Aroura

Oh thats terrible!!! Our gate is padlocked, Lily is an expert at opening anything humans can, only has to watch us unlock and open a door a couple of times until she figures out how to do it herself, she's a smart cookie. So we had to put a padlock on it - the gas man has been once since we've moved in though, Lily was trying to eat him through the fence so he had no choice but to yell out to me! Have you considered getting another one? Thats so wrong of them not to take any action, they can't just go around letting other peoples dogs out, you'd think there'd be laws about that wouldn't you? Well, exciting news everyone! One of the people I emailed got back to me, she rarely breeds but what she does breed are quality pups - about $200 more than the average whippet, but they go for car rides from the day they open their eyes and are from grand champion lines. Because they are socialised right from day one the breeders think its important to continue to socialise them, so have even written a book that they give out with them, coaching owners from the day they buy the pup to the day it dies. They come with a bag of food and some favourite toys they are used to playing with. Josh has decided he wants to own this dog with me, which is great, it will be OUR dog :D These breeders have a litter due at the end of May, and are taking deposits now, so I talked to Josh and if we each put away $50 a fortnight, by the time the puppies are 8weeks old we would have paid one off :angel: Its still all in the maybe stages now, but it will be perfect if we do get one of these puppies. I've been suprised to see the standard of whippet breeders! Everyone I've heard back from so far has had really nice kennels with lots of champion, well cared for dogs, and all emphasise early and continued socialisation.... though what suprised me most was how hard to come by whippet breeders are! Anyway, this particular kennel has really nice looking whippets, here is a link to their page: [url]http://www.lisp.com.au/~chasbank/index.html[/url] Go and have a look! :D

What happend with the gas man? I've always heard that retired greyhounds make great pets, I'd even consider one if I wasn't after a puppy - my last two dogs were older when I got them so I really want a puppy now :wink:

Hmmm, I've never actaully been to a greyhound race, but I've seen them on tellie but it doesn't LOOK like they're barking.... :-?

Thanks courtnek and doggylover. There used to be a little dog down the road that I thought was a whippet. It was very timid and kind of turned me off whippets for a while... then I was thinking about it the other night and realised that it was too small for a whippet and was probably an Italian Greyhound! Courtnek, from your post it seems they are a wonderful breed. I only ever use motivational training, I wouldn't know what to do without it, I've got Papillons! I listened to the sound demo... ok it says bloodhounds - do whippets sound the same? Are they howlers? I've received back an email from a breeder, she seems nice and gave me the phone number of an Afghan hound breeder and show judge that might be able to help me if I decide to show! Here is the whippet breeders site: [url]http://www.geocities.com/sheberghankennel/center.htm[/url]

I'm a bit worried about going to a rescue, as I've said I really want to know where the lines are coming from - if I'd looked more into Lilys breeder and the dogs she bred I may have not got Lily, she is not the first aggressive one to pop up from her lines. I'm happy to help lives of dogs in need, I volunteer my time for the RSPCA and have my name down to care for animals until they find a new home - but I don't want one for myself. I want to get a puppy from good lines, which is why I'm emailing breeders to find out about thier lines, most good breeders will be honest and I would only buy from someone who I felt was being honest with me.

Does anyone know anything about whippets? Of all the breeds in the dog book it was the only one Josh and I both liked, I liked a few others as well, but feared they may turn out aggressive like Lily and I never want to go through this heart ache again :cry: So what are they like temprement wise? I want to know everything I can before I decide on a breed!

My boyfriend doesn't like spaniels, and seeing as he will have to live with it too I've decided we'll buy a dog that we both like. A whippet. BUT I'm hoping to drag him along to a dog show and change his mind to get a spaniel!!! The welsh springers seem a lovely breed, and I've even found myself a top breeder who I've been emailing :wink: Might be able to convert him yet :P

I'm very glad you were able to swing Athena around, it must of taken a lot of patience, hard effort and love on both of your behalf. The difference between her and Lily though is that Lily has become this way despite all the love and training in the world. Some dogs just have a screw loose, its unfortunate and very heart breaking, but its something you have to face, and I think Lily is one of them. If she was chained up and abused for part of her life I would understand her behaviour completely, but she wasn't. Even if I did think I could desensitise her with time and effort, where would I get the children from? I don't know anyone with children, so it would be hard to get them over so that Lily could get used to them. I've tried desensitisation with dogs, and she still goes for them despite early and continued efforts, so I have no doubt in my mind that it wouldn't work with people either. Thanks for your help and suggestions, but sadly I really think it is the only way out to prevent a tragic accident which could cost some one their life :cry:

Thank you everyone so much your support. I knew you would understand. Most people when I tell them are like "why would you do that?" and haven't even heard of anyone putting their beloved pet to sleep before, to prevent what could end up a horrible tragedy. [quote]I look at it like this... no dog can be happy living like that, on the edge and wanting to be a good dog, but not quite able to resist that urge. [/quote] That is so true, it sums Lily up completely, she wants to be good but her aggression over rides that. She is such a perfect dog in every other way. Courtneck, Lily doesn't seem to really have the signs that your friends dog had. She doesn't do things that are "out of character", she has shown signs since she was a puppy, pushing between me and the other puppys she was with, and telling them off if they didn't back down. This turned to her always having to be the dominant player at dog training, if a dog was dominant she would get in a fight. This turned to her pulling, growling, screaming and lunging at all dogs, despite continued socialization. As for humans, it began with toddlers, and has slowly progressed upwards towards older and older people, getting more and more feirce as time goes by. I spoke to one of the trainers at dog training this morning. She has been there through the whole thing, suggesting methods I should use to get over her problems. This woman is also a behaviourist and is a doctor of animal behaviour. She knows Lily, and she loves Lily, and she knows everything I have tried to fix the behaviour, so having her agree that it is the best thing to do really made me feel better about my decision. I have tried everything, and she can't see the behaviour getting better. The fact that I have tried everything and she still keeps getting worse makes us pretty sure it will not just go away. Even if I get to the point where I can walk past a kid on the street without her trying to attack it, can I trust her not to attack a kid that jumps the fence to get a ball? Or what about if she gets out and a little kid runs up to her to pat her? I can't be there all the time, and I will never get her to the stage where she will be reliable without my constant eye watching over her. Hazel, big hugs to you. I remember what you went through with Hazel, I remember crying as I read your posts, and I remember hoping that it would never come to that with Lily. I don't blame myself, nor should you. I know I've done everything I can, and I know I am only doing this for the good of every one - even Lily, it would be a miserable life for her to be locked up all the time, never going for walks. I know I'll miss her terribly, I love her so much, but sometimes you've got to realise what is for the best for everyone. Malamum, its not a recent thing. To be honest I was ashamed to admit that my dog was a potential child killer, I couldn't admit it to myself, let alone anyone else. I'm glad you got Indy under control. It is one thing to have a dog aggressive dog, a terrible thing, but nothing compared to having a child aggressive dog. I can't just keep going every day, hoping that some day I'll be able to fix her behaviour, because in the meantime she could kill some one. Although, I don't think that Lily would get over her problems, no matter what I try. Like I've said alredy, the fact that I've already tried everything and she continues to get worse is why I believe this. Kat, I will have the vet have a look at her eye when I take her in. I don't think this is the case though because she doesn't go off only when something approaches her from the side, she ALWAYS goes off if she sees a child, even if she has seen it a long way away and has watched it approach, then when it is near and she can see it clearly she just goes off even more and wont stop until the child has gone away. She doesn't have bad eyesight, she can see things from ages away. I'm so sorry about Rio ellieangel, he was a stunning dog. Mei-mei, I wish you all the best with Devi, I don't want you to have to go through the trauma that some of us have already been through, that I am going through right now. Thank you again everybody, I don't know what I would do without your support :cry:

Has anyone had experience with the two breeds? I know its early for me to be looking into other breeds, but I love having a big dog and don't want a breed that is at all likely to turn aggressive, this decision about Lily is breaking my heart so much and I would never want to go through something similar again, I'm really going to look into breeders before buying, Lilys breeder left a lot to be desired of her, but I thought that because she was a pedigree that meant she had good lines - apparently she's not the first in her lines to turn aggressive. I want a dog as docile as possible, yet intellegent and energetic, which is why I'm considering these two breeds. I love doing agility and would like a dog who would love it as much as me. Lily loves agility, and she was just getting really good at it, she's been getting first place in obedience too ever since I started taking her. I wish I could keep going with her :cry:

Thank you sharpei girl. Knowing that I'm not the only one whose had to make this awful decision does ease the pain and confusion a little. I'm sorry to hear about Sassy, can I ask how old she was? Courtneck, can you tell me more about this dog? Was it a growing problem over a long period of time or was it rather sudden? Thanks Newfie. She has indeed had a very stressfull life, but its the fact that we've settled down now and she has routine in her life, yet she is becoming increasingly aggressive every day, that worries me. She's not unwinding, she knows her place now and is becoming worse. At first when she started barking at people I thought it wasn't too bad, I had myself a great guard dog and nobody would come near me with Lily on the lead, but when she started to lunge at little kids I started to get worried. Have you ever seen a little terrier bearing its teeth and jumping around madly trying to get at another dog to attack it? This is what Lily is like, except she is a very powerful 25kg boxer going at little kids, who begin to cry in fear. This happens to every kid we pass down the street. She is a time bomb, I couldn't live with myself if she got out and killed someones kid, or even if she just bit one and her last moments were being thrown in a cold cement cage on her own, and getting put to sleep. :cry:

Thanks Izzy. However hard it is for me, I'm glad that its me making the decision, and not the council if she belonged to anyone else who didn't take care of her like I do and didn't make the decision themselves. Like I said, I don't want her to be another dog attack statistic :cry:

I've spoken to the behaviourist at dog training, but the thing is as long as she is trying to attack children it is a risk trying to desensatise her to them. I plan to have kids of my own one day, even if she gets to the point where I can walk her without her trying to attack everyone we pass, I will never be able to trust her with kids. I will speak to the vet and see what they say. I'm pretty sure its just personal issues for her though, they have been progressivly getting worse since she was about 9 months old, and even before that I could see the tendancys. She's not just mental, I can startle her in her sleep and take bones off her and she doesn't even flinch, but walking her past people or dogs is just a nightmare and an tragedy waiting to happen. The more I think about it the more I realise its the right thing to do :cry:

I'm crying so much, I love Lily more than anything, but I know the only thing I can do is get her pts :cry: I've tried so hard to get her over her aggression, but she has become so bad that I can't even walk her anymore without worrying that she's going to snap her collar and kill some ones kid. I don't want her to be another statistic :cry: I'm so upset, Lily is my life, I love her so much, I don't want her to go :cry: She's so dangerous, I don't want to get home one day to find some ones kid dead in the yard after jumping the fence to get a ball. You all know how much I love Lily, but I couldn't live with myself if she killed or maimed some ones child, its going to happen sooner all later and I can't have that knowledge and do nothing about it. I'm so upset I can hardly type. Why did my baby turn out like this? After everything I've done? I've socialised her and taken her to training ever since she was a pup. Why my baby? I've done everything I could, she goes for a 4km walk every day, she sees people every day, so why does she want to kill them? :cry: Somebody, please say something to make it better. I'm so upset :cry: [img]http://home.austarnet.com.au/creamy_pumkin/Dogs/Lily/Lily1.jpg[/img] [img]http://home.austarnet.com.au/creamy_pumkin/Dogs/Lily/LilyOnChair.jpg[/img] [img]http://home.austarnet.com.au/creamy_pumkin/Dogs/Lily/LilyHide.jpg[/img] [img]http://home.austarnet.com.au/creamy_pumkin/Dogs/Lily/LilyBright.jpg[/img] [img]http://home.austarnet.com.au/creamy_pumkin/Dogs/Lily/LilyBright3.jpg[/img]

Oh I'm so sorry to hear!!! Its terrible when they go so quickly. My heart goes out to you. *Hugs*

Oh Horsefeathers, you have nothing to worry about... reading this post I was actually planning to reply that he probably didn't mean it like that, and he had your best intentions in mind etc, but then you, well he, took the words out of my mouth! lol, when people you know say something that offends you, often the best thing to do is to take a step back and look at the other possibilitys that they could have meant. By my definition of hoarder, well I'm a hoarder, I'll grab animals left right and centre, I LOVE TO BE SURROUNDED BY THOSE I LOVE! That doesn't mean I don't care for them, but frankly I do hoard them, though only as many as I can look after! I'm glad you had things straightend out :wink:

Hmmm, does this one work? [url]http://dailytelegraph.news.com.au/story.jsp?sectionid=1260&storyid=1233365[/url] Hope so!

For warm ups I try to make them as fun as possible to get full attention. I'll do a few fun tricks (Montie spins, bows, dances and walks backwards) and incorperate some downs, sits etc. Then I'll do some "with me"s, teaching the dog to remain on your side that your arm is out, to teach this just hold a bit of food in each hand and run along, doing turns and changing your hand that is out, making sure your dog realises it is now THIS hand that is offering the treats. Its a great warm up exercise, as it warms you up as well as your dog, and gets your dog focusing on your leading hand. Then I'll incorperate a jump or another obsticle into the with me's, if your just beggining and your dog doesn't understand the obsticles though of course you wont be doing this! Pretty much, start off more slowly, then faster, then add obsticles one at a time to warm the dog up for the jumps ahead :wink:

A bit of a weird question here, not all that dog related but related to this topic. As I've mentioned on many posts, our garden is out of control. I've recently pulled down the biggest vine you'll ever see, I recently found out its a climbing rose of some sort. Its turned our backyard not only into a jungle, but like a dumpster now, as I don't have anywhere to put it! We've also got a huge forest of privet in the back corner that needs to go. I WANT TO GET A GOAT TO CLEAN IT ALL UP!!! :lol: I have no idea where to get one from, but its the best idea I've had yet! I went to a kiddy farm in the mall yesterday with goats and AN ABSOLUTLY ADORABLE cute little cuddley wuddley (I'm getting clucky over it!) 2 week old piglett!!! Of course I have no use for a pig here, but was wondering if anyone knew if privet or climbing roses were poisenous to goats!!! I hear they will eat anything, can anyone verify?

Courtnek, you are spot on!!! Cassie is such an innocent soul, she curls up and sleeps like a lady, she cuddles like a lady and she walks like a lady, Montie on the other hand spells BRAT, hence the nick name brat dog - instead of rat dog like everyone else calls little dogs! :lol: They make a great pair, Cassie always comes and snuggles up close while Montie hangs off one of my hands, chewing it, or dances around with a toy trying to get me to play - they are so different! They make a cute couple though, every time I walk them every one stops and I hear them saying "aww, look at the little dogs! Their ears are so BIG!!!"... to which I can never help but reply "Oh yes, they are Papillons, french for butterfly, they are bred so their ears look like a butterfly" :wink: Everyone wants to steal them, I'm having a difficult time trying to convince everyone that they are MINE!!! Which Cassie makes even harder by snuggling right in to anyone new, she loves new people, the was she snuggles is that she presses herself right against you with her front paws wrapped around your chest and her back legs just go froggie, so she's in as close as she can be. No wonder why everyone wants to steal her :wink:

That depends on how well she knows her name already, and how much you can't stand her old name! :lol: When I got Montie he was 14 months old, his name was Frankie before hand, but he was from a breeder with 20 dogs and so he never properly learnt his name anyway. So when I got him I retrained him to respond to "Montie". I sat with him on my lap and every now and again I said "Montie" and gave him a treat, once he started looking at me when I said "Montie" I knew he was learning his name. He now responds better to his name than any other dog I know! Cassie on the other hand was 4 when I got her, been a show dog and had a lot of attention payed to her, she new her name very well so I didn't bother changing it.

Bourks Backyard is an Australian show, but I'm sure many of you will recognise the name from all the flaming us Aussies have given him for running a puppy mill and pushing cross breed dogs to the public. Well this article spells releif for so many dog lovers around Australia. [url]http://dailytelegraph.news.com.au/story.js...storyid=1233365[/url] Thumbs up to channel nine! Isn't it just great? :angel:

Thanks Malamum!!! Most of you probably know that Montie is the little squirt on the right. So on the left, allow me to introduce Cassie!!! The reason they look so different is because Cassies lines are English, and Montie (who is probably not 100% up to standard) has lines from all over the world, mostly america. There are some Papillons of similar type to Montie who are excelling in the show rings in Australia. I guess it is just one of those breeds where different dogs of that breed can do as well in the show ring as the dogs of the same breed that look quite different! They are both gorgeous though, aren't they? :wink:

What is Lyme disease? When I was doing work experience in Culburra Beach a cat came in with a paralysis tick, pretty nasty stuff, it had spread as far as the cat dragging its back legs but thankfully we stopped it. Dad always tells a story about this tough dog he used to live near, apparently it could survive anything and had built up an immunity to paralysis ticks! :o

Eww, doesn't sound pleasant!!! I probably shouldn't assume that EVERYWHERE in Australia that ticks are coastal, thats just what I've heard and I know we don't get them here, but I guess other inland places may not be the same.