tdierikx

I'd be asking the vet why they are so worried about their own quarantine procedures that they are afraid of healthy dogs coming into the clinic for an X-ray... I'd take my own dog for the X-ray anyway - just ask them to follow proper protocol before handling your dog if they've been in with the Parvo dog. If the problem is one that requires fast intervention, then you'd be kicking yourself for waiting. T.

I wouldn't discount some of the "older" Labs either... my 7 year old still plays like she's 12 months old... crazy dog... *grin* T.

If you want to see the cutest Frenchie pups Cougar - go find the thread titled "It started with a kiss..." in this forum... they are to die for! T.

TWO whole weeks without a Luka photo update... I'm getting withdrawals here!! Got any cute Christmas ones of him FM?? T.

I'd still be double checking all paperwork regarding ownership of any dog sent to you by Pound Rounds... better safe than sorry. Much as it may sound like it, we aren't trying to bag you here - we are genuinely trying to make sure you aren't stung by a group that has a pretty poor track record when it comes to placement of dogs. Which dog came to you from Pound Rounds? Ina or Lucky? T.

Has she been desexed yet, and do you have any of her paperwork (chip registration, desex certificate, vaccination certificate, etc)??? If you haven't got, or haven't been offered those things, then you ARE actually fostering for Pound Rounds... Who is the dog chipped to? You, or someone else? Have they started/done the transfer of ownership on said chip yet? If she came from NSW she will be chipped on the NSW CAR register - and you need to get her transferred to your own name before you can rehome her. T.

That's a regular occurrence around here - so much so that I don't even bother with finding gloves any more... I just make sure to wash my hands well afterwards! T.

Even if you choose to disregard any of the other advice in this thread... the one thing you REALLY don't want to do is get involved with Pound Rounds. They look and sound great on the surface, but that's where it stops... the horror stories aren't fiction. Crossing fingers you don't get too badly burned by them. T.

Hmmm Katdogs... and you encourage me to let Stevie "kiss kiss" me... you're only making sure my immune system gets a regular boosting, aren't you? Zeddy used to love my old girl Woosie's poos so much that she'd follow Woosie around and eat it as it was coming out... that one really grossed my Mum out once when she came to stay... errr! T.

Sometimes it's kinder to end their obvious suffering... T.

We used to have a pet store in my suburb that used to let people take pups home for the night... I did it quite often - and only ever bought one of them... *grin* Nowadays, I'm much more aware of how easy it can be for a young pup that hasn't been fully vaccinated to pick up something really nasty... and wouldn't advocate for anyone to be participating in such a scheme... I get all the puppy loving I need now from fostering them for rescue instead. T.

I'm a bad owner... I don't give my dogs heartworm prevention, and I only worm if/when I see the obvious signs of them having worms. I also will only treat for fleas if I see one on any of the dogs. I don't live in a tick area. T.

Nup, we use a form as first point of contact, a dedicated volunteer who handles the email hello's and everyone gets a response. All applicants and all dogs are individuals: & viewed as such. Good homes who don't suit the dog or have missed out are recommended to another rescue. We did "rethink how much workload we were taking on" and oddly enough people like bosses and family, eventually get very tired of rescue taking over. Really fed up in fact. So there has to be a line. My line is not having my phone number on the internet. Not being the first to cop a gobful because someone wants their old dog taken away asap or to get a dog out under our clause. & I think you'd agree T, my people skills are somewhat ok. lol. But nobody is born a rescuer/public relations expert, it's a constant learning curve. I've actually just had a look at your adoption webform, and it's a whole lot less intrusive than many I've seen out there... AND it has plenty of other information that lets a prospective adopter know where they stand. So, actually, your group has obviously thought a lot about the way the form was designed, and what it was designed to do - and I bet it works well. ... and for the record, I KNOW your communication skills are exceptional... *grin* T.

He's certainly a cheeky sod DD... but too pretty to be mad at, right? T.

I have 3 dogs that like eating poo... and they will regularly go out for a midnight snack, then come back inside and burp on me... nothing like a poo-breath burp in the face to wake you up from napping on the couch... eeewwww! T.

Biggest pro for early desexing is that the little darlings don't seem to notice that they have had surgery - up and wanting to play almost as soon as they have woken up from the anaesthetic... As for the health concerns both for and against - they are both equally worrying, so I'd be going with my gut on what you think is best for your dog. T.

On the other side of the coin is exactly what the article says happens - people go out to a pet store, the internet, or breeders (of all types) to source the pet they want. We can't make it too bloody hard for anyone to adopt our charges - it just makes them go to other sources for a pet instead - we need a fine balance to make it all work for all involved. T.

Feedback - both good and bad - needs to be delivered with some finesse... most people don't like being told no with little (or what they deem to be insufficient) grounds for their "rejection". T.

I actually spoke to a person who said it was cheaper to let their dog wander and be taken to the pound for 2 weeks than it was to board same dog if they went on holidays... I definitely had to hold myself back from saying what I thought about that... I just reminded them of all the diseases that a dog can pick up in the pound and hoped they at least had the dog's shots up to date... Some people just don't look at their dogs the same way that we do... more's the pity... *sigh* T.

I find that just talking with prospective adopters tends to give a much better idea than any application form process. I've looked at a few adoption application forms out there, and have found many of them to be somewhat intrusive and can be daunting for prospective adopters - that's why we don't have a form, but ask people to actually call us about any dog they may be interested in. We seem to be able to find decent and permanent homes for most of our charges (very few returns) with our procedures/processes. Sure, we get our fair share of people who may not be suited to the particular dog they are calling about, but we can suggest/show to them other dogs that may be a better fit. It's fairly rare that we get a potential adopter that isn't suited to any dog available - but we have knocked back one or two who really would have been suited to a stuffed toy instead of a real dog... *grin* The trick is in the communication and time spent making sure of the adopter's expectations - then matching them to a dog that they can live with. If you don't have the time to talk to adopters, and are using an adoption form to "weed out timewasters", then maybe a rethink of how much workload you are taking on is in order. A big part of rescue is about communication - if you don't have any people skills at all, then you really aren't going to get far. T.

My adults are on 1 meal a day - which usually happens when I get home from work. Puppy gets 2 meals - one as I leave for work, and one when the others have theirs when I get home from work. On the weekends, puppy gets her breakfast at the same time as most mornings, and they all get fed in the afternoon sometime when I feel like feeding them... *grin* T.

Raise the water bowl off the ground a bit - so that they can still reach it to drink, but not low enough for them to pee in... T.

... in rescue, I may not see many "well bred" dogs - but I've been around a bit longer than the past 5 years (which is only how long I've been in rescue)... I'm not just the sum of my rescue involvement you know... *grin* T.

I would have thought temperament would have fallen under the 'standard' category? Just out of curiosiyt- which breeds do you think could use 'a little tweaking'? Some of the brachy breeds spring to mind... Then again, I'm a pet owning person, and not interested in showing... or breeding for that matter. I'm not trying to start an argument - just voicing an opinion about MY OWN preferences is all. T.

Some standards for some breeds could do with a little tweaking - so breeding to a standard sometimes isn't all it's cracked up to be either... but a dog with a great or predictable temperament is one that most people would prefer for a companion animal, yes? A really well bred dog will have big plusses in temperament AND conformation. T.