Little Gifts

Dougal's probably already sent word out that there is a cool home needing a new pair of whiskers....

You can also use bum bags and fishing waist tackle bags. I have an expensive doggy one and I also have a couple of the fishing ones that I got from Aldi for a quarter of the price and the Aldi ones get used more frequently. You can get bum bags a lot cheaper in bulk, in different configurations, sizes (for big bellies)and colours. The ones I have linked to are under $10 each and you can also get printing done on them. http://www.promotionalbags.com.au/travel-bags/team-fanny-pack.htm

I have a soft spot for the Ginga Ninjas. I had an old boy called Alby who had the same colouring and personality. Some cats just have the best personalities and Dougal is one of them. Rest easy Dougal and love life at the Rainbow Bridge as much as you did here.

This is what I'd put in the craft thread, although I have since purchased and used McCalls pattern M5410 (because it was easier to cut out a pattern than crawl around the floor measuring out all those ties!). In the craft thread I've also added info on a pattern for no sew dog coats so if anyone gets hold of some cheap fleece blankets at the winter sales or op shops they should get two coats out of a normal sized blanket to suit a medium sized dog. There are always sales on patterns at Spotlight. I think I got all my doggy patterns for $2.50 each. If anyone is looking for a fantastically fun, no sew dog bed then check this thread and tute out! www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=236744.0 Edited to add the no sew coat pattern info from the craft thread - Someone has given me Kwik Sew Pattern 3357 which includes 2 styles of no sew fleece dog coats in sizes XS, S, M, L and XL. Basically it looks like a massive babies bib with long ties - you end up with a coat shape that covers the back that has two long straps which go round the neck and cross over the front chest, loop back around the armpits and tie on the back. It's a great idea for people who can't sew and you would get 2 coats out of the length of fabric you required so also fairly cheap. I did a google and it looks like the pattern is still current/available to buy.

We are in Brissie too. My sbt thinks she needs a dog coat but as you can see she really doesn't. Like her mother she just hates missing out! These beds are still their faves as they can burrow in and they can also be refilled. It's quite big (150cm diam) and cost me $6 to make a couple of years back - 2 x $3 kid blankets from Kmart at the end of winter and stuffed with the contents of murdered pillows and doonas (I chop the chewed doonas into squares). If you own a pair of scissors you can make one! They just wash in the washing machine.

She's a really beautiful girl. Please tell me her coat is as soft as it looks!

I love Woolies 4 Woofers! Wish I could knit pics - I'm not that clever!

Check!

Thanks Nina.

Thanks Rozzie - it is freezing here in sunny QLD (3 degrees!!!!!) so I hate to think what it is like in rural areas.

Westiemum I knit jumpers that have a kind of slight V neckline. They look daggy off but they work on the dog! I only use 100% wool for the main body area because if it gets wet on the grass it wont make the dog cold and wet. I knit a new coat or two each week to sell on my market stall but also knit to order (currently knitting a double coat for a little shi-chon). I don't have them up on my FB page because they don't look that appealing but I have repeat customers on the stall so I know they work for the dogs. For Mac's size coats are $17.50 and I have different wools to choose from if someone needed one knitted to size. I usually do a different colour or fluffy edging on the collar edge and bottom.

Keep them separated by secure doors or gates and out of eye sight until you get this sorted. You and your dogs don't need to be dealing with fights and vet visits. And also feed the dogs in order of dominance in the pack to reinforce that. Google Gesture Eating too and give that a try in the interim. In a pack situation the Alphas (that's you) eat first and they eat as much as they want. They then decide who eats next (in order of heirachy) and how much they get so gesture eating is designed to reinforce that there is no competition for food between the lower dogs, that food comes only from the alpha so there is no point scrapping amongst themselves for food. It is simple and quick to do. Others with the right knowledge will be able to tell you why this might be happening but you now have three dogs - two of them are males and the older male doesn't know the younger male is going to a new home and he just might be letting this young one know he is top dog and not to bother trying anything. Edited to add - even though your male has fought with your female this could still be linked to him feeling potentially challenged by another male and wanting to give both dogs the idea he is still the strongest after the alpha.

How bizarre but to Digby, after all his recent adventures, he probably thought it was quite expected! I love that he lives on in all these stories and pictures, so thank you for sharing with us Raineth. XXX

The good thing about being an adult is that you don't have to move that bowl if you don't want to. I am several years down the track and I still have bits and pieces of my old girl still lying around in full view. So what. Hugs to you Kirty.

How are you doing Kirty?

I'm just wondering how you are going Raineth?

Ive got kids and people coming and going all the time and they bark to let me know Ive got a visitor but as long as they know them or their car etc its not bailing them up. Mine know that normally if I like you I will let you onto my front porch once you are on the porch with me their isnt a sound. Its about what they are used to - your sister's dog clearly wasnt used to people coming and going but if its normal from day one the dog sees it as normal. That's true Steve - my sister could be the only one on the farm for days. The dogs would've been used to her kids and grandkids given the frequency of their visits but it was the first time she had ever set eyes on me. The dog was fine if my sister was with me. Sorry if I gave the wrong impression of the breed - like most dogs it still comes down to what each dog is trained to do or accustomed to. For instance one maremma was a yard dog used to focussing on the safety of one person and the house while the other stayed with the goats because that is what they were being kept for.

Can I get an update on any rural pounds who might be needing more fleece coats to see them through? I can make up some double sided ones with longer necks of any size and put them in the post. Looks like I have some free time next week to do this (already have the patterns and spare fabrics). Thank you! PS If people just want to give me the names of the pounds (ie what council and suburb they are in) I'd be happy to call myself and check and get postal details. You guys are busy enough saving furry lives!

A couple of years back I stayed at my sister's farm for a month. She had a house yard maremma and another that stayed with the goats. So even though I was there day in, day out, every time I left that yard and was by myself that dog would bail me up like I was an intruder when I tried to return. She took her job of protecting my sister, who was often there by herself, very seriously. Her bark was quite soft but it was persistent. So if the kids of have lots of friends coming and going the bail ups and barking could be problematic.

I use them on two of my dogs. Puppia on the SBT and Rogz on the shar pei. I am another who recommends you go to an outlet that sells a range of brands so you can try them on your dog so you get the right fit. You want the harness to be comfortable as well as secure. Even though my dogs are similarly sized they are not the same shape so even adjusting the straps they can't wear each other's harnesses comfortably.

Oh Kirty. Sometimes something unexpected like this comes along and it is so unfair. There is no time for proper goodbyes. Unfortunately sometimes life just sucks. Maisie looked to you to take the pain away and you did. That is as much as you could do to tell her how much you loved her. Be kind to yourself and get angry if you need to. Eventually you will get back to just remembering all the wonderful stuff about your girl. No more pain for you beautiful Maisie. XXX

From one Chisel to another - "there's no change, there's no pace, everything's within it's place, just makes it harder to believe he wont be around..." Rest in peace big boy.

Wow! So life like!

Bawling by the second photo. This reminds me of what Raineth just went through with Digby. I think every dog owner should do this on that last day or in those last few weeks if you know they are coming. We painted doggy paintings on our last day (now hanging in the loungeroom) and our old girl did something typically her just after she passed which made us all laugh. I wish we'd spoiled her even more now and made her departure day more about what she'd like than what we were doing to cope. Big hugs to all the owners out there missing their fur babies today.

I know he was shocked RP - what normal human wouldn't be. But he, like so many other owners aren't really worried about keeping their dogs contained. If the dogs get out, they get out. If they end up in the pound they might have to fix the fences up because they don't want to pay the fines, but apart from that they just round up their wandering dogs and stick them back in the yard and make a dodgy fix up job of where they escaped. In my street I have two households like that. Been like it for years and what's worse there is one dog at each location that does rush up on you. They want a dog but don't really want to have to spend much money to care for it. Containment is as much about the safety of the dogs as it is the safety of the community. The percentage of dogs hit by cars because they have escaped confinement would have to be very high. And on the flip side the number of innocent dogs and people attacked by dogs who have escaped their confinement (which would include yards, cars and leashes/collars) would have to be even higher. So we have a risk factor pattern, even if we don't know why previously good natured dogs suddenly attack. Less loose dogs would have to equate to less attacks and less injured dogs (as well as less dogs in pounds). So here is a simple idea - they made pool fences compulsory for pool owners so why not have certain types of fencing or containment compulsory for dog owners? That might put off a few unplanned new pet purchases too and put a dent in the BYB and puppy farmers pockets. I wonder how much land the rotti owner is on? There is a two pet rule for standard house blocks in the council he lives in so I wonder if he had more land or had approval for four large dogs on a suburban block? That area does tend to have a mix of property sizes but I bet he was breaching how many dogs he could have. I do hate all the council by-laws that exist for stuff like this but here is evidence of why such rules might be needed - people don't use their own common sense and others suffer for it.