jadesamara

You are free now, little man. I'm sorry it had to be such a horrible end for you

Benson has been sneezing several times in a row, throughout the last few days and nights. Do I need to be doing anything, or is it like human colds...just let it run its course? He sleeps on a bed with 5 blankets and a coat on, in a den-like alcove in the laundry. I also hang a blanket up to enclose the "den" at night, so he has 3 walls covered in and doesn't catch the breeze. In the daytime, he comes and goes through the doggy door, sometimes sleeping out in the sun on a chair or on his couch. We do go to off-leash parks quite often though, so will I need to exclude him from that? I would imagine he picked it up there. Any advice much appreciated. Thanks.

Instead they are increasing the number of dogs that carry the gene that gives the undesirable dudley nose. Please excuse my ignorance, but I don't quite understand what a "dudley nose" is. I did google it, but ended up more confused than ever! Is it pink and other colour nose? Or just a nose of light and dark colour? I have heard the term in relation to SBT, and have always wondered what it was. Thanks in advance.

I grew up with show dogs (Dobermanns), and funnily enough (though obviously not at the time!) one of our Dobes did bite me. We were at a country show, and she was laying down. I put my head on her tummy, and she got up and moved. I followed her and did the same thing again. This time she had a go at me and although she didn't break the skin, I had a red mark in the middle of my forehead for months afterwards. Is this the savage breed rearing it's ugly head? No, it was a silly young girl with no idea of how to respect a dog. The dog was not reprimanded, I was . Now that I have children, I made a point of teaching them how to act around our Dobe, and how to respect her and treat her properly. We have never had a single instance of aggression since the boys were born.

At the moment on Foxtel, the advertisement for the latest episode of Dog Whisperer states "What breed are you most scared of?" and asks it of the general public. Of course, the usual answers follow..."Rockwheeler", "German Shepherd", "Dobermann". Great way to break down the stereotypes, guys ... In a way I suppose it's good...the less "macho" "I want my savage Dobe to have a thick studded collar, cropped ears, and savage snarl" owner in possession of this beautiful breed, the better! I've loved my Dobermanns, and will continue to love the breed. I have been following my future puppy's mother in the showring for many months now, and she is certainly larger than my previous bitch. I think any Dobe can be a working dog, can it not? With the right training?? Temperament is the most important thing to me, not how big the dog stands.

I am so very sorry to hear about your loss, Angelsun. Poor Remmie...run free, beautiful boy Pink collar...how devastating. I am waiting for my new puppy, so I feel so much pain for her new owner

When Mum lost her Shar Pei early this year, her vet sent a beautiful personalised card. Of course she has kept it with Brandy's things. Mum had Brandy cremated, and also bought a pretty name plate, and had it engraved with her name, all from the same Pet Cemetery and Cremation company. We thought the Pet Cremation service did a wonderful job, hand delivering the urn and ashes, HOWEVER they sent Mum a condolence card calling Brandy a "he" and "him" when speaking about her . Bear in mind this is the same company that "collected" Brandy from the vet after she passed, and did the engraving and everything. Needless to say, Mum threw the card away in disgust

for you tonight Bec. Tonight, just chill...I'm sure you'll see him

Ditto almost everything above. Sitting at table, dinner, watching RBT, I think, I channel 9. Screamed "There's Charce!" then shushed everyone so I could hear it. Explained who Charce was, etc, and felt as proud as punch (and he's not even MY dog! ) Well done Bec. Hugs to Charce!

Better jump on the bandwagon :D I highly recommend Ams Shar Pei are notorious for their eye problems, so I think the voucher could certainly be put to good use!

Rightio, get your pen and paper ready for my order, please... I'd like 1 of these for the OH... But "manned" up a little with this bling... And if there's still room in the box, I'd like one of these for me, please Is C.O.D. okay?

Clyde, are there any symptoms when the kids get them? We live on acreage with bushland, and I've never checked the kids, only the dogs. Poor girl, hope she gets over it soon. My youngest is allergic to dust mites, and hair lice, so I'm assuming with the whole "mite" thing that he will be allergic to ticks also. B.T.W. that was cruel ;) ....but funny

I have no advice, but I would recommend mentioning it in the Staffordshire Breed Sub Forum. I will let them know you have posted in the health section, and hopefully some knowledgeable Stafford people may help

I LOVE "Buddy Gets His Nose Checked" Nearly skimmed over this thread...so glad I didn't!! Excellent.

Thanks Yellowgirl. A tear did escape when I was typing my story. Jade was wonderful, and having had her longer than my skin-kids, her passing really knocked me about But life goes on, doesn't it? I had to pull myself together for my kids' sake. We have a new Stafford pup now, and we are expecting to have a new Dobermann pup mid-September. So all is good Dogmad, I am very sorry to hear how this tragedy ended for you. I can only begin to imagine your hurt. Look after yourself. It will get better :D

Gorgeous!

A few months ago I was looking at different Dobermann breeders too. I have settled on Wattavue as a breeder, as they are in the same state as me and I fell in love with their bitch. Her temperament is precisely what I am after, and although she is a show dog, I have no plans to show my dog once I get her. I can thoroughly recommend Bisart Dobes and MonElite. Both of these ladies are very knowledgeable, and extremely helpful and polite. I most probably would have chosen either of these had I been in their state. When you do your research, you will hopefully come across a breeder you seem to "click" with. It makes a world of difference if you can form a bond with the breeder, too. I have become quite close to our breeder...she even called me from the vet after her scan confirmed the pregnancy! Best of luck, Skunk, in finding the dog for you. Bear in mind there is usually some wait, but it is certainly worth it! Keep us informed. Are you waiting on a puppy from Gossie? In that case not long to wait now - only 3 weeks. She is a daughter of my foundation bitch Dare to Dance and has her mothers beautiful sweet temperament. All 'Cider's' kids have had that same outstanding nature and she is 100% Euro lines - so Skunk don't let people typecast 'working' lines as being purely one thing or another. The individual lines and dogs can vary a lot. We have a Cider daughter here by Garrison Moravia Heart and another placed with good friends and one thing all 12 pups from that litter had were phenomenal temperaments. David Hi David, Yes, Gossi is Mum-to-be . I actually met Cider last week when I needed my "Gossip-fix". The last time I saw Gossi was before she went for the mating. I was seeing her almost every week at the shows prior to that. I fell in love with her nature...so placid, loving, calm, not to mention stunningly beautiful! Rhonda introduced us to Cider, and although she wasn't as beautiful as her daughter (I know, I'm biased , she too had a lovely nature. With two young sons, temperament is everything for us. Gossi looked her usual, glossy-coated self when I saw, just a little more "solid". Rhonda and Les have been wonderful to me. I think she has gone above and beyond what I expected from a breeder, and feel very lucky to have chosen her as the "mum" of our pup. We lost our Dobe Jade on March 31st this year, aged 14yr 1wk. Our family is truly ready to welcome the next Dobe into the family, and I'm so excited!

Wow, I must be in the minority, and please don't me, but I would like someone to risk their life to save my pets. God forbid it actually happened, and maybe I'm just selfish, but my dogs are almost as important to me as my family.

A few months ago I was looking at different Dobermann breeders too. I have settled on Wattavue as a breeder, as they are in the same state as me and I fell in love with their bitch. Her temperament is precisely what I am after, and although she is a show dog, I have no plans to show my dog once I get her. I can thoroughly recommend Bisart Dobes and MonElite. Both of these ladies are very knowledgeable, and extremely helpful and polite. I most probably would have chosen either of these had I been in their state. When you do your research, you will hopefully come across a breeder you seem to "click" with. It makes a world of difference if you can form a bond with the breeder, too. I have become quite close to our breeder...she even called me from the vet after her scan confirmed the pregnancy! Best of luck, Skunk, in finding the dog for you. Bear in mind there is usually some wait, but it is certainly worth it! Keep us informed.

Hi Dogmad, Our Dobermann was diagnosed with advanced liver disease last year, aged 13. Every six months the vet did bloods to check levels, and they kept rising. She wasn't showing much in the way of symptoms except vomitting after meals, losing weight, and enlarged liver. She got a bit worse in December, doing weird things like crying, sticking her head into bushes etc, and the vet explained that she is going "loopy" as the toxins are reaching her brain (instead of being filtered by the liver). She was in no pain, the vet assured me, so I did not have her PTS. We had an ultrasound done 2 days before Christmas, to see how bad the damage actually was. Once the vet had the results that afternoon, he called us. His exact words were "She has days, maybe weeks." Well, a lot of tears were shed on hearing the news, but our girl surprised us. She finally succumbed 31/3/2010, aged 14yrs 1wk. She was having a run outside, then came in and plonked onto her bed, passing peacefully. I am glad we didn't have her PTS, as those precious 3 months meant everything to us. I hope things go as easy for you, Dogmad. At least they are not in any pain (well, Jade wasn't), and she was too far advanced to try medications the vet said. So things may not be as hopeless as you think. Hang in there.

This is the site that greeted me when I got out of bed the other morning. "Nigel No-Friends"

This bear-skin cat-skin rug don't feel right

Happy Birthday Ollie!! Wow, you don't look a day over 13!

The Staffordshire Bull Terrier Club of Qld have a Lure Coursing day on this Saturday 12th at Ipswich. Not sure on all the details yet, but I read that "non-staffords" are allowed. We will be going for the first time...to see if Benson enjoys it or not. The young pups only do 40m, so I'm sure he'll love the chase! Can't wait

Enjoyable to watch...really liked how casual/natural it all was. Can't wait for the next one! Keep us posted