megan_

It is also important to include raw bone - otherwise they will be deficient in calcium. BARF is just one of many raw diets (eg prey model being another). I wouldn't start her on this until you've done the research.

No You have clearly failed to notice that these are extemely rare and expensive new breeds that shall make my fortune. [evil cackle] Before Troy newks me, I have the affidavits of not less than ten employees independent veterinary geneticists to support my claim that they are pure bread. They are OZKC recognised. This is the launch of my marketting campaign. Now to perfect the coat colours that shall make me the most $$$$ Oh, and if anyone wants to join the OZKC, PM me. I am President. if you can get a blue version of each THEN you'll be on a winner

I love the look on snot's face...how embarrassment

My girl only sits when on the leash (which is how I first trained her). When the leash is off and I say sit, she looks blankly at me.

Great news! I had air con installed yesterday and Lucy stayed inside and watched them work after she had calmed down from the initial fright of 3 bulky guys coming into the house - so it sounds like they both had a good day.

Post didn't day this. dog could have been a few metres away, child not near the bone, dog gets protective and attacks.

that, and not feeding the dog when others were around - how incredibly stupid is that? I don't have a problem with dogs in the workplace, but they need to have bullet-proof temperaments, especially in a place where kids are (and there are kids at most salons). Not every dog is suited to a busy salon. The dog could easily have been kept safe via a couple of baby gates. The salon owner has done the dog world no favours by trying to down play the whole thing.

She would run out the dog door and hide under the decking. She was/is more flight than fight. Now I don't let her run out. She isn't 100% comfortable around new people, but is muched improved.

She sounds very scared. Unfortunately, comforting a scared dog often makes them more scared - it is like validating that they have something to be afraid of. It is far more effective to totally ignore it and carry on as if there is nothing to be scared of. It is also common to assume that a scared dog has been abused/hit - that isn't necissarily the case either. Dogs who haven't been socliased properly are often scared of strange things. My girl used to be scared if I stepped on a twig. A twig has never attacked her! I have a very fearful mini schnauzer - she was used as a breeding dog at a puppy farm so she hasn't been properly socialised at all. She has made great gains since we saw a behaviourist and have implemented a plan of leadership and controlled socialisation. I strongly recommend that you do this to - my girl couldn't even put on a lead a few months ago, never mind stay in the house with a visitor or go for a walk. She now goes for a nightly walk, has friends at the park and goes to dog school. A trainer is different from a behaviourist in that they don't specialise in dog behaviour. Lastly, as hard as it might be - you can't feel sorry for her. Feeling sorry for her doesn't help her at all. She needs you to be a calm, assertive leader. Show her that life goes on and there is nothing to stress about. Make sure she has clear rules and boundaries to adhere to so that she knows that you're the boss. Stay calm even if she is stressing out. If you molly coddle her and give into her demands, then she might see herself as the leader, and the leader needs to protect the pack and do the worrying. ETA: If she normally likes treats but won't eat them when visitors are there this can means that she's very stressed. Also, you don't want to treat her when she's carrying on because you are inadvertandly rewarding her for the behaviour. ETA again: How does she go when she sees strangers when going for her nightly walk?

up and wagging

The owner is most probably *frantically* trying to find their dog and are looking at the pound - the place you're supposed to look! Please surrender the dog. You can put your name down for it if it isn't claimed within a certain number of days or arrange with a rescue group to help her.

Come to Melbourne (please)

I'm scared of Rotties, I'm scared of Rotties falling into the hands of Irresponsible owners who know nothing about them and keep them on a chain and dump them at the pound when they can't handle them. If this dog bites someone, the whole breed gets the blame. I feel very sorry for you, to judge a breed on the actions of three individuals. :D this is the reason I've avoided adding to this thread until now. I imagine that if I got bitten three times by a certain breed I'd be wary too - Krislin didn't say that she hated them, supported BSL etc etc, she just said she was *wary*. I don't walk very closely to larger dogs that I don't know. I don't hate them either, but I don't know the owner so would like a bit of distance in case they lunge. I'd do the same for little dogs but they can't inflict the same injury on me.

yeah, I'm sure they're health tested and the parents are very well looked after and recieve the best of health care...unless the breeder is taking one hell of a financial hit.

agree - and that modified vegetable protein (fake meat) stuff is full of additives and preservatives.

Mine do love her. Thanks Cosmolo I've found a DOLer who will groom them next week.

I take my two mini schnauzers to an excellent groomer (Carolyn at the Glen Eira Vet Clinic). They are due for a cut so I checked my diary for when I booked (I "always" book the next appt when I pick them up) and found nothing. I rang up and - I had forgotten to make an appointment. There is a 6 weeks waiting period and I'd really like them to be cleaned up in the interim. I know it's a long shot but does anyone know a good groomer that might not have such a long waiting list? My girl is very, very nervous so I want someone who deals well with her - that is more important to me than the cut. Thanks, Megan

I wasn't so much thinking about the genetic side of things - after all genetics is a lottery no matter how good you are - more along the lines of "no ethical breeder would want their dog dumped or in a pound". They would have something in the contract that stated if the owner no longer wanted the dog they could return it. After say 12 months (or whatever) there would be no refund.

sounds like my boy - he had very severe gastro. I took him to the vet when he first vomitted (because he was still making choking noises and I worried about a blockage). The next morning he vomitted twice in a few minutes and was just "off" - so off to emergency we went. HE was on a drip immediately becasue he vommitted a few times more during the consult. He had x-rays and blood tests that day. I'm not a vet but it sounds like your dog should be on a drip at least - if they're not taking water or throwing it up they can become dehydrated quickly. He should also have a blood test and possibly an x-ray to check for an obstruction. If you don't feel like you're being listened to, see another vet.

I don't think I labelled anyone "unworthy"? I just listed my additional criteria as to what I consider ethical - after all, there are numerous posts on here that show that simply being registered does not mean that someone is ethical. There are many different breeders out there for the breeds that I love (MS, poodles) so I'd need some extra criteria to help me make a choice as to which one I wanted to support. In the case above, if I was the breeder I would encourage them to get the dog PTS, and if they wouldn't (ie they wanted to, for some reason completely unbeknownst to me, keep a seriously unwell, elderly dog alive with no vet treatment) then I'd take the dog back and get it PTS myself.

Great post. If I ever get a puppy again I'll also ask: * What kind of return policy do they have? If they don't have a life time return policy, I wouldn't deal with them. * What do you do to help breed rescue? I understand that not every breeder has the resources to actually take on rescues, but if their answer is "not my problem" then personally I wouldn't deal with them either. * How many litters do you breed a year? Where do your dogs live? How many breeding bitches do you have? I'd like to flush out the puppy farmers. Of course, a relatively high number doesn't mean that they are necessarily a puppy farmer, but when combined with the above questions I think they would stand out.

My boy did this (and still does) after he got very sick for a few days. I thought he had recovered about 2 weeks later but apparently not. He wouldn't even look at his tug, which he normally loves. So off to the vet we went, and he had a temperature and his gut made a lot of noises when touched. I would go to the vet if a dog that normally loved training suddenly showed no interest in it. We are now in a training break until he fully recovers.

Really? For most people this would mean that the puppy was outside of the crate for only a few hours.... I think most DOLers use the crate for night time.

Bokezu - My boy got VERY sick on raw (all human grade, used before use-by dates). I don't know if that was the cause, but he is doing well on a presciption diet. Am I cruel for trying to keep the poor thing alive with a (very borking) diet that is working? A badly executed raw diet can be worse than a balanced kibble one. I believe that raw is best for most dogs, but it appears that there is no evidence of it via research (and I'd like to know why!). I find it interesting when people say they *know* something is better: how do they know? are the results independant? statistically significant? what is their definition of raw (BARF, old fashioned before Dr B got famous BARF, Prey??)? what measures define "healthy"?

what about one of those bowls that have bits of plastic sticking up so that they have to eat around it?