minxy

Hang on a minute what about the dogs that don't have any health checks or DNA testing available at this stage of time. I was asked for a hip dysplasia certificate because the the people had been told to ask for one. There was no way I could convince these purchasers that that there were none done for my breed. Where did they get this advise, from people on a dog list. :) Please advise to ask for health, DNA check where it is advisable for that breed. Don't forget that the more test's where applicable, on each generation, the greater the percentage of puppies MAY be clear by parentage over a period of time. Thankyou! Some breeds don't have a demonstrated need for health testing. What Aussienot said sounded like pretty good wording to me. They didn't say "Do you hip score?" etc. It was general, so it works for any breed really. Even if there aren't any specific tests for that breed, the breeder should at least be able to say that their puppies are all vet checked before going to their new homes, or something to that effect.

I've had 3 of each. I much prefer boys to girls, however when we eventually add a second dog it will be a bitch due to breed type.

Roughly $1500 - $2000 for a pet Akita :)

Finally!! A thread where I can suggest my breed. What about an Akita? EXCELLENT guard dogs - this comes naturally to them. They are very protective and very intimidating, when they need to be. But also very beautiful. I cannot go anywhere with Kyojin without being ambushed by people, even really old people and small kids love him. Good with kids, they were often used as babysitters in Japan back in the old days. No drooling. Very intelligent and easy to train, though they can have stubborn moments where they won't necessarily want to do what you've asked of them, if they can't see a good reason to do it. They love being with their families and are great house dogs. They're naturally very clean (groom themselves like cats) and don't have a doggy odour. Honestly, I genuinely think they could suit your needs very well.

Thank you :)

Yup, what pockets said.

Such a good movie with some funny moments, and of course, some very sad ones too. And I like Richard Gere :D

I know you've already said you'll get a second opinion, but I also highly recommend it. It has taken Kyojin 4 months to recover from his patella surgery, with months of confinement, keeping him quiet, no exercise, play dates etc. Now that he's finally all good again, I am so so glad we've had the surgery as he was living pretty much with all of the restrictions above (except the confinement) in the 7 months lead up to the surgery too so that his knees didn't get any worse. (We had to wait so long because of his age, surgeon wanted to wait until he had pretty much stopped growing as there is always the possibility that while they're so young, they could grow out of it).

:laugh: Donatella. I was never able to go to them because of Kyojin's knees, but we're starting to be able to have play dates etc again.

No one's organised one in a while, but I'm sure there would be some keen people. :)

I've been through this with my boy. I would suggest you find a specialist (There are proper orthopaedic specialist vets that you can see). I can't recommend one for you unfortunately as I'm in Brisbane, but I think that it is important for you to see a specialist and get x-rays done to be certain. This will also help the specialist see exactly how bad the situation is and help you come up with a plan of action (Surgery or otherwise).

And he then goes on to say the exact same thing to those of us with rottweilers! :laugh: Every bloke on the street has a mate with a bigger rottweiler than any of ours, his mate's rottweiler weighed 70kg, don't you know!! Man I miss the rolly eyed man right now! :laugh: Yup, I get this a lot too. Constantly meeting bogans who like to inform me that their dog is bigger than mine. The figure is ALWAYS 70kg too. :laugh: Really? You have a 70kg malamute? You must be so proud!

I love that. I always need new things to say, get a bit sick of saying the same thing all the time. Especially as everyone insists that he's a husky. Or I had one lady very knowingly tell her friends that Kyojin is a chow chow. :laugh: We took Kyojin for a massive walk around Redcliffe the other day with a few other friends and their dogs, and almost every person/group of people we walked past, stopped to talk to us about Kyojin. Had some gorgeous little girl insist that she hug Kyojin. She was trying desperately to get her arms wrapped around him but they weren't long enough. :laugh:

Kyojin absolutely loved our two cats. He was always very gentle with them. But I've seen him a few times where we've been sitting in the car and a strange cat has been around. His ears prick up, he starts licking his lips and he just stares at them, wanting to get at them. He just doesn't seem to see the link between our cats and other cats. So it wouldn't matter how used to our cats he was. If a strange cat wandered into our yard there's a very good chance it would be severely hurt. I can't do anything to prevent that, but the cat owner could.

thats funny, mason, my younger girl willow has bonded closer to my OH also. my first boy razzle is a mummies boy and my dog :) minxy are you prepared to put kyojin away to work/train/walk/play with the new dog separately. this was the hardest thing for me i hate feeling that my razzle is missing out as it used to be he would do everything with me. but now i was putting him away to spend time with someone else. that said my dogs get on famously and they love to play together. yet they still both look forward to going out for walks and to new places with me (separately and together) the rest really doesnt matter imo. the feeding and the vet bills etc. i guess when u have 2 dogs u just pay for 2 i've never thought about the extra expenses Yup, I think I can manage doing that. 5-10 minutes of play is enough to exhaust Kyojin for the rest of the day, so finding time won't be an issue. :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: That's a good point. I'm home a lot now, but as soon as I get a job that will change, so I'd like Kyojin to have more company when I'm out. He's inside whenever one of us is home which he loves. Thanks everyone, it's nice to know it should be a fairly smooth transition for Kyojin. He pretty much sleeps all day (and night) so I don't think he'd notice her too much. :laugh:

Happy birthday Stan!! Hope way way lets you eat your pie in peace

At the moment if there were any issues I could separate them with crates or by having Kyojin inside and the other one outside etc until something better could be sorted out. But ultimately if it was clear that they would never get along (I'd seek help first), I would look into returning the new dog if everything else had been tried. I wouldn't want either dog to miss out on spending time with us because they couldn't be around each other. Lovely photo dwynwen, two Akitas is definitely cuddlier than one! An x-trail is on the cards sometime this year. At the moment things would be a bit squishy but I think it would okay to get by for in the meantime.

Thank you to everyone for your replies so far. Some really great points and suggestions have been raised. We'll definitely try and do some one-on-one things with both of them. I'm home a lot (unemployed since about 2 weeks ago, so now would be a very good time wise for me to bring a new dog home). I should mention that for the first 21 years of my life I've always lived in a two dog household, but this will be the first time that I am completely responsible for these dogs. So while it's not completely new, it definitely means a lot more now than it did when I was living at home. Mr M and I always go for walks together, so that would be fine, we'd just walk one each. But I think we'd probably also do some occasional walks/jogs with the dogs separately too so that they get some time away from each other. I haven't yet asked the breeder about whether they'd take the bitch back if need be, but it is on my list of questions to ask. Thank you for including that one, it's going to be very important to know before we make any decisions. I have a crate for Kyojin, so I'll get one for the new girl as well so that they can have some quiet time away from each other. You've raised some great points to think about :) :laugh: :laugh: Yup, I bet they'll always blow coat at the same time. Just my luck! Fortunately though I LOVE coat blows. I think it's the coolest thing ever to be using the force dryer on Kyojin while locked in the garage - it's like being in a snow globe. The amount of hair we get off him always blows my mind. :laugh: Yea, I think I could very well end up with partners in crime! Naww, thank you SM. Whether we get this bitch or another one some day, she'll be very loved. Nup, getting a bitch. I generally prefer dogs, but I just wouldn't risk having two of the same sex when it comes to Akitas.

Have been considering getting a second dog for quite some time but hadn't really done anything about it. Now the opportunity has come up where a dog of my breed needs a home. I've been thinking about the pros and cons of all of it, but I'd really appreciate it if people who have multiple dogs could think of anything I need to be asking myself (or the breeder) before I take the plunge of going from one dog to two. Thanks in advance :)

Yea, it takes a while to get used to sometimes. I've had two Rotties, both with docked tails. Last one just passed away a few days ago (9.5 years old). To me, a Rotty without a tail is all I know so when I see them with tails, they look so bizarre to me. (Still beautiful of course, but just not what I'm used to).

That sounds very exxy to me. The different specialists I go to for Kyojin's knees only charge me about $70 a consult.

You bet I do!!!! I will never own another dog without pet insurance again.

:love: Kuma photos

Concrete sealant and tile/concrete paint from Bunnings should do the job.

Toy: Would probably never own any Small: French Bulldog - will probably get one of these once I'm an old lady Medium: Probably a Sammy or a Lappy Large: Rottweiler or Long haired German Shepherd Giant: Akita