RuralPug

LOL I have just seen a third picture of Omar that shows scale (I suspect the pic I was basing my guess on was just a puppy pic). He is about three times the size I imagined and no where near as fine boned as the other picture!!! Dear o dearie me, he must have been eating his Wheaties!

This petrescue listing is apparently a tibbie x pug. http://www.petrescue...listings/252871 If parentage is actually known and not a guess then he is a wonderful example of how mixing two breeds can give a totally unexpected result. I cannot see either breed in him to be perfectly honest - what do the tibbie experts say? My guess (please don't look until AFTER you've guessed I don't want to prejudice you!

Hey Jules, they know all perfectly well when you have a hypo coming on, because your smell alters. They don't alert you to it, because it is not something that you get terribly stressed about, you are calm and take preventative action. Diabetic alert dogs are often not trained as such, they just learn to alert their owners - this seems to happen more often with Type 1 diabetics and especially with children. You could perhaps try keeping a special sort of treat only for use when you are on the verge of a hypo, and give them both one before you take your glucose. If you are consistent with that then possibly the alert will start to happen as they rush to remind you that one of the special treats is due!

To answer the original question - depends on the circumstances. A truly aggressive rush will always be reported and I expect the local ranger (depending on which Shire I am in at the time) to deal appropriately with the matter. I know my local bloke well and some of the ones from the neighbouring Shires. Mostly, they will always follow up the owners either with a visit or phone call or both. Whether it is a fine or a warning mostly depends on the attitude of the owners and of course whether or not it is a first offence. Non-aggressive rushes and loose dogs I tend not to report if it is a first offence but there are serial offenders that do get reported, especially if a word with the owners has had no effect.

I'm surprised he's not already snapped up!

PM'd you.

She may wish to consider a toy poodle rather than a miniature, or perhaps a miniature schnauzer, which is very similar in temperament to the toy poodle. Both breeds are lower shedding and need regular clipping. Havanese, Bichons and Maltese are similar breeds, also low shedding and in need of regular clipping or quite a lot of daily grooming. The Havanese looks very very similar to many maltese-shih tzu crosses. If you are looking for puppies where the parents have been tested for heart, joint, eye problems etc, you will probably have to start at the $1000 mark minimum, as the cost of testing is quite expensive. One great advantage of rescue is that most dogs are older and are fairly easily tested (during the trial period at the adopter's expense) for likelihood of some of pricey ailments (heart, eyes. joints for example) which are impossible to test for in puppies. If testing is done during the trial period, the dog can be returned to the rescue for a full refund. Make sure that the rescue does have a trial period though, not all of them do.

I did see a youtube video once, where someone stopped a dog from kitchen bin raiding by using a motion sensor air freshener spray. Dog wandered near the bin, would get a squirt of pine forest or whatever, and stayed well clear. Not sure if that would work to stop bench surfing? Personally I would probably worry that the dog would get sprayed in the eyes... Maybe a motion sensor alarm producing an unpleasant noise (for the dog, not the neighbours!) is worth a try. My mother, who only ever had small dogs, left her breakfast to answer the phone once and didn't push in her chair. She came back to a pug on the table finishing the last of her bowl of Wheaties!

That does make sense Rebanne, as a greyhound breeder, tattoing does give you a permanent link to dogs you have bred. I guess I just assumed that it was something that most ANKC breeders did, because I've come across it quite often. It is handy to track down breeders to give them the option of assisting in a rehome. Now I will have to start canvassing breeders to see how many do actually include their prefix in the original chipping details.

I imagine that blueprints would not easily be shared by those who make their livelihood building and selling, for obvious reasons. Homemade tradesman's trailers are quite common and plans for those seem to be readily available if you google. Perhaps you could start with a set of those plans, scrap all the non-structural internal fittings, add ventilation and whirlies, external and inner doors and partitions of your choice plus any other options you might like (tack box or wardrobe, trolley or gazebo carriers etc). A proportionately long drawbar is a must for those who need to maneuver in tight spaces!

all my pedigreed dogs are chipped with their call name only. None with their full registered name which often has no direct connection with the call name cept for one. Really? Then if one of the dogs you had bred escapes or strays and the contact details on the microchip were not up to date there would be no chance at all of you being notified that it had been impounded and you would have no chance to rescue it and save it from a possible PTS. Not every pound or veterinary clinic contacts breed rescue or the state breed club when a purebred is running out of time, but some do, and that extra chance means that the breeder may have a say in where that dog of their breeding is placed next. Even if you just chipped your prefix followed by the call name it would serve the same purpose. I always knew that the prefix could be removed by a future owner, but personally I felt that using the prefix as part of the name when microchipping showed a willingness on the part of that breeder to be responsible for all their breeding if any fell through the cracks and ended up in the pound system. Perhaps it is just something that hasn't occcured to some breeders? Now you have me wondering how many ANKC breeders do not add their prefix to the chip details of their puppies?

Another example of pet owners not knowing their own dogs or perhaps in denial...very sad. I hope the lady is alright. If the incident is reported to the local council (possibly via the hospital) council may have to take some sort of action to have the dog assessed, dependending on the existing SA legislation.

One of the local rescues in the Ballarat region, Best Mate Rescue and Rehoming, need a homecheck done of a prospective adopter in Ferntree Gully. Please comment here or PM me if you can help and I will pass on the rescue coordinator's contact details. Thank you.

I have been saying for years that the proportion of ANKC pedigreed dogs impounded and not reclaimed is actually much less that you would expect as a group which supplies 10% of the total number of puppies bred. I'm not sure if this is due to the care generally taken by breeders when placing puppies or to the value placed on these puppies by owners. Probably both are factors. My statement assumes that ANKC registered dogs are microchipped with their breeder's prefix in the name, the factor could be higher if purchasers have changed the name on the microchip registration. Certainly there are more non-pedigree apparent purebreds impounded than pedigreed based on microchip names. Locally we actually have a large number of designer breeds (small fluffies with some maltese or some chihuahua in their ancestry are second only to staffy crosses and working dog crosses) impounded and unclaimed, although these are usually quickly rehomed either direct from the pounds or via rescue, because they are "popular". That would be a reflection of the large number of these crosses in the general community here, the majority of which I am sure are loved and well-cared for by their owners. I have been told directly by a pet owning subhuman that it was cheaper to buy a new cute maltese x shih tzu puppy from the Melton area in Victoria, where BYBs abound and puppies are usually available with little or no waiting, than to pay the council fines to collect their unregistered, entire, microchipped 18 month old one from the pound. Therefore they surrender that dog to the animal welfare organisation which has the council contract to run the pound. That org will desex and vetwork the dog - which at times includes shaving under anaesthetic to removing matting - and quickly sell it to someone who will hopefully register it and take better care. Because the dog has been surrendered to them, the org will not take any cruelty actions re the matting. Sigh. I do not understand why the council fines aren't followed up on once the dog has been surrendered. That scenario happens all too often, sometimes there are repeat offenders - gosh if these were parking fines rather than animal bylaws fines they would get a visit from the sheriff.

You will find some info about Canberra behaviourists in this recent thread. I'm sure they will do this anyway, but please remind them to check with the rescue group they are fostering for before engaging a behaviourist. Please keep us informed how they go with him, sounds like they are doing quite well so far!

Cheddar and the current fosters ( Pepper, Shadow and Bear) send their happiest burfday wishes to Miss Maddie and ask wistfully what was in the pie?

Thanks for that clarification. If he's freezing when approaching the house, then that does indicate severe anxiety (either related to ending the walk or to entering the house/yard) and they will need to work on finding his safe distance and gradually reducing it. No quick fix, usually just a gradual desensitisation process. The book Powerlegs suggested may give you some hints in that direction but I repeat getting a behaviourist to observe him and train them in the most helpful stategies will probably be faster in the long run...(we might be talking about the difference between 9 months and two years, nothing will happen overnight).

Ugh. Fluffy? I suspect that his skull shape may indicate some Cavalier inheritance, perhaps the Tibetan equivalent of "Royal Prince" would make a nice name.

Two months is not necessarily a long time in rehabilitating anxiety issues. What you are describing does not sound to me like a panic attack, but a bolt for safety. It seems that he is dependent on them for feeling safe when away from the house, but once it is close then home is a safer place than out with them, so he struggles fiercely to get there. I wouldn't worry too much about the leash pulling until you had a plan to address the anxiety issues. A good behaviourist should be able to suggest some strategies to work with him. Hopefully the rescue she fosters for has one on board. Edited to add: Whoa I may have misinterpreted your post..Is he struggling fiercely to get home, or to not go there? There is actually a vast difference.

Hmmmm I've added up what I spend per dog per month.I feed mostly raw which is fairly inexpensive rurally and buy wormers etc in bulk, which is a big saving per dog but overkill for a single dog. It's a very valid point that expenses may easily be higher for others, so I think all input will be valued by the OP.

Tee hee, thought of something else..if you buy an adult dog already completely vetworked (commonly available from rescue/shelters or retired from showring etc.) then you won't have the high start up costs of a puppy ((or the intense training time LOL) so you can start your bank at $35 monthly. Should have mentioned that all brachiocephlic breeds (cavaliers, pugs, boxers, bull mastiffs etc.) are higher in vet costs as the short faces require extra attention via anaesthesia, so you need to factor that as well. Best advice is to research the breed, find what are the commonest ailments, try to get a puppy from parents that have been x-rayed, genetically tested or otherwise scanned as clear etc. or buy an adult past the inception age of the condition. You may also need a line of credit on standby for emergencies. Good luck. Edited for clarity.

If you are buying a puppy from a reputable breeder, of a breed that is not very high in the health cost stakes, then I would aim for $60 monthly until the dog has reached the age you intend to desex, then $35 per month thereafter until the dog becomes a senior (giant breeds age 6, large breeds age 8, most others age 9) at which time increase by about 20% in case of age related vet costs. Index this figure by the CPI rise each year (there never seems to be a CPI fall...) If you are choosing a puppy of a giant breed, increase ALL costs by about 20%. If you are choosing a breed that requires regular clipping, you will also need to increase costs to cover either the 6 weekly fee or the costs of clippers etc. I have probably forgotten something, hopefully someone else will chime in....

Poor little chap looks very confused in that pic....hope he finds a good home quickly.

It would appear that this young chap is behind the site (which seems to be down at the moment) http://yellloh.com/posts/id-like-to-introduce-to-you-wwwseekpetscomau

Please don't recommend debarking to a Victorian resident. The Nanny State has made it illegal, and the RSPCA VIC actually prosecuted a Victorian woman who took her dog to a NSW vet to be debarked. The boarding (choose the three days you are all out of the house) is an excellent idea. Council can finally convince her that she has the wrong dog with the boarding!