Souff

Looks like a good result .... there is nothing wrong with being cautious and it is good to see comment from both buyer and breeder. Best wishes to Barney and Betty! :D

That is a very good question.

Yes they do, donated cadavers are used in many unis as I understand it and of course play an important part in those unis which don't participate in non-recovery surgeries. It's something I've never really thought of with my dogs although with my sibe it would be extremely educational for vet students to see the results of a successful liver shunt ligation, so it is something that might be worth finding out about as long as I get him back at the end though for my own peace of mind Thanks WnH. Yes, I can see that it would be of benefit to students to see what had taken place after major surgery like that. And yes, if they came back as ashes in a pot later it would give peace of mind. Souff

I was just thinking what I would have been told by my parents if I did what that young girl did and got myself injured in the process ....... Hmmmm ....... fairly easy to guess what they would have said. Sympathy? None. More like, "Well ... what did you think a strange dog on the road would do to you?" "Nobody's fault but your own!" "If you ever think of trying that again, then you had better think twice!" and of course "You could have got yourself killed out there!". And ...... I probably would have had extra work to do as punishment because of the inconvenience that I had caused everyone by getting myself injured and taking up the doctors time to get stitches or whatever, not to mention that father would have been fuming over a doctors bill that he didnt need. :D Yes, I can see that pocket money would not have not been expected for quite a while. ;) Would my parents have told the story to the media? Not on your nelly! They would have DISOWNED ME FIRST "for not using your brain properly". :D I can almost hear them saying ..... "No, we don't know anything about a dog on the road ... " But we are much more savvy now .... or are we? Souff

Oh ..... So if Queensland University did not have Logan Shire to supply them with dogs ..... they would never be able to find another source of unwanted dogs? :D On a slightly different subject, do people donate their dogs' bodies for medical research these days? I know humans still donate their bodies to science and their offer is gratefully accepted. I was talking to a student the other week who has the opportunity to learn on a donated portion of somebody's anatomy and he was telling me what he was working on, I wont tell you all here because you just might throw up, but he was saying that it was really good to be able to see in practice how the tissue and tendons etc all worked together. Far better than using fibreglass models that are glued together. I think I might inquire about donating my oldies to science ..... to be just turned into ashes and popped in a jar without being of any benefit to vet science seems a waste. I would much rather have a beautiful photograph or portrait on the wall of a healthy dog .... instead of a container of ashes which makes me sad. Souff

There are some great natural treatments too ...... essential oils, or borax, or flea traps, or death to fleas by drowning! e.g. Basic flea control shampoo for pets with fleas. 12 ounces water 1 tablespoons of castile soap 2 drops of peppermint essential oil 2 drops of eucalyptus essential oil 2 drops of lavender essential oil 2 drops of rosemary essential oil Or whatever ones you have of these essential oils.combine ingredients in a jar. Shake well. Dampen your pet. add enough shampoo to make a lather and work. Rinse off well. I think it is going to be a doozy of a flea season. Here are some natural sites to check out: http://www.stretcher.com/stories/01/010305a.cfm http://lacetoleather.com/safefleacure.html http://eartheasy.com/live_natural_flea_control.html

By acknowledging and looking forward, you are already coping in your own way and you will be given strength and love to cope with what ever lies ahead. As the vet said, you will know. A couple of thoughts came to my mind as I read about Toby and looked at his photos. We are all on the same path, but some of us, like Toby, will arrive before others. So while we are all on that same path we need to make the most of each and every day of the journey. You have had the loan of an angel but because he was just that little bit more special, he will be with you for less time than the other angels you have there. Special angels bring with them special gifts to teach us and sometimes we dont even realise it until we can look back. Enjoy every moment of the current phase when he can run around and do zoomies, and in his own special way he is teaching his pack, as many have done before him. He is loved, he is loving, and he will be long remembered. Share the love that Toby has given you and be at peace with yourself. He is a beautiful boy and you have been blessed to have had him as part of your life. Take very good care of yourself and your loved ones, because that is what he will want you to do. Souff

Juat a tad, it has been 'that' sort of week. I tend to think of the submissive dog as the beaten wife and while efforts can be made to change the behaviours, when the owners are not around I think I know who is again going to be playing the bully. For me, the original post didn't hold a lot of promise of long term change happening. Good to see that you feel more optimistic. Souff

Naomi, the dogs 2 very different personalities here and they are in conflict. If these two dogs were human beings, you would be looking at a very dysfunctional relationship with domestic violence issues. You are right - this has been a long standing problem. My best advice is to try and find a kind and loving owner for the submissive dog, so that he can spend the rest of his years in peace and not being terrorised by the other dog. Sorry, but if you don't do this, you may well come home one day to 1 dead dog and 1 living dog. Souff

Yes, that was my reaction. A judge with a problem.

I agree 100% in all that you have said . I have seen this with my neighbours and it really frustrated me. Young kids playing with small birds, dropping animals, expee cted to look after birds which, of course, they did NOT, constantly subjecting animals to stress, etc etc. Some parents can be so nonchalant and don't seem to care how their kids go about treating animals, most upsetting. When these projects are entered into there has to be responsibility from 3 parties: the child, the parent, and the teacher. We have kindergartens through to high schools that have been involved in joint animal care for years, very successfully, particularly at holiday times when the classroom creatures have to go to the childrens homes. They get returned to the classroom at the beginning of term .... in good health. If a teacher knows what they are doing with animals and children, then it will be OK. There will always be parents who let the side down, but I believe that these people are in the minority with most creatures ..... with the exception of the tadpoles. Ah yes, the smelly slimy bowls of taddies were sometimes a sight (and smell) to behold. Slack parents and slack teachers should never be involved in any animal projects. But give the good teachers and the good parents the credit where it is due though please! They DO teach the kids responsibility about animal care and many children have benefited from the experience of having the responsibiity of caring for the animals.

As an adult, if you know what you are doing and have the training an experience and can handle a large dog who doesn't want to be handled in a stressful situation, then that is fine. But if you dont, then dont go there .... and never allow children into the equation, no matter how well intentioned they are. Apart from anything else, most children would not have had the physical strength needed to handle a large breed that was resisting. Both the child and the dog could end up being hit by a car.

Yes, trolleys please. And a home delivery service, for a fee. Pet owners sometimes trip over the cat or the dog and break a leg or an arm, but still have to get the food home to feed the animal! Charge a reasonable fee and have set areas for delivery. SOuff

I have no problem with children learning about different animals - under proper supervision of teachers and parents. There are many children would never have known the love of animals if it were not for the joint home/school projects. I have no doubt there are casualties, but there have been many successes too. Souff

The domesticated ducks that I know are too well fed to fly anywhere :D but if we have any pets we have a duty to keep them safe from harm. But some people will never understand that ..... until they have to pick up the remains of their pet.

Better ask your hairdresser that question

It is actually much the same as a hairdresser cutting your hair, so next time you go in for a trim, think of the poultry (usually chooks) who get 1 wing trimmed ..... to keep them safely at home so that they don't meet a cruel death, courtesy of the neighbourhood cats and dogs, or the foxes and wild dogs in the bush.

When the numbers of ducks build up in parks and in the rivers, and they do very quickly, they are culled because they DO steal the food source and habitat of other native birds and the platypus, and then those species die out in the areas where the build up of ducks has been allowed to happen. Anyone who has ducks or geese have a duty to keep them away from the local waterways and can get fined if they dont. btw, there are heavy fines for anyone keeping native birds without a licence. No pet shop would risk that these days.

I think Dju might be from the same world as me Bigpaws, domesticated ducks are NOT a native bird adn people do not go and snatch them from the wild. They have a duck setting on a dozen or so eggs and they hatch them out at home, and then sell them to the local pet shop or market as fluffy chicks, often yellow in colour but they also do come in other colours. The Pekin ducks were domesticated thousands of years ago in China and the Muscovy ducks have been domesticated in the Americas for probably the same time period. These are the type of ducklings that you normally see available for sale. They make good pets if you have a garden and are happy to give them an area and provide a pond for them. You really should do some reading. Souff

If they had been "snatched from their mother in a local park" and were of the creamy yellow fluffy variety, then that would be a very good thing, because those are the DOMESTICATED varieties of duck that are robbing the natural habitat of our native species. The snatcher would have also saved them from death by feral cats, death by snakes, death by eagles, or indeed from being run over on the roads. If it makes you feel any better there is often no need to clip the wings of the domesticated ducks as they are a heavy bird and are usually not interested in flying. Also, when clipping the wings of poultry, there is no pain to the bird if you are clipping in the correct place, so therefore there is no cruelty. If you are causing the bird any pain then you are doing something wrong and should not be doing it. Why don't you do some reading on Muscovy ducks and other domesticated varieties of duck. It is a very educational subject. Souff

What is wrong with selling ducklings in a pet shop? They are sold in far worse places and they don't fret for their mother or their siblings, they are not a 15 year pet, you can easily house one well in the tiniest of gardens, they will gobble up all the snails in your garden (and poop all over your doormat), they are a wonderful food disposal unit for almost all kitchen scraps, require almost no veterinary care, but they are not a terribly intelligent creature. Very few get dumped at the local pound because people are tired of them as a pet, and there are almost no noise complaints to council about ducks. What is the problem with selling ducklings from a pet shop? Or chickens for that matter? Both can be a very educational pet for children and if you have a supply of fresh eggs and get to eat duck l'orange in a year's time, then you will have reduced your carbon footprint hugely. Souff

You are an adult and as far as I am concerned you can make whatever choice you like - however should a reporter ask you later how you got your face ripped open, or your legs, or your arms, would you be kind enough to tell them that you encountered an angry possum in the dark? Please? The dog world does not need the bad press that happens when people make such choices and get some part of their anatomy opened up. Souff

"Jessica told her mother to stop because she wanted to help the animal avoid running into oncoming traffic." If you have a 12 year old child who tells you this in a similar situation, will you do all of the dog world a favour and keep driving and do not stop ..... please? That is, unless you have all the right equipment and training as a professional to handle somebody else's powerful dog in such a stressful situation.

So if Barry's eyes are all wrong and supposedly looking in different directions, and Kevin's legs are too short ...... WHY DID HE BUY THESE 2 PARTICULAR DOGS? A turned eye is not difficult to spot. And anyone who is not wearing a blindfold can pick short legs on a pup ...... oh then again, maybe some can't. I am getting very tired of buyers making bad choices and then whinging publicly about it later. Nobody forces anyone to buy a substandard item - if people like Adam make such a choice and don't look for something better, why bleat about it later? To sell books that they write? Souff

Is the pelt intact or has it been split??? My father used to dry them inside out over a piece of No 8 fencing wire. It was U shaped probably about 50 cm long. He would pull the pelt over the wire and the "legs" of the wire would stretch the pelt tight. Then hung up in the dairy to dry out. We then sold them in town. My father also did that when I was a kid. There were often bunny skins, turned inside out and hung up on wire to dry. A bloke used to buy them for about a shilling each (i think) and I think that they finished up as Akubra hats You can also SALT small skins: http://www.instructables.com/id/Curing-Sma...o-properly-dry/