Show us your dogs!

[Snakelove]

haha. we should put our two belgians together, let them wear each other out! dante never stops, never.

For dry food i feed science diet and eaglepack, a mix of the sensitive skin and intenstinal products. i give raw roo, lamb and chicken mince or meat frozen as a treat in the yard or mixed into their kibble at night. also give oily fish like sardines and salmon. i just brown rice, oats and carrots to supplement and give dried liver as treats for training (i dont recommend schmakos, too much salt.)

as a pup they need around 5 meals a day, then cut back to 2 a day by 6 months. even large dogs should get small meals a day as it reduces the chance of bloat and volvulus (we eat three meals a day, your dog would like that too!)

im glad other people have suggested you avoid a shelter dog as your first dog, and instead find a good breeder so you know what you're getting. that is my chosen method also. im so excited for you!

Alright so what I've read is true! lol at least there's some good internet info out there haha. So when it's a pup and needing 5 meals a day, what happens if I'm at work and so is my gf? Does that mean I can't have a young one? Would it be better to get an established feeder? like a juvenile for a snake? I have all those 'ingredients' handy nearby which is a good thing. Holy craaaap I'm excited too! haha.

 

[euphorion]

The 'best' and by that i mean, in the best case scenario, you would plan to take two weeks if not a month off work or work reduces hours in order to help your new pup fit in.

assuming you are going to have pooch as an indoor dog, you are setting your pup up for failure in the toilet training department. pups are like babies, they poop after they wake up, after they eat, after they play and it happens pretty much every 2 to 3 hours. So, if you are going to be locking up pooch for hours at a time you are giving them no choice but to mess inside, and trust me when i say a pup can be toilet trained by 10 weeks of age! They know they are supposed to go outside, and not inside (when trained) but if you force them to go inside because they are locked up you are ruining their learning experience. my pups knew they were to go outside by the time they were three months old, but they still had accidents that were ENTIRELY my fault because i didnt let them out often enough or didnt read the signs that they needed let out. so even though they knew to hold on, the simply couldnt because their little bladders were still so small and they hadn't learnt how to hang on yet. read up on toilet training

as for feeding, no, if you get a pup that is 8 weeks old (and im not going to argue with anyone on this age okay, this is by personal informed opinion and you are entitled to have a different one, this is just MINE) they will manage on three to four meals a day and you can cut this down to three only by the time they are four months, then two meals by 6 months. you see, feed meal 1 at 6 or 7 am when you get up, then meal 2 at 4 or 5 pm when you get home from work. then meal 3 at 9 or 10pm when you are getting ready to head to bed, leaving enough time for a toilet break after the grub for the pup too. not too hard eh? i was lucky when i got my pups as i was working as a dog groomer so ould take my pups to work, and my partner was working his own hours so was home most of the time if not all of the time i was out. thats an ideal situation but certainly not reality.

read up on crate training, and while pooch is being toilet trained you can leave him in the laundry or in a room with an easy clean floor with some newspaper or puppy pads as his toilet (ie, praise him when he uses the pads or newspaper inside, so if he needs to use them while you are out he is still doing the right thing and will maintain confidence in you and your ability to show him the right thing to do) as he learns, you can test him by putting his 'toilet' (the newspaper or puppy pads) outside, so he learns that he has to hold on if he cannot get to his toilet sometimes as for the actual training... never EVER punish them for toileting in the 'wrong' place, its YOUR fault if they had to go there, not his. So, ignroe any mistakes by simply cleaning them up while ignoring pooch. but when he actually does his business outside where you want it, go CRAZY! as in, act like pooch just pooped solid gold and he is the MOST clever dog in the world. this will make him want to please you by toileting in the 'right' spot for you. imagine if you punished him for going inside, he would simply try to hide it behind the sofa or tv next time, to avoid your anger

 

[euphorion]

also, phil mentioned this before... there are few different types of staffy. go do your research into the one you prefer most as they do look different. find LOADS of breeders and get in contact with them. go see their dogs, ask them how they raise them and what they eat, ask them EVERYTHING. ask for HEATH RECORDS and if you can contact their vet for a reference (not many will do this though). research is the key here.

also, do you research into a good puppy class. most vets run them but they are run by IDIOTS. generally they are run by vet nurses who want the extra cash and think its a good way to add to their client base, these people dont have the foggiest when they are teaching you or your dog. look for a certified dog trainer, i suggest looking for a DELTA trainer (google it) as they follow the ethos of no punishment, reward the right behaviour sort of thing which is what you want for a new puppy. leave the harsh techniques for breaking undesirable habits etc. ask how they run the puppy classes. you want one that asks you not to bring the pup for the first class, so you can leanr what to expect and/ what the rules are. one that doesnt allow pups to just play with each other uncontrolled as this can be bad for dogs lacking confidence and will create a fearful/anxious animal. also, one that has limits on the number of people attending both in terms of other dogs (limit 6) and people attedning with each dog (limit 2), and an age limit. would you want to go to a puppy class that had 20 other pups there and was full of squealing children that were trying to pat your dog and shouting SIT SIT SIT SIT! <-- repetition without a follwo through is the fastest way to desensitise your dog to a command...

bleh. so much info!

 

[MaxPower]

haha. we should put our two belgians together, let them wear each other out! dante never stops, never.

For dry food i feed science diet and eaglepack, a mix of the sensitive skin and intenstinal products. i give raw roo, lamb and chicken mince or meat frozen as a treat in the yard or mixed into their kibble at night. also give oily fish like sardines and salmon. i just brown rice, oats and carrots to supplement and give dried liver as treats for training (i dont recommend schmakos, too much salt.)

as a pup they need around 5 meals a day, then cut back to 2 a day by 6 months. even large dogs should get small meals a day as it reduces the chance of bloat and volvulus (we eat three meals a day, your dog would like that too!)

im glad other people have suggested you avoid a shelter dog as your first dog, and instead find a good breeder so you know what you're getting. that is my chosen method also. im so excited for you!

Dante is absolutely gorgeous. I could imagine the coat would be a fair bit of work though. Remi is my first belgian, and people compare him to German Shepherds a lot, but ive found that they are a lot more work, because of their intelligence, energy and focus. Only down side i can pick, they have a high prey drive, so he's not allowed to be alone with the chickens anymore lol

 

[reptileKev81]

I have a pug which is a really cool dog with personality like I haven't seen in a dog before. Although they can get a bit smelly some times and they LOVE to fart, hehe, not silent ones either... I never heard a dog fart until I had my pug.

One breed that I LOVE are the Samoyeds! Such beautiful dogs, definately gonna be my next four-legged-friend

 

[NBLADE]

thought for a first post why not show of my dogs

little female miniture staff doing her best to look cute and innocent

but her usual pose, destroying her toys is more common

then we have a female blue staff, a female staff cross american bull dog, and then finally a female alsatian

them as pups

and finally my first dog, who i had for 13 years before he passed away at 15 a few months ago, he was an alsatian cross collie

 

[Kristy_07]

For shoo - what she said

 

[reptileKev81]

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-sf2p/v329/60/40/548007721/n548007721_798104_2200.jpg[img]

a pic of my pug :)

 

[reptileKev81]

Damn. Didn't work, lol, and I can't edit since I'm on my iPhone.....
I'll try again when I get home

 

[reptileKev81]

Trying again.
Hopefully this should work this time

 

[euphorion]

Dante is absolutely gorgeous. I could imagine the coat would be a fair bit of work though. Remi is my first belgian, and people compare him to German Shepherds a lot, but ive found that they are a lot more work, because of their intelligence, energy and focus. Only down side i can pick, they have a high prey drive, so he's not allowed to be alone with the chickens anymore lol

He is a hansome boy! And still only a baby, the pic in the park with the other dog was taken on his first birhtday just in June. The coat is a dream to look after, just had to brush the back pants and behind the ears every few days they give the whole coat a quick once over once a week or so. I trained him froma pup to accept bathing and hydrobathing well as i knew he would be a challenge otherwise and he is a DREAM, just stands there are gets this dopey look on his face while he gets massaged. I am used to looking after much more demanding coats though so his is easy as pie for me (compared to a German Shep it's NOTHING, they have THE WORST coats, constantly shedding... bleh) Did you know that male Belgians only shed once a year in Spring? Females shed twice a year though, interesting eh?

Dante has no prey drive whatsoever so he's fine with my birds, guineapigs, chooks, rodents and snakes, supervised of course. I only trained them to chase turkeys to keep them off my garden, hehe. His breeder has a variety of animals though so ensures the pups are well socialised before they leave her to avoid any possible accidents with other animals at home, handy for me!

And yes, they are much more work IMO than a German. Germans are fantastic dogs but i find that because of their intelligence type they are more independant thus encouraging them to simply listen to directions taken is mroe challenging. Dante is too smart for his own good, he has a preferred style of learning which i have had to adapt to but it's all learning for me too.

One thing of interest with the Belgians is that they are hyper sensitive to anaesthetics, has Remi been desexed? Dante was unfortunately cryptorchid (one retained testicle in the abdomen) so ee had to desex him (was going to keep his for show and stud, i wanted to start breeding Groenedaels). The surgery was quite long, 2.5 hours to find the 'hidden' testicle, and he was the worst anaesthetic to monitor EVER. I had to breath for him the entire sugery as his respiratory rate dropped out to over 30seconds a breath and his heart rate stayed at 44 BPM, admittedly he is a stupidly fit dog but holy hell it had me worried. His recovery was awful too, just couldnt wakehim up after the surgery, most dogs take an hour or so to be fully recovered from the anaesthetic but he was still zonked at midnight (surgery finished at 2.30pm). I had to stay up monitoring him constantly to ensure he didnt crash, stupid dog had me so bloody worried. Anyway, so while i didnt want to believe the reading i did on them being hyper sensitive to anaesthetic i fully believe it now! Sadie the rotti x bitch had an in season spey at the same time and she was a perfect anaesthetic and recovery. Silly Dante making his mum worry!

Point of all that, if he has been desexed why not check with your vet, see if they remember anything about that, if not, ask a few questions. My vet hadnt heard anything about it but she sure wasnt impressed when he was so bloody difficult! hehe

 

[nagini-baby]

sorry to hijack this a little.

this is giving me the ***** my partner thinks he knows everything there is to know and conplains about how much i spend on worming for my dog. they only ever get heart worm injection for their dog. and reckon they never had a problem... sorry i dont want a wormy dog. i want a healthy one i didnt spend 6000 to repair her heart to have her riddled with worms...

sorry just had to vent

 

[euphorion]

do you have kids with this partner of yours?

 

[pythonmum]

Good training advice shooshoo. If you can't find a Delta trainer, look for one listed in the APDT - same philosophy: Home Page If you punish during toilet training you have a disaster. Ask for qualifications of any trainer at a vet surgery. I know some good people who work with vets, but there are others who allow negative interactions (shy dog getting bullied, etc) and don't have the right background in philosophy of training. If anyone puts a check chain (most often a choke chain) on a puppy, just leave.

 

[euphorion]

Good training advice shooshoo. If you can't find a Delta trainer, look for one listed in the APDT - same philosophy: Home Page If you punish during toilet training you have a disaster. Ask for qualifications of any trainer at a vet surgery. I know some good people who work with vets, but there are others who allow negative interactions (shy dog getting bullied, etc) and don't have the right background in philosophy of training. If anyone puts a check chain (most often a choke chain) on a puppy, just leave.

some people are just plain stupid when it comes to dog training! i haven't heard of the APDT, will look into it.

you've got to remember that your dog is your best mate, and you are his whole world, you don't want to damage that relationship, only improve upon it.

 

[Benjamin]

Here are my both dogs Vitus (Bernese Mountain Dog) and Zeus (Giant-Schnauzer)










Have fun!
Benjamin

 

[VickiR]

My Babies
Kiara a 10yr old Alaskian Malamute, ( we found her on a rescue site)
Lily a 3yr Old Staffy
and Duke a Pommie x Chichuhua

 

[MaxPower]

He is a hansome boy! And still only a baby, the pic in the park with the other dog was taken on his first birhtday just in June. The coat is a dream to look after, just had to brush the back pants and behind the ears every few days they give the whole coat a quick once over once a week or so. I trained him froma pup to accept bathing and hydrobathing well as i knew he would be a challenge otherwise and he is a DREAM, just stands there are gets this dopey look on his face while he gets massaged. I am used to looking after much more demanding coats though so his is easy as pie for me (compared to a German Shep it's NOTHING, they have THE WORST coats, constantly shedding... bleh) Did you know that male Belgians only shed once a year in Spring? Females shed twice a year though, interesting eh?

Dante has no prey drive whatsoever so he's fine with my birds, guineapigs, chooks, rodents and snakes, supervised of course. I only trained them to chase turkeys to keep them off my garden, hehe. His breeder has a variety of animals though so ensures the pups are well socialised before they leave her to avoid any possible accidents with other animals at home, handy for me!

And yes, they are much more work IMO than a German. Germans are fantastic dogs but i find that because of their intelligence type they are more independant thus encouraging them to simply listen to directions taken is mroe challenging. Dante is too smart for his own good, he has a preferred style of learning which i have had to adapt to but it's all learning for me too.

One thing of interest with the Belgians is that they are hyper sensitive to anaesthetics, has Remi been desexed? Dante was unfortunately cryptorchid (one retained testicle in the abdomen) so ee had to desex him (was going to keep his for show and stud, i wanted to start breeding Groenedaels). The surgery was quite long, 2.5 hours to find the 'hidden' testicle, and he was the worst anaesthetic to monitor EVER. I had to breath for him the entire sugery as his respiratory rate dropped out to over 30seconds a breath and his heart rate stayed at 44 BPM, admittedly he is a stupidly fit dog but holy hell it had me worried. His recovery was awful too, just couldnt wakehim up after the surgery, most dogs take an hour or so to be fully recovered from the anaesthetic but he was still zonked at midnight (surgery finished at 2.30pm). I had to stay up monitoring him constantly to ensure he didnt crash, stupid dog had me so bloody worried. Anyway, so while i didnt want to believe the reading i did on them being hyper sensitive to anaesthetic i fully believe it now! Sadie the rotti x bitch had an in season spey at the same time and she was a perfect anaesthetic and recovery. Silly Dante making his mum worry!

Point of all that, if he has been desexed why not check with your vet, see if they remember anything about that, if not, ask a few questions. My vet hadnt heard anything about it but she sure wasnt impressed when he was so bloody difficult! hehe

Very interesting comments about his desexing. I have read that before about their sensititvity to anesthetic. They have such an incredibly low body fat percentage, so something like that is to be expected. Ive read quite a few articles about them in depth, which allowed me to notify my vets incase he ever needs emergency surgery or even desexing. He isnt desexed yet, i have been thinking about using him as a stud dog as he comes from exceptional blood lines, but i havent got a clue about finding someone who wants to breed him.

I wonder if the personality traits are similar between the Malinois and Groenedaels?? Remi has a funny way of drinking water when he's been running around.

[video=youtube;I4L6eT2sSzk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4L6eT2sSzk[/video]

He was about 15 months here, and hadnt began to fill out but he still does this everytime he's been chasing the ball lol. Complete nut bags dogs are!!

 

[Snakelove]

Okay so I gotta ask, BARF diet? A lot of websites actually recommend them and said that if your regular vet don't recommend it then it's better if you find another vet. lol this guy is really into and he feeds all his amstaff pups this BARF diet as well. What do you think?

 

[euphorion]

BARF is fab, end of story. but use in combination with other thigns as its a sloppy mince and will do nothing to clean your dogs teeth. so i give them a block a week (frozen) as a treat. being frozen it scrubs the teeth more or you can give an undefrosted pack mixed in with the kibble. dogs can and do get picky with food so dont spoil them with special food all the time!

so yes, BARF is RAW food which means the proteins are still in their natural state which is better for pooch. ie, in cooked foods the proteins are denatured/deactivated which means bascially all the goodness in them has been destroyed during the cooking process.

maxpower, i didnt realise Remi was a malinois, i only has a glance at his earlier pic and thought he was a teurvueran! What breeder is he from? Dante is from Fay of Weedram Belgians in NSW. You can advertise him for stud online in various places but you would be hard pressed to find a owner that would put him to their bitch. At least, you wouldn't want to unless the bitch was fully health checked, pedigreed, well looked after, etc. (you ought to have Remi tested too, as you would feel awful if he passed on bad genotype to his pups who then had bad hips and were in pain for their whole lives....)

Malinois do have a different personality in a very general sense, they are more guarded in other people than the other belgians but this is easily avoided through good breeding and proper socialisation. Dante loves to drink water straight from the tap, he'll put his whole head under there! In summer he does get very warm, so he'll let us know he needs to cool off by lying down in the shower cubicle so we can run the shower over him for a few minutes, he loves it!