Little Gifts

I am a foster carer for a breed specific group in Qld. If a potential adopter is interested in the dog I foster they come for a visit and stay for as long as they want. They can interact with the dog however they want (I assist with treats and toys and supervise). We talk about the dog and the things that I know (good and the bad, the quirks and the potential). If they remain interested they complete an adoption application. It is a long document but matching families and dogs is very important! We all want the match to be a forever and positive one! Sometimes potential adopters come back for a second visit or they bring other family members. Sometimes they have to fix fences or get body corporate approval so they can visit again while that happens. If they had a dog already I'd probably arrange to meet at a park and introduce the two dogs. If that went well we could go back to my place or to their place and see how it was going there as well. They can call me with questions or email me at anytime also. I give honest feedback on any visits to the person who owns/runs the rescue. They give final approval on adopting that dog. They also provide lifetime back up support to the adopting family as needed so if any behavioural or health issues show up then you have an immediate support network in place. A lot of adopters then become part of our extended family and come to our get togethers where we get to see how the rescue dogs are doing in their new homes. So this is what can happen to ensure a great match is made but of course it can all happen simply after one successful meeting and filling out an application! With our breed they often choose the people they like as much as the people choose them and at each meeting I see their behaviour change towards them and it is very heartwarming. So the best advice I can offer you is to be honest about your circumstances and needs (and don't ever be apologetic about it!) because a good group is looking to make good matches and overcome any minor barriers rather than find bland reasons to say no. They will work with you. And if they can't be bothered answering your questions then they may not be the right group for you either. If you become keen on a particular breed then don't get disheartened if you don't find the right dog straight away because new dogs are coming through every day and a rescue group will also know if a potentially suitable dog is waiting behind the scenes to have vet or other work done before being available for adoption. Good luck!!!! I fall in love with all my fosters but am still overjoyed when they find the perfect forever home!

I'll have to email the new human parents and congratulate them! You will not be dissappointed with a Tapua dog!

My old SBT girl refused to use the steps I bought so I had to continue with the butt lift technique (she could put her front paws up on the bed and lounge still) but when she wanted to get down she'd cry until I woke up. It was usually so she could go outside to do her hundreth pee so it didn't really matter. Later my new pup ate part of the stairs anyway. I actually thought the step treads were too shallow for an SBT sized dog so consider that and the height of the steps and last step to the bed for your dog's size too. I bought mine from Deals Direct and they were a timber frame covered in a suede type fabric that you could zip on and off to wash. It got eaten before it got washed! So take advice from people who already have steps and whose dogs use them easily rather than focus on price or they will be a waste of money and take up space.

Is the mum Tapua's girl Lara? If yes then the litter has come a little earlier than I expected! Do you know much else about the litter like how many and colours and how Lara went during labour? I'm only interested because I baby sat the Tapua dogs when Mr and Mrs Tapua took Lara for mating and had a bit of a holiday. It seems like it was only yesterday I was covered in lab kisses! They have amazing dogs!

Probably wouldn't have put the guy in hospital either. Our old GSD rushed to our defence more than once, and not a single person was ever hurt. Exactly Aidan, she'd be beside or in front of me growling and letting the other person know to back off, while looking to me for further guidance on what to do. If the dog attacked on it's own accord then what was the owner doing to encourage or discourage it? I experienced a home invasion of three men back in 2000 and my SBT's then (now passed) chased the men out of windows and the front door (which was left open) then immediately ran back to protect me and stayed by my side while I ran out the back to call the police. They hadn't been trained in any way and were fast asleep until they heard the untruders, but once they had them out of the house the dogs only concern was me. They did not feel the need to run after the intruders out the front door or hunt them down and attack them. And as far as I know with trained guard dogs (an ex BIL had 2 for his security business) their job is to find and restrain until their handler gets there to take over, but not to chomp and chew. There might be some bite marks during the restraining process (particularly if weapons are involved and the dogs are threatened themselves) but they aren't aiming to expose body organs or lose a person a limb.

Luke it is important that you choose a foster group that is right for you - one that you share the same vision with regarding rescue dogs and one that will give you the support you feel you might need as a new carer. I think where they are based is less relevant to how they operate as you wont be spending much time at their HQ. I only started fostering again this year after a long break and am now doing breed specific fostering and really enjoying it (and constantly learning new things). For me it is really important I can ask advice (I'm new to the breed) and have an honest dialogue with the person who runs the rescue about my needs, the needs of my own dogs and the needs of the foster dog that might be placed with me. I also agree 100% with the philosophy of the person who runs the rescue group. These are things that are very important to me and it has helped me get a lot out of the experience and hopefully give the best of myself to the foster dogs I've had in my care so far. I could've fostered for another group but they were basically saying take your pick of the dogs coming straight from the pound - no quarantining and no temp testing to ensure they would fit in with my dogs here. I really rely on their being a good match because a bad experience for my dogs may mean an end to fostering altogether as my dogs provide as much to the fosters as I do in preparing them for a forever home. So call a few rescue groups and ask some questions until you find the right one for you.

You know what the reality is though if my SBT was unrestrained in my car and any of my windows were down far enough and she spotted me getting harrassed and acting distressed I know she would come to my defence. The difference is she has not already been declared dangerous, would not be unrestrained in my car, the windows would not be far enough down for her to get out and I would not be placing myself in harm's way - I'd take the rego number and report it to the police. A lot of little things led to this dog now paying the price for human's bad behaviours.

Aphra peis are just as bad as all other dogs. You put your heart and soul into making them adoptable and off they trot with their new family without even a glance back at you to say thanks. I only knew mine remembered me because they let me hang around them and touch their favourite spots. The pei that went crazy seeing Ams was the first reunion of that nature that I have seen, especially since the pup that left her was not into PDAs at all! It just reinforces to me that their new families are right for them if they have moved us to the back of their memory banks. Ungrateful sods!

Cyn the wierd thing for me is I had never even seen a shar pei in RL before I started fostering them in about March this year but have learnt so much about them from just being around them and kind of listening and watching. Plus I have Ams on speed dial! They are such a unique dog, I just want the best for every single one of them. At a pet expo recently Ams was sitting on the ground and one of her previous rescues (a pup that originally had hernias and shar pei fever), now several months older and with her adopted family came running to Ams wriggling every inch of her body in excitement at seeing her again. She also gets to see lots of her previous rescues at the Peinics but that one was a real surprise for her as that pup was always rather cruisy and would go to anyone, but she recognised Ams that day as someone special still and it was beautiful to watch! Aphra that is magic about Marnie and Milly! Dogs are just such amazing creatures!

If you heart Harper and Harper hearts you and four is your magic number then me no see what the problem is??????

We have strawberry pickers here!

Maybe we need another thread on the creative lengths people go to to get their animals to take their medication!

My staffy heart girl will eat anything, including your medications, vaseline, family sized blocks of chocolate, a kilo of almonds, all the things that have your emergency vet on speed dial. The one thing she wont eat is chewable heartworm/worm tablets! I coat them in peanut butter or squish them into a chicken ball or make a yummy sandwich with it in there. It doesn't matter. Whatever I try she gets all the food items off them and spits the tablets out in disgust. It drives me crazy! I've even pretended to eat it myself and 'accidentally' drop it in the hope she thinks it's people food but she still knows!!!!

I am yet to meet a shar pei that can't be trained to do anything with lamb puffs! Thank you T for the advice on that one! The two pei pups I've had here though went beserk for cooked chicken and chicken necks. When one was sick and just on boiled rice and chicken you'd have thought it was a gourmet meal - everybody wanted it!

At the Peiradise Peinic yesterday I got to see Oscar de la Wrinkles and his family and Domino (now Bruno Mars) with his mum and dad. It was a bit iffy with Bruno at first and we were worried about letting him off the leash (he was hyper excited) but Ams made the brave decision to see what happens and he simply spent the rest of the afternoon running around having a ball! No barking or in other dogs faces or anxiety! I was so proud of him! As for Oscar, well he is looking wonderful and he loves the son and the dad showers with him when he needs his malaseb baths and the dad, who seemed the least smitten with this wonderful boy at the time of adoption, privately told me that I am welcome to pop in any time because they consider me part of Oscar's life and they understand now that I love him as they do because he truly needed special people in his life to come as far as he has. It made me all teary. And Dimples surprised me by doing all the agility equipment at the park without batting an eyelid! She spent her time running around amongst so many bigger dogs, saying hello to people she remembered and generally being a very social young girl. So I came home with my heart full of happiness. It must be the same for Ams as she has rescued pretty much every dog that goes to these events. Do many of you get these same opportunities to see the dogs you have rescued or fostered being everything they can be in their forever homes? It makes every minute of lost sleep and every inch of chewed furniture worth it! Here's a pic of Dimples in her Halloween hat taken yesterdday - she has the legs of a supermodel now but is yet to master facial poses!

Sorry I misread your post Eyeopener. We agree desexing has a purpose, as does the continuance of quality breeding lines.

Of course breeders always know what's suitable to be bred from at 8 weeks. NOT Rescue may have decided that breeding another generation of dogs is the greater evil than adverse development caused by juvenile desexing but thank God many breeders have not. AMEN... They whine n bitch about health but have no idea the damage the lack of diverse bloodlines will lead to & that many breed may become so bottle necked they won't be viable at all. Not everyone needs to desex a dog to keep it from breeding until appropriate health checks n maturity has been reached so they can then make a fully informed decision as to whether the dog should b breed or not. Sorry but I take offence to that. The rescue group I work with and the majority of the rescuers who post on DOL are not whining and bitching about the actions of good breeders. They are distressed at the number of healthy dogs that have to be pts because there is nowhere else for them to go. I will stick my neck out and say I think only a very small percentage of those dogs can be traced back to a breeder or be identified as pure bred so their value to bloodlines is irrelevant. Of course rescue contact the breeder where possible to see if they can take the dog back. I agree that informed people who are in the business of breeding to improve the breed (as opposed to BYBs or PFs) may not find desexing necessary but the reason rescue desexes is because most of the dogs that come through their doors are going to simply be pets and the cycle of unwanted dogs of indeterminate heritage is currently far too high. Your average pet owner is not going to be as savvy about breeding cycles and blood lines and health checks as a good breeder so desexing removes the risk. As a foster carer of shar pei I also know that supposedly pure bred dogs of this breed are coming into rescue for serious health reasons. I don't think it is fair to the dog to be suffering from breeding flaws that regularly cause them significant eye, ear and skin issues. I can't speak for other breeds but it is heartbreaking to imagine the suffering they go through, with some ending up blind from their lashes rubbing on their cornea for many years or having ears so infected that you can't even see into them, or bald and malnourished as a result of untreated skin conditions. I also fostered a boy that was so heavily wrinkled that the only option to help him see was a forehead lift. He had a wrinkle at the base of his tail as deep as my fingers so you can imagine how easy skin infections would be. He was supposedly pure bred and probably looked magnificent as a puppy. He walked on the fleshy wrinkles on his back legs until he was over a year old and his legs grew longer. He had enough skin for three shar pei. He coped and was a lovely boy but I wouldn't wish that body burden on any dog. He had to be rehomed to very special and commited people. So desexing even of pure bred dogs who should only ever be pets is also sometimes necessary. Health over beauty.

So very wrong for so many reasons.

The rescue I work with desexes from 3 months. Some are done a little older dependent on if they come with health problems that need treating first. I didn't get my heart girl (a rescue) desexed till she was 6 months and she has some incontinence issues that I think resulted from early desex but it is manageable. Mind you, I once got asked to care for an SBT a few days short of her first birthday with what was supposedly a phantom pregnancy. The owner was hardly gone before she started to whelp. She had a terrible time with it and needed a cesarean (two stuck dead pups) and two days later all the internal stitches gave way and her innards become outards so she had more emergency surgery. That poor girl was sick, in pain, dealing with all these puppies that suddenly appeared and missing her owner terribly. I remember sleeping upright on the floor of my laundry with her leaning against me so she could sleep upright because lying down hurt her too much. Her owner turned up several months later and she would not give him the time of day. I had that lovely girl in my life for another 16 years and I had one of her pups return to me at 6 months (for health reasons) and he lived till he was 12.5. The worst part was that because I didn't actually own her I couldn't get her desexed until her ar*sewipe owner turned up again. No young dog should go through what she did.

Our little town has apparently recently got CCTV's installed in the streets. I haven't noticed them but also didn't notice a need for them. My feeling on all this is that if you are not doing anything wrong then why worry about any cameras? Shops probably only ever view their footage if there has been an incident and the people monitoring street cameras probably have more to be interested in than us pulling out wedged underpants when we think no-one is looking. The only people I could imagine being concerned are those in hiding - witness protection, people who have escaped DV. I do feel for them but again a lot would need to happen for the wrong person to get that footage.

I generally only have one on the bed and she sticks fairly close so I can either feel her beside some part of my body or I can move my arm around until my hand finds her not too far away. I let the foster girl on the bed in the mornings if I have a sleep in and she likes her own discreet space but also likes to go outside and bring sticks in to share with me for a bonding chew session. Throughout the day she will bring and leave more sticks on the bed so preparing for bed at night involves collecting all my presents!

Toasty sounds like she was a very special girl. Big hugs to you KKDD.

Cutie Patooties!

My sister has 2 maremma that stay at all times with the goats and 2 maremma that have ended up becoming yard dogs (protecting her and the house). I must admit I didn't ask about feeding arrangements for the ones that stay with the goats but there are other koolie mixes stationed around the property and I know they get fed so I'm assume it is all done on the same run. One of the maremma that is now a yard dog used to be with sheep but had a habit of collecting stillborn lambs and looking after them and mothering them for a few days before deciding it was a lost cause, and then eating them! She now does excellent guard duty of the chook pen though if it isn't closed before dusk!

After having had 2 pups here (one having gone to his forever home) I don't know how you do it! Never again for me - oh the demands they make (but oh the cuddles they give which makes you forgive them anything!)!