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Oh Mita, that made me laugh! Poor Hopeless Kate. ;) The skywriting yesterday said "marry me!" Maybe Honey thought the proposal was for her and got excited?!

My dog alerts us with a low grumble and (if she deems it necessary) a deep woof if someone walks past when the door is open and she is on our side of the security door. She is pretty consistent on this but is a big smoocher otherwise and would definitely NOT carry through. One night though, I was home alone, sitting near the locked security grill and I heard someone open the gate... Honey leapt to her feet and rushed to the door with a BIG growl and even bigger woof... It was my OH coming home early from work. She is very bonded with me so I expect she was extra vigilant because he wasnt there. I was happy to see she was a good watch dog (I'd been pretty nervous til I saw who it was!), but he took a while to see the positive side. She also will woof in the middle of the night too if she hears something she doesnt like. We dont encourage it (most of the time we call her away from the door and praise her for stopping the guarding) but do feel its good that anyone walking past would know there is a big dog in the house. Pete is a decent sized scruffer isnt he? I'd say that is his best defence of you.

Hurrah!! Thats wonderful!! I have been following your posts in the rescue forum and I am ecstatic for you!! What an amazing turn around! Its made my day.

Honey responds better with an initial NO too. I figure I am letting know which particular behaviour is not wanted. I have managed to reduce her bird chasing this way. Hopefully it will work with the skywriting too, but as you say it is hard to predict when they will happen. Fortunately the barking is not an issue for me as Honey is always in the house when we arent home.

Aw thanks RnL. Your post brings one to my eye too! I know I dont have to tell you what a completely different experience this is.

At least Honey isn't the only one! KL, hopefully we can get Honey to chill a little about it too. What a bizarre co-incidence Bulldust! Same name and all! GoldenRules, I can imagine Dougal acts much like Honey would with a seagull ! She had a ball when we went away to the beach!! I did have to get tough with her though, after she nearly ran the length of a 3km beach chasing one!! If we didnt live in the innercity I probably wouldnt be as worried. Erny, it is a problem because the 2 times she has been offlead and seen skywriting she has bolted to it and is in full prey drive. Both times we have been lucky enough to have been in a safe spot. In mentioning her "dark past", I dont think she has been abused to do it, but perhaps encouraged. I simply cannot fathom why she would behave this way otherwise. Her past is rather "dark", I know she was beaten, but you wouldnt know that to meet her now. When we first got her we ignored all the flinching etc and kept upbeat and happy with her and she now is a very stable and relaxed dog. In retrospect I am unsure if the flinching was due to her being hit and perhaps more just from being in a new environment. Anyway, my point is, Honey is ordinarily a very relaxed dog and the only time I have ever seen her behave with such over the top excitement has been with skywriting. (Well aside from during thunder- but we are having some success with that) Its bizarre. Jr_inoz, the skywriting appeared after the class. I could get her to refocus a little on me as she was onlead, but she was wrenching my arm off as soon as I stopped working with her and she was mightily distracted.

Today after we had finished at dog training, where she was the star pupil, I was shocked to hear Honey make one of her deep barks and start to jump about. This is extremely out of character for miss prissy. She is usually SO dignified and embarasssed by all the other dogs around her. ;) At first I thought she was barking at one of the many naughty pups around, then realised she was looking at the sky. Sure enough there was some sky writing. We have noticed that for some reason skywriting or vapourtrails really put her in drive- more than anything! ;) It drives her NUTS!!! My only theory is that maybe her loser past owners have encouraged it thinking it was funny. I have no way of finding this out though, its just a guess. Any other ideas? Also, any ideas on how I can stop it? Desensitising with positive rewards for nonreactive behaviour?

Today we finished our 4th class!! Two more weeks and we will move up to Class 1 (can you tell Im confident? ) !!! Yippee!! The instructor was talking to us about going for exams once we are in class 1- ooh the competitive urge tingled... I am really enjoying it!! Its been pretty easy thus far- all the basics Honey had down pat already- but I am looking forward to learning some trickier commands in the future! Watching the more advanced classes I can now understand those of you that have intentionally chosen a more drivey dog. Before it seemed like it would be too much hard work, but now its so satisfying to feel like we are working together!

You would be suprised! Have a look in the GR forum- GRs range from white to deep gold and the coat lengths are equally as diverse. Many very well bred GRs have been mistaken for Lab crosses.

Many GRs have shorter hair when they are pups. My 3 year old has fairly short hair for an adult, but still is well within the normal range of the breed. Its a big range . (just to clarify- mine is a rescue dog so is quite possibly not wellbred, but even so...)

No you can not! I have only just managed to get some plants growing in my yard!! Maybe she can take them? And unless they have recently porked up, I dont think they are fat at all!!! Centennial Park- yes, come!!! Mind you, you would prob have a different time- I'm in the beginners because I haven't done it before. So unfair... (where's the tanty emoticon? )

I think of heeling as a command not as a general walking style. I am now attending my first ever obedience classes and I am suprised that it seems the other way around, but as long as I have to say HEEL to do it it still works for me. Outside of class my dog will only heel when I am practising her training and I ask her to do it. This made me laugh- having gone from a super smart staffy x kelpie/whippet to a 3 yo GR! I am amazed at the HUGE difference!!! Honey is adorable and well behaved but the eyes and the smile say it all!

Oooh, interesting- we probably walk the dogs in the same area (Centennial Parklands?), I wonder if that's significant? Actually its probably more the longer hair and wet grass thing that's significant. (then again, Sas wouldnt have that to worry about...) Sorry, just thinking "out loud". I was considering taking her to the vet, but what you've said is the reason I'm reluctant. Last time (years ago) I went to a vet for a skin condition it cost me a fortune to be told they didn't know what it was.

Hi T, I would love to go to Wendy's classes but they are a bit far for me to go unfortunately. I'm planning on dropping her an email with some pics this week to let her know how Honey is going. I have just started with a dog training club nearby and the instructor has complimented me on Honey's condition. KitKat- yes she is very slim built, a petite little thing, and she certainly isnt a fluffball atm.

Thats excellent! Thank you! If I cant find the Boracic acid I might just try the oily recipe. I still want to know what it is!!!

It must be the same thing- Honey's spots have stayed too. The ones that havent turned to scabs and rubbed off, anyway. Ok, now that I have the "cure" (Thanks Rysup!! -that will certainly challenge my inner chemist! ), I am dying to know what it is!

We fleabombed the house and it made the hugest difference. Additionally we use Advocate on both the cat and dog. My local vet advised that we should ALSO use half a tube of advantage each week on top of that, AS WELL AS capstar daily for a week if we saw no improvement post bomb. Fortunately we did. Just after the fleabombing, the dog and I went on hols to the beach where she swam everyday and took Proban both of which rid her of any stubborn remaining fleas on her body. Thank god. Flea infestation really takes over your life! Awful little bastards.

That's the exact description! Thanks Rysup, I would love that! I wonder if its some kind of fungal thing due to the wet grass.

Thanks guys. I agree, I think the lack of fringing on her belly is a bit deceptive- that may be why she appears skinny to some people. It will be interesting to see if it grows back in again properly (she was shaved for desexing late last year) when she gets her winter coat.

With both Black skin disease and Yeast infections there would be a noticeable unpleasant smell. She doesn't smell any different. Rysup- what is this Brown Itch you speak of? Does it look like how I have described? What sulphur based ointment do you use?

Over the last month or so Honey has developed lots of strange brown spots on her tummy. Initially I thought they were moles I hadnt noticed, but recently I realised that some of them had developed into licking sores and that more brown spots were developing. On our early morning walks she was getting drenched under her tummy and it wasnt drying properly. I wondered if that might be the cause so for the last couple of weeks I have been giving her a good dry down with a towel when we get home (which she hates- NOT! She joyfully rolls over straight away, the tart ). The licked spots and some others dry ones have scabbed up and rubbed off, but there are still a lot left and her tummy still looks dirty (its not). I dont know if its a co-incidence but she has started to get pinky staining on some parts of her fur too. Any suggestions what it could be or what I can do about it? It doesnt seem to bother her at all since I have been drying her. (I realise photos would be good but Im at work and will try post some tonight)

Thank you! And she does pass Erny and PF's touch tests too.

That smile is hilarious! I'm not proud of it, but have to admit to being slightly nervous of bullbreeds after owning a DA one (especially when they are offlead and stiifflegging towards us like the one this morning ) However, I make sure that I take time to judge the body language and, once I'm reassured, then I make a big fuss of them- I think they are gorgeous! Abbie is an absolute cutie, Robbi !!

Geez labsrule, dont you know that when I ask "Do you think Honey is too skinny?" you are supposed to say NO?!!! I thought that was the rule with these kind of threads! For the record, I dont have a problem with larger GRs- I am just getting worn down by people telling me Honey is too skinny. I dont go around saying " hmm, I think your dog is too fat" even if I want to!! I think its rude for complete strangers to think they can comment on my dog. Ok, I did it- took a photo with my camera this morning- here's my starving waif, Honey. From the side... Close up and from the top.

I have issues with the bits in your post that I have highlighted. You cannot compare a Lab x and a Lab. You have stated that you keep your dog lean because of joint issues, but to say that this Lab is carrying around 15kg-18kg of fat because you compare him to your dog is not on To expect a purebred male Lab to be 25kg, shows that you do not know much about Labs Is 42kgs a healthy weight for a purebred male lab? :rolleyes: My stoopid phone which has pics of Honey specially taken for this thread has died. I'll have to take more photos tomorrow on my camera. I can see how you would think she is thin with that chart directly below the pic. However, I still feel that she is a good size- she has loads of energy, her fur is good etc. She is really healthy and fit and has a very high tuck (I think thats what you call it?). Personally I would prefer that she was on the thin side than overweight.