Little Gifts

I've sought advice from you wonderful DOLers before about my sister's dog. She is a husky/shep cross, just turned 11 and has really only started developing health problems over the last year. She is quite mobile and active but was showing signs of stiffness and some stair stumbling. She's recently been diagnosed with arthritis but was having weekly injections for a month and has Sascha's Blend every night. She has no problem getting on and off furniture or in and out of the car. We have had a sudden cold snap and last night she cried in pain when one of the dogs bashed into her in excitement. She was very stiff this morning in the neck and legs but let me give her a bit of a massive to lengthen out her spine. She has a very full coat. She sleeps either on our beds, on the carpet or on the timber floor at night, depending on how she feels. She is not a fan of having a blanket over her and doesn't need a fleece coat but my sister wondered if there could be any benefits to her sleeping on a magnetised blanket. People do it so I wondered if anyone had tried anything similar for their dog and found it beneficial? People might laugh but my old Stafford girl who was almost 17 when she was pts used to wear a magnetised hematite necklace. It started as a joke when I got given it one Christmas and stuck it on her but it really did seem to help her mobility and it's not like she knew what she was wearing it for. I've been trying to find where I put her old necklace (no luck just yet) so I can remake it to fit my sister's dog to see if it assists her too. Anyone else ever tried this or other crystals on their dogs?

How old do they usually live in captivity T? I can't imagine caring for an animal (especially a primate) for all of your career then losing it. It would be like losing a family member. RIP Lulu.

All will look and feel better tomorrow. Sleep tight boys!

I wish I'd thought to spell her name like that DDD! Actually I probably would've called her Pompei if I had've thought of it - she is a little unpredictable!

I now know from DOL it happens but I never even would've thought a vet would not do what you asked and paid for when it came to the best interests of your dog. If a vet disagreed with the wishes of a client then I would expect them to say that, refuse to pts or offer other options, but not to do this behind an owner's back, with complete disregard for the dog itself. Just evil. I'd even feel sick if I thought my dog had received blood taken from another dog in this way.

Tempeh has the bark of a much bigger dog too. Must be a pei thing - when they bark they like it to count! At least no-one is going to mess with all your gear while you sleep!

Just when you think you've seen and heard it all a human comes up with another way to abuse animals. He kept it alive for 6 months! I don't understand how he can be pretending to save some people's pets while doing that behind the scenes. Wrong in so many ways. That man should not be allowed to practice anymore let alone own an animal. Imagine all the excuses he will give for his appalling behaviour. He is no better than those people who kidnap kids and keep them in basements for years for their own amusement. The only reason he has stopped is because he got caught. The worst kind of person if you ask me because he doesn't see he is doing anything wrong.

I have photos of Perlubie Landing that look identical but were taken back when we all had old fashioned film cameras! Australia itself is such a country of extremes once you travel around it. Just look at the colours in some of the photos - red dirt, snow white rocks, dark blue ocean, crystal clear skies. Nature is a wonder and there is still so much of this beautiful country that is its natural self. I love that Jonah seems to be enjoying his trip, like it is all about him!

By my comment I meant that I know rescues who have so many dogs coming through the door that they retrieve from pounds and the dogs are transported straight to a carer's house. I think that is fine for some carers but not all. Certainly not fine for me and probably not for Henrietta. For the safety of this house I need to know a smidge about the dog in care. I don't care if that knowledge has been gained from a short quarantine stay, long kennel stay or even through another placement. Each carer has a certain range of valuable skills to offer a foster and a good match at that stage, where possible, benefits everybody, including the dog most in need. Plus no-one wants to see dogs bounce from foster to foster because it is a poor fit.

And here she is doing what she likes to does best - making nests on my bed! (her stick collection is just out of camera range, on 'her' side of the bed)

Tempeh was the dog we were never meant to have but I couldn't imagine life without her. She is full of life, terribly funny and the quirkiest dog I've ever had in my home. Even at two she is constantly evolving, which keeps us on our toes. Love you Doodle Bug! Here's a pic I took of her with her beloved skin grandma yesterday.

How do you know that? You sniff dog paws? :) When I first joined DOL there was a thread about paw smells, which of course prompted me to smell my own dogs paws, and they smell surprisingly lovely. I now sniff mine regularly if we are having lying down cuddles! So how many of you went and had a sniff after I mentioned popcorn????

Is this scent why their feet smell like popcorn?

Cane Toad when you are settled I'll have to get your addy so I can post Jonah's altered jammies. He'll be needing them this winter. Miss you guys!

Well you will never know what Abby is capable of until you try. I went back to fostering after our old Stafford girl left us. As we had two other female dogs I asked to only foster males, either teenaged or adult. Both our dogs were brilliant with the fosters, giving them comfort and an understanding of how we do things around here in a way I couldn't. I discovered our youngest stafford did really well with fosters who lacked confidence or who were sad. She's far more protective and nurturing than I realised. Our older dog is kind of aloof and a dibber dobber but she was good with monitoring, doggy discipline and general teaching. The key is to find a rescue group who wont just dump dogs on you but who will let you have a say in the sex and behaviours that might suit Abby and your household best. Our only problem here was with a dominant male, but sick ones, untrained ones, despondent ones seem to do well here and it wasn't hard to find a foster who needed what we had to offer. Oh and our two never seemed to be sad when the foster left either. It was like they understood we were just helping them find their forever home. Our two also really enjoyed all the extra activities that always took place with a new foster. Command training, learning to play with toys, lots of handling and touching, exposure to new things - all the stuff you might have to do with a new foster they were part of each time, leading the way! I think it was a really positive experience for all of us. The only reason we stopped was because we had a foster failure and have a full house.

You must live in the same street as me, except it is inbreeding Chihuahuas! Adults always home, visitors coming and going at all hours, dogs always outside and always bark, bark, bark, bark. Except for the 12 hours of the day where the front gate is open and they wander the streets and bark and attack me, the postie, anyone who dares walk down our street, etc. I can always tell when they go on one of their extended OS trips because the barking is even worse. They leave them there and a family member comes by once a day to put some food down. The place is always dark and the dogs don't settle the entire time they are gone (maybe months). Makes me want to scream.

It kind of makes me feel better to know that other people have experienced serious fights, sometimes over something very small, but are still managing to keep their dogs safe. Because I know it was my heart girl who started our fight I've always felt if she ever did it again I would have to pts. I couldn't let another innocent dog suffer simply because my heart would break if I had to euth her. But the experiences on here help me realise that there are other options if I am prepared to commit to them. Of course I wont reduce my vigilance or the strategies we are using now that are working, but I can see my thinking doesn't need to be as black and white.

I bought kids disposable nappies (based on weight) and cut a cross for the tail (easier than a hole). I was using them for an incontinent old girl dog but it would be the same. The pee gets absorbed straight away and makes the pants heavy and droopy so it's pretty easy to tell they've done wees and need a change. As the nappies are not a snug fit the poos also just sort of drops into the pants. I never had any escape. Also never had any scalding from the pee. My girl tended to just stand up and go wherever she was so we usually saw her and changed her straight away. Oh and I put them on back to front - closure tabs on my dogs back rather than belly. I don't think it made any difference to absorbency. I did also buy some washable kids waterproof pants and was going to cut a hole and overlock around it, just adding like Tena Ladies pads, but I decided they may not be as absorbent given I couldn't guarantee all the pee would hit the pad. At least with a nappy the whole thing is absorbent and waterproof/poo proof!

We have had only one serious incident which was also (surprisingly) a draw and required me to urgently transport bloody dogs to the vet in pj's and no shoes. Both dogs were female and the trigger seems to have been a snake in the yard which got one dog very over excited. The second dog got nosy, a tussle started and the second dog seems to have gotten backed into a corner so had to fight back when she couldn't flee. She did pretty good for a dog who has never shown any ability to defend herself before. The damage was far worse than it should have been simply because I wasn't well and had gone back to bed. Based on the noise I thought they were rough housing so it was all going on for quite a while before I fully woke up and realised the noises were something more sinister. They were exhausted by that time and as soon as they saw me one collapsed on the ground and the other ran in to her crate in my room. I still feel terrible I didn't intervene earlier. We were already doing the nothing in life is free thing so had to stop all over-stimulation from toys, play, (snakes, possums, mice!), visitors and we changed the order we fed and rewarded all the dogs so the two involved in the fight had their status at the bottom of the pack reinforced. We continue to do both these things as the fight was less than a year ago and I don't feel I should ever let my guard down with them again. I think it was six or so months before I felt they were ready to rough play under supervision with each other again but we will continue to keep the stimulation levels down on the one who started the barney. The strangest part of the fight was that once they were both home from surgery in their cones of shame and drains they both wanted to be with each other, like they were sorry it happened. There seemed to be no residual distrust or dislike between them. They'd always been quite good friends and the one who started it cared for and nurtured the younger one from when she first arrived here as a foster pup. She has continued to be a supportive big sister (under our supervision). But it is like she has this crazy switch though when she gets over stimulated and she loses all sensibility. I can see it in her eyes. We've been very lucky

I will keep visiting this thread too to see what rural pounds or small rescue groups are in need and what sizes they want as I have loads of fleece and time to make and send coats at present. I know Logan Pound has put out a call for smalls and mediums so I'll make them a batch. They should be fine though as the message has gone far and wide to residents. I'll also call AWL. I'd like to help out those with more limited options and harsher conditions though if possible.

I desperately wanted a VW caddy but when I was looking they only came in manuals. Wah!

I bought a Hyundai i30 wagon and it is only 25cm longer than my old car but the way it is designed it is like the Tardis inside! We have three dogs (1 large and 2 medium) and can manage three humans, three dogs and all our stuff quite comfortably because of the split back seats. Best car I ever owned, economical to run, well priced to buy. I've been totally happy with it. Oh and I upgraded from a fastback (elongated hatchback) so feel I am sitting nicely up off the ground even though I am not in a four wheel drive. My suggestion is to shortlist the cars you like and go for a test drive in each of them. That's how I discovered the i30 wagon was the one for me. Wagons today are not like wagons of ten years ago.

Cats and kittens usually have lower save rates than dogs and puppies, don't they? Good idea to have a different approach to getting them attention. The set up looks fantastic!

Excellent work! I like the idea of it all having a relaxed and non-time limited approach. A cuppa and a kitty!

This has only happened to me once and I went on instinct. We were at a Vet's Open Day. It was wet and yucky and my sister and I had three dogs with me of different ages. A very aggressive cattle dog escaped it's piddly collar and the owner was not exactly agile enough to catch it. It came straight for us and I immediately shielded my three dogs behind me and took a don't you effing dare stance. Staring hard at the dog and arms down by my sides to push it back if it got too close (I wanted my legs to block access to my dogs so kept them firmly on the ground). I was low growling at it too. It avoided me and switched around the side and behind to my old sbt girl. I was livid and with brute strength grabbed it by the back and flung it away before it connected. Staff were then close enough to catch it and the old man puffed in and put the collar and leash back on. The staff were very good and bundled us inside the clinic to check us all over (no one hurt) and sent him on his way with the dog. The dog is known to them and he came for a freaking free hydrobath! I was so angry! My poor old girl was blind by then so got a shock when this agro dog was in her face and she pooed and peed herself on the spot. I doubt I did the right thing but it was all instinctual and it happened so fast - I just became the angry, protective mum of my brood. The other problem too is that I knew that dog was coming for us whether I liked it or not - no one else was close enough to stop him and he was solely focussed on us. I felt I had to stand my ground.