Steph M

Sometimes the more opportunistic critters eat the unfortunate victim too. Or is it CPR?

Good luck, Whippytails!!!

Come join me Ali. Although I do have sit, sort of have drop and stand we can do pretty good...minimal distractions.... Recall? yeah...nah....we have cats that are heaps funner than me. Us too. We have a good recall for his age, Gus will come back if a dog at the park isn't being TOO fun, otherwise all he needs is you to literally point him in the right direction and he's back focussed. He'll sit, drop, sometimes stay and pee on command but other than that, nada. Hahaha. I'm not too stressed yet. Let him have his fun.

We're a bit the same, not many kiddies around here, thank the heavens. Sounds like you did really well! You should have offered to crate the kids hahaha.

Gus is pretty awkward too. Gangly and dopey looking to watch him run!

Gus the Flattie is the WORST swimmer. Mostly due to his enthusiasm, just throws himself in and panics, similar to Luka. I had to fish him out the other week and he tried to get back in again! We're seriously considering a life jacket and perhaps a trip to the doggie pool.

He is so damn cute!

I would believe it. Nice to see someone with experience sharing some of that rather than bureaucratic rabble from half-wits.

It's very sad really, to induce a fear so strong a kid recoils and jumps at that age under the guise of 'their safety'. Seems mad to me, I can't imagine any positive outcome to such learning. When you mentioned the lab rushed and licked her, I'd call that an overenthusiastic greeting rather than an attack, not ideal, but certainly not a mauling by any stretch of the imagination. Very sad all up, that kid will miss so much!

The latest in the Gus Chronicles. Little monkey is in fabulous nick, so well behaved and funny! Loves other people, dogs and critters but we rank highest. Lucky!

Gus used to haaaaate the car, do the same thing. Lots of carrying on and sulking, but we just kept it up and he's made the connection that car takes us to parks, beaches, cafes, visiting people so now he LEAPS in and waits to be seatbelted in. Very funny. Just stick it out, he will come good! Food is always a good thing to have on hand, Haha.

You're a whiz, no one is an expert and there'll always be stumbles. So fab you're on the road to happy now!

We're teething hard this week. Oh my god am I losing things to the teeth! Never wrecked a toy now we've lost 2 in one week. Vale Ducky and Rope Frog. Poor little guy is full of sass as a result.

He's as much of a nut as the Murdoch gang. Should all be rounded up and sent to an island somewhere. Perhaps PNG.... Seems that's the done thing now!

Thank all that's good we have no humping. I would have no time for that!

I didn't notice a smell either, but do laugh when I tell people what they are. We're very much carnivorous here so no cares given to 'gross' stuff in this house. Haha.

I ordered these and got them fine, they didn't last long with the teething monster. I have the same prob, they're all a bit small and sad. No offence to the 'donor'...

What if it's not in complete disregard of other people and their dogs? What if other people and their dogs do it everyday anyway? Do you join them because your dog likes it and all the other dogs involved enjoy it or do you continue to walk your dog on leash because it's the law despite the fact your dogs are better behaved than most and the place is already crawling with off leash dogs? I faced this same dilemma and in the end compromised. Dogs are allowed off on the fields if no one is on them (including the people that practice golf driving next to the sign that expressly forbids it), and they are off along the back of the field where we meet the occasional jogger, walkers, or other dog walkers, then go back on when we walk along the main thoroughfare, past the playground and picnic tables and fishermen and off again at the point sometimes if it's nice and they want a swim. It seemed pointless to keep my dogs on leash when everyone else's dogs were off leash having fun in case my dogs annoyed said dogs (who had already come to greet us anyway). Particularly when people were like "Why are your dogs on leash? Are they aggressive? Do they run away? Should I put mine on?" If we see someone with an on leash dog mine go on leash or into stays well out of the way. I don't consider that completely disregarding other people and their dogs. I have to admit we've been guilty of this too. There's a few dogs down the on-leash park here that are often off leash and I always ask if they're friendly and usually let Gus have 5 mins of running around with them. I hate having him frustrated like that when he can't get off and other dogs are off and trying to entice him to play. They don't get in anyone's way and they have a blast. There's hardly any dogs around in the park because of the stinky creek running through it, but I quite like having a chat to other people while the dogs have a romp. It does us all good and we have a real lack of off leash parks locally. We generally drive the 20 min to the nearest off-leash but sometimes it's nice to not have to get in the car, I do know it's wrong and in all fairness if I were to cop a fine so be it, I'd be the fool there. When he's had his five minutes I pop him back on his leash and carry on walking. Surely we're not public menace number one here.

Generally I agree and can see how that would happen, but do tolerance and putting up with things that aren't so great seem to go hand in hand? I wonder where the healthy medium falls. That is really a sad state of affairs, how miserable! You poor thing, that sucks. How do you exercise the dogs, dare I ask? I think I would go stir crazy if I couldn't get Gus out for a walk when he's firing up!

I tend to agree, I watch Gus eat bones and things and he uses them to hook into food and hold it so he can gnaw it off, and imagine the aftercare! The idea of keeping puppy still for weeks just makes my skin crawl, haha. I even worry about keeping Gus still after the snip! Haha. Still, each to their own but not for me unless they cause great dramas.

Definitely. Might at least get a ranger to do a drive by every now and then! We have one that walks between two houses and in and out of the fence and it's a nasty little shite, I'd love to report it, but never sure which house it lives at. One day!

There's a poultry shop in Oakleigh who do turkey necks, frames, wings and marylands. Not sure if that's any easier, but they're happy to take phone orders and pop it in the freezer for you if you ask

I think whilst giving them the full groom might perhaps be less than ethical, treating the fleas would be more so, somehow? It just seems less wrong. Though I'd worry they might have an allergic reaction or something, and would hate to be responsible for that.

That was me! Sage advice, I will do some googling!

I've heard fab things about sheeps heads too, but my stomach just lurches at the idea of doing 'clean up' after. One person I know boasts all that are left are the teeth, but erk. I couldn't do it and I have a pretty strong stomach. I give gus everything really. Whatever bones or meat that's marked down/on special at the shops is a goer, he does get marrow bones but he really only scrapes the meat off then cleans the inside out. They go in the bin once he's done that. He loves a chicken wing, raw or frozen. Though he did bring up a whole bone last night on the carpet so I think we might move to turkey seeing as he has to chew those. Necks are the same, just go down the hatch, no chewing there. Lamb flaps and shanks are good too, found a place that does lamb shanks for $5 p kg! We all have them now! Would love to get my hands on rabbit, masterchef has made it a bit trendy and driven the price up, curse you! Anyone who knows where to get decently priced rabbit in melbourne please do yell out! Haven't tried the frames yet as the freezer is due for a clean out, there's hardly any room for our food, would like to get boiling chickens quartered too.