Dxenion

I could only come if it were held before mid Jan as the OH goes back to work then and I'll be without transport. I don't know any of the beaches listed but a southern beach with close parking and access with a minimal slope would be preferable. Although it's a bit of a hike, Lancelin has wide flat beaches with vehicle access and we'd be happy to travel that far. If there was a beach closer to Perth with vehicle access, that would be ideal for our situation.

Finally got one of all four together. When we go for a drive, the furkids wear their santa hats and it attracts a lot of smiles, waves and toots. We have lost count of the number of people who pull up next to us at the lights and snap a quick photo of them. We're also losing count of the number of drivers who attempt the same thing at 60kph! We've had numerous people ask for a group shot with them but today's couple takes the cake. We were driving down the road when the OH noticed a car following us so he slowed down giving them room to overtake but they slowed down too. He ended up pulling into a carpark and the car pulled in too. The OH pulled over to let them pass but they drove up beside us. They told us they had been following us for the last ten minutes, waiting for the chance to ask for a photo with the dogs!

Thanks for the feedback. I've received a number of comments along the same lines. The response I received from Crazy says they believe it is strong enough to hold normal pets. As I am not sure what Crazy constitutes as a 'normal pet', to be safe we'll go with the stronger crate from Vebo.

One of our GSDs has developed a grey jelly consistancy mucus discharge in both eyes. Each episode lasts a couple of days and then disappears. Inside the lids are a normal colour, the third eyelid operates normally and he doesn't appear to be affected by it (no rubbing or rapid blinking, normal tear secretion, temperature normal). As per vet advice, I wipe it away with a cloth and warm water, being careful not to touch the eye and also use a canine eye flush. This is now the third episode in three months. None of the other three dogs have had this. This was the best attempt at a photo of it. Is this just a natural reaction to an eye irritant that the body is flushing? I've never seen it before and am a little worried. Edited to fix photo link

We are in a rental and have a Pig In Mud door too. No altering of the door frame except to unscrew the latch receiver from the wall to put it on the dog door and put it back when you leave. We've only had a few problems with the magnetic strip coming off but the manufacturer has been really good about replacing that free of charge. Would highly recommend them.

"That's right Teddy, just keep smiling and I'll give you your tail back."

LMSW I understand your frustration at people coming up and patting your pup without asking first. I have a dog I work in public and am training a 13 month old pup for public work. Both wear vests with a big sign that says "please do not pet, I'm working" and you'd be surprised (or maybe you wouldn't) at the number of people who attempt a pat even while reading the sign. For those who have suggested a vest or harness with a badge, in my experience they attract attention, not ward people off. I've come to accept that when the general public see a well mannered dog in a public place, it seems to flip the human good manners switch off and the patting switch on. We call them drive-by petters. Having accepted that although I can try and educate every DBP, I can't control their initial desire so instead I use it as a training exercise as I need these dogs to be focused on me no matter what the distraction. This way the dog gets exposure to all manner of people, kids and the things kids haul around and I get to conduct focus training. I know DBPing is going to occur so I just proof for it. If life gives you lemons, make lemonade.

Cleanrun stock thundershirts and have free worldwide shipping until 16 Dec. Although every situation is different, we swear by the thundershirt for our thunder phobic GSD. We have a video on YouTube of her wearing it and you'd never know she had any issues by the behaviour. We've also found that it is having a calming effect leading up to thunder as well. The other day I heard the storm and went to grab the shirt then noticed that she wasn't panting, pacing or wide eyed like she used to be before an event. Wearing the shirt during thunder has allowed her to experience calm and get rewarded for it. Through training, she is now starting to associate thunder with good things, no longer as time to head for the hills. I also used to live with two dogs with a kill on sight agreement (one dog was resource guarding my partner) and although it took a long time, the instigator was eventually able to tolerate the other dog. Through management initially via separation (so they didn't get a chance to practice and reinforce the aggressive behaviour), pack structure management and monitoring of our own behaviour around the dogs we were able to make it work. I agree with others here that moving house to a new territory which neither of them has claim over can flame the problem as one or both try to claim rights over the new house. When we moved with the above dogs, we had to ensure that the alpha dog (which also happened to be the instigator) was given 1st dibs at resources and that we made sure the other dog respected that and wasn't given the opportunity to challenge. Best wishes to you and please let us know how it works out. Edited to add that we use a DAP diffuser here on one of our dogs and the difference is like night and day in controlling his anxiety (a story for another thread). I buy the refills online from the cheapest supplier on the day as the vet prices frighten me!

I had an opportunity to trial a soft crate and happily gave it back. It quickly got warm in there and was easy to tip from inside plus I was constantly worried about the strength of the fabric. We now have collapsible wire crates here. The youngest loves it so much, he's figured out how to manipulate the door from the outside so that he can open it and let himself in for a snooze. Our dogs have taught me to be careful when giving them cues about the crate too. One day I gave the cue from another room for one to go into the crate. When I got to the room, I found that three of our four shepherds had managed to squeeze into one 42" crate! They looked so pleased with themselves too.

Any requests?

Would a treadmill help in this situation? That way the dogs can still get daily exercise in their own home until a suitable dog walker can be found. There may be a business out there willing to loan them one. I use one daily with our four and it's a dogsend.

One of ours apparently never read the book on how to lap water. He will dunk his whole muzzle in and gulp it up, invariably wetting the fur on his throat in the process. Nothing medically wrong, it's just his quirk if the water is more than muzzle deep. I ended up having to teach him a cue to go and fetch a towel so I can dry him off after each drink. I'm currently training him to wipe his own throat on a towel too. Edited: spelling

Christmas is one day out of 365 in the year (366 in a leap year). It would be important to remember that for some DOLers who do not celebrate Christmas, December 25 is just another day. Your post asking people to consider donating to canine foster carers at Christmas may have as much significance as if I were to urge you to consider these carers during Paryushana Parva. Foster carers and rescue organisations need all the help they can get all year round, not just in December. We donate to a local dog rescue centre throughout the year. We give what we can when we can, not because it happens to be a particular religious holiday on the day we donate. We also buy things for our dogs throughout the year. What do you define as useless? Are dog booties, doggles (dog sunglasses) and cool coats on that list? If so, perhaps it would be a wise thing to step back and consider that what you see as useless, others may consider as important for their dog. BTW boots, doggles and cool coats are important pieces of safety equipment for my dogs. I am a relative newbie on this forum but in my short 14 months here, I have seen some jaw dropping generosity from DOLers. The DOL wheels spin pretty darn quickly when a fellow DOLer needs help. There is a band of dedicated foster carers on here too that could attest to that! It might be worth looking further into the DOL world and you'll find an extensive community of dog lovers already doing what you suggested.

Our pup flew at 12 1/2 weeks from Stockholm in Sweden to Sydney via London (overnight stop) and Singapore (3 hr turnaround - stayed in crate for quarantine). After 4 weeks at age 17 1/2 weeks he then flew Sydney to Perth. We worked with the breeder to get him used to the crate so it became an awesome place to be, not a frightening one. Quarantine reported that he travelled well from Sweden and when we picked him up at Perth he was bright, alert and full of beans. No problems with appetite after arrival either. Will your breeder play some crate games with your pup and once she's used it, take her for a couple of road trips with her travelling in the crate? It did wonders for our pup and all up he spent 52 hours in the air for the first trip and 6 hours (air and waiting time) for the second.

SilentChild, for the excellent customer support!

I just received a reply stating that they can't tell me the diameter of the horizontal wire (should be with 2, 3 or 4mm). Strange, given that they have at least one crate for a photo shoot (great setup Silentchild!).

Thanks for the suggestion. Had a look but their trays are metal, we're after plastic.

Our lot sometimes go off their food when we're travelling. I posted our solution in another thread here.

Has anyone bought a collapsible folding wire crate from Crazy Sales? I am looking at the 48" and while the price is great, I'm wondering about the quality. I have emailed Crazy asking the diameter of the horizontal wire as another supplier is advertising theirs to be 4mm but they are $45 more expensive and I'm after two of them.

This is what happens after a night of very little sleep and no coffee, then trying to multi task by putting up decorations and conducting sit/stay training at the same time.......

This is our 13 month old White Swiss Shepherd's first Aussie Christmas photo.

If money was unlimited we'd get a hydro treadmill for use at home and a custom dog trailer/ pop top caravan combo (nudge nudge wink wink Santa). Our own custom built home would be nice too.

An Invincibles 6 squeaker snake has kept three and sometimes all four of our dogs playing happily together. Just depends on if you can put up with the noise of multiple squeakers going off at the same time. Ever seen a snake bent into a triangle?

We have dry skin problems here too but we can't rule out change of season, moulting, very dry grass and lean diet as contributing factors. Unfortunately due to allergies, our only other known safe kibble option is Eagle Pack Holistic Fish (even the duck formula has chicken fat in it) and both are hard to get hold of which is why we buy it 5 or 10 large bags at a time. For now we add egg, oil and tinned sardines on a rotating basis until the environmental factors stabilise.

We had to induce vomiting last night after the youngest decided to help the older dog eat his dinner while the OH wasn't looking. Problem was, the older dog had been given a tablet in his meal and we didn't know which dog had eaten it. To be on the safe side, junior was syringed with two tablespoons of HP and within a minute up came the dinner and offending tablet. Just about everywhere online recommended one teaspoon per 10 pounds body weight. For our imp, that equaled 10 teaspoons but we gave him two tablespoons (= 6 teaspoons) which had the desired effect. Afterwards we gave him a good drink followed by burnt toast (activated charcoal alternative). He nearly gave me a coronary last night but today he's right as rain.