VJB

Heidi is 5, and I have never cut her nails. She is walked twice daily, partly on footpaths and road, so I guess that has kept them at a reasonable length. Guess I'll have to get them manicured one day.

I took it in the the bathroom. Placed in in the bath, so a at least if there was a spill, the bath would catch it. Then I got the inner roll of a paper towel. Opened the zipper bit just enough to fit cardboard inner roll into. Get large garbage bag, and then have someone else hold the garbage bag, while you lift and pour beans into it.

StaffSam... Your laughing... OMG,, I still cannot believe I did it. I was like a woman possessed. All in the aid of getting her the right bed. I think once I'd already spent THAT much, I was determined to get it 'right' eventually. Then I gave up and shoved the thing in the corner. It is heavy with 12 pillows in it. :)

Another BarkaParka bed lover here.... although mine ended up costing a whole lot more than the original price. My dog didn't like the beans either, so I took all beans out, went to shops and bought 6 pillows to place in the bed. As it is a size 45 bed, it is quite large. Once I did this with the 6 pillows, I decided that it wasn't high enough, and needed another 6 pillows to add on top of the others in the bed. Total price of pillows added up to similar in cost that the bed was. Then I decided to get another cover, so that I could wash one and use the other for a change. More $$. I don't even spend anywhere near this amount of money on myself EVER. Im queen of frugal I think all in total, once I added it up I had spent close to $800. I kid you not..... $800. This is insane, and to top it all off, my dog then became incontinent the day after I put pillows in it , so I splashed out on a 'special' dry-top cover, which made too much noise and my dog didn't like it. The bed had then sat in the corner for the last 4 yrs, and it is only in the last 4 months, she will happily use it on our deck area. She did have a few sleeps on it when we first got it, but very few with the beans in it. I will try and post some photos. I must say though, that the material that the bed is made of is excellent, and it should last the lifetime and beyond of your dogs. No dog hair penetrates the fibres of the bed, as it is made of twill (stitched 7 ways) and this prevents the hair or dirt penetrating the fabric. So there is never any dog odour. And dirt/hair just falls off with a quick shake. The covers wash beautifully and are also very quick to dry. Since our dog sleeps nicely in our bed though,,, and I was sick and tired of dog hair invading my sleeping quarters, I rang good 'ol BarkaParka back and they made me a custom made sheet for my queen size bed. So now, instead of vacuuming our bed everyday, I whip the sheet off, give it a quick shake, and all is good. The End

I use odour go. Diluted in spray bottles, one part to six. My dog is not a smelly dog,,, but I like a fresh smelling house, as when I vacuum I can smell the old dog hair. Odour go is a natural product made from a blend of essential oils that bonds with the odour and is not a 'cover-up'. I use it in the rinse cycle when I do washing, I wash floors, toilets and pour it down drains, and spray the carpet and lounges, beds (human and dog) with it,,,,, clothing, car, and can even wipe the fridge as it is a natural disinfectant. . It last a very long time and I love the stuff. I just reordered the talc scent in a 5 litre bottle. This will last me approx 3 yrs and I use it a lot. It is safe for pets, and generally used in industrial cleaning industries, hospitals and motels. My link

I listened to this with headphones on and I jumped like you wouldn't believe. Very very freaky indeed!! I think its human... which is unfortunately a very scary thought. My heart is racing fast after listening to that.

I worm my family regularly, but not for fear of getting worms from the dog. I worm them from getting thread worm. I do all the washing, cleaning, and medicating, as well as repeat doses, washing soft toys, shoes.... just about EVERYTHING,,, and then the kids go to school and pick it up all over again. Ongoing problem, even if they do wash hands always etc. It is on the carpet at school, in books, on pencils that go into mouths, possibly friends houses, public toilets, escalators, just about anywhere someone who has thread worm who doesn't wash their hands touches. My dog is wormed each and every month and I hope that catches any nasties. Never heard of thread worm from nose picking... only bum picking. Oh, and for those interesting in my thread worm rant, once treated, you must shower the morning after because the female lays its eggs at night time and causes itchiness which can irritate. It needs to be washed away down the shower drain, not a bath of floating eggs for kids to re-ingest.

How long has the diarrhoea lasted? I think the general rule is to stop feeding all together for 24 hours, or give boiled rice with chicken until stable. Make sure water is available as normal.

Odour Go is excellent and from memory 5 Litres was about $55 and it is diluted 6 parts water to 1 part Odour Go. Love the smell of all the flavours.

Heidi is scared of the hissing sound that pumps your tyres up at the service station. We often walk past a dry cleaner, and the same kind of hissing sounds comes from there as well. She also gets a bit weird when she sees my husband naked.... don't know why. :)

We have experienced cold tail with our GSP twice now. Looks very odd, just hanging limp. It got better in about 2 days.

I would say that the feed is too close to 'work time'. What breed is your dog? It is often considered best to not feed a dog before exercise due to bloat risks etc. The same has also been said for after exercise too. Hopefully your dog is fine, and she just threw up once. If she is happy and active, I wouldn't worry too much. If she was lethargic, I would suspect she is feeling unwell. Some dogs will also work harder for their food at training if they are a little hungry. My dog would be eager for anything at any time of day though, so it depends on the dog.

RIP Cookie, and you will always be remembered. You touched the hearts of many. She deserved nothing but love, and I'm glad she was given love at the end. No more pain.

My dog is sneaky. She will try to make her food stealing go unnoticed. Eg: 8 frozen crepes defrosting on in-laws kitchen bench, turns into 7 crepes defrosting, one obviously missing in the middle. This has everyone scratching their heads as to what has exactly happened to the missing one. We all look at Heidi, who gives a great innocent glance in the other direction. I have also had scrambled egg on toast in kitchen, left room for 18 seconds, and come back in to see the toast without the scrambled egg on it. Innocent looking dog watches me as I search the empty pan for egg, and ask myself if I am going mad. She has taken things without me noticing on many occasions. I cut up slabs of dog roll (Tuckertime), and if I turn my back for a second, a slab can go missing, unnoticed by me,,,, until I see her poo, and out comes the tucker time plastic wrapping. SPRUNG!!

RIP Otto, thoughts also with his family.

Heidi brings us presents several times a day. Usually a stuffed toy, or sometimes it is something on the kitchen floor, like a bread tag, and she wiggles her bum madly to make us all know that she has something tucked up in her lip. It begins the swapping game which is what she's after in the first place.

RIP Henry, and sorry for your loss. So filled with happiness knowing he was loved.

I bought a snuggle safe when my dog was a puppy, but I stole it and use it every single day for myself. :) They are great, but I think a doona and some blankets to snuggle with would provide some good warmth.

We have had the same phone for years. In the last few days, my dog howls when the phone rings. Is there a logical explanation for this? I have not reacted at her howling. ?

I cannot do any exercise on the floor. My dog just cannot leave me alone. I end up laughing too hard, and thats about all that gets the stomach muscles aching.

My daughters asked me this today, and I didn't really know the answer,, so thought I'd ask here. When we put food down for Heidi, she will not eat it until we walk away. She actually turns around to make sure we are walking away. She eats any scraps that fall off the kitchen bench in her direction quick smart,,, doesn't have a problem actually 'eating' in front of us as such, but when I serve her food in a food bowl, or put dry food outside the back door, she always waits until I've turned the corner before eating. We are just curious. And no, she isn't food aggressive or anything sinister. There has never been any growling or negative body language with food.

I use nappy bags, although they can be a bit thin, and twice my finger nail has gone straight through the bag. Oh dear.... I knew what the brown stuff was on my finger, but still stupidly sniffed my finger in front of everyone waiting at the red light. Maybe I will learn my lesson and get a tougher bag sooner or later.

There is a product called odour go (google odour go au) and you will find a good solution to all odours. I love this stuff, it last me a long long time as it is very concentrated so I have to dilute it and put into spray bottles. I also use it in the final rinse of washing blankets, mopping floors, on all furniture, cleaning fridges, kitchen, toilets, pour into drains to eliminate odours... etc. It is very safe, and is not toxic, made from essential oils that bond with the odour causing enzyme, and kills the bacteria that causes the smell. It is not a cover up deodorant at all. We use it in the car to get rid of wet dog smell, and also use it outside on our decking when we clean it.

You could try an implant called Superlorin which worked wonders for my dog with the first implant, but not so much with the second implant. We went an entire year with no dribbles at all. When it was time to put the second implant in, we had a little leaking again. We have had the implant in for this last year and have topped her up with a small dose of propalin to stop her leaking. It is cost effective, and I think I will still put another one in our dog when she is due.