Simply Grand

Oh yes, definitely! Mounting is definitely not something I'd expect to be tolerated. ETA same with nipping and shoulder charging. Those things may be ok between dogs that know each other really well and both enjoy that play style but definitely not in a park with dogs that don't know each other well.

Yea, Nova gets the runs on even the smallest bit of chicken, chicken based food. I haven't heard much about other people having problems though! Nope, Quinn does not have a sensitive stomach, she can and will eat anything, anywhere, anytime and be totally fine. Garbage guts :laugh: I don't find that she sheds a lot normally, twice a year during coat drop, god yes, but not normally, I didn't realise others did.

I think it's really hard to explain the nuances of what we actually do in writing, and there are so many "this is what I do unless...or unless...or if....etc" scenarios that you can't possibly cover them all in writing so we probably all have misunderstandings when we're trying to explain things here! I do agree that taking a dog that is fearful or stressed about other dogs or is aggressive is unfair and I think you do need to expect that other dogs will approach yours so if your dog isn't comfortable with that then I'd question whether they should be there when other dogs are around. But I don't think it's fair to expect that all dogs want to actually play and run with other dogs either. Like I said, mine play with each other and have a group of "friends" they play with and they are happy greeting other dogs and humans as we walk around but much of the time they are running together and sniffing things and peeing on things, then doing a bit of training with me, the. More running and sniffing and peeing. Each interaction is individual as well, I've had several conversations with a lady whose dog wants to play her own style of chase game with any dog that's nearby and she once tried to get Saxon, my poodle x, to play by nipping at him. Saxon growled and snapped at the dog and she did back off but the owner yelled out to me "oh doesn't he like playing? She just wants to play!" I explained that he will play sometimes but she was nipping at him and he doesn't like that. The next few times we saw them whenever the dog came near us she said to her dog/everyone "oh that's the dog that doesn't like to play, leave him, leave him" Let's just say the lady is more of a talker than a listener so I don't bother explaining things to her after a couple of attempts and just keep an eye on her dog around mine myself. Interestingly the dog has wandered along around the walking track with us for a while (while her owner didn't notice she'd gone) and she was perfectly fine walking and sniffing and interacting appropriately with my three when the owner wasn't there

Sheltie is definitely the crazy high pitched barking!

Yes! I swear it's like living with a four year old human - "what's this thing?" *pokes and knocks thing over* "what does this do?" *pulls cord and nearly smashes the TV* "I'm hungry" *opens fridge to help self* "I'm bored" *pulls everything off the bench for no apparent reason* "what are you doing in there?" *opens door to see* Sigh, so curious and clever. But right now when there is hair EVERYWHERE, including in my nose and throat, coat drop is the worst thing

Oh my goodness, he is so gorgeous! cant believe she gave him up, but I'm sure it will be for the best for him in the end :)

That's a handy thing about having an entire girl, no one can tell so you don't get those comments from the general public!

Hahaha, oh Joostice! Poor boy, I can just picture him dancing around in the ants :laugh: looking nice and relaxed for belly rubs.

Good on you WM he's a lucky little man to have found you. I definitely agree that keeping him local is the best option and hopefully he can quickly find a home that will properly appreciate him for the rest of his years :)

Oh good on you for asking the question!! So good to hear :) You do need to be resonsible with an entire dog and in my opinion the biggest responsibility is keeping them well contained as if they escape and are away from you is when they are most likely to mate. As far as normal outings go though it shouldn't be much more difficult with an entire male than a desexed male. The main issue you are likely to have is your boy having aggression issues with other entire dogs, males especially, and them having issues with him, once he starts to become sexually mature, so from about 8 months onwards. I think a lot of this comes down to temperament rather than just whether the dogs are entire or not so it will just be a matter of being very aware of how your dog is behaving towards other dogs and how they are behaving towards him. If your dog shows a tendency towards humping/mounting other dogs at all you will really need to be on top of it as an entire male mounting will likely cause a stronger reaction than a desexed male. But a strong recall, leave it and other training that you would want to teach any dog will help with that. My entire female is around entire males regularly and though she gets all silly flirty with some of them she interacts with most of them as she does any other dog. She does get slightly more cranky when she is approaching a season and some dogs will show more interest in sniffing and/or mounting her a couple of weeks before a season but we have never had an issue, I just have to make sure I pay attention and when she starts showing those signs I stop taking her to places where there are other dogs and just walk her on lead around the streets. Most entire female owners know enough not to have them around other dogs when in season, as is our responsibility IMO, but do just be aware that if someone does happen to take an entire bitch in season somewhere where there are a lot of dogs entire males are likely to be triggered to fight over her with all the hormones floating around, I've heard about it happening but never seen it so I'd say it's something to be aware of but not overly worried about. Good luck, and can't wait for Dalmatian puppy pics :)

It is really nice when they form a little group of friends at the park :) We have a regular gang that includes My Aussie Shepherd My Sheltie My Poodle x Malt A Kelpie mix A Rotti and A Shih Tzu mix and they all get along beautifully. They'll all play with each other in different groups depending whether they are fetching, chasing or wrestling, and the biggest (the Rotti) will lie down and roll around in the grass while the smallest (my poodle x) climbs all over her and looks very pleased with himself :laugh: There are a number of other regulars that join in with us as well, depending on who is there, and there are a couple that some of our "group" don't get along with so we just move away if they come close, but often after they get used to being around each other at a distance the regular visitors will get used to each other and figure out how to interact without upsetting each other. There is lots of human management involved to get to that point though, there is very little "let the dogs sort it out" and if an owner has that attitude a number of us will step in any way to stop their dog annoying another dog.

Ok, well in all seriousness he would fit in fine here and if that's what it comes to I'm happy to have him. Let's see how it goes :)

Oh my goodness if I lived nearby I'd foster him in a heartbeat, a small, older dog would fit in pretty well with my lot I think. I'm on the Gold Coast though so he'd have to travel to get here, which probably isn't ideal, but if it comes down to it and we can organise it I can certainly foster and am happy to search for a forever home. Hopefully you can find someone closer though!

One more thought, having re-read the original post - a lot of dogs don't necessarily tolerate an excited, boisterous young dog, particularly a large one, and will tell them off if they don't like the behaviour so your dog, being young and excitable, may need some guidance from you on how to behave appropriately with other dogs before you let him free in a dog park.

Hehehe, it's good isn't it! There is another thread on it somewhere, I should go find it but I'm too lazy ;) My Sheltie Riley does an excellent wolf snarl with his pointy little muzzle but no one ever seems to be scared of him Maybe I need to add the blood!

I use fenced dog parks and have with my three since they were all puppies. I find the benefits of the exercise and stimulation they get, as well as exposure to things they wouldn't necessarily have been exposed to much otherwise, like all variety of dog, kids, prams, wheel chairs etc, have outweighed the risks for us. HOWEVER I am careful about which parks I go to, they are definitely not all created equal. I definitely want enough space to steer clear of other dogs if need be, I want to be able to walk in without being accosted by other dogs, and won't go in if there are other dogs waiting at the gate (there often are), I get to know the people and the dogs and learn who my dogs are ok with and who they might not be. It also depends on the temperament of the dogs and you as an owner. Not all dogs are comfortable in the environment and using a dog park to "socialise" a dog that doesn't enjoy being there is a disaster in the making. It's also important for owners to be very observant about what their and other dogs are doing and to be confident enough to step in if you see trouble might be brewing, and to stay calm because if owners panic dogs will too. Yes, there will be children running around in the off leash area, my Aussie Shepherd loooooves kids but until recently has been too rough and had a tendency to jump,on them if allowed so until I got her reliably trained not to jump I was constantly ready to put her on lead when kids came in. I'm still careful with her when she's excited so she sometimes stays on lead for a while until we've walked a bit and gotten some excitement out. And that works ok for her because she is comfortable with other dogs approaching her when on lead, BUT not all dogs are so you have to think about that. Lastly, a really good recall is essential, even in a fenced park. If you can get your dog to come to you whenever you want or need them to you can avoid all sorts of trouble.

Some of the comments are illogical and the language is so cliche. For example: She gets rid of pups because she doesn't like cleaning up after them. The cleaning up is worse for a pup than an adult dog. (I have a pup here and the cleaning up is non-stop. Hopefully she will grow out of it SOON) The daughter's reaction. What mother could make light of a broken-hearted daughter? If it was real I think she would leave that part out or even choose to forget it. She also mentions the dog looking at her accusingly as it is driven away. If it was real she wouldn't mention this or she would not read it this way. She would say the dog was delighted to leave. Then she jumps to Juno shedding hair all over the sofa when the original beef was the dog escaping. She kept her first dog for 10 years. Why the change? Albus was aggressive. Why? Because she thought he had staffy in him? The heartless way she talks about her dog attacking the elderly neighbour's westie. (There would have been legal repercussions). Then she rehomes same dog to a family with 2 cats and 5 children. No-one could be so irresponsible. The same for the dog that attacked livestock. The neighbours would have been screaming at her unless they were her own animals. "If I'm naughty Mum will you rehome me too?" A child would not actually say this. It is just something that some adults say the child must be thinking. cliche: doe-eyed little puppy, a dog is a man's best friend, etc There is no originality. The 4 dogs misbehave in all the usually reported ways - being too messy, escaping, aggressive, digging, killing livestock, counter surfing, and none of them repeat the misdemeanors of the earlier dogs which you would expect. An ad (video) for Dogs' Trust pops up on my screen saying that a dog is forever, not just for Christmas. I don't know why these ads pop up and whether everyone gets the same one, but it suggests to me that the article was sponsored by a dog rescue group. Puppies might toilet inside but they tend not to maul sheep, jump fences or attack other dogs. "Mess" does not just mean chewed up papers or poo in the house. Also, the Dogs Trust video was not a paid ad on the page, it was placed as a video there because it was relevant to the story. This isn't a story about someone who just casually discards adult dogs because she's grown tired of them, these dogs have all had some serious behavioural issues (not that those issues excuse her dumping them). I don't know why some people feel the need to see conspiracy or trickery behind every corner. It was an article written by a woman about her experiences as a (bad) pet owner, not some veiled pushing of agendas or anything else. Seriously I said that my gut feeling is that it is a hoax and SG asked me to explain. As I said I have no idea why the ad pops up on my page. I don't understand such things. It's unfair to accuse me of seeing trickery and conspiracy everywhere (but of course you said some people didn't you? ie you didn't mean me.) I have no doubt that some people rehome their dogs on a whim. I just don't believe this article. Have a nice day! I appreciate the explanation sars :) and I can see where you're coming from. I don't know what to make of this woman. I did a bit of reading about her last week because I couldn't believe someone would seriously say the things she says in her columns. There was obviously negativity towards her not only for what she writes but also for how she constantly puts her kids in the public eye (there are lots of pictures of them out there) but there was also something about her apparently telling people not to believe everything they read in response to criticism, so maybe she does make things up or exaggerate things. I'm just not quite clear on what she's trying to achieve by it though

How so Sars?

The story has been all over Facebook. When I first saw the headline on FB I thought it was one of those trick heaadlines and it was going to turn out she fostered rescue puppies or assistance dogs but nope, she's just a selfish bitch She seems to be reasonably well known and controversial in the UK, she has also written about how she likes her son more than her daughters and how she's jealous that her daughters are more attractive than her.

I do agree it was an accident that wasn't really anyone's fault and I don't think the dog should be put down (if they even know which of the three dogs it was) necessarily, but I think it's naive to rely on kids being educated not to do what this child apparently did. Like casowner says even kids who have been told do things they shouldn't, and there are people out there who would never have talked about this kind of stuff with their kids. My parents weren't animal people, neither grew up with dogs, no one in my family had dogs, we never had dogs growing up, I doubt it would ever have occurred to them to say "don't ever reach your hand under a gap in a fence if there's a dog there coz it might bite you", yes, we knew dogs could bite, we knew not to pat roaming dogs and to stay calm and not run and scream if you saw one but I just don't think it would have occurred to them that the fence situation would even come up. Regarding how you would know whether your dog would bite under these circumstances, I also think it would be naive to say your dog never would but I think you can get a reasonable idea of they would likely react based on other things such as Their bite inhibition if they accidentally make contact with human skin during rough play or fighting with another dog How they interact with people they haven't come across before like children, older people, disabled people, babies etc How they respond to being grabbed unexpectedly by a person when they are in an aroused state (eg reacting to another dog - do they transfer aggression to the human) How they respond to small animals and especially novel animals when out and especially when on their territory (ie in their yard) How they respond to people passing their fences and coming to the house I can't think of others right now but do people not think you can get some read on how your dog might react to a hand under the fence without it actually happening?

That's hilarious! The sheep is like "WTF is happening?" and by the end the kelpies are going "ok fine, you do it then" :laugh:

Familiarity with human interaction dilutes aggression towards humans, but a dog doesn't have a sensory inhibition to bite because someone is human or a child. Dog aggressive dogs can be fine with a another dog they live with, yet tear a random dog apart given the opportunity, so the dog in this instance may have bitten from either prey drive or territorial aggression albeit a human hand under the fence didn't belong in the dog's territory. Yes, I understand that, and that is what concerns me. If a dog doesn't, as a result of its breeding and socialisation, have the inhibition not to inflict a serious bite on a human hand under a fence then I think it probably is a dog that needs to be more carefully contained.

Mmmm, I'm not actually sure how I feel about this. A dog that would bite a human's hand to the point that the hand couldn't be saved? That's pretty extreme no matter what the circumstances. The dog would have smelled "human" through a fence, a small hand under a fence is unlikely to be interpreted as a major threat by a stable dog. Perhaps this dog should have been better contained.

The ball was on the ground already by the time she was close to us. But I definitely wasn't as vigilant as I should have been! I should have realised that what I'd seen before with her guarding the stick meant she was also likely to guard any ball she got hold of and picked it up as soon as I saw her, before she got hold of it. Definitely lesson learned.

Thanks for the comments guys :) TSD, I like that Quinn is immediately focused on me and relaxed when I intervene too. If she remained aroused or stressed afterwards I would be much more concerned about the behaviour. Huski, I've actually been thinking about training in drive for her lately, she is pretty responsive even when aroused and will call off from a situation like the one above but not as quickly as I'd like. She also got out of the improperly latched gate at the park last week and ran across a road, she definitely paused at my recall but decided exploring was more exciting and kept running, so I would like to get that 'turn on a dime no matter what'.