Inka3095

Does this come under what the PACERS people do to help out here?

Thank you so much Missing her so much

I feed my dog in a Kong for every meal. I put her dry food in there and seal it with BARF patty lol. She can't gulp her food and keeps her busy for 10 mins twice a day for meals. These bowls look kinda fun too!

I've filled out the forms and make an inquiry about her. Hope to hear from them soon :)

I love the look of Indiana, we were a bit scared off by the 'wanting to get out to follow you' thing because whilst they have secure fencing, a dog that wants to escape can usually do so. Maybe I'll get in touch with them and see if she's still available so I can have a chat :) ty!

I think we decided that one requires a bit too much exercise/is a bit excitable to be happy at my parent's place. Pretty close to what we're after though :)

My Mum's heart dog Inka passed away at age of 13 from renal failure not that long ago. Originally she wasn't planning on getting another dog, however, she's missing her little shadow so badly that she's now really wanting to adopt another dog. Keesha is Inka's litter sister and is moping badly. She used to be quite good for her age but now is just lying around, barely bothering to get up to do anything, not eating her dinner unless coaxed and generally being miserable. I'm therefore on the lookout for a female kelpie or kelpie type dog that would be suitable for an older (in their 60s) retired couple who are home 95% of the time. There's no hurry, which is good, because my Mum has a rather specific list of things she knows she wants.... 1) Female only 2) Any age, but in reality, probably an older dog as they wouldn't keep a bundle-of-energy happy with their lifestyle 3) Quiet/placid in nature; she will get a walk and a car trip every day, but it's only a walk on-lead and it won't be for hours (high energy kelpies would be miserable with that) 4) Not crossed with a bull-breed (sigh, I know I know.... I tried... I failed...) Just checking to see if any of you guys have something suitable in care/foster at the moment :) There is a perfect sounding girl in the 'non-urgent' section but I saw her too late and now she's on trial! Bummer! Thanks all :)

I rang the vet and got her an appointment for early this afternoon, then took her on a super long walk and made a point of going from one poop to another on the way (no one picks up their dog's business here in the northeastern suburbs apparently) which eventually encouraged her to have another go. SUCCESS! Then when we got home she went again. I couldn't see any reason for the problem..... Cancelled the vet under the understanding I'll be keeping a close eye on her for a while and will bring her in if I'm worried again. This dog will be the death of me....!

My 6.5 month old pup seems to be quite stopped up She's never had this problem before, but I noticed her straining this morning and then couldn't poop and then gave up. Then tonight on our walk she didn't even try (first time on a walk EVER she hasn't pooped), then tonight again she tried twice, straining hard but no success. She ate her dinner with her usual enthusiasm and played as normal this arvo but seems a bit flat tonight (though it's possible I'm being paranoid). She's recently (1 week or so ago) been switched from Taste of the Wild grain-free dry to Artemis dry (contains grain). I also feed a bit of 'big dog' BARF because she likes it with each meal. I did the gradual change over between food and she didn't have any GIT problems I noticed, however, now she's not doing so well! She's also on a 3 week course of oral antibiotics for a UTI (but in my experience this would be more likely to cause diarrhoea than constipation?) When would you guys say enough is enough and take her to a vet?

Beautifully explained story, laughing here too!

Blerk my 6 month old shiba is just finishing her first season (and the first one I've ever dealt with!) - she was super quiet and subdued the whole time, didn't want to play or do much, and just lay around. Now she's almost back to her old self and just finishing up the leaking.... A 'few drops of blood' was what I was expecting... it was a lot worse than that lol. Oh, and she managed to get a UTI in the middle of it all

That is pretty impressive!

Do you guys think that dogs sigh to express emotion like humans? Or do they simply sigh for physiological reasons? My dog was running around in the kitchen trying to get up to mischief so I called her into the computer room and told her to lie on her mat. She looked at me, looked balefully at the mat, looked back at me, heaved a huge sign, then walked very slowly to the mat and lay down whilst letting out another long sigh. It's easy to humanise what she was thinking, but do you think they actually do that kind of thing?

I'm toying with the idea of looking for another, quiet, older kelpie who would be happy to be Mum's shadow and just hang about the house on the (ridiculously comfortable) beds Mum has dotted around the place. Mum has no interest in anything other than kelpies which makes it hard to imagine finding the perfect dog as they're not known for their layabout tendencies... I'll just keep an eye out in case something perfect comes along. And if it doesn't, then it wasn't meant to be.

Sorry Sheridan hope you're coping ok

Thank you so much everyone; I miss her face so much. She had this special spot on the top of her head that fitted my hand perfectly so I could just rest my hand there for ages and she didn't seem to mind. My Mum is so lonely and doesn't know what to do. She doesn't want to replace Inka and always swore she'd never get another dog after she passed away but without her she's finding it just so hard

Thank you Thanks for keeping an eye on this forum and commenting. I find it difficult to read about people's pets who have passed away but venture in here sometimes and always end up a wreck if I read too many. It's such a comfort to know there's so much compassion in the world Thank you

It is with great sadness I wish my beautiful 14 year old kelpie x on her way to the rainbow bridge. She was put to sleep yesterday, the 06/01/13 at 13:00. She was 14. Inka was an oopsie puppy bred to a kelpie who wasn't contained well enough during her season to a border collie who lived across the road in Cairns. My Mum, sister and I had wanted a dog for the longest time but my Dad was 'not a dog person' and had always said no. Finally he relented and the three of us girls went to view this litter. 5 little kelpie x babies were tumbling around but this one was trying to climb up a very steep set of stairs! I picked her up and she grumbled loudly at me interrupting her brave escape attempt. It was love at first sight. We ended up choosing two pups that day because my Mum and I didn't want our Inka to be lonely one day in her life. My sister chose her favourite and we left with two pups who have given us 14 long years of joy, laughter and love. Inka grew up as an 'outside only' dog because my Dad, whilst allowing us to have a dog, wasn't going to have 'animals crawling around his feet.' This lasted until we moved to Melbourne in 2000. He went outside on our first cold Melbourne evening and saw our two girls huddled together (they were used to Cairns weather!). He draped towels over them and came inside. Half an hour later he went back out, collected them, put the towels at the end of their bed and told them 'just for one night until you get used to the weather.' They were now inside dogs. We walked them 365 days a year, sometimes 2-3 times a day because they had energy to burn. They NEVER learned not to pull on the lead no matter what we tried. They NEVER had any decent recall and they certainly never learned not to bark at passers by (they did improve at "QUIET DOWN!" over the years though). They were, despite their unruly behaviour, the most fun to have around ever! I moved out of home a number of years ago and Inka became my Mum's heart dog. She was her faithful shadow who was either watching or walking next to her no matter what she did. Inka ruptured both her cruciates chasing the next door neighbours' escaped rabbit one day and had expensive surgery to repair them. Trying to contain that dog and keep her quiet was the most challenging thing we've ever done! It was impossible! Keesha, her sister, was not a good influence either! Over the years she's had multiple more vet visits but nothing has slowed her up until she went into renal failure late last year. She soldiered on as best she could, putting up with a dodgy back, collapsing back legs, poor hearing, poor eyesight and allergies, but eventually she just couldn't fight any more. On Friday night of last week my Mum called my sister and I to her house in a panic saying Inka wasn't drinking. We tore around there and cajoled this poor dog into eating a few things and having a drink. She made it through Saturday with my mum squeezing drops of water down her throat with a syringe because she was too ill to drink herself. On Sunday morning she was vomiting everything we gave her and couldn't even stand up. It was time to give her her wings. It was the hardest decision we've ever made but she was telling us enough was enough. The vet was fantastic and made a horrible experience bearable. We all said goodbye, she was given some sedation and the rest was so peaceful. We are going to scatter her ashes behind her favourite bush in the back yard where she would sit for hours and survey her land. Inka, you gave us the best 14 years of our lives. You loved us as much as we loved you and no dog is ever going to compare to you. Keesha keeps pacing around from room to room wondering where you're hiding, my Dad hasn't stopped crying since yesterday and my Mum and sister are a total wreck. My sister hasn't taken a sick day in 5 years but today she got to her car, stopped, turned around and came back inside because she couldn't face the day. I'm not much better but am trying to be functional for my poor Mum. I love you Inka, take care of yourself until we meet again my black girl, I miss your wise eyes so much. Be at peace my girl

WoW wow wow wow how totally unacceptably appalling Poor darling boy. RIP beautiful, this should NEVER have happened

I'm looking at kennels at the moment in case I need to board my girl this year - would really appreciate a pm if you get a chance

I've had her for 5 months and have said 'wee wees' every single time she's peed and given her a 'high value' treat afterward, and she still won't pee on command... I'm not sure if she's a bit challenged, stubborn, doesn't care, or I'm doing something wrong... She knows other tricks, just won't toilet on command no matter what the reward

Great to know - getting excited there may be an easier answer than I'd thought :) :) Just a quick question, if she takes too long to do #2 in the morning and I have to put her in her day pen without going, does it do her much harm? She does have a toilet tray in her pen but she hasn't used it for months since she got old enough to have more bladder/bowel control (I actually think she uses it as another bed now >.<) so in theory she COULD go, but in practice I think she wouldn't. So if she skips her morning #2, is that going to cause any problems for her, health-wise? I take her for a walk in the afternoons where she goes without fail, but she does like to go at least twice a day, after her breakfast and dinner, if I give her enough sniffing time.... Gross topic, sorry everyone

Thanks heaps for the ideas guys, they're worth a try. I personally don't mind our strolls to the park multiple times a day, but I'm so disorganized in the mornings and I'm about to start my new job so can't be waiting for her for 10-20 minutes each morning in the park to find the absolutely PERFECT bit of grass on which to do her business or I'll be late. It wouldn't be such a big deal if she were an outside dog, but she lives inside during the day when I'm at work so she does have a finite time within which to do her toileting. PS: I remember Blocka well! The other rottie that came down with him is still my friend's dog and is doing well :)

Oooh do they not know the difference between the grasses? That would be amazing if she'd use fake grass! I just assumed she'd think it was carpet or something and wouldn't want to get shrieked at for using it

Hey guys, sorry about this, just wanting opinions... My 7 month old shiba is very fussy about where she wants to go to the bathroom (and when).... it's taken me almost as long as I've had her to reliably train her to use grass as a toilet and not the nice dark corners of carpet in rooms of my house... Now we've moved to a new rental that has a large backyard that I was told by the agent 'would be planted with grass' by the time we moved in. This was not the case, it has been laid with crushed rock with a few sad garden-beds of woodchips with no plants. The landlord said it's 'low maintenance' and wasn't interested in even going halves in the price of putting grass in. Besides the fact Cinder doesn't really like walking on the rocks (they're sharp and hurt her footsies) she also won't use the yard as a toilet and will only pee/poop on walks or when I give up and take her to the local park as I'm afraid I'm about to push her into renal failure from holding for so long each day. I'm watching her inside like a hawk because I don't want any accidents, but am not sure the best way to go about retraining her to use rocks/woodchips instead of grass? The other option is planting grass but it's actually a huge amount of work to do it right and very expensive, even in a smaller area (we wouldn't do the whole backyard) unless you plant seed which would take FOREVER to grow and would take a lot of love in this hot weather too. I reverted to puppy toilet training methods (every 20 minutes or so out we go, on leash, then back inside on leash when she didn't go) etc) but it simply doesn't work because she refuses to bathroom at all out there. Do you think it's just time and patience or would you give in and spend the money on grassing a portion of the yard and hope she'll use that? It's terrible packed soil that is going to need a HEAP of prep work before we can even lay the grass too. I just have become totally obsessed with this dog's toileting and I feel like a right psycho because I have the urge to discuss these problems with friends.... like they somehow care lol...