RiverStar-Aura

To me it seems a bit odd buying a female puppy before having these questions sorted out, especially with the experiences you've had with desexing in the past. Both my two dogs, a small terrier and medium sized cross breed have been desexed before 6 months and had no problems. The terrier is female and the hardest part was keeping her quiet whilst the wound healed -- no stitches needed removing as dissolvable inner stitches used and surgical glue for the outer layer. Cross breed is a boy and easy castration. No loss of energy in either dog -- both full of crazy zoomies!!

Kirah's just back from the vet after having her tear duct flushed and it turns out its completely blocked. She's now on Amacin ointment to see if that helps; if not it'll be off to an eye specialist. Have others had this problem with their dogs? This isn't genetic and is probably the result of an ulcer she had last month.

I'm so sorry to hear about your gorgeous Stevie. You gave her such a wonderful home and showed her such love and she spent her life with a loving family. I'm sending all my love and thoughts to you.

Some people just have NFI

A tablespoon? What is she, a mouse? :laugh: She must be tiny! Although I'm used to my 45 kg boofer :laugh: I need to get me a little dog and save some cash! I was just thinking that! Mine go through a 20kg bag in a week and half-two weeks. :laugh: No, she's not a mouse; she weighs in at 6.6 kilos. I've tried giving her more than a tablespoon, but then she seems to pack on weight -- this seems to be a good amount. She also doesn't just get the RC either -- there are plenty of treats during the day and a chicken wing every second day. I've actually had a lot of trouble with Kirah's weight since she stopped growing as a puppy -- it was hard for me to keep her at her ideal weight. Now I've figured out the balance! Zeus only gets 1/2 a cup of RC daily too and according to the pack, being as highly active as he is, he should be on close to 2 cups daily. He'd most certainly be a porker if I followed this guide and I can't help wondering if this is part of the reason there are so many overweight dogs around. I've found it's a matter of balance and a lot of time spent making sure you find the suitable amount for each individual dog. Plus it helps having a dog like Zeus -- he does nothing but motor around all day. He has two speeds: zooming and OMG MAKE WAY I'M TEARING THROUGH!! :laugh:

My two are both fed on Royal Canin Sensible -- it can get expensive buying the two different weight ranges, however, they both thrive so I'm not concerned. I mix this up with mackerel or tuna in oil or human grade roo mince on occasion and Jalna fat free natural yoghurt. They love it and do very well on it!! If I could teach the family how to feed raw without over-feeding I'd switch to all raw diet, however, having the dry makes it easier to maintain when I'm not home to feed them myself. Kirah's RC lasts forever as she only gets one tablespoon for breakfast and dinner.

Since both of mine were pups I worked with them on the 'foot' command. I get them in a sit, tap on the leg I need whilst saying 'foot' so they lift it up and sit there until I'm done. It's worked wonders for both of them and Zeus is currently wearing a cone for a hotspot on his leg, which requires twice daily neocort so the 'foot' command comes in handy.

Last night I was clipping my Aussie Kirah's nails and accidentally got the quick. Kirah, who is chicken of many things (runs from people carrying buckets, tools, the cone currently on Zeus etc) didn't even flinch. She made no noise and didn't fuss -- just stood still wagging her tail. I had a panic attack as it's the first time I've ever hit the quick but she was a real champ!! Dogs are so full of surprises!!

I'm pro off leash parks but anti fenced off leash parks. IME, the people who frequent the non-fenced parks have a much better control over their dogs than those of fenced parks. It's basically saying that because the park has a boundary that they don't need to control their dog(s).

If its these... http://www.thundershirt.com/Product/ProductDetails.aspx?item_guid=8c07f7d3-f09d-4e95-a82e-0ac16d129a20 I would be concerned if things went wrong and the dogs couldn't see what might happen to them, think you would have to have the dog confined. It's funny you mentioned this because that's exactly what my first thoughts on them were and still are. If the dog is scared, the last thing I'd want to do would be cover their eyes. I think the cat Thunder Shirts are cute though! ^_^

I'm not to fussy with collars and leads -- although I am having trouble at dog training with not having enough hands for treats and the leash when working on loose leash walking! I love leather collars but dislike their stiffness at the beginning where they don't sit right for the first couple of days so I stick with nylon clip ones. I love the colours of the Rogz ones and my guys are so spoiled with collars and leads they have one for every day of the year (well it seems like it!!). :laugh: I need mr rolly eyes to aim at myself!

I don't know if any of you storm phobic dogs are aware but there's a new type of Thunder Shirt available -- I saw them in my local Pet Barn. It's a hood that covers the dog's eyes and ears -- don't know how effective this would be either. I have sympathies for all of you and am glad my two don't mind stormy weather. They both just hunker down and sleep it off. None of our dogs have been storm phobic but have lived outside all the time since puppyhood. I wonder if being inside dogs can be linked to the phobia? My Kirah doesn't like storms, but she doesn't get terrified by them either. Hugs and thoughts over the next few days for you guys and your dogs!

My two finish their frames in different times (one hoovers and one takes for-freakin-ever!) - so they are seperated to eat to avoid any issues. I could separate my guys too but they're actually really good. They tend to just hang around because they want to sniff the ground for leftovers not steal the others' bone. I don't mind supervising anyway -- I'd never leave them together unsupervised because that'd be just asking for trouble.

I feed turkey wings raw and have often contemplated the legs but considering the size of my dogs, there's too much meat on them. Kirah suffices with a chicken wing and Zeus a turkey wing. Sometimes I spoil them with a lamb shank each, however, even that is too much for Kirah -- but she devours it nonetheless!! The only thing I can think of about the butcher's comment is that they're thinking of cooked chicken bones, which splinter -- hence the comment about eating glass. Oh, Zeus also occasionally gets chicken frames raw, but I have trouble finding something for Kirah to eat that takes the same length of time to get through. They don't fight over their bones but if one finishes first, they'll tend to stare and hover around the one still eating unless I call them away. It's easier giving them something that takes the same amount of time to eat.

Such a sweet looking girl!! ^_^

That having leg licker thing is weird. The whole point of my shower is to de-dog-i-fy so I don't understand why you'd let yourself get covered in dog slobber all over again. My dogs don't do anything weird; I don't let them.

Some dogs are just vocal about their play -- you should see my little Aussie Terrier Kirah playing, she sounds completely feral. The biggest things to look for is their body language -- when my two are both play fighting, their tails are wagging, one or both bark at the other in the play bow and their ears are pricked up. It also helps that my boy Zeus has this extremely happy goofy face! If other owners are getting anxious over what you know is play, I'd be inclined to stay away from these people -- it's clear they can't read dog body language. If other dogs are getting agro because of your guys play fighting, stay away. Those situations can turn nasty.

OMG what a cutie!! Glad to hear that Maggie is warming up to him :D I love the little white splodge on his forehead!

I custom-make mine. I have an old double bed sheet which I've sliced a tiny hole in with a Stanley Knife to push the seatbelt clackers through. The hole is in the correct place as I fit the sheet first, then cut the slit. Then I use a picnic blanket from K-Mart so it's waterproof and cut the same sort of slits in it. The top is held into position under the headrests on the backseat as they're removable like the front ones. Again, I cut slits into the blanket so the headrest prongs can still slide into place.

The only thing I could be accused of is starving my dogs of love, huggles and affection. Or so they think :D

Zeus has a preference for brand new toys. He'll dig through his toy-box and pull out the only brand new in there. That being said, however, if there's a duck in there, he'll pull that out no matter how manky and gross it might be. He LOVES his duck -- or anything that squeaks the same. (Currently Big W is selling Reindeer and Xmas Penguin toys for $5 each that have the same squeak and he goes bonkers over them!) Made by Cuddles and are about $15 to $20 a pop OR

Ruin Maniac, did you get the phone number of the victim yourself? A nice call to the poor lady and her dogs to see how they're doing might be a nice gesture. You could also ask if she's spoken to council in regards to the other dog involved. I wouldn't like to see the other dog destroyed over this either, however, if it's not going to be properly restrained/fenced in, there's always the chance another attack may occur and prove fatal next time. This lady was lucky the OP heard the commotion and stepped in; I'd hate think of what may have happened if she didn't.

Rodriguez as in Slowpoke Rodriguez, Speedy's slow cousin!

If you have an Odin, you could always use Vasir (Va-seer). I've always loved the name Wart and Archemedes from Disney's Sword in the Stone. Also Kronk from Emperor's New Groove.

I saw this on its opening night in London. Absolutely loved it and the little Bruiser! :D