Alkhe

Oh my god. I'm also disgusted that there's a little tagline "is your pet bigger? send photos to..." etc. Let's not make light of it, encourage it, or make a competition out of it. Sickening.

I'm not much help, but that sounds very strange to me - I would expect any breeder to have at least heard of LP, even if they haven't experienced it first hand. Is Thunder having both legs operated on at once?? I'm far from an expert on this, but that seems unusual to me, I was under the impression that this surgery is (usually) performed on one knee at a time?

I fostered a gorgeous greyhound a few months ago, and the number of times crusty old men would eye him off and ask me 'are you going to race him?' etc.. argh. I don't know what it is, but wherever we walked there were old men hanging out in their front yard watching us That was the most common comment for us, for some reason! Oh, and one woman whose son was throwing a tantrum not wanting to get into the car.. the grey and I walked past and she grabbed her son and went 'if you don't shut up that dog's going to get you' or words to that effect

She'll be much happier when she is lean, believe me. Obesity ages dogs prematurely. It hurts their joints, especially if they're already starting to get arthritis, and it makes them more likely to get cancer & diabetes. Yep - I have to restrain myself with my girl too, because I know she'd just eat herself to death given half the chance. It's important not to project human emotions/desires etc onto them too- Maggie looks at me like she's STARVING and DESPERATE and just wants ONE more piece! But really, she's just as happy having a cuddle or playing with me, or.. sleeping. It's just me projecting my own food desires onto her most of the time, I'm sure. Your dog won't even know she's not getting fed as much as before, you just have to disconnect your own guilt and reaction to it

That name is perfect for her! Congratulations!! Such pretty markings

There's a gorgeous male English Mastiff at one of my dog parks, whose owner now has one of his sons also. The son is probably a few months old now, and they're both the most well behaved things, it's great. So gorgeous together There's also a Chow Chow male and his daughter. And a really shiny, athletic Ridgeback that I am completely in love with. Oh, and an ex-working BC whose owner is trying desperately to teach how to play and stop working... it's a bit of a losing battle though, and has been for a long time by the looks of it! That dog chases some SERIOUS frisbee.. Now that I'm thinking about it, there are lots of gorgeous purebreds in the parks that I frequent. And a lot of beautiful crosses too. Not that I've ever met a dog I don't like!

.. can I come and watch? Is that a bit weird? I have a toy poodle who is very timid and would be interested in this, and there's also a little pap at my obedience school whose parents I'm sure would be too!

As pointed out, this was a different dog.. but just generally, brain tumours can cause abnormal in dogs in the same way as they can with humans. They can affect a person's personality and 'temperament' in many different ways and cause aggressive outbursts etc. Though they don't always - changed behaviour patterns or out of character incidents can be a recognisable symptom though.

That is one of the fittest looking labs I think I've ever seen.. I have nothing valid to suggest unfortunately, but to me her muscles don't look problematically big, just fit and healthy. That also seems like a lot of exercise, so I wouldn't think it's anything to really worry about?

Good luck! That sounds like a much better arrangement - hope everything goes well with the search!!

It's definitely a small 's' springer spaniel.. some serious springing going on in that photo! (ba doom CHING ;) ) This thread is ruining me.

Absolutely - it's easy to look back with hindsight, or not having been there, and cast judgment about what they did or didn't do, or should have done. This is one of those situations where you really can't say what you'd do until you've actually been there yourself, and done it.

My mum has three little dogs in an apartment in the city - they're walked more now than they ever were when they lived in a house with a yard. Toilet training was a bit of an issue at the start (and to be honest is a little bit still) as they had to adjust to one of those doggy loo fake grass things, on the balcony. But if they're taken out in the morning, and straight after work, it's fine. No more of an issue than my own house with a doggy door!

I agree - I would take her to the groomer at least once, see what they do and if you'd rather keep grooming her yourself, invest in a good set of clippers and keep her body short. You'll still need to brush her to ensure that she doesn't get matted, particularly around her bottom and the base of her tail (this is where they're prone to, in my experience), but you'll be able to catch them before they get too bad. They won't hurt her that way, and it'll save a lot of time, effort and pain for the both of you I'd also suggest weekly to fortnightly bathing, which in my experience also helps with preventing matts etc.

Very into this theme! 'I, Claudius' is one of my favourite books and there are a bunch of great names from there. Which are obviously taken from ancient history and embellished with a fair whack of artistic license.. Cleo's definitely a perfect name in that respect. I also love the name Livia. And Julia! Julia and Caesar?

I don't know if it's dog feng shui as much as the canine version of 'the grass is always greener on the other side'. ;) Or playing the 'why' game with a 3 year old. I want to go in that crate. Why? Because! Because why? Because! But because.. why? BECAUSE!

Agree Longclaw - Nissa is so beautiful! Her eyes!! And her fuzzy little coat! Gorgeous

My dog loves denta stix and also greenies, which I would highly recommend. Their website isn't working for me today, so here's an alternative one just in case: http://www.pookinuk.com.au/greenies.html I brush my dog's teeth too - I find it to be easiest with a little finger brush like this (however my dog is a toy poodle, so perhaps it's different for your guys!):

Since this thread has been resurrected: I only have 3 photos of my little girl as a puppy, since I got her when she was 3 years (a few months ago). Her former owner sent me this! All puppies are cute, but silver poodles...

My thoughts always go from 'uh oh..' to 'oh, thank god' as I'm reading threads like this, where it bounces back from good to bad! I think I'm settling on froggy splay not being a problem though. I have no idea what my dog's (toy poodle) hips are but she does the frog all the time. I was actually so pleased when she first did it - I'd never had a froggy dog before, now I get to look at one all the time! I think it's hilarious

I have this situation too! My mum's two littlies and my Maggie are within a week of each other in November, and all will be turning 4 this year. Mum's two were bought 6 months apart, and mine was bought 3 months ago, too! Such strange coincidences :D

Oh yay, congratulations!! So glad things have worked out for you - he's such a beautiful little thing, too! He looks like a little teddy, and his colouring.. just like the teddy bear biscuits I've been eating all evening Little poodles are the best, I have no idea how I lived before I got my little girl. I think things will get much easier now that you've made a definite decision too; whenever there's still uncertainty, it makes everything so much harder to deal with, I think. Now that he's yours forever you can relax a bit more

I agree with everyone else - if there's even an inkling of uncertainty from your housemate, don't do it. I was in a kind of similar situation recently, where one of my housemates ended up being completely weird around dogs and had no dog sense whatsoever. Kind of like a socially inept person, but towards dogs. He wasn't abusive in any way or anything, but Maggie was just always on edge around him, and he had no capacity to read her and put her at ease, and also worked from home (ie, around all day when I wasn't always). I decided that I'd look around to find somewhere pet friendly, and was accepted at the first sharehouse I looked at. So I basically moved because of tension between my dog and housemate, and am so happy that I did. Don't lose hope - it can be done! And bringing a dog into an imperfect home situation will only create extra tensions and be unfair on everyone. It's not worth it I think this is the right decision - I left my little dog (in my avatar) behind with my mum when I moved out, and things were really never the same. Living without a dog, for me, .. there's just something missing. I waited 6 years before getting Maggie (had her 3 months now) and honestly, have no idea how I did it. I don't know what I ever did before I got her - she's seriously changed my life for the better in so many ways, I actually just choke up thinking about my life before her. (I realise I am a bit pathetic.. )

Hmm, I'm not sure what you're asking either. Or what state controlling bodies should be doing with respect to our lives with dogs, that differs to .. mitigating the impact of climate change and reducing emissions etc, more broadly.

My god that is shocking!! I wouldn't be surprised if you are in shock also, having seen it all unfold I once hit a dog - I will never ever forget that day, a little dog just darted out from the front gate of a house and straight in front of me. I slammed on the breaks but it was too late. It all happened so fast, two girls ran out after the dog and saw the whole thing, and were apologising to me while rushing to their dog. Honestly, one of the worst days of my life that I will never be able to get over. This was years ago, and it haunted me for months, the whole 'why didn't you stay at the gym 5 mins longer, why didn't you go down *some other street name*' etc. How somebody could fail to even slow down in the situation you described is completely beyond me. And not even stop afterwards. I cannot comprehend it. Really hope the dog is ok