Tim'sMum

I wonder if that Greens MP is also a card carrying PETA member? ;)

My previous vet promoted designer dogs and poodle X's as being ideal family pets and having hybrid vigour. Friends went out and bought a poodle/spaniel cross from a pet shop on his advice....aaarrgghh. I eventually (after learning about puppy farms and designer dogs here on DOL) told him to google pics of puppy farm raids before he ever recommended them again. ;)

So sorry for you Jules. RIP Brock.

Preventic collars or Advantix are OK. We live in a very bad area for ticks. I have had two on me in the last week...both at the nymph stage, but the spot where they were will itch like mad for a week. I have used both Asvantix and the Preventic collars on the dogs. A friends Keeshund had two ticks and was very sick with both...until she started using the Preventic collar and he never got another tick. Nothing however is a 100% surety....so check your dogs every day, without fail.

Rennie is such a lucky little girl to have been found and cared for by you YG.

I cured one of our dogs of eating poop by leaving them in the backyard and sprinkling some black pepper on them. He sniffed, sneezed and didn't attempt to eat it ever again. ;)

Ticks can be active all year...and are usually worse if there has been a lot of rain around. I have picked a fair sized tick off our Kelpie and he had no symptoms whatsoever. I, however, just have to get a tiny one, at the larvae stage, and I get an allergic reaction, with a hot itchy lump that lasts a week or more and can spread cm across whichever part of my anatomy it was on. I am just recovering from yet another tick. Ticks have a 3 stage life cycle...with a tick at the adult stage being the most toxic. What you found on your dog was probably a tick at the middle or nymph stage perhaps? In Qld.... •Larvae appear late Feb to April/May (not causing disease) •Nymphs March to September/October (occasional mild disease, opportunity to gain resistance in tick infested areas) •The adult population emerges in August to February, peaking around December (disease - tick search daily!)

He may have something stuck in his throat or even between his teeth. Have you looked in his mouth and down his throat? If he is still doing it...a vet check would be better than getting a diagnosis via a website. ;)

Buy a dog? Both good and bad advice. Some people would give a dog a great home, other's wouldn't. I must admit to getting a dog for a similiar reason many years ago. The 'Granny Killer' was operating in the suburbs around our home and my Mum was at home alone during the day and in her 70's, as was the lady next door and our back neighbour. They both had dogs who had died that year and our GSD had died the year before. We adopted a young ACD who had been dumped/lost. He was a fabulous dog, very protective too and we could go to work feeling happy in the knowledge that Mum had some protection. He lived a good long life too...we had him for 14 years.

My Kelpie X, Tim, does that too...uses my leg or the couch as a serviette. He also barks a bit but isn't as 'chatty' as our Staffy.

:rofl:

I sometimes wonder how we survived as kids in the 50's & 60's. We were with dogs and unsupervised often, we would take our dogs with us to the park or for walks unsupervised, many people didn't have fences and their dogs roamed about quite a bit. We and our dogs would say hello and interact with them. When my dog died I missed her terribly and spent hours just sitting with or playing with a Samoyed and St Bernard X that both lived at different houses at the end of our street....again unsupervised. These two dogs were great friends and would often be together. The Samoyed's owner used to bring me out a brush and I would happily and patiently groom both dogs.We were taught from an early age how to interact with dogs. You learnt which neighbourhood dogs were friendly and which were not....and those were few and far between and always behind a fence. The majority of dogs were very well socialised (and the term 'socialised' was not even thought about) with people and other dogs. You also learnt never to be mean, to tease or annoy a dog and if someone did, they would get a smack. I certainly don't advocate allowing kids to approach dogs they don't know but I wonder why we have become so very anal about dogs, that people are seemingly terrified of having a dog around their kids?

for you and Ollie Staffyluv. How is he this morning?

I am so sorry for you and your family. What a horrid thing for the kids to see too. :) RIP to both Odie & Jazz.

:p Her kangaroo 'son'? She feeds it junk food with no nutritional value and loads of chemical colouring and flavouring....and dresses the poor thing in a suit and tie? Someone please give this nutjob a pet rock...tell her it's her 'child', and take that poor animal away from her.

Some good points raised in your post Tempus Fugit. Many years ago professional shooters were employed by the State Govt. to eradicate feral animals. A fellow I knew spent many years pig and goat hunting out west, in the areas surrounding Cobar as a licensed professional hunter of feral animals. It was how he made his living. It begs the question...are licensed hunters still employed by the State govt here in NSW?

Mate....you are talking about things that happened well into the past. People are a hell of lot more aware of the neccessity to preserve our native wildlife now. By the way....Tasmanian Tigers did not affect 'crops' but did attack sheep & lambs. Koalas were introduced back into South Australia and that introduction has been successful. Pigs are not 'our' wildlife....they are an introduced species that causes a hell of a lot of damage to natural ecosystems. We created the problem and it's up to us to fix it. Pigs, especially feral pigs are omnivorous and will eat anything...not just vegetation. They also eat invertebrates, bird eggs, baby birds, small mammals and in particular their young, reptiles, and amphibians. They live near and around water as they need to wallow to cool themselves. The impact of pigs wallowing in wetlands and watercourses can totally destroy these ecosystems. So while you bleat about poor pigs dying....they are busily killing off native wildlife either directly or indirectly. Apart from that...they can be highly dangerous, especially if cornered and not something a bushwalker in a National Park may want to get into close quarters with. So....just how can you support their continued existence as a feral animal that destroys native wildlife and ecosystems, and has no place here in Australia? Words like 'invasive, pest, feral, non-idigenous or not native' are not just emotive terms used to brush off cruelty....but are used to describe an animal that is damaging our ecosystem. Also, with pig hunting...dogs are used to keep an animal cornered so it can be shot. No pigger is going to risk losing a good pig dog by allowing it to get 'up close and personal' in a fight with a wild pig. Dogs are used to scent, track and bail up a pig so it can then be humanely despatched with a rifle.

Oh please! From what I have seen.... People walk into a pet shop & see a gorgeous looking puppy and are 'hooked', They are told all sorts of incorrect information, particularly about grooming, by a 16 yr old weekend casual, They are told it is 'papered'...because it comes with a piece of paper from whatever puppy mill it came from, showing it's nefarious mixed breeding, They purchase said puppy for a ridiculous price + get conned into buying a puppy pack full of useless cutesy wootsy equipment and wave goodbye to a very large amount of money. They are not scrutinised, have a home check done for fencing/suitability, questioned as to their suitability to own a dog or reminded that they will need the ability to pay constantly for grooming and vet fees for the rest of the dog's life if required. They are not advised that certain breeds or breed X's will require certain levels of exercise/mental stimulation (eg: anything crossed with a Kelpie) to be a happy non-destructive dog that does not bark constantly, dig holes, rip things apart in boredom etc.. The pet shop gets it's money, the new owner gets a puppy which may or may not be suitable, which may or may not have health problems, which may or may not be dumped at some stage but the pet shop owner will never know, or most likely care much....end of story. Our local pet shop, which sells oodles of oodles has a big banner across the glass boxes...'We do not buy our stock from puppy farms!' So where do they buy these puppies from? I asked one staff member that question and was told.... 'From ethical breeders!'

Stunning & chunky little angels. Well done Tapua.

One of my dogs (Danni) took exception to a Chinese lady who often walked in the park where I used to walk my dogs. She loved the dogs and would often collect lost tennis balls from the tennis courts nearby and throw them onto the oval for dogs to play with. Danni would have nothing to do with her...and would bark at her, yet Tim was happy to be patted by her. I put it down to perhaps she smelt different to people of European descent...due to diet? A friend's dog took exception to people wearing big broad brimmed hats...and would bark and back away. Danni is a barker and will bark at the screen door at anyone walking a dog along the street. I keep a spray bottle of water (which she hates) near the door and all I have to do is hold it up for her to stop barking.

And how many will end up in pounds or rescues....after they are bored witless (being two highly intelligent breeds) and tear up the house and garden?

That did it for me....taking an extremely well respected rescuer to court on trumped up charges, just to justify the actions of a 'cowboy' relief Inspector. How hard would it have been to admit they got it wrong? But no....they took it to the extent of the law and just lined the pockets of a law firm, instead of using that money where it belonged, money donated by animal loving people....on animals truly in need.

It is......APRIL FOOLS DAY!

It would be interesting to know the true circumstances as to why this dog attacked it's owners and a neighbour? Perhaps it could have prevented 13 pages of a lot of seemingly pointless argument.

If the dog was mine, I don't think I would want it back as I would feel apprehensive, no matter what the reason that caused the attack in the first place...and I certainly would not want it rehomed. As for breed...yes, GR's are on the whole quite a placid breed but as with any breed of dog there are differences between individuals. When I was walking a previous dog, Bron (a GSD), on lead across a park, a GR had been let off lead and it ran across the park and launched itself at my dog. There was no sniffing, hackles, precursor to an attack...it just attacked my dog straight away. Bron didn't even have time to fight back. It was lucky that the other owner ran fast enough to pull his dog off mine before too much damage was done. Bron had puncture wounds on his neck though and needed antibiotics. I have been very wary of GR's since then. The initial reasons for the attack have not been explained in the press, just the aftermath. The dog's breed should never come into the equation however, when decisions are made whether its safer to put the dog down or not. That decision should be made purely on why the attack occured in the first place.