Vehs

Yeah parents would be a good bet - D was very dark as a little pup and now look at him! His black is nearly all gone! 2 months, 2 months, 3 years, 9 years

could always check here: http://www.tams.act.gov.au/live/pets/keeping_dogs_in_the_act#dangerous http://www.legislation.act.gov.au/a/2000-86/current/pdf/2000-86.pdf I think there was a discussion on DOL that a sign just opens you up to legal trouble if anything happens. I just padlock all my gates and am lucky in this place that the meters are in front of the gate. At parents house we had to make arrangements for D to be elsewhere if a meter check was happening.

I have a 9yr old GSD, and if there was one thing I'd change it would be how much he sheds. He gets (at least) weekly brushes and generally a monthly bath with a HV dryer (I do casual grooming). My house is mostly carpet (which I wouldn't change, because I'm often rolling around on the floor with him) and I vacuum with a dyson twice a week. He was on medication for a serious problem and the medication stopped him shedding for the time he was on it but it also had other bad side effects. Of course it's seasonal, but if the dog is an inside dog, as mine is, they don't have proper coat seasons because they get affected by our heating/air conditioning, but you'll still find more undercoat floating round the yard at THIS time of year. funny - as a child I don't remember our Shepherd shedding at all, but she was sickly and we lived in the tropics so she didn't have to develop a wintercoat.

hrm I knew of a roo who was drowned by two dogs and D and I were stalked by a big male roo in suburbia a few weeks back - scary!

I would do a search, this issue comes up multiple times every summer on dol I don't live in a tick area and I'm against clipped healthy double coated breeds - when dogs get old and cannot put up with lengthy grooming sessions or have a skin disorder then I would clip.

heh we laugh when we walk the dogs in offlead areas that ppl must think the GSD is his and the SWF is mine I think I have bigger issues in my life than getting worried about this

When my mum called me when D had bloat it was because he was pacing, looking uncomfortable and she said he was dry retching. When I went to get him (I was 2min round the corner) I felt his abdomen and it was tight, firm and swollen and his gums were a light pink I knew what it was and got him to the vet (who then dicked around while he was, essentially, dying) He paced around in the back of the wagon for the trip.. and he did break wind a couple of times, which he doesn't do I know my dog pretty well so I know when he needs an emergency vet and when he doesn't - he ripped his toenail off and when I rang up to see what they would do it was everything I could do at home so I left it - it's grown back fine. When in doubt I would recommend anyone take them to the vet

My GSD got perianal fistulas/anal furunculosis about a year ago - I diagnosed it over the internet and them finally got confirmation at a vets - many were just ignoring me GSDs are more prone to it than other breeds because of the wide base of their tail and some genetic factors. It was a VERY costly medication that he went on, but thankfully it was effective. I did think he was having a relapse and had discussed surgery with the vet that would involve removing one of his anal glands, but luckily he seems to be over it. I think I caught it early because his bum never got as abscessy as photos I saw on a support forum. His main symptom was excessive licking of his bum and then on the day I was taking him to the vet extreme discomfort when defectating. He was also clearly in a lot of pain when he was probed, but as his treatment went on you could tell things were clearing up in the back end because he wouldn't fight when getting probed just look at me like, 'what again?' He would have been 7 when he got it

how tough losing them close together

yeah strip it out or use thinning scissors but i think it's cute! i try to get my GSD to have one sometimes...

hrm, well I can tell by smell if a male dog is intact or not but can't tell a difference between a desexed male or female

D really, really wants them - but will only actually eat them after I have licked the flavouring off what a nasty shock he gets when I forget to do that!

Lucas actually used a Mal for Chewy's voice

D was on pred for about 2 weeks - he was a completely different dog, very subdued and miserable - he would barely even wag his tail when I got home , a minor side effect was increased thirst. Luckily he was only on the pred while he was being diagnosed and there was different medication that was considered more successful for his condition than the pred (and a lot costlier!)

aww very cute

saw this on FB

bahahaha I wish the D ate lettuce, would certainly help the budget!

oh dear NM, hope she's ok...

I watched that the other day - really neat! Glad they didn't have his whole life photographed - I would have ended up a sobbing mess

Dieter is known as the fun police - and if two dogs are having a fun at a get together and he is not involved he will go and bark at them Recently on a walk a little dog we were with 'went' a man on a bike (he'd probably never seen a bike before) and D ran over and barked at him to tell him off - he is such a brat