silentchild

Just wanted to point out also that some people do have a fear of dogs, a legit phobia, and they have a right to go do their groceries or walk to the bus stop or and walk home without having to have to deal with the stress, anxiety and worry when they see an off leash dog in the distance coming towards them, no matter how well behaved. They wouldn't know your dog won't harass them, how will they know? All they know is if the dog wants to rush them, there is no leash to stop it. Not everybody likes dogs.

I think the attitude of not caring about rules are becoming more rampant in most places. Where I live people used to be pretty good about following the rules but lately I've been seeing more and more people who don't care - letting their off leash dogs rush up to people and other dogs, me and my dog have also been rushed by off leash dogs whilst just walking minding our own business on the footpath - beside busy roads! Then when I call out to the owner to control their dog, they tell me I'm an idiot. I've seen dogs chase and harass other people walking past while their owners stand by doing nothing even when they can see the person being harassed is clearly uncomfortable. It's not even the same repeat offenders, it's just always random different people at different times which makes me feel that attitudes of a lot of dog owners in general have gotten worse. Have also become increasingly annoyed that more and more people are letting their dogs off leash and running amok at the on-leash park I normally go to with my dog, even with a playground and children running around playing ball. The park has huge signs everywhere saying dogs must be on leash so they can't say they don't see the signs. The off leash park is just next door barely 2 mins away! Why don't you take your dog there instead! /rant

This has officially turned into a rottie appreciation thread. How about gentle Rotties that are good with kitties. :D This is my gorgeous girl Emma, not a single mean bone in her body, the sweetest soul in the whole world. She was so gentle we used her as a barrier to keep kitty behind the baby gate when we first fostered kitty, Emma of course did a terrible job and let kitty out, we found them snuggling together after. They were best friends since day 1 and lived in harmony together for 2 years, everywhere Emma went, kitty followed her around. We lost Emma earlier this year to cancer and nothing has been the same since.

I am loving the Rottie love in this thread. Best breed ever!

He is beautiful!! Having owned a dog reactive Rott before I can sympathize with you. We did see a trainer and found that LAT exercises worked really well for us. We never ever went to offleash dog parks, too risky. Even now without a Rott I still avoid dog parks like the plague. I only go at ungodly hours when the parks will be mostly empty or very quiet, and I stick to myself, no interacting with other dogs. As dyzney already pointed out there are plenty of ways to enrich your dog's life. I wish you the best of luck with your training and hopefully you will get on top of his behaviour.

Good post, I agreed to several things in this despite not being a breeder. I work in web content and SEO, the number of times I've waggled my hands in despair when I see a poorly made breeder or breed club website...

WOW I would be FURIOUS with my housemates if they did that to my dog!! I agree that you should be thinking about finding a place to live where you can best raise your dog the way you want. Please find a behaviorist ASAP. One that is experienced with the breed. I don't know any in SA unfortunately but I'm sure others will be able to recommend you one. If you like, do come and join in the Rotty thread here : http://www.dolforums...page__st__21750 We don't bite. We will just demand lots of photos. :laugh:

How can any breeder or dog owner applaud and uphold, stand by and agree with a code of practice which is not how good dogs should be raised, fed; regarded. The level of understanding inherent in these recommendations is abysmal. It is pathetic that a code of practice for the keeping of dogs is measured not in the care it ensures for dogs but is measured in how it classifies breeders (ooh and exemptions). I dont want any exemption that perpetuates such gross misinformation and misunderstanding of what is dog. Ridiculous that one would be relieved that they dont have to build pens. I never agreed or applauded this code of practice. Sorry if you misunderstood or thought I was applauding this code. I agree that the code is ridiculous but just pointed out that at least pens won't have to be built for "small businesses" which is what a lot of people were upset about in the past. One small step forward but ten thousand other steps backwards. Shampooing of carpets is completely ridiculous too. Anyway, bowing out of this thread now. Hopefully people will point out all the other flaws in it and it will be revised further. Oh woops sorry SC I was just having a rave in general alas, I'm prone to those :D Oh. Thank goodness, I was worried I'd said something wrong. Rave away!! Whoever wrote up these codes clearly don't know much about dogs.

How can any breeder or dog owner applaud and uphold, stand by and agree with a code of practice which is not how good dogs should be raised, fed; regarded. The level of understanding inherent in these recommendations is abysmal. It is pathetic that a code of practice for the keeping of dogs is measured not in the care it ensures for dogs but is measured in how it classifies breeders (ooh and exemptions). I dont want any exemption that perpetuates such gross misinformation and misunderstanding of what is dog. Ridiculous that one would be relieved that they dont have to build pens. I never agreed or applauded this code of practice. Sorry if you misunderstood or thought I was applauding this code. I agree that the code is ridiculous but just pointed out that at least pens won't have to be built for "small businesses" which is what a lot of people were upset about in the past. One small step forward but ten thousand other steps backwards. Shampooing of carpets is completely ridiculous too. Anyway, bowing out of this thread now. Hopefully people will point out all the other flaws in it and it will be revised further.

It says at least one main meal must be fed out of the receptacle, so couldn't people just bypass that by feeding some kibble in a bowl and claiming that as a "main meal" and then the other meal just chuck your chicken carcass on the lawn, or something like that. I guess a puzzle ball or something could also pass as a "food receptacle". Still kind of ridiculous. The one reasonably good thing I can see out of this new proposed code is the clear differentiation it makes between Large Business and Small Breeding Businesses where for housing dogs in Small Business you are allowed to have your dogs indoors, which must be a relief to most small scale breeders knowing they won't have to build pens. Facepalm at the offal bit though...

Sheepskin, nice and thick. :) Although I guess polar fleece might work as well...

This happened to me also but I just bought some fleece and sewed it onto the strap that was causing the chaffing. All fine after that.

Went today, met a few lovely DOLers and got lots of Lappie & Aussie cuddles and great info on those breeds for my next prospective dog. They were all very lovely people and helpful in answering my questions. I hung around the Rottie stand for a while too, as usual. Grumpette, always so lovely to catch up with you, but I missed MrR, maybe we really couldn't see each other without Rotties in tow! :laugh: Came home with a new toy for the cat but overall found it really very very crowded, a bit too busy for my liking, but was a good enjoyable show nonetheless.

A lovely video that was shown at the Tribeca film festival. I have to admit I got a little misty-eyed! edit: I don't know why YouTube is not embedding.

Yay grumpette and MrR will be there!! Best news ever. Totally looking forward to it now. It will be the first time I won't have to buy anything for my dog!

What a gorgeous girl. Nothing like happy Rotts to brighten up the day!

I hear a lot of breed clubs have pulled out, conditions offered for admission, parking, space, housing of dogs have caused it Oh no, I didn't hear anything about that. Do you know which breed clubs have pulled out?

I'm going, making a beeline for the Dogs Victoria breed stands to get some lovely doggy cuddles. The more promotion for pedigree dogs the better.

This is definitely something I've always wanted to do with my dogs, so hopefully my next dog will have the right temperament for it. My previous girl was much too excitable so wasn't a good candidate. Are there temperament tests involved for the dogs to become qualified for these sort of things?

I also have a crate from http://www.k9softdogcrates.com.au/ The quality is excellent, my 40+kg Rottie loved it, and it lasted her many years. My crate is super durable and still going strong now. The owner of the business herself owns 4 Rotties and uses the crates for them when she shows and competes so the crates are definitely sturdy! If I needed to buy another soft crate I'd buy from them again.

Ish, I am so so sorry to hear. I lost my Emma just 2 weeks ago to osteosarcoma. She was diagnosed in July last year, and we went to 3 different vets who all gave her a prognosis of 2 - 3 months. We went to Anne Neville that shepherds mentioned above and went onto the herbs prescribed by Anne. She did a hair test which tells her which herbs would be helpful. I also rang up Robert Mcdowell and had a good long chat about his supplements, but although it sounded very promising I chose not to try it as some of the herbs would clash with what Anne had prescribed me. We also changed over to a raw diet with lots of root vegetables, liver and oats. Emma lived for another 8 months on Anne's treatment and mild painkillers, and I only had to up the dosage of painkillers towards the end. I'd say she had decent quality of like for those odd-defying 8 months, she loved her food and was able to go for slow walks and was still playful. We put her to sleep before her pain got too severe, so maybe she would have lasted even longer, but I just knew I had put her through too much, she was such a brave fighter and it was time for her to rest. Best wishes and hugs to you, it is never easy going down the route of palliative care.

Thank you so much everyone for your kind words... they all mean a lot to me. Sorry I've taken so long to post a reply. I got to bring Emma's ashes home today. It is lovely having her home, though the emptiness and aching is still there. I also had a heart shaped locket with her ashes in it made, which I will wear for special occasions. I donated her medication to a program that gives them to elderly people who cannot afford medical treatment for their pets. I thought it would be a nice way of honoring Emma. Thank you all again for your lovely words of support. Emma is very loved, and I miss her everyday.

I love this, just perfect. :)

I can only speak from experience, but with my old girl Emma we went with TPLO as that was what the specialist recommended. He gave us a list of pros and cons for each method and we chose what he recommended as I trusted his expertise implicitly. The TPLO was carried out with great success and after recovery we did not have any issues with the leg at all - she ran, jumped and played just fine for the 5 - 6 years after the surgery until she passed away (from other causes).

I also use human clippers for my cat. For the dog I use a dremel and I love it, it's so much easier and less stressful for the dog too.