 Sep.
> 
> image
> 
> Being adorable
> image
> 
> On our walk last weekend
> image


She's adorable! :flrt:


----------



## Johnsteele1984

Kiel said:


> My little Tifa the day I got her at 8 weeks on 30 Sep.
> 
> image
> 
> Being adorable
> image
> 
> On our walk last weekend
> image



She's lovely:flrt:


----------



## JustJack

Does anyone keep boxers?


----------



## _simon_

purpleskyes said:


> I took Hudson to the local common for a walk this afternoon. That place is abit of minefield with plenty of dogs at any time during the day so he always stays on lead.
> 
> He is very friendly but still abit dog obsessed and it's a breed trait that if challenged they will usually go back at the other dog. So for piece of mind I keep him on lead at this place.
> 
> So we were coming to the end of our walk when a mini schnauzer appeared round the corner followed by two women. Immediately this dog was displaying none friendly behaviour barking like mad thing while running at us.
> 
> I said to them " can you please keep your dog away from him " dog was about 10 feet away at that time.
> 
> They just stood there looking at me making a poor attempt at re calling the dog. Who at this point was now directly infront of me trying to go through my legs at Hudson. I was doing my best at body blocking and then it whipped round the side and went to nip his leg!!
> 
> They then managed to get the dog to come back but still didn't put it on a lead. I then had to go back on myself and take a different route. I looked back and it was started to run back towards us but the owner manged to call it back again thankfully.
> 
> Times like that make me think an all dogs on lead policy wouldn't be the worse thing ever.


Had an off lead American Bulldog go for our lab yesterday. The owner was apologetic and checked our dog but there was no need for it to have happened! We were on the pavement walking through a housing estate, I purposely avoid places likely to have dogs off lead due to how many issues we've had with other dogs. I need to find a new route to walk now, it's not worth risking running into it again. We see it quite regularly but usually off in the distance.


----------



## Payne

Here is our new puppy, Monty. He is a 10 week old Newfoundland.
























EDIT: Photobucket won't do anything for me and FB pictures aren't uploading either, but they are on my Flickr which is in my signature. If anyone can help me with the Photobucket problem please message me.


----------



## PPVallhunds

On photobucket are you using the direct link code? That's the one you need. When you use the insert image button on here it normally has the http bit in the box, delete that befor pasting in the link or you will have it twice.


----------



## Payne

PPVallhunds said:


> On photobucket are you using the direct link code? That's the one you need. When you use the insert image button on here it normally has the http bit in the box, delete that befor pasting in the link or you will have it twice.


No I mean it won't let me even upload an image or delete any.


----------



## Payne

here we go


----------



## feorag

Big chunky fluffy teddy bear! :flrt:


----------



## Payne

feorag said:


> Big chunky fluffy teddy bear! :flrt:


IKR, he so cuddle-able!


----------



## j92

Payne said:


> Here is our new puppy, Monty. He is a 10 week old Newfoundland.
> image
> image
> image
> EDIT: Photobucket won't do anything for me and FB pictures aren't uploading either, but they are on my Flickr which is in my signature. If anyone can help me with the Photobucket problem please message me.


You should shave him into a lion lol


----------



## Payne

j92 said:


> You should shave him into a lion lol


A black lion? :lol2:


----------



## JustJack

Payne said:


> here we go
> 
> [URL=http://i1289.photobucket.com/albums/b513/PaynesAnimals/HPPC/Blank/IMG_1516_zps041288f9.jpg]image[/URL]
> [URL=http://i1289.photobucket.com/albums/b513/PaynesAnimals/HPPC/Blank/IMG_1515_zpse1c04e26.jpg]image[/URL]
> [URL=http://i1289.photobucket.com/albums/b513/PaynesAnimals/HPPC/Blank/IMG_1512_zps54d55802.jpg]image[/URL]


He's so fluffy!


----------



## Payne

Think of any dogs fur you've felt before and imagine it 10 times softer, it's almost like cotton candy.


----------



## BMo1979

There's been a murder!









The murderer was caught on camera and has been IDed









Storm had been suckling and chewing on her bed corner so I went out and bought her this soft toy to carry around and chew. 30 minutes later of her getting a hold of it, it was missing one ear. Now this is all that is left of it. 

I saw these massive soft dog toys at [email protected] the other day (probably about 3ft long). Imagine what Storm could do with them, lol?


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## feorag

Annihilate I would think! :lol2:


----------



## BMo1979

feorag said:


> Annihilate I would think! :lol2:


It's even worse now: The only thing that's left is the head and half of the belly, the rest is scattered around the house.
Thing is, she loves soft things, but obviously only to rip them apart, the spawn of evil, lol.


----------



## feorag

:lol2:


----------



## feorag

A few lovely stories to share regarding dogs.

This one, even the dog trainer was about to give up on this dog as he thought he couldn't turn it around, but patience won and he did.

New tricks: Dog that used to be scared of the wind is now helping his owner with canine coaching | Mail Online


And 2 examples of dogs (both Shepherds incidentally) showing how animals of different species can get along so well.

Real-Life Fox And The Hound Best Friends Will Melt Your Heart

Baby turkey & guard dog - YouTube


----------



## BMo1979

feorag said:


> A few lovely stories to share regarding dogs.
> 
> This one, even the dog trainer was about to give up on this dog as he thought he couldn't turn it around, but patience won and he did.
> 
> New tricks: Dog that used to be scared of the wind is now helping his owner with canine coaching | Mail Online
> 
> 
> And 2 examples of dogs (both Shepherds incidentally) showing how animals of different species can get along so well.
> 
> Real-Life Fox And The Hound Best Friends Will Melt Your Heart
> 
> Baby turkey & guard dog - YouTube


Just shows you that Shepherds are the best :Na_Na_Na_Na::lol2:


----------



## feorag

Ha ha! Was my prejudice showing?

Seriously though, it's just what I've been sent via e-mail and Facebook, purely coincidental that Shepherd are the best! :halo:


----------



## BMo1979

Last night I was browsing through the news channels and got stuck on a Japanese tv channel showing a program about all the different Inu breeds in Japan.
It was really interesting and I am now deeply in love with them, especially the Kishu and Shikoko Inu :flrt:. 
I'm surprised only the Akita (Japanese are even nicer than the American breed) and Shiba Inu really made it across the ponds, when all of the other breed have great breed traits (and looks), too.


----------



## feorag

Very interesting!


----------



## BMo1979

And there we had it this morning:
The typical encounter between Labrador and German Shepherd.
I was letting my 2 off on the field (actually was just about to put them back on the lead to go home) when someone came out of one of the cottages adjacent to it. Storm was off like a shot greeting the newcomers (her recall when distracted is still *-*99%:blush, but luckily she's everybody's darling (if she gets bit then it'll be our fault, but we're working on her obsessive social streak, lol). 
Trigger, I could stop, but while I put him on the lead, this big fat yellow Lab did what Labs do best, and bounced straight up to us.
Now, if there's one thing Trigger doesn't like is another non-pack member dog invades his social space without invitation. So, he gave a firm warning sound and a snap (without actual contact) to ward off the "intruder".
It only took about *THREE* more telling offs before the Lab got the hint though, that Trigger wasn't going to be his BFF.:bash:
Luckily the owner is one of those "Oh well, dogs will be dogs" types and didn't take it personally (like many other owners) if my dog didn't want his near him. He also understood that it was all communication going on and no real aggression/danger was present.


----------



## feorag

Lucky he had an owner who understood dogs, cos too many people haven't a clue how to read their own dogs body language, never mind a stranger's!


----------



## Payne

The really annoying thing about some dog walkers is their complete lack of respect for others. When they let their little mutt off lead and harass other people/dogs and do nothing about it. That really grinds my gears.


----------



## BMo1979

Payne said:


> The really annoying thing about some dog walkers is their complete lack of respect for others. When they let their little mutt off lead and harass other people/dogs and do nothing about it. That really grinds my gears.


Yeah, and if your dog reacts like a dog, they get all anti and call your dog aggressive, even if no physical contact has happened. 
I'd like to show them this blog
He Just Wants To Say "Hi!" | Suzanne Clothier
I like the translation of the situation into human life at the beginning.

Storm is guilty of running towards other dogs, but I don't let her off the lead unless contact is allowed by both parties and only when it's appropriate. When "accidents" (didn't see the other dog, etc) happen I always apologise and collect her immediately. When we're just walking she's not allowed to greet. It's hard for her (and us, cos she's getting stronger and is not easily distracted), but she's got to learn and will hopefully calm down a bit once she's older. At the moment she's still got that puppy mentality of "Love meeee!!!" (a bit like the average Labrador, lol).


----------



## Payne

BMo1979 said:


> Yeah, and if your dog reacts like a dog, they get all anti and call your dog aggressive, even if no physical contact has happened.
> I'd like to show them this blog
> He Just Wants To Say "Hi!" | Suzanne Clothier
> I like the translation of the situation into human life at the beginning.
> 
> Storm is guilty of running towards other dogs, but I don't let her off the lead unless contact is allowed by both parties and only when it's appropriate. When "accidents" (didn't see the other dog, etc) happen I always apologise and collect her immediately. When we're just walking she's not allowed to greet. It's hard for her (and us, cos she's getting stronger and is not easily distracted), but she's got to learn and will hopefully calm down a bit once she's older. At the moment she's still got that puppy mentality of "Love meeee!!!" (a bit like the average Labrador, lol).


That was a good read, thanks for posting.


----------



## feorag

Payne said:


> The really annoying thing about some dog walkers is their complete lack of respect for others. When they let their little mutt off lead and harass other people/dogs and do nothing about it. That really grinds my gears.


I hate it when owners shout across to me "it's OK, he's friendly" like that is an acceptable explanation for an out of control dog who is not going back to its owner.

The fact that by that time my dog will be going ballistic and barking like a lunatic at this threatening approach to himself and his mistress doesn't seem to get through to their consciousness. It's all about _their _dog being friendly.


----------



## BMo1979

They do love each other after all (or maybe Trigger just tolerates her snuggles more, lol):


----------



## feorag

He makes a good snuggly buddy, doesn't he? :flrt:


----------



## BMo1979

Storm seems to think so, lol. Trigger used to move every time she would get too close (he's never lived with a "snuggly" dog before), but now he just puts on a brave face and bears her affection, lol. She's especially "bad" when she's been sent to her bed during and after our dinner. She usually starts crying and whining and edges closer and close to Trigger, as if the complain to him that we're not paying her attention and getting some comfort from him.
He's always been very gentle with her and lets her get away with murder. When she plays she sometimes grabs his jowls and pulls him around the living room and he just takes it. The only time he really got angry with her was when she stole a piece of chicken form right under his nose. She had a little hole above her nose for a while. Other than that Trigger never goes beyond "shouting" and threatening her. If he accidentally gets her, he always goes up to her and sniffs and licks her snout, as if to make sure she's ok.:flrt:


----------



## BMo1979

Humiliating the dogs for my enjoyment again :devil:, lol. It's alright though, they got treats for sitting still (which is very hard for Storm):


----------



## demon3000

*Misty and Molly havin fun*










the little one is misty who is a rescue dog who was locked up in a cage for 6 to 8 months...proper little sh&^......but we got Molly as a puppy the bigger one, and what a difference.....love them both....x


----------



## feorag

Well it's a bright sunny & very frosty morning & we are on route to Holy Island for a walk with a pack of GSDs. What better way to get over the excesses of yesterday. At the minute I'm thinking we must be mad - I could still be in bed!!!,


----------



## BMo1979

Hope, you and Skye enjoyed yourself, Eileen. Holy Island is beautiful.

Got my first DSLR yesterday :2thumb: and of course had to try it out this morning:


----------



## feorag

They've come out great! Excellent shots - of course good subjects help! :flrt:


----------



## Middleton Mouse

We took our mutts on a short hillwalk yesterday as it was the only nice day forecast. The hill was only an 800 odd feet climb but our alsatian collie cross is 13 and a half so she's a bit past scaling munros.

Jake (black cross) is my fuance's dog, Sansa (alsatian/collie cross) is mine.









My fiance with Jake. Everyone I speak to hates extendy leads but there are sheep on the hillside and a long rope lead would have got caught up in the heather and grass. This let him dart about as he pleased. 









Sansa of the clan McClarty-paws.









Some shots of the hill




































Sansa got off-lead as she's scared of other animals and doesn't approach strangers. She managed the climb very well all things considered though she did slow down a bit on the road back (bless her).


----------



## feorag

Like us you definitely chose the right day to do a good dog walk!

I quite like extending leads, because I think they lessen the chance of the dog getting a leg caught, never mind getting caught on stuff.

Lovely dogs, but where were you? Scenery looks gorgeous!

We went to Holy Island on a group walk and had a lovely day too.

http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/foru...hat-better-way-spend-boxing.html#post11703800

.


----------



## Middleton Mouse

hi feorag, the hill we climbed is called Dumyat and is at the very end of a lovely range called the Ochils which stand over Alloa and Stirling. They offer lovely views of the central belt and on a clear day you can see lots of the hills in the southern highlands too. The cloud was over the summit a bit on boxing day though.


----------



## feorag

Had a gut feeling it was Scotland! :2thumb: I love Scotland! :flrt:


----------



## BMo1979

Sorry for constantly uploading photos :blush:, I'm just excited about my new toy, lol.


----------



## feorag

Excellent action shots!! I don't blame you for taking loads of pictures of them and wanting to share them with us.

Storm really is absolutely beautiful, but Trigger is incredibly handsome! :flrt:


----------



## feorag

So sad!!

Loyal dog braves sub-zero temperatures overnight to guard the body of his dead canine friend who was run over | Mail Online


----------



## ian kerr

giant leonburger slumbers!! lol










leon, merlin the ragdoll, koda the terrier and hugo the chihuahua [hiding! lol


----------



## ian kerr

anybody know of any FEMALE chihuahuas or pappions for sale in south U.K?


----------



## lisadew24

I was walking Sheldon today and I found a lot of these just dumped and yes it is what you think as the smell is very strong when I picked it up







[/URL]


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## ian kerr

lisadew24 said:


> I was walking Sheldon today and I found a lot of these just dumped and yes it is what you think as the smell is very strong when I picked it up
> image[/URL]


it wasnt me!! i wasnt there!


----------



## Whosthedaddy

Not quite the lap dog, but she sure does try


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## JustJack

- Pics didn't work -


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## feorag

Whosthedaddy said:


> Not quite the lap dog, but she sure does try
> 
> image


Yup!! She's growed!


----------



## Whosthedaddy

Cowboy Kid - YouTube

Question is where to get the saddle from...?


----------



## feorag

Interesting information.

How to Use Apple Cider Vinegar for Dogs: 7 Steps - wikiHow


----------



## BMo1979

Is anyone else's dog really "into" certain smells?

With Storm, apart from the obvious doggy delights like fox, badger poop or any other kind of horrible wildlife scents, it's anything to do with human toiletries:

When she hears my hair dryer she comes running into the room, because chances are my hair towel will be on the floor blush and she just loves to rub her face in it. Doesn't even matter what shampoo I use, although she seems to especially like the cheap herbal one from Aldi, lol. 
Either she just loves the scent and feel of damp towels, wants to smell like me.... or she wants to disguise herself in my scent to hunt my down and eat me, lol.
Storm also loves my husband's right arm pit - only the right one - whether he's sprayed or not (yuck). She properly nozzles him when he raises his arm over his head. 

Trigger's never been interested in smells like that (apart from b**ches in heat and newly neutered males) and has never rolled in anything or rubbed his nose into anything. He's the better "sniffer dog" and tracker though.


----------



## MrJsk

Moving house soon & there is talk of getting a dog once we have settled in!

Can't wait :jump:


----------



## BMo1979

MrJsk said:


> Moving house soon & there is talk of getting a dog once we have settled in!
> 
> Can't wait :jump:


Nice one! What kind of dog are you looking at? I couldn't imagine being without 1 or 2 dogs. As long as I'm mobile enough there'll always be a pooch by my side.


----------



## MrJsk

Not settled on a breed just yet, will be a medium / large dog. I like staffies / english bull terriers.. Boyfriend is set on a ddb, we shall see what happens lol


----------



## Whosthedaddy

MrJsk said:


> Not settled on a breed just yet, will be a medium / large dog. I like staffies / english bull terriers.. Boyfriend is set on a ddb, we shall see what happens lol


Had a Staff and after losing ours we thought about getting another, contacted a few breeders and the likes but left it there. We opted for something else as to not 'replace' her or compare our old one to the new one.

Went to see some EBT and was more than taken and awe struck at just how big they and powerful they actually are.

The wife was a little more hesitant at the EBT reputation for being a little too boisterous and playful bearing in mind we have 3 young children, one of which was still only a year old. 

I'd also arranged to see some Bullmastiffs, again the wife was hesitant to the size of the damn things but went along to see the parents and not really the pups at this point.

Roll on a few hours some deep down thinking and going back and forwards we paid the deposit on the Bullmastiff and never looked back.

They are a cracking breed, yes of course a DDB is something to behold as so pretty and majestic when you see them in the flesh and may be our next breed or pup in years to come we shall see.


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## BMo1979

I met someone walking a Bullmastiff and a Great Dane yesterday while walking Storm. 
Lovely dogs, the Mastiff was just one huge cuddly bear, he kept nudging my hand to stroke him. 
Only thing was both Storm and I left covered in slobber from both dogs, lol.


----------



## em_40

Anyone ever adopted a dog from abroad? Especially through Animal Action Aid?

There is a pup in Croatia that I have fallen for, but I'm uncertain about getting a dog I've never met before... and also the pick-up being from motorway stops, which I guess is the only way unless it goes via a UK foster, but it seems weird to me.


----------



## Payne

I feel like I should do an update on my puppy Monty. It has been about 8 weeks since we got him, we've been walking him for the past 2 weeks and started puppy classes last week too. So far everything is going great and he is set to be a big boy. He's grown just over 9 KG and has almost doubled in size. I'm not sure on how other breeds weigh in at their ages but he is 4 months old (give or take a few days) and 19.2 KG. I can't remember if I mentioned this already but his father weighed in at 89.9 KG. I'll post some photos of him when I can be bothered to fool around with the camera.


----------



## feorag

em_40 said:


> Anyone ever adopted a dog from abroad? Especially through Animal Action Aid?
> 
> There is a pup in Croatia that I have fallen for, but I'm uncertain about getting a dog I've never met before... and also the pick-up being from motorway stops, which I guess is the only way unless it goes via a UK foster, but it seems weird to me.


I volunteer for German Shepherd Dog Rescue and we are bringing in GSDs (and other breeds including an Ovcharka), especially from Romania where they are killing dogs brutally by their thousands, but also Greece and Spain and anywhere else.

These dogs are brought in in large vans of stacked carriers and are met at their arrival point by people from the various rescues who have committed to take the dogs. From there they are distributed by various rescues throughout the country and taken either to foster homes or rescue kennels where they can be assessed. So it depends on whether you are getting your dog from a foster home or UK rescue kennel or whether you are taking the dog direct from the rescue vehicle, which could be the case if you are being asked to meet at a motorway stop.

We have GSDs in our kennels from Romania. Some have been so abused they have lost their trust and fear humans and a lot of work is being done to try to rehabilitate them, but some of them just want to be loved.

Hundreds of these dogs have already been brought over and GSDR have some in their main kennels with the founder of the Rescue, but more are coming in all the time. We've just taken in 5 puppies, but they will rehome almost immediately because they are puppies.

A friend who also volunteers for GSDR and has 4 GSDs (2 are fosters) took in a small Jack Russell type terrier from Romania and she's delightful.


----------



## em_40

Thanks for the info. It had been assessed by a foster in a Croatia and so when it was ready to enter the UK it would have been straight away ready to come to us and not go through a UK foster/rescue yeh. 

I'm not really looking for one that's had too terrible a life and is too nervous, as I have young children. I was mostly drawn to the them as there were puppies and young dogs, and I would like that this time instead of an older one. Most Uk rescues won't consider us because we don't have our own enclosed garden (and we have young children). Although our local rescue did for our other dog. If the German shepherd rescues would consider us then we would love a GSD.

But how do you know if it's a good and trust-worthy rescue and you can trust the conclusion of the foster. He does look very loving and there is a video. 

Anyway, I ended up missing out on the pup I really wanted  There was another family in Croatia that also wanted him, so it went to them instead to free up a space in foster sooner instead of waiting for transport.


----------



## feorag

BMo1979 said:


> Only thing was both Storm and I left covered in slobber from both dogs, lol.


Have to be honest, I'm not a slobber lover at all! That's why I like a long shaped head - it usually comes with little or no slobber.



em_40 said:


> But how do you know if it's a good and trust-worthy rescue and you can trust the conclusion of the foster. He does look very loving and there is a video.


Good question and I don't quite know how to answer that. Word of mouth is good, but if you don't know anyone who has used the rescue, then how can you know or find out??


Two doggy programmes on TV tonight. 

8 o'clock, Channel 4 an updated version of the documentary "Dogs: Their Secret Lives" and, even better, 

9 o'clock, BBC4, "Icebound" - that sounds fascinating, especially for those of us with sled dogs!


----------



## demon3000

*Molly as a puppy*


----------



## BMo1979

What a relief!
Took Trigger for a vet appointment because he needs his teeth scaled. He'd also been drinking and peeing a lot, I felt his eyes were a bit cloudy at times, so the vet took blood to (other than doing the per-anestetic checks) test for liver and kidney diseases.
His eyes are just a bit cloudy due to his age (dehydrated), but it's not anything like glaucoma or cataracts and doesn't harm his vision, and I've just got a phone call from the vet telling me everything in his blood is completely normal and healthy, so we can go ahead with his dental cleaning next week.
The only other 2 things were that he had a slight heart squeak, but the vet reckons it was probably down to excitement and was not too concerning as he doesn't show any other symptoms, and his hips are starting to wear, his back is sloping ( he used to have quite a straight back) and his muscles are beginning to weaken, but still within the norm for a GSD of 8. She actually said, he was rather healthy for an elderly GSD (where did the time go? He was only a 9 week old puppy not that long ago and now he's classed as a senior).
She was surprised at how friendly and laid back he is. He never even flinched when she took blood and constantly came up for cuddles and belly rubs (especially when she found the "shaky leg" spot, that all GSDs have, lol). 
Still a bit nervous for next Thursday, because it'll be the first time he's ever gone under full anesthetics.


----------



## JustJack

Does anyone own a bullmastiff or great dane or has owned one in the past?


----------



## feorag

BMo1979 said:


> Still a bit nervous for next Thursday, because it'll be the first time he's ever gone under full anesthetics.


Fingers crossed for Trigger tomorrow!


----------



## BMo1979

feorag said:


> Fingers crossed for Trigger tomorrow!


Thanks, but it's next week, that way he can start the antibiotics 1-2 days before (apparently it reduces the inflammation of the gums).


----------



## Whosthedaddy

Trootle said:


> Does anyone own a bullmastiff or great dane or has owned one in the past?


Bullmastiff


----------



## JustJack

Whosthedaddy said:


> Bullmastiff


What are they like to own?


----------



## feorag

BMo1979 said:


> Thanks, but it's next week, that way he can start the antibiotics 1-2 days before (apparently it reduces the inflammation of the gums).


Oopsy! Guess it was a bit late and I missed the 'next' bit!


----------



## BMo1979

Trootle said:


> Does anyone own a bullmastiff or great dane or has owned one in the past?


I can't speak from own experience, but I spoke to someone who owns both, an English Mastiff and a Great Dane, the other day.
The Dane was a bit of a handful at times, but he was still young (about 2). The Mastiff (7), according to him was so laid back he was nearly horizontal and spent most of his day snoozing on the couch. The dogs were in a family with 4 children and were great with them.


----------



## JustJack

BMo1979 said:


> I can't speak from own experience, but I spoke to someone who owns both, an English Mastiff and a Great Dane, the other day.
> The Dane was a bit of a handful at times, but he was still young (about 2). The Mastiff (7), according to him was so laid back he was nearly horizontal and spent most of his day snoozing on the couch. The dogs were in a family with 4 children and were great with them.


I'm planning on hopefully going to crafts in March if I can get the time off work, to see and talk to owners/breeders off both breeds


----------



## NicolaMe

my sister in law owns a great dane, he was well behaved but my god his slobber is impossible to get out of clothing:whistling2:


----------



## JustJack

NicolaMe said:


> my sister in law owns a great dane, he was well behaved but my god his slobber is impossible to get out of clothing:whistling2:


I've heard some can slobber for England and some aren't so bad!


----------



## Whosthedaddy

Trootle said:


> What are they like to own?


Asleep all day!
Cat attacks her tail and ears when laying there and just let's him
Not fazed by the kids, except when daddy is on their scooters, then she'll bite my bum!
Sleep all day
Not a barking dog
Easily pleased with a short walk
Weight will pin you if you sit in her chair, that's her chair and god forbid anyone whom sits in it.
Likes to sleep
Does dribble if eating a sandwich or apple / pear
Not overtly chewers but has destroyed our garden by digging.
Snores as asleep most of day


----------



## JustJack

Whosthedaddy said:


> Asleep all day!
> Cat attacks her tail and ears when laying there and just let's him
> Not fazed by the kids, except when daddy is on their scooters, then she'll bite my bum!
> Sleep all day
> Not a barking dog
> Easily pleased with a short walk
> Weight will pin you if you sit in her chair, that's her chair and god forbid anyone whom sits in it.
> Likes to sleep
> Does dribble if eating a sandwich or apple / pear
> Not overtly chewers but has destroyed our garden by digging.
> Snores as asleep most of day


Couch potatoes then! 

How much do they get through food wise/cost?


----------



## Whosthedaddy

We've adjusted her food as thought she was getting a little too much so almost cut by a 3rd and weight loss...none? She went from 49kg to 49kg. The fact that she is so laid back and not very energetic we thought that feeding her less would be a little beneficial as now spade too.

Breakfast: dry complete x2 scoops? Maybe 300-400g
Dinner: tripe / meat mix of some description from online supplier at 75p each, she'll have 2 on alternate days and one of the others. So 500g or 1kg a day.

All in all about £2 a day and craps less than our old Staff and when on proper BARF can get a couple of days in one poop bag! It's getting the various offal / meats that's the problem as not always available to go and get it and storage is a little harder as have to break it down and repackage rather than shoving it from the box to the freezer after having it delivered.

Saying that she loves a bit of liver, kidney and heart but they have to be cut up for her? Crunching through a chicken carcass or 1/4 whole chicken pieces is a breeze, biting through a bit of liver, nope, plops it all over the floor waiting for me to snip it up.

She won't touch fish.


----------



## JustJack

Right I see, not as bad as I thought then!

I've heard mixed stuff on the whole tripe/meat thing. Some say it's essential some say just the dry complete food is fine?

Will have a look later into it more, cheers!


----------



## feorag

Lovely story I thought I'd share. Sandy goes in today to have his other leg straightened and then he'll finally be able to walk properly.

Sandy 'the wonky dog' born with bowed legs has surgery in UK | Mail Online


----------



## Johnsteele1984

feorag said:


> Lovely story I thought I'd share. Sandy goes in today to have his other leg straightened and then he'll finally be able to walk properly.
> 
> Sandy 'the wonky dog' born with bowed legs has surgery in UK | Mail Online




That's a shame,hope all goes well for the poor dog:2thumb:


----------



## BMo1979

Trigger had his dental treatment yesterday. The vet ended up having to take one of his front bottom teeth out. It looked fine from the front but it was very loose and decayed on the inside. Poor dog looks dead goofy now.
He could hardly walk last night (surgery was done at lunch time) and is still a bit weak and tired today, but did come out for a short walk and had some wet food (with antibiotics, but don't tell him that, lol). 
He's going back on Tuesday to discuss a further treatment plan, as his gums are more of a problem than his teeth. I've always brushed his teeth and gave him dental chews, but obviously not enough :,( (feel bad). He might need more courses of antibiotics and daily brushing with antibacterial paste.

Other than that, apparently he is the perfect patient. Followed the vet into the kennels without fuss and then just lay down watching everything going on around him. He didn't bark or whine and let the staff put in the catheter without even flinching. I was worried they'd want to keep him as their practice dog, lol.


----------



## feorag

Bless him! That wouldn't be Skye!! :gasp:

Hope you can work out something out to stop his teeth getting any worse.


----------



## BMo1979

feorag said:


> Bless him! That wouldn't be Skye!! :gasp:
> 
> Hope you can work out something out to stop his teeth getting any worse.


I'm sure we will. He's still a bit weak in the back legs (I can tell the way he's sitting down "lazily") and seems to be in a little bit of pain. Every time he scratches his face he whinges for a while after. Doesn't stop him from eating and wanting out, so it must be bearable. My poor puppy!


----------



## feorag

Poor lad! :sad:


----------



## eoj89

don't know whether this has been asked before, just curious -

is it true that hound breeds typically harder to train than other breeds? this is what everyone seems to say, but every hound breed i've met (beagle, basset, greyhound, whippet, wolfhounds, etc) have been AMAZING obedient and so on?


----------



## feorag

I think it's generally agreed that they are harder to train, because they are a pack animal and, as such, they are used to working as a pack without constant instruction. 

I didn't find my Afghan Hounds any more difficult to train to do the basics training that you do with dogs, sit, walk on a lead etc etc than I did my Labrador, but their return is very poor because they are bred to hunt, especially sight hounds like Afghans. They see an aeroplane in the sky, they're off. Difficult when you live close to and under the flight path of a busy airport :lol2:


----------



## AubreyGecko

Is this normal????

I got my puppy a week ago today weighing exactly 1kg and the lady told us to feed her on pedigree tinned puppy food (we brought it immediately!) She seemed to like it so all was well. We took her for her first jab Monday (I'm aware it could be too soon after the upheaval of moving but we phoned the vet to check and she thought it was okay) and on Tuesday she was really really sleepy and hardly ate or drank anything, we believed this to be the effect of the jab, on Wednesday she was no better and we phoned the vet, they told us to come on Friday if she was no better, however then on Thursday she kept being sick and had a badly upset tummy, couldn't keep anything down and wouldn't eat or drink! I called the vet and they said bring her ASAP which of course I did. After a while of poking and prodding the vet couldn't find anything wrong per say other than the fact she had lost a quarter of her body weight! She put this down to the fact bridget (puppy) had been being sick and hardly eating and gave her some royal canin recovery food which she loved and she seemed to perk right up!! She was also prescribed Pro-Kolin+ for her diarrhoea, she was fine all Thursday night and all of Friday and now this morning she's back to how she was before, hardly eating really upset tummy and sleeping LOTS. She is due back at the vets Tuesday for a check up, but should I be panicking or could it just be the medication working??

I'm sorry for the essay but I'm going mad with worry!! Don't want anything to happen to my baby girl!!!! She's tiny and even in a week she's such a huge part of my life
Should I take her back tomorrow do you think or hold off until Tuesday??? 
Again sorry for the essay!!!!!


----------



## BMo1979

You know your puppy best. If you feel like she's getting worse, I'd not wait until Tuesday or at least phone the emergency vet and ask for their advise.
On a side note: Is it not a bit irresponsible of a "breeder" to sell puppies unvaccinated...... (or advise to feed Pedigree, which is a very low quality food full of needless ingredients)?


----------



## AubreyGecko

BMo1979 said:


> You know your puppy best. If you feel like she's getting worse, I'd not wait until Tuesday or at least phone the emergency vet and ask for their advise.
> On a side note: Is it not a bit irresponsible of a "breeder" to sell puppies unvaccinated...... (or advise to feed Pedigree, which is a very low quality food full of needless ingredients)?


I think ill phone tomorrow she perks up a bit after her medicine but about half hour later she's awful again!! I can't decide if its because the medicine is taking time to work. 

I agree all our other dogs we've had in the past we've had wonderful advice and they have had their first jab too,we was planning to gradually move her over to James well beloved (we heard that's one of the best??) but then she got poorly and now I'm not really sure quite what to do 

Thank you for your reply!!!!


----------



## BMo1979

AubreyGecko said:


> I think ill phone tomorrow she perks up a bit after her medicine but about half hour later she's awful again!! I can't decide if its because the medicine is taking time to work.
> 
> I agree all our other dogs we've had in the past we've had wonderful advice and they have had their first jab too,we was planning to gradually move her over to James well beloved (we heard that's one of the best??) but then she got poorly and now I'm not really sure quite what to do
> 
> Thank you for your reply!!!!


I hope she'll be better soon. Fingers crossed.

As for choosing the right food: I found this page quite helpful
The Dog Food Directory - now listing 1196 dog foods!


----------



## feorag

What breed is she and how old is she? It's hard to know if she was a good weight for her age and breed to start with. At 1Kg she must be a small breed as some of my kittens have weighed that at 9 weeks and my cat breed is not a large breed.


----------



## AubreyGecko

Sorry she's a bichon x poodle

Vet upped her meds and she's seeming a tad better 
She had a short wander about and had a little play but went to sleep again pretty quick
Her poop is gradually becoming more solid so I'm praying we have a mending puppy :help: 

Thank you for the food guide ill look now!!


----------



## BMo1979

We took Storm to Luss at Loch Lomond today. Nice day, but I've never seen Storm this hyper before, even so there weren't as many dogs as usual there.










Meeting the not so friendly locals









The Swan putting Storm in her place (it worked, she kept well away from them)









At the river


----------



## BMo1979

The only thing that annoyed me a bit was when we were at the shores there was a family with a little girl of about 2-3 years old. Storm wasn't really interested, but when she went near the girl (on the lead) to pick up her toy, the girl shouted out "Eww! Smelly dog!". The parents didn't even say anything, so it kind of makes me think that they're bringing their child up with the idea that dogs are dirty stinking creatures and beneath her. How sad (and I mean that genuinly!)...


----------



## Middleton Mouse

We've been to hell and back with our oldest dog this week. :-(

A few weeks ago she suddenly became very withdrawn, my partner said she was panting heavily and shivering so she was taken to the vet. She was running a high temperature and was put on antibiotics and metacam and we were asked to bring her in the next day for a check up. It was assumed she was suffering from a bug as she had "dire-rear" and was sick in the flat. 

The following day the vet who seen her found that she had a lump in her neck, not wishing to dawdle we booked an appointment with the head of our practice. He couldn't get a sample from the lump and so it was decided it'd be best to sedate her to see if a biopsy could be performed. 

On the Monday morning she was having obvious difficulty breathing and when asleep was snoring very loudly. I didn't think she'd be in any state to undergo a GA. Our vet did manage to get her safely sedated and on looking in her neck it was found that she had an infected gland and a tumor in a major blood vessel. All he could do was remove the gland and as much of the tumor as possible.

We got her home looking like this, heavily doped up on methadone and with a drain in her neck. Despite it all she still took food and water readily.




























On Tuesday she went back to have the drain removed but it was still leaking fluid and had to be left in. The vet on duty at the time said we should come back on Thursday.

On Tuesday night she was still leaking heavily. I phoned the emergency vet in a panic but he assured me that with the nature of the op he'd expect it to bleed a lot. He asked me to count the number of drops appearing from the drain in the space of a minute and didn't seem to think it was a concern especially as she was still eating and drinking at this point. 

On Wednesday morning she was looking better (not as much swelling around her face) but was very weak. She was willing to take food but only if she didn't have to stand up. 

This was her on Wednesday morning, you can see the drain. Her eye is half shut as the pressure was pinching a nerve.









On Thursday morning she was a much happier dog, more herself and her face was more or less back to normal.









She went back to the vet on Monday and it was the same man who did her surgery. He was happy enough with her progress but as the drain was still leaking slightly advised for it to be left in. She's going back tomorrow to see if it can be removed but as she insists on lying on that side it's still oozing a small amount.

She's on borrowed time which is heartbreaking for us given she seemed perfectly well three weeks ago.


----------



## BMo1979

Oh dear, poor thing!

She looks a lot better on the last picture though, so hopefully that'll be her on the mend now, fingers crossed.


----------



## feorag

BMo1979 said:


> The only thing that annoyed me a bit was when we were at the shores there was a family with a little girl of about 2-3 years old. Storm wasn't really interested, but when she went near the girl (on the lead) to pick up her toy, the girl shouted out "Eww! Smelly dog!". The parents didn't even say anything, so it kind of makes me think that they're bringing their child up with the idea that dogs are dirty stinking creatures and beneath her. How sad (and I mean that genuinly!)...


Lovely photos and I love Luss - lovely little village.

Shame about the idiots, no wonder a lot of today's adults don't like or respect animals if they're being brought up by parents like that.



Middleton Mouse said:


> We've been to hell and back with our oldest dog this week. :-(


So sorry to hear this. She does look a lot better in the latest photographs

When will you get the results of the biopsy? Hope it's not bad! :sad:


----------



## Middleton Mouse

feorag said:


> Lovely photos and I love Luss - lovely little village.
> 
> Shame about the idiots, no wonder a lot of today's adults don't like or respect animals if they're being brought up by parents like that.
> 
> So sorry to hear this. She does look a lot better in the latest photographs
> 
> When will you get the results of the biopsy? Hope it's not bad! :sad:


We haven't bothered to send them away, this has taken it out of her a bit and we'll just keep a close eye on her and see if we can't get the vet to come out and put her to sleep when the time comes. I certainly wouldn't be comfortable putting her through the op again as she's 14 now and has aged quite a big over the past month or so.


----------



## feorag

Truthfully, I'd do exactly the same. In a young animal I will fight all the way to cure any ill, but when they are elderly I wouldn't put them through stuff like major ops or chemo, I'd just give them the best quality of life I could up until I knew their time was up and then I'd give them my final gift of love and allow them a pain free, fear free, peaceful death.

So sad for you! :sad:


----------



## Middleton Mouse

feorag said:


> Truthfully, I'd do exactly the same. In a young animal I will fight all the way to cure any ill, but when they are elderly I wouldn't put them through stuff like major ops or chemo, I'd just give them the best quality of life I could up until I knew their time was up and then I'd give them my final gift of love and allow them a pain free, fear free, peaceful death.
> 
> So sad for you! :sad:


We knew when we got her we'd be lucky if we managed to get a couple of years out of her. We got her in 2012 and she was 12 then and starting to show it. She had a massive growth on her shoulder which was removed a few months after we got her (we'd been advised to leave it previously). She became a different dog after that, much less uptight.

This was the day we met her at the dogs trust









You can't really see her shoulder lump in that pic but look at this









Thankfully it was nothing more than a fatty lump








We were happy to have her though specially when many would have overlooked her, she's an absolutely perfect dog, going to miss her so much when she finally goes.


----------



## feorag

My God, that's a size! :gasp:

She's beautiful :flrt: She needed you and you came good for her - that's they way I look at it. Adopting oldies comes with its own rewards (and heartache), and not everyone will choose that path, so kudos to you for doing it! :notworthy:


----------



## Johnsteele1984

Middleton Mouse said:


> We knew when we got her we'd be lucky if we managed to get a couple of years out of her. We got her in 2012 and she was 12 then and starting to show it. She had a massive growth on her shoulder which was removed a few months after we got her (we'd been advised to leave it previously). She became a different dog after that, much less uptight.
> 
> This was the day we met her at the dogs trust
> image
> 
> You can't really see her shoulder lump in that pic but look at this
> image
> 
> Thankfully it was nothing more than a fatty lump
> image
> We were happy to have her though specially when many would have overlooked her, she's an absolutely perfect dog, going to miss her so much when she finally goes.




Omg that's crazy,hope the poor soul pulls through,get well soon: victory:


----------



## PPVallhunds

Middleton Mouse said:


> We've been to hell and back with our oldest dog this week. :-(
> On Thursday morning she was a much happier dog, more herself and her face was more or less back to normal.


 Poor girl, glad she came threw it and is feeling better now and can enjoy the time she has left with you. Im sure you will be spoiling her.


----------



## PPVallhunds

BMo1979 said:


> We took Storm to Luss at Loch Lomond today. Nice day, but I've never seen Storm this hyper before, even so there weren't as many dogs as usual there.
> 
> The only thing that annoyed me a bit was when we were at the shores there was a family with a little girl of about 2-3 years old. Storm wasn't really interested, but when she went near the girl (on the lead) to pick up her toy, the girl shouted out "Eww! Smelly dog!". The parents didn't even say anything, so it kind of makes me think that they're bringing their child up with the idea that dogs are dirty stinking creatures and beneath her. How sad (and I mean that genuinly!)...


 Storm is a beautiful girl, I like the pic of her and the swan with her fur up in a ridge.

Sometimes people with kids do realy annoy me, last summer I took my girl to the beach, she loves it there and the beach is split up in the summer so most of it is no dogs allowed (that side even has a little kids park) and a small area at the very end is the dog part, not as big as the no dog part but still enough space for a good run about. Yet I went there with my girl and walked all the way down to the dog part to find 5 different families there with little kids and no dog when the no dogs section was completely empty! So I couldn't let my girl off the lead as she would have barked at them.
allthought I must admit ive only ever had one kid run up to my girl to try to stroke her, all the rest the parents have told them to ask first, which I know some others who have lots of problems with parents not doing that and getting annoyed when the owner tells the kid to not touch the dog.


----------



## BMo1979

PPVallhunds said:


> *Storm is a beautiful girl, I like the pic of her and the swan with her fur up in a ridge.*
> 
> Sometimes people with kids do realy annoy me, last summer I took my girl to the beach, she loves it there and the beach is split up in the summer so most of it is no dogs allowed (that side even has a little kids park) and a small area at the very end is the dog part, not as big as the no dog part but still enough space for a good run about. Yet I went there with my girl and walked all the way down to the dog part to find 5 different families there with little kids and no dog when the no dogs section was completely empty! So I couldn't let my girl off the lead as she would have barked at them.
> *allthought I must admit ive only ever had one kid run up to my girl to try to stroke her, all the rest the parents have told them to ask first, which I know some others who have lots of problems with parents not doing that and getting annoyed when the owner tells the kid to not touch the dog*.


She was very impressed by the swans, lol. They had their wings up as soon as they approached and kept following us along the beach, hissing every time Storm went near the water (bullies, lol!). I don't think she'll ever try mess with swans.

Funnily enough, owning 2 large dogs (one of them being a GSD), I don't really have that problem with kids approaching them uninvited anymore, other than family friends and relatives, who know they love cuddles. With us it's mainly adults (mostly men). I don't know if it's a macho thing, i.e. "Look at me handling this big bad dog!". I get it a lot walking by someone and they make this "come here" clicking noise. Storm's not a problem, cos she's an attention seeking tart, lol, but Trigger can be quite vocal towards men when I'm walking them by myself. Thing is, he likes to get cuddles (his bark is just his way of saying "I let you stroke me and like you, but be aware not to overstep the mark and harm us", I think) and if someone knows what GSDs are like and just ignores his barking (which is not aggressive, but loud), he gets all soppy and "lap doggy".


----------



## feorag

PPVallhunds said:


> allthought I must admit ive only ever had one kid run up to my girl to try to stroke her, all the rest the parents have told them to ask first, which I know some others who have lots of problems with parents not doing that and getting annoyed when the owner tells the kid to not touch the dog.


I'm a volunteer childrens Speaker for the Blue Cross and go into schools to talk to children about responsible pet care and safety around dogs and the main thing we teach is how to approach a dog. To always ask the owner first and to hold a fist under the dogs nose to allow it to smell them first. 

I had dogs all my life until my previous GSD died and by then my children had grown up and left home and I was working full days, so the time wasn't right to get another dog. After 16 years I was surprised at the number of children who approached Skye by waving a hand over his head, which then made him look up and they then jumped back because they thought he might be going to bite them. That really didn't happen years ago because parents taught their children to approach a dog from under his nose, that instruction doesn't seem to happen nowadays.

Does anyone else find this?


----------



## BMo1979

I agree, Eileen. 
The attitude in general seems to have changed. When I was a child I got bitten in the backside by a GSD pup, nearly humped by a Boxer and pushed flat on my back by another Boxer. In all cases I was checked over, brushed off and then laughed at. 
My sister got bitten on the back on a fairground, when her and her friends took a short cut through the employees caravan park. After being treated by the doctors she got a telling off for being so stupid. The dog was never reported.

These days it seems that people go on a reporting frenzy if a dog just barks or God forbid growls at their child. If it's none of the popular breeds, it seems to pay to go to the papers, too, *roll eyes*.
My SIL had her Greyhound PTS straight away when it snapped at her daughter for stepping on him when he was sleeping. There was a very slight scratch mark on her on photos taken 1 day after the incident, so not even a real bite. The rescue would have taken him back no problem. 
On the other hand, I never reported the dog that snapped at my second oldest son. He ran by the open door of the owner's flat even so he knows not to run by unleashed unfamiliar dogs. The dog only wanted to stop/herd him and because my son pulled his arm away he got a scrape. The owner however got his dog used to a muzzle straight away and only walked him with it on.


----------



## feorag

Glad you agree Brigitte. Sadly we are becoming so Americanised it's frightening. 

There seems to be no such thing as an accident nowadays, it always has to be somebody's fault, but never the person it happens too because they can't claim then, can they?

My first dog was a Labrador and he wasn't brought up with children as there were no children in my family, everyone had grown up. I was looking after my boyfriend's daughter one day and had taken her to my friend's farm for a visit. Jason was lying asleep on the floor and when my attention was distracted Karen crawled over to him (she was not quite a year old) and knelt on his tail. As quick as a flash he jumped up turned round and has her arm in his mouth, but as quickly as it happened he realised what it was and let go, not leaving a mark. I would never have put him down for that. What else would you expect a dog to do in that circumstance and there was no badness in him because he let her go instantly, but if that had happened nowadays everyone would be telling me he should be put down.


----------



## PPVallhunds

I think many younger parents nower days just cant be bothered anymore (look at all the misbehaved kids running about getting into trouble). When I was a kid (and im only 27) I was allways told to ask first and got told off may times as a little kid by my mother if I didn't listen (She thinks I may have been snapped at as I suddenly became terrified of dogs when I was a little kid)

One person a saw on a forum saying that they were at the vets with there dog who was muzzled with a basket type one as he didn't like the vets. A little girl was poking her finger threw the muzzle and poking him in the muzzle. The mother apperantly didn't care until the owner told the kid to stop as the dog didn't like it and he may end up biting her. The the mother had a go at the owner for telling her kid what to do!

I rember being told of my cousins when my aurnt got a dog from a local rescue, it nipped one of them while my aurnt was in a different room her first thought was they must have been teezing the dog and it was there own fault. (Sadly it turned out they wernt and the dog was child aggressive and went nutts) 
But back then it was if you teeze a dog and get bitten it was your own fault. But now its the dogs fault for being dangerous and they pay the price.


----------



## Johnsteele1984

BMo1979 said:


> We took Storm to Luss at Loch Lomond today. Nice day, but I've never seen Storm this hyper before, even so there weren't as many dogs as usual there.
> 
> image
> 
> Meeting the not so friendly locals
> image
> 
> The Swan putting Storm in her place (it worked, she kept well away from them)
> image
> 
> At the river
> image
> image
> image
> image
> image




She's lovely,love her coat:mf_dribble:


----------



## feorag

This made me laugh at the beginning and choke back the tears at the end.

31 Special Feelings That Every Dog Owner Is Familiar With


----------



## Starko

Didn't know there was a doggy thread :2thumb:

Here's a photo of my two. Both rescued from the Dog's Trust.


----------



## BMo1979

feorag said:


> This made me laugh at the beginning and choke back the tears at the end.
> 
> 31 Special Feelings That Every Dog Owner Is Familiar With



Oh, the last 2 .
I can't even look at 2 seconds of "Marley and Me" without welling up. 

@Starko: they're lovely. My second dog's from Dogs Trust, too.


----------



## feorag

Starko said:


> Didn't know there was a doggy thread :2thumb:
> 
> Here's a photo of my two. Both rescued from the Dog's Trust.
> 
> [URL="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag154/GregStarkins/Dogs/IMG_1069_zpsb206db60.jpg"]image[/URL]


2 gorgeous matched bookends. :flrt: :lol2:

I know what you mean Brigitte - brings back every emotion I felt when I've lost all my dogs!


----------



## Middleton Mouse

Sansa is feeling much better this week

_*Oh hi, I see you're having dinner*_









Drain is out, wound is healed and drying out, hopefully last vet appointment tomorrow to get stitches out.


----------



## PPVallhunds

Good news on Sansa then, she looks much happier there.


----------



## PPVallhunds

My girl Fay inspecting a box of mice this afternoon. She loves the mice so much.


----------



## Middleton Mouse

PPVallhunds said:


> Good news on Sansa then, she looks much happier there.


She's definately much better, here she is doing a few of her tricks (the "high five" is a bit crap).:2thumb:

Sansas tricks - YouTube


----------



## feorag

She definitely looks much happier - great result! :2thumb:

:lol2: Had to show you this!


----------



## feorag

I loved this - don't forget to watch the actual video at the end. Brilliant!

Shake: Slow Motion Photos Of Dogs Shaking Their Heads Published As Book | Bored Panda


----------



## ian kerr

Looking for a FEMALE chihuahua puppy up to 2 years must be longhair and not doctored.


----------



## Starko

@ian. Why not rescue a dog and help the problem instead of adding to it? 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## feorag

and why not neutered?


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## EVIEMAY

Starko said:


> @ian. Why not rescue a dog and help the problem instead of adding to it?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I look on "many tears" most days - if I was confident my Yorkie wound accept another one I would adopt one like a shot !!


----------



## BMo1979

Quit sad... :,(

I just hear that one of my neighbours'/friends' dog died. She had been seriously ill with Autoimmune hemolytic anemia if I recall correctly and was put on about 20 tablets per day last week. 
Today was supposed to be a check up, so I guess her blood test showed she wouldn't get better.
She was a lovely dog and when I last saw her on Friday, it looked like she was getting a bit better.


----------



## feorag

Shame :sad: At least if she appeared to be a bit better, then her last few days would have been better too??


----------



## BMo1979

feorag said:


> Shame :sad: At least if she appeared to be a bit better, then her last few days would have been better too??


I was chatting to her owners last night.
She collapsed so they rushed her to the animal clinic. They wanted 340 pounds up front for blood transfusions or wouldn't treat her (I know, vets run a business first, but is that ethical?). 5 minutes there and she had a heart attack, they tried to bring her back, but she died.


----------



## JustJack

Not a fan of a certain vet atm.

A few weeks ago Pedro had a rash on his leg and was losing some of his fur, so booked him into the vets for the following Monday, I bathed him on the Sunday and there were a few pussy lumps on his leg and the skin was red raw. The vet had a look and said he would need biopsies and skin scrapes, nearly £1000! He came back from the vets that night very scared, the stitches looked absolutely awful. It looked like they had butchered him and stuck giant stitches in for a few spot size lumps. Anyway results came back and it was demodex (not sure if that's how it's spelt). I wasn't told what the medication he gave me was for and was very poorly informed. I decided to get a second opinion at another vets, and he said he does have demodex but was shocked how poorly informed I was and the stitches. 

Anyway, he was booked for a bath with some kind of solution (at the original vet as the insurance claim was with them), can't remember the name, begins with A. So took him for that in the morning, then picked him up in the afternoon. On the way home his fur was falling out in clumps and he was walking funny, so phoned them up and they said it's normal reaction for the bath. The day after the bath I was at work, and my mum said his feet were purple, he wouldn't eat or drink and was not himself. So booked him in to the emergency vet, and he had bald patches behind his ears, his feet (hence being purple) and his leg was inflamed yet again. Turns out that the bath solution is very powerful and it effects the nerves and skin hence him walking funny and losing fur. Bearing in mind I hadn't been told about ANY side effects or anything.

So he had to have a reversal injection and 2 week antibiotic jab. The vet said we were fine to go home and just keep an eye on him, but on the way home then was sick 5 times and his behaviour was really erratic. He was barking and crying and he was panting a lot. So we had to drive an hour back out the the vets to hospitalise him and he had to have more injections and they had to monitor him for the next 24 hours.

Has anyone else had a similar experience or such awful advice etc from a vet? Thankfully his leg is healing now and he is back to himself. Had to have him booked in to take his DISPOSABLE stitches out on Friday after being told they would fall out within a week or two.


----------



## feorag

I think if that was me I'd be asking for an appointment to speak to the Practice Manager and make a complaint about that particular vet for not giving you essential information to help understand your dog's condition and treatment. I wouldn't let them get away with that! :bash:

Just found this. Am I the only one who's surprised to see a GSD on that list??

11 Most Expensive Breeds to Own : Dog Reference


----------



## JustJack

feorag said:


> I think if that was me I'd be asking for an appointment to speak to the Practice Manager and make a complaint about that particular vet for not giving you essential information to help understand your dog's condition and treatment. I wouldn't let them get away with that! :bash:
> 
> Just found this. Am I the only one who's surprised to see a GSD on that list??
> 
> 11 Most Expensive Breeds to Own : Dog Reference


He WAS the practice manager!

On a lighter note, I've seen 2 beautiful blue/grey Great Danes the last few days which is unusual. Plus the sweet doberman who lives down the road. Going to speak to the owners and see if I can take a walk with them one day and see how they are to manage!


----------



## Middleton Mouse

Having to take things a day at a time with Sansa now . She started coughing lots over the last few days and had a hellish night on Monday. An endoscopy yesterday confirmed that the tumor is growing back. She's now on steroids to control its growth and seems happy enough in herself once again but we know it's only a very short time to go. She had a peaceful night last night and was keen to get out and have breakfast this morning. We've asked our vet if he minds coming out to do the deed so at least she can pass away in her own wee bed at home. 

Really don't want to lose her but don't want to see her miserable either.


----------



## feorag

Trootle said:


> He WAS the practice manager!!


In that case I'd be changing my vet!



Middleton Mouse said:


> Having to take things a day at a time with Sansa now . She started coughing lots over the last few days and had a hellish night on Monday. An endoscopy yesterday confirmed that the tumor is growing back. She's now on steroids to control its growth and seems happy enough in herself once again but we know it's only a very short time to go. She had a peaceful night last night and was keen to get out and have breakfast this morning. We've asked our vet if he minds coming out to do the deed so at least she can pass away in her own wee bed at home.
> 
> Really don't want to lose her but don't want to see her miserable either.


Oh dear, so sorry to hear this, but you are right it does sound like you only have a short time left with her, so enjoy it. Fill it with love for her and you'll know when the time is right to say goodbye.

I felt exactly the same as you when my first breeding queen, who was totally my soul mate, told me she was tired of life - I also wanted her to be at home when the time came so got my vet to come here. We sat her on my knee while he gave her the sedative, so she just fell asleep in my arms. He then put her on the coffee table to give her the fatal injection. It was all very peaceful and after he left I put her back on my knee and sobbed my heart out, BUT I knew I had done the right thing for her and that was what was most important.

And now my eyes are leaking and this was nearly 10 years ago! :roll:


----------



## BMo1979

So sorry to hear that, MM. I'm sure you'll make her remaining time with you as comfortable and peaceful as possible.
It's the hardest part of pet ownership, isn't it, having to make that decision to let go for your animal's sake. 

P.S.: Eileen, your story just brought tears to my eyes, too.


----------



## feorag

Who says French Mastiffs are laid back??? :lol2:


----------



## Middleton Mouse

We've decided to ring the vet on Saturday unless there's a massive improvement. We went to morrisons and spent about £20 buying different meats to do her til then. Tonight she's having chicken wings and tomorrow morning slow cooked diced lamb and beef (she wont touch raw red meat). She also has salmon fillets, tuna steak, steak sausages, lamb mince, turkey breast and sirloin steak.


----------



## feorag

That's the way!! :2thumb: Spoil her rotten! :flrt:

:lol2: Sorry Brigitte. Remembering losing a loved pet can affect us all can't it, even when it isn't ours.


----------



## SpiritSerpents

I would like to present the dog that is stealing my heart at work (and that of everyone else):

Roosevelt, the world's tiniest werewolf. He has a natural reverse mohawk, and what you can't see is that his tail and legs are super short haired as well. He looks like someone mated a chihuahua to a cotton ball.

He's 3 months old, 3 1/2 pounds and 90% of that is ears, legs, and fluff.


----------



## Johnsteele1984

feorag said:


> Who says French Mastiffs are laid back??? :lol2:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> [URL=http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u289/feorag/1900130_10153811433740251_341835167_n_zpsfceb86a3.jpg]image[/URL]



Wow, amazing ,epic pic ,is that your dog?:mf_dribble:


----------



## feorag

No way is it mine. I was just sent it by e-mail.

DDBs are just too jowly and slobbery for me! :lol2: I go for long clean heads, hence I've had GSDs, Afghan Hounds and Labradors. :lol:


----------



## BMo1979

Gumtree Rant::censor:

I was looking for something on Gumtree and out of sheer boredom I checked the pet section (maybe I shouldn't have).
I cannot believe the way dogs (and probable cats) are sold on it.
There is someone selling a 5 months old (!!!) German Shepherd, because "*he's too big now". *Uhm, hello??? GSD are not exactly dwarf breeds. How stupid is that person???
Then all these puppies for sale ranging from about 10-12 weeks, because their owners are moving house. So you randomly decide from one day to another to move house, after bringing a puppy into the house? Doesn't both normally take weeks if not months of planning?
There was also someone selling a GSD/Rottie cross (again only about 1 1/2), because he was too strong for him/her, with the disclaimer that even so they'd had the dog since puppy, they didn't train it to walk on the lead. Again, hello??? Did they think the dog teaches itself?
Another gem was a family selling one of their Husky puppies. They were brother and sister bought together and were obviously becoming interested in each other in an inappropriate way. Ever heard of N.E.U.T.E.R.I.N.G.??? At least that seller had the decency to admit that they were irresponsible buying them together.
Sometimes it makes me want to pose as a buyer to give those people a good slap, but then again I'm thinking the sooner those pets are away from them the better.

Not related to Gumtree, apparently Dogs Trust West Calder had a dog tied to their gate with a note saying "Name: Doug, Age:9, Good with kids, too old now". Makes me so sad, when people are obviously not able to form a bond with their pets and can just dump them in such devious ways. Part of me is kind of hoping the same will happen to them when they're "too" old...

Sorry, rant over!


----------



## feorag

I know exactly how you feel Brigitte. I makes me so mad too!

Nowadays dogs, cats and other animals seem to be bought by a lot of people with no research or thought as to whether it is suitable for their life and whether they are prepared to make the lifetime commitment and sadly a lot of them aren't.

I don't know about GSDR Scotland, but certainly our English one has people scouring all these websites to check up on dogs being offered for sale or, worst still, given away, to offer advice, especially to people who are giving them away. A lot of the people who are giving them away will take up our offer to take them and find the right home, saving them the problem, but giving us it instead. However, at least that dog won't be taken for dog fighting or devalued cos it cost nothing. :sad:


----------



## em_40

There are two puppies free to good home in my local area on preloved at the moment. One 4 months and and one 6 months, the 6 month old is a KC registered pure, Vizsla too, which I wouldn't expect to get given away for free :/ The other is a spaniel/labrador, which I'm tempted by, I've always loved spaniels and labradors are 'supposed' to make such lovely family pets.
Not really sure the time is right though, our dog is getting to the point of 'goodbyes'  and we are supposed to be moving and expecting a baby... would love a puppy though, wouldn't want either of them to go to the wrong people!!


----------



## BMo1979

It's up to you, but to be completely honest I would wait at least until baby is born (congrats, tbw) and you're settled into your new house.
Both pups are of high energy breeds and I don't think you're doing yourself and your older dog any favours in having your workload increased by so much. 

I can really understand how broody you can get for another dog, but sometimes it's better to let the head rule over the heart.


----------



## em_40

Yeh, you're probably right, if only I could stop looking at ads. It makes always makes me worried where 'free to good home' dogs end up, usually they are far away, so I couldn't help them anyway, but it sort of felt like it could be the right dog, in the right area. 
:hmm: We should get settled with baby into a new house first though really (and Thank you  )


----------



## BMo1979

Does anyone here use Petlog?
As part of Storm's adoption from Dogs Trust, we got a 1 year membership with them. I tried to renew it today and add Trigger, but 
a) there seems to be no option to change her name from "Marlene"  (Dogs Trust's name for her for some weird reason) to "Storm" and I can't register Trigger without sending lots of paperwork because he was chipped in Germany. Oh, and they also want money, so I can change my details whenever I want!?
Is there any other way to have both Chips registered without hassle (when we lived in Germany, the vets would read and register the chips).


----------



## feorag

Sadly, no, but that all sounds very difficult.

If they won't let you change the name to the name she is answering to, then if she is found and the chip checked out, everyone would be calling her a name she doesn't know??? Can't get my head around that one.

Although, having said that, I've never thought to change Skye's name from Bizzie, so I could be in the same boat! :gasp:


----------



## BMo1979

I know, strange. 

I just renewed Storm's registration with Pet24 (I forgot about that last night, lol) and ordered a Tag for Trigger no problem. Once he gets his tags I can then register him with his chip number and even add his vet's address and phone number and what his character is like. It's 10 pounds per year, per dog, or 15 with vet24 (up to 750 GBP emergency vet treatment).


----------



## BMo1979

On this date exactly a year ago a pretty Lady (or more Ladette) entered our lives:

































She's come a long way. It's not always been easy, a few leads and harness were killed along the way and she's still got a bit to go (especially to calm down when meeting other dogs, who are all potential BFFs), but I can't say it hasn't been fun, and if you haven't got a sense of humour why have dogs, lol?


----------



## feorag

Lucky you! :lol2: 4 years later and we still have a way to go with Skye! :roll:


----------



## _simon_

Our lab has spent almost the last 2 years (He'll be 2 in May) getting barked at by other dogs when we're out walking. Lately he's started doing it himself to other dogs that aren't even paying him any interest. I tell him off and make him sit in front of me for a while before we continue the walk but is there anything else I can do? I think it's a confidence thing as he used to get scared and would hunker down on the floor, even approaching other dogs in a comical comando crawl. Now he just barks instead and tries to run towards them, I have him on lead so I pull him back.

Here he is today.


----------



## Middleton Mouse

Has anyone ever or knows anyone that fosters dogs?

After losing my beautiful girl last week it's lit a bit of a fire for me in that I want to be more active about helping out rescues. I wonder if we'd make more of a difference by offering to foster dogs rather than just getting another a few months down the line. 

Spoke to the Dogs Trust today and someone there is going to get back to me to let us know if they think we'd be suitable but Stewart works from home and our remaining dog is very good with other dogs.


----------



## PPVallhunds

Is your remaining dog well behaved and neutered? I know the Locke rescue by me won't have fosters if they have intact dogs, and they must be friendly and fine with other dogs. Also Fully fenced garden and have transport


----------



## feorag

If Skye wasn't such a handful I'd foster another dog in a minute!

Most breeds, especially working breeds, don't do well in kennels and don't thrive away from constant human contact and I think that makes them harder to rehome when people come to kennels to choose a dog.

Remember too, that if you foster a dog, you save another dog, because it leave a space for another one.

I've just done a housecheck for a volunteer fosterer for German Shepherd Dog Rescue.


----------



## Middleton Mouse

PPVallhunds said:


> Is your remaining dog well behaved and neutered? I know the Locke rescue by me won't have fosters if they have intact dogs, and they must be friendly and fine with other dogs. Also Fully fenced garden and have transport


Our dog is neutered (he was from the dogs trust originally), up to date with wormers, flea treatment and jabs. He's friendly to other dogs too (or has been to all the other dogs we've met so far anyway). We also have a car and an enclosed garden.


----------



## EVIEMAY

I have spent a lot of time on the 'many tears' rescue site lately looking at the ex-breeding Yorkies 

The foster carers seem to have their work cut out out with these dogs as they need completely socialising, house training and walking on a lead out in the street

I really admire anyone who takes on foster dogs and make such a difference to a dogs life


----------



## BMo1979

Seriously? WTF is that? Who would by it, unless you really hate your own dog, lol:

Dog Duck Face Muzzle - Small | eBay


----------



## feorag

:roll2: PMSL!

That is just unbelievable! :lol2:


----------



## purpleskyes

I now have a beautiful foster girl. This is Electra!










Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## feorag

Beautiful dog - great name! :flrt:


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## Rach1

EVIEMAY said:


> I have spent a lot of time on the 'many tears' rescue site lately looking at the ex-breeding Yorkies
> 
> The foster carers seem to have their work cut out out with these dogs as they need completely socialising, house training and walking on a lead out in the street
> 
> I really admire anyone who takes on foster dogs and make such a difference to a dogs life


 
I just took a look on their site (never heard of them before) and there are so many Bichon Frise, yorkie, shih Tzu dogs! and some of them are a mess... what a shame. 

feel a bit sad now- and a bit naughty for wanting a pedigree dog at some stage...


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## feorag

For bulldog lovers

Thats IT!! I'm Getting Me A Bulldog!!! ROTFL! | Re Shareable TVRe Shareable TV


----------



## Middleton Mouse

Went back to the dogs trust centre we got Jake and Sansa from last week to enquire about fostering. Got told at the time they sometimes had older or sick dogs that needed to be in a home environment rather than kennels. Filled out a form and waited all last week to hear back.The lady we spoke to wasn't 100% sure so had to ask a manager.

This morning my curiosity got the better of me so I phoned up only to be told there was no foster scheme in place.


----------



## feorag

How odd! there are definitely certain cases, such as elderly dogs whose owners have died, dogs not in the best of health and just breeds who are more people oriented who do not thrive in kennels, who should be in a foster home until a permanent home is found for them.

How sad that they aren't considering this??


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## BMo1979

That's a shame. Have you tried a breed rescue yet, as Eileen suggested? As many of them don't have big kennels like DT or the SSPCA they might be more desperate for foster carers.


----------



## Middleton Mouse

BMo1979 said:


> That's a shame. Have you tried a breed rescue yet, as Eileen suggested? As many of them don't have big kennels like DT or the SSPCA they might be more desperate for foster carers.


I'm not 100% sure what dog breeds we'd be suitable for. We've only ever had cross breeds in our house.

I've e-mailed the dogs trust asking them to confirm whether our centre does fostering or not. I know they used to and can't think why they'd stop.


----------



## PPVallhunds

Rach1 said:


> I just took a look on their site (never heard of them before) and there are so many Bichon Frise, yorkie, shih Tzu dogs! and some of them are a mess... what a shame.
> 
> feel a bit sad now- and a bit naughty for wanting a pedigree dog at some stage...


The x breeding dogs that many tears are from puppy farms not good breeders. Sadly as long as there is a market for cheap puppies the farms will carry on breeding them.


----------



## EVIEMAY

PPVallhunds said:


> The x breeding dogs that many tears are from puppy farms not good breeders. Sadly as long as there is a market for cheap puppies the farms will carry on breeding them.


It is really sad to see them but amazing the difference after a couple of weeks with their foster carers

I wish I could be sure my Yorkie would accept one - it would be so much better than buying a puppy !!


----------



## feorag

BMo1979 said:


> That's a shame. Have you tried a breed rescue yet, as Eileen suggested? As many of them don't have big kennels like DT or the SSPCA they might be more desperate for foster carers.


Very true!!! We at GSDR have no spaces left in our kennels and are always looking for fosterers, because GSDs do better in homes than on their own for hours in kennels.


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## Middleton Mouse

I've sent a form in to a couple of more local rescues. We're going out to the local shelter tomorrow to meet a lab cross who's owner is in hospital and she isn't coping in kennels. If she gets on ok with Jake we'll look after her until her owner can take her back.


----------



## PPVallhunds

Some photos of my girl Fay from yesterday up the mountain


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## feorag

Gorgeous! :flrt:


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## PPVallhunds

We certainly think so lol. Also of course Fay thinks the world revolves around her. She is now sleeping in my bed at night but apparently it's her bed now.


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## BMo1979

Storm listening for mice or moles

















Trigger playing ball

















Gutted the lens didn't focus fast enough









Accidentally threw the ball over the fence


----------



## feorag

Lovely photos Brigitte.

It was our monthly GSDR walk last Sunday and we went to Thrunton Woods, which is a huge forest area just before the Scottish border. We have found that Skye relaxes much more if he leads the walk rather than follows on at the back, because he just pulls and grunts to be up at the front, so I never got a chance to count. Someone else counted about 22 GSDs and there was also 1 beagle and 1 Bedlington Terrior.

Waiting for everyone to arrive, we kept Skye away from the rest because he just barks and barks (along with all the rest of them - GSDs don't 'do' waiting, they just bark and bark until they move and then they all shut up :lol2:



Linda trying to get Kasch and Dusty (a foster dog) and Dotty the Bedlington Terrierist in the right place to walk. While Chrissie's Ava rushes off to join everyone else and the faithful Rocky remains glued to her side.



Spanner & Sprocket (great names!) patiently wait 



And they're off, although this was taken 15 minutes into the walk and already we've climbed a fair bit. It was uphill all the way for about 45 minutes :gasp:



Beagle in the middle



Now for the fun bit - a wet muddy field to play in



And don't they just love a bit of mud



Skye enjoying the mud while Linda tries to get her 3 to pose for the camera



Skye looking considerably less groomed than when he arrived :lol:



Some owners decided not to let their dogs go in the mud - this is Skye's girlfriend Rocks

http://s51.photobucket.com/user/leogsd/media/DSCF2071_zpscfd3de1f.jpg.html

And her friend, whose name I don't know.



View from the highest point looking north west towards the Cheviots and the Scottish border.

http://s51.photobucket.com/user/leogsd/media/DSCF2069-reduced_zps965fa079.jpg.html

And north east - you can see the sea.



And finally back to the car park for coffee and lush cakes



And finally Skye, muzzle off, knackered and totally relaxed - a rare occurrence.


----------



## BMo1979

Sky looks really happy and it looks like a great group of dogs.

I know what you mean about GSDs and waiting. When I did Agility with Trigger, he would bark at the other dogs going through the course, cos he just wanted to go himself. He's calmed down now though. Now it's Storm who has to learn patience, especially when I'm talking to someone or wait at the bus stop for my boys.


----------



## BMo1979

After hearing the sad news of another friend's dog passing (he was only a couple of weeks older than Trigger), I felt I needed to spend some "us time" with the dogs, especially Trigger. 
The old guy's still got it. He's a young dog in and elderly dog's body and I need to limit his play these days or else he seems to struggle a bit on the way home (it's uphill).
Finally managed to get the action setting right on my camera:


----------



## JustJack

BMo1979 said:


> After hearing the sad news of another friend's dog passing (he was only a couple of weeks older than Trigger), I felt I needed to spend some "us time" with the dogs, especially Trigger.
> The old guy's still got it. He's a young dog in and elderly dog's body and I need to limit his play these days or else he seems to struggle a bit on the way home (it's uphill).
> Finally managed to get the action setting right on my camera:
> 
> image
> image


Aw he's lovely!

Anyone know of any good brushes? My pug is shedding fur like there's no tomorrow and I have been through several brushes but despite daily brushing for a good 20 minutes it's still falling out everywhere :lol2:


----------



## feorag

BMo1979 said:


> After hearing the sad news of another friend's dog passing (he was only a couple of weeks older than Trigger), I felt I needed to spend some "us time" with the dogs, especially Trigger.
> The old guy's still got it. He's a young dog in and elderly dog's body and I need to limit his play these days or else he seems to struggle a bit on the way home (it's uphill).
> Finally managed to get the action setting right on my camera:
> 
> image
> image


He's looking great Brigitte! :flrt:

I know exactly what you mean, our older GSD from years ago when we had the two was totally hyper and he was a puppy in an old dogs' body. He also had really bad hip dysplasia which we had to guard when he got older, so we had to curb that enthusiasm all the time. Any over-excited dashing around and he would be crippled for days. it's very hard to monitor.



Trootle said:


> Aw he's lovely!
> 
> Anyone know of any good brushes? My pug is shedding fur like there's no tomorrow and I have been through several brushes but despite daily brushing for a good 20 minutes it's still falling out everywhere :lol2:


Furminator all the way - they're brilliant. You can buy one for a short haired dog and I'd advise that. You have to be careful though, cos you can get carried away and strip out too much - it's not an everyday grooming tool, but my goodness it can get the hair out.


----------



## JustJack

feorag said:


> He's looking great Brigitte! :flrt:
> 
> I know exactly what you mean, our older GSD from years ago when we had the two was totally hyper and he was a puppy in an old dogs' body. He also had really bad hip dysplasia which we had to guard when he got older, so we had to curb that enthusiasm all the time. Any over-excited dashing around and he would be crippled for days. it's very hard to monitor.
> 
> Furminator all the way - they're brilliant. You can buy one for a short haired dog and I'd advise that. You have to be careful though, cos you can get carried away and strip out too much - it's not an everyday grooming tool, but my goodness it can get the hair out.


I will have a google now! I need to find some sort of solution as mums getting very annoyed with the fur everywhere!

Edit: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B004WJ0HPI/ref=noref?ie=UTF8&psc=1&s=pet-supplies would this do?

Is it used like a normal brush?


----------



## PPVallhunds

feorag said:


> Furminator all the way - they're brilliant. You can buy one for a short haired dog and I'd advise that. You have to be careful though, cos you can get carried away and strip out too much - it's not an everyday grooming tool, but my goodness it can get the hair out.


I second the furminator. U also habe to rember not to press too hard as I'm sure I rember the instructions said you can make a sore patch if to press too hard it only do the same patch.
I use it once a day when my girl is shedding out her coat twice a year and it gets it out very quickly.


----------



## feorag

Check out ebay as they can be cheaper on there - at least mine was.

Mine is a large one and looks the same as this, which is medium and would probably be good for a dog your size.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Furminator-Dog-Brush-Comb-De-Shedding-Tool-Medium-by-FURminator-NEW-/111302528557?pt=UK_Pet_Supplies_Dogs&hash=item19ea25ce2d


Actually I was given 4 grooming tools from a GSDR supporter who runs a Hydrotherapy business for dogs, which she has been given as samples by various companies. One of them is the same as a furminator - it has 2 sides, one is the stripper, exactly the same as my furminator, which measures 2" and the other is a detangling comb, which you obviously wouldn't need for pug. 

If you want it you can have it for a donation towards GSDR and the cost of postage. No pressure of course - it's up to you.


----------



## JustJack

feorag said:


> Check out ebay as they can be cheaper on there - at least mine was.
> 
> Mine is a large one and looks the same as this, which is medium and would probably be good for a dog your size.
> 
> http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Furminator-Dog-Brush-Comb-De-Shedding-Tool-Medium-by-FURminator-NEW-/111302528557?pt=UK_Pet_Supplies_Dogs&hash=item19ea25ce2d
> 
> 
> Actually I was given 4 grooming tools from a GSDR supporter who runs a Hydrotherapy business for dogs, which she has been given as samples by various companies. One of them is the same as a furminator - it has 2 sides, one is the stripper, exactly the same as my furminator, which measures 2" and the other is a detangling comb, which you obviously wouldn't need for pug.
> 
> If you want it you can have it for a donation towards GSDR and the cost of postage. No pressure of course - it's up to you.


I will have a look around. If I can find one at a reasonable price then I'll grab one if not I'm happy to give a donation and postage!


----------



## BMo1979

Have any of you ever watched the program "Puppy SOS" (on a rare occasion I got to watch TV in the afternoon yesterday and stumbled across it)?
Seriously, WTF is this? Some rambling, balding man-child (Brad Patterson) who shouldn't be anywhere near fully grown dogs, never mind puppies.
First thing he does is put a half choke onto every dog he meets, regardless of age and size. Now, I have a leather/chain half choke for Trigger, not for correction, because he hardly ever pulls, but because it's easy to slip on and off and doesn't break his mane. He obviously uses it because it's easier to drag the dogs around.
During the program you get to watch children (under instruction of the above mentioned idiot) literally dragging a small Schnauzer mix up and down stairs and every time they stop and the dog is in front of the child it gets brutally dragged back. Horrible! It's poor little front legs were off the ground half the time. 
According to Tw*t Tw*tterson every single dog exists to take over leadership of the family and needs to be put in its place. One big conspiracy, hey? I think he either didn't receive enough love as a child or has a very large inferiority complex (or a very small d*ck).
I wouldn't let this person within 100m of my dogs (he'd be wearing his beloved choke collar at the end!).

P.S.: Totally unrelated, but found an advert on Gumtree of someone selling a "Husky Mountain Wolf Cross". Sure, it's a wolf cross (with no license required), love ....


----------



## feorag

No, not seen it - is it on a Sky channel cos we don't have Sky, only Freeview.


----------



## BMo1979

feorag said:


> No, not seen it - is it on a Sky channel cos we don't have Sky, only Freeview.


It's on Sky Living. I just read a little bit more about that guy. Wow, not good. There are several eye witness accounts of him being very violent towards dogs, but nearly every video that shows him in a negative light gets pulled by his PR team straight away.


----------



## feorag

Don't like the sound of that!!!


----------



## allymac

There's a few clips on YouTube, they make Cesar look tame!!! Anyone who advocates dominance theory is on dodgy ground with me as it is but this guy sickens me  there's a video where he hits a dog because it's owner annoys him!!


----------



## BMo1979

allymac said:


> There's a few clips on YouTube, they make Cesar look tame!!! Anyone who advocates dominance theory is on dodgy ground with me as it is but this guy sickens me  there's a video where he hits a dog because it's owner annoys him!!


True. He is beyond "dominance theory", IMO, but has some serious mental health problems. The more I read the more I'm convinced he not only hates dogs and people, but also himself. His whole idea of how all dogs are out to get him (i.e. take leadership) is more than borderline paranoia. 
Apparently if you don't agree with his "training" methods and use reward based systems, you're weak (only he words it a lot more insulting) and your dog will eventually attack you and/or your children. The worrying thing is that he actually has "earned" some sort of Canadian dog trainer degree and trains other sadists to become dog trainers. 
Why none of the owners of those dogs abused by him has punched him yet is beyond me. I'm not advocating violence, but I think he needs a taste of his own medicine.


----------



## feorag

I was reading the other day that PaH have had so many complaints about Cesar Milan that they have taken all his books off their shelves. :2thumb:


----------



## Middleton Mouse

Am I right in thinking that if a dog is underweight it's best to feed smaller portions more often? Or is that overweight dogs?

We're picking up a foster dog on Sunday and she's apparently been a bit neglected. We were just going to get some Burns dry food (I know there's better foods out there but new owners will probably change it anyway) and mix it with a small amount of tinned wet stuff for her.


----------



## PPVallhunds

Middleton Mouse said:


> Am I right in thinking that if a dog is underweight it's best to feed smaller portions more often? Or is that overweight dogs?
> 
> We're picking up a foster dog on Sunday and she's apparently been a bit neglected. We were just going to get some Burns dry food (I know there's better foods out there but new owners will probably change it anyway) and mix it with a small amount of tinned wet stuff for her.


 yes small amounts more often, as if a dog has been starved or underfed for a while they can wolf down there food as they wont know they will now be getting fed properly which can cause problems.


----------



## PPVallhunds

BMo1979 said:


> Have any of you ever watched the program "Puppy SOS" (on a rare occasion I got to watch TV in the afternoon yesterday and stumbled across it)?
> Seriously, WTF is this? Some rambling, balding man-child (Brad Patterson) who shouldn't be anywhere near fully grown dogs, never mind puppies.
> First thing he does is put a half choke onto every dog he meets, regardless of age and size. Now, I have a leather/chain half choke for Trigger, not for correction, because he hardly ever pulls, but because it's easy to slip on and off and doesn't break his mane. He obviously uses it because it's easier to drag the dogs around.
> During the program you get to watch children (under instruction of the above mentioned idiot) literally dragging a small Schnauzer mix up and down stairs and every time they stop and the dog is in front of the child it gets brutally dragged back. Horrible! It's poor little front legs were off the ground half the time.
> According to Tw*t Tw*tterson every single dog exists to take over leadership of the family and needs to be put in its place. One big conspiracy, hey? I think he either didn't receive enough love as a child or has a very large inferiority complex (or a very small d*ck).
> I wouldn't let this person within 100m of my dogs (he'd be wearing his beloved choke collar at the end!).
> 
> P.S.: Totally unrelated, but found an advert on Gumtree of someone selling a "Husky Mountain Wolf Cross". Sure, it's a wolf cross (with no license required), love ....


 
just looked him up and I remember him from another program 'at the end of my leash' I remember one episode where he went out to a dog that was dog aggressive and very protective so he took his dog rocky with him and just had rocky follow him to the dogs garden while it the aggressive dog was lose in the garden. Well guess what the dog went for rocky and he got hold of it and was shouting it at 'you do not attack rocky!' I thought 1) as if that's going to help and 2) its his own fault rocky got attacked.
Although I do remember he didn't agree with prong or shock collars on that program. That's all I can remember about him


----------



## BMo1979

I can now say for certain that Storm is addicted to the smell of hair products. 
As I've written before, she always waits next to me when I get ready to dry my hair because she likes to rub her face in the towel (and after that she usually walks up to Trigger to make him smell her face, lol).
Yesterday I got my hair cut and when I knelt down to say hello to the mutts, she nearly pushed me over trying to roll in my hair, lol (they put a bit too many products in). She's not too fussed about her dog shampoo and conditioner, it has to be human (Tresemmé or L'Oreal are her favourites).
At the same time she also likes to roll in fox or badger poo.
She's a weirdo, but she's our weirdo :lol2:


----------



## PigeonYouDead

Thought I'd share a few pics of our rescue dog Ted. We think he's a staffy x greyhound, but if anyone has any other suggestions then please let us know!










Please stop looking at motorbikes and play with me...


















Obligatory pokey tongue picture


----------



## feorag

Gorgeous, definitely Greyhound, but not sure about Staffy??


----------



## Middleton Mouse

Our fostering has been an absolute disaster. :censor:

We were home checked a couple of weeks ago and all was found to be well. we explained that although we'd had dogs in the past we'd never been required to do an intro on our own. We also explained that our experience in dealing with doggy issues was limited with the only real "challenges" we'd dealt with being resource guarding and the inability to walk on a lead. At the time we were told that we wouldn't be expected to do an intro on our own but we should be aware that many dogs do come with issues. 

Last Sunday we were asked to drive to the north of England (a distance of around 100 miles from our home) to pick up a dog they had decided would fit into our household. We'd been told she liked her space and didn't appreciate dogs getting in her face. This was fine with me as our old girl was exactly the same and our current boy is used to dealing with anti-social bitches. 

The story we'd heard was that the dogs owner had died and she'd been in kennels for the past 3 weeks. She was in very poor condition with vertebrae and ribs showing when we picked her up and had an odd wound on her head (we later found out that this was a bite from another dog that had happened a few days prior to us picking her up). 

As we were driving home she started going mad whenever she seen another dog, barking and lunging at the car windows. I had asked about the support we'd expected to receive with introducing her to our dog but was told she'd been walked with other dogs for the past 3 weeks and we should just take her out a walk with our own dog when we got her home.

My fiance took her, I took our dog and we met up after quarter of a mile or so. It was fairly obvious she wouldn't tolerate another dog or any animal at all for that matter. My fiance said she'd attempted to go for ducks, swans and small birds flying past. She immediately fixated on our dog and began lunging and barking at him, nearly managing to land a bite to his face at one point. My fiance and me went our separate ways, I got our dog back into the flat and my fiance came in with our foster after me. We had to leave her in the stairwell to our flat as our dog is used to roaming as he pleases. 

The following night we took our dog to family in the hope she'd settle with him out of the picture. Unfortunately she quickly clocked the various cages we have scattered about the flat and decided she wanted at whatever animal was in them. When she spotted a hamster she made a move to attempt to bite through the cage so she had to be confined to the stairwell for another night as we also found out she could open the internal doors quite easily.

I spoke to the lady in charge of the rescue organisation and told her that we were honestly in over our heads, felt we really weren't able to help the poor dog and that her issues were probably being made worse by staying with us. I was told that this was what fostering was about (i.e. helping dogs overcome their issues). 

I had say that this arrangement just wasn't fair on her and for the sake of her welfare they had to arrange for her to go to a pet-free home. My fiance then had a massive bust up over facebook with the lady that did our home check and that was that. :whip:

The local dog kennels have my details too and they contacted us regarding a young female lab cross they thought would benefit from being fostered. We took Jake out to meet her but it was clear he was a little overwhelmed by her so we told the lady in charge of the kennels. In contrast we were told that she was very grateful for us taking the time to come out but that our own dogs welfare had to be put first.


----------



## PigeonYouDead

feorag said:


> Gorgeous, definitely Greyhound, but not sure about Staffy??


His muzzle seems to be quite short for a greyhound? Also, he tends to whip his toys back and forth like a terrier and is totally full of energy all the time; we'd been told that greyhounds are couch potatoes at home and then sprinters out and about. He seems to just be on the go constantly, and he LOVES rough play which we were told is also not a greyhound trait.

Maybe he's just the exception to the rule!


----------



## HABU

what's with the muzzle?


----------



## PigeonYouDead

Middleton Mouse said:


> Our fostering has been an absolute disaster. :censor:
> 
> We were home checked a couple of weeks ago and all was found to be well. we explained that although we'd had dogs in the past we'd never been required to do an intro on our own. We also explained that our experience in dealing with doggy issues was limited with the only real "challenges" we'd dealt with being resource guarding and the inability to walk on a lead. At the time we were told that we wouldn't be expected to do an intro on our own but we should be aware that many dogs do come with issues.
> 
> Last Sunday we were asked to drive to the north of England (a distance of around 100 miles from our home) to pick up a dog they had decided would fit into our household. We'd been told she liked her space and didn't appreciate dogs getting in her face. This was fine with me as our old girl was exactly the same and our current boy is used to dealing with anti-social bitches.
> 
> The story we'd heard was that the dogs owner had died and she'd been in kennels for the past 3 weeks. She was in very poor condition with vertebrae and ribs showing when we picked her up and had an odd wound on her head (we later found out that this was a bite from another dog that had happened a few days prior to us picking her up).
> 
> As we were driving home she started going mad whenever she seen another dog, barking and lunging at the car windows. I had asked about the support we'd expected to receive with introducing her to our dog but was told she'd been walked with other dogs for the past 3 weeks and we should just take her out a walk with our own dog when we got her home.
> 
> My fiance took her, I took our dog and we met up after quarter of a mile or so. It was fairly obvious she wouldn't tolerate another dog or any animal at all for that matter. My fiance said she'd attempted to go for ducks, swans and small birds flying past. She immediately fixated on our dog and began lunging and barking at him, nearly managing to land a bite to his face at one point. My fiance and me went our separate ways, I got our dog back into the flat and my fiance came in with our foster after me. We had to leave her in the stairwell to our flat as our dog is used to roaming as he pleases.
> 
> The following night we took our dog to family in the hope she'd settle with him out of the picture. Unfortunately she quickly clocked the various cages we have scattered about the flat and decided she wanted at whatever animal was in them. When she spotted a hamster she made a move to attempt to bite through the cage so she had to be confined to the stairwell for another night as we also found out she could open the internal doors quite easily.
> 
> I spoke to the lady in charge of the rescue organisation and told her that we were honestly in over our heads, felt we really weren't able to help the poor dog and that her issues were probably being made worse by staying with us. I was told that this was what fostering was about (i.e. helping dogs overcome their issues).
> 
> I had say that this arrangement just wasn't fair on her and for the sake of her welfare they had to arrange for her to go to a pet-free home. My fiance then had a massive bust up over facebook with the lady that did our home check and that was that. :whip:
> 
> The local dog kennels have my details too and they contacted us regarding a young female lab cross they thought would benefit from being fostered. We took Jake out to meet her but it was clear he was a little overwhelmed by her so we told the lady in charge of the kennels. In contrast we were told that she was very grateful for us taking the time to come out but that our own dogs welfare had to be put first.


Oh god this sounds terrible!!! :'(

Our dog has a massive prey drive, so any small animal he sees moving, he goes into seek and destroy mode, so the other pets are in a special room he's not allowed into. I can't believe they made no effort to help you??? It sounds to me like they've guessed at it's behaviour and said it's fine when it's not. I know a lot of dogs are completely different in kennels to what they are in a home environment and that makes assessment hard but surely someone should have been around to support you.

We would love to foster at some point, but for us we'd find it impossible to let go once a dog had lived with us, even if it was only for a few weeks / months.


----------



## PigeonYouDead

HABU said:


> what's with the muzzle?


Plastic muzzle or his muzzle as in his nose and mouth?

I'll assume you mean plastic muzzle; he has an insanely high prey drive (we think he was used to course animals before he was made homeless) and is therefore not safe around small animals. So, because he can run fast enough to actually catch things like rabbits and squirrels, we keep him muzzled in public in case he were to go for one. The last thing I want is to have to prise a half dead rabbit from his mouth, or worse, for him to get bitten by the thing he's trying to catch.


----------



## feorag

PigeonYouDead said:


> His muzzle seems to be quite short for a greyhound? Also, he tends to whip his toys back and forth like a terrier and is totally full of energy all the time; we'd been told that greyhounds are couch potatoes at home and then sprinters out and about. He seems to just be on the go constantly, and he LOVES rough play which we were told is also not a greyhound trait.
> 
> Maybe he's just the exception to the rule!


But his skull isn't broad enough for me to think Staffie. Obviously there's something else in there, but like I said I can see Greyhound, but can't see Staffie,



Middleton Mouse said:


> Our fostering has been an absolute disaster. :censor:


What a shame an experience like that has caused you so much grief, when it should have been so rewarding. Do you mind if I ask who you organised the adoption through?? If you don't want to put it on a public forum I'll understand, but they sound cr*p to me!


----------



## HABU




----------



## feorag

Is this your dog who's fitting Habu?


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## BMo1979

Then...









...and now


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## feorag

I love it! :flrt:


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## PPVallhunds

PigeonYouDead said:


> His muzzle seems to be quite short for a greyhound? Also, he tends to whip his toys back and forth like a terrier and is totally full of energy all the time; we'd been told that greyhounds are couch potatoes at home and then sprinters out and about. He seems to just be on the go constantly, and he LOVES rough play which we were told is also not a greyhound trait.
> 
> Maybe he's just the exception to the rule!


 he could have some border collie in him, when breeding lurchers for working people a popular mix seems to be sight hound (normaly greyhound or whippet) mixes with working border collie and or staffs and some times Belington's but those ones seem to tend to have rough coats.


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## Middleton Mouse

We took Jake on a walk tonight, trying to keep him well socialised with other doggies.

He really wanted this giant stick









We're lucky to have a nature reserve nearby









It has puddles that are crying out to be jumped over









We met some other friendly doggies that Jake got to run about with









At 10 Jake is failing miserably to show his age


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## feorag

Looks like he had a whole lot of fun! :2thumb:


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## feorag

Ellie and I have just sat and nearly wet ourselves laughing at some of these dogs.

Well worth sharing!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/07/majestic-dog-photos_n_5093222.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular


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## Kiel

Tifa being very well behaved in the office at work today.


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## eoj89

How do people get jobs that allow them to bring their dogs to work :O I would love to do that, haha!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## PigeonYouDead

If I took Ted to work with me, no-one would have any food and he would have knocked everything important off the desks :lol2:


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## feorag

And my Skye would just terrify everyone! :lol2:


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## PPVallhunds

I sometimes take my girl to work during the school Holliday but I get less work done with her around lol

Photos of my girl from Sunday at our breed club open show. I've cut back on how many shows we go to and class and its realy seemed to help. She did so well and came 1st out of 3. 


























This is her 'I did it, I'm getting McDonald's chicken nuggets!' Look


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## Kiel

eoj89 said:


> How do people get jobs that allow them to bring their dogs to work :O I would love to do that, haha!
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I have a fairly dull office job and a very sleepy dog. She mostly hangs out under the desk during the day until someone walks by or comes in, then she goes crazy for a bit until it's back to sleepytime


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## eoj89

Kiel said:


> I have a fairly dull office job and a very sleepy dog. She mostly hangs out under the desk during the day until someone walks by or comes in, then she goes crazy for a bit until it's back to sleepytime



Can I ask what that thing on her left paw (her right) is, or is it just food?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## feorag

Loving her "chicken nugget time" expression!


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## bonesy

PPVallhunds said:


> I sometimes take my girl to work during the school Holliday but I get less work done with her around lol
> 
> Photos of my girl from Sunday at our breed club open show. I've cut back on how many shows we go to and class and its realy seemed to help. She did so well and came 1st out of 3.
> 
> image
> image
> image
> 
> This is her 'I did it, I'm getting McDonald's chicken nuggets!' Look
> image


agree the chicken nugget smile is lovely lol shes a real stunner


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## Kiel

eoj89 said:


> Can I ask what that thing on her left paw (her right) is, or is it just food?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Just a meat treat thing. She goes mad for them and I was trying to put them on her nose but she wouldn't let me so on the foot it goes! =p


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## PPVallhunds

Thank you, she takes after her owner for her love of McDonald's


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## Rach1

Well, today I think I saw one of the most dangerous things I've ever seen...
I just hope the person involved isn't on here... Lol or I'll be in trouble for writing this.
Walking home from work just after 5 along what I would call a busy road.
A woman on her bike cycling down the road with two (yes two) big dogs... GS type and a Siberian husky type... On leads (with halties) running along besides her. Accident just waiting to happen.
She was having to ride one handed due to holding the dogs leads... The dogs were practically under the bikes wheels, not to mention the cars zooming past.
Silly lady. :bash:


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## PigeonYouDead

Rach1 said:


> Well, today I think I saw one of the most dangerous things I've ever seen...
> I just hope the person involved isn't on here... Lol or I'll be in trouble for writing this.
> Walking home from work just after 5 along what I would call a busy road.
> A woman on her bike cycling down the road with two (yes two) big dogs... GS type and a Siberian husky type... On leads (with halties) running along besides her. Accident just waiting to happen.
> She was having to ride one handed due to holding the dogs leads... The dogs were practically under the bikes wheels, not to mention the cars zooming past.
> Silly lady. :bash:


*CRINGE*

Having said that, my bf used to go mountain biking with his dog and she would run alongside him nipping at his foot as it went round on the pedal haha


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## feorag

to be honest I used to exercise my 2 Afghan Hounds like this in the middle of Gosforth, which is only 2 mile out of Newcastle City Centre and I lived 2 streets away from the main A1 heading north.

It was 30+ years ago and there was slightly less traffic on the road, but one would run on the street grass verge and the other on the other side and I never encountered a problem. And I didn't have to ride one handed, one lead in each hand on the handlebars worked fine for me. From the safety angle I would say if her dogs were well trained and she knew her dogs well, then she wouldn't have had a problem. Any problem would have come from an idiot in a car imao.

I wouldn't do it now though - too many rude, impatient and angry people in cars nowadays.


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## Middleton Mouse

Our Jake likes to run alongside a bike too, the canal path near our house is great for this as there's nowhere really he can run to. In saying that he seems very content to run along without being on a lead.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=czGqVdURXfI


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## BMo1979

I'm so glad some of Trigger's "laid-backness" has rubbed off on Storm. Just had the 2 of them out for their last walk of the day and the hotel next to our estate decided to have a massive firework display (probably a wedding). We were literally about 300m away from it when it started with very loud bangs.
None of the dogs reacted at all, just looked up occasionally to watch the rockets, but they were not fussed by the noise at all.


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## PigeonYouDead

BMo1979 said:


> I'm so glad some of Trigger's "laid-backness" has rubbed off on Storm. Just had the 2 of them out for their last walk of the day and the hotel next to our estate decided to have a massive firework display (probably a wedding). We were literally about 300m away from it when it started with very loud bangs.
> None of the dogs reacted at all, just looked up occasionally to watch the rockets, but they were not fussed by the noise at all.


Is this something you've worked on specifically? Our dog is really frightened of loud noises, gunshots, fireworks, people shouting. We think he was used for lamping / coursing, so maybe throwback to that. He's not frightened of US shouting, on the rare occasion that voices get raised :lol2: and he knows that the neighbours shouting doesn't affect him, but if people shout near him, he gets really panicked and starts trying to slip his harness etc.


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## BMo1979

Obviously we had the advantage of owning Trigger since he was 9 weeks old (he's 8 now). We never specifically worked on it as such, other than never ever making a big fuss out of loud noises.
When we still stayed in an Army camp and there were events involving firing displays, I sometimes took him with me and he never bothered about it.
The only problems are with firecrackers, as he tries to chase after them and would probably retrieve them, lol. He would have made a great police dog, although he's probably too people friendly to make an impression at crowd control ("Play?"), lol.
He's just very laid back in general I think (apart from with other dogs) and copes really well with unfamiliar things.
We've only had Storm for just over a year. She's fine with loud noises and shouting, which is a bonus for her living in a family of 5, lol. At the beginning she was scared of the vaccuum cleaner and the tumbledryer, but now she doesn't care. With her it's things like the hoover hose or cardboard boxes, etc falling over next to her. The other day the landscapers left a large broom lying on the pavement and she jumped back from that with her hackles up. As soon as I touched it she was fine and just walked by. She was also not sure about a neighbour walking up to us with a rolled up newspaper, but she soon figured he was friendly. I don't think she's been beaten by her previous owners, because I would imagine she wouldn't be as confident as she is with us and most people she meets.

With your dog there is obviously an unkown history, although some dogs simply don't like noises at all and never seem to get used to it. 
If it gets really bad during bonfire season (unfortunately no longer just the one night, is it?) I heard that slowly introducing thundershirts or dap collars/plug ins could work. Every year Facebook is constantly full of missing dogs reports and my heart goes out to the poor animals and their owners.
What definitely seems to work is never to appear nervous or worried yourself, but just carry on as normal.


----------



## PigeonYouDead

Well it was a bit strange, because it never even crossed our minds when we first got him, and we'd had him about a week or so and there was a couple of gunshots near our house, and he started pacing and whining and was generally upset. Then when the neighbours were letting off fireworks, he was the same, so we just turned the tv up, drew all the curtains to block out the flashing lights and didn't let him outside until it had stopped.

Our neighbours were routinely screaming at each other and bouncing things off the wall, and he used to start panting and looking at us but pretty quickly he realised that them shouting didn't affect him. However, the other week I was out with him on our drive, getting him out of the car and had one of the neighbours screaming in my face. I asked her to stop shouting, and looked down at Ted to see him trying to back out of his harness, at which point my boyfriend got hold of him with one arm between his front legs and another under his tummy and held him firmly which settled him a little bit.

We use a DAP plug in anyway, or rather we have been for the last 5 months or so since we got him. We've just stopped using it in the last couple of weeks where his separation anxiety has improved. I had read about thundershirts!! He'll probably never like shouting because I think he associates it with being hit / having things thrown at him (there's been two occasions he's thought we were going to hit him with objects and hit the deck and rolled over , one where I was about to throw a rope toy towards him, and one where he rolled in dog poo and my boyfriend picked up a stick to wipe it off his collar :flrt: lol). Poor little lad. Tbh though he is MUCH better than when we first got him so hopefully it will come in time and I will defo have a look at those thundershirts.


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## PigeonYouDead

Just read that back, it sounds like we live in the ghetto hahaha it's west yorkshire!!


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## eoj89

PigeonYouDead said:


> Just read that back, it sounds like we live in the ghetto hahaha it's west yorkshire!!



What's a thundershirt? :O


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----------



## BMo1979

eoj89 said:


> What's a thundershirt? :O
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Thundershirt For Dog Anxiety | Thundershirt.com
It's basically a bodysuit wrapped in a certain way which applies even and gentle pressure on the dog's body. It's meant to be like a giant comforting hug/massage. 

A friend of mine had also been given a body tape for her anxious dog by a Tellington Touch therapist. She wrapped it around the dog like a harness (looked a bit complicated), and it had the same effect.


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## Middleton Mouse

Our latest foster seems like she's not going to be a total disaster.









It's a shame Jake tried to hump her soon as she got in the door. :gasp:

but he gave her a kiss to make up for it









We have her til July, this was through the dogs trust and they insisted on a proper intro at their centre before we took her home. Her owner has to have an op after an accident and can't look after her while he recovers.


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## feorag

And that's the way it should be done!

Poor girl, the bottom has dropped out of her world and she's not to know she'll be going back home again when her owner is better. She certainly looks settled with you. :notworthy:


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## SDC

feorag said:


> Any problem would have come from an idiot in a car imao.


 Yeah, what sort of idiot would drive a car on the road when there might be dogs wanting to use it. :roll:

Honestly, it's a stupid risk to take. Dogs are not robots. Even the best trained dog can do something it owners wouldn't predict once in a while. 
Even if the dog didn't do something stupid why risk it's, yours and other peoples life by causing a situation on a public road that motorists don't generally expect. And like you pointed out, there's too many idiots out there in cars for it to be a safe thing to do anyway.

If you honestly can't think of any other way of exercising your dog than cycling with it then find somewhere safe to do it like a cycle lane or a path.


----------



## feorag

SDC said:


> Yeah, what sort of idiot would drive a car on the road when there might be dogs wanting to use it. :roll:.


The roads don't belong to car owners, they belong to everyone and as such technically we all have a right to use them.

My point was that a sensible person in a car could easily pass someone with a dog and a bike, the way that they pass cyclists who are riding 2 abreast or people on horses. there will always be idiots though! :roll:


----------



## SDC

Technically you are right.
You have every right to put your own dog in the way of the countless idiot drivers. Of course only an idiot would choose to.


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## feorag

SDC said:


> Technically you are right.
> You have every right to put your own dog in the way of the countless idiot drivers. Of course only an idiot would choose to.


Except where did I say I did??

I said I *USED TO* some 40 years ago when there were far less cars on the road and people were courteous and kind to each other - there is a difference.

I'm not advocating it now, so what's your beef??


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## SDC

What beef? Am I not allowed an opinion?


----------



## eoj89

Does anyone know the colour variation of this dog? (It's an APTB unfortunately) It's absolutely stunning, especially with the nose too.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## eoj89

eoj89 said:


> image
> 
> Does anyone know the colour variation of this dog? (It's an APTB unfortunately) It's absolutely stunning, especially with the nose too.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk



Adding to this, do authorities even recognise the Fila Brasileiro and Tosa breeds? I've never, ever seen one in the UK and was wondering whether they would even be recognised because they're pretty uncommon?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## PigeonYouDead

eoj89 said:


> Adding to this, do authorities even recognise the Fila Brasileiro and Tosa breeds? I've never, ever seen one in the UK and was wondering whether they would even be recognised because they're pretty uncommon?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


They're both banned breeds... which would be why you've not seen one.

https://www.gov.uk/control-dog-public/banned-dogs


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## PPVallhunds

eoj89 said:


> Does anyone know the colour variation of this dog? (It's an APTB unfortunately) It's absolutely stunning, especially with the nose too.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Looks cream to me. Don't know if it will have a diffrent name in the breed though as some breeds call the same coloir diffrent names.


----------



## eoj89

PigeonYouDead said:


> They're both banned breeds... which would be why you've not seen one.
> 
> 
> 
> https://www.gov.uk/control-dog-public/banned-dogs



Yes, but would they be recognised by the general public and the authorities? The only reason I ask is because Dogo Argentino could be easily mistaken for a muscly American Bulldog, and Staffies are frequently mistook for APBT because they're a bit leggier. 


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## BMo1979

Trigger and Storm sharing a sun spot. 










































What a life, lol!


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## Middleton Mouse

Lovely photos, our dog likes to lie in sunbeams too. :lol2:


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## BMo1979

It's part of their morning routine: Long walk, breakfast and rest, lol. 


Sorry for spamming, but some photos from our trip to Muirshiel Regional Park (trying out my new lens):


































































It was really nice, apart from when I accidentally dropped the lead and Storm decided to say hello to a family with a dog miles away. Had to scramble along the riverbank, keeping an eye on my youngest to get her back. Luckily the bloke took her lead and walked her back to me. Sometimes she reverts back to her unreliability, lol. 
Trigger would have loved it there, but he has to take it a bit easier these days and they'd already had a long walk this morning. Maybe next time (it'll be more relaxing, lol).


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## feorag

Lovely photographs! :flrt:


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## eoj89

BMo1979 said:


> It's part of their morning routine: Long walk, breakfast and rest, lol.
> 
> 
> Sorry for spamming, but some photos from our trip to Muirshiel Regional Park (trying out my new lens):
> 
> image
> image
> image
> image
> image
> image
> image
> image
> 
> It was really nice, apart from when I accidentally dropped the lead and Storm decided to say hello to a family with a dog miles away. Had to scramble along the riverbank, keeping an eye on my youngest to get her back. Luckily the bloke took her lead and walked her back to me. Sometimes she reverts back to her unreliability, lol.
> Trigger would have loved it there, but he has to take it a bit easier these days and they'd already had a long walk this morning. Maybe next time (it'll be more relaxing, lol).


What breed is Storm? She's gorgeous.


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## eoj89

Got a question, does anyone know where to buy long lines, and how big do they get? Starting to prepare now as it's not long now until I get my DDB, well maybe it is.. 12 weeks..


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## PigeonYouDead

eoj89 said:


> Yes, but would they be recognised by the general public and the authorities? The only reason I ask is because Dogo Argentino could be easily mistaken for a muscly American Bulldog, and Staffies are frequently mistook for APBT because they're a bit leggier.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Debateable I suppose, but personally, I'd be wary of taking the risk as IF anyone were to report it, even if it wasn't causing trouble, it can be legally destroyed :/


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## PigeonYouDead

OHHHHH Trigger and Storm :flrt::flrt::flrt::flrt::flrt:

They are gorgeous!! Our doggy is a sunbather too, he's been laying out in the garden on the paving slabs sleeping!

He enjoyed our 6am game of fetch no end the other morning, even though it was cold enough to see your breath. Birds singing, sun rising and no-one else about, was lovely;


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## PigeonYouDead

eoj89 said:


> Got a question, does anyone know where to buy long lines, and how big do they get? Starting to prepare now as it's not long now until I get my DDB, well maybe it is.. 12 weeks..


Here's where I got mine;

Long Line In Stock Now | PetPlanet.co.uk


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## PPVallhunds

eoj89 said:


> Yes, but would they be recognised by the general public and the authorities? The only reason I ask is because Dogo Argentino could be easily mistaken for a muscly American Bulldog, and Staffies are frequently mistook for APBT because they're a bit leggier.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


 id say general non doggy public or anyone not familiar with the other 3 banned breeds (not including the pitbull type as many of the public think any staff is a pit) would prob not recognise one and just think there some other breed or cross, many people don't know the other 3 breeds are banned or that they even exist, they just know about pitbulls and some don't know pitbulls are banned. HOWEVER the authorities who deal with dangerous dogs would as they all get a booklet from defra that describes what each look like.

Also keep in mind that it also works the other way around so if a dogo could be mistaken for a muscly American Bulldog so could a muscly American Bulldog be mistaken and taken as a dogo as its all down to if a dog looks like one of the breeds.


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## BMo1979

eoj89 said:


> What breed is Storm? She's gorgeous.


Thanks, and doesn'T she know it, lol? Obviously, having no previous history we can only guess:
When we first got her quite a few people that met/saw her said she lookd a lot like a Northern Inuit. Now she's grown on a bit, I believe she looks more and more like a Husky/Alsation cross, as she is a bit small even for a NI bitch, IMO, especially her ears.
She's got a lot of Husky traits: High preydrive, talks and "sings" rather than barks and very friendly with people and dogs (ignorantly friendly with the latter, as they can growl and snarl at her and she still wants to meet them). Luckily she doesn't seem to have quite as high energy as you would expect from a pure Husky and is happy with 3 long walks per day and some head work.


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## SDC

*Bl**dy livid!*

Some idiot just undid all my hard work.

I've had the week of work while my OH is away to spend some one on one time with our rescue dog. This dog was in a very bad way when we bought her. Hips protruding, ribs like a xylophone, bite marks (old and new) on her head, face, ears and back. She was scared of dogs and people, nervous around children. She had no training or social skills.
All in all she was in a sorry state.
We've had her a few months now and progress to be honest had been slow. Physically she's fine but we can't let her off lead in public yet.

This week has made a huge difference. She stopped pulling, started ignoring everyone who walked past her and even the last day or two stopped barking at other dogs although she was still obviously nervous if they came within 10 feet of her. All in all I'm very proud of the leap she's made.

Walking her to the woods today a random guy messed it all up.
He was walking towards us staring hard at my dog. That alone made her very nervous, so she hunkered down, dropped her head and tail, her hackles came up and she stopped and stared back at him. She wouldn't budge.
As the guy came up to us he growled "It looks like he wants to bite me."
I told him she was just nervous and gave him plenty of room to pass.
Thinking that was it we moved on, but the guy hadn't finished yet. He came after us shouting that some people would have kicked my dog by now. I told him quite calmly that some people would have got twice whatever they tried to do to my dog.
Then he raised his leg back said "I'm not going to but some people would have kicked him by now." That scared the life out of her and she dropped to the ground shaking.
I gave him a few choice words and walked away.

Now Lexi's behaving like she did the day we got her. Throttling herself on the end of the lead, growling and barking at every person or dog she sees.
I'm back to work tonight. I just hope she forgets it and doesn't revert to the wreck she was when we got her.

I'm so disheartened.

Rant over.


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## feorag

I have a fear aggressive dog and I know just what you mean. To be honest even after 4 years of hard slog, he's still a work in progress, so anything sets him back.

Our problem is terrierists! He doesn't like little dogs and they charge at him barking like a mad dog, so he goes for them, they scream blue murder and their owner looks at me like I have no control over my dog, even though he's on lead, because I never let him off unless I have a good clear view all around, to check up on appearing dogs, so I can get him on lead.

It only takes one idiot to undo all the hard work and then you have to start all over again. The only thing I can tell you is that it takes less and less time to get over a bad experience than it does at the beginning.


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## PigeonYouDead

What an absolute scumbag. I had some old :censor: making some comment to me the other day about my dog. I had moved Ted out the way, because I saw him coming with his dog, he then turns down the exact same path we're waiting on, so Ted looks, wags, and then because he's not allowed to say hi, starts barking and rearing up on his bag legs. The old bloke made some comment along the lines of "get away with you", which I just ignored.

Unfortunately the majority of the public are cretins, they have no respect for rescue dogs / dogs in training, and I'm now at the point where if Ted is on the other side of the road shouting his mouth off at your dog, tough. He's not hurting it, we're working on it, and you shouting or making whatever comment you want doesn't help. 

I really hope you start to see progress again. Poor little thing  :bash: :bash:, I can tell you for nothing if anyone swung their leg back at my dog, fists would be flying.


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## Middleton Mouse

Our foster dog pulls some very silly faces


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## EVIEMAY

Well we finally found a 12 week old male Maltipoo 

We took Poppy with us and she was having none of it - she was scared of him and would not socialise with him at all

We brought him home to see if she was more settled at home but she went onto the bed ( he couldn't get up there ) and stayed there all the time he was here and shyed away from me everytime I went in to her 

She wasn't too bad when we walked them and they did have a run around in the garden but indoors she growled if he went near her 

It was a hard decision but we had to let him go back 
I didn't realise the hard work that comes with a puppy - he was constant unless he was asleep but we enjoyed having him for the short time he was here


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## BMo1979

Trigger is officially (getting) old and the vet bills are starting to pile up. When he was younger he only saw the vet for his vaccinations, apart from one treatment for "growing pains", but now it's a whole different story:

He's had his teeth cleaned and one extracted in January and I'd already been told that he'll have long term problem with his gums (left it too late :,( ). I brush his teeth every night now, but for the past couple of days he's started bleeding during brushing and he smells from his mouth.
Took the opportunity of todays' appointment to also discuss his apparent hindquarter problems (drags behind when walking uphill, can't make higher jumps sometimes, when he "overdoes" it he seems to suffer after).
Basically, the vet says his got some muscle atrophy in his lower back and hind legs. He used to have quite a straight back, but now he's starting to look like a showline GSD. 
The vet suspects that it is some form of Osteoathritis, but the worst case scenario but quite probable given his breed and age is that it could be Degenerative Myelopathy. This is apparently very common in GSD and since he's assumingly not from good breeding stock (no papers, bought naively) he could be a sufferer.
Either way, there won't be a cure, but with the right management and treatment we can prolong his quality of life. I'll be looking at a referral to Physiotherapy, including Hydro (hopefully PetPlan pay for some of it) to help slow down the neuromuscular atrophy. 
The vet will probably do an xray with his next dental treatment next year, because she didn't want to put him under for just the one thing unless it gets worse.
It's funny, as a GSD owner you should really know what to expect when acquiring such a breed, but in the back of your mind you kind of think your dog will beat the odds... at least that is what I do.


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## PigeonYouDead

BMo1979 said:


> Trigger is officially (getting) old and the vet bills are starting to pile up. When he was younger he only saw the vet for his vaccinations, apart from one treatment for "growing pains", but now it's a whole different story:
> 
> He's had his teeth cleaned and one extracted in January and I'd already been told that he'll have long term problem with his gums (left it too late :,( ). I brush his teeth every night now, but for the past couple of days he's started bleeding during brushing and he smells from his mouth.
> Took the opportunity of todays' appointment to also discuss his apparent hindquarter problems (drags behind when walking uphill, can't make higher jumps sometimes, when he "overdoes" it he seems to suffer after).
> Basically, the vet says his got some muscle atrophy in his lower back and hind legs. He used to have quite a straight back, but now he's starting to look like a showline GSD.
> The vet suspects that it is some form of Osteoathritis, but the worst case scenario but quite probable given his breed and age is that it could be Degenerative Myelopathy. This is apparently very common in GSD and since he's assumingly not from good breeding stock (no papers, bought naively) he could be a sufferer.
> Either way, there won't be a cure, but with the right management and treatment we can prolong his quality of life. I'll be looking at a referral to Physiotherapy, including Hydro (hopefully PetPlan pay for some of it) to help slow down the neuromuscular atrophy.
> The vet will probably do an xray with his next dental treatment next year, because she didn't want to put him under for just the one thing unless it gets worse.
> It's funny, as a GSD owner you should really know what to expect when acquiring such a breed, but in the back of your mind you kind of think your dog will beat the odds... at least that is what I do.



 Sorry to hear this, extremely sad to see an animal you have spent so much time with slowly degenerating. Really hope you find a treatment plan for him! :grouphug:


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## feorag

I was so sorry to read that Brigitte. Poor Trigger and poor you! :sad:

Are you on Facebook? If you are you should ask to join German Shepherd Rescue support group. There are quite a few people who have GSDs with CDM who manage it very well and you could get some advice to help you through this.


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## BMo1979

feorag said:


> I was so sorry to read that Brigitte. Poor Trigger and poor you! :sad:
> 
> Are you on Facebook? If you are you should ask to join German Shepherd Rescue support group. There are quite a few people who have GSDs with CDM who manage it very well and you could get some advice to help you through this.


Thanks, Eileen, I'll have a look. I'll just have to see how the painkillers and supplements are working just now and hear what the physio has to say. He seems well enough, but Trigger is not a dog that shows you he's in pain. Even when the vet maneuvred his legs and it must have hurt him, he just stood and took it, even licked her face afterwards. 
I remember taking him to a festival and some drunk person stood on his tail. He just looked at that person with sad puppy eyes and never even yelped or flinched. It was quite funny because the guy's partner made him apologize and buy Trigger a sausage from the barbeque. He ended up sitting next to Trigger, cuddling him for most of the night, lol.


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## feorag

My understanding of CDM is that it is not a painful condition, so unless there's another problem somewhere that is causing him pain, if he just has CDM then he's not in pain, which kind of is the beauty of the condition. It's not pleasant, but it's not painful the dog.

A lot of dogs with CDM have wheels so they can still get out and about and have fun.


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## BMo1979

I still got my fingers crossed it's not CDM. It was the first thing the vet mentioned, regarding his age and breed. I understand that it is diagnosed through exclusion. She also mentioned osteoathritis which of course is very likely, too. Either is of course not curable, only manageable. 
I spent a lot of time last night and this morning reading up on both and although he is showing some of the symptoms of CDM(leg weakness, sloping back) he doesn't show others like dragging his toes or tail just hanging down and more severe paralysis. And when you maneuvre his legs you can tell by his expression he finds it uncomfortable/painful, he's just too good to react.
Wait and see what the experts say and keep him comfortable, that's all we can do just now. 
He seems happy enough at the moment. Definitely enjoys the fact, that to get the tablets into him, he gets Wainwright's Turkey and Rice mixed into his Millie's dry food, lol.


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## feorag

seems like that's about all you can do for the moment. If it's arthritish, then obviously it's painful, but at least CDM isn't.

Also if you've caught it early on, then you won't see all the obvious symptoms yet because it's a degenerative problem. :sad:


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## bosshogg

I havent been on here a while, So here is my lot 

My two returned pups who came back recently are Dexter (fox red) and Ruger (black) - Dexter is 16months and Ruger is 1 months - Dexter could be possibly going to live with a friend in Wales we havent decided on Ruger at the moment as we are busy teaching him basics and manners, he didnt even know his name when he came back to me 2 weeks ago (we changed it he was Rio) 









then we have Darcy and Bronte the two princess, Darcy is Rugers sister but shes more petite like her grandma, Bronte is my 1year old working cocker spaniel who is also known as Princess B she comes to all the game fairs with me, and thinks the people are there to see her and her only lol 

















the terriosts - dottie and Blanker and mum and daughter and the ratting pack, they love spending time at the farm hunting rats! 

















the oldies- we have woodie whos 13, remmie whos 12 , maggie whos 10 and sophya whos 9 - woodie was my first lab and is grandma to the pups and dex


















then the odd one out, Locke hes a Northern Inuit and the class clown, he likes terriosing the others who really dont want to play and we were starting him to pull but he has a possible heart murmur so hes just running along side the bike for now









Lots of doggies but I wouldnt be without any of them they keep me sane! I am lucky to have a river bacnka mile from my house, that is really quiet so they can run and play wild and go swimming

the oldies are noth bothered by walks anymore and I happy to hang around int here kennles sunbathing and chomping on knuckle bones!


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## feorag

Gorgeous dogs - think you've got a typo about Ruger, cos he's definitely not 1 month old.

What a surprise about Locke though. Funny how this can happen, even though they have a thorough check-up when they go for their first vacs?


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## feorag

Just PMSL at this video, especially the 2 'dogs' meeting and the zebra crossing bit - really was a Tena moment! :lol2:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-FNOvU_wdQ


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## BMo1979

Little update:

The vets are now pretty sure that Trigger has Osteoarthritis (possibly moderate HD, too) and not CDM. It is not too severe at the minute and is managed through Metacam (repeat prescription) and food supplements.
Still waiting for the Physio to get back to me, her phone just keeps ringing out and she hasn't replied to mt email. 
It least the progression of Arthritis is not as quick as with CDM, but obviously the pain side is not pretty. On the other hand the symptoms are a bit easier to treat. 
Trigger was on Previcox before that and although it numbed the pain, he ended up peeing like there's no tomorrow, to the point where he actually had accidents in his bed . He fares better on the Metacam though. 

On the plus side, as the vet put it "his front half is working perfectly" for an elderly dog, lol. I took in a urine sample (Trigger's face when I held a tub underneath him to wee into was a picture, lol) and that turned out normal and his gums and teeth now look great, too. What counts in his favour is that there is not one ounce of excess fat on him.
It's still difficult to see him age so much, especially since we had him from 9 weeks old. I've got the photo of him jumping over a cane as my desktop background and it makes me wonder whether this will be the last photo of him jumping like that (same with the ones of him chasing Storm)!?

Oh, me and my books again: I was reading a novel called "The Dog Stars" by Peter Heller. if anyone, who has an elderly dog or has ever lost one plans to read it: DON'T!!!! My husband found me in pieces, he thought I got bad news from home, lol. 
Just a taster quote:
"He's getting old. I don't count the years. I don't multiply by seven. They bred dogs for everything else, even diving for fish, why didn't they breed them to live longer, to live as long as a man?” 
― Peter Heller, _ The Dog Stars _


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## BMo1979

Cheaper alternative to Stag Bars: Bull Horn. Disadvantage: They smell as bad as they look and are definitely for outside fun only, lol









I think, Storm looks very "wolfy" here

















It's getting warmer. Brushed half a dog out of Trigger


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## feorag

Sorry Brigitte I missed your early post with the update on Trigger.

Have you had a chance to speak to the physio yet? Such a shame when you have a happy, strong, apparently healthy dog and his joints let him down! :sad:

However, as you say it's manageable with some pain control and metacam does seem to help. My friend's 2 cats are on it permanently for arthritic pain.


Today was our monthly GSD walk at Beadnell Beach, which is a lovely long stretch of beach and as you can see before we arrived was deserted!

  

Arte, commonly referred to as "Arte Party pudding and pie" or "Mr Fluffy Bum" 



This is Wolfie, who is being fostered at the moment as her owners are being evicted. She's only been with Chrissie for 2 weeks, but you would never know it seeing her
.


My lovely Arte :flrt:


Skye was chasing Wolfie at this point, hence the leaning turn! :lol:



Sky with her bluey stick, Arte with his greeny stick, Skye with his rainbow rope and Bruno with Chris! :lol:


Arte meets the Dotty, Bedlington Terrierist. 



Love this boy!! Rocky is 9 year old and has only been in his current home for 2 years, but he adores Chrissie and is never far from her side. One day I'll pinch him, cos I think he's so handsome!



Kasch, Dotty and Dusty. Dusty is another foster dog who was in very poor condition when Linda took her last year, but now she's as fit as a butchers dog :lol:




Saving the best for last - this is a typical Skye running into people, but this time he nearly took me out, because he was running back to me from Barry who was going back to the car to get his toy, so was coming at me full pelt - you can tell!!


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## BMo1979

As always, gorgeous photos! I could steal every single one of those dogs and live like a crazy dog lady somewhere remote, lol.

Trigger's got his physio assessment on Friday, yay (she'd been on holiday)! The therapist sounds very nice and there's a clinic nearby that does hydro therapy (which could be interesting, because Trigger has never swam, he's always refused although he loves water).


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## feorag

That first picture of dogs in the sea with Arte that I posted, those other 4 dogs are owned by a woman who has a hydrotherapy business. She doesn't have a pool at all, she has a treadmill where she can control the depth of the water, but the dogs is walking with the aid of the buoyancy of the water, not fully swimming. She is now getting referrals from all over the country, including the orthopaedic vet on the TV. 

We had Simba, an elderly dog with the beginnings of CDM come into the rescue and he was fostered near me. Lynne offered him free hydrotherapy sessions to try and improve his quality of life. I took him to a few of these sessions, as the fosterers couldn't drive, so we all ran relays to get him there. He was put into a glass sided unit with the treadmill, which was started off at a slow speed and warm water was slowly pumped into the unit until it reached the level where he was supported by the water but still able to walk. I thought it worked brilliantly.


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## BMo1979

Just got back from Trigger's first physio assessment:
As suspected and diagnosed by the vet, he's got quite significant muscle atrophy in his hind legs and lower back. He's overcompensating in his front legs and shoulders, so his muscles there are quite tense. 
The therapist also gave him an all over body massage and showed me how to do it at home. He'll be one pampered pooch, lol!

On the downside: For the next 6-8 weeks he's only allowed 4 short (10 minute), slow walks and no off-lead play, which will be hard, as Trigger lives for ball play.
I remember Eileen mentioning about how hard it is to slow down a GSD on walks...
Also, bad news for the kids, they'll have to share their pool with Trigger this summer, as it is just the right size and depth for home hydro therapy.
Another thing she said would be quite good for exercise is to "weave". I was toying with the idea of buying a small agility set for Storm, just to put in the garden, so now, I've got another excuse for that, yay!

Trigger seems fine just now, but the Physio warned me that he will probably feel it by tonight, having muscles stimulated that he hadn't used properly for a while.


----------



## PigeonYouDead

BMo1979 said:


> Just got back from Trigger's first physio assessment:
> As suspected and diagnosed by the vet, he's got quite significant muscle atrophy in his hind legs and lower back. He's overcompensating in his front legs and shoulders, so his muscles there are quite tense.
> The therapist also gave him an all over body massage and showed me how to do it at home. He'll be one pampered pooch, lol!
> 
> On the downside: For the next 6-8 weeks he's only allowed 4 short (10 minute), slow walks and no off-lead play, which will be hard, as Trigger lives for ball play.
> I remember Eileen mentioning about how hard it is to slow down a GSD on walks...
> Also, bad news for the kids, they'll have to share their pool with Trigger this summer, as it is just the right size and depth for home hydro therapy.
> Another thing she said would be quite good for exercise is to "weave". I was toying with the idea of buying a small agility set for Storm, just to put in the garden, so now, I've got another excuse for that, yay!
> 
> Trigger seems fine just now, but the Physio warned me that he will probably feel it by tonight, having muscles stimulated that he hadn't used properly for a while.



Poor pup! I'm glad there is treatment available. It's not a disease I'd heard much about prior to this thread, does it particularly affect GSDs?

Fingers crossed the massages and hydrotherapy help! I imagine they feel nice at the very least and give him some relief


----------



## BMo1979

PigeonYouDead said:


> Poor pup! I'm glad there is treatment available. It's not a disease I'd heard much about prior to this thread, does it particularly affect GSDs?
> 
> Fingers crossed the massages and hydrotherapy help!* I imagine they feel nice at the very least and give him some relief *


I know, my husband is jealous as he only gets beasted at physio, not massaged, especially not every day, lol.
The muscle atrophy is a symptom of the Osteoarthritis, which is not uncommon in elderly dogs (especially larger ones). With Trigger obviously being in pain in his back legs and back/hips, he's not been using them properly and put more weight onto his front.


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## feorag

That all sounds very heartening Brigitte.

Over 25 years ago I was diagnosed with osteoarthritis in my hip and all the doc could offer was anti-inflammatories, which I refused. I went to a homeopath and she referred me to an osteopath and he got me walking proper again. At the time my hip was so bad that walking for longer than about half an hour, I used to get pins and needles in the muscles that runs from the side of the hip down the outside of the thigh and twists around the front of the knee and at times was walking like a sailor who'd been offshore for 6 months :lol:

As the osteopath explained it to me, the pain in the hip was making me over compensate to avoid the pain, which meant I wasn't using the muscle fully and it had tightened and shrunk, which then meant that it couldn't contract to help me to move. He explained that what he had to do was loosen up that muscle and get it stretched. I went to see him every week and he massaged it, used acapunture machines etc and I showed Barry what he was doing and Barry did it at home. Within 2 months the difference was amazing and I've never been as bad as I was at that time again.

So I see exactly what the physio is explaining to you, get those muscles loosened and flexible again and it will help him.


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## BMo1979

Really proud of my big girl Storm. 
I took her to the local motorbike meet to socialise (I used to take Trigger to nearly everything and he turned out a really laid back dog) and she was great. 
We stayed for a good couple of hours. Yes, she did get a bit too excited when seeing other dogs, although once she got to meet them she was calm and a guy dressed as a giant teddy frightened her (embarrassing, when you get a 1 minute silence for the fallen soldiers and Storm growls and barks at a huge bear, lol), but apart from that she was actually quite chilled, even when walking through crowds and when having to wait while I was talking to people.
Definitely enjoyed the attention she was getting from big hairy biker to small child. 
A few more gigs like that and I might actually join Canine Concern with her. She loves human attention and when meeting people she is a really polite dog, no jumping or nudging just sits down and lets herself be petted. There are a lot of frail elderly people where we live and she is really gentle with them (not to forget her coat is super soft).


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## PigeonYouDead

BMo1979 said:


> Really proud of my big girl Storm.
> I took her to the local motorbike meet to socialise (I used to take Trigger to nearly everything and he turned out a really laid back dog) and she was great.
> We stayed for a good couple of hours. Yes, she did get a bit too excited when seeing other dogs, although once she got to meet them she was calm and a guy dressed as a giant teddy frightened her (embarrassing, when you get a 1 minute silence for the fallen soldiers and Storm growls and barks at a huge bear, lol), but apart from that she was actually quite chilled, even when walking through crowds and when having to wait while I was talking to people.
> Definitely enjoyed the attention she was getting from big hairy biker to small child.
> A few more gigs like that and I might actually join Canine Concern with her. She loves human attention and when meeting people she is a really polite dog, no jumping or nudging just sits down and lets herself be petted. There are a lot of frail elderly people where we live and she is really gentle with them (not to forget her coat is super soft).


Great news!!! :2thumb:

I hope to eventually get to this point with other dog. Will be some time yet. Good news is the only vehicle he's frightened of are vans and we're working on that. He loves bikes because he associates them with my boyfriend; if we see one out and about he starts chasing it thinking it's my boyfriend lol. Must be hilarious for the bikers looking in their mirror to see a greyhound dragging me down the street after them.


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## BMo1979

PigeonYouDead said:


> Great news!!! :2thumb:
> 
> I hope to eventually get to this point with other dog. Will be some time yet. Good news is the only vehicle he's frightened of are vans and we're working on that. He loves bikes because he associates them with my boyfriend; if we see one out and about he starts chasing it thinking it's my boyfriend lol. Must be hilarious for the bikers looking in their mirror to see a greyhound dragging me down the street after them.


Ha ha, that's what Trigger is like (minus the chasing part). My Father- and Brother-In-Law are bikers, so he thinks they're coming to visit us when he hears and sees a bike and gets really disappointed when they drive by. 
Storm had a thing about the leathers today and kept going up to all the bikers, lol.


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## PigeonYouDead

Awwww. There's nothing nicer than having a dog which is more curious than fearful.

Strangely for Ted, he is really frightened of shouting and loud noises like fireworks, and yet a bike, even one backfiring, doesn't bother him at all. Poor little mite, he woke us up at 3am doing his scared bark (a strange cross between a low rumbly growl and a quiet yelpy bark) saturday morning because there were two people shouting and fighting outside our house :bash:.

He did the same at my parents when he was cuddled up with them and then some fireworks were let off down the road.

Also, after researching more about lurchers, we're thinking he may actually be crossed with a collie rather than a staffie as originally thought. It would explain his behaviour traits a lot, but frankly who knows!


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## feorag

BMo1979 said:


> A few more gigs like that and I might actually join Canine Concern with her. She loves human attention and when meeting people she is a really polite dog, no jumping or nudging just sits down and lets herself be petted. There are a lot of frail elderly people where we live and she is really gentle with them (not to forget her coat is super soft).


That's my main disappointment with Skye :sad:

I was looking for a dog that I could take into schools in my capacity as a Blue Cross Children's Speaker, but no way would he ever pass a temperament test to do that!


----------



## BMo1979

feorag said:


> That's my main disappointment with Skye :sad:
> 
> I was looking for a dog that I could take into schools in my capacity as a Blue Cross Children's Speaker, but no way would he ever pass a temperament test to do that!


I had always been toying with an idea like that with Trigger, because he's a large "fear inducing" dog, but actually really friendly with people and always loves cuddles. I just never got round to it and now I feel it would be too stressful for him .
One of my mum's friends does something similar to the Blue Cross Children's Speakers with a huge American Bulldog X in Germany. She (the dog, lol) is also a rescue and the most gentlest dog you could meet. But because of her looks and breed many people back off at first. She's helped many children to get over their fear of dogs.

@ Pigeon: We had a "foster" (wasn't a real rescue, more of a private emergency situation) dog while my OH was still in the Army. We were only suppose to take her as a transfer, but ended up having her for nearly a year before finding a great home for her. 
She'd been passed around from pillar to post before hand, but the last couple that had her must have been horrible to her once their baby had came along. She'd been more or less living in their back garden, raiding bin bags (they were dirty sods), including eating soiled nappies. The only time she was walked was when the owner went to the pub, where she would be left tied up outside for hours (sometimes he'd even "forget" to take her hom). She'd been handed in to the Military Police too many times and they told them to get rid of her or face disciplinary action. The camp's dog trainer more or less dropped her off at our's, because he knew we couldn't say no, lol. The ex owners got posted soon after, which was lucky for them, because I had a few choice word for them once I found out the dog's background story.
Anyway, the very first night, I walked in wearing black boots similar to Military ones and she freaked and hid under our table. She didn't mind my husband wearing boots just me. We can only assume that the female owner (who was also a soldier) must have kicked her. 
It took her quite a while to first trust me and then women in general. She never minded children, although wouldn't actively seek them out neither and seemed happier left alone. She turned out a great dog and we found her a home with a nice man with whom it was love at first sight and where she could be the only dog with no small children. She's happy now!


----------



## PigeonYouDead

BMo1979 said:


> I had always been toying with an idea like that with Trigger, because he's a large "fear inducing" dog, but actually really friendly with people and always loves cuddles. I just never got round to it and now I feel it would be too stressful for him .
> One of my mum's friends does something similar to the Blue Cross Children's Speakers with a huge American Bulldog X in Germany. She (the dog, lol) is also a rescue and the most gentlest dog you could meet. But because of her looks and breed many people back off at first. She's helped many children to get over their fear of dogs.
> 
> @ Pigeon: We had a "foster" (wasn't a real rescue, more of a private emergency situation) dog while my OH was still in the Army. We were only suppose to take her as a transfer, but ended up having her for nearly a year before finding a great home for her.
> She'd been passed around from pillar to post before hand, but the last couple that had her must have been horrible to her once their baby had came along. She'd been more or less living in their back garden, raiding bin bags (they were dirty sods), including eating soiled nappies. The only time she was walked was when the owner went to the pub, where she would be left tied up outside for hours (sometimes he'd even "forget" to take her hom). She'd been handed in to the Military Police too many times and they told them to get rid of her or face disciplinary action. The camp's dog trainer more or less dropped her off at our's, because he knew we couldn't say no, lol. The ex owners got posted soon after, which was lucky for them, because I had a few choice word for them once I found out the dog's background story.
> Anyway, the very first night, I walked in wearing black boots similar to Military ones and she freaked and hid under our table. She didn't mind my husband wearing boots just me. We can only assume that the female owner (who was also a soldier) must have kicked her.
> It took her quite a while to first trust me and then women in general. She never minded children, although wouldn't actively seek them out neither and seemed happier left alone. She turned out a great dog and we found her a home with a nice man with whom it was love at first sight and where she could be the only dog with no small children. She's happy now!


Aww poor little thing. I just don't understand how people can be cruel to dogs. Ted is the biggest baby ever and people have obviously been mean to him in the past. He's cowered a few times when he thought we were going to hit him, and he hit the deck once when my bf went to throw a stick for him. He's realised now that on the odd occasion when we shout, it has no bad implications for him, and he feels the same about the neighbours because they fight constantly and it never affects him, but if he hears anyone else shouting, he gets really frightened.

Just to prove how much of a pansy he is, today we went out for a walk, and it started raining. Not a huge deal except he doesn't like getting wet. Once we got in, he did his standard shaking off and rolling about on the carpet before getting on the sofa next to me. We normally have a big throw on the sofa which he digs his paw at until we lift it up and he climbs underneath and goes to sleep there. Because it was in the wash, he decided to dig me instead and then yowl and try and tuck his head under my legs :lol2:.


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## BMo1979

The great thing about most dogs is, they move on. Sometimes it takes longer than other times, but it's really rewarding to see any progress however small. 
Ted looks and sounds like a lovely boy!


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## PigeonYouDead

BMo1979 said:


> The great thing about most dogs is, they move on. Sometimes it takes longer than other times, but it's really rewarding to see any progress however small.
> Ted looks and sounds like a lovely boy!


All he needs now is some doggy friends to improve his social skills and help him blow off steam 

Behaviour and eventually flyball classes on the horizon!


----------



## BMo1979

PigeonYouDead said:


> All he needs now is some doggy friends to improve his social skills and help him blow off steam
> 
> Behaviour and eventually flyball classes on the horizon!


I was looking at behaviour classes locally, but a) there only really is one class nearby b) they're really expensive c) there in the same location as my son's youth club, so I looked while I was waiting for him. it was all a bit "meh" (and that was apparently the advanced group), especially if you're not exactly at newbie level and too mixed. I could imagine a dog like Storm getting bored quite easily (and me, lol). 
I'd taken Trigger to puppy/dog school, even dabbled in agility for a while. Because he's my first dog I wanted to at least have a basis from which to work with. The problem with the classes was while they were good for socialisation, there was a constant influx of new people while others were leaving (Army Unit), so the trainer would constantly start from scratch and the repetitions were getting boring and frustrating. 
The agility just became ridiculous after a while. If you didn't have a Collie or Australian Shepherd you were more or less looked down on and the people that were taking it dead serious kind of spoiled for the ones that only wanted to have fun with their dogs (though it was funny at competitions when Trigger decided to go for a run around the field to check out the competition and thus got disqualified before we'd even started, lol. Difference being I could see the funny side of it).


----------



## PigeonYouDead

BMo1979 said:


> I was looking at behaviour classes locally, but a) there only really is one class nearby b) they're really expensive c) there in the same location as my son's youth club, so I looked while I was waiting for him. it was all a bit "meh" (and that was apparently the advanced group), especially if you're not exactly at newbie level and too mixed. I could imagine a dog like Storm getting bored quite easily (and me, lol).
> I'd taken Trigger to puppy/dog school, even dabbled in agility for a while. Because he's my first dog I wanted to at least have a basis from which to work with. The problem with the classes was while they were good for socialisation, there was a constant influx of new people while others were leaving (Army Unit), so the trainer would constantly start from scratch and the repetitions were getting boring and frustrating.
> The agility just became ridiculous after a while. If you didn't have a Collie or Australian Shepherd you were more or less looked down on and the people that were taking it dead serious kind of spoiled for the ones that only wanted to have fun with their dogs (though it was funny at competitions when Trigger decided to go for a run around the field to check out the competition and thus got disqualified before we'd even started, lol. Difference being I could see the funny side of it).


Hahaha well, the difficulty with Ted is he's so hyper it's really easy to wind him up and get him nippy and overbearing, and I think around other dogs he can get quite competitive. At daycare he was getting nipped a lot by the other dogs, and the last time he went he was bitten seriously by a patterdale terrier so he's not going anymore.

Ideally we want to get him to a point where he's much less reactive around other dogs, and can perhaps have a little play in the park but we can get him back before it gets out of hand. At the moment, if we were to let him off around other dogs that would be it; we could wave a string of sausages and he'd ignore us lol.

We think he'd be ace at flyball. He runs like :censor: of a shovel lol, and he is OBSESSED with tennis balls. At the moment though we think all the noise and excitement might be too much for him.


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## BMo1979

whip2Let the fun begin :whip::



















There's definitely attempted sabotage going on from Storm's side, lol


























As prescribed by Trigger's Physiotherapist: Weaving


























It is quite hard to get Storm to jump. She's got the attitude "Why jump, when you can just walk around it?" (totally understandable, lol). Plus she's got the attention span of a Fruitfly.
It's also hard to keep Trigger of the jumps (hence why they're set on low). His face lit up when we set it up and it didn't take him long to remember his agility (though it's been years).


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## feorag

That looks brilliant Brigitte!! I'm quite jealous!

Couldn't resist this


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## BMo1979

We went tot he Dogs Trust Fun Day today. Just for fun I entered Storm in the "Best Rescue Dog" Class and guess what? She won (and not as my husband said "she was the only one entered", lol. There where 16-18 dogs)!


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## Kare

Morgan would have been perfect as a Blue Cross speaker dog. Unfortunately as of the time I asked they did/do not allow raw fed dogs as they are/were considered an infection risk


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## feorag

I remember you mentioning that earlier. Shame!


----------



## Middleton Mouse

"Neighbors have left their bin out again"









Skye really is the neighborhood nose!


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## PigeonYouDead

Kare said:


> Morgan would have been perfect as a Blue Cross speaker dog. Unfortunately as of the time I asked they did/do not allow raw fed dogs as they are/were considered an infection risk


You mentioning this reminded me. We currently have an elderly relative in a care home after suffering a serious stroke. We've been visiting her regularly, and surprisingly, the centre she is in allow you to bring dogs in (they have other animals that regularly visit the residents too). We thought Ted would be a bit too clumsy and bouncy, but they said as long as he's housetrained and on a lead they didn't mind.

We've taken him a few times, and he's always looking into the rooms as we're walking past, but the last time we were there, our relative was sitting out in the communal room. We took Ted in, and there were two old ladies in particular who were really poorly, couldn't really speak or eat / drink unaided, but honestly, when they saw him charge in, they absolutely lit up. He was a little freaked out at first because it was really warm in there and one of the women had severe tremors, but eventually, curiosity got the better of him and he was sniffing their feet while they stroked his head. Then he was sniffing their sippy cups and their laps and staring out the window.

It was just so nice, one lady whispered to my boyfriend that she had dogs, and it was the thing she missed most about being in there. The carer made a fuss of him too (he loves the vets and they wear similar uniforms to the nursing staff so he got all giddy when he saw them lol), and said that if we can bring him back again there are a few other residents who would really benefit from some time with him.

He was so well behaved, and it was so nice to see what a huge difference such a small thing can make. Just thought I'd share


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## BMo1979

Finally got the dogs a cheap pool for themselves.

First cautious steps









Trigger's not quite figured the diving thing out









Oi, stop drinking my water









Little persuasion for Storm









Nah, too wet









Finally she went in by herself


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## BMo1979

Another needless victim of the BSL.
Episode 3 | The Dog Rescuers | Channel 5

Tyson, Staffie Mix, featured on the channel 5 show "The Dog Rescuers". He was adopted by a Police Specialist Dog Handling section, who regularly take in rescues to train as sniffer dogs.
Tyson was measured by 2 so-called Expert Police Dog Legislation Officers (how do these sleep at night?) and found to be of Pit Bull type, therefore had to be returned to the rescue and PTS for being an illegal dog. I wonder how the 2 officers that condemned the dog to death face their colleagues now?


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## feorag

Just back from holiday and catching up


PigeonYouDead said:


> You mentioning this reminded me. We currently have an elderly relative in a care home after suffering a serious stroke. We've been visiting her regularly, and surprisingly, the centre she is in allow you to bring dogs in (they have other animals that regularly visit the residents too). We thought Ted would be a bit too clumsy and bouncy, but they said as long as he's housetrained and on a lead they didn't mind.
> 
> We've taken him a few times, and he's always looking into the rooms as we're walking past, but the last time we were there, our relative was sitting out in the communal room. We took Ted in, and there were two old ladies in particular who were really poorly, couldn't really speak or eat / drink unaided, but honestly, when they saw him charge in, they absolutely lit up. He was a little freaked out at first because it was really warm in there and one of the women had severe tremors, but eventually, curiosity got the better of him and he was sniffing their feet while they stroked his head. Then he was sniffing their sippy cups and their laps and staring out the window.
> 
> It was just so nice, one lady whispered to my boyfriend that she had dogs, and it was the thing she missed most about being in there. The carer made a fuss of him too (he loves the vets and they wear similar uniforms to the nursing staff so he got all giddy when he saw them lol), and said that if we can bring him back again there are a few other residents who would really benefit from some time with him.
> 
> He was so well behaved, and it was so nice to see what a huge difference such a small thing can make. Just thought I'd share


PAT is a wonderful charity. My Siamese was a PAT cat and like you found it often opened up withdrawn seniors in care homes who'd loved their cat to have a cat on their knee to stroke.

Have you thought about getting Ted temperament tested to register as a PAT dog? You 'work' at your own pace and there's no pressure to do it too often if you have a lot of commitments.



BMo1979 said:


> Finally got the dogs a cheap pool for themselves.


Certainly looks a success, especially with Tigger. How's he getting on with his arthritis?


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## BMo1979

feorag said:


> Certainly looks a success, especially with Tigger. How's he getting on with his arthritis?


Hope you enjoyed your holidays, just escaped the bad weather, haven't you?

Trigger's got good and bad days, like anyone with arthritis, thanks for asking. At the moment the good days seem to be the majority though, and even the physiotherapist noticed an improvement in his gait and motion range. I'll find out next week, if he's built up some more muscle mass. 
He had a bit of a set back the other weekend, because Storm accidentally crashed into him while chasing a bee. He was limping for a while with his leg turned outward, but was better the next day.
He seems happy enough and not in too much pain (not that he normally lets pain get to him) and that's the main thing.


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## feorag

Is it bad up there now? We had 3-4 wet day (and I don't mean torrential rain, some was light drizzle for half a day) out of the 21 we were there, which is brilliant for the far west coast of Scotland in June.

We were staying just outside of Strontian on Ardnamurchan and one clear, bright, beautifully sunny day, we decided to drive to the far end of the peninsula to the lighthouse. It's a 36 mile drive, due west and by the time we'd covered 15 of those the clouds had started to appear, by the time we'd driven another 8 of those the sea fret was down and by the time we reached the lighthouse we couldn't see a feckin' thing! Not even the tip of Mull which is literally right next to it!!! Drove home and the sun was still shining in Strontian! :lol2:

As a sufferer of arthritis in my hips I can well sympathise with Tigger and confirm that there will be good days and bad days depending on what's going on inside. Good to know you've seen an improvement though! :2thumb:


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## PigeonYouDead

feorag said:


> Just back from holiday and catching upPAT is a wonderful charity. My Siamese was a PAT cat and like you found it often opened up withdrawn seniors in care homes who'd loved their cat to have a cat on their knee to stroke.
> 
> Have you thought about getting Ted temperament tested to register as a PAT dog? You 'work' at your own pace and there's no pressure to do it too often if you have a lot of commitments.
> 
> Certainly looks a success, especially with Tigger. How's he getting on with his arthritis?


I've been really quiet dealing of late because my lizard's been diagnosed with terminal cancer and has been quite up and down. (Ie - doing better, recovering from surgery, and then laying 29 infertile eggs all over her tank on thursday :2wallbang: so it's now work to get her fed back up slowly so she doesn't look so painfully thin).

RE: PAT testing I hadn't! I'll have a look into it. He's been back a few times since and my bf took him in to a few people on the Alzheimer's ward and he said they loved it. He didn't realise they were ill at first, because initially they caught him just as we were dropping him back into the car and were cooing over him (probably helps that Mark is a "grandma's favourite", because he's tall and nice looking haha). Mark said it was only when one of the ladies asked his name 3x that he realised they were poorly haha. It's been really strange having a relative in a care home. We're both around 25, and up till this point have been really lucky that it's not something we've had to really deal with before. It's been an incredibly long and difficult process, but I think it's made us both realise that however hard it's been for us at times, it must be 100x worse to have your mind working and your body unable to catch up. Anything that we can do to make people's stay a little easier is worth doing, even if it's just talking to other residents and being friendly. Don't want to bang on about it, because there's a lot of people in the same situation, but it's been an eye opener, and proved to ourselves how mature we can be in dealing with things.

The pictures of your dogs in a paddling pool <3. They are so lovely. I can't wait till we have our own house with a decent garden and can do similar.

Some other news for you! Ted came to dogs trust with me a few weeks ago for a greyhound/lurcher day. Virtually all the dogs there bar 2 were TERRIFIED of him, because he was so excited (bum end tucked under, tail windmilling round, big starey eyes). One 14week old puppy was so scared he hid behind a car *embarrassing*. Anyway, in the end he did get to have a VERY well behaved sprint round with 2 greyhounds in a field. Once he was off lead he just ran about and chilled out a lot. One big lanky black one and a big white one who was completely deaf and therefore totally not bothered about ted playbowing and barking in his face haha. Hopefully if we can get him some other big male friends, they can all go bonkers together again some time


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## feorag

PigeonYouDead said:


> RE: PAT testing I hadn't! I'll have a look into it.


You would have to apply to PAT first though and then he will be temperament tested, either by one of their people or it can be done by your vet (unless they've changed the rules in the last 7-8 years).


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## BMo1979

Arrgh, that dog!! She just cannot just walk by smelly things without having to roll in them, especially when we have to drive home!!!
Today, it was cow dung.... and lots of it

Before (the flies are already following her. Do they sense something is about to happen, lol?)

















After (doesn't look quite as graceful now, does she?)

















Attempting some damage limitation









It's so embarrassing as well having to tell people not to touch her cos she's rolled in the proverbial, lol.


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## PigeonYouDead

BMo1979 said:


> Arrgh, that dog!! She just cannot just walk by smelly things without having to roll in them, especially when we have to drive home!!!
> Today, it was cow dung.... and lots of it
> 
> Before (the flies are already following her. Do they sense something is about to happen, lol?)
> image
> image
> 
> After (doesn't look quite as graceful now, does she?)
> image
> image
> 
> Attempting some damage limitation
> image
> 
> It's so embarrassing as well having to tell people not to touch her cos she's rolled in the proverbial, lol.


Hahahaha oops!

and re; PAT testing, I read the spec and at the moment there is no way he would pass haha. He has to be walked on a harness at present, and he is NEVER on a slack lead. Hopefully we can get him to training and socialisation classes soon though, and then maybe in the future he'll be a bit more ploddy and we can think about it again


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## BMo1979

PigeonYouDead said:


> Hahahaha oops!
> 
> and re; PAT testing, I read the spec and at the moment there is no way he would pass haha. He has to be walked on a harness at present, and he is NEVER on a slack lead. Hopefully we can get him to training and socialisation classes soon though, and then maybe in the future he'll be a bit more ploddy and we can think about it again


I know, what you mean. I've ruled out PAT for this reason, i can see their point, because the dogs are expected to walk with disabled/frail people holding the lead. 
You could try Canine Concern. As your dog would "only" be a visitors dog and not a therapy pet their benchmark in obedience isn't quite as high, i.e. no need for perfect heel. I'm still considering it with Storm, because she is great and very intuitive when meeting all sorts of people. Her only downfall is that she gets very distracted when other dogs or worse, small furries or cats are involved, lol.


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## feorag

BMo1979 said:


> Arrgh, that dog!! She just cannot just walk by smelly things without having to roll in them, especially when we have to drive home!!!
> Today, it was cow dung.... and lots of it
> 
> Before (the flies are already following her. Do they sense something is about to happen, lol?)
> image
> image
> 
> After (doesn't look quite as graceful now, does she?)
> image
> image
> 
> Attempting some damage limitation
> image
> 
> It's so embarrassing as well having to tell people not to touch her cos she's rolled in the proverbial, lol.


Sorry, but I :lol2: d. Dirty Bitch!! :roll2:


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## BMo1979

feorag said:


> Sorry, but I :lol2: d. Dirty Bitch!! :roll2:


I did, too, lol. At least it was only cow poo and not fox or badger. I washed her down with the garden hose when we got home. The neighbours must have thought I was murdering her, she was whinging and screaming. She doesn't mind going into water, but when it comes from above she acts like it's killing her.


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## BMo1979

Storm as always, a picture of grace and ladylike elegance... not (well, at least she's not covered in poo this time):


















Usually, her tongue would be hanging out, too.


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## eoj89

Thought I'd share a few pics of our DDB pup, Murphy, who we picked up on Saturday. He has settled in nicely. 










Note: he is wearing a cone to prevent him from scratching his ear because he has an injury. He was a bitten by one of his siblings and he had a bit of nasty cut on there which is healing nicely and should be collar free in a few days.









Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Johnsteele1984

eoj89 said:


> Thought I'd share a few pics of our DDB pup, Murphy, who we picked up on Saturday. He has settled in nicely.
> 
> imageimageimage
> 
> Note: he is wearing a cone to prevent him from scratching his ear because he has an injury. He was a bitten by one of his siblings and he had a bit of nasty cut on there which is healing nicely and should be collar free in a few days.
> image
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk



He's amazing ,
Would love 1 of them :2thumb::no1:


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## eoj89

Johnsteele1984 said:


> He's amazing ,
> 
> Would love 1 of them :2thumb::no1:



He sleeps 90% of the time, can't wait until he makes up for all this sleeping once he hits 6 m/o!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## feorag

BMo1979 said:


> Storm as always, a picture of grace and ladylike elegance... not (well, at least she's not covered in poo this time):
> 
> image
> image
> 
> Usually, her tongue would be hanging out, too.


:flrt:



eoj89 said:


> Thought I'd share a few pics of our DDB pup, Murphy, who we picked up on Saturday. He has settled in nicely.
> 
> imageimageimage
> 
> Note: he is wearing a cone to prevent him from scratching his ear because he has an injury. He was a bitten by one of his siblings and he had a bit of nasty cut on there which is healing nicely and should be collar free in a few days.
> image
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Aw! he's gorgeous. Bet you're made up to have him at last!


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## eoj89

feorag said:


> :flrt:
> 
> Aw! he's gorgeous. Bet you're made up to have him at last!



Thank you, I am! He's not what I expected at all, 10x more lazy than I imagined him to be. I forgot how potato-like mastiffs are as I haven't had one for a few years and was used to GSDs.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## feorag

Yup - slight difference there all right! Lazy or potato like aren't the words that come to mind when I think about GSDs. :lol2:


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## eoj89

feorag said:


> Yup - slight difference there all right! Lazy or potato like aren't the words that come to mind when I think about GSDs. :lol2:


Well, it turns out the only reason he was asleep 90% of the time was to do with that bloody Elizabethan collar! His cut has healed now and we're just waiting for it to fall off, so he doesn't wear it anymore and now he's making up for all that lost time he could of spent being naughty! :devil:


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## PigeonYouDead

BMo1979 said:


> Storm as always, a picture of grace and ladylike elegance... not (well, at least she's not covered in poo this time):
> 
> image
> image
> 
> Usually, her tongue would be hanging out, too.


You know she really is stunning. :flrt::flrt: I love it when you can see their little dinky front teeth.

I read something recently that dogs only sleep on their belly when they're happy / settled / comfortable with being vulnerable around their family. Hoping that Ted will get to that point eventually with us  He'll roll over sometimes and lay with his tummy up for a little bit, but then he flops back over again haha.


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## PigeonYouDead

eoj89 said:


> Well, it turns out the only reason he was asleep 90% of the time was to do with that bloody Elizabethan collar! His cut has healed now and we're just waiting for it to fall off, so he doesn't wear it anymore and now he's making up for all that lost time he could of spent being naughty! :devil:


Hahaha he is sooooo cute. How old is he?


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## eoj89

PigeonYouDead said:


> Hahaha he is sooooo cute. How old is he?



Turned 9 weeks old today!









Note: he was on here for a second whilst the lawn was being mowed.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## PigeonYouDead

eoj89 said:


> Turned 9 weeks old today! image
> 
> Note: he was on here for a second whilst the lawn was being mowed.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Ohhhhhhn gimme! :flrt:


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## eoj89

PigeonYouDead said:


> Ohhhhhhn gimme! :flrt:



He's being extremely boisterous today and has latched onto my finger whilst I've been busy on the phone with my other hand. I have a nice little cut in my finger about half a centimetre long. His teeth are like needles too 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## PigeonYouDead

eoj89 said:


> He's being extremely boisterous today and has latched onto my finger whilst I've been busy on the phone with my other hand. I have a nice little cut in my finger about half a centimetre long. His teeth are like needles too
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Oh god puppy teeth. Having never had a puppy, I've not ever had to put up with it for more than a couple of hours whilst playing with friends' dog. My cousins dobie pup was a nightmare for it, he'd just about calm down, you go to pat his head to praise him for calming down, and he'd whip his head round and start gnawing on your hand again.

The only thing that makes me wish we'd had our dog from a puppy would be his socialisation. He gets FAR too overexcited and boisterous with other dogs, and just scares the living daylights out of other dogs. Even giddy puppies take one look at him and just cower / hide / roll over. It's awful! Thus far the only dog that has comfortably played with him was a completely deaf greyhound who couldn't hear him barking him his face lol.


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## eoj89

PigeonYouDead said:


> Oh god puppy teeth. Having never had a puppy, I've not ever had to put up with it for more than a couple of hours whilst playing with friends' dog. My cousins dobie pup was a nightmare for it, he'd just about calm down, you go to pat his head to praise him for calming down, and he'd whip his head round and start gnawing on your hand again.
> 
> 
> 
> The only thing that makes me wish we'd had our dog from a puppy would be his socialisation. He gets FAR too overexcited and boisterous with other dogs, and just scares the living daylights out of other dogs. Even giddy puppies take one look at him and just cower / hide / roll over. It's awful! Thus far the only dog that has comfortably played with him was a completely deaf greyhound who couldn't hear him barking him his face lol.



Puppy teeth are one of the main reason I like adult dogs, but due to our circumstances it would be too risky for us to rescue a dog so we took the safer option of getting a pup. I would love to rescue a dog when I move out into my own place though.


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## PigeonYouDead

eoj89 said:


> Puppy teeth are one of the main reason I like adult dogs, but due to our circumstances it would be too risky for us to rescue a dog so we took the safer option of getting a pup. I would love to rescue a dog when I move out into my own place though.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Yeah, I mean when we first went to dogs trust, we fell in love with this saluki cross pup who was 8 months old and really giddy and playful, but because we both work they said she wouldn't be able to be left alone at all, so we went home and had to rethink. We both work full time, but have staggered shifts in terms of how we work, so ours is only left for a little more than a half day 3 days a week.

If we had young children we'd possibly be more wary of taking on an adult dog, but in all fairness to Ted, he's shown himself to be a great dog around my bf's nieces and nephew, and around children out and about too. The worst thing about him is he is such a scrounger. He trotted up to our 4 year old niece, who was eating a biscuit, and because he's head height with her he just stuck his nose out and really gently got his front teeth around the edge of the biscuit. Because she likes him she just let go and gave it to him, and by the time I realised he'd already eaten the whole thing. 

When they first met him though, we left him muzzled just in case (he has a big sighthound cage muzzle), and told the kids not to touch his legs, willy, tail or ears. He was absolutely fine though and they all stroked his back and neck nice and calmly and he completely ignored the baby on the playmat which was a great sign, so hopefully if we have kids, with careful introduction he will be nice playmate for them. Obviously we never leave them unattended with him, more because he's really clumsy and would knock them flying if he was racing around.


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## PigeonYouDead

"Today... I sleep like dis"


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## feorag

:lol2:


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## eoj89

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Whosthedaddy

12 week BM pup


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## eoj89

Whosthedaddy said:


> 12 week BM pup
> 
> 
> 
> image
> 
> 
> 
> image



Gorgeous! When did you pick him up? (Correct me if I'm wrong on the gender)


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## Whosthedaddy

Picked up on Friday, little boy 'Blue'.


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## BMo1979

Thought you might find these interesting:

Some photos from the RNLI Gala Day Water Rescue Display. It's nice to see a Newfoundland being worked like this, but what a size even for a NF!


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## Rach1

We just got a miniature dachshund.
It's a long story but in a nut shell before my mum died two weeks ago she made me promise I'd get Leon a dachshund puppy with the money she left to us as he has always always wanted one.
When he was at preschool he used to draw pictures of himself in a Ferrari with a dachshund puppy in the passenger seat (always with its seatbelt on) driving along.
Mim has always wanted a fluffy pet/dog so the compromise was a long haired Daxie.
He is called Schnitzel and he is 8 weeks old. He's a choc and tan. He currently weighs 1.6kg! 






 zURL=http://s930.photobucket.com/user/rachjoel1/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-07/20140715_134908.jpg.html]







[/URL]


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## Johnsteele1984

Rach1 said:


> We just got a miniature dachshund.
> It's a long story but in a nut shell before my mum died two weeks ago she made me promise I'd get Leon a dachshund puppy with the money she left to us as he has always always wanted one.
> When he was at preschool he used to draw pictures of himself in a Ferrari with a dachshund puppy in the passenger seat (always with its seatbelt on) driving along.
> Mim has always wanted a fluffy pet/dog so the compromise was a long haired Daxie.
> He is called Schnitzel and he is 8 weeks old. He's a choc and tan. He currently weighs 1.6kg!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> [URL=http://i930.photobucket.com/albums/ad149/rachjoel1/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-07/20140715_164401.jpg]image[/URL] zURL=http://s930.photobucket.com/user/rachjoel1/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-07/20140715_134908.jpg.html]image[/URL]URL=http://s930.photobucket.com/user/rachjoel1/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-07/20140716_224131.jpg.html]image[/URL]




He's amazing:flrt:


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## BMo1979

First of all I'm very sorry to hear about your mum's passing, it must be very hard for you.

Schnitzel (great name) is really cute. I hope he brings Leon and you lots of joy.


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## Rach1

His full name is Schnitzel Von Krumm
(With a very low tum)


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## feorag

BMo1979 said:


> Thought you might find these interesting:
> 
> Some photos from the RNLI Gala Day Water Rescue Display. It's nice to see a Newfoundland being worked like this, but what a size even for a NF!


Great photos, wonderful to see a working dog doing its job!



Rach1 said:


> We just got a miniature dachshund.
> It's a long story but in a nut shell before my mum died two weeks ago she made me promise I'd get Leon a dachshund puppy with the money she left to us as he has always always wanted one.
> When he was at preschool he used to draw pictures of himself in a Ferrari with a dachshund puppy in the passenger seat (always with its seatbelt on) driving along.
> Mim has always wanted a fluffy pet/dog so the compromise was a long haired Daxie.
> He is called Schnitzel and he is 8 weeks old. He's a choc and tan. He currently weighs 1.6kg!


He's gorgeous - I have a big soft spot for mini dachs! A friend I used to go and spend holidays with in my early 20s had one. Her mother didn't much care for it and used to call it "the worm" :lol2:



Rach1 said:


> His full name is Schnitzel Von Krumm
> (With a very low tum)


And you beat me to it, as soon as I saw Schnitzel, I knew it was Von Krumm. "forget me not" was Chloe's favourite Schnitzel book when she used to come here as a small child.

Leon must be so happy to finally have got his dream dog! :flrt:


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## Rach1

Oh Eileen he's made up,
He cried the night we to to look at the pup.
We also refer to him (the dog) as 'Nana's promise'.

They have both been really good at helping out, even standing in the rain in the yard with Schnitz to see if he will wee.


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## feorag

I'm so pleased for you Rach. I think it's good for him to have a reminder of how much your mum loved him!


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## Middleton Mouse

Rach1 said:


> His full name is Schnitzel Von Krumm
> (With a very low tum)


you also must then buy a mastiff and call him Hercules Morse (as big as a horse), a greyhound called Blitzer Malony (all skinny and boney), a bearded collie called Muffin McClay (like a bundle of hay), a dalmatian called Bottomly Potts (all covered in spots) and a wee scruffy mongrel called Hairy McClary.

Not sure if I missed any out.


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## Rach1

I'll pass on that thanks...:lol2:


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## feorag

Middleton Mouse said:


> you also must then buy a mastiff and call him Hercules Morse (as big as a horse), a greyhound called Blitzer Malony (all skinny and boney), a bearded collie called Muffin McClay (like a bundle of hay), a dalmatian called Bottomly Potts (all covered in spots) and a wee scruffy mongrel called Hairy McClary.
> 
> Not sure if I missed any out.


 Only the reference to the wee scruffy mongrel called Hairy McClary from Donaldson's Dairy!


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## Rach1

Wasn't Muffin McClay an old English Sheepdog?


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## feorag

That's what I've always thought. Bearded Collies have reasonably visible faces :lol2:


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## Rach1

Just looked it up...yes he is a sheep dog.
Bitzer is a whippet.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/l65qzi9x3ukro3t/2014-07-20 18.24.42.jpg


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## temerist

anyone chatting tonight :2thumb:


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## PigeonYouDead

temerist said:


> anyone chatting tonight :2thumb:


What I wanna know is how you have room for 16 dogs???? And big ones at that!


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## temerist

been blessed with a very large property, a lot of land and far too much time on my hands


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## eoj89

@temerist, what are your Boerboels like to keep, are they similar to any other mastiff? (Also, is it pronounced 'bur-bulls' or 'bow-er-bowls'?) never know how to pronounce it, haha!


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## temerist

it seems to really depend where you are from. I lived in south Africa for many years and there it is pronounced boorra bol but ive heard alsorts, best to just say south African mastiffs lol. I have been around the breed for at least 45 years and find them fantastic, they can go all day or sleep all day lol they are large and can be bigger than your average bull or French mastiff and can be head strong and ignorant at times (I find the females slightly more like this than the males) but they are a very eager breed and love praise and rewards and will work hard for them. I do find the males can be funny with dog they don't know all that well, ive been very lucky to have never had any issues with mine but they know the pecking order, we have an alpha and they are always well socialised together and that is key with the breed 110% early socialisation. they have a very strong protective instinct and this needs to be channelled correctly from an early age. if you are willing to put in the time with training them and bonding then they are a wonderful breed but they aren't for everyone lol


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## feorag

temerist said:


> can be head strong and ignorant at times (I find the females slightly more like this than the males)


Do you need me to explain why on this one Ian! :whistling2:


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## eoj89

temerist said:


> it seems to really depend where you are from. I lived in south Africa for many years and there it is pronounced boorra bol but ive heard alsorts, best to just say south African mastiffs lol. I have been around the breed for at least 45 years and find them fantastic, they can go all day or sleep all day lol they are large and can be bigger than your average bull or French mastiff and can be head strong and ignorant at times (I find the females slightly more like this than the males) but they are a very eager breed and love praise and rewards and will work hard for them. I do find the males can be funny with dog they don't know all that well, ive been very lucky to have never had any issues with mine but they know the pecking order, we have an alpha and they are always well socialised together and that is key with the breed 110% early socialisation. they have a very strong protective instinct and this needs to be channelled correctly from an early age. if you are willing to put in the time with training them and bonding then they are a wonderful breed but they aren't for everyone lol



I think I've only ever seen one Boerboel in my life - on the TV - but how big are they in comparison to Bullmastiffs & EMs? Have you had TMs as long as you have your Boerboels?


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## temerist

height wise there probably isn't much in it apart from the English mastiffs are quite tall so may have about 4" in the boerboel but the average weight of a boerboel is about 80-90kg whereas a bullmastiff I think is around 45-55kg, we have a male who was weighed recently at 204lbs (not sure what that is in kg) so he is a big boy. we have have Tibetans for about 20 years they were more my wifes breed.



Yes Eileen, why are females so ignorant and head strong :lol2:


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## PigeonYouDead

temerist said:


> height wise there probably isn't much in it apart from the English mastiffs are quite tall so may have about 4" in the boerboel but the average weight of a boerboel is about 80-90kg whereas a bullmastiff I think is around 45-55kg, we have a male who was weighed recently at 204lbs (not sure what that is in kg) so he is a big boy. we have have Tibetans for about 20 years they were more my wifes breed.
> 
> 
> 
> Yes Eileen, why are females so ignorant and head strong :lol2:


My ex had boerboels in S.A when he was growing up, him and his little brother used to ride them around their garden. He said they were lovely though, loyal and gentle and great guard dogs.

204lb has gotta be like.. 90 odd kg!! :gasp:


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## temerist

just converted it online, just over 92kg :gasp:


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## PigeonYouDead

temerist said:


> just converted it online, just over 92kg :gasp:


That is literally over 2x me. I am 45kg. Lol. My dog weighs nearly 30kg and I thought that was bad! hahahahaha


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## temerist

I actually think I live with a heard of elephants :lol2:


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## feorag

temerist said:


> Yes Eileen, why are females so ignorant and head strong


Not so much ignorant and headstrong as knowledgeable and always right Ian.

Women don't suffer fools (men) gladly. :lol2:


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## temerist

well that's just given me the biggest laugh in year :lol2:
knowing brands of bags and shoes doesn't make you knowledgable and your not always right we just let you think your are always right to stop you going on :whip:


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## feorag

In your dreams, Ian - in your dreams!!! :whistling2:


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## temerist

I don't have to dream wench I know its true :whistling2:


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## BMo1979

Absolutely love these 2 pics of Trigger

Trigger and our youngest offspring (they've always had a strong bond)









Looking quite the elderly gentleman









Unfortunately that bottom tooth will have to come out in a week's time  . They'll give him a thorough x-ray while he's under just to see where the inflammation sits exactly.
During his last physio session, he didn't want to move his right elbow and was clearly in pain moving his hind legs and hips, too. He doesn't bark, growl or snap, but he looks at the therapist with really sad puppy eyes and makes these little sighing noises. He walks better though and his hamstrings feel bigger.


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## feorag

Lovely photos! There's something about the proud look in an elderly Shep's eyes that gets me every time.

Seems to be good news/bad news on the pain front with him though.

I came across a Brigitte on the RFUK Facebook page last week and thought "that can't be a coincidence" so checked out your Facebook page and saw that photograph on your profile and recognised Tigger! :flrt:


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## BMo1979

That'll be me 

Something quite funny happened yesterday:
We took Storm to the beach (she's not quite chilled out enough yet, a bit stressful, cos she wanted to play with every single dog in sight) and on the way back we stopped over at the Ocean Terminal in Greenock to look at a massive Cruise Liner docked there.
As we were walking along the fence of the dogs, this car stops (on a bend, double yellow lines, lol), this guy in suit trousers and shirt gets out (at first I thought "oh oh, are we doing something wrong?"), walks towards Storm, kneels down and starts cuddling her :gasp:. Then he says "I've got one like that, too, she's 10 now, but can't cope with this heat anymore" and shows me a picture on his mobile (lovely looking dog, pure white). Thanks me, says goodbye and drives off!
Dog folk are just weird, lol (oh wait, I'm dog folk, too, lol)!

Some pics of her first beach day


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## Rach1

Aw, I think that's a rather lovely story.
Storm clearly made his day.


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## feorag

I think it's lovely too. After I lost Leo I couldn't walk past a black faced longhaired GSD without the need to go and speak to it and the owner. :blush:

Looks like she really enjoyed her trip though. :2thumb:


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## Rach1

Well, schnitzel has found his bark... And is using it well... Poor Raggs has been on the brunt of it all afternoon.
As predicted, he has also found his feet and ergo his naughty streak.
We are currently in the middle of a chewing phase.. And nibbling/nipping people.
:gasp:


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## feorag

That's puppies for ya!!! :lol:


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## temerist

Onyx I can still see you :lol2:


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## JBS

Here's my 2 crazy staffies! 

Hixxy










An my new puppy lacey! who's now 7 months old from this! April we got her 










To this! 










Yes she does wear pink... Lol they're my absolute world an a joy to own!  Even if they are a pain in the ass!!


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## Middleton Mouse

While on holiday in Perthshire we figured out what our dog Jake's element is - mountains. Took him and our (very badly behaved) foster dog a wee walk up Schiehallion and Jake loved it, it was handy having a little off-lead path finder to help navigate our way across the boulder fields. :2thumb:








[/URL]


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## feorag

Lovely photos of a gorgeous dog and fabulous views!!


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## Middleton Mouse

feorag said:


> Lovely photos of a gorgeous dog and fabulous views!!


We didn't make it to the top after all that (we were exactly a quarter of a mile off it). My partner is diabetic and didn't pack enough food so he was worried that he was going to experience a sugar crash. 

We'll need to head back up there at some point I think.


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## BMo1979

That's Trigger back from the vet's now:
They left his canine, because there is no inflammation as such, it's just hollowing, but no pain and taking out a canine carries the risk of fracturing the jaw (apparently). However they removed the tooth next to it (he's now got a gap on both sides) and one in the back, so we shall call Trigger Gumsie from now on, lol.
They also took a sample from a lump they found on Trigger's shoulder and removed the lump and X-rayed his hip joints.
As suspected he has moderate hip dysplasia which causes his arthritis. So it'll be a matter of carrying on with the muscle rebuild and medication/food supplements. 
His pre-anesthetic checks were fine (liver, heart, etc), so at least apart from his ongoing gum problems and the expected he's a "normal" elderly dog. 
Apparently he was just quietly moaning after the OP, but when he heard me he was howling for his "mum".


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## feorag

At his age that's a pretty good result. You're managing his arthritic problems pretty well by the sound of it, so not too bad all round, I'd say??


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## BMo1979

Definitely not too bad. He's got a lot of "lust for life" if you get what I mean, almost puppy like on some days. He'll have a good few years left with us and he'll show me when he wants to "go", I believe.

I don't know what they've given him, but since picking him up he's been giddy and hyper, lol. His teeth were probably bothering him until then, so that's better now. Last time he was a lot more tired and wobbly.


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## feorag

I totally believe that Brigitte. When you have a special bond with an animal I do truly believe that they tell you when they've had enough and are ready to give in. As long as you can see they have a quality in their life, then you just carry on loving them and keeping them happy until they themselves have had enough.


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## BMo1979

Oh FFS :devil::

Preloved | girl husky needed wanted in Glasgow, Scotland

At least they're honest about their intentions of "breeding" purely for the money. Hope, no-one is stupid enough to provide the Husky, but there probably will be...


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## Middleton Mouse

BMo1979 said:


> Oh FFS :devil::
> 
> Preloved | girl husky needed wanted in Glasgow, Scotland
> 
> At least they're honest about their intentions of "breeding" purely for the money. Hope, no-one is stupid enough to provide the Husky, but there probably will be...


A friend of mine had a picture of one of these dogs posted to her Facebook wall the other day. The poster didn't seem to appreciate my "backyard breeders dream" comment, looks like I was right.

It makes me so sad to think of all the perfectly wonderful dogs that are pts every day because there are just too many of them. The crossbreed we're fostering just now was on the list when she was only 5 months old. My own dog whom I lost in March wasn't exactly a prime candidate to be placed in rescue either, 12yo with a massive unsightly growth on her shoulder and reactive around most other dogs. Thank goodness for the dogs trust and all the independant rescues that give dogs a second chance.


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## BMo1979

There's someone who regularly produces "Pomskies" in Glasgow/Renfrew, so I guess the person who put up the add saw for how much they went and had pound signs in their eyes.

I admire you for giving those "underdogs" a second or 3rd, 4th, etc chance and you're right properly assessed and matched rescue dogs do make wonderful pets.


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## PigeonYouDead

Ridiculous. If you even gave two hoots about your dog, would you honestly put it in a room with an unknown person's dog, over twice it's size? People like this should be shot. Frankly, this is why I'm all in favour of you needing a license to own a dog.

On a happier note, we're moving out of our absolute crapshack of a house, and into a much nicer one in a much more rural area. 15min drive to the peak district, which means much more interesting walks for the demon dog. Literally can't wait. We even have a garden! :flrt:


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## BMo1979

PigeonYouDead said:


> Ridiculous. If you even gave two hoots about your dog, would you honestly put it in a room with an unknown person's dog, over twice it's size? People like this should be shot. Frankly, this is why I'm all in favour of you needing a license to own a dog.
> 
> On a happier note, we're moving out of our absolute crapshack of a house, and into a much nicer one in a much more rural area. 15min drive to the peak district, which means much more interesting walks for the demon dog. Literally can't wait. We even have a garden! :flrt:


I can imagine, it sounds great. When's the big move?


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## PigeonYouDead

BMo1979 said:


> I can imagine, it sounds great. When's the big move?


2 weeks *hides under blanket*.

It's going to be absolute chaos no doubt. We literally only found out wednesday just gone that we passed all the referencing etc for the new place, so now it's a bit of a mad rush to get everything packed up, hire a van, sort out piano removal, and get this place sorted out.

We've both booked days off work, to help settle the dog in, but hopefully it won't be as stressful as when we first brought him home, as we're the same it's just a new home. We've decided not to wash our bedding as well so that things smell familiar to him.

One slightly sad thing is that my little geriatric hamster passed away monday night, so he won't be coming with us, but in a way I'm glad he just died in his sleep as I knew it would be a lot for him to move now. The lizard is chugging on and seems to be doing great, so hopefully she'll settle in ok.


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## BMo1979

Aww, sorry about your hamster, but as you said he was geriatric and died in his sleep (same as my friends' hamster at over 5 years).
I remember when we moved house and I took my corn snakes out of their transport boxes, my little corn Ozzy was NOT happy at all: He wrapped his tail around my wrists and struck out at anything coming near him. I felt a bit like Cleopatra, lol.
My rats and Trigger (mind you, Trigger went through 4 moves with us, one even international via pet courier (husband was medically discharged and we both didn't drive), so he's a bit of a traveler anyway) took it really well, probably because as you said, it's the whole "pack" moving. I'm sure your boy will be fine and will get to love the new opportunities (i.e. garden, Peak district (wow!), etc).

If I were you that would be the time to get completely stressed out, lol. I hate packing things (unpacking is ok(ish)), even so the last (hopefully it'll be the LAST until I win the lottery, lol) move was totally worth it (rural, yet only 10 minutes from Glasgow and big shopping centres, 30 minutes from Loch Lomond, right next to the Clyde with fenced off ex-grazing fields), I was still constantly in tears.


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## feorag

I'm lucky cos none of my critters stress when things change. Our dogs and cats have always com eon holiday with us, so are well used to being in different houses, even Skye who had a lot of problems when we got him settled down straight away in our holiday cottage that smelled nothing like us. My snakes go out with me to fundraise, so nothing fazes them, one woman once had a hold of Monty, my corn outside PaH one day and asked if she could take him in the shop - she was away for about 15 minutes! :gasp: He was no bother.

My rats also lead a pretty sheltered life in my house, but settled into the house where they were staying while we were away without any problem. My previous ones went out to me, on 'pet awareness days' at the local garden centre without any problems.

I think if you just act naturally around him, don't make a big fuss of him, cos that could cause him to think he should be worried, he'll be fine.


----------



## PigeonYouDead

BMo1979 said:


> Aww, sorry about your hamster, but as you said he was geriatric and died in his sleep (same as my friends' hamster at over 5 years).
> I remember when we moved house and I took my corn snakes out of their transport boxes, my little corn Ozzy was NOT happy at all: He wrapped his tail around my wrists and struck out at anything coming near him. I felt a bit like Cleopatra, lol.
> My rats and Trigger (mind you, Trigger went through 4 moves with us, one even international via pet courier (husband was medically discharged and we both didn't drive), so he's a bit of a traveler anyway) took it really well, probably because as you said, it's the whole "pack" moving. I'm sure your boy will be fine and will get to love the new opportunities (i.e. garden, Peak district (wow!), etc).
> 
> If I were you that would be the time to get completely stressed out, lol. I hate packing things (unpacking is ok(ish)), even so the last (hopefully it'll be the LAST until I win the lottery, lol) move was totally worth it (rural, yet only 10 minutes from Glasgow and big shopping centres, 30 minutes from Loch Lomond, right next to the Clyde with fenced off ex-grazing fields), I was still constantly in tears.


Yeah bless him, he did really well, I only got him because he was 12 weeks old, and reduced price at the pet shop because he was an albino and all the kids said he was creepy. Felt so sorry for him and he was so tame because he'd been with them for so long, so just picked him up as I already had the tank etc at home. He did ok for 2 and a half hours in the car moving from Watford to near enough Leeds, when I moved up here in October, and then because the central heating in this place is completely shot he kept going into hibernation in Jan this year, so I had to keep gently bringing him round. I wasn't sure he was going to survive another winter anyway, even in a warmer house, but he was such a personality and really sweet, so it's sad to see him go all the same.

Gizmo, the beardie, should be fine, she did really well on the last move, just went to sleep in her box, and as it's only a 20 minute drive between houses, she won't be out of her tank for a whole day this time.

The main worry with the dog is that the change could trigger off his separation anxiety again, and we really don't want him trashing the new house. Hence booking the time off to do lots of practise exercises with him to keep up his confidence. He was in a sulk yesterday as he only had a short walk in the morning because he was exceptionally naughty, then I was at work for 3 hours, and came home and started packing. Turns out he doesn't like bubble wrap, so he got 4 of his toys, jumped over the bubble wrap and sat in the corner with them looking sad hahahahaha drama queen.

Good plan feorag. I think he may have sussed something is up as he's been a bit odd, but generally at new places he's very... dithery? Just stands up and wanders around and won't settle or sit down, and almost seems to try and play to distract himself. He's similar when lots of people come round at the same time, or people that pay him a lot of attention, he tends to play and play and play, and it gets to a point where his eyes are all bloodshot, eyelids drooping, and he's still desperately trying to keep himself awake in case he misses something. We also picked up a DAP collar and DAP diffuser, as they seemed to help when we brought him home last Nov.


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## feorag

What you have to be careful of imo (but I know I'm no expert), is not making a big fuss of him once you're in the new house, otherwise you risk reinforcing any bad behaviour because you'll make him think he should be worried.

If it were me I'd just move him in and follow his normal routine as much as possible, as if it's just a normal weekend with you at home, go about your business, walk him and play with him as usual and if he follows you just let him, but don't reassure him or encourage him.

Good luck.


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## PigeonYouDead

feorag said:


> What you have to be careful of imo (but I know I'm no expert), is not making a big fuss of him once you're in the new house, otherwise you risk reinforcing any bad behaviour because you'll make him think he should be worried.
> 
> If it were me I'd just move him in and follow his normal routine as much as possible, as if it's just a normal weekend with you at home, go about your business, walk him and play with him as usual and if he follows you just let him, but don't reassure him or encourage him.
> 
> Good luck.


Thanks feorag. Fingers crossed we're worrying about nothing and that some long walks will tire him out enough that he just sleeps and settles down. He's currently asleep completely under a blanket next to me haha.


----------



## kemist

In need of a little advice, we have an 18 month ish jack Russell she is fed on dry food but is not a big eater. Anyway we found a butcher that sells tubs of pig liver £2 for about 2 kilos and minced offal so are using it as a treat we are doing her liver or offal about 3 times a week and reducing her dry food those days obviously. What I am unsure of is how much should she get as a meal. We have been cooking 2 pieces of liver and about a 3 inch chunk of the offal (comes frozen in a sausage shape) at a time. To keep it fresh I have frozen it in portion sizes. They are about 6 ounces per portion. Does this sound too much for a 4.5 kilo dog?


----------



## feorag

I don't feed raw, but I have read that when feeding it you should give about 2-3% of the dog's weight. However, that is when feeding BARF as the entire diet, I've no idea what you should feed when you're 'mixing', but it might help to give you guideline.


----------



## PigeonYouDead

kemist said:


> In need of a little advice, we have an 18 month ish jack Russell she is fed on dry food but is not a big eater. Anyway we found a butcher that sells tubs of pig liver £2 for about 2 kilos and minced offal so are using it as a treat we are doing her liver or offal about 3 times a week and reducing her dry food those days obviously. What I am unsure of is how much should she get as a meal. We have been cooking 2 pieces of liver and about a 3 inch chunk of the offal (comes frozen in a sausage shape) at a time. To keep it fresh I have frozen it in portion sizes. They are about 6 ounces per portion. Does this sound too much for a 4.5 kilo dog?


I know there's a few people on here that raw feed. I'm sure they'll pop up in due course. I know they do say with liver to be careful how much you feed to make sure your dog doesn't get vit a overdose, but as to how much is going to cause o/d i have no idea, and it may just mean if you're feeding it every day as the only meat source. As for the offal do you know what organs it actually contains? Are there brains and eyes etc, or is it just abdomen organs?

I remember reading somewhere that someone had said feeding kibble and raw meat at the same time isn't a good idea as they get digested at different rates, but I can't remember for the life of me who said it.

Personally, I don't raw feed my dog, he gets kibble, but we do supplement it, so he gets a table spoon of olive oil for his coat daily, and a few times a month we'll cook him meat, veg and rice for a change. We try and give him some variety in what he has, and he does get our leftovers as well, provided it's nothing fatty or spicy.

All that said though, my dog is nearly 30kg so he is going to eat a tonne more than your little girl.

**Edit just seen you said you're cooking the meat. On these days it might be worth cooking up some vegetables at the same time and omitting the kibble altogether. Our dog loves veg, the only thing he won't eat is salad greens or broccoli.


----------



## kemist

I assumed the offal was mostly liver and kidney (smells like it) as I think it is sold for human consumption (god knows who would eat it though)


----------



## PigeonYouDead

kemist said:


> I assumed the offal was mostly liver and kidney (smells like it) as I think it is sold for human consumption (god knows who would eat it though)


(Ew lol, i can't stand the smell of cooking liver, let alone the thought of eating it. I spent a whole day cooking up liver for treats for him, and I had the smell in my nostrils for about 3 days afterwards).

You may well be right about liver and kidneys, if it's sold for human consumption, I doubt its going to contain hearts, brains etc.

The only thing I would say is that liver and kidneys are both very rich and nutritious, so feeding it too often you might find gives her an upset tummy. When we give ours cooked meat, thus far he's had chicken, duck, steak, lamb, guineafowl, venison, and a bit of leftover sausage, and the only thing that hasn't agreed with him was the sausage. Even when ours stole an entire place of raw frozen beef he didn't get a yucky tum.

I suppose the best way to know whether you're feeding enough is going to be weighing her. If she's only 4kg, I assume she's small enough to sit on a pair of human scales, obv if her weight is going down then she'll need a bit more food, and if it's going up then you can drop the portion size a bit.

How much exercise does she get? If she's always on the go, she's going to burn a lot more calories than if she's a little couch potato.


----------



## kemist

PigeonYouDead said:


> I suppose the best way to know whether you're feeding enough is going to be weighing her. If she's only 4kg, I assume she's small enough to sit on a pair of human scales, obv if her weight is going down then she'll need a bit more food, and if it's going up then you can drop the portion size a bit.
> 
> How much exercise does she get? If she's always on the go, she's going to burn a lot more calories than if she's a little couch potato.


The vet has always been happy with her general condition and weight so her weight isn't really a concern. She can be a couch potato, if I am having a chilled day she will happily curl up and snooze by me most of the day but she also has mad moments and will race round the garden for 20 mins straight when I let her out for a wee or peg washing out etc. She is walked daily minimum 30 mins a day but while we plod along she is belting about the woods, chasing rabbits and generally active so does 4 times our distance easily and we usually do a mile and a half.


----------



## feorag

kemist said:


> I assumed the offal was mostly liver and kidney (smells like it) as I think it is sold for human consumption (god knows who would eat it though)


Me!!! :lol:

Love braised liver and stewing steak is nowt without kidneys in it!!! :mf_dribble:



PigeonYouDead said:


> The only thing I would say is that liver and kidneys are both very rich and nutritious, so feeding it too often you might find gives her an upset tummy. When we give ours cooked meat, thus far he's had chicken, duck, steak, lamb, guineafowl, venison, and a bit of leftover sausage, and the only thing that hasn't agreed with him was the sausage. Even when ours stole an entire place of raw frozen beef he didn't get a yucky tum.
> 
> I suppose the best way to know whether you're feeding enough is going to be weighing her. If she's only 4kg, I assume she's small enough to sit on a pair of human scales, obv if her weight is going down then she'll need a bit more food, and if it's going up then you can drop the portion size a bit.
> 
> How much exercise does she get? If she's always on the go, she's going to burn a lot more calories than if she's a little couch potato.


As I understand it, ideally if you're feeding raw you should only feed 10% offal (organ meat) compared to 70-80% meat, so yes too much liver won't be good.


----------



## BMo1979

I'm absolutely fuming at the moment. 
Our estate management has taken away the only safe place to let all dogs off the leads to plant some wildflower/poppy display that no resident wanted in the first place.
It was an old paddock, nicely fenced off with a small group of trees in the middle. The dogs could play and run around which was especially great for training Storm off lead. This morning there are signs at all entrances saying "Strictly No Dog Walking in this Area". Well, thanks for that!
I'm feeling like [email protected] anyway, because of a really bad throat infection, so this has now wound me up even more...


----------



## feorag

Oh dear, that's a shame! Is there nowhere else reasonably near for you!


----------



## BMo1979

Yes and No.
The field was ideal, because it had 3 entrances that could be easily monitored in case of unexpected wildlife, lol. There is another field where she could get onto a golf course (not good) or into a park leading all the way to the Clyde (even worse, as she's done this before and knows where the deer are), because the estate management rather spends money on rubbish than fixing the fences. The other place would be next to a small forest, but it's a bit touch and go if she does go after a rabbit or fox. 
I've calmed down now anyway. Unless they're going to use CCTV or wardens every hour of the day, there's no way they can enforce this :devil:. We don't cause any damage, I pick up 100% and the dogs never go into the wildflower patches anyway and stay on the cut grass. 
I guess, the annoyance was that this field had been used by the resident dog owners since the veteran cottages were built (decades ago) and there has never been an issue. The CEOs idea was to create a poppy field display in time for Remembrance Sunday, visible from the Erskine Bridge. Thing is you cannot see anything from the estate from the bridge, so it was really stupid planning :bash:
The other thing is that the landscapers had planted a mixture of wild weeds together with the poppies. The weeds are far more dominant and have obviously killed most of the seedlings, so now it just looks messy and pretty pointless.


----------



## ozzalowes

hey just found this thread anyone got border collies


----------



## feorag

That's a shame Brigitte - obviously not catering to their residents then!


----------



## BMo1979

... apart from when it comes to rent collection, lol.

Well, I've tried out their enforcement of the signs tonight. :whistling2: Did not stand in a land mine nor was chased by the swamp thing, so far, so good. If I get a complaint tomorrow, I'll ask them whether they haven't got anything better to spend their donations on, lol.


----------



## BMo1979

Accomplishment of the day:

Walking Storm off lead by a forest, through a forest and down our street :2thumb:.
She only ran off once in the forest, but came straight back when I used "the voice" (aka, "I've tried asking nicely and excitedly, now get your backside in front of me or you'll be made into a winter coat!", lol). The funny thing is, even when she runs off and takes her time to listen, she comes back with this big grin on her face (tongue hanging out) as if to say "Stormy's a good girl!".
She's lulling me into a false sense of security undoubtedly, lol. Isn't it Rut time soon?


----------



## feorag

:lol2: Well done Storm! It's perseverance, zero tolerance and love that gets through to them eventually! Sounds like you're getting there! :2thumb:


----------



## x Sarah x

I am utterly heartbroken guys 

I split with my partner last month and now he won't let me see my dogs, my world is crushed, i cannot function properly without seeing them...


----------



## PPVallhunds

That's terrible Sarah, so sorry to hear that.
Is it possible to go to small claims court and win custody?


----------



## BMo1979

I'm really sorry to hear that, Sarah.

What reason does he have not to allow you contact?


----------



## x Sarah x

Unfortunately not, they are registered in his name, but we both owned them from the beginning, so even though they are as much mine as they are his, he has legal ownership of them 

There is no particular reason he won't let me see them other than he wants nothing to do with me... it's so hard, i just want to see them...


----------



## Tommy Coopers Ghost

If he is their Legal owner, i doubt there is much you can Legally do about it Sarah...

But emotions are still Probably a a bit raw? let the dust settle for a While, then Approach them about it in, Possibly through a mutual Friend you both trust?

Good luck.


----------



## feorag

x Sarah x said:


> I am utterly heartbroken guys
> 
> I split with my partner last month and now he won't let me see my dogs, my world is crushed, i cannot function properly without seeing them...


Oh Sarah - I am so very sorry to hear this! :sad: I know how much you loved those dogs.

I wish people wouldn't use children and pets as weapons against each other.

Just because you don't live together any more doesn't mean to say that you shouldn't be able to see your dogs.

I hope that maybe in time he'll change his mind. That's just so bloody sad and so bloody mean! :devil:


----------



## x Sarah x

feorag said:


> Oh Sarah - I am so very sorry to hear this! :sad: I know how much you loved those dogs.
> 
> I wish people wouldn't use children and pets as weapons against each other.
> 
> Just because you don't live together any more doesn't mean to say that you shouldn't be able to see your dogs.
> 
> I hope that maybe in time he'll change his mind. That's just so bloody sad and so bloody mean! :devil:


Aye, i don't have the words to describe how devastated i am Eileen


----------



## feorag

I can well believe it. In your situation I don't know what I'd do. :sad:


----------



## BMo1979

Does anyone have any experience with Tramadol being prescribed for dogs with HD/Osteoarthritis?
Trigger's back legs have been bad for the last 3 days now, so I took him to the vet's and she mentioned the probability of putting him on Tramadol. I spoke to the physio, too, and she will see him on Friday, but she hasn't got any experience with using this medication on animals. 
Due to the suddenness of the development she reckons that it is more likely to be an injury like a strain or nerve problem, etc, rather than his main medical condition, so we'll wait a couple of days to see if there's a development. 
The whole issue started 2 days ago. I was walking Trigger back from the school bus. After about 5 minutes he started limping and not putting any weight on his right leg. I massaged and stretched it and he managed to walk home a bit better, but still shaky. After that every time he tried to stretch his back legs he would stumble. 
The same happened yesterday and today: One minute fine the next limping and walking odd. 
When I took him to the vet, he couldn't jump into the boot. I tried to lift him and he actually screamed. I ended up putting him on the back seat and am now trying to find a ramp for larger dogs. 
He seems fine other than that, happy as always and giving every one at the clinic cuddles and kisses.


----------



## feorag

Brigitte have you thought about joining in the general Facebook group run by GSDR that I recommended.

A lot of people come on there asking for advice about certain medications and 9 times out of 10 someone has a dog on that medication who can offer their experiences.

I've never had that problem, or used that medication, nor have I known anyone who has, so I'm afraid I can't help you at all. :sad:


----------



## BMo1979

Thanks, is that the German Shepherd Rescue Support Group (there are so many GSDR groups on FB)?


----------



## BMo1979

Wow, that's harsh and must be heartbreaking for the residents. I hope the housing association reconsiders.
Residents devastated after housing association bans pets after cat mauling (From Essex County Standard)


----------



## feorag

BMo1979 said:


> Thanks, is that the German Shepherd Rescue Support Group (there are so many GSDR groups on FB)?


So sorry Brigitte, I've just seen this when the notification appeared for the most recent post. I must hafe missed the notification when you posted it.

Yes, that's the one. Every GSDR walk group has its own Facebook page for letting members know when the next walk is planned, then there's the German Shepherd Rescue page which is for the dogs and is an open page. The Support Group Page is a closed group, so you have to ask to join and That's the page where everyone shares their knowledge and experience.

here's the link https://www.facebook.com/groups/Germanshepherdrescuesupport/


----------



## BMo1979

Trigrger had his first hydrotherapy session today. He did remarkably well.
They put him on the submerged treadmill and although he didn't want to go into the "box" at first and tried to put his paws on the sides at first he ended up getting the hang of it pretty quick, albeit with a lot of complaining. He's going back for a few more sessions. 
They also used some sort of laser on him during the initial assessment. It all looked very fancy so I'm glad he's insured, lol.


----------



## feorag

A GSD enthusiast in our walk group does hydrotherapy and she uses the treadmill tank, which she says is better for the dogs.

She gets a lot of medical referrals from Noel Fitzpatrick and other ortho vets.

I gave a friend with a rescue GSD a lift there are couple of times as she offered him free hydro to try and help the musculature in his hindlegs. He didn't like it at first, but was great about it after a couple of sessions.


----------



## BMo1979

My big guy is 9 years young today. Funny how he was born on Bonfire Night and doesn't mind fireworks at all. Apart from his HD and arthritis he's still in great shape for his age and I hope it stays like this for years to come.

At 1 (I lost all my puppy pics when my old computer broke :,( )









Most recent picture of him


----------



## Rach1

I do like GSDs.
Very noble, proud and handsome dogs. They almost look regal.

As it is we just avoided the potential to look proud and regal and recently bought a dacshund instead. 
Life is now chaotic, noisy, and at times soul destroying but in equal measures it's also hilarious, loving, and fun.
Schnitzel is the naughtiest dog I know but in a totally endearing way with no malice at all... Just typical dacshund behaviour.


----------



## Tommy Coopers Ghost

Rach1 said:


> I do like GSDs.
> Very noble, proud and handsome dogs. They almost look regal.
> 
> As it is we just avoided the potential to look proud and regal and recently bought a dacshund instead.
> Life is now chaotic, noisy, and at times soul destroying but in equal measures it's also hilarious, loving, and fun.
> Schnitzel is the naughtiest dog I know but in a totally endearing way with no malice at all... Just typical dacshund behaviour.


I was going to get one of these sausage dogs, but i didnt in the end because i Feared the wurst...


----------



## feorag

Trigger's looking great for his age Brigitte. :flrt:

I've joined another walk group. A lot of the people also attend the organised GSDR walk group, but wanted to walk more often than the once a month that GSDR do it, so they have formed a new group on Facebook.

On Sunday we did a beach walk and Skye was great, but today we did a country park walk and he was just fantastic. I was so proud of him - he really did behave like a normal dog and the muzzle was off within 5 minutes of him mixing with the pack.

I think we had about 13 or more GSDs, 2 border collies, a Newfoundland, a Labrador, a Tibetan Spaniel and 2 Newfoundland/Wolfhound crosses, so quite a mix and Skye got on with them all. I loved every minute of it!

At one stage he was far ahead of me with the pack and actually out of sight (very unusual!), when he suddenly came back running alongside someone else's spaniel - time was a dog outside of the pack would upset him and make him aggressive, but not today.

So, some photos - notice that the GSDs are all swimming and the Labrador, yet the Newfoundland, bred to love water and rescue drowning people, barely went in up to his knees! :roll2:









http://s171.photobucket.com/user/fe...71_8304064078243256402_n_zps7d602a51.jpg.html














And a little video

Skye on a group walk today - YouTube


----------



## Rach1

feorag said:


> Trigger's looking great for his age Brigitte. :flrt:
> 
> I've joined another walk group. A lot of the people also attend the organised GSDR walk group, but wanted to walk more often than the once a month that GSDR do it, so they have formed a new group on Facebook.
> 
> On Sunday we did a beach walk and Skye was great, but today we did a country park walk and he was just fantastic. I was so proud of him - he really did behave like a normal dog and the muzzle was off within 5 minutes of him mixing with the pack.
> 
> I think we had about 13 or more GSDs, 2 border collies, a Newfoundland, a Labrador, a Tibetan Spaniel and 2 Newfoundland/Wolfhound crosses, so quite a mix and Skye got on with them all. I loved every minute of it!
> 
> At one stage he was far ahead of me with the pack and actually out of sight (very unusual!), when he suddenly came back running alongside someone else's spaniel - time was a dog outside of the pack would upset him and make him aggressive, but not today.
> 
> So, some photos - notice that the GSDs are all swimming and the Labrador, yet the Newfoundland, bred to love water and rescue drowning people, barely went in up to his knees! :roll2:
> 
> 
> 
> [URL=http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u289/feorag/animal%20photos/dogs%20and%20horses/10426288_782873201779134_639600708421076640_n_zps61456efd.jpg]image[/URL]
> 
> [URL=http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u289/feorag/animal%20photos/dogs%20and%20horses/10377242_557483591049719_4556110565587954607_n_zpsd714e018.jpg]image[/URL]
> 
> [URL=http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u289/feorag/animal%20photos/dogs%20and%20horses/1538625_557484051049673_8675944961996177860_n_zps6d7b994b.jpg]image[/URL]
> 
> http://s171.photobucket.com/user/fe...71_8304064078243256402_n_zps7d602a51.jpg.html
> 
> [URL=http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u289/feorag/animal%20photos/dogs%20and%20horses/10628139_782873135112474_406436901269709350_n_zpsd5cf8659.jpg]image[/URL]
> 
> [URL=http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u289/feorag/animal%20photos/dogs%20and%20horses/10469881_557483377716407_818366454184782453_n_zps951f619d.jpg]image[/URL]
> 
> [URL=http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u289/feorag/animal%20photos/dogs%20and%20horses/10801990_557483994383012_1807342483672391463_n_zps0f644336.jpg]image[/URL]
> 
> [URL=http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u289/feorag/animal%20photos/dogs%20and%20horses/10731066_557483511049727_3010546047244611240_n_zps471c5371.jpg]image[/URL]
> 
> [URL=http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u289/feorag/animal%20photos/dogs%20and%20horses/DSCF2919_zps7b895b94.jpg]image[/URL]
> 
> [URL=http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u289/feorag/animal%20photos/dogs%20and%20horses/DSCF2924_zps2fde8ae5.jpg]image[/URL]
> 
> 
> And a little video
> 
> Skye on a group walk today - YouTube


Had a look at the video and some of your others Eileen (a revisit for some of the videos especially the red squirrel ones which I adore) and a) haven't your grand kids grown so fast! Very bonny children Eileen.
B) your love of all animals is so clear in all your videos. 

P.s. I love the name moth for the cat!


----------



## feorag

Thanks Rachel, it's all a bit scary the rate the children are growing, especially the 2 older ones. Not sure if you knew I was back in touch with Chloe - she found me through my You Tube videos and e-mailed me. She's 15 now! :gasp:

Sandra the girl who bought Moth came to look at her when she was about 6 weeks old, went home and had a dream about a moth and that's why she called her Moth. :lol: She lives in Coventry, but has always stayed in touch and kept me up to date with Moth's life.


----------



## SnakeyS

Heres my Boy Sam. He is 5 years old and Raw fed. His Favourite meal is Venison  He loves to go running with me and play football. Cats are his friends. Always playing with them


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## feorag

Lovely boy! :flrt:


----------



## eoj89

Thought I'd share some pics. Murphy, 6.5 m/o and 2 m/o! Bit of a size reference.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## BMo1979

He's really mastered his puppy look now, hasn't he, lol?

:flrt:


----------



## eoj89

BMo1979 said:


> He's really mastered his puppy look now, hasn't he, lol?
> 
> :flrt:



Yeah! Doesn't act like one though unless there's food involved 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Kiel

On the way to our walk today









A picture I like of Tifa from our walk today. She's such a small lab but endless energy...










This is how she wakes me up


----------



## eoj89

Kiel said:


> On the way to our walk today
> 
> image
> 
> 
> 
> A picture I like of Tifa from our walk today. She's such a small lab but endless energy...
> 
> 
> 
> image
> 
> 
> 
> This is how she wakes me up
> 
> image



I thought she was breathing fire for a sec in that second pic!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Kiel

eoj89 said:


> I thought she was breathing fire for a sec in that second pic!


That was the idea of the shot  Took ~5 mins to get the angle right!


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## eoj89

Kiel said:


> That was the idea of the shot  Took ~5 mins to get the angle right!



It looks awful cold there though, what time of day was it?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Kiel

It was about half 2 this afternoon. She'd been chasing balls through the woods for almost 2 hours already so had worked up some heat, but it was pretty chilly. I just had a hoodie on and wasn't too cold though...


----------



## BMo1979

Loving the fire breezing Labrador, lol.

On a cold winter morning:




































On a related note: I got sent some vouchers from [email protected] for elderly dog stuff. It included a dog to human years age chart and according to it Storm would be just over 16 (yeah, hormonal teenager fits), but Trigger would be the equivalent of 71!!! If I'm like him at 71 I'll be happy. A vet that was talking to us in the waiting area of the clinic (hydro) estimated him to be no older than 5 despite the grey beard, lol.


----------



## feorag

I think people forget that the aging process escalates with larger breeds, so the 7 years per human doesn't actually work. Skye's only 6, but in human years he's already 45!

Trigger's only got 3 years on me and I don't think I'm that good! :roll2: PMSL!!

Great to see him enjoying himself.


----------



## Kiel

Tifa isn't afraid of fireworks! She was sitting at the window all night watching them haha. Even watched them on TV.


----------



## feorag

They don't bother Skye either. We could take him to a firework display & he'd be fine. None of our cats were bothered either, they used to watch them out the window like that too, or even sit in garden watching them


----------



## x Sarah x

Today is Kizzy's 8th birthday... first one in her life i have not been around for, god i miss them  doesn't get easier at all...


----------



## feorag

Have you still not been able to see your dogs? :sad:


----------



## x Sarah x

Nope


----------



## feorag

That's just dreadful and absolutely and totally selfish of your ex to keep them away from you. :bash:


----------



## BMo1979

Some fun in the snow


















































































P.S.: I know Storm's claws are long. I need to book her into the groomers to have them cut, as they have the right tools and technique to not lose an arm, lol (I think she had bad experiences, as she acts like you're murdering her).


----------



## BMo1979

Some more from this morning

















Snow Ballet feat. Storm (Trigger has to take it easy cos his arthritis seems to have flared up a bit)









"The Dying Husky"


----------



## feorag

Love this one! :flrt: 


http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l158/breephotos79/IMG_6482_zps6bd97cb0.jpg


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## BMo1979

feorag said:


> Love this one! :flrt:
> 
> 
> http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l158/breephotos79/IMG_6482_zps6bd97cb0.jpg


I know, the old boy's still got it. He's a bit stiff today, having overdone it last night and this morning. Luckily he's back at hydro on Monday (when I have to pay a considerable bill, because Pet Plan have decided only to pay about 80% of the cost  ).


----------



## tonyb12

Few pictyres of my baby Coyote (Kai for short)

*
*
*
*


----------



## feorag

BMo1979 said:


> I know, the old boy's still got it. He's a bit stiff today, having overdone it last night and this morning. Luckily he's back at hydro on Monday (when I have to pay a considerable bill, because Pet Plan have decided only to pay about 80% of the cost  ).


Oh, that's a shame - if it's doing him good I wonder why they'll only pay 80% is it because they consider it to be 'complimentary' medicine?

I can't understand why they would pay for drugs, but not hydro?


----------



## eoj89

tonyb12 said:


> Few pictyres of my baby Coyote (Kai for short)
> [URL=http://i1292.photobucket.com/albums/b567/Tonyx89/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_77434917442594_zps50673a74.jpeg]image[/URL]
> *[URL=http://i1292.photobucket.com/albums/b567/Tonyx89/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_77287636878691_zps85b64c8a.jpeg]image[/URL]
> *[URL=http://i1292.photobucket.com/albums/b567/Tonyx89/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_77275560808436_zps4993a622.jpeg]image[/URL]
> *[URL=http://i1292.photobucket.com/albums/b567/Tonyx89/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_77205647262264_zps7921a5aa.jpeg]image[/URL]
> *[URL=http://i1292.photobucket.com/albums/b567/Tonyx89/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_77465662993103_zps0c6f3fa0.jpeg]image[/URL]



He's massive! 

And I thought my dog was big..


----------



## PPVallhunds

feorag said:


> Oh, that's a shame - if it's doing him good I wonder why they'll only pay 80% is it because they consider it to be 'complimentary' medicine?
> 
> I can't understand why they would pay for drugs, but not hydro?


I know pet plan will pay for Complementary Treatment but how much total depends on the level of cover. 
£500 - 12month essential (for up to 10 sessions of hydro per illness/injury)
£1000 - lifetime classic
£2000 - lifetime ultimate
Then you also have the excess which will be either a fixed amount per claim, a percentage of the treatment cost per claim or a mix of both.


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## BMo1979

Trigger's on Essential cover due to his age and breed (we just missed the deadline when taking out the insurance). It's due for renewal early March, so I might be able to get it cover under the new annual claim. 
It was the excess I had to pay, luckily not as much as I thought it would be, because the invoice they sent me had been calculated before the latest insurance pay out came through. 
It's worth it though and he's at a stage where he doesn't have to go every week, but every 3 weeks now. His muscles are actually building up nicely and his movement range is really good even for moderate HD.


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## x Sarah x

Smegatron, still alive and kicking


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## x Sarah x

Meg's not sure about Wilf, lol


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## eoj89

Murphy at just shy of 9 m/o. Finally getting somewhere with recall too! Using a kind of rugby ball/walk away and call him compound and he's starting to get it.


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## feorag

Wow! :gasp: He's grown! :2thumb:


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## morphtastic

Super excited!! Just had my girl scanned to confirm pregnancy, at least 5 pups probably more. :2thumb:


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## feorag

What is she?


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## morphtastic

Golden retriever. :flrt:
Planned litter, I own mum, dad and grandma. All KC registered with hip/elbow scores, current eye test etc.


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## Whosthedaddy

Bo our 2 1/2 year old bullmastiff bitch started limping middle of last week on a walk, no real cause for the injury. Roll on a few hours and she is completely lame on both her back legs, no improvement over night and a call to the emergency vet says rest as should start to resolve in next day. 

Over the next few days she has been partially weight bearing on her right back leg or lifting it and limping and showing no real improvement.

£80 later from a vets visit and she is being booked in for an XRAy on weds as suspected cruciate ligament damage.

Don't believe it to be a full tear or rupture but when the vet says surgery before anything else it's a little worrying.

On a good note she has lost a little weight from last summer...3kg off and now weighs in at 53kg.


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## mitsi

Just a couple of updated pics of my AS sky,


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## feorag

Whosthedaddy said:


> Bo our 2 1/2 year old bullmastiff bitch started limping middle of last week on a walk, no real cause for the injury. Roll on a few hours and she is completely lame on both her back legs, no improvement over night and a call to the emergency vet says rest as should start to resolve in next day.
> 
> Over the next few days she has been partially weight bearing on her right back leg or lifting it and limping and showing no real improvement.
> 
> £80 later from a vets visit and she is being booked in for an XRAy on weds as suspected cruciate ligament damage.
> 
> Don't believe it to be a full tear or rupture but when the vet says surgery before anything else it's a little worrying.
> 
> On a good note she has lost a little weight from last summer...3kg off and now weighs in at 53kg.


Skye did a similar injury a couple of years ago and I must admit I panicked when my vet said it could be his cruciate. Total rest, only the necessary walks to do his business and always slowly and on a lead for a couple of weeks and he was fine.

My vet said he wouldn't do x-rays unless it hadn't improved in a couple of weeks, which fortunately it had.

Fingers crossed she doesn't need an operation! :sad:


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## Whosthedaddy

She seems a little better this morning, will see how the pain killers help. We're off to the vets, in the car and all exciting stuff tomorrow so she'll probably over do it again!


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## Whosthedaddy

Is cruciate following examination under sedation.

Been referred to specialist, checked insurance policy...don't think covered or will cover!

Been told 80% chance other will go too.

Great!

:censor:


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## feorag

So sorry to hear that! :sad:

How's it not covered by the insurance?


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## BMo1979

Oh, no! Not good.

Are you sure it's not covered? My friends' GSD damaged her cruciate ligament as a young dog and they were definitely covered (More than, IIRC). 
Same with a Boxer from dog school.

Edit: Just checked my dogs' policies. Petplan definitely cover cruciate ligaments.

I hope you'll find a solution.


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## Whosthedaddy

Spoke with claims department to see what's what and it should be ok according to her, I suspect the amount on the policy won't cover 100% of the potential cost but does cover the other leg should it be injured as this one was.

Been referred to Davies Vets in Herts, had text and theyll ring tomorrow for appointment?


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## feorag

Good luck! :2thumb:


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## PPVallhunds

Whosthedaddy said:


> Spoke with claims department to see what's what and it should be ok according to her, I suspect the amount on the policy won't cover 100% of the potential cost but does cover the other leg should it be injured as this one was.
> 
> Been referred to Davies Vets in Herts, had text and theyll ring tomorrow for appointment?


glad to see it will still cover the other leg, so many insurers treat things like that as one claim so if one leg goes and then later one the one on the other side goes it comes under the same claim so on limited covers it can leave people uncovered.


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## BMo1979

Have your fingers crossed for Trigger and me tomorrow, please:
He's started dripping blood from his penis last night. Not a lot, just 1-2 drops when he stands up. He doesn't seem to be in any pain, but he is very stoic in general, and I couldn't see any cuts on it.
Being an elderly intact male it points to his prostrate. Not necessarily cancer, but still, if it is, it usually means castration. I think they might be able to do a chemical castration, so he doesn't have to go under the knife. 
Well, I'll let you know tomorrow .

P.S: That dog is certainly making up for the very few vet trips he had in his youth...


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## BMo1979

Back from the vet and it is 99% prostrate, but doesn't seem cancerous. The vet's going to try him on a new drug that targets the prostrate gland directly. It's a weeks treatment every 6 month and apparently more effective than neutering. 
Seems like we caught it at an early stage because other than the occasional blood drip and wobbly gait, he seems fine and his urine sample was not abnormal other than blood and a small amount of protein, which was expected. 
The internal investigation showed that Trigger's prostate had moved towards the stomach area which apparently is a sign of enlargement.


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## feorag

Oh Brigitte!! :gasp:

I've just found this. Hope it's OK. You know what they say about a 'creaking gate'. I sometimes think that our pets that have an extremely healthy youth, tend to go all to pot when they get old, compared to the ones who have little niggling things going on all their lives, but never anything serious.

I hope the treatment works for him! *fingers crossed*


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## BMo1979

feorag said:


> Oh Brigitte!! :gasp:
> 
> I've just found this. Hope it's OK. You know what they say about a 'creaking gate'. I sometimes think that our pets that have an extremely healthy youth, tend to go all to pot when they get old, compared to the ones who have little niggling things going on all their lives, but never anything serious.
> 
> I hope the treatment works for him! *fingers crossed*


Thanks.
He seems his normal self, so I'm hoping it's just a benign enlargement of the prostate which is a common old male (intact) dog (and human) issue. He pees normal, too, and doesn't seem to struggle to "let it flow". 
He was a little uncomfortable when the vet felt on the outside, but that would be normal.
I'm hoping that my insurance will pay for the drugs though, because I'm expecting a shock when picking it up tomorrow, lol. Because it's so new, the vet couldn't even give me an estimate (she knows fine well I'll pay whatever I can when it comes to the pets, lol), and I forgot the name and google doesn't come up with anything.


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## feorag

Well that sounds promising and I don't see why the insurance wouldn't pay.

 I've had Skye insured for 5 years now and never made a claim, (and the premium goes up every year, no "no claims bonus with them", so if in his 'dotage' he gets problems I'll be expecting fair play and for them to pay out. :lol2:


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## BMo1979

Not letting his little health niggles stop him. Trigger:

































It snowed this morning, so Storm was in her element


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## feorag

Brigitte - he's such a handsome lad!! I never tire of looking at your photographs of him.


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## clairebear1984

gizmo


minnie


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## feorag

:lol2: Does she know it's rude to poke her tongue out at people? :lol2:


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## morphtastic

So less than a week before Tori's puppies are due. Went for her 2nd herpes vaccination today and also an x-ray to try and get a head count. We had her scanned to confirm pregnancy at 4 weeks but they were tucked up under her ribs so we could only see 4/5.
The x-ray confirmed 8/9 puppies all in good positions for the birth.
This week is going to drag on and on and on!!


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## feorag

Remind us what they are - my memory is shocking! :gasp:

Good luck and lots of photos please! :lol:


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## morphtastic

feorag said:


> Remind us what they are - my memory is shocking! :gasp:
> 
> Good luck and lots of photos please! :lol:


Gorgeous golden retrievers!!


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## feorag

Ah yes! I thought it was but wasn't confident enough to say so! :lol:


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## Ross7

Here is Holly, our 4.5 month old Yellow Lab.


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## feorag

Gorgeous! :flrt:

Did I mention I was doing a "Dog Whispering Course" at night classes.

I'm halfway through now and loving it!! It's been really interesting and I've learned a lot already.


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## morphtastic

Looks like Tori's puppies are on the way. Hopefully all will be here by this time tomorrow. Fingers crossed!!


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## BMo1979

morphtastic said:


> Looks like Tori's puppies are on the way. Hopefully all will be here by this time tomorrow. Fingers crossed!!


Good luck and all the best. :2thumb:


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## feorag

morphtastic said:


> Looks like Tori's puppies are on the way. Hopefully all will be here by this time tomorrow. Fingers crossed!!


Yup! Hope everything goes OK for her!


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## morphtastic

Tori's puppies have arrived, first one at 12.06, last one at 2.17. 8 gorgeous dark golden retrievers, 3 boys and 5 girls. :flrt:
They are all doing great!!
I need to upload the photos to my bucket then I'll post them on here later on today, promise!!


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## morphtastic

*Puppy pics*

Here they are.........




Here is a short video of the gorgeous little squeeky things!!


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## feorag

How wonderful. it's a very long time since I had a litter of puppies (like over 40 years ago :gasp: ) but that took me back. Mine had 9!

You must start a thread so we can follow their progress! :2thumb:


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## BMo1979

Congratulations, they're gorgeous. What a beautiful colour. Actual "Golden" Retrievers, not the nearly white ones you see mostly these days.


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## Ross7

Congrats on the 8 healthy pups!, and wow what a beautiful colour Mum and the pups are, I don't think ever seen Golden retrievers that dark before . Best of luck to you and I'm sure Mum will do a wonderful job with her puppies. :2thumb:


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## BMo1979

Have to share this very "flattering" picture.
Can you spot the impatient dog?

















Love you, Trigger!


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## feorag

:lol2: That definitely looks like a "Get a move on, Mum" Look to me :lol2:


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## BMo1979

I kind of want to turn her face into a meme, saying "Oh ma gawwwd!", lol, but I don't know how.


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## BMo1979




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## jdh

just asking out of curiosity. i have a springer/collie x and she has a habit of putting her muzzle over my mouth if im sat with her. 
any idea why she dose this?


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## eoj89

jdh said:


> just asking out of curiosity. i have a springer/collie x and she has a habit of putting her muzzle over my mouth if im sat with her.
> 
> any idea why she dose this?



No help at all but all I can imagine is a dog trying to muzzle a person hahaha


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## feorag

It could be a form of muzzle grabbing, which is common behaviour in wolves and dogs. It can be seen as a sign of dominance, the dominant one asserting his position without aggression, or as a confirmation of a relationship.


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## jdh

I don't think it's a dominance thing. She is quite submissive normally. She's the only dog I've had that does it but she is also the first bitch I've had since I was I kid.


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## feorag

Dominance in dogs can be different to what we expect. Not so long ago we thought dominance was shown by aggression, whereas we now know this not to be true. The alpha dog in a pack shows his dominance by posture and vocally, not by aggression.

If I think on when I go to my Dog Whispering class on Monday night, I'll ask the guy what he thinks it might be.


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## feorag

jdh said:


> I don't think it's a dominance thing. She is quite submissive normally. She's the only dog I've had that does it but she is also the first bitch I've had since I was I kid.


Oddly enough our course tonight was 'calming signals', which covered signals dogs are sending out all the time to us and other dogs, how we can recognise them and which ones we can send out to them.

Muzzle grabbing was one of the subjects and the tutor agreed with me that in most cases it will be a dominance thing, although he did say not knowing you or the dog he couldn't be sure, as it could a learned behaviour rather than an instinctive behaviour. Have you ever fed her titbits from your mouth as it could be that.

if you having them maybe she's trying this dominant behaviour to move up the pack from her current submissive position? Maybe you should try muzzle grabbing her back to see if she stops the behaviour?

When I say muzzle grabbing her, that is just wrapping your hand around her mouth, not tightly or forcefully, just gently in passing. She will then either show submissive behaviour by turning away, or accepting the grab and doing nothing.


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## Whosthedaddy

Bo our Bullmastiff bitch has been booked in for her TPLO knee op in May. Worse thing than hearing that she has a full rupture of her cruciate ligaments in the right knee is when the specialist says he's more worried about the other knee?! Once this is done looks like we'll be booking her in for an elective TPLO as a preventative op.


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## feorag

Oh dear - that's not good news (about the other knee) at all! :gasp:

Poor girl, not a lot for her to look forward to and doubtless a lot of worry ahead for you as she has these operations.


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## Whosthedaddy

He said one of the saving graces is the fact that she has huge musculature in her hind legs, this has kept or keeping the joint more stable than a smaller dog. There is no flex in the ligaments on the good leg but the XRays say a different story hence why he predicts that she will need it doing in the next few months.

So far on the metacam she is doing good and although a slight limp you wouldn't know I suppose to look at her?

Need to get her to loose a bit of weight too, weighs in at 54kg, only gets fed 500g frozen meat a day plus a handful of biscuits at bed time.. She's been on this for some time and started cutting her food back last year after she was spayed as she packed on about 9kg in 6 months.


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## eoj89

Thought I'd post an updated (terrible) pic of Murphy, he'll be 11 months a day short of two weeks from now







excuse the bad quality..


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## BMo1979

Technically not dogs, but we saw two beautiful Arctic Wolves today. Aria and Luna at Five Sisters Zoo:


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## eoj89

BMo1979 said:


> Technically not dogs, but we saw two beautiful Arctic Wolves today. Aria and Luna at Five Sisters Zoo:
> image
> image
> image
> image
> image
> image
> image



Wow, they're beautiful, where is this zoo? 


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## BMo1979

It's the Five Sisters Zoo in West Calder (near Edinburgh). They've only got the 2 female, probably due to space reasons, but they're enclosures are quite nice with lots of hiding places. They seem to be more of a sanctuary, as they seem to be taking in quite a few ex circus animals (currently trying to raise funds to adopt 4 male retired circus lions) and also have 3 European brown bears in a massive forest area, who used to perform together before they were rescued.


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## BMo1979

That's what Trigger gets for trying to steal the sun spot on Storm's bed, lol:









Not that he cares









Back in his own bed, sulking









Time to stretch out


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## Middleton Mouse

I've made a training blog and website about our two dogs. If you don't mind mild bad language you can check it out here:

Two daft dugs « the adventures of Jake and Skye


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## BMo1979

Great job, MM.
Loving Skye's tongue picture :2thumb:.


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## Middleton Mouse

BMo1979 said:


> Great job, MM.
> Loving Skye's tongue picture :2thumb:.


I have a theory that she's been watching our crestie and is trying to mimic him. There's no way that thing should actually fit in her mouth.


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## feorag

Lovely photos as always Brigitte - Trigger looks really great! :2thumb:

And liking the blog Middleton (sorry don't know your name :blush

We went on a GSDR walk today. 26 GSDs ran wild on the beach - it was fantastic. Really enjoyable day and Skye was brilliant. These walks have really done him the world of good, can't say just how much he owes to this group for what they have helped him to achieve in terms of his fear aggression of other dogs. A few photos.

Heading off over the dunes



And onto the beach




And there's my daft dog - in the middle all the rest heading for the sea and him coming back to find me, cos I was bringing up the rear! 



Heading off up the beach 







Skye made a friend! :gasp:



And afterwards time for a well deserved cup of tea/coffee, cake and biscuits and a good chat (as if nearly 2 hours on a beach wasn't enough :lol2: )





Sit wherever you can :lol:


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## BMo1979

Thanks, Eileen. Trigger's now off the Metacam and onto stronger stuff (Tramadol). His mobility, especially in his right hip had been decreasing over the past weeks. He's already getting all the treatment he can at his age, apart from maybe acupuncture (which I'm going to ask the physio about), so this is really the only option. He seems to cope quite well on it though, it doesn't seem to make him sleepy at all, but he's quite lively after a dosage. The only problem is that it's not yet licensed for pets, so it comes in human capsule form, which I have to break open and pour over his food. My kitchen looks like a drugs' den, lol, white powder on the worktops and cut up capsules.

Your photos look like everyone had a fantastic time again. Great to hear how much Skye is enjoying himself, too.


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## feorag

My previous vet's practice had a homeopathic/acupuncture specialist and he tried acupuncture on one of my young female Somalis who was having asthmatic attacks. The first 2 treatments went very well and I could see a difference. Sadly not long after those she had a horrible one in the middle of the night and I just thought "enough is enough" - we rushed her to the vets and had her euthanased.

So I would definitely give acupuncture a try on Trigger.


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## BMo1979

We took to one of the country parks near us today. He really enjoyed himself.
He was being a good boy, too, was only reactive to 3 dogs: One white Terrier which was only just walking by, but stared at him. A Collie which ran by with his jogging owners, turned around and tried to nip Trigger in the behind (not playfully neither, but the owners just carried on running :devil, and a small black dog which started snarling and showing teeth as soon as he spotted us. He completely ignored the other dogs and even let a Lab mix sniff his backside while he was sitting down. 
The only thing that kind of annoyed was a group of teenage girls whom after the first incident (which only involved a growly bark) said to their parents "See that dog there tried to attack another one. We don't want to walk near that!".


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## feorag

Lovely photos Brigitte. I find misinformed teenagers very easy to ignore :lol2:


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## BMo1979

Every dog owner needs bluebell photos:

















I'm quite proud of both dogs. I took them (separately) to the annual Motorbike Meet on our estate.
For Storm I've decided to set up a "kissing" booth next year. You can cuddle my dog for £1 for Erskine, lol. She got loads of attention. 
When she got too wired, I took her home for a rest and brought Trigger out. He behaved really well, apart from barking at a small white dog that was lunging at him and a black Lab mix that stared. He completely ignored all the other dogs, even one that was barking and snarling at him. 
He also got lots of attention and figured out that leather clothing and beards (bikers) mean cuddles, so ended up nudging them every time we walked by a group. The nicest one though was one of the home residents (an old lady in a wheelchair) coming up with her carer, asking if she could say hello to him. We then spent ages chatting about dogs with Trigger's head resting on her lap. She used to show Bearded Collies at Crufts and you could see her eyes light up when remembering everything.


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## feorag

Lovely photos Brigitte and have to say Trigger is looking really well.

Reading your comments about Trigger and the woman in the wheelchair you can see why Pets as Therapy is such a good idea. 

Skye's attitude to dogs has changed quite dramatically since we started doing group walks. Whereas previously he barked aggressively at every dog he saw, then only barked at dogs which barked at him first, now he rarely barks, even if dogs bark at him first. Can never quite guarantee that though, but it's much less than it used to be.

We've just come back from our annual holiday - 3 weeks on the Isle of Arran and he had a great time on the beaches. Some photographs.

Going over on the ferry



On the beach at Brodick





Got the beach to ourselves at Blackwaterfoot - look at the lovely sand. Beach before ..................




Stop for a quiet sit (for us) Skye doesn't do quiet, so usually ends up digging to Australia. Beach after ............. :lol:



Kildonon looking over to Pladda Island and Ailsa Craig



Swimming at Pirnmill



After a swim at Lochranza



Iain, Shirley & Ellie came over for a long weekend and of course Iain is Skye's 3rd favourite person, cos he plays with him.



And finally on the day they went home I instructed everyone that I had to have a family photograph. Sat them all on the stones in the cottage garden, dragged out a chair for the camera, checked the view, set the timer, set the focus lock, clicked the shutter, ran over to my place and this happened :lol2:


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## eoj89

feorag said:


> Lovely photos Brigitte and have to say Trigger is looking really well.
> 
> Reading your comments about Trigger and the woman in the wheelchair you can see why Pets as Therapy is such a good idea.
> 
> Skye's attitude to dogs has changed quite dramatically since we started doing group walks. Whereas previously he barked aggressively at every dog he saw, then only barked at dogs which barked at him first, now he rarely barks, even if dogs bark at him first. Can never quite guarantee that though, but it's much less than it used to be.
> 
> We've just come back from our annual holiday - 3 weeks on the Isle of Arran and he had a great time on the beaches. Some photographs.
> 
> Going over on the ferry
> 
> [URL=http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u289/feorag/animal%20photos/dogs%20and%20horses/Day%201%20-%2012_zpsrgwmfsoq.jpg]image[/URL]
> 
> On the beach at Brodick
> 
> [URL=http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u289/feorag/animal%20photos/dogs%20and%20horses/Day%202%20-%2017_zpsh1ta1kw0.jpg]image[/URL]
> 
> [URL=http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u289/feorag/animal%20photos/dogs%20and%20horses/Day%202%20-%2020_zpsgw6560hw.jpg]image[/URL]
> 
> Got the beach to ourselves at Blackwaterfoot - look at the lovely sand. Beach before ..................
> 
> [URL=http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u289/feorag/animal%20photos/dogs%20and%20horses/Day%205%20-%20Blackwaterfoot-5_zpsiwrclrcf.jpg]image[/URL]
> 
> 
> Stop for a quiet sit (for us) Skye doesn't do quiet, so usually ends up digging to Australia. Beach after ............. :lol:
> 
> [URL=http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u289/feorag/animal%20photos/dogs%20and%20horses/Day%205%20-%20Beach%20after_zpsb3sgnlyu.jpg]image[/URL]
> 
> Kildonon looking over to Pladda Island and Ailsa Craig
> 
> [URL=http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u289/feorag/animal%20photos/dogs%20and%20horses/Day%205%20-%20Kildonan-1_zpsabpj0vyx.jpg]image[/URL]
> 
> Swimming at Pirnmill
> 
> [URL=http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u289/feorag/animal%20photos/dogs%20and%20horses/Day%206%20-%20Pirnmill-1_zpsmkgyoy1q.jpg]image[/URL]
> 
> After a swim at Lochranza
> 
> [URL=http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u289/feorag/animal%20photos/dogs%20and%20horses/Day%206%20-%20Lochranza-4_zpskve2bete.jpg]image[/URL]
> 
> Iain, Shirley & Ellie came over for a long weekend and of course Iain is Skye's 3rd favourite person, cos he plays with him.
> 
> [URL=http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u289/feorag/animal%20photos/dogs%20and%20horses/Day%2014%20-%20Garden-3_zpsw5m7glwx.jpg]image[/URL]
> 
> And finally on the day they went home I instructed everyone that I had to have a family photograph. Sat them all on the stones in the cottage garden, dragged out a chair for the camera, checked the view, set the timer, set the focus lock, clicked the shutter, ran over to my place and this happened :lol2:
> 
> [URL=http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u289/feorag/animal%20photos/dogs%20and%20horses/Day%2017%20-%20Cottage-3_zps4ftpft6t.jpg]image[/URL]



Looks like you had a lovely time! I never get tired of looking at the pictures of Skye you post on this thread but that last picture cracked me up haha!


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## feorag

Thanks, we did. I'm so proud of how far he's come, especially in the last 2 years. He came with so many problems he was quite hard to love at first - he was just bloody hard work :lol: Now I love him to bits and it makes me so happy to see him happy and enjoying life because he really didn't know how to when we first got him :flrt:

This was how the photo should have come out, but my husband made the mistake of letting go of him as I ran towards them. :lol2:

http://s171.photobucket.com/user/fe...orses/Day 17 - Cottage-1_zpsgofn4gjo.jpg.html


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## Kiel

Anyone had dogs with skin tags?

Tifa is a black lab, almost 2 years old and she's got a little warty lump on her back end. Doesn't seem to bother her much but it pushes all the fur out around and it and kinda looks gross...

It doesn't sit well with me to have a surgical procedure on my dog because of something that I think looks gross when it doesn't seem to cause her any discomfort but it kinda freaks me out - any thoughts?


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## BMo1979

We took Storm out for a nice walk around Loch Thom. Apart from rolling in sheep poo, she behaved really well. A bit excited at the start (lots of sheep around) but calmed down nicely.

































Putting on some perfume

















Doesn't she look lovely?


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## BMo1979

A handful from the Dogs Trust Fun Day

Not a dog, but a racoon dog. 








Storm actually wanted to meet it, but it kept snapping at her. On the other hand, they also had a "real" Racoon and him and Storm just wanted to kill each other.



















Storm wearing a wet bandana to cool down









She's not begging .... at all









Met this lovely big fella. He was bigger than a large Great Dane









Heaven! 









There were loads of Husky/Nordic type dogs there. The Saints Sled Dog Rescue people were really nice and welcoming and so were the dogs. They immediately greeted Storm as one of them and one tried to chew through my treat bag, lol. There was also a company that do sled dog events, but they came across as quite "stand-offish" which somehow reflected on their dogs.


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## feorag

Looks like a good day! Is that the one just north of Uddingston, south west of Glasgow.

I drove past it once on my way home from visiting a friend on here who lived in Uddingston - missed the turn to get back onto the M74 to get back to Iain's. :roll:


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## BMo1979

Hi, thanks.

No, we missed the open day for that one, but that would be the one Storm's from. I used to drive by that one during every driving lesson, lol.
The fun day was in Livingston (Dogs Trust West Calder).

Poor Stormy must have caught a mild UTI. Trigger's been trying to woo her all yesterday, sniffing around her rear, initiating play, licking and sampling her pee and wherever she sat. Because she's spayed and doesn't come into season, I looked it up and the first thing that pops up is a possible infection (bacteria smell like a heat). We checked her bits last night and when I touched around the area there was a white discharge. She seems fine though, obviously enjoying the fact that Trigger is finally paying her so much attention, lol. Still, it's the vet's for her.


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## feorag

Oh dear, poor Storm - likely a course of anti-b's will sort that out! :2thumb:


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## BMo1979

feorag said:


> Oh dear, poor Storm - likely a course of anti-b's will sort that out! :2thumb:


Just been to the vet's: She's definitely got vaginitis, but doesn't have a temperature, loss of appetite or wees a lot more, so it could just be that and not a UTI. She's got a week's worth of AB (unfortunately Trigger's prostate medication was due as well, so I left another fortune at the vet). 
Tried to get a urine sample of her, managed at home but the lazy madam doesn't lift her legs when she walks over things and knocked it over. She's quite funny about peeing in an unfamiliar place, too, so didn't get one at the vet neither, lol.


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## feorag

The joys of animals with bladdler/urinary problems. I had some well weird looks walking my dog with a shallow cooking tray in one hand and a bottle in the other. 

A few years ago I was walking Skye one very misty morning when I saw a guy lurching through the mist towards me with a rottie on a leader and a half empty glass of lager in his hand. I thought to myself "bloody hell, bit early in the day to be pissed", but when he got closer and admired Skye we stopped for a chat and it transpired the glass was urine he'd collected from the dog for the vet! :lol2:


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## BMo1979

@Feorag:

Hi, Eileen,
I'm really happy and a bit anxious at the same time. One of the girls who has joined our dog walking group has told me about a GSD walking group for Greater Glasgow. I've joined up via Facebook and have ordered a basket muzzle for Trigger. Their next walk with hopefully be next month (can't make the one today). According to the girl the other owners are very decent, letting the dogs sort each other out unless things get too brutal and are not the "OMG, my dog's squealing, that must mean yours is killing my baby!" type.
How did you handle your first walks with Skye? Did you let him off the lead straight away? How long before you trusted him enough to take his muzzle off?


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## feorag

Hi Brigitte, as you know Skye had an extreme dog aggressive attitude by the time we found out about the GSDR walking groups. So I think our case was extreme. First of all if you are buying a muzzle make sure you buy a Baskerville one. I see a lot of muzzles that have a line down the centre of the muzzle which means they can't get their tongue out when they are panting. A Baskervile doesn't have this, so the tongue can get out to help the dog pant.

On our first walk, we were in a popular country park, so all the dogs were on lead at first, then we peeled off into a field and everyone let their dogs off. New dogs are advised to stay at the back when they first come along, so we were just about last to go on the field. The guy next to me told me to let Skye off, I told him that he would attack the first dog who got near him and he told e that that would be his dog and his dog wouldn't retaliate, but anyway Skye was wearing a muzzle so he wasn't going to do any damage - so I let him off. Sure enough he flew at Riley to go for the back of his neck. Riley said "WTF - sod off". Skye realised he couldn't get hold and Riley wasn't going to fight back and basically that was it! He never actually attacked another dog on a walk, but we left his muzzle on because he is a terrible 'herder' and if any dog ran off he would be after it and I was worried that his tendency to nip when herding might provoke a retaliation that would end up in a fight. So he wore his muzzle on every walk for almost a year.

The first time we took it off, we broke away from the main group with about 4 dogs that we knew weren't confrontational and took his muzzle off and he was fine, but we put it back on when we joined the main group - just in case! :lol:

Even now after nearly 3 years of regular walks, we always put the muzzle on when we arrive, because he's such an excitable daft dog and it's just makes sense really as the last thing we want to happen is for him to end up injuring someone else's dog. However, it's off within 5 minutes of the dogs reaching the point of running free.

I do think, however, that the pack does tend to sort out the unruly dogs. For instance we were on a walk last September and there was an elderly couple with a very dog aggressive bitch, as it was their first walk they stayed at the back and I was at the back to keep an eye out for late arrivals. (We find Skye is much better at the front now as he panics when he's at the back and far nigh chokes himself so now Barry always gets to the front and because I'm usually bringing up the rear like the duck's arse :lol: Skye doesn't choke himself because he's constantly looking to see where I am behind him.

Anyway I'm chatting to this couple with their unmuzzled bitch who are telling me that they won't be able to let her off as she would attack the dogs. I asked if she had a muzzle and told her to put the muzzle on, let the dog off and she would be fine. So we arrived on the beach, by which time everyone as letting off their dogs and I held the dog while she put the muzzle on and then she let her go. Well! As luck would have it the first dog she met was Skye who had come rushing to find me when Barry let him off and she flew at him and they went hammer and tongs at each other. Skye broke off and ran away, she ran after him and had another go and he ran to me like "Mother, save me from this lunatic!" :lol: But neither of them were hurt! After a couple of spats with a couple of other dogs she settled down and was fine. The lady told me on the way back that that was the first time she'd taken her on a walk in the year that they'd had her and actually enjoyed it.

Since then I've seen a lot of aggressive dogs wearing muzzles settle down so quickly and end up not needing them, so I'd definitely give it ago.

I'd take Trigger on the muzzle and then use your judgment about how long he needs to wear it. I must admit I didn't know he was dog aggressive? One problem you may have is if he's protective towards Storm? The guy who organises our walks had a rescue bitch and then they took on a 7 year old male rescue. He had to be muzzle on the walks all the time, but only because he was so protective of the bitch.

Good luck and do let me know how you get on. We're off to the beach in half an hour for our monthly walk! :2thumb:


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## BMo1979

Thank you so much for your advise!
I ordered the Baskerville one, because it looked the most humane to me (although I don't like the name, lol). 
Trigger is not so much dog aggressive, more protective of his own space and a bit anxious about other dogs pouncing on his bad back. He's adopted a bit of a "don't approach me" stance over the past couple of years, mainly with dogs that stare or are hyper. Some dogs still approach him so he snaps them away. When they leave him alone and just walk by, he doesn't react. 
Obviously he's fine with Storm (and yes, he is protective, so I'll be taking him by himself and Storm still gets her Saturday pack walks) and also with some dogs he knows, but 2 have been pts and the others we hardly see. 
I admit it's myself, that needs to go back to the positive outlook and not see the worst case scenario happen. It's funny how a few negative incidents can influence your whole self. That said, I know I'm being silly really because even when there have been squabbles, as they happen in the dog world, Trigger has never bitten or injured another dog. 
When we stayed in East Kilbride we had 2 dogs next to us and he was absolutely fine with them. On the other hand he couldn't stand the Shi Tzu further down the road (he is scared of small white dogs though). He's fine with my friends female Staffy and even so their young Labrador annoys him with her hyper submissive behaviour he just growls at her.
My neighbour's Malamute is a different story. I think because he's quite exuberant when he sees Trigger and rears up and yelps, Trigger might be worried about him barging towards him, as he's about the size of a calf, lol. 

Anyway, hope you enjoy your beach walk. I'll be venturing out, too soon.


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## feorag

You sound just like me !!! I worry about what MIGHT happen and that's the problem. I know the dogs can pick up on our anxieties, so I try to cover it up as best I can.

I thought I'd never heard you mention that he was (all) dog aggressive and to be fair to him and lots of dogs they're entitled not to like ALL dogs. Skye particularly doesn't like small dogs - I think they frighten him! :lol:

This is what I mean about the Baskerville - Skye could even pick up a worn tennis ball or his rope with this on.


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## feorag

Some photos of today's GSDR walk. This is the first walk we've managed to get on for 2 months, so although the weather wasn't the best, we all really enjoyed - especially Skye!!! :flrt:


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## BMo1979

Could you tell me the product number of Skye's muzzle, please?
I ordered a Baskerville one, but yours seems a lot more open at the bottom and the one I bought, doesn't have the strap going over the face. 
Id Skye's the Baskerville Ultra by any chance?


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## feorag

I think you're right - it is an Ultra. There's no product number on it - it only says Baskerville Size 4. We bought it at Pets at Home, but I've found it on Amazon here.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/BASKERVILLE-ULTRA-MUZZLE-size-5/dp/B0051H45GC

and here's a close up of Skye's - complete with sand from the beach :lol:


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## BMo1979

feorag said:


> I think you're right - it is an Ultra. There's no product number on it - it only says Baskerville Size 4. We bought it at Pets at Home, but I've found it on Amazon here.
> 
> BASKERVILLE ULTRA MUZZLE size 5: Amazon.co.uk: Pet Supplies
> 
> and here's a close up of Skye's - complete with sand from the beach :lol:
> 
> http://s171.photobucket.com/user/feorag/media/IMG_1121_zpsqvlfvgq9.jpg.htmlimage
> 
> http://s171.photobucket.com/user/feorag/media/IMG_1122_zpsac77vwry.jpg.htmlimage


Thanks. I realized today that I ordered the wrong Baskerville one, so I'll send it back and bought the Ultra at [email protected] The one I ordered is of harder plastic with really sharp edges and some weird removable plate where the nose goes. Definitely not happy with that.
The Ultra is a lot better, Trigger needs a size 6 though, Skye must have a slimmer nose, lol. He seems fine with it and it looks more comfortable. In the paperwork it says the dog is supposed to be able to yawn though. I can't see how that would work: drink, pant and eat treats, yes, but yawn?


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## feorag

Can't say I've noticed Skye being able to yawn, but it's not something dogs do that often when they're our playing unless they feel threatened and they're doing it as a calming signal?

Anyway I hate it when I see the dogs who have those cream ones where they can't get their tongue out and there's a bar across their nose.

You can see in the photo of Skye wearing his that he's got his rope, which he could pick up between his teeth through the gap. At least he could until he lost it later that same blooming day! :roll:


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## BMo1979

@Feorag: 
Trigger and I went on our first German Shepherd Walk today and what can I say? What the heck was I worried about, lol?
I never bothered putting a muzzle on him, just put it in a bag and used the Halti.
I arrived at the same time with a woman and a muzzled GSD. Straight away him and Trigger "hit it off" straight away and started a barking match. 
As we approached the group the organizer said to just let them off the leads, so we did. First thing the muzzled dog "Bono" did was barge head on into poor Trigger who took a tumble, but amazingly just warned him off by barking. He never once went for him.
There were at least 2 other intact males and even so Trigger kept chasing one of them occasionally trying to put him in his place, he completely ignored the other.
Another younger male (neutered) tried to intimidate him and yet again Trigger just told him off only to ignore him. 
He didn't play much with any dog, but what astonished me was that there was a young couple with a Border Terrier who walked by and he just went over sniffed her and then tried to play with her :gasp:. Usually he's not good with small dogs.
The girl who told me about this group was there, too. Her dog absolutely loves Storm (there quite similar in energy levels) and obviously Trigger has a familiar scent. "Maya" kept circling around him smelling him and trying to figure out why he didn't want to chase her.
Towards the end another couple threw one of their toys for him so he was in heaven (his bad mum left his ball in the car, oops).

All in all I'm so happy about today and am really looking forward to the next walk. Next time I'll take my camera though. :flrt:


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## feorag

That's excellent Brigitte. Skye started ballistic barking on our first walk as we pulled into the car park and that never stopped until everyone had arrived and we actually started walking. Pretty embarrassing, but nothing I could do about it. :blush:

I told you that Skye only actually went for a dog on his first walk and has never done it since, other than to see off a dog that has had a go at him.

I do think they have a different attitude when they're in a pack, especially if that pack is comprised of other GSDs, than when they are out on their own with their owner.

I'm so pleased you enjoyed it - it's a wonderful feeling! :2thumb:


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## BMo1979

I think one of the main "problems" with GSDs are the leads. They're super sensitive dogs and every one of your moods and emotions will be picked up through the connection of the lead. And lets face it, most of us carry a tiny bit of subconscious anxiety with us lol. Plus, they have no way of evading trouble.

It definitely helps to be amongst other GSDs and their owner. The dogs all speak the same language (the other walking group is very quiet compared to this one lol) and so do the owners. I often find that especially owners of small or very social breeds (Labs, Retrievers) take personal offence when your dog tells theirs off (on Saturday there was a new dog owner of a Welsh Terrier, who was going to kick one of our members dog for baring her teeth and growling when the terrier tried to steal her toy. Luckily his son stepped in and the owner was invited to join the group to learn about dog behaviour). 
As you know yourself GSD are often very particular about their personal space, i.e. not very tolerant of other dogs entering it uninvited, so during the walk you get the occasional "Stay away" or "Get Off!" bark, with bared teeth. No-one bats an eyelid and I think because everyone is more relaxed, so are the dogs (which usually hover around were their owners are lol).

What I found interesting was that Trigger showed traces of reverting to a behaviour he showed during his early dog school days, where he would sheriff the whole group. He'd break up fights and then have a go at the more hyper elements of the pack. He did that a couple of times yesterday, too. It might be because he is by a few years the oldest male (all the females are younger, too)?


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## feorag

Totally agree with you about the lead. As soon as you put a lead on a dog you have effectively 'trapped' him and if he has anxiety issues and a dog approaches him then yes he will show aggression, but it's usually because he is trapped.

I really don't think there are many dog breeds as vocal as the GSD. They are not only barkers, but they are moaners and whingers too :lol: Everything is done with volume and when they arrive at a venue and see other dogs they are compelled to announce they are there I just don't think they can help themselves. :lol: I think this is why we are so relaxed in a pack of GSDs because everyone else understands and we don't feel compelled to explain why our dogs are barking etc

What you say about personal space is absolutely right and is why it's well known that GSDs find it hard to tolerate "hail fellow well met" breeds like labs and retrievers. I don't know if you've ever seen this article or not, but I direct a lot of people (often Labrador owners!) to it to explain why GSDs have this problem

https://sarahwilsondogexpert.com/why-does-my-herding-dog-seem-to-hate-labs/

Skye behaved exactly the same when he was in his first groups. Lindsay who runs the dog training school where I took him to try and get him to socialise said he thought he was the police as he had to control all the dogs and couldn't just relax and enjoy himself. We had to give up on those socialisation group, because he just couldn't relax and have fun. On our early GSD walks he would step into an argument to try and break it up and if a dog broke away from the pack to chase a ball he would be off after them to herd them back. He doesn't do that any more, but he did it for at least a year of these group walks. So it all sounds familiar! :lol:


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## BMo1979

I've read that article when trying to figure out why Trigger doesn't tolerate Labs (mostly the yellow ones) and Retrievers too well. He was super friendly with a Flat Coated Retriever, but all the boys were. She must have smelled nice and she behaved very polite lol. 
On the other hand, he met my friends' young Labrador bitch the other day and even so he only grumbled at her you could tell her rolling around right under his nose and constant submissive licking was getting on his nerves. 

As for being vocal: You should meet Storm. She's not a great barker (thankfully, her bark his horribly high pitched and goes right through you), but she is a whiner. She whines when she's hungry, when she gets told off, when she wants her toy, when she's playing with her toy, she's getting ready for a walk and generally when she wants attention. All typical Husky behaviour.
She used to hate being pointed at and used to back chat like "Ungungung".
She also makes these Chewbacca noises when she complains about something and has a funny play growl and occasionally we howl together: Trigger does the normal "Arrooo" howl whereas Storm's more like "Owowowooooo".
I quite like it though, it's very wolf like.

Trigger is more quiet with age, but he used to yawn very loudly when he wanted attention, but he occasionally grumbles to himself like an old man. He still talks back when people say hello and has a certain "woof" when he desperately needs the toilet.
As a young dog, every time he got sent to bed, he would slump down, breathe in deeply and then let out the loudest huffy moan, lol.


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## feorag

Yes, I've never had a husky, but a girl I worked with had one and I do know they are very vocal. I remember reading somewhere that, as sled dogs that work in a team, they are constantly vocal as they have a need to 'keep in touch with each other' so to speak. They need to know where the others are and this is worse if you keep a solitary sled dog.

Skye does that 'humph' thing if he's told to go and lie on his bed too. Can't do anything quietly, but I've only heard him howl a few times through the night when he slept downstairs. I've played howling wolf videos to him, but he doesn't react. :lol:


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## BMo1979

Trigger used to howl along with older mobile phone ring tones (both digital and the first bad quality music tones). Now it's squeaky toys, he starts of with a high pitched bark and then we just have to howl ourselves and he joins.


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## feorag

:lol2:


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## MartinMc

Hi folks just a quick ask/beg. Could you please like the pic of my dog Bronson enjoyong a Canicross race at Fox Lake. Thanks hope the like works. https://m.facebook.com/manmatscotland

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## MartinMc

Oh shouldve said he is the Boxer with the big tongue! And he needs a ned bed lol

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## feorag

Done it! :2thumb:


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## MartinMc

Thanks very much. What happened to this place. Not been on for a while but doesnt look like there is anyone left at all.

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## BMo1979

Done, too! Lovely photo.

I'm still here :Na_Na_Na_Na:, but you're right, other than the snake forum most of the other ones are nearly dead, too.


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## MartinMc

Thanks. I suppose everything changes. Hope it picks up again.

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## feorag

MartinMc said:


> Thanks very much. What happened to this place. Not been on for a while but doesnt look like there is anyone left at all.
> 
> Sent from my HTC One M8s using Tapatalk


Facebook happened.

A lot of the people in this section moved over to Facebook. I now speak to most of the people I spoke to on here on Facebook, but to be totally honest I much prefer forums to Facebook. If it wasn't the only way to find out about when and where GSDR walks are to be held I wouldn't have joined Facebook at all! I hate the bloody place! :lol2:

That's why I still check in on here just about every day. :lol:


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## Ophexis

First time posting in this thread I believe :gasp:

Does anybody know of anyone who has, or have had, a dog living with pancreatitis? Jazzy's been diagnosed today and she's pretty dang chronic by the sounds of things. 

We've been told that she is to be given an extremely strict low-fat, bland, easily digestible diet, potentially for the rest of her life. I do not see her taking to this change particularly well as she loves all the things that are bad for her!


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## feorag

My Afghan Bitch was diagnosed with that nearly 40 years ago, when she was about 4 year old. She was given Trypsin capsules. She was on a bland diet for a few months, but after that she went back onto the normal complete meal I fed her nephew without any problems. 

I could never get weight on her right up until the day she died, but she had a very active life and lived until she was 9½ year old, which is an average age for an Afghan.


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## Ophexis

feorag said:


> My Afghan Bitch was diagnosed with that nearly 40 years ago, when she was about 4 year old. She was given Trypsin capsules. She was on a bland diet for a few months, but after that she went back onto the normal complete meal I fed her nephew without any problems.
> 
> I could never get weight on her right up until the day she died, but she had a very active life and lived until she was 9½ year old, which is an average age for an Afghan.


Jazz is 5 now I think, we have read that it seems to have a higher occurrence in bitches. We're hoping that she won't be on this new diet forever as we just know she's going to hate it! So it's likely she may be able to go back to a normal diet after a while? Obviously we wouldn't be silly about it and sling everything at her but she really adores her food and it seems mean to be able to offer nice treats to Gizmo, but less nice to her :blush: She's a smart girl and knows all too well if she's getting short changed!
She's had bouts of intense sickness for 3-4 days at a time, every few months for the last year or so. Every time she's been given an anti-sickness jab and been sent home after... this time we did push for tests so it's good we have an answer!


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## feorag

Have they given her any medication to help her deal with the loss of pancreatic enzymes to help with her digestion. Like I said Tara was given Trypsin, which is made from pig pancreas and that helped her.

Hopefully if you can get it under control with the bland diet, you might be able to introduce less bland foods on a slow and low basis to see what she can tolerate without it bringing on the sickness.

Have you considered doing a hair analysis test to see if she comes up with any other intolerances that you could avoid giving her which might help?


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## Ophexis

We haven't been advised any medications, no, but I'd think maybe the vet is starting slow with a diet change and perhaps may suggest medication at a later date should any more problems arise.
Hair analysis is not something we've thought about, but I'll certainly mention it! 
We've been advised to switch her onto Royal Canin Gastro Intestinal Low Fat food but looking at the ingredients... we may have found ourselves a stumbling block. She is currently being fed on a hypo-allergenic diet to help with her sensitive skin - but it seems the food that's been mentioned to us, isn't hypo-allergenic! She just HAS to make things awkward for us, doesn't she :roll:


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## feorag

Oh dear you've got a double problem there then!

I think you have to have a vet who is open to "alternative therapies" when you start looking for natural answers to a problems. Sadly some of them aren't and so wouldn't advise you to look at alternative solutions.

When we got Skye at 11mths (high anxiety/high energy, unsocialised, unstimulated, untrained - basic nightmare :lol: ) he permanently produced soft stools with regular bouts of uncontrollable diarrhoea and vomiting. It took 4 attempts to find a food that would firm his stools and he was on that food for the next 4 years. We still had occasional bouts of diarrhoea, especially after stressful situations, but then early this year, the diarrhoea came back more regularly and not after a stressful situation and he lost condition. As a black dog it shows very quickly in the lack of 'gloss' when this happens.

I did think that it was probably a gluten intolerance, as that's very common in GSDs, but didn't want to start experimenting with foods again, so by that time I'd heard about The Medicine Man on Facebook and decided to do a hair allergy test. It was very interesting. He came up intolerant to gluten among other things, but he also came up intolerant to bees & honey and I'd been giving him Manuka Honey when he had these diarrhoea bouts to try and soothe his stomach and he came back intolerant to coconut and I'd been giving him coconut oil to try and improve his coat and condition, cos both these things have antiseptic properties too, so I was probably making things worse. We changed him onto CSJ No Grainer (he'd been previously on CSJ Champ) and he's never had a bout of diarrhoea since.

I'm quite happy to post a copy of the test results if you wanted to see them?


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## BMo1979

:devil: And the GSD walking saga (mentioned in my picture thread) continues:
https://www.facebook.com/alastair.mcglashan.1?fref=ufiJust to summarize (don't want to expose the whole thread on here because someone won't come out looking to well - it's up to each one personally lol), but basically one of the members tried to explain that at no point there was any danger of the dogs or owners getting hurt (apart from me falling half way down a rocky path), because we were there straight away to end all squabbles. And that when a group of "sharp" and "hard" as the GSD meet there will be friction. It wasn't just the 2 males, but a few other squabbles
Once the confronting dogs were given space the rest of the walk was relaxed and no harm was done.

Anyway, *****'s reply was something along the lines of:
The photo of Trigger and the other male meeting with their hackles up showed that we just let them carry on (which is bs, nothing happened after the initial meet), the same with the other dog's owner saying, not to worry, and we will try again to let them get used to each other is wrong in *****'s eyes.
Another dog owner who's dog was quite aggressive on the lead was advised to let him off (because a lot of the other dogs were getting agitated), which again (without having seen the situation her/himself) was against his/her group rules.
Turns out ***** owns a reactive dog her/himself which is the reason why she/he hadn't attended any previous walks, but will be bringing for the next one. Any sign of trouble without owners' intervention (which happened during the last walk) and she will shut the group down (evil me wants to see her/his dog being the one being the trouble maker, see if they practice what they preach).

Reply from my Knight in shining armour lol:
Don't judge when you haven't been there. The walk as a whole was a success and the dogs were just being dogs.
Again stressed that the squabbles were just that and that all owners were there immediately to intervene and are confident that the dogs will learn to tolerate each other.
He/she also wrote that no-one told the owner of the leashed dog to just let him go while he was going mental, but because he felt trapped his behaviour was just getting worse and antagonizing the other dogs.

The owner of the other dog just wants to leave now, because she doesn't feel welcome. I told her not to that I would go (which I will), because, tbh, because of the intolerant reaction of the group's owner (whom I believe is scared of her own dog's reaction) I'm back to square one, when it comes to walking Trigger in a group .


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## feorag

I've commented on your other thread, but this all is so sad. I appears that one person thinks their attitude is the right one and won't listen to anyone else's opinions.

You posted a photo of you giving Tigger a "time out" on your walk - that's responsible pet ownership! And that's all you need to do when a situation like that happens. Keeping dogs on the lead, especially GSDs can often create situations that can be avoided if they are lead reactive. Anyone who owns a GSD knows that.

How is this person in a position to "shut the group down". She doesn't 'own' the group or anyone in it, so if she closes it down why can't the rest of you who obviously understand GSDs better just start another one.

I'm so sorry that you're thinking of leaving the group though!


----------



## Ophexis

feorag said:


> Oh dear you've got a double problem there then!
> 
> I think you have to have a vet who is open to "alternative therapies" when you start looking for natural answers to a problems. Sadly some of them aren't and so wouldn't advise you to look at alternative solutions.
> 
> When we got Skye at 11mths (high anxiety/high energy, unsocialised, unstimulated, untrained - basic nightmare :lol: ) he permanently produced soft stools with regular bouts of uncontrollable diarrhoea and vomiting. It took 4 attempts to find a food that would firm his stools and he was on that food for the next 4 years. We still had occasional bouts of diarrhoea, especially after stressful situations, but then early this year, the diarrhoea came back more regularly and not after a stressful situation and he lost condition. As a black dog it shows very quickly in the lack of 'gloss' when this happens.
> 
> I did think that it was probably a gluten intolerance, as that's very common in GSDs, but didn't want to start experimenting with foods again, so by that time I'd heard about The Medicine Man on Facebook and decided to do a hair allergy test. It was very interesting. He came up intolerant to gluten among other things, but he also came up intolerant to bees & honey and I'd been giving him Manuka Honey when he had these diarrhoea bouts to try and soothe his stomach and he came back intolerant to coconut and I'd been giving him coconut oil to try and improve his coat and condition, cos both these things have antiseptic properties too, so I was probably making things worse. We changed him onto CSJ No Grainer (he'd been previously on CSJ Champ) and he's never had a bout of diarrhoea since.
> 
> I'm quite happy to post a copy of the test results if you wanted to see them?


Poor Skye, sounds like he was in the wars in the beginning! At least his body has settled down now, it's awful when they're unwell and can't tell us if what we're doing is helping.
I think we're going to see how she goes with the low fat diet and address the hypo-allergenic hurdle when she's feeling a little better. We'll be in touch with the vet regardless to see what can be offered  If they can't offer anything alternative then we'll definitely start looking around. It's unfair to keep on top of one problem whilst potentially aggravating another and just making her feel miserable!
We're going to start feeding both dogs twice a day in smaller amounts rather than once so as not to overload their stomachs, and are going to cut way, way back on treats (partly because those things are chock full of fat too!). The twice a day thing actually appears to be working for Gizmo, who is now finishing his meals for the first time in months. Obviously he's remained on his regular diet so they are still being watched to make sure Jazzy doesn't help herself to his bowl if he leaves any!
Perhaps as you've said she may be able to eventually go back onto her regular diet but right now... strict as we can to get her health back on track!


----------



## BMo1979

feorag said:


> I've commented on your other thread, but this all is so sad. I appears that one person thinks their attitude is the right one and won't listen to anyone else's opinions.
> 
> You posted a photo of you giving Tigger a "time out" on your walk - that's responsible pet ownership! And that's all you need to do when a situation like that happens. Keeping dogs on the lead, especially GSDs can often create situations that can be avoided if they are lead reactive. Anyone who owns a GSD knows that.
> 
> How is this person in a position to "shut the group down". She doesn't 'own' the group or anyone in it, so if she closes it down why can't the rest of you who obviously understand GSDs better just start another one.
> 
> I'm so sorry that you're thinking of leaving the group though!


I think the ***** is beginning to see that the majority of the members disagree with her. She's still adamant that it shouldn't even get to squabbles during a pack walk and doesn't seem to understand that GSD are not like other more pack orientated breeds which would sort things out via play (or not at all). I'm more or less convinced from what she and others wrote (has got a very reactive dog herself, whom she muzzles on group walks (nothing wrong with that) and hasn't been on any of the walks despite starting the group), that she's actually not been able to make the first step herself and let her dog experience a pack of like-minded dogs. Maybe, once she gets to meet the group, she realises like me, that there is nothing to worry about and that it's sometimes better to let your dogs be dogs. 
The thing that annoys me, too, is that someone apparently sent her a PM, complaining about last Sunday's walk. I think it may be the owner of the dog that was going mental on the lead, who was apparently offended to be told that her dog was causing some of the "bad" energy, although no-one in the group would have told her/him in a nasty way. We're all there to help each other. 
Had that person openly posted about how she/he felt about the walk (which I don't think they continued on, I think they left early), all this could have been avoided and a few of us mentioned this. 
I just don't see how anyone can be so stubborn and not listen to experienced owners.
I'm still not sure about returning for a walk soon, I've explained why (and also said, I felt offended by the comment about uncontrolled dogs. I didn't want to say to her that had the dogs not been under control, there would have been blood and guts, because I didn't want to scare her even more). I also explained that I thought that the GSD group was for owner who don't scream murder when it gets vocal or another dog does get pinned and that you can have a lead reactive dog without being judged, but I don't know if that got through to her. 

The good news is, that I was just added to a hiking with dogs groups (a lot of people were added on the same day although the group exists since 2013, so I wonder whether the founder is fed up with the GSD walk rift herself. She's also changed the setting from closed to secret....). They do walk from easy to harder, so depending on the walk it's either Trigger or Storm I can take.

P.s: Since when is A D M I N a swear word? It keeps getting starred out lol.


----------



## feorag

It does appear that the person who started the group really doesn't know a lot about GSDs and has formed her opinion of how the walks should be, based on her limited knowledge of the breed.

So, just to help me understand, she started the group, but has never taken her own dog on any of the walks, but has gone on the walks herself obviously?? So she's walking around judging everyone else's dogs on their behaviour?

As I've said before GSDs are a very vocal dog, but vocalisation isn't a threat in itself. They're also very protective of their personal space and can also be a confrontational breed because of their nature to protect, which is why they have the (unjustified) reputation they have and why they can be very prone to being lead reactive.

The new group sounds like it might work out better for you, but it seems a shame for the other group to break up because of one person's opinion about how a walk should progress?


----------



## BMo1979

As far as I gathered she's never been on any of the walks herself. Someone wrote that in the 8 months she's been a member she'd never met her personally. She seems to have someone report back to her though, which is kinda weird, if you ask me. 
The other owners don't bat an eyelid when disputes arise which make the walks really relaxed. As I said, as long as they're not killing each other or injuring it's all good. 
From what I read in her posts, I believe that she herself might have faced intolerance and judgement from some other dog owners for having a boisterous noisy dog, but then, most GSD owner have at one point (I know, I had - was told Trigger should be pts for eventually growling at a French Bulldog, who'd been bullying Trigger until he was too big, lol) and who cares what bypassers think when they walk by the group and witness the dogs having their squabbles, as long as no harm is done? Most "normal" dog owners accept that not all dogs are like a big happy pack that just all want to sit around the camp fire singing "Kumbaya", lol.


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## feorag

Now I'm totally confused. Am I getting this right. Someone set up a walking group 8 months ago, but has never actually been on any of the walks???? :crazy: I'd say that's very weird. Has she posted any rules of any kind on the walk page? We do have rules and suggestions on the walk groups I belong to, but they are kinda guidelines for everyone. If she hasn't done that then she can't just make up rules as she goes along - at least that's the way I see it.

I totally agree with you I'm sure most GSD owners have been pre-judged by people based on what they think they know about GSDs and some behaviours they've seen exhibited by dogs with selfish owners.

As I've said we can have as many as 20-30 GSDs in our walk groups and there will be odd little squabbles over things, but they are sorted and diffused very quickly, either by the dogs themselves or the owners. Either way it doesn't really matter, as long as it doesn't get into a full blown fight and it never has. Barry often says to me on our walks now how good it feels to see that Skye is by no means the worst behaved dog on a walk and actually never really has been compared to some. However, it doesn't stop the owners getting on with each other and just enjoying watching their dogs have fun and interact with their own breed.

Our more regular walk group has had people out on their own join in with their dogs and then join the group because they've enjoyed the walk so much.


----------



## BMo1979

feorag said:


> Now I'm totally confused. Am I getting this right. Someone set up a walking group 8 months ago, but has never actually been on any of the walks???? :crazy: I'd say that's very weird. Has she posted any rules of any kind on the walk page? We do have rules and suggestions on the walk groups I belong to, but they are kinda guidelines for everyone. If she hasn't done that then she can't just make up rules as she goes along - at least that's the way I see it.
> 
> .


Yep, that seems to be the case and no, no rules posted. At first I thought, "oh, control freak", but now the longer I think on it, the more I'm convinced that she is scared of her own dog's reaction and the reaction of other dogs and their owners towards her. If that's the case, she would probably just need get a push in the right direction and like me experience a relaxed walk, that might be noisy and boisterous but no dog or human comes to harm (small scrapes and bruises not included, they happen even when I take the kids out without any dogs, lol).
If she's still yapping after that, then maybe a GSD group is not the right environment for her.


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## x Sarah x

As i am dogless now, i spend a lot of time caring for my aunts dogs and taking pics of them of course...

On the right, the German sausage Tilly
On the left, the chipolata Bea
and in the middle the party sausage Poppy


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## Waynes World

Mite aswell show you my baby, love her to bits, she is such a barm pot and just never stops wanting to play, shame not many folk let her play with there dogs, so i get all the brunt of it lol.

This is when she was about 10 month old




this one a bit younger i think, about 6 month





I forgot about these, we got her from a doag home when she was 5 months, she had a great toy she loved until one day it must of upset her




she has grown a bit now, more than i expected but still a great dog.
She is two soon so need to get a her a prezzie or two.


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## feorag

x Sarah x said:


> As i am dogless now, i spend a lot of time caring for my aunts dogs and taking pics of them of course...
> 
> On the right, the German sausage Tilly
> On the left, the chipolata Bea
> and in the middle the party sausage Poppy


Gorgeous - I have a real soft spot for sausages! :flrt:



Waynes World said:


> Mite aswell show you my baby, love her to bits, she is such a barm pot and just never stops wanting to play, shame not many folk let her play with there dogs, so i get all the brunt of it lol.
> 
> This is when she was about 10 month old


She's lovely. Rescue dogs are very rewarding.


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## Ophexis

Well it's been a while so I thought I'd update on Jazzy.
She's been on her diet to deal with her pancreatitis for a few weeks now and there has been a significant improvement in her general health. She's back to doing her characteristic 'zoomies' around the house, seems so much happier in herself and her coat feels 100 times nicer than what it did before the diet change. She's lost a small bit of weight but although not overweight to begin with, it won't hurt her to lose a bit. So far there appear to be no problems arising with her sensitive skin on this new food so fingers crossed it stays that way!
She and Gizmo are having to be fed separately because she's an absolute swine for going to try to clear out his bowl the minute she's gobbled hers, and he is quite a slow and fussy eater - but it looks like putting him in the utility room and Jazz in the kitchen, and separating them with a screen, is doing the trick.


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## feorag

That's excellent news! I never, until the day she died, managed to get an extra ounce of flesh on Tara, my Afghan, but Afghans aren't supposed to carry extra weight, so I didn't worry too much about that. As long as she had energy to run (and she did!) I was happy.

Do keep us updated on her progress! :2thumb:


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## vgorst

Well after years and years of wanting a dog, I've finally gotten one! A little 1 year old JRTx called Arthur (I didn't pick the name!). Had him for a couple of months now and going to our second training class tomorrow. He's a little cheeky chap but we're getting there 





And him right now


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## feorag

Some photos from our GSDR walk last Sunday. I counted 24 dogs of which there was one spaniel and a little terrier type dog from Romania who is being fostered by one of the girls until she has a home of her own.



















Coffee, cake & chat afterwards



And couldn't resist a photo of my favourite Northumbrian ruined castle - Warkworth silhouetted against the late afternoon sun.


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## BMo1979

Beautiful Pictures. You had some lovely weather there, too.

I love the coffee and cake idea. The Husky/Mally walk group does that, too (I've not been yet, because they hardly ever walk in an off lead area/won't or can't let the dogs off) and the proceedings go to a local Sled Dog Rescue. 
I might suggest that for the GSD walk, too, with the money going to GSDR Scotland.


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## feorag

Great idea. I don't know about you but when I've been on one of these walks, between breathing faster cos of the exercise and talking (which I'm prone to do :lol: ) my mouth is as dry as sticks when I get back to the car, so a cup of coffee is just what I mean. The couple who organise the walks bring along some home made cake and often other people bring stuff - we have an Asian guy who comes along occasionally and on our Boxing Day beach walk he brought along Samosas which were fantastic.

Everyone is more than happy to put a few quid in the collecting tin, because a) they'd pay more for a coffee and cake in a cafe if they chose to do that after the walk and b) because they know it's going to a good cause. On Sunday I bank £48.50 which will pay for one of our rescues in kennels for a week, so it comes in very useful. :2thumb:

Jayne who set up GSDR down here started GSDR Scotland when she lived in Scotland, but when she moved to Wales she was told she couldn't continue with the charity in England and so she had to hand over the Scottish one and start again with an English Charity.


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## BMo1979

I just watched Country File. They had a bit about a company called Predator Experience, Walking with Wolves. WTH?
They're charging £85 pp to walk with 2 Czechoslovakian Wolfdogs (which they call F3 generation wolf hybrids)! Who pays that to walk a pair of dogs??? I thought generally dog owners pay the walkers not the other way round lol?
I think you'll learn more about wolf behaviour if you visit a good animal park where you can see actual real wolves.

I think I'm going to charge people to walk Storm. She acts about as wolfish as those 2 DOGS.


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## *H*

Thought I'd check in as it's been a while! 

My furries are still doing well, Millie the eldest (10 in April) has recently had an Op from eating a tin of cat food... tin included! Luckily I'd took her straight to the vet for xrays as soon as I found the remains and they found a large chunk ready to rip through her so got it out before any bad damage was done, she's recovering nicely and I'm no longer buying tinned food.

Cass (Casper) will be 7 in April  Don't know where the time has gone! He's still a pain in the bottom with his quirks, but still my little shadow and companion, more so now he's a bit older, he's quite happy being a lap dog 24/7 lol

The Pup, well not a pup anymore (In size) Loki the Lab will be 4 in August, still charging around like a loony playing the clown  but him and Cass are inseparable, double trouble! Haha

Onion is doing well too, will be 6 in September, has recently had the jingles removed as although he's a house cat and has never sprayed, he started bullying Loki as he's intact still.... and we ended up with a petrified 40kg Lab hiding away from a 3kg cat... seems to have done the trick though, although we're still working on Loki 's nerves around him.

Hope everyone and their fur families are OK  x


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## feorag

How the hell did he manage to eat the can! :gasp: Bloody hell I bet that scared the heeby jeebies out of you!!

Have to say you've been incredibly lucky to keep Onion entire for that long without him spraying.

Great that all your others are doing well. I have no cats left now now :sad: and Skye is finally settling down to be nearly a 'normal' dog. :lol:


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## *H*

It was on the side, unopened, not sure how she knew what was in there or even got it down (I have suspicions Onion may have been responsible for that one) but she chewed through it and gulped up the contents without somehow doing any damage to her teeth or mouth. She's never touched anything like that before, think she's going a bit daft in her old age.

Sorry to hear about the cats Eileen  xx

Sounds like you've finally got there with Skype and your many many years of hard work has paid off!


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## feorag

She was obviously determined to get in there! :gasp:

Yes I really miss the cats, but if you remember we did have a lot of anti-social spraying from the girls as well as the boys because, really,we had too many of them. So I resolved way back when we had 10 and stopped breeding that there would be no more cats coming back into the house until the last 'piddler' had gone. That last 'piddler' was Cadbury and we lost him 2 years ago, leaving us with only his sister, who had to be euthanased only 5 weeks later :sad:

By then our personajly circumstances had changed, Barry took early retirement which meant we were in a position to go and visit our son in Scotland together, which we couldn't do when we had the cats, but could then do if we didn't have the cats. So we made the decision when we lost Purrdy not to get any more. I've no doubt I will get another in the future, maybe when we are more tied at home because of age and health, but for the moment we are enjoying the freedom :lol:

It's taken us 6 years to get Skye to where he is now and we still describe him as a 'work in progress'. He will always have problems because of his anxieties which are part of his mental make-up so aren't going to go away, but he is barely recognisable from the headcase he was when we first got him.

It's been a long and, at time hard, road but very rewarding.


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## **louise**

Here are my 2 dogs. First is my Cairn terrier cross named Daisy. She'll be 10 this August. The years have gone by so fast. We got her at 12 weeks old.

Daisy is going to have surgery in 2 weeks time to remove a small mammary tumour. I'm trying not to worry but I'm dreading it.



















Second is my staffie boy, Cody. He'll be 7 in September and still acts like a puppy. Typical staff, full of love and a complete softy. He is at the vet next week as he has a lump on the base of his tail and also, I am getting him booked in for his castration. I've decided the balls have to go!


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## feorag

Lovely dogs - hope both their ops go well - it's always a worry when they have to have an anaesthetic! :sad:


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## emilyjaynea

Frank, 14 month old 3/4 Pug 1/4 Poodle.









Poppy, 11 month old 1/2 Deer Headed Chihuahua 1/2 Bichon Frise.

:flrt:


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## *H*

Millie got over her stomach Op from eating a tin can just about.. but we found a bobbly hard lump under her middle nipple yesterday morning, which had only come up within a day or so, was the size of a large marble if not bigger, and her nipple was leaking bloody fluid. We took her straight to the vets and he's prepared us for the worst. He's took 3 samples which will be back by Tuesday at the latest, but because of where it is, if it can be removed she'd need a mammary strip doing.. and she's 10 this month. We've been reading up so we can make a decision on what to do, I'm not sure we want to put her through that, she didn't quite bounce back to her old self from her Op last month, and she's been slowing right down the last 6 months or so.
Has anyone else gone through this and decided on a mammary strip on a relatively older dog? Or has anyone had a dog with mammary cancer?


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## feorag

I haven't been there, but I do sympathise with you and to be honest I've always said if any of my pets got cancerous tumours and were elderly I wouldn't put them through the op or chemo, but would let them have the best quality of life I could give them for their remaining days.

I've known of this happen with a cat (my foundation queen's mother actually) and she was 10. Personally, I wouldn't have had the operation but my friend decided to go ahead and do it, she survived the operation, but died 2 days later when my friend was on her way to pick her up. She was devastated.

I'm trying to remember what breed your dog is (sorry :sad: ) is she a breed with a long life expectancy or a short one, because 10 can be young for some breeds and old for others and that can make a difference.


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## *H*

She's a Staffy cross Lab, so no idea what her actual life expectancy is, suppose it all depends on what breed she internally is more of. 10 for a Staffy is quite young, but not so much for a Lab. 
She has got old in herself lately though, the stomach Op knocked her and she's not bounced back from it how we had hoped she would, but saying that if this is what they think it is, it could have been about since before then. We know her kidneys and liver were functioning fine at the time of the Op, as she had blood tests to check then before she went under. 
She was so good during the biopsies, she laid on her back so still even though he was obviously hurting her, didn't flinch at all but had tears running down her face... she's braver than us I think!
Guess it's just a waiting game and make a decision when we have the results back, try and do what's best for her, not us. It's all we can do.


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## feorag

Anaesthetics do take their toll on an animal and when they're older it takes more time to knock it off sadly.

Labrador life expectancy is about 10-12 years - I got my Lab to 11 and was chuffed with that. As far as I'm aware age expectancy for a Staffy is about 12-14, but all those figures are expectations and will vary from dog to dog.

It's a crap situation to be in and I totally sympathise with you :sad:


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## *H*

Thanks Eileen x

The results hadn't come back today, so he's chasing them and will phone us tomorrow..


----------



## Basin79

Not the same but my dog Bullmastiff had problems last year. He was 7. He had to have an operation and it went well. Proper upsets me to say this but Bullmastiff's don't have a long life. So he's old. Don't regret it at all and he's sat next to me now aged 8. Obviously you need to talk to your vet about the procedure. And it obviously depends on then what your vet is like. I really do hope everything pans out though and you get more years with your little lass.


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## feorag

I had a cat with severe colitis - never produced a normal stool in his entire life. We tried stool teses, came up with nothing, tried an elimination diet to see if we could work out the trigger foods, came up with nothing, but stressed the cat because he had to be confined to stop him eating the other cats' food. However, he thrived and was in good condition, so we stopped fretting. 

When he got to 6 it got worse and he started to lose weight, the vet tried various things, none of which worked so I turned to homeopathy. Talked to a homeopathic vet at the National Cat Show (George McLeod who wrote books on the subject) and tried his suggestions which helped and he put weight on again and was great for a few years.

Then 2-3 years later he deteriorated and lost quite a lot of weght, so we went back to the vet. Her suggestion was to go to Liverpool and have a biopsy done, so I asked the questions that were important to me. "If we find nothing after the biopsy where do we go" - the answer was there's nowhere to go because we've tried everything. Then I asked "if the biopsy comes up with cancer what happens then" - the answer "chemotherapy". Then I asked the question "would you put your 9 year old cat through chemo" - the answer "NO". 

I certainly didn't want to do it either and I thought all that would achieve was a lot of stress for a cat without a good prognosis, so we brought him home, loved him to bits, spoiled him rotten and when I knew he'd given up we took him and sent him on his last journey. It was heartbreaking but I wouldn't hesitate to do the same thing again.

That's what I love about Noel Fitzpatrick - he openly says that he will NOT carry out a procedure on an animal that he wouldn't do on his own. 

If you really trust your vet, then the question you should be asking is "if this is your dog would you carry out this operation" and if the answer is yes, then go for it.


----------



## Basin79

feorag said:


> I had a cat with severe colitis - never produced a normal stool in his entire life. We tried stool teses, came up with nothing, tried an elimination diet to see if we could work out the trigger foods, came up with nothing, but stressed the cat because he had to be confined to stop him eating the other cats' food. However, he thrived and was in good condition, so we stopped fretting.
> 
> When he got to 6 it got worse and he started to lose weight, the vet tried various things, none of which worked so I turned to homeopathy. Talked to a homeopathic vet at the National Cat Show (George McLeod who wrote books on the subject) and tried his suggestions which helped and he put weight on again and was great for a few years.
> 
> Then 2-3 years later he deteriorated and lost quite a lot of weght, so we went back to the vet. Her suggestion was to go to Liverpool and have a biopsy done, so I asked the questions that were important to me. "If we find nothing after the biopsy where do we go" - the answer was there's nowhere to go because we've tried everything. Then I asked "if the biopsy comes up with cancer what happens then" - the answer "chemotherapy". Then I asked the question "would you put your 9 year old cat through chemo" - the answer "NO".
> 
> I certainly didn't want to do it either and I thought all that would achieve was a lot of stress for a cat without a good prognosis, so we brought him home, loved him to bits, spoiled him rotten and when I knew he'd given up we took him and sent him on his last journey. It was heartbreaking but I wouldn't hesitate to do the same thing again.
> 
> That's what I love about Noel Fitzpatrick - he openly says that he will NOT carry out a procedure on an animal that he wouldn't do on his own.
> 
> If you really trust your vet, then the question you should be asking is "if this is your dog would you carry out this operation" and if the answer is yes, then go for it.


And you've just highlighted the importance of finding a good vet, not necessarily going to your nearest.


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## *H*

I trust my vets, they're not the nearest or cheapest by a long shot, but they've done a fantastic job the times we've needed them and always put the patient first. 
Still no news, phoned them at midday and they've chased the lab. The Pathology report needs writing and sending to them, they'll be in touch as soon as they receive it.


----------



## feorag

Will be waiting for the results tomorrow! *fingers crossed*


----------



## BMo1979

*H* said:


> I trust my vets, they're not the nearest or cheapest by a long shot, but they've done a fantastic job the times we've needed them and always put the patient first.
> Still no news, phoned them at midday and they've chased the lab. The Pathology report needs writing and sending to them, they'll be in touch as soon as they receive it.


I hope you hear something soon.xx

FMs,
I'd like to hear your opinion about something:
I won't go into too much details, because it's not my dog/business, but there is a young family with a dog (Nordic cross). He's still young, about 1 1/2 and they're his 3rd owners. 
The dog has a few issues, mainly with adults, never seriously hurt/attacked someone, but has snapped, usually when being told off or moved. 
There's nothing physically wrong with him, and he is absolutely great with children. 
He's now killed a family member's pet bird and that seems to have been the final straw with most of them telling the owner family that he should be PTS.
It made me quite sad to hear them say this today, especially since one of the people who said, that there was nothing anyone could tell her to change her opinion on that, was one of the people who was always defending this dog. I understand she's hurt about her bird, but knowing that Storm would have killed my rats when we first got her, given half a chance, I know how strong the prey drive is in a Nordic dog. 
The owners know they have left it quite late, but they're getting a one to one session with a behaviourist next week, because they don't want to give up on him.
What I've been told tonight though was, that they'd already contacted one of the country's allegedly leading behaviourists. They left nothing out and apparently this woman told them that she wouldn't work with that dog, but would be willing to phone up their vet to recommend the dog to be destroyed. What kind of a behaviourist makes such judgement over the phone without having actually seen that dog??? IMHO, if she's one of the leading behaviourist this country had to offer (apparently works all over Europe) that's a pretty poor decision.


----------



## Basin79

BMo1979 said:


> I hope you hear something soon.xx
> 
> FMs,
> I'd like to hear your opinion about something:
> I won't go into too much details, because it's not my dog/business, but there is a young family with a dog (Nordic cross). He's still young, about 1 1/2 and they're his 3rd owners.
> The dog has a few issues, mainly with adults, never seriously hurt/attacked someone, but has snapped, usually when being told off or moved.
> There's nothing physically wrong with him, and he is absolutely great with children.
> He's now killed a family member's pet bird and that seems to have been the final straw with most of them telling the owner family that he should be PTS.
> It made me quite sad to hear them say this today, especially since one of the people who said, that there was nothing anyone could tell her to change her opinion on that, was one of the people who was always defending this dog. I understand she's hurt about her bird, but knowing that Storm would have killed my rats when we first got her, given half a chance, I know how strong the prey drive is in a Nordic dog.
> The owners know they have left it quite late, but they're getting a one to one session with a behaviourist next week, because they don't want to give up on him.
> What I've been told tonight though was, that they'd already contacted one of the country's allegedly leading behaviourists. They left nothing out and apparently this woman told them that she wouldn't work with that dog, but would be willing to phone up their vet to recommend the dog to be destroyed. What kind of a behaviourist makes such judgement over the phone without having actually seen that dog??? IMHO, if she's one of the leading behaviourist this country had to offer (apparently works all over Europe) that's a pretty poor decision.


I don't believe that for a second. No chance this woman is one of the country's leading behaviourist. Not a single chance. Samson (my dog) hates everything. I bought a parrot approximately 2 years ago. He's absolutely brilliant with Pandora now. Obviously would never leave them alone though. It's unfortunate that the dog has killed the bird but that's down to human error. A huge shame for both the dog and the bird.


----------



## Basin79

Samson and Pandora not long after I got her. I was watching Samson very closely. I know his body language. 










Now Pandora goes for him but Samson knows that. He enjoys pushing his luck as this video shows.

https://youtu.be/_1G2nibz81Y


----------



## BMo1979

Basin79 said:


> I don't believe that for a second. No chance this woman is one of the country's leading behaviourist. Not a single chance. Samson (my dog) hates everything. I bought a parrot approximately 2 years ago. He's absolutely brilliant with Pandora now. Obviously would never leave them alone though. It's unfortunate that the dog has killed the bird but that's down to human error. A huge shame for both the dog and the bird.


Well, I spoke to the owner just there and apparently that behaviourist is used by many insurance companies for claims and the "leading behavourist" title is something she seems to claim herself, seems to be made up. I've actually just went on her website: Apparently she's a behaviourist for dogs AND parrots and has run successful training courses all over the world. sounds like a load of [email protected] to me,
Apparently she runs a dog school in Scotland, but *also rears birds*. "Funnily" enough this whole PTS talk came about when the dog's owner told her about the dog killing that bird. Apparently the "behaviourist" admitted to having owned a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel (ooh what a challenging dog, ey?) from puppy, but got rid of it because it went for one of her prized parrots. 
IMO, that woman sounds like she's full of the proverbial and shouldn't be allowed to work with any dog and stick to her beloved birds.

The dog's owner feels under a lot of pressure from every where because people don't seem to get that from a dog killing another animal, which wasn't even part of his own home to harming a person is a loooong way.


----------



## *H*

BMo1979 said:


> I hope you hear something soon.xx
> 
> FMs,
> I'd like to hear your opinion about something:
> I won't go into too much details, because it's not my dog/business, but there is a young family with a dog (Nordic cross). He's still young, about 1 1/2 and they're his 3rd owners.
> The dog has a few issues, mainly with adults, never seriously hurt/attacked someone, but has snapped, usually when being told off or moved.
> There's nothing physically wrong with him, and he is absolutely great with children.
> He's now killed a family member's pet bird and that seems to have been the final straw with most of them telling the owner family that he should be PTS.
> It made me quite sad to hear them say this today, especially since one of the people who said, that there was nothing anyone could tell her to change her opinion on that, was one of the people who was always defending this dog. I understand she's hurt about her bird, but knowing that Storm would have killed my rats when we first got her, given half a chance, I know how strong the prey drive is in a Nordic dog.
> The owners know they have left it quite late, but they're getting a one to one session with a behaviourist next week, because they don't want to give up on him.
> What I've been told tonight though was, that they'd already contacted one of the country's allegedly leading behaviourists. They left nothing out and apparently this woman told them that she wouldn't work with that dog, but would be willing to phone up their vet to recommend the dog to be destroyed. What kind of a behaviourist makes such judgement over the phone without having actually seen that dog??? IMHO, if she's one of the leading behaviourist this country had to offer (apparently works all over Europe) that's a pretty poor decision.


That's shocking! I wouldn't give up on a dog for killing a pet bird, or any other smaller pet for that matter. Some breeds have a very strong prey drive, and unless they have been taught that the smaller animal is out of bounds/ or even getting the opportunity, they will attack and kill, it's in their nature!
However I would be concerned about the dog being around children, even if he has had a clean record so far, the fact that he has snapped at an adult, by the sounds of it because he has been disciplined, is worryingly. That's not to say he should be PTS though, that's totally not fair. They should look for a better behaviourist, one that actually knows the breed!


----------



## BMo1979

They are seeing one on Monday. He's got a really good reputation locally, so fingers crossed. They've left it late, but hopefully not too late. He's young so should be able to learn. Heck, my 10 year old shepherd is still learning new things and unlearning undesired behaviour.
I think this whole issue could advocate adopting from proper rescues, who offer help after bringing the dog home (Dog Trust hold behaviour and training seminars all year round). The last owners of that dog sold him private and couldn't seem to see the back of him quickly enough .

P.S: When we first got Storm we already had the rats and as I said given the chance, she would have killed them. We were working on this, but unfortunately the rats were at that terminal stage of their illness (heart failure) and it was getting too stressful for them, so we just kept them from each other. Had anything happened I only would have had myself to blame, not Storm and she wouldn't have gone anywhere. She's the sweetest dog with people and dogs, but if she sees small furries or birds, instinct takes over.


----------



## *H*

My Neighbour bought an 11 month old inuit/husky mix a few years ago privately, apparently a well trained well behaved dog.... it didn't take long before they realised she was wild! She has got ahold of a ferret (The next door neighbour let it get through the hedge) and one of their rabbits (it escaped it's hutch and went straight to her) and obviously she did what was natural.. but not once have they blamed her, they blamed themselves for not taking better precautions.


----------



## BMo1979

*H* said:


> My Neighbour bought an 11 month old inuit/husky mix a few years ago privately, apparently a well trained well behaved dog.... it didn't take long before they realised she was wild! She has got ahold of a ferret (The next door neighbour let it get through the hedge) and one of their rabbits (it escaped it's hutch and went straight to her) and obviously she did what was natural.. but not once have they blamed her, they blamed themselves for not taking better precautions.


That happened in my old neighbourhood, too. One family's Husky was let into their neighbour's house. The neighbour forgot that the back door was open and their rabbit was out and the dog ended up killing it. They never blamed the owners or the dog. It happens. 
My friends' Guinea Pig was taken by a Buzzard. They still love the local Buzzards (we have a few breeding pairs near by, they're gorgeous).


----------



## feorag

BMo1979 said:


> What I've been told tonight though was, that they'd already contacted one of the country's allegedly leading behaviourists. They left nothing out and apparently this woman told them that she wouldn't work with that dog, but would be willing to phone up their vet to recommend the dog to be destroyed. What kind of a behaviourist makes such judgement over the phone without having actually seen that dog??? IMHO, if she's one of the leading behaviourist this country had to offer (apparently works all over Europe) that's a pretty poor decision.


That wasn't Victoria Stillwell was it? She has a reputation for doing that. She's a 'self made dog trainer' who agreed to do her TV show at a time when she'd had no experience training dogs at all :gasp: I've got little time for her because of dogs she's condemned purely because they don't respond to her way of training. Not all dogs respond to reward based training, some sadly need a firmer hand.

Speaking honestly I don't think it's ever too late to try and change a dog and every dog deserves a chance.

Skye came into our home over 6 years at 11 months old and lived with my rats in the living room until last October, but he has a very high prey drive and I knew given the chance he would have killed them. Prey drive is one of the most difficult things to 'train out' of a dog, so owners just have to be alert and watchful all the time. Hate to say it but if the dog killed the parrot, that wasn't the dog's fault, but I understand how the girl feels.


----------



## *H*

Results are back in - No sign of malignancy! 
Mixed feelings though as he does however want the whole mass and nipple removing and sent to be double checked :/ As I asked if it's benign and not causing her any problems, does she really need to be put under again to have it removed? He said that FNA isn't always 100% and it's best to be safe with this one...


----------



## BMo1979

*H* said:


> Results are back in - No sign of malignancy!
> Mixed feelings though as he does however want the whole mass and nipple removing and sent to be double checked :/ As I asked if it's benign and not causing her any problems, does she really need to be put under again to have it removed? He said that FNA isn't always 100% and it's best to be safe with this one...


Difficult decision. Would it be possible to wait a while and keep an eye it, see if it changes? 
They did that with Trigger, he's got a couple of lumps and the sample the vet took during his dental treatment came back inconclusive, because there was not enough tissue or something. We decided to just leave it right now, he's had it for ages and it doesn't change.

@Eileen: No, it wasn't VS. I agree with you, I watched some of her program and can spontaneously think of at least 2 dogs that were PTS with her advise. Dogs, that could have been thriving in the right hands and with the right training. IMHO, she's a bit like PETA: All high and mighty about her methods, but it's her way or no way. 
I can't find it right now, but another trainer has written an open letter to her, criticising this approach and even blaming a rise in aggression in trainers using "positive only" methods. He says, in the worst case you'll end up with an overweight disobedient/aggressive dog, which makes sense. 
I kind of compare it with bringing up children: You cannot constantly bribe them with sweets and treats, sometimes you have to be stern and put your foot down (doesn't mean you hit or beat neither dog nor child).


----------



## *H*

BMo1979 said:


> Difficult decision. Would it be possible to wait a while and keep an eye it, see if it changes?
> They did that with Trigger, he's got a couple of lumps and the sample the vet took during his dental treatment came back inconclusive, because there was not enough tissue or something. We decided to just leave it right now, he's had it for ages and it doesn't change.


We've just spoke to him again, his personal opinion is to not leave it and wouldn't if it was a decision he would have to make. He's not completely satisfied with the results of the FNA, and said due to how fast it has come up he thinks it's only going to grow quickly over time, and the bigger it is, the more invasive the Op will be, and he suspects even if innocent now, there's a chance it will become sinister if left. To be honest I think he suspects the FNA has failed and wants to get it out. It should be a straight forward Op and take around half an hour with easy recovery.

Even though we would probably not go through with a complete mammary strip should it come back as bad, part of me is thinking removing this whole lump, could get it all?


----------



## Basin79

*H* said:


> We've just spoke to him again, his personal opinion is to not leave it and wouldn't if it was a decision he would have to make. He's not completely satisfied with the results of the FNA, and said due to how fast it has come up he thinks it's only going to grow quickly over time, and the bigger it is, the more invasive the Op will be, and he suspects even if innocent now, there's a chance it will become sinister if left. To be honest I think he suspects the FNA has failed and wants to get it out. It should be a straight forward Op and take around half an hour with easy recovery.
> 
> Even though we would probably not go through with a complete mammary strip should it come back as bad, part of me is thinking removing this whole lump, could get it all?


I'd get it out. Once it's out it's out. No more worrying constantly then.


----------



## *H*

She's booked in for Monday morning


----------



## Basin79

*H* said:


> She's booked in for Monday morning


It's absolutely heart wrenching when you have to leave them at the vet and you go home. Then the waiting. But that phone call saying everything has gone well is brilliant. And going to pick them up is unreal. Really do hope everything goes well for your little lass.


----------



## *H*

Basin79 said:


> It's absolutely heart wrenching when you have to leave them at the vet and you go home. Then the waiting. But that phone call saying everything has gone well is brilliant. And going to pick them up is unreal. Really do hope everything goes well for your little lass.


Yup, it's only 2 months ago we went through it with her - she ate a can of cat food, including the actual can, so had to have a big op to remove metal out of her stomach. *sigh*.
Thank You


----------



## feorag

*H* said:


> Results are back in - No sign of malignancy!
> Mixed feelings though as he does however want the whole mass and nipple removing and sent to be double checked :/ As I asked if it's benign and not causing her any problems, does she really need to be put under again to have it removed? He said that FNA isn't always 100% and it's best to be safe with this one...


If he thinks he can do in half an hour and you would be more relaxed if it was out, then I'd probably go for it. Malignancy I wouldn't have done it, cos there's no guarantee it hasn't spread or that they will get it all out. It's more the fact that she's had an anaesthetic so recently that would bother me.



BMo1979 said:


> @Eileen: No, it wasn't VS. I agree with you, I watched some of her program and can spontaneously think of at least 2 dogs that were PTS with her advise. Dogs, that could have been thriving in the right hands and with the right training. IMHO, she's a bit like PETA: All high and mighty about her methods, but it's her way or no way.
> I can't find it right now, but another trainer has written an open letter to her, criticising this approach and even blaming a rise in aggression in trainers using "positive only" methods. He says, in the worst case you'll end up with an overweight disobedient/aggressive dog, which makes sense.
> I kind of compare it with bringing up children: You cannot constantly bribe them with sweets and treats, sometimes you have to be stern and put your foot down (doesn't mean you hit or beat neither dog nor child).


Yes I've seen that Brigitte. It's all very well these 'do gooders' saying that dogs should be trained by positive reinforcement and for most dogs it works, but if it doesn't work it doesn't mean the dog should be euthanased - it means the dog needs a more dominant approach than positive reinforcement gives.


----------



## **louise**

An update on Daisy. She went in to have the op to remove the mammary tumour. Got a call that afternoon to say the the op hadn't gone ahead as they discovered she had some fluid coming from her teats. They discovered this after they put her under and shaved her! 

Turns out she's having a phantom pregnancy. The op has been put back till 4th of May when she should be over it but now it's been decided that it would be a good idea to have her spayed at the same time. I really didn't want to put her through such a big op but the risk of pyometra does make me think it's worth it.

I just want this all over with. I was a mess when I left her at the vets and now it was all for nothing and has to be done again next month. Gutted.


----------



## **louise**

*H* said:


> Millie got over her stomach Op from eating a tin can just about.. but we found a bobbly hard lump under her middle nipple yesterday morning, which had only come up within a day or so, was the size of a large marble if not bigger, and her nipple was leaking bloody fluid. We took her straight to the vets and he's prepared us for the worst. He's took 3 samples which will be back by Tuesday at the latest, but because of where it is, if it can be removed she'd need a mammary strip doing.. and she's 10 this month. We've been reading up so we can make a decision on what to do, I'm not sure we want to put her through that, she didn't quite bounce back to her old self from her Op last month, and she's been slowing right down the last 6 months or so.
> Has anyone else gone through this and decided on a mammary strip on a relatively older dog? Or has anyone had a dog with mammary cancer?


Just seen this post after I posted the one above. My girl is 10 this August and a Cairn terrier cross breed. She's young for her age and thankfully she bounced back very quickly from the GA. Even though she didn't have surgery, I was still pleased she'd coped so well with the trip to the vet, being left and then recovering from the GA, that I decided to still go ahead with the tumour removal and now the spay. I'm still going to be worried sick but in my mind, I'm sure I'm doing the right thing for her and the vet has said she would be doing the same if it was her own dog, so that's good enough for me. It's not an easy choice to make.

Hoping all goes well on Monday for your girl.


----------



## *H*

feorag said:


> If he thinks he can do in half an hour and you would be more relaxed if it was out, then I'd probably go for it. Malignancy I wouldn't have done it, cos there's no guarantee it hasn't spread or that they will get it all out.  It's more the fact that she's had an anaesthetic so recently that would bother me.


That was what we needed answering, as we had decided over the weekend that if it does come back as malignant, we wouldn't be putting her through the big Op, and would care for her till her quality of life was affected. We wanted to know why risk putting her under again for a benign lump. 
Had he been almost certain it was benign, we wouldn't have agreed to have it removed. He's not. It's more the fact at the moment it's a simple, quick procedure with easy recovery.. and part of me is hoping this could be all that is needed... my gut feeling is to go through with this small Op, even though I am completely against her having the strip. I know should it come back as anything that would be as far as we would take it, and make it a pointless thing to put her through, but that voice in the back of my head is there telling me to do it. She's a tough old mare that one, if there ever was a dog who could do this, it's her. 



**louise** said:


> Just seen this post after I posted the one above. My girl is 10 this August and a Cairn terrier cross breed. She's young for her age and thankfully she bounced back very quickly from the GA. Even though she didn't have surgery, I was still pleased she'd coped so well with the trip to the vet, being left and then recovering from the GA, that I decided to still go ahead with the tumour removal and now the spay. I'm still going to be worried sick but in my mind, I'm sure I'm doing the right thing for her and the vet has said she would be doing the same if it was her own dog, so that's good enough for me. It's not an easy choice to make.
> 
> Hoping all goes well on Monday for your girl.


Thank you, best wishes for your pooch too when she goes back in to have it done. It's a horrible time isn't it, trying to do what is best for them, if only they could talk!


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## feorag

Then go with your gut feeling. That's what I'd do!

You work with the information you have and make decisions based on that, but when gut instinct kicks in, it's worth following.

Good luck and keep us updated on how things go!


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## *H*

Hubby dropped her off at 8.30 this morning, they said they wanted to do a chest xray before they actually go ahead with the Op.... (if that's not a suspicious vet then I don't know what is :/) phoned at 9.30 to say that had come back clear but wanted to do a side one before they proceed (she was under at the time) we haven't heard anything else, so I'm assuming that one too come back clear and they've gone ahead with the Op. Got to phone back after 2pm if we haven't heard anything from them, will update a bit later x


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## feorag

Fingers crossed everything goes OK - let us know when she's home.

On a separate note I opened the forum today and had 3 Notifications :gasp: It was nearly like old times! :lol2:


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## BMo1979

Fingers and paws crossed from here, too, *H*.


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## *H*

She's home, still quite out of it and it's quite a big wound. Has anti biotics and painkillers. Both x-rays come back clear, no shadows or anything. Her results will be back the end of the week/beginning of next. Bless her she's looking quite sorry for herself


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## Basin79

*H* said:


> She's home, still quite out of it and it's quite a big wound. Has anti biotics and painkillers. Both x-rays come back clear, no shadows or anything. Her results will be back the end of the week/beginning of next. Bless her she's looking quite sorry for herself


Glad she's alright.


----------



## feorag

*H* said:


> She's home, still quite out of it and it's quite a big wound. Has anti biotics and painkillers. Both x-rays come back clear, no shadows or anything. Her results will be back the end of the week/beginning of next. Bless her she's looking quite sorry for herself


It's always such a relief just to have them home after an anaesthetic.

So, if the wound is looking big, was it a large lump or did he do the strip??

Hope all the results come back good! :2thumb:


----------



## **louise**

*H* said:


> She's home, still quite out of it and it's quite a big wound. Has anti biotics and painkillers. Both x-rays come back clear, no shadows or anything. Her results will be back the end of the week/beginning of next. Bless her she's looking quite sorry for herself


Glad to hear she's back home and doing well. Such a relief for you and I hope she's back to her normal self asap.

Must admit, I've done a complete U-turn the last few days with my thoughts on having my girl go under. I'm starting to have doubts and just got a feeling I might be doing the wrong thing. I really hate this. It's driving me mad not knowing what to do for the best. Going to make an appointment to see the vet and discuss things further before I go ahead. Poor daisy seems to have an ear infection now so that's yet another thing to sort out before we make any plans.


----------



## *H*

Basin79 said:


> Glad she's alright.


Thank you 



feorag said:


> It's always such a relief just to have them home after an anaesthetic.
> 
> So, if the wound is looking big, was it a large lump or did he do the strip??
> 
> Hope all the results come back good! :2thumb:


Thanks Eileen 
Yes it was larger than they thought, plus they've took away a bit extra to be on the safe side.

She seems to be almost back to normal this morning, doesn't seem to be in any discomfort (didn't wake us howling like she did with her stomach Op)



**louise** said:


> Glad to hear she's back home and doing well. Such a relief for you and I hope she's back to her normal self asap.
> 
> Must admit, I've done a complete U-turn the last few days with my thoughts on having my girl go under. I'm starting to have doubts and just got a feeling I might be doing the wrong thing. I really hate this. It's driving me mad not knowing what to do for the best. Going to make an appointment to see the vet and discuss things further before I go ahead. Poor daisy seems to have an ear infection now so that's yet another thing to sort out before we make any plans.


Thank you 
Have a chat with your vet and see how you feel then. I don't regret putting mine through this one, but then again I know how tough she is and what she can and can't deal with. You know your girl better than anyone, and only you can make a decision for what is right for her, good luck with whatever you decide to do xx


----------



## feorag

**louise** said:


> Must admit, I've done a complete U-turn the last few days with my thoughts on having my girl go under. I'm starting to have doubts and just got a feeling I might be doing the wrong thing. I really hate this. It's driving me mad not knowing what to do for the best. Going to make an appointment to see the vet and discuss things further before I go ahead. Poor daisy seems to have an ear infection now so that's yet another thing to sort out before we make any plans.


It's a tough call and whichever way you go you'll never know for certain that you made the right choice and that's what makes it so hard.

As Hayley (it is Hayley isn't it - apologies if it isn't cos it's so long since I've spoken to you :lol: ) says you know your dog best, but I'm a firm believer in gut feeling, so difficult for you. :sad:



*H* said:


> Thanks Eileen
> Yes it was larger than they thought, plus they've took away a bit extra to be on the safe side.
> 
> She seems to be almost back to normal this morning, doesn't seem to be in any discomfort (didn't wake us howling like she did with her stomach Op)


Wow! That's brilliant! :2thumb:


----------



## *H*

:2thumb:


----------



## feorag

Phew!!! Bet that's a relief! How's she doing after surgery?


----------



## *H*

feorag said:


> Phew!!! Bet that's a relief! How's she doing after surgery?


Just a bit! *phew*

She's doing brill, wouldn't know that she'd not long ago had an Op lol Vet checked her over yesterday, it's healing lovely and stitches can come out on Wednesday 

*and breathe*


----------



## feorag

:lol2: Great news!


----------



## **louise**

Things aren't great with Daisy. We've found another lump on a different teat and also a rather worrying lump in her chest area, quite big and irregular shaped. I gave her a spring hair cut and the lack of thick fur is what meant I was able to feel it. It's quite deep under the skin and you can only feel it if you feel quite deep. I'm so worried. Her surgery for the 4th has been cancelled and she's booked in to see the vet next week. I could cry. I have cried.


----------



## feorag

I'm not surprised you've cried - I certainly would have too.

Fingers crossed for you, although it doesn't sound very promising, you just never know.


----------



## **louise**

Been forgetting to update this thread. Cody is going in tomorrow for his castration and the removal of the lump near his tail base. 

Daisy is booked in for Thursday next week for her op. She's not having the spay now. She's having the mammary tumours removed plus the new larger lump on her chest. The vet was concerned at first as she thought it might be around her lymph nodes but thankfully those seem clear and she thinks this lump may be unrelated to the others but wants them removed asap and then we will know more. 

It's going to be a stressful few weeks (

A few recent pics


----------



## feorag

Lovely photos! :flrt:

Good luck with the operations - always a stressful time, as much for us than them. :blush:


----------



## **louise**

All done. Went very well. He's very sleepy still but has eaten a little food and has stopped crying now (he cried all the way home). Back in 10 days for his stitches out on his tail (the others are internal).


----------



## feorag

Aw bless him! :flrt: Boys are such babies aren't they. :lol2:

Good luck with the next one! :gasp:


----------



## **louise**

feorag said:


> Aw bless him! :flrt: Boys are such babies aren't they. :lol2:
> 
> Good luck with the next one! :gasp:


I'm dreading hers. She's so little and nervous of strangers. Cody literally ran into the back room of the vets without even glancing back at me. he didn't care where he was going :2thumb:

Couple of pics of Cody's bits..

36 hours after surgery:



















3 days after surgery (today):


----------



## feorag

I know what you mean about worrying about the nervous ones. :sad:

That looks like it's healing great! :2thumb:


----------



## BMo1979

Glad to hear he's doing well. 
And fingers crossed for Daisy's surgery x.


----------



## **louise**

Today was the day of Daisy's surgery. I have been dreading this day but now it's all over and I'm so happy. The lump on her chest/shoulder area was just a fatty lump and has been removed. She also had the 2 mammary gland lumps removed. X-rays have shown no other masses anywhere and her lymph nodes are clear. I'm am so relieved.

Got back an hour ago and she's fast asleep in her crate. The dressing is to be removed tomorrow so then I'll get to see the wounds but I'm told they are small. The one on her chest isn't covered and is quite small. All done with dissolving stitches.


----------



## BMo1979

Aww, that's great news. She'll be back on her feet before you know it :flrt:


----------



## **louise**

She's really perked up this evening and is walking great and doing everything she should but just a little slower. This was what her sore bits looked like this morning.



















Still a bit drowsy looking this morning and ears back


----------



## feorag

That's an excellent result on both the lump only being fatty tissue and the operation going well.

Bless her, I'm sure she'll be back to normal in no time! :2thumb:


----------



## **louise**

She has amazed me how quick she's back to normal and how fast she's healing. 














































Cody had his post op check up today and as I suspected, he has a haematoma near the castration site. It should clear up on it's own and he's showing no signs of pain plus the swelling has gone down a lot in the last 24 hours so he should be fine. He's back in 2 weeks to check it all but I'm to take him back sooner if I am worried. He'll be fine though. 

He's worn out now after his trip to the vets..


----------



## feorag

Wow! Her wounds have healed up fast - they're looking great! :2thumb:

Shame about Cody, but as long as he's not in pain :sad:

Great result all round I'd say!


----------



## BMo1979

Hi, 
I've entered a photo of my Trigger in a contest to feature in a GSD calendar for 2017. The vote ends in August and the photos with the most like win. I don't have that many people on my FB so to be in for a chance, would you mind helping me by clicking on my picture?

It's this one here you should be able to find it in the link:
Trigger (10 1/2) from Erskine, Scotland, swimming for his ball


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## feorag

BMo1979 said:


> Hi,
> I've entered a photo of my Trigger in a contest to feature in a GSD calendar for 2017. The vote ends in August and the photos with the most like win. I don't have that many people on my FB so to be in for a chance, would you mind helping me by clicking on my picture?
> 
> It's this one here you should be able to find it in the link:
> Trigger (10 1/2) from Erskine, Scotland, swimming for his ball
> image


Need you to post the link though Brigitte :2thumb:


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## BMo1979

feorag said:


> Need you to post the link though Brigitte :2thumb:


Oh dear, I think my brain melted in the heat lol :blush:

Here is is:
https://www.facebook.com/events/1636927973294150/1636947059958908/?notif_t=like&notif_id=1465400272879387


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## Basin79

33 Inspirational Dog Quotes - SpartaDog Blog


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## MikeO233

Thought I would add my random pup photo of the day.

This is Miyah, the youngest of my two Brittanys. I have a 6.5 year old called Bee also. Miyah is 8 weeks 4 days and has been with me since Wednesday.










Just for luck, this is Bee:










There are somehow related, I'm not totally sure the connection yet as I am waiting for the 5 gen certificate. I think Bee might be Miyah's great Aunt.


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