LisaCC

First time my 24kg Aussie saw one he stepped straight through it.

I use interceptor for intestinal and heart worms. Will be using Bravecto from next month for flea and tick I generally just look for specials online and go with what ever is cheapest.

As a renter I don't want my dogs barking AT ALL in the house or backyard. And none of my dogs have ever barked while in the yard except if there is due reason. Due reason does not include communicating with the neighbouring dogs. If they did I would take steps to put a stop to it.

You haven't met many dogs then. if your dog never barked I would get him checked ... There is a difference between a dog barking and problem barking. And no my previous dog did not once bark at other dogs. I know many dogs that have no interest in barking at other dogs. My current dog does get over excited some times and will bark, I recognise this as a problem behaviour and am taking steps to resolve this. There is a time and a place.

You haven't met many dogs then.

Quite frankly I'm pretty damn sick of people in obedience complaining about modern methods and the sport being changed on one hand and on the other hand complaining how they can't get new people interested into the sport on the other.

If you want a harness get a harness... Just wait until you actually have pup and get him fitted for one correctly. A simple Y front harness will do, you don't want one that restricts movement. A harness is a great tool, especially to start teaching recalls on a long leash. Kikopup on youtube is great.

I've had equipment fail at the clasps in the past with my family labrador. Mum just used to buy stuff from the local pet shop. He wore a head collar for a short time and yes we would double up the leash with that. But more for training purposes, I transitioned him onto a flat collar pretty quickly. The breakages with general petshop equipment we had is one of the reasons I buy more expensive quality equipment now.

Exactly, ignoring everything else, why in the bloody hell would you want to diminish the gene pools of breeds even more?

I have a hurtta coat. It is thick and heavy. But it works pretty damn well (coated dog). I don't let it dry out and it stays wet for quite a while. Sizing is bad though, bought it at the same time as my hurtta rain coat, measured and bought both the same size according to back length. The cool coat is WAY too short where the raincoat of the same size is perfect. But it was via crazy sales so I didn't bother returning and it doesn't bother him if his bum is hanging out. I want to upgrade to the newer Vest version.

I would also suggest doing some research into the curly coated retriever. They do shed, but not like a GSD. But they are a large dark obedient, athletic dog. I like both GSD's and Dobermanns. I'm partial to a good working line GSD myself but if you don't like shedding you might not be able to live with it. I do think a dog needs to look a certain way if you are looking for a protection element. My dog attracts unwanted attention because he's pretty as hell! So yea I don't feel safe going jogging at night with him lol.

Aww thank Raineth, Del is one of my favourites too :) The now dogs that Nova 'grew up' with from the puppy thread will always have a soft spot in my heart. Gus, Nixon, Hank, Nala, Jingo. I too am a Ziggy fan! He's imbedding my love of dals. Leo <3 Oh and Deniki! But I see more of him on Facebook than Dol lol

A year already? I don't believe it! Happy Birthday Ping! Nova has the same harness too

Corn and Wheat makes boy itchy. I avoid those, I don't think they are great for dogs anyway. Agree with starting with what your breeder is feeding. Unless you run into any problems feeding that or it is superbly crap, then transition onto a better quality food, and then yes I am a big fan of the best food is what ever your dog does best on. I'm loving Meals for Mutts at the moment, I've fed a wide range in the past including Proplan, but it wasn't right for my current dog.

They have these stores in Canberra I think? I've never been in one but I've had vet nurse friends work at a non franchise petshop with a connected vet and they haven't had issues. My current vet has a groomer attached to their building too, which seems to benefit people.

What an incredible looking dog. And interesting about the standard I agree.

Tell you what, if you want a toy that lasts for eternity have a look here. http://www.pets1.com...plush-dog-toys/ We got the goons an Octopus last year, it's been the fav all year and its suffered the elements, the dogs playing tug and Rosie determined to shred it and it doesn't have a single pulled thread. Bloody amazing! They're getting another one this year. I wish I had $80 to spend on a giant dragon dog toy lol

considering that there is usually only one bitch in a pack allowed to reproduce I guess without 24/7 supervision you wouldn't be able to use both for breeding, so this is IMO a very unique scenario. For sure you have a lot of experience with your dogs, nerveless I doubt that the dogs' knowledge about your expectations would prevent them from fighting to sort out the rank if left for some time without supervision. we are talking about dogs not wolves or other wild animals. And often in the wild the underlings do manage to breed; they might get killed for their efforts but they do breed. As for the rest well it's just dribble Thank you! The Domestic dog is not a wolf.

Nova doesn't have a tail, but he does have luscious butt floof, I second this. The polish wood ones, they seem to just glide through the hair, first brush he wasn't bothered by on his butt as a puppy. Great for the initial brush to get everything smooth. Then I'll go over with a comb and/or slicker, and finish with the pin brush again and it makes everything nice and shiny.

I got some Cool mats (no water needed) from Aldi recently, local store still had heaps left over. Nova basically lives on them. I also have a Hurtta cool coat (got it on special from Crazy Sales last year), but haven't used it yet.

This is a very important point that is often lost on people who think they "just want a pet". To be quite frank, it gets lost on some people breeding for the show ring also. Lets take Golden Retievers for example as they are so popular AS pets. In Canada, they just about top the bite statistics on kids. You could write that off as just sheer numbers (which is true) or, you could dig deeper. People who breed dogs for hunting need a soft mouth and a fairly high level of activity. Those dogs work HARD. People who think its a great idea to breed quieter dogs as pets might choose calmer dogs. What seemed to be happening for one researcher (and I can't find it now) is that what ALSO went out the window with breeders breeding away from function was bite inhibition and what increased was resource guarding. So does being a "retrieving breed" matter for a Golden Retrieve as a pet? Absolutely it does. You don't want it guarding food (something a hunting dog cannot do if retrieving to hand) and you do not want a hard biter. You may not think it matters when buying a family dog that your Golden Retriever comes from lines with good instincut but it actually does. Function matters. Function determines bite threshold, bite inhibition, independence or people focus, levels of reactivity and protectiveness, and aggression to dogs and people. This is why you need to do your homework on breeds AND find a breeder who has done it on breeding to a specified breed standard informed by function. The whole rationale for pedigree dogs is about predictability of these traits increasing the chances of getting a dog fit for function. I think sometimes that gets lost. Labradors and Goldens were one of the examples I thought of when I wrote that actually. Where do people think that 'soft bite' comes from?

I picked an Aussie (herding breed) because their traits suited me for a companion and multi disciplined sports dog. I would love to do herding with him and test his instinct out but haven't been anywhere near training yet. This may be changing next year, and I'll jump on it. There are herding titles in his pedigree and I know his litter mate went to a 3 sheep trialer, so he might have some potential in there. I think it's important for breeds to retain the instincts of what they were bred for. I think we may possibly lose other characteristics we love as we lose instinct.

You think it's irresponsible to have a dog in bunnings, well it's damn irresponsible to allow a 5 year old child on the internet without close supervision. So if they are reading something that upsets them that is the parents fault for allowing them on a website that is too mature for them. A forum is social media, just like Facebook, and there is a reason Facebook has a 13+ age limit. Do you allow a child to read any book just because it has the comprehension skills to do so?

...I didn't see a forum rule that states an age threshold, however one of the rules is, and I quote from here: •Think carefully about any possible consequences before posting. Be aware that a large audience may see your post (via Google searches etc), and your words may come back to haunt you. Unlike the spoken word, your written posts will exist on here for a long time. We are not obliged to remove your membership or any post you make. ETA:...and why shouldn't they read it?...it is actually a pretty good source to get some good ideas how to behave around strange dogs, and isn't this what we want? Because it is an adult forum and people do not write on here thinking that children might be reading it. ups,...then I recommend that everyone read all of the forums rules again... If you think that 5 year olds should be allowed to read anything on the internet then I seriously question that. Perhaps take a look at websites specifically designed for 5 year olds then back at this one and see if you can spot the difference. 1: Most 5 years olds don't have the reading skills for an adult forum in the first place.

There is so much love and devotion in your posts Westiemum. Run free Mac