tdierikx

Back in the days when dogs were fed table scraps and the like, the incidence of allergies was definitely less reported, so there may be something in feeding a varied diet rather than sticking to a particular brand/mix all the time. Gonna be hard to break the current thoughts on pet nutrition though... when I was studying vet nursing, there was a whole subject dedicated to making sure we all knew how to convince pet owners to feed the premium packaged pet foods. The constant mantra of "complete and balanced" - even when that "balance" is primarily gained by additives/supplements - is hard wired into vets and nurses to espouse as the optimum for feeding any pet. As any long time pet owner will know, the best feed for your pet is actually the food it does well on, be that cheap supermarket kibble right up to the most expensive premium brand, or table scraps, or a well-planned raw diet, etc. Let's not forget that the pet food industry is HUGE and has far-reaching influence, whether that be for altruistic reasons or otherwise (can anyone say profit margin?) As for other types of allergies, I can only say that in my own case, regular exposure to allergens I reacted to (cats) has actually seen my allergic response go from severe hayfever symptoms and hives when exposed to nearly ALL cats, to only reacting with more minor discomfort to the odd cat. I would say that if one's allergy is not life threatening, then exposure therapy might be an option to try. T.

Not particularly a Jane Austen fan, but I am fairly well-read... *grin*... if I had to choose my fave period fiction book, it would be Wuthering Heights actually. As for the pup, many questions come to mind based on the photo posted. If the photo is recent and the OP says the pup is 20 weeks old, I'm thinking maybe not from showing lines, as the photo shows a pup that would be quite underdeveloped for that age bracket, and displays many faults that might not really make it great showing material... but I'm sure he will make a lovely family pet. T.

8-9 weeks old and various breeds/mixes... most likely some sort of seller arrangement or pet shop offsite. Could be completely legal reason, like out of hours care site of pups from a pet shop, as you can't leave them in store outside business hours as far as I'm aware. T.

You may have a point there, but vets who are experienced in fixing ear haematomas will have the odd trick up their sleeves when it comes to taping for a good sit. I still reckon that if the cute little dude isn't going to be shown, his ears are pretty darned fine... *grin* T.

Firstly... OMG... how adorably cute is that puppy?!? *grin* Even as you say that your pup was a runt, are you 100% certain he's 20 weeks old? Or is the photo you posted above an old photo from when he was younger? At 20 weeks of age, your pup should have almost finished his teething stage. Have his puppy teeth been replaced with his "big boy" teeth yet, or is that process still happening? Ears can be really bizarre during the teething stage, so I wouldn't be panicking about them just yet, OK? If you are really concerned about how his ears are set because you are looking to show him, then you could talk to your vet about maybe applying tape to his ears in specific places in order to "train" them to do the right thing. I wouldn't advocate trying to tape ears yourself, as it will require a bit of knowledge about anatomy and growth patterns of the ears to get right, so a vet may be your best bet for advice there. If you are not wanting to show him, personally I'd be embracing his individuality if his ears aren't perfectly set... it adds a special jauntiness to his countenance, wouldn't you agree? T.

Parvo can have a gestation time as little as 24-48 hours, depending on the strain... so depending on exactly when your pup started showing symptoms after you took possession of it on Sunday, it may be that it did NOT already have it when it was delivered to you. Another thing to note is, as Powerlegs has noted, if your pup was vaccinated within the previous week before the parvo test, that can throw a false positive reading, as the vaccines use a modified live virus to elicit the immune response required. Another option to look at could be vaccinosis. Vaccinosis is an adverse reaction to being vaccinated - similar to how some humans develop a bad cold soon after they get a flu shot - but is often less likely to be fatal to the affected individual. I have personally witnessed vaccinosis that presents with similar symptoms to, and tests positive for Parvo - this is more prevalent if the pup was also wormed the same day as they were vaccinated - essentially the pup's system has been overstimulated by all the preventative substances it has received within a short timeframe. Usually with vaccinosis, a day or two on a drip will see the pup supported enough to recover fully... Parvo may not necessarily have a positive outcome in very young pups, despite all efforts to treat the issue. I suppose it all comes down to the following factors... was pup vaccinated within the previous week immediately prior to the Parvo test positive result, was pup sick before or after 24-48 hours in your care, and is pup responding really well to supportive treatment by the vet (expected to make a full recovery)? Another thing to note is that some pups will get serious tummy upsets from a sudden change in diet - to the point of vomiting and diarrhoea, which can look very much like Parvo symptoms. Were you feeding pup the same diet as the breeder had been up to the point you took possession? All that said, if pup does have Parvo, and it can be proven beyond any reasonable doubt that the breeder knew (or suspected) that fact... then I am truly sorry for your predicament, and hope that the pup has a good outcome. T.

I always found his prices to be somewhat cheaper than other vets in the area... and his prices were more than reasonable for the service he and his staff provided. T.

... and he was an exceptional vet. He treated my dogs and pet rats for years... was a shame when he retired... T.

Great news @Adrienne... take care of yourself and Jilly now, and rest easy knowing that Spanner and Ham will be in the best hands ever, and will get their very own perfect forever homes. T.

Back in the day when renting with pets wasn't as unpredictable as it is today, and council approval for pet numbers wasn't even a thing, I had 5 dogs... and they are large breed dogs. What I will also say is that my only real requirements about any rental property were good fences and that the house didn't leak... so that left my options much wider when looking for a place that would accept me and the dogs Since owning my own home, my magic number has been 4 dogs... give or take the odd dozen foster pups at any given time. I found 3 was actually fiddlier to manage when 2 of my dogs developed a dislike for each other, and I had to play swapsies with regard to giving them all my attention one-on-one. I live alone, so the swapsies was relatively easy to manage so that the 2 that hated each other never accidentally came together, but that would be incredibly hard when one has a family to consider, and all need to be highly vigilant about keeping 2 dogs separate and safe from each other. I learned that even when 2 dogs have lived together happily for years, things can change with that dynamic, and it was my job to keep them safe, happy, and healthy. Rehoming was never a consideration, as the behaviours I witnessed from both dogs when they had their last spat were not the behaviours I would be comfortable imposing on a new family, and I did also consider the euthanasia option for one or both if I couldn't manage them effectively... luckily that didn't eventuate, and both lived out the rest of their lives with me. As my dog numbers dropped from 4 down to 1, I actually found it refreshing to have only 1 dog for a while... not to mention feed and vet costs being so much less during the current financial situation and me becoming unemployed due to Covid restrictions and then health issues of my own. I am currently waiting patiently for my chosen breeder to have a litter with a pup for me in it, and I will probably stick to only the 1 dog for a good while simply because it will be easier for me to manage financially... if my financial situation changes, I may add more dogs... or not... it depends... *grin* T.

Plenty of room here... and happy to foster both pup and Spanner... T.

The article is from 2018 though... errr! T.

It is no real secret that she worked in promotions/marketing for PETA for some years prior to running as AJP candidate for the upper house... but reminders like this are gold... thanks @asal T.

None of the proposed legislation being put forward by AJP in Victoria suggests that rescued ex-racing greyhounds will be exempt from the export ban in relation to whole-of-life tracking, as once an animal leaves Australian jurisdiction, it is not subject to Australian laws any more, so the tracking may cease once the dog leaves the country. T.

"had a disadvantaged childhood which had been exposed to violence and had "found refuge" in playing with animals" And that is an "excuse" how? I am so sick of hearing the claims of a poor or disadvantaged upbringing to try to "justify" extreme behaviours in court cases. Quite frankly, as an adult, we all have the power to choose to rise above the "sins of the past", and do better... T.

3 of my last 4 dogs did that to me... on the spot having to weigh up whether to give myself more time with them, versus expensive treatments that were not going to result in much quality/quantity of life for the dog. I put all of their needs ahead of my own emotions and opted for giving them their wings with dignity and love. Of particular note, though, is the one that I had to take to an emergency clinic where I was reduced to having to argue the case for euthanasia, as she had eaten something that had obstructed and then ruptured her innards. The emergency vet was so adamant that "we" should try surgery that had only a miniscule chance of success - and would only have me back to having to make the same decision in a day or two, so why the hell would I put the dog (or myself) through that?? T.

Yet the whole of life tracking being introduced in Victoria will preclude ex-racing greyhounds from being exported... food for thought... ... and AJP are looking to get the same whole of life tracking bill in here in NSW too... T.

I'd say that Matisse was one very unwell little dog, and the care she required in order to save her life was rather complex/involved... however, the public holiday surcharge of $4000+ was actually more expensive than the actual spinal surgery ($3250), which is somewhat of a worry, wouldn't you say? Technically the dog was there for 2 public holidays, which makes the charge roughly $85/hour just for those 2 days... and dog only knows what that place has charged for a bag of Hartmanns fluids, of which she may have had a few over 6 days. Hartmanns fluids cost around $3-$5/litre to buy, but in fairness, someone qualified must catheterise the animal, monitor the flow, and change the bags at regular intervals - but I'm also guaranteeing that the catheterisation step will have had it's own charges applied. $44 for 15 paracetamol tablets works out to around $3 per tablet, and you can buy a box of 100 500mg tabs for around $3 online - then let's extrapolate that by guessing that the dog weighed around 10kg, and the dose rate of paracetamol for dogs is 15mg/kg, each dose given would have been around 150mg, or around 1/3 of a 500mg tab every 6-8 hours, so for 15 tabs, she would have had 45 doses over 6 days at 8 hour intervals, at a cost of $1 for each dose given. Let's then look at what it costs to have a vet nurse attend said dog 24/7 for 6 days... most vet nurses are paid around $25/hr, but experienced emergency nurses could get up to $40-$45/hr, so let's split the difference and call it $35/hr - 6 days of 24 hours x $35 = $5040 (more if they were paid penalty rates for the 2 public holidays) - but in all honesty, no animal in any clinic (emergency or not) is going to have a dedicated nurse all to themselves 24/7. I think the owners are a little deluded/entitled, but in all fairness that particular vet hospital does have a bit of a reputation for exhorbitant fees at the best of times - regardless the fact that it's an emergency clinic. T.

The property that this rescue operates out of is the one NSWAR was located at before them. There are 80 ex-greyhound kennels in 2 large blocks, and another 10-15 in a smaller block up nearer to the house (we used those for quarantine). I'm tipping that Pound Patrol has bitten off more than they could chew by filling all the available kennels constantly, and therein lies the rub... 80-90+ dogs are going to need a heck of a lot of food, care, exercise, and vet costs... which, when you consider that most rescues don't recoup their expenses via adoption fees, is just unsustainable. I've always held the stance that rescue isn't about how MANY animals an organisation rehomes, but how WELL they do it... but this view isn't necessarily a popular one in the larger rescue industry... *sigh* It may surprise most that NSWAR, despite having so many kennels available, would only ever have around 25 rescue dogs in care at any one time - purely due to the fact that as staffing was mostly via volunteers (who could just decide not to turn up on any given day), we needed to keep the numbers to a level that could adequately/properly be cared for by one person in one day. I'm sorry... I don't actually have much sympathy for Pound Patrol's situation due to the above reasons... T.

It could be just as effective if they stuffed the tube with stuff rats have been living in - old bedding/substrate, etc... T.

Enacting new/extra laws are how politicians measure the "proof" that they are "doing something" about some perceived problem... little thought seems to be focused on how those new/extra laws are going to be policed... *sigh* T.

When RSPCA are doing the enforcement, it comes down to whether they think they can make some money somehow from it... if not, the issue is ignored. Councils usually don't have enough rangers to do all the myriad other tasks they are given on top of animal control, so they can be a bit slack too. Recently when I rang Gold Coast Council about a 3rd party trying to rehome a declared dangerous dog, the ranger flat out advised me that rehoming such a dog wasn't illegal in QLD... like it is in NSW. Pretty sure that declared dog has ended up somewhere over the border in NSW now though... grrr! Not that Gold Coast Council rangers would be too worried that the dog is no longer in their territory... T.

Isn't it incredible how many people are simply not aware that we don't have any right of free speech in Australia? The USA is the only country that has it written into their constitution... no other country has that right bestowed upon all. T.

It most likely plays into AJP's agenda for RSPCA to continue as they are... but there may yet be another inquiry into them in NSW instigated soon by the new state government. T.

To be honest, I wouldn't want Mark Aldridge anywhere near an RSPCA case acting for the defendant... he's a liability and a publicity seeker at best. Yes, the RSPCA in all states needs to be looked into very closely by each state government, and at the very least have prosecutorial powers removed from the "service" they provide at the behest of those governments - as was done in WA. The biggest problem with getting any changes made to how the RSPCA operates is the reluctance of those who have felt their full force to make any on record statements about how they were treated, as RSPCA are definitely not above enacting reprisals on those who speak publicly in any negative way about them. No-one who has been targetted by RSPCA want them coming around again... T.