Staffyluv

Dogs most certainly can get indigestion.. My old stafford was on medication for it.. You can buy special food bowls that have a tall piece in the middle of them, so the dog has to eat around it, they are supposed to slow them down a bit.. Perhaps freezing the food, so he has to chew/lick it more, might slow him down. Or you could try giving him his food in smaller portions a few times a day.. Having bones slows them down, they have to chew those.. I mean things like chicken carcasses, turkey necks, brisket bones...

She probably could have or organised someone else to do so but I am the phone to his owner (bawling her eyes out) as I type and a lovely foster carer from CARA has a space for him.. Thanks everyone for the messages and calls - it looks like the lad is OK...

sent you a pm..........) I haven't received a PM from you.. Can you help with rehoming him? Cheers Jodie

Here is a quick blurb on Barney from his owner: Barney is a miniature poodle and was born on 9/2/2006 – which makes him about 6 years and 5 months old. He is a desexed and microchipped male dog, and his C5 vaccinations are up to date. He currently is on heart worm tablets. Barney loves other dogs, babies, kids and people, and is a very very sociable dog. He is most definitely housetrained, and is great at going to the toilet when and where he is supposed to - he will pee on command before going on a car trip or coming inside. Barney is quite obedient, but also is very loving, and all who meet him describe him as somewhat of a character. Barney has been getting clipped regularly since he was 3 months old, and has a groupie following on the live stream the groomer runs – many people log in just to watch him sing and ham it up with his groomer. A morning walk is what makes his day, and he is quite happy to just chill out most of the day after this. At night he will either sleep in his own bed, but if allowed, loves to cuddle up under the doona too. I can't seem to save the pic she sent but he is black and has a groovy haircut...

Thanks DM, I have sent a message to CPR and ARF. I will let his owner know about Poodle Rescue in NSW

He is in Canberra, sorry Gilly - I knew I would forget something.. Poor boy, I feel so sorry for him and his owner. She planned to have both dogs flown over in a couple of months when she settled and found the right place. But she needs to find care for him until then with the possibility of him not coming if he won't stay in the crate on the plane as he is not doing well with crate training at all.

I know this is short notice but I have a friend who is due to fly out to Ireland tomorrow and the place she had lined up (for the last 2 months) for poor Barney has pulled out, today (great notice)... Anyway this is what I know: Barney is a desexed male poodle who is only a small boy (not a toy but probably about as high as my staffy boy - much finer in build though, sorry I know nothing about poodles). He has been vaccinated (C3). He is good with other dogs and lives with a little old cross breed who the original foster mum is still taking on. Barney is a bit stressed at present with all the changes going on around him and as he apparently gets worse when confined or crated his owner now wants to rehome him here in Australia, instead of trying to fly him over to Ireland in a couple of months as she is worried that he will hurt himself in the crate on the plane when he goes over. In saying that, he still needs immediate care if anyone has a place or can help. So we need a foster carer or permanent home for Barney as soon as possible. Can anyone help with this? Thanks in advance.. Please PM me for her contact details and I will pass them onto you to deal directly with the owner, if you can help.

Ziggy has a tyre, looks like about the size off a small mini motor bike with a rope tied to it. He drags it around. A good leather soccer ball, now deflated but because it is leather it has lasted... A black kong, he has only managed to chew the top part off, so we still use it.. He has a kong ball, about the size of a tennis ball but solid kong type material.. He is yet to destroy this. Empty milk or soft drink bottles. In summer we freeze stock in these as an ice block and in winter we just add some kibble as a treat... He gets into them easily enough but it gives him something to do for a fair while... Empty toilet roll or kitchen towel roll inserts, so long as you don't mind picking them up once they are torn up.. A clam shell pool filled with sand. Bury treats like chicken wings and they have to find them..

Search you tube for hints and tips on how to use your camera or just google it.. You will be amazed at the amount of info out there. I have learned more about my camera form You tube and google than I did reading the manual... Oh and lots of hints and tips from the wonderful photographers here on DOL. Check out the hints and tips in the forums that have been pinned at the top of the photo forum... There is so much info in there and once you get to know your camera, a lot of the info is interchangeable as it is advice on framing, light and composition... Good luck and mostly just have fun.. Play with the camera and take pictures in different light on different settings. You will soon learn. The best thing about digital cameras is that you can delete the ones that don't work out so well.

Everything crossed here for her as well. I hope she gets to come home soon.

You know how they say you just know... Well that is exactly how it was with Ollie dog... He was fine the day before and was running and bouncing through the sprinklers at the park, having a ball.. The next day, I had to go out and didn't get back until after lunch. When I got home my son said Ollie isn't well.. I came in to sit with him and he stood up and vomited.. Then he looked at me and I knew, I just knew... He had been more unwell than this before but his look said it all, he had had enough. He fought MCT for 6 years and he was tired.. So I called the vet, we took him up a couple of hours later and our wonderful vet gave him an anesthetic, we stayed and said goodbye and then we let him go... It's hard and heartbreaking but it is also the most unselfish thing you can do for them when they need to be let go.

I think between my mother, sister, brother and myself we have had about 15 Staffords. There were 2 with skin allergies and both were environmental... Wandering dew found in the yard. My old boy had a lot of stuff going on when he was older. Diagnosed with kidney stones when he was 6, then mast cell cancer when he was 8. Pancreatitis kicked in and he had a few stints in hospital after he was 12. He was also allergic to bees and had to have adrenalin a couple of times as his curiosity got the better of him... He lived until he was 14 and a half. He had a good life despite what he went through and up to the day before he was given his wings, he was still playing under the sprinklers and going for a walk every day. I think on the whole they are a pretty robust breed, health wise... It would be more the silly accidents like hurting legs from jumping or running like a loon. Chasing bees or snakes or running into glass doors etc like Sandra suggested that get you to the vets more than illness..

Here is another one I found on the internet when I was looking for something for Ollie dog: (there is one similar already) Before I grow too frail and weak, And all that’s left is peace in sleep. I know you’ll do what must be done, To end this fight that can’t be won. Come; let’s take a quiet stroll, And share some quietness, soul to soul. No need for words, ‘tween you and I, No need to say a last goodbye. We’ve grown so close in mind and heart, It seems so cruel that we must part. Be sure I’ll sense the pain you’ll feel, Without me walking at your heel. The days will seem full of despair, Your “sunshine” simply won’t be there. In time the pain will slowly wane, You’ll think of me and smile again. Now take me where my needs they’ll tend, And stay with me until the end. Hold me close with soft goodbyes, Until life’s bright light has left my eyes. The final sound I need to hear, Is your soft voice upon my ear. Your loving face will fade and dim, As the rush of heaven closes in. And when you start your journey home, I’ll be right behind, you are not alone.

Oh that is super news...

We don't know ziggy's background but he seems very unsure around little kids, say up to about 7 or 8. He can't get away from them fast enough if they are forward kids and want to pat the doggie. We are working on it with my friends daughter who is 3 (they adopted Coco, staffy who is very confident girl). We get Hope to ask him to sit and she feeds him kibble. Then drop and he gets a bit more. She looks so funny when she says heel and walks with the kibble in her hand and he is almost crawling along beside her to smell the kibble... It's a very slow process but it does seem to be working, he no longer flips out on lead to get away from them... In saying that, there is no way I would allow him to be around little kids on his own... It would be nice to have more test kids :D My old stafford was awesome with kids, they could do anything to him and he would come back for more. Until he got sick and older, then he was less tolerant but was always up for a pat and then he would just go off and have a sleep. Friends of ours had 2 little girls who were terrified of dogs. Ollie used to sit in the hall while they watched tv in the lounge, then he would lay on the floor near the lounge. About 6 months after they started coming around, we come inside one day and here he was sitting between them on the lounge, looking oh so pleased with himself... They have a staffy of their own now...

This is exactly the issue I was having with Ziggy.. My trainer said he not allowed off lead around other dogs until his recall is as perfect as possible. She told me that I might think he is being over friendly but in fact he is being a bully but not giving the other dog the space he should be.. All good and well until he meets a dog that takes proper of fence and the othe dog has a go at him. Lucky for us we sought help before this ever happened. He is so much better but still has a way to go. He is on long line when with other dogs, until he is recalling perfectly... To many things can go bad at dog parks... We practice by me calling him and rewarding him when he comes every time. I find the excited recall voice or an excited les go work better than just trying to call him. Practice, practice and more practice...

Staffy... They are amazing with kids, love to be part of the family, will like a decent walk and are very tolerant of kids... All of ours over the years have had kids crawling all over them and they were perfect... Not the done thing these days because we are all wiser and realise kids need to be taught how to interact with dogs but kids are kids and dogs need to be as bomb proof as possible. We rehomed a lovely 18 month old staffy girl to a family with 2 girls that are 8 and 3 and a boy who is 6. The dog spends most of her time playing with the youngest and her new owners can't believe how wonderfully gentle she is with the kids but rumbles like a loon with the adults... This is also a family who had been around our dogs over the years and said they could never have a staffy (after watchingnhow rough they can play) now they wouldn't swap her for anything...

Sounds like a nomination to me. www.mdbaawards,net.au We have a new category too - Best Dog Friendly Local council too. Ziggy is registered as a staffy cross and that was by council as he is a pound pup... The council guys at the park are always giving me heaps about him being a pitbull... I keep telling them he is a staffy cross... It's just fun banter but they all love him and even throw the ball for him and give him heaps of pats.. It's nice when people outside the dog arena see the dog as a nice dog, instead of judging them based on what they have heard.. IMG_0403 by Jodie Moore Photos, on Flickr

Run free at the bridge Riley... Wags I am so very sorry for your loss...

All my dogs, including fosters when we have one, are free range. They have the option to inside or outside as they please. I do crate train fosters to sleep in a crate in case their new homes need them to be crate trained... Ziggy was crate trained but not sure how he would go now as he hasn't been in one in months.. Canberra is cold a lot of the year and I really can't imagine leaving a dog outdoors in these temps...

ACT, heaps of great off lead areas, there are dog friendly cafes and there is no BSL... The RSPCA manager here is anti BSL and has made it known on more than one occasion...

Fair enough Teebs, I guess I would feel the same if I had to do what you did... I think I will watch him more closely and if it seems he is doing it more, then I will start distracting him from now on.

I knew about the tail chasers and the problem it is with them but is just a bit of a tail chase every now and then when playing a bad thing - can this general play really lead to the more serious (and very sadly, often fatal) issue of spinning? How very sad for the owners of dogs that need to be given their wings - heartbreaking.. Maybe I need to distract him from doing it every now and then but he seems to stop on his own after a few turns and he probably only does it a couple of times a week..

Put him on lead before your friends go out in the garden. When he is sitting quietly beside you, he can say hello to your friends. If he jumps up, he is put back into a drop or sit and stays there until he can be appropriate. Positive reinforcement with treats/pats when he does the right thing. It sounds like you are only telling him what he is not to do - you also have to show him what he IS to do.. Sitting and waiting are really good things to teach jumpers...

Ziggy chases his tail heaps. He can be playing with a toy, see it and give chase.. But he stops after a few spins. I don't see it as an issue and I don't try to distract him, nor do I encourage it. It is just something he does...