Little Gifts

This statement by Ms Herrero-Lopez worried me most given they are/were a no kill rescue: "It simply cannot be helped that the dogs have to spend a large part of their time caged in runs and lack of exercise and stimulation can cause all sorts of problems for dogs, one of these being a lot more energy to bark," she said. It's why I prefer home based fostering over a shelter. If a dog is in care in a shelter for an extended period of time that is it's life and it is one that does not mimic the life it would lead with a family. If the rescue group has a low staff and volunteer to rescue dog ratio that dog gets even less human interaction, exercise and stimulation than it deserves to be rehabilitated so it can make a good family pet. Vicious cycle.

I just saw this. Oh dear! Poor Danny. I hope they can come up with a medical or treatment option so he can keep his food and meds down. Hugs to you both. XXX

Julie I got several similar sized packages in the mail today. Tempeh thinks it is her job to sniff test/inspect all our mail so I held the packages out and she was turning them over with her nose then got near yours and pulled an hilarious face so I immediately knew it must be from you! Will absorb the intructions, apply and let you know the outcome. Thank you so much for going to the effort! I can't bear Temp being an itchy girl and we have just finished her last lot of meds (yard has been gone through again and shrubs have now been trimmed up high) so I am waiting to see if the allergy reappears. Here is an odd question for you. Is it possible, for whatever reason, that she has gone from a dog with no allergies to one who has developed an allergy to a certain genus of plant or just flowering plants? I only ask because I am pretty confident she had a bad response to some cal cream from my vet (who makes it from scratch) as her first real allergic response going back earlier in the year and I just thought maybe the cream had expired. Since then she has clearly gotten uncomfortable if I've used the cream or the tea rinse and she has developed and had ongoing contact allergy problems with what we assume is something or multiple things in the back yard. If I can track down what type of plant or the part of a plant (if it is multiples) then it might be easier to keep her allergy free, including with any external products I use on her. Right now our whole garden looks massacred and I haven't walked her outside the yard anywhere but on bitumen or concrete for months.

It's actually white and the rest is mint green. But it was done 14 years ago now and I still haven't done the rest of the renovations so it all looks sad and ugly.

When I first moved into this house there was no door on the laundry (which is just off the kitchen) and that's where the dog's slept. Because I was planning on a much bigger reno job when I had the extra money, Dad came up with a half door idea which just slides into place. It also meant more air flow to the laundry, if they needed to come out for a pee I just slid it up a fraction and if I needed to check on them I just had to look over the top. I painted it to match the walls and trim. As my current dogs all sleep on my bed it is no longer used and sits beside the dog cupboard in the laundry. But if I did ever have to contain a dog it is quick to slide back into place.

Look at her now! You've done a great job!

My oldest was just shy of 17 but I've also met an 18 year old who didn't look their age at all! It is so hard with an oldie that you have had for most of its life because they have shared so many years and experiences with you. All those Christmases and birthdays. All that photo bombing. All the funny stories and the tears - they have been right by your side. They are everywhere in your memories. I even had that old girl for longer than any of my relationships have lasted!

Spotlight has a few dog themed cottons - mostly quilting fabrics. I've bought some with a black background and another with a white background. I saw both in my local Spotty only yesterday so they must be a regular line.

A back yard breeder for me is someone who breeds dogs to sell and those dogs are not registered pedigrees - there is no public record of their lineage. They may not breed many litters so differ from a puppy farmer in that sense but they aren't breeding to better the breed either. And these are planned or hoped for litters, not oops litters because someone didn't keep their bitch contained adequately. The 'back yard' could be a suburban property or a rural one and it could have adequate breeding facilities or none and it could be council approved or not. Approving the facilities (in my eyes) does not equate to a quality end product (dog) because raising a sound dog requires more than good housing. I know you have mentioned you meet council requirements but I didn't read anywhere that you were a registered breeder of a specific breed. Apologies if I have overlooked this. I am also aware that some good working dogs are not coming from registered breeders and dogs and I'd be interested in hearing more about that if that is your situation. Again, genuine questions to help me understand another side of things as I can see you are quite passionate about what you are doing and how you are doing it. I know a lot of working dogs end up in rescue too for a variety of reasons and if they are genuine working dogs then they need to go to the right homes to fulfil their purpose, which limits their adoption options. It probably also limits their fostering options. In a perfect world I'd like to see a re-balance of the numbers so less unwanted dogs of any breed exist. I don't think that will change until breeding and buying happens on a more conscious level.

The problem is multi-faceted. If a farmer was breeding beef cattle for the meat market they would be doing everything they could to maximise the value of their product - good feed, healthy accom, worming. Handling is not really an issue given their ultimate purpose but a healthy and heavy specimen is so that money is maximised at slaughter. If a farmer/breeder was raising horses for the racing industry then to achieve maximum value they would spend money on quality feed, quality accom, medical care, training, exercise and subject it to different sensory experiences and lots of handling. That horse has to look good, run fast and handle well, which all comes back to nutrition and training, otherwise no-one would buy it or race it and it becomes a liability. But dogs sold by puppy farmers only need to be young and cute. Even on basic nutrition, minimal comfort and no human interaction it is the mother dog that does all the work in those first few weeks. Those puppy farmers know most buyers don't buy based on health or socialisation. There is even a percentage of the population that would buy a sick and scared puppy simply because it tugs at their heartstrings. I really hate to think how little money is spent on raising a puppy before it is ready to make a puppy farmer hundreds of dollars in easy cash. And because they have connected with that gorgeous little puppy most new owners wouldn't dream of returning it if it got sick or if it grew to be HA, DA, had anxiety or was destructive. They might take it to puppy school because that's fun. And if the novelty hadn't worn off they might also take it to more advanced training to gain some control over it. But that cute puppy that is all wrong for the family or who they don't have the time for or their life circumstances change, well when it is an uncontrollable teenager and no longer cute and fun it might escape from the yard and end up in the pound one too many times for them to reclaim or they might decide to surrender it because they got another dog to be its friend and they like the new one much better or they moved house, had a baby, went travelling, etc, etc, etc. It is a vicious cycle of demand and supply and humans making money while dogs suffer. So many beautiful dogs being pts every single day in this country all because there are humans who exhibit no restraint and take no responsibility for the part they play in continuing the cycle. So Karentrimbo I would ask you honestly why do you really breed one litter of puppies a year? What is your intention for those dogs and are you successfully raising them to meet their intended purpose? Why raise puppies to give to friends when there are already hundreds of unwanted puppies out there being put to sleep? Is there something special about your dogs or the way you raise them? Or do you feel that just one litter a year doesn't have a bigger impact? These are genuine questions - I'd like an understanding of why a 'back yard breeder' (ie not a registered breeder and using the term in a very loose sense there given I appreciate you are meeting council requirements and are not producing a high volume) continue to breed their dogs?

We have a husky/shep cross and I just use a heavily saturated sponge and the stocking with the soggy flowers and sort of squeeze them onto her coat until she is wet. We have one of those rectangular tubs you would use as your camp washing up bucket. It is usually half filled and just a handful off the dried flowers does 2 medium (short coats) and 1 long haired dog. We do the long haired last and pour any leftovers onto her. Steve, Tempeh and I will be very excited to try the new brew and report back on how it goes.

Did they eat at Slim Jim's afterwards?

Congrats Bazy!

Julie I think numbers matter from the perspective of how many people their are to care for them appropriately but for me it still all boils down to the fact that a farm approach to breeding sound companion animals simply does not work. You could have one breeding bitch and still raise puppies with health issues and no socialisation if they are all stuck in an insanitary shed out the back with no human contact. I just don't understand how the powers that be can't make a link between the purpose of dog and how it is bred and raised. They seem to be able to do it with livestock and chickens (your traditional farm animals) but keep skirting around the real issue for dogs (and probably cats and other small furries). And I hate that there are human beings out there who can look at a dog and see dollar signs while ignoring their cries and discomfort. I just don't understand it. Even more I hate all the lies and the system manipulation they use to keep ruining good dogs lives.

Tempeh seems to know the time, day and night and regardless of the season. Initially breakfast had to be no later than 7am and dinner no later than 5.30pm. But we introduced a late night snack at 11pm and breakfast can now go as late as 8am. Half an hour before breakfast and dinner are due Tempeh will be stuck to me like glue and as the minutes tick down she does everything she can to ensure I don't forget, particularly if I am on the computer just before dinner. Same with the late night snack. She can be fast asleep on my bed and all of a sudden turn up in the lounge room and sit in front of us just prior to 11pm. I figure she might be able to work out the breakfast and dinner times based on sunrise and sunset but how does she know 11pm? We don't watch the same tv show or make cups of tea at certain times every night so there is no routine to go by based on us. And Stussy seems to know Sunday's too. Every Sunday as a treat I take her with me to the paper shop while the other dogs stay home. I wear the same clothes I might for a walk (change in my pocket) but instead of heading out the front pathway she knows Sunday means we turn left and head to the car.

She is just one of those doggies that comes with a little extra cuteness and personality! Happy Gotcha Day Neko!!!!!

I'm so sorry Powerlegs. My heart girl here (a dog) has astounded me with how much she helped the fosters. Some animals are just so patient and giving in nature. They give so much it is hard to imagine life without them. Run free now Malmsteen. XXX

Good on you for making such an effort to keep your dogs safe and engaged on their own property! You've put a lot of hard work in! Do you have any trees where you could put a dangle/swing from (if your dogs were into such things of course). I'd tie it up high when you weren't at home. We have one hanging from our clothes line that is simply a really long lycra plait with a ball on the end for them to bite onto and tug. It has stretched out and they no longer get 'air' when they swing.

What a lovely gesture Gruf!

Apologies Mita. I really thought the RSPCA had one national piece of legislation because they are a national body. I was sure I'd even read the legislation maybe only last year? Don't have time to look it up now but I will. Makes me wonder though why they themselves haven't sought legislative changes to enable them to protect more effectively? The whole socialisation issue is why companion animals should not be 'farmed' at all. Dogs are not like cows or sheep or pigs or chickens that you can stick in a pen or a field and let them do their thing. A knowledgeable farmer would not raise a foal destined for riding or racing without it being handled and trained because they know it would not have the right kind of temperament for the purpose and no-one would buy it. But because people willingly pay good money for a cute puppy, puppy farmers have worked out that they don't need to worry about socialisation. A cute face and maybe a bath and they good to go. The rest will be the new owner's problem. Mita, do you think the RSPCA has a role to play in public education? I could see tv ads being so valuable - something catchy that kids will remember too. Even some ads about how much it can cost to raise an animal might make some think twice. I think the RSPCA are better known across the general public than CHOICE and people seem to be so visually orientated today that I can imagine an ad having more impact than reading some guidelines.

Tempeh is having some horse sized tablets at present and she inhales hers because of what I stick them in. I get a whole uncooked chicken every week. I cut the breasts off and keep it for us humans. Then I boil up the remainder and use the stock and meat to make a couple of other meals for the humans. With the leftovers I add more water and a whole lot of rice and boil it into a big mush. Once cooled I very carefully pick out all the bones and what we are left with is a chicken mush - the broth and rice turn into a big sort of jelly mix. Even the big tablets inside a chicken mush ball get inhaled without question. I used to use peanut butter but she could always smell the tablet over the yummy stuff and after a couple of days wasn't willing to play the game. But cooked chicken and rice smells continue to overcome any suspicion she has.

We went for our usual drive to the shop to get the Sunday paper. Because it was warm I bought a raspberry slushie for myself. As I was turning out of the shops I heard suspicious licking beside me. Stussy quenched her thirst on my slushie about five times on the way home and I let her. I figured she already germed the top with the first lick anyway.

I buy my SBT girl a bag of stuffed toys from the op shops every couple of months for the specific purpose of disembowelling. My only rule is that the stuffed toys must not look like real animals.

Every time there is a story about a puppy farmer and the pictures show matted dogs living in their own faeces I want to throttle the RSPCA. They already have national laws to protect all creatures great and small. If puppy farms and back yard breeders are going to continue to exist then instead of making new laws (that can cost millions to implement and millions more to police) why not use the ones we already have to protect the animals making money for these people? I'm sure the RSPCA knows where many of them are already and if they were out there protecting those animals who are potentially in the most vulnerable of positions - being used to make someone money rather than living in a companion capacity, then perhaps new laws that miss the point would not even be considered necessary. Perhaps they could even spend some money on educational programs advising the general public on how best to choose and raise a healthy a companion animal regardless of where they source it from. How do they keep getting away with not doing their job???? BYB and puppy farmed dogs are always going to be at higher risk of harm or neglect because of how they are raised and because the numbers of dogs produced in this category are higher there also has to be a co-relation with the numbers ending up in pounds, shelters and rescues. Basic common sense that most of us seem to get. So why do the RSPCA seemingly do nothing to enforce adequate care of these animals on an ongoing basis? Instead they prefer to do a big raid, show pictures of something that used to look like a dog, call on the public for assistance to cover their stretched resources (ie money) and still put most of those dogs down (blaming it on the puppy farmer). As with most animal welfare solutions it is again the animals who suffer the most from these 'efforts'. If all the checks and balances were occurring at these regulated premises then how do breeding bitches end up being subjected to years of neglect and abuse? That is in effect saying that not one enforcing officer or unbiased person (vet, member of the public) saw that dog for years. How is that actually even possible if the premises are meeting their lawful requirements as a business????

I must confess, I often rest things on my dogs bodies and heads just for the fun of it. Never taken a photo though. I really must keep my camera or phone more handy.