Little Gifts

The universe is strange. I look at Teddy and think he is drop dead gorgeous and can't imagine why he wasn't snapped up earlier. But of course the world was slowly turning so the planets would align and he could go to the most magical forever home! Congratulations to Teddy and you K9Angel!

Crushing losses. I'm not sure I'd get over that if it was me.

I doubt I will ever own a purebred dog from a breeder only because my door will always be open to any dog in need and I will always be full up! I figure I get the dogs I'm meant to get and I have no complaints about that, even if it means I will never have a beautiful little pied Frenchie!

What about a Maremma?

She looks like Frieda Khalo with the flowers - certainly has the right eyebrows!

Marg I was also worried it could be an abcess but it looks totally different to ones I've seen before - nothing open or oozy. I've done two salt water swabs now and it is all still looking the same and not bugging her. Thanks for the neocort offer Ams. If it looks any worse tomorrow morn I'll give you a call. I think I need to restock my doggy first aid kit! What a thing to worry about in between burning the caramel for the banoffi pie and the oven going out on the turkey!

I suspect it will make Maeby's eyes water!

I have aloe vera but no neocort or pawpaw ointment. Should I give the aloe a shot? Salt water wash is easy peasy and I will do that regularly to at least keep it clean. There is no broken skin and she isn't worried when I touch or squeeze it at present. If it is a pimple I think it has a way to go before an explosion takes place. And if/when that does happen I'm sure it will happen on my bed. :D Thank you for confirming my fears that it is non-life threatening. When I first saw it my brain screamed TWAT TUMOUR but once I figured it looked more like a pimple I have calmed down.

My sbt girl Stussy has been rubbing her bits on the carpet so I just had a look and she has what looks like a pimple on her girly bits. There is no head on it and it has not burst and it is not super swollen or hard to touch between my fingers. It is on the outer edge of her vulva (is that what it is called on dogs too?), nearer the hair line. I was out with her before and she peed and pooed easily, but she never shows when she is in pain so there could be discomfort, but hopefully no pain. Do they even get pimples? Could it be an infected hair follicle? I've never had anything like this before on any of my dogs so don't know if this is something to simply watch, something to squeeze, something to rush to the vet about or something to not even worry about? Advice please? I'm sure my vet would laugh at me turning up on Christmas Eve as an emergency with a simple bum pimple! PS Just rang my vet to speak to one of the vet nurses and they have already closed for Christmas so if we have to go it will be to an emergency centre and I don't want to do that unless it is necessary.

Iggy Mum for a start I think you need to put something soft and fluffy in that playpen with her! It looks awfully hard and uncomfortable in there! But seriously, I had a pei here whose forehead skin affected his vision and he spent the first couple of days fervently mapping out the house and yard and after that he was fine. It looked like he was pacing with a purpose. He didn't like going for walkies and stuff outside but there was a dog park he went to and again, he just went round and round mapping the place in his mind and was fine after that. He was ok once in the car (never moved) but I could sense he was worried about getting in and out and needed help. Do you have any stairs? We had three down to the lounge and this pei boy really struggled with them so we put a soft mattress over them so he could kind of slide/walk down and after those first couple of days he had the distance judged and the mattress was removed. He did zoomies snd pranced around with the others without any accidents. Remarkable stuff. Ams has very recently had a couple of blindies - one came without eyes and the other had his removed. I've seen both dogs in action and they have no probs getting around even with all the other dogs and being on acreage and out at events. She'll hopefully come in and tell you more about how they manage. There are halo frames blind dogs can wear to stop them bumping into things. Not sure how necessary it is but you could probably conjure up your own after a trip to Bunnings!

Dog I laughed at the banana - laughing with you and not at you Maybe!

Thank you to all of you - you make a very real difference to dogs in need and you change the lives of human families forever. XXX

My dogs don't do it but as a customer it would not bother me to be at the vet and see another dog sitting on a chair unless it pooed, peed or puked on it! If I was vet staff and I had to clean all the nooks and crannies of a chair after it had purged on I guess I'd be Mrs Cranky too!

Do you think this could be in an effort to keep their actual fighting skills current? I was thinking it's kind of like any combat sport/martial art where people practice a lot to get it right and do so without hurting another, all so that if they have to do it for real they are prepared.

All three of ours do it and two of them are mouth lickers too. I thought that was a submissive thing but have also been told by a dog whisperer that it can be a calming thing - one dog sharing calm spit with another that is feeling a little wound up. This is a fantastic bitey face pic from last Christmas. Tempeh was constantly trying to pull off Stussy's Christmas elf apron fearing it would eat her alive, so they were crazy most of the day. Despite how ferocious Stussy looks she has never scratched or bitten anyone during a game of bitey face with those (slightly dirty) teeth.

"I can't freakin' see mum!"

Rebanne, I make round, no sew beds and every single home they have gone to report their dogs love them. I think the reason is the dogs can kind of burrow and snuggle in to them. They can also easily be washed in your washing machine and if the stuffing gets squashed you can always add more! My first one I made from second hand fleece baby blankets and a cut up doona that had already been chewed. Three or so years on and it is still in regular use! I'm pretty sure instructions for these beds are pinned in the Craft thread but if not I'd be happy to explain how to go about it and show you some pics. They can also be made rectangle and square and as big or small as you want. How much stuffing you add is also up to you. It can be from old pillows, cut up doonas or whatever. You can buy old pillows and lounge cushions from op shops and simply wash it in an old pillow case in batches. It is perfectly fine. My dogs sleep on them summer and winter without any complaint - they burrow more in winter and kind of recline on them in summer. I'm not sure if you need something sturdier though for Fern's back but you could still apply the no sew cover technique cheaply to memory foam.

Gorgeous Lynst!

There are a few Anvets here in Brissie but I don't know how they are linked other than they use similar signage. Peiradise (SPRQ) uses one and the vets seem to make their own decisions on what they charge and what services they provide. The clinic is not all blinged up and providing an array of goodies to buy. It looks nothing like my local Anvet. Can't comment on their services as I don't use it but I have been in there once with someone else. Plus it is all glass windows and glossy surfaces so you can see it from the street.

I thought they stopped selling animals ages ago too and only sold dog accessories now? I certainly never noticed live animals when I've been there before?

Just magic!

That's beautiful!

I'm sad now because my UK friend specifically asked me if I wanted anything from Harrods before she came out here recently, knowing I am a lover of the store. I said nah, I'll be back out there again soon. Well not soon enough dammit!

Just saw on FB that we got Wisdom babies overnight! Hopefully Huski will log on at some stage and share the details and maybe a pic.

Three dogs and only one is scared. You can tell a storm is coming because she will try and wedge herself behind you or under your feet or generally just as close to you as she can be. She needs to be touching you. As we can start hearing the storm she shakes/trembles and it kind of courses through her entire body. She must salivate a lot too because she is constantly opening and closing her mouth and making swallowing noises. If the storm is particularly bad or goes on for a long time she will start panting. She doesn't make any other sounds throughout this. Once the worst has passed for her she normally stays curled in the same position and sleeps. It is obviously more difficult for her if you are busy when a storm is coming and she has to run around after you trying to keep close. Strangely she will choose me rather than my sister (her mummy) to be with during a storm. I don't know whether this is because I make her feel better/more normal (I used to have a dog much more terrified of storms than her so know some tricks) or because for many of her years her owners were SES team leaders so she was used to being cared for by other people at storm time.