minxy

Oh my god. Both those stories are horrible. That UK one..Wow.. I don't even have the words. I've never seen such cruelty before.

Now THAT is my kind of walking!! :D

Haha, either Peroni is TINY or Poko is the biggest Chihuahua I have ever seen!!!! That's so awful C4M, I'm so sorry to hear that.

Ditto with us. They are an amazing breed, but our first died of cancer, and our second has had major health issues since only a few months of having her. A lot of surgery so far.

Aww Dogluva and Ishy, they both look sooo snuggable!! How adorable

Agreed. I definitely don't think the cat nor the owner deserved this, but I still really don't understand why anyone thinks it's okay to let their cat roam the streets. Definitely agree - if you love your cat, keep it inside/in a run etc.

Just posted this in the Spitz thread, but I thought I'd share here too I was finally able to get in touch last night with an Akita breeder in Qld. The lady sounded really lovely on the phone. We don't have any matching weekends free until the end of next month, but after then I'm going out to her place to meet her, her husband and their gorgeous dogs. Very excited!! She's planning a litter at the moment too which is great.

I have never owned a CKCS myself, so I can't comment on them specifically. But in doing my research on several breeds I have seen almost every breeder say that their particular breed cannot be left at home alone for more than x amount of hours. I don't think that's always realistic though. People do have to work to make a living. Some breeds probably do need a lot more interaction than others. But I think that a lot of dogs would cope very well - provided you supply them with something to occupy themselves during the day, they get exercise (however much they need) and interaction with you when you're home.

The quote I got from 1300 Insurance for an Akita puppy was $25 a month for the top cover. Pet Insurance Australia gave me the exact same quote. PIA is one of the ones I had recommended to me on here

I bought my dog car seat protector from Aldi a year or two ago (even though I don't have any dogs at the moment) It cost about $10. It clips onto the headrests so that it stays in place and covers the back seat entirely.

I think that whatever works best for your dog is what you should use! If he's doing great on science diet then why change it? Agreed. I think that if your dog's thriving on something, there's no need to change it.

Argghh, so exciting Dwilds!! Post LOTS of photos please!

And not just on the dogs

I would also say "Can I help you?" And then ask them to leave if they're not there for any good reason. Pretty stupid that they continue to stand there even after you're trying to call your dogs back!

I couldn't imagine not having it. I've been quoted $25 a month for when I one day get my puppy. That's $300 a year, which even includes some general vet bills etc. If I were to put money aside instead in case anything went wrong, there's NO way that $300 a year would even remotely cover any emergency vet bills.

A good whack with a shovel

Oh gosh, he is so cute! Such a lovely, happy little thing. Love that he's having a good munch on the grass :D

I don't believe anyone here said their dogs were misbehaving?

Definitely not an expert, but some starting points to look for: - Healthy looking i.e. coat looks nice, eyes are clear etc - Interested in you - Friendly and approachable - but not overly bossy, or too shy and timid (As Kelpie-i said - the middle of the range sort of energy level.) - I would also want to see both parents if possible. I would pay attention to how they behave toward you to get an idea of their temperament

Don't get me wrong, I have always wanted children for myself. But I'm quite awkward with other peoples babies. I cuddle my cats in my arms like a baby, which is the most natural thing in the world to me. But pass me a human baby, and it's like uhh so how do I hold this thing?! (I would also be way more likely to want to pat someones dog, then say anything about someones baby)

I was thinking Medibank but they are underwritten by Hollard as well, they aren't any good? I don't know much about their quality, but I got quotes from about 7 insurance companies. I found that even with the 10% discount, Medibank were almost twice as much as Pet Insurance Australia. RSPCA and Pet Plan were then WAY more expensive than Medibank.

Any cat will be fine indoors. In fact, even a cat that has been allowed outside for say 10 years of its life, could be turned into an indoor only cat. Ragdolls are beautiful. You'll probably have more luck finding one of those from a breeder, but I have cats from the RSPCA and I thoroughly recommend them.

Love the house. And love Elbie making sure he's in every photo

Hi there. Not entirely the same, but I had to go through a bit of a process when bringing home a second cat. We did the whole getting them used to each other's smells and stuff. Some ideas (which may or may not be practical for you) are to confine the animals in separate parts of the house. Then swap them for a bit. Also can switch bedding etc, as ways of getting them used to each other's scent. Probably the easiest one which we also found the most useful, was to get a sock and dampen it slightly. Rub it over the cats to get their scent onto it (particularly around their face) and then rub it over your dogs face so that they can smell it. And vice versa. You'll see how they react to this. The first one or two times we did this with our original cat she got quite upset but curious about it. We were also suggested that if it is possible, you could have the cats and dogs somewhere where they can see each other and smell each other, but not actually get to each other. That way they can spend some time observing each other for a bit. If you do a google search, you'll probably come up with a bunch of suggestions there too. I had a really good pamphlet on it from the RSPCA, but I can't find it at the moment. ETA: It is possible that your cats will be able to jump the fences, especially if there is anything leaning up against them, i.e. kennel, shed, etc. If you're not happy letting them roam, would you consider indoor only cats? I'm a huge fan of indoor cats. I can't remember exactly, but the RSPCA said something about the average lifespan of an outdoor cat is like 2 or 3 years! Lots of risks with cars, feral cats, dogs, etc.