Staffyluv

Whether you made a mistake, or bad decision to leave the smaller dog there or not is irrelevant.. The foster dog killed another animal and the new prospective owners have every right to know this. They have every right to all the information about temperament and behaviour that you, as the foster carer, know. Withholding this information could very well leave you open to legal recousrse if the dog kills again in its new home or at a dog park (because the new owners don't have all the information on the dog)... To be honest, I would euth a dog that killed another (that is a personal thing though I guess)... For the record, typing in capitals is the equivalent to yelling at people and it makes it easier to read if you put your posts in paragraphs and use punctuation (it does not have to be perfect, it just makes it easier to read) I am sorry you lost your little dog but this alone should indicate how important it is that any new owners be fully informed of the type of dog they may be inheriting... Edited for my early morning typing skills

Thanks for that info. I will try about dinner time and see how we go. I don't mind one or two dogs there as we can go into a different section. It is also a good test with the distraction of the other dogs. I have been bringing Pippa (foster pup) out as a distraction but he is fine with her around and she does not distract him enough. Other, new doggie friends are a much better test. when he starts acting up and I put a leash on him, cut his park time off and bring him home.

I am happy to do on lead walks with Ziggy - he needs that socialisation thing and he does love to be around other dogs (he just gets overly excited to begin with, so on lead would be good for him)..

I'd say "good" as well, SL because even if it wasn't something that escalated, it doesn't help when they might be mixed with other more light-boned and sensitive dogs, if they think that's how 'play' is. Exactly Erny - I learned so much in one session with her.. Ziggy's recall at home is almost perfect again.. Out is a different story but he was much better than he was - so still no play with other dogs yet but that is our goal, to get him so he can play again and not be a boofhead and recall all the time.. I honestly think she spent more time training me than Ziggy:)

They will both be fine and we will laugh at ourselves - later :) everything crossed here for both - it will be all clear...

The main gate, just past the front door (my front door is actually on the side of the house), is over 6 feet tall and is all vertical bars about 10cm apart - this is the one we use all the time. The other one around the side of the house is small but it would set off the 2 dogs next door if anyone went down there (2 rather big GSPs)... I have contacted someone about the CCTV things so we can get it sorted as soon as possible. He is going to come and have a look at how our place is set up and make some recommendations. Charjas, I have no idea why they would open the freezer on the back deck of the house - none.. Nothing really adds up to any motive or suggestion why someone would come into my backyard to begin with, let alone open the freezer and give a packet of barf patties to the dog and leave (leaving behind a hacksaw and a drop of blood on the freezer door)... If you can make any sense of it, I would be happy to hear it..

This exact scenario actually happened to a friend of mine. She lived in the outer suburbs of Sydney. She was reconciling with her hubby, they took the kids away for a long weekend and came home to an empty house... The removalist was never questioned as she was talking about moving back in with her ex the week before with us and her neighbours... They lost everything and as a single mum, she could not afford insurance.. Erny it would take more than a bit of bizarre goings on for me to not be at DOL :)

The constable I spoke to said she made a note of it and to call back if anything else happens... I don't think anything else will happen but I will amp up security around here just to be safe...

DOL forums have been a fantastic place... It has been there for me to share the journey I took with Ollie dog and his mast cell cancer.. It was ther to support me and wish us luck when our oldest son went missing in the bush over a cople of days. It was there when I was trying to decide if I should save my marriage. It was there when we lost my husband and ultimately when I had to say goodbye to my beloved Ollie dog... It has introduced me to fostering pound pooches, where I found my new boy, Ziggy. It has been there and given some great advice about training with issues I have been having with Ziggy. It was even there last night with all bizarre goings on here at home... We are lucky to have a place to come and share so much. I have made some really lovely friends here on DOL as well.

Dogs are fine, we are fine.. No further strangeness to report... That has to be the oddest thing that has ever happened to me. My son said he saw him walking past the front of our house and walking away from the house (so it may not have been the person who was in the backyard). He did call out to him a few times but the guy just kept walking away.. Yes the police know about the hacksaw and the blood. I told them everything I posted here and they were none to worried about it. I think (but obviously can't be sure) that it was someone checking the place out (perhaps to rob it) and they have come across Ziggy... I think the fact that the food was given to him was just random luck that whoever was in the yard checked the freezer and the dog food was there... Dog food is the only thing in the freezer. Ziggy is so friendly, he wouldn't bark at someone if they appeared friendly... Pippa would have though..

You just need a Normal thermometer from the chemist and you take his temp the same way the vet does (rectally).. Clean it with dettol each time you put it away. Normal average temp is 38 degrees Celsius but it can vary between 37.2 to 39.2 Your vet can tell you what his normal temp has been in the past... Ollie had chemo for about 6 months and there were only a small handful of times that he had any side effects. He usually just went off food and didn't really want to do much for a day... One thing that did happen was that his thyroid was damaged.. Now there is a bit of a difference of opinion on this... The holistic vet was convinced it was because of the chemo and the vet suggested that was possible but it could also have been from the cancer or totally unrelated... Olliemstarted to gain a lot of weight and even though I was cutting his food back he kept gaining.. I don't think the vet believed me when I said I was cutting his tucker back.., he also got tired and when we went for a walk, he would only walk about 500m and want to rest. Just something to keep an eye on...

I saw a system at Costco a couple of weeks ago.... are you a member or know someone who can take you as a guest so that you could check it out? It seemed to be well priced. I am a member so will go and have a look tomorrow... We have the gates padlocked and a couple of big timber sleepers wedged inside both gates. The house is secure as we have the shark mesh security screens and the pups are inside with us now... I have turned on the sensor lights that light up the backyard and the driveway to my office and the back deck. I have also left the light on at the back deck, the kitchen light is on and I don't thik I will sleep much tonight. The pups are asleep on the end of my bed, totally oblivious to anything going on.. Thanks for the security ideas...

Good news

Wishing you and Bison a long and healthy remission... As for chemo and side effects... If they are going to be a bit low (if) it is usually a few days after the initial treatment. He may just be a bit more tired, eat a bit less or drink more... Do they have you keeping a check on his temperature every day? I checked Ollie's temp twice a day every day while he was having chemo as it is a good way to make sure they are doing well and there are no infections or illness... He is a stunning boy and I have everything crossed for him..

It is all to weird.. The hacksaw, the blood, the frozen dog food given to the dog (it was our food, straight from our freezer)... None of it makes any sense to me at all... Ziggy seems fine, I was not to worried about that as it was our barf patty, still in the double freezer pack and frozen that he was eating... one side had the plastic removed from the top, peeled back... Seriously who walks I to someone's backyard and feeds their dog?. With a hacksaw?.. I just can't get my head around it. My 20 year old son is here and we are checking out different security systems on line now... I do have clients come and go. I run an accounting business from home. Well my office is in the backyard of the house. The office is by appointment only but the dogs have to be friendly in case someone just shows up without making an appointment... I usually put them inside a few minutes before clients are due, so they don't have to deal with the dogs wanting to say hello... A lot of clients don't even realise I have dogs...

This is what I don't get, how would they even know there was dog food in the freezer? Or was it just pot luck? Maybe they went around the back to knock something off or see if they could get into my business office?? And just came upon the freezer and then Ziggy just turned up... It is all very strange... I have spoken to the police and they said there have been no reports of stolen or baited dogs.. But to keep them informed if anything else happens... I have put the hacksaw into a garbage bag and it is in the laundry now. I also did not touch the blood smudged on the freezer door at this stage, I just took a photo of it and if anything happens tonight and the police need to come out it will be there tomorrow but I will clean it off tomorrow if all is clear tonight.

Oh Erny, I have auto lighting but never use it.. I will turn it on tonight and every night from now on. I have bought locks and will look into the CCTV thing tomorrow first thing... The freezer is on the back deck. This person would have to go past my car in the driveway and past the front door (which was closed), through the gate down the side of the house then turn the corner onto the deck out the back of my house.. My business office is in the same location as the deck on the property and I have clients come and go, so the dogs are used to people coming and going... Sadly Ziggy is no watch dog anyway, he loves everyone or is scared of others.. If you have food or toys you are his best friend... Pippa puppy is a more fearsome watchdog but she just barks loud and deep. I was a bit freaked out at first but now I am just pissed off about someone coming into my yard.. Even if all they did was feed the dog...

Ziggy and the foster baby Pippa sleep in my room anyway... Maybe you are right, I never thought they may have been looking for food..

I honestly don't know what to make of this... Sitting eating dinner about 45 minutes ago and we hear our back gate shut. So my son goes out to investigate and sees a guy walking away... I go to get the dogs inside and Ziggy is eating a frozen barf patty from our freezer. There is a hacksaw sitting on the top of the freezer and the empty barf patty box is sitting next tithe hacksaw (not my hacksaw, I have never seen it before).. There is also blood smudged on the door of the freezer (the outdoor fridge is for drinks and I keep the dog food in the freezer)... I just went and bought locks for all the gates but I am really concerned as a couple of months ago I had a guy question me about Ziggy and then he turned up at my door asking if he was desexed... But I have not seen him since that day and thought no more about it - but he did unnerve me at the time... Queanbeyan police have not had any recent reports of dog theft but when I told them what has happened here tonight they suggested locks, which I have done... So to cut a long story short, someone came here with a hacksaw and fed my dog food from my freezer and left.... I honestly don't know what to think of it but it has me worried...

Oh that is no good.. Yarralumla is such a nice park. I took Ziggy and Pippa up to the Scar here in Queanbeyan but it's not really that nice up there... Ziggy was doing pretty well but then a big Dobe decided to come and bark at him so they started fence running with each other, so I leashed him and bought him home... We are still working on his manners... Glad to hear that the dogs had a nice time out at Casey... Did Lando go to the park today?

Boof head went so well all week that I thought I would try him at the dog park in the early hours of the morning. So off we went (Ziggy, Pippa and myself)... Pippa is great and only a puppy at about 6 months old now so comes when called because she always gets a treat... There was a large Dobe and another staffy in the big dog park, so we went into the little dog section (as there was no one there)... It was a good test and he is still not ready to go back to the dog park and play... So we will keep going at home with the current training and I will try him again next weekend if he continues to make progress.. He came back about 50% of the time, so much better than before but still a long way to go. He started fence running with the big Dobe, so I leashed him and bought him home... The run did him good and I am going to make the effort to get him up there and practice at a time when there is little chance of other dogs being there... So very early and later in the afternoon...

I hope you find him soon...

Our new staffy cross rescued boy is called Ziggy Fan Belt... It's a long story...

We lost my husband on 2nd October last year and Ollie dog on 25th October last year.. About 3 weeks apart... I think the thing about the 2 losses which made it hard was the fact that there were so many who lost Dan but it honestly felt like it was only me who lost Ollie... I felt like my heart and soul had been ripped out at the time... Don't get me wrong it still hurts like hell most days but you have to keep going because there are bills to pay, work to do and others who need your support... I don't doubt that for some losing a pet is as or more, in some cases, worse than losing a human

So sorry, such a very sad situation for your mum, her partner and the dogs... I think if the dogs were together, they could both be rehomed.. Asking some local rescue's for help to rehome might be a good idea to get them somewhere together... However if they had to be separated I think the kindest thing would be to rehome the younger one and let the other one go to the bridge, unless your mother thinks she would be fine on her own. Does mum have any friends close by that could help out as well to take some of the load off her and her partner? Maybe that way she could keep them? Dogs are great comfort when you are unwell or hurting - they probably just want to be with her and if her partner is at work all day, maybe having them there with her might actually be a comfort.. Just some ideas - I hope it all works out.