slim86

A year ago, I lost my Australian Shepherd after eating grapes. My father had grape vines growing on his garage. He parked his truck there and we thought that it leaked anti-freeze onto the grapes that my dog ate. I guess it was just the grapes. I had my dog staying there while I was moving into my new house. There were tons of birds eating the grapes and they had knocked a whole bunch of them down onto the drive way. My dog must have eaten a ton of them. I had no idea that the grapes could have done this. When I came to get him he was throwing up tons of grapes. He was very sick and he just wanted to lay down. I took him to the vet the next day and they said his kidneys were failing. He had to be PTS. We always thought that anti-freeze from my dad's truck leaked onto the grapes that my dog ate. Thanks for posting this. It's really cleared a lot of things up. I was aware that a lot of plants/vegetatbles/nuts were bad for dogs but I had no idea that grapes could kill a dog. I'm surprised that the vet didn't know about this. Oh well. I sure miss my dog. Slim

My brother in law ownes a Presa. I've spent quite a bit of time over there and had the pleasure of keeping him for a couple of weeks while they were on vacation. He's fawn with a black face. He's about 110 lbs and he's very, very easy going. I've noticed that he's not dominant at all and doesn't really show aggression at all. The only times I've seen him be aggressive he was challenged over and over again by these two BC's. Each time he actually faught with them he just wresled them to the ground and held them there until they yarped and then let them up again. He got into a fight with a black lab over a female in heat but that black lab faught every dog in the county over that female. He's had quite a bit of training and socialization and he has a very easy going attitude about everything. They have a 3 year old daughter and he's learned to be very careful around her. I put him and my GSD together in my back yard all day for a couple of weeks and they got along just great. They were both intact males at the time. He's a wonderful dog. I don't know too much about the breed but I really like my brother in law's dog. Slim

I've got two buddies that got there dogs at a gas station. One guy pulled up to the pump and some guy on the other side had a boxer in the back of his pick up. My buddy said "Hey, that's a nice looking dog". The owner said, "Do you want him". My buddy took the dog and has him now. He's a great looking fawn colored boxer. The other guy found a blue heeler tied to the pump and he took it in and he still has it. They both are great dogs. Slim

My wife and I have been married for 10 months now. We decided that we would adopt a dog when we got out house. Well, we went down to the shelter and we couldn't decide on a dog. We just got onto a big fight because she wanted one of the little dogs and I wanted one of the lager dogs. On the way home we got to talking about it and we decided that we both liked the way German Shepherds looked and that maybe we would get one. After reading a book about them I went and found a good breeder and got an awesome dog with good German lines for a good price. He has been the best dog. We also decided that we would adopt an adult dog when our GSD was grown. Now Viggo (the GSD) is grown and my wife isn't really big on adopting another one. This is where you guys come in. I need help convincing her. We've been taking care of her brothers Presa while he's been on vacation and Viggo is so happy that he has someone to play with all day long. I know he's going to be heart broken when we have to take Samson (the Presa) home. I think Viggo would be so happy with a full time doggy friend. I also feel a little guilty about buying a dog when I always told myself that I would rescue one. I really want to rescue one so help me out here. I need some good arguments about having two dogs vs. one dog. I've talked to her a little bit about it but she hasn't been very excited about it. Thanks a lot Slim

I'm very sorry RnP. I'll pray with all my might that you'll somehow find your dog. She's soooooo cute. I'm so sad for you and at the same time so angry that this happened to you.

Rimsky, That's horrible what those guys accross the street did. I can't believe that your neighbor doesn't want to do anything about what happened. If it was my dog that got killed, the next time I saw those dogs running loose they would be dead. I'm upset right now just reading about it. If I were you, I'd keep a Louisville Slugger on your front porch and I would keep calling the police/animal control every time I saw those dogs out running loose. Slim

I'm sorry, Lucky This guy has probably had a bad experience with dogs or is just really pissed that they can run free at this park. Take comfort in knowing that he's the one with the problems and with all the anger and frustration. That's why he's going out of his way to come to this particular park to make a fuss. The best way to get back at him is to do just what you're allowed to. let your dogs run free and have a good time. A sour-puss like this will get so angry that you're having such a good time that he wont know what to do. I do like the bar in the spokes solution, though. It would be nice to see him flying through the air and landing on his dumb face. Slim

I read a book written by John Katz called "A Dog Year". He adopted a border collie and he talks about all the trials he went through with this dog and how it stretched his patients to the limit. It's a wonderful book and I'd suggest it to you, not only because you'll find out what a Border Collie is capable of but also because it's a really good read. There's quite a bit to consider before getting a dog with such an independent, strong working instinct. Slim

She's so darn cute with that patch and those floppy ears. Slim

Wow, that's crazy. I wish my dog would at least chase them. He just watches them steal his food out of his food bowl. Slim

Congrats, on your new dog. He's a really good looking boy. I hope he gets feeling well soon. If you get him focused on the top of the stairs rather than on the actual stairs he would probably be more excited about going up them. Throw one of his toys around and let him fetch it. After a while, throw it up to the top of the stairs and he'll keep focused on getting to the top rather than looking at the individual stairs. He'll be looking ahead, so to speak and he wont be thinking about the part that scares him. Good luck with your new guy. Slim

Carol, that's great. Thank you for posting it. Slim

I had a Australian Shepherd who would do that. He did stop at about 18 months, though. Hopefully your dog will grow out of it too. Some people have told me that you can grab their nose and holt it closed and tell the no. Some people told that you can use a squirt bottle. None of these have worked on my GSD but I guess you could try them. Good luck, Slim

Thanks for posting the link. One can never look at enough puppie pics. I love the "first meal" pictures. Boy, was the mother a pretty girl. Slim

Great topic Viggo my GSD puppy has destroyed: a garden hose my football 2 sprinklers his dog house 2 candle holders a vase his plastic swimming pool and a shoe Slim