Gallomph

sorry, gremlins

I haven't voted, because I think you need to put in another option. Breeders may not be in a position to take in dogs needing rescue (eg. council limited numbers, personal circumstances - illness etc), but I think they should take some interest and offer help with contacts, info, advice, possible resources to help get the dog to safety or appropriately rehomed, especially if it it one of their own breeding.

The magic roundabout is why I want to use it :) (yes, i know Dougal is supposed to be a Skye, but look at the pictures - he could be a Shitzu too - right??)

I have some names I'd love to use, but unfortunately they haven't suited any of the dogs I've owned so far. One day I'd like to have a lab called Taniwha (NZers will get this!) and a Shitzu called Dougal. And maybe one day I'll have a dog called Friday. I was going to give this name to a little guy that I adopted from the pound on his pts day (Friday, of course), but after I'd had him a few days I realised it just didn't suit him - he ended up being called Squirt :)

I have 4 chis. They definitely feel the cold, so a crate with a good thick mattress (the best one I have and most favoured by the dogs, is a baby's bassinet mattress) and some fleece blankets is a good start. Then put a blanket over the whole crate (to create a cave-like effect, and keep out draughts). Then add a snugglesafe heat pad (hot water bottles get cold after 4-6 hours, snugglesafe pads are warm for 8-12 hours). Leave the crate open during the day, so she can come and go, but shut the door at night. NB. Follow the crate training advice to be found on this site, to get her to the point where you can do this. Decide where the crate is going to be, and stick to it (your bedroom, living room, kitchen????) Crate training is so useful for and makes it much easier for the dog to cope with things like vet stays, holidays, visits from scary people / kids, moving to a new house etc etc. I highly recommend it. Or you can just give in now and let her into the bed with you :laugh: They can be very determined to get their own way!

I recently paid $30 a day, plus free run at anything in the freezer or pantry. This was for 4 tiny older dogs - feed, supervised toilet breaks / exercise in my yard, and cuddles. No poop scooping, walks or medication. If I required any of those, I would expect to pay a bit more.

My dogs crates are their beds - they have thick mattresses and fleece blankets in there, and another blanket draped over the crates to give them a den atmosphere. They sleep in them with the door closed overnight (because I'm a bit paranoid about fire - I like to know I can find them in the dark in an emergency), but they also spend lots of time in them during the day with the door open, snoozing and hanging out. ETA The crates have also been very useful when I've had to evacuate during floods - campgrounds, friends garages etc. The dogs had to be shut in them for more time than usual, but it kept them safe and didn't worry them much.

Liver is good too in limited amounts - too much and they get the runs.

Snugglesafe microwave heat pads. I use them for my chihuahuas - they stay warm all night. The dogs don't exactly lie on them, cos they're too hard, but they lie next to them and one even rests his chin on his - and it keeps the whole bed warm.

Little dogs can be very vulnerable to other dogs when out walking. Especially if you have 3, how would you cope if an aggressive dog approaches? It may not be worth the risk.

Several chihuahuas - slowed down around 12 - 14, but lived 4-6 years after that, at a more sedate pace! Shitzu - slowed down at 14, PTS with cancer at 16.5 (but still had lots of interest in living, would have gone on longer if not for the big C.)

Feather Fright Five Fester Friday Friesian

My old boy had pancreatitis for his last couple of years of life. I was advised to keep the fat levels less than 10%. After checking every brand of food I could find, the only one readily available around here was Supercoat Lite & Mature. And cans of supermarket "junk food" eg chum (disgusting smelling muck, but he loved it :laugh: ). He did OK on this - the only further pancreatitis attacks he had were when he managed to steal some of the other dogs' better quality (and higher fat) food.

Psyillium husks work well. You can get them in the health food stores or the health food section in some supermarkets. Just sprinkle a small amount over the food (you may have to experiment with amount - will depend on the dogs size.)

Read up about quarantine issues, and keep that in mind. If you are putting up fences, runs etc, it may be a good idea to design them with quarantine principles taken account of.

Is it possible to make a little oxygen tent for him to sleep / rest in?? This is what my vet did for one of my oldies when he was having respiratory issues. He used a small crate, and wrapped the whole thing up in cling film, with a tube wrapped in on one side for the exiting air, and the oxygen bottle tube in the other side. Then he set up the bottles to deliver whatever pressure and % oxy he had decided was needed (don't know the details of that, sorry). He also had a thermometer in there so the air temp could be monitored. It gave my wee boy so much rest and relief that he pulled through. Improvised by a country vet, 'cos we don't have emergency vets out here, but it did the job, and it wasn't terribly expensive, either.

I don't but might be visiting in November. Excellent! PM me if / when you've made your plans, and maybe we can meet for coffee and clothes try-out!!

LOL! They've been getting all fancy with their website, it's a pain in the a***! The magnets are only on the outside, handwarmer pockets - and you're not supposed to keep the credit cards & electronic items in those pockets - they have specially designed inside pockets for those things. You really can get a heap of stuff in to the pockets without it being bulgy and lumpy, something about the design I guess ? anyway, it works. If you lived near me I could lend you one of mine to try....

Have a look at the scottevest jackets. They have magnets on the outside pockets. Zillions of inner pockets that are useful for a multitude of things. I have several. If you sign up for their newsletter, they have pretty good sales several times a year - 30-40% off. Shipping from the US is exxy, but they have 1/2 price shipping every now and then, or if you know anyone travelling to the US you could get them to bring one back...

Mow very short with a catcher, and take catchings to the tip. Then vacuum the yard with one of those big industrial size wet/dry vacuums, to pick up all the loose seeds hiding under the remaining grass. You can hire the big vacuums, if need be. This cut down on the feral seed problems at my place a lot. Not totally, though.

Slugs, snails, beetles etc are the vectors for several kinds of worms that chooks can get. The general advice is you should worm your chooks twice a year.

My boy dog is called Squirt..... Not very regal, I guess. :D He's a Chi, and when I first had him and was trying to think of a name, I would say "Oi, come here you little squirt" ... and before I had a chance to pick a proper name, he was answering to Squirt.. ETA: How about Chase, Sprint, Jag?

The last of my oldies has gone, at the grand old age of 16 1/2 yrs. Gizmo joined our family at 8 weeks of age, living with my brother for his first 8 years, then coming to live with me after my brother's circumstances changed. Giz had a great personality, a laid back, happy clown of a dog, friendly to everyone - humans, dogs, and cats. After knowing Giz, 3 of my friends decided to get a shih tzu as their next dog.

Sorry for the loss of your dog. But it definitely would not have been caused by Dahlia tubers. Dahlias were originally from South America, where they were cultivated as a food crop. When the Spanish took some tubers back to their botanical gardens in Spain, they were planted in the food section, but after they flowered and were seen to be so pretty, they transferred the dahlias to the flower / ornamental section, and that is how they were introduced to the European gardener - as a flower, rather than a food.

I got one of the el cheapo ones, where you zip a frozen gel pack into the base of it. Two of my oldies used it, the 3rd wasn't interested (he was short haired though).