Kazm

Thanks Scottsmum. Your comment makes me feel a bit better and hopefully she does just need time to adjust. She's smart so really she should know that things haven't changed too much and we will always come home to her.

Thanks for all advice. Maybe a radio might work. I can try it. Our whole routine hasn't changed since Zena's passing. My husband works and I am privileged to be able to stay home and keep the household running smoothly. We live a casual lifestyle and I only ever go out a couple of times a week just for a few hours. Out for dinner occasionally and out and about on the weekends. Where possible Molly goes with us. This is no different either. We always have taken the girls with us if we could. Every week day morning I walk Molly for approx. 1 hour and some afternoons we go for another half hour walk. She does play with toys. Loves a good rough game and loves her soccer ball. I am an active person and keep busy all day and she's my little shadow. They both always have followed me everywhere and love when I work outside. I give her bones a couple of times a week. Keeps her occupied when I'm doing something she thinks is boring. Keeps her teeth good too and she absolutely loves them. We have always made sure our dogs have enough stimulation in their lives. I often have pups that I have sold come and stay with us while their owners holiday and being schnauzers quite a few come to me for their grooming as well as play dates so she has lots of dog company as well on occasions. I actually am kept busy with them all. There is usually an extra dog here every week. I guess she just doesn't appreciate us going out. I admit she does love being involved in everything. Thanks HMD. I am thinking it is loneliness as she does spend most of her time with us. I think too it must feel different being the only dog now. Despite Zena being her mum she was never dominant over Molly. I always said she was a big softy where Molly was concerned. She always let her get away with too much. But Molly wasn't dominant over Zena either. Very much on an even par. Never had any arguments. They were great together. I guess I can try the radio/ shirt ideas and see how we go. I just hate the thought of her being unhappy. I'm a softy too

As a lot of you would know, we recently had to say goodbye to my sweet mini schnauzer Zena. As you know we still have her daughter Molly. Molly has just turned 6. She has handled Zena's passing quite well. Better than I thought she would. She just has a few quiet moments when I think she's a little down but mostly she is a happy little girl. Has helped me so much through this time. The problem is she has never spent any time on her own. Obviously she has always had her mums company for her whole life. We now have a slight problem whenever we go out. She sits on the lounge looking out the window and whines, howls a little and occasionally yaps. The yapping could be at something she sees happening outside though. Her whining and howling isn't very loud and as we live on a large block ( 2 acres) the neighbours who aren't very close wouldn't be hearing her. I know this all goes on as my daughter works different hours each day and she is upstairs and can hear her. My mother in law also lives in a granny flat attached to the house and she confirms the noise. My daughter does attend to Molly if home so that's all ok and before anyone suggests leaving her with the M I L, this I do not want to get in the habit of doing either. I really think maybe in time Molly will settle and get used to being left. We are all going through an adjustment time due to losing Zena. Apparently she doesn't constantly whine and most of the time it is very quiet. I just hate the thought of her being this way. Is using tough love the right option or should I do something else? At the moment we haven't been out for very long. Only a few hours at the most but I am worried about when we actually go somewhere for the whole day.

SG your story of the toy that played music reminded me of a Christmas reindeer kids toy that if the belly was pressed it would play Santa Claus is Coming To Town. Molly absolutely loves this toy and has it constantly singing while she bounces around with it. Much to her disappointment it only comes out at Christmas time. And yes we have names for all our toys too. We have bunny, a pink floppy rabbit. Chook, a large soft squeaky chicken. Obviously ball, a ball and oh the list goes on. Our dog toy box has way too much in it and yes Molly is quite clever and can pick out most by name. She does love her games

Wow. That young. I thought a bit older. I love them

How old are the little cuties? I always thought I'd love to own a little kid but just don't think it's a sensible idea. I do love all creatures great and small.

I'll second that!!!

Too much cuteness!!!! Fern is sooooo pretty but I always have a soft spot for the real little ones.

So cruel. Why would anyone do a thing like that. Hope he is caught and receives a punishment that fits the crime.

When Zena was a young pup ( 9 years ago) we bought her a pink fluffy thing which her first litter of pups got hold of. It survived and went through 2 more of her litters and then finally had to be thrown about a year ago. It could only be washed so many times. It always amazed me as even the boy puppies adored this "pink" thing. Everyone loved it. The next toy to be used and abused by a multitude of puppies and still lives on is a "skunk". A black and white ( not any more) long toy. Perfect for those rough tug of war games. A favourite with all. And gets tonnes of use. And lastly I have one male pup ( my Mollys brother) a 3 year old who visits us regularly and he will hunt through the dog toy box and find his favourite toy. A grey plastic squeaky shark. Never fails to find it.

Sooooooo cuteeeeee

Other than the early start, how lucky are you

I feed my girl around 5 pm and then send her out for sniff/pee etc and then she comes in and sees what offerings she can get from us while I cook and then eat dinner. She will then wander around until we are ready to sit and then she will spend her time snoozing on the lounge with us. I send her out again before we go to bed, usually around 10 - 10.30

I hate to jump in on someone else's topic but I too am considering changing vets. Very unsure though. We have been using the same practice for approx. 20 years now. It is a small home based practice so he has always been very good on prices. His care (after hours also) has always been extremely good. Everyone is very friendly and knows us and our animals. Our first problem arose when our vet passed away a few years ago. All the good ones go too soon. The practice is still run from his home and everything is still the same except now there are 3 different vets working on alternate days. I always like the idea of seeing the same person. Unfortunately we can't always see the same one now. Animals don't need attention just on the days the favoured vet works. When my Zena first showed symptoms of something being wrong the vet that we saw couldn't find anything wrong with her although she did do a blood and urine test. These tests showed nothing Four days later Zena was unwell again and due to a problem with the vets phone service ( I couldn't contact them about getting an appointment)I decided to take her to another practice. This guy I have heard exceptional comments about and within minutes of Zena being examined he had detected a mass on her spleen. My mind went frantic and thought how come 4 days earlier at my other vets nothing had been picked up. Her belly to me hadn't changed and neither had her symptoms. Now I am left wondering how good are they. Is this new guy that I went to a bit more experienced. I only want my pets to receive the best of care. Obviously in Zena's case even if they had found it earlier it was always going to be the same outcome but I just don't know if I can trust them. But I feel my loyalties lie with my original practice. I honestly don't know what I am going to do.

I am so sorry to hear about your sweet Kirra. At least it sounds like she went very peacefully. I guess our fur babies are very clever and give us a helping hand in knowing when to make the decision. My girl let me know. My thoughts are with you. It's a hard and difficult time. I guess one day the pain will ease but for us it's taking time. All the best to you and your family.

Thankyou LFF . Life would be pretty dull without our four legged friends .

So happy to hear Kirra is continuing along peacefully. Fingers crossed you get to use extra cortisone. Our thoughts are with you. It's tough on the other side.

Tough decision. And it never feels any better even when you are told it's the right thing to do but we love our fur babies and never want to see them suffer. Thinking of you.

I'm just paranoid about all lumps. I'd get it checked out.

Nasty news, like we don't have enough to worry about keeping our pets healthy as it is. Agh.

1. How many dogs do you have, and what are their names, ages and breeds? Just 1 now, said goodbye to my other dog 3 weeks ago. Molly is a mini schnauzer and she is almost 6 years old. 2. Do you have plans for a new addition? Not at the present time. 3. Did you have dogs growing up? Yes, a corgi x and a mini foxie x 4. Do you have names saved for any future dogs? Yes I do but that could change when I see the pup. 5. What is your favourite breed? Mini Schnauzer 6. What is your favourite group? I don't really have a favourite group 7. Is there a breed that you admire, but probably wouldn't own? Giant schnauzer 8. Do you compete with your dogs in any discipline? No 9. Have you had an achievement, large or small, with a dog that you're particularly proud of? No 10. What games do your dogs most enjoy playing? Fetch, tug of war, chasing balls or another playmate. 11. Are you drawn more to male or female dogs? Female 12. What are your favourite coat patterns or colours? In a mini schnauzer I love the black/silver and other dogs I love a nice glossy coat 13. What discipline or sport in the dog world do you find most interesting? Agility 14. What would be your dream household of dogs? Having our Zena back with us and Molly 15. Where is your favourite walk? Any bush track along a creek bed 16. Does your dog have any funny habits? Where do I start. Of course she does. She's a schnauzer. 17. Do you have a favourite piece of dog gear? A fold up off the ground dog bed. Ideal for camping 18. What are your goals for your dogs? To live a long healthy, happy, fun filled life 19. Have you had what you consider to be a heart dog? Yes, my Zena, who we just said goodbye too. But I think I may be lucky in having a second one in my Molly now. Her daughter. 20. List five things you love about your dog Her stunning looks playfulness loyalty cheekiness intelligence

Sorry to hear of your loss. She certainly sounds like a lovely girl. We all miss them way too much I think. Hugs to you and your family.

I'm with you DDD. I have been watching this thread and after reading today's posts I just feel like enough is enough. The poor woman just wanted a sweet little dog to cuddle. And thank goodness, she now has one

Hey Phyl. Love the name Pebbles. And I applaud you taking on a pup at your age and totally understand that she will make you and your husband so happy. She will give so much love and put laughter back in your lives after all that has been said here. Our little fur babies give love unconditionally and do not descriminate. Wish you all the best with Pebbles - lots of games, fun and puppy cuddles.

Thankyou C and M. I think so too but then I'm totally biased My girls mean the world to me.