Little Gifts

I finally got around to washing all three dogs today! I did the handful in a stocking thing, let it steep in a litre of boiling water in a plastic tub then added 4 litres of cold water that had previously been boiled and stored for camping. I also chucked a sponge in. I did the washing on the lawn so we watered the dry patches at the same time. I sponged the cleanest one first, then baldy and then the long haired and poured the remainders of the tub water on the long haired too. We then played out in the sun for half an hour until they were all dry enough to come back in the house. So right there I saved about 5 towels worth of dog drying and didn't have to clean down the bath, pull hair from the drain or even wipe down the walls from where everyone shook. I was also moderately dry for a change! Plus our bald girl is not a fan of water so there was no running water for her to worry about and we just held them all gently with our hands and legs - no tying up even. It took about 3 minutes to do the medium dogs and about 5 to do the bigger one. Now they are dry our baldy girl's skin looks very clean and she hasn't been scratching or nibbling at it and there are no red areas. The pied one is a very crisp white colour and the long haired girls dark coat is very glossy. They all smell neutral. The only negative to the set up I used is that their paws didn't get washed and if I had've sponged those they would've got muddy. Next time I might wash on the concrete so I can sponge them too. All in all, very happy and tonight will tell if it has been good for Tempeh's itchies. She seems to heat up while she sleeps and get all itchy so I wont be able to tell until overnight whether this has had a positive effect on that issue. If it does I will be able to use it as a yardstick for when she needs her next rinse!

Love it! We watched the videos as well and she has been doing this every year for 13 years for her Christmas cards!

Who knew the humble canine toenail was such a hot topic! I've always had rescue dogs so they've always had dew claws. Only one was a problem child. He was an anxious boy prone to ripping metal to shreds and digging his way through walls if he got scared so he had a couple of incidents, although none required surgery. Our only other partial problem child is my sbt who has nails that grow at the speed of sound. She was manhandled by a groomer a couple of years back and retains a fairly strong fear of anyone even lightly touching near her nails now so it is a constant battle to keep them all short. None of her nails seem to be maintained by exercise. Typical isn't it!

Obviously she took her 'imperfect' ears to the show judging by that second photo and her win? Judges are so fussy!

Thanks for the advice everyone. Full blood test results come back tomorrow but the xray did not show evidence of pyo yet so I think that is a good sign, early stages and all that. I think my sister will do the antibiotics and talk to the vet in more detail about future treatment needed. I know it is the anaesthetic side of things that worries her most but her dog came out of the surgeries last year really well and overall she is a healthy and active dog with good appetite and healing abilities. This vet is pretty good too and he keeps himself very current on treatment options. He just rang back before as he had consulted my vet about homeopathic options and has now given my sister three different options to treat/manage the arthritis, as well as a list of supplements that should assist and where she can buy them. I think he knew she was overwhelmed during the consult. I've had to remind her that this is what life can be like when your dog gets into those later years and it doesn't help your dog to put on your worry wart hat and throw your hands up in despair. She is good with people and health crises but when it comes to her dog she wants to crawl into a ball and make it go away. I'm going to see if she will let me come to future appointments so at least one of us asks the right questions. I've spent all morning googling and bookmarking info for her to read and if she wasn't home I would've just rung the vet and asked him for the skinny behind her back! She wouldn't mind. Plus I do most of the feeding and walking and will need to know what medication or supplements she is on and what exercise restrictions are in place. :D

Rebanne would that remove the risk of pyometra? I know there is a link to seasons so I'm assuming no season, less chance of pyometra? Just saw a study that said it is not recommended for use in older dogs but it is still something we can talk to the vets about further in case there is another option.

I just discovered pyometron which I'm pretty sure is what the vet was talking about. So I'll now be googling that some more! I'm still interested in any personal experiences around this topic though. Thank you!

I wasn't sure what to put in the title to be honest but hopefully I can explain more here. My sister has a husky/shep cross who will be 11 next month. She was never desexed for reasons clear to my sister (not so clear to me who has to mop the floors and wash the bedding when she is in season). This dog has been in great health till last year when she had a series of non-cancerous growths on one eye that required four rounds of surgery to cut out. About six months ago we had some dementia indicating behavioural changes and she went on Vivitonin. Last night she had difficulty getting up and walking so my sister took her to the vet first thing this morning. She saw what I consider to be the second vet option at the surgery. He is good but I prefer my holistic vet who I have been using for decades. He did xrays, blood tests and a full exam on the dog. She has age related arthritis but he discovered her white blood cells were up and that she had a pussy (sp?) discharge from her vagina. The xrays didn't show up anything to worry about organ or growths wise and he has given her antibiotics for the discharge/infection. She has a very hairy bottom and has not long finished her last season so I am really surprised we didn't notice anything. She has always drunk a lot and her toileting habits have not changed so we didn't pick anything up that way either. The vet has advised my sister that it might be better to desex her even at this age. He said that she could now become prone to age related UTIs and serious infections requiring surgery that could be far more difficult to treat because she has not been desexed. I have always desexed my dogs so have never heard of the dangers of not desexing in old age. I did a google and it mentions the possibility of mammary tumours but from what my sister took from the vet he was referring to infections in the sex organs. She is a bit distressed about all this and has asked me to post on here for her for advice/experiences from others. Neither of us want to be desexing an 11 year old large breed bitch but I also wouldn't want her susceptible to something that could be worse. What do others think? I've already said we will get a second opinion before doing anything more than treating the current infection (have another excellent vet in mind). And what happens with second consults? I've never needed one before. Can the second vet ask for and obtain all the lab and test results and case notes done by the first vet or should we ask for that and take it with us? The vet my sister has seen today will not be upset about us getting other advice. Thoughts? Experiences? I was only joking during her last season that surely it was time for menopause but I guess dogs are like cats and they can technically breed until the day they die?

I really love the under the stairs idea as it is such an odd space and if I was a dog I would love it! But up here in QLD my issue with built ins is always air flow. I've used wire and a soft crate but even the soft one has had mesh on all sides (including the top but not the bottom) and I always had them pulled away from walls to ensure good air circulation. With the built in ideas most would only have air flow coming through the doorway part. I'm not sure it's enough for hotter climes. They look great though! Well to us doggy people!

I love his sleepy face!

Those pics haven't lost any of their magic! You must've had some cool experiences there!

I look at anything over 10 as a bonus. Apparently only a small percentage of dogs make it to 10 or older for various reasons. And sorry for thinking Kirby was a boy.

Oh Brian that was so honest and heartfelt. I'm sure Kirby knew how you felt about him even if you weren't always able to show it. Even if we had them for 20 years it is never long enough. They give so much of themselves. Run free over the bridge now beautiful boy and may all the much loved dogs who have gone before you be there to show you the ropes. Take care of yourself Brian. Non-doggy people don't quite understand what you are going through but we do. Many of us have been exactly where you are right now, grieving and questioning. XXX

WARNING! Do not be eating your breakfast when you look at that picture. Anyone for some recycled cheese on toast????

When I was a teenager walking my OESD I always thought I'd find a dead body. We lived on the outskirts of the suburbs and there were always lots of screams and scary noises in the dead of night on this big, half dug up area near our property.. By day I would go on the hunt but never found anything exciting.

Two people and three dogs feels nice in this house. It is manageable for us. Only you can decide what is manageable for you.

Fantastic news for Miss Ruby!

Signed. Good luck tonight.

When we saw the Dreadlocked Dog Whisperer he had some great advice for the attention seekers. Tempeh had a habit of sitting in the middle of the lounge room sort of cry talking and we'd be all like "what's the matter baby girl? What do you want?" He said she was grandstanding so we started ignoring it and getting up and walking in to her without saying anything so she'd have to move from her 'look at me' power position. She stopped doing it and just settles in the lounge with the rest of us now. He also taught us for over excited dogs to turn our eyes away from the dog, look up and do big, exaggerated, noisy yawns. This in turn can cause the dog to yawn which is a destresser and they then settle fairly quickly. This one works every time with my SBT but only sometimes with our pei. Apparently it is something mother dogs do to settle their pups when they are being naughty.

Tempeh carries on like she is going to die from starvation while I am preparing their dinner and handing the bowls out. I try to ignore it and the other dogs just hang back and go whatever! Her 'sit' is often just a vague bum hover depending on how ravenous she is.

I watched it and got all excited! Denise looked a bit sexy in bright yellow!

We have three dogs and they always get fed in different rooms and in pack order. They each even have totally different bowls. I can stand in one location and watch all three at the same time though. The reason for this is we have different speeds of eaters, different levels of hunger and we did have a pack order issue that we feel needs to be continually enforced. I do make them all sit before I will put their bowls down and two of them go straight to their spots and simply wait (the youngest runs from spot to spot with her starving face on but knows she is only to eat from her bowl/spot). And as soon as each is finished I immediately pick their bowls up. I've dog sat at a few multiple dog households now and where there are any more than two dogs it is quite common for some dogs to be crated or separated into rooms at feeding time. One breeder makes hers get into their trailer compartments where they can eat in private. The dogs generally go to their spots and are contained before the food bowls come out, so there is no opportunity for a mass riot. It makes feeding time safer and easier for the humans and dogs. And bowls are always picked up once they have finished eating.

Seems like we already have a new designer dog in this house and we didn't know it! The Gerbarian Shepsky. Wait until I tell my sister! Part of the designer dog problem is a focus on cute rather than health and wellbeing. If puppy farms and BYB's are not going away then maybe the regulations should change so we are not focussed so much on how many dogs they have and the conditions they are breeding and raising them under as that is clearly not deterring these breeders from making money at the expense of the animals in their care. Perhaps the focus should shift to proof of health of animals they are selling, which in turn will go back (to a degree) to the quality of their breeding stock. You can't easily sell diseased and deformed cattle so why the hell should people be able to sell diseased and deformed dogs and at exorbitant prices just because they are cute! As for the man who created the Labradoodle - he did it for a purpose and with care and it is not his fault if other opportunists jumped on the band wagon.

Just be careful about feeding leftovers. Familiarise yourself with poisonous foods for doggies. Onion is one and I thought maybe goulash had that in it? Mine have only had Black Hawk kibble with dried chicken breast sprinkles today but they ate very early (totally shocked Tempeh!) so I'm planning on giving them a toilet roll for afternoon tea! Stussy ate a lot of bad things as a young'un. We were incredibly lucky that she never required a stomach pump or surgery. I used to have to take show and tell into work. Her taste buds ran to cd's, dvd's (usually ones belonging to someone else), ergonomic light bulbs, a wire waste paper basket, the handles off plastic washing baskets, two mobile phones, thongs, an entire family block of Cadbury's Fruit and Nut chocolate, a kilo of raw almonds, pillows, doonas (but not if they were on her bed), several jars of vaseline, a whole packet of birth control pills, some anti-depressants, books and a large dictionary. There's probably more that I have forgotten about. She used to do this while you were having a shower, in the toilet, hanging the washing or momentarily distracted. The first command she ever learnt was "LEAVE!". Even though she outgrew the worst of it after three years we still never leave her in the house without cleaning everything off surfaces lower than table height because she will jump up for a taste test. She still can't resist fluff. I have to send chewed doonas for recycling about ever 3 months when a Stussy Snow Storm hits. I love that naughty girl!

Done.