Katdogs

I susoect the desexed girls' wees burns the grass more than the desexed boy. No smell problems though, except in extreme weather (really dry or really humid).

Not sure if it's the Malt or Shih, but the two MxS I've shared a lot of time with were the stubbornest shzzzzs ever.

I'd heard about Goldies & Labs with water but it seems like only other Goldie and Lab owners walk out of Sydney Park with dripping dogs They'd never hurt the swans though, they just want wet feet. And they shed, lean, bum-sit and graze like sheep! I don't know how our Kelpie copes, she's like an alien compared with the others.

Also be prepared for drool. Malts don't do much of that but with a boxer it just happens. A lot!

I have a (rescue) Kelpie. She's sweet and soft as long as she had her tennis ball, and she'd do s marathon if we asked. I also wouldn't underestimate a Lab from working lines, they LOVE running!

And that's why I support AMRRIC! http://www.amrric.org/

Strange cats are more fun!

This. Jodie won't leave us - but she doesn't notice fences if a strange cat comes into her yard. It HAS to be skitched (she's never caught/hurt one) and the two times she did this she then seemed surprised and confused that she wasn't still at home and had to be rescued back through/over. Or the big FU - because she can!

Cross-Posted with permission from FB group: ..... Some of you may know and use the O'Dea reserve secure dog park in Stanmore. If so -PLEASE BE AWARE, this morning there was a man acting suspiciously in the vicinity of the park. While my partner was walking our 6mo beagle pup home from the park, he was approached by a medium build man in his 40s who was wearing a baseball cap (vague description -apologies). The man commented that we had a lovely dog, and then proceeded to follow my partner and dog as they walked towards home. This was odd as the man had previously been walking in the opposite direction, towards the park. After a few minutes my partner realised he was being followed and varied his route home, deliberately back tracking through some alleys and side streets in Stanmore. The man continued to follow at a distance. When my partner confronted him, the man said he was looking for a particular street but he could not name the street or any cross streets near it, he just pointed vaguely towards Stanmore village before walking off in that general direction. He was later seen walking close to our street again. Our only reasoning for this bizarre behaviour is that he was trying to establish where we lived in order to steal our dog. We have reported the incident to Marrickville police but there is little they can do at this stage. Please just be aware while your out with your dogs and continue to report any suspicious individuals to the police for monitoring. — at O'Dea Reserve

Pasterns are front 'wrists'. Your pup's look a little wonky but it could be the way he is sitting on the grass.

Wrong on the limit, there certainly is on the Central Coast of NSW where I come from. I was quite shocked when I moved down here and realized I had to pay yearly rego. Interesting! Lucky I've only lived in no limit Council areas. What Council area was it HazyWal? Gosford. I had to check when I was still fostering, it was a two dog limit in Terrigal and I think it was two fosters allowed, can't remember now. My understanding is that NSW councils can have guidelines but can't enforce a limit legally because it's not supported under the Companion Animal Act. They can only take action if there are objections due to noise or waste (or obviously cruelty or welfare issues). The lifetime rego fee is great but not well understood and the NSW CAR is badly maintained. Most councils just don't really care about the data at all.

This plus... Wow that's Leo!

Wow the Herald is really pushing this. From last weekend, the $34,000 puppyfarm cavoodle. And now today, Parliamentary Inquiry!

Will you be keeping your own place that the dogs can stay at with someone? Or will they have to stay at another location until you come home? I'm happy with the person I found on happyhousesitters but that relies on you having a house to sit.

I know, politically tricky and Deb Tranter, but when it comes to being in-your-face to potential puppy purchasers at least there's something here to refer to. It was a two-page spread in Sunday's paper. I've had two people in the last week telling me about their beautiful young oodly-doos and it's getting to me... (Yes the pups are gorgeous but one is now almost a year old and still not toilet trained - was three months old when purchased from a pet shop - owner is amazed it's so much bigger than its 'brothers and sisters' (cage mates) when it's so obviously a cocker cross, not cav as he was told ) Cruelty, squalor, disease at puppy factories in NSW detailed in RSPCA report If there was any doubt that the RSPCA inspectors had set foot inside a scene of unimaginable suffering, it disappeared in seconds. "As we entered the yard, we observed a small female terrier being attacked and dragged around by multiple other dogs … appearing to be fighting over possession of her body." Fairfax Media has viewed an internal RSPCA veterinarian report that chronicles, in graphic detail, the cruelty being repeated in puppy factories throughout the state. The document relates to a facility in northern NSW, where most of the 155 breeding dogs examined were suffering health conditions including "serious tumours, dental disease, heart disease" and ear and eye infections. Some dogs were in such misery, they had to put down onsite. While the resulting RSPCA investigation led to the operator being convicted of animal cruelty charges, a loophole in NSW laws means she is still legally churning out puppies from the same property. The RSPCA's New South Wales chief executive, Steven Coleman, has revealed the organisation applied for a Prohibition Order to shut the factory. "We sought it. The local court would not grant it," he said. Puppy factories are, by definition, assembly lines that produce litters of designer dogs that fetch up to $7000 each via pet shop windows and, increasingly, online classifieds. But for the breeding adult dogs forced to provide them, it is a never-ending cycle of cages, confinement and cruelty. Yesterday, a joint investigation by Fairfax Media and Animal Welfare Group Oscar's Law found conditions were so squalid inside one farm at Inverell, dogs were living inside old portable water containers. While Victoria and the ACT are rolling out reforms that outlaw the farms, they remain legal in NSW through a one-off council permit system that has no renewal, registration or inspection framework in place. Yesterday, Premier Mike Baird refused to comment on the issue. In an August 2013 report, RSPCA vet Dr Ann-Margret Withers accompanied inspectors to a permit-approved farm near Guyra that had been the subject of complaints. She referred, in her brief of evidence, to the "five freedoms": Freedom from hunger and thirst; freedom from discomfort; freedom from pain, injury and disease; freedom to express normal behaviour and freedom from fear and distress. She added: "The owner has failed to provide these for the animals in her care." Of the dog almost ripped apart before her eyes, she wrote: "I consider this terrier was already gravely sick before the attack and our arrival … her blood pressure was so low that she did not bleed profusely from the severe injuries sustained … as would a healthy dog." The vet concluded it would be "too cruel to be kept alive". The same fate befell a "jaundiced and anaemic" Golden Retriever and a German Shepherd that was suffering severe sensory deprivation, skin disease and joint deformity after spending life housed in a dark, confined, pigpen-style enclosure. Puppies from the factory were earlier linked to online adverts that stated: "All our puppies are raised on our family farm with children and other pets." In December 2013, the breeder, Jennifer Frazer, pleaded guilty at Inverell Local Court to three charges of aggravated animal cruelty and four charges of failing to provide veterinary treatment. She was fined $11,500. However, 10 months later, animal welfare group Oscar's Law attended the same location, only to discover a carbon copy scene of cruelty, featuring dogs cowering in bread crates and a dead pregnant female lying unattended in her cell. Mr Coleman said that now, Ms Frazer remained free to "do what she wants", with cats or dogs, as long as she "complies with the act". When asked how that is monitored, he replied: "That's the 64 million-dollar question." The puppy factory issue is expected to dominate the maiden speech of new Animal Justice Party MP Mark Pearson, in the NSW parliament, on Wednesday.

So sad. Best wishes to you Anne. Totally understand but don't have the words. Hugs

Can't imagine washing a Lab in tomato juice - they'd drink it too fast!

Can I throw the tennis ball that far though? Jodie would be the fastest over tennis-ball-throw distance. Sam only if he's doing his zoomies, and Stevie gets above a canter rarely now - unless people are sitting on a blanket on the ground with food spread around them!

Ours usually take their cues from us and are used to the smell of drinking. Jodie is a prude and reminds me of my Presbyterian grandma who never had alcohol pass her lips (we never told her the medicinal port might count). Stevie taught herself to knock over beer bottles when she was very young so she could lap it up and is known to run into the tennis club to lick up the tray under the taps! Sammy doesn't mind getting the last drips out of a beer bottle either. They're more likely to focus on a stranger's behaviour. Stevie has dragged me towards a woman who was high as a kite and sobbing with grief about her lost boyfriend, so she could lick her better. she's also pulled me away or walked on the wrong side between me and beery blokes making unpleasant comments.

Well done SuperLeo - and best wishes to your family. Extra chicken nicks today! And congrats to the breeder who made such a strong pup!

Heartworm clear! The big issue was eosinophils indeed. Normal is apparently 0.0-1.4 and her level was 8.8! Although other haemoglobin and WBC were a bit off, it was only just out of range and the lump on her tail could explain those, but that huge scale of eosinophils indicates parasites. Now she's had a big worming tablet and we'll do another blood test in a week to see if there's any change. If no sign of tapeworm and no reduction in level in a week, we might be looking at an xray to see what else might explain it. Being a worrier, I noticed the lung worm diagram on the wall and asked about it and he said he can't rule it out but it's very rare. But I know our local dog food shop owner lost one of his little dogs to it so it's a 'possible'. Her very mild skipping heartbeat might just be 'her'. More likely she has tapeworm though, because I didn't realise Advocate doesn't cover that one. I've dosed up the other dogs as well so tomorrow is going to be a nice poo-hunt

You're all saying just the right things to make me feel better - thank you I've emailed Stevie's old allergy test to this vet so he knows what we dealt with at the time - she improved a LOT after months of the desensitising treatment. And yes, I would only have missed a month - I can't imagine missing more than that without noticing!

Thank you jrm88! Stevie has always been an allergy dog - we did months of injections - dust mites mainly (I still suspect she's more simian than canine). That was through a different vet so I'll dig out the records. She was on Revolution for years and then the fleas started to win (new strain from a really suffering foster) so Advocate for the last while. Just another step on the adventure of our beautiful Stevie. She has the biggest heart in the world!

Stevie had a lump taken off (old manky sebaceous cyst that wanted to abscess) and vet said her heart skipped a bit when he was checking everything else - hey, paying for a GA so we had ears syringed and a dental and claws clipped and as close a work-up as our lovely vet could fit in. He suggested a blood test, which has come back with one particular level that makes him want to do a heartworm test when we get her stitches out on Friday. So now I have a few questions. * When vet rang, I was in a tricky spot and couldn't catch what the 'indicator' was - apparently if other things like white blood cell counts are off then they look for an infection, but everything else was ok so 'parasitic infection' is indicated. I can't get on to the vet until Friday - he already tried to explain, from his home on his night off, offering to call back on his day off, so I don't want to chase up - and don't think the receptionist will tell me. * Can anyone hand on heart swear their dog has never missed a month of the monthly squirt stuff? If I missed one I'm devastated but if I missed it it's done, I can't fix it now * She has none of the main symptoms of heartworm (I googled it). Just panting, and she's a big dog with lots of undercoat and it's Sydney in summer. (answered my own question - I'll stop panicking) * What are the current treatments for heartworm? From rescue a few years ago I know that pts was a valid consideration for an older dog rather than the treatment. Is this out of date now? Poor Stevie.

Human capsules are much cheaper than dog fish oil! Mine love their fish lollies every night and will do trick training for them! They also get random tins of sardine, tuna, salmon or mackerel depending on what's on special, and I think it's the raw egg that makes them extra shiny - fish lollies are for joint movement. Just gotta hope it keeps working ok!