Tilly

I use a prong collar on both my GSD simply because if there were to misbehave I would not be physically strong enough to control them. I do find that with the prong collar the dogs will behave better ... but a lot of dogs do become collar aware ... once they are back in a flat collar they can go back to pulling so it may be a long term thing. The only problem I have with the prong collar is that I can't find any obedience classes who would allow the use of a prong collar - so you are lucky to have a trainer who is open minded enough to consider it an option. Also consider having a back-up collar such as a check chain or something like the below collar ... some prong collar have been known to come apart.

Your reaction is perfectly understandable ... and I have slightly lost the plot a couple of times in similar situations. The most important thing now is not to let the incident affect Lucy. Keep to your normal routines and try very hard not to tense up when you are out walking her and a similiar situation arises (eg car drive by with dogs in the back) as this will transfer down the lead to Lucy. Also introduce Lucy to similar looking but friendly dogs - making it a positive experience. Hugs to you both ...

We feed Canidae Grain Free and raw - the youngest tends to get the runs if he is given any processed foods (other then Canidae) or foods with grains. If the youngest eats something that does give him the runs I give him some streamed chicken breast, pumpkin, yoghurt and some Inner Health Plus ...

Postage is flat $5 from Pookinuk ... so it works out just slightly under when on sale. I do like the fact I don't have to drive around looking for it. Some places do stock it but don't always have it in stock when I want it.

Mine love it too ... I buy mine online at http://www.pookinuk.com.au/ ... interested to see if there is much of a price difference.

They were warning of parvo outbreaks following the floods ... nasty disease

Warwick Lure Coursing is back ... the dates for 2011 are: 17 April 2011 - Practice Day 29 May 2011 - Practice Day 26 June 2011 - Practice Day 31 July 2011 - Trail Day 21 August 2011 - Practice Day 25 September 2011 - Trail Day 30 October 2011 - Practice Day 27 November 2011 - Fun Day Meets are held at Henry Joppich Park, Wentworth Street, Warwick

It might help if you can get footage as evidence ... and put it in writing.

I think it depends on the weather and how cold it is ... my GSD was about 12 weeks when he slept outside for the first time. I had come home late and he was sound asleep in his bed - so I left him there. My boy has a pen outside (on the verandah) that I used to put him in at night ... but after a couple of weeks - I stopped closing him in. My biggest concern was leaving him unattended with our older GSD because he just didn't tolerate the full on puppy behaviour.

Sometimes the apple may fall from the tree ... but it rolls down the hill far enough that to grows up strong and straight ... Just sometimes you do find a wonderful little child who will stop and ask if they can pat the doggy ... only for me to explain - sorry but he doesn't like strangers patting him - little girl smiles and said "ok" before continuing her ride ... only to have the father go mental at you for having a "dangerous dog" in the park. If his daughter can't pat the dog then it must be dangerous and all dogs in the park should be able to be patted by his daughter. The guys loud, threatening, in-your-face behaviour was totally over the top and the guy didn't seem to realise how close he was going to being bitten by a dog who wanted to protect his owner. I had to turn my back on the guy and push him away so I could get the dog out away from the barrier and move away. I am sure his wife was extremely embarrased by his behaviour ...

Maybe the trainer was using the tied up as a time out type thing. When my guys were puppies they had times when they went completely mental with excitement ... so they got crate time and were only let out again when they had calmed down. Even now ... occassionally they get time out when they have been told not to do something and they continue as soon as my back is turned.

My boys are run for between 5 and 10km ... 5km is about 25 min ... but I don't do the running. Lucky me has a friend who takes them running

Did they mean don't feed the dog on training days? Usually if you attend an obedience class/club that uses training treats they recommend you don't feed your dog as they pay more attention because it is hungry ... My boys get a random no food day ... but it isn't always once a week. It is usually just the days I decide to have a sleep in and can't be bothered getting up to feed them. I don't think it changes how obedient they are ... but they rush to their eating areas and snap into a beautiful sit when they see I have food bowls in my hands.

After being a bit lethargic earlier today he seems to have now brightened up ... I have taken him out a couple of times to all his favour places to pee ... and he has done a couple of weak (but steady) streams and lots of dribbles. There is no hardness in the bladder area so I can only assume his bladder is comfortable at this stage. I will monitor him tonight and take him to the hospital if he seems to struggle otherwise I will talk to his regular vet in the morning. Last time ... his prostate was given an all clear. We were told desexing would remove the possibility of his prostate being an ongoing issue. Is this correct? Can desexed males have ongoing prostate issues?

A couple of years ago we rushed our older GSD into emergency after he had difficulty urinating. All tests/scans didn't reveal any infections or anything abnormal ... so they did exploratory surgery where a slightly abnormal growth was found (tested negative to cancer)... it was pressing on urinary tract so therefore they assumed this had caused an obstruction ... he was desexed while on the table. He had a catheter for about 3 weeks before he was able to urinate ... but it never really returned completely normal. He used to pee like a fire truck ... We found if he was confined for as little as an hour then he again has trouble urinating. A couple of months ago he became seriously ill with a paralysis tick but again made a good recovery. Both illnesses have taken a lot out of him but he has been in reasonable health ... just slowing up a little bit and needing some extra love. He has been retired from security work and doesn't seem the slightest bit worried about it ... which has really surprised us because he loved going to work. He has just finished a course of antibiotics as he has a lump on his back leg that was full of pus and was taking a while to heal. Vet thought it might be a stick injury or something like that ... it hasn't completely healed yet but is much better. This morning he started to struggle to urinate again ... he is pushing out just couple of little drops rather then a stream. He has even started dripping when he walks around. I can't put him through hospitalisation again ... he hated being confined and became extremely aggressive. He hates the vet ... so I really don't want to put him through too much in the way of vet treatments if it really isn't going to help him. And honestly I don't have another $4,600 to spent (this is what the first hospitalisation cost). Has anyone got any idea on what might be the problem?

Another for Canidae Grain Free Salmon ... my boys absolutely love it.

When I got my GSD pup I used some old cushions under the blankets but up around the side of the crate ... to take up some extra space and to provide some extra comfy padding for the little bundle to curl up. He also had his teddy bear and a couple of toys ... and suddenly an XLarge cate seems a bit too small ... I ended up having to get an XXLarge crate not long after he came home.

If you are going to have someone with you then probably the easiest is having someone sit in the back seat with the puppy in a box on the floor.

Don't know why but I think of dogs as male and cats as female ... only ever had male dogs and female cats

Apparently it depends on the state or territory. When I enquired I was told that if the bite was on my property behind an adequate fence then it was not an offence. I made this enquiry after a former neighbour told a police officer that jumping our fence in pursuit of a burglar would be suicide. Of course, if that were true, then the burglar wouldn't have jumped our fence in the first place (or if he did, he wasn't going anywhere), but it was enough to cause a bit of trouble... Aidan2 - does the council give a clear definition of an "adequate fence" ... some councils give clear fence requirements such as 1.2m high fence for small dogs under 8kg and 1.8m for dogs over 8kg. When I asked about what consituted an adequate fence ... this is were the issue started. While most people view an adequate fence as being a secure fence that keeps their dog inside their yard - but this may not be the case. It may in fact mean a fence which someone couldn't climb over or get through. Now we have an 8 foot timber paling fence build originally as part of a pool fence (over 1 metre between side rails) but this is not adequate to stop someone from climbing over it (which I regularly do when I forget my house keys) so therefore this is not adequate from stopping someone from entering my backyard - and therefore not considered an "adequate fence" in the event of a dog bite.

Anyone entering your property should have free access to the front door (or some means of contacting the house - such as a speaker thingy - like in gated communities) ... and in the case of a meter reader then free access to the meter box.

I had an incident at my place where my dogs are locked in the back half of the yard. I happened to be home at the time when the dogs when mental so I headed out the front door. I found a young school boy at my side gate and this mother standing on the footpath. The comment from the mother was "it is ok - he just wants to pat the dogs" sent me into a bit of a rant where I told both the child and the mother in no uncertain terms that they are never to enter someone's yard and try and pat the dogs - particularly when they are barking their heads off. Now this child entered my front yard (which is unfenced) and went about 2 metres down the side of my house to a side gate to get close to my dogs ... they are behind an 8ft timber paling fence and padlocked gates. A number of telephone calls to council etc resulted in the advice that a dog bite is a dog bite regardless of the location. Basically if someone is bitten by your dog it makes no difference if it was inside or outside of your yard - they can be declared dangerous ... or PTS if that is the ruling. If someone enters your property legally or illegally and is bitten by your dog then again your dog can be declared dangerous or PTS if that is the ruling. When I straight out asked what I needed to do to ensure my dogs were safe from stupid people (because I am not allowed to shoot people, can't use barbed wire or electric fences) ... I was told not to have dogs. One would like to think common sense would come into it but unfortunately there is no distinction between public and private land when it comes to dog bites.

I have locked my youngest in his puppy pen during the night because he was barking at possums and digging up the backyard ... and then slept in the next morning because I was sick ... not waking until 1pm!!! I then thought of getting up and feeding the dogs but decided since the boys had missed breakfast - they can have a light day and just get a few bones for dinner. It wasn't until about 4pm when I got up to give them the bones ... that I realised I have left the youngest in the puppy pen ... a very desperate dog was quickly let out of the pen so he could have a toilet break. He was locked up for about 14hrs!!!!

We had fenced down the middle of the back yard - so we had the pup on one side and the older boy on the other. We only let them play while we were actively supervising them. Thankfully we had taught our older boy the "gentle" command so when things got a litte rough we were able to tell him to be more gentle ... when the pup got a bit rough then we let the older boy either tell him off or separated them again.

Some are just vocal ... my boy is almost 2 years old and is still a whiner...