raineth

Unless the the dog had a coping mechanism that seemed to serve it well (i.e. it did something and when it did that it was able to be stress-free) I would do something to alleviate the stress. So I would be thinking desensitisation, thundershirt, calming paste, that sort of thing to reduce the dog's stress.

yeah there are breeders and then there are breeders aren't there? Maybe for those you don't have contact with you could just send a note with it saying: "I hope you don't mind... just wanted to give pup a gift for his birthday... etc.

True, but I answered for both my dogs and the answers were very different! same for me! I think they got a different answer for practically everything! (they are very different)

I liked it Corvus and filled it out for both of mine. There were only two questions I didn't know the answers to. One was how friendly/afraid they are when approached by unknown people when you're not there. I don't know! and the other was how they are with entire females - I don't know if they've ever met an entire female! So I just guessed those couple

:D they are so beautiful!

thanks Kirislin! They are great tips :D I will definitely try and do that!

feel free to give feedback Although I feel like they are not as good after being in photobucket

what breed of dog is she? do you mean she get's a cup and a half of kibble + the fresh meat grain and veg? I have a 60 kg dog who eats 2 cups of kibble a day and about half a cup worth of treats for training (such as liver), and he could still lose some weight and be fine. So I was just wondering if the quatity is too much? otherwise, cut out the grain :D

if she likes the poodle but standard is too big - why don't you talk her into a mini poodle? ;) lots of lovely colours to choose from as well

Because RRs are such big dogs I think you would be asking for trouble if you expect hteir new owners to grow them properly on a raw diet. You need to find good quality large breed puppy food such as Eukanuba or Royal Canin - the varieties that are specifically formulated for large breed dogs; they have the correct calcium to phosphorous ratios.

he is so smoochable :D

aww they are beautiful! such lovely happy dogs :D welcome to the forum

oh Hi! definitely come and say hi to us on the dane thread~! I got our bed custome made. It is filled with Alpaca wool and is so lovely and soft; but also dense so you can't feel the floor underneath. But it weighs about 20 kgs so postage would be a killer. I do have a few beds around that I bought from PetBarn (just bought the biggest sizer I could) but they're not that good quality and they cost a lot of money.

I now put the water bucket in the laundry. The laundry doesn't have a door so there is no risk of them not having access to it. I sit the water bucket right next to the drain in the floor. Then by the time they have walked out of the laundry from having their drink they have no watery slobber left so the rest of the house stays o.k.

This post doesn't sit well for me. Sometimes the match between an owner (and the owner's situation) and a dog just isn't right. What if that elderly lady was doing her best and it wasn't enough? Maybe she could have got a behaviourist out to help her with the problems - but maybe she also thought that it was too much of a risk if she couldn't get it right. Maybe she thought that her situation just wasn't the best for Amy? I don't think you can be really too hard on someone who returns a dog because they are posing a threat to members of their family. And honestly most dogs are a lot more resilient than that. And actually I don't think Amy will be thinking "where is my mummy?" because she is a dog. What if the best thing for Amy is to be a working dog on a farm?

thanks

Thought I might tack on to this thread if that's o.k. I have been asked by a friend; who was asked by her friend, to find if there are any good ethical stafford breeders around Wagga Wagga/Riverina. So if you know of any, if you could reply here or send me a PM that would be great. I have already mentioned the blue staffy thing to them

oh I just love him to bits

I have this problem with Delta. She only wants to work with me. This morning my husband tried to take her out the door for a walk and she put on the breaks and turned around and tried to run back to me. She is really only like that when going for walks or when out and about. at home she is happy with anyone. I think she finds it harder to understand what someone else wants and then that is stressful for her.

if its diabetes she will losing weight and generally unwell and very tired. I would advise your husband to be really on the look for weightloss and tiredness. Because untreated diabetes turns into ketoacidosis which is a sever illness that can lead to death in just a couple of days. I hope she feels better soon

Wow that was really great thanks for putting it up

treats i normally use: liver: baked slowly at a low temperature. It has a soft texture and cuts up well and they just love it! beef mince: pinch little tiny pieces off and bake them (almost like miniscule rissoles). I just use a low-ish heat and bake until they're quite firm. suasge: just normal sausages fried and then cut up tiny. but if you want them to last a bit longer you can then bake them in the oven until they are dried out. fish fingers: baked and chopped up. lastly although its not home made, I find my "4legs" role at the supermarket makes really good treats (yummy, soft and keeps its shape when cut up).

Digby pyjama bum

hehe My harlequin Dane and my giant black mutt were called ridgebacks yesterday - it gave me a chuckle especially as they don't even look like each other - let alone either looking like a ridgeback (see photo below)