Rascalmyshadow

When working at the vets I saw this a few times and it was heart breaking, myself (if it was one of my customers) or a nurse would make sure we were there to hold and comfort the animal. I never thought I would be one to leave an animal in its final moments until I had my standard girl PTS, she was not an old dog but her aggression issues had become so bad we made the decision. It was something I did not want to do and just couldn't deal with it. I took her into my work and left her with her favourite nurse (also my good friend) and a vet she loved, both she'd known since a puppy, I had her at work with me most days. To this day I feel guilty and regret it and my kids have never got over losing her, if I had the time again I would stay no matter how difficult.

I have two kids with another on the way and five dogs, I would have been quite content never having kids and devoting all my spare time to my dogs but that is not how my life has played out. My kids are part of my life that will grow up and leave home where my dogs are my life and everything revolves around them.

Yep our five have colour coded collars, leads, tags and bowls. The three boys are Royal blue, Lime green and Silver grey. The two girls have pink but they are slightly different Claudia our princess Chi is a softer pink and Chloe being a scruffy little terrier is a darker pink and denim. All are Rogz gear except the harnesses are Puppia.

We have been feeding bones my entire life, the only issue I've had is the odd dog that would swallow a whole chicken neck then vomit it back up, problem solved by flattening the neck with a hammer. We use mainly chicken necks, wing tips, chicken frames, small marrow bones and ribs. While working in the vet the dogs that came in with serious issues that were bone related were due to feeding cooked bones and there was a couple if pancreatitis cases which were potentially caused by too much marrow. Years ago an old boss had to have surgery on her cattle dog due to a blockage but she had been feeding osso bucco every day for a long time, not the most suitable type of bone for dogs.

Sounds like a good set up, we pick up the dog and chook poo and put in the green bin along with wood shavings from the chicken house and hay from the rabbits. The bin never really smells and it gets emptied fortnightly.

I train travelled daily for years with my dogs, often I had two with me. Never was I asked to show a ticket for them or told to put a muzzle on them. Most inspectors would give them a pat and keep going. I would keep a muzzle with you but not put it on unless asked. As long as your dogs is calm and quiet I wouldn't think you would have an issue.

I think there are good harnesses and bad ones, I think it all depends on the size and shape of the dog however the sporn, haltis and choke chains are something I would never use on any dog. I did years ago until I found out how bad they are. Any training device can be misused including flat collars but the three above are known to be damaging even when used correctly.

Everybody that knows me including my customers and half the neighbourhood know my dogs are a huge priority. Yes I have kids but they grow up and can look after themselves the dogs however can't, this is how I usually explain it to other people. I work from home so I get to spend all day everyday with them, if we go out for the day (not often) we make sure we give them a good walk with off leash time and a treat when we leave. If its cold the heater is left on and if it's too hot the aircon is left on, we always leave the TV going and access to inside/outside. Non dog people are never welcomed or invited to the house. Luckily my husband and I are not very social people. I guess some of our family and friends think we're mad but we've never been any different so they're all used to it.

Why not use a martingale like a check chain, works well without actually choking the dog. We used one on our Doberman and both Pitbulls years ago when there wasn't many choices.

These particular no pull harnesses are one of the worst on the market, they are known to do damage, the vets where I worked refused to stock them and warned clients not to use them due to injuries they had seen, including what I would call holes in the sides of the chest near the armpit where the harness had continually compressed and rubbed. I personally wouldn't use a Halti either since they have been proven to damage the sinuses and neck. A martingale is a much better option.

Anyone considering adding chickens to a place where there are resident dogs should look into breeds that are not skittish, less likely to make the dogs want to chase them.

Lol cute! Chickens are shockers for eating anything, the daughter of Betty Boop is my number 1 girl and she will steal from the dogs, cats, humans and will also try to swallow anything small that accidentally gets dropped. Before you took in my big girls I had problems giving the dogs bones outside, the girls wouldn't back down from two of my littlies.

The Andis are smaller and quieter than the Wahl, much easier to handle. They are also better quality.

That's one of the best parts about an Aussie; they bark but only to alert. Kirah rarely barks unless there's something like a large blue tongue lizard she's got bailed up behind something and she rarely barks at visitors. She does do a bit of what I call "peep peep" when she's locked in her crate at agility trials. This is a frustration thing because she only does it when I take Zeus out to have his run. It's generally a let me out I want a turn "peep peep". I think our girl has an Aussies bark with the Poms frequency, makes my head hurt. She mostly barks when she wants someone to play, either the cats, dogs or rabbits, it's so bad sometimes we have to give her time out. Oh and the occasional scary plastic bag is something to also bark at.

Kirah is so cute! Does she bark a lot? Our youngest is half Aussie half Pom and her barking is her worst asset, everything is something to bark at.

A dog/pup with any amount of prey drive is not likely to be put off with squeals yelps etc it will generally only excite them more, the reason I found squeaky toys most effective. Also adverse responses with bull breeds will often only toughen them up.

Any pups we have had that were overly mouthy we would make sure we had good chewable or squeezable toys (especially sqeaky ones) as soon as they put their mouths on our hands, clothes etc we would redirect with these toys and turn it into a positive game instead of having to use punishment.

Not sure what you mean by blow dryer, the human kind? Dog dryers are like a reverse vaccuum, they use force to blow water out of the coat from the roots to the tips different to the way a human dryer works. A force dryer is the best option.

I would personally go with a set of Andis 2 speed, they are the easiest to handle and work well. As others have stated if your not going to invest in a good dog dryer you are wasting your money on clippers, unless your plan is to have a dog that is completely shaved, curly coats need to be blow dried completely straight, and bone dry to be able to clip properly.

Poodles: The high prey drive in all sizes, although there is a few exceptions here and there more so in the toys. Chihuahuas: The bossiness and stubbornness, must have everything their own way, will stand their ground and don't like taking no for an answer.

I would be mixing something nice with the dry food such as meat, vegies, rice sardines etc. dry food on its own is not very appetising to many dogs.

From the first post it sounded as if a few grumbles and everything was sorted however if the situation is escalating and the younger dog is not listening to your older dogs warnings, I would be physically removing the younger dog and giving it something to do. I would also not let the older dogs behaviour escalate beyond a few grumbles.

Leave them to it but make sure they have their own beds and space. We have 5 dogs ranging from 6 months to 6 years, as long as they are not hurting each other we don't step in, doesn't take long for the youngsters to learn to be respectful.

I second Feather Edge, being going to Ian for years and originally to his dad who was exceptional.

Wow three hours to groom a lappie, that seems a long time I have both my friends done in that time. I really like the look of them with rounded off feet, finishes them nicely.