Aroura

I might just get some pepper, for just in case and take it to training and walks etc where fights are more likely. I know what you mean about dogs getting nasty over certain things, Lily always does a warning growl and a snap if another dog is around while she is eating, so I always make sure I either feed her inside when the other dogs are out or outside when the others are in. This was completely unexpected though! Yes, poor Tessa, I wanted to take a photo (it was kinda cute :wink: ) but my camera was in the car and the dogs saw me go outside and ran after me! It would have been alot easier for me to break up the fight though if someone else would have used their commonsence and grabbed the other dog! Agh, family huh? Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em. Anyway, only 5 minutes left of Lilys 1st birthday so I'd better run off and give her a cuddle before I get to bed! G'nite! :sleeping:

50 pups a year is alot! :o But, they do look like they know what they're doing and "seem" to be reputable breeders. Of course I can't judge that, not unless I were to go there and check it out for myself. By the sounds of it they keep in touch with many of the people who buy their pups and strive for good bloodlines. Also, when you consider how many farms are in Australia and how many of those farmers need however many dogs, I'm sure the demands are high for these pups.

[quote]If there are two people available, both dogs should have their hindquarters lifted off the ground and then be dragged backwards by the tail. This will confuse the dogs and may cause them to relax their grip on each other. If the hindquarters are not lifted first, the dog may anchor itself by its front feet. Further injuries can then be caused to the other dog. In dogs without tails, the hind legs should not be substituted for the tail, as the dog can easily turn around and bite the person holding it. Grabbing the head or shoulders of one or both dogs is dangerous unless the person doing so can get directly behind the dog's shoulders and have the strength to control its head. [/quote] I don't like the idea of tugging a dog by its tail, plus it never says what to do if it has no tail! LOL BK, could you see me running around the house searching for pepper when I'm worried the dogs might tear each other apart? Its a good idea, but what about when there's no pepper around (we've only got that grindy stuff thats not yet ground... if you get what I mean) Bensam, I've heard about the 'no high pitch squealy noises' thing. Guess its a good thing that when I'm angry I lower my voice. What made it even harder was because its Lilys birthday and I still wanted to treat her like the special birthday girl so it was hard to be angry with her, meanwhile Tessa is the one who copped the worse of the fight and has little bruises around her neck :(

I've heard alot of people say "don't". A few years back a man was killed trying to break up his dogs fighting... but when your own dogs are fighting you can't just sit back and watch them into each other... so what do you do? I had someone tell me tonight to kick them, but I know thats not right! The reason I'm asking is because today when Lily got her birthday present she wasn't interested in unwrapping it, while Tessa sat back and struggled to get it! So I let Tessa open it and then at the last minute Lily got jealous and all hell broke loose, in the middle of our lounge room! Of course I jumped straight in and grabbed Lily while the rest of the family watched me single handedly try to break up the fight (which was basically impossible). As soon as they were apart Lily went straight for Tess again... this time I screamed at my sister to grab Tessa so they would actually stop fighting and we pulled them apart and put them in seperate rooms. For the rest of the day Lily has been growling at Tessa and Tessa has been really scared, she was sleeping in my cupboard before because she saw Lily on my bed :( They've never been in a fight before and Tessa has always been the more dominant one. What do I do?

Speaking of sleazy old men hitting on younger women, every time I go to the pub in the day time (which isn't too often anymore) there's this regular that I call Doug (I can't remember his real name, but I know another sleazy old man called Doug so the name just stick :wink: ). Anyway, everytime I see him he is always blind rotton drunk. Just so you can get the mental image, he's probably about mid 40's to 50, really fat, one of those men who's bellys hangs out over his pants, with really thick glasses. Anyway, every time I see him he comes up and starts talking to me until he gets closer and closer when finally he's got his disgusting gut on me and is saying "am I too old for you?". :oops: It really grosses me out, yet at the same time it's absolutly hilarious!!! :lol: There's alot of old dudes that say that to me, but he's just the one who stands out the most :wink:

These people are crazy and desperate!!!! If they are after a show dog, they should go to shows and do their research and buy the pup from a reputable breeder. If they are just after a certain breed they should go to the breed rescue and save one of these dogs in need. If they are just after a companion they should head down to shelters and save whichever dog takes their heart. Some people are not fit to own a dog, these are some classic examples of such people. To give or sell someone like that a dog, you may as well be taking it straight to the pound. At least then the dog would have a chance to find someone to CARE for it.

I love it when your walking the dog one minute, next minute your surrounded by babes askin about the dog and your like "yeah, well if you want to come on a walk with us some day, my numbers..." :wink: hehe, havn't actually tried that one yet but I should!!!! I saw the most hottest guy I've seen in months at dog training today... but I'm trying to avoid cute people at the moment so I didn't talk to him! But its good though, I use Lily and Tessa to get Luke up on occasions (I'll see him and he'll be like "how are my babys" and I'll tell him they're missing him and they want a visit) and with Steve I use Meeko to get him to visit. Hey, is there any problem with using animals to get cute guys to visit? 8) :lol:

Yeah, I agree with BK about Queenslanders.... what people in their right mind would drink xxxx???! :drinking: Oh, and they have Gordon Tallis as the head of their Rugby team. I could go on, but I'll stop already! :roll: :wink: Anyway, what I wanted to say is in response to a comment on using the money to educate people... although they could be doing alot better job they have been pushing dog clubs to not just train dogs but to try to get the word out and educate the community on not only having obedient dogs, but also on basic dog care etc They're also cracking down with dogs on leads, microchips etc. Its a start I guess. :roll:

I'd like to see her face when her expensive show dog can no longer walk due to a broken back and some fractured limbs :evil: If she's really keen to see her dog win she should take him for swims, get into agility, flyball and frisbee chasing. That way he'll build up all his muscles in a safe way and will have fun while doing it. A mistreated dog is unlikely to win a show anyway as they loose their confidence.

Ok shannon, Lily doesn't eat potato anyway :wink: Bk, what about those nylabones, ever tried them? Do you know if they're good?

At 5 months Lily was 18kg, she was skinny though because she kept going through these growth spurts where I couldn't feed her enough to keep the weight on. Nowdays I give her lots of raw meat and pureed veggies and that keeps the weight on and also gives her a really shiney coat etc.

There's so much I'd like to say, but I think its all been covered!!! I think it's appauling how it says they got a "cold heart" from Bull Mastiffs though, they are the most gentlest breed!!! Oh, and if they had such a cold heart, then why are'nt they banned? Surely they'd be able to kill people easily enough that there'd be a death or two every day from this massive, nasty "cold hearted" breed. I see "Pit Bulls" on TV every few months, of all shapes and sizes. Every time there is an attack its all over the news "Pit Bull mauled 10 year old child" etc, with images of these frightend looking mutts waiting to be put down. All a dog has to do to be considered a Pit these days is be medium to large in size, have a short coat, smiley face and to have attacked someone! I did want to say however, my tiny town of 20,000 people that nobody's ever heard of got a mention! [quote name='K']Chopper is a Pit Bull Terrier, the same breed of dog that mauled 76-year-old Toowoomba woman Barbara Stringer to death on December 27 last year. [color=green]No the dog that killed Mrs. Stringer was NOT AN AMERICAN PIT BULL TERRIER. Attached is a statement from Terry Collicutt Manager of Toowoomba & District Society for the Prevention of Cruelty stating the dog not to be a Pit Bull Terrier but a cross Bull Breed of some sort. Further S. Collier, from the University of New England, Armidale was set to Identify the dog, but the Toowoomba council destroyed the body and were unable to give a reason WHY? [/color][/quote] Oh, and thats the university I'll be at next year, actually think I've even seen that Collier person on the local news. :wink:

[quote name='Shannon_C']My dogs have fruit like apples, pears with occasional cooked vegetables (never raw)...they also have dog treats and dental rasks.[/quote] Why cooked? I always feed Lily pureed Veggies, she gets them every day with her necks - always raw. She thrives on it. K, that disease sounds nasty! :o In future when I get bone's I'll have to specify 'no pork'... they've only given me pork once though, and that was in the last lot of bones I got from them.

Johnny, the message that I am getting from your post is that some dogs have feelings, others don't. Also that some dogs have a right to freedom and a good lifestyle while others can just sit on the end of a chain their whole life simply because they were born as a certain breed. If they were humans, wouldn't that be called racism? The world is full of doggie hitlers that beleive certain dogs should be chained up while others brought inside and loved. Sure alot of people with working dogs do leave their dogs chained up all day every day, but this doesn't mean its right. Also, whether you want to believe it or not, it has been a proven fact that dogs on a chain are 10 times more likely to bite, though this may be partly due to the kind of owners who chain their dogs.

My dogs have always eaten raw bones. Lily gets chicken necks every day, or turkey necks when they're available. Also its a good idea to give your dog a large knucklebone or something once a week for their teeth, something they can only chew and not swallow. I tend to avoid pork bones as they are too hard for the dogs teeth, plus pigs carry diseases and so pork shouldn't be fed raw.

FORGET JAIL, CHAIN THE BASTARD TO A POLE FOR THE REST OF HIS LIFE AND SEE HOW HE LIKES IT! :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :x I can't beleive anyone could be so cruel! :cry: Those pictures made me cry, what I would do to see whoever did that to her have the same punishment put on himself! Anyway, *trying to block out horrid images*... back to an earlier post... [quote name='bout it']my dog is an escape artists, ive got to put a collar on plus a harness an attach them both together.so for some of us "it's a must" :[/quote] How does he escape? There's ways around it, my dog, Tessa is also an escape artist... but seeing as I don't know where I'll be living in 2 months there's no point in making the fence higher all around (its a big yard), so instead we keep her inside. A day never goes by that she doesn't go for a long walk either. Saying that it is a "must" because the dog is an escape artist is an easy way out of fixing the problem... I don't know your circumstances but isn't there anything you can do to save your dog from spending its life on a chain?

Oh, shouldn't it be ok though if the garage isn't used and there is also a suitable kennel area? I don't know, we don't use our garage and its made up like a room, I was offering the oppinion only if the garage is suitable.

[quote name='Mei-Mei']I have a friend whose German Shepherd used to ring the doorbell to come in the house. No one ever taught her this behavior; she just picked it up on her own. Can you imagine the first time he went to the door and it was the dog? :lol:[/quote] That reminds me of a dog that followed me home years ago. When I got home I left it out the front, she wouldn't leave. Then next thing you know, we heard the door bell and went out to see who it was and it was just the dog! I'll never forget that, it was so funny :wink: Anyway, both my dogs are very smart, although I can't think of anything in particular that freaked me out (there have been plenty of things though, just got a mental blank) there's also alot of things they do that are smart. Particulary Tessa. Anytime I take her on a walk, if we walk past a house that I've stopped by even once two years ago she will sit at the gate and wait for me to catch up so we can go in. She's got the best memory of any dog I've ever known, she always knows where she's left the ball and if we go for a walk and she has a stick that she leaves behind, guarenteed if I walk her 3 weeks later she will go straight to that stick, pick it up and want me to throw it. Even if we're walking a different path, she'll wonder off and find it straight away. Oh, and there's that time I told her to cross the road when a car was coming, the car was slowing for us and I ran across with Puddles and Lily and when I turned back Tessa was waiting on the other side until the car passed! Lily hasn't done that many things to spin me out, but she's not even a year old yet so I guess she hasn't had as much time with me, but she does spin me out sometimes just by being so good at obedience and learning so fast. Also the way she observes things, she'll just sit and watch things for hours until she figures it out. She's learnt how to open the sunroom door just by watching us, and when she kept letting herself out and we started locking it she learnt how to unlock it. Whenever I take her to other peoples houses I always sleep with her on the bed so I know when she gets up, because otherwise she'd probably let herself out and get hit by a car! Also when we go swimming there's a bar attached to a rope that people swing off into the water, its impossible for her to grab, but she just sits and looks at it for ages, like her minds ticking over and she's trying to work out how to use it. Oh, and Tessa is usually a bit crazy around little kids, once when we went to Gosford we left her with my Uncle who's son was 5 years old and has alot of disabilitys, including autism and heaps of other stuff. Well, Tessa formed a special bond with him, he would sleep in her kennel and tug her ears while she was eating etc and she just loved him. At the christmas party at grandmas and grandpas they brought her and Jake (my cousin) had wondered off, he always does this but this time no one could find him. We were kind of between the bush, a road and a bay so we were getting kind of worried so I said to Tess "find Jake". She knows the "find" command, and had learnt Jakes name and led us straight to him. He wasn't too far, just in the bush near the house but Tessa was the hero of the day :angel:

OMG, here I am thinking I had a Boxer and a Siamese CAT and now I find out they are BOTH PITS!!! :o I guess Lily was just born as a deformed Pit with a flat face and a clownish personality.... but I don't get what happend to Meeko!!!! Tessa's no Pit, although she does have the same talent of licking people in the eye...

Is the garage empty??? I think the best thing would be to attach a dog run to the garage the full lenght of the garage and about 5 metres out, that way the dog gets the shelter from the garage, the fresh air and mental stimulation etc from outside and plenty of space to move around. If the garage isn't insulated and it would be too pricey to insulate the whole garage, build a kennel inside and insulate that. Just make sure there is plenty of shade in summer, if not cover the run in shade cloth in summer and remove it in winter. Whatever you decide to do, good luck with your new dog!

Thanks guys, I took her for another swim again yesterday and I was all paranoid the whole time. Wherever she swam, I swam too. She didn't swim as much as the other day, but she did begin to sink once though this time she pulled herself back up. It was fun yesterday, normally we are the only people there, maybe there will occasionally be one or two other people. Yesterday there were about 15 dogs and 40ish people there, all swimming and having a good time. There were a group of teenage boys there when we got there and as soon as we arrived Lily grabbed their eye and they're all like "cool, a boxer!!!". Of all the dogs there Lily was the one in the spotlight most of the time :lilangel: It was so funny when we went to leave, Lily went all crazy and was running around everywhere in big circles, then she dissapeared behind a car for a second and when we looked back, there she was, sitting in the drivers seat with her head out the window!!!! :rofl: She just looked so funny, sitting there like she owned the car. Then this guy was walking towards the car laughing because it was his car! :oops: Well, they say that Boxers are the clown of the dog world, Lily proves it to me at least a couple of times a day! :lol!: Majik, she'll be a year old in 9 days, I'm thinking of taking her to the beach for her birthday :D Its gonna be a big one, I've already bought her lots of pressies. If we can't make it to the beach (its 3 hours away) we'll go to the creek that she swims/sinks in and have a picknick. My sisters will be up for the party too, and I'll have some of her doggie friends to meet us at the creek. Its gonna be fun! Anyone else got any ideas to make it a good party? On the weekend we're going to a doggie xmas party with her training class, that she hasn't been to for a long time because she came in heat and now has to start her class again at the beggining. So she'll have fun then too :)

Aww, thanks shannon :eggface:

[quote name='Hobbit']Not everyone has the same income, or the same living arrangements, or nice neighbors, or the perfect dog with the perfect temperment etc...[/quote] Good point Hobbit. I am one of those people who does not have the income to afford one of those shock fences, or to build a six foot high colourbond, BUT that doesn't mean I shouldn't own a dog, does it? Luckily, I'm in the position where I am still at home with my parents, I don't have a lease that has just run out and I am not being kicked out of home with my dog, so I have the time to choose where I will live and find a suitable place with a yard. I think the term "...then you shouldn't own a dog..." is being thrown around far too much, dogs are not disposable objects, just because circumstances change you shouldn't be made to feel guilty just because you own a dog. Yes, I know it IS a privelage to own a dog, but it is also a responsibility that once you own that dog that you do everything in your control to keep that dog, and to keep it in the best living arrangements possible. And yes, sometimes that may be on a chain, even if only for six months, it is better than dumping the dog and finding another one when your situation is better again. Leases run out, people loose jobs and sometimes people who love their dog more than anything else in the world just have no choice. Dogwhisperer, I really think your over reacting... just because I think it was two people said they keep their dogs on chains... and only because they knock down fences etc, you come on here jumping down everyone's throaghts like we are all irrisponsible dog owners. Try a little empathy, maybe not everyone is as well off as you, my suggestion is that you take your snobbish behavior elsewhere and leave us to our civilised conversations.

Aww how cute??? Pity its not an Australian thingie :( Anyway, I've got other things in mind anyway! Lily's 1st birthday is comming up!!! Its on the 4th of december... I went and bought her pressies today, I got her one of those balls that you put food treats in and they roll it around and the treats come out... its called a boredom ball. Kinda pricey but I think she'll like it :) I also got her a new lead (we've already got a cupboard full of 'em, but I liked the look of this one). Its got a good hand grip and its really thick and strong with elastic so it streatches when she pulls!!!! For christmas she's getting one of those thick collars with lots of rows of spikes, she needs it because she's just grown out of all her other collars! Although they cost like $50 :drinking: Tessa will probably get a frisbee, she loves balls so I'm sure she'd love a frisbee!!! Meeko (my playfull puddy tat) is getting one of those things with a ball on a spring so he can chase that around.... don't know about tiger, (what do you get a 10 year old cat that doesn't play anymore???) And what do you buy a rat? I'm thinking of a hammock, but then its his birthday on the 28th so I need something else. The fish are getting and ornament and poor Max, the scorpion I think will have to go without. Oh, the hassle of chrismas!!! I just hope everyone likes their presents!

A few weeks ago, before we relised it was a 'no dog' house, I wanted to move in with my friend, whose house has a big yard but no fence. I was trying to work out how the best way to put a fence up would be, seeing as it is a split unit with a joint back yard. Everyone kept on telling me I should just chain her up. I refused, they all told me that I could get her one of those long runners and she could run around and stuff and she would be fine. I don't know about anyone else here, but even if they have all the running space in the world I still don't beleive that dogs belong on chains and unless it was a life or death situation there is no way I would ever chain my dogs up, especially Lily who gets seperation anxiety as it is. Would you chain your dog up?