Greytmate

I hope your day goes really well. Lucky that working dogs don't mind a bit of a splash in the mud.

then I suggest you stop posting what you don't know about Yes. The law on this is different in every state anyway.

You have a people problem, not a dog problem. It is good that you are thinking of this before you bring your pup home. Instead of leaving it till it's too late. The problem is, you cannot force your friend to train his dog so that it behaves well around you and your dog. There is a good chance this will mean your dog will learn some undesirable behaviour, as a result of being annoyed, or just copying naughty things from the other puppy. Unless you can keep the pups separate, you lose control of what happens to your puppy, and what it gets to learn. This can be so dangerous, because you are getting a big strong breed that will be able to defend itself against threats. As an adult if it behaves aggressively, you could be in big, big trouble. The right time to get a puppy is when everyone in the house wants the same thing and everyone agrees to follow the same rules. If you cannot control the dog's environment and the other people and animals that interact with the dog, you can end up with serious problems that cannot be solved at all.

Yes. If you found a bitch in somebody's yard, how would you know she had been mated to a purebred anyway? Responsible breeders invest a lot of time and money into their breeding program. If this was a well-bred breeding bitch that had been served recently, the breeder would be doing everything possible to get her back. There have been good bitches stolen while pregnant. It is heart-wrenching to see their breeders post pleas all over the internet in a desperate attempt to get them back Besides that, breeding from timid dogs isn't the right thing to do, regardless of breed. Edited to add. While the ownership status of this dog is unclear, it needs to be impounded.

I agree with this. For a start, the little dog is timid, and so she can pass this trait on to her pups. We don't know anything about the father of the pups. You would be knowingly selling pups that could have temperament problems, and people buying pets deserve better than that. With so many lovely dogs in pounds and rescue needing homes at this time of year, why would you want to make it harder for them, by putting more carelessly bred pups onto the market?

The breeders you are going to buy the shepherd from might be able to give you some guidance on how to approach this. If it were my GSD pup, I would want to keep it separate from somebody else's dog. Especially if the other dog is owned by somebody not very good at training. It is because the dogs are so different in size that it can be a bit dangerous if things go wrong.

Is it possible to train my GSD to ignore the maltese when the maltese biting him? My friend's pup ALWAYS bite everything, included people. Thats why I worried about my gsd pup... Why would you train a dog to ignore another dog biting it? Would you ignore something biting you if it hurt? I really think you need to get some advice from people that can talk you through and show you what to do and how to manage the pups. You are going to have to manage both dogs to prevent them hurting or annoying each other, and given that one dog isn't yours, this is going to be hard.

So you have the grumpy old terrier in one yard, the Akita in another, and where are you keeping this one? When bitches have pups they can turn very aggressive against other dogs. What if the Akita manages to rush through to where she is and gets her?

You cant just keep a dog like that you need to go through the pound system - you can ask for her to come to you if the owners are not found. What you are doing is against the law. Seeing that they have moved interstate I don't think it is an issue. Leaving a dog with no water in 35c and not feeding it would be more of a problem for the old owners. That is not a good start for her developing pups. What if they have serious health problems? It doesn't matter where the owners have moved to, that doesn't make the dog yours.

If she is timid, her pups may be timid too. It is not a good idea to let this bitch have pups when you have an Akita at home that has recently seriously attacked a small dog. How would you feel if the Akita managed to kill that bitch when the pups were a few days old? She needs to go to the pound now. She is not your dog. If you let her have pups and advertise them, the original dog's owner can come and take them all off you any time they want.

Where did you adopt the dog from? Or did you buy it?

Take the dog to the vet now and have the dog desexed.

If you need a third person to drive a dog, let me know.

Can you take all three, or do you need me to take one or two?

Thyroid testing can be done properly here in Australia. Pheebs, why thyroid testing? I'm so sorry you are going through all this, and I hope Tess is feeling ok.

What time would the dogs need to be picked up?

I'm sorry they found a problem. I agree with the others, don't spend money on the MRI just yet. Watch how she is, and then decide whether to treat or not.

This is Coconut and Woody dressed up for Santa's Lantern Parade at Ipswich last week.

Whatever you think is a fair price? Call the place that does the check, ask them how much, and if you want more information you're going to have to do a bit better than 'strange scream'.

Fortunately for me my closest practice is the emergency 24 hour veterinary clinic in Werribee... where they have an on-site neurologist. But the receptionist advised me that they could monitor her tonight, but she'd have to then visit the general vet practice on site to then be scheduled to see the neurologist? *shrug* That would be better than having to take her for an extra car trip. If she is very sick they can refer her without moving her.

It is likely that a good neuro specialist would practice within a large hospital that takes emergencies at night. So if you do decide to take her in tonight, that would be the best place to go, not necessarily the closest 24hr vet to your house.

Try and stay calm Pheebs, you are not a bad mum. Can anyone here suggest the best Neuro specialist in Melbourne? You will have to wait until tomorrow to find out what is wrong. Is she resting quietly right now?

It depends on the family. Plenty of breeds are great. Greyhounds can be excellent for families that don't really want to alter their lifestyle too much, but still want to enjoy having a dog. It is easier to explain what I wouldn't recommend for a first time dog owner. I would say that there are breeds to avoid, lines to avoid and individuals in litters to avoid. I wouldn't suggest a first time owner gets any of the livestock guarding breeds, except maybe a marrema. Nor should they get a working line kelpie. Those are dogs that were never meant to be just pets, they are for professionals and enthusiasts. There are lines of dogs that may not be suitable within many breeds. If the new owner gets everything 100% perfect, the dog may be ok, but if the new owner makes an error, you could end up with a very damaged and dangerous dog. There are individuals within any breed that can and do dominate new dog owners that are having trouble with the whole leadership concept, and who tend to treat their dog like a cat or a child. It is vital that new owners are given some instruction about management and leadership. If they don't appear to have strong leadership skills, they shouldn't really be given the most dominant pup in the litter. The right dog for any first time dog owner is the dog that meets or exceeds their expectations. The expectations have to be thoroughly discussed before any recommendation can be made.

That is a great link Corvus. The author has a PhD in Predatory aggression in canines, and he has donated a lot of his time to helping with the assessment and rehabilitation of retired racing greyhounds.

This is exactly what most people want when they get a pet dog. They all want a dog as lovely as Honey. Happy One Year with Honey and congrats to the rescue organisation that provided you with the perfect dog for your family.