Little Gifts

I have an SBT girl with the same problem. I started making my own toys (tugs, pom pom balls and squeaky bones) on the basis I knew they wouldn't last long. but her real weakness is stuffing. I discovered the Hollee Mollee ball by JW and I stuff it with stuffing and bits of fleece fabric and she gets it between her paws and disembowels it with joy! The ball itself is still in pristine condition after a year and after she unstuffs it I just pick the mess up and stuff it back in and put the ball away until next time. We have a few of the JW toys here and the other she likes makes a crunchy sound - it has a plastic water bottle kind of material inside. She has chewed holes in the fabric that covers it but hasn't managed to puncture the plastic stuff and has fun chewing it. The other toy that has lasted quite well is a long lycra plait with a ball on the end that hangs from the clothes line. We go outside and fling it in the air and she grabs it and takes the clothesline for a spin till she gets tired. Because it isn't on the ground she doesn't chew it, just grabs and holds onto it with her teeth. Empty toilet rolls are an ongoing chewing favourite and don't really cost anything!

I had a dog for almost 16 years and she never appeared in my dreams once while she was alive. I put her to sleep just shy of her 17th birthday a couple of years ago. Then she started turning up in my dreams and it was always some kind of disaster scene with me searching and her disappearing out of view. She always seemed quite calm while I was the one having a meltdown. It actually stopped when we got our first foster dog again (we'd had a long break because of her age). My remaining anxiety over her is that I have never been confident that I put her down at the right time. I think she could've continued on at the same health level for a few more months and maybe I jumped the gun a little for my own sake. There are some things like this we just have to live with because even though others tell me I managed her health issues far longer than other people may have that doesn't quiet my own doubts. My old girl is still everywhere in this house. My current dogs wear her coats in winter. Her tags and silly things like stray whiskers and toenail clippings are in a little container behind me. The socks she used to wear, her collar (all unwashed) are stored with all the other dog gear. Her art work is in my lounge room and photos of her at different ages are on the bookshelves. I still remember how she looked, particularly at the end with all her lumps and bumps and grey hairs. I don't miss her snoring or farts next to my head on the bed but I still remember them. I guess the intensity of the emotion settles but you certainly don't forget. Actually all the silly stuff is what I think about now and it makes me smile. She was one of a kind. Hopefully you will get there too when your heart is ready. She gave you everything she had while she was here to try and keep you topped up for the time after she was gone. I'm sure she wouldn't want you to crumble without her. The legacy any good dog wishes to leave behind is love. So as long as she is in your heart and memories she is never really as far away as you think.

Your two are very cute and not at all spoilt!

I re-read all the info relating to thyroid and my girl doesn't seem to have a lot of the things that might point to it being a problem but getting a test done by the person in America suggested is definitely something I will keep in mind. Because of her breed I have always been really careful with her diet and it has never really changed in the almost two years she has lived here but that doesn't mean she hasn't developed an allergy to some element of it or they could've changed a component in the kibble for all I really know. Thank you for the feedback on your calendula experiences. I just want to keep my mind open to what might be effecting her and what is helping her and at the moment I'm confused. I hate seeing her in discomfort.

I'm so happy for her!

Good to know Dogmad!

Besides trying some Whiska's Jellymeat when I was a teenager to see why our family cat loved it so much I am kind of strange about keeping dog and human stuff separate. But a few weeks back I was so cold I heated up both of the snuggle safes and crawled into bed, one clutched to my chest and the other between my feet. It was heaven!

Yonjuro how do you work out the sizes? Is it the back length?

Dear Erny and Steve, Have either of you heard of a dog allergic to calendula or developing an allergy to it? Tempeh (shar pei) developed some severe itchies out of the blue the day after her last rinse a month ago and she smelt funny too. I took her to the vet fearing mange it was that bad - between her toes even and her paws looked almost burnt. I did the rinse with her standing on the grass but on a towel. Our other two dogs were rinsed with the same batch and on the same towel. I also use calendula cream (that my vet makes up) on any wounds created from the scratching. At first it seems to soothe the area but the next day it looks much worse and is back to itching again. She has been to the vet and is still on medication and we are still having breakthrough rashes (and I have still been putting calendula cream on the worst of it). We have been through the yard with a fine tooth comb and have restricted her diet. I don't feel like we are even close to identifying the cause. She seems to become quite itchy during the night while she's sleeping. Her red areas get all hot and sweaty and she starts scratching as soon as she wakes up. Because I'm not sure of the cause (and obviously we have a ways to go to work it out) I'm just wondering if I should be steering clear of the calendula too? Very sad if we have to go back to malaseb baths. And even though she is a shar pei we have never had any skin problems before. Thank you!

Has any rescue org ever made a complaint to the RSPCA about the condition of a surrendered dog? Obviously you wouldn't also want to have to surrender that dog to the RSPCA to make a complaint stick but honestly, what is ever going to change unless we start naming and shaming people like this? She should know better because of her job and deserves whatever humiliation comes her way. I'd be more than happy to see people like that burdened with fines that stop them from ever owning an animal again. It's like letting a child abuser work in a kindergarten. This kind of treatment of an animal is unacceptable and we can bitch away here about it but she is free to go on and get another animal and do the same again. Even the other staff at her vet's deserve a good slap for not intervening on that innocent animal's behalf.

I've was going to make something similar last year for one of the rescue pei with skin issues. I'd bought some lightweight, slightly stretchy fabric that is wicking and anti-bacterial (the kind they make sporting t-shirts out of). So it suits hot and cold climates. The aim for wearing it is to allow the skin to heal without it being scratched and having more wounds created, so while it might feel a tad weird, you would hope it is a short term thing and once their skin starts to settle it would all be feeling a whole lot better. I can imagine it also being useful for dogs with stitches during the night time. You put them to bed with it on and hopefully they don't get up to any mischief while you sleep!

Going back a few years now but my partner at that time and I were camped by ourselves on Fraser - we'd both been there several times before but had always camped with a group. He was down at the water fishing on this occasion and I could see him from our camp and went to walk down but I kept getting herded by three dingoes back into an open enclosure in the scrub. It was an overcast day and around three in the afternoon. This was not my first experience around wild dingoes. I had to keep doing a kind of backwards sideways walk till I got back to my own camp area and got into the 4WD. I stayed there till my partner came back because I had no idea if the dingoes were still hiding in the scrub around our camp. It was really creepy and scary. Their eyes were so focussed on me and it all felt so predatory. We stayed contained in our tent that night.

I've always felt that a group sleep-a-thon is nothing more to a dog than the pack sleeping together as they would in the wild. My two have specific spots they like to sleep in (as do I). I know that Tempeh always wants a spot that gives her full view of the room as she considers herself the advance guard. Fine by me. But if my sister's dog ever gets up and joins us the youngest one always moves and lets her sleep where she chooses, which tells me she is respecting pack order. If the weather is cold mine snuggle into me and each other, but they are still in their basic spots on the bed. I also like being able to reach out during the night and feel their furry bodies. I like having bed buddies!

Gosh I wish I knew about these years back! My dad loves to make things with wood and he would've come up with some crackers but his vision is so poor now (legally blind) that the workmanship has suffered. Plus his colour palette is a bit special. Yes, apparently bright orange goes with everything!

I think about this too, particularly the difference between how we treated dogs and how they acted when I was a kid compared to now. When did it all change? There are two things I often think about in regards to my own dogs now. The first is labelling them for their entire lives as rescue dogs. After a couple of years with me surely they have earned a release from that status. And secondly is their behaviour - what is good, what is bad and what is simply them. I actually like a dog with personality. As wonderful as it is to house sit for someone with perfect canine specimens I really do love the naughty things my dogs do, their quirks and crazy behaviours. I don't want perfection so have to accept some unpredictability comes with that. I know I have failed in some aspects as their trainer - no perfect recall and 'stay' seems to be an optional command. And other things seem to just be them - one gets over excited by lots of things and gets crazy face and one has no interest in meeting new dogs or humans and has reduced her own social circle over time. One eats things she shouldn't and one is eating my whole hand as I type this. One is constantly by my side like one of those fish that stick to sharks and the other has her own regime regarding when and how she engages. So? Isn't that what owning living things is all about, just enjoying their individuality? I put a lot of effort into minimising any harm they or others might suffer as a result of their quirks (and lack of obedience in some areas). They seem happy. I'm happy. None of us are perfect. Is it really that bad if we aren't causing harm amongst ourselves or to each other? Having started a behavioural advice thread only recently though I am always very grateful for the knowledge and willingness to share here in DOL. We used several of the things suggested in that thread and have seen positive changes. I look at the advice as coming under the category of harm - if harm is happening to the dog, or by the dog to humans and other dogs then something urgent needs to be done. There has to be harmony (even if there is no perfection!).

How exciting Nelson! Congratulations old chap!

Welcome Miss Jesse! I hope you and Jonah and CT will be very happy together!

I suspect it could only be monitored by the police being informed by a member of the public that the offender had a new animal in their possession. Or if they were in trouble with the police for another offence and they did a home search it would be identified.

Happy Birthday Mac! I'm glad you have been thoroughly spoilt!

There is clear evidence between animal abuse and human abuse. A $900 fine is zip deterrant for future crimes on the general public (or on other animals) by this guy and all the other maniacs in waiting out there. I watch a lot of those animal cops shows from America and it seems that so few of them result in any charges being laid. Yes there are physical and mental health issues and plain old ignorance that results in a lot of animals being neglected but SO WHAT! At the very least these people should be stopped from owning any animals in the future until they prove themselves fit for the task. And regardless of their income they should have to pay treatment costs (even if they have to pay it off over years) so they understand the financial burden of owning an animal. I'm getting tired of all the excuses because the situation is not getting any better for all these animals.

So much for fact checking articles when they can't even get the names right! And so much for non-biased reporting. I hope most SMH readers understand if you have a high ownership rate of a certain breed then you will also have a high representation of that breed in any studies.

I once had a dog go suddenly lame and he had constipation. From memory the compaction was pressing on a nerve making it difficult for him to walk. The vet fed him Pal and got that poo out and he was fine again. So I hope it is something quickly fixable but he must see the vet.

This. If I took any of my dogs into my vet with even slightly overgrown dew claws she goes mad at me! How the hell this vet nurse can get away with rotting teeth is beyond me! Ask her how she would feel if she had unattended dental decay, nits and dirty hair next time she calls so worried about her precious dog! I watched a show last night about a lady who runs a cat sanctuary and rescue in LA. She has almost 800 cats at her rescue and her local pound puts down 200 cats a day so obviously the situation is uber crappy. She gets people who call wanting to surrender cats and kittens multiple times a day and she berates them endlessly about their animal ownership stupidity and neglect. She gets real personal and hangs up on them too. She does take whatever they want to dump and offers to free desex any cat they choose to keep but she makes them suffer her anger and dislike for it. I was cheering for her.

I admit to opening my front window curtains as far as I can every morning only so Tempeh can sleep on my bed with the winter sun on her!

I think it is at least worth trialling and it is a very green approach to addressing the problem too.