tdierikx

How gorgeous is Marnie?? She looks to be such a gentle soul too... testament to Little Tails' excellent care. T.

I have some Chuckit (brand) rubber tennis sized balls that have stood up to years of abuse from my Labrador - and this is a dog that destroys the black Kongs! They are around $20 for a pair of them, but it still ends up much cheaper in the long run than buying balls that the dogs can destroy. The Chuckit balls are orange with a blue tennis ball looking stripe on them. They should be perfect for both of your furkids... T.

Try using a high quality meat-based kibble, and to temp him, you could possibly make a meaty broth/gravy from frypan leavings - boil some water in the pan after you've done steaks or whatever, and then pour into a container and refrigerate - microwave a bit of the "sauce' when needed, and drizzle some of that on the kibble to make it even more appealing... Don't worry - your baby isn't broken, he's testing you to see if you'll start feeding him what HE likes, instead of what YOU choose... he'll be a Labrahoover sooner than you think... *grin* T.

OK - to put all speculation to rest here about my 2 girls that had the fight... Zeddy (the black dog) is nearly 11 years old - I've had her since she was 6 weeks old (FTGH from the Trading Post). She can't fight to save her life, and being older doesn't help either. Trouble (the Labrador) is 4.5 years old - I've had her since she was 10 weeks old (came from Moree - not papered). Younger and fitter than Zeddy, so will always have the upper hand. Both have Alpha tendencies when I am about - something that I am VERY aware of, and certainly correct them if they start vying for attention. I'm not about to euthanaise either of them, and do have the facility to keep them separate if I have to. Neither have ever shown any animus towards other dogs or each other in public, and normally they are bestest buddies and enjoy cuddling up to each other on the couch or bed. Zeddy has always had at least one doggy companion, and Trouble has always had Zeddy. I know exactly what has triggered each of the serious fights they have had, and no two fights have had the same trigger - because once known, we just don't allow that trigger to occur again - vigilance is definitely the key here... hence this fight being a very long time since the last one. The injuries in this particular fight were not lessened by the Police intervention (heard me yelling at the dogs to stop and came over because they thought it was a domestic) - capsicum spray and bashing with boots and night sticks certainly didn't help the situation there... I had to back off and not intervene because of the amount of capsicum spray used... My vets had no trouble handling both dogs in the same room to administer to them after the event, and have declared that though the damage looks to be nasty, most of it is actually quite superficial. In total, between both dogs, there were about 10 stitches. Most of the wounds will not even have scars once the hair grows back. Do not doubt that I know I have some very serious thinking to do about my girls and whether or not I allow them to run together - or that I'm being at all frivolous about what course of action I will have to take from this point on. I certainly don't like having my girls try to kill each other - however irregular that has been. T.

It sounds like Indy is laying claim to you and/or the top position on the couch... Cayenne is reacting because she is now an adult and probably doesn't like being dictated to by Indy like she would have tolerated as a puppy. Possible solution is to make both of them beds on the floor to snuggle on in the evening instead of allowing them on the lounge - that way they are both lowered to the same level and Indy won't be "protecting" her prime position on the couch. Cayenne doesn't seem to have quite the protective urge about the couch, which is why she allows Indy on after her with no issues. Future issues could be resolved by not having them on the couches at all if they are going to behave badly about it... Another possibility is to have their own couch that only they are allowed on - and they aren't allowed on yours. I have a couch for my dogs, and they aren't allowed on mine - there are no issues because it is "their" couch, not a special place to be defended. T.

Four shelters/rescues/charities were selected from around Australia for these stamps - and I'm very proud to say that Tigger was a NSW Animal Rescue baby... ain't he a spunk! (he's even prettier in the flesh!) T.

My 2 desexed girls get on fine most of the time... but when they get into a spat it is downright nasty... Here's what they did to each other last Monday over a piece of food one of them found in the yard... Zeddy - 11 year old Rotti cross - had 2 ripped up front legs, punctures on a back foot, bruising to her chest, and she lost a canine tooth in order to repair the ripped gum. Trouble - 4 year old Labrador - had lots of punctures to face, ears, and neck, and a rip between her toes. I'd strongly suggest that if you have 2 females together, that you look seriously at pet insurance - my girls set me back $1360 for the above wounds to be treated by our vets - and they give me discounts... That said - I've had quite a few females run together with no problems at all over the years - but if you end up with 2 alpha bitches, it can be problematic (and expensive) at times... T.

Do you guys know anyone looking for a lovely, if exuberant and untrained, 12 month old Foxhound boy... he's been good with all other dogs he's been introduced to so far... He came into rescue via a rural pound, but we've had him looked at by a breeder and they have declared him pure - but we don't have any papers for him. T.

I have a couple of teddies and a couple of bandanas in my car left over from the Sydney Yellow Dog event - would you like me to bring them over to you? T.

Very cute... love how your Pug is asking for it on all sides... lol! T.

Cold power and Napisan... same as for my own gear... works a treat on my machine's "normal" setting. T.

I wormed my foster pup the other day... and he was a WMD for about 24 hours... ewww! I was calling hum Mr Farty Bum... T.

I agree with Greytmate... fear and stress can bring out the worst in a dog, and you may never be able to guarantee that the dog in question will truly settle into a lovely little lap dog - if something triggers that sort of reaction sometime down the track, then it can come back to bite you, so to speak... T.

The incontinence could be from a congenital disorder of the bladder... may need an ultrasound to verify it. If it is a congenital bladder issue, then it's not going to be something that will be fixed cheaply, or permanently. That could also be why she had the UTI... T.

Definitely lucky - I'll agree 100% with that Greytmate... and the girls are lucky that they have such tough hides - most of the wounds are fairly superficial considering how nasty the fight was. Zeddy has some more leg scars to add to her collection, and Trouble will add a few more to her facial scar collection. Once the hair has grown back, we shouldn't really see much evidence though... The drain in Trouble's neck is a result of a wound that wasn't found during triage that night - once the vet had Trouble knocked out and they did a through search all over her, that's when they found that one... so 2 trained vets and myself missed it first time around. Easy enough to do when the dog is all hyped up after a fight... all Trouble wanted to do was jump all over everyone and get cuddles... T.

My 2 girls went for it on Monday night... and they got out of hospital today... they'll be fine - mostly superficial stuff and a few stitches - but they were going to kill each other over a small piece of dry food on the lawn... It's absolutely traumatising when you have your own dogs fighting. Mine are both around 28kgs, so it's impossible for me to do anything more than referee and make sure that if one goes down, I drag the other back - other than that, nothing is going to stop them until they run out of puff... so the 3 policemen who attended my yard on Monday night found out... how embarrassing! Good to hear that your little one is on the mend and feeling happier now... pass him a cuddle from me, OK? T.

Ain't it amazing what love and devotion between dog and owner can achieve? Way to go little man... we are all rooting for ya, mate! T.

OK - my final bill is in... and it's not bad considering... Trouble - Labrador - numerous facial punctures cleaned up and one drain inserted to a wound in the neck, one foot wound stitched and bandaged, 2 nights hospital, pain meds/antibiotics administered, and pain/AB's to take home - $667.05 Zeddy - Rotti cross - numerous leg wounds cleaned and stitched, one broken canine tooth removed, 3 legs bandaged, 2 nights hospital, one bag of fluids on the first night, pain meds/antibiotics administered, and pain/AB's to take home - $693.30 - oh, and they cut her nails for me as a freebie... *grin* Total bill for both = $1360.35 I am now seriously looking into pet insurance - accident cover... these scraps don't happen often, but they sure tend to happen when you don't have the money to spare at the time... grrr! Our last vet visit was 16 months ago - and that was only Zeddy after one of their scraps - and that was $650... T.

Well - my girls that had a barney last night have spent last night at the vets and were in surgery for their wounds today - both seem to have come off relatively well for the scale of nastiness that was going on. Each dog is going to cost me between $600 and $700 - so total bill will be between $1200 and $1400 - when they get to come home tomorrow. Only one dog needed a drain in one of her wounds - but there are stitches and quite a few punctures that have been cleaned up on both of them. I think my vet bill is pretty reasonable... even though I'd rather they hadn't had the fight in the first place... grrr! T.

I know that feeling Casowner... my beloved Rotti girl Woosie has been waiting for me at the Bridge for nearly 6 years now... and I still lose it when I think of her... *sob* I love ALL of my dogs (and even my fosters) dearly - but Woosie was "the one". If I'm ever lucky enough to share that sort of bond with another dog, I'll know that I am truly blessed. It's kind of hard to explain the bond one shares with a heart dog... maybe it's like finding your true doggy soul mate? Something so special that words can't really explain it... and it hurts so bad when it's time for them to take their wings... you lose a chunk of your heart when they pass. T.

Those are definitely pics I'd be proud to have taken - simply amazing action shots! It's great to see healthy and happy dogs having a ball playing in the mud and wet... *grin* T.

I'm expecting a pretty hefty bill from my vet tomorrow after my 2 girls decided to get into it tonight... I'm also expecting to see quite a few drains and shaved areas. Zeddy has also broken a tooth, so that's got to come out also... I'll be pleasantly surprised if my bill comes in under $1000... it was a nasty fight... and my vets don't always charge me full price for work they do on my dogs - infrequent as it is. Was your aunt's dog the aggressor in the fight with this other dog? And what story are the other witnesses telling? T.

If the job was done at an emergency or specialist vet, that would account for the fairly high cost... my girl's surgery for badly ripped and punctured front legs (from a fight with my other girl) plus a dental cost me $650 at my local vet in normal business hours. My other girl had a sinus cyst removed and a drain inserted for just over $400 at the same vet - also during business hours. The wound in your pic looks big, but there may be reasons for it, and the drain is evidence of more damage than would have been obvious to the naked eye prior to surgery. T.

He is turning out simply stunning, isn't he? Awesome save yet again k9angel!! T.

Ummm... if most of those apply... does that make me a "mad dog lady"?? T.