Tibbie_tabbie

Beautiful story. I miss my sheps.

Letting your dog run amock with kids, adults, other dogs, whoever - is rude. Encouraging your dog to run up to children playing is downright wrong. Everyone has already commented on why. In addition a child could have a bad allergy, asthma..... My dogs are very good with children and one of them looks like a teddy bear, but it never fails to surprise me how many parents send their kids off to grab at my dogs. I always make sure I tell the children they should ask before approaching and then show them how to stroke nicely and where. I have to protect my dogs from the children!

I understand it is horrible when this sort of thing happens, and when people judge your dogs (believe me, as a previous owner of GSD's and SBT's and a dog sitter of an AmStaff and rottie) However please don't judge people who are scared. I grew up with a friend who pales when she sees dogs, her mum had been attacked when she had been a child and passed the fear on. It was real terror and affected her day to day life, she couldn't visit my house or others with dogs (even with them locked outside/in a run she would panic in case they got out - may I add they were very well trained and didn't bark if we told them not to). Couldn't walk into a shop if a dog was tied to a nearby post, go to the local park, etc. Not a fun way to live Also if someone has a dog and crosses the road, regardless of the dogs breed, it may be that their dog is reactive/DA.

Yep, I got antlers for a pic for Christmas for mine. Our families are overseas so it was was a cute festive pic to send them. The dogs loved it as they got paid in liver ; P I have a raincoat for my tibbie X (non fleecy, just rain proof), otherwise he gets soaked and takes a long time to dry. My JRT X gets very cold, especially when we go camping, so I bought her a Polartex fleece which she loves. She also have a fleecy raincoat and won't go outside without it when it's raining. Both have no problems at all wearing them, they are fitted well and the dogs were introduced to them with treats. I don't care what people think, I'll do what is best for my dogs.

The denial is amazing juice. I remember flat out saying to people "your dog will not pass, it will be PTS today", and they're still saying "Oh no no, she'll be fine once she calms down", as the poor dog is standing there terrified and snapping at the staff They just won't accept it. Even when you give them other options ie: rescue, rehoming themselves etc. We even had people coming in saying they needed to rehome their dog as it bit their child, we had to actually tell them that no, if they don't want a dog that bites, why do they think someone else would??! They actually think it's fine to just rehome a biting dog. The ignorance is astonishing. It's not ignorance, it's people not willing to take responsibility. They can't man up and have the dog pts themselves so they shift the blame. Of course it's the abandoned, scared dog that suffers In this case why not take the dogs to a boarding kennels?! Or speak to a rescue asap? Surely you know if you have to move somewhere you can't have dogs?

I agree with washing powder - anything with enzymes! I heard the worst doggy dirt story....the owners had one of those automated hovers that drive themselves around the room whilst you are at work. They also had a pug, who had never had an issue with the Hoover. Unfortunately one day the poor pug had an upset stomach and pooped in the living room........the Hoover then came along and evenly spread the poop all over the carpet..... D :

I'm so sorry for your loss.

For goodness sake is there one thread that you can keep your hatred of dogs from The main triggers for dog aggression are not breed specific. My thoughts are with the people who had to fight off three dogs I hope they are healing okay and dont suffer to many physical or mental scars Yep - I'm sure a number of people were bitten by aggressive small breeds this weekend as well, not news due to minimal injury. I hope the couple recover quickly, it sounds like an awful sustained attack.

+ 1 :D

Yep - the exact same training - the beeps will become a good thing then something they don't even notice :) Ha ha, it does take a little time, but it's worth it! It was also part of lil girls training as a whole - she was so insecure. It was nicer doing that training than when we would spend evenings sat on the pavement positively reinforcing bikes, people, buses, cars, trees.......... :laugh:

Although I have never experienced this myself, I had a friend allergic to his wifes new cats. He took allergy tablets (like the ones for hay fever) for a couple of weeks then seemed to build up an immunity? Not sure if he was just lucky though....... Good luck, I hope you are able to sort this out soon.

When we first adopted our lil girl she was off the scale reactive.....including beeps on tv or even the noise when the volume was changed! We used positive reinforcement training (good girlllllll *treat* Beep...no bark...good girlllllll *treat*). It took some time but worked a treat, no reacting anymore

My JRT cross is a lazy bones. We wake her up, literally in the morning. She'll walk to the lounge and then go to nap again until we call her (and sometimes persuade lol) her to come on morning walks. Then it's home, a bit of brekkie and into the bean bag where she will sleep almost all day. Then evening walk/run, dinner and then more sleep! We have cameras to watch them and when we first adopted her I rushed home as I actually thought she may have died as she hadn't moved position in so long! My lil boy pup and I play a lot but if it means waking up she won't join in.........not interested lol. But then this is also the dog that has faked a limp/thrown herself to the ground to avoid running or to cut a walk short. I even had her checked at the vets incase it was arthritis or something but it just turned out to be lazyitis. So much for being my running buddy! :laugh:

BDJ, I get what you are saying and yes it is too easy to buy from a pet shop. If a family waits 6 months for a dog it usually means theyve thought it through properly. As for the breeders questions, again I think people do need to know what is expected of them. They will pass and be allowed to buy a pup if they are suitable for the breed. I know people who complain because a rescue turned them down for a certain dog. I try and explain they are looking for the best match for them and the dog. I know if my girl had gone to a family who wanted an 'easy' dog she'd have boomeranged right back....again.

Could the RSPCA not take the dog in this instance? Sounds like abuse to me.

True, I forget not everyone grew up with dogs..... I've met people who think their dog will automatically act a certain way (ie train itself) as soon as it gets old enough : / Thing is if they bought from a breeder they would learn this stuff, traits etc.

Whaaaaaaat?! Lol, I've never bought from a breeder myself (although my parents did), so I didn't have any idea those were the prices! What would a pure poodle cost out of interest?

Really?! I didn't realise, I refuse to buy ANYTHING from stores that sell pups/kittens and just assumed they were cheaper (as mixed breed, etc) So it really is a case of impulse buying/ no questions asked then? I guess my question is why do people buy from pet shops?

Sadly too many people just can't see the reason to spend the extra $ to buy from a reputable breeder. They'd rather not think about where pup came from Very sad. Ban pet shop/Internet sales and I'm pretty sure the stray/homeless dog issue would greatly improve, not to mention the quality of life for many dogs/responsible ownership. Good breeders don't just sell their pups to the highest bidders.

Kathy kopellis Mcleod

Woo! Yay for happy endings :)

Any news? Did the visit go well?!

My issue is that people breed these dogs without realising the time and money involved. What happens if they can't sell the puppies? Do they make sure the people purchasing the dogs are suitable? Take the dogs back if things don't work out? Or will they end up in the pound with all the other unwanted dogs Big difference between ethical, professional breeders and these people

Exactly. I love the big strong dogs, I grew up with GSD's. However with the larger dogs you can't risk getting it wrong, if you do it can have horrific consequences. It also isn't fair for a dog to live a lifetime of being confined to a small area due to aggression. However, it seems Horse is in the right hands, being assessed and he won't be released without a number of tests. I can understand why the second behaviourist would like to speak to the first - they need to know what was presenting and try to work out why it isn't now.