Little Gifts

I wonder if Indi might also benefit from some mental stimulation to tire her out too? You can use things like snuffle mats and other food puzzles you can purchase (Nina Ottosson makes a few good ones) to give your dog all their kibble based meals (as well as just treats). I used this approach for one of my dogs and she was quite disappointed if her food ever came in a regular dog bowl. I googled DIY ideas I could make and bought some puzzles second hand so didn't spend a lot of money to set my collection up.

He is gorgeous!!!!!! Need lots more photos as he grows please!

Pers I am so sorry. Some animals just fill holes inside us that we never knew we even had so of course when they leave us those holes become glaringly obvious. But she is still there in your heart doing what she does best. Take time to listen out for her - she wont be far away. X

In the 2 Bunnings near me in QLD I have never seen a muzzled dog and actually had no idea it was a requirement till this sad story came out. I've never taken either of my dogs there (and not planning to) but I've seen plenty of dogs in store and also photos from friends visiting with their dogs on FB. But no muzzles. Also not seen any signs in store about it so just assumed it was on a rug in a trolley as that is all I've ever seen, even with bigger dogs. Certainly if I knew or was told by staff that I was doing it wrong I would leave the store immediately. I'm sure most of us would because we

I don't even want to imagine that. They don't need to even have their stores dog friendly and someone needs to ruin it. I love seeing dogs in trolleys just quietly cruising around with their owners. At my 2 locals I've never even heard a dog bark. A dog fight would echo throughout an entire store. Makes me feel sick to think about.

I am so sorry you have lost another of your beautiful oldies LMO (just saw the news so apologies for lateness). You have dedicated yourself to your doggos in every way so I know the hole in your life that losing even one must leave. What an impossibly hard 12 months to lose 4 you have shared your life with. Take care of yourself and do what you need to do to get through this.

@Dogsfevr I am pretty sure something not very good happened practice wise. I'd never used them before - they were part of a large pet supplies store and I shopped while it was happening. They were really angry at her when I picked her up and my very happy and complaint dog was a mess. I asked what happened and they were really sketchy with any details. I don't like to blame people without really knowing (my dog is not an angel all the time!) but had to trust my intuition on this one. I just really feel something happened and was not handled well and because there had never been an issue for th

Stussy is 13 (a stafford) so lumps and bumps are appearing. She had a large MCT removed in 2019 but my vet aspirates any new ones and we haven't had any more scary ones. There will come a time when I stop bothering getting them checked unless they are affecting her as I've been through this before with another oldie and it comes a time when there is no point doing all the poking and prodding because your treatment plan just becomes more conservative anyway.

I owned a dog that I believe was harshly corrected during that second fear period as a pup. She was forever changed by it. Went from being independant and normal inquisitive puppy to being terrified of strangers, people she'd met but didn't live with and of leaving the house (the incident happened away from my home). A pup that would sleep on car rides became a leash chewer, crier and a vomiter if she went somewhere she'd never been to before. The change was extreme and life long. I believe the incident happened because she was scared/outside her comfort zone and being submissive and vocal. In

Funny isn't it - some vets would consider us neurotic while others are thankful that we are vigilant and compliant with everything they suggest. Stussy (now 13) is at the vet tomorrow because she has started some behaviours that are not normal. She is a dog that doesn't show pain so my concern is her dragging all the mats and dog beds around the house and trying to lie in very weird spots with them could simply be that she is in pain and finding it difficult to find a comfortable spot to lie. If it is not and her brain is getting fuzzier then at least I will know that too. My 2 main vets will

My oldest ever dog was just short of 17 when we let her go. She still thought she was head of the pack and even though she had lots of old age issues she was still incredibly active and involved. No lying around and sleeping for her! But she was getting unpredictable - that is what made me make my decision - the risk of her hurting herself on an adventure with reduced mobility, sight, hearing and brain functioning got too high for me to feel comfortable with. It took me a long time to feel ok about the timing but I know had she hurt herself I would be kicking myself for leaving it too late. Sh

I am on quite a few shar pei pages on FB (worldwide membership) and common posts for the past 6 months are about first time ownership issues. The ages of some of these puppies going to their homes (in the US in particular) is very concerning. That has also resulted in issues for new owners too with crying pups, pups not toilet trained, pups who haven't learnt the skills from mum they need (like aggression and biting). These people are asking very basic questions like what to feed their pup and how often to bathe them. Obviously they are coming from backyard breeders or puppy farmers as any qua

Apollo's face is so expressive!!!! I'm in love!

I'm very sorry for your unexpected loss. I guess it depends on what kind of breeder you purchased from as they are not all created equal. Did you have a contract? What terms are in that? Document everything while it is still fresh in your mind. I am in QLD and I know there are law groups who you can call for a free consult. If they have the same in your state they can advise where you stand legally. Animals are considered property and property needs to be fit for purpose. Usually if your product 'breaks' you contact the seller and can claim under the warranty on the item. But obviously when a

I second the vet. Their stools are not normal and given their age the risk of them all getting very ill very quickly is quite high. You risk losing the litter without proper diagnosis and relevant treatment. Some pups suffer horribly from these infections and just aren't strong enough to survive. Both coccidia and giardia are highly infectious and difficult to eradicate from your environment too. I don't think 2 months is long enough for the same environment to be considered safe from potential new infection (someone else might be able to shed some light on that though) regardless