raineth

Going off my own personal experience, I would say with some dogs you really do need to be careful with your socialization. You could take two pups and give them the same socialization experiences and for one it turns out to be a disaster, and the other it works out really well. I also think that if you have a breed with guarding heritage, socializing them to people coming to your home, not just going out and about is pretty important. But yeah, as LisaCC said, taking them out and about is a really useful way to get them to meet a range of people. If you are really struggling to find kids, go for a walk near a school just after 3 in the afternoon. Guaranteed to find kids that way.

I actually think the comments by the neighbor are quite helpful. So often people think that there are two kinds of dogs, 'good' dogs and 'bad' dogs, and only the latter will ever be a threat. The neighbour said these dogs are good dogs, probably because they are. I think it reinforces the reality, which is that ANY dog can bite. Also, as anyone who has been interviewed by a journalist can attest, they ask you lots of questions, and then just feature a couple of quotes. So you can't assume that he has no sympathy for what occurred, they probably just didn't include those particular quotes. I feel terrible for the baby and her parents, who without a doubt never intended for such a terrible thing to happen.

I do feel for you, I remember when I had the two, they took up ALL my time, absolutely all of it!

So when are you taking them out? I generally took mine out after eating, after drinking, after playing, and just generally about every hour. I was thinking that perhaps you could feed one, then take it out to pee, on lead. Only wait ten minutes. No interaction, and no moving around until the goods have been produced. Then put that one in a pen, and repeat with the other one. If they don't do anything, then I'd probably take the, back out again about 20 minutes later. Same thing, on lead, no moving about, and no attention until they've done the job. I'm not sure what you can do about them getting distracted by the other one having a tantrum except perhaps having them in a crate in a part of the house furthest from your yard, with some door closed in between so the noise is quieter. Are their crates small enough for you to move around easily? I had two puppies at once, but they were ok at doing things together and wouldn't distract each other too much, but that was perhaps because they were litter mates.

Photos

I have returned loose dogs to their yards quite a few times. I did it again just the other day! Is it possible people were just returning him after he got out?

I think it is still rather rare. It just feels like it happens a lot because we talk about it when it happens, but we don't talk about it when it doesn't happen. I for one never post on facebok saying 'I came home, Del still hasn't been stolen' I think it is more likely to happen when people find the dog loose. I know quite a few people who found their current dogs and kept them forever. They think that the dog/pup had been abandoned, and they think they have done the right thing by them by keeping them. I think actively and knowingly stealing a dog would be more rare than that.

Registered breeders typically sell most of their puppies to 'pet homes' (which just means to families that aren't interested in showing or breeding) all the time :) I'm sure if you give some breeders a ring they will be more than happy to have a chat to you. It is a good idea to get knowledgeable about the health issues that can affect the breed and the appropriate health assessments that should be done (and the results of them) before you go much further. It's not too difficult usually and will really assist you to choose a pup that has the best chances of being healthy :)

Yeah I just found it helps confine the mess when you can't get to them quick enough, and so is a bit easier with the cleaning up. Anyway, how did last night go Teebs? When you mentioned the panting it rang a bell for me because I think it can be (yet another) side effect of the pred. But obviously it can also be a symptom of pain. Hope it's just a side-effect.

Two weeks, so not much. She's a kerry blue, he's a wheaten so they'll be much the same size soon. Naww they're going to be adorable! I really hope you put some photos up! :)

Yes I don't think it will be too much of a problem, unless they are very different in size? I wouldn't bother about the neutral ground that's for sure. and don't forget.... photos!

:) me too Digby made a lot of people smile (and some people run screaming :p ) hehehe

As far as I know... Spinoni may be a little bigger than what you want, but that would be good in terms of playing with Didi. They love water. They are people friendly and biddable. Probably more energetic than Didi, but I think one of the least energetic of the gundogs. Very laid back temperaments. I have been stalking them for years now, and if you get one I can live vicariously through you

Utility breed - and were developed to have a protective function. If you want to take your dogs to the beach, be warned that A LOT of dog breeds don't "get" Boxers. Their facial expression says "hard stare' to working breeds in particular. I hae never found them to be particularly friendly. Get a Bracco!! Similar to a Bracco, I was thinking a Spinone. Probably both just as difficult to actually get your hands on!

Ditto although Steele more than a little pot belly. He is very fat and I never have fat dogs but then his I am going to die diet hasn't helped. The pred never shrunk any tumours in my case, they just slowed their growth and made him feel better. I did however catch is very early, he only had a slight cough and to my knowledge he doesn't have liver cancer. Once we saw the inoperable tumours in his lungs we didn't look any further for the primary tumours. Sorry to hear things aren't going well Yep, I wouldn't worry about him being fat at this tim. THis time of his life is about enjoying himself, that's the main priority. I spoiled Digby ridiculously. I had always been quite careful with his diet, but to hell with that! What Digby wanted Digby got!

That's no good Teebs, your poor parents Poor Spook too, it sounds like she might be having a rough time of it. Digby's vet was a wonderful source of advice, so I hope their vet can do the same for them. Like you, I don't think there is anything unethical about letting her go early if the management is taking too much of a toll. Is she crate trained at all? I managed the incontinence over night by having Digby in his crate with those absorbent medical mats and diapers. It would have been very difficult had I not been able to confine him to the crate. But yes, it was still very tiring, so I can definitely understand what they are going through. I also think it's better to say goodbye early than leave it too late. I understand what you mean about the swellings now. With Digby, I can only assume that the tumour in his chest shrunk because he was no longer coughing, and incredibly when his cough resumed it never actually went back to being as bad as it had been originally. But the tumours I could see continued to grow the whole time, and new ones popped up also. However, I think we have to remember that Spook also has liver cancer and that is probably a whole different ball game. Digby's passing was so peaceful. I was nearly sick with anxiety over it before hand (for the entire five days before the appointment). But having gone through it I realized that I shouldn't have been. It really is ok to let them go, even if it is a bit early.

Poor girl, that's no good she is feeling unwell The prednisone made Digby lose muscle tone, gave him a bit of a pot belly, increased his hunger like you wouldn't believe, and his thirst, made him urinate more and need to poo more. I think that was it although, I might have just forgotten something. These side effects got more intense as time went on. But I do believe it really made him feel loads better and he was very bright eyed and bushy tailed for the most part. He did have a day early on where he stopped drinking and he began having blood in his urine. I made him a huge pot of home made stock (just from lambs fry) and that got him drinking again, and made the problem go away. Can I ask what you mean by the second the swelling starts? Are you talking about new tumours popping up? Hope your parents are holding up ok.

Sorry to hear about your parents dog Teebs I lost my dog, Digby, to lymphoma last year. It had already spread to multiple locations before he was diagnosed. We also chose not to go down the chemo route, he was not a good candidate for it. But he was on the cortisone which helped a lot. We had a lovely 8 weeks spoiling him so much and creating lots of lovely memories. In the last few days he was not coping with the cold and because it was winter it meant he couldn't enjoy his walks, and there were a few other little things also, and so I knew it was time. I wanted to make sure I didn't leave it too late. The cortisone did an amazing job at alleviating his symptoms and I think may have even slightly shrunk the tumour in his chest as he was no longer coughing after a few days on the medication. It does cause its own whole set of symptoms though. Towards the end it was hard as it not only causes increased need to urinate but also makes them restless at night, so I spent a lot of time up with him. He began to be a bit incontinent and this was managed with adult nappies when needed. Anyway, I wish your parents and their dog all the best and hope they can share some lovely times together before the end.

Condolences on the loss of your dog I think it just comes part and parcel of the territory unfortunately, you just have to accept that some people aren't going to reply. Way back when I was looking for my pedigree dog I think I only got a reply to about 1 in 10 enquiries. If you have your heart set on a BB I wouldn't give up so easily, especially if its only one inquiry that you've made. Just go into the experience expecting that you won't hear back from everyone and if you don't hear back it's no loss because clearly it's no good to get a dog from someone that won't communicate with you. And remember that you will end up with a dog eventually :)

Del sometimes seems to have a moment where it really seems as though she is weighing up her options. I don't totally consider her a stubborn dog though. And the more I train/proof something the more likely she is to have an automatic reaction to the command.

She's looking very healthy and strong :) Love the crazy couch pic :laugh: Does she like climbing up on things? Del loves climbing on stuff when we go for a walk.

Yes, we're well acquainted with the bum sit in this household haha! Love your work Didi! I don't have any of Del doing it, but I do have one of Mr Darcy doing it when he was a puppy.

My Anatolian x sits like this all the time :laugh: It's adorable isn't it! Cracks me up. He just walks in and throws his butt up on the couch/bed/human and sits there like that for ages :laugh: :laugh: we definitely need a photo!

My Anatolian x sits like this all the time :laugh: It's adorable isn't it!

Both my Great Danes love/d waking the kids up in the morning, something that never interested my mastiff x. And both loved just being with the kids if they were upset. Great Danes are also known for sitting on couches or laps like this, probably just because they can.