Little Gifts

Wow. Really? I've never been accused of that before. As for supporting rescues and small business I wasn't even aware till today that this applied to this business. Like most people I followed a link here on DOL, thought it sounded like a cool idea and spent my money (with a view to spending even more money spoiling my dogs if it worked out). I wasn't aware that a third of my money went to the post cost either (it wasn't mentioned anywhere). Nor was I aware of what to expect in the box (no pictures of Xmas boxes were provided). They made it sound all mysterious and exciting but for me it wasn't. So far I haven't seen a post by any other DOLer saying they'd be happy getting the same box for that price but feel free to ignore that and have a stab at what you think are my values.

Drewe and I had spoken by email before he posted on here (or at the same time really - his post came up when I posted mine explaining what I'd been told in the email). We've also had an email discussion since then as as well about a full or partial refund. I have acknowledged both the information he has sent and the refund offer privately. I did not respond to any of his posts as I felt he was entitled to have his say here too. So I wasn't being rude and ignoring what he had to say, I was allowing him the space to say it. I do appreciate what he has said and offered. I have expressed my disappointment. Their product is obviously not for me. I shared my experience on DOL because it was a recent thread on here where I found out about the product in the first place.

It was in a post bag (eparcel) and I guess they are paying a flat rate of postage on all they send out. Not sure of the overall weight but I figure it could be just under 500g. They are running a business so I don't expect them to hand deliver mine just because they live close by! I think their office base is further east from me.

I decided that I wanted to try the box and that is what they are offering and other customers are apparently happy with it but I'm not so it just means no more boxes for me. The dogs will love the treats and I have a bag of other toys to go to rescue so will just add the two in the box to it rather than have them immediately destroyed. Put it all down to a learning experience. Perhaps the boxes are good value for people who don't have access to pet shops or who only use boutique type outlets? They have offered me a refund because I am so disappointed and there is not much more I can expect them to do. But I appreciate your feedback confirming my thoughts/feelings. I guess us dog savvy peeps might have a different idea of what we consider good value. (I'm trying to put my first world problem into perspective!)

We had a foster pup (now foster failure) who used to do that. I decided it was time to stop when she got so tall she was actually able to lick my bum! Not a pleasant experience! I figured it was a pack grooming thing.

Yep, the treats are locally (QLD) made, which is good. And there was a postcard inside the box - it didn't look very Christmassy but it had a Christmas message on it. I got an email back from the company. It was pleasant enough but apparently Christmas goods are very expensive and the post of the box is $15. So basically a third of the value is in the delivery rather than the goods inside the box. They don't say that anywhere on the website. Plus I actually wasn't expecting Christmas themed goods, just value for money and dog size/age appropriate items would've been nice with maybe just a small Christmas themed treat or dress up item/toy. They could've stuck a Christmas sticker on the box to bling it up if they weren't putting them in actual themed boxes. The dogs will enjoy the treats but the toys will be destroyed in seconds so it makes them very expensive treats! I think I am also disappointed that I don't get to try out new product lines or suppliers by being a regular box subscriber.

So our Christmas Olly's Box arrived and I'm very sad to say but it is pathetic. I am very disappointed because I was hoping it was something we could do regularly to spoil our three dogs. And given it was a Christmas Box I did expect it to look Christmassy to stick under the tree but it is just in their normal pale blue box. I have expressed my disappointment to the company. Contents are: 1 x snowman with squeakers in hands and feet, 30cm high and very lightly stuffed (wont last a nano second with the dog I registered) 1 x small rubber and rope donut toy for small dogs and puppies (I registered a medium sized adult dog for the box) 1 x 235grams festive cookies 1 x small edible Christmas tree I'm happy if anyone wants to disagree with me but I can see an awfully exorbitant mark up on each of those items to make a $45 box seem good value.

I appreciate that staff can't always identify genuine and non-genuine surrenders but it seems they failed to follow their own processes - Scruffy's info wasn't in their system (or staff were lying to the family who called about him) and he didn't fulfil his waiting period, which I assume is there to assist people who may have erroneously surrendered their pets or who surrendered under duress or during an emergency and that has changed. How hard is it to follow the processes in place even if you can't mind read the clients? I really hope this family pursues LDH legally and makes them pay in some way for their failures to protect this poor dog. Nothing will change while they continue to get away with preventable crap like this.

Since her first experience with the cone of shame last year Tempeh's little pei ears now play up from time to time. Our vet gave us a bottle of Otoflush to put in for the cleaning out part (squirt in, squish the ear to distribute and stand back while they shake) and some Apex PMP drops for the infection (same application process). I don't know why but Temp HATES the otoflush. Maybe it is colder or the consistency is different? Ams taught me how to cotton bud a pei's ears but if the gunk is just on the outer part (after the otoflush) I just use a tissue or baby wipe to remove it. Tempeh runs if she says anything in my hands but I found the easiest time to do it was when she was eating. She stands still and gets a little confused about whether to eat or run but the food normally wins out and it is all done very quickly and without stress while she chews.

He looks very handsome!

I got enabled by a thread here on DOL and got our three a Christmas Box from here - http://www.ollysbox.com.au/ It wont arrive for another couple of weeks so I can't tell you what's in it just yet! If it is any good I might get the box that comes every three months. I think that is reasonable when we have several dogs who get to enjoy it. I'll have to think of something nice for my vets and the staff there. Mind you I've spent enough money there this year that one of them could've probably got a free (small) car out of it already!

What a lovely bubba!

Oh DDD I hear ya sista! Although your doggy problems have been going on longer than mine. Last night I left Tempeh's cone off for a smidge too long to discover she had removed all her facial scabs and they were all over my bed linen. Blerch. I'm not having nightmares but wake at the shake of a cone and am constantly pretzeling around one dog or another who needs soothing during the night. Of course with my sister's dog being so old I wake if I can't hear her breathing too (she sleeps with us in the air cond). At least our situation will hopefully all be better next week and life will go back to normal. Big hugs to you and the wet ones! XXX

In all my years living in QLD we've always managed without having to leave the dogs inside and the air cond on. My house and yard are generally pretty cool. But this year is such a shocker already that it just seems too steamy some days to even risk it. My air cond is set at 24 and I have a split system in one bedroom and the lounge/dining area. I leave both on low and it keeps the entire house cool. The dogs generally all sleep in my room with the air cond blowing over them. We are careful to keep lights and appliances off so I haven't even noticed a big jump in my bills. My main fear is a power outage while no-one is home so I do leave windows in the wet areas open so the dogs could go there and be safe before one of us got home. If Summer is much worse than this Spring them I'm moving to Tassie!

I bet Arthur looked at them and thought "I don't know where they are going but they look like they can use some help!".

Wonderful story! Arthur the Invincible!

Very funny! That dog was like SCORE!

I have mixed feelings about this. It takes a lot of time, energy and money to run a rescue. Yes she had a history of doing it well for a while but when things go wrong they go really, really wrong and animals suffer. They don't deserve that. Where were all those local community supporters before? She could've used their help at least keeping the place sanitary. I hope they continue to support her and the animals now or she needs to stop rescuing. I actually think 60 is still a lot of animals to be caring for if she isn't running her rescue as a break even business with staff on the payroll. As for releasing cats outside the shelter that is really wrong and if it is/has happened shame on her. She is undoing any good work she may have achieved and if she has reduced to 'saving' animals using that technique then she needs to stop now because she is doing more harm than good in the long run.

I don't think it should be age based at all and would add that if a large dog was being walked by a frail elderly person the risk is going to be similar. If a child, adult, elderly person has the strength, knowledge, reflexes and expertise to control their dog under a range of circumstances in public and in private then they have what is required to handle it under normal circumstances in public. Unfortunately we can't always rely on how well trained a strange dog is and we can't control our external environment so have to be prepared to respond to some unknowns as well as accept personal realities and physical limitations. As for the obedience club and child handlers I guess I would consider it a suitable/controlled environment for kids to learn more about being a good dog owner/handler. But out in public I still think there is an unnessecary risk in some instances. Even if it was a SWF how is a child going to safely save it from an attack? If an adult is supervising it must be controlled supervising. You wouldn't teach your child to drive while sitting in the back seat where you couldn't reach the steering wheel or pull the hand brake on. Common sense stuff.

Simple way of dealing with this is the adult has a longer leash on the dog while the child has the shorter leash. I do think it is important for kids to learn responsible pet ownership but the adult owner couldn't safely supervise this situation when he had no real control over the dog. What could he have done if the opposite happened and a loose dog attacked his dog? The son could've been in a very dangerous position. If his dog had've run off unexpectedly the son could've been dragged along the ground behind it. Better not to take the risk and put the dog and son in a position of failing. Very sorry you have this experience.

We have three odd ducks - shar pei, SBT and husky/shep cross. I wouldn't say they are best friends but they do everything together (except sleep) and play hard! They certainly consider themselves a pack - if one goes on an outing without the others it does not go down well! And they each have different strengths and weaknesses but as a collective they rely on and support each other. They even interact with us humans differently so there is no real competition and everyone has a place here. Us humans could learn a lot from dogs about acceptance!

I just realised today that my neighbours have gone off on one of their regular jaunts and left their chi home alone in this heat. They usually have a family member come by once a day to feed it. It is an outside dog with a car port to shelter in. It has barked incessantly all day yesterday and today. I've been over to check and can see several small buckets with water in the bottom so it has water but I am worried about it overheating with all the barking. Think I might ring the council about it and they can do a check. I know their son lives close by. They are generally crappy owners and I dislike the dog immensely but certainly don't want it suffering unnessecarily.

I'd love to have paw print shaped muffins for brekky every day!

I'm in Beenleigh Taliecat so am getting the same temps as you. I have air cond though and it is on in both areas which keep the entire house bearable. We had work and I had a show yesterday and last night so all three dogs stayed inside with the air cond for company. I did panic a little that we wouldn't have a power outage and had mum on standby in case it did. Unfortunately the theatre where we did our show lost it's air cond. Cast and crew struggled through with fans and water but we lost some of the audience. I also heard there were a lot of people stuck on the motorway because of G20 traffic issues. This kind of thing always happens on those horribly hot days! I see a storm is brewing outside right now so hopefully it will cool off this arvo. YAY!

A very sensible finding. Thank you for the link.