Salukifan

Same here. Mine have a couple of friends they see occasionally and that's about it :laugh:. Good dog ownership does not always involved dog parks and the perfect diet. There are dogs worse off than the dog mentioned in the op. Each to his own. I prefer to take my two out to enjoy their to the park and feed them a canine appropriate diet, but yes, that's my choice as is yours in in not participating in outings. Good dog ownership involves in keeping the dog happy and healthy, and for the diet side of it, I can't see that cooked rice and tinned tuna for breakfast and cooked rice and cooked chicken for dinner every day will prove itself as a good balanced diet over the ears to come. Precisely. I understand its human nature to compare our standards of dog ownership to others but the longer I own dogs, the more I think it should be resisted. Not every dog enjoys dog parks, not every owner is prepared to risk their dogs' safety in them and as for diet, there is more than one way to feed a dog. Save the judgment for those who neglect or abuse and I think we'd all be a lot better off.

There is science based advice around if you know where to look. I suggest you start with everything that Dr Christine Zink (US sports vet) has written on the subject. However, conditioning is only one aspect of caring for a performance animal. The word missing from the vocabulary of a lot of dog sports people IMO is "husbandry". If you hang out with performance horse people, they put a lot of time, money and effort not only into preparing horses for their sports but also into caring for them and SPELLING them from performing. No show jumper would train and compete their horses week in, week out throughout the year and yet a lot of dog people do it without thinking. In my opinion, appropriate sports animal husbandry involves the following: * Selection of an animal that is structually suited for the sport (quite a few dogs fail here) and allowance for full physical development before physically demanding training and competition is undertaken (more fails, especially in flyball IMO). Dr Zink is one of the leading advocates of late desexing (if at all) for sports dogs. * Development of an exercise and nutrition regime that optimally prepares the dog to compete. The nutritional needs of a canine athlete are not the same as those for a sedentary pet. * Regular visits for musclar and skeletal checks and husbandry. * SPELLING When you see dogs badly unsound due to the demands placed on them by competition owners, you have to acknowldge that this is not right. Dr Zink has seen dogs that have had it by age 5 in US flyball comps. Not good enough IMO. Many of the dogs selected and competed in these sports at elite level are extemely high drive. They'd run on 3 legs if their owners asked them to. That doesn't mean they should have to.

Get a collapsible ramp. Far easier for everyone.

You are never, in a million years, going to get agreement between dog owners as to which food is best. Too many variables, starting with the dogs and their activities. So what you need to do is tackle the issue from an ingredient and analysis perspective. Compare the ingredients and form an opinion. Then look at the food analysis. Your average adult Blackhawk food is 22% protein and 12% fat. That is going to suit some breeds and some dog lifestyles better than others. I wouldn't feed it to a growing sighthound whose energy and protein requirements require more than this in my opinion. For other pets, it might be fine. Try the younger dog on it and see how you go. If you notice condition or coat improvements or declines then you'll have your answer. However I do believe that in many cases, opting for cheaper foods is false economy, if the dog is not getting the nutrition it needs.

*sigh* I dream of a day when the Hound judge at a Royal is not from North America.

Walked and fed carefully by an owner who clearly has the dog's interests at heart? Nope I don't feel sorry for this dog because its life is not what I would give it. It's not abused or neglected is it?

You need better advice!!! Maybe people don't want to worry you or they genuinely don't know what they are seeing. I see no reason why you'd have to retire him. He's an entire male that needs more management and probably a higher level of focus and obedience than he's had up till now but he doesn't sound much different to many dogs competing at shows and trials. You make sure he gets the space he needs, you accept that he is not going to greet strange dogs (particularly other mature entire males) as friends and you manage accordingly. I was out on a walk with a Whippet acquaintance a few months ago and she seemed suprised that I called and leashed my entire boys as strange dogs approached. I don't think it had occured to her that they might not accept other dogs as "friends". Welcome to the world of entires - you manage them differently and more closely than other dogs and that way you don't get incidents.

Hope they are seriously up for that. They ain't your average "friends to everyone" retriever. They may not be all that friendly, especially to other dogs.

Yep. Choose the diet you want to feed, offer it to the dogs and take it away 5 minutes later. They won't starve themselves to death and hunger is a great motivator to eat. "Fussy" can often mean "not really all that hungry" Don't let them manipulate you. Provided they are eating the kibble, they won't miss out on nutrients. My poodles enjoyed chicken necks and then wings - good for their teeth. I fed those about 1 meal in three.

How successful have you been at stopping it? If the behaviour keeps occurring, you may have to keep him more firmly under control, on lead at all times if necessary. Friendly and over exuberant are really just excuses for him blowing you off. Who's running the show here? I have a name for friendly and over excited dogs that ignore their owners to run up to mine. I call them "arseholes". Time to stop that behaviour and if you can't control it then he stays on lead. Don't keep providing him with more opportunities to self reward by ignoring you. I tell people that the time to get their dog's attention is when their dog notices the other dog, NOT when its 20 metres away and running up to it. Timing is important. Why do you think him growling at another dog is being "protective"? It sounds to me like he finds the training environment very stimulating. He's now a mature entire male, with some history of bad experiences with other dogs, he's been allowed a pretty free rein and he's prepared to warn dogs off (which is all growling is). YOU need to act before he needs to and what he's saying is "I want more space". I'd not panic but I'd be keeping him away from dogs he doesn't know and I'd be really taking tight control of him in environments (like training) where you know he's highly aroused and therefore likely to be more reactive. Don't be complacent and don't expect him to just deal with dogs in his space. Your aim should be to make sure that there is never another reason for him to feel like he has to warn other dogs off. I'm probably going to be flamed for this but Australian Shepherds feature quite frequently in ANKC suspensions for dog aggression. I think they benefit from very clear boundaries and tight control. The higher drive dogs are NOT teddy bears and need to be treated like the bold working dogs they were bred to be. They certainly weren't bred to be a pack dog. I think a consult with a decent trainer/behaviourist experienced with higher drive dogs would be a good thing. Sounds to me like you have a bit more dog than you bargained for. A raw diet won't hurt but I think you need to step up your management of this dog too. You can start by ceasing to make excuses for his behaviour. "too friendly" "over exuberant" and "over excited" are excuses. When you view those behaviours in terms like "disobedient" "rude" and "ignores me" they sound a lot less tolerable. Deal with the behaviour, not the excuse for it. If I sound a bit harsh its because I'd like you to grab these issues and deal with them before your dog does what another dog very similar to him in temperament did and does end up in an aggression incident.

Is there some reason she can't be with you in the evenings and somewhere else during the day?

There is no way I'd leave an SBT pup all day in a pen made from those compost panels. If you're lucky, she'll push them over and get out. if not, she'll catch herself in them trying to get out. Can you make a safe secure room with a baby gate or give her access to a part of your yard? What's the long term plan for her during the day?

The Australian Dog Show World is a small place. Most of us would have friends on Facebook who are judges. We've probably all wished judges Happy Birthday or had them congratulate us on a win or done the same to them. Deal with it I say. Is this yet another excuse for people to justify losing? "she knows the judge on FB, so they put her up". Riiiight. I can tell you right now that because a judge has commented on a dog, it is no guarantee they will put it up because they judge many dogs on the day and how you handle and how you present your dog also plays a part. Have yet to see a judge post "you should have won". No judge I know would be THAT silly.

Walking a pup on lead IS "forced exercise". Free play with similar sized pups or dogs or gentle offlead play would be my recommendations. This does NOT mean taking the pup down to the local offlead park to be body slammed by the local 'thugs'. Talk to your pup's breeder but five minutes of walking per month of age is what many people recommend with no serious onlead exercise until at least 12 months old.

As I see it, some people have suggested seeing someone who can prescribe it. That's hardly ramming pills down the dog's throat.

Not every accident that causes injury is someone's fault and therefore not every accident gets a payout. When you are talking about negligence, you are talking about an area of law with significant elements that have to be satisfied to establish someone is negligent. What duty of care is owed by a dog owner using a designated offlead area to other users? What is the standard of care that is required? Has a breach of the duty of care caused the accident? Was the accident reasonably foreseeable? Has the person harmed also been negligent. The wikipedia article is a good sumation of the law but on occasion it comes down to the fact that shit sometimes does simply happen.

I'm definitely not an expert but I do have to wonder how much of this behaviour can be successfully modified. I would do anything that built up Rosie's sense of security and confidence and if that means giving her a constant canine companion, then that's what I'd do. I think you may have to accept the fact that much of this behaviour isn't fixable but it may be manageable. She does sound like she has issues with inactivity. I have to say (and I say it with some trepidation) that if all you can see in front of you with this dog is heartache and expense and IF the opinion and options given by a vet behaviourist don't paint a happy picture, I would consider giving Rosie her wings. Life with a dog is not meant to be a constant merry-go-round of misery and anxiety for dog or owner. She's had a dreadful start to life and sadly for her and you, some of those experiences now shape her future.

The reason I've suggested a veterinary behaviourist is because I think this is a case where Rosie may benefit from behaviour modification and medication. Only a vet behaviourist can prescribe medication.

Have you considered a consult with a veterinary behaviourist? A lot of this behavior sounds obsessive. I don't know Rosie's background but I would be wondering about a genetic component to this.Another option is total lack of socialisation as a neonatal/baby pup.

Interesting isn't it. Remove a baby puppy's testicles or ovaries and uterus and animal welfare groups don't bat an eyelid. Indeed, they are the most likely to perform such procedures. Do something "cosmetic" and the ASPCA weighs in. I sometimes wonder about if we have the right perspective on things.

Most would teach their dogs to place the front legs and then position the back. You can't always free stack a dog. You need to be out of the judge's way when he/she assesses and examines the dog and that will mean you can't always be out front positioning. At the end of the triangle and in line ups freestacking is possible but its less doable in the examination phase IMO. Have you shown before? Have you watched what good Dobe handlers do?

You actually need something a bit more specialised. What breed of dog are you getting?

I really did NOT need to see that. Second the idea of a warning.

I'm a little gobsmacked that anyone would trust the safety of their bitch to a bunch of stangers of unknown qualifications and experience on the internet. As far as I can see, you can't know if there's a problem with the pregnancy or a phantom pregnancy unless you ultrasound or x-ray. Seems perfectly logical to me to establish what you're actually dealing with before deciding on a way forward. A non-professional diagnosis of a phantom might be uterine inertia - who knows? The short answer is no one does. The only place you can find out what's really going on is with your vet. No bitch this close to whelping is going to absorb pups. To each their own....assuming of course that the. Whelping due date has been correctly calculated.

Hobart I think.