Leesha

Elizabeth13 - Thanks for your reply - I know it takes patience and persistance. I'm not expecting a quick fix - just the help/advice required. I have all the time in the world for my pooches. I've tried a halti but she hated it - Walks became even more of a nightmare - but I shall try again and just have to deal with it. My Dane's background was she'd never been walked, been in a car, played, been fussed or loved and had been locked in a caravan to breed - she's never had any form of training. We've managed to house train her though ) Thanks Moonbird. My Chihuahua's weakness is cheese or cream! And I do use this, but he simply can't understand that he has to do something for me before he gets it!! It took ages to teach him sit and leave it. And if he doesn't get his way he loses interest and goes off and does something else - he's very stubborn. As for my Danes weakness - Nothing at the moment - she's very nervous - she doesn't like taking things out of your hand (food wise) and she's not really got a clue what playing or toys are - although we do make time to encourage her to play. She is getting better - she will take a cream cake off of you though. When she wants something really bad she backs off and howls at you!! I once stood for 30 mins with something she wanted in my hand trying to get her to sit - it's almost as if she can't figure it out!! I taught my Grandmas dog (a Westie) all sorts of tricks over 6 months with out any problems!! So now to have 2 dogs that are nearly impossible to train is a little frustrating!! Lol! I will persevere though.

Are there any decent Doggy trainers out there that could help me with some issues .... Firstly, I need training on stopping a dog pulling on a lead - she's a Great Dane - so when she pulls it's just like that Granny walking a Dane and being pulled over video on YouTube. It's almost impossible to stop her pulling. I've tried distractions (ie walking with treats or a toy in my hand), stopping and walking in the other direction, saying ah ah sharply everytime she pulls etc etc. Nothing seems to work. Is there anyone that can come and work with me for an hour or so at my house that doesn't charge the earth?? Secondly - I need help with recall - she's the type of Dog that has selective hearing and ignores you 9 times out of 10 - and so does my Chihuahua. Thirdly - Can anyone help me train both my Dogs with basic commands? So far I've managed to teach my Chihuahua sit and leave it - but he won't do anything else (I've had him from 10 weeks old - he's 10 month old now) so thought he'd be easy to train - he's very stubborn! And my Dane is 2 years old - we rescued her and she has no idea what basic commands are!! I've tried teaching sit etc but she seems set in her ways and refuses to do anything!! I'm really not a bad owner - I'm really trying but nothing seems to work. I refuse to give up and will continue for the next 10 years if I have to, but would appreciate some help. Thanking you!

OMG!!! Friday nights were amazing....Chips, kebab and vindaloo sauce from Saudies. Best takeaway ever!! Would you deliver to Woodseats? Or Grimsby for my Mum? Lol! Everytime she comes to Sheffield she asks if Saudies is open yet!

Go to Red Dragon at Manor. They sell top quality tattooing equipment. It's where I get all my stuff from and I've had no complaints ... yet! Lol!

I second waggy tails. They also do Cat Sitting and did a great job looking after my 2.

Speaking from experience (My Dane is the fussiest eater in the world and lost 6kg in the process) is to mix in some Human food. I mix in stiff like rice, scrambled egg (no salt and pepper), grated cheese, cottage cheese, plain chicken breast and a little gravy. Or try Pets at Home - they have a freezer with raw minced meat like chicken and tripe. You can feed it defrosted and raw and most Dogs love it! Be warned - it does stink though!! Bets bit of all is its cheap!!

There is a sign in Pets at Home at Heeley retail park warning people of this. Saw it when I went it. So glad my Cats are indoor Cats. I live right next to Graves Park.

Gutted! I'd love to buy this house instead of watching it turn into flats. Devastated! Such a lovely property going to such a waste.

Every time I see this house I wonder why it's boarded up. It's a lovely house with huge potential. It's just down from Morrisons at Woodseats. It's been boarded up for approx 2 year. I have searched everywhere for info but can't find any. I'd love to buy it but it's not for sale. Does anyone know anything about it?

My Chihuahua has Royal Canin and loves it. Then my Dane, well, she's the fussiest eater in the world!! I've had her a month and already spent £150+ on different foods for her to try. We've tried Royal Canin - she hated it, Hills Science Stuff -she turned her nose up at it (even though this is what the Vet recommended she eat), Eukabana (sp) - hated it, Pets at Home Giant Breed Complete - hated it...and then I asked a friend who shows Danes and also breeds them and she suggested Wagg (I know some of you won't approve) but guess what??? She loves the stuff!! We paid £8.99 for a 17kg bag of Wagg for working breeds and she can't get enough of the stuff!! To make it extra tasty I mix in 1/2 a tin of pedigree chum or cheese and rice. From eating a few biscuits a day from her bowl and losing loads of weight, she's now eating 2 HUGE bowls a day and you can see now she's putting weight on!! Yay!! So, in my opinion, the expensive brands aren't neccessarily whats best. The best is what works for your Dog. And Wagg works for her!!

It's normal. I researched and asked a vet when I couldn't stop my pooch doing it. Apprently cat poo is like candy to dogs. Very tasty!! I know I kill for Haribo Star Mix, same as my Chihuahua would kill for cat poo!

Its absolutely awful that she was locked away. I have reported the woman as she has another 4 Danes in the house and about 14 pups running around. And her house was smaller than mine and I only have enough room for 1!! It's nice to see people on here that care.

He really is a star. The way he handled her and us for that matter was outstanding. The last vet we saw there was absolutely petrified of Bliss and muzzled her after she growled. He wasn't phased at all and in the end Bliss loved him. Off to buy the Hills food later this afternoon. Fingers crossed it works!

Yay! Bliss is fine. Her weight loss is a result of her burning more calories than what she's taking in due to being walked twice a day. Before we rescued her she was kept in a caravan with no exercise, so she wasn't burning many calories. So the sudden change has done it. The guy (Nigel Smallwood) from Peak Vets was absolutely amazing with her. We had no growls like she did with the last vet she saw. Nigel actually made friends with her before doing anything and let her come to him. He managed to look at her teeth, feel her tummy, listen to her heart and take her temperature! With no growls. He even got a sneaky kiss off a non-kissy dog. She's 45kg at the moment and Nigel said he would expect a Dane to be inbetween 45-55kg. So she is at the minimum but isn't underweight…yet. Hes recommended I feed her Hills Performance for working dogs (even though she isn't a working dog), he explained this food is great for fussy eaters, nervous dogs, dogs that don't eat very much and for giddy/hyper dogs. We go back in 2 weeks for a weigh in to see how she's doing. Pheww!! I'm so glad she's ok!!! Yay!!

Bliss my 2 year old Great Dane is booked into the Vets at 7.30pm tonight. We rescued her a month ago and she was underweight. Since coming to us she has lost even more weight even though she's eat like a horse. Friends and Family have all said I've been over reacting and stressing over nothing and that she looks fine and is supposed to be lean, but I was determined she was losing weight. Well I took her last night to be weighed and in a month she's lost 6kg. I knew I wasn't imagining it. So off we go for tests. For the past week she's been really off her food, even though I try to entice her with cottage cheese, tuna, tripe, gravy, chicken...you name it I've tried it. She isn't drinking much yet she is toileting fine. I don't know what else I can do. I've collected a pee and poo sample to take with tonight. I'm fearing the worst as when I was a kid we had a Dog and Cat with similar symptoms (they were elderly though). The Cat had Kidney Failure and was on Medication for the rest of her life and the Dog had Cancer and had to pts. I don't know. I'm just a worried Mommy. Also, since Saturday she's been quite lethargic and has cried during the night. Don't know if these are added symptoms as she cries to come on the bed and then stops. Please keep everything crossed xxxxx

Lol! Oops! My Bad. I'm rubbish at spelling - although I'm good at grammer. Strange!

Mine have cheese, ham, gravy and chicken everyday along with their kibble. Added extras include carrots, cauliflower, baked potatos, baked beans, cucumber, stewed steak chicken pie, pasta, tuna, crisps, brown bread toasted with lashings of butter, pizza, rice, egg and what ever we're having for tea!! The other night they had fish, chips and mushy peas! Lol! Oh and a fish cake. Spolit rotten! Wouldn't have it any other way though. Glad to know I'm not crazy (or I'm just as crazy as other pet owners!)

I agree with most, if you can't control your dog, then it should stay on lead. I don't agree a dog should be muzzled either if it's on lead. I had an incident in Graves park at the weekend. A guy was walking 2 ****zus (for some reason it has blanked the breed neame out!! it's meant to read s h i t zus) off lead, I had my Chihuahua (on lead) and my unspayed Gread Dane on lead (she is going to be done - we're waiting for her next season so we can book her in 8 weeks after it's finished as advised by a vet) who I can understand smells divine to any male dog. Well this little off lead ****zu came bounding over, thank fully my Dane is ok around other dogs, but my Chihuahua is not, I had to pick him up while he was going mental barking and trying to get down and this little bleeder (****zu) was trying to hump her, running around in circles, barking and generally tormenting her. The owner of the ****zu just kept walking, regardless of me shouting him to come and remove his dog. In the end I kept walking but this little bleeder would not go away and followed us for ages to the point we couldn't see his owner anywhere. My Dane was getting really agitated as the ****zu had been pestering her for around 15mins. The man still hadn't come back for his dog. My huband tried shooing it away, he pushed it away, tried to scare it away but it wouldn't budge. I ended up having to take my Chihuahua's lead off, attach it to the ****zu, carry my Chi and go looking for its owner!!!! And all he could say was 'he normally comes when I shout him, sorry'. I can tell you I was FURIOUS!!!!!

We are already eating out of her paws! She's just too adorable! She was for sale on pets4homes. I got her from somewhere near Newcastle. So glad I did. The more time I spend with her, the more I realise she's been used for pups. Its almost like she doesn't know love. She's so gentle with people though and other animals. Although she did get a bit growly at the vets who then muzzeled her. Chezzfaye I would love to meet up for a walk. Everyone I know has small dogs so she can't really get her play on in case she squishes them! Lol. Pm me your number and we can arrange something. Xx

She was in 2 in January. And I got her yesterday. Bestest ever decision of my life I'd say!

I wanted one...so I got one! Lol! Honestly, she's amazing. I think her previous owners wanted rid as they had used her up. You can tell she was used for breeding. When we went to pick her up they were keeping her locked away in a caravan!! There was no way I was leaving her there. She's off to the doctor man tonight for a check up to make sure alls well. Although I can see already she's underweight :-(

Here is Bliss. The latest addition to my family!! She's a Harlequin Great Dane and is absolutely gorgeous!! Hoping to meet a few people on walks as she loves other dogs. She's more than gentle with my Chihuahua which is surprising! Lol! http://i805.photobucket.com/albums/yy333/LeeshyXX/Bliss/Bliss.jpg :love::love::love::love:

http://www.snopes.com/photos/animals/molly.asp This is truly amazing. I wish humans could have the strength and determination and some of the intelligence of this horse. It fills me with happiness, that after such a tragic time this horse still amazes and helps people. After Hurricane Katrina hit, you don't really hear in the media what happened to loving pets and wildlife. It's such a beautiful story for us animal lovers. Just a warm thought for a dull Friday afternoon!

From what I've learnt this week (my baby had to have his anal glands done on Weds) is amazing! I knew of the anal glands but never really knew if you know what I mean. The vet told me it is very common in the smaller 'toy' breeds. He couldn't explain why. And that once they've had to have them expressed, there's around a 90% chance of it having to be done on a regular basis. Luckily for me, my Chihuahua is soooo small, you can't express them internally because it can hurt him and cause other problems....so externally is good for me!! He showed me how to do it so I don't have to take him back if it needs doing again! Cotton wool at the ready, cover bum with it and squeeze at 4 and 8. The cotton wool catches it and if I'm lucky, I'm away and it's in the bin before the fishy smell hits me! I'd hate to attempt this on a Great Dane....Groomers and Vets alike...I salute you! As for gross things... I won't go there. Wouldn't want people to lose their lunch! Lol!

This has made me laught so much!! But to be honest, my 2 house cats cost me more than my dog! Lol! My little female Zaghe cost us £30 every 3-4 months with a recurring eye problem. And my male Sumo has his claws clipped every 2-3 months at £16.50 (a little extra as he bites and scratches the staff! and has to have quite a few people hold him down). Then there is their food which I spend approx £15 a month on. Also their kitty litter which is £10 every month. They also love tuna, so lets say £10 a month on that. Balls of wool/yarn that get destroyed £5 a month. Dangly thing on strings £5 month. Flea and worming treatment approx twice a year (as they are indoor cats) £30 a year. Then there's my snake who costs us £2.60 every 6 weeks for his rat pups (food), £20 a year for the sawdust in his tank. Then £xxxxx amount for the electricity for his heat mat and light!! Lol! Then my little Chihuahua Bugs Bugs costs around £15 every 2 months for his food - he has Royal Canine but because he's so small, a 3kg bag lasts us ages - probably because he eats the cats food too! Vets bills - approx £80 a year (if all goes well - and that excludes routine things like jabs, microchip etc). He cost me £30 yesterday to have his microchip and have his anal glands expressed! £5 a month on new toys. £5 a month on treats - he is fond of a coblett! and cheesecake! £20 a year on stuff like harness, lead, new bed etc. Me and my husband went through a financial problem at the beginning of the year and I made sure my pets could eat. I'd rather spend my last tenner on them instead of me. The way I see it, I'm responsible for them and it's not their fault or problem if I'm skint. They will never go without. Where as I can go without ... or nip to the in-laws for tea! Lol!