Little Gifts

Thanks SB - must've missed that dog. I was doing other things while trying to watch the tv.

Was Tank the shephard barking inside the house at those teenagers? I had the feeling that the policeman was keeping it in that noisy/aggressive condition to frighten the young people and get them out of hiding. I've been around quite a few ex police dogs now working as security dogs and seen them transform within seconds after a command. Actually there was one who was a sooky la la in the house but once his work gear was on and he was in the back of the van you wouldn't go anywhere near him. Maybe they didn't show Tank getting a command or later getting a stand down alert. I loved the Beagle who took the leaf to the bin!

Abbigail Abby AJ Alice Alika Alchemy Amber Amelia Amy x 2 Anais Annie Anastacia (Annie) Angel X 4 Anishinaabe Annabelle Annabella April April RIP x 2 Arizona Asante sana Ashka Askari Astro Athena Aubrey Audrey Aura Ayla Baba Baci Bailey Basha Beanie Beans Becky Bella x4 Bit Blaize Blossom Bonny x 2 (Bonnie) Bonita Brandi Brandy Bree Bridie Bronte Buffy Cally Cara Cassie Casper CC Cedar Chelsea Chevy x 2 Chloe x 2 Charlotte Cider Cinders Cinta CJ x 2 Claire Claudia Clover Cleoparta Coco x3 Colour (for a greyhound who's not grey!) Cookie Cossette Crupi Daisy Dallas Dancer Delilah Delta Demi Dexta Diazz Dinky Dixie Durham Dyzney Ebony Echo Elizabeth Ella x2 Ellie Ellie x2 Emily Emma Emmy Erin Evie Faith Fanta Feather Finta Flame Fleur Froggy Gabby Gemma Genie (not exactly a girly name but I thought it suited my goldy) George Ginny Gita Glitter Grace Griffin GT Gypsy x 3 Harlow Hayley x2 Heddy Heidi x2 Holly x 5 Honey Honour Hope Imme Imogen - Imy Indi Jade Jane Jasmine x2 Jay Jay Jazz Jedda RIP Jenna x 2 Jess Jessi Jessica Jessie x 2 Jezebel Jindi Jinxy Jodie Juliet Juno Kara Kari Karma Karmen Kaos Katie x 2 Katy Kayla Keeta Keilani Keirra Kelli Kelsey Kenzie Kibah Kiesha Kiri Kiri-Lu Kirra (agility name Kiz) Kitty Kizzey Krissy Kuean - (Queen) Lacey Layla Lea (lele) Leia Lexi x 2 Libby Lily x 2 Lobo Logan Lola x 2 Lottie Lucy x5 Luuka Mable Maddison Maggie x3 Mallee Marie Claudette Marlo Meeka Meg Meisha Merrique Mia Milla Millie x3 Mindy Minnie x 2 (Mynni) Minouche Mischka Missy Misty Mitzi Molly x5 Molly Coddle Moochie Mya Nala Narla Natasha Nena Ness Olivia Pagan Panda Paris Paxy Pearl Pebbles Peggie Penny Phoebe Pip Piper Polly x 2 Popcorn Porridge Porscha Prada Quince Rani Reba Rebel Reno Rhoda Riki Ricky Rizzi Rogue Rommi Rosey Rosie x 2 Roxy x 2 Ruby x3 Rumour Sabrina Sadie Saffron Safire Sally x2 Sarah Sarah Jane Sascha x 2 Sasha Sarsha Satu Savannah Scandal Shae Shandy Shannon Sharnie Sheba Shine Sinta Sienna Skye SkySnow Sooty Sophie x2 Sophia Springy Spook Stella x2 Stimpy X2 Storm Stussy Sue Suzie Sybill Tara x 2 Tasha Tayla Teegan Tess x 4 Tessa Texas Tia x 2 Tieke Tilba Tilli Tilly x3 Tinny (tin tin) Tori Tully Tyra Vada Viviane Voodoo Winter Wilhelmina Wolf Xanthe Zara Zillah Ziva x 3 Zena Zoe x 3

Abrham Ali Andrew Andy Angus x 2 Angus Rip Anzac Apollo(different spelling!) Appollo Archie +1 Archer Arkhan Armand Arq Ash Ashke Attila Atlas Bailey x 6 Baloo Balou Bandit x 2 Banjo Bardigrub Bart X 2 Barton Baxter Bear x2 Beau x 2 Bender Ben x 2 Benji Benny Benson BERT! Billy Bing Bluey Bob Bomber Boo Boof Bosch Bosco Boxer Brady Brian Custard O'Doggle Brock Brockie Brody Bronson x2 Brownie Bruce Bud Buddy Buffy... he came with it Bumble Bundyx3 Buster byron Caleb Cannon Caramel Carl Cash Casper Champ Changwe Charlie x 5 Chester Chevy Chief Chip x 2 Chok Chubba Chops Clifford Coco Columbus Cooper x3 Cory Cowan x 2 Cowboy Crikey Cuba Daniel Danny Darcy x 2 Dashx2 Deakin Dean Declan Delgado Denim Dennys Dog Diablo Diesel x2 Digby Digger x2 Dillon Dinky Douglas Dominic Dumas Duncan Dylan Ebon Echo Eddie Edward Elijah Elliott Elvis Edge Ernie Esky Fergus x 2 Finn Fox x 2 FlashBazil Fleming Fletcher Fly Flynn Focus Forester Foo Frank Fudge Galahad Gandor Geo Georgex2 Gordon Greedy Grover Guiness mcGuinness Hail Harley Harper Harri Harrison Harry Henry Henschke Hey Dog Hogan Hudson Hugo Ian Ivan Jack x 3 Jake x 2 Jasper x 2 James Jay JayDee Jed Jethro Jet Jett Jonsey Joop Jordan Joshua Joxer Judd Juggie Kahn Kai Kaiser x 2 Kane Kasper Kaos Kiba Kei Kingston Kippy Kisho Kuga Kynan Kyzer Leo Lincoln Lenny Leroy Lestat x2 Logan Louie Luca Lucius Ludwig Lughie Lukas Lukon Mac X 2 MacKenzie Mandrake Mark (the cat) Mason x2 Max x 7 Maxie Maxwell THE DOG Maze Mel Merlot Merry Milky Milosh Milton Minook Mistral Mojo Mokha Moo Morris Mr Darcy Nammu Napoleon Nelsson (yes two s's) Nicky Nigel Noah Nova Nudge Nugget Occy Oliver Omar RIP Onslow Oscar x 3 Oz Pal x 2 Payton Pete Phoenix Phantom Piikki Porsha Puck Punch Quick Quincy Raffy Ralph Randy Raymond Reeve Reagan Rex Ricky Riku Riley Ripley River Rocks Rodney RIP Rolly Rory Rove Rover Roy Jones Jnr Rudnick Ruff Rumour Rupert Rusty Sam x2 Sampson Satchmo Scooby Scout Scrap Scratch Shadow Seth Silas Snitch Sonny Soul Spartan Speed Spencer Spike Sport Spud x 2 Sterling Stig (The) Storm Stryker Sumo Swanky Tag Tally Tana Tazz x 2 Teddy Terry Tey Dog Thomas Thunder Tiger Tirra Toby x2 Tolkien Tommy Tournie Tub Tusca Tye x2 Tyson Udo Ulf Valdez Wags Walker Wally Watson Weave Whisky Willow Willy Wilson Woody Wycomb Yoshi Zac x 2 Zedley Zeppelin Zephyr x 2 Zeus

My vet sells these vegetarian pigs ears. Don't know exactly what is in them except there is no meat. They are made in some kind of pigs ear mould so they look like the real thing but without the veiny bits. Obviously they taste ok as all 3 of our dogs prefer them over the real thing. 3 for $5!

For over 20 years I have been going to to Beenleigh Vet Hospital (in Beenleigh!). For most of that time I have been seeing the same vet - Dr Renate Atkins. She is a funny german woman who ADORES animals and speaks harshly to you if she thinks you aren't doing the right thing by your pet (one of mine once had fleas - eegads!). She is also a homeopathic vet which has worked well for some of my fur kids over the years. I think they do discounted desexing every Tues or Wed. Their number is 3287 2599.

I have a staffy that came to live with me due to neglect when she was about a year old. As a result of the intial neglect she has had numerous operations over the years - several of which I never thought she'd survive. She is almost 16 now and still going strong despite chronic pancreatitis, diabetes and cancerous growths everywhere. The best thing I ever did 10 years ago (when she was diagnosed with the pancreatitis) is simplify her diet. She eats very controlled amounts of Hills Science WD - dry and wet, twice a day. She has never once turned her nose up at it despite the blandness. She never worries about what the other dogs are eating either. She no longer gets any snacks or leftover bits of toast or fat off the steak or half a biscuit at morning tea time (neither does my other dog). Those things were killing her really and she stopped missing them a long time ago. I have replaced them with talking and pats which do much more for her longevity. Our only problem is her teeth as she can't have any bones and she has never been keen on having them cleaned for her. I do however give her vegetarian pigs ears every now and then which doesn't make her sick and helps with her teeth a little.

Hey you two! I have spent a lot less on vet fees patching up after scraps since paying for my amichien bonding lady! And even my vet has been impressed with the changes in the dogs and asked me for her details. She actually works every day at the Animal Welfare League. She was the right person for us.....

If it aint broken???????

PoodleFan you don't actually eat any of it! You just lift the plate/bowl to your face and make noises and gestures like you are eating (actually it is called gesture eating, not token eating). The other thing is you give them half the amount and then top up their bowls while they are eating. We can now feed all 3 in a row with no problems and the husky, who has always been a slow eater, eats at a normal pace because I guess some anxiety around eating is removed. It is like they all feel safer because we are being true alphas and they are obedient to their own capacities and to an acceptable level for our pack. I never expected the changes to be so sudden and easy but was at wits end (having tried several other pieces of advice from behaviouralists about ostracising the naughty dog). This worked for food, contact and toy aggression between our 3 fur babies and it was so simple to implement and stick with. I would use this approach again in a flash but appreciate it wont work for all dogs or owners - I don't think any one thing will - trial and error is what we went through as well.

Through circumstance we ended up with 3 rescue dogs - 10 week female staffy, 6 year old female husky/shepherd cross and a 14 year old desexed female staffy. When the youngest was about 6 months of age the fights started. Over food, attention, toys. My vet advised it was the youngest coming into sexual maturity so we got her desexed. We still had some terrible fights and the old girl was the worst, I guess trying to keep her place in the pack. We would get the dogs apart and she would go for it again not wanting to lose a fight. It was just horrible to experience and I have also been bitten badly on my digits while trying to seperate the two staffies. The husky/shepherd normally withdrew herself and her long fur saved her from any serious wounds, but the other two had several vet visits. So we got in a dog whisperer for $200 (amichien bonding). Best money we ever spent! We were taught to think like dog packs. Now each dog looks to us as the alphas and not each other. They were more confident and less stressed straight away. We have reinforced the food comes and can be withdrawn from us so there is no point fighting between themselves when we control it. We did this token eating of their food before giving it to them. We still do it from time to time to remind them we are the alphas and they eat when we tell them they will eat (as it would be in a wild pack). The other big thing we did was to give our dog pack roles and to reinforce them. Even though the roles might seem silly they support each dogs personality so in fact we are telling the dogs what is ok by praising those behaviours and ignoring what isn't. As an example the youngest is the inquisitive/investigator and the husky is the guard dog, while the old dog is the comforter. So if all 3 bark to alert us of danger only the husky is rewarded. If the young one is being naughty she is removed from a negative situation but if she is being inquisitive for the rest of the pack's benefit then she is rewarded. As an example she found and killed a snake in the house and we all made a huge deal of it. When she stalks and kills pillows or her special toys she quickly learns that we don't approve. We do give her things specifically to destroy (because she has that need) and she knows the difference. Our dogs would still be considered spoilt (sleep on the bed etc) but we have more structure around everything and obviously more control. Plus happier dogs. So basically your dogs are all at the bottom of the pack and you are on top. It is up to you as pack leader to enforce that, not let them sort it out themselves. They should worship the ground you walk on and look to you for everything - not to themselves.

Right from when my staffy Stussy was a pup she would go in an off leash area with my sister's husky/shephard cross Wolf who is a very well trained and obedient dog. Stussy has always been very inquistive (aka disobedient) and always running too far from everyone else, totally oblivious to my calling, usually with Wolf having a panic that she wasn't following 'the rules' (we often refer to Wolf as 'the fun police'). So one day my sister pointed and said "Wolf, go get Stussy" and sure enough she ran off and rounded the pup up and headed her back to us. Two years down the track and we are still using the same command successfully and I'm sure Wolf rolls her eyes in despair that Stussy still hasn't learnt the rules!

K9 he has the most gorgeous colours! He looks like he'd be the type to tell you all his troubles too! There was some book I read by a group of tough guys who rescue animals in America (Tattoo Rescue Inc?). They took on a lot of badly abused and neglected dogs and I remember reading about how even a dog who has been confined/treated inappapropriately for long periods of time will be aggressive when trying to be 'rescued'. It is a fear thing because they have become conditioned to their bad treatment/environment. For all they know they could be getting taken somewhere even worse so they give off the 'back off don't mess with me' signals. That made so much sense to me as I think dogs in particular are always trying to make the best of a bad situation to avoid total rejection by us humans. It is amazing that you are able to look past that to see what's really going on and that you do so honestly without putting your other animals and people in your home at risk. I have a great respect for what you do and how many animals you have done it for.

My staffy was about 14 weeks and was assessed by the puppy school vet nurse basically to make sure she would not be too boistrous for the other puppies attending. She was unfortunately but still completed it. She was already used to being with big dogs and playing roughly. Lots of small white fluffies in her class and I still remember Stussy getting the fur of a SWF stuck around her teeth so this poor thing is howling and trying to get away from her but couldn't. Oh dear. But hey I think it was good for those other owners to see an active, inquisitive dog in a safe environment! If I had of owned her younger I simply would've checked with my puppy school vet nurse to see when puppy school was right for her to start at that age.

I'm sure they'd appreciate being left at the pound for 14 days just to save you money Hopefully that was a joke. It was a joke, but you can see why we have so many dogs in our pounds being killed day because of these fines. I agree - those amounts will mean a dog is PTS if the owner can't afford it or doesn't really care about the dog, and those careful owners who lose a beloved pet temporarily just get a smack in the head for usually being a responsible dog owner. It doesn't stop the main issue of deterring bad pet owners and encouraging good ones. You might have a case re the registration because they are clearly registered - just not at the right address, but that address still led the council to you then that's really what matters. Sorry for all the stress you've had over this.

Typical! I give my sister the hardest time about Aldi (what, they sell food?) and she is going to pay me out terribly on this one because who bought themselves a fancy schmancy doggie belt thingy last year for $35 and is yet to take the tag off it?

This is such a wonderful outcome. He is like a rescue mascot and will only get better from here on in with your love and care. His next goal is to fatten up given he looks like settling in is not going to be an issue! Congratulations Luki and thank you for not giving up K9Angel!

I'm so happy!

We had serious probs with 3 rescue dogs of very different ages becoming a pack. My sister heard a lady speak at our local library about amichien bonding (Jan Fennell the Dog Listener). That led us to Penny Alexander who runs how2balpha on the northern end of the Gold Coast. The immediate difference was AMAZING. It was $200 very well spent. We have saved far more than that on vet fees after the fights. We can call her anytime we need more help - lifetime backup service. Over a year now and we are still managing well but once our 16 year old passes on I suspect we will need some help again. What you learn becomes natural when you see the benefit of it to your dog - they aren't the little humans they think we are and their problems can't be addressed using our logic. Anyway you should see this as a preventive expense. Your lovely dog will only get worse and it will be a great burden on all of you. It is money well worth spending to have a happy and healthy dog over the long term. And Penny's email addy is [email protected]. Phone is 07 3386 1338. I think she now has a website under how2balpha. I know she is further away but she will know someone local to you guys who follows the same techniques. Good luck!

Luki is a beautiful name for a beautiful boy! I am so so glad he is doing a little better - I think that is an excellent sign! I'm really hoping he gets a little better with each day and I hope the other pup that is at the vet is going ok too but you need to focus on Luki - the other family are obviously animal lovers who want to do the right thing too and have other resources if they can't cover the costs. Years ago I used to volunteer to clean, feed and socialise the puppies at the big RSPCA shelter in Brisbane. They had this special clear chemical that we would put on the floors when cleaning and also in these shallow dishes outside every door of every run. Every time we stepped in and out of the runs we would put our shoes in the shallow dish to avoid spreading germs. And I remember back then we put garlic powder and other assorted supplements on their food too which I think helped. Anyway once I got home my boots stayed outside for a scrub and my clothes came straight off and were washed seperately. I never wore those boots of clothes for any other purpose either. I never took anything home to my dogs and yes, saw sick pups and ugly poos every single time I went to there as the pups for rehoming and incoming pups were caged along the same run. You'd know who wasn't going to make it when you saw one wearing a black tag. But none of that for Luki - he has a comfy bed and a new mummy who just loves him to pieces already. How could he miss out on that!

Hey no pooping is good news! I think they give everyone the 50/50 news just in case. I can see what you mean about him being skinny. Poor little bubba. Please keep us updated on his progress.

K9 I have my fingers and toes crossed for this little boy and his pound mates. I am linked to BFR in Qld and a collie cross with paws and ears too big for its head and body from up this way recently went into foster care but became sick with parvo immediately and despite the best efforts of everyone he didn't make it. He was in the vet for a week. Incredibly sad. He has 4 litter mates not affected though. It's a reminder of how fragile these little guys really are. It sucks and they don't deserve to be so sick or end up dumped in the pound, but they are lucky to have people like you out there trying to turn that around. Thank you for caring so much - I hope he is able to fight it. Alyson