Sharna3

I think we all should be careful when passing judgment - as a renter, I can appreciate that sometimes you get forced into 'taking what you can get' when it comes to housing; you may not feel you have a choice. At least those people were trying to rehome, rather than euthanasing or worse - dumping! I am sure those ppl didn't feel their dogs were 'expendable', they prob thought they had no other option and it was hard enough without the harsh judgment of others. If you're lucky enough to be able to afford your own home, great; if you aren't - sometimes the worst happens.

I do apologise. I have updated my sig.

BB: I didn't realise there was an option? Our reason for desexing is simple: we have no plans to breed and my last dog I kept entire and when he was 7 or 8 he had big prostate issues - putting him through desexing at that age was a worry but we had to, so thought this time around would rather do it earlier. I've never heard of vastectomy's for dogs??? Hi Clyde, Good memory, yes he'd definitely got cross in him and we believe its on his mothers side, she (we think) is a mastiff x bullmastiff. But not sure what that has to do with my question?

What a cutie :-) You know, I have to envy dogs on those types of day... they seem to have SO much fun!

Hello all, I have an English Mastiff male pup, we plan on getting him desexed. Our vet said 6mths but then someone told me that for giant and large breeds you should wait longer. Does anyone have any advice on this - I know the vet is knowledgeable but in all fairness to them, they can't be expected to be experts on dog breeds when they need to know a bit about all animals!! So would like advice from current/past G/LRG breed owners on this one :-)

Thank you everyone xxx

Missy Pris, Biggest to you, you poor thing. Bless you for the love you gave him - my thoughts are with you xxx

This happened to me a while ago, walking our rotti (on lead), woman with a friend walking a border collie (no lead). Her dog came at me and my OH, I put myself between them but it didnt deter the BC. The owner literally stopped about 10ft away and just looked, so I was holding my rotti back and my OH started kicking at the BC. This owner just stood there!!!! So I got really angry and yelled at her "Would you control your f*&cking dog!!" like a wharfie; then this little old lady walked past and I was mortified, but she just marched up to the other owner and waggled her finger at her, saying "Its people like you who give dog owners a bad name!" What a champion. So at that point, my OH landed a kick on the BC face and it yelped and ran back and we were able to head off. ITs a horrible situation but I am all for defend defend defend, by whatever means you have at your disposal!

Well, its been just over three months and I feel like I can finally type this without losing it. On January 29 this year I said goodbye to my beloved Rottweiler, Bastian. He was 9yrs 9mths old. He meant the world to me. I got him at 6 weeks and the bond we had was unbelievable. He was the one who never let me down. I went through some very tough times and I can't count the number of times I sat on the ground and cried, and Bastian would always come and sit on my lap - he always knew when I needed him. He protected me, loved me, made me laugh and challenged me. He was my heart. When my OH came into my life Bastian loved him too and my OH loved Bastian. But my boy would always make sure Chris knew who was number 1 in my heart!! When we adopted a 10 mth old sibe husky bitch - Bastian was 5 - he took her in without a single grumble and helped her learn to trust and love us. No-one who met Bastian walked away without loving him. I have non-dog friends who say Bastian converted them. He was patient, gentle, smart and generous. In Dec 09, he suddenly developed severe arthritis in his hips; the vet then pointed out his thigh muscles had lost condition - I'll never forgive myself for not noticing that. With the help of medication, he was good for about 6 weeks but then started to show signs of pain and struggle again. He started to favour one of his hind legs and I made an appointment on the Monday to see the vet again, for the Wednesday. Tuesday was Australia Day and we went out for the day. I hate myself for leaving him that day. He seemed fine but I should have spent the day with him. Wednesday we got home and he couldn't get up - his back legs wouldn't hold him. I rang the vet and we went straight there ... the meds were no longer working and she suspected nerve failure in his spine / hips. She wanted to keep him overnight to give him meds via IV so we left him there and crossed our fingers. Next morning got the phonecall - he's improved a little but not much. I went to the vet at 1pm and though it broke my heart, I could see only the tiniest bit of improvement. He was happy enough but he could hardly walk, his back legs were so weak. My big, beautiful, strong boy could only half hop, half walk along :D The vet said she could keep him another night, try again, but I said no, I want to take him home. I asked her to come to the house the following night, if there was still no improvement, to PTS my amazing boy. She was flat out the next day but made time, made an appointment for 6. So I took Bastian home Thursday avo and spent every minute with him. Thursday night, he slept inside on a couch cushion and I slept beside him on the floor. I had to be with him. Friday was our golden day. He was so happy, so alert, my head kept screaming "He's OK", but he struggled to get up and he was constantly losing control of his bladder ... my heart told me it was not fair to keep him with me. So Friday we hung out on the back lawn in the sun, in the lounge watching TV... I sat with him while he slept and we took as many photo's as we could. At 6pm Nicole, our vet, came by and Bastian was so happy to see her (he loved everyone) that he struggled to stand, I helped him up so he could greet her properly, then he sat back down on my lap. And there, curled into my lap, my giant, beautiful, best friend said goodbye to me. I hope he knew that the arms that held him as he passed loved him more than anything. I hope and pray that he's now playing over the rainbow bridge, chasing shadows and digging trenches to his hearts content... but I worry that he will be missing me and wondering where I am. THen again, he was always patient and is probably just laying in the sun, content and secure in the knowledge I WILL come to get him. One day. One beautiful day. Bastian - no person or dog will ever, ever, take your place in my heart. That piece is locked to you forever. Thank you for every day you gave me, I was the luckiest person on earth to be blessed with you and your love. I miss you every day. Love you babyman xxxxxxx

+1 (and it would have been the hardest punch I could muster!)

or this, this is my beautiful boy 'enjoying' a bath ... Not sure if I'm doing this right ... uploading I mean.

Here's a first attempt:

All my sympathy to you Horts. It is the hardest time but the time you get to repay some of the amazing love they have given you all their lives. I went through this just 3 mths ago and my vet agreed to come to our home, we also organised Lawnswood to come out approx 1/2hr after the vet was due. Our vet, Nicole, was absolutely wonderful and her professionalism and kindness really helped me and my OH. We asked our vets advice on letting our other dog, who'd spent the last 5 years with him, come and see him afterwards but she advised no, in her experience when they do see their packmates its very distressing for them, I guess when a dog is PTS they would smell quite chemical and unnatural which could freak dogs out, as opposed to in the wild where that wouldn't happen. We had Jazz inside with Bastian up til the vet came, then we put her out and didn't let her back in til Bastian was gone. She was a bit indifferent at first but one day she seemed to click - she bolted for the car one day when I came home and when her mate wasn't there, I think she knew. After about 4 weeks she started to show signs of real fretting but we brought home our new pup not long after and she perked right up. I believe dogs deal with life and death better than us, they understand it in a way I could only wish I did :-) My thoughts are definitely with you and whatever you decide, it will be the right thing, he's your boy and you'll do the best for him undoubtedly xxxx

1. What is my relationship with the breed? (ie breeder, first time owner etc) First time owner, have a female sibe that was a rescue at 10mths, she's now nearly 6. 2. Where and why was the breed first developed? Very old breed, but I'm definitely not an expert on their origins. 3. How common is it in Australia? Fairly common, and sadly a lot of rescues out there. Cute pups, and people don't seem to realise that they grown into real dogs! 4. What is the average lifespan? 12-15yrs 5. What is the general temperament/personality? In my experience, incredibly curious, tenacious, can be amazingly affectionate one minute then act like you dont exist the next. They are the cat of the dog world. Not a guard dog, will love everyone they see. Not great with smaller animals thanks to the prey drive but generally with other dogs, all they want to do is play. We've had issues as Jazz is very exuberant and other dogs can struggle with that - they get aggressive or defensive and she will not back down ever. 6. How much daily exercise is needed for the average adult? Jazz is happy with a 20 min walk a day, plus some mental stimulation - training or just backyard play, plus her exercise with our other dog. If we don't walk her though, she turns into "Destructo-Jazz" 7. Is it a breed that a first time dog owner could easily cope with? No way. They are an amazing breed but if you've never owned any dog, this might be too much. Sibe's are full on and need a lot of effort - they are worth it though!!! I'm not 'bagging' the breed, but I think they aren't the best introduction to dog ownership! 8. Can solo dogs of this breed easily occupy themselves for long periods? I think a Sibe will always be best with companions around it. 9. How much grooming is required? A fair amount..., as others have said, they shed A LOT. Its phenomenal. We still aren't used to it and we've had her five years!! we have siberan husky "tumbleweeds" all over the place! 10. Is it too boisterous for very small children or for infirm people (unless the dog is well trained)? Like any dog, can be full on with kids, but is not significantly crazy.. we've found that Jazz's level of grace and agility means she rarely knocks into our friends kids. One thing I will say - Sibes are renowned for their .... 'stubborness', or their natural aversion to obedience. But our Sibe, Jazz, is a very well trained and obedient dog. We say "sit", she sits. We tell her to "heel" she returns to sit by our left leg. We whisper "drop" and she's down in an instant. So they can be trained, definitely. On the flipside, unless we have her in an area that is fully fenced or appears fenced (ie a low wall around a park) we will NOT let her off-lead. She just wouldn't come back... not til she was ready anyway. I think that no matter how well trained your sibe is, their prey drive and love of running means they will never be a fully tamed breed!!!

Well, the lump was still there in the afternoon so off to the vet we went - we're lucky that we have a really great vet. Rob (vet) advised it was 99% sure a bump to the head and to just keep an eye on it, could take 3-4 weeks to go down, but so long as it doesn't grow or start discharging, all good... so thankfully alls well that ends well :-)

Hi "It could well be that he's bumped his ociput. We expereinced this with a pointer baby and weren't so lucky, it came up as a big lump and we ended up draining it with a needle, quite a few times before it went down. Sway expereinced the same thing at almost the same time, she took a different course of action with hers, that I think involved her chiro or the greyhound man. Do you have any pics ?" No, no photo's but I plan to take some when I get home from work (im there now) if the lump hasn't gone down. Should I call the vet or give it a couple of days???

Hi all, My 13wk old Mastiff pup has developed a lump on his head - its quite hard and large, probably the size of a 10 cent coin in diameter and just as high; it came up yesterday afternoon fairly suddenly - we thought he must have whacked his head on something (he's constantly forgetting that he's growing and keeps trying to fit under tables etc. that he just can't anymore) and that the lump was an 'egg'. But its still there this morning - same size - has anyone had experience with this kind of thing??

Can I say, I love this thread :-) My first love, Bastian, came via a breeder brother-in-law. He rang and said, when can you come over, I have 8kgs of black love for you... and so I got 'my' first dog, my beloved Rottweiler, Bastian. My fondest puppy memory is of him being soooo full his belly swished against the ground as he walked, though looking back, I think he probably had worms :-) Our Sibe, Jazz, is more of a story... my OH had always wanted a sibe or a malamute, then he saw a rescue ad for a female sibe and went to see her.... 10mths old and skittish as - turns out she'd already been through three homes, after only 10 months!!! Her last owners had no fences and were shocked when she ran away ... then decided she was 'too much work' and took her to the vet, giving them the euthanasia fee. Who does that??? Anyway the vet advertised so my OH went to visit... I rang to see how he was going, when can I come and see her, and his reply - "uh, well, she's in the car with me..." She was a lot of work in the beginning but worth every second now! Our newest addition, Harley, came along to help ease Jazz's and my grief at the loss of Bastian. We decided we wanted a Mastiff and so went looking ... we did NOT realise how adorable this pup would be and how quickly he would enslave us. My first memory - when we viewed him was at 4.5weeks and my OH was holding him and Harley just kept snuggling against Chris as if to say "you are my home" .... how can you NOT love that! Love dogs, love this thread. Love all the stories :-)

Guys, this is a really touchy and personal topic so maybe just drop this - its hard enough to relive this kind of thing, can't be easier when we are judging and commenting at each other. Stick to the topic, live and let live and don't judge others cause none of us are perfect. Opinions are fine - but lets not get personal hey? We all loved our dogs.

I had to do this for the first time three months ago with my beloved 9yo rotti. The vet came to our house because I wanted Bastian to be as comfortable and relaxed as possible. She did sedate him and the effect was immediate - the next injection was straight after and then he was gone ... I was there - he went held in my lap which is no mean feat for a 50kg dog and a 60kg girl! But he had given me nearly 10 years of unwavering love, loyalty and protection, the very LEAST I could do for him was be the one holding him as he went. We then had the people from the pet crematorium come and pick him up about 1/2 hr after the vet as we'd arranged... As you all have mentioned, hardest thing I have ever done. But the right thing. Sedate or not sedate - it doesn't matter you do the best you can at the time and if you are acting in the best interests of your beloved pet then that is all that matters. And as for the question of soul - my boy had the most beautiful and loving soul and I know he's out there still in essence - I am just hoping that one day I am lucky enough to see him again. RIP Bastian .... love you forever ........

You have a point I did notice that the Advance is actually physically darker than the Supacoat, but didn't think it could be that simple.....! Consistency is great .. just thought I would share that little snippet!

Hello Just wondering what is 'normal' with regards to dog faeces colour? We just switched our dogs from Supercoat to Advance and their poop has really darkened... not sure if this is OK? Someone told me the darker the poop the more nutrient they've absorbed ... but not sure on that

That's excellent I will def call and hopefully be good to go on the 3rd ...

2 weeks from then is 2nd may, We dont start official training until Monday 3rd so I dont see how they think you will miss2 weeks? I thnk she is great Really???? I assumed (I know, silly of me) from what the lady said that training started on that night (the 19th).... I am gathering that isn't correct??? Maybe I will ring them and speak to someone else Because that would work out perfectly.

I know that loads of vets offer puppy classes for socialisation and they can go before they are finished their vacs We checked that out with our vet but Harley was too old when we asked (10wks) and then the vet told us he's probably too big for the other puppies as they'd all be 8-12 wks old