Steph M

Belly bands seem quite hard to come by. Perhaps I'm looking in the wrong place. We just made one for Mum's jerk maltese, some fabric, a maxi pad and some velcro. Might be the cheap way to do it if he's still growing and hopefully won't be an issue for long. :) http://janiceserilla.com/2012/04/17/free-sewing-pattern/ Does this help at all?

I would consider it a breach of my privacy if my breeder handed out my details to potential puppy buyers without asking, and if asked to be honest I'd probably say no. Not that I don't think she is awesome, but I just don't think I'd be comfortable doing so. I don't think you'll find that a condition many breeders would put forward. Some have Facebook groups or similar, but as a non-negotiable I find this strange.

Have you had her vet checked? No signd (assuming no symptoms of needing to go at all, not just very subtle ones) is very odd! Could she be incontinent?

Carcinogenic? F10 is vet grade disinfectant, I'd wonder what they use instead!

He absolutely could not have 'just lied to you'. You would be entitled to the same recourse had he not known, lied or sold the pup sick knowingly. Your kids must be having a rough time too. Are they coping OK? You're correct to protect them from lepto, absolutely. I'm so sorry you got caught up with such a scumbag. I believe fair trading can take a while in some cases, good you have texts etc, the more you have in writing the better. I'd be going the solicitor route too, personally..

Perhaps even a letter from your solicitor will be enough to jolt her into action. Please please do not take the pup now though, if you haven't already. She's manipulating you.

We have a one eyed shihtzu who coped disarmingly well with losing her eye. She does get nervous on some new surfaces as her depth perception probably isn't that great now but a prosthetic wouldn't fix that. I wonder as well about the extra risks of adding what's essentially a cosmetic element to a major surgery.

I think there are companies that can custom make them to fit, but I don't think they are something that would come in and out frequently easy. So if you are happy with keeping them in there for the most part you can look into that? I don't have any reccs but have seen it mentioned a bit on here.

Yes I saw this on the news and my first thought was thank dog my two wear muzzles. Stan would not eat anything unauthorised! You blasphemer! He seems like he has the same goal as Gus, leaving the house means sniffing and potential treats. I know he would eat whatever he found and at great speed before I could take it off him...

There have been cases in Richmond and the inner suburbs as well. The scary thing is the more are reported the more sickos across town think "GREAT IDEA!" and copy them. I have seriously considered walking my dog in a muzzle so he can't eat things, cause heaven knows he would.

Is there anything other than chicken? I know chicken can be quite fatty and if we have a few nights on it our dogs can get the runs from the fat.

A kitten! Haha. Not really just for him, but I am hoping they will be buddies. They also got a swag of cheaper toys (inside quiet toys that will inevitably go outside and become festy )

I have a syntek collar and am very happy with it... An orange one, it's very vibrant :) Gus and Luna match! I'm really pleased too actually. Anything as grub proof as that wins in my book.

We just have the two, but if we were to get a new pup we could baby gate off the two ends of the house, or throw the adults out with a big 'busy bone' for an hour or so, but I can only speculate as there is nooooo new puppy on the agenda for a while, there will be a new human in a few months and that's the game plan so far! Adults are quite happy to go out for an hour or so at a time and don't need any separation so we are lucky there.

It wasn't magic, it was careful management. We got up every few hours to wee for a few weeks and had a total of 4 accidents all up, yes it was bloody tiring and it was a struggle in its own right, I never said it was a breeze but I'm glad we did it the way we did and yes, I could rely on Gus to ask to go out after 2-3 weeks. I'm not bragging, its just how it went for us? Be it luck/magic or the fact that we too worked our asses off is none of my concern but he was an easy dog to toilet train. I'm sorry you're struggling but there is no reason at all need to get snappy. No one has suggested they're doing it better or that their way is better, just that its different. Every dog and every person is doing.it differently. If you want to crate your dog and its working power to you! If not, that rules too. I was just sharing my story, I hope things get easier for you.

And if they allow selling at 7 weeks (which is highly undesirable IMHO), it is highly unlikely that the kitten will be desexed before going to its new home. Vets down here don't like to do them too young .. the one who did mine likes them to be at least 12 weeks but prefers 14. So I don't see how that would help the unwanted kittens/feral cat problem in the least. (Rules for registered cat breeders are the same here ... minimum 12 weeks, microchipped, and must be desexed if not being sold to another registered breeder. Other issue is that vets cannot desex until kittens are a minimum of 1 kilo in weight. Kittens never reach a kilo by 7 weeks. I wonder what that will mean for transport too, animal transport companies won't touch a cat or dog under 8 weeks and need a vet cert to back that DOB up in a lot of cases. 8 week old kittens are still so young with so much developing to do! Any younger would make me very uncomfortable.

Not at all, Sheridan! Just stating that we did it a different way and that was what worked best for us. What works for you guys may be different! Not to mention my bigger dogs means bigger bladders so slightly advantageous there. ;)

I am not anti-crate as such, but it isn't the way we have chosen to manage out dogs so I can have a go at answering that if you like? Gus was crated at the vet during the day before and after he was desexed, apparently he was quite calm albeit barked to try and snaffle more treats and gave the resident clinic cat a really good grooming through the bars, he has never been crated before or since but if he were really struggling and did not cope I would ask the vet if there were benefits to sedation to take the edge off or if there were other ways to manage him for the duration of his stay. I know a few dogs who are crate trained but will still chew out an IV or bark up a storm, I trust my vets are equipped to handle him if this were the case. The reasons for us not crating are basically that we don't want a crate each dog as a permanent part of our decor, which I will admit is totally selfish on our part! But I will also say that had we had issues that needed addressing I would have looked into it, as it stands the gumnut twins basically have their own couch, come inside, curl up and go to sleep while we do our thing and make dinner etc, so the need has never really arisen. They ride well in the car, we never had toilet training dramas or any real need to be honest! Perhaps we will do things differently next time, perhaps not. No idea! :) I can certainly say I didn't NOT crate because it is cruel when used correctly. It just didn't work for us in our particular circumstances.

Totally understand! Your circumstances are a little different, as would be if one was ill or injured. 8 hours is still a lot different to 16+! :)

The idea makes me feel a little queasy to be honest. A whole day in a confined space with no company would drive me coco bananas.

16 hours a day in a crate!?! Sheesh. I can see why that is too much. I also shudder at the mention dogs are left in them unattended while owners work. Three months is a while, we managed without locking Gus in a crate all day in a few weeks. This is a crap article, IMO. It uses poor examples of crate training and doesn't actually present much from either side. Also quoting PETA as a source is minus another 20 points. Haha.

I've seen that dog on FB. She is bigger and doesn't have hair on her face. Poor little darlings. Do you mean this girl? https://www.petrescue.com.au/listings/373062 We just arranged her move through work, she is quite the office celeb at the moment! What an interesting lady!

No drama! Happy to give you a hand if need be though! :)

I work for Jetpets and more than happy to help you out if you like? Can PM me and I can pass the details on to our international team tomorrow? :)

Oh that's heartbreaking.