Maddy

Of course they do...... My guys seek out different types of faeces on different occasions as if they are looking for something.... sometimes they look for possum scats, on other occasions they eat kangaroo or wombat droppings, horse droppings are the favourite though as horses are not efficient at digesting. Herbivore poo is not a substitute for green tripe, but obviously fills some nutritional gap. I'm not sure eating something because it smells interesting is proof that it fills a nutritional gap. Dogs will also happily eat chocolate and not only does that not fill a nutritional gap, it can kill them. So why on some days will an individual pass over roo poo in favour of wombat poo? Some days one of mine hoes into duck shit, other days she'll leave it alone. Preference? Do you eat the same thing every day or do you sometimes feel like eating something different? Not necessarily things you need but things you enjoy at certain times. My dogs aren't fed any real vegetable matter and none of them show any interest in any sort of poo

Of course they do...... My guys seek out different types of faeces on different occasions as if they are looking for something.... sometimes they look for possum scats, on other occasions they eat kangaroo or wombat droppings, horse droppings are the favourite though as horses are not efficient at digesting. Herbivore poo is not a substitute for green tripe, but obviously fills some nutritional gap. I'm not sure eating something because it smells interesting is proof that it fills a nutritional gap. Dogs will also happily eat chocolate and not only does that not fill a nutritional gap, it can kill them.

In my opinion, one of the biggest benefits of feeding fresh green tripe is the amount of chewing* involved. I get green tripe as the whole first stomach and cut it into 1kg pieces so that they really have to work at it. Obviously horse poo has no dental benefits so that's a strike there. Also, the bacteria in poo is not going to be the same as bacteria in the stomach. I doubt a dog could digest the plant matter a horse couldn't digest so you'd also be adding a lot of bulk to their intake. Which might be okay for dogs who need to lose weight but might end up causing a loss of condition in dogs that are naturally leaner. *And with basically zero risk of breaking teeth. Tripe is incredibly tough and it has a carpet-y texture.

And the Idiot Dog.

The Shitty Whippet, prone to falling asleep halfway through naughtiness. Constantly harassing the Idiot Dog is a lot of hard work

Being a sighthound, I'd be surprised if the puppy didn't show any predatory interest towards small animals. I'd be pointing out to them that their puppy sounds perfectly normal for the type of dog they chose and suggest surrendering to a breed specific rescue group. It actually reminds me of an idiot woman down here I've dealt with. She surrendered one dog to me (it killed a few of the kid's guinea pigs) and no sooner had we picked this poor dog up, the woman was out looking for another. A few months ago, she was trying to surrender that one (this time I refused to take it) and then last week, I saw her advertising on Gumtree, wanting a new greyhound. As if the previous two were broken or something.

Ever looked into reptiles? albino mutations are the best bucks of all Albino dobes. Enough said.

As of yesterday, I'm down from four of my own to just two (plus one foster dog) and the house feels very quiet and empty. I think you get used to the craziness after a while and it becomes comfortably crazy.

As far as I'm aware, you can't open up a vet clinic without being a qualified vet and holding a license to practice so I'd assume not. From something said elsewhere, I believe the vet in question is fresh out of uni.

Most of these things below apply strictly to the Idiot Dog and my excuse is that he's "special" and needs the extra help. I am not a crazy dog lady. Holding food in Idiot Dog's mouth because he's not very good at chewing and things fall out the side. Pre-chewing tougher things for him (like bits of steak from my plate, not actual dog food). Holding his water bowl up for him so he doesn't have to kneel to drink (he can't bend his elbows to drink because apparently they don't work for that?). Cleaning his penis for him with baby wipes (he can't/won't clean it himself and it was getting infected). Cleaning eye gunk out. Holding his back feet for him so he can chew on his toe nails. Checking/wiping his bum if he's had a rumbly tummy (this is mostly to save our couch/bedding).

That sounds about as I expected. I noticed several friends down in Hobart have liked her page (presumably because the idea does sound good in theory) but if she can't even get a needle in a dog*, she may be doing the community more harm than good. Cheaper care is great and all but it shouldn't come at the cost of quality of care. *I've had to give subcut analgesics to a foster dog with no more training than the vet saying "You're comfortable doing this? Just pick some skin and go in." and I managed it first go without the dog even noticing so how a vet could stuff it up.. god knows.

I know some vets do charge quite a lot for basic stuff but using my own vet as an example.. they do discounts/free work for rescues, are an NDN member, offer pensioner discounts and even if you qualify for none of those, are generally pretty cheap. The senior vet is definitely not rich and I've actually seen him out the front before, doing their gardening. If one of these discount clinics opened up near us, our clinic would go under and we'd actually have no choice but go to one of the very expensive clinics (seeing as they'd probably be able to remain afloat). I've been seeing the same vet since I was 8 (with my first ever cat) and the kind of relationship and trust you build with your vet is worth the extra few dollars, I think.

It actually seems very popular/busy. And when I first heard about it, it did sound like a good idea. I suppose the reason I was curious about other peoples' thoughts was the impact it would have on other clinics in the area. A vet nurse friend posted about that issue, pointing out vaccines/worming/check-ups were core services that help to cover more expensive services (like desexing) for regular clinics. Pet Aid says they're cutting their overheads by not providing those services, which suggests they're expensive to offer. So.. for regular clinics, losing the bulk stuff could actually drive up prices for things like desexing/other surgery/diagnostics, which doesn't actually benefit the community in the long term. And the more I think about it, the more I'm inclined to agree with her.

Recently, this place (FB) opened up down in Hobart and I was wondering if anything like this exists on the mainland and if so, what impact it's had on nearby regular clinics? Reason I ask is that there's been some discussion about whether or not this really benefits the community (they don't offer desexing) or if it just gives BYBers a cheap way to do the vaccs/worm/vet checks. Obviously the idea is lower prices but very high volume, sort of like The Reject Shop, but for animal health. Thoughts? Would you use a vet where you/your animal were seen/treated in the waiting room as standard and surgical procedures weren't actually available*? *I assume because GA/monitoring equipment would require a lot more of an investment by the owner of the clinic.

There were rough coated ones until the 1930's. It's like a tiny deerhound after a bad haircut You'd think the wire coat would be easy enough to breed back in given how many terriers of a similar size carry the gene.

This ^ I've had everything from the lean, needle-nosed "typical" greyhounds, through to fat-headed, chunky/messy dogs. Weights have also varied enormously (from 25kg up to 39kg) and even between siblings, there can be a huge amount of difference. I had two black bitches from the same litter (Luna and Rosie), Luna was a big, chunky girl with a boxy plain head and no real definition of shape. Rosie had a slender, tidy head and although her shape was also a little messy, she was much smaller and looked more typey. The greyhound pup pictured in the article looks a bit thick around the throat/jaw and thighs but I've seen uglier purebred greys. Other thing to remember is that teenage greyhounds go through the uglies, big time. Between 6 and 12 months, they can look really weird so with all those factors, I can see how it wasn't picked up, especially when dallies have a fairly similar shape to their bodies and also have smooth coats. Interestingly, Idiot Dog's dam is a Shiraz (Kyra, out of Mimi) and she's a very thick, plain dog who wouldn't be winning any beauty pageants, she has a head very much like Black Shiraz. Supreme Insinct is also a Shiraz dog herself so it's possible they were expecting heavier type to begin with.

The Silken Windhound is just gorgeous, a whippet with hair, who knew :D They've got a little way to go to stabilise type yet. The best ones do look like smaller Borzoi. However some just look like mutts. There is some Shetland Sheepdog or other herding breed in the mix too as they can get CEA and MDR1. They can also be Ivermectin sensitive. They did use lurchers in the mix and they often have BC blood so who knows. So much for hybrid vigour!! These dogs have a range of genetic issues established sighthound breeds simply don't get. However there does appear good breeder awareness and testing for this. I'm sure they'll get there. My remaining question is temperament. Whippets and Borzoi don't have greatly similar temperaments IMO and heaven knows what the addition of herding breed blood has brought to the party. I actually wonder how like Whippets they are in temperament. Someone after a "long coated Whippet" or "smaller Borzoi" might not get that at all really. Most sighthound owners I know wouldn't be happy with a herding breed like temperament. However, if I could get one like this I'd be happy! (but with more spring of pastern lol) This is what puts me off the breed. I love the idea of a coated sighthound (especially down here in Tasmania where we have to rug the dogs so heavily and for so much of the year) but I'm not keen on on the Sheltie temperament and when combined with whippet, I think it'd be a very busy and possibly barky dog. The possibly of the dog carrying the mutated MDR1 gene is also a negative. I honestly can't understand why they felt the need to include Sheltie when there was the MDR1 issue anyway and the very different "type" of temperament. Such a shame because I love the idea of a hairy whippet. But anyways.. I'd shank my mother for one of these.. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hortaya_borzaya or one of these.. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rampur_Greyhound I'd also take a Magyar agár in a pinch :D

OMG your OH and my OH are related Annoying, hey? As soon as an empty surface appears, he feels the need to put things on it I actually cleared the crate off about two weeks ago and already, the pile of junk back on it is higher than it was before I tidied it.

I ended up replacing my K9+ soft crate with a regular wire crate (because the OH likes to dump junk on the crate and soft crates can't handle much weight on top) but if I had a choice, I think I'd definitely go back to the K9+ because the dogs loved it and the quality was worth the extra $50 or so it cost me. In my opinion, a decent soft crate is worth saving up for. Also, the K9+ crate mats (the Duratuff ones) are really good. I have them in under a crate bolster mat and some vet bed and it's very soft and comfy. The Duratuff can be wiped down and the other stuff is small enough to wash easily.

In my experience (which is unfortunately a lot with our old guy) vetbed doesn't absorb liquids, it drains them out underneath. The top layer still feels relatively dry but if you lift it up, you'll have a puddle underneath (which then has to be mopped up before you can clean the floor). I'm not sure if you're having trouble with him wetting his bed or if he gets out of bed and wees on the floor. If it's the latter, some big, cheap towels or the pet pads might be a better option.

We have a couple of rabbits and they live in a big double run that requires taking them out to move around. While the runs are being moved, we have two spare cages they go in. My bunny is trained to hop into one of those blue pop-up kennels to be moved around (both are ex meat farm rabbits and not tame enough to pick up) so moving him around, in theory, should be really easy. A few weeks ago, the OH was helping me move the runs and as usual, Shitty Whippet wanted to come out and watch. No problems, until the OH decides he's capable of putting my rabbit back- he leans over, opens the cage door for the waiting bun but somehow forgets to put the pop-up kennel in front for him to climb into. I turned around just in time to see my rabbit hopping off across the yard, the OH panics and calls out to me which meant Shitty Whippet was also now aware of tasty escapee (she'd been pottering around the other side of the yard). Obviously, Shitty Whippet beat me to the rabbit and for a second there, I expected her to do what sighthounds do. Instead, Shitty Whippet play-bowed at him, pranced around him for a few moments and when he didn't bow back, went running off to the OH, presumably to dob on the bunny for being out of his house. Thank god for prey drive fail.

I have two boys and two girls and honestly, they're all so different that it's hard to say which I prefer. The grumpy old man is generally pretty sweet but he needs his space and can't tolerate rude dogs at all. The old girl also needs her space and really only likes the old boy but she's very tolerant of silly dogs and incredibly mellow. They've been together for several years and the old grump definitely wears the pants in that relationship. If he's feeling benevolent, she get her ears licked by him. If he's in a mood, she steers clear. The younger boy (Idiot Dog) is clingy to the point of being a bit annoying but the younger girl (Shitty Whippet) is just as bad in her own way- she lacks any understanding of personal space and would probably be even happier if she could crawl down my throat to get at my delicious internal organ warmth. In that relationship, not only does she wear the pants (at a third of his size), she's more than capable of bullying him into compliance if he doesn't do what she wants.

The trouble with bacon is the fat. Even dried, it retains a fair bit of moisture and that can ruin anything it's added to. When I make dried treats for the dogs (like liver), I trim off any obvious fat, boil the hell out of the chunks (to render off more fat and dry them out a bit) and then check and trim the pieces before drying them in the oven. Ideally, for making dried treats, you'd want a lean meat like roo, venison, rabbit or chicken breast. I've dried venison for my dogs (because the idiot dog is not very food motivated so we need really high value) and after a day of drying, it kept until I ran out (which was a couple of weeks, sitting in my treat pouch, and definitely not airtight). Things like how thick the slices are and how long you dry for are going to alter how long dried treats last. Invest in one of those food slicers (mine looks like this and cost me all of $20) and slice to roughly 5mm thick. A bit of give in the dried pieces is okay but you don't want them the same as human jerky because the human stuff has preservatives that allow it to be less dry. Same with the commercially made dog jerky. Another option is hot smoking and then drying. A friend of mine made herself a smokehouse out of an old shipping container but I'm fairly sure you can buy small home units. Smoked treats have quite a strong smell and all of my dogs absolutely LOVE them.

When we brought the Shitty Whippet home, we had the Idiot Dog to consider and he's very rough and also very excitable. We put him in our bedroom until Shitty Whippet had had a few minutes to sniff around the house and then let the Idiot Dog out. Despite how worried I was that he'd mow her down with his enthusiasm (because he really is an idiot and she was tiny), he was actually gentle and more careful with her than he is with us. In the six months she's been with us, we've had no problems. If anything, Idiot Dog has actually calmed down a lot. Having a lot of foster dogs, I guess we're kind of used to introducing new dogs (of varying ages) to the ones we already have so that part of things has never been a big deal Shitty Whippet and her minion, Idiot Dog

Just got a call back from our vet with the results of the biopsies we had done and the results are not good We had chest xrays done at the same time and they were clear so I was hopeful we'd be able to go ahead and have the thyroid removed. From what I understood, if removal was possible, she'd likely have a couple of years. Unfortunately, the tumour has spread into the veins and arteries nearby and when the biopsy was actually done, she bled very badly so removing the cancer is not going to be possible. The vet said she has weeks, maybe months, depending on how comfortable we can keep her. I'm just gutted I don't think I actually believed anything could really be wrong when she was so perfectly healthy before this. I guess I can at least be grateful that we can spend some time spoiling her before she goes. My weird, lovely old lady, Sally.