Staffyluv

It is hard to say goodbye to our beloved furry friends and sadly sometimes it is necessary well before they have had much of a chance to share many years with us... I am sorry for your loss. Our vet is the most wonderful, caring vet I have ever met.. Many nights he stayed with our old boy when he was sick (he had mast cell cancer).. Many times I called his personal mobile (bet he wishes he never gave it to me), on a Sunday night or some other outrageous hour and he always manged to make time to help... He made many home visits to administer treatment and did endless research when Ollie was first diagnosed as he did not have a lot of experience with MCT... He was an expert in the end.. To tag all vets as uncaring is simply not true.. Yes I am sure there are those out there that get tired of it or for whatever reason they lose interest... When it came time to say goodbye to Ollie, our vet spent well over an hour with us and him before the final injection was done... Ollie and I were treated with the utmost respect... Our vet handled all of the cremation and return of Ollie's ashes to us... I hope you find a vet that you can confide in and trust... You just keep going to different ones until you find one that you feel comfortable with...

Thanks, I will have a look on line for one

Are they an on line purchase? Ziggy is good but the foster dogs have all destroyed every bed I have ever bought.. Bruno looks very comfy on his new bed

I do change who I give affection to at different times. He is happy for her to sit on my lap and have cuddles and pats but if she is being pushy when he is getting cuddles and pats, that is when he moves more in front of her and blocks her (she always tries to block It is not pushing so much as you can just tell he wants to be with me but he is happy for the pup to be there to... Lucky I have two hands and can pat both... Pippa always pushed in and is quite demanding about being the one to get pats and Ziggy just waited his turn. But now he does not wait, he comes in just as firm as she does.. There is no issue between them that I can see, they are both still fine being there and patted at the same time... Ziggy is really quite polite. Even the trainer commented on how lovely it was to see that he waits for everyone else to go through doors, waits to be asked onto the lounge, waits to be asked to get in the car and he even waits when his food is put down u til he gets the OK to eat it.

I actually have some cream for his eyes as when we got him from the pound he had the same thing... The use by date is ages away, so I just used a bit of that.. But might try the saline solution I have instead Thanks Erny

They have barf patties and puppy kibble mixed into it to make it up to the right amount of food... They also had some BBQ chook and veges last night. But ate the barf and kibble this morning... They are both drinking the water with honey and I gave Ziggy a teaspoon of it last night and this morning as well... Fingers crossed we are on the mend already... Have you ever tried to explain to a staffy it is time to rest?.. He has been really good and resting quite a bit... I did notice tonight that both of his eyes are really red (the whites are red)... Probably from coughing?

Enjoy your time together.. It is what you and the dog both need... Sit on the grass, go for a swim, let her dig a hole if that is what she enjoys... Holistic medicine might help... My old boy was given a couple of years and lived six more with multiple tumour sites... We changed diet and treated holistically but he also had chemo... If it was me, I would just enjoy my time together... I am so sorry, thus sort of news is never easy to take... All the best Jodie

He has hardly coughed at all today, just a few small hacks.. He is still a bit flat and even sooky today, which is not like him.. He keeps trying to sit in my lap and at about 24kg, its a bit awkward... Pippa puppy has not coughed once that I have heard... Hopefully that is it...

We have a huge lab at our dog park who greets all the dogs as they come in with hackles up from his head all the way down his tail and barking.. I have never had labs and I have to admit I was afraid for my staffy the first time this guy came at us.. His owner was there and said he is just excited... Ziggy loved him and he played really well with the big guy... We have a friend with a female stafford who greets other dogs in a similar way, tail up a few bristles on her rear end up and she seems tense but she does nothing but say hello and then play... I get worried unless I know the dog. Even more so with Ziggy then I did with Ollie because he is so submissive.. He just rolls over as soon as another dog growls or gets pushy...

Pretty typical excited vocal stafford... Most are good at telling you what is going on and this one is excited about whatever it is.. My boy did the same thing when he wante to show me something... My new lad is a staffy cross and he barks like that when he wants me to come play.. He will bring me a toy or ball and bark all excited like he is saying, come on it will be fun..

I got onto it when Ollie was sick and started using it .. I have bought the same one all the time but the markets are open in Fyshwick tomorrow so I will go and get a stronger one... Thanks

Thanks Pav, I only have 10+ here, should I go and get the stronger one or will just giving him more often be enough? He seems pretty good tonight but the pup is making the same noise he was this morning. So they are just chilling here in the lounge. I won't take them to the vet unless they get worse and I will let the vet know what I think it is, so we can go in the other door...

Sadly the lump that you can see and feel is usually only the tip of the iceberg so to speak... They need to Ian for clear margin in the first op, so they don't have to go back again. They actually had to go back on Ollie once, it was just horrible putting him back in just 3 days after the original op... Good luck, I hope it comes back benign and clear

Ziggy is awesome as far as toileting goes.. If the back door is closed he comes and grunts at me and turns towards where he wants to go.. So I know if he grunts and turns around he wants something... But the door is open all day for them so we don't have any accidents. Even Pippa pup has worked it out now... He thinks this works for treats but it doesn't... He will come and grunt, the walk toward the kitchen.. Or if I am in the kitchen he will nudge the treat drawer.. He is a character... So very different to Ollie dog, which is a good thing. So many people said I would compare him to Ollie and I have found that I don't...

Thanks Erny, I might see how he goes the rest of the day and tonight just with the manuka honey (it is the good one from the health store - with active something or other in it).. I put about a tablespoon in some warm water until it dissolves and then top up to a total of about 2 cups of water and he is drinking it every couple of hours... Pippa likes it to, so it won't hurt her. He is keeping quiet and chilling on the lounge. He is drinking plenty of water and I will give him a few teaspoons of honey in between now as well. He eats anything, he even loves lemons off the lemon tree... I wonder if lemon and honey would be any good for him?

Before we started this new training Ziggy would let other dogs push in and get to me first and he would wait back for a pat until I went to him. For the last few days he is pushing past the other dog and coming to me first. He doesn't stop the other dog coming in for a pat but he will put himself between us. He never did this before. The other dog has always done it but now he is moving in between us. Is this a good thing? It means he values me? Or is this to be discouraged? I thought because we were focusing on his and my relationship and me being a resource that this would be good... As the trainer wants him to want to be with me and focus on me.. Or have I misinterpreted what she wants... There is no issue between the dogs that I can see, they still play, eat and sleep together with no issues...

Just bear in mind that even another shot may not stop her from getting it. Especially if she has already been exposed and if it is from a different strain. Thanks ellz, I sort of figured that but will let the vet decide... Poor Ziggy has been asleep most of the day and Pippa just wants to play with him, she keeps coming over to check him...

Thanks, I will make an appointment Ziggy tomorrow morning and ask about the vaccs for Pippa... I always thought that pups needed at least 2 vaccinations to be fully vaccinated, as a pound pup (foster) she has only had the one vaccination. I will ask about her tomorrow, she may need another shot.

Ollie had kennel cough once but I don't remember what to look for. I have googled it but most of the sites talk about the cough.. Ziggy was doing this throat clearing thing last night, so I checked to see if he had eaten something that got a bit stuck and couldn't see anything. It started around 3 am this morning... Since he got up, I have given him some manuka honey dissolved in some warm water and this seems to stop the raspy noise he is making. It is sort of like a cough but also a bit like a hack.. Like he is trying to get something up.. The coughing has seems to have slowed right down but he is still flat. Not his usually full on staffy self.. He is not even really playing. Pippa brings him a toy and he takes it but just lays there with it. He is still drinking water but didn't eat his breaky.. I am a panic merchant when it comes to the pets, so I am unsure if I should make a vet appointment today or wait and see if he coughs again tonight, in which cas I would make an appointment tomorrow. Also, Pippa has only had 1 C5 vaccination at about 5 months old (being a pound rescue) when she was desexed... Is she covered in case it is kennel cough? Thanks in advance.

I have set up a few with CFN only and a couple with both... The only difference is that with DGR the donations are tax deductible whereas the others are not tax deductible.. Most choose to set up as an unincorporated association.. I know you have to be approved by the ATO, hence my suggestion to report them to the ATO.. If you know anyone who is a member, they are entitled to a copy of the audited accounts, so you could find out if they are in fact auditing as would be required... If they are accepting Deductible gifts.

They can have one without the other. They can have the ability to,fundraise as a charity and the donations are not tax deductible. (nt a deductible gift recipient)... There are plenty of charities around who can fund raise but it's not a tax deduction... However they must make this very clear in their information to the public.. However it does sound like these are dodgy... You can make a complaint to the ATO, will sort them out quick smart.. The ATO love a good audit...

Honestly that was my biggest concern... They can have all the other stuff but they can't have the dogs... I have padlocks on all gates and we pick up a CCTV thing just after Easter and the boys will set it all up for me... We have those in breakable screen security doors that have 3 locks (top, middle and bottom) and those screens are on the back windows of the house to. I work from home and I can take Ziggy and the pup up to my son at the factory when no one can be here.... So the pups should be safe and if they get anything else, well that stuff can be replaced...

I would be giving her another 'pet' name that you can use to make the come command a pleasant one. If I call Ziggy, he sort of looks at me but if I call Zig, Zig in a higher pitched voice he comes running at me..

In all honestly Malti, I would not be wasting my time assessing the dog - it killed another animal and I would euth it and make room in rescue for another deserving animal. Perhaps not everyone's choice but it would be mine (dogs have been PTS for much less).. This is a bad situation all round, there are no winners here but to rehome this dog without letting the future owners know is ethically wrong and could have legal implications for whoever (it does not matter who, but there could and should be recourse if this information is not imparted to the possible adopters)... That was my whole point - the information that this dog killed another, should be made common knowledge to whoever is thinking about adopting it...

No, I believe the onus would be on the rescue organisation for full disclosure - not the foster carer. I feel sorry for the foster carer in this case - it sounds like she was wanting to protect her family from the horror of what had occurred. Personally, much as I love my adopted dog I would not adopt again because of the problems I have been saddled with. Even some of the larger more prominent shelters could do better with their behavioural assessments. What annoys me now looking back is that they made me feel guilty about enquiring about returning the dog, even though I was totally unaware that the dog had separation anxiety. I was made to feel that the problem was now mine. Over a year later and a lot of money spent the problem is ongoing and likely to always be an issue. I absolutely regret not returning the dog after a few weeks on the basis that I did not ask for a problem dog! I feel very sorry for the foster carer as well but she is the one that said she didn't want the information released about the kill so the dog would have a chance of finding a new home - personally I feel this is negligent on the part of the foster carer, even though she asked that it be rehomed without other dogs.. I am also angry with the rescue group for leaving this poor carer like they have... She has paid the ultimate price by losing one of her own dogs... But yes, I agree with you that the rescue group could also be held responsible...