hortfurball

I got to the end of page two and had to stop reading before I burst into tears. Oops, too late.

How anyone could dump their oldie is beyond me. I just can't understand why everyone else doesn't think of them as a treasured old friend the way we do.

Doh! So close yet so far! Wouldn't have got some of them in a blind fit! :laugh:

Ok, no fun looking at spoilers so will do that after I post.

Rottie, dalmatian, Amstaff

Pug, Sibe, OES (or westie if I go cross-eyed :laugh:)

BC, poodle, Bernese

Peke/Shar Pei, Boston, GSD

CKCS, Maremma/Great Pyrenees , Dobe

Gee if you stare at one for long enough you see all sorts of possibilities.

Ella's diet has changed over her life depending on the needs of her companion dogs. She could live on anything, cast iron stomach.

When we adopted Rolf he was underweight and we were recommended a whole bunch of stuff to bulk him up - Supercoat biscuits with chicken or beef mince, lamb flaps, sardines, tuna in oil, lactose free milk, yoghurt, cheese etc etc.

Turns out he is incredibly fussy and wouldn't touch lamb flaps if his life depended on it. If I tried to flavour his dinner with any of the suggested add-ons, he'd sniff it suspiciously and walk off. The one time I tried him with sardines I regretted it because the cleanup was almost vomit inducing. The best I could do and actually get him to eat it was chicken necks for brekkie, and for dinner Supercoat biscuits mixed in with chicken mince (not that NASTY beef stuff, and don't you go trying to mix it in because I'll know!!) He'd still regularly skip meals though.

Heard talk that Black Hawk was very appealing to fussy eaters and gradually switched him over to the lamb and rice (still with chicken mince). He seemed a little keener. Then my supplier got the chicken and rice in, and I heard the kibble was larger so we tried that. He actually gets excited at dinner time now instead of looking like it's some torture I'm forcing him to endure. So Black Hawk chicken and rice (with chicken mince) it is! They still have their chicken necks for brekkie and Ella doesn't mind a bit. :)

I just called the store. They are $295. Get real!

Did you mention the fact that their pups are not what they say they are?

A couple of years ago PAWS got a call from someone wanting to surrender a Chihuahua puppy - it was purebred they said, bought from a Hornsby pet shop. A present for their daughter who was going overseas (WTF??). They had the dog for 2 weeks and then daughter went so wanted to get rid of it. It was being kept outside in the meantime they said. We were soooo worried about a tiny Chi pup being outside in winter. Imagine our surprise when they were wheeling this huge puppy in a shopping trolley - it was a kelpie cross ...

The bolded bit absolutely horrifies me. The disposable dog syndrome is just so maddening.

Speaking of petshops misleading people...if you believe the petshop I got Ella from (11 years ago before I knew better) she was supposed to be a rottie x English mastiff...

at only 24 kilos and looking mostly kelpie, somehow I don't think so.

I'm so sorry for your loss.

Toby really was a gorgeous boy. RIP stunning young man.

No larger dog, just a larger walking buddy...perhaps with an ex boxing background and a really good right hook! The 50 yo should be ashamed of himself. Hope someone dobs him in, I can't stand people who pick on older people.

He's just gorgeous. If I see a young black Great Dane around Perth would I get arrested if I dashed up to the owner and asked if they were Hotfurball?? :laugh:

There's an easier way, just see if his tag says 'Rolf'! :laugh: I think he and Ella together are pretty unmistakable ;) But if you want to meet him, just say the word! :)

Thanks Tarope, we think so too :)

Danois, we switched him from Supercoat (which was what was first recommended by a show person whose dogs all look great on it) to Black Hawk Lamb and Rice a while back and it seemed to make a difference. He also really liked it which was a bonus with a fussy eater. A couple of weeks ago we thought we'd try the Black Hawk Chicken and Rice and he LOVES it so it's here to stay so long as he keeps loving it. With him being fussy, I don't want to keep chopping and changing.

Our vet is within walking distance, so about a minute by car if we had to get him there quickly, and has a 24 hour on call emergency service. We are going to get some stronger antihistamines though.

Simply Grand, they're always 'little' when they're hurt, no matter how big they are physically. :)

Anyway, everything's relative. He IS little compared to a horse, or a hippo...

Thanks everyone :) Not so beautiful after a beesting! :laugh:

I hope Rolf is fully recovered now and he doesn't have anymore nasty reactions.

No such luck. Just after I posted last night he made it three in a week. Much less severe though, just the hives and no swelling but I was all ready to call the emergency vet for a while. After about 10 or 15 minutes though the head shaking was settling down and there was no swelling, so I waited it out and it didn't get worse. I'm thinking Sunday's was a bee and last nights might have been wasp, ant, mozzie or spider. As for Tuesday's, maybe it would have settled too if I hadn't taken him to the vet, but I wasn't taking any chances after Sunday. Please let that be it for the year.

Personally I don't think you should wait to be seein in a case like Rolf had, routine treatment can wait a little longer :)

I agree. Probably won't go to that other vet again unless we have to. That was pretty shoddy treatment. We know that the other people wating were just there for vaccinations. They had four dogs with them and were getting them all vaccinated. I think that vet works on 'first in first seen', not appointments. The person who was in when we got there was still in half an hour later. Longest consult ever. They only had one vet on (understandable on a Sunday)

The other benefit with our vet of choice, is that they process tests on site, so results are almost instantaneous.

Rolf is gorgeous, I love seeing new piccies of him. :)

And he's looking really good Hortfurball.

As the owner of a skinny dog myself, it can seem such slow progress to get weight onto them. A two steps forward, one step back process at times.

Absolutely! He's such a fussy eater it doesn't make it easy. And he goes off colour at least once a month and doesn't eat for 24 hours. Most frustrating! Can't believe it's taken nearly 6 months just to get 6 1/2 kilos on him! C'mon Rolfie, just get to 65 kilos and I'll be happy.

Poor Rolf had a reaction to a bee or wasp on Sunday. He was very unhappy, rubbing his face on everything - even tried to rub it on one of the cats! I gave him some Polaramine and decided to watch and see and take him to the vet if needed. Rolfie refused to have a cold pack applied (apparently they must kill dogs with them from the carry-on) and we upset him greatly by chasing him around and trying to mist cold water onto his face (cruel, cruel people!)

Sneaking some pics of the sorry patient made me decide he needed a road trip. The Polaramine I gave him when we first saw the swelling had so little effect as to be useless. By this stage the entire side of his face had swollen and it was starting to creep over the top of his nose to the other side so we didn't want to risk any respiratory issues so we just called to find out which was the nearest open vet, grabbed the dogs and left. Half an hours drive, then had to wait about an hour while they saw TWO other patients, one in already and one in the waiting room (slow as a wet week) but eventually Rolfie got two injections so his face started to go down and he was feeling a lot happier. He also loved us again after the cold pack and water misting episodes. :D

This is how Rolf looked when we woke him up to drag him off to the vet, took the photo and ran out of the door - Poor baby doesn't even look like a dane in this pic.

Recovering...note the lip!

Rolf decided he liked the vet attention and went for a repeat performance on Tuesday morning. Caught it early, recognised the head rubbing/shaking and didn't muck around. No photos this time, no human antihistamines, just took him straight to the vet while it still looked like hives instead of huge swelling.

My vet is awesome! They said come straight down and we'll try to fit you in. When I got there the waiting room was full and they said they'd do the best they could to squeeze him in but obviously the appointments took precedence. But then they heard all the head shaking and with Rolf flicking slobber everywhere every time he shook his head, we were called in almost immediately. The lovely vet said they could see he was in obvious distress so he became a priority. Then I had to tell her she had a big wad of slobber on the back of her shoulder. :laugh:

SO different to our experience at the other Vet, waiting for an hour when there was ONE other person in the waiting room.

He had some mild oedema in his ears from the head shaking but not too bad, and it went away over the next couple of days.

Another Rolf effort

Wow! He's lovely! Great Pyrenees?

Typical boy horts!

I know :D Was going to say that but thought the DOL boys might tell me off for being sexist :laugh:

It was going to be a good photo until he went off balance

What does the mass of fur on the right hand side of the pic belong to?

Wonderful thread! So many funny faces! Boomer is hysterical!

Ella's efforts...

and very unfair to post this one (allergic reaction to bee or wasp sting) but

And Rolf's effort (he has an aversion to eating on occasion)

The main offender in this house for farting is our newest addition - Rolf has absolutely no shame, does a big stretch with front paws forward, bum in the air and lets out the loudest farts that make everyone clear the room - Ella, the cats and us. Ella at least has the grace to look at her backside with a slightly alarmed "What was THAT?" expression when she does the odd bum burp. Rolf just goes "Yeah, I know, pretty good one wasn't it!"

More pics for Rolf fans...and just because I like sharing them :)

The inseparable duo

The GDLAWA fun day fancy dress competition: Rolf as Black Caviar (scuse the drunk jockey!) and Ella as 'Vampira'

One I didn't post from the Million Paws Walk (Rolf on the right)

Six and a half kilos gained so far... before and after pics below.

BEFORE (the day he came for a trial run with Ella and the cats, poor baby was SO skinny!)

AFTER (2 months ago at the monthly GDLAWA walk)

The woman does not look particularly frail in her photos. I wonder if the dogs were fighting over food, and the fight escalated. There isn't enough information to do more with than surmise.

RIP

I agree, nowhere near enough information and there are inconsistencies in the article, which says five dogs but the photo (which claims to show ALL dogs concerned) shows only four. From the photo, there is only one American bulldog, not two, and it is only a pup, and the mongrel is not remotely small, but nearly as big as the DDBs.

Absolutely tragic, but no way of guessing what really happened. It could have been as simple and innocent as a dog jumping up in greeting and accidentally tearing her skin and causing an unfortunate chain of events, or it could have been a lot nastier.

RIP lady, sad regardless of the details.

The neighbour's comment was a bit of a worry - that he could tell the dogs were vicious because they bark a lot and pull on the lead.

Never ever shut a door on a Schipperke, you will live to regret it, its their job to supervise. :D

And pull the barges - LOL. Gosh they are beautiful dogs.

Think you have your breeds mixed up! Little Schipperkes wouldn't be pulling any barges!

Reading this & the many other threads about the naughty things our dogs do, got me thinking. I like to think we are all responsible dog owners, but I'm sure a lot of dog behaviourists, must shake their heads in dismay, the way we let our dogs act at home.

Nah, I'll bet their dogs come to the loo with them but they just wouldn't ADMIT it!

If it's not my dogs it's my cats! If I leave the door open, the dogs will come and check on me, sometimes hang around, sometimes wander off, but if I shut the door, cats' paws come underneath it. In my last house where I could reach out to tap their paws from a seated position it used to be quite a game. :laugh: One of the cats will also sit on my lap. Nothing is sacred!

Sarplaninac?

Eyeopener, what breed of dog is this amazing creature who eats weld mesh?

I'm just wondering what people think the "ideal/right" weight for a pug should be.

Definitely not 14kgs.

As for vets not informing owners- I can only go by experience but on more than one occassion I have had to tell my puppy owners that they need to get some weight on their pugs. Pugs are not meant to look like racing greyhounds.

From the breed standard: Ideal weight: 6.3-8.1 kg

It should not be underestimated how difficult it can be to have this conversation with some clients. I've actually had people become so irrational they've said "so are you saying I'm fat then?" which is rather awkward (especially when they are overweight!)

Easy answer "This is not about YOU! This is about your dog's health" Get them back on track quickly and ignore silly transferral.

To be honest it really is a no brainer isnt it? Makes you wonder why it made news.

If you own a dog and you are responsible for its nutrition and exercise of course you have to wear it if its too fat .

No it's the food fairies that sneak in with armloads of dogfood when you're not around

This is what I'd love to say to owners of fat dogs:

"But I can't help it - she looks at me with those big puppy dog eyes..." is not good enough. You CAN help it, don't be such a wuss, stop being offended when people tell you your dog is fat because you've done the wrong thing and you know it. Put your dog's welfare before your own weakness, take some responsibility for your own actions and look after the dog the way it should be looked after.

No. The message isn't received well. You get a bunch of reasons why the dog won't stray ... and most of the time they don't. But all it takes is one distraction ..

Older walkers, along with teen, also seem reluctant to clean up after dogs.

I think some older people timewarp back to the days when nobody picked up after their dogs, and teens are 'too cool' to be seen doing it ("Someone I know might see me!")

I've never successfully convinced anyone to leash their dog either, some people are so stubbornly know-it-all they just won't listen to reason. Even if we now told this unfortunate woman's story as a potential 'why', they'd still have the "it won't happen to me/my dog" mentality.

There is a woman who walks her unleashed SWF dog every day except Tuesday's and Thursday's, it is on a lead those days as the council dog ranger is here.

Ridiculous woman. If she can do it on Tuesdays and Thursdays, why can't she do it all the time? She's clearly aware that she's breaking the law. Ranger should change it up a bit and come on random days, that would stuff her.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, if a dog is good enough to be walked off leash, it's good enough to be walked on leash (meaning if you're sure it's always going to walk reliably next to you where it should be then it's easy enough to clip a leash on).