frufru

How does one leave the back door open and prevent snakes, cane toads and thieves from entering??????

Yes, I understood that Sunnycoastcav - just haven't had time to post and I do steer clear of "General" because some sort of pack mentality does seem to operate :cry: You sound like a great dog owner and your puppy will be fine with the time and arrangements you have indicated Hope you enjoy your engagements leading up to Christmas - your puppy will be happy and safe at home in their pen My male standard poodle (all 30 kg of him) would be very distressed if I wanted to leave him outside during the day - he dislike flies and is terrified of march flies - it would be an act of cruelty to leave him outside . I don't think it is up to others to make blanket judgements about how we house out animals. :mad

A sheltie requires brushing and if it is probably easier to get it professionally washed and blow dried as it is such a thick coat but the actual brushing is not difficult. A poodle would require regular grooming appointments which can be quite expensive depending on your location

Poor sweet little angel - I hope they get the bastards who did this. My heart goes out to her breeders for all they have endured. :cry:

This product is not advised for dogs who have seizures/epilepsy. Info is available either on the leaflet enclosed or on the manufacturers website (can't remember which). One of my dogs had seizures several years ago so I don't use this product on him. If you have any doubts concerns contact the company.

As long as your dog has never had seizures this is a great product - very effective.

Yes, you should have that right Nawin.

agree

Sheridan, obviously I was being facetious in my last sentence .....

I didn't ask the question to revisit the big dog vs small dog debate; all dogs can be aggressive. However, reality is that if big dogs attack then people and dogs can end up very badly injured or dead. As an owner of large dogs for over 15 years and now with a mini poodle added to the mix my greatest fear has always been large loose dogs when I am out walking with mine - small ones I apply the boot to or growl at and they generally run away. My walks are more complicated now as I pick my mini up if we are charged or encounter large loose dogs - not an option with my big guys - the largest weighs 30kg. I am much more afraid of off leash large dogs than small ones. Idiot owners of large dogs seen to be different to idiot owners of small dogs too - yes I am applying a stereotype - it is called "profiling" I just hope they develop a dna test for "idiot dog owner"

So sorry for this lady and her beloved dog. It is a disgrace that a mature lady cannot walk her little dog without it being savagely killed in front of her - I am so sick of these attacks and the arsewipes that own these dogs. Serious question - why do these fatal attacks invariably involve larger dogs? Having been charged by several sets of dogs over the last few months while I am out walking my 3 (a mini poodle and 2 standards) I have found that I can scare off smaller dogs whereas the larger ones keep coming. I am 5foot2 inches tall and while a small dog might find me intimidating - larger dogs do not - they are also not put off by my two standard poodles who are not small dogs. :cry:

Actually it does matter what breed they are - a breed predisposition to dog aggression and a large and powerful build is going to be much more of a problem if not managed correctly.

Gorgeous :thumbsup:

These bans are driven by developers who want to develop these lucrative areas at all costs - Koala Beach is on a hill overlooking a gorgeous area of beach. There are huge areas of off leash dog beaches so it is not that people don't interact with or see dogs. The local markets is one of a handful of markets that allows dogs. The Tweed region is growing at an unbelievable rate - in the 10 years that we lived in Pottsville there were 3 new estates with about 8/9 stages each - all sold out then between kingscliff and Bogangar (yes, they do call it that Stan's mum LOL - Aboriginal. I expect) the Salt and Casurina developments on the most treacherous piece of coastline in the area - sold out for amazing amounts of money. So if people could stop moving there it would really help the Koalas - we moved away because it was turning into the Gold Coast - wall to wall housing as far as the eye could see. :cry: All very sad for people who remember this area from their childhood, If it were not for Koala lobby groups and greens these estates would go ahead with no provision for koalas at all. Even the Byron Council (very green)has had to approve the development of new estates and Lennox Head is unreognizable as the village I new as a child......The state government has the power to override local gov't in many planning matters :cry: Oh, and as an after thought - when you get huge population increases like this - that is when we find dogs banned from beaches - we have already lost the right to swim dogs and horses in the Hastings Creek and I attended protests to prevent the loss of off leash dog beaches several times

Koala Beach is one of the developments I was referring to - it has no cats and no dogs as does a section of Bogangar (Cabarita). There are also rules about fencing etc. Koalas do travel on the ground between trees - they don't swing on vines. Prices in Koala Beach were a little lower than in other new estates but not much. There were at least 7 stages and they didn't appear to have any trouble selling them so it would seen there is a market. Not a place I would live - but hey show me a lout free estate or mayhaps even a kid free one and I possibly could be a starter ....

Dogs do present a problem to koalas (as does loss of habitat of course). If the development is going to go ahead (despite efforts to stop it) - then I would prefer to see it with the no cats and dogs!

This concept is not new in the Tweed area - there are already several developments that ban the ownership of cats and dogs due to resident Koala populations. They also have other restrictions on fencing and traffic flow which facilitate koala movement. It is simple - if you want to own a cat or dog then don't buy or build in these developments. They represent a minority of housing choices in the area. Personally, I would like to see a greater number of developments which ban drunken louts!!!!!!

It is very interesting to read everyones replies and to see that there are not many like Corvus and myself who think that once the spirit has gone it is just a body - my memories and photos are what remain of my dog - we had our girls cremated but did not get the ashes back. I think it is very good to be thinking and talking about the decision well before it has to be made - wishing CW many more happy years

Kirislin, I think you need to ring the vet and ask them why it is an emergency. I have always understood that it is an emergency if your dog has a seizure and does not come out (eg longer than 2 mins) or has clusters (seizures one after another) I would think that if he has another you will need to start medication (but this would not explain the emergency comment) - perhaps the bloods were to establish levels before beginning meds??? A general blood test may have been done as part of initial diagnostic testing to see if there is something causing the seizures. You need to understand what your vet is doing and why. good luck

Shih tzu's are one of the breeds with a high incidence of Renal Dysplasia - could be worth investigating

Charjas, they often do this but I just show them that they can lie down in the collar and leave - if he had stitches you would have no choice

Charjas - quite often by putting stuff on you actually encourage the dog to lick it off - put the collar on so that he can't continue to lick - sometimes it is a bit like when we scratch a mozzie bite - if you leave it alone it is ok but as soon as you scratch you can't stop

Charjas - it is posible that he picked up a flea at the groomers or somewhere else. My old girl who had allergies (food and fleas) would scratch herself silly if she got one flea. Give both dogs a capstar tablet to make sure that there are no fleas - just becasue they have never had one does not mean they can't get them. Ask your groomer to bathe the dogs in a specific shampoo from now on that you know is fine for them. If you want to rebath then do so with your normal shampoo or use the calenduala tea rinse that is often recommended on DOL. You should come and say hi in the poodle thread

NPersonally I don't like to see poodle crosses with a clipped poodle face as they generally don't have the nice shaped head of the poodle - the Teddy bear Trim looks good because it leaves face hair but you remove the hair under the eyes

I would be asking for a detailed explanation of the statement - and then I would be changing vets.