Kirty

Lillydale Lake also has an OK walking track and a nice offlead area.

Cardinia Reserviour has a decent walking track including some bush (and lots of roos!). My dogs love it there.

We are hoping to run an eye screening (ACES certificates) clinic in Albury next month. Are there any breeders that would be interested in this? Please pm me for more info.

I posted a week or so back about whether or not giving Pia fluffy toys would increase her 'cat' drive. I ended up giving her some toys that are fluffy but not at all cat like, however I have noticed a huge change already! She plays with the toys a lot but often transfers this to the cats. She will be throwing a toy around, spot a cat and chase it. Naughty girl.

I don't think so, its one of those natural/nature ones. I'll double check though.

She has a few spots she prefers in the house (kitchen being a fave), but she will go anywhere really. I clean it with disinfectant, but we have stone floors in the kitchen so perhaps the smell is lingering there? Gayle, she is the most beautiful, gorgeous dog and I just love her to bits. She is perfect in every way except for this! LOL! She is currently curled up asleep on the couch with my OH.

Pia is not a puppy - she will be 2 years old in August. She can't be outside with Phoebe because Phoebe would like to kill her. We were going to have Phoebe PTS (she has lots of issues) but have decided to manage the situation for now. Pia used to come inside when we were home, but outside at other times and didn't have accidents then. But since the fights, she has been indoors 24/7 and thats when the accidents started. My parents don't let her inside anymore unless they are actively watching her, so thats not really an issue. Pia is not crate trained and she hates being contained. We used to put her in the bathroom when we went out, but she would freak out and toilet everywhere, trash it, etc. So now she comes with us or goes to my parents house. Even if Phoebe wasn't here, the dogs can't have free access to the yard because I have indoor-only cats. I think I am going to try and focus on rewarding her when she goes to the front door. Perhaps that is the link she is missing? She understands 100% that outside = toilet. She goes straight to the garden and does her business. The only issue is understanding that toiletting does not happen inside. She doesn't hide if she wants to toilet inside, she just does it. Maybe she just doesn't understand that she needs to tell me she needs to go toilet?

There is one down the road from me, and I actually worked there when I was a kid and didn't know better. I do give it credit though for opening my eyes to what pet shops are like. I left in tears after three weeks. Its a horrible, horrible place.

I'll tell people at work if I think their dogs are overweight, but usually only if they are obese. I keep my dogs lean. I have one dog with serious HD and another with a dodgy shoulder, so they are kept extra lean. Now that Champa is getting older, he looks thin but its because he is getting saggy. Pia is too skinny but she doesn't eat.

She doesn't really sneak off, she just does it. She has peed right in front of me before! I don't think she feels comfortable with my OH which is why she is worse with him. He is not mean to her, but he doesn't like her (and this issue is not helping!!). I find it easy enough to keep her in my sight at all times, but OH doesn't. And if you confine her (say, lock her in the bathroom or laundry) I think she stressed because she will poo and wee guaranteed. I will try using treats but she is not a hugely food motivated dog. We usually have a little game (weather permitting!) when she goes outside, but thats it.

She toilets in the front yard, nowhere near Phoebe who is in the backyard. And a human is always with her when she goes, to be on hand to give lots of praise (even in the pouring rain like last week!).

She is a very simple dog, bless her, and yes you are right, there is definitely a connection missing somewhere. We always take her to the same spot to toilet, every time without fail. She will occasionally go to the front door to signal she wants out and when she does, I praise her like mad and take her out. But just as often, she will just wander off and do it somewhere else! She gets praised when she goes outside and seems happy to go out there. Its definitely not a medical issue. And she will go for weeks without an accident, then she'll have 3-4 in a few days?

When we had out rabbits desexed, the male suffered some EXTREME swelling. His poor little sacks looked like plums - they were so tight and red and hard. Anyway, he made a full recovery with no dramas after that. Hopefully Daisy is the same.

Oh dear, that sounds nasty. Poor girl, I hope she is home and feeling better very soon.

So how many months has it been now? And we are still battling to toilet train Pia. She has been really good with me recently, but still shocking when my husband is with her. He swears he takes her out as often as I tell him, but he will literally bring her inside from a toilet break and she will sneak off and pee or poop somewhere! Then this morning, I had to get up at 5am and Pia wouldn't get off the bed. So I went to the toilet, came back and she had got up, crapped in the kitchen and then gone back to bed! I mean seriously?! She now goes religiously outside, no matter how frequently we take her out. But we just can't stop her going inside. Its putting a huge strain on my already seriously strained relationship. And I love Pia to death but it is starting to drive me insane. And she goes to my Mum's house a few days a week and she is even worse there. My parents love having her, except for that. Does anyone have any special tricks, besides crating her. She can't be outside because of Phoebe. I've told my husband that perhaps he should put her on a lead and attach it to himself so she is never out of sight, but thats not exactly practical. And there isn't really room for a crate.

A regular vet will pick up some defects, but a specialist is the best person to do a proper heart check.

Wet food is mostly water and not good for their teeth.

I'd get a Whippet.

I have just bought my Greyhound a toy called an 'empty-nester Pheasant' - its a soft toy with no stuffing, and squeakers in each end. She LOVES it! Its a decent size so she can throw it around and tug on it. http://www.dogtoys.com/migrators.html Here is something similar: http://www.amazon.com/Mallard-Migrator-Bir...g/dp/B00027ZVLY

We've had our girl Pia since she was about 3 months old and have always carefully supervised her interactions with the cats. She has never known anything but being surrounded by cats, so she is used to it now. She will still chase them occasionally, but its all in play. We don't encourage her to chase them and we stop her if we see it happening. She likes to wrestle with them, but we also stop that if it gets too silly or rough. We had a foster Grey called Sam and he just accepted the cats too.

*bump*

What kind of poison kills in 15 minutes though? I've never heard of anti-freeze or draino killing so quickly?

Done for all four dogs.

It could be a UTI. I'd get her checked by the vet.

You did the right thing and you are doing a great job. Big hugs. RIP little babies.