lhb2444 Posted August 15, 2012 (edited) Hey hey, My housemates and I are thinking of adopting a puppy and I'm wondering how many on here have dogs at their place with their cacti and other ethno's and if you have any problems due to them? I know dogs like to dig and put anything they can in their mouth so I assume I would need to be careful to ensure that any curious puppy doesn't decide to devour my brugs or datura but do I need worry about the cacti? I assume based on the taste and general spikiness that the puppy wouldn't really try eating them but would I need to worry about it getting spiked due to brushing past them or accidentally running into them and possible infections due to the spines? Or do we think the puppy would learn fairly quickly that the spiny cacti aren't play tools and that they need to be careful? We're looking at getting either a staffy or bulldog (possibly something else similar in terms of size/exercise requirements etc) if that helps too. Any suggestions much appreciated! EDIT: Oh and I don't really have a great deal of room to move the cactus around/fence them off. Edited August 15, 2012 by lhb2444 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mr b.caapi Posted August 15, 2012 (edited) Yeh mate, I had exactly the same concern when we got our puppy, I must admit she did tear up a couple of non-ethno plants but she only went near my cactus once..she learned real quick , hehe But yeh, you have just got to keep your eye on them and keep them amused, they grow out of it pretty quick if they are given the right amount of attention. I have seen many a dog over the years just left out the backyard while the owner go's of to work, these are the dogs that dig huge holes, chew up furniture and bark constantly simply because they are bored. I was fortunate to have my other half at home all the time. There was a time not long ago but where i found a huge Cuzco spine driven into her tail. She is one of those dogs that is always wagging her tail and i assume that she must have been running to say hello to someone as she passed my cacti. I didnt notice straight away, the Mrs pointed out that her tail was hanging really limp and looked "dead", and upon examination found the 5-7cm spine. Anyways, heres a pic of my dog "Maya" when she was around 3 months old after digging her first hole. lol Edited August 15, 2012 by mr b.caapi 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jonstn Posted August 15, 2012 I have to have everything in pots until they are big enough to withstand dopey greyhounds, and one of them loves pissing directly on any plant and veg and even aims his ass right over them and poops They love wagging their tales and are always whipping one of my cacti, doesn't seem to bother them but GHs are pretty docile they're probably not even noticing the spines going in their tails hahaha If I'm starting something off in the ground I'll put a milk crate over it so the dogs can't get them Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sallubrious Posted August 15, 2012 My fucking dog has destroyed more ethno's than I can remember. The cost including vegetables destroyed would have to be well into the thousands. It's destroyed hundreds of Psychotrias, acacias, Pereskiopsis, a Caapi vine, a few Catha some Brugs, thousands of tomatoes (fruit), beans, cucumbers, capsicum, lettuce, kale & peas etc etc. I could go on for ages. It doesn't seem to go for the cactus though, but it has had a few goes at the Peres. I think the Peres doesn't have that columnar cactus appearance that it knows to avoid. It digs holes all over the place, chews that crap anything plastic it can find, howls all night and shits all over the driveway. But besides that it's a fucking good dog. It's a cross between a Golden retriever bitch and Australian cattle cross Kelpie, I like to call it an Australian cunt-hound. Fuck it shits me, every time I go out the back I see a swathe of destruction and my blood boils . It's that bad that the constant stress is affecting my health. I recently erected an electric fence around my vegetable garden so this year I might get some for myself. He copped a good jolt from it one morning when it was wet, so he got the full 10 000 volts with a perfect earth to the wet ground - fuck I laughed - eat my tomatoes you bastard. I'd kill the fucking thing with my bare hands, but the kids love it. I'd kick the fucking thing every time I saw it, but it loves the attention that much that it gets a horn when I do it so it's even taken the fun out of that. The same as when I used to punish it when I'd catch it in the act destroying something. There's some sort of fucked up sado masochism thing going on with him (any attention is good attention sort of thing) Now I can't punish him for anything without him barring up. On the positive side, it's the smartest dog I've ever seen and it is a good ratter and a good watchdog. Don't get a dog with herding genes if it's going into a small area, they just get bored too easily. 10 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mr b.caapi Posted August 15, 2012 Australian Cunt-Hound !!! Baha ! fuckin Gold ! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lhb2444 Posted August 15, 2012 Maya's beautiful! Thankfully with 3 of us sharing the place and me being at uni there's usually only small portions of time where he/she would be left alone so I'm hoping with some toys and what not that should keep them busy. Don't really mind him/her digging things up (too much!) just don't want to come home and find its OD'd on something or a walking pin cushion for cacti spines! SallyD; sounds like you have a lot of trouble with your dog (how is not dead eating up all yours brugs/datura!) any idea why this is? Has it been trained or do you think it comes down to the breed of the dog? (I know kelpies and cattledogs and shit have HUGE amounts of energy to burn) Any suggestions on other good dog breeds (other than staffy's or bulldogs) for small to medium yards? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DarkSpark Posted August 15, 2012 My puppy has nibbled on a loph before and a TBM chunk went missing whether he ate it or not i am not sure. I hope not. As for others not really as far as eating the main trouble is initially trampling of smaller plants etc in the gardens. Just train the dog not to go in the garden and it should be fine. In the interim try and keep things off the ground that are easily damaged. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GoOnThen Posted August 15, 2012 (edited) So you love your dog Sally D I have a staffy x nutbag she has a thing about flies she will hunt them all day and it don't mater what else is there she will destroy it to get at a fly. We have resorted to putting up barriers through our garden to try and stop her flattening plants. After many wasp and bee stings I think she has worked out to leave them alone. She also hunts ants she will stand at an ant trail and just keep biting them as they walk past. I cant use blood and bone as she will empty a pot out and eat the dirt if there is just the smallest amount in the mix. She will pull washing of the line as soon as you go out. The other day we came home and it was like a seen from a horror movie there where arms, legs, bodies and heads half chewed up all over the yard my youngest daughter just stood there with a shocked look on her face and then started crying as she picked up what was left of her Barbie dolls. As for my cacti she keeps her distance these days after a couple of run-ins with Cholla which if you have had any experience with you will realise how hard it is to remove the pups and then the barbed spines from a dogs mouth, arse and tail. Yep dogs are great when they are young and full of energy and at someone else's place Cheers Got Edited August 15, 2012 by GoOnThen Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sallubrious Posted August 15, 2012 Maya's beautiful! Thankfully with 3 of us sharing the place and me being at uni there's usually only small portions of time where he/she would be left alone so I'm hoping with some toys and what not that should keep them busy. Don't really mind him/her digging things up (too much!) just don't want to come home and find its OD'd on something or a walking pin cushion for cacti spines! SallyD; sounds like you have a lot of trouble with your dog (how is not dead eating up all yours brugs/datura!) any idea why this is? Has it been trained or do you think it comes down to the breed of the dog? (I know kelpies and cattledogs and shit have HUGE amounts of energy to burn) Any suggestions on other good dog breeds (other than staffy's or bulldogs) for small to medium yards? I thought getting toys would help so I bought it one of those buster cubes that you put food in and they have to roll it around to get the food out, I set in on the most difficult setting and he sussed it out straight away and worked out how to get all the food out an in less than a mintue. I've had rubber chickens, rabbits, pigs and all sorts of shit to try and keep him distracted but nothing works. He's got heaps of balls and kongs and crap and he rounds it all up and then plays with them all together like he can't decide which one he wants the most - fucking crazy thing. He doesn't really eat much he just destroys it, except tomatoes I think he sucks the juice out of them. Oh yeah and figs he climbs my fig tree and picks my fucking figs too - he eats those. He's been trained he does heaps of tricks. He just can't control his animal instincts. I think it's partly the breed and partly the way he was treated as a pup, I read volumes of the best advice about dogs before I got him and joined a few forums. Their advice was to keep the dog close as a pup so it will make a strong bond with the owner. So I had him inside with me for the first few months, then when he worked out how to open the fridge & started stealing shit out of the fridge and cupboards he got kicked outside, then he went off the rails and turned into a rebel. I really think most of his behavioral problems are to just get my attention. The next dog I get will go straight outside and learn that it's place is out there. My puppy has nibbled on a loph before and a TBM chunk went missing whether he ate it or not i am not sure. I hope not. As for others not really as far as eating the main trouble is initially trampling of smaller plants etc in the gardens. Just train the dog not to go in the garden and it should be fine. In the interim try and keep things off the ground that are easily damaged. My dog knows he's not allowed on the garden, he just makes sure only does it when I'm not watching. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Anodyne Posted August 15, 2012 Don't really mind him/her digging things up (too much!) just don't want to come home and find its OD'd on something or a walking pin cushion for cacti spines! Any suggestions on other good dog breeds (other than staffy's or bulldogs) for small to medium yards? Bull terriers? IME staffies are more playful, but not as smart. Bull terriers (i.e. "English bull terriers") are very intelligent, but this means they can turn into cunning little fuckers if left untrained. I love 'em though - perhaps if I keep googling "GM miniature animals", someone will make one that I can keep in my tiny yard... As for protecting your plants from these miniature dog-shaped tanks... They'll probably learn their lesson about chewing/nudging the cacti pretty quick, and you can always keep seedlings in a protected spot (windowsill, mini-greenhouse, etc). And most dogs won't eat nasty bitter plants if there's some nice long grass around instead. I would be more worried about them digging holes - not because it's a hassle to fill them in/ replant anything that's been excavated - but because many plants become susceptible to rot if their roots are damaged. You don't need to fence off all your plants, but for cacti & anything with a shallow/sensitive root system I would try to create a small barrier around - just a couple of stakes with some plastic mesh wrapped around them shouldn't take up too much space, and might discourage a puppy from digging there. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Evil Genius Posted August 15, 2012 My dog, a beagle, is a pain in the ass about my cacti. He´s about half a year old so i have the hope its getting better. So far, he ate at least three or four grafted cacti, countless large spines and and and. This is really a problem for me because i have many cacti and store some of them in the garden. It got so far that i have to collect every big single spine that falls off and keep him on the line all the time. Im not really happy with this so i hope it really gets better. I underestimated the greed for fodder that beagle have and i thought that they would have some kind of inner sense that tells em not to eat things that can potentially kill them. Now its my task to get rid of everything that can hurt him. Already got rid off all the brugs and nightshades. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
George Simian Posted August 15, 2012 Cunt-hound!!!!! My ribs hurt Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CβL Posted August 15, 2012 I have a 12 year old Jack Russel x Fox Terrier. Best dog ever. Although most of the plants are tucked away behind gates, not all of them are. None of them have been eaten or chewed. The chickens and ducks have also left them alone. I only get problems with snails and slugs (my mortal enemies), and the odd scale growths on the dry plants (not outside with rain on them). That dog has been on a special diet with no fat for a few years (due to a carked pancreas), so it will do anything to get at the sweet, sweet taste of fatty foods. He tears up any rubbish bins that are left unprotected, he gets onto the table and gets food there. The last there was some dried meat in a paper bag on the counter, and it was never seen again. Usually he can't help but make a mess of ripped plastic/paper everywhere, but this time it seems to took the bag into his secret spot and ate it there. No trace of the bag or dried meat was ever found. ^^ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GoOnThen Posted August 15, 2012 Bull terriers? IME staffies are more playful, but not as smart. Bull terriers (i.e. "English bull terriers") are very intelligent, but this means they can turn into cunning little fuckers if left untrained. I love 'em though - perhaps if I keep googling "GM miniature animals", someone will make one that I can keep in my tiny yard... As for protecting your plants from these miniature dog-shaped tanks... They'll probably learn their lesson about chewing/nudging the cacti pretty quick, and you can always keep seedlings in a protected spot (windowsill, mini-greenhouse, etc). And most dogs won't eat nasty bitter plants if there's some nice long grass around instead. I would be more worried about them digging holes - not because it's a hassle to fill them in/ replant anything that's been excavated - but because many plants become susceptible to rot if their roots are damaged. You don't need to fence off all your plants, but for cacti & anything with a shallow/sensitive root system I would try to create a small barrier around - just a couple of stakes with some plastic mesh wrapped around them shouldn't take up too much space, and might discourage a puppy from digging there. I have had a number of Bull terriers and bull terrier crosses and they were all great dogs once they became adults and slowed down a bit. If you want a miniature bull terrier the check this out http://en.wikipedia....%28Miniature%29 this what we were going to get before we got offered the dog we have now. Cheers Got 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Getafix Posted August 15, 2012 Asterix, my English Bull Terrier. He picked up the vibe from me early and knows the cacti are out of bounds and is now my most trustworthy guardian of my cacti, nobody pinching my babies!! 6 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
r2pi Posted August 15, 2012 (edited) cunt-hound - fantastic. We don't have a dog and still I hate them. Neighbours with dogs on 3 sides, always bloody barking. The bastards all think they own our backyard and bark at us continually. They also think they own the paddocks out the back and constantly bark at kangaroos, sheep, alpacas... bloody annoying. Make a nice stew out of it and get some chooks instead. Their proper ecological place is in a wild pack of wolves. Being bred for genetic mutation and then forced to live in a human prison - not my view of a great idea. Edited August 15, 2012 by r2pi Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
theuserformallyknownasd00d Posted August 15, 2012 I know he ain't a dog, but my princess parrot, Sativa, cleaned up 50 loph seedlings roughly 6 mths ago. Little bugger has been seriously unsettled ever since! Or it could be the perlite he ate out of my chilli grow! He's also eaten a chilli (mainly the seeds), half a scelly plant, several salvias and an entire coleus Forskoli. Fuck he's rad in my eyes, such a tripper D00d 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Anodyne Posted August 15, 2012 (edited) If you want a miniature bull terrier the check this out http://en.wikipedia....%28Miniature%29 this what we were going to get before we got offered the dog we have now. Heh, they're so cute. I was thinking of something a bit smaller though, more pocket-sized. I figure something the size of a hamster couldn't do too much damage. What is all this technology good for if we don't use it to create tiny animals? Edited August 15, 2012 by Anodyne Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GoOnThen Posted August 15, 2012 Asterix, my English Bull Terrier. He picked up the vibe from me early and knows the cacti are out of bounds and is now my most trustworthy guardian of my cacti, nobody pinching my babies!! Great looking dog Getafix Looking at that pic brings a tear to my eye dam I miss my Bully Cheers Got Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mr b.caapi Posted August 15, 2012 Beautiful looking Bully !! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Getafix Posted August 15, 2012 (edited) Great looking dog Getafix Looking at that pic brings a tear to my eye dam I miss my Bully Cheers Got Yeah he is a beautiful boy all 35 kilos of him, both his parents NZ champions! Waited 18 months for him but worth it,amasing temperament. Yeah my 3rd Bully, wouldn't have any other dog. Cheers mate Edited August 15, 2012 by Getafix Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jonstn Posted August 15, 2012 (edited) Here's one of our smaller dogs, Chihuahua X foxy (pretty sure foxy) only about the size of your forearm, she's such an attention seeking slut though lol And here she is slutting it up with our Italian greyhound X whippet, he's a gun love the shit outa him Edited August 15, 2012 by Jonstn Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Getafix Posted August 15, 2012 Here's one of our smaller dogs, Chihuahua X foxy (pretty sure foxy) only about the size of your forearm, she's such an attention seeking slut though lol And here she is slutting it up with our Italian greyhound X whippet, he's a gun love the shit outa him Nice!! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Getafix Posted August 15, 2012 Beautiful looking Bully !! Cheers mate, your pup is beautiful too. Ha ha the cactus forum has gone to the dogs Asterix has had a few cactus spines in him too but typical Bully doesn't notice them, I found them by accident and pulled them out!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
quarterflesh Posted August 15, 2012 my staffy chewed all the tops of my pach's when she was a pup. did'nt hurt here. but made the cactus pup like crazy! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
