trinabean

Up until now my pups' coat has needed minimal attention. Just lately he seems to be shedding a bit more and the brushes I have aren't removing the old hair very effectively. I was almost convinced to buy a 'Furminator" but the only dog in the store we could test it on was a Labrador. It was effective but the Lab had a much thicker coat than my dog. I wasn't sure if it was overkill for my dogs coat. My pup is a Boxer. Opinions anyone?

Welcome Fiasco! I agree with Cassie on phoning rather than just emailing. Email is quite anonymous and many breeders can better judge a persons' intentions by speaking to them directly. It helped me as a prospective buyer to rule out some breeders too. The breeder we eventually went with was lovely, albeit much quicker at responding via phone than email. Too busy with her dogs to be in front of a computer much! ;) Good luck in your search.

Lol! Bruno says grooming is for dogs that have hair. Water is only fun when you bite it straight from a hose. And I'm too busy playing with my toys right now anyway....

This is one of those times when I wish I wasn't right. One frustrated husky. Poor little dogs who are in danger just living next door to it. Seriously, why do some people get dogs?

Rozzie I'm glad little Sarge is OK. I'll hazard a guess that the owners don't exercise their Husky much/ if at all either. No life for a husky.

Juice, I take your point that maybe I should give the owners the chance to do something about the gate. That thought occured to me too. I'm not looking to cause trouble. Plenty of others have given good reasons as to why I should consider reporting this incident to the council though. As for dropping by to express my concerns, well I did speak directly to them this morning and explain what happened. I was not accusing or confrontational, I was polite. I'm not sure what else I could say to them about it? I think my concern about their dog was pretty clear this morning. As for reporting the dog to the council, well, I have the weekend to think it over. Unlike some of us, the council doesn't work on the weekend. I'm not sure exactly what I'll do. Does anyone think desexing my pup soon would help prevent this sort of incident?

Good on you for getting her and her dog safely home. She would have been shaken up. I was.

So I've talked to a couple of neighbours and apparently the family that owns this dog just moved in yesterday. They had no idea of why/ how the gate came to be left open this morning and have said that they'll be buying a padlock for it today. It will be obvious that I'm the person who reported their dog, even if I do it anonymously. Making things even more awkward, I recognized the woman as one of the mothers from school. I'll have to face her on a regular basis. Oh well. Still, their dog's over the top behaviour worries me enough to report it. Be nice if it could be straight forward and anonymous though....

Thanks Mr.mister, Good point about frail people facing this same situation. I'm a reasonable force to reckon with and I was intimidated and shaken up by this incident. I tried to defuse things by continuing on our walk but I wasn't prepared to come home via that end of my street!

Thanks Melzawelza, Yes, I wondered if it would have made a scrap of difference in this situation. My dog was hyper-aware for the rest of our walk, I'd hate him to become fear-aggressive because of this...

I had a scary confrontation this morning. While walking my 8 month old boxer I was bailed up by an entire (and uncollared) male Amstaff. There was a lot of dominant posturing and growling at me and my dog. I couldn't move forwards or backwards down my street. Things started to escalate, my dog was cowering submissively and we were getting tangled in the lead as he tried to get away from the other dog. It happened so fast I couldn't unclip my dog's lead, and we were near a busy road. I tried to remain calm and yelled at the loose dog but he growled at me and seemed determined to get to my dog. It looked to me like an all-out fight was about to happen so I did all I could think of, which was to yell for help. It seemed like ages (but probably wasn't) before any neighbours came out. I was able to secure my dog in one neighbours yard and when I came back outside the loose dog had disappeared. A few people were outside, including the owners of the other dog. At first the owners denied that it was their dog, until someone pointed out that it had run back into their backyard through an open gate. The owners then asked "Did he actually DO anything?" When I explained what had happened they were only slightly apologetic. Grrrrr! Amstaff owners I'm not having a go at your breed. Breed wouldn't have mattered, any large powerful breed belonging to these owners would be a worry. Any large powerful breed is capable of doing harm when owned by idiots. If I cry "Ban the breed" I will also be condemning countless breeds (including my own). Dogs that would otherwise be fine with a secure yard and responsible owners who take the time to socialize, train and exercise their dogs. I'm now considering getting my pup desexed earlier than was planned, in the hope of deflecting the attention of intact, off-lead dogs. Incidentally, my boxer is on the Limited Register. I therefore wasn't keeping him entire for showing, just for growth until about 12 months old as his breeder recommended. I've had no problems with him being entire until this incident. Feedback on this dilemma is welcome... There. Essay/ rant over.

Maybe leave it at that Matthew - you will never win here. I think there is a Poodlefan fan club. ;) Yes we are called 'Poodlefans Army' or PA and we have magical coins that tell us when to meet up and get online and blatantly agree, cause none of us have our own minds. And we won't log out of DOL until She commands us to...

The moment the public and the systems you voted in 'banned' the Pit Bull as part of BSL that same action also removed any possibility of an organised effort to breed 'good PB' (and as a consequence, good PB mixes.) Banning the breed resulted in the banning of good breeders, who otherwise could have set standards in place. In many ways, this is what you get when you have no professional breeders nurturing a breed and leading the way for new breeders to follow. No professional breeders to be very picky about where their puppies go and to whom no professional breeders to defend their breed and bring in new lineage when needed. (Yes there'd be a handful of professional PB breeders, rightly ducking and keeping beneath the radar, but these smart folk aren't going to put their heads up now, they're keeping their good dogs and good lineage underground where they're safe.) Back above ground: Australia created this sealed cesspool of poorly bred pitbull genes + other breeds bred in add-hoc to fill in the void And now Australia reals in horror when all these mixed goodness-knows-what-combinations go running around biting people. Well really, what did you think would happen, when you ban organised registration systems and breeding standards that only professional breeders can put in place and uphold? Yes the naive and daft still continue to believe in breed bans and that you can sweep up genetic footprints with the assistance of your local ranger ... but really. You wanted a breed banned, well applaud BSL. The registered breeders and the breed are gone. But the dogs and their progeny, their mixed progeny, their owners,and their owners who will breed, they still exist. When you brought in BSL you kicked the PB custodians out, so now all you're left with is the nuff nuffs with no knowledge; and their bad dogs and bad dog mixes that noone can tell apart from the good dog mixes. Every dependable breed of dog in Australia that is held in high regard, is this way because of the organised breed club and professional breeders nurturing the breed. + 1 Well explained Lilli. Thank you to Poodlefan too for her logical and eloquent arguments.

Well done Experiencedfun! And thanks for your honesty. I think many people might find it surprisingly difficult to correctly identify an APBT first go.

Even if pit bulls were wiped off the face of the earth we will still have dog attacks that maim/ kill victims. The issue that remains is irresponsible/ ignorant owners. Plenty of other large powerful breeds can be dangerous in the wrong hands. Oh, wait, lets just ban all large breeds. That will fix it....

This was a horrific, preventable tragedy. I'm heartbroken for the little girl, her family and all the people who have been traumatized by her death. I hope the dogs owner is held fully accountable for her death. I'm wary however of politicians spouting 'ban the breed' rhetoric. The idea may appeal to many of the voting public but a quick-fix solution is not the answer. As others have expressed more eloquently than me, the problem is complex and many crossbred mixes skew the statistics by being falsely identified as 'Pit bulls.' I would consider the DOL community to be more breed-aware than the general public but many of us may not immediately identify a pit bull. Try this test: My link It took me 3 tries to pick the correct one...and I own a bull breed.

Maybe he was terrorised by a pigeon? or savaged by a chicken? Love it But then, I find my boxer with his pumpkin phobia pretty hilarious too.

You shouldn't feel guilty. Sasha was rushed and attacked by (effectively) an off-lead dog. You should never have been put in this situation (having to pull her out of a fight). Had the other owner done the right thing in the first place then this situation wouldn't have happened. Maybe Sasha is feeling more protective of you because you are pregnant. In itself this is not a bad thing, only when other dog owners are inconsiderate idiots! ;)

+1 Especially as it was an on-leash park and she wasn't holding onto her dog's leash! Glad you weren't seriously hurt. I'm sad for you that you can't walk your own dog now because of this irresponsible woman.

Yes and all manner of stupidity!

Bruno is disturbed by brooms and whole pumpkins. Yes, pumpkins. He is a dog who can go for days without barking even once. We certainly hear about it when he is confronting a pumpkin or a broom though. I'm thinking of putting a warning sign up on our door at Halloween. He is not phased by anything normal (thunder, loud traffic etc.) Oh, he's not keen on buckets either. Funny boy.....

BorderBo, thank you for posting and sharing your story. I found it encouraging. Good on you for persisting with Bo.

What about a boxer? I am biased but I haven't ever suggested my breed in one of these threads before. This is the first time a person's requirements matched enough for me to suggest it! A boxer might be a good match for your dog as far as size and energy levels go? They LOVE to play. They tick the box for a short smooth coat too. Lovely and low fuss. Good luck in your breed search.

Love 'Ninja style' Be afraid plants...be VERY afraid! Boxagirl he is beyond cute!

I like Chilli too. Poppy, Pepper, Blaze....