tdierikx

I rocked up with a big KFC feast and lots of happy memories to talk about last night... and we had lots of laughs and a few tears... Saffi is being remembered REALLY well... as she deserves! My friend still has a 7 year old AmStaff cross she adopted from me as a pup - one of my many fosters. Bonni (the dog) is so far quite happy to go with the flow of the routine changes and no cranky Saffi telling her off for being a doofus. She was in fine form last night showing us how she can hide her ball and find it again... lol! She also got to have a couple of nuggets and some chips... even though she's supposed to be on a diet... errr! T.

Thank you all so much for your suggestions... Sadly, Saffi became an angel today... but my friend is so pleased that you all made the time to suggest things to help... T.

I know this should be in the Health section, but figure it will get more viewers here... My friend's nearly 13 year old Stafford has been diagnosed with failing kidneys. She has been given the Hills KD stuff to feed, but the dog refuses to eat it... and actually gets so distressed when offered it, that she stress vomits and pees all over the floor. Saffi (the dog) has also dropped a lot of weight recently, and has some food intolerances. We have found that she can eat raw turkey necks (which she loves above all else) and also loves cooked chicken thighs with brown rice. Raw chicken makes her vomit... I'm of the opinion that it's come down to a quality vs quantity question with Saffi... feed her what she will actually eat and not have a meltdown, and just know that her time is more limited but less stressful for her. My friend is also leaning towards this option, as she can't bear to see Saffi so stressed at being offered food that will maybe only give her a few more months with us anyways. On the flipside, my friend is a bit distressed herself that Saffi will probably be flying with the angels sooner than she'd like. Does anyone here have any ideas about what other foods we can try with Saffi that may have a lower protein and salt content, so her kidneys aren't working so hard... and maybe will give her a little bit more quality time with my friend? My friend has also just retired from work last week... and I really don't want her to start fixating on Saffi's issues in place of the hours she used to be working... that wouldn't be healthy for either of them IMHO... T.

If she were to get a Lab, I'm sure a Tapua one would be perfect... *grin* T.

... and they are temperamentally amazing also... T.

I recommend Tapua Labradors... Pauline and Pete do an amazing job... you won't get a better Lab in my opinion. T.

I have 3 of these in my yard at the moment... pure dingoes... only fostering... T.

Foxes are opportunistic hunters... if they are hungry, they will kill whatever is at hand - even killing more than they can eat, and leaving some to come back to later. They are not fussy as to whether food is fresh or rotting... it's all food to a wild fox. That said, their preferred dinner is rabbit... if rabbits are thin on the ground, then the foxes will go for the next best thing - rodents, chickens or slow livestock, and native wildlife. A chicken coop looks like a smorgasbord to a fox... all that food in the one spot... very appealing to the lazier hunters or those needing to take food back to babies in the den. Peak times for unwanted fox activity should be during winter (June-August) when the males are all roaming to find females to mate (you'll even see more daylight attacks), and again around October-December when the kits are old enough to eat solids, but not old enough to hunt themselves. Foxes have a pretty high bite pressure for their size... more than the average dog... which means they can kill very quickly with one bite... especially smaller prey like chickens and rabbits. T.

I've got 2 shedding undercoat here too - Pickles is a demon for shedding... but the rest of the coat is gorgeous on Freddie, so can tell he's in great nick... T.

Awww... Dulcie is so cute... I love how all your dogs are in such beautiful condition - both the house pets and the working ones - simply stunning... T.

Naww... too cute! T.

We seriously need a massive Love button! T.

That's my boy! You go Pudden... don't worry when mumma perse laughs at you... T.

Merry Christmas Pudden!!! Love ya, ya big galoot! T.

We need a "love" button... *grin* T.

The $161,912 left over after all other expenses should be enough for website enhancements, no? T.

Employee expenses > $500,000... wow! T.

You would have gotten MY business SM... *grin* T.

I was at a park on a headland - with no fences, and a sheer cliff drop on the other side of the roadway around the park - where a "dog walker" van pulled up, and the person opened the back door to let a stream of unsecured and unleashed dogs out. Needless to say that complete bedlam ensued whilst some 15 dogs ran off in all different directions - including towards the edge of the cliff! Stupid "dog walker" had no control, and very little clue really - then tried enlisting park goers help to round up the dogs and get them back into the van... WTF!?!?! And people pay top dollar for this kind of "service"... *sigh* This was in a rather upmarket suburb of Sydney (north side) to boot... The dog walker local to me that I highly recommend does NOT take dogs to the local dog parks... she physically walks them individually or in pairs (only same household dogs together) for a good hour before returning them home and making sure all water bowls are topped up, and any excess energy is expended with some toy/ball throwing in the back yard. She ony takes on work that she can physically handle and doesn't take shortcuts. She believes that the one-on-one time spent with the dogs is just as important as the exercise they all get during their walks, and I agree wholeheartedly. She's even picked up my friend's dogs and taken them for vet checkups when my friend can't get an appointment outside business hours... and picked up the vet prescription food too... she's seriously the BEST! T.

I wonder if they can prove what they are claiming in paragraph 5... I'm thinking not... T.

My Lab used to inhale her kibble dinner... thought nothing of it until the day she aspirated some and ended up with aspiration pneumonia... we now feed raw in large pieces she HAS to chew.. All of my dogs get fed separately - 3 adults in separate rooms, and 3 foster pups in individual crates in another room - and I don't need to supervise... *grin* T.

When one of my friends was looking for a dog walker, she had me come and interview a couple before we settled on one we and the dogs approved of... and she's completely awesome! If anyone is looking for a brilliant dog walker that goes the extra mile for your dogs in the Riverwood/Narwee/Roselands (Sydney) area, PM me for her contact details, I can't recommend her highly enough... People like the one in this news article should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law IMHO... how awful for the dog and it's owners... *sob* T.

The report says the dog has had a go at the owner more than once? Seriously, if one of mine turned on me with malice aforethought just once... it would no longer be with us... T.

At least the willy wagtails can't steal the eggs from under the chooks and ducks like the ravens do... errr! As long as the ravens stick to getting rats, they are welcome - but please stop dropping bunny bits near my head... grrr! Or said eggs! I love watching the superb fairy wrens doing their little mating dances - not as fussed washing off the poop from my car side mirrors though... *grin*... and the little bugger is too flighty to get a decent photo opportunity of him doing over my mirrors... Love watching the sparrows hover, then nip in for a tasty spider or other bug... T.

Got an email yesterday warming me about a certain "grinch"... errr! Looks like @shel has gotten under their skin a bit... hehe! T.