tdierikx

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.

I've really only owned 2 male dogs - both Rottweilers, and both intact. Never had any discharge issues with either of them, even if one of my females was in season.Both boys were useless as "guard" dogs, as they were really soft natured... they left the protection of the house and yard to the girls... lol! All my female dogs, pedigreed and mixed breed, intact or desexed, have been more headstrong and "alert" than my boys... even amongst the multitude of foster pups I've had over the years - boys were definitely more even tempered. I currently have a female dog, and when she leaves me, my next dog will definitely be a male... T.

When we lived rural, the local primary school had a resident magpie that made life a bit difficult during breeding season every year... and the school's solution was to have all the kids make "helmets" out of plastic ice cream cartons, and they wore them for those few weeks when they went out in the playground. Worked a treat!! No kids were ever hurt by the magpie... God forbid that scenario happened in a suburban city school... guarantee the magpie would be "relocated to god"... grrr! T.

Hmmm... seeing as you had Puck... follow the theme?? Puck's mortal name was Robin Goodfellow... and he was a Jester. Oberon Lysander Demetrius Egeus Theseus Nick Bottom... referred to as just Bottom Peter Quince... I like Quince for a name Francis Flute... Flute sounds good to me too Snug Pyramus He's gorgeous... and I'm sure the girls will adjust to him being a naughty "little" brother soon enough... lol! T.

I also got some awesome swooping behaviour shots... and we were well back from the marked out area with our zoom lenses that day too. I usually don't have much time for Emma Hurst's parliamentary antics... but I'll happily let her have a go at stopping this magpie cull... T.

Like when DogsNSW marks out the area in it's car park where the plovers like to raise their little ones each year, yes? T.

This is WRONG! https://7news.com.au/news/nsw/magpies-to-be-culled-in-lane-cove-council-after-spate-of-attacks-c-3908542?fbclid=IwAR0hpfItAv7DlXrCbiwFs_YD5_cOVnVPDxYUKK29VhtqOUz2TLSMBRpgAqU FFS! WE humans keep encroaching on their habitat, then get shitty when they defend their young in the tiny spots we allow them to live in. This is NOT new behaviour from magpies, and we in Australia are well aware of when they will be doing it every year. Here's a novel thought... maybe WE need to adjust OUR habits to allow these beautiful birds to care for their young for those few precious weeks... just stay the F away from them... T.

I think that you will find that ALL pups of any breed or mix, have increased in price since the pandemic started... just stating a fact there. Also, with the lockdown in Melbourne, you are going to be hard pressed for anyone to allow you to come and physically view any pups they may have on offer... maybe Zoom viewings would help there? At least you will know that you are talking real time with a real person who has real pups available. You may also want to drop the attitude that most breeders are only after large prices for their pups... it will show through in your correspondence, and will only serve to make them less inclined to want to deal with your enquiries. T.

I agree wholeheartedly with this point... T.

Eating, or even just mouthing, lizards and the like can also give your dog a nasty bout of Salmonella poisoning... another issue you could be facing... with the vet bills to match... She may need to be put on a run, or penned when she can't be supervised... better still @Rebanne's advice is solid - tire her out mentally as well as physically - she could just be bored... T.

The only caveat in POCTAA is that the method of euthanasia is quick and as painless as possible... still allows scope for shooting an animal as a means to that end. I don't agree with it, but I can see how the powers that be could argue their reason for ordering a single person to shoot the dogs in question, rather than having at least 2 people achieve the same end via the usual/preferred method. It takes a vet to deliver the injection, and another person to restrain that animal in order for the injection to be given - which definitely means those 2 people would be well within each other's personal space. Stupid council regulations in regard to "covid safety" were averse to the presence of a rescuer coming to take the dogs, which would have resulted in less close contact between the parties present for the handover than that required for the general public's preferred method of euthanasia, so you could see the thought process in the order to shoot the dogs instead... however misguided and callous it may look to the outside world. I am in no way condoning the action taken... just posing thoughts on how some public servant came to the conclusion to order these dogs to be shot, rather than allowing rescue to take them, or to be destroyed by more "acceptable" methods. T.

You'd be amazed at the actual scope of their powers to seize animals... and even evidence from treating vets falls on deaf ears... been there, and it's completely soul crushing what they get away with... grrr! T.

@Megan MOrton... my family live up your way, and my brother has fostered for Friends of the Pound a few times... maybe try them? https://friendsofthepound.com/adopt/ T.

Today I received an awesome care package from an amazing DOLer with the biggest heart... and it included freshly baked (still warm) scones, home made jam, and cream... YUMMO!! It also had some treats for Harper... which she is really excited about... lol! We have a large number of pretty amazing people here... and for that, I am forever grateful. T.

Don is such a handsome gentleman... *swoon* Naughty Pudden... lol! T.

Pickles has gone to join Trouble and Zeddy at the Rainbow Bridge... Pickles seemed a bit off on Friday, refusing food and just acting a bit flat, but otherwise acting normally... she has done that a few times over the years, so it was no really huge concern at the time. She had been fine on Thursday, eating her dinner with her usual gusto, etc... Yesterday she started to deteriorate in her mood, and started wanting to drink copious amounts of water, but still refusing any solids... and in the afternoon she vomited up lots of water with blood in it... so I took her to VSOS emergency vets in Miranda. Unfortunately it looks like her pica (eating objects that aren't food) may have caught up with her, as she had an obstruction that seems to have caused a rupture somewhere. There were no reasonable guarantees of a viable recovery even with surgical intervention and prolonged treatments, so the hardest decision had to be made to let her go with the dignity she deserved. She passed peacefully in my arms with help from the lovely vet. Pickles was my 46th foster puppy way back when... and my first foster failure. She was "broken" - having a strange way of walking and reduced feeling in her legs - but she never knew that fact. In her eyes she was perfect, and no-one ever told her any different. She lived her life to the fullest at every stage, being an awesome little helper with many more foster pups, fox kits, and dingo pups over the years. She was Trouble's biggest fan, and missed her terribly when she passed not too long ago. She never took a shine to Harper though, and they had to be kept separate to keep the peace. Pickles... I love you to the moon and back my little spazz... you showed everyone you met that having a disability was never something to hold you back from living a full life and just enjoying every moment of it. T.

@Boroniais definitely the one to get advice from re finding a reputable rescue that may have the breeds that you are looking at... and Westies in particular... maybe she will be along soon... T.

Kammi is gorgeous! And Clive is one spoiled boy... lol! T.