Little Gifts

Woo hoo! Can't wait!

Just saw this story on it too. Sounds horrific. https://au.news.yahoo.com/chilling-detail-emerges-after-woman-mauled-by-dogs-in-melbourne-backyard-225646243.html We've also had a mauling in Carindale, QLD this week. Two elderly ladies walking their dogs and attacked by several staffies. One dog deceased. Weird part is they were walking at like 4am in the morning when it still would have been dark up here. Dogs should not have been loose but I wonder if they thought they were intruders near their property? Haven't been able to find an unpaid story to link for it though.

Gosh that's a hard one Sandgrubber! I have been supporting dog (and other types of) rescues for a long time now and there are so many doing good work and in need. But things change and allegiances have to shift at times. I've quietly parted ways with a couple over the years who I felt have lost their way. I must confess I have never looked into supporting a research. I'm starting to lean more towards wildlife care/refuges at the moment, particularly wombats and bats, as they are having a hard time of it.

Our previous pei girl used to hate leaving our house. She'd refuse to move and stress poop the whole way. If going by car to a walking spot she'd chew through the leash in the car or vomit. We had a behaviouralist working with her on a larger range of issues. Part of the solution was no longer making her do things she didn't want to do that were causing anxiety. Instead she got nearly all her meals in puzzles and we formalised play time at the house and included a training component. The puzzles really tired her out the most and overall she was much happier. Our current boy is terrified of other dogs but loves a walk because he just wants to inhale the world! If by some disaster a loose dog comes up to him he becomes defeated and refuses to continue on. He can also find it hard to regulate himself around people (especially kids). So we carefully manage where we walk him (we even know of an actual dog park that is usually empty) so his outings are positive and he has new things to sniff (not about distance for him). He is a very active boy with daily zoomies, playing in the frog ponds, playing soccer and other ball games and walks in our large yard too. He is not good with food puzzles because with his chubby face he can't get into the nooks and crannies of them and he can resource guard and not let go of something if he is not finished. We don't want to encourage that. Do people not pay attention to their dogs and what they like and dislike? There is no one size fits all approach to socialising, entertaining and exercising. Following you to a busy cafe and sitting under it while you have breakfast is for you, not your dog.

I don't consider myself handy but installed a Medium Petway brand pet door in my sliding security door. I bought it brand new at an op shop for a quarter of the retail price. It was beige and I spray painted it black (to match my door). I can confirm 5 different dogs (including a lab size one) have bashed and crashed their way through it over the last 4 years and there is still no damage to it other than some nose art.

I spent a fortune buying stairs and ramps for my old stafford girl but she wouldn't use them. I did have some success with a set of stairs that I attached a kids slide to for a bit. I really think they felt too flimsy underfoot for her. But eventually I found a carpet covered ramp someone had made and they are still at the base of my bed some 4 years later. Loads of dogs have used them. Jumping down remained a problem so I had to get one of those barriers you put up along kids beds too to force my girl to use the ramp in both directions (you can see it and her in the pic). She was also on Antinol Rapid (provided by vet originally but you can buy direct from company) and she did really well on it. Despite her arthritis she remained pretty active and was a real oldie when she passed.

I can also suggest Squishy Face Rescue and Rehome. They are in QLD but assist with rehomes in NSW too (they have fosters down there). I've been a foster carer for a long time and was hoping to move to fostering for them as they have a great ethos and how they run things. https://www.facebook.com/groups/3592488100977596

I agree it seems bizarre the pet walkers aren't responsible but they might also have a contract with the owners - is your pet dog friendly, does it walk well on a leash, can you provide an appropriate sized leash or harness for walking, etc. You'd be pretty traumatised yourself if noone told you the new dog you were caring for temporarily was an escape artist who hated small breed dogs. As usual it sounds like there is more to the story (I'd never be capable of walking 5 dogs together and personally don't know how you can control that many if one decides to act up) but it also sounds like the pet sitters gave the dog up to council and it will be up to them to determine who is ultimately responsible. The dog pays the ultimate price as usual.

I'm so sad - I only want my own rubbish in my bins. I realised I was 'bin selfish' when my neighbours started just putting their manky rubbish in my part full bin to save them dragging their own out. Once it was prawn shells and heads in my empty bin in summer as they'd missed the garbage truck with theirs. Another time it was loose food waste and other non-recyclable rubbish in my recycling bin - that's what tipped me over the edge. So I doubt I'd be ok about someone else's poo, especially if my bin was just emptied.

Strangely T we have a large dog park nearby and we rarely see a dog there (we go Sunday afternoons). It has a gate at both ends too so if someone were to turn up we would simply exit from the other end. All open so we can see people coming. It's part of Albert's desensitisation. He goes where other dogs have been (sniffing is his number 1 hobby) but has a positive experience. It took 3 visits of this nature for him to not be so tense even going there. Each time we go he indicates when he has had enough too and that is also getting longer. I'm always looking out for other dog parks less frequented now so we can try different spots. Maybe this video was a similar scenario? It was empty and they wanted their dog to have a run but now they can't leave because of a loose dog that the owner is not controlling? We also exercise Albert at home playing soccer and with those big balls people exercise with. We want to get him a stronger horse type one. We've got a big block and he has zoomies at least once a day which we get involved in. Might have to look into a flirt pole to try!

When I watched it the loose dog seemed to be running around and around the fenced dog park, meaning that when the couple tried to leave with their dog aggressive dog it might have run up to them and caused some chaos. The other guy was just letting his dog do whatever it wanted, didn't see a leash and didn't hear him attempt to give it any commands to come to his side. Basically it seemed like an avoidable scene just waiting to happen. And T, Albert is not aggressive either and doesn't accidentally turn on humans when he is fearful either. He basically starts screaming and barking to tell other dogs to back off and leave him alone. He is usually trying to get away from them while doing it. He has gotten a little better (we can get closer if they aren't coming towards him or looking at him) but his fear is sadly real. I suspect while he had entropian and couldn't see he lived in a lot of fear from the other dogs around him. His entire body was covered in little nip wounds when he came to us and he has a small chunk out of his ear and some patches where no hair grows on a leg and down his side from scar tissue. Poor bugger.

What bloody idiot! He doesn't look too steady on his feet and if something happened with his dog I doubt he'd be much use in getting there quickly or getting things under control on his own. Doesn't look like he even has a leash with him! We tried Albert out at a dog park today (pei event) to see where he was at with his fearfulness. As soon as the dogs behind the fence came over to say hello he got escalated. So we took him for a leashed walk instead. But had a loose even friendly dog come up to him he would've totally lost the plot. I would've been livid had I come across this selfish arsehole. His dogs needs are not more important than my own.

Wow. That's a very interesting development. Shame on that owner for not containing 4 large breed dogs that she knew to cause harm and intimidation. Shame on that council to not expedite matters after harm had already been caused. These 2 things are why dogs die and innocent people are hurt.

Even though they had attacked an elderly person the day before it doesn't say when council found out about it. It may not have been reported till the following day (date of second incident) and exact location of the dogs may not have yet been known. Otherwise dogs would have already been seized. Even the owners may not have been aware of it had they gotten home from work that night and their dogs were back in their yard. Horrible circumstances but I'm thinking council may not have dragged the chain on this, otherwise the article would have clearly thrown some blame their way.

Worst nightmare losing an animal and never knowing what happened to it. If only Roo could talk!