RuralPug

OOOO yeah!! Forgot that! Hugs and cuddles etc from other peeps' dogs! Yay for showing!

I love the driving and seeing different sites I love seeing new breeds up close and personal I love handling new dogs and breeds I've never handled before I love sharing/chatting/solicalising Learning new stuff I really love having a well-behaved dog so I can swan over the misbehaving ones (well, they get to swan that they actually win, so it's swings and roundabouts LOL) I love getting as much as possible out of as little gear as possible ('cos i don't love the packing and unpacking) I love having a hobby that covers more than one species

Question(s) for Tassie breeders: Are you required to put the chip number on the rego applications? If so, is the chip number displayed on the papers? Thanks.

MM i have been wondering about this as well. just off the top of my head (and it might not be a good idea) but what if new people to the forum could only access a few areas and some more experienced dolers could be there to educate them. then they would learn without the trial by fire. i have to say though, some new people are their own worst enemy because they come in all guns blazing without any respect for the forum or the members here Thats not a bad idea. But rather than restrict access,maybe "recomend" they try the newbie area 1st if while they get a feel for the site,to avoid getting shot down.That way they wont feel they are on trial. Lots will still fall by the wayside,'cos Raz is right too,we get some who surely do ask for it! I am a member of a car marque board, which has instituted a "Noobs Playground" forum for "newbies" or new people to ask all the questions which drive the old hands batty because it means they haven't done a search or read any sticky posts so ask the same old questions. Only old hands with patience and gentleness go into the Noobs Playground. Those new people who ignore all the large prominent sign posts to the Noobs Playground and post stupid questions in the general forums get spit-roasted, drawn and quartered mercilessly - and you thought DOL could be tough on idjits and suspected trolls - whew!!

Hugs to you, you must be absolutely devastated. What a glorious chap he was ....run free at the Bridge, big fella.

Not sure if it is the case with your boy, but one of my mother's dogs sent over to me many years ago for stud duties had those exact symptoms and just the same was normal when taken to vet, but the same afternoon repeated and was whisked back to the vet so we managed a diagnosis that time - it was bladder stones and a huge one had lodged in his urethra causing enormous pain and urinary blockage - he had to be cathetered. Vet said he probably passed the first stone and was then pain free but the next big one repeated the problem. I was astounded at the time - I had been thinking back injury too. I hope it's not the same for your boy, but mention it to your vet as he can easily take a urine sample.

Well she has trained herself all you need to do is refine the alert behaviour! Here is a world-wide forum of people who have Dibebetes Alert Dogs, (some purchased already trained, some home-trained) and some people who are just interested in them...Diabetes Alert Dogs Group/Part of the TuDiabetes forum You can read some of the threads wthout being a member - I kept giggling at the acronym DAD as I kept envisioning a father oops!!!

WOW! Jigsaw, thank you! :D I wish this site had a "thank you" button for great answers! I loved those videos and the great suggestions and I am sure that she will too! Also thank you Paul, I will pass on your hint about special training treats.

IMO the bitter drops work for some dogs to stop boredom chewing or pleasure chewing, but the itchiness of a healing wound is a whole other dimension - dogs who are bothered by it are not going to be deterred by bitter drops. You need to block them in some way, which is mostly what the Elizabethan collar is used for. It is usually the vet who suggests the Elizabethan collar. Sorry a bit OT.

I would say DON'T PANIC! You have already checked with the vet, so calm down and if there are no adverse effects in the next few hours you can stop worrying. I wouldn't think those miniscule amounts adhering to the bottom of the bikkies would be terribly dangerous. You've probably already done this, but - toss out the tray and the rest of the silvered biscuits. Then can you share the recipe for the yummy mackerel treats, pretty please??? EFS

I recently had a cochlear implant and have joined a cochlear implant forum (as you do!) . One lady on that forum has commented that she has a little dog that has trained itself to be a hearing assistance dog, but which doesn't quite understand that she can now hear (at least when she has her processor on). She was wondering about what she could do to retrain her dog, and train her new puppy that is coming soon. Here is the relevant part of her post: I know that the lions people take hearing dogs between about 18 months and 3 years, and find them in the RSPCA and other places. What I would like to know is if anyone has heard of any information available about training your own dog.....I would love to train Gypsy properly and she is intelligent, and will learn anything if it means she gets smackos for a treat.... but I would love to refine her antics to suit my hearing needs. I am also getting a new puppy soon, and would have the opportunity to train it from scratch, so would be keen to follow through with this. Any information would be very interesting. The problem is that she lives rurally (in the northern Grampians, Victoria) and so access to training classes & etc would be extremely limited. Any coaching would really need to be by phone or email I imagine. Is there perhaps a good book or DVD that could be recommended to her or is there anyone with experience in assistance dog training that would be prepared to distance coach her? Is that even feasible? I am airing my ignorance for the world to see LOL! I am not sure that she has had ANY experience in training at all even at the puppy school level, which of course may be a problem. I will pass on any suggestions.

I wondered that myself - I didn't see it on long enough to judge re the fogging, but I imagine the holes would reduce fogging. However Pugs and Pekes especially tend to use sneezing as social commentary and I did wonder how often you'd need to clean sneezes off... I'm not convinced that his "large" size would fit a bulldog - I will pass on your offer to loan a bulldog for testing. Thanks! Not my design, Sharon, although I will admit to promoting it! I know exactly what you mean re the cones cutting off vision, even the so-called transparent ones aren't really crystal clear. Mita, what a gorgeous pic! But I think that tib has borrowed his owner's sunglasses LOL! I will also state the obvious, for the benefit of joe public, that where the issue is to stop the dog from chewing (at abdominal stitches, for example) you would still need an Elizabethan collar IMO.

Since the idea is to replace the Elizabethan collar, I would certainly hope so!! In fact, I would have thought safer, they won't get it wedged in the dog door for example....

A breeder who lives not far from me was approached by a fellow who wanted to borrow a pug as a guinea pig (or would that be guinea pug? ) to help him in his desire to design an alternative to Elizabethan collars (aka "cone") for flat-faced breeds of dogs and cats. She has been supplying models for his design and offered to take some of his prototypes (small, medium and large) to a recent pug club function for comments. I saw the device there and offered to post pictures online, to gather opinions and comments from other pug owners. Here are the pictures: side view: front view: Sorry my pics are not very good, but you see the general idea.The medium size is being modelled in these pictures. Personally I was very impressed, mostly because my shins would be ever so grateful never to be bashed by another Elizabethan collar wielded by a pug at full speed, but also because the device does not impede drinking or eating and doesn't stop them curling up to sleep. It also occured to me that it would be a feasible thing to use when travelling your pug/peke/persian etc. in an open vehicle like a bike or convertible with the top down, as the doggles available are designed for dogs with muzzles. I will pass on any comments or questions via the breeder to the designer. Who knows, you may have an opportunity for some input into the design!

RIP Sophie. You had a good life and were dearly loved. Moselle, hugs. You must feel devastated. It will hurt for a long time, in fact, in some ways it will never stop hurting. Their lives are too short, it's just not fair. I can say that for me, being with them at the very end makes the grieving time a little shorter - albeit just as painful. Hang in there for the time you can imagine her bounding joyfully over the fields of Rainbow Bridge without hurting over the loss.

Actually, according to the scientists, per capita we have amongst the lowest rainfall in Australia. Why on earth would they measure rainfall per capita? On that basis, some of the low population deserts would register as a high rainfall, yeah right! Can't they measure how much rain falls into a little cup, like everywhere else??? You've proved it again, ellz - Tasmanians like to be thought of as different to the rest of the Australians!! :D :D

Happy dance!! Big puppy slobber!! Clumsy tail thwacks!! Hugs!! Yep, he's home! Fantastic!

In Europe they are talking about "Red Coat Syndrome" as OP describes. In my breed, we call it rust and it can be genetic or environmental (sun or diet) - mind you the enviromental ones need to have a genetic predisposition in the first place (sorry if that's confusing). For years, I have used powdered kelp as a diet supplement to improve black pigment (high in iodine). It works for the environmental rust but not for the genetic rust. Now there is a scientific study saying that red coat syndrome can be caused by insufficient levels of tyrosine and phenylaline - and guess what kelp happens to be very high in??? :laugh: Here is a short precis of the study - http://www.vin.com/proceedings/Proceedings...02&PID=2720

Thanks so much for the update...now I can go and collect those wheels I just bought on ebay - partner is champing at the bit but I wanted to hear how Chase was doing first...glad the update is a positive one!

It would depend on the necks but I would think they would be too fatty in those circumstances. Roo tail might be a good thing if you can get some, it's a lean meat on those bones. If it's only chewing you need, get some deer antlers - absolutely fat free and months of chewing.

Ditto here, except they are fed twice daily instead of once. However, sometimes I give them meaty bones to eat outside, they may rediscover them 6 months later, I suppose the flies have had a go at some stage but they have no ill effects from another chew (unless they try to bring them indoors - then there is the ill effect of instant confiscation.)

I would have said he was a liver tricolour, but I might well be on my own there. Tabby as a dog colour is , ummmm, interesting - I guess the closest I could think of is some of the tiger striped brindles? Greyhounds, for instance...

MP, I interpreted that to mean that the volunteer field officer would come ( if you asked) and help you to understand the requirements, especially if you were updating your kennels, and tell you whether or not you were meeting those requirements before the inspection happened. Are you interpreting it that the powers that be would accept the VFO's assurance on compliance instead of sending out their own inspectors? I can't quite see where it says that. I wonder if the VFO will only be looking at welfare requirements or will he/she also have a handle on all the planning requirements of each local government?

I'm not so sure about that. One of mine will hold out as long as physically possible if going means going on lead and in public. It's a pain on those long show weekends. For both of us. I think some dogs do demonstrate inhibition about pooing off their own turf. However I'm not sure that the converse is true. My bold - please rephrase for stupid me, PF. I am trying to work out just what is the converse of "pooing off their own turf"? Turfing off their own poo? I've had some strong kickers that do just that...

Happy for him, because you have made the right choice for him. Sad for your loss, though. Run free at the Bridge, dear Zac