Jasslyn

A quick google search shows that Prozac and nightmares are linked so possibly his meds? I know when I was taking anti-anxiety meds they gave me very vivid dreams. My Jasper has noisy, active dreams. When I think he's getting worked up, I whisper to him that we love him and he always settles.

Berrigan Motel in Berrigan, NSW near Finley, Jerilderie and Cobram allows pets in the room for an additional $10. Pet must have own bedding and can't be left unattended. There are lovely gardens to explore and an adjacent golf course that allows pets provided all mess is cleaned up. Perfect overnight stop on the Melbourne - Sydney or Melbourne - QLD trip. Lovely quiet motel. www.berriganmotel.com.au

This post is why we need a like button on DOL!

I am in my first ever rental with dogs, but it is an employer provided house so I didn't have to jump through any hoops to get it, therefore I can't help with the hoop jumping. But later this year I plan to rent out my home in Melbourne and I would be happy to rent to someone with dogs, provided they can prove they are the "right" kind of owner. If Troy will allow it, when the time comes I will probably let the DOL community know that the house is available for rent as I think I'd like to have a long standing member of the DOL community in my home. What I'll be looking for in a renter with pets, and what will get them the house over someone else, is: - a short bio about their dog(s). I think you can tell a lot about how a person cares for their dogs by how they "talk" about them. - information about the breed (really important because my yard is secure for big dogs but maybe not little dogs) and perhaps explanations of common misconceptions. For example, most people think that border collies need heaps of exercise and huge yards to be happy. Most border collie owners though will tell you that you can walk a border collie for 10kms without them showing signs of fatigue but working their minds for a series of 5-10 minute training sessions throughout the day will tire them out and keep them happy. So I would explain that and then also go on to say what I do with them to exercise their minds. - details of any training/trialling/dog sports they are involved in - details of their vaccinations - whether they are desexed or not - if you plan to have them in the house I'd want to know whether they are toilet trained and if they are used to being inside. I.e. do they know not to chew on power cords, etc. - An acknowledgement that you are responsible for any damage your dog causes, even if you don't expect any. For example, I like to have my dogs inside. I will happily pay for the carpets to be cleaned when I leave if the dogs cause any soiling (that said, the carpet is not great to start with). I don't expect that they will soil, but if my employer comes in and says "they've made a mess of the carpet", I'll pay for it to be cleaned no worries. If they dig holes in the yard, I'll fill them. If there were any plants for them to destroy and they destroyed them, I'd replace them.

Border collie (because they are beautiful as well as smart, loyal and just all 'round great dogs) Golden retriever Alaskan malamute Samoyed this space reserved for 5th when I think of it

I have always loved this one of my Jasper when he was a pup And this one - I shall call it David vs Goliath

I love Flynn because: - he loves to learn and work for me. He takes great joy in both learning new tricks and then showing them off. He works out which tricks get the best response and when in doubt (or trouble) performs those tricks. - he is a great role model for Jasper. Jasper is a great, well behaved dog and I think Flynn played a huge part in making this happen.... when I was doing the softly-softly-redirect approach to undesirable behaviour, Flynn would just grab Jas by the scruff of his neck or his ear and lead him away from whatever he was doing wrong with a small growl. Flynn still makes sure that Jasper is behaving but without being rough. - he is protective of me and I feel safe with him around. - he loves me. - when he wakes up in the morning he sits by my bed staring at me until I open my eyes and then he wags his tail. - he has never given up on me, even though there have been times I've wanted to give up on him. - when he's in trouble and I'm telling him off, he wags his tail at me. It makes it hard to stay mad at him. I love Jasper because: - he is the complete opposite of Flynn. Flynn never stops running and is highly reactive. Jasper's idea of heavy exercise is changing positions twice in one hour and the most reaction he's likely to show to anything is to open two eyes instead of one. - he is gentle and peace. Not peaceful, but peace. Hard to explain but when he snuggles into me I know peace and I am calm. - although he is not the smartest dog on the planet, he has learned how to get the 2 things he wants most in life - snuggles and food. - since he came to live with me I have not had any tissues accidentally making their way into the washing machine. Nor have I ever forgotten to change the toilet roll or restock the supply in the bathroom. He checks my pockets, ever hopeful for a tissue. And he watches the dwindling supply of toilet paper eagerly waiting for the empty roll. - although I am not religious, when he is with me I feel blessed beyond belief. Why I love them both: - they find joy in such small things and have taught me the same. When I am feeling stressed or sad, I need only watch them playing together to feel better. When I'm happy/excited and want to dance, they are happy to dance and be lunatics with me.

The overhangs do seem like they'd be worth trying. The ones that my dad built were just metal braces tilted in at about a 45 degree angle, spaced about 1 metre apart with chicken wire strung between them. If you do that, maybe put chicken wire at the bottom of the fence too in case he decides to dig when he can't climb. You'll end up with a yard that looks like a prison but you might keep him in it. I didn't really think doggy day care or work visits would be a real solution, sadly. But from what you've said it seems like Ripley likes people so probably providing him with every entertaining toy on earth is not going to satisfy his desire to socialise Is there any chance that one of the kids he's holidaying with is letting him out on purpose?

When I was little we had a whippet who should've been called Houdini. He would leap to the top of the fence and perch there like a cat. My dad even saw him climb the fence one day. My sister and I would go to school and get home to find the front porch covered in Charlie's loot - bones from people's rubbish, shoes, toys, etc. If you let the front screen door fall closed behind you, without making sure it had latched closed, he'd be out the door before anyone could yell "close the front door"! One day he got out the front door, ran into our next door neighbour's house, stole her newborn baby's toy out of the bassinet (from right beside the baby), ran back in our front door and happily put himself back on his chair with his new toy. Another time my dad was visiting a neighbour, the neighbour's wife brought out a lovely salad roll for his lunch... out of nowhere Charlie leapt over their 6 ft high front gate, stole the roll out of the neighbour's hand as he was just about to take a bite, leapt back over the fence and took off to enjoy his lunch It's lucky we were good friends with all our neighbours, these days I think Charlie would be declared a menace to the community. My dad built "overhangs" for the back fences. We had normal height fences, dad tried first extending them with lattice but Charlie could still get over them. What did keep him in was having extensions that curved in toward the yard. We (the kids and visitors) were trained to always pull the front door closed behind us, don't just let it "bounce" closed. Still, Charlie would take any opportunity to escape and go exploring. Until he got caught by the ranger. My dad had a friend who worked at the pound, Dad got his friend to check if Charlie was there and the friend said no. The friend was wrong and Charlie ended up being there for about 5 days - thankfully the pound staff were confident someone loved him and didn't send him off to be pts at the end of the week. We got him home on the Monday and after that day he never ever chose to escape again. And I say chose because we could stand there with the front door wide open and he wouldn't leave the house unless he had a lead on him. The prison system worked for that dog! Short of putting Ripley in doggy day care (maybe with the family he's in love with?), taking him to work with you or putting him in an outside run it seems to me you might have found the solution. There are the electric fence type containment systems but I'm not sure about the legality of using them in Vic. Have you tried standing in your front yard, when he's "confined" in your back yard, and calling him? He might show you his escape route.

Jasper Flynn would not join in the Christmas fun. Flynn was not very impressed with Jasper for having no doggy dignity and promptly tore the antlers off Jasper's head about 30 seconds after the above photo was taken

8 Below http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0397313/ & Must Love Dogs - if I ever went to an online dating site that would probably be my first stipulation too.

I was going to say something similar. My dogs both went through this stage. However, I thought it was "toddler" behaviour in that toddlers try to extend bed time with requests for one more drink, one more story, one more toilet trip, etc. Both my boys knew the one thing guaranteed to get them outside for a run in the middle of the night was a need to go to the toilet. For the first few nights I'd give them the benefit of the doubt and take them out even though I was sure I was being conned. Then I had to take my chances. Did your dog have loose BMs on the other nights she woke you up? Could be the diarrhea one night was unrelated and the other nights were attention seeking behaviour. But also could be that she has a health issue and might need to be checked by a vet. I've never owned a bitch so don't know if this is a possibility but could she have a bladder infection that is making her legitimately need to toilet more frequently?

I don't think it's too late to teach your older dog to use a crate. I found feeding my dogs (with the door open) in their crates while they were learning to use it was a good way of making it a "positive" experience. I have two crates, one for each dog. One crate would not be big enough for them both and there are times when they both need to be crated. Like when eating bones. I don't trust them to eat bones outside together so they are crated for bone time. My older boy, Flynn, does not sleep in the crate at night as it is too far away from my bed for his liking. He prefers to sleep on the floor right beside my bed. The baby, Jasper, chooses to sleep in a crate even when I let him be free at night. Although they can't and won't share a crate, they share a kennel. I have 2 kennels outside, both identical, but Jasper only ever wants to get in the same kennel as Flynn if Flynn will let him in. I don't think Jasper's kennel has ever been used

I don't think I ever encountered any resistance from friends/family about the crates. Most people that know me think I spoil my dogs and any dog is lucky to live with me so I think that helps with their acceptance of the crates - they know I wouldn't deliberately hurt my dogs. I felt guilty when I first started using a crate for Flynn but he likes it. He gets very agitated by particular noises in the neighbourhood and when he gets worked up I tell him to go to his crate for a time out. He settles down instantly and comes out so much more relaxed. Same goes for during thunderstorms - the only thing that calms him is being in his crate. As a single person "raising" my dogs alone, I found the crates to be perfect when the boys were puppies to ensure their safety while I slept at night. Jasper, although almost 3 years old, still gets locked in the crate at night as he still has moments when he forgets that chewing is not okay and I feel safer knowing he can't crawl under the bed while I'm sleeping and eat any electrical cords. The soft crates are nicer than the wire ones, in that they just look like a little den. But the wire crate is better for a teething pup and can be cleaned up easier.

I don't think you are being too anal. It's like finding a good human doctor. You have to have a good rapport with them, you have to be able to trust them and you need to feel that there is mutual respect. When it comes to your pet, you are the expert. Trust your gut. I dragged my old boy from vet to vet for years because he had a supposedly incurable skin condition. After 5 years of searching, I finally found a great vet who, with the aid of a simple piece of sticky tape, diagnosed a yeast infection that was easily fixed. That vet had my trust from that point on. The only downside for me is that the vet became too successful and he hasn't managed to find a team as good as him. My boys still go to that clinic but I learned the hard way that the jnr vets are only good for giving vaccinations and diagnosing ear infections. For real illnesses, I want the genius head vet.