Loving my Oldies

Chopper certainly is a handsome looking dog. Again it doesn't do anything for perceptions of the breed, but perhaps until you are alone in the park you could muzzle him? It would keep people and their dogs away from you and also give you peace of mind.

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I live in a very quiet street in Normanhurst where a lot of people walk their dogs. From time to time, I am aghast at the number of poos not picked up and have been sounding off to others who live in the street. I have even phoned the council and the reaction was, "Well what would you like us to do?" Anyway this morning I had walked all the others and was taking Tilly out on her own. She is a tiny, ancient, blind Chihuahua who loves her walk and because she is slow, I take her on her own. We were half way around the block and I was standing waiting while Tilly sniffed a very important blade of grass. A man walking along the road greeted me and I thought he was just being neighbourly. Oh no. Next thing, "Did your dog do a poo back there?" "No," I said, pulling out my supply of plastic bags. "I always have plastic bags." "You sure?" said in an aggressive accusative tone. "There's one there." "Yes, I always pick up after my dogs," I said and walked on as he turned away. I was sorry later that I hadn't asked him to show it two me because a lot of the poos are obviously from much bigger dogs than Tilly. I should have suggested he feel it to see if it was warm . I have been half expecting this, because I would bet my last dollar that this fellow wouldn't have approached a man or a man and woman walking together. It happened where I last lived. They feel very brave about approaching and accusing a woman walking on her own with small dogs. :D ETA: Whoops, posted in wrong place. Don't know how to move it in General.

Oh god. That poor family. I feel sick. All those years of sorrow, fear and fighting and now much more to come.

Not only settling in, but also putting on weight --- finally.

Many thanks again for all the responses. Everything seems to be fine now: no more sicks and no more diarrhoea. I have been giving them chicken and vegetables and rice cooked in chicken stock. I have also cut down on the amount of food I give them as they certainly aren't underweight. I did go to Woollies again for chicken frames (they didn't have any) and the sight of their deli meat was extremely off putting. Dried, discoloured and overpriced. I rarely buy anything there for myself, so I will also be going elsewhere for the dogs' food. Hopefully we are back on the straight and narrow. Now to concentrate on MY diet (says she reaching for a sweet biscuit)!!

Ellz is correct. With Optrex, I think it works because of the elimination of bacteria and also the cleansing of the eyes so there isn't as much irritation. I discovered it purely by accident when, many years ago I had two Maltese who had really really bad tear staining and I did try several of the commercial products - none of which worked. When one of them had a mild eye infection, my vet recommended Optrex. His infection cleared immediately and because his eyes looked so bright, I started using it on the other dog as well. After a while I noticed their staining had almost disappeared. And this from dogs who made one little girl comment, "They've got blood all over their faces." !! After that, I just used it every few days or even less and their staining was never a problem again. I am never with out it now and still use it on my present dogs every week or so, but more often if there is any sign of a build up of gunk.

Many thanks for the responses. No more meat from Woolworths - going to the butcher for it from now on. I used to use a lot of the chicken mince (minced up frames) from pet food suppliers, but Tilly has an intolerance. However, I am going to go back to getting that as well and just be more diligent and supervise meal times, so she doesn't get any of it. None of the dogs seems to like chicken necks, though, and they are ignored until I pick them all up to throw away. So I've stopped getting them. There is no question of its being parvo, for those concerned people, thank goodness. My newest addition has been to the vet on numerous occasions in the past 8 weeks for check ups and treatment. He didn't come from the pound, but he did come from a home where he was being neglected, but he is doing really well now. Danny has also been to the vet in the last few weeks for treatment for a mild ear infection. I have one pack of the Woollie's food left, but that's going in the bin and tonight they are on chicken and rice and veggies. Thanks again for your concern and responses.

I came out this morning to a wonderful sight: several small mounds of "throw up" around the house and diarrhoea splatters all through the house. Luckily no carpets or mats (as much as I would love some colourful mats). All dogs, 6 littlies, were speedily shut out of the house, so I could start the ghastly clean up. I think the one throwing up is Danny (approximately 8 years, 6.5kg, cross breed red spitz from pound early 2002). One with diarrhoea I am pretty sure is Tilly (elderly, blind, hernias, heart murmur, l/h Chihuahua, from pound mid 2005, but happy little soul) as I checked all botties and bedding and the only one which was a little bit dirty was hers. Danny seems stressed because of a new addition to the household – Rover is a 16 years old toy poodle who was not being looked after by his owner and I have had him for about 8 weeks. I’ve had to pay a lot of attention to Rover as he has had health issues which are thankfully being resolved. Danny could do with losing some weight and he has always been highly excitable jumping around like a lunatic even if I’ve just been to the post box!! Their main diet is raw dogs meat purchased in large packs from Woolworths. They used to love this and I mix in rice cooked in chicken stock. Occasionally they are given dried food which they are not keen on. I have started to cook the meat which grew from just heating it up to tepid as obviously they weren’t interested in cold meat just out of refrigerator. If they start to get fussy, I will mix a bit of canned food, but very rarely. They also get raw bones from time to time and rawhide chews are always available. I also give them tuna, rice and cheese every couple of weeks. I have been very lax lately on the vegetable front and they have not been getting veggies. Is there a processed food (wet) which anyone can recommend? Thanks.

I was going to start a separate topic for a concern I have, but when I saw this topic, I had to read from start to finish. Apple Cider Vinegar has a long history of being a treatment for all sorts of things, but I have never been able to "stomach" it, but will be giving it another go for my dogs and me. Brown paper was also used as a preventative measure for car sickness. Apparently you put sheets of it against your chest - under clothes against skin. As I have never suffered from car sickness, I have no idea as to its efficacy. Tear staining: use eye wash called Optrex from chemist. Just soak a cotton wool ball and gently wipe over and around eyes. Also squeeze a little bit into eyes. I'm off to find the ACV with honey!!!

Jye and Sooty look as though they are exchanging the deep and meaningfuls. Probably something along the lines of, "Aren't we smart chaps to have found such wonderful homes?" Best wishes Mel. Cynthia

Dear Rozzie I was scrolling down the topics and just gasped, "Oh no!" when I saw Roadkill's name. I'm sure everyone who visits DOL regularly has wonderful mind's eye impressions of you and your amazing family at Mudgee and the gorgeous photographs and entertaining vignettes you post. Truly, a light has gone out and our DOL world is poorer, but still rich in memories and the knowledge of your love and care for all your creatures. Thanks for reviving another wonderful memory, Harminee. With love and warm wishes Cynthia

Tornado My father died a few years ago in Brisbane. After the funeral, I went through all his panio music and selected the music I wanted, as was his wish. I came across a piece I hadn't seen or played for years and of course that was one of the pieces I took. It was a very obscure work and certainly not too many people would know. On the day I was to return to Sydney, I had a bit of time to spend before going out to the airport and so took a wander through David Jones. What was playing through the store .... yes, that piece of music. Eerie ?? Arolf

After I'd read your tribute to him, I saw what you'd said on the post about where people got their dogs and whether they were happy or not. A very courageous and hard decision you have had to make. I hope your new little champion will help to ease the sorrow.

Sincere condolences, Kristie. What happened?

The following is an extract from a talk I gave a couple of years ago about PAWS. I was telling the gathering how PAWS came about .... "A truly wonderful page and a great favourite is the Sultan Memorial Fund page. Through this Fund, people who have lost pets can sponsor one of the dogs looking for a home and put on the website a photograph and dedication to their own pet. Sultan did, in fact, exist. He was a dog who came into the Pound late in 1999. He had been a guard dog, but now that he was old and sick, he was no longer able to work and thus no longer wanted. He was homed to a wonderful couple who made him very happy for the last couple of months of his life. When he passed away, they emailed us attaching their own website which is all about their own animals and we were able to view pictures of our darling Sultan living out his last weeks in love and comfort and special companionship. You can visit this site on a link from the PAWS site. Sheila set up the Sultan Memorial Fund to honour this lovely old man and also as an avenue for memorialising all those other creatures who have left our lives but still mean so much to us. " Rozzie, I don't know if you still have your own website... do you? Regards Arolf