persephone

Hopefully today will be a bit better than yesterday ! yesterday staerted off by finding my dear little "Nary" canary dead (he's now buried in teh strawberry patch)... and ended with 2 dogs getting into the garbage - lord knows what plastic/indigestibles they have consumed ( Dosed them on paraffin ... then another 2 dogs decided to fight- crashed into me , who was unfortunately carrying a jug of near boiling water for mum's HW bottle !!! I hurt my knee- spilt very hot water over dogs - one dog took off screaming into the lounge. This poor dog jumped on mum - knocked everything off the coffee table ... and ended up outside with me, being held under the flow of cold water from a hose :D( (she has a small patch of pink skin this morning- which is shedding hair,but no blistering ) So around midninght I was cleaning up spilt water, broken glass, all sorts of things! *fingers crossed for today *

so- I had to bring the subject up to my level ;) Link to redbubble

Thank you, folks....

Sometimes , it's the little things which make a big crash. This morning, I found my little canary dead. He was around 8, which is a good age. 'nary' canary was a common 'green' canary, with a talent for mimicry and the sweetest whistle he would trill in the phone's rhythm, as well as his own gorgeous calls. He was a very communicative little guy- he had a large cage hung under the eaves - just outside the window where I sit at my puter- so if he saw me ,he would chirp 'hello' even at night. When he saw me coming with greens/treats, he would chirp.... or if I walked past and actually forgot to give him some thistle, or a bit of biscuit, or apple- then he would gently remind me Some years ago he had a mate- she was a lot older than we were told, and died early on .... nary would have a bath every morning- even in minus temps! he loved picking aphids off thistle tops or rose leaves , and would always demolish small pieces of multigrain bread . The house and surrounds is a lot quieter, and my little computer corner is suddenly very empty. Fly high, little one. yes, I am over a canary....

Don't fuss over a dog who is displaying such signs ... it's hard, but they need to follow normal routines- get dog out& about, and ONLY pay attention to it when it is looking a bit happy/relaxed- NOT when it is crying/sooking. Try Rescue remedy - also a D A P diffuser if the dog is indoors ... Poor dog - is there anything it really enjoys? a certain bone/toy/place/food ? Find something really yummy to chew, or noisy and chewy to play with .... LONG, frequent leash walks(maybe in new areas)? if it is capable- to get it out & sniffing ... and tire it out so it will sleep .Sleep is good, and a tired dog will sleep. Obedience classes/herding/playdates? Lots of things to get it thinking/sniffing/moving .... Sad for everyone, and I hope that soon things are happier

They are amazing! Henna kinda looks a bit scary - those bold stripes....

;) looks terrific!

x2 I rarely pat or go gooey at someone else's dog/pup. If it is something uncommon in our area , I will sometimes ask the person about it, or comment on it - but that's all. I probably sidestep pups/dogs heading for me as well .... come to think of it.

Oh- so they stop him doing it, without finding/addressing WHY? ..did they do a skin scraping after you told them that you haven't seen him chewing? Hopefully it improves for him/you - puppies can be frustrating sometimes

The most important thing to have a good working dog, is that the OWNERS understand both sheep and dog body language, and the habits of sheep!! It is fairly useless to have a dog, chock- full of good instincts, and an owner who has NO idea what the sheep(both individually and as a mob) are thinking! To have the dog do what you desire - instead of following its first instinct (usually to circle the sheep and bring them back to you) You need to really know your sheep!The dog is only half of it each sheep mob is different - age groups, fitness, presence of newborn lambs, or rams, or old ,knowing ewes. Sheep soon suss out an inexperienced dog/owner! Remember, sheep are prey animals, dog/human is predator- so stuff like critical distance come into play too to successfully hunt your prey- you must forst understand how it behaves :p It is an interesting, frustrating and rewarding relationship! here are a couple of links you may like to pass on? Just to give you/them some ideas? Apologies if they already know all this http://sheepdogs.com.au/main/page_sheep__s...our_working.php http://www.wool.com/Harvest_Shearing-Shed-...ep-Behavior.htm

I took the question to mean the humping of toys/people /in-house dogs/cushions on a regular basis. The odd quick hump ,accompanied by posturing and maybe a bit of noise when our dogs are let off chains/out of pens in the re-establishing of relationships is normal, I think -and it only lasts a second. Anything else, luckily very absent , is unnecessary and can lead to an obsession, IMO.

Ours have never done it - but I would not permit it if they wanted to . And we have multiple dogs ..all ages .

Gloves sound good- tho you will see it pretty easily That net which some roasts are wrapped in provides for interesting poo packaging! :D

The vet cannot really 'do anything' - because the blanket probably won't show up on an xray .. and they can't feel it very well by external exam. Symptoms can take a while, because stomach contents move thru the gut- and depending where/if something gets stuck , and what discomfort it causes, like stopping movement of food through- is when you see symptoms :D Often if a dog eats a chunk of bone which the actual stomach can't digest, and which will not pass along into the intestine, they will vomit it up soon, or maybe 24 hrs later (in my experience) it rattles around until the stomach is irritated enough to expel it . By all means talk to a vet and let them explain it to you, so it puts your mind at ease She will hopefully be fine ! Maybe bed her on newspaper if she is a chewer

If it blocks- you probably won't see symptoms for a day or two It may be too large to fit thru the stomach opening into the intestine..... in which case, she may vomit it up later on. I am afraid if she were mine I would have made her throw up , just in case ! *fingers crossed all will be well* :D

Couls well be an irritation of the vulva/urethra as well ;) Might be worth checking for inflammation, ingrown hairs, UTI.

Hi - firstly ,I would suggest you feed/give bones to all dogs seperately, out of sight of each other , and physically prevented from leaving that room/area. No one else's food in sight=less resource guarding/fighting ;) Pick up bowls/uneaten bones immediately . Your bitch is now becoming mature- and is in season. She may well be now showing her true nature- or it may be a hormonal thing...Your management style might have to be changed to cope with her - and ensure there are no fights . May I suggest you consult a behaviourist too - they can actually SEE what is happening in your pack, and help put in place strategies.

Ok? so perhaps he is NOT chewing at all? perhaps there is a mite/fungus causing it ? The acral lick granulomas I have seen .. in kennelled dogs- have been on the 'forearm' towards the wrist- and they are a defined sore..raised, thickened , often weeping skin which the dog is constantly licking. They are not easy to cure. before washing him or anything- get him checked by a vet- perhaps get skin scrapings done to check for parasites ...then work on the results

Hi- how is he this morning?he may be just a bit warm- he may have pain, it or it may be anxiety -hard to tell from this side of the screen Perhaps if it is a tad warmer over the last couple of days- he is just reacting to it? For most of his life it's been getting cooler ..... now it's getting warmer! What has the temperature outside been as opposed to the past week or so? Being black- he will absorb more heat too Beds are much warmer than floors, normally..... Our dogs pant most of the time here !They are active They don't drink all the time- unless they are very hot, panting alone is enough to cool them down . As I said- it's hard to tell Obviously if you're worried- ask a vet .

A yongster chewing at his elbows to that extent.....it may well be pain in the joints - or it could be other things. Please have it checked out - in particular the elbow joints.

If/when I have to move elsewhere not suitable /get ill/die all my animals are to be PTS.

PossumCorner- looking forward to seeing the results:)! Shell&shyla- do you have photoshop? using layers takes a bit of getting comfortable with- but it's fun practising. Layers are like sheets of cellophane/plastic - covered in another image/colour/texture/writing. You basically have different things on different layers, then place them in order on an image..and 'blend' them - so it becomes a sungle image THIS may help?

Of COURSE they make mistakes - they are animals, they misjudge, they get excited, they zig when they should zag!

Perhaps it is starch causing problems? The amount of protein in these veges is very low - so I thought maybe starch/sugar?

hope your lamb is now healthy and happy ---- gosh I so love the smell of milky lamb breath, :D We have raised many, many lambs- all on straight cow's milk - either powdered way back when- or UHT in recent years . No problems . They usually have charcoal added for the first little while - charcoal tablets ,crushed , until milk is pretty black. Years ago - a hot coal was always drpped into the bottle ...not sure what it did, but all the lambs survived! We use a normal human bottle/teat at first , then graduate to a black lamb teat. The black teats are often too hard for tiny lambs - so the human baby one works well having browse available all the time is important - nice fresh grass hay or lucerne hay is ideal- hang it up about head ( the lamb's) height ..and just let them pick. Don't forget to have a sturdy water container available as well. being cold may also lead to various ailments - has he a little coat?