Malamum

I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again, Abker you really do have a sensible head on your shoulders. A big thumbs up to you.

:o :o oh my god, that poor dog. I've seen pictures on another forum of a Mallie that messed with a porcupine - he had a quite a few quills in his muzzle. I was expecting the picture to be something like that. That poor Bull Terrier is a million times worse.

[quote name='Lokipups']Malamum, on my training forum, the debate has been going around for a long time on whether or not prong and e-collars are banned from Australia (one of our long-time members lives there, and does use both collars, but had them shipped). I was under the impression that you couldn't buy them there, but could order one and have it shipped to you, as long as it wasn't assembled. Is that correct, or have they lifted the ban :niewiem: ?[/quote] Lokipups, my understanding is that Victoria is the only state in Australia where prong collars are illegal. Aroura and I both live in New South Wales and they are not illegal here. There are some rules in what you can and can't do when importing them and you are right it's something about them coming in unassembled. But I'm pretty sure it's ok to buy them in NSW, from someone who has bought it into the country unassemled. It's then ok for someone to buy them from that person assembled. I tried to do a google search to see if I could find something stating what the actual legislation is but I couldn't find anything. I'm not really sure where to look so my search was probably pretty ineffective. :-? This argument goes around and around on an Australian forum I belong to as well, and as it goes with most forums everyone chimes in with what [i]they think [/i]is the legal status of the collars but I don't know how much is actual fact compared to heresay.

The link newfiemom posted was great. That is pretty much exactly the same info I was given when I bought my collars. We also spent quite a few hours with the trainer teaching us how to use it properly. I have an extremely strong 50kg dog (i'm a bit under 60kg myself), who is dog aggressive. When walking, if we saw another dog (depeding upon how close it got to us) Indy would lunge against the leash and generally carry on like a lunatic. On a flat collar he can pretty much pull me off my feet. Yes, he has been trained to walk on a flat collar and does so perfectly 99% of the time. It's for that other 1% of times when another dog gets too close that I can't take the risk of walking him on one. I walked him on a halti or gl for about 2 years. Again 99% of the time he walked like an angel - another dog gets too close and he goes berserk. On the halti I have more leverage and much more control. He can't pull me off my feet but he still has a good try. I hated the thought of what that was doing to his neck and he was getting marks across his face because the halti would dig in so hard. It was getting beyond a joke. Walks were not relaxing or fun. I spent the whole time with my eyes peeled for other dogs and spent most of our walks taking detours, crossing streets and not walking past certain houses as I knew they had a dog in the yard. I was that uptight about other dogs that I even crossed the road because of men carrying briefcases (from a distance I thought the cases were dogs) :roll: Switch to a prong collar and the results were instantaneous! Within a day Indy learnt not to lunge on the collar. He did it once, and yeah it probably did hurt since he lunged hard but he's never done it again. He learnt very quickly that I'm not correcting him or getting angry at him - his actions directly effect his level of comfort. Walks are now so much more fun for both of us. If we see other dogs I don't have to get out of the vicinity in a hurry. He still can't be right on top of another dog but I can just move him to a sensible distance by veering off the path by a few metres and we can continue to walk past the other dog. So if I am being cruel by making walks happier and safer, for me, my dog and any other people out walking their dogs, then lock me away. Jess, if you are going to get collars for Sasha and Felony then I really do recommend spending the time and money and going to someone who can show you how to use them properly. Even though I thought I new how to use them in theory, in practice having somone demonstrate and walk you through what to do really does make a difference. Good luck and let us know how they work for you.

Aw Kat, I'm so sorry. RIP Zoe :angel: :angel:

Wow, they look fantastic. I'd love to see one with my puppies. Though it's been a while since I posted any pics in the pics section - you'd probably have to go back a fair way.

[b]Aroura wrote:[/b] [quote]They are illegal in this country, if you get caught using one you get done for cruelty[/quote] I'm sorry Aroura but that is just not true. I use these collars on both my dogs and I am extremly happy with the results. I don't think it's cruel and neither do they. They love going for their walks and compete with each other for who gets their collar put on first. I think it's quite narrow minded for people to think just because they don't want to or need to use one on their dog that anyone who does is cruel or hasn't trained their dog.

Kira will normally give in to Indy with everything. She doesn’t with bones though, she’ll growl and he will back off. She always keeps a close eye on his too. She will never dare to try to take if off him as she knows he’ll give her a flogging, but if he moves away from it even for a second she will sneak in and take it.

Yay, I’m so glad you have him back. I would just try to treat him as normally as possible – don’t fuss over him too much or coddle him. If he falls straight back into his usual routine I think he will feel more safe and secure.

[quote]How is the weather there in this season?[/quote] It’s winter here at the moment so it’s definitely not too hot for her. I’ll generally jog at night when I get home from work or early in the morning. Last night it was freezing, we had steam coming out our mouths as we were jogging along and I couldn’t feel my fingers so I’m sure the temp was fine for her. I’ll only take the dogs for a good run if the temp is close to 15 degrees, anything warmer and I’ll only walk them. Oh well I’ll guess I’ll stick to jogging with Indy and power walking with Kira. Though it’s quite ironic that most people try to get their dogs to slow down when they are walking – here I am trying to get mine to go faster. I don't think she'd make a good sled dog at all :-?

Since I'm trying to be fit and healthy again I try and get out for a run each day and of course I take a one of the puppies with me when I go (it's less hassle if I take them one at a time). Indy is great to jog with, he just trots along next to you and matches his pace to yours. However Kira is a nightmare to jog with as she is so bloody slow. Even if I go at a very slow jog she ends up running a few paces behind me. For the most part when you see people out walking, their dogs the dog is pulling away out front and the person has their arm outstretched looking like it's going to be pulled out it's socket... not me with Kira. I actually have my arm out behind my back as she runs about a metre or so behind me. I have no idea why she runs so slow, it's not as if she is a little dog so she should be able to keep up with me. I was worried about her hips so I sent her off to get them X-rayed. The vet said she wouldn't breed from her but apart from not being perfect there isn't anything actually wrong with her hips - no sign of hip displaysia and nothing that would prevent her from being able to do exercise. Her fitness also seems ok as her recovery rate is really good. If I run both Indy and Kira for the same distance Indy lies on the floor puffing and panting like he is about to die for about an hour but Kira never even really seems to breath that heavy and once you get her home after about 10 minutes you wouldn't even know she had been running. Do you think she is just being lazy or can she physically just not go that fast?

Indy never gets them but Kira does (they are both on the same food). I'm constanty wiping the corners of Kira's eyes with my fingers. I do it so often I'm surprised she still wants to come near me. I remind myself of the Mum that licks a tissue wipes their childs face.

[quote]The cop sounds like a great guy. Free likes him and he knows dogs and loves hounds. I hope you got his number! [/quote] :lol: :lol: :lol: he he, that is the first thing that popped into my head too - new man in courtnek's life :wink:

:o :o That freaks me out. I can't even bear to look at the picture anymore.

WTF!! That is bloody rediculious, if he wasn't breaking the law in the first place then it wouldn't have happened. :x I hate loosers like this that ruin things for everyone. :evil: :evil: Keep us updated on what happens.

Wow, is she really one already. I still think of her as a puppy. Happy Birthday sweetheart. :bday: :bday:

[quote]would it be too much of a risk to adopt him when Abby wasn't interested in him at their meeting?[/quote] Abker, I don’t really have time to read all the other reply’s at the moment but I just wanted to share our experience of bringing Kira into our home. Indy is a very dominate male, so much so that he can’t go to dogs parks and I even have to watch which dogs I put him next to at training classes. When Indy and Kira first set eyes on each other they both went off at each other barking and growling etc and acting like they wanted to kill each other. It actually scared the crap out of the lady that was trying to find a new home for her. We kept them within about 10 meters of each other for about an hour or so until they were used to each others presence. After a few hours we could have them on leash walking next to each other, sniffing the same trees, drinking out of the same tap etc. We have now had Kira for over a year and for the most part they get along. They are not the types to cuddle to each other but they do play a lot together and if put in a situation where they are able to be off leash they stick together like glue. They do fight from time to time but it seems to be more noise than action. So my point is that if indifference is the main issue then I’m sure you can work it out. However I don’t want to influence your decision, I just wanted to share my example to show that a less than ideal initial meeting can result in two dogs being able to co-exist quite happily.

As long as it was in my dogs’ best interests I would keep them with me as it’s my responsibility to look after them no matter what. If letting them go meant saving their lives I would do so, however as soon as they went off on their own any sense of reasoning about looking after myself would probably go out the window as I would be so worried about them.

I wonder if a dog would hurt itself trying to jump for the first time. I guess it's going to take a few times of smashing headlong into the fence before they realise that wearing that thing makes them unable to jump???

He'll get used to it. We have tiles and our dogs do fine. They slip if they run around (and this doesn't stop them doing it :-? ) but just normal activity is fine.

[quote name='Horsefeathers!']Something to consider while living in a high rise apartment and having dogs... Will you be willing to get up several times a night and take the dog out if it gets sick or has upset tummy? That's a lot more effort than just opening the door and letting it into a secured yard. A bigger dog is going to mean bigger messes when that dog isn't able to make it to the elevator/stairs, down, and then outside to the designated area (and potentially dribbling on the elevator/stairs and hall on the way out, which will all need to be cleaned). Certainly not trying to change your mind. It's just something to think about because, eventually, all dogs get that dreaded case of midnight trots. It would take a lot of commitment to be willing to clean up after them constantly if you couldn't get them out in time, or get up several times a night and go out. I just wanted you to think about whether you're up for it.[/quote] Good thinking 99, I never thought of that.

I don’t think your work schedule is a problem. Believe me there is nothing better after a long hard day at work than coming home to an animal that is sooo happy to see you. We are away from home for about 12 hours each week day and our dogs are left alone that whole time. However I have two dogs so they have each other and we live in a house so they are able to run around and play in the back yard while we are gone. I think living in an apartment would require that extra bit of dedication on your part to make sure the dog gets plenty of exercise and plenty of time outside. As long as you are prepared for that then I say go for it.

[quote name='StarGaze']That's terrible. I'm so sorry. He should go to jail--he's a liar, freak and killer.[/quote] Ditto :(

My dogs pretty much get any type of bones I can find. They get; Beef marrow bones Lamb bones Pork bones I’m no expert but they all seem to come from various parts of the body, i.e femur bones, sections of rib or backbone, sections of neck etc. I just go to the butcher and ask for a bag of bones and get a bag full for $2.00.

Have a read of this: Pretty scary :o [url]http://forums.dogzonline.com.au/index.php?showtopic=5882&hl=[/url]