BJ.

Yes I did have a baby gate for previous dogs which worked great. I just have to remember where I put it. Somewhere safe no doubt. Better photos of the girls.

Leaving doors open would work except for the indoor cat. I have had success with getting them to sit and wait...still a work in progress as I also have to train my husband. Often Dolly gives up and goes back to napping on her bed, Daisy is the bulldozer. Next is no chasing the cat! Thank you everyone, I just needed a reminder how to go about it. Been a while since I had to teach it.

The girls, Daisy is the tri colour, Dolly is the red and white. Hope to get better photos soon.

I have recently adopted a pair of older Basset ladies, they have been with me about a week now. They have already picked up toilet training and will sit stay on their beds. Pretty good for dogs not previously indoors. One problem we are having is barging through doors as soon as they are even slightly ajar. They are like a pair of bulldozers. I can get them to sit and stay but as soon as I put a hand on door they release. Of course they are then rewarded because they get to go where they want. I want to get on top of this asap as it can be a safety issue. Open to suggestions.

Wow, what a beautiful little girl. Congratulations FF I am sure she will bring you much joy.

My parents are in their 80's and have a 10 month old Bichon Frise, he has been great. Happy with a toddle around the block. Solid without being too big for them to lift. Very easy to train and not too barky. They are in a small town house complex but have enough room fir him to run around and chase a ball. He has his mad puppy moments but overall he has bought them lots of joy. We have an agreement that if anything happens to them he will come to me or my sister. He is a super little dog.

I am so sorry Perse, it must have been quiet a shock. Poor little Tallie cat. Take care of yourself Persephone, I will be thinking of you and Tallie.

We said goodbye to our beautiful Boomer this morning. It was such a privilege to have shared the final chapter of his long life. We only had him 9 months but we have some very precious memories to cherish. He was such a wonderful old boy, always trying to please and always with a grin.

Lol I didn't know they were FB famous. They have settled in well, unfortunately they are not good with cats but that is a work in progress and we are managing it by separation. Their names were Boomba and Digger, hubby would like to change them to Boomer and Daisy. As the dogs are hearing impaired and don't answer to their names anyway I don't think it will be a problem. Their old owners dropped off some medication for them Saturday and once they took the dogs off their application they got a house straight away. Some good news for them at least.

We lost our Jester back at the start of January and for the first time in forever there were no dogs in our house. It was far too quiet and there was something missing. So I put it out to the universe last weekend, low and behold on Thursday I had a phone call from a vet who had two elderly beagles surrendered. Their poor owners had been looking for over 3 months for a rental that would take their small family and their two dogs. The dogs had been in a kennel for all that time and the family were in a hotel. So we now are the owners of a male and female beagle. They are 13 and 12 respectively. They had some fatty lumps removed, their teeth cleaned and blood tests on Thursday. They are the sweetest things, and have settled quickly. He just wants to eat and sleep, he has some medical issues. She is a little live wire but tries very hard to do the right thing. Look at these gorgeous old faces.

Yesterday morning Jester quietly slipped away in his sleep. After loosing Nash 18 months ago Jester had been fading away. I am convinced that after loosing his friend his immune system crashed. We tried so hard to support him medically and emotionally but it wasn't to be. He is now buried with Nash on my daughter's property. My heart is full and my house is empty. For the first time in over 30 years there are no dogs in my house. Vale my beautiful boy, I know that you and Nash are reunited at the bridge.

So sorry, RIP Jarrah.

A lovely tribute to your Daisy. I am so sorry Bec for your loss.

Yes but look how he is looking at you.....Yes sorry I know not helping.

I was going to like Clive's photo but like isn't enough. Good grief Perse he is gorgeous.

My parents have had lots of different terriers on their rural block, the best ratter they ever had was their Westie. She was lightning fast and lethal. She was a pampered town dog for the first 4 years of her life but adapted quickly to farm life. The other terriers they owned were an Aussie, Irish and Lakeland all would rat but the Westie was the quickest.

Oh I can relate DDD, since Nash's passing I have been having terrible troubles getting Jester to eat. Vet visits showed nothing wrong, changed food, mixing different things into his food, nothing made a difference. One sniff and he was out of there. A Basset not eating is unheard of. When I let him out in the morning I feed the cats their raw food, if there is any left overs he can eat them when he comes in. So a few days ago I left his bowl of biscuits in the cat room, bingo all his biscuits gone. I haven't had a problem since....touch wood.

He actually played with the grandchildren this morning. He sat in their play tent and had a "tea party". This is the first time in a long time that he has showed any interest, and now it is sleep time but the light is a bit bright.

Yes PK, the vet thought she might have to remove a tooth so he was under a GA. He ended up just needing a really good scale and clean. I too thought it might be dental issues. I am now splitting his meals into 3, seems to be helping. We have another check up in a fortnight for a weigh in and to check his feet.

Thanks for all your replies. I think for the moment I am not going to actively seek out an addition. As Diva said it needs to be right for all of us. Nash was a gift from the doggie gods and who knows what is in the future. @juice I remember well what you want through with Zelda. @Dogsfevr I don't do anything specific with him but he is with me for most of the day. We go out somewhere nearly everyday. Now there is just him I tend to take him out visiting. Days when I don't have anything planned we go to the dog park for a wander and sniff. We do 10 min walks every couple of hours. Slightly different routes each time. We have our little routines as he is a creature of habit.

As most of you would know we lost our darling Nash in early May this year, he is sorely missed by us all but particularly Jester. Since May Jester has seemed to have lost his spark, I thought time would help and that he would enjoy being an only dog getting all the attention. It hasn't happened that way. He had a full physical exam yesterday, they cleaned his teeth, flushed his ears, did a full blood work up, urine tests etc. He has a small fatty lump on one hock and a patch of yeast infection between a couple of front toes. Everything else was excellent for an 11 year old big dog. He has lost 2 kilos since his last check up which was in January and is now under weight, which I am not surprised about as he often ignores his food bowl. He has been on Meals for Mutts grain free for about 18 months. Do you think another dog as a companion will help? I have been a bit surprised as he is not very good at sharing and will resource guard if given the opportunity. Nash was so gentle that he never reacted back, finding another dog who was the same could be difficult, I also don't think it is very fair on another dog to expect them to put up with a snappy basset. Being 11 I think I wouldn't have a puppy with him just because of the difference in play levels. I would dearly love a giant fluffy as my next dog, Newfoundland, Leonberger or Bernese, getting one of these as an adult could be difficult and there is quiet a wait on puppies. What do you think, wait it out and hopefully he adjusts? Or start actively searching for a large breed companion?

So sorry for your loss Malamum. Fly free beautiful Kira.

Nash passed away late last night. He fought hard but those long legs that had taken him on many adventures had failed him, he was just too tired to continue. He insisted on going out to the toilet at about 10, it took two of us to get him out and in. It just took too much out of him. He slipped into unconsciousness and passed away with his head in my lap about 20 minutes later. We have buried him on my daughter's property where he loved running the boundaries. Vale my darling boy, run free from pain and the restraints of old age.

So sorry Minxy, Kyojin was a beautiful big boy. His tree will be a lovely memorial. So many of our DOL oldies are leaving us, so loved all of them.

So sorry, I have always loved hearing Trouble stories but not this one. Give the lovely girl some ear scrithchies from me.