cannibalgoldfish

It was a terrible year last year for me. I lost both my cats within a few months. Polly, aka poggy, poggybop. bitch kitty, lots of swearwords.... I got her from the RSPCA in 2000. She was a runty kitten who was weaned too early, poorly socialised. She was aggressive and dominating, but would melt around men.... the little tart!. She was difficult and painful but the smartest cat I have ever met. I often wondered what she would be like if she had a good upbringing? Poor pog was my little lady. Every hair in place, delicate and QUICK. I have never had a cat strike as fast as her. But she mellowed out and realised she was actually a cat when I got Ichabod.... Mr Bod. My little man. He was a burmilla with serious hair growth. He was also a runt and was weaned two weeks after his littermates. No reason, he just liked an easy meal.... Icky was named correctly. Shortly after I got him in 2003 he had a runny bottom, nose and a gunky eye. Hence the name Icky. He was such a loving little mite. He loved Polly no matter how much she hated him and beat him up. He taught her that she was a cat and so saved me from shin mutilation. He was not the brightest cat. I wont say he was dumb. I prefer innocent. Ichabod lived in a happy shiny world. His grooming skills, were, um, missing. He looked like a haystack, no matter how hard you brushed him. Polly died suddenly after a vet misdiagnosed a breathing problem. Her little lungs just gave up. It was sudden and unexpected. Ichabod had a life of ills with feline herpes and associated problems. He just couldnt handle being alone after Polly died. He faded away and I had to have him put to sleep. It still breaks my heart today. My poor stinky little man. R.I.P. My little ones. Excuse bad photography and what not... Ick as a wee kitten. Icky as a young spunky adolecent. Look at those eyes! Mr Bod. Aka Bodzilla, count Bodula and just plain Ickybaboo Icky and his big "sister" Polly Polly Bag puss I miss me little buddies. I have Penny now, but she is her own personality and cant replace them. R.I.P. Polly and Ichabod.

I have been reading about do male dogs stink more, do they normally pee on themselves, do puppies feet REALLY smell like popcorn(you know who you are!) So, I apologise if this has been done to death but..... THE GREAT MALE Vs FEMALE debate continues.. Does he smell cause, well, he is a boy! Will she dice your self esteem into little patties cause she is a girl? Come on! Pour stuff on your typical male/female! It is fun! (yes, he pees on everything, yes she is smarter than my partner.... ect!)

Is his burn all thickened and lumpy? I thought boxheads (sorry, wylie)would be cause it was pretty bad but it healed so well. No roughness at all. I bought him for show but after his injury I figured he was never going to do well. It was tiny but he would have been my first show and I never knew what the rules say about it. I thought show dogs had to be perfect. But he is still my boy, and you really have to go looking for his scar. He kept wagging his tail over his burn! eeeerrr! Shibas have that spikey spitz hair and he kept wagging it over his raw wound without any trace of pain... That was the worst. No brain no pain? ugh!

I hope it heals ok! It might just look far worse than it appears. A few years ago Wylie got burnt across his lower back just above his tail. It started as a little red mark then with a few days became this massive wound. His skin was black and hard! It was so horrible. The vet said it was full thickness burns from boiling water and you could see where it had trickled down the sides of his back and tail. He said it looked deliberate but I couldnt imagine who would do such a thing! Although a day or two before I found it, the neighbour said he had been barking at something that night. She looked out side but she didnt see anyone. She knows they only bark if someone they dont know is there(or a cat...) I do have an outside hot water cylinder and I got it checked just in case. Anyway, The vet told me it was going to leave a huge scar and it would always be noticable. When it healed it went from the size of my outstretched hand to a tiny little bald spot about an inch or two long and you cant even see it, Thanks to that curly tail! I never thought such a horrible burn would leave such a tiny scar. Hope Beaus disappears just as well! What extra surgery can help? Wont more just leave more scars? I dont know enough about burns...

Sleepy lizard? you mean a shingleback? Sorry, lizards are as much fun as the rest of my pets.... A big shingle back would hold its own against your dog. Until she calls its bluff... Kirty, do I see british shorthairs in your photo thing? (not up with the tech name for the photo at the bottom of your post) or exotics? I have my first british blob, sorry, blue and really want to find some people to talk to about her! She is a grizzly little force of nature!

I took both of my Shibas to the course the guide dogs run here in Launceston. I know Shibas can potentially be dominant so socialisation was always on the cards from day one. Loki, my first is a submissive quiet boy (Ok! he is a mummys boy, and proud of it!) He was totally un intersted in the other dogs. Would just sit and sigh and look the other way whenever another dog came up to say hello. The lady running the course kept using him as an example of "the more aloof breeds" yeah, thanks . A few years later I took Wylie to the same course. Little beast has attidude issues, ie- he is god. (normal shiba) I spent the first few weeks sqirting him with a water bottle cause he didnt stop barking and trying to push around the wimpy pups. These courses just run through the basics. But they do seperate the class into two age groups rather than size. Puppy and adult. Which means you get all breeds and sizes running with each other but more in keeping with their development. Wylie didnt learn any manners till I started walking him to the off leash area and he tried to bully two young labs who thought the funny little barking thing was great fun and tried to roll him into little balls. No aggression from them at all, but he sure learnt he wasn't god and other dogs might just be bigger than him! It was the best thing for him. Now days I just have to watch him around the little girl dogs.....