hortfurball

Kuges is geriatric - he's larger than a lab so theoretical life expectancy about 11 - 13 years, he's now 15. He has been on a variety of diets as my dog knowledge increased and depending on my financial state at the time. He has had a few different Supermarket dried biscuits, then Eukanuba, often with a little added tinned food or mince. Is currently on a combo of raw mince with a little garlic, vegie scraps, tinned meat and weetbix due to scarcity of teeth and lack of interest in biscuits. Has had a heart condition for four years that amazingly hasn't taken him yet. Is on Joint Guard for arthritis. Never gets unhealthy human snacks, except for the very occasional piece of cheese. Treats are dog treats, a raw egg if I've been baking, tinned sardines (small amount as one tin is divided between dogs and cats), apple peel, fat offcuts (which doesn't happen often as I usually buy lean meat), raw bones when he still had enough teeth to do more than suck them. (bones are kind of pointless now as he can't use them to clean the remaining teeth as he doesn't have enough teeth to gnaw them) Have always kept him slim and don't leave food down (Ella would scoff it all anyway and she'd get fat). Eats two small meals a day rather than one large. Seems like enough variety in the answers to suggest food really has nothing to do with longevity.

I have two mutts and two moggies. My housemate had a rabbit when I first brought baby Kuga home and the rabbit was bigger than he was at that stage so he got used to other furries young. He has since lived with a cocker spaniel, a galah, a pair of ratties, a kitten, another rabbit and another kitten, so by the time he was 4 (I think) and I got my first cat, he was used to pretty much anything. Joely, on the other hand, being an ex stray, wasn't terribly impressed to pop his head out of the box and come face to face with a large dog. He exploded out of the box and found his way around the house high point to high point for a while. Only took him a month or so to realise Kuga was a big sook and start playing with him. Ella arrived as a pup when Joely was well established as king, and they played chasey - she'd chase him into the bedroom and he'd chase her back out :D but she's always been a little wary of him as he's a cheeky tyke and will sometimes bat her as she walks past. Then Indi the smoocher arrived, and she and Kuges loved each other from day one, but if she tried to smooch Ella, Ella would leap up and run away, expecting to get attacked because of Joely's early training. Indi's been with me for about 4 years now and it's only in the last year that Ella has finally realised that a smooch from Indi is a sweet and harmless thing. Indi giving Kuges a hug... The four of them...

Ok, I'm officially a Kepala stalker! You can all blame Lucycharzie for posting the link in the M&M's. Gorgeous dogs and fantastic photography - what an unbeatable and irresistible combination!! I have about thirty favourite pics so I won't list them all although Echo, Dexter and Hector feature in a fair few of them and that one of the rotty with the ball looking at the second ball is a crack up! Their personalities absolutely shine in these pics! Great bunch of lovely friendly dogs and so funny too! May I humbly request on behalf of your interstate audience, that the names of the dogs in the pics be provided where possible? (Although I think I have 90% of them worked out, but it took me seven pages to do it! ) Seeing as this seems to be the home of lappies...a funny little story for you Lappiesmum and Evolving... When I went to the vet to pick up Kuga's meds the other day there was a guy there with two dogs...I looked and asked excitedly "Ooh! Is that a Finnish Lapphund?" He said "Yes! I'm surprised, usually no one knows what they are!" While giving her a cuddle I said "Oh, I'm on a dog forum - I've seen pics but this is the first one I've seen in the flesh! What's this one?" (patting the other dog) and he says *drumroll* "A Groodle" My response " A WHAT?" "A golden retriever cross poodle" "Oh!" (with that kind of 'why didn't you say that in the first place' intonation!) So I'm weird because I know what a Finnish Lapphund is but have no idea about this mystery oodle BECAUSE IT'S NOT A BREED!!! It's a made up name! Silly man. Anyway, the point is...I met a lappie! and thanks to you guys, I actually knew what she was.

Holy Dooley, I can imagine a pair of aggresive Saint Bernards would be pretty damn scary ;) Yes and no. The scary factor came from their sheer size and weight and because I knew it meant I had buckley's chance of doing anything about it until the owner reached me, but when I glanced over (wondering what was taking her so long) and saw she had no intention of coming over but was just standing like a stunned mullet 20 odd metres away, I was more angry than scared, and after a few previous incidents, was a bit calmer about the whole situation, so was able to use a commanding tone to get one of them to back off. I was then waiting for my opportunity to get the boot in on the second one and get between them when Kuges sorted it out himself, thankfully. I just have to say that sometimes some of us end up with DA dogs not because of being bad owners or raising our dogs incorrectly but because of bad experiences our dogs have had as youngsters. It is all too easy for a good dog to become a not so good dog through bad experiences unfortunately. I started out with two dogs who were absolutely fine with other dogs and through no fault of theirs or mine (except for the mishandling mentioned below), now they are both reactive with certain types of dogs. I am aware of which they will react to and which they won't so can have controlled one on one play dates but other than that, I see it as my duty as a responsible dog owner to never let them off leash in public, and even on leash, to take a wide berth around the type of dog that I believe might pose a problem. OT again but I agree. Jules1, I notice you're in Perth - don't forget to check out the social events sub-forum so we Perthies can all meet that adorable creature! I agree. Unfortunately the information wasn't as readily available when Kuges was a youngster (no internet) and I made the mistake of not taking him outside my place until after all his vaccinations. Puppy preschool wasn't even heard of back then. This probably made him more susceptible to the influence of his early bad experiences, as he didn't have the good ones to back it up. I think I did this, which also didn't help. We live and learn.

Lisa, sorry about what happened to your pup, hope there are no long lasting effects on his temperament, but as others have mentioned I really think it is taking a big risk having an 11 week old pup off leash, regardless of previous good behaviour he's still not 'proven'. There is no way you could anticipate the reaction of an 11 week old pup should an unexpected incident occur. If you hadn't happened to pick him up he might have sped off in fear straight under the wheels of a car. Too damn risky in my opinion. I'm also curious about his vaccination status. I agree. I wouldn't want it on my head the next time he attacks, and he almost certainly will, as his owner is clearly doing nothing to prevent it. I don't usually play 'name the breed' but in the interests of showing the diversity of attacking dog breeds, may I add: jack russell rottweiler ACD another BC another lab various mixed breeds and a pair of saint bernards acting in tandem Lisa, stubborn and muscular this dog may have been, but imagine trying to move a pair of 80 kilo saint bernards - physically impossible due to the fact that they weigh more than your average woman. One of them thankfully responded to a commanding tone of voice, the other completely ignored me and all I could do was release my dog's leash to give him half a chance to defend himself without me or the leash getting in the way. Thankfully my boy somehow managed to 'hold' the other dog and I stepped between, at which stage the irresponsible owner finally decided to come over. If BSL is taken to its ultimate conclusion, nobody will be allowed to own any dogs of a certain build, history or over a certain size. Say goodbye to staffords, bernese mountain dogs, great danes, newfs, malamutes, dobermanns, rottweilers, GSDs, pointers, most of the sighthounds, pretty much anything from the mastiff group, rhodesian ridgebacks, weimeranas etc etc I'm sorry but I just don't warm to little lap dogs the way I do to large silly oafs and I really hope there never comes a day when we go to choose a dog and are asked which of the only twenty or so breeds remaining we would like...all of them under knee height. Oh and if you like your dobermanns, better think twice about supporting BSL because the dobes will be a casualty as soon as they've got rid of the bull breeds. They also said they just picked the puppy up, if it was that strong & vicious, surely it wouldn't have let go of the puppy. Sorry, but I smell a rat. Good point. When my girls had a fight, I picked up Ebony ('cos she was smaller) and her teeth were still embedded in Ella's face - there was no way she was letting go willingly. Even picking up the attacking dog can't make them let go if they're really determined. Longcoat, if bull breeds are banned, the undesirable owners (studded collar brigade) will simply move on to rotties, dobes and GSDs and that will blow your theory of the owners of these dogs being more responsible out of the water. BTW, Kuges has studs on his collar. A single row of small ones though - it's his 'bling'. :D

Out of curiosity, why do you hate leaving your dogs inside? There's nowhere mine would rather spend their day than on my bed, fast asleep in comfort... because outside they can go to the toilet as needed, run around in the sun, inside they have to sit in their crates, not a nice life being crated all the time, and i hate doing it. Ah, I didn't realise they'd be crated. If they have the run of the house do they turn it into a bombsite? How high are your fences? If they are really high, the dogs can't be seen from the street and gates are chained and padlocked to death, it might be a reasonable option for you to continue as you are, but I'm sure you'll do whatever you feel is best for your guys... ETA: Quick thought...fake video camera? Or even a real one, second hand? Don't know if it's in the realms of possibility for you but if budget allows...they say if you make it too hard for them, crooks will always choose the easier option. If there's a very visible deterrent - a camera mounted in a conspicuous place meaning a risk of them being filmed and identified I reckon that would give them pause.

Out of curiosity, why do you hate leaving your dogs inside? There's nowhere mine would rather spend their day than on my bed, fast asleep in comfort... Poor dogs and poor families. My worst nightmare (probably why I got in the habit of leaving mine inside). I'm so paranoid I won't leave my guys unattended in public, so they don't get walked to the shop 'cos I won't leave them tied outside. I hope they catch whoever is responsible before too many more meet the same fate, whatever that might be.

I was thinking exactly the same thing. I'd also dob them in about Macky while I was at it, and let the Council know that they have the puppy, and any future dog they get. If they have to register him with the council, then they can't just call animal welfare when they get sick of him. Those people need to take some responsibility for their pets. Poor dogs, that's bl**dy appalling. I don't know whether I could talk to them in a reasonable manner if I was you but if I could manage not to blow my top, I'd be dragging their sorry butts off to the pound to see just where Cody is likely to spend his last days. They need a reality check. Of course, there is a chance that although they say they love him they may not actually give a rats what happens to him, and the pound experience may have no impact on them at all. Out of curiosity, how did their new 6 month old pup manage not to be vaccinated by that age? I hope they are planning on remedying the situation. I think in your shoes, I'd make a few attempts to educate them, and if nothing changed then would never speak to them again. Too damn upsetting.

It's been so long I've forgotten what it costs to spey, $150-200? So if someone offers it for $50? She's still got to find $50 she doesn't have. Nup, it would never happen. RIP puppies. More senseless deaths at the hands of humans.

No, there are some who would blame any off leash dog that lunged at and/or attacked an on leash dog, regardless of whether it was a chihuahua attacking a great dane, or a mastiff attacking a maltese. Being big doesn't automatically make them the one at fault, and some of us will say that, whether you want to hear it or not. Doesn't make us small dog haters, or mean that we automatically blame the small dog in all situations. There are some small dog owners who think it is acceptable for their dog to launch into a full fledged attack on a larger dog, and laugh it off, until the big dog retaliates, and then all large dogs are devils, and people should be restricted to small dogs to stop these vicious attacks. Why? Because their small dog displayed behaviour that in a larger dog would be deemed unacceptable and created a situation that endangered its own life. Do they recognise this fact? No. Until large dogs stop getting the blame in ALL these situations, there are those of us who will point out that ALL dogs should be leashed unless under 100% control, and that if your dog lunges at and attacks other dogs, then keep it on leash, even if it is only 5 kilos. It is NOT OK to let your little dog attack. It is not cute, or endearing, and if my dog, on leash, responds to a constant snapping in his face challenge, he should not be blamed. But that was entirely off topic, as it has nothing to do with Minnie's situation. RIP Minnie, hope your poor owners can in time get over your loss and the awful manner in which it happened.

Poor old girl, what an ordeal. She must have been terrified. Hope the owners will take better care of her now.

Poor Spike. Poor poor little puppy. Hope he finds out what it is to be loved. Sick worthless piece of crap woman.

I just watched the videos of Tammie's presentation and the dogs' reactions. I think, but I don't know for sure, that Kuges would be like the first dog (greyhound?) and just stand placidly then when I left the room would be like the lab and go and sit with the stranger. Ella - I'm not sure what she'd be like while I was there, probably try to sniff them, but when I left the room I'm pretty sure she would be like the deerhound and try to climb into their lap.

Definitely! I'd say that's why the study is being carried out on neutral ground, and always the same location, to remove territorial behaviour from the equation. With any such study you need to control as many factors as possible, with the dog being the only variable if possible. I know my Ella would behave completely differently at home to how she would if in that situation. (not that I could begin to predict what she might do in this study, but at least I know she wouldn't bark at them non stop for the first minute like she does at home ) If I was in Vic, I'd be happy to blindly participate. ETA: Oh and KK, loved the vids of your two playing, pissing myself at all the yodeling your collie does! And I loved it when he followed Rosie through the tyre too!

Oh...and with large dogs in small spaces, you get adept at squeezing past them or stepping over them after a while. So long as they don't decide to get up when you're half way over (which they do all too often) it's fine.

Ok, I have quite a large yard by today's standards, but my two aren't in it during the day, they're in the house, so it would be somewhat like having dogs in an apartment. I have one working breed x and one large dog, and they do fine. My large boy has always been a couch potato...he loves getting out and about to take in the sights and smells but he's never been overly active. When he's let out into the yard when I get home, he invariably just finds a nice spot to lie down, and has always done that. My kelpie x is surprisingly good. She did trash the couch when she was younger, but I doubt anyone's house has made it through puppydom unscathed, so I don't believe breed comes into that. Occasionally the naughty thing will raid the recycling bin if it's getting full, but that's only 'cos she's food driven and wants to lick the tins. She self exercises by doing a couple of mad laps of the yard making sure that no doves have dared enter her garden, and then usually finds somewhere to lie down (until a bird lands and then she's off again), or just wanders (well, more like trots) around having a sniff. Usually she is walked every day but Perth's just come through the most stinking hot summer ever so I haven't been walking her much as she's black and heats up easily. We've been doing brain work instead. I do think that she's not AS active as a pure kelpie or BC would be though, so whatever else is in her is quietening her down a bit. Given that we think it could be dobermann, I'm not quite sure how.

Spottychick, your whole post was great! I'm another that would turn up at the shelter with pets...all of us or none of us, simple as that. Those who are talking about going back into a burning building... I wouldn't need to go back in, I'd have collected the animals on my way out the first time, although I have to say, if the damn cats were hiding I'd only search within reason, but I'd probably get the dogs out before going back for the cats. My emergency exit plan is to grab the cat carrier from the room next to my bedroom and scoop up both cats as I spot them on my way to the leashes. The dogs would no doubt be following me anyway so leashes on and we're out the door. Providing the cats weren't awkward, it would maybe add on a maximum of 30 seconds to getting just myself out. If I thought the back yard was safe for the dogs, I'd simply open the back door and usher the dogs out while I grabbed the leashes and had a quick look for the cats. Hopefully I'll never need to put any of it into practice.

Because it had irresponsible owners who knew there was a dog next door that would kill their cat if they let it roam, and chose to do absolutely nothing to keep their cat safe. R.I.P. Kitty. Bring on the cat containment laws. Sorry you had to go through this Christine and I hope that your neighbours are reasonable about it and take responsibility for their own lack of action rather than blaming you or Duke.

Christina, I love that first shot! Now there's a mad tangle of bodies that obviously all get on well!

I'm still pissing myself over "really big whippet". What person knows of the existence of whippets but not greyhounds? Good dogs.

Awww thanks, so are yours! I particularly like the last one 'cos they look so relaxed together. Looks like the cat knew the warmest spot to snuggle. Gorgeous cat too! I'm a big fan of the medium-long furred kitties, just love those big bushy tails! Thanks. It makes my heart melt every time I look at it, which is why I chose to put it in my sig.

I cheated, my pic is from a few years back when Ella was still young. She's 8 now and killed the couch on numerous occasions up to about the age of three. I would stuff all the feathers back in the cushions and sew them up, and she'd rip them open again and spread feathers all around the house. It was at least a weekly event for about 6 months, then became irregular and finally she grew up. The couch that lost all the foam wasn't salvageable, but the red one was, although it has some pretty big scars.

Did you ask her 'so when you want kids are you going to go hang around on street corners with your pants around your ankles' the human race is abhorrent and intolerable. Pissing myself at the bolded bit! How on earth did they get their hands on a rescue dog that wasn't desexed? Isn't it just about a mandatory part of good rescue practice to make sure that no dog gets rehomed unless desexed first for exactly the above reason? Sounds like the rescue group/person needs a good slap about the head.

I see your backyard confetti and raise you 'dismembered couch snow'... I'd already stuffed most of it back in the cushion when it occurred to me to take the pic.

Gorgeous pics everyone! Larger version of the pic in my sig... India (cat) thinks dogs are smooching posts, she also thinks Kuges is the bees knees because he lets her wriggle and snuggle and smooch all over him. Ella's slowly starting to accept kitty smooches without leaping up and running away but I don't have pics yet. Somewhere I have pics of Kuges with a couple of rabbits, other cats and kittens and a galah, but I think the pics predate my digital camera. I do have a couple on digi of him with various puppies. Foster pup took to him immediately. This pic was taken sometime in the first three days (I can tell by the collar she's wearing)