The Ark

Wow..... This tugs at the heartstrings.

I am currently raising a mini pinscher pup with cerebral palsy, and whilst her disability is nothing like the one these babies have to deal with I'm sure many breeders would have put her down because she isn't a candidate for breeding or showing, nor would I be comfortable rehoming her as a pet at this stage if I can't be sure she won't deteriorate (even though I have someone willing to take her) - but gosh she has been a fighter, and at no point could I give up on her. I think it's an individual thing. I am monitoring my baby very closely, and if at any stage it seems like she is not happy (and I know dogs are great at hiding pain) then she will be given her wings (it is hard to even type that). I've had her checked for everything I can, and am working with a canine chiropractor to ensure she grows as well as she can.

Hi,

Apologies if this has already been covered but I am a bit time poor at the moment, being in the middle of selling & buying houses.

I would normally use Martin Strong at Motto Farm for x-raying our Aussie Shepherds for the purpose of hip/elbow scoring, however he is on 2 weeks' holiday and I would like to have x-rays done sooner than 2 weeks' time.

Has anyone used a vet in Adamstown? My local vet would do the x-rays, but we had an issue with improper positioning before so I'd rather deal with someone who is experienced and trusted in this area.

Thank you.

Ava ate all the plants too, not that there were many to start with. She shredded a grassy shrub down to its stem (which has grown back in the past few months, YAY), stripped all the bark off one of our climbing plants, and dug in the garden beds and exposed all the plant roots. We didn't have any pot plants but I can tell you pretty easily what would have happened to them if we did

Edit: On another note, I sent in the entry form for our first obedience trials on 26 March Eeek! We had a bit of an average training session last night but there were annoying little midgie bugs everywhere so I think they were a bit distracting. Ava is LOVING being sent to a reward at the end of an exercise, you should see how fast she runs to the treat container!

Is anyone still up for a playdate on Sunday morning? And if so, could I be a pain and ask if you can help us practice Figure of 8s?

LOL you're funny - asking people to come for a playdate on the condition that they stand still as a post!

Good on you for entering a trial! Very proud of you. Vivi (Ava's mum) has had two training sessions since weaning the puppies. Last Sunday we did a trialling class and she was air-scenting the whole time. I have no idea what she could smell but it must have been good!

Dog ownership has made me much poorer and much busier.

But I love each and every one of them for the things that they bring into my life - the fun, the outings, the socialising, the cuddles, the education, and especially the dog-loving friends.

I pity those people who, through choice or circumstance, never get to share their life with a canine.

Oh gosh they are cute and that is so hilarious to see an Ava in Corgi Puppy form!!!

I wondered what had happened to their legs, then I remembered that they were corgi bubbas! That little girl does look a lot like Ava (apart from the leg thing).

I've got min pin puppies and am having a hard time weaning ME onto all-dry kibble! The pieces are small, but still quite a challenge for their tiny mouths so rather than soaking it I mix a bit of mince (raw) with enough water to make it "spreadable" and just toss it through the dry. This gets their nose working and once they've licked all the mince off they then chew on the dry (which is still mostly dry).

The crushing idea is a great one - I will start trying that I think so that they don't get so dependent on the "gravy".

BTW - mine are on Advance puppy too. I assume the puppy packs I got for the min pins would be the same as the ones you have for the paps.

Rest gently, little Snowy. Well done to you, Curlybert, for showing her love.

That is gorgeous!

I saw the last photo quickly on FB but didn't see the lead-up. It's the expression on her poor little face that makes it! :happydance2:

Give her a hug from me.

Good news here - the vet rang yesterday with Little Bear's neospora results and she tested NEGATIVE!

So it seems all we are dealing with is the CP, which is great news (compared to what it could have been).

She's off for her first vaccination with her brother & sister today. I'm going to leave her microchipping for a while though, as I don't want to put her through that. Not sure if I'll get the others done yet either, or give them a couple of weeks to grow.

We have a litter of puppies who are nearing 8 weeks with no firm interest either. I have been considering a very carefully-worded ad in the Trading Post (based on the assumption that if we want members of the public to know about quality, purebred dogs then we have to advertise where they are looking) - but it is hard to take that step when a search for puppies of your breed on the Trading Post site turns up some in a Victorian petshop and some person locally who just wants to "borrow" a dog for breeding (doesn't care if it's one breed or another "similar" one).

How very sad but look at how much damage that does to rescue in general.

Apart from the obvious - I hope they have liability insurance - its taken us decades to try to get people to see rescue dogs as a great way of bringing a new dog into their home.

When you have rescue who cut corners and dont do what they have been promoted to do when placing dogs there is a much bigger picture and it doesnt just occur in that locality or even in that country.

The story is distributed everywhere and a percentage of people who may have been considering taking on a rescue will be looking in other directions.

It really does impact on all of those great rescue people who are going way over and beyond to get it right.

Sadly true. Let's hope all the good-news stories still manage to outweigh this.

Best wishes and much love to you both, Wuffles, from the crew up here.

Video fresh off the camera for you guys...

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Very cute, Satch!

Happy Birthday Badger, you lucky boy!

I wonder if some kind of swimming or exercise program might help, I know she is still very young, but I think with CP that is the best time to start.

Thanks Muttaburra - I wonder if a chiro could help with that?

i'm surprised you let an impaired pup slip and slide all over your desk and papers. She needs a surface she can grip to in order to help her motor function develop and doesnt injure herself

Thanks Nekhbet but she was only up there briefly and you can see that my hand was also in shot through most of the footage. I had a towel down for her when I was feeding her (so she had something to stand on) and she chose to move about for a short time.

I posted this on Facebook last night - our kids love their puppies:

The puppies were out running around today and my 5yo asked my 7yo which puppy was Little Bear. My 7yo answered not with "she's the wonky one" or "the funny one" - she said "Little Bear is the darkest pup". Love is blind I am very proud of my little girl for seeing the true beauty in this puppy.

And one more clip of Little Bear. I was trying to feed her but she kept toddling off to explore.

Here's a link to some video footage of the puppies, taken on Sunday when they were almost 6 weeks old. It's pretty easy to spot Little Bear.

Apologies if it takes ages to load - I didn't have the energy to split it into shorter clips last night.

As you can see, Little Bear is generally a happy, playful little girl.

Hi everyone,

I had to pack up all of my dogs today because we had a real estate potential-buyer inspection, so I took the opportunity to take Little Bear to the vet again for a blood test. My vet felt a neospora infection was unlikely in her case, given that she hasn't deteriorated over the past 6 weeks and was a bit behind all the others from the start. She agreed however that it was something we could easily rule out, or begin treatment for if she tested positive.

I ended up in tears out when they took her in to take her blood. She was crying before they even jabbed her and I felt so mean for putting her through it. Even my maremma wanted to go and check on her (I took Aurea in for her C3 booster). The vet was really good and came out to apologise for upsetting me, but I was very glad when they finally handed my little one back. I was worried that she would be traumatised by it, but she's been bouncing around this afternoon and has had a great appetite so she is tougher than I think (and tougher than me! ). The vet was pleased with her overall body condition, so that was some good news.

I just have to decide what to do if the test comes back positive. Normally they suggest a retest to see if levels have risen, because a positive can just mean that the pup has been exposed at some point, not necessarily infected. I dread putting her through that again so fingers crossed for a negative result.

The next step is to track down a chiropractor for her. She's a bit delicate to take to my usual guy I think, so I'll look around for someone.

Little Bear is 6 weeks old today! She's made it this far, so here's hoping it's onward and upward from here.

So thank you Rottifan and rotts4ever for offering advice to help my little snippet of a pup, and Kirislin, KTB, Kelly-Louise and teekay for all your kind thoughts and positive energy. It is very much appreciated.

And by the way, KTB - you are such a wordsmith. I love your work!

Beautiful photos Kirislin. I do love whippets!!!

KTB - she is doing very well. ;) The thing that makes my heart smile is that she plays!

Rottifan - thank you for that reminder. I go to the chiropractor myself all the time, and have taken other dogs, but I didn't think of it in this instance. I will definitely get that organised though, because it will be beneficial I'm sure.

Here is a photo of Little Bear out exploring yesterday.

(I know she looks like a little pot-bellied pig but I love her. )

Anger over dog rescue

The RSPCA could investigate Singleton Council's treatment of an impounded pregnant greyhound left in the pound on a Sunday without veterinary care after she was found with a dead puppy.

Dogs Rescue Newcastle paid the veterinary bill after the council took the dog for treatment the following day where another two dead puppies were surgically removed.

The council has defended its treatment of the dog, saying she was thin but in "stable health" on Sunday, February 6, when a council ranger found the dog and pup during a routine weekend check.

But Dogs Rescue Newcastle co-founder Sue Barker said the situation highlighted concerns her organisation had about the operation of some council pounds and the vulnerability of ill and injured animals.

"We would like to know why this animal wasn't taken to a vet immediately, and what steps the council has taken to investigate why the dog was in the condition it was in when it was impounded," Ms Barker said.

A Dogs Rescue foster carer who did not want to be named said the dog was in a "dreadful" condition when she agreed to take responsibility for its care, and "she still looks quite awful".

"She weighs 18 kilograms. My greyhound weighs 33 kilograms. She has ulcers on her body but she has the tattoo marking that would allow the greyhound association to trace her ownership," the foster carer said.

"I don't know what would have happened if we hadn't agreed to pay for her treatment."

Singleton council director of planning and regulated services Mark Ihlein said the dog had no identification and was not registered.

"The dog was thin, but did not show any signs of ill-health or pregnancy, and once being received at the pound was eating and drinking well," he said.

RSPCA NSW chief inspector David Oshannessy said he was "very happy to look at the situation" and wanted more detail about why the dog did not receive veterinary care when first found with the pup, and whether the council had contacted the Greyhound Association about ownership.

The RSPCA has campaigned for a code of practice for council pounds, similar to codes of practice that set out how nine other animal-related industries such as pet shops and boarding establishments should operate.

ETA: No offence intended, but your avatar creeps me out a bit.

What's creepy about my dogs face being superimposed on to that of a human?

:laugh:

I have used colloidal silver for human ailments with some apparent results (much to the horror of my mother). We had a scrap between our two female greyhounds the other day, resulting in a few puncture wounds - took them to the vet and asked if antibiotics were required but he wasn't at all worried as the wounds were open and as long as we kept them clean he didn't think they were required. Update: both girls are doing well, and are even good friends again.

Another vote for The Dog Whisperer and all the Animal Cops/Precinct types. ;) The repeats do get annoying though. ;)