percyk

triple post sorry

double post oopsy

i think that if it is on a dogs forum then youre pretty safe to express what is in your heart not all dog owners respond equally to the death of their pet but im thinking that most of us on a dog forum would most of us have been through the devastation ourselves most of us know the numbing bewildering grief and that feeling of isolation so to reach out with words is all we can do sometimes here in cyberspace i think it would help immensely to come in here and note that strangers have bothered to respond to our pain personally i dont do it....dont really know why i have lost a dog and not posted about it but i talked to people about it at work and that helped i dont think you can go wrong if you write from the heart we are united by our love for our dogs and other animals...if youre touched by a situation the words usually come easily....and for those who cant find the words...emoticons come to the rescue

definitely go have a quiet cuppa with the neighbours maybe invite them to your house first to meet your dog we live in a relatively staffy-free area but there are a few that visit the dogpark and when i talk to the locals who do frequent the park many do have staffy stories to share we went to the dog beach...ever shrinking now it seems...and the staffies there had that nonstop in your face panting energy that some dogs cannot cope with i used to really like the breed...but im wary now... we will be moving soon...i have just begun to realise that we too may be thrown into the world of reinforced fencing and constant vigilance sigh but i shouldnt predict and catastrophise good luck with your situation...hope it comes to nothing and your fears are completely unfounded

we have smaller dogs...none are interested in the birds we can have our tiels out and sit on the lounge and the dogs will be next to us paying no mind we would never ever leave our birds loose though and leave the room... the finches used to fascinate one of our dogs but that passed after about two weeks we have canaries too but the dogs again dont worry them in your case keep the cage way up high where it cant be knocked over get a male canary..make sure it is male or it wont whistle we have a yorkshire one as well as the normal ones and he whistles so nicely im sure youll enjoy the splendid songs coming your way

oh im so sad to read your post so much on your plate firstly...hugs to your mum and the very best wishes for what lies ahead for her... so sorry for your loss...it is very hard to go through this but we all do it...time and time again our dogs reacted differently to our old girl cocker passing the most sensitive one was seemingly spooked..didnt want to frequent the area where we found her the others showed little concern theyre all much much younger and so the situation is different from yours cant really advise ..not from personal experience and at the moment i dont think that any of our males are bonded to each other....not in that close til- death- do- us- part way that is so gorgeous to witness between some dogs i think theyd be ok about it all if one passed but you cant really tell in your situation id make the old girl comfortable...emotionally...a bit more attention and keep her stimulated with walks keeping her inside would indeed be a comfort

very scary you poor thing sure can curtail your walks shame

OH had big dogs ..they were outside dogs only but now he is buried in ours on the couch and he has allergies that still flare up in spring especially i am so lucky that he doesnt have rules about them not ones that really impact we use one car for the dogs and OH has his car dogfree so the allergies get a chance to subside he is a big gentle guy and the dogs sense this and are drawn to him sometimes i really pity him and he seldom says no to any of them who nestle up for a cuddle hell just go shower and scrub his hands and pop a pill if he has to i do the cleaning up after the dogs so he isnt further aggravated but all in all i have it goooooooooooooooood

we have small dogs..one tiny but i think it is the breed mix that works we have only one clingy dog so he gets the attention as he needs it...the others dont really care and dont compete they sleep together or apart there are no fights over food they can eat from one bowl the bitch will growl but there is no real aggression all are desexed males except for the desexed bitch none are particularly bonded none have really buddied up for keeps if you know what i mean but they all know their place with each other and live in peace

what a terrible thing for you it does rip your heart out and the fact it came out of the blue worsens it i am so so sorry we all love our dogs far too much for our own good it is such a tender trap we are caught in and this is the price we pay when they pass on but thats what we do..again and again take comfort in knowing that Sophie was loved and had a good home and that her story has made us all so sad youre not alone in your grief may you find peace soon

i think we may have bought a present once for our old cocker girl when she was a baby but that was so many years ago now we dont buy the dogs presents ever anymore they get what they need as they need it ...and if stuff is on special ill take advantage and buy a coat or two i think it is great that we are a country of animal lovers....i shudder to think that there are still places in the world that have little regard for their animals but...i dont think buying gifts for animals is the way to go either...not when there are so many problems in the world i guess it is fine to do a bit of baking or whatever but id prefer to put the effort into helping the homeless at chrissy not trying to blow a trumpet here...just the way i feel dont want to go the way of the americans with their over the top attitudes towards pets wasteful and with so many kids sick or starving, a bit of an insult

oh how sad poor dog...hope it wasnt an awful end for him that is terrifying for anyone...no wonder people get very nervous... ive always been lucky but i dont have dogs with flat faces... im so so sorry for the dog

never had the same breed twice except for spaniels will only have dogs that dont have bad doggy odour and dont have huge shedding coats

gosh that is great news! you always dread something happening...you know what i mean... and it is just super that things have gone the right way for your little guy

one of ours is as regular as clockwork...straight after breakfast and hes done for the day...he picked two spots and always goes to either of them...we dont mind the others are fed in the afternoon only and they go in the morning...on the patch of lawn in the lower garden or in amongst the trees that line our property i pick up every day...doesnt worry me ...it is like playing lawn croquet with the pooper scooper ...

so sorry to hear your news Km ...really hoping things will turn around and your boy be home soon

so sorry to read your sad news overwhelming feeling when you lose a pet..and it can take a person by surprise...the intensity of the grief and sometimes it is hard to find someone to really talk about your feelings so it is a good thing we have these forums where people know that a pet is sucha huge part of your life pass on condolences to your wife and take it easy with each other...some animals are so lucky to have a life with humans who love them so much

that is fabulous ...safe dog...how good is that feeling?

oh bo hope Nan gets a lovely dog my Dad swore that the only reason he got out of bed some days was because the animals needed him otherwise riddled with arthritis it wouldve been easier to just slip away use it or lose it it is so true so Nan needs a dog to get the most joy out of life the future will look after itself...make the arrangements for the care of the dog...you have plenty of time to look for backup care so if anything happens to Nan...the dog will have a home

hey i was just thinking the very same thing this arvo! we have only two waggers here and really out of those two one is the tailwagging addict..the other is more appropriate we have others who seldom wag only on greeting ...at meal times and special occasions....( they decided which occasion is special lol ) aloof breeds ...independent dogs just dont give a damn... they figure theres no need to wag...we love them anyway!

oh i was hoping for some good news as i came in to check on your dogs will keep positive thoughts your way and hope there is improvement soon... this is a real education for me...sounds so horrible...so sorry youre all living through this and so hope that this will just be a story to tell in the end...with a wonderful happy ending they do happen

i dont think the laws about cats are that strict we once had a cat wandering around we took it in for a few hours then took it to the vet but no chip was found the vet said just to let it go back in the same vicinity as we found it apparently cats can roam...according to this vet anyway...no real laws like you do with dogs so id check on that i'mpounding the cat' idea... if you keep a cat that is someone elses you can be accused of stealing so be careful how you deal with all of this no cat wanders into our yard cos of the dogs...theyd bark and carry on at strange cats...even though theyre fine with their own cats id try to really scare this cat that keeps crossing the line surely you could ambush it and scare it with ferocious barking noises? lol

forget dog parks we walk past one all the time it is no place for little dogs ...too risky some big dogs get hurt too...a boxer had its ear torn and i have witnessed a fatal mauling years ago no never do we go to dog parks unless it is very very late and there is noone around...winter is the time for us if we really want a change from routine

wow...what horrid news to read i didnt know that ratsack acted so slowly...that is scary we dont keep it here ...we dont get rats but i have heard of dogs eating of course gosh i do so hope that your dogs will be ok....it is really heartening to read other posts about dogs making a full recovery... please keep updating on their progressing sending you big healing hugs

loved looking at your pics thanks for sharing