Aroura

I used to have allergies to dogs, thank dog they are gone! Still, to be on the safe side I would recommend a standard poodle, they are one of the most versatile breeds, loyal, affectionate, always up for a good hike and make great indoor dogs, plus they are hypo-allergenic. There is always the potential that Kasey could develop allergy's also if it runs in the family, you never know. But I honestly think you would be more than happy with a standard poodle, plus you could do really well with obedience and agility trialling which is so much fun! I went to a dog show on the weekend, a standard poodle won best in show both days, when it went up with its owner to get its award it bounced up on its hind legs and all the way out of the ring like that, it was so cute! :lol:

I agree with Kat, but didn't want to start an arguement. As for them looking regal, if you want regal, get a Whippet! :D

Oh, just want to clarify about what I said about it being annoying that Merlins breeders is one of the very few that doesn't dock anymore - I mean it is annoying that no one else is obeying the law NOT that its annoying that she doesn't dock! I also wanted to comment on the NZ Dobe you posted, seems to me the syle of stacking isn't so different to other area's but that particular Dobe just doesn't have great bend of stifle or a particularly long second thigh. I really like the America/Canada Dobe - my sister is thinking of getting one, I might suggest one from American lines... unlike the Boxers, the American Dobes are quite nice! (My personal opinion only :wink: ).

I agree that his leg could be a fraction further back, Whippets have to be vertical as well but it looks to me like in that particular shot the legs are a fraction too far in. Not to worry though, it is hard to stack a puppy, believe me I KNOW!!! Boxers are notoriously wild pups ya know :wink: How old is he? He is GORGEOUS!!! And I LOVE his daddy!!! On the cropping, I guess what it primarily comes down to is what you're used to. Personally I couldn't think of anything worse, BUT then again, previously I couldn't have thought of anything worse than an UNdocked Boxer, but now I'm getting used to it I kinda like it! A bit of a pain though, it bangs everything and I'm constantly worried it's going to get injured (with the extrodinarilly high rates of undocked Boxers needing amputations from tail injuries!). What is also annoying is that Merlins breeders is one of the VERY FEW show breeders that obeys the law and leaves pups natural. All the rest are still docking. Hence, a lot of judges wont put up a dog with a tail, despite the law. I was very proud though, that at 17 weeks of age my tailed baby won best opposite over a bitch that is almost 6 months old and docked! From reasonably good kennels too, beat Merlins only other competition in the region at the last show so I'm quite positive that Merlin will have lots of wins to come! Apparently the judge just loved Merlin and said he was an extremely good specimen of the breed :D Now, cropped ears on a Boxer... THAT is ugly! :lol: (No offence to any cropped Boxer owners!). Are you showing Trice?

Well Josh's parents and grandma own the farm, so they wont be shooting him or putting him in for a dangerous dog act. However, he is being kept locked up now - he was before also but he found ways to get out and seeing as he has grown up around sheep and doesn't have an aggressive bone in him I didn't freak out too much, he has always run around with the sheep and just ignored them. I'm looking to move at some point in the future and wanted to move to another place out of town so the dogs could run around like they do now, only I've changed my mind now. I'm just lucky Josh's parents own the farm :-? JM, I wish the sheerers here were like that. When I was working in the wool shed every sheep got a few slashes, some got large cuts in which case the sheerers would pull a needle and thread out of their pocket and stitch it up on the spot! I didn't mean sheep don't feel pain, but I have heard that their pain is numbed - but then again I guess you hear a lot of things in your life time... I think some of you got the impression that I don't take this seriously, of course I take it VERY seriously and am making every effort to ensure it never happens again.

Oh a Pyr, I would love so much to own one of them, what a beautiful breed. Of course it would be in their nature to be friendly to sheep I believe? I don't know what was going through Diego's mind when he was tearing the wool of that poor sheep. I imagine it would have been a game for him, he loves wool, he is in no way an aggressive dog and I'm certain his intentions wouldn't have been bad. :drinking:

Yes, poor sheep. Its a good thing they don't feel things much, they have been selectively bred not to feel pain because when they are shawn they always get huge cuts along them. Still, I feel SO terrible :cry: He is in the run with Merlin at the moment, I'm so glad Josh got that built before he left - it's great, its huge and even has netting across the roof to prevent Eagles from getting Montie!

My darling Diego has been a very, VERY naughty boy! :o He has been finding ways out of the yard and yesterday I found him down the paddock chewing on a sheep! :x The poor thing had half the wool on one side of it torn off and was walking around, bleeding and in pain. I feel terrible :cry: Now he has to be either inside, outside being watched, or in the dog run that Josh built for him. When Diego was younger I wanted a potty lamb so that I could socialise Diego with it and get him used to living with sheep and not hurting them, but Josh's nan wanted all of them and the farmers attitude was that she rang him up too often needing help so he just wasn't picking any more up that he found wandering around, so I missed out :( Now I'm a bit angry about it all, it could have been avoided if everyone had stopped being so damn stubborn and let me take one for a couple of weeks while Diego got used to it. Too late for that now, I think if we can't find a way to keep him in without him having to be locked in a run I am going to have to move :(

How exciting! My dogs all get their 6 month, one year, then one and a half year birthday celebrations before they go down to yearly celebrations. They don't get as many birthdays as us, so we've got to make a celebration out of every chance we get :angel: Diego also had his "first tooth lost" celebration, and of course the "becoming a man" celebration when he first cocked his leg! Merlin has had the "undecended testicle finally coming down" celebration which was really exciting for all of us :lol: :lol: :lol: :bday:

Lucky me, I don't get cramps either - but I used to live with a girl who was in bed for days with them. Poor thing :(

Merlin and Diego are the same, they are both so fussy. These days I just give them one big bowl of food between them because then they both eat their fill. Whatever works! :lol:

DAL, I am sorry to hear about you and your husband. I have only just read all the posts about it and it is very upsetting - stay strong and if you need support just PM me. I agree with some, that running away to Texas is not the answer, dogs or no dogs. Maybe you could wait until the end of the year and see how things work out? I know it seems like a long time, but not when you consider that you have a life time commitment to these dogs - I can understand that you can't take all of them with you, but what if you were to stay where you are now? Why do you have to move to Texas just because you and your husband have split up? What ever you do, I hope everything works out for the best :wink:

I can sympathise with you. When the dogs and I visit my sisters (which is practically every day) there are 8 dogs in the house, so if one farts its anyones guess who did it. These days it's usually Merlin! :oops:

I was in Sydney the other day and passed this shop called "Pets on Broadway" - I stood outside the window, practically drooling - we don't get shops like that where I live! Unfortunately they were closed, but they had a bottle of "Vitamin Enriched Kong Stuffing" that I was just dying to buy! They also had glow in the dark studded collars, thats another story, the thought of one of them on Montie is just too much for me to handle - I must get one! LOL :lol: :lol: :lol: I usually use a combination of yoghurt with kibble, 4 legs dog food and some vegiemite, then I freeze it. In the cooler months though I just stuff it with 4 legs, vegimite and peanut butter (which I know you can't use, can't think of any substitutes though). You can also use honey, melted cheese... the options are endless provided you know what is not bad for your dog!

Thats right gigi, you should NOT add egg shells to a commercially prepared diet - these diets are made to have the correct balance of calcium to phosphorus and adding egg shells give an excess of calcium. However, if you are feeding meat without bones or adding different things to a commercial diet that do not include calcium then it is ok to add egg shells. Is that confusing enough for you? :wink:

If you're feeding a commercially prepared food then adding egg shells will unbalance the calcium levels. I just put whole eggs in the processer, shell and all, when I am making up their meatballs, but a lot of people will dry them in the oven, or air dry them, then crush them into a powder and add a little to the meatballs each time they are fed.

Canis, raw chicken bones are quite safe, it is only cooked ones that are a real worry. I have had my dogs nearly choke to death on kibble on a number of occasions, needing me to shove a finger down their throat to dislodge it, but have never had a problem with any sort of raw bone (except beef bones, you should never feed a strong jawed dog beef bones as they can break their teeth as my sisters dog did). Raw chicken and lamb bones are the best, cheapest and safest bones to feed. Joseph, what sort of dog is Ares? Dogs are designed so that if they ingest bone that is too large they will gag it back up, that may explain the throwing up. The urinating may have been a nervous reaction. What size bones were you feeding? Smaller bones (like kibble) can get caught and actually cause a dog to choke. You should be feeding bones large enough that the dog cannot swallow it without chewing properly. I know a lady who almost lost her Maremma because she swallowed a sawn off peice of lambs neck. Turkey neck can be a danger to larger dogs, and chicken necks for smaller dogs - they are just the right size to slide down and get lodged in the throat. Is Ares ok now?

Wish I could get Wellness here :roll: Oh well, the majority of their diet is still natural anyway. As far as I've heard from other Aussies, Eagle Pack is the best stuff you can get here. Diego is fattening up quite nicely :wink:

My dogs eat a natural diet. I just bought a bag of Eagle Pack Power formula to give my Whippet in the morning to fatten him up, and have a bag of Eagle Pack large breed puppy formula on the way for my Boxer pup to feed in addition to his natural diet. The other brand I would consider buying for my dogs is Innova, except I can't order that one in. So far though, I'm very happy with the Eagle Pack Power, the dogs seem to love it and it gives them so much energy! My Whippet is usually very lazy, but after feeding him some of that he was racing around the back yard like a maniac! I will only feed my dogs Science Diet if I don't have access to raw foods and there is nothing else available. Even with the Eagle Pack, I would not feed any brand of dog food without feeding raw bones at least once a day.

Aside from the fact that it has stripes it doen't look like a Tazzie Tiger to me. My question is - if it is authentic why is he posting pics on the internet instead of taking it to a museum or zoologist? Seems a little strange to me. Is there a possibility of it being a hybrid with something?

I'm loving having 4 dogs, it is very easy, Diego and Merlin play all day, as do Montie and Cassie. Everyone gets along well and I never have any troubles with them - well unless you call frequent trips to the vets troubles! LOL, I panick at every tiny thing, I'm one of those mums who'll take them to the vet at any little snuffle and its costing me a fortune - but it is a small price to pay for peace of mind... Speaking of things that cost a fortune... I just ordered $200 worth of dog food - better not tell Josh :o :lol:

Oh, and also as promised - more of Montie and Diego. Cassie never seems to be in the room when I am taking photos! But I'll try to get a few of her for the next lot of photos I post! [img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v299/Aroura/DiMonApril05.jpg[/img]

As promised I am posting more updated photos of Merlin, with an update, of course :wink: Well he is turning out to be quite a clever little cookie! His "come"s are rock solid, he learnt to sit in about a minute, more clever still he learnt to speak on command in about five, then learnt to "bounce" also in just a couple of minutes - it is very rare for a pup to learn so quickly through pure shaping! I can see that he will probably excell in obedience, agility and in the show ring, such a special little pup! He is putting on a steady 200g every day, and he is getting quite heavy now! Soon I wont be able to carry him around! He is goint to be a big boy when he grows up. I took him to the vet the other day to check his testicles (only one had dropped) and the other had come down, so I was very happy about that :D Anyway, enough with the chit chat, I know what you're all waiting for - PHOTOS!!! :angel: This first one is of Merling snoozing, in the typical "Boxer position" [img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v299/Aroura/MerlBack10wks.jpg[/img] Here he is, sleeping sweetly [img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v299/Aroura/MerlSnooze10wks.jpg[/img] And posing for the camera - this is my favourite [img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v299/Aroura/MerlPose10wks.jpg[/img] Looking gorgeous [img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v299/Aroura/MerlCute10wks.jpg[/img] Speaking on command [img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v299/Aroura/MerlSpeak10wks.jpg[/img] About to speak, but looking more like he is reaching forwards to give me a kiss [img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v299/Aroura/MerlKiss10wks.jpg[/img] Bouncing [img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v299/Aroura/MerlBounce10wks.jpg[/img] This last one was taken this morning, if you look at it in comparison to the first three taken a few days ago you will see how fast he is growing! [img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v299/Aroura/MerlHandsome10wks.jpg[/img] Isn't he just adorable?

DAL, Diego has really shot up hasn't he? He's a great size now, maybe a little tall when he stands up - ie tall enough to steal food off the kitchen sink! But its great, he is about as tall as a female lab but only 10kg, everyone thinks its adorable when its cold and I stand through dog training with him snuggled under my jacket, thats the beauty of having a light dog! :lol: Thanks Mutt_Lady, I'm sure they'd agree with you, they're spoilt rotten! I'm working every day now, so before Josh got home from sea I drove them to my sisters every day before work so they could play with her dogs, and pick them up and take them to the off lead dog park after work. They all love life very much and never really get in trouble for anything (except for Diego when he is stealing food off the sink! LOL) so yes, they are all very content. I'm also happy to say that Montie has already fallen in love with Merlin, it usually takes Montie longer than this to fall in love with a puppy, but already he gets excited to see him and runs up to kiss his face several times a day :D

Well he is 100% natural and will stay that way! Actually, now that I'm used to the tail I love it and wouldn't have it any other way - it's too cute! Same with the ears, although cropping is illegal here, I don't know how anyone could bring home a smooshy little puppy and chop off its ears! Why cut off one of the best bits? :wink: He's so precious :angel: