Little Gifts

I'm pretty sure you only had two puppies. That big one looks like a baby wombat!

I have our emergency camping gear with our emergency dog camping gear so a lantern, torch, multitool, flint, waterproof matches, basic cooking gear and the absolute minimum needed for a camp out is all stored together with the human stuff in special camping crates all ready to grab and go. If anything is ever used it is all put back in its place. We have extras of most things (for actual camping trips) and they are stored in other crates to avoid confusion. If something is faulty I check it and get it repaired or replaced before it gets put back. Our camping gear is also separate from household gear so we have torches and tongs we use regularly that live in the house and we have emergency and camping torches and tongs! Seems a bit anal but after having done disaster recovery as part of my old job for many years it just makes me feel safer, especially with three dogs dependant on me. I just realised from this thread though that none of our spare collars have tags on them. I'll have to rectify that.

For quite sometime we have had a special pile of gear in the shed in case we need to evacuate with the dogs quickly. My plan is to take camping gear for them and us too in case an evac centre doesn't allow pets. I even bought a station wagon to make it possible to take all the gear we need! It does include 1 crate because with three dogs there could be times when a crate is needed for theirs or others safety. It's difficult to keep food supplies with this gear so inside the house we have the important, need everyday stuff in a box in the laundry (meds, treats) so if we had to leave in a rush we'd just pick up the box. There is also a large clear bucket next to the box that we would scoop kibble into from the big bin. It's not perfect but it should only take 5 minutes or under to pack the car with all the doggy gear needed for a week away. My hope would be that my sister was also here to help me if we had to leave so one of us could pack the car with the preorganised stuff while one of us ran around like a chook grabbing supplies/clothes for us humans so that within 10 mins maximum we would be out of there. I have no possessions as valuable to me as the dogs so that helps! We've also said that because of the dogs we wouldn't wait to be evacced into a mess of cars and people - we would choose as early as possible to move ourselves to safety to ensure we could get somewhere dog friendly (we have a semi rural town about 40 mins inland with a camp ground that we would aim to go to).

Dad is a happy lad! Is that cause he'd just found out he'd made some milkshakes with mum?

I looked at that photo and thought it was distorted and FB had been elongated in the shot. That's how much bigger he is to my eye!

But what's wrong with Fatty Boombah?

I've been reading and waiting and reading and waiting and WOW! I'm sorry Neko needed a cesar but it was clearly for the best. And you only had 2 heartbeats and images because fatty boombah was taking over in there! Can't wait to see pics of the new bubbas and hope Neko takes to motherhood well and heals quickly from her surgery.

Some neighbours left their outside only kees with my parents when they got evicted. He was only ever fed leftovers (when they had any) and they never brushed him or took him to the groomers. Anyway they ummed and ahhed about coming back for him and actually took him, got him shaved and returned him to mum and dad's with the most horrific razor burn around his genitals. So then I had to take him to my vet and get him fixed up. They decided they wouldn't be collecting him so we contacted a rescue group and he was rehomed. That dog was a saint. The family had loads of little boys and he was bomb proof. Even with the razor burn he was happy and calm with us strangers. Also very obedient even though he'd never had any training (we trained him to leash walk). Doubt he'd ever been wormed and was apparently pure but not papered. So behaviourally and health wise he was very sound with very little human assistance. We already had three dogs otherwise he simply would've remained with us. About the only bad thing was he used to mark furniture when we and his foster mum let him inside but who could blame the poor bugger being moved from house to house and living in chaos? Oh and he was adopted by a cat foster mum and whilst we don't know if he'd been exposed to cats in his past he was absolutely fine with hers. He has developed hot spots though so they keep his coat short. I see him still on FB from time to time.

Thanks for this! I am with a rescue groups that provides items to rescues beyond just cats and dogs and some have wierd items on their wish lists. I hadn't thought about Freecycle before!

I appreciate the sentiment regarding this dog doing his own thing but I worry about regular maintenance stuff for him - ticks, fleas, worming, burrs in his coat (I'm guessing heart worm is not a big issue down there?). They've also said he isn't great on the roads and that worries me too. I suspect a local vet would do his vet work for free but I'd rather he didn't get hit by a car in the first place. Yes it might initially be quite stressful for him being caught but can't you see him as the resident dog at say a farm rescue place? He would be safe, have a purpose and be surrounded by people who understand he might need to be managed a little differently and have his space.

Even the chinese use rice as an 'invalid' food. They make something called jook (spelling is not right but that's how it sounds) which is rice that has had extra water and cooking time added so that it is like porridge. Usually an easy to chew meat is added to it and maybe some soy sauce. I love the taste of it and when I used to order it in Hong Kong as a light/quick meal I would always get asked if I was sick!

How exciting! Cujo gets to spend his final years back with his original family!

I'll find out the name and let you know.

My friend's son found a kennel for his dog, picked it up today and it was limping and had a weeping sore on it! All that after only leaving it there for four days. Bloody hell! Makes me glad mine just stay here and my sister looks after them!

I think they have their place. The first time I ever took one to puppy school I was actually shocked more at the behaviour of other owners than the puppies. The owners of several swf's were treating them like they were fragile human babies rather than amongst their puppy peers and I thought no wonder some grow to have anxieties and attitude at dog parks and yap at anything that moves. The supervised socialisation with a mix of breeds, different people and in different environments is invaluable.

We started my sister's going on 13 year old husky/shep cross on the tumeric paste a week or so ago. Her mobility really deteriorated quickly the last couple of weeks (just no strength in her back legs - pain doesn't seem to be an issue) and we continue to struggle to get her weight back down since she had the emergency desex just over a year ago so I know the added weight is not helping. How long does it take to see changes/improvements? Did anyone notice it doing anything adverse before it did something good? We've just had to take her in for a Synovan shot today because everything was so up and down with her so we are not sure if the tumeric is assisting or if things are just further deteriorating. Also I jinxed us by joking she was going to be one of the few who started smelling like pee and she has! I've come into the thread to find out what we need to add to get rid of her new scent!

A bit like when GSD's became Alsations in the UK? I read on Wiki that it was 5 decades after WWI before the British kennel club changed the name back to GSD. Amazing all the history behind some breeds.

How did they 'work the river'? What was their job?

A perfect tribute to an outstanding gentleman! Must go, something in my eye....

It could be SG - back then I just heard that Keeshond meant barge dog, which isn't correct. I had no idea what country they came from but thought maybe Germany rather than Holland.

The dogs were both aggressive so the lady who found and stayed with them couldn't safely get them out. Not sure how long they had been in there before she found them (his court attendance info would identify that and they are saying 2.5 hours) but I think they were removed within half an hour of being found and were given water while in the car awaiting safe removal. One of the dogs had to be pts after being removed from the vehicle because I guess it was too far gone for treatment. Just a horrible way to suffer for no reason.

I'm a goober. My parents ended up with a keeshond dumped on them (rescue helped us rehome him) and back then I thought the word stood for 'barge dog' in whatever language/country they originated from. Apparently Kees was the nickname of some Dutch rebel leader that the breed was the mascot for and hond is the Dutch word for dog. Named back in the 18th century. You learn something new everyday!

I see some booby action!

What will it take for people to understand this very basic issue? It is illegal and it is a hideous way to die yet idiots still do it ever single summer. I have no sympathy for the owner. He had to go to court so knew he would be longer than 5 minutes on a hot day. Why take the dogs with him? What the hell did he think his dogs would do inside a car in the full sun for 2.5 hours? Even half an hour would be too long in those conditions. http://www.cairnspost.com.au/news/cairns/dog-euthanised-after-being-left-in-hot-car-while-cairns-owner-was-in-court/story-fnpqrsxl-1227699886707

I will play Devil's Advocate here. My behaviouralist visit cost $380 (travel costs were also involved as she doesn't live close). I spent another $100 on two metal crates and some training toys and made everything else (treat dispensing aids and some specialised tug toys). Everything else I had, including my time to implement the things suggested to me. The vet fees for the fight that prompted this behaviouralist visit cost me $5000 so you do the math on which outlay I preferred. Even if you build your own dog enclosure or install your own electric fence the materials could cost you what a good behaviouralist will. We have had instant results to implementing the recommendations and we haven't even done them all. The changes are easy to live with and really don't take much extra time out of the day. I am not yet at the point where I am not stressing about something else happening but I am vigilant without angst. I feel more in control and the dogs are benefitting from that. People on here can make suggestions (NILIF is a useful one and maybe your boy would also benefit from more mental stimulation like my girl) but these suggestions wont be targetted to your actual dog and you are risking losing your dog if it attacks more sheep at your new rental and your dog right now doesn't know attacking the sheep is wrong. And where will he go? Surrendered to a rescue where he goes in knowing he is animal aggressive? His future might not be great for rehoming and a lot of pei really suffer the loss of the owners they have bonded to. You are choosing to live in an environment that triggers your dog's known behaviour so you need to take some responsibility for that. Sorry if I sound harsh but like Canetoad the amount of pei I've seen come into rescue with unaddressed behavioural issues is heartbreakingly horrible. CT and I both have rescue pei with certain problems (who we adore) that regardless of their ages we have to continue to address. It's not our dog's fault. I think you are worried about an immediate problem and it might be better focussing on a longer term solution. If you moved to the suburbs you might find the problem just shifts to cats or something else. Why not at least ring or email some behaviourists and find out about prices and payment options before you go the DIY route? They can see things us owners can't.