madredeperros

I am so sorry, Huga. She was such a beautiful old gal. Such a lovely DOL doggie. Take care, Hun ????

What about Galgos del Sol? They are based in Spain (around Murcia, I believe), and mostly rescue Galgos and Podencas, but they have rescued other breeds. I have their page "liked" on FB. They seem to really go out of their way to help every dog they get. Their website is: galgosdelsol.org It seems they also work with other rescues around the world. It's worth a shot.

Ours are taught "off" and "settle". If they are sitting nicely, they get petted. I ask people to ignore them, if the dogs are full of beans. Offerings of toys are also ignored until everyone is calm. If they can't behave, they don't get to be with company, or get petted while out walking.

The dogs get sent downstairs, and visitors go upstairs. No gates ( house is pretty open plan), but they are not allowed upstairs until they settle and/or I give them the "okay". Most of the time, the dogs would rather be downstairs anyway, where the sectional lounge is, lol. Every visitor knows beforehand, that we have two full-on ACDs, so if they are not dog lovers, they are not welcome. I do still expect the best behaviour from the dogs, though, no matter what. Now, the three very sucky, and attention demanding, cats on the other hand..........

Gremlins...

Alrighty then, I couldn't embed, but I did set the video to "public" so hopefully people can see it. Unfortunately, this video is still on the hard drive of our laptop that was destroyed, so I wasn't able to upload it to YouTube. This was taken in late December, after one of our big snowfalls. There's our big guy (R.I.P. ) and our ACD. I must mention that this still just a little bit of snow. We got a lot more after this :p

Two at the moment. We were down to one when our Dobie passed, but a week later I got one of my grandpups back. Two is a good number for us :-D

Back when our Dobie was under a year-old, my BF and I went to one of his friend's cottages with the Dobe and our ACD. The dogs had never been there, had never seen these people, and certainly did not know the beach area. But, over the couple of hours before the sun went down, we took them all over the place on-leash, to get them used to the whole area and even at that age, the Dobie had extremely good recall to a double whistle. To get to the beach, you had to walk down at least 50 steps, since the cottage was on a steep hill. I decided to go down to the beach for a swim with the dogs, and I put glow-sticks on their collars. The night was so dark (a new moon kinda night), I could see their glow-sticks bouncing around, and knew where they were. Once in a while I would do the whistle and they would both come flying over. While I was sitting, relaxing in the sand, watching the stars, I looked over to the dogs, and I could see the Dobe's colour of glow-stick hanging over the ACD's glow-stick. I thought the ACD was laying down and the Dobe was bugging him. Not unusual for those two, lol. Next thing I know, the Dobe is on top of me and super insistent about something. I called the ACD and noticed the glow-stick didn't move. Called again, and along with the Dobe, walked over to where the glow-stick was. That's all it was...just the glow-stick, no dog. Now normally, our ACD is a total Momma's boy and won't go too far from me. The Dobe and I started walking up the beach, calling his name. Calling and calling! Unfortunately, it was also pretty windy that night, so I couldn't hear a thing! The Dobe was sticking pretty close to my side, but you could tell he was searching! Nose in the air, whining... Decided to climb back up to the cottage, to ask for help. I was almost in tears by this point and the Dobe was almost beside himself. I got to the top of the steps, and there was the ACD, waiting for me. My BF said that he just showed up and he figured that I had sent the ACD up to them for some reason. He said that at one point, the ACD had gone halfway down the stairs, listening, but came back up and plonked himself back down at the top, staring down the stair-case. Did I mention that everyone was roasting hotdogs on a campfire? I gave in and both dogs got a lovely, campfire-cooked hot dog.

Back when I used to be on farm, and dealt with not only my own dogs, but also other peoples'-who would just dump them off-I would see a lot of these things waaaaaay too often I'm sure we've all had experiences very similar, unfortunately My linkhttp://www.cracked.com/article_21371_5-ways-youre-screwing-up-your-pet-explained-by-vet.html?wa_user1=3&wa_user2=Weird+World&wa_user3=article&wa_user4=feature_module

I am very sorry Hugs to you Think of all of the good times and let yourself laugh. That is what has helped us cope with losing our big boy, a month ago now. RIP Jesse I didn't know you or your "parents", but I will always send out love to one hurting

Such a beautiful collage for a wonderful sounding/looking cat. So sorry, Persephone. Rest easy now, Dougal. I know of a big Dobe that would love to play gently with you.

So sorry Such a beautiful boy. Big hugs, take care of yourself. Drake, please don't feel you're alone. There are a lot of DOL dogs to play with until you and Stari can be re-united once again.

Idiot People just have no idea. Are they willing to take pups/adults back if something happens? That kind of cross, people are NOT going to be prepared for what they have. It has been 6 years since I stopped breeding, for personal reasons, and I have fully welcomed two grand-pups of mine back home. Would they do the same? One is requiring a LOT of re-wiring, IFYKWIM, and the other is doing amazingly. Both were returned for different reasons, but they are both equally loved, and no amount of money will be spared to make sure that they are happy. Can she provide that? I even had to do a part of the talk with my SO. He wanted to get a Dobe right away, to replace our baby boy that passed two weeks ago. I had to explain to him, that although the pup would show some of the same breed mannerisms as our big guy, he/she would NOT be the same dog. Unfortunately, people will do what they want to do, especially if it means re-creating their heart dog. Who of us wouldn't want our baby girls or baby boys back? At least for most of us, we know that it will never be possible.

Personally, I really think it's up to your other dogs and yourself. After our loss on Sunday, our other dog refused to go in our backyard for two days. He has been extremely quiet and very withdrawn for the past couple of days, whereas he used to be the life of the party. My BF's mum came to visit today, and he solemnly walked up to her (he would usually bounce all over the place), wrapped a paw around her leg and just hugged. Then again, he also saw his buddy in extreme distress for G's how long before my BF came to check on them and was there for the whole stressful ordeal at the vets' (including himself being extremely ill). When my older male ACD passed, I brought the same dog in to say goodbye. Although he developed a fear of garbage bags (which I had put under that dog ) he seemed to know that the other had "passed". He didn't fret or go looking for him. This time, though, he has shown a definite understanding that something is not quite right. However, even saying all of that, every dog is different, and some feel more and some feel less. And as HW said, it is very peaceful. On Sunday morning, it took only seconds for our big guy to pass. No pain, no suffering... Please take care of yourself and I am sending huge, overseas bearhugs for you. It is never easy, whether unexpected or "planned". Take care, CDM

So many wonderful dogs to great us all one day. Rest easy, Ted, enjoy all of the good company you have until you can be re-united once again. Big hugs to you HW

I am so so sorry for your loss So many wonderful dogs gone to the bridge. Big hugs to you Leo, have fun over the and if you see a tall, gangly Dobermann there, go say hello. He will love you for it! Rest easy big guy!

Thank you! Our other dog is definitely feeling it He's a lot quieter and has been carrying his tail pretty low whereas, normally, he's a very happy-go-lucky, Teddy bear of an ACD. I'm still seeing a few signs of the toxicity lingering in him, too. Every once in a while he gets a little wobbly in the hind-end or he kicks out his right-hind like a cat would with a piece of tape on its paw. Tonight, it being Canada Day, we took him with us to my BF's pub and we sat on the patio with all of our friends. They all spoiled him, and by the end, his tail was starting to wag. Now that we're back home, he's quiet again, but I know that it will just have to take time. We're thinking that on the nights that my BF works and I'm not closing up the shop, I will walk down with him to just sit and be fawned over. I am so glad to hear how many people are sharing our big guy's story. The Dobe didn't deserve what he had to go through, but if this can help other dogs...not that it will ease the pain, but it will help to know that someone else isn't watching their beloved pet slowly lose their life. Even tonight, I didn't care how I sounded, but I was telling everyone that I saw walk by with a dog, just what can happen. Tomorrow they are sending him off to be cremated and we are sending his favourite sweater, his favourite toy, and the ACD's favourite toy to be cremated with him. We miss him so much But on to the good memories! Thank you all again! <3

Such gorgeous and very expressive eyes <3 Rest easy Piper, there are a lot of friendly dogs waiting to play with you at the Bridge. So sorry for your loss

Thank you, thank you all so much *hugs* The other dog is doing well. We are making sure that he is drinking a lot of water and peeing, to keep flushing his system. He obviously didn't get as much (the big guy was a gobble-guts) and vomited most of them out at the vets. The house is so quiet We explained to our other boy last night, that his brother wasn't coming back anymore. I'm just so glad that there is a community like this, where everyone knows exactly what you are going through. I've met some of the most wonderful people on here over the years. Some that I met when I first joined and still talk to every day, even though we'll never meet. I have been reading every reply...you are all so wonderful *hugs* And yeah, coffee grounds. When the boys came in, the vet even had to go online to find out how to deal with it and with what and at how much dosage. We have house guests this weekend, it being Canada Day weekend, so we've asked them to take all the coffee in our house with them when they leave today. We are not big coffee drinkers, and usually only have it on hand for guests. We all know about chocolate, but never even thought about the caffeine in coffee! And I am okay with sharing my story, if anyone else would like to share it around. We're trying not to beat ourselves up. It's just so hard when we think about how careful we always try to be! When we first bought this house, we took photos of every plant in the gardens and researched what ones were safe, and pulled the ones that weren't. When we were making the planters for our patio, and deciding which flowers to plant, we made up a list of the safe ones and went to every nursery in town. We try to only use natural pest control and the other non-safe are locked in a cabinet in the shed. Our garbage is usually hidden in another room...I know, I know, thinking these things will only drive us insane

Thank you, all of you! And thank you, VM for the link, I will definitely have a good read. We have just heard from the vet. They have taken him off of the medication propofol, which they gave him to knock him out so that his system would calm down. His eyes are still not quite focussing and are jumping around, but the vet said that he raised his head, seemed to know that the vet was there, and actually "saw" a bug fly by his head. He may have some neurological problems, but the vet is pretty sure that he is over the worst. We are going to go visit him in a couple of hours. The vet is hopeful that he might be able to come home tonight or tomorrow morning. The house is not the same without him. I miss his sharp elbows digging into my legs as he sprawls across my lap or his spinning in circles when he sees that we're not paying attention to him. Update: the vet called to say that when he went home to get some sleep, the vet tech had to call him in because the big guy had had another seizure They are wanting us to send him up to the Vet College, so that he can be watch 24hrs. Our vet is the only vet on duty this weekend, and has already been up for way too long. We are leaving in a half hour to go see him. Update: He has been given his wings. He deteriorated even more in that half hour and we came to the decision that it was kinder to let him go than to put him through more....especially if the neurological damage was too severe. We are so sorry, big guy. We are so so so sorry.

We have had a very scary nightmare happen tonight. While at our next-door neighbour's backyard birthday party today, our two dogs ripped apart some garbage bags that we had left by the gate to be thrown out. Normally, the dogs are never left outside alone, but we share a middle fence with our neighbour, and the fence is short enough that we could lean over and pet our dogs. We thought everything would be fine, and completely forgot about the garbage. Well, dogs being dogs, they ripped the bags apart which my BF discovered when he went to make us a new drink. He crated the dogs, and we didn't really think that anything too bad had happened, except maybe them drinking expired milk or eating chicken bones (which they have eaten before and do actually chew carefully). An hour or so later, he went back to let the dogs out for a pee, so that we could head to his work to listen to a band. He wouldn't even tell me what happened, just came flying over to the neighbour's, motioning for me to come! Our one dog looked like he was having severe seizures, so we pulled him out of his crate, so that we could stop him thrashing around. He couldn't get up, his eyes were "not there" and bowels and bladder were just emptying...emptying. I took our other dog outside, because I thought he was freaking out over his buddy. I instantly noticed that he was staggery and looked like was having little seizures...almost like photo-sensitivity. Our neighbours leaped over to help, drove us to the vets (we had been drinking, but the wife was sober). They immediately got the one dog on a drip as he was definitely the worse of the two, and made our other dog throw up. Blood tests showed that they both had caffeine poisoning, and then our second dog started vomiting and they found coffee grounds. We don't eat chocolate or drink tea, but had made coffee last week for our house guests. Our second dog is home with us right now, but our big guy is still at the vets in an induced coma. They think because of his hyperthermia he may sustain muscle damage or even brain damage. He has no control over his bowels/bladder. There is also a lot of blood in his urine and his gums are bright red, so they are thinking that he may have kidney damage and/or the clotting agent in his blood is not working. Unfortunately, because he was in such distress from the caffeine over-dose, he has also developed a heart murmur, that the vet definitely did not hear when he first examined him. We are waiting for the vet to call us in an hour or two. Obviously, I would love all the healing vibes you can send for our big guy. He's spethal, a pain-in-the-ass, and a lot of work, but he's OUR spethal, pain-in-the-ass boy But, I am also wanting to warn all the coffee drinkers to make sure your dogs can NOT get to any coffee grinds. I have not ever thought about it before. How many of us just throw the used filter in the garbage can under the sink? Even the vet was surprised, and had to go online to research how and what to do! We all thought for sure that it was from digesting something chemical, even though our chemicals are either locked-up or all-natural. We all thought he was seizuring...it really looked like seizures, but it was actually the caffeine making his adrenaline surge. Please be careful! Also, if you use cocoa shells for any landscaping, get rid of them. They are even more toxic, apparently.

A friend sent this to me on FB. I giggled the whole way through! http://twentytwowords.com/sheepdog-herds-men-to-the-pub-in-a-funny-guinness-commercial/

I agree that it was just an accident. I've been knocked over by my OWN dogs in my own backyard, and I WAS paying attention. Some dogs just don't have good brakes or get tunnel vision while they're playing. I still remember the amount of times I had to dodge our old Great Dane when she would come back on recall. No brakes. Blew out my knees once or twice as she knocked me flat. And to wear headphones is just silly. What if it was during a football game, and the ball just happened to veer off and hit her in the head? Does she sue the player for kicking wild? People need to pay more attention to their surroundings, instead of blaming everyone or everything.

Imported a 5 month old male pup into Canada, and I distinctly remember him having both testicles when I checked, at the airport. It was one of the first things I checked, since he was supposed to be shown and bred from. A month later (at 6 months old), at just a regular check-up with the vets, one had disappeared. Never did come back down, even with all of the exercises the vet recommended, and we finally de-sexed him this year (he will be 6 years old this year). Never bred from him, and didn't freeze any semen. His, amazing, breeder was understandably upset, but I wasn't angry. He definitely had both when he arrived, so, he just became a very expensive pet, lol.

So sorry I have always loved your Whippets, Kirislin. Run free, Kibah