tdierikx

After reading both of your latest posts (Zagan's and Chewie's), if you are in or near Sydney and ever need to board Chewie somewhere that understands GSDs, and are proficient in handling ones that aren't overly accommodating of new people... try Austral Boarding... https://australboarding.com.au/ They run security dogs as well as the boarding kennels, and the owner's son is amazing with the "scarier" temperamented big dogs. There is never use of force or dominance... the dogs just seem to love him straight away. Keep up the good work with Chewie... he sounds like a lovely dog under the bluster. T.

Chapi looks like a lovely little dog... and you obviously love him very much... but he is also a quite senior little man who appears to be not very well at all. The blood test results as given here definitely show some issues with his liver and pancreas, and his white blood cell counts are not the best - mostly indicative of an infection or lymph node issue. The photos are definitely alarming, and indicate that he has a number of tumerous growths that could be making things a bit difficult for him with regard to eating, and maybe also eventually swallowing and breathing properly. Unfortunately at Chapi's advanced age, surgical options to remove the tumours may be more life threatening than the palliative care the vets seem to have been engaging in for him. I think that Chapi may be in his final months, and that you might have to prepare yourselves for the fact that he may need to leave you and become an angel soon. Love him and let him live out his remaining time as comfortably as possible... he will let you know when he wants you to help him go to heaven with dignity and respect. I'm sorry that I cannot be more positive, but I think you already know that the best you can do for Chapi is make him comfortable at this point. Please give him some cuddles from me... T.

I have proof of lying and distortion of facts, but as I wasn't the target of the case in question, and that person was so traumatised by it all, I can't put forward that evidence to any group willing to take on the juggernaut... *sigh* I have around 1000 pages of bullshit "evidence", backed up by 5 hours of their own bodycam footage that contradicts their evidentiary statements, expert witness statements that blatantly lie, etc... ... and that is only ONE case... T.

Most people who have had dealings with them have been badly traumatised by it... and know full well what could happen if they were targetted again in retaliation for badmouthing them in any public way.... T.

The article notes that we humans have caused the problem by clearing the natural habitat and making the area more suited to the Noisy Miners... it also provides some advice on planting shrubs and the like to provide better shelter etc for the smaller bird species. It all just seems that once we humans create an imbalance with the natural order of things, our first thoughts of "fixing the problem" are to kill things off... T.

I'm sorry to say that my advice would be to give Rebel his wings... he is in pain, and he's aggressive. He most likely will not change his behaviours, and he will eventually kill Sam, or injure him so badly you will have to have Sam put down. It sounds like no-one has had the guts to call it like it is with this boy... he is not a happy dog by any stretch of the imagination. He is in pain, and most likely has some anxiety issues as well. Just because he has a pulse and can be a "nice" dog sometimes does not mitigate the fact that he is a ticking time bomb... a very strong time bomb with teeth... His reactions to strangers (of the human kind) is also a real problem. If he decided to take umbrage with a child, you could be in all manner of trouble with the authorities. Please be a really good mate to Rebel and allow him to sleep the long sleep... I really think he deserves that respect, as it's not exactly his "fault" the way he is, but it is cruel to continue on trying to "fix" him. Sam also needs to feel safe in his own home, yes? T.

Has anyone xrayed your dog's lower spine area? Degeneration there can cause sciatica from pinching on the sciatic nerve, and a few other issues that may present with a limp. If you are in Sydney, see if you can get a referral to Dr David Lidbetter... he is one of the top orthopedic vet surgeons in the country, so is most likely your best option to get to the root of the problem, and hopefully get it sorted out. T.

Parliamentary petition against this legislation... https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/la/Pages/ePetition-details.aspx?q=qBOar3qjYoueNu%2FqGMaIEQ%3D%3D&fbclid=IwAR1O6-uwz4GQZ_trCox454E0Xm1bi7qwqYWeovPMymtsKRnNQ3KF4lKJJtE T.

Now they want to cull noisy miners... grrr! https://www.news.com.au/technology/science/animals/annoying-bird-thats-outsmarted-us/news-story/413f5198b65edc74318b84e90d66e27b T.

Goldie Rescue is also worth contacting... https://www.grr.org.au/ T.

Is this the ad for the pups in question @Roseinwinter? https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/holmview/dogs-puppies/pure-red-toy-poodle-puppies-/1282266161 @Rebanne, only mention of papers is on the sire... Pre Covid, a friend of mine paid $5000 for a papered toy poodle... and other Gumtree ads are asking around that price or less right now in QLD. T.

We still don't know what the actual problem with this pup was, and as the original poster seems to have disappeared, I guess we never will, as there is a distinct possibility that something they did once the pup was in their care caused the issue. Here's hoping that the pup is now OK... Jumping to conclusions based on little to no real info - and no follow up - are ridiculous at best, wouldn't you say? Same goes for allocation of any fault... T.

Rottweiler... *grin*... from one of our lovely DOLers lines... T.

The fact that the pup could have contracted the illness whilst in the care of the new owner blurs that line unfortunately. Circumstances beyond the control of the breeder should not be their burden to bear. If you bought a new TV, then plugged it into a faulty power socket and it blew up, your chances of a refund would be reduced significantly, yes? There is still the issue of a 100% diagnosis of any such disease in the pup. As I noted earlier, if the pup had been vaccinated within 10 days of that diagnosis, there is a high chance of a false positive test result for the diseases covered by the vaccine, as that vaccine actually uses a modified (inert) form of those diseases to initiate antibody response. Not to mention that the original poster hasn't really given an accurate disease name - could be referring to Parvovirus or Coronavirus, both of which present with similar symptoms, but can have different end results for the pup. Then there's the possibility that the pup has vaccinosis, which is an adverse reaction to the vaccine where a pup can get a bit sick for a few days to a week, then be fine. Compound being given a vaccination with worming on the same day, and you can see pups getting a bit sick from the experience more likely. Alternately, the pup may also just be suffering from a growth spurt that has put it off it's food... or a change in diet that has caused a tummy upset reaction... or a combination of all the possibilities. All of which are well beyond the control of the breeder, so they can't necessarily be held to account for the problem. Anyways, until the original poster comes back with an update, we are all in the dark here as to what was/is actually going on. T.

The problem I have with anthropomorphising is that the lunatic fringe tend to take things to the extreme and lobby loudly to end our close relationships with animals. T.

The simple economics of the matter is that the market will price to what the buyer will pay. I see no problem with a reputable breeder making a profit from the sale of their quality pups... why the hell shouldn't they? And I also have no problem with reputable breeders dictating what register they put their pups on either... if they would prefer their pups not to be bred from, then that's their perogative. I have already picked a breed and breeder that I will be contacting once I'm able to take on another pup... fingers crossed that I can afford the pup I want at that time... lol! T.

Coronavirus in dogs is a form of haemorrhagic gastroenteritis... basically the lesser nasty cousin of Parvo in symptoms. It causes internal bleeding that can manifest in bloody stools or vomit. Pups with this disease will display a range of symptoms, from mild illness, to life threatening internal bleeding. It is not exactly a disease I'd be trying to put off getting vet attention for. As for attempting to connect the contraction of any disease back to the breeder, it's not that simple... many factors come into play, most of which are not within the breeder's control. Many nasty diseases have a very short gestation period, and can be contracted in any number of ways. If the original poster has had the pup for a week, and symptoms came on 5 days prior to their post here, good luck trying to blame the breeder for it, as canine coronavirus has a gestation period of 1 to 4 days... so at least 2 days in the owner's care before onset of symptoms... impossible to entirely correlate to any breeder fault. T.

Generally, puppies are good eaters... any changes to their eating patterns can be a cause for concern, and need to have a vet consultation in case of an underlying health issue. In this particular case, the pup has seen a vet at least once for his problem, and had been diagnosed as actually having some such underlying illness. If he is having continuing symptoms, then a return visit to the vet is highly advisable. T.

I used to have 5 Rotties living in my house... hehe! And my house is a tiny 2 bedroom fibro model... Housetraining can be done with an adult dog also... and they learn pretty quickly... faster than pups mostly. T.

I am certainly not belittling any research into animal behaviour, and I firmly agree they DO have feelings. I'm just a bit leery of correlations with human behaviours and feelings, as the fanatics have a nasty habit of taking findings like that and twisting them for their own sick agendas. I am priviledged to have regular contact with quite a few animal species (and every one is a distinct individual, may I add) - both domestic animals, and some that are much more exotic. I KNOW that each and every animal I work with is an individual, with his/her own little quirks, and we endeavour to cater to each as such. The bond that an animal in a captive or domestic setting forms with their carers is a precious one for both parties. My work has just taken on 6 ex-circus lions. These magestic creatures have been forced to be removed from the only lives they knew, and from the people they loved the most. These 6 lions were not pets, they were family members to their human carers, and the bonds are strong. Now, due to animal rights activists having a say in how these large animals must be housed and cared for, the human interaction part of their existence will be restricted to having bars/mesh between them and their humans - where their whole lives prior were VERY hands on. How can this be "better" than the lives they had before? At least we had the ability to take on all 6, so they at least get to stay in their pride group - all other zoos were only willing to take one or some, and that would have been even more upsetting for all involved. T.

Parvovirus and coronavirus have similar symptoms in dogs... and both can be fatal in puppies. Both present as a form of haemorrhagic gastroenteritis. At 8 weeks of age, your pup may have had a vaccination recently... @Janine 1, when did your pup have his most recent vaccination? When was he last wormed, and with what medication? Was he vaccinated and wormed on the same day? Depending on which form of vaccination a pup has had, a blood test may show a false positive for certain nasty diseases up to 10 days later, but that does not mean they actually have those diseases... it means that the vaccine is working, OK? Sometimes a pup may become a bit ill from vaccination, and that can be compounded if they were also wormed the same day as vaccination. As for strange noises and twitching when asleep, that is perfectly normal, he is having dreams... my 9 year old dog still makes suckling noises and whimpers when she's asleep... I find it kinda cute... *grin* Puppies barking at things is also normal behaviour... you just need to teach them that it is not required to bark at every little thing. I've had hundreds of pups over the years (used to foster entire litters for rescue), and found that some will have very strange eating patterns while they are growing. I've had some that have gone off their food when having a growth spurt - some were really challenging, as they would eat like horses one week, then refuse to eat much the next week... in the end they were fine though, OK? I would be watching your pup's growth and weight gains moreso than his eating patterns... if he's still growing and gaining weight, he may just be one of those funny eaters while his body is quickly growing. T.

@paul1... it's a simple case of supply and demand... demand for puppies rose drastically when we started going into all the lockdowns... maybe if you wait a year or two, prices may normalise again. T.

I'm not a huge fan of any research that seeks to "humanise" our pets by comparing them to children... I must say that many species of animals have the capacity to seek attention - from their counterparts or humans - but it is still learned behaviour that elicits a response from the target. Example: we used to play a game of tag with our calves at work, and it wasn't long before they started playing tag with each other when there were no humans to play with... was rather fun to watch actually. And goats... well... they have always been the class clowns of the farmyard... very attention-seeking animals... lol! We also raised our sheep with our goats, so they ended up much more goat-like in their behaviours, rather than developing more natural flocking behaviours and shunning humans. T.

Oops... lol! How about Dobie... as in Dobie Gillis, Gidget's boyfriend? He was a surfer boy, and your little fellow looks like he's been rolled in sand... *giggle* T.

What about Obi? Short for Oberon... and follows the Midsummer Night's Dream theme started by Puck... *grin* T.