Oscar (AmBull)

I thought I was the only one after reading other people's posts about puppyhood hell. I think we just really lucked out. Oscar was always a big sleeper (still is), we had no early morning wake ups, he just amused himself until we got up. He never once cried at night, first night at home and we didn’t hear a peep out of him. He settled in extremely quickly Toilet training was a breeze. He did have the occasional mishap at night for a while but generally caught on to the notion extremely quickly. He has never chewed any cords or really got into things he shouldn’t, he did have a lot of toys rotated though. He only really started to misbehave around 7-8 months, with cushions going missing if left alone, taking things off of the table, dragging my camera around the yard once, not breaking it luckily just scratches. He also took a liking to clothes, not from the line just anything lying around. But he has now come out the other end of that and hasn’t destroyed anything for quite a while (touch wood), it has been about a month. He was overall extremely good, which makes me nervous to get another puppy, as he was so good I am worried I couldn’t hit the jackpot twice and will probably end up tearing my hair out with the next one. But they are just so irresistible... oh the puppy breath. First Day Home: A Toilet Training Mission:

I think that kids should be able to enter a dog park, as long as the parent is responsible enough to supervise. I actually had a really bad experience on Saturday at a dog park. The dog park we go to is extremely quiet, majority of the time you are the only person with a dog. I do not usually frequent dog parks however it was Oscar's birthday so we went and had a couple of puppy friends come along for a BBQ to celebrate. We had a long leash set up as my dog does get very excited and is extremely boisterous, so I would never let him off around young children as he is a big goof and could really hurt them without realising. So I attached the long line to a tree way down the other end of the park as there was a couple sitting at one end of the park with approximately a 3 year old. We were in the process of attaching the long line when the 3 year old came over and started playing with the line (Oscar was still on his normal leash). I am talking a good distance away from the parents, like a 100-200m. They did nothing, just sat there. We simply waited for the little boy to leave and he only did so when another dog came in the gate. I was shocked at such behaviour. We were trying to do the right thing and they appeared to not care at all. Very disappointing when you see parents like that. Then there are great parents and we did meet a couple of those on the day with small children as well

He has had a very nice day, had a 6km walk this morning, a selection of different meats and royal canin for lunch, then dinner consisted of marylands. Here is a photo I took of him just before:

Some photo's of my big boy as he has grown: Oscar de la Renta

Thanks so much for sharing your stories, they truly are amazing. I think maybe just some dogs have a gift, I have never seen anything like it before Oscar and don't know if I really believed all that sort of stuff before, I truly swear by it now. There is something higher going on, like he knows something.

So basically I will give a back story: 1: At the beginning of last year I had an uncle who was diagnosed with a very serious cancer of the brain. He came to our house when he was very ill; he was very child like in mind by this time and was very dependent on his wife. Oscar was approximately 6-8 months old at the time he came and was absolutely drawn to him. He sat by him, sniffed him, and played with him, at one point even sat on him. Just basically took him on as his own (he had never met this person before). 2: I have a cousin who is 18 years old and retarded, she has been since birth. She cannot walk; talk, function really in any way on her own. She is obviously in a wheelchair, is fed, bathed etc. She will often come and stay at our house. The first time she came Oscar was extremely scared of the wheelchair, barked a little (which was ignored) but as soon as he saw her/sniffed her he fell in love... literally. When she stays here he will go up to her and lick her hands, try and stand on his back legs to see her face properly. As soon as she screams he runs in to check on her. He has at times snuck into her room and slept at the bottom of the bed near her legs, obviously prior to us realising he was able to get in the room. We have now overcome this issue and he can’t get in the room, so he spends literally the whole night at her door. He is such a boisterous dog... at all times, yet he is so so gentle with her. It is truly remarkable and shocking. She is most definitely his favourite person in the whole house when she stays, and he is very sad when she leaves. When she was younger she actually had a therapy dog, yet Oscar is more devoted to her than that dog ever was and he has only been around her approx 5 times. We never leave them alone together, but just watching how he is with her and how she responds is truly wonderful to see. Sorry for the long post. Just wondering if others have similar stories or experiences, I would love to hear them. Just when you think you know your dog inside and out, they shock you in the best way possible.

Thanks for all the responses so far. We have tried a Raw Diet with him beofre. We had many issues with it. The issue with feeding a full raw diet for us was/is: Freezer Space The right ratio's. Accesibility. We were unable to get him to eat any organ meats which is essential to a Raw diet I have been told. We also had huge difficuly with the vege part. We bought around $60 worth one day juiced it up and it looked like something out of a baby's nappy, he wouldn't touch it at all. We tried adding it for about a week and it just was not happening. Furthermore, we have had trouble getting certain thing, like fish. We can source Chicken mince and roo mince, that is about it in our area. I am just not sure what dry food will suit us, we did jump around a lot when he was younger as we were not happy with certain products, however have now been on royal canin for many months. Some people also talk about CopRice? What is this like in comparison? I am just a little lost in all the food and ingrediants. Thanks

I have been for a little while researching the different ingredients for different dry foods. We are at the moment feeding Royal Canin Maxi Junior however after researching I feel it is quite expensive for the ingredients it has. I am impressed with: Artemis - Fresh Mix M/L Breed Puppy Ingredients Chicken, Turkey,Chicken Meal, Salmon Meal,Pearled Barley, Whole Brown Rice, Oatmeal, Millet, Potatoes, Dried Egg, Tomato Pomace,Chicken Fat ( preserved with mixed tocopherols Salmon,Flaxseed,Natural Chicken Flavour, Salmon Oil ( A source of DHA) Choline Chloride,Dried Chicory root, Kelp, Carrots, Peas,Apples, Tomatoes, Blueberries, Spinach, Cranberry Powder, Rosemary Extract, Parsley Flake, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Green Tea Extract, Barley Grass Extract, L-carnitine, Enterococcus Faecieum, Lactobacillus Casei, Lactobacillus Acidophilus, Saccharomyces Cerevesiae Fermentation Solubles, Dried Aspergillus Oryzae Fermentation Extract, Vitamin E Supplement, Iron Proteinate, Zinc Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Potassium Iodide, Thiamine Mononitrate, Manganese Proteinate, Manganous Oxide, Ascorbic Acid, Vitamin A Supplement, Biotin, Calcium Pantothenate, Manganese Sulfate, Sodium Selenite, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin, Vitamin D Supplement, Folic Acid. Guaranteed Analysis Crude Protein. min 27% Crude Fat, min 13% Crude Fibre, max 3% Moisture, max 10% Vitamin E, min 300IU/kg Biotin, min 0.33mg/kg Omega-6 Fatty Acids, min 2.5% Omega-3 Fatty Acids, min 0.4% DHA ( Docosohexaenoic Acid),min 0.05% I also like the: Pro Plan Sensitive Skin and Stomach So some details and my questions: Oscar is an Amstaff, turning 1 on the 24th of this month. He has a RMB for lunch then dry food at night. I am going to start mixing the dry food in with some raw. I am wanting to make the change as I feel his coat is quite dry and dull on the royal canin, harsh to touch, also as mentioned before I believe there is better out there for the money. I am wanting to know what people's experiences are with the food mentioned? Is there another food you would recommend? Just overall opinions really on making the switch when unhappy. Thanks.

Same thing here as well, except we have one dog, who likes to chair hop, finally taking up all the room on the lounge. I wonder what would happen if we had 2... The only time he shares is when he is cold.

I have been wondering lately when to make the switch from puppy dry food to adult? I know that it says on the bags 24 months but then others have said they change after 6 months? Just looking for a little guidance as Oscar is a year old this month. Also, we feed royal canin one meal a day, the other is always a rmb. We are wanting to know what other dry foods do a range that includes fish? He is not keen on fish at all, won't eat sardines, salmon, will eat the occassional tin of tuna if he is really hungry with his dry food. So wondering if there is a dry food that has this in it, I thought pro plan made one but I am not sure? I realise that fish is an important part of a dogs diet so we are looking to try and make the switch. Thanks.

That was fabulous! Thanks so much for posting!

Oscar is a fruit nut! Absolutely loves it. Apple is his fav, he also loves pears, peach, any type of berry, watermelon. One thing he doesn't like and will not eat is banana. He just stares until he gets some and for a dog that does not drool he gets little bits hanging, so cute to watch!

I personally would not pay over $500 like others have said, and would pay it straight to the vet. It is a really tough decision, especially when a lot of the unknowns can crop up down the track. Your dog being a rotty does add that extra pressure, as if it did go sour down the track we all know how bias some people are against certain breeds, the rotty being one of them, I have come across this with my own dog. I think that cash can get quite messy at times between people and I do love the suggestion of a gift basket. A gift basket is a much better way to avoid the admission of guilt/goodwill gesture problems that could come up. I think putting a couple of hundred into a whole heap of things people need when they get a pup is a fantastic idea. It is a way to contribute something substantial, without dealing with all the other issues. If this were my puppy I would be more than happy to recieve a whole heap of goodies instead of cash for the vet bill. I do not think your dog is at fault in any way, a pup that young should have been watched much closer than they did and I think they realise that. They seem to be fair and reasonable people that can see it was an accident. Goodluck with it all, I think it is a very tough situation to be in and I do not envy you one bit

Great pictures & Happy Birthday to Sally! My boy turns 1 this month, what did you end up making the cake out of? Looks great, and the dinner... heaven

So basically my dog seems to be biting himself quite a bit recently, really since Xmas. It isn't severe or anything like that, he just has a few spots on his body with red lumps in his selected areas. He does not have fleas, he has been flea'd and the kind of dog he is fleas are easy to spot, plus we don't have a flea problem in our house at all. I am wondering if it is an allergy. He has had no real diet changes. At present he eats 2 meals per day. 1 is a RMB: Always either Turkey leg/wing, Lamb Neck or Beef Brisket. Then Royal Canin Maxi Breed Junior (sometimes with left over vegies, like pumpkin, brocoli etc.) So I am wondering what I should do to alleviate this issue? And how could I find out what it is? He turns 1 in a couple of weeks and will get his annual vaccination so I am planning on speaking to the vet at this time and seeing what the recommend. Thanks for any help in advance.

Thanks so much for all the replies. Well it would seem that the estimate I was given was completely over the top. I do realise that the vet bills and general maintenace of a giant breed are substantially more (ie worming, fleaing, bedding) but those are costs that we could cope with, but that food bill was definitely a big deterent. We have pet insurance now for our boy and would not be without it, such a relief to know that if something does go wrong we have that behind us, small price to pay for piece of mind in the long run. Re the pet insurance what have people found are the best for giant breeds? I know some of the insurance companies exclude giant breeds after a certain age. And MAD, congratulations on the puppy

That's what I thought, that surely it couldn't be that expensive, $100 per week seemed like a lot. That was told to me by someone that owns Newfoundlannds. I couldn't fathom how breeder's afforded that much per dog per week. Does their intake get less as they get older or does it remain fairly steady. Do they eat everything that is down, like labradors? Just my boy will only eat as much as he wants/needs and is happy to leave the rest for me to dispose of. He is in no way a guts. Thanks for all the help thus far

So my question is to all those people who own ‘giant breeds’ how much does it actually cost you to feed such a dog per week? I have always been a huge fan of giant breeds (growing up with a bullmastiff) and hope to one day own a Dogue to Bordeaux. I am also in love with the Newfoundland and Harlequin Danes. I have been told that they cost around $100 a week to feed, is this correct? And that this expense doesn’t level out until around 3 years? Also is there a difference between males and females? Just wondering if this estimate is accurate? And if so what is it that you feed exactly? Any info much appreciated.

Oscar's full name is: Oscar de la Renta. At the time I was right into the sex and the city movie (had just come out on dvd), and there is a scene in the film where Carrie is trying on all the designer dresses for a magazine shoot. I fell in love with the wedding dress by the designer Oscar de la Renta. Therefore, this is where my big clown got his name, he is far from class, but it suits him well.

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I have read a lot recently on DOL about how people’s older dogs teach their new puppy’s so much about behaviour/boundaries. I have been wondering if this makes the first dog/puppy all the harder as they have no other dogs to really learn from. We don’t want to get another dog until Oscar is where he needs to be obedience wise and definitely needs to mature a lot, however we wonder at times if he will ever get there. Have other people experienced this? When do you know it is the right time for another dog?

We are, but not on sunday. Which course are you doing? We did Calm Controlled Centred at Balhannah before Xmas.

I am at the moment leaning towards the blackdog one and trying to find the k9 force one, can't seem to see it on their website. Can anyone point me in the right direction please?

Thanks so much for all the great ideas, I will investigate further, they all sound perfect. We are doing the recall with Alexis Davison in Mount Barker.

We are currently doing an intensive course on recall and are needing to purchase a long line. We are unsure of where to purchase and what brands are actually good. The ones shown were a simple long line that looked like a leash and a strong retractable leash. We need something that is very strong and sturdy. Does anyone have any recommendations and where to purchase decent ones. We have looked in pet stores but don't want to purchase anything that isn't suitable. Thanks