Little Gifts

Actually you know one thing that always shocks me in off leash areas (parks and beaches) is how few owners actually have leashes on their person at all times. I always have one looped around me somehow and have never even thought not to. That lady screaming to her dog would never have been able to get it under control without injury (either by the dog or the horse) but even if she had grabbed her dog how would she have restrained it when it was so hyper? At least with a leash you could loop it around it's mouth or if around it's neck or if you managed to clip it to its collar you could at least hang on while the other animal under attack got far enough away. I hate that councils have to instruct people on how to behave but maybe they need a sign to remind people that off leash doesn't mean no leash?

I grew up in that era when there were no fences and dogs (and cats) could come and go as they pleased. I think one of our donkeys wandered more than any of our dogs though. Except for actual animal pens for certain animals and birds our property fences were decorative and even gates were left open. That's right up until my 20s really. One area I lived in in my 20s I never even carried leashes when I walked my dogs and neighbours dogs would come and join us then peel off back to their own houses for the return trip home. One place we flatted across from the Broadwater and the cat would follow my partner across the busy main road to the beach every afternoon to fish. No leash or harness and no guidance to do it safely. Dogs would come and go from the beach without owners too. Then things seemed to quickly change. Now I hate seeing loose animals (cats included) and I sure as hell hate seeing loose animals when I am out and about with my leashed dogs because it usually spells trouble. I will never go into a dog park unless it is empty either. I'm sure others are like me. And in all the years we've had dogs as a family and I've had dogs of my own I've now had 2 dogs with high prey drive. It's manageable but can be stressful (like when a random cat decides to sleep on your verandah). I don't have the answer but things have definately changed. Perhaps part of the problem is how our puppies of today are being raised? Masses of puppies being bred in farm environments and by bad BYBers in confined spaces, with minimal human and other animal interaction AND being taken from their mothers early is very different to how most puppies used to be raised. Perhaps the majority of the adult dogs out there today started life without the relevant doggy skills, socialisation and exposure to other animals they really need to get by safely in today's busy suburbs and shared spaces? Perhaps puppy school and obedience training can't quite cover for the lack of puppy skills they are no longer getting in mass produced environments?

Thanks Scratch I'll have a good look!

Sadly nothing jumping out there @Boronia! I wish I wasn't too lazy to find my camera and take a pic of the old ones!

They look great TB but I'm really after coloured tags. I actually do wirework and chain maille jewellery so it is not that I don't like plain metal texture and colour but just that I have a thing about colour and all my dogs have their own colour in everything! You know you can put a link in your signature to your work on here though in case other's are interested?

I need to update the ID tags for our two dogs. I've previously bought star shaped metal ones with funky prints, fonts and fun images that were printed on the metal disc rather than engraved. I think they came from America (may not be able to wait that long!). They lasted really well but I've had a look on Ebay and Etsy but couldn't really see any like that anymore. Saw some similar on Zazzle but the price was a bit too high for my liking. I'm also wanting colour and not stainless or base metal colours. Worst case scenario I'd be happy to do without the fun print, font and images if I could still get strong coloured stars. Does anyone have suggestions of a supplier I could check out? Since I wouldn't mind getting them sooner rather than later I might need an Australian supplier. Thank you! PS This gives you an idea of the type of thing I'm after (very expensive to get to Australia!) - https://www.etsy.com/au/listing/233327854/double-sided-personalized-pet-tag?ref=shop_home_active_13 Me again - I found these - not as fun as my previous ones but I could live with them, but still interested in other options peeps might know about. https://www.etsy.com/au/listing/541612622/metal-steel-personalized-pet-tags-cat?ref=shop_home_active_24&pro=1&frs=1

I never understand dog coats that don't cover the rump area, especially those ones for little dogs that look like cheap puffy jackets (example attached!). I mean if us humans are cold we don't wear a turtleneck and no pants! If you are going to put your dog in a coat make sure it is comfortable, has good cover and actually keeps them warm.

My shar pei horse coat girl didn't have any hair on her undercarriage or legs and very little on her back. Initially she didn't like to be hugged or be covered in blankets or a coat. Her first winter without her litter mates that all changed! We had a heated pet bed for her in her soft crate (blankets all over the crate) and she'd lie in a little ball shaking with cold still. It was awful! Over the next couple of winters we got her used to being covered in blankets and wearing custom made coats to provide maximum coverage. As soon as you pulled a coat out she'd run, then become a stiff statue while you put it on. Once it was on she'd stagger around like her limbs didn't work. Then she'd take herself to bed. Always the same crazy routine! Eventually she became a serious snuggler in the cold (never in the warmer months) and she'd become a hard unmovable lump in my bed to maintain her warm spot. My other dog is a stafford. Even though her coat is good she likes a coat on too. And even in a coat in winter she crawls in under all the blankets with me; her nose totally submerged. I don't know how she breathes! When she gets too hot she crawls out. When she gets cold again she scratches her way back in! I just pulled out a load of fleece fabric last night ready to make coats again this winter! I like my doggos to look cute as well as be toasty warm and comfortable!

You wont be feeding her anything extra though - simply putting her usual meal inside a puzzle designed to use her brain a bit more.

You could still make your own puzzles and try feeding her kibble in there for breakfast and seeing if it tires her out mentally at all. And dog training classes can be ongoing - it's about what the dog gets out of it as much as we get better control of our dogs. Some dogs thrive on activity that engages them mentally and physically. There's scent/nose work, agility, fly ball for instance. But food puzzles are something you can make cheap and try simply. If it makes a difference - great. If it doesn't you aren't out of pocket or time. You can ma

I also think some mental stimulation could be good for her. You can buy/make a range of treat/kibble releasing puzzles like snuffle mats and kong balls. You can feed one or both kibble based meals in them even and you will be surprised the positive impact of something so simple. Tires their brains by giving them a challenge. Another idea is to take her to doggy training or even to some scent classes. These will tire her physically and mentally. Just had another thought - she is a growing dog. Have you been adjusting her meals as she grows? Is she eating once or twice a day? And have you checked the contents of what you are feeding her? She could be hungry or lacking in a certain nutrient so is seeking it elsewhere. We prefer grain free kibble in this house and you really need to check the ingredients on all kibble - no grains should be the first couple listed. Dogs need meat. We also had a dog that had to be fed twice a day or she got the voms.

In the last couple of years of my oldest dogs life my vet said to stop annual vaccinations too. I was told there would be enough resistance in her system to keep her protected. We kept up heartworm though because of where we live. When I was in my late teens, early 20s I had an OES and I went off travelling, leaving her with my parents. I ended up being gone for 2 years. When her heartworm supply ran out my parents never got her more and I never knew. By the time I got home she had heartworm. We started treating her for it but it wasn't successful. I still feel terrible guilt about that. Not sure if you have seen this vaccination guideline before: https://www.wsava.org/guidelines/vaccination-guidelines This article also gives some simpler details about the vaccinations: https://www.choice.com.au/outdoor/pets/health/articles/pet-vaccination

Yes. The reality is animals have been killed and eaten by humans for many, many centuries and not much will change that. As a vegan who had to convert back for health reasons my main hope is that animals are killed quickly, correctly and in as least a stressful way as possible. My other hope is that human demand and consumption drops to a healthier more sustainable level as this will have a positive impact on the environment (due to mass farming practices to meet demand now) and without mass farming practices perhaps animals for meat will be raised in a more humane fashion. They may not have long lives but they don't also need to have shitty short ones. I think the thought that hurts my heart most is all the waste, particularly with fast food - we are killing animals in record numbers and we are equally wasting just as much - half eaten burgers in bins, restaurants and supermarkets throwing out visually less than perfect food. If we are going to kill can we at least value it and respect how good we have it now? I also think there is a place for people with varied eating choices. It shouldn't be a competition (both within the eating groups or against). Mindful eating is probably something in all our best interests for our health, the care of farmed animals and our environment. We are very lucky to have an abundance of food regardless of it's type and origins.

My feeling is if the transference of disease becomes a major issue for the US then the US will do something about it. But until then I don't see their average independant rescue groups being much different to ours - run on the smell of an oily rag by mostly volunteers, with the number of cats and dogs needing assistance outweighing the resources. If a couple have decided to take on out of country dogs it is because they have the network to do so, not because they have run out of dogs locally. Their social issues are more extreme than ours so you have poverty and homelessness on much larger levels that will be impacting why animals need rescue. If you got rid of puppy mills out here the whole rescue system wouldn't suddenly be devoid of dogs so I don't think it is radically different in America (or any other first world country for that matter) where puppy mill dogs are only a percentage of all the dogs who need saving. But wouldn't it still be a brilliant day if they didn't exist and numbers circulating the rescue system were manageable!!!!

I have a friend in the US whose sister fosters dogs. They are in Washington and her fosters are often large breed dogs 'saved' from poorer European areas. I just saw it as them providing a rescue service to areas that had none. All it takes is someone with connections in a European city. I know the same happens with the UK because of how freely the English travel throughout Europe. Quarantine laws are also very different.