Maddy

We have plenty of bees around, both the European honey bees and the bumble bees, and in ten years, only one of my dogs has ever been stung by one. And that was the Idiot Dog anyway, when he decided to pick up a bee in his mouth that had been crawling on the concrete in front of him (and minding its own business). I scraped the stinger out of his lip and he was fine. Interestingly, he didn't yelp or anything when it happened. I turned around in time to see him chewing at the bee and then spit it out. I wasn't sure he'd actually been stung until he started pawing at his face and I had a really close look. At no point did he really seem all that distressed by it. Although before we draw any conclusions from that, worth pointing out that Idiot Dog is an idiot. Either way, I wouldn't worry about bees because they tend to do their own thing and only sting if really threatened. Wasps, on the other hand.. they get more and more aggro as the weather starts to cool. Don't leave anything outside they could eat- no bones, no dog food, don't leave fruit/berries on plants and pick up any that have dropped to the ground (which should be done when you have dogs around anyway) and remove as many water sources as possible. Wasp traps are an option for control but personally, I'd rather give them zero reasons to come visit me. So dogs only get fed after dark in later summer/autumn and anything not eaten gets picked up. We still get the ones passing through but at least they're not hanging around.

They look really good. How far (approx) do you think the bottom of the actual bowl is off the floor? I've noticed Scottie prefers drinking from his crate bowl - which is elevated. Thinking about replacing his 'regular" food and water bowls with something higher - just not sure what. This might be it. When the bowl is half full, the water level sits at around 15cm above the floor. It doesn't sound like much but it means the tall Derper Dog can now just lower his head and drink like a normal dog, instead of having to do his weird kneeling thing.

I used to use the plain stainless steel bowls but last year, I got the Derper Dog some of the Dogit bowls and now we're slowly replacing all the old stainless steels bowls with Dogit. Derper Dog has their raised bowl for his water and it was the best money I've ever spent. Incredibly heavy base with rubber coating (not the useless rubber rings some of the stainless steel ones have) and the base makes it high enough for him to drink from without having legs or anything else he could trip over. They also have a reasonable range of sizes, the Shitty Whippet has a treat bowl that looks small enough for a tiny dog. Oh, and the stainless steel bit comes out of the melamine base- so the eating bit can go through the dishwasher and the base can be wiped down by hand to prevent damage to the rubber base. The raised bowl- https://www.petcircle.com.au/product/dogit-2-in-1-elevated-dog-dish-black The regular bowls- http://search.mypetwarehouse.com.au/search?w=dogit

I know exactly what you mean there. Some of my foster failures were surrendered dogs who became part of the family (like Sally and the Derper dog) and I'd totally consider them to be my dogs. But others, like Jelly and Spotty.. they failed assessment but just sort of stayed. Neither are dogs I'd pick for myself but I feel kind of stuck with them. As harsh as it sounds, they'd be the first to go if I had to make that decision.

This or a tibbie was my first thought. The bully breeds can be great as adults but I've not met one bully puppy who wasn't a bitey, bouncy ball of pure crazy energy. Which is fine for confident kids but for a small child who sounds nervous around dogs.. yeahno. A cav might not look tough but in my opinion, they're a much more suitable breed, if you really want a puppy, rather than an adult. As an aside, the whole.. adult dogs can't reallllly be trusted thing.. it's crap. In some respects, they are safer because their behaviour can be observed in its formed state. A puppy is just a big question mark.

wow...how did you manage this?...did you step on it or sit on it?.....I had Redbacks crawling over my hands and Huntsmen dropping from the ceiling on my head (when I tried to remove them), but I never got bitten. I heard that white-tailed spiders can be a little bit nasty...and of course the funnel webs, but I actually never saw a funnel web spider here in the Illawarra. We get heaps of them here and nasty is an understatement. They're easily the most aggro spiders I've ever come across and they seem to enjoy hanging out in places you might need at night- I've found them on the bathroom floor, on the towel rack in the bathroom, in the kitchen sink, wandering up the hallway and even in one of the dogs' bowls. They're not the sort of spider you can trap under a glass and take outside, either. The last one I saw, it ran up the hallway at me with its front legs and fangs up, presumably not for cuddles. I threw a shoe at it to buy myself some time and retreated for the flyspray. The only good white-tailed spider is one that is buried under a foamy pile of Mortein. I'll stick to the huntsmen.. That is terrifying. I've been bitten by a white-tailed in bed (I guess the little bastard was hiding under my pillows, the bite was on the back of my head ) and I can assure you, it does not tickle. The bite site itself didn't look like much- sort of like a very small pimple- but it was swollen and very sore for several days. I now make a habit of wearing socks around the house to protect my feet, shaking out bedding and not walking into dark rooms. Huntsmen creep me out but I'd take them over white-tailed spiders any day :/

wow...how did you manage this?...did you step on it or sit on it?.....I had Redbacks crawling over my hands and Huntsmen dropping from the ceiling on my head (when I tried to remove them), but I never got bitten. I heard that white-tailed spiders can be a little bit nasty...and of course the funnel webs, but I actually never saw a funnel web spider here in the Illawarra. We get heaps of them here and nasty is an understatement. They're easily the most aggro spiders I've ever come across and they seem to enjoy hanging out in places you might need at night- I've found them on the bathroom floor, on the towel rack in the bathroom, in the kitchen sink, wandering up the hallway and even in one of the dogs' bowls. They're not the sort of spider you can trap under a glass and take outside, either. The last one I saw, it ran up the hallway at me with its front legs and fangs up, presumably not for cuddles. I threw a shoe at it to buy myself some time and retreated for the flyspray. The only good white-tailed spider is one that is buried under a foamy pile of Mortein.

My vet uses a frying pan to collect urine samples so.. maybe something like that? Which sounds like a super fun to spend your time- hunching around after your dog with a frying pan, like some sort of weirdo, waiting for it to squat. As for the "environmental" reasons for using expensive/complicated sh*t bucket.. dubious. Leaving in on footpaths to be washed into the gutters and then stormwater drains is obviously a bad idea but disposal in regular household waste shouldn't pose a problem. Landfill isn't just a hole in the ground- they're designed to prevent (or at least minimise) contamination of ground water or surrounding soil*. Really, pushing the "environmental benefits" of the sh*t bucket is the only way they're going to sell any because it doesn't look cheaper, easier or at all convenient for the user. (also, who wants buckets of sh*t sitting around their house ) * http://www.coolaustralia.org/modern-landfill-sites-secondary/

Tasmania has had very strict desexing laws for cats for several years and it hasn't helped. People will find and exploit any loophole they can and the laws were never going to be easy to enforce. The end result has been.. no real change. Punishing people into responsible pet ownership just doesn't seem to work and for whatever reason, most councils won't even consider actually rewarding responsible ownership- and I'm not just talking about reduced rego costs. Having to pay any rego cost is a punishment for doing the right thing and registering the animal. What councils need to consider is free rego for chipped/desexed non-breeding animals. They get better compliance on rego (which is good for them, reduces impounds, etc) and the public has incentive to register. Without that, besides obeying the law, what other incentive is there to the average person?

I noticed they included greyhounds in the photos of seal dogs and in my experience, the "seal" greyhounds turn into black ones with proper grooming and an improvement in diet. What makes them look brownish is the kennel/undercoat hairs.

Antlers are good but if you want them to really last, avoid getting palm pieces (my Shitty Whippet can get through those in about 20 minutes ) and avoid the more weathered ones. Weathered is fine if you don't need them to last forever but once they've sat outside for a few seasons, the sun, wind and rain will slowly leech minerals out, resulting in a softer antler. Another thing to consider is cow hooves. Less popular with my dogs than the antlers but heaps cheaper and they require a bit of effort to hang onto while chewing because of the irregular shape.

Woolworths/Coles sell them down here so that'd be the cheapest place to look. Heaps cheaper than a Furminator (my last Zoom Groom cost around $12) and can also be used in the bath to really scrub the skin. They're same idea as a curry comb but with fatter teeth that feel a bit more grippy.

I think it's possibly less physical work than a curry comb or a Zoom Groom on its own (because it does catch loose hair better) but getting out fluff is never going to be quick or easy. The way I do brushing is to scrub everything around with the Zoom Groom (backwards and forwards) and then go over it with the Furminator until there's not much hair coming out, and then scrub again with the Zoom Groom, rinse, repeat. Once the fluffy crap is under control*, a quick weekly going over with the Furminator, finished off with wiping down with the lambswool mitt and hounds look shiny and smooth. *Which can take weeks, depending on how bad the problem is.

What do you want the petition to accomplish? how are you proposing to change the situation? Unless you have a viable solution to remedy the situation an online petition is only going to inflame the situation and encourage pounds to keep these dogs out of the spotlight and away from FB where they are much more likely to get PTS due to lack of exposure. If you want things to change then look at the list I posted earlier about how you can encourage rescues to get involved with individual cases or better yet maybe volunteer at a pound and get some hands on experience with ALL the issues pounds face everyday. It's easy to be a keyboard warrior, if only everyone that wanted things to change were actually prepared to do something about it (and by this I don't mean create an inflammatory petition) Your post is not at all helpful. I am asking about the wording of a petition not whether or not I should write one at all. My petition would go to the government. It would not be an online petition via Facebook because I don't have the IT skills for that, but maybe that is a good suggestion. Perhaps I could find someone who could set up one on Facebook. Your post is helpful after all. I asked you what you wanted the petition to accomplish and how you were proposing to make that happen. How is anyone supposed to help you write a petition without knowing those key things. Who is the target of your petition? One specific pound? All the pounds in NSW? What about the ones that are already fostering out pregnant dogs? Which government are you planning to sent it to? Local, state or federal? Which government employee will you be addressing it to? Thank you for your interest. I don't read your posts as friendly which makes me wary (hypervigilance possibly) so I will not be answering your questions. the rescue I work with has established relationships with lots of pounds in NSW and there are many individuals that through their attempts to better the system have threatened to derail these relationships. You're not the only one with cause to be wary. Point taken. Seemed to me like Leah was being a lot more gentle with you than you probably deserved. Believe it or not, rescues aren't in some conspiracy with the government to shut down concerned citizens/keyboard warriors. Shocking, I know.

I guess it probably depends on what you want it for? I use mine to strip out kennel coat in greyhounds and I love it. Still have to use fingers/blade for the nooks and crannies, and I do use it alongside the Zoom Groom (for scrubbing out the dead skin, otherwise the Furminator blade gets clogged up with dog dandruff ) but it makes the job so much faster and the dogs enjoy it more.

Same as HW and Rebanne. If a puppy is crated and urgently has to go, it's going to happen whether they can get away from where they sleep or not. Personally, I'd prefer they were at least able to move away from their own urine and not forced to stand or sit in it.

Thanks Willem. I am going to let them work it out. The mother has been told that hypo allergenic dogs are what she should be looking for by the family Dr. Although I could point her in the right direction regarding dogs and allergies, I am just happy that they are willing to buy a rescue rather than a dog from a pet shop. I am just wanting to point her to any reputable rescue in Melb that may have dogs that she will love. re a Melbourne rescue. Rescued With love is still going strong rescuing 'lower shed' breeds like maltese but if the little kiddie hasn't had a scratch/prick test by a specialist it would really help rule out trial and error. Saving the dog bouncing out of an adoptive home. :) I'm not allergic to dogs but Shar Pei give me a lasting rash and I know people who get the same contact allergy from foxies but no other short coats. Odd isn't it! I'm allergic to cats and dogs (cats being the worst, presumably because they get a lot of saliva on their fur from grooming) and have noticed the some individuals within a breed cause me a worse reaction than others. Idiot Dog, a 30kg greyhound who sleeps on my bed, doesn't bother my eyes or skin at all but a few of the foster hounds caused nasty red rashes/hives/insanely itchy eyes just from contact like patting them. And oddly enough, when the Shitty Whippet first arrived, I lived on Zyrtec and Naphcon for several months but now that we've had her for almost two years, I still get itchy eyes but not much else I assume in some cases, you can become less sensitive?

which many, many breeds have and is managed by very many owners very well. But it has to be acknowledged to be managed and the amount of unhelpful posts (not here) by people convinced that Greyhounds are abused in order to make them chase and the pics posted of dogs with kittens and bunnies are not helpful to novice owners of ANY sighthound breed. THIS. So much this. After the live baiting business, a lot of people were led to believe greys had to be baited (or otherwise taught) to get them to chase. Part of it was just the AR push against racing- claiming that the dogs are forced to race- but so many people believe it and if anything, it actually hurts the breed because it completely ignores the breed's purpose and history. My hounds didn't have to be taught to chase, it's not just in their blood, it's what makes them what they are. I know at least two of mine would cheerfully rip a cat to pieces if given a chance. Of those two, one can't be walked in public because the sight of delicious little fluffy dogs is a bit much for her. As for the Idiot Dog.. his drive is pretty average until a small dog starts to panic and then I wouldn't trust him as far as I could throw him. In considering breeds traits and management, prey drive is a pretty easy one for me to live with but for other people, it plainly isn't. Horses for courses and all that- but potential adopters need to know what sort of horse they're getting and a lot of groups are not doing that. /soapbox

Very long days, but only three days a week. The other four days someone is at home most of the time. I don't think it necessarily rules dog-ownership out because if they are committed the dog will still be exercised on those days and provided with stimulation and companionship when they are home. Some dogs would be just fine in this situation. That's a pretty big "if".

which is what I do and have done. I have gone into threads where greyhounds are recommended and said no way do I think a grey would work out. But if this is about the current thread I still do think a greyhound would suit. Of course there are proviso's, as there are with all breeds, but it is very doable. But they aren't interested in a grey so I've bowed out and left them to it. I just had a look at that thread and personally, I'd not recommend a grey. My reasons.. Greyhounds are highly unlikely to fit the bill here. You might find the odd one that barks at strangers but I'd say 90% of the greys I've fostered have LOVED stangers. Of the remaining 10%, most were nervous of strangers and would make themselves scarce as quickly and quietly as possible. I don't think a double storey unit is really ideal for a dog built like a grey. Add in a small yard and my feeling is that the dog is not going to get the exercise it needs once the novelty of walks wears off. They might not weigh a great deal relative to their height but they are large dogs. Besides that, on the days they are out, it's substantial blocks of time and I think many dogs would struggle to cope. Honestly, I'd be recommending they just get a cat. Edited to add.. I think what many people don't understand about racing-bred greyhounds is that they aren't the completely self-contained units they're made out to be. Greyhound pups are usually raised with their litter (or in with a second litter), they are trained in groups, they live in groups. As racing adults, they are generally given individual runs but they are still surrounded by other dogs. In the absence of those other dogs, they have to seek company from humans and to take a dog from that sort of environment and toss it into an empty house for half of its life is asking for trouble. Even if they can outwardly "cope", is the dog actually going to be happy? I have my doubts.

I've had plenty of destructive greys (often SA, fixable but not fun to live with) and generally speaking, it's the younger dogs who do it- up to about 3 years of age. Unfortunately, younger dogs are also more popular with adopters. So some people adopt a grey thinking it will be a perfect, polite dog only to discover it's a food stealing, cushion shredding maniac teenager or (even worse) an anxious dog who eats wooden furniture down to the last twig, while the owner had just popped out to get some milk. Good rescues should be picking those sorts of issues up so that dogs can be rehomed appropriately but greyhound rescues is packed with cowboys- which became a lot worse after February 2015- and some of the horror stories coming out are almost unbelievable. We're lucky that greys haven't ended up on the banned breed list thanks to some of the wildly irresponsible rehoming going on :/

100% agree, Haredown. I constantly see them being recommended for people with no fences, people with piles of cats, people who want a dog to walk off-lead and homes otherwise totally unsuited to owning grey/s. I absolutely LOVE the breed but people have to understand the cons as well as the pros. Prey drive is one of the most important things and it shits me endlessly to see people claiming that greys are great with small animals when the vast majority just aren't. That doesn't make them a bad dog but it makes management different from breeds with less drive to chase. I don't think glossing over the realities necessarily helps either. I've had dogs surrendered to me from pet homes because the owners were told one thing (basically a skinny, inert blob that occupies couch space) but discovered that the dog was something else entirely (would take off after wildlife when walked offlead, wasn't overly fond of their loud kids, had no interest in fetching balls or otherwise being a "normal" dog, etc) and some of the things those owners say.. "Oh, I knew about the prey drive but I didn't really understand what it meant until Houndy here "escaped" out the open front door and killed a neighbour's cat in front of our kids" <-- Was an actual example. I didn't know how to even respond to that. Greys are awesome dogs but they're just not for everyone. Personally, I love their traits and find them really easy to live with but I did my researching before ever getting involved with the breed so there were no surprises. Dumping greyhounds (or sighthounds, in general) on unsuspecting homes is a recipe for misery, I think.

Videos from the AR folk are always a great example of the exceptions to the rules. If they showed footage of the usual operations of the average processing facility, most Australians (barring the AR folk, of course) would agree that the livestock are handled appropriately and slaughter is about as humane as we can make it. Showing the exceptions, as if it were the standard way things are done, is how most AR campaigns work.

...some thoughts here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lychee_and_Dog_Meat_Festival ...the comments from Julian Baggini expresses pretty much my own thoughts about this: quote: "In The Guardian, the philosopher Julian Baggini considered the hypocrisy of western meat-eaters being outraged by the Chinese eating "cute animals", commenting that "the double standards at play here are numerous, complicated, and not always obvious", and that "vegans are the only group who can oppose the festival without any fear of hypocrisy." I don't like what happens in Yulin, but I eat meat too; not much, but from time to time. I prefer fish, but there are intelligent fish / sea food species too. We have ham festivals and pork festivals here while pigs somewhere else are companions and used as truffle pigs ... I don't believe that I have the high moral ground to tell people in another culture and country what they have to do regards eating, also if I don't like it. ETA ...wrt vegans: ...and even they could only oppose the festival IMO without hypocrisy if they don't own a dog, cat or other carnivore they have to feed with meat. You can't compare the raising and slaughtering of animals like cows or sheep to dogs because they're entirely different animals with very different needs. Livestock species are usually herbivorous, live in large groups, usually prefer minimal interaction with people and their needs can be catered for quite easily. Compare this to dogs who will fight in large groups, cannot eat the cheaper and more readily available foods cattle or sheep can eat and have a very complex relationship with humans. Their welfare needs obviously aren't even close to being met, judging from some of those photos. It might be a moral issue for some but for me, it's about welfare. It'd be unacceptable for someone here in Australia to keep 50 dogs in a tiny concrete yard, rarely feeding them and providing no veterinary care, let alone clubbing them to death as a means of slaughter. Even for cows, we have laws to protect the welfare of livestock and regulations for how those animals must be slaughtered. It wouldn't matter to me if it was a cow, sheep, rabbit or dog, their practices are not acceptable. And on the topic of unacceptable management.. Same thing. I don't particularly care where the show is held but I do think it's important that people understand the difference between moral opposition and opposition based on welfare concerns. Using greyhounds in Australia as an example.. do I oppose greyhound racing for a moral reason, such as the idea that animals shouldn't be used for entertainment? No. Because I doubt the dogs care if we are entertained or not. I oppose it (in its current form) because of the prevalence of live baiting; because in Tasmania, roughly half of all pups whelped are never named- which means the majority of those dogs will end up dead before 2 years of age; and because of certain rearing and training methods that make the dogs unrehomeable as adults. If all of the many and varied welfare concerns could be addressed (which will likely never happen, sadly), I think the sport could have a future. Could eating dogs be okay if all of their welfare needs were met and slaughter was quick, clean and humane? I guess theoretically, yes. But again, it won't happen so.. Back on topic.. A quick look at the FCI website and I found this.. http://www.fci.be/en/For-Dogs-in-China-184.html so it seems the FCI certainly isn't ignoring the issue or attempting to shirk their responsibilities. And if they and the CKU do follow through with all that, I'd have no problemwith the show being held in China, seeing as there appears to be significant focus on improving welfare long-term.

If you're on the Whippet Lovers Australia FB group, the topic comes up every other day and there was a pinned list of places to get stuff for whippets. My opinion is that it sort of depends a bit on your coat budget. If it has to be cheap ($20-30), Jackie's or Dishlickers are decent coats for the price, I'd lean more towards Dishlickers because you can get things customised. Mid range stuff ($30-90) gets a bit nicer, Pippa's on Etsy, Juddabug, Haughty McNaughty, Oboe and Piccolo, Kazimir etc. At the far end of the scale ($100+) are things like the Whippet Wear coats. The WW coats are very nicely made and fit beautifully but to be honest, I still cringe whenever I look at Shitty Whippet's WW coat and remember what I paid for it. And.. not quite coats but pajamas.. Baba Pooch There's also a woman down here who makes sun suits and various other interesting bits and pieces for whippets but the owner of that business likes to post some very racist things on on her personal FB and I would not feel comfortable recommending her to anyone :/