dee lee

I know what you mean. I am trying not to think about that. However, it's the pet shop to blame here for manipulating this naive family. I'm just glad they have learnt a lesson about this. From what the mum told me, there was no way they could have coped, it would have taken longer, but I'm certain the dog would have ended up at the pound. Thanks for the help guys. :)

Thanks for the advice guys, but my friend has returned the pup. They found it all too hard so took advantage of the their cooling off period. I think its for the best, and next time they will be doing a bit more research into a more suitable breed which they WONT be buying from a petshop.

Most large dogs work as a deterrent- its much less risky for perpetrators to find a victim who doesn't have a dog of unknown temperament. This goes both with your home and with walking. If someone is determined enough to take that risk, I don't think you should rely on your dog. Better to stay alert yourself, avoid risky situations and carry a phone with a direct police number in it. I have no idea what my GR would do if I was to be confronted (run away most likely), but she has made me feel safer on a number of occasions when walking. She is also a fantastic watch dog and has a very scary bark behind closed doors. I think a big dark dog of just about any large breed would work well for what you need. :)

Thanks Alkhe! :)

We changed our dog's name from Morgan to Honey when we adopted her at 2. Just started to call her that straightaway once we got her home. Initially she just responded to the attention, but it only took a couple of days before she knew her new name.

I'm very envious of you, I adore giant breeds. If I were you, I'd get a wolfhound or a deerhound. Or maybe one of each... :p

oh I love that ebook link!! That's great for me even!! And the potty training and recall are great too, Thanks!!

Thanks guys. :) Nekhbet, after looking at it, I am concerned that the Leerburg link will be too full-on for this family. They seriously have no idea. I think they need to start from a simpler perspective and build up with their confidence. However, I have passed on the Leerburg link to another friend who is more dog savvy & expecting a new Stafford puppy in a couple of months. She is pretty happy with it. So thanks for that!

This is a bit of a cross post, I have asked in the Sharpei breed pages but thought I'd try and get some specific training advice in here. I was chatting to one of the mums at school and she purchased a 5month old Sharpei cross for her daughter from the pet shop on the weekend. Anyway, she was asking me for some advice, as they were told he was toilet & obedience trained & surprise surprise he isn't. Plus he is quite feisty & they have never owned a dog before. My heart sank listening to her, they are completely clueless & already feeling in over their heads, but their daughter is obsessed with dogs & already in love with Prince, so I know they wouldn't consider returning him. On the upside they are planning on taking him to obedience training & she was very thankful for my offer of help. I would really like to point her in the direction of some simple general training tips for around the house, that will help them bring up a well behaved dog. As I say, they are complete novices, so I don't want to overload them with advanced stuff immediately. Links would be great, I think it would be more helpful than me appearing to be a busy body know-it all. :laugh:

Ah sh**. Just ran into a mum at school who made the silly emotional purchase of a 5month old cross from a pet store on the weekend (previous owners going o/s- yeah right... It's not toilet or obedience trained. ) They have 2 small kids & have never owned a dog... Unsurprisingly feeling a tad overwhelmed by their new (entire) dog. I didn't have the heart to lecture, too late after the kids have fallen in love. Luckily they are keen to learn & train him & listen to advice. I've offered lots of help (which they are gratefully receiving) & have asked for some advice in the Sharpei thread, but if anyone has some suggestions I can pass on I'd be glad to receive them. :) Meantime, how's that legislation to stop Pet shops selling live animals going? I am furious that these poor people who knew no better were taken advantage of like this!!!! It's just wrong.

Oh good...I've just learnt how to use it :) Now no one will be able to say.....Ooooohhhhh....she spends so much time on DOL.. :laugh: I can lurk in the background with everyone else. But honestly, I don't think anyone ever looks to see who is on & who is not. Oh, you'd be suprised. Ive witnessed some nasty attacks related to that in the past. Not to mention the ol' delve into past usernames.

Lol, my GR isn't just calm and content- She's a bimbo!! All that happy enthusiasm gets in the way of her brains, and in my experience, she's not the only GR like that. :laugh:

I have learnt the hard way that I am not (and more so my family are not) suited to breeds that are generally more feisty, headstrong and dominant. I adore many of these breeds (ie bullbreeds, GSDs) but just dont have the mental strength to be constantly working with them to maintain peace. And I do love a harmonious house. I love "calmer", more biddable, owner focused breeds like gun dogs. My GR, temperament wise, is a perfect fit with us, but as she ages you can expect me to start asking for suggestions for less hairy substitutes!! :laugh: However, I do agree with Ellz, I have met individual dogs of all kinds of breeds that defy breed generalisations. I would always keep that in mind. Essentially all I want in a dog is a companion who is easy to live with according to my lifestyle.

I do it because past experience has shown me that some people get upset if they see you listed and you don't post. I prefer to read stuff in privacy & to feel free to post at my leisure.

Not everyone dislikes the look of poodles because they are not considered "manly". I know people get defensive of their breeds, but come on, we all have our preferences. Its a bit rough to come down on someone because they don't like a certain breed.

I hate it when people try to feed my dog treats. Even if they ask first, because I always say no & then I get a glare, like I'm a horrible person! (This is especially the case at every Pet shop I have frequented over the years.) I think feeding treats to a dog other than yours is a bad idea for a few reasons. 1. Allergies & food restrictions. 2. Training requirements where an owner may be keeping the dog's feeding restricted. 3. Feeding a random dog in a park only teaches it to beg off strangers with treats. I won't feed random dogs treats & I hope others won't do it to my dog.

Pm Ruthless, she used to do it a couple of years ago with one of her dogs.

There's nothing wrong with physically correcting a dog for inappropriate behaviour, HOWEVER I wouldn't be doing it with a hit/smack (or stopping to make the dog sit). A quick pop or two on the leash and continue walking would be a better option IMO. Owning a reactive dog can be incredibly frustrating. Better not to judge unless you know exactly what you're dealing with... My thoughts exactly.

I disagree. I believe the problem starts with unrestrained dogs who rush, and owners with no control over their dogs. It is threatening to be rushed by a dog. Train it, contain it or keep it on a leash. There's no excuse for allowing your dog to rush others, no matter how well-intentioned you believe it to be. My dog would likely rush up to other dogs if given the choice. I don't give him free reign to do so. He meets others on my terms, and isn't given the opportunity to botch it up and frighten anyone.

Sounds like a lucky result. I know those magic spins- afterwards you try & remember how you did it & it seems impossible! :laugh:

I think it's a natural response. Some breeds have the potential to do more damage than others, & there is no denying all the bull breeds do. An oodle, less so, especially if it's small. Body language of both breeds generally is quite different too & I find bull breeds get so excited it's hard to tell what their intentions are. From experience, I find it's always best to err on the side of caution. Twice my dog has been bitten when I haven't been as paranoid as I should, never again. (neither of those dogs was a bull breed either)

I agree with this my goldens will sleep all day if you let them and i have 4 cats one which was attacked by a neighbors rottie although was fine with a rottie we got a few yrs later. Golden retriever rescue NSW/VIC has plenty of goldens they need homes for of various ages including pups. they do wonderful work and you'd never believe the numbers they have each year. http://www.grr.org.au/current.htm Suprise suprise, I agree too. :laugh: We adopted our GR from NSW/VIC Goldie rescue when she was 2 (she is now 5) and she is such an easy dog. :D She is AMAZING with all kids (she is famous at my kids' school), well behaved by inclination (not through training ), gets a hard run every morning and sleeps the day away inside while we work. Her idea of heaven would be me at home while she sleeps on the couch or watches the world go by through the front door. She has drive when she sees a cat run on our walk, but is definitely 2nd in rank to our 16 yo cat. If you have no issues with shedding, you could not get a better dog. Being older we didn't have the usual puppy teething issues. BUT I also can give the thumbs up to a Keeshond. I had one as a teenager/young adult and she was brilliant. Independent yet cuddly, don't need a huge amount of exercise.

That's a really good point! I think the same goes for me. I learnt an enormous amount with my inappropriate breed.

Perhaps she did do all the right research but overestimated her ability to deal with the breed? I have fallen into that trap previously, I now know my limitations, but I had to learn them the hard way. I really feel for the poor woman, I think your idea of talking to an instructor about her is a good one. It sounds like she needs help.

I'm expecting you will get a lot of negative responses about running on hard surfaces. However, I run with my 5 year old GR on footpaths for much of our daily 6km run & so far we are both fine. I stick to the smooth concreted paths mostly & interestingly I find when given a choice of grass or path mostly my dog chooses the path. Possibly for the same reason I do- the grassy surfaces can be uneven & covered in unseen obstacles/sharp objects. I get injuries when I go "off road". I'd advise keeping your labs nice & lean and their joints will be better able to handle the impact. Just my 2 cents worth. ETA: also, my dog trots to keep up rather than running, added to the fact she has four legs to distribute her weight, Id say that saves her joints a lot more than mine! (which incidentally are just fine). I have no doubt one day she will get too old to run with me but til then we are a great team.