RubyBlue

Its a horrible feeling - keeping my fingers crossed for you.

I feel very sorry for you. I was in a similar situation (no risk of pregnancy thankfully). I had to leave - months of banging heads against walls just isn't good for you. Unfortunately if something needed to be done - it was up to me to do it. Speaking to her now it is clear that nothing has changed. It is one of the reasons I believe you should have to sit a test to own an animal.

Last year I saw a very badly structured lab at the offlead park who was limping big time. I asked the owner how old thinking 9 or 10 - turns out he was 2yo and had needed a hip replacement and had elbow problems. At the time my then spritely 13.5yo arthritic lab was moving more fluidly. I asked about the breeder and mentioned something like 'that's pretty poor of them'. She said they got him from a petshop, an "Ahhh, that explains it" was all that was needed - they said they'd go to a reg breeder next time.

Shes brilliant Great name.

I always knew my dogs were fundamentally lazy - I thought they got it from me

Facebooked it

some people disgust me. There is no excuse - its not like shelters and rescue agencies are rare or unpublicised.

I couldn't deal with two adolescents. At least I know with my girl now if I tell her to do something she will reliably do it - it means that I can confidently deal with a pup without wondering what shes getting into. She also roll models nicely for my friends pup with meeting other dogs/kids/cats/tied up/in out of car/etc. We are both ready now...she is 5yo.

Afghan Hound: Sir Walter, Faxon, Lochie, Bluey, Miffy, Airedale Terrier: Abbey Akita: Kyojin, Kuma Alaskan Malamute: Indiana, Kira American Staffordshire Terrier: Tua, Max, Juno, Cash, Loki, Jessie Anatolian Shepherd: Trojan Australian Cattle Dog: Elvis, Matilda, Katie Australian Cattle Dog X : Frosty Australian Shepherd: Banjo, Archie, Lottie, Millie, Alice, Hannah, Hudson, Flynn, Gossip, Ava Australian Silky Terrier: Holly, Rolle Australian terrier: Bailey, Brandy, Jasper Australian Kelpie: Revan, Abby, Bluey, Cahill, Franky, Izzy, Safire, Milky, Kinta, Banjo, Rosie, Skye, Emerald, Gem, Meg Australian Kelpie X:Toby, Cooper Basset Hound : Gemma Beagle : Teagan,Ollie, Ellie, Dusky, Brodie, Billy, Piper, Briar, Scarlett, Buffy, Emmie Bearded Collie: Charlie, Bonnie, Bailie Belgian Shepherd (Groenendael): Fleming, Ivy Bichon Frise: Jag Bichon Frise X: Harper Bloodhound: Earl Border Collie: Roy, Molly, Kirra, Rory, Rumour, Diesel, Kobie, Emma, Kenzie, Maggie, Ella, Shelby, Jayde, Ashli, Mia, 'Bubba', Wyc, Echo, Topolino, Sally, Xena, CK, Wikki, Gemima, Carter, Maddy, Charlie, Border Collie x: Anna, Cally Border Collie x Husky: Spider Border collie x kelpie: Jasmine Border Terrier: Tammy Borzoi: Oberon, Boris, Sonya, Kurgan, Ursula, Apollo, Atlas, Adonis, Argus, Alektos, Arinyes, Athena, Aphrodite, Aidos, Andromeda, Ares, Alexander Boston Terrier: Archer Boxer: Bruno, Nelsson, Bondi, Booker Brittany: Zora Bull Terrier: Bonnerville, Atlas, Stitch Bull Terrier (Miniature) Lainie Cane Corso: Ali Cavalier King Charles Spaniel: Anouk, Ben, Bree, Ingrid, Jersey, Lacey, Fern, Floyd, Indy, Arnie, Joey, Renae, Bailey, Murphy, Maggie, Millie, Chloe,Toby,Zonda Chihuahua: Chelsea and Pansy, Heidi, Bertie, Moose, Archi,Pepe, Squirt, Limpet, Jasper, Bella, Dobby, Bud, Johnny Chihuahua x Maltese: Midget Chinese Crested: Louis, Daisy, Cyrus, Madeline, Sarge, Pepper, Fletcher, Darla, Oz, Xander, Faith Chinese Crested Powder Puff x Tibetan Terrier: Dee, Carrie, Benita, Jenna Cocker Spaniel : Maggie,Jesie, Bonnie, Chelsea, Darcy Curly Coated Retriever: Angus & Freddie Curly Coated Retriever x Labrador Retriever: Maggie Dalmatian: Appollo, Cleo Deerhound: Rhys, Calleigh, Bernard, Elfin, Ronnie Deerhound X: D'Arcy Doberman: Opal, Brutus Dogue De Bordeaux: Moose, Chevy, Bella, Molly, Digby, Dexter, Viva, Vegas, Griffen Dogue De Bordeaux x Boxer: Madeline English Cocker Spaniels: Jesie,Bonnie, Chelsea English Setter: Spartan, James English Springer Spaniel: Buddy Field Spaniel: Moo Finnish Lapphund:Halo, Vienna, Jaana,Magnus,Aurora-Rose,Niina,Paddington,Maximus, Ahsoka, Fable, Demi,Varda, Asha, Boots, Echo, Alera, Annika, Ella Flatcoat Retriever: Moraig, George French Bulldog: Lola, FeeBee, Alexis, Claire, Lilly German Coolie: FlashBazil, Latte, Razzle, Willow, Dusty German Shepherd: Java, Odin, Tlaloc, Rebus, Indi, UnoBuffy, Bronx, Sabre, Kynan, Brennan, Jack, Santha, Molly, Max, Jenna, Acteon, Roxy, Scout, Rumour, Skye,Banzai,Imba, Kira, Chloe, Duke German Shorthaired Pointer: Pip, Coco, Polo, Riley German Spitz (Mittel)- Amber German Wirehaired Pointer: Adi, Struppie Golden Retriever: Onslow, Matilda-Rose, Chester, Genie, Ella, Rosie, Bruce, Chloe, Chaos, Ruby, Sasha, Aria, Archer, Lexi Great Dane: Sparkles, Whitney Greyhound: Harry, Kiff, Sally, Clyde, Ryan, Amethyst, Stan, Maddie, Skye, Rosie, Ruby, Roxie, Jazz, Gypsy, Ernie, Gus, Rufus, Joey, Woody, Coconut, Cleo, Freckles, Ziggy, Candy, Jed Griffon Bruxellois: Mocha Hungarian Vizsla: Flynn, Rogan, Kobi, Ari, Belle, Monah Irish Setter: Fionneaghan, Maia, Aneira Irish Terrier: Kate, Duke Irish Wolfhound: Zac Italian Greyhound: Bella, Tari, Blaze, Zoey, Italian Spinone: Roisin. Enzo Jack Russell Terrier: Ringo, Nandi, Chief, Louis, Matilda, Tess Jack Russell terrier X: Thomas Japanese Spitz: Emmy, Angelo Keeshond: Jedi Kerry Blue Terrier: Juno, Joxer, Bahsha, Louie, Cinders, Solo Labrador Retriever: Lestat, Bailey, Tia, Mieka, James, Harry, Lily Rose, Zep, Molly, Milly, Jackson, Dyson Lagotto Romagnolo: Rizzi, Lucca Leonberger: Singe Maltese: Luna, Mia, Basil Maltese X: Chase, Pipi, bella, byron Maremma: Dennys Dog, Grace,Gina, Angel,Honey, Hollie, Snotto, Hairy Beary, Tadea Miniature Fox Terrier: Cleopatra, Mali Miniature Long Haired Dachshund: Mini, Rover Miniature Pinscher: Mischa, Cleo Murray River Curly Coated Retriever: Aggie, Soona Neapolitan Mastiff: Miniera, Pacchia, Bruno, Pasquala + 3, 1 week old pups Newfoundland dogs: Annabelle, Katy, Lukey, Xanthe, Maddy Norwegian Elkhound: Odin Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriver: Nova, Darcy, Jovi Papillon: Blaze, Minka, Portia, Tyson, Coco, Tonka, Mailka, Sarge, Dodger Pekingese: Edwina, Lyle Pointer : Kite Audrey Poppin konrad, Badger Poodle (Toy): Chilli, Maggie Poodle (Minature): Caroline, Brody, Prada Poodle (Standard) Merry & Pippin, Poppy & babies. Pomeranian: Daisy, Comet, Jester, Polly Pug: LotusFlynn, Elyse, Ted, Misty, Elly, Poppy, Sally landers,Archie, Beau, Haidee, Millies, Ivee, Jack, Bert, Cheddar, Maggie, Swank, Monte, Boof, Olivia Pyrenean Mountain Dog: Sasquatch Rhodesian Ridgeback: Meisha, Bakari, Boss, Sierra, Kei Rottweiler: Roxy, Feonix, Radar, Neo, Abby, Dyzney, Fame, Jag, Nellie Rose, Baylee, Dee, Zephyr, Mini, Diesel, Fire, Flint Saluki: Bella, Arella, Moss, Lucy, Jadir, Mab, Floyd Samoyed: Mistral, Alchemy, Yngvie, Dante, Bundy, Kamikaze, Fergus, Kato Samoyed x: Jenna Schipperke: Taz Schnauzer (Miniature): Maximus, Coconut,Betty,Jigga, Riva, Amy, Indy, Amber, Grace, Guy, Blue, Connie, Paddington Schnauzer (Standard) Baillie, Remy Schnauzer (Giant): Tara, Darcy Shar Pei: Askari, Acheron, Asante sana, Sirius, Chippy, Christina, Diezel, Cassie, Orsana, Cimba, Sebastian Shetland Sheepdog:Shady, Ruby, Bindi, Casey Merlin, Dexter Shih Tzu : Gizmo, Daisy, Zeus Siberian Husky: Akira, Tikaani,Romeo,Baby.Riddick,Indie, Esky, Blacky, Zuess, Zero, Mya, Suggen, Freyja, Wolf, Rumour Siberian Husky x: Luki Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier: Shaemus, Nellie, Ciara Staffordshire Bull Terrier: Kiara, Zola, Diesel, Kaos, Brutus, Monty, Chaos, Bean, Brock, Benson, Vulcan Swedish Vallhund: Hugo SWF: Zoe Tibetan Spaniel: Annie, Nina Zena, Lily Tibetan Terrier: Prue, Mindy, Holly, Tara Tenterfield Terrier: Cinder, Zoom,Spirit,Heidi,Kimi, Heidi, Dotty Rescue Bitsa: Keely, Fred & Ginger, Ozzie, Tess, Maverick, Bosco, Kyah, Charlie, Astrid, Mala, Bella, Tiny Tim, Jen Jen, Lilly, Judy, Mini, Pixie, Ozzie, Dozer, Alaska, Logan, Buddy, Leela, Rusty, Pip, Brembo, Satchmo, Henry, Luna Welsh Corgi (Cardigan): Shandy White German Shepherd: Casper White Swiss Shepherd: Rakim, Whippet: Herbie, Buzz, Lewis, Rommi, Daphne, Elliot, Mindy, Whiz, Arizona aka Zassy , Griff , Penny, Kibah, Feather, Tag, Puck, Orlando, Ella, Patch, Snips, Elijah, India, Zoe, Noah, Sway, Eden, Tara, Maddee Weimaraner: Ariane, Lulu, Louie West Highland White Terrier: Penny, Mac, Daisy, Mac, Sarah, Andy, Sweep, JJ, Flash, Fergie, Crystal, Glen, Jingles, Jinnie, Loui, Mitch, Maggie, Smiekie, Zac, Roxy, Winnie, Cricket, Nova, Jo, Archie Wire Haired Fox Terrier: Zedley aka Tawnyoak Dream Weaver Just added German Wirehaired Pointers Adi and Struppie. :D

Where can I get deer antlers?

Me too - single male pup born on the 5th. Mum and tubs doing well. Sooooo excited!!!!

When we first moved to Melbourne my sister and I were watching TV on the floor using our lab as a pillow and my parents were upstarts unpacking. My Dad found a scream mask and thought it would be fun to scare us. First thing we knew about it was when Jackson leapt over us and we turned around to my Dad screaming "NO...Its me!!!" ripping the mask off - Jackson mid-leap aiming around head height.... Not a real situation but he responded valiantly never the less. Hes never admitted it but we all recon my Dad c**ped his dacks that day.

I used to house-sit a lab who used to do this. Her owners would come home and she'd ignore them (it must have been hard as ignoring anybody is out of character for her :p). It only lasted a day or two then all would be back to normal. Scientifically I think I'm anthropomorphising but she was very convincing..... kenDOL - I hope you are feeling much better now. I am sure with time B will come around.

This is a very interesting article. I am curious how this works with the kennel clubs though. Technically these dogs aren't purebred so how can they and their offspring be bred from and later registered and shown?

Yep I prefer to worm regularly - my dog is a scavanger and as I cant see internal parasites Id rather be on the safe side. I vaccinate annually - requirements for most organisations are proof of that years vaccination also as I compete with my dog she comes into contact with other dogs and sometimes wild/feral animals. It is devastating to see your animal suffer or even lose them to something that is completely preventable. You only need to ask the parents who lost children to whooping cough last year.

There are so many products on the market which cover different parasites and require different frequency of application from daily to monthly, quaterly and annually. You need to talk to your vet about what you need to treat for - then you can discuss which products are best to cover thoes needs and match the frequency you wish to apply it. Pet shops also sell products but Id prefer to buy them from someone who understands the pharmacokinetics of the drugs (at least until Im comfortable using the product).

Yet they allow dogs?

Pair it with something else that you have to do on a monthy basis.... ie pay rent - worm dog. Vets usually send reminders about annual vaccinations.

Not quite sure how far you are willing to travel and where you are travelling from but if you want to head east... There is a new park "aranga reserve" which is a fully fenced offlead dog park. There is still some agility equipment construction going on here and there but all fencing is now complete. It is just off of Springvale road near the Manningham/Donvale indoor sports complex. Just off the eastern freeway. It hasnt officially opened so is still very quiet and I am yet to see anyone else there.

I went to Knox Obedience Dog Club when I lived in Wheelers Hill. http://www.knoxodc.org.au/ Pretty happy with them and am still there despite moving much further away.

Congratulations and good luck for today. Also to all the Knox people with 3 of 3 passes

Aranga Park in Doncaster is fully fenced. Has some agility equipment too. I was hoping for some constructive feedback on the content of my reply. Too strong, too long, too wishy washy, spelling/grammar errors etc....

Hi, I found this in the hardcopy of the local leader paper opinion section. Up until then I had no idea that there was an offlead trail. "Enough off-leash areas The extensive media coverage last week of a loose dog mauling a child to death has created a real fear of dogs running loose. So it is imperative the City of Whitehorse seek to balance local laws so our parks and reserve cater for those who wish to enjoy them for whatever purpose as well as those who wish to exercise their dogs. In North Blackburn, Nicoll Park and the track running beside the freeway are already areas where dogs can be exercised off-lead. So Slater Reserve is a well-known and popular area where residents and their children have enjoyed playing in the playground, kicking a football, jogging or cycling without the fear of being confronted by dogs running free. So why is the council trialling Slater Reserve as yet another dog off-lead area? Surely it is not too much to ask that people continue to leash their dogs when entering this reserve. Then the dog-owning and non-dog owning community can enjoy it. Jane Harvey posted online" I am going to put a reply in but would like some feedback on it first. Reply to “Enough Off-lead Areas” The City of Whitehorse has 300 parks available for recreational activities, of these, only 19 are available for dogs to exercise off-lead. This equates to only 6% of parks available to the 18,000 residences which have registered dogs (Whitehorse City council Domestic Animal Management plan, 2007 data). When this is compared with Boroondara’s 49 of 200 off-lead parks (24.5%), Manningham’s 95 of 300 off-lead parks (31%) and Monash’s 34 of 125 off-lead parks (27%); it becomes clear just how much Whitehorse lacks in resources for dog owners. Search results for Australia’s popular dog breeds indicate that Gundogs breeds and Herding/Working dog breeds are still the most popular. Dogs from these groups require several hours of running daily. Without the use of off-lead parks only exceptional athletes would be able to meet these needs. The track running alongside the freeway in the Box Hill North, Blackburn North and Nunawading area is not an off-lead area. People exercising their dogs’ off-lead here risk fines. Nicoll Park is the only official off-lead park for Blackburn North, Nunawading and the eastern half of Box Hill North. It is a small area which is restricted further by the playground and the surrounding radius which dogs are excluded from. All of the off-lead parks in Whitehorse that I have personally been too are multipurpose areas which include children’s playgrounds and often barbeque areas. Whilst I don’t disapprove of multipurpose areas, having to share areas the few areas we do get, adds to the frustration. It is easy to understand some peoples fear of dogs given the recent media hype over dog attacks. It should be noted that the large majority of dog attacks are by unregistered dogs in lower socioeconomic areas such as Brimbank and Casey. More often than not the owners of these dogs meet a certain stereotype and are very blasé about their dogs’ behaviour. From the Whitehorse dog statistics it seems that Whitehorse residents are generally responsible dog owners and Whitehorse has an extremely low incidence of dog attack compared with the Victorian council average. According to the Whitehorse City Councils Domestic Animal Management Plan 2008: “Regular exercise in off-lead areas is important for reducing the incidence of aggression in dogs as it helps to socialise dogs around people and other dogs.” (pg18) and “Experience across Victoria has shown that off-lead areas are generally well supported by residents and dog owners and that they do not lead to increases in the incidence of dog attack/rush or animal escape.” (pg19). Whilst Whitehorse City Council still lags behind the other councils the trial in Slater reserve is a step in the right direction. Comments?

I have medium Aarons outdoor kennel - plenty of room for two labs. Going to add some additional insulation for next winter but am so far very happy with it.