hortfurball

Oh crap, why do I stupidly click on these links? I feel sick. Those poor dogs, and those poor owners...I can't begin to imagine the devastation of finding your dogs in that state. I thought the bashing of the BM x the other day was awful but this is just beyond words. What sick f*** could do that? Oh Mother Moocher, so true.

No it's not too soon for the wetting agent, although wetting agent is not an excuse not to give enough water, it will help retain the water that you do add. For a really water repellent area, I recommend three applications of wetting agent fortnightly, and then one or two applications at the beginning of spring, summer and autumn. Seasol is a wonder product and virtually can't be overused. I didn't say the topsoil was a bad idea, just that it won't fix the problem. It won't hurt either, and it's good that it has fertiliser and wetting agent in it. Mow it high. Don't scalp, but gentle mowing will encourage it to thicken up. Non flowering patio/shade plants: Spathiphyllum (GR's Peace Lily) - added bonus of leaves wilting when it's past time to water and bouncing back as soon as you water, so is a great 'indicator plant' for the whole area. Big lush green leaves. (also look for the giant form..very gorgeous, I'll try to remember to get a pic of mine in the next couple of days if my camera batteries are charged) Philodendron 'Xanadu' Aspidistra Syngonium (groundcover) Ctenanthe (silver and green leaves with purple undersides) Cordyline 'Kiwi Pride' (green and cream leaves with a hot pink edge) BTW, how tall is 'too tall'? The ones above are all under a metre tall except for the Cordyline, which might make it to 1.5m if it likes you. I did wonder. ;) Post a piccie and I'll probably be able to tell you what they are if you're interested. Try wetting agent out the front too.

I'm with cavmad, sometimes I really hate people. Poor, poor Boof. No dog should ever have to suffer like that. Testament to a remarkable nature that he has come out the other side a loving and lovable boy. That wouldn't satisfy. A brand can't stop them from doing it again. This disgusting excuse for a human being and others who do similar have no business even existing at all as far as I'm concerned. Either lock them up and throw away the key, or wipe them off the face of the earth. But sadly I'm all talk, I could easily sentence him to death if I had the power but could I carry out the killing stroke? Probably not, unless it was as simple as pressing a button...and then looking away. Although catch me within a few minutes of first reading something like this while my blood is still boiling and I reckon I could kill the ars3hol3 with my bare hands.

(sorry Rubystar, I'll keep it short) I'll come by soon when it's not too hot and we'll figure out how to get it looking fab. The justicias flower in winter btw, which is why you don't have any flowers at the moment. ;) Good to hear they've grown though. The cannas might just be settling in. So long as the leaves look healthy I wouldn't worry about flowering at this stage but fertiliser will help bring on flowers.

This thread is great fun! I've had a few belly laughs. I decided I'd try jogging with Ella because walking just doesn't seem like enough exercise for her and I can't let her off leash as she can be reactive. Probably not the best decision I've ever made in my life as she was never that good at heeling in the first place, but we started out slowly with a very gentle jog for a short distance, and as soon as she started surging ahead I'd stop dead to train her that if she didn't behave, she didn't get to do the fun thing. This seemed to be working so I upped the pace a bit...long story short, I've been towed, tripped and suddenly yanked sideways mid run when she spotted a duck a little closer to the path than was good for me. My tip - never sprint unless your dog is REALLY well behaved, because they can always run faster than us, and once they hit the end of that leash and start towing you, stopping in a timely manner can be problematic.

I love your style! It really pisses me off to see dog poo at my local park, it's just not that hard to pick it up, and if you are squeamish about hygiene like me, well that's why they invented that nifty hand sanitiser! I always have a little handy size one in my bag, along with a roll of poo bags. I've been walking with someone whose dog has done its business and they've said "Oh dear I've run out of bags" and gone to walk off. "That's ok," says I cheerfully, "I always carry spares!" and handed them a bag.

I remember, Golden Rules (now that I've figured out who you are, LOL!) How's the garden looking? Should be quite lush by now. If mine's anything to go by your cannas should be showing their true colours and the justicias should hopefully have shown why I rave about them. 'Bout time I called you to arrange a visit I reckon! Rubystar, I second what Tiggy and Golden Rules say - I'd keep the apricot too. The palm...well...you won't find a taker for a cocos that big unless you are willing to call all the big landscaping companies and maybe a developer or two, and even then they probably won't want it as cocos went out of favour when everyone realised what a pain in the butt they are. I have one down the back of my place too and it has a MOUND of berries under it from years of them building up before I moved in...then of course there's the thousands of cocos babies springing up...eurk. Regarding recommendations for plants, no worries, but I need more info regarding sun/shade, aspect, your preferences and yep, you can book me for a consultation if you like, mates rates of course, but in the meantime, take the little bit of advice I gave you earlier and get yourself down to Bunnings for some Seasol and wetting agent. It's only about $16 (I think) for a double pack of Seasol and the wetting agent shouldn't cost you more than about $15 either. (possibly a bit cheaper, my memory fails me as I bought them wholesale in a keg a few years ago so haven't bought retail for a few years) Then after applying them, make sure you give the lawn some water regularly. You are allowed to hand water outside of your watering days by the way.

Yeah, sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings. Hard to say how many exactly they'd need to eat to get sick, it's not specified anywhere that I've read, just that they are toxic in 'large' doses. The trees do drop a LOT in one day when it's that time of year though. I used to have one at my old place and Ella used to try to scoff any berries she could find so we fenced off access to the side and behind the shed (where the tree was) and I'd rake them all up from in front of the shed daily. Would easily get a plastic shopping bag worth if not more each day. My dogs are inside when I'm not home so it wasn't too much of an issue for me, I would just rake as soon as I got home, with Ella trying her best to steal them from my raking pile as I went. I'd just keep her well away from that area until I'd finished collecting them, but she definitely got the odd few because the cheeky shit used to race me to the area when I let the dogs out and snuffle up a few before I could chase her away. As far as safety is concerned, I'd be just as worried about a branch dropping on one of the dogs in high winds so I'd get rid of it as soon as you can afford it. There is a pollarded jacaranda at my current place that I'm wary of when it's a bit stormy or windy. I'm renting so nothing I can do about it but keep the dogs inside in bad weather and only let them out briefly for toilet breaks. Personally I think pollarding should be illegal. Sorry, don't know how much it would cost to remove the tree.

You just erase the excess stuff when you reply, LOL! If you copy and paste opening and closing quote tags (make sure every quote has an opening tag and a closing tag, you can even separate bits from the rest of the quote like I just did. Strangely that was rather an anticlimax. :D OMG! :rofl: Little tearies! I could picture that so well because I know that getting jumped on, pinned down and smooched maneuvre well, Ella's a master. Once when I was doing a training session with Ella (dog reactive so on leash at an on leash park), had treats in my pocket and every time a dog approached I'd get her to sit and stay just off the path out of the way and ignore the dog as it passed to earn her treat. One stupid idiot let his dog approach from behind on a loose leash and get right up her rear and when I glared at him he said the classic "It's ok, my dog's friendly" to which I replied the becoming equally classic "Mine's not". She's not unfriendly as such, but I just wanted to let the guy know what a moron he was being letting his dog approach a strange dog unexpectedly from behind when it's clearly busy training and he has no clue as to its temperament anyway.

I was also going to mention the exemptions. Newly laid turf should be watered three times daily for the first couple of weeks, gradually easing off to twice a day, then once a day, then every second day etc over a period of about 8 weeks until you are watering on your approved days. Next time you have a green related problem, feel free to PM me (preferably before the green thing is brown ) The first four letters of my user name should give you a hint as to why. :D I'd strongly recommend getting yourself a clip on hose pack of Seasol and another of wetting agent. Apply both then repeat a fortnight later. Top dressing really wasn't the solution in this case so don't expect a sudden return to life. Chicken wire will cost you a bucketload less than any other sort of mesh and wooden garden stakes cost heaps less than star pickets, which are surprisingly expensive when you add them all up. As a temporary measure chicken wire doesn't look too shoddy. Now do you want the bad news on your 'lovely' shady tree? Sorry but I'm going to give it to you anyway. It is a Cape Lilac (Melia Azedarach), also known as White Cedar, and those berries are toxic to dogs and humans in large doses, as are the leaves. With dogs other than labs, maybe not such an issue but labs being so food driven will scoff as many of those attractive berries as they can. Aside from the toxicity, it has been pollarded in the past (cut very severely back to the main trunk and destroying the natural shape of the tree) so that those long thin branches going straight up are a hazard in a storm as they have a weak point where they spring from rather than a nice shapely branch flowing strongly from the trunk. (I'm not describing what I mean very well so I hope you get it) Anyway, once a tree has been pollarded, you have to have it done every couple of years or the tree can become dangerous as the branches can snap off quite easily in high winds. It is also a tree that has been banned by some councils because of the dreadful white cedar moth caterpillars that march through your house like a furry flood, and are horribly itchy to touch. It is also an invasive environmental weed. Shame about all of the above because they can be quite pretty when not pruned. My recommendation would be the one off cost of having the tree removed, and replace it with a more suitable tree (or two smaller trees). Crepe Myrtles (Lagerstroemia indica) are nice if you want two smaller trees. Native frangipani (Hymenosporum flavum) is also pretty and reasonably fast growing.

I had a pretty good idea of what a borzoi looks like but I wouldn't have guessed either, because seeing photos of adult borzoi in books is different to seeing a puppy without all the feathering that defined the borzoi in the books. How's this for an embarrassing moment of mistaken identity? I had been admiring a couple of salukis that regularly walk down my street for a couple of months while trying to decide if they were borzoi or salukis. I finally decided they were too small for borzoi, came inside and looked at my dog books and confirmed that they were salukis. Can't always rely on the old brain to retain information though. Next time the lady walked past, I gushed "I love your borzois!" :p I got a slightly haughty glare and "They're salukis" as I looked for the nearest thing to bash my forehead against. So instead of making her day by getting her breed right, I came across as a know it all dumbass. I've been too embarrassed to speak to her since. 3-4 years later she still walks her dogs past, mind you I've moved down the road, maybe she won't realise it's me!

I don't think you should ever allow your dog to approach another dog without the permission of that dog's owner. But that's just me. They don't know if your dog is friendly or not. Their dog may have issues and not like being rushed - previous aggression by other dogs, and injury that can cause pain if the dog is knocked over, or may have behavioural issues that are controlled as long as the dog is not crowded. Sounds like the dogs got on fine but the owner was the one with 'issues' - thought a dog trying to have a drink constituted an 'attack' on her. If you have a dog with issues, it shouldn't be off leash at an off leash park anyway unless there's nobody around, and if someone comes, you should leash it and go, so it's a moot point if others should or shouldn't approach - you shouldn't be in that situation in the first place. I have a dog reactive dog. I only go to ON leash parks, where I expect other dogs to be ON leash as she is. In that situation, yes I get shitty when an off leash dog approaches because by law, it should be leashed. (my main park is a bird sanctuary and there are signs everywhere saying dogs are to be on leash only) WTF??????????? ;) My thoughts exactly! Who picks up a stranger's dog anyway? By the feet? And throws it? :p What bloody idiot would throw a dog out of a dog park? Especially into a playground? That woman deserved more than a piece of your tongue, Kiesha. I would have threatened all sorts of legal action, starting with animal cruelty. Exactly! And it makes about as much sense... Oh come on, spill! I'm dying to know what breed or crossbreed of dog looks scary to a rottie owner! It's not like you're badmouthing the breed or doing the media assumption thingo, you've already said he was harmless so please tell. *prepares to fall off chair laughing*

I have been reading but didn't post before because I only found the thread when Grover was due to come home and thought all was well. So sorry to hear you are going through this with Grover. (hug) Hugs to you both and an extra special hug for Grover, hope the AB's do the trick and he comes good soon.

I won't answer the other stuff because I think Poodlefan and Sas gave great answers, but for the above situation, leash or pen the pup out of the way when you are playing fetch so he can watch but not interact, and then switch dogs so he knows he gets his turn. My theory is that eventually (hopefully) he will realise that when you play with Nate, he has to wait his turn and stand aside.

Cuteness incarnate!!

Photos of the animals on my computer...approximately 400 not including double ups. Of those, ones with me in...about 15 if you include the ones where my head is cut off. Of those, ones that I could bear to show...3 This one shows how patient Kuges is (having his nails filed) but otherwise isn't exactly a flash photo. The third needs resizing and it's late...

Hey Tats, Kuges is trained to only eat with a certain word. Ella on the other hand would be a gonner. Some dogs are easier to train than others. You do have to be very careful with this one and think of ALL eventualities, for instance, what if you and OH are involved in an accident (god forbid). It is essential that some other people know the word. In my case pretty much all of my good friends and my dad know Kuga's word, and Ella's, not that hers matters much at this stage. You know you've succeeded when someone comes up to you at a party and says "What's wrong with your dog? He won't eat the food I'm trying to give him." Ok, so Kuges was trained from day dot, but I'm sure it's doable with an older dog. Ella at 7yo may finally be settled enough to try it in earnest with! :laugh: Basically I make them both sit before their bowl is put down, then put bowl down, if they make a move "Ah!" to correct, then say word and off they go. So start with introducing an individual word for each dog (if this is the way you want to go). Choose a word that nobody trying to bait them will think of, such as 'waffle' or something equally ludicrous. Make sure it doesn't sound similar to any normal command words, nor like anything a potential baiter might use in trying to get them to eat. ('eat', 'good boy', 'dinner', 'food', 'mmmm nice meat' and the classic 'ok') 'Winner' or 'neat' for instance would NOT be recommended. To introduce this, you might have to feed them separately for a while until they get the hang of 'their' word. Sit them as usual, and then say the new nominated word instead of 'eat' (your current one?) for a few weeks or until you are confident they have it. Bring them back together and see how they go recognising their individual words. Gradually extend the delay between putting the bowl down and giving the word. But occasionally do an immediate one too just to mix it up. Practice the same with treats. Never give the dogs any treats/food/scraps without their word. If you drop some food accidentally, they must also wait for their word before hoovering. Once you get fairly confident that they've got it, put food down and take a step back before saying the word. Then a couple of steps. Bring a couple of your best friends into the equation so that the dogs learn it is the word, not the person that matters. This way when you go away it is as simple as giving the word to the person feeding them. Next step - if your word is 'waffle' say 'poffle' and be prepared for instant correction if they so much as twitch! After that, try wiffle, wuffle, moffle, coffee, etc until they are 100% reliable with their word. (only one 'wrong' word per session, then the correct word and lots of praise, and don't do this every night in a row, it may confuse them, just once or twice a week) I can rhyme anything with Kuga's word and he won't budge 'til I get it right. I can even keep the consonants and change the vowels and he still won't react. (Ella, on the other hand, is a work in progress - good with her dinner and during training sessions, but anything else is a free for all) After this pic was taken, I said Kuga's word then Ella's word then Ebony's word, and they all ate their biccies one by one. They only ate the biccie in front of them, because to eat the biccie in front of a different dog would require the word a second time and it didn't come. This is another important rule. They must wait for the word for each individual treat, unless it is in their bowl. To train this, put one treat near the dog and one a metre or more away. Say the word, allow the dog to eat the first treat, and correct if they go to eat the second, then once they are waiting, say the word and let them have it Advanced training and foolproof testing. Everything above may take 6 months to a year's practice, then, you can take yourself out of the equation to see how the dogs behave when their bosses aren't around. Make sure you get a friend to do this that you trust to discipline the dogs and be right on it, or you won't achieve anything. You can be in the next room, but the dogs have to THINK you can't see them. Do this in a variety of locations, your house, your friend's house, different friends, different scenarios (dinner, treats, "Oops I dropped some food and didn't notice" but being VERY aware of any movement) I'll give you more info if needed on foolproof testing later if you want, I'm all typed out, lol! (and it's time to cook tea) Any way that's what has worked for me, I just need to do some concentrated training with Ella and she'll toe the line. Edited for clarity.

Oh Kaz, teary all over again here. Such beautiful photos you posted. R.I.P. Beautiful boy. You will be sadly missed.

Thanks Harminee, lovely job once again.

Oh Harminee, I didn't know you weren't well. Get better soon and don't worry about my sig until you want to, it's waited a couple of months for me to get my act together and organise the pics - it can wait however long you need!

Hi Harminee, Please can I ask for your creative assistance again? Bad timing I know with all the chrissie siggie requests, and just generally coming up to Chrissie being a busy time for people, especially with kids, but I think it is time for a change and have loved the siggie you did for me so would love a new Harminee creation. I've delayed it 'cos I have to remove Ebs seeing as she's no longer mine and I don't want to so I think she may have to be relegated to the background or maybe a really small pic of her in a heart or something, just so she's there but not such a focus if you know what I mean. I would like a change of colour to something a little more in tune with the DOL site colours so was thinking blue/teal or blue/purple. Thank you so much, and no rush, just whenever you have time (if that will even happen before January now! ) Here's a bunch of new piccies I'd like used... Kuga Ella Joely (whichever of these you think works better) India Ebony (to be included in a subtle way) This one somewhere if possible (in the background or whatever works, if it can't be included, no stress) Thanks heaps ETA: Doofus here forgot to ask if you can include my existing quote if possible too, ta, and if you want to put a 'Harminee's creations' bit on it somewhere feel free as the little note under it at the moment technically makes the sig too big I think but maybe Troy let it go or I didn't have any complaints.

Hi training people, some of you may have seen my thread in general...or not. Unfortunately I find myself in the awful situation of having to rehome 15 month old kelpie x border collie Ebony due to irreconcilable differences between her and my other bitch, and I want only the very best home for her, where she can reach the potential she shows in obedience. Ebony was a late starter to obedience as she came to me as a 14 week old rescue pup and was scared to go out on leash, so it took a while of gentle persuasion just to get her to walk out of the house. Her first class was a bit of a mess as she kept stopping and not moving so the trainer told us we'd better work separately so as to get out of everyone's way. The second class the trainer could not believe it was the same dog. The fourth class was a bit large so we got chosen along with a couple of others to join the intermediate class for the night, the trainer even looked astounded as she picked us. Unfortunately that's when I discovered her hip dysplasia, so I wound down activities and waited until she'd had her initial course of Cartrophen injections and Joint Guard before resuming obedience. Then winter and bad weather arrived so classes were intermittent, so she'd only done 8 or so classes when the graduation from foundation class came up. She placed second only because she'd never seen witches hats or worked alone before but was one of only a few dogs not to break the stay. This was only recently and we've since only done a couple more classes, so after a grand total of 10 (ish) classes, she will work off leash, knows sit, drop, heel, stand, sit-stays, down-stays, and have just added stand-stays, heel at fast pace and heel at slow pace. Yesterday she was one of only 3 or 4 out of approx 20 dogs to maintain a down stay for the full 3 minutes with me approx 10 metres away, while the dogs either side of her broke and their owners went back to them (so high level of distraction). She automatically sits when you stop unless given an alternative command. We've been doing the correct return around the dog as well, after the stays. Her placement at your side is great and she doesn't wriggle forward or sit side on. Her recalls are reliable but not exuberant, no matter how much of an idiot I made of myself I couldn't get her to be joyous about it, she's just steady. I think she will go all the way in obedience trialling as she is super smart, learns quickly and is very willing to please, she even did proper left-about-turns off leash for the first time ever at our last class without anything but a bit of finger wiggling and tongue clicking. My trainers think she could do some of the less strenuous agility exercises but obviously her hips would stop her doing some of them. Her hips don't seem to bother her too much with the Cartrophen and Joint Guard, neither of which are horribly expensive. I'd love it if a DOLer could take her on, so that I could follow her progress. If anyone is interested, please let me know, she's a fantastic little girl and very cuddly too. Her piccies are on page 9 of my thread in General, also some information about why I have to give her up. ETA: I forgot to list a couple of the things she knows. I don't think I've forgotten anything else.

Just curious...if there were two other larger dogs living with the small dog, what were they doing when the two dogs dug under the fence and killed their companion? Why was there no fight between the larger resident dogs and the interlopers? Did the two resident dogs join in the kill through pack mentality? Did the two interlopers even get under the fence? Two pretty large dogs - would have to have been one heck of a hole! Not saying that these two dogs were innocent but it IS possible. I'd want proof that they actually made it under the fence and were the killers before I decided anything. I only mention this because the OP said 'apparently' the dogs had dug under the fence.

Hi Loraine! Long time no speak. I've just realised how naive/gullible I am. Ella ate some hard plastic and threw it up in little chewed up bits with some blood and I shelled out money at the vets for something to coat the stomach and gut so as not to get any more damaged, and antibiotics in case infection set in. Your vet just says feed soft food and watch him. Man am I a sucker!

Oh Shek, hugs to you too. You guys are so amazing. I also hope Jaida's just having a bad day and will pick up tomorrow.