Steph M

I agree and I like to think I have the ability to take a step back and think rationally about things, but sometimes this doesn't happen. I;E in an emergency (real or percieved). IMO this incapacity is easily exacerbated by a lack of clinical knowledge, understanding of jargon or just unwillingness/inability to question authority figures. I know my grandmother has a chubby 16 year old cat with a myriad of other random issues recently got stung for a full teeth clean and removal of a skin cancer on her ear. At 16 that wasn't likely to be what kills her, and surely the risks of anesthesia are greater than the cancer. Her other cat, Lucy, lived til 14 and when she passed, quietly in her sleep while being boarded at the vet while Grandma was away, they called to ask her if she wanted an autopsy and the nurse proceeded to ask if she was sure she didn't want one 'for peace of mind' It isn't so much me I worry about, but there is a huge ageing population, most of whom were raised not to question professionals like doctors etc. I know my grandma certainly falls into this category. It isn't exclusive though. I've also been stung (pardon the pun) for anti-inflammatory shots for when Gus got stung by a bee. I didn't see it so thought better safe than sorry as it was right on his mouth and I worried if it were a wasp and he'd swallowed it or an allergy or something it could be dangerous. They offered the shot before I was even told 'it's just a bee sting' Happy to pay the consult fee to be told that, but rather annoyed I didn't get the option to decide on the course of treatment, which would have been home and some stingose. It's a position of power and it saddens me to think it might be misused and your love for your pet might cause you to be taken advantage of.

KnobDog! I love that! And yeah, we might be waiting til ten too. Knowing the Flattie longevity he may well be KnobDog til he drops. Sigh.

Could he be undergoing a change in temp due to being uncomfortable? I believe some meds can exacerbate hunger too. I don't know about Pred but could it be one of those too? A quick google search says it can have that affect in humans, as well as feeling jittery and wrong. Sounds like a dosage or medication issue but these things do need time to settle and take full effect sometimes so might be worth calling the vet before despairing. It so sucks you've had such a crap run, Lhok.

Gus was doing the same thing! Happy to sit, drop, do anything you asked him but in the downtime, or wandering about he was doing exactly the same thing. Being a total knob head! Hahaha. He doesn't seem to realise that not everyone wants 30kg of big black dog launched at them with sheer joy. I have to admit, where we can't be in total control and give him all our focus we tend to not take him out on lead, rather drive to the beach/park etc and let him run off lead. I hope we're not doing the wrong thing... We tend to walk on lead when it's quiet and we can say 'nope, you're being a twit. back we go to the car or away from whatever it is you want' but the thing is with it being quiet, we don't come across many people he wants to talk to etc, but we can reward him for being calm and sedate regardless. I should also mention after a run he's usually pretty good. So same applies then but I'm more likely to take him down the street or somewhere. My thinking is when he's so wound up and acting up like that I'm not going to get through to him, so may as well just avoid those situations until I can expect a little more focus from him and he knows what I want from him. Must be the age thing. It's painful though!

I understand having to pay costs and make money but it’s all pretty bleak. I trust my vets. I don’t have a veterinary degree and as thus I place a lot of trust in my vets and believe they’re acting in our best interests. A tooth clean under anaesthesia isn’t a small deal, and to an older dog that can be a sizable deal. Extra shots can be hard on the bank account and above all I don’t like to think I’m pumping my pets full of crap they don’t need. Numerous studies report we’re spending more and more money on our pets, we’re more aware of their health and more likely to visit the vet for a minor issue than we were 20 years ago I’d imagine. Lots of friends my own age have pets rather than children and tend to look after them as such. I do have to wonder if it’s a degree of greed rather than the need to cover costs. Perhaps also the large, well advertised franchises like Greencross are driving the smaller local vet under?

He was the same. He was honestly hopping on the spot and whining. Not one for patience… In all fairness, it’s a lot to ask for a young dog to hang about and wait their turn. Restraint is not a known concept… And new things are exciting! A lot of that is growing up IMO. He still does need to learn patience. Good heavens. Haha. Dare I ask what she did? She's cute enough to pull it off...

He honestly had an absolute blast, Lisa. It's amazing how strong that instinct is and watching young pups and older dogs just take to it, without any real formal training. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone. It was great! Lots of handy hints in general too.

Gus was in fine form this weekend for the Gun Dog Assoc. Training Day. He hadn't had a walk in 2 days so was ready to go and I should have seen the impending disaster when he was doing happy zoomy laps of the front yard while I was loading the car up. He was a total turd. All barking and chatting and just wanted to talk to the other puppies. So excited once he realised there was retrieving going on. He worked out what we were doing pretty quick and the gunshot didn't bother him at all. We got some awesome tips and I'm really excited to keep at it. We spent ten minutes this morning playing the 'steady feet game' He was getting better but alas, suckers have to work. He really was such a bugger at the start though. Spent most of his day on the long line but showed ‘great potential’ according to one of the throwers toward the end when he A) had stopped barking out of excitement, and B) was allowed to retrieve from water, which admittedly we’ve done much more of than on land. I was concerned he was going to take me into the dam though. Every time anyone threw a dummy he was launching himself forward on lead. I had the fear and today my shoulders are killing me! I have some photos but alas, they’re at home. Will post them later! We had a blast! Not sure we're welcome back though! Hahaha.

NOVA LOOKS LIKE A PEANUT! OHMYGOD SO CUTE. AND LITTLE NIX! Oh what I wouldn't give for a time machine for an hour or so. Sigh.

Almost definitely, I would say. I can't tell the diff a lot of the time and I try to be as un-biased as I can, it'd be a free for all with a bias!

Seriously though... Where did this tiny puppy even go?

The only stack I get from Gus is A over T.... :laugh:

We do this. It's nice! Like a mothers club of sorts sometimes. Also a source of great support, laughs and advice. I am lucky to have gained a handful of new friends as well as the ideal dog for us. Everyone wins!

Gus was selected entirely for us. We had no impact other than gender. He was decided at 7 weeks or so and it was a lot of blind faith on our part, well placed it seems. We’re a pet home predominately so the most important quality for us was his temperament and fit to our somewhat lazy but social lifestyle. We wanted a dog who was not too drive-y, but drive-y enough to try our hand at retrieving and obedience, but not to a terribly high or competitive level, I suspected. If we both enjoyed it I was happy to keep at it, but if not was happy to let it drop. There wasn’t much cosmetic difference in the dogs other than gender, being an all black litter (and majority of the breed…) so that was easy for us, haha. The breeder asked a thousand and one questions and I sent her back an essay, which I imagine can’t have hurt? We got exactly what we were after, I honestly couldn’t have picked better for our life and seemingly for his. He is a retrieving dynamo, whereas some of his littermates aren’t interested in the slightest. He’s happy to go days without a walk if need be, so long as someone will chuck a ball for him, or play tug or just have a good cuddle on the couch, whereas again, some littermates are destructive demons. He loves hopping in the car and going to visit people, or go for a drive and a swim. He is confident and funny and loves everyone. He’s slotted in so well, and the same comes back from his siblings new owners. They all got the best fit. Even the cheekier ones are a great fit. There’s a degree of how he was raised that plays a part, but I attribute a huge part of his personality and how well it matches us to his breeder. I wouldn’t think twice about recommending her to anyone. I wonder often how we’d feel if there were different colours in a litter, I’ve always coveted a liver flat coat so had that been an option I would have jumped at it, but on my list of one-day breeds there’s lots of different colours that can occur within litters. I’d still go for a great match with us than a cosmetic match though. Any day.

Yeah, it's just an attractive little thing to add to Gus's list of things that make him a winner! I got his Xmas photos back yesterday, and the photographer had wiped his wart out and he looked like a different dog! I was blown away, haha. Not better or worse, it's just a fixture now. Part of life I guess. I have to admit, we’re almost ready to have Gus done too. Early next year would be about when we’re thinking. It’s not that he’s worrying me but the change in other dogs is noticeable and he’s getting picked on a bit. I love his soft, love everything nature and wouldn’t want that to change after he’s had one too many growls from another dog. It’s just not worth it. His breeder suggested 9 months to be a good time initially and I think we’re ready to have it over with. He’s a good size, and is developing well so far and I’d like to think it won’t be too detrimental. He should be almost a year when we get round to it but I could happily do it now before summer, alas, the no swimming, no running, no exercise would be hard to do at the moment, as we have doggy things on most weekends. He's off to try his paw at retrieving this weekend. Should be interesting… Will provide photos. It’s at a winery so if all else fails I will drown my sorrows. Haha! That carrot is cracking me up!

Brooke is charging up the camera in anticipation! We're excited!

I am convinced they’re spirit buddies. The moles are gross. Gus has a tiny little bald spot under one of his eyes and we had the vet have a look at it and it’s not fungal or bacterial and we’re just holding our breath it isn’t a new wart and just a bit he’s lost through roughhousing with Rosie. It’s been there for weeks and nothing has happened. Looks like a teardrop. Brooke calls it his prison mark. Ahem… And regarding the desexing, 9 months is pretty good. Lots of dogs are done at 8 weeks and show no ill effects, he’s not likely to suffer anything great at this point. You’ve kept them as long as you can and it’s probably stressing him out having these hormones and no outlet for them. Still worth wondering what will distract him or keep him busy after, you don’t want it to become a self-rewarding PITA habit. Any closer to us and he’d certainly have a play-buddy! They can compare warts….hahaha. Ew. Omg! Hahaha!!!! There was a mal at lure coursing last weekend who just decided he wasn’t interested in the lure and was having a sniff and then refusing to be caught. Went on for about 10 minutes and everyone applauded the guy who caught her in rugby tackle! I couldn’t handle the shame of it all…. Gus had a big bark the other day too. He was asleep in bed and Brooke was coming home late and possibly tipsy and bumbled in the door, gave us both a fright and Gus charged out barking and then realised it was Brooke and got so sooky and apologetic. I think he would have done the same HAD it been a burglar but hey. It’s comforting to know he’d at least let me know if we were about to get murdered…haha. It is a proud moment, isn’t it! This thread is lacking photo updates! Cmon everyone!

Ooooh, I have a dental xray that morning, but I might have a look! Wonder if they take dubious crosses? Haha. Are you coming along? Im sure you could ask, they allow Igs :) Sadly I wont be there as I have the human kids dancing concert tomorrow night/Sat/Sat night and backing it up with a dog show in Ballarat on Sunday. Hopefully next year I will be there :) That's a shame, Whippytails, curse those pesky human kids! I sent a message to ask if misc, imitation whippets would be allowed and got back if they're friendly should be fine. The x's might have a run alone unless there are some open minded whippet owners who don't mind them interloping. I should hope it's not a big issue, she would love it! She's 12kg of pure muscle at this point. I was also told that they need to have a reasonable recall as the area isn't entirely 100% secure/whippy-proof. Just F-everyone's-I. Haha.

Ooooh, I have a dental xray that morning, but I might have a look! Wonder if they take dubious crosses? Haha. Are you coming along?

Yes, I agree. A photographer on the day got some fab closeups, but I haven't bought copies yet, so not mine to share. She's at her most gorgeous on the move. So happy and so strong! I love watching her run!

Surely as they know the faulty batch numbers they should be recalling that whole batch...

It might be a fight for pole position (no pun) They would be besties, I'm sure of it!

argh!!!!! Gus must be spirit brother to Nixon. I'm sure of it! He loves a good lick. And then he goes for their mouths! So rude! You try ignoring it thinking 'he'll get bored soon' and they love to show you up.

Haha. Was it intimate excitement, Ali? Hahahaha. Poor Nixon!

I'm smelling a cool Christmas gift.....