RiverStar-Aura

It's easy enough to find out an average cost of any breed, even the rarer ones. When I was looking for Kirah, I noted that the average price of Aussie Terriers is between $700 to $850 so if I saw a litter being advertised for over $1000, I'd be wondering why. In regards to the OP asking for money off the pup for being vaccinated, it just seems weird. By having the pup vaccinated at no extra charge, the breeder is doing the buyer a favour. It almost reads as though the OP is of the opinion that puppies start at say $2000 and their prices decrease for everything they have done (eg microchip minus $50, 1st vaccine minus $100). In short, I think the best answer to this topic is that you shouldn't care what you pay for the puppy, as long as you're happy with the breeder and the choices you make.

I am so sorry to hear about your gorgeous Fred. He's the splitting image of my boy Zeus! He'll be very much missed but I hope his memories live on with you forever.

I think my objection is that haggling for a live animal seems quite distasteful, at least, it does to me. And certainly, if you walked into a pet shop and offered less than the asking price you'd probably be told no. That's not accurate either. I haggled for Zeus at the pet shop and got him for a hugely discounted price. Being a 'designer dog' his original tag was $1500, but he was already reduced due to the fact he was approaching 12 weeks (over the hill in the pet shop world) to $900. I got him for $750 and even had them throw in his second puppy vaccine. I didn't exactly haggle, I'd commented to my mum that if he was around the $700 mark I'd buy him and the shop assistant who was eavesdropping, jumped in and said she'd call her boss and see what she could do about the price. A dog from a breeder is a completely different bucket of fish though. Pet shops need their 'stock' gone so they can get in new, younger puppies whereas a breeder will more than likely keep the puppy until the right home is found. Personally though, as a puppy buyer only, I'd never ask for a discount. If I've found the right breeder, the right litter and the right puppy, there is no price I wouldn't pay. As long as I'm happy with all my choices and decisions, that's all that matters -- not something like a puppy being discounted because I have to vaccinate. Vaccinations are a part of owning a dog and if you don't want to pay for a second puppy one, how are you going to cope with medical bills for its whole life? As for the 6 figure salary ... My brother's the same but is a complete tightwad and Scrooge. Not to mention that about 40% of that is taken in tax.

Oh it's not that the dogs cost a lot -- they're just very bloody spoiled st the moment. I'm in a huge depressive spiral at the moment and my way of dealing is that I buy things. For the last year, it's been dog products. Toys, bowls, accessories, new lead and collar etc every shopping trip. I never just come out with a bag of food If I was right of mind, I'd only be buying dry food about every 6 months and cat food. I am decreasing my spending habits immensely though -- I'm up to a voucher every couple of months now. My name is RSA and I'm a dog spoiler-a-holic.

Sounds about right! I've been reading about MILBEMAX, DRONTAL and CANIMAX dewormer. All are going for once in every 3 months and some every 6 weeks. This Sentinel crap of every month is really overkill. Drontal only treats intestinal worms and NOT heartworm. You'd be much better off only giving your dog a heartworm only treatment monthly or every 6 weeks. My guys are given Advantix in the warmer months but haven't had it now for about a month. I worm every three months because Kirah likes to munch on all sorts of poo (rabbit, duck etc) when at the dog park and they're currently on their final year of the heartworm injection. They won't be getting it any more.

To put those costs into perspective too ... I'm given a $10 voucher for every $500 I spend in Pet Barn. I get those vouchers nearly every 2 to 3 weeks!

Very cute and I love their song choice too!! :D

It's a hard one Sheridan. I tend not to visit the palliative care forum mostly because I don't know what to say. I've never had a dog needing that sort of love and dedication so I have nothing helpful to add. I feel awkward letting people know I'm thinking of them because the words seem so insincere, especially when backed up with nothing helpful. That being said, on the other hand, it seems wrong to segregate the topics into a sub-forum -- almost as though they're being hidden because it's shameful or something. I guess if they weren't hidden in a sub-forum, there's the potential to generate much more traffic and awareness and having them in the general health forum won't be forcing me to comment either. Hope this helps somewhat.

I'm surprised a natural/health food store didn't have it. I've found it in numerous health food shops in my local area and quite a few different types too. There's a herbal tea blend and the straight dried flowers/leaves. If you're having trouble sourcing some still I'm quite happy to post you a box!!

Chickens can be so daring -- I guess that's why they cross the road!! :laugh: I just can't get over how placid that sweet Dobe is and how long he takes to eat. My guys just Hoover their food up do the chicken wouldn't have had a chance.

Getting lost in YouTube I found this!

I feed mine frozen raspberries, carrot, pear, apple and even lettuce. They love it all. I prefer the raspberries because their raspberry kisses smell lovely afterwards!!

Just really wanted to thank all the Booster Bath enablers as I ordered mine on Thursday and had it delivered yesterday!!! I'd been questioning buying once since the beginning of the thread but couldn't justify the $189.95 for the mini (which is actually called Medium on the box and holds up to 35 kilos). Luckily I haven't been sleeping well and long story short, I went to the Booster Bath again at 3am Friday morning and they had them on sale for $149.95 plus $9.95 P&H so I bought one. Have just assembled it and my two dogs are very impressed with it. Zeus loves the fact that he fits in it properly unlike the cheap shop storage crate I've been using where he only just fits in it as long as his tail is dangling over the edge It looks really handy and can't wait to use it!!! Edited to add: I didn't buy the steps for an additional $90 because Kirah is tiny enough to pick up (under 10 kilos) and Zeus is so light on his feet, he's happy to jump in. He leaps so lightly you'd think he's part cat :laugh:

You should never become complacent as far as animals are concerned. If you are going to continue feeding the animals together then supervising them for the next 15 years is what you've signed on for. You can NEVER guarantee that your dog will never scrap to death with your cat no matter how well it's trained. Breeders can temperament test until the cows come home, but even they aren't going to be able to foresee how a particular puppy will grow up. As far as I'm aware, and I'm not a breeder so feel free to correct me, temperaments are also determined by how the pup is brought up -- hence why a lot of abused rescued dogs can be quite nasty and bitey. That has nothing to do with the dog's breeding but more about how it's been brought up and treated. Rats are also very different to dogs. If dog breeders started killing off 6 to 8 week old puppies because they started showing signs of food guarding, there'd be a huge public uproar. Why not home to be an only dog etc? No one minds if a rat is killed for being skittish or just for the sake of killing a rat. To most people, rats are vermin and will always be treated as such, which is sad because I find them fascinating personally!! If you don't want to separate, you could try working with the cat too. Every time the naughty boy goes near your puppy, pick him up (the cat) and take him out of the room. He looks like an oriental breed (Burmese, Siamese etc) so they can be taught like dogs too. That way, you're not just teaching the puppy to leave the cat alone, but you're teaching the cat that at food time, he's to keep away. Good luck -- you have a real cutie pup there!! :D

I'm so sorry to read about the horrible time you're having with Kenzie Is getting another opinion an option? I'm just wondering if a fresh pair of eyes with no prior knowledge might be helpful. Sorry I've got nothing remotely helpful to suggest but my thoughts are with you!

I personally wouldn't want to risk my cat by allowing it to wander about freely during meal times. Your two are completely different species so of course they're not going to interact in a friendly way at meal time. Even lions from the same pride fight and scrap over food and they're more often than not family/related. My old dog Poochie and my current cat Calypso were inseparable like Milo and Otis, however, they were never fed together mostly because the cat grazes and the dogs are scoffers. I didn't want Poochie to have access to the cat's food and to have to try and ignore it 24/7, so they were kept apart. My current two dogs and Callie are mortal enemies so no problems there; they're always separated because they don't like each other. The two dogs on the other hand, I can feed them dinner in separate bowls as close as 5cm apart. Zeus knows he has his bowl on the right and that Kirah's is on his left and vice versa. Of course they are supervised for the whole 30 seconds it takes them to finish, then it's the great bowl switcheroo, but there's never been an argument. I don't even have to separate them when they have bones. Each dog knows they get one each and they're both happy with that arrangement -- I don't even have to supervise by being in the yard. I am always hovering close by because there is no such thing as perfect! I am curious though as to why you want to have your cats and dog roaming freely to interact with each other's meals and mealtime. I personally don't see how it would make any difference to their relationship if fed separately but that could be because I've never required it of my animals. I'm not trying to be rude here either, I really am curious.

I'm so sorry to hear about your beautiful companion Lhok. A gorgeous tribute for a gorgeous girl. May Missy be with you in spirit forever

I can't help but wonder if the couple who took the cat in have anonymously dropped if at the RSPCA or if a neighbour, who's learned about the court case has cat-napped Brandy and dropped it off. What kind of people would name a cat Smelly and then fight to keep her?

You also mentioned that your OH would like something like a Rottweiler or GSD. I've never owned either breed but I would imagine both are not really suited for agility (Rottweiler especially), however, I could be completely wrong here. It really all depends on what you're looking for in a dog. I'd suggest a Beagle, however, they do shed a lot too. On the other hand, they love to snuggle with their humans and love to run around. I know my Aussie Terrier (6.4 kilos) is the best of both worlds -- her best friend is a SBT x and you should see her rough and tumble!!! -- and she's also the biggest snuggle bum ever. There are just so many wonderful breeds around it's very hard to find just the 'right one' -- I'd love to be able to trial one of each then pick my favourite!!

That's good to know. Basically all I need to ask for is that my dogs be given a C3 vaccination and they're good for three years. Something has to be wrong with what's going on in the pet world. Dogs seem to be living shorter lives considering all the info that's bombarded at us about premium foods, worming, ticks vaccinations, heartworm, raw bones vs cooked etc. I still keep coming back to my gorgeous Poochie who was around 16 when she was PTS -- never wormed (or if so, very rarely), definitely not covered for heartworm ever, would've been lucky to have received all puppy vaccinations then never again vaccinated, no such thing as Frontlined or the likes and fed table scraps and given cooked lamb leg bones. She was basically the epitome of everything we're taught NOT to do to our dogs yet she lived 16 years. I'm at a huge question mark regarding whether or not I'm doing right by my guys by feeding premium kibble and raw, vaccinating, giving worm prevention and all the bells and whistles. Sometimes I can't help but think a lot of it all is overkill, but at the same time I'm paranoid about things like ticks and all the nasties that can be picked up -- especially since my dogs travel with me almost everywhere.

I know this thread is for bad dog names but there are a few awesome names floating around my local dog park I'd love to give a kudos too: Angus -- a one eyed black Standard Poodle Allan -- black Miniature Poodle Trigger -- Mastiff X Roger -- Aussie Bulldog My next male dog I'd love to call Ixnay, Quodlibet, Abercrombie, Mugwump or Gadzooks. I think I'm over using mythology for pet names and love some of these very random and uncommon words. Gadzooks just cracks me up :laugh: Back on topic: I'm over hearing names like Tilly, Milly, Deefa, and even my own dog Zeus -- I'm wishing I'd come up with either Quodlibet or Gadzooks four years ago

I can understand the move to triennial vaccinations -- humans haven't annual boosters for things like measles rubella tetanus for a long time. Tetanus is once every 10 years I think.

I'm so sorry to hear about Monte. He was obviously very loved and will be missed. RIP sweet boy and take care if yourself Anne

May seem like a stupid question but is it pronounced 'tie-ter' or 'tee-ter' testing? Don't want to sound like a moron pronouncing it wrong The vet I now use has so far seemed okay in all my dealings with him -- I know he was very thorough in discovering my poor Poochie had been living and suffering with dermodectic mange for almost 15 years -- so I'm hoping he'll be open to the triennial vaccination.

Currently have a Bosch front loader and its doing quite well. It's probably heading up 10 years and has been doing the washing of a house of 7 adults for that amount of time and hasn't died yet. Is probably due for an overhaul and maintenance check but otherwise Only issue is that one brother has ultra sensitive skin and there's not really any decent front loading powder that we've found is good for his eczema.