I want to get a dog but I have to work, how does everyone on broadway market do it ?

He's 10 months - I've heard that if you leave it too long the problem behaviours become ingrained and the snip doesn't really fix them. Dunno how true this is.

Not true at all, I had my older lab done when he was 3, he was becoming aggressive to my other dogs and I had no intention of breeding from him. It was a last resort, but problem solved.

Some vets contest that it is nonsense. I assume that this is based on some sort of evidence.

However, I sometimes meet people in the park who insist that their dogs were never the same after the op. I generally tend to take these stories with a pinch of salt. I mean, most people have their dogs done while they are adolescent so perhaps the dog just changed as it matured?

One thing I have noticed about dog owners since owning a dog, is that everybody is a dog expert and few people agree on anything :D

I had Reggie done at 1 as he only had one descended testicle - which increases cancer risk 10 fold and is passed on, so it is the only option.

Since it was done, he's stopped trying to hump other dogs but hasn't calmed down in the slightest. I couldn't comment on dog aggression, as he never showed any before, but that usually develops (if it does) from around 18 months - so time will tell.

@Stonehedge we all agree that dogs can't look up though right?

Sure. I mean what is up anyway, if we live on a sphere...

everybody is a dog expert

It's on par with books on how to parent.

I guess at least with dogs there's a good chance that someone might have raised a statistically significant number to form meaningful opinions.

A couple of weeks ago I met a dog walker in Greenwich Park who asked me how old my Greyhound is. I said that he's a Whippet. She then told me that no, he's a greyhound. 🤔

Well is he grey?

Nah, black, white and orange.

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if you weren't wearing a flat cap then technically he can't be a whippet.

Our Lab\springer cross is booked in next week for the same reason. He is 18 months old, we were told to wait this long so that his bones have reached maximum density and he has stopped growing.

He is already the most docile, dopey, lazy thing in the world, so not sure he can get any calmer...

Did your vet recommend that? I hear that opinion in the park a lot but the vets I have asked advise neutering male dogs at around six to seven months.

Almost as if somebody actually needs to do some proper research to put some of these opinions to bed....

It's about weighing up reaching full growth (testosterone) and having certain breeds avoid too much anxiety (testosterone) against the marginal added complication of doing the surgery on 'older' dogs.

We were going to go with 12 months as Maurice is quite an anxious breed, this then became 18 months due to some other issues (clashing with vaccinations and surgery for a split ear).

Wish we hadn't bothered at all, but he's a rescue so we were contractually obliged.

Yeo, was vet who wanted to wait. To be honest we weren’t worried about having him done at all, as there are no behavioural issues, but seeing as only one has dropped that needs sorting out.

Oh yes we get that. Firstly, "Is he a cockapoo?" No he's a toy poodle. "He can't be, he's too big to be a toy, he's definitely a miniature". Well, that isn't what all his documentation and lineage say* but I'm sure you know best random stranger.

Also "What is he?" A toy poodle. "He doesn't look like a toy poodle." Well, what the fuck is he meant to look like?

*Actually the only real difference between a toy and a miniature is the size so maybe they have a point.

I think breeders can change what people colloquially regard as the breed standard really quickly.

Most breed weight charts see say that a whippet weighs up to 13 or 14kg which is pretty much bang on what Otto weights. We meet whippets all the time that weigh anything up to 18 or 19kg. In fact most whippets we meet seem to be larger than the kennel club standard now days.

I think this sort of thing is what confuses people and also why people ask us if Otto is an Italian greyhound too.

Anyone got any good recommendations for training treats? Benny is super food focused but most treats are too high in calories to use for high repetition rewards and he knows if he's been shortchanged on his regular meals when I try to offset the amount.

I do have some little liver flavoured training treats which are tiny pills and 0.1kcal but i'm pretty sure they soften his stools too much and turn them a little yellowish so i'd rather not use them.

Various local dog walkers and trainers have talked me round to just using kibble as a training treat. If you choose a kibble that isn't their normal meal, then the dogs love it. And it's nutritionally complete and small...

For high value treats, we just buy an extra chicken breast now and again and poach it before cutting into cubes. Won't upset the stomach and actually works out cheaper than many pre made dog treats.

One other thing we learned the hard way is that dogs really don't need much of a treat to feel treated. Just the tiniest morsel will do.

When we first got to we tended to give him a whole or half treat and he got upset stomachs. No reason why you can't cut a small trea into five or ten with a sharp knife. Their sense of taste and smell is so acute it's still a reward.

Yeah, gravy bones can be broken into tiny pieces, don't cause a mess in your pocket - and are cheap. There are also low fat Iams ones that they love.

And Ciq, you're making me nostalgic for the puppy days - same breed, same name, same concerns...

I just use chicken breast. You can either totally dry it out in the oven at 70c overnight or just cook it til it’s quite dry.

Subtract the treat calories from the rest of his diet. Our terrier gets 1/3 of his daily intake in training treats.

I won't be mean and post any super cute photos then.

except maybe this one

or this