Rascalmyshadow

$350 for a dog with all vet work is a very good price, I used to charge a similar amount when I was doing private rescue and I rarely zero’d my vet account. The last dog I rescued ( a few years ago now)took me almost 12 months to get rehomable, he needed a special diet, had monthly vet visits, had multiple visits to the skin specialist, had major dental work, ear infections, eye infections, most of his body was covered in yeast and he arrived crawling in fleas, on top of needing castrating, he cost me around $3000 and he was just one of many. I do think the rescues charging $600+ for xbreeds is a bit much, also the one rescue group that charges $500 but you have to purchase another $250 of products before you can adopt, it’s nothing but upselling. We were going to adopt a kitten through this particular group (animals are in pet shops and vet clinics) the kitten was $200 but we could only adopt if we spent another $250 on products and they were not flexible on those products, even after I told them I had three other cats and all the necessary stuff at home. Ended up going to a much better local rescue group payed $120 for our girl and that included the next flea treatment, worm tablet and a weeks worth of food.

Have a look at airdales, they are very robust and tolerant dogs, easy to train (can be a bit stubborn) nice size, their coat is easier to maintain than poodles and most of the other curly breeds, all the ones I have met/groomed loved the beach. A smaller standard poodle could be suitable as long as you can put in lots of time to groom, train and exercise them. They are very very intelligent and their coat is high maintenance especially if you plan on taking them swimming, unless you have them clipped shorts all over every 6-8 weeks.

That looks like a good option, il show it to my husband tonight , I like the idea to keep the cats in as well. The strand of barbed wire would be internal would a fox just dig further to miss it?

With the netting flap does it matter how high it is, we have good fencing (not farm fencing) but it is all about 4.5ft tall. If the hot wires are a few cm off the ground will that stop them digging in? Also with the netting flap if my cats jump over I assume they won't be able to jump back? Thanks for the good ideas with tunnels, at the moment the bantams have decided to stay right up near the house (not wander around with the big girls)where the crows don't seem to bother them, I think the dogs and cats are enough of a deterrent to keep them away while they're in this area. Seems to be when they go down to the next yard or in the pen is where the crows will have a go. Hopefully it stays that way and it's one less problem.

Could the vets not euthanise a fox the same way they do a feral cat? They don't touch them except to jab them anywhere they can. I don't know anyone at all locally so maybe trapping isn't an option. About alpacas how much damage do they do to plants around them, do they eat anything and everything. Oh we have quite a few kookaburras around but the crows aren't always here, they will appear randomly, could go weeks without seeing any.

Thanks I would really appreciate the information and il check out that site tonight, oh and yes I'm in Vic. I'l also talk to my husband about the electric fencing, we would need to put it around the entire acre so il have to check out costs as well. Il also see if there's a way to get netting over the trees, problem is they are right next to each other and on the fence line so we can't access them right around.

Awsome thanks il show it to my husband when he gets home.

Thanks sounds like a good idea, il check online tonight and see what I can find. I would prefer not to get another dog but I hadn't thought of many other options. wWhat is the best thing to use as bait?

Where do I look for fox traps? Would removing them just allow for another to take its place? I'm sure my local vet would euthanise. The thing is so persistent it actually found the spot where my husband buried one of the chickens and dug it up, also bent the flap my chooks use to get in and out (not the main door) obviously it's a decent size.

I thought about electric fencing is it safe enough that it wouldn't seriously injure my cats? When we were living in suburbia we never had an issue with foxes even when my next door neighbours kept losing their chickens, the dogs we have seemed to be enough of a deterance, but here there is just too much space and coverage. My oldest cat (8.5kg) has even been attacked, left a nasty chest wound.

Question do they tend to bark more at what they can see or hear? Or do they just bark at everything.

Thanks for your feedback, unfortunately we can't cover the pen as it has two huge trees, we would have no way to get netting over the top, there is only one area on the property we could set up another pen, it's at the very back and can't be seen from the house or main yard, not an ideal spot, I also don't really want to keep them in a pen, I like them wandering around, coming up to the back door and being part of the family. We don't keep our chooks in their pen they free range, we generally only lock them up in the day time if we are using the whipper snipper, brush cutter etc. and that is just for their safety, what I meant is the pen is there if we had to lock up a dog for any reason. I had thought about alpacas but all research I have done suggests they don't do that well guarding poultry, also how destructive are they? Most of our property has beautiful gardens, numerous trees/plants are worth a lot of money so I don't want something that will destroy them. Sorry to sound so negative but there are two breeds of dog I don't really like and one of those is Jack Russell's, would never own one. I know the livestock guardians are big barkers but if they are constant barkers then you are right they probably aren't suitable.

We are considering getting a maremma or possibly another type of livestock guardian, I would like some advice from those that own them or have experience with them. We are having serious issues with foxes and crows. I have lost multiple chickens and both my geese to foxes and I have had crows trying to attack my silkys and my pekin rooster. They are all locked up at night but they've been taken/attacked in the daytime, fox has even gone over a six foot chain link fence so keeping them in the run isn't safe, normally they free range all day. We are on an acre in the country, farm land behind us, the whole property is well fenced (previous owners had maremmas at one stage), the block isn't open land it is full of trees, shrubs, gardens etc. I have my two little dogs (both male) and four cats, as well as three kids (two older plus my toddler). I am generally always home, I can contain a dog with the chooks in a good size run if necessary, finances aren't great but we always find the money for vet bills etc when needed. I am well experienced with dogs of all sizes but never owned these breeds. I haven't had much luck so far contacting breeders or rescue to get more information, no one bothers to return calls. At this stage I am trying to gather as much info as possible (might never get one) to decide if we are even a suitable home.

Thanks for bothering to reply, actually assumed more people on here would have feedback. I am not willing to try any other medication after he had such a severe negative reaction to the lovan, we are just keeping medication on hand for his storm phobia and also to use if we have a gathering at our house, they are the two things he struggle with the most. The rest we are used to managing without medication so we will just continue the way we have been, keep his environment as calm and quiet as possible without the objects he's scared of.

Not sure if it's any help but we have purchased four dogs all different breeds, from breeders, between the ages of six and twelve months, three were the cost of desexing (plus flights for two) and the fourth was half the price of a young puppy (plus flight).

Has anyone here used Dr Edward 'The healing vet' in Frankston. Just after some feedback. We've tried Rascal on Lovan with bad results so I'm looking for alternatives to help with his anxiety, want to also make sure he doesn't have pain anywhere that the normal vets are missing.

Yep and I've been grooming for a very long time and am no novice by a long shot,, I am very honest and straight out with clients however clearly this owner is addressing the issue as they stated so not sure why there is a need for a trainer, the dog needs time, patience and good experiences at the groomers. I have worked with and met enough groomers, vets, nurses etc in the animal industry and way too many of them have little patience, instead of helping clients and their dogs/cats etc they are quick to point the finger and blame the owner for not doing the right thing.

The reason I said blaming the owner and telling them they need a trainer is something I disagree with is due to the dogs age, the op's dog is not doing anything unusual or out of the ordinary for such a young puppy, if this was an adult it would be different. Oh and I never said the op couldn't help the dog by crate training it at home. At only the second visit and knowing the pup barked constantly the first time, the right thing for the groomer to have done would have been to call the owner as soon as the dog was finished, and tell the owner this when the dog was admitted so they were expecting the call, not leave the dog clearly upset in a cage.

If the groomer told you to get a professional trainer that would be a huge red flag for me and I would not go back, there is nothing wrong with your dog, vet clinics, groomers etc can be very scary places not just for puppies but older dogs as well. A good professional groomer would know that and work to make your dog as comfortable and stress free as possible not have a whinge about it barking and then blame the owner. If you can, find a place that has no more than two people working (usually a groomer and bather) even better if there is only one doing it all, the more people working there the more your puppy is likely to be (man)handled by multiple people which is often quite stressful. Make sure they do not cage dry, leaving a cold wet dog shut in a cage with a hot drier blowing on it is cruel and dangerous. At this age they shouldn't be using any form of restraints either, so if you can question them about that. The other thing which helps get puppies used to being groomed is going in once a fortnight just for a bath and dry (and face/feet trim) without the haircut, they tend to become accustomed to the handling, cages, noises etc. a lot quicker. If you go somewhere and you feel uneasy or your gut instinct tells you something isn't right don't leave your dog. The way I worked when I was grooming was any young puppy, frail/very elderly, blind or highly stressed dogs would be done as appointments and I would schedule them around the dogs that were dropped off in the morning and picked up in the afternoon.

5 months old is just a baby, at this age she really should be groomed by appointment and not made to sit in a cage for too long in a strange environment. I would asked your groomer if you can bring her in at a set time when they are ready to start her straight away, then organise for them to ring you as soon as she's finished, as she gets older slowly increase the time she is left there once groomed, if the groomer won't be accomodating I would find someone that is.

Sorry I haven't responded to anyone's posts it's been a very hard week. Our girl is now at rest surrounded by roses in our beautiful garden. Not only did we have to say goodbye to Claudia but also to my husbands parents gorgeous Siamese cat Kai. 10 years ago she came into the vet I was working emmaciated, with infected eyes, bad teeth, cat flu and a nasty abscesses, her condition was so bad the vets wanted to euthanise, I took her home, got her well and my husband's parents adopted her, she was estimated to be at least 8 years old at the time. Through out all these years she never forgot and would promptly park herself on my lap the minute I arrived or show off by tearing around the house like a crazy kitten. Thankyou for everyone's support, now starts a new chapter in our lives.

For anyone that would like an update, tomorrow we give our little chi girl Claudia her wings. Things seemed to be improving (although her breathing didn't get better)after high dose cortisone, she started behaving more like her old self, however it was only for a short time, the last few days we've had sudden aggressive behaviour again, a couple of weird shaking episodes (not her normal cold shivering), then last night my husband noticed her eyes looked different, when I checked this morning she has a lump above her eye with swelling around the outside of the eye, seems to have come up very quick. Just to make everything worse her grade 1 luxating patella has become so bad she can't use her back leg properly. After trialling everything the vets have suggested and with no other options left we have made the appointment for tomorrow afternoon. I guess I knew this was coming but she's only 5, she should have been with us for 15-20 years. For such a tiny dog we're going to be left with a huge hole in our lives. No more making sure her heat mat is on the right temperature and her crate kept comfy with lots of clean bedding, no more making sure we leave extra blankets on the couch for her to snuggle into, no more looking before we sit incase she's asleep under a blanket, no more constantly checking where she is incase she's been locked in a cupboard etc, no more giving a mid day snack to make sure she doesn't have a sugar drop, no more having her run up my back every time she sees me bend over to tie a shoe, pick up something off the floor etc and no more having to pick her up or lock her up before anyone comes through the front door.

Im not too keen on using either product with so many reported bad side effects, especially the Bravecto. I also don't need a preventative since I won't be taking them back there, I just needed the one off treatment to kill what was on them.

Thanks il pick up some calendula tomorrow, maybe give them a wash in Aloveen then a rinse in the tea. I've never used Advantix before, we only used it once we found the ticks, usually use Advantage or Advocate. Rascal is severely allergic to flea bites and Hugo has anaphylactic reaction to bee stings so I guess they are both more likely to react to the tick bites.

Does anyone have experience with tick bites, took Rascal and Hugo down to the local botanic gardens last week and 24 hours later found about 15 small ticks on each of them. We used advantix as advised by the vet and both of them had a three day course of cortisone, I have been going over them each day and have found a few more that don't seem to be alive but have still been attached. Both dogs are still itching Rascal much more than Hugo, just wondering if antihistamines would be of any help or a particular shampoo/rinse, maybe even a longer course of cortisone.