tdierikx

It's good to hear that you have had some expert advice for helping Missy learn new nicer habits. It's going to be a fair bit of hard work, but you sound like you are willing to put in the time and effort to make it happen. Don't forget that the trainers are only as far away as a phone call if you hit any stumbling blocks, OK? T.

My 5yo Labrahoover is around 32kgs... and I'd like her to be 28kgs (ideal weight for her build IMO). She looks "slim" - compared to most Labs - at 32kgs, but she looks divine (to me and my vets) at 28kgs. She is on a specific amount of food daily to make sure she doesn't get fat. when she puts on the "soulful eyes" trick, all she gets is a cuddle... *grin* Same goes for my Rotti/Pittie cross girl - she is a little taller than my Lab girl, but looks perfect at 28kgs... and she's 12yo with a little bit of arthritis in her back legs, so she's not allowed to get fat or she has issue with movement in winter. My camp dog pup (9 months old) has mobility issues due to a brain injury sustained as a very young pup - she is kept lean (but healthy) to make her mobility issues easier to deal with (for her - not me). as she gets older, she is becoming much more agile/stable as she keeps learning to walk better. In the 7 months I've had her, her walking and running have come along really well - even though she will never be "normal", she can run and play with other dogs just fine. T.

Cocker Spaniel? Staffordshire Bull Terrier? From a reputable breeder of course - you want one with an even temperament from the start. Standard Poodle? Mini Poodle? Cavalier King Charles Spaniel? T.

Dogmovers is definitely a legitimate animal transport company... T.

Awesome save Jo!!! a brilliant outcome for little Rennie and her new loving family... T.

She certainly is a stunning little lady... please give her a cuddle from me... T.

I fostered a cheeky female Cavalier pup a while ago... we named her Willow... T.

Hahaha! Love the Salukis... T.

Not many vets would like to think that a dog could pick up anything infectious from their premises... but unless they sterilise the waiting area after every other dog has been there, then there is always going to be a small possibility that it can happen. It is not an indictment on their practices - although some vets will be a lot less likely to admit it than others. IF Ella has KC, and she hasn't had any contact with other dogs in the 2 weeks leading up to her surgery, then the chances are that she picked it up at the vet's... but it's not necessarily the fault of the clinic's sterility procedures - it's just the nature of the beast... I wouldn't worry too much about it - or the vet's reaction to your asking - as long as Ella is otherwise happy and healthy, this will pass just like when a child catches a bad cold, OK? T.

Considering that dogs can be infectious a few days before and for up to 2 weeks after a bout of KC, I don't think your vet would really have known whether he had had a dog in that could have passed it on... then again, no vet wants to admit that a customer's dog caught KC while at their clinic... *grin* It happens more often than one would care to think about unfortunately... Don't worry that the vet was a bit miffed at you asking if your baby could have caught KC at his clinic - odds are that she did and he'll never admit it... *sigh* T.

You can call yourself a registered breeder if you have current membership with the state Canine Council body, have paid for your breeder's prefix, and have 2 fully papered dogs of the same breed. ETHICAL registered breeders tend to be very picky about where their pups are going. They have good health check results for the possible issues known to the breed in question, etc. They may ask you lots of personal type questions that you may not appreciate, but they are trying to make a perfect match for their pups and new families. T.

Would you say the same if Missy were of a smaller breed dogmad? My guess is probably not... Gammalite has been given contact details for 2 very experienced trainers - maybe we can all reserve judgement until one of them has met Missy and gives an educated opinion as to her ability to be rehabilitated out of her dominant behaviours. She is still quite a young dog and maybe something can be done to help her. Astro is a good example of a very well behaved Staffy, and that doesn't happen by accident either - Gammalite has done a great job with him... T.

She sure is cute... and as long as you are aware of what possible future issues you may have health or temperament wise, then it's your choice whether you want to keep her. They don't stay that cute forever... T.

Hahaha! Angel is a bit of a bitch, isn't she? I'm sure she will make sure he knows his boundaries... lol! No idea what you'd call Bruno's colouring, but it sure is stunning... T.

Astro is a gorgeous dog... and appears to be totally socially appropriate in his dealings with the rather dominant Missy in that clip. Missy definitely needs some help to learn that she doesn't have to be so dominant. Get in touch with Cosmolo or Nekhbet... they are awesome trainers! T.

She may not be throwing up per se... just hawking up frothy phlegm... Certainly sounds like Kennel Cough from what you describe - if she is otherwise pretty healthy it shouldn't be of too much concern unless she develops a chest infection. It definitely sounds a lot worse than it is. The vet may prescribe antibiotics as a preventative measure, and honey of any description with soothe her irritated throat. She will probably cough for about 7 days, then you need to keep her quarantined for about 2 weeks as she will still be infectious to other dogs. I've had quite a few rescue fosters that have had it. The best thing for you to do is soothe her irritated throat and don't panic... *grin* T.

What a stunner! "If" (and I mean "when" here) you adopt him, I think Chopper is going to have to share the camera limelight... and if he stays, we will need a calendar of him as well as the obligatory Chopper one this Christmas... *hint hint* As for names... Julius, Joss, Boss, Buster, Brutus, Frank, Fred... all pop into my head when I look at him... or maybe Booboo... *grin* Big hugs for the newest handsome boy... and for the other spunkybums too... T.

I had an adult Rotti female develop a bit of incontinence after she was desexed. I have not owned any dogs that were desexed at a young age, but many friends have, and they all seem perfectly fine so far... *grin* As for visiting the pound... I know what you mean there... depressing isn't it? I've come to the conclusion lately that it seems like a large number of perfectly nice tempered and healthy dogs end up in pounds, while doting owners tend to keep their horrid snappy ones... why is that?? Seriously, the number of really nice dogs in the pounds is astounding... T.

I've had similar experiences... I call the AWL (Animal Welfare League) now - they have better response times. T.

KOE - I volunteer and foster for rescue - all of our rescues are desexed before rehoming, even the pups. However, my own current permanent furkids were desexed as adults - my male Rotti was never desexed, and he was the longest and leggiest Rotti I've ever seen, 47kgs of long lean sooky boofhead... *grin* There is some evidence showing that a large number of early desexed dogs long bone growth plates seem to close later than those of the same breed left intact... however, there is also evidence that it may not be as big an issue. The fun thing about studies into such things is that one starts with a theory, then gathers the evidence to "prove" that theory... could go either way depending on the starting theory, yes? As for the smaller pizzle thing - it was just as a point of reference in discerning an early desexed male is all... T.

benshiva - please thank Ukko's mummy for lending him out for the day... he was lapping up the attention and doing his party trick at every opportunity. Certainly put a smile on my dial for a good long while... Danois - maybe we will meet at the next Dogs on show? Lauren's pups and adult girl were total sweethearts - and I'm sure your furkids are just as cuddly... *grin* Poor lillypilly was with me yesterday, and she's more of a "small dog person", and was getting narky at me for going to all the large dog stalls and asking for pats and cuddles. The largest dog she cuddled was the smallish silver standard Poodle girl - I think I managed to get her to at least touch the gorgeous wolfhound boy... hehe! T.

Easy to tell an early desexed male dog... the pizzle is usually quite underdeveloped, so looks a lot smaller than one on a dog that was allowed to mature naturally. T.

At 7.5 months he's not finished growing yet... looks great right now, but I'd be reserving judgement that indicates anything until he's fully grown at about 3 years old... T.

Danois - did you have the gorgeous girl that gave me a kiss? And the 3 stunning black pups? They were beautiful, and I really loved the cuddles... Was anyone here on DOL the owner of Dammit the huge Rotti boy? He was built for cuddling, and seemed to love it as much as I did... *grin* I also got to cuddle a Bernese (so soft and friendly), a couple of Wolfhounds (amazingly calm and cuddly), a stunning BC whose butt jumped up and down when you scratched it (hysterically funny party trick), a Toller pup, some Cavalier pups, a Pointer pup, 2 gorgeous Delta long haired Dachshunds, a few stunning Sibes, a couple of Shelties, 2 gorgeous Poodles (the silver standard girl was lovely), a stunning Kelpie pup, and 2 incredible Dingoes... Me at a dog fair is like letting a kid loose in a candy store... needless to say, I got the third degree from my own pack when I got home... for "cheating" on them with so many other dogs... lol! I found out something very interesting about Dingoes - they can rotate their front paws to manipulate things. Apparently other domestic dogs can't do that. My Lab girl Trouble does it to open doors... I always thought she might have some Dingo in her mix (she came from a BYB in Moree) - she has a couple of other traits of a Dingo too, but looks 99% Lab. I agree with those who reckon DogsNSW should have at least 2 of these events every year... T.

Current dogs... Zeddy got her name as I was driving home with her... the name Zed popped into my head and I spoke to her using the name... she responded by giving me big licks and cuddles - so Zeddy it was... Trouble... well... she is a golden Lab... and when she was a pup she was so very naughty... *grin* Pickles... a disabled rescue foster who was named by the wonderful people who saved her from the aboriginal camp she was born in - she seems to like the name, and I couldn't come up with a better one, so it stuck. My first foster failure... and I love her to bits! Previous dogs... Nuppy - our first dog when we were kids. My brother loved a teddy bear that my Grandmother had at her house for him to play with when we visited. It was called Nuppy because my Grandmother had mis-heard the name of the Muppets dog called Muppy. Nuppy was named after Grandma's teddy bear... Goose - our farm house dog when we were teenagers. The poor pup was the last survivor of a neighbour's litter - he used to come running to share their geese's food when they called the geese - so he seemed to think he was a Goose... lol! Rebel - very naughty and cheeky crossbreed pup... nuff said... hehe! Woosie - what else would you call a gorgeous tempered 50kg Rottweiler? Blossom - Woosie's sister from a different litter... she was not breathing when she was born and I resuscitated her. She was mummy's petal after that... Rastus - short for Rastus Watermelon, a character in some dirty jokes... I'd always wanted to call a boy dog Rastus... *grin* Shadow - a stray Rotti girl I found wandering the streets. She was always 1 step behind me whatever I was doing, so she got called Shadow... Connor - read in a baby book that Connor meant "lover of dogs"... it fit for a soft tempered huge Rotti boy... Punkin - cheeky Rotti pup... Dexter - Punkin's brother - he was a bit of a doofus really... lol! Sadly Punkin and Dexter were only with us for a short time and contracted Parvo... I am very anal about who my dogs mix with as pups now. Both were fully vaccinated, but still caught it... *sigh* T.