tdierikx

I think this thread needs to become a Carter appreciation thread... what a handsome boy! Feel free to post lots more pics cartersmum... *grin* T.

Wonder where my friend Juice is .... she can attest to the fact that I adore her Bull Terrier "Bon" and her previous Bull Terrier "Mason" in particular. I thought Bull Terriers were Bull Breeds - funny about that. As Yonjuro said, only in the last fortnight I was trying to assist his friend's Rotti cross. As I have said numerous times before, I spend plenty of my spare time assisting dogs - of all sizes. Still, I can talk till i'm blue in the face - and i'm probably blocked by the right people now who will just accuse me of lying if they saw this post - i'm happy if they are happy. :) I'm not trying to pick on you dogmad - just letting you know how some of your postings on the topic can come across. I am someone who used to have a complete fear of small fluffy dogs... because I had encountered so many that just weren't nice at all... and most had shown varying levels of aggression towards me. I have been pleasantly reappraised of the ideas I used to harbor about small dogs through meeting a large number of very nice small dogs - but I'm still quite leery of any small dog I don't know rushing towards me. The thing is that I don't jump at every opportunity to espouse my thoughts about small dogs and present my experiences as evidence that all small dogs are nasty snappy things that will bite first and ask questions later... funnily enough, it wouldn't be completely true - regardless of my first hand experience with so many nasty ones. Again, just for clarity's sake, I agree with your thoughts about irresponsible owners of large or powerful dogs... but please don't pass comments that come across as tarring us all with the same 'bogan' brush. Many of us large and bull breed dog owners are just as responsible as you are. T.

Here are some shots of Teddy's littermates when they were at my place... Tiger - with Harper Tori Tango Toby They are all so different... and Toby has the biggest boofhead on him, but has the gentlest nature ever! T.

Who couldn't want to cuddle those two dogs? Beautiful! T.

I can see where dogmad is coming from with regards to dogs of size and strength not being under any effective control - I agree fully with that part of her regular gripes on these forums. What I don't agree with are some of the generalisations about certain breed types that can be a part of what dogmad posts here. Stating that she'd report the same things "if it were a Jack Russell" that attacked just doesn't cut it for me I'm afraid... because we all know that the likelihood of the media reporting a "savage attack" by a small breed dog is pretty slim. There are also my face to face conversations with dogmad on the topic of certain breeds that reinforces my opinion that she just really doesn't like ANY strange bull breed type dogs... I keep threatening to introduce her to my Zeddy to show her that not all bull breed mixes have a thing for her small dogs, but she hasn't taken me up on the offer... *grin* T.

I've also been involved with rescue for some years now, and agree that it's part of the package to desex rescue pups before adoption. My personal preference for my own male dogs over the years has been to keep them intact. I've never had any issues with intact males - and the only male dogs I've owned have been Rottweilers (to date). My preference for females is desexed, but that's because I don't really want to deal with cranky or slutty (and messy) bitches with any regularity. I currently have 4 female dogs, and the last 2 additions are "failed" rescue fosters - neither was desexed as a young pup... Pickles had her first season before desexing (and her growth plates had started to close), and Harper has just been done in the past couple of weeks at 10 months of age (her growth plates are starting to close). There was never any worry that the rescue girls weren't going to be desexed - I'd prefer they stay one-of-a-kind dogs thanks. My 2 older dogs were done as adults between the ages or 2 and 3, and had each had a litter prior. As for temperament or physical changes after desexing - haven't been any major changes in any of my 4 girls apart from Pickles becoming more settled and "grown up" - but that may also have been due to her just gaining maturity as well. She can still be as silly as the next dog when it suits her... as can nearly 14 year old Zeddy... lol! None have gotten fat or lazy, and all are in astonishingly good health - so much so that my vet hates me for not visiting more often... *grin* T.

Dogmad is an incredibly lovely lady - I know because I've met her on a few occasions... and I would happily call her a "friend"... *grin* That said, she does definitely have a "thing" about certain breed types - and even moreso if they are not under control (which I can actually understand). T.

Tell me about it... A couple of weeks ago in the rain and dark, I pulled over to try to get 2 loose Dalmatians off a busy road (managed to catch one and keep him safe from the traffic) - other drivers were blaring their horns and scaring the dogs even more, making them do more erratic dashes in and out of the cars. FFS people - 5 lousy minutes was all I needed of relative calm to catch the other dog and stop her holding up the freaking flow! I had to give up because it was impossible to get near her when the cars kept scaring her and making her dash off again. She so wanted to come to me too. Peak hour is not a good time for a dog to be scared and loose near a busy road... *sigh* Upside is that both dogs ended up safe - I took the boy to the nearest vet who called his owners to come get him, and they managed to find the girl and get her home a couple of hours later. I was ready for the inevitable dog meets car scenario too - and the vet clinic was only a 2 minute drive away if I had to get there fast with an injured dog. T.

The problem with the block button is that it blocks ALL content from a particular member... however, some of the participants in the aforementioned stoushes actually usually post stuff that I find interesting and useful... Such a conundrum... block and lose the chance at the majority of stuff posted that isn't breed bashing related... or use self control and don't pay any heed to the negative stuff that is actually quite sparingly posted... Think I'll take the self control method... my mum would be so proud of me... *grin* T.

That's fine by me if it can prevent any newcomer who has come to the forum for advice being castigated and conescended to by others. Especially Dogmads obsession of bagging big dogs & especially Bull breeds. As soon as I see a thread by them, I know what it will be about. It's upsetting seeing that on a dog lovers forum. You need to block her then. It is getting tiring reading the same reply after everything she posts. As tempting it is to reply negatively to certain types of postings - I find that they tend to decrease more readily if they don't get any attention. I understand where you are coming from though mantis... and I'm not fussed on seeing posts that appear to be bagging out certain breed types at every opportunity either - but getting into a slanging match about it each and every time is also very tiring. T.

Haha! You took too long and Nutmeg let you know about it... too cute! T.

I agree! T.

They show cm sizes - so measure your dog's neck and go for the size that will fit it... T.

No probs koalathebear - happy I could share some of the things I've learned the hard way so that you don't have to. My "payment" will be to keep seeing your gorgeous updates (with pics) of how these babies are getting along during their journey to have great homes found for them... *grin* T.

They are looking awesome!! Brilliant job being done by you and yours to give these little gals an awesome restart to long and happy lives. Please give them both a cuddle and kiss from me... I'm missing having tiny terrors around... T.

Tempting... T.

Actually, he may get stockier after desexing than if you left him entire. T.

Any form of aggressive looking behaviour from ANY dog is unacceptable. Unfortunately though, it's always going to be the larger dog that will cop the blame if there is an alteration - regardless whether they started it or not. As an owner of a large dog, one needs to be well aware of the obvious media/public bias, and make sure that our furkids are never put in a position to cop any flak for their behavior - provoked or not. The OP is doing the right thing by asking for help/advice... which should be applauded IMHO. Oh - and Carter is a stunningly handsome boy... please plant a kiss from me on his boofy schnozz... T.

All 5 of them look different - I fostered the other 4 for a while. All are lovely natured pups too... but are going to be BIG! Apparently the mother was a GSD mix... and dog only knows what the father was... T.

Some good advice there Haredown... I don't think he's really thought all that much about what it takes to raise a happy and healthy litter of pups and then find good homes for them. He has a friend with a male (unpapered) Beagle that he was going to use over his girl... *sigh* I wasn't being full on or "rescue rabid" with him about wanting to breed his girl - just gently explained to him the "fun" stuff our rescue has been through when taking in pregnant dogs in general - and pregnant Beagles in particular. I gave him some prices he could expect from vets for various things he might come up against and the like... *grin* He honestly thought that "all dogs just do it naturally"... and just needed to know that it wasn't always true... that it takes a lot of good planning and good management to get the very best he can for and from his girl. He really does love his girl to death, and he wouldn't want to do anything that would be bad for her... so having a few alternate things to think about before breeding her is good for him, don't you think? T.

My workmate was only looking at the possible $$$ he could make from breeding his girl... not exactly the best start for anyone looking to breed ANY dog, wouldn't you think? He now has a few more things to think about before he decides to try to make a "quick buck", yes? I did edumacate him of some of the badder things that can happen... lol! His girl is coming up to the age of her first season... and I'll be buggered if I'm going to pat him on the back and say "oooohhh - beagle puppies - cuuuute!" when he is thinking of breeding her on her first season! If he had a clue, I'd maybe have been a little less forthcoming with all the scary and expensive things that can happen... I have no problem with people breeding non-pedigreed dogs or crosses - I only have an issue with people who are wanting to do it solely for the sale price they can get... and certainly not breeding with a dog under 12 months of age! T.

Awww... ain't he just too cute for words? He's going to be a complete Adonis when he matures! T.

Oh yeah! Definitely one of the best saves for sure! T.

The ivomectin should clear it up nicely Staffyluv... your vet is obviously on top of things... *grin* She sounds like a complete darling - and combined with those gorgeous "love me" eyes, you'll be beating off applications to adopt her... lol! T.

The police officer's family should not have to fear attack because of one stupid act he committed... by all means roast him publicly for his actions, but for dogs' sake leave his wife and kids out of it! T.