mita

Sydney friends' young tibetan spaniel boy had a similar episode. He suddenly went in the back legs & couldn't use them. Next thing, his front legs went, too. He was unable to stand or walk. He spent over a week in the vet's clinic where they were puzzled as to the cause. No ticks, no signs of toxins. His case was referred to a specialist who said cause was unknown. But one of the possibilities seemed to be 'spinal stroke'. After a couple of weeks, movement came back into his legs. And soon he was back to chasey games with his tibbie sister. By chance, his owners met some people at a market who told them that the same thing had happened with their Labrador.

I'd have no problem believing that story. Two beautifully cared for, lost dogs turned up at our fenceline. One was a nice looking pitbull girl & the other was a smaller, ditzy spaniel. They obviously were 'sisters'. The remarkable thing was how the pitbull girl watched out for the spaniel. The pitbull's eyes hardly left the spaniel...as I with a couple of neighbours secured the pair. Easy to do, both were affectionate, biddable, well-socialised dogs They had ID council registration for another area....& while lots of phoning to track owners went on, a local vet offered to look after them. When the men helped the pitbull girl into the back of the station sedan, she immediately turned around & gave a soft whine in the direction of her spaniel 'sister'. 'Don't forget her!' Then was happy when the spaniel was put alongside her. The little dog had a real guardian angel for a 'sister'.

The ethical guidelines for practice set out by the Qld Canine Council (now Dogs, Qld) are excellent. In that sense, a breeders' code of practice already exists. Just needs highlighting & bringing to the attention of the public. There already is a form of 'licensing' up & running in the pilot program of breeding 'permits' being required in the Gold Coast Council area. Funded by the Qld government & coordinated by AWL Qld, the system was designed by a round-table of stakeholders which included Dogs Qld & the RSPCA Qld, among others. Full information available from the AWL Qld website home page.

You must be talking about your state's RSPCA. RSPCA Qld backs the responsible breeders & advises pet buyers looking for specific breeds to apply to them. Bit hard to do otherwise in Qld, where independent research from the Uni of Qld showed that registered breeders tend to socialise their puppies better & prepare them to be good pets far more than unregistered ones do. And they also produce far less accidental litters. The research concluded that dogs from the registered breeders are therefore less likely to be dumped in shelters & pounds later on. From the RSPCA Qld February 2010 newsletter: If you are considering adoption, why not visit the RSPCA or another reputable rescue organisation first. If you are seeking a specific breed then we recommend you find a responsible breeder. There's already a pilot program on Qld's Gold Coast for the licensing of breeders....funded by the Qld Government. From an initiative put forward by AWL Qld. Wisely, all stakeholders were gathered into a Committee to formulate & agree on the nature of the licensing. That included the Qld Canine Council, the RSPCA, AWL Qld, the association representing p/b cat breeders, the Gold Coast Council....& others. If any changes to legislation are considered, they should not be imposed from top-down.....but be devised from a round table representing all that have a stake.' Like this Gold Coast region initiative.

That was going to be my advice....but you're already on to it. There's been excellent advice from others on how to present your case. Especially the fact that the yard size issue is mitigated by the age & lifestyle of one of your dogs. I hope you have a good outcome.

What a dreadful suggestion! Thank goodness you took him home & kept trying the phone no from his 'chip'.

Well, I live in Qld & my dream doggie came from Sweden. Tassie is just down the road, by comparison. And that includes Hobart, of course. My other two dogs came from the ACT & the doggie next door came from Victoria. And they're all the best of mates. I'm not helping much.

I don't know if what we're doing would fit your situation. We needed a safe & comfortable place for our 2 small dogs & cat (all in-house pets) to be while tradespeople are doing renovations work on the house. So we've had a room-sized, good quality garden shed installed in the back section of the yard, in a good position to get shade from the mango tree. A reputable cat containment business is putting on a roomy, fenced (including a top section) 'run' on the front area of the garden shed. That gives the pets access to the garden shed but also to a lockable 'run' out in the front. Dogs & puss will be safe there, when necessary. At other times, the 'run' can be used to store the extra garden furniture etc. We needed both the storage shed, & a safe 'run' for the pets....so just put them together.

Well, that ranger & his council ought to be told that Brisbane City Council takes an opposite view. They do everything possible to help people reunite lost dogs they've found, with an owner. Without going thro' the stress....& costs....of impoundment. The Council Call Centre keeps a data base of Lost & Found Dogs that owners & finders can call in to report info. They even accept Sightings (with date, time, place) on that data base. That means it's often just a matter of the council officer immediately cross-checking....& the owner is switched thro' to the finder (which means no invasion of privacy by giving out phone numbers). The system works particularly well if the found dog is wearing a current registration tag. Council Call Centre can go straight to the owner's contact phone number from their registration data base. If the owner is not answering, the council officer leaves a message....& will sound out the finder if they're happy & confident to hold the dog until that message gets thro'. Most times, finders seem happy to do so. When they're not....that would be the time, the pound would be called to collect the dog & check for microchip if that's not been done already. If microchipped, then it's also just a case of calling the owner. We've found a number of lost dogs over the years (we're near nice-smelling shops!). Every time, the council registration tag has led us to the Council Call Centre & a return to the owner within a few hours at the most. The most amazing find was a staffy whose registration led to his owner answering his mobile in Melbourne, where he was on a business trip. Staffy had sneaked off from the person looking after him here in Brisbane. Within the hour, the owner's parents arrived to collect him.

Sounds like a great day. I'll let Sydney friends know about it. But what day & date?

As I'vs said, we have neighbours where we have a habit of looking after each others dogs. But even then, it's necessary to have another option if that becomes impossible. Our option of the 'Room At Home' accommodation level at Samford Pet Resort covers that. They also have a vet as member of staff. One trouble is that you have to get in early to book for a special option like that one. Because lots of other people prefer it, too, to standard kennel accommodation.

It's been bitterly cold here...& Annie has had a bout of colitis where she needed to be taken to the toilet every couple of hours. I usually just have to to say 'Toilet, ladies!" & the 2 tibs run down into the back garden, do their business & run back upstairs again. Went reasonably well until the last trip to the toot at 11-30 pm. Freezing cold outside. I said the usual 'Toilet, ladies!'. This time, Annie just keeled over backwards, like a dog trained to play dead. Her message was clearly, 'Corpses don't need the toilet!' I had to carry her fat little self out into the night. When we had 3 dogs & 3 cats, I used to keep a huge pile of towels at the back door, for rainy weather. When the 6 of them would arrive back upstairs, there'd be 24 feet to wipe dry.

PD, I wouldn't let our 2 tibbie girls go to a standard kennel either. Fortunately, we have a mutual deal with the neighbours who also own a tibbie, so we look after each others dogs. But if that were never possible, for some reason (like we were away at the same time), the only kennels I'd send my tibbie girls to, is the Samford Pet Resort where they have one special option where the dogs have a room like a room in a home (even has a TV set!). I know of some other people who send their tibbies there for that option & are very happy with it. This 'home' room service costs a bit more, but it's worth it IMO for little housedogs like our tibs. They'd be so less stressed in accommodation which is like their own home. The Samford Pet Resort also has a pick-up service which operates from quite a number of vet clinics across the Brisbane area. So owners don't even have to drive to Samford, just to the nearest pick-up place.

NINA ZENA Her call name was Zena from her pedigree name Aus Ch Lynandra Zena Warrior Princess. But she's the sweetest, gentlest tibbie girl, no warrior princess at all! So I put Nina in front of her name to soften it. ANNIE. She came from Sweden with that name Pzazz Golden Annie. 'Annie' suits her, but you have to say it with a Swedish accent.

I reckon you did a darn good job sorting thro' all that & figuring out a plan while trying to keep you & your dog safe. Mr Bike Rider was plain rude. Probably a big fat coward as well, because he'd rather have a go at you (& NOT listen) than face a situation where he'd have to help with a big dog on the loose.

Dogs are like humans, individuals. I won't beat you down for believing in psychics. It's a matter of choice. But I think that natural events (which include animal & human behaviour) have natural explanations. Hard as it can be to track them down. I'd guess your dog's reacting to some natural trigger & it's turned into a habit. He's probably also picking up your negative feelings about his behaviour. Must be something like that, your vet is thinking. But that doesn't mean the pill she chose will fix it. Pills aren't quick fixes for many human compulsions, either. Anyway, your belief in the psychic may make you feel differently about your dog's behaviour....& that might help break the cycle which has been set up. Best of luck, as it's causing stress & concern for you. Not a good thing to be happening on cold winter nights!

It's not caving in to American spelling....it's followed the change in pronunciation to take the word back to where it was in the 13 th century. When there were 2 spellings jaiole & gaiole....both from different parts of France. The French language was used in England from the time of William the Conqueror. But the English came to write it 'gayhol' & later 'gaol', but it was pronounced with a hard 'g' as in 'good'. Then the pronunciation changed to the soft 'g' as in germ. So back came the 'j' sound. Which is why gradually, the spelling changed again....to 'jail' which better matches the pronunciation. The Americans simply used it more than the British. But in recent times, the British have also started to use 'jail' more. The Australian 'standard' as set out in our Macquarie Dictionary is that both can be used here. But Style Manuals are selecting 'jail' as the choice because it better matches the change in both Britain & the US. Back to one of the centuries- old versions...'imported' from France. By the way, the use of 'you & I' and 'you & me', depends on the grammar of a sentence. First is subject, the second is object, in a sentence. Each can be right, depending on the grammar. As in 'You and I will go together.' and 'He will come to pick up you & me.' But not the other way round.

There'll be some natural cause that's got to do with something that occurs in the winter. Like, some sound or smell, that's only picked up a dog's pitch frequency range or sensitive nose. Dogs being animals have a 'tune' to the natural environment that's very different from humans. It's a matter of opinion, of course, but the last person I'd be consulting would be a psychic.

Frosty, that sounds just like our tibetan spaniels....it must be the fact they're an eastern breed like the shih tzu & the lhasa. They like a short walk, but just like your parents' boy, their short snouts mean they can't get rid of the body heat from very long vigorous walking....so it's also short, sharp exercise & play for them, too. Followed by the Big Snooze! If Sally were in Qld, there's a pretty tibetan spaniel girl, Emma, for adoption from Small Dogs Rescue (I don't know if they do interstate adoptions). This girl is happy being an only dog. Content to curl up inside & watch TV. But walk on the beach, too....& 'rides in the country' might mean she's happy & calm on a horse! (I keep hearing about pet tibbies that ride in front of their owners on a horse.) http://www.petrescue.com.au/view/79485

Our sheltie girl used to have a special bark that said, 'Come on. Work to be done here.' One morning she alerted us to a mother possum who'd fallen from the mango treee with a baby on her back. She'd fallen because she was already dead. But the tiny baby was alive. We called the wildlife carer (wonderful lady) who came & got the baby....which survived & thrived. These wildlife carers deserve every bit of support. Our local one in the Arana Hills area of Brisbane is always asking for cages & sheets & towels. PM if you want her contact number. Our present 2 tibbie girls take no notice of the possums even tho' they thud across the roof at night as if they're wearing big boots. But the tibbie girl next door can figure out there's a possum nearby....& tells it off at top note . Her 'dad' has built a possum box & platform in their front garden to divert the possums away from bossy Lily who's kept at the back.

Various organisations have Style Manuals which set a standard usage. The ABC's Style Manual says: gaol current usage is jail, not gaol I believe that the Macquarie Dictionary (regarded as the 'authority' on Australian English) gives both gaol & jail as alternatives. When that happens, Style Manuals generally pick the one that is most in use. On the topic of debarking, there's been some excellent, informative threads on DOL. As permitted by a law that has sensible & humane guidelines, debarking. And can save dogs' lives & people's sanity.

Amika & Hafhafa Hounds, I loved your pics.

All fair points, Greytmate. I should have added that both cats & dogs vary, from situation to situation. And you're right, that's what's happening in the Myrtle-Gussy situation. Gussy's usually fine with dogs. It's the addition of Myrtle that's changed dynamics for her. Which is why I'd give a fair try to desensitization. But acknowledge it takes time...if it works.

3 out of the 4 tibs we've owned were brought up by their breeders in the company of a big dog. One was a Tibetan Mastiff & the other a GSD. Those tibs actually preferred the company of big dogs (apart from other tibs)....& were very good around them. The 4th had no big dogs around & the breeder remarked that she was a bit defensive when seeing big dogs at shows. But after only being here for a few months, she was totally won over by the greyhounds next door...whose owner makes a point of socialising them with small dogs from when they were puppies. These tibs have more trouble tolerating small, busy twittery dogs.

I thought dog geek's post gave good ideas to try retraining. By rewarding both with treats when one is secured in the same room. But I also agree with the person who said that this can be a long process. Worth a try, tho', combined with judicious use of baby gates etc. I was told to try that method when I brought our new adopted puss home from the UQ Adoption Program. Put her in a crate where she'd feel safe....then bring in the dogs to meet her for the first time. And, as soon as their eyes fell on the puss, give them a treat. So they'd get an association when the cat was there, treats were on. Therefore, good to have a puss around....& just sit and wait for the treat. But that puss had already been tested at the uni for how she got on with a dog around. She scored on the second level for acceptance of a dog. The 4 levels were...1. super- friendly & fearless around dogs, would even smooch to make friends; 2. very tolerant of a dog around; 3. reasonably tolerant but a little bit anxious about a strange dog....but likely could be persuaded to accept a family dog; 4. should never, ever be rehomed with a dog. Tibbie boy next door was a real cat chaser (for the sport!). His Dad (whom he adored) was strict with him. He was not allowed to chase the family cat, Honey. Brockie got the message, but figured out another way of getting rid of the cat. He'd carryHoney's food dish way up the back yard & bury it. If you can't chase 'em out, starve 'em out. When Brockie came over to our place to play (or stay), he figured he was out of his Dad's authority area & he'd chase our timid puss, Katie. Katie would retire to the safe front-yard courtyard.....& when in the house, would sit on top of the fridge.