Little Gifts

There is no Kong (or food stuffed in toys) interest in this house but pull out the Holee Molee jammed full of fabric and stuffing and its on like Donkey Kong!

I stood on a red belly when I was a kid and we both ran off in fright! Well he slithered more than ran. He was sunbaking on a rock at our creek and we were down there playing. I've had numerous snake encounters over the years, including with death adders, which is probably why they scare me.

I know this will make me sound horrible but I have a front yard where snakes can live and I am right next to a huge series of parks and water courses where they can also happily live. But I only have one backyard for my dogs and I don't want snakes there. The problem is my dogs think they are protecting us from the snake. We already had our own expensive vet visits for two dogs as a result of a large unharmed python a couple of years ago. I am also a little afraid of anything but greenies and the huge ones terrify me so I don't want them here for me or my dogs. It is hard though because I do like the idea of providing a natives friendly yard but you can't then choose which natives visit.

We've got an outcome on this case today. It's not detailed in the story below but also: 'In addition, the maximum 10-year banning order from owning or being in charge of an animal was imposed on each of the individuals and the Company with an exception by the court that Dean Peace would be allowed to own and be in charge of two desexed working dogs.' http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/law-order/rspcas-largest-puppy-farm-prosecution-in-victoria-sees-breeding-family-fined-205000/story-fni0fee2-1227542394478

Run free now beautiful boy. You made it to a marvelous age. Although I'm sure it still wasn't enough for those you left behind.

I had one adoptive family who I think were quite worried I wouldn't cope after a particularly lovely boy who had needed a lot of tlc had left my care. They reminded me numerous times I could drop in anytime I wanted to see him! And they kept in touch on FB and came to some events with him. But he couldn't have cared less about me from the minute he walked out my front door. Mine were tears of happiness for him really that he was finally ready to give a new life a shot and that he chose an actual family with young kids to start his second life with (very different to what he'd had in the past).

I just read Petals' story and she was definately one of a kind. We can learn a lot from her spirit and determination. I'm so glad she got to live a long and fulfilled life despite her illness because I think she deserved it. I don't doubt that as she aged her disabilities bought some other challenges for you to overcome. I hope you update your spaniel journal articles to reflect these challenges and the achievements from them when you are up to it as they could give someone else in a similar situation hope. Fly free Petals and catch as many butterflies as you can.

Aren't puppies just magic! :D

Why does the journalist need to verify this as a source? As I read it the discovery of the FB page by the Merry's was what lead them (not the journalist) to start a major campaign to bring the Sandown breeders to justice. Their campaign was successful, they had enough evidence to have charges laid and the breeders have now been convicted. There is also no info in the story regarding whether the prosecuting legal team used any evidence from other disgruntled owners on the FB page but you would assume so based on quotes re the court case. It would be stupid if they didn't. They have also said 36 breeding dogs were involved so I would also assume the courts and any owners involved in the court case would now know who the sires and dams were if suitable records of matings were kept. As for hip scoring, if it wasn't done then this would also be important for the court case. If it was done then again it would be shared with any owners who were party to the court matter. This is a media story on the outcomes of the court case, not a full court report and not an expose on the breeders by the journo.

What a horrible experience for a puppy owner to go through. I don't think the fines were harsh enough (they should also never own or breed a dog again) but I guess that reflects the limitations of the law. Rebanne it sounds like their litters threw more than just one or two HD dogs (which makes more of a case for it being genetic) and of course they lied saying their stock was 15 years free when instances of HD had already arisen. They also kept breeding from the same stock without caring about the heightened risk factor or doing any testing. At lots of points along the road things could've changed for the better. I think their ongoing negligence for pups bred under their care puts them poles apart from a good breeder and hopefully most sensible people will see that. I don't think you can fully guarantee the health of any living thing despite the care you put into creating it but to do nothing when faced with the truth is wrong.

Bargain! Maybe you should put this in the show thread as I'm sure someone was asking about them only last month.

Definately a step in the right direction. If only other states weren't such wimps. I'd be interested in what good breeders think of this though - will it restrict you or create major burdens? Is four litters from a good breeding bitch acceptable for continuing a good line? What if your breed only has small litters? I would think this is a great opportunity to also get the word out about people buying pups from good registered breeders - how to find them, how it works, the benefits, time differences, etc. My other question though is are pet shops still free to just source their puppies and kittens from pet farms located interstate? Or is legislation and policing already in place to address that?

We diverted a bite to a nose boof and praised with high value treats too. Basically no wiggly fingers were ever placed in front of the dog - only a low closed fist. Whenever he touched it with his nose he got praised so it turned into a 'touch' game. Fists are not as fun to chew on either. We started with the treats inside our closed, loose fist which encouraged sniffing rather than biting and moved on from there. It was fairly quick.

Gosh look at all the texture in that pic! So simple yet so full of light and shade and life! Plus it tells a story. I wish I was even an eighth a photographer as good as you!

Bloody eye twigs!

Some people (and menopausal women such as myself) can be very quick to anger over the smallest of things. Yesterday I caught part of an interview of a court case for animal abuse here in Queensland and the man who was the partner of or supporter of the nutjob who neglected her dog (who was refused entry to the courthouse for violence) was basically standing in front of cameras frothing at the mouth telling them all he was going to eff them up good and proper. I doubt their questions were so evil they warranted threats of death. Anger just lives in that man just under the surface and anyone could be the target of his wrath over anything. That's just how some people exist unfortunately. If she told the police her situation they probably would've sorted something out for her but when they are dealing with a vicious DV murder their patience for a tantie over nothing is probably pretty low.

Slightly OT and I don't think it is a breed thing. Tempeh noses everything out of her way, even things that aren't really moveable like say my limbs while I'm sleeping. I put my make up and hair stuff on the bed after a shower so I can sit there and do my thing. While I'm drying myself she is over there pushing it all onto the floor with her nose. If a pillow or a blanket is in the way it gets nosed somewhere else. If a handbag is on the lounge it gets nosed off to the floor. She's even given herself a nose burn trying to get rid of the couch cover (which is actually attached to the couch!). Does anyone else's dog do this? She's my first noser and none of my pei fosters did it so I don't think it is breed related.

Shar pei - the health issues linked to the breed - entropian, shar pei fever, skin issues and allergies, vegemite ears. I've been incredibly lucky with my girl but I have friends who have pei with everything wrong. I feel for the dogs (who didn't ask to be bred) and for the owners.

Still no email so I'm assuming other arrangements were made? No worries!

I know Tempeh's has developed from boredom but there is just not a lot I can do about that at prsent. I hope when life returns to normal she no longer needs to whine and can just return to general talking as at least I could understand what she is saying then! Hopefully she and Stan will never meet and it wont become permanent! But thank you, it does make me feel good to know I'm not alone!

Tempeh (our pei) has always been a talker. Her vocabulary has been quite diverse and we can usually tell what she wants or how she is feeling by the sounds she makes. But lately she is just a non-stop whiner. I can't find a spot I like on the bed (whine), Wolf is blocking the doorway (whine), my breakfast is due in 5 minutes and you aren't already making it (whine), one of the dogs is still outside and you've shut the door (whine), it's treat time (whine), I'm cold (whine), my coat is falling off (whine), I can't go outside to pee because it is raining (whine), there is a dangerous dog eating gecko on the back window (whine), this dog bed is not clean enough for me to lie on (whine), this dog bed is not in the right place for me to lie on (whine), what are you doing behind that toilet door (whine). It is endless. I find myself looking at her and asking "What?" I wish it was the kind of noise that could be ignored but she is relentless and it gets irritating and under your skin. She is doing it because her routine has been in turmoil for the past two months and it is her only way of communicating her frustration to us. I do get that. Hopefully things in our life will settle again soon and she can go back to just being quirky rather than irritating. But make me feel better, tell me there are other whiners out there? What do they whine at you about?

I'm happy to call them and arrange a suitable and soon time to visit. I'm not working for the next couple of days so my time is pretty flexible. If you need it my email addy is little_gifts at optusnet dot com dot au

Just saw this. I could do it. Think I have done home checks for Denise before.

He is getting better looking as he gets older too! He looks so soft!

I have an Oztrail 3m x 3m. Just the basic model. I use it at markets and have to take it in and out of the car, drag it around, put it up and take it down by myself. I bought it last year at Big W and it was only $129. Bargain. Not even on special! If you do a youtube search you will find plenty of clips that explain how to put it up and take it down all by yourself. I have done so many, many times. The reason my old one broke on the frame was when some idiot man decided to 'help' me put it up and with my current one the only damage is to the canopy and that happened when my doofus sister 'helped' me too - she pinched the canopy in one of the folding arms. My only complaint is also with the bag. I like to leave the canopy on as it can be used on a weekly basis but of course you can't do the bag up again with it like that and it just flops to the ground. My bag is badly scraped because I also think the wheels and pouch are on the wrong side. Obviously these were only road tested by men during the developmental phase!