BarbedWire

JulesP Cat hair and scruffer hair seem to cling. My earlier dogs (boxers) did shed but it was more like horse hair. My dogs are allowed on one couch which is where I sit mostly because I like having them close. It does have a rug over it though which is regularly washed. I will see my doctor asap and ask for more medical advice as I know I shouldn't be asking for medical advice on a dog forum.

Diva how often does your dog go to the groomer and if you don't mind saying which groomer is it? As from tonight my dogs will be sleeping in another room. It does worry me though because one of them has seizures and she had one yesterday and if she is in another room I may not hear it.

Thank you Diva. Asthma is in my family too. My children have allergies - grass, dust mites, cat hair. I had one bad attack as a child but was okay until I had open heart surgery. I had asthma after that and have had problems since. I thought it was the cold because it is worse in winter and I was trying to avoid that so I try to avoid going out in the early morning. The asthma is bad this year though and I worry about my oxygen levels. I take flixotide and ventolin but it is not controlling it although it is always worse early in the morning and is now settling a bit. I wonder if it is the grass this year. Thank you.

I have had trouble with asthma over recent years and I am wondering if my dogs hair could be contributing. ATM my asthma is bad and I may need to go to hospital. My query is what can I do around the house to eliminate dog hair? It seems to be everywhere. The dogs do sleep in my room but in their own beds and I close the room up during the day. Yesterday I vacuumed the room completely even pulling the bed out but last night when I got into bed I am sure there were hairs in my bed. Should they be sleeping in another room altogether? They are both scruffers with longish hair but do not need clipping. I wash them myself and I brush them regularly but should I (can I) have them washed and groomed professionally anyway? (Sorry if I sound embarrassingly ignorant but my chosen breed is short-haired.) I always thought groomers were only for clipping.

That is a gorgeous dog. I am so envious. Good luck to both of you.

A beautifully trained bitch pottering in her yard while in season can still be mated by a beautifully trained entire male who jumps the fence.

And the owner of the bitch would be left to deal with the oops litter.

Soooooo...today the dog had a run-in with a freshly painted wall....well, not so freshly painted, it was just on the tacky side of dry. But tacky enough to act like flypaper and attract a big golden-coloured pest.

Owner wasn't amused, boss totally unimpressed, son had to take an early smoko because he had the giggles and the dog spent most of the afternoon in the bath at a local grooming parlour (might hurt the hip pocket a bit).

It will be interesting to see if the dog is allowed to run free on Monday when the painters are on the premises..... :rofl:

Priceless Poetic justice

If I was younger I would love a border collie, one that can retrieve 100 different articles when you name them. Also I have always wanted a cairn terrier. I think they are cute little dogs but that is probably not going to happen now either. I think my current dogs will be my last.

That video is so cute MRSRB. How can anyone eat a cow? I was wondering if cows have a social order and whether the first one to approach was the leader?

From the Bellingen Shire website

http://www.bellingen.nsw.gov.au/works-services/ranger-services/barking-dogs

Section 21 Nuisance Dogs

(1) For the purposes of this section, a dog is a nuisance if the dog:

(a) is habitually at large, or

(b) makes a noise, by barking or otherwise, that persistently occurs or continues to such a degree or extent that it unreasonably interferes with the peace, comfort or convenience of any person in any other premises, or

© repeatedly defecates on property (other than a public place) outside the property on which it is ordinarily kept, or

(d) repeatedly runs at or chases any person, animal (other than vermin and, in relation to an animal, otherwise than in the course of droving, tending, working or protecting stock) or vehicle, or

(e) endangers the health of any person or animal (other than vermin and, in relation to an animal, otherwise than in the course of droving, tending, working or protecting stock), or

(f) repeatedly causes substantial damage to anything outside the property on which it is ordinarily kept.

I would suggest that Honey has been declared a nuisance dog because of clause 1

I don't see anywhere that Honey has been declared a dangerous dog. That sign is facing the wrong way if it is supposed to indicate a dangerous dog and I think it is just decoration. Besides surely no-one would be allowing a declared dangerous dog into a nursing home. The article does say that Honey has been declared a nuisance dog which is why she is known to the rangers. I think there is a difference between a dangerous dog and a nuisance dog.

I once had a dog that escaped all the time. She used to climb a tree and then go out on a limb over the fence on to the garage roof behind and from there jump to the ground. Hmm, she was a boxer with cat feet who was a fantastic jumper. Once out she used to just hang around as though waiting for my other more sedate dog to join her. The only way I could keep her in was to leave her on the enclosed verandah.

I think the guy in the article has tried and his dog is pretty damned cute.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-09-22/houdini-dog-cant-be-contained/7866444

Houdini dog can't be contained, racks up $4,000 in council fines

ABC Coffs Coast By Ruby Cornish

Posted about 4 hours ago

A dog owner is asking his local council to show some flexibility in the way nuisance dogs are dealt with, after clocking up nearly $4,000 in fines.

Justin Brow, of Bellingen in New South Wales, has spent years trying to dog-proof his backyard, but his unusually resourceful kelpie Honey keeps finding new ways to escape.

"She's the canine equivalent of Houdini. And my yard is like Fort Knox," he said.

Mr Brow has attached extra wire barriers to his regular timber fence, reinforced parts of it with corrugated iron, and poured cement along the fence-line to prevent Honey digging holes underneath.

He said no matter what, the dog always managed to get out and roam free.

"There's a feeling I get sometimes, that she turns into smoke and re-forms on the other side of the fence," he said.

"I've had dogs since I was four years old, but this dog is different.

"She'll sit and look, and you can see that she's reasoning, trying to find a weak spot.

"There are times when she's been contained in the enclosed verandah and she's dug up the floorboards."

Mr Brow said Honey's escapes had not gone unnoticed by local authorities, and he was now on a payment plan to help him deal with dozens of fines issued by the local ranger.

"It's become this ongoing war between me trying to contain the dog and the local ranger," he said.

More flexible system needed

Mr Brow said the way the system was set up meant he was always fined before he had a chance to get Honey off the street.

"[The ranger] doesn't do anything about getting her off the streets. He just takes a photo from his car and I get a printout attached to a fine," he said.

"I understand he's got his responsibility, but this is simply revenue-raising.

"He could quite easily give me a buzz and I'd happily come and get her. That would be entirely reasonable.

"There's a different way he could be doing his job, that reflects Bellingen's sense of community."

Bellingen Shire Council general manager Liz Jeremy said in a statement there was a process in place to discuss strategies with dog owners to prevent their pets roaming.

"Most dog owners will voluntarily comply with the legislation and are not usually the subject of any future incidents or complaints," she said.

Where dogs had been declared a nuisance dog, as Honey had, Ms Jeremy said there was a requirement that they be managed more responsibly.

"Generally these dogs have been repeatedly observed to be roaming in a public place," she said.

The council declined to comment on Mr Brow's particular circumstances.

Honey set to be adopted by aged care facility

Mr Brow said the main reason behind Honey's repeated escapes was a desire to socialise, and plans were in the works to make her an official therapy dog at Bellingen's aged care facility, Bellorana.

"She has a really sweet energy and I think as a therapy dog that's perfect," he said.

"She doesn't jump up, she doesn't lick, she'll just sit by someone's side."

He said Honey had already spent a few days at the facility, and the feedback had been positive.

"The doctor told me there had been one guy who had a stroke and couldn't use his hands, and when Honey turned up he started patting her totally normally," he said.

"There's talk of [bellorana] actually adopting her full-stop, though my family will still hang out with her.

"It's going to be a really good outcome."

I have 2 Japanese spitz that are part of the family and have had past issues with neighbours sooking because ours dogs bark as I am sure all dogs do

They are not sooking. Do you have any idea how annoying a constantly barking dog can be!!!

Agree. And the neighbours who are screaming and banging are probably becoming demented because of the barking dogs or were they screaming and banging before the dogs arrived?

Edited because maybe I was being inappropriate: Of course all dogs bark sometimes and that is as it should be, but from my experience dogs who bark non-stop are distressed and it is stressful for people to listen to them, especially people who are tuned in to doggy behaviour. Some people don't notice dogs barking because they don't notice dogs. It doesn't mean the dogs don't bark.

I sympathize with BBB's attitude. It is a bit like racism in the dog world. The police are careful how they describe 'the wanted' and in the same way we should be careful how we describe dogs wanted for a crime. Perhaps the papers should just say they were medium sized brindle dogs of chunky build.

Oh, please.

Naming a breed for the closest possible match that people would be familiar with is nothing at all like racism. Nobody is calling a staffy, a staffy, because they hate staffies. It looks to someone like a staffy so that's what they call it.

Oh please yourself. I am not saying that they are calling the dog a staffy because they hate staffies but because if they name the breed (or race) it might suggest that all staffies (or races) behave in this way and that is what has upset BBB.

The average Jo does not know breeds of dogs. Just look at the thread in General. They do not know what a bull breed is (a French Bulldog is a bull breed) and they have different ideas about what a staffy is. By naming the breed here all it is doing is vilifying the breed.

I sympathize with BBB's attitude. It is a bit like racism in the dog world. The police are careful how they describe 'the wanted' and in the same way we should be careful how we describe dogs wanted for a crime. Perhaps the papers should just say they were medium sized brindle dogs of chunky build.

I tend to agree with you Teebs. My kids are grown and I don't have a husband but I do have grandchildren and another dog. (The guy in the article had another dog that was picked up and taken to a shelter.) Also I can't swim and I stay away from water if at all possible. If my dog was in this situation I would be running for help and screaming my lungs out (sadly asking someone else to risk his/her life for my dog) but not going in myself.

eta But if my dog was being attacked by another dog I would be in there trying to rescue her.

We all like to think we would try to rescue our dogs if they were in danger but would you risk your own life to save your dog?

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-09-14/man-nearly-dies-trying-to-save-dog-from-flooded-melbourne-creek/7843240

ictorian weather: Man 'nearly dies' trying to save dog from flooded Melbourne creek

774 ABC Melbourne By Patrick Wright

Updated about an hour ago

Dog rescued from creek in Melbourne

A Melbourne man who was swept a kilometre down a flooded creek while trying to save his dog from drowning says he is lucky to be alive.

Heavy rain has been falling across Victoria in the last week, causing headaches for residents across the state.

Areas in central and western Victoria have been flooded, including Hamilton, where people were evacuated amid concerns a temporary levee would burst.

Peter from Pascoe Vale, in Melbourne's inner north, said he had been out walking his dogs on Tuesday evening when one of them, Mia, jumped into the flooded Moonee Ponds Creek for a swim.

"As usual, I was just walking the dogs along the creek. They were frolicking along and then Mia went down to have a swim and the water just grabbed her and took her," he told 774 ABC Melbourne.

"She was trying to get out but she couldn't. I realised she was going to die, so I tried to get her."

Peter, who has not provided his surname, was swept about a kilometre down the creek before he managed to stand up just before the Pascoe Vale Road bridge, where he was seen by a passerby who called emergency services.

He was eventually rescued by the Metropolitan Fire Brigade (MFB) and taken to hospital with hypothermia.

"I usually live in thongs, but yesterday I wore some runners and I had some grip on the floor of the viaduct," he said.

"I managed to keep my footing for about 40 minutes until [the MFB] came. They were wonderful."

Would he do it again? 'Definitely'

MFB officers tied a rope to a tree and told Peter to concentrate on the water that was coming at him, and not anything else.

"Look, we would have died. If I had worn thongs, and if the emergency services didn't turn up when they did, it would have been a disaster. I have no doubt of that," he said.

"[They] threw me a rope and I managed to swing around ... and I threw the dog up the bank at that stage."

Peter said Mia, who was taken home by the MFB, was in a little bit of shock, while his other dog — which was left on the creek bank during the ordeal — was lost in the confusion and ended up in a shelter.

He said, despite the scare, he learned a valuable lesson.

"I know now [not to] go anywhere near those sort of areas," he said.

But would he jump in again to save one of his dogs? "Definitely."

I found this site very useful

http://www.canine-epilepsy-guardian-angels.com/

I have an epileptic dog. Her seizures started when she was about 18 months old and she is now 8 and a half. She is not on medication although I was given some to try at one stage but I did not use it. They only go on medication when the seizures are frequent (more than once a month I think) and hers were about 2 every three months. Even now I find the frequency is not consistent. Just recently she had three in three months but she has not had any since. What is difficult about it is that they could have a seizure when you are not around and you would not know. Also the medication does not stop the seizures it just makes them less severe.

She is a gorgeous dog and I would do it again although the actual seizures are horrific. All you can do is keep them safe (my dog throws herself around violently and I can still remember the crack as her head once hit the concrete) and wait for them to pass. I have got used to it now and they don't bother me as much. My dog is on the small side (10 kgs) but I don't know if I could handle a bigger dog having a seizure. I had a boxer who had a one off seizure when I was out walking with her and I just waited and prayed that she would recover because there was no way I could carry her. Fortunately she did come around and we made it home but the experience has made me wary of having a bigger dog who might have a seizure.

I agree with Showdog that you can't leave them with another dog because the other dog might attack them. When I leave her at a kennel she is always kennelled separately from other dogs although that being said I do leave her with my other dog sometimes but that dog is only small (5 kgs) and I don't think she would hurt my seizing dog although if I am going to be gone for a while I do leave them in separate parts of the house.

I think it might be a good idea to try the dog off the medication before you make a decision, but that is up to you of course.

Whatever you decide good luck with it it's not easy.

Thanks Trifecta. ATM she is looking good. She got up on the chair with me this morning and snuggled in as is her habit which I love because it makes me soften up and relax too. I have seen Sandra before and she was great but it took a few weeks to get an appointment. I will keep her in mind though.

Thanks PK for thinking of us. The consult went okay and the vet was great, really gentle handling her and she didn't need her muzzle. He thinks she has arthritis in her hip and back and he has given us a painkiller for it. ATM she is sleeping. If it doesn't work she will have an anaesthetic and have an x-ray taken. I was afraid of disc damage and possibly an operation, but as usual I think of the worst case scenario.

Thank you Pers and PK that is a really reassuring post. Your dog sounds so like my dog.

Just bringing this thread up again. The dog with the limp tail now has back issues and she has a vet appointment at 4.45 today. Just looking for advice and info. I have wondered about her back a lot over the last few months and I thought something might be going on but she always seemed to pick up and I let it go because she hates vets so much. The last few days she cannot always jump up on to the chairs (my dogs are allowed on the chairs) and this morning I was going to lift her up but she yelped and I then made the appointment. Can anyone tell me about disc issues in dogs and what sort of treatment is available and how much it is likely to cost. I am very worried not only about her but also because there are a lot of human family issues going on at the moment.

If anyone has been following my threads it is the same dog who has anxiety, convulsions, and food allergies.

Sorry too anxious

Sending you kisses�. Love the comments� typical from some�

Know the feeling

Yep, been there got the t-shirt too.

Thanks for the bullying guys. No value add to the thread but plenty of boots stuck in.

Oh the irony - it seems some are safe targets but others are fair game.

I apologised for causing offence. Seems that the DOL police have decided that they must serve up their version of justice.

You win. I am leaving. There is clearly no place for people expressing concern about dogs anymore lest they be singled out for passive aggressive bullying. What a shadow of a forum this place now is.

12 years of membership and hounded out by a few people who want to say it it all goes down here. Forget it indeed.

Please don't go. I do value your knowledgeable posts. I know I don't post any more because I am too scared (which is my issue) but I do read and I always read your posts and I thought your posts in this thread were useful.