Little Gifts

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.

Thanks for the response Erny! It came from Mudbrick Cottage Herb Farm which is not far from me. I was planning on buying from Steve but we happened to see the farm while driving home from somewhere else, stopped off to buy herb plants for my sister's little garden and I grabbed a bag of the dried while I was there. I think they have been growers for many years and are organic. I also think it is weird because I was washing her in it before with no problems but even the cream my vet made up specifically for wounds caused a bad reaction and we have been using her creams here since Temp was a puppy. I'm personally very disappointed but we still have two other dogs we will be using it on. The vet feels it is a contact allergy and actually identified areas of rash on her feet. I'd say she scratches with the feet that have touched what she is allergic too and she spreads it that way to other areas of her body. She is back on antibiotics and cortisone and it has all reduced immediately. I've been working my way around the yard struggling to find what might be causing it, just cutting away anything that droops now (ground covers were already removed). I fear it might just be grass. I can't picture me being able to get her to wear booties whenever she is outside so it does worry me a little. And I talked to the vet about DNA and thyroid testing and he felt the contact allergy was fairly evident and to pursue that at this point. I will of course keep pursuing the cause because I can't stand to see her so uncomfortable. She's been a totally different dog again since her itchies have eased.

They aren't going to ban the sale of rescue dogs from approved rescue facilities in the lovely shop window, but only dogs bred for profit? You either ban one or all I say… What the hell? Do you know anything about rescue? Very few rescue groups make a profit (maybe only the RSPCA?). Very few have dogs sitting in a shop window either (I personally don't know of any groups who have shop fronts - most dogs live with foster carers or maybe at the shelter till rehomed). Most are lucky to cover the cost of the dogs that come through their door because the majority need medical and behavioural help. And rescue wouldn't exist if existing legislation was actively reducing the number of unwanted dogs - dogs bred by backyard breeders, puppy farmers, oops litters and yes, registered breeders.* I agree with others that this proposal still fails to address the real issue of puppy farmers but don't go flinging your anger at other innocent parties. *Edited to add - I am a supporter of good registered breeders but we all know the reality is some pure bred dogs still end up in rescue that were bred by 'registered' breeders because registration and meeting council requirements don't necessarily equate to ethical breeding standards.

That would've been a very enlightening conversation. Wish I could've been a fly on the wall!

We are back to square one and a body covered in raw skin now. Her skin has just been flaring and settling in a really random way over the past three weeks. I've been through the yard and nothing. Changed all her linens and even tried to distract from the scratching and chewing in case some of it is habitual. Waiting to see the vet again this arvo. And the saddest part is the calendula rinse and cream (which my vet makes up) exacerbate it. I will still be able to use it on the other dogs but it was such a great option for Tempeh that I'm bummed she is now reacting badly to it. She had such a bad reaction to her rinse last week that she was scratching the top of her head, side of her face and ears - all places that have not been affected by the allergy. Prior to that I'd gone back to Maleseb and she was fine but wanted to check and make sure I wasn't just imagining the calendula reactions. I've used the cream on her since she was a pup and it certainly wasn't always like this. And I will be talking to my vet about potential thyroid issues as maybe it started out as one thing that was really masking something else? All a bit sad as I hate seeing her so uncomfortable. Erny - in a previous post you also suggested getting a hair DNA test done. What would be the purpose of that in relation to an allergy? What would it be looking for? I don't really understand how these tests work is all. Thank you!

Awww, that is amazing news! Good on you Dogmad for bringing her to this point in her new life!

Tempeh is obsessed with geckos and they have just started appearing on the window behind the lounge I sit on at night. She perches herself on the thin back ledge of the couch (like Nova on the windowsill!) gnashing her teeth on the glass to try and grab them. The glass is already covered in nose art and slag. She falls off quite a bit during her desperate efforts to protect me from these prehistoric predators (my head and body softens her fall). I must get a photo as she looks possessed while I am clearly terrified for my organs. The geckos don't give a toss.

I may have been lucky in that I grew up in a family who liked the look of certain breeds of dog and cat and the only place you could buy them when I was a kid was from a breeder. But they were only ever treated as pets. Same with when we had our big farm - dad had the money to buy a certain quality of stock and did the same with our farm dogs. Ours were sourced from a good line of working dogs (not sure if they were papered though). We also took in strays and bitsas that needed homes, but anything we bought was always from a known breeder. Once I hit independence all my pets have been rescue and that has kind of filtered through to the rest of my family now. I do have a couple of breeds on my bucket list that I might one day research and purchase from a good breeder but in the interim there are so many amazing rescue dogs out there that I will probably keep my house full of furry critters from that avenue. But if a friend or acquaintance is talking of getting a certain breed of dog I would readily encourage them to find a good breeder because I think so many people misunderstand why registered breeders even exist. You wouldn't buy a Louis Vitton handbag at Crazy Clark's and you'd certainly be dubious of paying thousands of dollars for it if you did see one there, so I really wish we could get the word through to people about pet shops. In the case of exorbitantly priced pet shop puppies you don't get what you pay for. But you do get a 'sucker' stamp for your forehead.

This is an old Peiradise photo from that event that I still love. Booth was a bit of a fail for obvious reasons.....

Thank you Starkehre - I'm also very impressed by Seven! I don't think I've ever seen a Rottweiler herding, you are very talented and dedicated and giving Seven a wonderful and interesting life! Congratulations on being recognised for all your hard work to get to this stage. Same here Dogmad, if someone asked me what kind of dogs make good herders this is not a breed I would even think of including! Starkehre you have every right to be very proud!

Why did no-one tell me about this great product before? I've only been living with the Automatic Kitchen Floor Vacuum, which is also quite brilliant because it means the floor in that area is always sparkly clean when visitors pop over! But now I want a hot plate cleaner and a pre-rinse option too!

I was worried how my two dogs would go when we moved from acreage to suburbia and one of them couldn't care less and the other was actually a lot calmer in a confined environment (he had sep anxiety and lots of noise fears). It's also surprising how much wildlife can be in a suburban yard so the one who spent all her time with the chickens and geese had possums, blue tongues and plenty of native birds to keep her amused. I'm sure they missed long walks chasing rabbits, eating horse hoof off cuts and rolling in manure but our closest park has lots of other exciting smells that we replaced it with.

I can't agree with your thinking. It is not a vets responsibility to rehome or rescue but it is a vets responsibility to be an expert and advocate for the animal and present whatever options might be available. If a dog comes in with a severely broken leg the vet could present a couple of options which might include xrays, a cast, surgery to repair, surgery to remove, or euth if after discussion with the owner it becomes clear money and rehabilitation are going to be an issue. It is then up to the owner to decide which option they want to choose. I think vets have an extremely important but difficult job, constantly having to balance medical possibilities with the quality of life for the animal (who unlike people can't speak out and contribute to discussions about their care), expectations of the owners and cost. I don't think most of us expect vets to rescue and rehome but is it really so difficult to present surrendering to a known rescue group as an option for a young dog like this? Several vet clinics I know keep a list of resources like this behind the counter and the task is handed over to reception staff or vet nurses to share with the owner, leaving the vet free to keep consulting. Blackdogs I'm so sorry you were chastised for advocating other options for this dog. I guess the business values of that particular practice might not match your own, which is a bit soul destroying to discover.

I've been there the past two years with Peiradise so it might feel weird going down this year and being able to wander around and look at stuff! If I make it I'll come and say Hi Rumour. I've missed all the events in previous years and really wanted to see the dock diving!

Wasn't there a vet in the US earlier this year or late last year that was keeping dogs alive for the purpose of being blood donors and what have you? From memory the dogs had been brought in for pts. Slightly different scenario as some of the dogs need to be pts due to health issues, but lying to an owner about not being willing to follow their instructions is not acceptable and is bound to be discovered at some point. Humans suck!!!!!!

Oh that is cute! I can't run either so will be singing that from now on! I wonder if it is like T's camp dog Pickles who has neurological issues?

Some people have no clue about natural canine instincts. A young excitable dog getting into a guinea pig pen does not equate to an aggressive dog. I hope the vet can talk the owner into contacting the breeder about other options for this dog or surrendering it to a breed specific group where it can go to a home where it's needs are better understood. I can't stand the thought of yet another innocent dog losing its life as a result of a bad owner.

Love the cat! *FAIL* And Poppy's position is just plain weird! Maybe it gives her a back end stretch out or something? One of mine cannot lay on a flat surface - it is psychologically impossible for her. The more obstacles and angles to drape on the better. She also likes her snout buried in stuff - no idea how she breathes.

Loved it! Good on you!