Alkhe

Congratulations! Beginning of June is so close too - the next few weeks will fly by. Do you have any pics yet?

I would have done the opposite to everyone here, it seems. I'm no expert, but I'm a small dog owner, and I also live in the city and frequent off leash parks. I call my park 'the dog park' but it's actually a sports oval that is off leash, with a bunch of really friendly dogs whose owners I now know and trust. This is what I would have done, and continue to do - If the other dog has friendly type body language, and isn't acting in an aggressive way (eg they are just bigger and intimidating to a smaller dog just because of their size) I would just stand there and not react to the other dog, and talk to my dog to reassure her. Let her be sniffed and eventually do her own bit of sniffing, etc. If she sits there scared for a second, that's ok in my opinion - I don't want to teach that any dog coming up to us is cause for concern. When I got her, she was terrified of everything and unsocialised with everything other than Toy Poodles, so the park was a nightmare for her. She's now great - she's still more timid around huge dogs and will just crouch down if even her "friends" at the park all rush over to her at once, but then will jump up and run around with them etc. I agree that it's very important to remain calm in any situation, regardless of whether the other dog is being friendly or actually giving you cause for concern with their behaviour. For better or worse, we don't live in a vacuum, and I want my dog to be able to learn to interact with other dogs at the park. I don't want to leave every time another dog comes near us - I want Maggie to know that I've got her back, and if she really is in any danger, by all means I'll pick her up and kick and scream and do whatever it takes to get the other dog off her. I've broken up dogs fights before, thankfully never with my dog, but wouldn't hesitate to stick a steel capped boot into anything that was actually going to hurt her. Hell hath no fury, etc.. I'm sure I'll get jumped on for being irresponsible and endangering her and .. whatever else. But look, I do all in my power to make sure that she is as safe as possible while being able to run around and socialise with other dogs. I am very alert to other dogs' behaviour and have been making a concerted effort to learn more about this. Part of the joy of dog ownership to me is interacting with other dogs and owners at the park; I love it, and Maggie loves it too. That's just been my approach to dealing with it, and so far it has worked out very well. Initially my reasoning was not rewarding her fear, and I'm not sure whether that holds given that fear is an unconscious thing. Now, my idea is that instead of not rewarding I'm consciously ignoring her fear.

Oh wow.. I don't actually know whether that's good or bad! Initially I was going to write 'that sounds like the most responsible thing to do' but I suppose it's naive to hold any hope that the pup will have a good future, if any future at all.. There's really nothing good about anything in the situation, hey - beginning with the existence of pet shops in the first place. Thanks for at least trying to help though :)

Aww, look at his little beard!!

If you’re anything like me, you’ve already decided deep down… :) Sometimes you just have to go with your heart, when all other things are equal (sappy, I know). Like when you can’t decide between 2 things, someone holds them behind their back and you choose one, and then realise that actually, you DO have a first preference after all ..

Despite being one of those people who don't mind dogs on furniture etc, I do completely understand what you're saying. I also don't equate me allowing my dog on the couch and bed etc with these things having no value in the relationship - I just believe that for my current dog, bearing in mind her personality and to be honest, her size (!) they're not things that I place value on. Ie, drawing and enforcing boundaries in that way. Though if I had a different breed or individual dog, my attitude may be different; it all depends on the context, and what you want your house to be like, how you want the dogs to act and exist there. For instance, when I was fostering a greyhound before I got my current dog (just over a year ago) I had a different set of expectations and desires for him. He wasn't allowed on the bed, for instance, and ate outside. And as he wasn't going to live permanently with me, those things become more important in terms of setting those PARTICULAR boundaries, purely because they're the kind of things that I know others do consider important. Also instilling in him a sense of boundaries and rules, even if the actual "subject" of those altered. A house with no rules or boundaries could well be a recipe for disaster, and in such cases creating and enforcing them would I'm sure be a welcome relief for dog and owner alike. But I just don't believe that arbitrary rules about where and how things should happen are really appropriate. That's all :) I'm not sure whether I've explained myself particularly well, since it's past midnight and I'm exhausted. But basically, not being fussed by particular things that some people (and training methods) consider really important doesn't mean that I'm not fussed about anything, and that anything goes. Far from it - I have a very harmonious house (apart from my housemate, but if he were a dog I'm sure I could do something about that. Even if it was PTS.. :D ) and Maggie knows that there are rules. Even if they're more along the lines of 'don't go into that housemate's room' rather than sleep in the laundry rather than on my bed. Cuddling with her in the morning is one of my favourite things in the world - I'm not changing that for anyone's training method! :laugh:

Given that Advocate is a heartworm preventative as well, is there an issue around effectively stopping and starting preventative measures without testing for heartworm before starting again? I was under the impression that it's important to test for heartworm before starting preventative measures.. though I can't quite remember why. I realise that heartworm is rare in many places in Australia, and that lots of people don't bother with medication for that reason. But is there some risk in stopping and starting if there IS a considerable risk of heartworm?

I just watched this and posted it on a bunch of people's facebooks. Thanks so much for the heads up, it was brilliant and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I would've loved it even without sound too :laugh: Also, I'd never actually seen a Pekinese move before, having never seen any in real life. While it might be a bit contentious on this forum, I was pretty horrified.. I've heard about the problems that they have, but just watching them made me want to cry and/or hit something. IMO purposefully breeding something like that is just cruel.

Do you think a Toy Poodle's grooming requirements would be too much? My little Toy would be perfect for this situation - I got her at 3 years, after she had had 2 litters, and she is a very calm and loving little thing.

Kennel Cough is part of C5 yep, both bacterial and viral. I'm not sure about the nasal vaccine though.

Hmm, I think the issue is that there are different strains, and you can usually only vaccinate against some of them. Dogs can transmit leprospirosis to humans though, mainly through contact with urine or water or.. something. I can't actually remember though - but it's transmitted through water or infected water I think. And seems pretty rare from what I remember. I'm not a vet or anything - I have half a science degree and a bunch of online reading under my belt :laugh:

My attitude to this stuff differs to a lot of people too - for better or worse, my dog sleeps on my bed (she comes into the bed for morning cuddles sometimes), eats from her bowl in the kitchen, is allowed on all the furniture - and this is fine. People have dogs for all sorts of reasons, and have lots of ideas about how they should co-exist with their owners. While I disagree with some approaches to training (usually because they're based on misconceptions or fallacies, and are counterproductive or worse) I really think the most important thing is that people keep their dogs in the way that suits them. And their dog. I take issue with theories and approaches that dictate exactly how you should live and interact with your dog. On my understanding, most theories that have 'dominance' as a central theme or issue to combat, tend to be quite presctiptive in that way. As you mentioned, with only having the dog go through doors after you, or not letting the dog be higher than you, or ask for pats, or sleep on your bed, or.. whatever it may be. I know people who have seen trainers, and been told that the dog MUST be fed outside, should never be on furniture, should sleep in teh laundry.. if that's not the way they want their dog to live, there's absolutely no reason why that kind of advice should be followed or advanced dogmatically. Some behavioural or other problems may have solutions that require particular things to happen - that's different. And that's fine. But any "rules" for what yuo "should" do in my opinion are .. well, crap. So I'm in furious agreement with you teela! I also like to read around, watch what others do, and consider everything alongside what I want for my life with my dog - how I like her to behave, the boundaries that I think are appropriate, and how best to put that into place in a way that sits right wiht me and works.

C6 includes leptospirosis which is a bacterial infection. I would stick with the minimum required, personally.. you can also get c7, but I wouldn't do any more than necessary. (And I'm sure there will be lots of replies about how much is 'necsesary' too.. :) )

I wrote a summary of this particular issue on my site, for this VERY reason. I tried to summarise in plain english exactly what 'papers' are, what are NOT papers, why to buy (or not) from certain places, etc. Here is my summary if it helps at all.

Thanks! I'm going to watch this tonight too (along with the PBS documentary vid Blackdogs posted) - so excited! (I am such a nerd, I know). The book I've been reading is 'In Defence of Dogs' by John Bradshaw, for anyone interested :)

*peripheral rant* The thing that gets me with this is that we HAVE a wild dog that was semi-domesticated and is much closer to dogs than wolves are - the dingo. And a dingo social structure is basically whatever will get them the most resources: if they want to take large prey, they'll team up in packs. If they want to just grab a few rabbits, they'll strike out on their own. Basically it fits everything we understand about how dogs, being opportunists, will work for resources in the most efficient way possible and don't need a fixed social hierarchy to do it. Yet people insist on looking to old, flawed studies of captive wolves to inform how they see their dog's social ambitions. /rant *late for work now* I’ve been reading about JUST this the last week or so. Suddenly so much that I have heard and learnt and thought I ‘understood’ now seems so stupid and wrong. Like how previous studies of wolf behaviour were based on captive wolves that had been put together artificially. Ordinarily wolves live in family groups, and siblings/offspring leave the pack at a certain age – captive groups that studies were based on meant that the indiivudals who in the wild would have left the pack, were forced to stay. And hence ‘dominance’ type behaviour, etc etc. That’s a very crude summary, but ARGH it’s so INTERESTING.

My dog would get very distressed and I think would probably bark and carry on "aggressively" (she's a toy poodle). Once my sister and her boyfriend were play fighting, and Maggie got very agitated and was barking and rushing towards him more ferociously than I've ever seen her do, to get mys ister's boyfriend away from her. My sister was pretending to cry and things, and it was actually horrbile seeing Maggie (dog) so distressed. She now hates him and won't go anywhere near him, and barks when he comes in. I'd imagine that most dogs would react in a similar way - it's just that they may have a less intimidating appearance.

..and unfortunately, unless you have a recognised condition, you can not have your dog (especially a 50 kg one) with you at all times. So, you are fresh out of school? Young people often move house/go on holidays/ need to rent / get partners ... what provision have you made for the care of a VERY large, possibly protective/aggressive dog in some of these situations? It's all fantastic if you are physically and psychologically able to train/handle a large breed/guardian- but consider housemates/family/friends . Will they be able , or even want, to have that responsibility? I actually agree with this - I'm 25, and while I am often annoyed by people judging my capacity and ability to do things based on that, in some cases it's just a fact of life. I left my little dog at home when I moved out at 18, and waited 7 years before getting a dog again. As much as living without a dog was awful and I used to lurk at parks near me, wishing I could be there with my dog too, I forced myself to wait until I was certain that I could make sure that I could get a dog and keep him/her without worrying about rentals and money etc. I ended up getting her a year ago when I was still renting, but was in a position that I could be choosy with where I went, and had backup plans in case anything fell through and I couldnt find a pet friendly one. I ended up going overseas every year between 18-25, and while studying full time and working part time, I wouldn't have been able to be as dedicated and responsible an owner as I am able to be now. I'm so glad I waited, because it can be REALLY hard to find a pet friendly rental, even when you have a 4kg non-shedding dog with references..

I'm loving these videos you're posting, blackdogs! At work so can't watch this now, but I'm going to settle down in front of it tonight I think. It looks like it's movie length :)

My understanding is that they are very headstrong dogs that require strong (and I'd say experienced) leadership. So probably not good for a first time or relatively inexperienced owner.. I've only met one in real life though, my understanding is based on picking up tidbits and reading on the internet (story of my life!).

She may as well have told you to sit down and watch a Cesar Millan marathon...

I have an irrational preference for female things in general :laugh: We had a male and female toy & mini poodle growing up, and the male was definitely more smoochy and cuddley. But for some reason I always gravitate toward female dogs.

What about 'can I meet the mother?' If someone's breeding in dodgy conditions or those that they're not comfortable showing you, there may be a problem. In some situations it may not be possible, but it at least opens up the conversation. Which in my opinion is very important, you want to feel comfortable with someone.

Yeah, go ahead - nothing worse than hating a name every time you think about it! My dog's first name was Athina. I'm sorry, and no offence to anyone, but.. no. We just can't have that! When I got her it was Misty, but I usd to have a rabbit called Misty, so no can do. She adapted in no time :)

Unless you are able to brush them out, it probably is the only option. How bad are we talking? I suppose if it's got to this point partially due to his hatred (which is probably fear, too) of being brushed, it will probably be even harder to attempt to brush out matts now. If I were you, I'd cut the matts out before I resorted to clippers, but it does depend on how big and how many..