valbitz

I enrolled my Tibetan Spaniel with both organisations in 2020 before COVID hit, don't know if that is recent enough for you.

Lort Smith gives you a choice of locations available. Dogs must be vaccinated yearly or 3 yearly. Obedience test is very easy, they are more interested in the dogs temperament. They test the dog first, then vet report, vacc status and if all is ok there, then the owner's references are checked, need to get a working with children card and a police check done and online training. Flu vaccination was not compulsory then but has more than likely changed. Then there is one group training class with your dog, then a buddy visit to an organisation with your dog and a mentor and about 4 to 6 weeks after that you start visiting your chosen location.

Delta dogs do it the other way round where the owner needs to complete all the WWC, police check, some online training in OH&S, infection control and proof of flu vaccination. If the owner gets through all of that, they are interviewed and references checked. Next step is the vet paperwork for the dog, Delta dogs do accept titre test results. After that the dog is assessed and you are told on the day if you have passed or not. Then comes the volunteer induction training day without your dog. Then you are assigned a place to go to.

We got through and were accepted for both of them but never ended up visiting any places because COVID shut everything down and visits were not allowed for over 18 months. If I want to go through the whole lot again I would probably pick Lort Smith mainly because you can choose where you go. Lort Smith don't have a cut off age for the dog, Delta dogs have a cut off at 9 years old. Lort Smith are more concerned about temperament first then obedience, Delta Dogs seem to look at obedience first then temperament. Lort Smith obedience test is very easy, Delta Dogs obedience test is longer and harder. Lort smith don't accept titre tests, Delta Dogs do. Lort Smith have a larger variety of places you can choose from. For exmple there are hospitals, nursing homes, youth residential facilities, women's mental health facilities just to name a few. Delta Dogs don't let you choose, normally you start off at a nursing home for at least 6 months then you can apply for another place if there is a vacancy and your mentor thinks you are ready. Lort Smith temp and obedience test at a facility, Delta Dogs don't let you near a facility till you and your dog have passed everything beforehand.

If you aren't too worried about cost then have a look at this one. A friend bought one for her Scottish Terrier when she had bladder cancer, her dog wasn't very keen on it but my Tibetan Spaniel loved it!

https://classytails.com.au/product/pet-mobile-pet-stroller-trailer-medium/

Porche is a 14 year old Afghan looking for either a permanent home or a permanent foster home. I have met this lovely lady and she is quite sprightly for her age. If you know anyone interested they can put an application in via Pet Rescue.

https://www.petrescue.com.au/listings/571485

@Scottsmum by the owner's account she was in Craven which is a 15 minute drive from Gloucester where the dogs were impounded. I have no idea how Taree comes into it.

@Simply Grand fair comment.

The owner hasn't posted anywhere that the council was called daily/repeatedly/continually, nope only called once. Surely any dog owner that loved their dogs would at least make another call to the council before they left the area and contact the chip registry to have one microchip flagged as missing, since the other dog wasn't in her name I assume the owner would not be able to have the second one flagged as missing.

If the dogs were only held for 13 days then the council did do wrong, but considering they wouldn't or couldn't obtain the owners details holding the dogs an extra day would have made no difference in this case.

As to when they arrived in Melbourne well that is up for debate. The rescue have representatives in NSW and QLD so their representatives may have had the dogs on the 26th Jan therefore technically in the hands of the rescue but not in Melbourne.

I'll reserve any judgement till it goes through the court system and the press release that the council has apparently released (somewhere) and the vet report (somewhere else) are made public.

I'm not taking sides but something really doesn't add up. In all honesty if your dogs went missing - regardless of having a chip, wouldn't you at least make some effort to ring the pound at least once? By her own admission she never rang the pound, she only rang the council. The pound is on private property with a house at the back and someone lives in it, so if she rang the pound number which is easy to find then she would have known her dogs were impounded the same day they went missing.

A friend of ours bought one of these for her elderly dog when she couldn't walk the 3km distance we were doing on a daily basis.

The dog in the stroller is my 4year old Tibetan Spaniel, not the elderly Scottie the stroller was purchased for.

Sprocket sure is showing he's very capable of learning! Love how he's sorted the bedtime/getting up routine with help from you. I assume you're also leaving with him an item that strongly has your scent on, when you're out during the day. Rub the palms of your hands over any toy he uses, too, to transfer your scent.

The learning to sit & wait for food & walk on a loose leash!!!! This lad is clever. That bonding with Billy thro' walking & playing together should also increasingly calm him, too.

And he showed something else by ignoring you in favour of what food's in the shopping when you came home....food gets his top priority. Is he still not into food in a kong? Finding some chewy food that takes time to eat, could be a great distractor for when he's home alone & when he has to stay out of the kitchen.

He sure deserves a silver star for progress so far.... gold star being worked on (& nearly there!)

No gold star today, Sprocket forgot all about his loose leash walking :laugh: although after about 10 minutes he was back in the rhythm.

I went out for a little while when my partner got home and there was no whining from him, he just laid on the couch with Billy and looked sad. Sad is better than whining. Again he followed the shopping my partner brought in rather than noticing me when I came home. I will have to find something yummy to put in the kong for him and see how he goes with that.

Today was the first day Sprocket actively came to seek out a cuddle Hopefully he will continue to relax and see that the world really isn't a bad place.

Hmmm. I sense dangerous waters, Valbitz. Sprocket and Billy look like a match made in heaven :D :D

Sprocket and Billy get on very well. Billy was never into tugging but he loves playing tug with Sprocket as well as zooming around in the backyard and wrestling on the couch or dog beds. I walk them both in the morning and Billy usually goes for a walk with my partner in the afternoon unfortunately Billy has now decided if Sprocket doesn't go on a walk then neither will he.

Sprocket was castrated on Monday and Billy was so happy when Sprocket got home. I'm sure he knew something was up as he just spent most of the night very close to him.

I can see that when Sprocket is adopted that I'm going to have a very sad Billy.

I love the photo of Billy and Sproket with their toys. My pappy loved soft toys like those. :)

They are called egg babies, they have squeaky egg shaped toys in the belly for them to take out. Fantastic toys My link

I find this video good for getting an idea of the Tibetan Spaniel physical appearance.... head, face, ears, body, legs, paws and tail. Because the dog is moving, all this is shown at different angles. So you can see proportions & even gait. One dimensional still photos can flatten out features:

And here's a 'definite' Tibbie with black/white markings to compare with the foster lad , Sprocket .(click enlarge):

The video of the Tibbie doing agility is so cute :)

I really don't know what breed Sprocket is, his tail isn't long enough to be a Tibbie. We have a Pap x Cavalier in the neighbourhood and he looks very much like that, but it's hard to know with crossbreeds.

I've had some wonderful suggestions in this thread, thank you all so much.

Thought I would update since it's been a couple of days. Sprocket has decided that carrying on at bedtime is not worth it, we have had 2 nights without any barking or whining The only time he barked was about 6.00 yesterday morning and when I let him out he ran and pawed the back door to be let out, no toileting in the bedroom I got up early enough this morning and let him out before he barked to be let out to go outside. Mita I did leave an old worn t-shirt with him :)

Sprocket has stopped pacing but when I'm in the kitchen he is always behind me. I get the feeling that it could be a habit because I actually just walked in a circle and he was behind me the whole time even though I couldn't see him. He never gets in my way while doing it. I will have to teach him not come in to the kitchen while I'm preparing food.

He does still whine when I go out, continuously, till I get back home. Mita I did try the ignore strategy when I got home but Sprocket beat me to it he was more interested in the shopping bags my partner had than me coming home, he completely ignored me :laugh:

So far he has learned to sit for treats, sit and wait for his food and not to eat it till I say he can and he picked up loose leash walking within half an hour, he's a very smart little dog. Billy has loved having him around and they get on fantastically, that may end up causing a whole new set of problems when Sprocket finds his forever home.

A photo of Billy and Sprocket playing with soft toys

He sounds anxious to me: constant pacing and an impaired ability to sleep and rest are symptoms. It's not surprising that he's feeling anxious given that his entire world has been turned upside down.

If you don't mind spending some money on something your own dog might like too, the Through A Dog's Ear albums (Music to Calm Your Canine Companion) can help promote relaxation.

Japanese Chin or Tibetan Spaniel came to my mind rather than a Pap x, but I suppose he could be any number of crosses.

I put his anxiousness down to spending 8 days at the pound then it was another couple of hours drive to the rescue where he only stayed for a few hours before I picked him up. Totally agree that his world has been turned upside down, thank you for the music suggestion.

It seems that he is now relaxing even though he still wants to keep me in sight. Not sure if it is from sheer exhaustion or if he is starting to feel a little less anxious. I feel sorry for him and am looking for a way to make the transition from pound to foster home to forever home with the least amount of stress. Have no idea if that is possible.

Congratulations, Valbitz. Little Sprocket sure is gorgeous. :thumbsup:

I have always contended that what dogs go through from when they are lost/surrendered and eventually rehomed is huge. They go through so many stages and how the vast majority of them cope so well with these utterly new and confusing moves is nothing short of amazing. And, sadly, some of them never really get over it. My Tamar being one.

One of the things I disagree with that quite a few people espouse is to ignore fearful behaviours. Of course, this can’t be taken to extremes, but I do believe a dog who is suffering in whatever way should be comforted. The suggested downtime when you are just sitting around and Sprocket can join you is the ideal situation, of course.

When I first saw the photo, Japanese Chin popped into my head, but I think that was just because of his colour. Pap crosses still tend to have the long tendrils from their ears - does Sprocket have them?

Looking forward to updates. :D :D

Looking at the photos it does seem that he has the ear tendrils (Billy does) but he doesn't, it's actually the fur on his neck behind the ears. Haven't had a chance to try the suggested downtime after our walk today, he jumped on the couch and is now resting

Belly band

As for breeding, yeah he sort of looks Tibbie ish but could just as much be malt x chi or Pom x chi or shiht x JRT or shih x chi or or or ....... Not let the coat fool you. Small mixed breed.

Thanks for the belly band suggestion, I'll give him another day and if it doesn't improve I'll go and get one

Oooh! He looks very Tibetan Spaniel to me... wait until Mita sees him!

For night time, can you set up a crate in your bedroom where he can see you on the bed? Pop him in it, then go to sleep - turn off the light etc... he should settle pretty quickly if he can see you sleeping.

As for the pacing and not settling... what if you take some downtime too? Sit on the couch and watch TV or read a book, and let him settle next to you or by your feet. He might get the idea that it's time to rest then.

If you have to leave him, maybe a meaty bone or Kong stuffed with something he likes may take his mind off being alone for a while?

Mita will have more breed specific advice (if he's a Tibbie)...

T.

The pound had him listed as a Pap x but we thought he had some tibbie in him and since I already own a tibbie I agreed to take him on. I still think there may be a bit of tibbie in him.

We thought about setting a crate up in the bedroom but there isn't enough room. When I put him to bed last night he only complained for about half an hour so he seems like he is getting the idea.

Will try your downtime suggestion and see if that helps, thank you.

I did try the stuffed kong but he totally ignored it.

I decided to take the plunge into the world of fostering So yesterday afternoon I picked up my first foster dog. Sprocket is approximately 4 years old and quite a live wire. Since this is my first foster dog I'm open to any and all words of wisdom and handy hints from experienced foster carers.

Sprocket spends a lot of the day just pacing or following me around, he can't seem to settle. I took him for a walk this morning with my dog and he met some of Billy's friends. Normally after our morning walk Billy comes home and sleeps for a few hours but Sprocket doesn't understand the rest and relaxation concept he just paces and follows me around. Today I went out to do some errands and my partner said Sprocket spent the whole time whining and pacing and looking for me. Is there anything I can do to reassure him and to stop his pacing?

Last night we set him up in the spare bedroom and he spent about an hour barking and whining before he would settle, he also seemed to spend a fair while peeing on almost everything in the room. This afternoon I set a crate up in the room to see if he might settle in that, but the first thing he did was pee on it. We put up a baby gate at the spare room would it be better if I just closed the bedroom door?

Anyone want to take a guess at what breed or mix of breeds he could be?

ETA: He is booked in to be desexed on Monday

(click to enlarge)

I do know of a pet sitter that minds dogs in her home. All the reports I have heard about her and the care she provides have been excellent.

There would be someone home with the dog pretty much all the time. She is located in the Eastern suburbs of Melbourne, I can pass on her details if you are interested.

Another article about the raid. My link I didn't realise it was two breeders next door to each other.

RSPCA Victoria has slammed the state’s peak dog-breeding authority for its lax control on animal ownership, after four dead and almost 120 sick dogs were rescued this week.

The lashing comes as a Dogs Victoria whistleblower, who was given the task of investigating one of the raided Longwood breeders, was told to scrutinise the complaints over the phone instead of ­visiting the property.

RSPCA inspectors and police raided the homes of two dog breeders in the northern Victoria town on Tuesday, in one of the biggest operations of its kind.

A total of 50 dogs were surrendered, 69 seized and 13 ­notices to comply issued between the two properties. But the breeders have defended their care of their animals.

One of the breeders, prized dog show breeder Heather Healey, was suspended for five years by Dogs Victoria in 2010 after a video emerged of her dogs sitting in faeces-­covered cots. But her suspension was reduced on appeal.

Ms Healey said she had served her punishment and did not want people to judge her on that past incident “I just plead everyone sees the other side and find out the facts before jumping to conclusions,” she said.

Ms Healey’s next-door neighbour, Diane, who had 30 dogs taken, said she didn’t know four dead dogs were on her property.

“They are all well fed and are in good nick,” she said. “My dogs are like my babies.”

RSPCA chief executive Dr Liz Walker hoped the investigation would be a “wake-up call” for Dogs Victoria.

“They have some privileges under the current legislation that allows members some latitude,” Dr Walker said. “That’s on the basis that they are professional dog breeders and that Dogs Victoria are regulating them.

“The intensive look we are having into puppy factories (and kitten factories) is really going to hold these people to account. The industry is well and truly on notice.”

It’s understood Dogs Victoria members can register up to 10 female dogs for breeding, which surpasses the limit issued by some local councils.

Former Dogs Victoria investigations officer John Lott said the organisation should take more responsibility.

“When Dogs Victoria get a complaint, a case is drawn up and the investigating officer investigates,” he said.

“When I was assigned (Ms Healey’s 2010 case) by Dogs Victoria, I asked if I should go out and see her property. They said it wasn’t really necessary so I interviewed her by telephone.”

Dogs Victoria chief executive Lyndall Black said both breeders would face disciplinary action.

Do these dogs actually meet the standard set for a GSD, I'm happy for someone to educate or correct me about the standard.

I don't know if I need new glasses or need to clean my monitor but does it look like the dogs are walking on their hock's?

Thanks all for your replies. I haven't been getting notifications for some reason so apologies for not being responsive!

I may try a different flea treatment. I like my current set up of Advantix and Interceptor because it seems to cover everything, but maybe it's time to switch it up.

I will definitely get a referral to a dermatologist. I think for my peace of mind knowing what's making him itch will be helpful. If it's not food related then I can stop tearing my hair out to try and figure out a diet that works for him! If push comes to shove then I'll give cyclosporin another go. His digestion didn't seem too affected for the 2 days he was on it.

Can anyone give me an idea of how much initial consults cost?

I have no idea what the costs in Sydney are this is the cost for Melbourne, but it gives you somewhere to start.

Initial consultation is approx 1 hour $127.50

Skin scraping to check for mites and yeast done during initial consult $60

Pin Prick test $400 - this is not done until after a food elimination diet has been tried so not during the first consultation.

Follow up consultations are in the vicinity of $70, and there will be follow up appointments.

If you have a place in mind you could always email or call and ask how much the consult is.

So sorry to hear this DDD

Where are you located Lynlovesdogs?

Fantastic news about Danny

Is this the hairless kelpie that's been doing the rounds on social media?

I've seen that dog on FB. She is bigger and doesn't have hair on her face. Poor little darlings.

Do you mean this girl?

https://www.petrescue.com.au/listings/373062