Little Gifts

Ok - Di Gooding is a recommended NSW breeder - www.rynklsharpei.com And Darcy and Keith in QLD breed under this name - www.ayzsasharpei.com Another is Jacqui Walloscheck Sharboop Shar Pei. I think she might also be in QLD. Rescue who works all up and down the east coast if you are interested in - https://www.facebook.com/groups/397636914077099

I'm a pei person (thank you Pers!). I've been fostering on and off for a while with groups in QLD but I've also seen them in the show ring up here (and have owned several myself but all through rescue). There are only 2 breeders on the east coast that most pei people would recommend. I can find out their proper names for you. At least one is active in the rescue arena too. Given that, they wont have many pups available each year as they are breeding for quality over quantity. If you want to consider rescue then I can give you a link for that too. I'd personally be guided by these breeders on the right dog for you as they are particular about where their pups or older dogs go to. To be honest I'd never take siblings from the same litter with this breed though. I think you could be asking for trouble as they hit maturity. Anyway I'll get some names for you to consider.

My sister was at a shopping centre only yesterday and was accosted by someone trying to raise funds for the RSPCA so they could prosecute more animal abusers and neglectors. He claimed they'd only been able to afford to do 14 prosecutions in QLD last year. My sister said I would be so proud of her. She told him but you have enough money to prosecute more now - have you seen your own profit line? Then she went on in detail about how they use people's emotions to raise money but don't spend it on the animals. If they are too sick or have behavioural issues you put them to sleep pretty quick. The others get farmed out to other rescues to vet and rehome. She said she went on and on and he was trying to find a hole to crawl in to. But maybe he might actually explore the values and achievements of the organisation more and make up his own mind? I think the only way they are going away is if their finances shrink and they can't afford to operate. They only represent themselves these days.

No idea at present Harley but good suggestion for me to look in to. He already has another vet appointment next week for us to discuss where to from here. Thank you!

Since being back on the chicken and rice he has been fine again. I've got some more of the Hills gut kibble (decided against the RC because of the ingredients being more grain heavy) coming tomorrow. After we finish that I'll trial him on some BH salmon and see where things are at. I will get rid of the BH chicken kibble I think as it seems to be the core of the problem. But I guess we will soon know if there is a real medical problem lurking. And due to ongoing water issues I remembered we've got a water filter that was gifted to us a while back and we will install it in the kitchen over the weekend. Hopefully things will settle for all our tummies!

I shall do some googling.....

I've got a bit of a question. I've owned and foster shar pei for quite a while. Generally I feed them either Black Hawk or Canidae grain free with no issue. My other dogs have also eaten the same kibble so we buy bigger bags. Albert has lived here for almost 12 months. He's been eating mostly Black Hawk grain free either chicken or salmon, plus other goodies on top. He came to us recovering from Giardia, Coccidia and a situation where his intestines had telescoped in on themselves (a long vet stay). He was not a well boy, but with TLC recovered very quickly and never looked back. Aside from this problem initially when he came in to rescue, he has not been sick or even slightly unwell at all till the week before Christmas. In that week he started being off his food and needing encouragement to eat. Then we had a couple of vomits (partially digested food). He was eating grass on and off so we'd have grass vomits and sometimes just phlegm and water - never any bile vomits. Lots of noisy tummy stuff too. We switched him to chicken and rice and everything settled. The week of Christmas the same started happening again so we took him to the vet who treated him for the previous stuff (in case it was related). No temp, happy and active. They suspected Giardia again (he does love to get in our frog ponds with the still water). He had a nausea injection and they gave us some Hills kibble for gut health and a paste to put on his food to put good stuff back in his belly. Also did a full de-worm. Poo sample was checked the following day and no signs of Giardia or Parvo (we are in a parvo area at present). His weight stayed around the same. So that all went well. He was still a bit sensitive about eating and we had to do some hand feeding each meal to get him going and also stay in the room with him and offer encouragement (which is still needed at times). Once the gut kibble ran out he went back to his old diet. He definately wouldn't eat everything he used to, like say his yoghurt was on its 3rd day opened he wouldn't eat anything at all. Then yesterday he wouldn't eat at all and was in and out vomiting up phlegm. So I boiled a chicken and cooked up some rice. He needed to be encouraged to eat but was so happy after he did. But then half an hour later he was throwing that up and then re-eating it (due to his history if you try to get near his vomit he sees red). No vomits overnight and this morning he had a small meal of chicken and rice and no voms since that I can tell but he is in a snappy mood so obviously not feeling great. Tummy is also noisy. Haven't seen him poo in a couple of days though. Complicating things here is we have had a major water quality problem. I've been sick since before Christmas (I drink about 4 litres of tap water a day), my sister became sick last week and we've heard people's fish have been dying too. We only found out last weekend about it so all switched over to bottled water, including for Albert. We are doing better but given Albert's stomach issue started again after we switched over I don't think I can put it down to that. This morning I googled BH kibble recalls and complaints but found nothing relevant to what I am feeding. But I was just wondering if anyone on here as heard anything or had any personal experiences because I'm thinking it could be the kibble? Alternatively has anyone had any similar symptoms in their dogs where they are nauseous and vomiting but well otherwise? I have had a dog with pancreatitis before but she presented as unwell in several other ways, so don't think it is that. But what other conditions can be linked to his symptoms? If it doesn't settle today he will be back at the vets tomorrow for bloods and maybe scans of course. Bloody hard when they are sick and you don't know why. Any other dog and I'd go to the vet straight away but he is terrified of other dogs, so visits have to be managed a little differently (and are a bit stressful for this human). Thank you

I had a stafford who developed it out of the blue at 6 months of age. His seizures were extreme and he was on the maximum dose of phenobarb. It reduced the number but the severity was the same. Long story short, I had an amazing vet who also did homeopathic work and she worked with someone else to develop drops for him. Over a period of about 2 years of treatment he stopped seizing and was off all meds. We had nothing to lose in trying. He'd spent the first 7 years of his life in a drug induced haze so was quite scared of a lot of things (which we managed) and he lived to 11.5 with no further seizures or health issues.

People are so weird. They claim they love their pets then let their dogs roam freely? Besides the potential of being dog napped or hit by a car, they don't know all their neighbours. There could be people with mental health issues and others who are either scared of dogs or who find them unclean (common in some cultures). It's not up to your neighbours to keep your dogs safe for you either - that's on the owners. Hard lesson learnt of course and it is always the dog who suffers the most when owners don't step up.

That makes me so angry! We are in a housing crisis up here and part of that crisis is directly attributed to council's decision making and approval processes. Same with all councils. There are no caravan and cabin parks where people can live medium to long term anymore. There aren't enough varieties of housing types being built anymore and what is being built (big houses on small blocks in skinny streets) isn't happening quick enough. In all my years of living in a council area that has some of the lowest socio economic suburbs in the state I have never seen as many people living rough like they are at present. All they have are council amenities in parks and I am happy if council needs to spend my rates monies having to maintain parks more frequently because of it. If they really think someone would prefer to be living in a tent during an ongoing heat wave and rain bombing then they must have rocks in their heads. And I bet you they didn't ask the rate payers in their LGA what their feelings on the matter were either. What a bunch of uncaring knobs.

The need is so bad at the moment that my breed specific rescue group is taking on other breeds at the moment. They get dogs out of pounds all up and down the east coast and sometimes it is hard to say no when transport for a pei is already arranged and there is a pregnant small white fluffy also there. At first it bugged me but now I realise it is still a life saved and they care.

I'm clearly not a fan of the RSPCA - that story made me see red. With their bottom line profits and legislative powers they are the only 'rescue' organisation that makes rules that work for them whilst leaving many 'all creatures great and small' at risk. And they are fine with it. Smaller independent rescues are bending over backwards to try and accommodate all the animals in need and they do it without the money (including ones sent their way by the RSPCA). They also hit capacity but wouldn't dare say we are closed to surrenders for 12 months! What audacity! They just work harder and stretch themselves thinner and keep everything crossed it works out. RSPCA are so out of touch with and unresponsive to reality. I can't wait for the day they are gone and their money goes to where the work is really being done.

Squishy Face Rescue in SEQ is currently under attack too. They do most of their communicating on FB. Back when I was adminning Craft for Paws I got targeted too. Even though we were mainly selling and fundraising I would post picks of animals in need as part of our engagement with our thousands of supporters. Someone got in a huff about something (a vegan issue from memory) and reported me when she wasn't satisfied at my response. So all last year I was being banned on a weekly basis for things like posting too fast or repetitive posts. The other admin never had an issue and since the page shut down I've not had an issue on my own page either. There is noone to contact to try and explain the situation. I feel like AI is quite quickly taking over many things and it worries me and makes me feel old. I don't want any more human touch removed from the world.

I can't even read a story like that. The worst death ever for an animal I think. I can still remember a story from years back about someone who went on a cruise and left a dog in their car. I used to work at the theatre with a guy who regularly did that with his small dogs. It used to make me feel sick. I can understand about police dogs needing to be in a vehicle for periods of time but this is just a sad reminder that things can and do go wrong and regular onsite monitoring needs to be in place for them. Their handlers will be devastated.

I actually feel quite happy that the doggos I've owned have nearly all beat the statistics! I can remember Stussy the stafford being part of data gathered across the globe for dogs with Geriatric Onset Laryngeal Paralysis (GOLP). She was the only dog on a list of hundreds who died of old age natural causes after a GOLP diagnosis. I think it is a combo of some dogs just being tougher than others, an attentive and responsive owner and advancements in veterinary care. I feel too many people accept limitations and pain in their elderly dogs, just putting it down to age, rather than looking for options to maintain and manage any deterioration and suffering. My girl was 14 and a couple of months when she had tie back surgery so she could live and that's because overall she was in good health for her age and her age was not a barrier to having it or recovering from it. I can't tell you how many times I've heard someone say their dog was too old for a certain treatment without even having investigated it. Why do we put that limitation on dogs? We've got young Albert now and whilst the average is 10.6 for his breed according to that list, I think he'll be with us 12 - 15 years minimum, barring some medical disaster. We're in it for the long haul!

So serious and so young! Fantastic video! Thank you!

Albert paws but it is gentle or he paws the furniture you are on instead of your body. I've never had a dog who needs so much physical contact and lots of it was in ways that could injure (I got bruised ribs to show for it one time) so we've had to adjust our bodies and redirect to protect while still meeting his needs. Now we invite him in for contact with open arms and bending over and creating a safe space for our organs, we talk to him softly, acknowledge him regularly when he is lying calmly, we give full body rubs/massages most mornings before we even get out of bed, we let him lean into us but shift our bodies if he turns around scrambling with his legs, we touch all his favourite spots (which is really his entire body). We also welcome him whenever we get home, like we are as pleased to see him as he is to see us and strangely he is less over the top because he knows what's coming rather than just seeking it. So I guess we are trying to meet his clear need for contact throughout the day rather than waiting for him to seek it and being pushy. It is not always possible though. I work from home and can have a hectic few hours and turn around to find the lounge and floor covered in naughty things he has collected trying to get my attention. He's also featured on a few Teams meetings pawing me on the shoulder to turn around to him.

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 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.