Diesel the Weasel

Mine just attacked the xmas tree last night. I am sure he is going to be pooping tinsel for a week. :D

Took the furballz back - they had run out of the red and black one I had and only had ugly orange and lime green ones. They were really nice and let me have the ball from an ugly one and put it in my red and black one! Diesel is happy again, although this one makes completely different sounds..... it moos like a cow!

Can you believe that after saying how good they are, I came home this afternoon and replaced the batteries in it, and it still doesn't work! It still vibrates but doesn't make any noises any more! I have only had it for less than a week!! So p*##ed off right now!!

So shoemonster, you would recommend getting a 'back-up' hairballz?? There are so many colours, I could get a family of them.....

Mine likes the pigs ears, but they do last a long time. I have tried the roo tail, but seems to be a bit too hard to eat at this stage? (he is 16 weeks). The dried roo meat straps (about 30cm) can disappear in one day! Good to know that it is a lean meat though - will get more of them intead of the pigs ears in the future.

I have only seen it in one pet store - might be worth ringing around first?? They are about $22 - but the nice man in my local pet store gave me the demo model for $14 (it had only been used for 2 days!)

My pup had the same thing - although he ended up at the vets for 10 days with surgery to try to clean out the infection in his intestine. (See earlier post 'Sick Puppy') After a long recovery time, Diesel is now back to normal eating patterns. I had him on bbq chicken (no skin or bones) for about a week, then introduced boiled chicken, rice, veg and a bit of gravy. Just slowly introduce 'normal' food back into the diet. You may get the occasional spew if it is too rich (avoid sausage meat ). But she will get there and be back to her normal 'puppy personality'! Good luck!

I took my pup out before he was fully vaccinated - I believe it is equally important to socialise a puppy. But I just made sure I took him to relatively 'safe' places (ie. no dog parks). I found walking on the road was good (just a quick round the block walk), and the beach was fantastic - just make sure you stay below the high tide mark where the sand will be clean. Diesel has just had his 3rd vaccination, so on Thursday I will be able to start taking him anywhere! I can't wait!

I just found the coolest new toy out there for Diesel. He plays with it for hours at a time! It is called a 'hair ballz'. It is a big fluffy ball with a face, but the coolest thing is when you drop it on the floor it starts vibrating and rolling around. It also sings, makes cat and cow noises etc..... very entertaining! It might not suit a timid dog, but my puppy LOVES it and learnt within 10 mins how to set it off himself. A really good toy for all you puppy lovers that have to leave your babies home alone for a while. I have also recently bought him a sand pit. He loves digging and burying things in it. I bury treats in it before I go to work in the morning, and I know he must dig for quite a while - all the treats are gone in the afternoon, and there is sand kicked all over the yard! (thanks to other DOLers for that idea!) So there are lots of things you can do to keep your puppy entertained and stimulated while you are at work! I am on holidays in less than a week, so can't wait to be able to play with Diesel all day! Lots of beach visits for us I think!

I boiled some chicken, rice and frozen veg mix together with some chicken stock and added some ham pieces afterwards. My pup loved it! Not something I would do all the time, but he had been sick and I needed something to get his appetite back. Maybe you could make a big pot of it then freeze into smaller portions to pull out for an occasional change/treat? Mine also loves chicken necks. I give him one in the morning when I leave for work as it keeps him occupied for a little while.

Diesel is soooo much better! He did a sudden recovery over the weekend and is now back to his usual self! Went to the vets yesterday for his 3rd vacc, and the vet was really pleased with how he is recovering! He has only had 2 pigs ears ever! He takes weeks to get through them, which was why I was suprised he ate the roo so quickly! Having trouble posting photos - the files are too large. Will try to play around with it on the weekend......

My puppy (a 16wk MS) loves pig's ears and I have just discovered dried kangaroo, which he loved so much, he ae the whole thing in one sitting! (Took him about 1 1/2 hours!) I am wondering how often you can give these to puppies (and adult dogs as well)? Is one a day ok - it is good entertainment while I am at work, or is this too much? Also, should they replace a meal if he is eating them in one go?

I read that parvo can be spread in the urine as well and is able to survive on grass for about 3 months. Much more difficult to know if your dog is sniffing a month old wee! Does anyone know how long parvo really hangs around for??

Mine LOVES crunching christmas beetles. I tried taking them away from him, but he has just learnt to chomp them down quicker now! Doesn't seem to harm him - extra protein perhaps??

My pup (also Diesel!) was at the vets for 10 nights. He was fine with it. It is the best place for them if they need looking after - it will be less stress on you knowing that he is in the best place and knowing he is being looked after. They sleep heaps after surgery anyway!

Sounds like a puppy! Tigerbalm on the furniture, keep your bras off the floor and bury his poo in the holes he has dug. Worked for my crazy puppy - but they will always find other mischief to get into!

Puppy preschool is safe and friends dogs that you know have been vaccinated. I was also told that the beach is a good place to walk them as long as you stay below the high tide mark (carry the dog from the car to the wet sand) and of course pick him/her up if another dog approaches. I went to the beach with mine and he loved it!

We had a mini cool change come through last night (high 20's instead of 30's!), but it seems to have been enough to perk him up a bit today. He has started drinking again and I have made him boiled chicken, rice and veg with a little bit of chicken gravox and some small pieces of ham for flavour. He is loving it and has started eating again! I guess it is to be expected that he will have some good days and bad days while he is recovering, and overall he is a million times better than where he was a few weeks ago! In between sleeping he has started to show interest in his toys again, so that is a really good sign I think! Yes, Lily, the vet and nurses have been fantastic. And I didn't have to sell a kidney on ebay afterall to pay for this. People were telling me to expect a bill for $3000 for all he has had done - thank god I found a vet that charges a reasonable amount! I can't recommend them enough to my friends with pets! He was supposed to be having his 3rd vaccination next week, but they have suggested to put it off for a week to give his immune system a bit of extra time to improve. I didn't think that the vaccines contained live viruses??

I went to the vet this morning - she said much the same. His intestine was very gurgerly suggesting it is a bit irritated. So she said try boiling some chicken, rice and veg together for him. My main concern is though that he hasn't been drinking today. He normally drinks alot, but won't touch food or water. Should I be concerned or just see how he is tomorrow?

He had a spew and some diarrhoea last night, and off his food this morning (even roast chicken can't tempt him). So we are back to the vets today just to check . He still seems alert and has put on some weight, but considering his history they thought it better to get him in just to be safe. I was wondering if maybe this is just heat related? It has been over 30oC every day here for about the last 5 days. I know some dogs can go off their food with the heat, but getting the runs??

Puppy preschool at your vets is definetly worth doing. They teach basic commands (sit, down, stay and come) which I had already taught my boy, but it is another story trying to get a puppy to listen to you with the distraction of many other puppies to play with! The socialisation aspect is fantastic - and it is a lot of fun to watch all these different puppies playing with each other Try to do it at the vet surgery you are planning to go to - your puppy will love going to the vets after that. My puppy has just come home after spending 10 days at the vets (he was very sick and had major surgery, drip etc...) He still LOVES going to the vets! What area are you in, then someone local could recommed a vets to you....

Well, he had his stitches out last night - he was so good! And I was so suprised that he was really happy to be visiting the vet surgery! (He loved it from puppy preschool, but thought that his latest adventure might make him fear the vets). His scar is so long, but has healed up really well - he now looks like a pirate puppy! He still has an occasional spew, but seems only to be when I feed him something a bit richer than roast chicken. Vet seems to think that it won't hurt him to eat nothing but chicken for a while just to get his system working again and put a bit of weight on! He used to weigh 4.6 kg but after the stay at the vets was down to 2.5 kg, but I was so pleased that over the weekend he has put on 1 kg. I hope that I never put on nearly 1/4 of my body weight in 3 days....... Although christmas is coming......

My puppy stays outside during the day while I am at work ( I come home for lunch, so he does 3-4 hours at a time). He is quite happy - has his kennel under the verandah with some old jumpers of mine for the smell. He has HEAPS of different toys, and I try to buy some interactive ones like Kongs that keeps him busy for a while. I also give him a chicken neck to chew on when I leave, so he associates me leaving with a treat! I think the reality is though, that he sleeps most of the time when I am not there because he is full of beans at lunch time and when I get home in the afternoon. The neighbours say he is quiet except for when their dogs start barking first! Good luck - I am sure Sam will be fine on his own for a while!

My pup LOVED it!! Licks it off whatever I spray it on then gets right back to chewing! I found that tiger balm worked a treat! He hates the smell of it and has stopped chewing my furniture

My puppy was home alone from the age of 9 weeks, but I am lucky and live close to work, so he had a lunch time visitor every day! I leave him with a BIG basket of all different types of toys to keep him entertained and he has a kennel out the back, although for the first couple of weeks he stayed in the laundry. I also left him each time with a chicken neck which he loves. He copes well with 3-4 hours alone at a time Monday to Friday, but 10 hours seems a long time. I think the other posters ideas to pay a dog walker in the middle of the day is a good idea - 10 hours seems like a very long time for any dog, but especially a puppy! Also the comments about puppies getting sick quickly - definetly something to think about. My baby got very sick overnight and ended up spending 10 days at the vets! He crashed very quickly. Have fun toy shopping - I love buying new and different toys for mine, and he loves them!!