wuffles

The short answer is YES, two dogs are better than one. The long answer is... More mischief and destruction. More poo and wee. More vet bills. More kennel fees, or harder to find someone to look after them if you go away. Learning how to manage more than one, eg. their relationship, whether they guard resources, whether one needs more exercise than the other, whether they need separating at any point, whether they can eat the same food, etc. And of course, some dogs just don't get along. In my opinion, most dogs enjoy doggie company of some kind. My girl annoys the heck out of my boy, but he really misses her when she's not there. I love seeing them interact with each other. They are their own little pack. I love having two different personalities around. I love having both of them greet me at the door when I get home. I love watching them play bitey face. No-one I know who has two dogs has regretted the decision. ETA: My boy could easily be an only dog, we had him for 2 years before getting our girl. Company would not have been a good enough reason for us to get another dog, because he's happy to sleep the day away. But I really wanted another dog, so I got one.

Thanks Weibritty, glad to hear it solved the issue for you. I wouldn't get it done for stinkiness or inconvenience. But abscesses are so nasty and are really affecting her quality of life.

Ta, have booked an appointment with Sandra next week.

Define desperate?

She hasn't been to chiro in a few months but her right hip is always slightly out when she does go. She has no signs of soreness and is very active, but she is stoic so it's hard to tell. I've asked vets to check her movement etc but they can never find anything out of the ordinary.

Yes she gets bones (chicken wings, frames or lamb ribs) at least 3x weekly.

One of my dogs is having recurring anal gland abscesses and infections, despite a good diet including psyllium husk. This is her fourth time in 12 months. I have been avoiding the issue of anal gland removal as everything I read says "don't do it!" but now, after having to leave her at the vet for the day to have one of the glands lanced, enough is enough. It's very painful for her (and for me) Does anyone have any actual experiences of this surgery? I know that there is a risk of incontinence but the vet maintains that it is extremely uncommon. Is the recovery horrible? She is an inside, on the bed, on the couch kind of dog and we do a bunch of dog sports. I need to do the best thing for her but I can't decide what that is

Love the pics :D We were down the road at dog club and the ground was steaming. Looked very cool.

As far as I know there is evidence that some carriers also show symptoms. I would avoid the drugs just in case. I had my girl tested (the most she could be was a carrier anyway) but she came back clear :)

I actually found the sneaky way is the best :laugh: Walk up to dog randomly and get it done with as quickly as possible with no fuss. A similar technique to Erny above but more stealth

Allan is just a "turn up and get in the queue" service so you don't have to make a booking, he has been great with my dogs. I hope you get to the bottom of it, I would be worried too

My club calls our "dog to dog contact" a "controlled greeting". The dogs don't actually have to meet. We also have a "steady for strangers" which may not be the best wording, but that means being under control while another dog walks past a few metres away.

I don't necessarily agree with much of what the OP has said, but I can at least see where they're coming from. There are a lot of people out there who just don't bother to socialise their dogs then wonder why they are reactive or excitable, and use that as an excuse to keep them at home. I think that fenced dog parks are wonderful assets in our community. There are risks in owning a dog and I have had way more issues at sanctioned dog events, or walking around the streets on lead, than dog parks! I don't care if people don't want to go to them, but going to a dog park doesn't make you a bad/uninformed/stupid owner.

Some people teach that "sit" means "sit there until I tell you to do something else", hence, stay :) Edit: I don't do this with my dog, as I found she started ignoring my next commands, even a release, thinking she was a smartypants and not breaking her stay :laugh: For some reason if I add a "stay" command she's ok. But it works very well for others.

I just wanted to reply to this :) I found (and still do at times) this a bit annoying as well, not because they are common trialling breeds but because I think you have to teach a variety of dogs before you can really be a great trainer. In saying that, after a few sessions of instructing, you should get some experience with different breeds and know enough to at least have suggestions for those which may be more difficult to train. I instruct at my local club, and I always introduce myself to have both my Aussie (who is often crated off to the side of class) and my rescue mutt (who is asleep on his comfy bed at home), and point out that they are very different dogs to train so I do empathise with everyone, no matter what their training issue may be. Last session I taught was beginners, and in the last week (games week) I brought along my mutt and introduced him to everyone. I got a lot of positive feedback, especially from people with less traditional breeds, so I will make sure I do that again next time :) We have so many different breeds at our club, many owned by instructors. We have a jack russell x pug who has just entered her first obedience trial, so everyone is encouraged, no matter what their breed!

There is nothing wrong with a merle dog (ie. one with one copy of the gene). Cattle dogs aren't merle, that is ticking I believe :) Most double merle dogs (ie. with two copies of the merle gene) have hearing and sight issues but NOT all. I believe it's unethical to breed merle x merle but not all double merles have problems.

Oh Tassie, good point! I will measure my leashes when I get home to check if any of them are 2m.

Thanks guys :) My dog is used to Open obedience stays so she doesn't need the talking, I just didn't want to be wondering on the day (and she will be pretty happy if I give her some encouragement) :laugh:

Two possibly silly questions about the honor exercise Can you talk to your dog or repeat commands in the honor exercise? And, I assume this one may be club dependent, but... do you leave the ring then re-enter to the honor sign, or do you have to go straight from the Finish to Honor? Am I correct in thinking you wouldn't be able to go out and reward your dog after the course then re-enter for the Honor? Thanks

I met her on Thursday and she seemed very sweet (and yes, cold). She looks big in her pound photo but is actually quite small.

In defence of clubs in Canberra, we only have a very small population and finding volunteers to teach classes is VERY difficult... if we had more volunteers we could offer more classes, so I think that's where the attitude may come from. Unfortunately all the volunteers are also very busy with their own dogs so it's a vicious cycle :)

I get the Coles bag of lamb offcuts too. I try to get the ones with mainly ribs, these are the best for my dogs. I find that the local butchers aren't reliable in what kind of bones they offer so the Coles bags are easiest.

My dogs both have strange reactions to completely random things. One of them is a rescue but the other has never had a hand lifted to her in her life. I think sometimes people come to the conclusion too easily that a dog has been beaten, when realistically, they are just having a naturally wary reaction, especially if they are soft to start with. If you saw one of my dogs when I get the hiccups you'd probably think she'd been abused. Don't know what the problem is, but she finds them terrifying.

My dog is a pet first and foremost, not just an obedience puppet. Value for other dogs may not be something that you want in a purely obedience dog, but as a pet there are many, many advantages. In my opinion, TheCheekyMonster, you have nothing to worry about. Monitor his interactions closely and perhaps be a bit more careful than you used to be, but that's all I'd do. One of my dogs is submissive too, but will fight back if provoked. I just make sure that she doesn't interact with dogs that will provoke her :)

Totally agree with this bit! :) I do make sure that I control what is happening, so she is not allowed to release herself to go play or to her reward or anything else. I do have trouble with PEOPLE wanting to constantly feed her, though