tdierikx

My brother trained his own assistance dog... and I'm pretty sure it cost a LOT less than $30k... Now he is legally blind, he has a guide dog, which cost him nothing. T.

When I would have my foster pups desexed, I'd request that they NOT be tattooed, as the vet students would sometimes be a bit heavy handed and one too many haematomas made me leery of having them done. When I was a teen, I worked on a friend's goat stud, and we used to tattoo the goats' ears as opposed to putting in those plastic tags - the goats were show animals, so I'm guessing that the plastic tags would detract from the proper set of the ears when being judged? T.

One of my own dogs has a crap nerve... she's frightened of anything she's not encountered before, and even some things she has encountered before. Thankfully, she is not fear aggressive - or aggressive in any other way. If she were at some point to start to display any aggressive tendencies, I'd have her put to sleep pretty darned quickly - as one doesn't faff about with a Dane cross with bad attitude! She is a rescue foster failure, and I've known her since birth - so I know there has been no abuse in her background... but if she ever ended up in the hands of some of the resccues out there, they'd be inventing all sorts of colourful back stories to "explain" her behaviours for sure! T.

Not all dogs (and especially not all those in rescue) go "bad" because of abuse. Rescue and rescue adopters likes to play on "abuse" as a scapegoat for a dog whose behaviour is unacceptable. Some dogs are just born with bad nerve/temperament... so let's just acknowledge that fact... and if we can't fix the issue, then maybe the dog needs to be "rehomed to god", rather than foisting an animal with dangerous issues out into the public domain. Not everything with a pulse "must be saved"... grr! T.

Quite frankly, I don't agree with letting pet cats roam indiscriminately... there are many bad things that can happen to them in the course of their travels... fights with other cats, cars skittling them, neighbours' dogs, nasty people who do mean things to animals... the list is long! If you love your cat, please keep it contained to your own property... T.

I know it's completely irrational tobe so afraid of Pembrokes, and I DO try to put my big girl pants on and try to meet them when the owners say they are friendly... but the little buggers always know that deep inside, this particular person is sh!t scared of them... As for the Bulmastiff label for the dog in the OP... seems pounds and rescues all over tend to whack the monniker on anything large and tan... *sigh* T.

It's only the Pembrokes that I have a fear of... Cardigans are just fine... go figure? Even at a doggy day at the local canine council grounds, the Pembrokes (who I was assured were friendly and would change my mind about them) had a go... the owner was shocked that they did it too! I did nothing freaky to make them react that way... I'm sure it's a vibe I'm putting off when I go near them... and they pick up on it and only reinforce my fears by lunging and yapping at me... and most times having a snap too! It even happened with some 12 week old pups having a go... norty buggers! T.

I've been in this exact position actually (in Sydney)... and the neighbour that owned the cat tried to have my dogs declared dangerous... to no avail, as they were happy to greet the ranger enthusiastically... *grin* Said neighbour then decided to take her own revenge by throwing baits over my fence, resulting in the death of one dog, and a 4 day vet stay for another... and unfortunately I couldn't prove beyond a doubt that it was her, even though she was bragging about it all over the neighbourhood... grr! I tend to keep my dogs inside when I'm not home now... T.

I was scared sh!tless of small dogs for many years due to people thinking it is "funny" when their pampered prince/princess has a go at others... and still to this day, I'm much more aware of the fact that I'm much more likely to be bitten by a small dog than a larger one. I still haven't met a Pembroke Corgi that hasn't tried to bite me, and as such still have a deep rooted leeriness of them... maybe they are picking up on that, but it's a subconscious thing that I can't control, as hard as I have tried over the years. Even Pembroke pups scare me! T.

When I was 6, I used to take a neighbour's 2 Dobermanns for a walk each afternoon. I would knock on the front door, the neighbour would take me out the back and attach the leads, then I'd go out the back gate to the playing fields our yards backed onto. I'd walk them for 4-5 laps, then bring them back through the back gate, knock on the back door, and the neighbour would give me a soft drink or piece of cake, then I'd go home. One afternoon, I got there to find the police there, and I was told I wouldn't be able to walk the dogs any more as they had been shot. Turns out that some idiot had jumped the back fence and was trying to break into the house when the dogs "got him". The would be burglar apparently didn't survive the experience, so the police shot them. I ran home crying my little heart out that they'd done that to those 2 beautiful gentle dogs that I loved so much... I think I threw a few choice words no 6 year old girl should be using at the poor cops that had had to do the deed through my tears too... I learned a very hard lesson that day... dogs could be "dangerous"... T.

It's not rocket science to realise that a bite with intent from a large dog will do a hell of a lot more damage than the same bite type from a smaller breed dog... That said, I've had quite a few more smaller dogs go for the intentional savage bite than larger breeds... but that's only my own experience, based on interacting with LOTS of dogs during my years with rescue AND working in boarding kennels (which also ran security dogs). There were one or two larger dogs that I definitely wasn't brave enough to try to interact with in all that time... T.

Hahaha! She's got the best hot water "bottle" ever there... T.

Nawww... pretty wet Don.... T.

She sounds like she's coping just fine... Don't let others bully you into changing something that's obviously working. T.

It would most likely be an hourly rate... and they can start around $200+ an hour for weddings, so somewhere in that ballpark, I'd suppose... Then again... Kirislin - you are pretty handy with a camera... and if you are physically capable of doing the job (I remember you have back issues), you might be able to come up with a compromise fee-wise... *grin* T.

He and Pickles would make a great pair... lol! Both of them are "speshul"... T.

Love that boy!!! T.

Ouch! T.

I'd say you'd need to ring around (or email for quotes) photographers in the area... I'd think a professional wouldn't be cheap, but you may find a dog loving one that might give a bit of a discount... T.

Horns are not linkd to sex in goats, so both males and females can have them. I'm lucky enough to work with lots goats of all ages... but getting smacked in the face with horns is definitely a slight downside... lol! T.

We had a light dinner, some more massage, and a dose of Meloxicam...seems to have done the trick, as she managed to get herself up onto my bed during the night and is back to her "normal" self this morning. I lifted her off the bed this morning just to be safe... @Mjosa- Pickles has a scar on her brain that means that she knuckles both front feet on a daily basis. She doesn't have much feeling in all 4 legs, so also walks like a marionette. She can run like a whippet though, go figure! She had a rather rigorous rumble session with the foster puppy yesterday as I was doing the poo patrol, so my bad for not supervising their play more strictly... They do like to frighten us with these things though, don't they? I was quite worried for a bit there... T.

The parvo thread says that the sick pup is the male... this thread is asking why the female is being picky... *sigh* T.

Pickles knuckles both front feet on a daily basis normally... it's part of what makes her "special"... lol! She freaks vets out with her spasticity, which is why I usually call first, then bring her in if they think I can't handle the problem myself. T.

Well... thought I'd give the trembly areas a good massage... and we have a much more happy and comfortable dog now. Still favouring the left front a bit, but much more settled and not displaying those worrying symptoms as frequently. Vet never called, and it's way past even his staying back time, so I'm gonna give her a dose of Meloxicam just for good measure. Bloody dogs...who'd have them, huh? *grin* T.

Stop it... I is gonna get a fat head at this rate... lol! T.