raineth

Hi Boxagirl; sounds like your training is going really well it doesn't actually hit the pedals but it comes really close! Maybe it will all be o.k. I'll have to wait for "the healing of the toe" to see for sure if its going to be a problem. We do have it fitted under the seat. Maybe we could put it somewhere else. It will probably fit just fne on the mountain bike when we get it I'm really not sure if we're going to make it. Digby is such a big boy; but we're going to have fun trying

glad Fiona and Viszlas are safe. Yes I've smelled that smell before and it is so bad! we've really stalled here as Digby has hurt one of his toes. its not that its bad, its just that because its on his pad its so vulnerable to being opened up. Our springer has arrived but it doesn't fit on the road bike well. We'd probably need to get a mountain bike soon. When Digby's toe is better we might try the springer n the BMX

I know of research that indicates that highly strung people, or anxious people, who meditate every day are more relaxed for that entire day. It does seem to be important to do it pretty much first thing. I never thought about why that is though - its very interesting! my son has sensory processing disorder by the way. that sounds like a wonderful thing your nephew's parents are doing Haven We did a less structured version. Similar sorts of things lots of touch and new sensory experiences and he controlled how involved he was with it (we started as an infant although he wasn't diagnosed at that time). He has made huge improvements (he is 9 now). There are still certain clothes he can't wear and a few things like that. Our biggest problem has been vistibular and proprioceptive. We have made inroads on vistibular but it is still so bad. He so often thinks he is falling over. reading your post Haven has made decide to work on it some more. sorry for that bit being offtopic corvus

farewell Kassy wonderful that she got to 17 years

The dogs skip is talking about look more like Bearded Collies. Oh right! That's interesting! I didn't know. we were given our stumpy-tail as an adult and for an age we just though she must have been an ACD without a tail. Then on a walk one day we were approached by a man who was very excited by her saying "wow you've got a stumpy-tail!" anyway he told us that they were also known as a smithfield. Obviously a clear case of the blind leading the blind It didn't matter to us what she was - she was just a lovely dog to us. I'll have to google Smithfield now! She was definitely a stumpy though as I have looked them up since And I still say consider a Stumpy ETA: i just looked them up; they are very gorgeous looking aren't they? Although I noticed there is definitely still plenty of people who consider stumpy's to be intercahngeable with smithfields. If you google image search "smithfield" you come up with mostly pics of ACDs or stumpy's - so it must be a pretty common myth.

yep I was going to suggest Stumpy-tail. They are a bit more easy going than an ACD. But they are still drivey, loyal and very willing to work. They also, in my opinion, have a nicer leggier shape than ACDs. My other suggestion would be an Airedale. I think they are generally drivey and that bit challenging. But are they too big and Hairy? I also must admit that my Stumpy-tail shed like a demon. But that was before i knew about good quality food, so that could have been a large part of the problem

any "free" food (I mean less than 5% carb) with protein and fat should do it just fine. pure meats are free; eggs are free. so feeding her extra mince, lamb flaps etc will do the trick just fine without affecting her stability. ofcourse it is not a good idea to go overboard with fat ofcourse

I have to second what Nekhbet is saying. I have a 60 kg mastiff style mutt and he can jump dining table height with ease. I have taken him to agility and he loved the tunnel and the A frame. I didn't get him to do the tyre jump or the dog walk though. Weaves are difficult; but that could be because I'm not a good trainer :D ETA: I should say though that he is incredibly lazy. We can get about five minutes before it all becomes a bit too much like work for him if pressed he will lay down in the middle of the tunnel

Field Spaniel?

Aren't they wonderful??? I spend hours on that site, and facebook re spin friends. I see a few vizss in there too. Those photos etc. are EXACTLY what mine is like. One of the things I really like about the breed is that (as far as my experience goes) they are what they are, you dont hear of any dog or human aggression, nervousness etc. they are very stable dogs. I'm pretty sure there has never been a recorded bite from a spin. there can always be exceptions to the rule, but having had contact with very many spin people and breeders form all over the world, and here is aust., I have not heard of one yet. THere was one on HEartbeat (tv show) later episodes after dear old Alfred died. she was a honey!! and so good, even as a very young pup.... the downside was that they became a bit 'popular' and unsuitable people got them, so they have an amazing rescue/rehome service in UK where all the spins needing homes live in homes and socialise with heaps of people and dogs, upwards of 30 or 40. the photos are so lovely... yes I just love that temperament! A very adaptable and laid back dog will suit my needs in the future. I have the photo of the spin jumping over the fence with the bird in its mouth as the background on my computer at the moment My one little worry is the hair around the mouth - I worry about it being yucky from eating and drinking. How do you manage that Monah? I've only had fine haired dogs previously. Sorry RV if that is not exaclty relevant for you

Digby and Delta

that's the perfect caption KumaAkita

my next dog will be a spinone I just love them!!! check out this site: spinone club of GB and if you go to the gallery section you can see how incredibly athletic they can be! Amazing

I recently looked after my brother's dog and he has a strechy leash. He's a little bit of a puller because my brother normally walks at a really fast pace and I couldn't do that because we had the kids with us. Anyway I was always nervous everytime the lead streched that it would break like a rubber band and we'd all get dreadful whip-lash!

and Digby does happy and lots of variations of 'concerned'

Jacqui835 you dog certainly has an epressive face! loving all the photos on this thread Delta does really about 3 different expressions restful loving crazy not in that order:

My two dogs at the moment are just my favouritist dogs ever But they are very different in many ways. I love dogs who show affection and they both do that. Delta will rest her head on me and look up at me with her lots of love in her big blue eyes. And Digby wants to be so close; you invite him for a cuddle and he simplly must lie on you as much as possible and he is a big big sooky mastiff x and you end up hot and squashed underneath him. Digby is the most loyal and aloof dog I've had. He loves our family - everyone else he can take or leave. Delta is the opposite and is a huge tart :D She thinks everybody is lovely and wonderful and is probably the least loyal dog in the world because she's just as happy with anyone's company. Although she really missed my daughter when she went into hospital. Delta notices everything and becomes a part of it - she gives herself a job to do; like looking after my daughter with Diabtes She is always checking on her and will let us know if something isn't right. Delta is the happiest dog I have ever known. She makes everyone around her happy (well except Digby). Digby is kind of morose. Yet he is just so good. He is the definition of a good dog - he never does anything wrong He is also lovely and laid back. when I take him to training and we stand in line with the other dogs who are jumping around excitedly, or looking into their owners eyes with keen anticipation, Digby will be next to me laying flat out and having a snooze I love that

Hi Raineth, welcome to the ET list. Digby certainly is a big boy at 60kgs! As you may have read, the ET course is broken up into three stages of 8k, 6k and 6k again. Each with a rest break between them. I think that any dog can do it with good and proper preparatory training. Given that the ET's are not held until the cooler weather starts, this gives you approximately 4-5 months to get prepared. This is more than enough time. I do not think it would be cruel to make Digby do this. Just start his training now and build up the distances over time. The ET is run at a steady 10-12kph. It is a gentle gait for an average sized dog. I notice you are in NSW? this would mean that you could go to Erskine Park (Sydney), or to DogsACT in Canberra to do your ET. To check Digby's heart rate, get him to lie down on his right side. Bend his left front leg at the elbow. Touch the elbow to his chest. This is the area where you can easily hear the heartbeat. Place your fingers flat on this area and count the beats for 15 seconds. Then multiply that number by 4 and you have the heartbeats per minute. If you need more help or info, please ask. M thanks! Yeah we will try to prepare him well and obviously if its looking like its too much for him we just won't do it - so no biggy If we do it, we'll be going to Canberra Thanks for the info on checking his heart rate. We had a go at that... So next question: are there some guidelines about what we should be aiming for with heart rate?

hello everyone; we have been reading this with great interest! We have just started to bike with our dog Digby. He is really loving it. Because of this it made me think about doing the possibility of Doing the ET with him. But when I mentioned it to some dog friends they thought it would be cruel to do it with Digby because he is a very big dog. I thought that as long as we conditioned him properly it wouldn't be cruel But I would like some opinions from people on here. He is just 60 kgs and he is built similarly to a Bullmastiff; however he is not brachycephalic (like a bullmastiff is). He is a rescue dog (so unknown heritage) do people think I should get his hips scored before doing something like this with him? and one more question... How do I check his heart rate?

wonderful organisation

aww there are some good doggies aren't there? My rescue boy, Digby, doesn't bark when people knock on our door ... unless they are religious people coming to preach to us - Does that count? I wish he would also bark at the austar people; alas i can't have everything.

hey GotNuthin, I just got the same camera as you! I am loving it! I have to sign up to Flickr though, as photobucket is taking away the quality of my images. loved your photos

MissCheevius, Puppy classes can be excellent. But some of them are not so excellent. My preference is socialise puppies to well adjusted adult dogs - which I read you are doing I personally don't think pups do a very good job at teaching other pups manners. I took my first puppy to puppy school (thinking I was doing the right thing). But it was just a puppy free-for-all. There was a 4 month old boxer and a 6 month old boxer who were also attending and they were so rough with my pup. I think it was about the worst socialisation I could have given him. So anyway, I just wanted to say that if you turn up to your puppy school and its like that - you are better off going home :D

I'm so glad Smoko has now started the happy time in his life Its wonderful to see them beginning to trust and feel safe

nawwww he's beautiful! They look fantastic against the dark furr on his face haha I just noticed the Dice on his collar