halfthewords

I work at a rescue where we previously left dry food in yards all day (on top of once a day feeding--mince and chicken bones) but obesity and resource guarding/fights became a huge issue. Two of my mutts at home will steal food, given half a chance. My two are way more picky about eating and will take a while to eat their meals. Mischa is food aggressive but shares her bowl with Carl occasionally--they're joined at the hip. Free-feeding will lead to conflict or resource guarding, both of which you don't want... I take away food if they clearly have had enough or aren't interested. Same with bones, toys, etc.

I shower with one of mine, only because I can't keep him out! He sits at the bottom of the shower and just waits for his turn. Usually I prefer doing him in the laundry tub but I can never resist the face. ;) One of our cockatiels used to love sitting in the shower on the railing. Said bird also hijacked the sink during the dishes!

Seconding the asking, the one time I had my dog clipped by a groomer he frigging stunk! Since then I clip him myself and use oatmeal shampoo. Smells way more natural to me than the cologne stuff ;)

Hugs to you, puggerup, you have gone the extra mile for him and that's all a dog can ask for (theoretically). He may indeed find happiness in a new home but at least he has known happiness with you. Use the time you have left together to make some more memories. As the owner of a particularly aggressive dog, I know I would have almost non options if it came to rehoming him. You at least have others!

I walk my own 2 regularly on slip leads rather than harnesses or collars--it goes at the top of the neck behind the ears, which gives you a lot more control. Mischa sometimes will pull if we haven't done a 'pack walk' in a while (we do a lot of offleash areas right now since my friend is visiting) but Carl always heels. They walk at about the same pace despite size difference. I can easily walk all 4 (the other two being a Bichon and another Min Pin) on slip leads as well. They usually walk 2 a side but throughout the walk I move them all onto one side. Footpaths are only so wide. I always get people asking me how I do it, all I can say is practice practice practice!

Thanks guys...he is around 8 kilos and 160g of dark is apparently potentially deadly but we will have to see, he is in the best care as you said. And yeah, it was 200g not mg...so frazzled right now argh! Just glad my friend noticed or we may have found a dead dog.

Hey guys...our most recent addition, Jag the Bichon, has eaten around 200mg of dark darrell lea ginger chocolate. My friend and I came home from a haircut to find he had gone through her luggage and eaten it... There was more chocolate, but that was all he ate. We took him right down to the vet my sister works at (2mins away) and since it was less than 2 hours since he ate it, they've probably induced vomiting. Has anyone had an experience like this? I'm a vet nurse myself but haven't worked in the industry long enough to see a chocolate case yet. I'm very worried as our other Bichon died in Feb last year (natural causes/old age), and he is my mum's dog. I don't think she can handle another one.

We have free range chicken at the agistment my sister keeps her horse at; we always take the dogs. I have an extremely prey driven staffy/terrier who also used to 'stalk' the cockatiels at home. They can be trained out of it. We have two Min Pins (vermin hunters) and they both pretend the chickens don't exist. The Bichon is taking a bit more time!!

Who says small dogs can't protect you! My staffy/norfolk mix is notoriously protective. He will not let strangers near me, full stop. He has bitten a friend who threatened me and moved too close - Carl is only knee height but he sure as hell packs a punch! He is protective of me and I am happy that way. He also protects my smaller Min Pin from dogs who get too close...absolutely no beef with getting in there headfirst to make them back off. At the same time he is the most loving thing on the planet. I have no doubt in my mind he'd bite the nuts of any man who tried to snatch me.

My dogs pee wherever the eff they want on public land! Poop is another matter!

I am off today to look for these because I know the pet meat "steaks" I am buying in Woollies are packed with preservatives, but I am wondering what I can expect to pay per kilo for kangaroo? I will be checking out butchers, of course - but haven't been in one for years (vegetarian). For the mince or the bones? I buy $3 bags of the roo tails with meat chunks on them from Peto's in Brookvale. The bags are about 2 kilos each. The mince is about $5.00 for 1 kilo?

You wouldn't think so with how hard I work to keep weight on them!

Does anyone else have dogs with odd eating habits? Carl and Mischa both like to catch a bit of sun before they get into their chicken...lucky they don't steal off each other. That is going to be a problem when I leave to pick my friend up from the airport while it's still dark tomorrow morning! Today I found Mischa stashing her chicken in a big pile of leaves and dirt...I washed it off and she still wanted it. :D After food, Carl rolls around on the carpet/grass and groans and grumbles in what I assume is contentment. Mischa rubs her face/neck on the floor and happy sighs.

Both of mine are on kangaroo meat regularly, both mince from Woolies/Coles and tail bones with chunks of meat. They keep Carl occupied for hours!

I only have a giant santa hat for now--it was used on my horse for the last few years, now it's the dogs' turn to suffer. :D Only managed to get one decent one of Carl before it fell off: And one of all three while they were co-operating: Sans Mischa. She's too aggro around food!

Just bought one (and some other stuff :D) for my boy who is fear-aggressive and reactive to things like wind, rain, storms, sudden movements, etc. His worst fear is people, so if it gets him to calm down even slightly, I'll be through the roof.

Just out of curiosity, what is everyone getting their pups for Xmas? And are you going to cave and let them have pressies early? For Carl: 1 squeaky giant flea toy 1 squeaky rolly dog a Thundershirt a new porcelain bowl 3 bags of roo tails, brisket bones and sheep necks a soft crate Mischa: a new harness a couple of soft toys 'her' size coal

I remembered something I forgot! Min Pins: No, she is NOT a Chihuahua! She's leggy and has a nice normal shaped head, not short legs and an apple skull! (No offense to Chi owners, she's mistaken for one on a daily basis even when I have her out with my friend's actual Chihuahua!) My mutt (staffy/norfolk cross): No, he is not that friendly just because he looks cute! Yes, his hair is kept very short because it mats and dreadlocks easily. No, he does NOT like to have his fluffy tail pulled! Grrr maybe I should shave that too! Yes, he does snore like a freight train.

One of my dogs has problems with anal glands no matter how much fibre I feed him. He was expressing them in his sleep and randomly. He has psyilium husks added to his food on nights he has something for it to be mixed with - oil, kangaroo meat, etc. It definitely made his poop bulkier but I'm still expressing them at least once a fortnight, if not weekly. I had the vet do it once (he was double-muzzled ), but it was ridiculously expensive and then I learned to do it myself. He gets bones weekly and I have explored every avenue.

Once Carl gets hold of a bone, he's not letting go even if nuclear bombs drop in the yard! Hence why it goes walk --> bone --> bath.

Carl loves him some toilet paper.

What colour is it, and its nose? If it is blue, black brindle, brindle, or any colour except tan/liver, it will be easy enough to register it as a staffy x. Half the dogs who wash up in pounds look pitbull but are not classed as such due to colour. Having a red nose with a tan/liver coat is almost an immediate death sentence. I hate to say it, but if it's from a BYB situation, the dog may well be from fighting lines. However I think all life deserves a chance, and as long as the owner researches and does his homework, the pup can be raised correctly and be a normal canine citizen. I don't think it being a pitbull makes it more likely to be aggressive. I've met more aggressive Labradors and Huskies than I have staffies.

You are perpetuating the incorrect belief that "spoodles" are a real breed. You should make the effort to explain to people they crossbreeds. x2 I don't bother calling my staffy/norfolk mix a "Staffolk," I just say "he's a staffy cross."

Completely normal! When I'm reading before bed, Carl starts snorting, growling, running, snoring... I just give him a poke when he gets too loud.

My work schedule has been flexible for the last few months, but when I was working 7 days a week (both part time jobs), I would take my dogs out first thing in the morning for about 1.5 hours to an area where we would walk for 45mins, 30mins at the beach, and 15 at the offleash oval. Carl swims even in winter so he's usually splat after that. Since it's hotter, I usually take them out for 30-40 mins in the morning to an offleash area where they can stretch their legs/burn off excess energy. My Min Pin really doesn't run much which is why I tend to walk long distances on leash. She has a luxating patella so I prefer her not to be hooning anyway. In the afternoon, we either do a 45min walk, or an offleash area. Tonight we went to the beach - super nice and warm. I'm housesitting two dogs at the moment. My own 4 are all very fit and can keep up for hours but one of the other dogs is a Chihuahua and his short legs can't keep up. Total pain because the other dog, a foxy x, is so full of beans. I throw the ball for him as we walk to tire him out, which works well. In cooler weather and when it gets dark earlier, I sometimes take Carl for a run after work. Depending on what he did in the morning, he keeps up pretty well.