tdierikx

Good girl Bobbin! Clive is a good boy and just wants to be your friend... maybe if you let him have half the bed? T.

Interesting to note that Coonhound Disease in Australia may have a link to eating raw chicken... does your boy eat raw chicken by any chance? T.

Naw... she so purty! T.

The general "rule" is that if your dogs are doing fine on whatever you are feeding them, all is good... *grin* I've fed all sorts of things to my dogs over the years, and to be perfectly honest, haven't really noticed a drastic difference except for how much poop is produced. Generally, the cheaper brands of kibble produce more poop and of a varying consistency, whereas the high end premium kibbles produce smaller and firmer poop. I've found that raw meat produces even less poop, and it has the added bonus of going white and breaking down faster (if left in situ of course) - not to mention that it doesn't stink much either. As a vet nurse, I was rigorously schooled to plug the "complete and balanced" packaged pet foods (and we were even tested on that "knowledge" in order to pass the course)... regardless of what I feed my own dogs. Pretty sure vets are schooled in the same style where packaged foods are concerned. Personally, I go by the general "rule" above... unless your dog has allergies to certain things, or has another health issue that can be managed by diet... in those cases, maybe take your vet's advice on what to feed, or seek the help of a qualified pet nutritionist to create a diet plan that will best serve your dog's needs. T.

@persephone, try Easy Thumbnails... https://www.fookes.com/easy-thumbnails T.

Hmmm... is it possible he has gotten access to some sort of poison, like weedkiller? Some organophosphates can cause paralysis in dogs... The administration of charcoal tablets seems to point to the vet having a thought along those lines. Have you or the neighbours sprayed for any weeds recently (and around the time of his last episode)? If he's had a chomp on treated grasses/weeds, as dogs are wont to do, that could be a lead... Alternately, do you feed your dogs raw chicken or duck? Apparently some bacteria on raw poultry products (particularly chicken necks) can also cause this sort of issue - specifically Campylobacter... worth seeing if your vet can test for that. T.

Have you had blood tests and xrays done to rule in/out possibilities? A basic blood test will definitely show if your dog has an infection at the very least... and a basic xray will show up any spinal/neck anomalies. Do you live in an area where there are paralysis ticks? Or had visitors from areas that do? Visited an area yourself that does? Is your boy a lot more adventurous or physically active than your girl? An injury perhaps? A cranial xray done to highlight soft tissue may show if there is a tumour in play in the brain... as a last resort possibility, an MRI may be beneficial if there is no other cause found by the above diagnostic methods. At 6 years old, your boy is far from being a senior dog... he should be fit and active and full of beans... T.

Recent NSW legislation changes regarding animals in pounds having to be offered to at least 2 rescues before any consideration of euthanasia is having a huge impact on rescues already stretched to the limit... large numbers of surrenders certainly aren't making this issue any better... T.

Special dogs pick special humans... I'll just leave it at that... *grin* T.

I suppose it depends on the circumstances surrounding why the old family needed to rehome her. I'm not condoning neglect, but there may be a valid reason for why she's in the condition she is. Rather than fixating on her recent past, I suggest that you and her new owners just focus on now and to the future. She's in a better place now and getting what she needs to thrive. If there is an underlying medical condition, the vet will find that, and hopefully it can be treated and not be an issue for her in the future. It's awesome that the new owners are in contact with you, as your advice about all things greyhound will be so valuable to them while they restore her to her former happy healthy self. Have faith that her life from now will be an awesome one, OK? T.

I will second this... I have a dog with exactly that problem, and I've known her since birth, so know that she's never had any traumatic experiences. She is fine at home, but does not cope with new people or social situations. I work around her insecurities, and she is now nearly 10 and doing just fine with that arrangement. As for dealing with your pup's timidity, just allow her to be herself, and let her dictate when she wants to be picked up or played with. Make sure she has a "safe place" like a covered crate to go hide in if she gets a bit overwhelmed. Set up the crate with a nice soft warm bed and a couple of toys to cuddle/play with. I know that it's tempting to want to pick her up and cuddle her and play with her, but if you let her initiate that, then her confidence will grow. If you have children, they need to follow the same rules... ask them to sit quietly and let puppy come to them. Ask them to be very gentle with her, and to let her dictate what games they will play. Loud noises and sudden movements should be kept to a minimum so she doesn't get overwhelmed. If she has gone to her "safe place", she wants to be alone, so respect that, OK? If she is food motivated, then rewarding her with food treats will help to establish good behaviours... just remember that what you feed her in treats during the day needs to be removed from what she is fed at meal times... you don't want her to get too fat either... *grin* T.

I agree - stupid vanity product testing on animals should not be happening in this day and age. Surely they could get human volunteers for that sort of thing... at least humans can give consent. Did you know that there is actually a service that rehomes ex lab rats? Obviously it's not as prolific as dog and cat rehoming, but still, a number of rats also do get rehomed. Funnily enough, the animal rights mob have solely focused on the cats and dogs used in research... not the less popular animals like mice and rats. No mention of rabbits, guinea pigs, or monkeys either... although it is obvious that rehoming monkeys is a lot harder, it is not beyond the realms of possibility. Monkeys can have lifespans of up to 45 years in captivity... so it would be nice if any not too damaged from the research could find somewhere to live out their lives, don't you think? I don't see why some zoos couldn't take on baboons or macaques post research - think of the opportunities to educate the general public about our use of animals in this way... T.

You will probably have found the current NSW State government inquiry into the use of animals in research then, yes? And the Animal Justice Party's take on same? Just yesterday, Emma Hurst (NSW state AJP senator) posted on her Facebook page her opinion/take on the rehoming of cats and dogs used in research in NSW. What she fails to include is the FACT that all rehomable cats and dogs used in research in NSW were actually rehomed after their use in same - as an audit report tendered to the inquiry quite clearly showed... Emma Hurst also has a medical condition that, even though she had difficulty getting properly diagnosed (which is a whole different issue), is being treated with methods perfected via the use of animals in medical research... kind of ironic, don't you think? As @asallists above, the use of animals in research can have wide-ranging benefits for many issues we face in today's world - for both animals and humans. Sure, there could be some much tighter oversight into some forms of experimentation, and more focus on the welfare of the animals used in such research, but simply banning the use of animals in research is not the answer... it is a necessary "evil" unfortunately. T.

HSUS are the largest "rescue/rehoming" group in the US I think... but they are also very much similar in thinking to PETA when it comes to animal rights/protection activism. It would be interesting to see how many of the 4000 dogs actually end up being rehomed, and how many are euthanaised due to being unsuitable for rehoming... but I'm not holding my breath waiting for those stats... T.

In another article about the case, there was the following statement... “The settlement, which was mutually entered into by all parties involved and approved by the court on July 15, does not require that Envigo pay any fines or penalties to governmental agencies,” the press release said. “In addition, it is expressly stated that the settlement is not an admission of liability or wrongdoing by Envigo with regard to its past operation of the Cumberland Facility.” So, technically, they have gotten off pretty much scott free, and someone else is now tasked with removing and rehoming all of the dogs for them... not exactly a big "win" for the authorities... Smart move @Powerlegs... I looked it up, and it doesn't sound even remotely ethical in any way, shape, or form... *sob* T.

When I was doing my vet nursing course, we had one assignment on Grief. It was mainly focused on dealing with the client's grief... and nothing dealing with vets and nurses dealing with the same issue. I struggled with that assignment, and when I handed it in, I also handed in a separate paper detailing possible ways to include dealing with staff grief and mental health. I had my teacher in tears with that - and I suspect that her switch to teaching might have been due to her own struggles with the mental health side of being a practising vet. In many cases, vet clinic staff are treating an animal for days, week, months, years... we get attached to those animals... and when their time comes, we feel the loss too. Compound that by possibly seeing more than one long term patient for their final visit in one day, and it can hit us pretty hard also. Staff play an immense role in keeping each other's heads above water during the harder days... you can never underestimate the power of a good team that care about each other. Another issue is when an animal is obviously at end of life, yet the owner wants the vet to do everything to try and prolong life... when we have those pets in our care it gets very hard. We had one little dog that we had to sedate quite heavily for it's issues, and it would vocalise when the sedation was starting to wear off... and the only way we could stop the vocalising was to just pick it up and cuddle it until we could safely dose it with the sedatives again. All the vet nurses were very distressed about the issue, as it was so heartwrenching for us to be having to comfort this poor little dog that just really needed to go to God... and the vet had more than one conversation with the owner about doing the right thing, but the owner was clearly not ready to deal with that option. All I can say is please just treat your vet clinic staff well... they do their very best for you and your pets... they deserve a bit of compassion themselves. T.

Why was your dog on a liver supplement? Is he on any other medications? Was ALT the only abnormal finding in his blood test? Other causes of elevated ALT can be intestinal inflammation and heart disease... and even dental disease can cause ALT to go up. In rarer cases it can be caused by muscle injury. I'd definitely get the liver ultrasound done in order to see if there is in fact any liver disease happening. Bile tests would usually be advised if other enzymes were also outside the normal range, indicating possible pancreas or gallbladder issues, rather than specific liver issues. These organs can also be looked at during any ultrasound done on the liver - if only to rule out any obvious abnormalities there. T.

This! Yes! We all know that the best marketing for any "product" is word of mouth... and there is a LOT of that happening for the crossbred market due to the sheer numbers of them out there nowadays. I'm with BDJ in that I know exactly what I want when I am ready to take on a new furry best mate. Breed, sex, and which breeder I would like to get it from... happy to wait until they have what I want when I am ready for it - not until Harper passes though, as she hates other dogs and it wouldn't be fair to pup or her to force that issue. I'm not wanting to show, so am happy for limited register if that's what the breeder wants. I am also perfectly happy if pup has less than perfect conformation, but I am sure the breeder I have in mind breeds solidly sound dogs regardless. Pup will be desexed at an age appropriate to it's healthy growth, regardless whether I have to pay a higher council registration for it to be that way. As my preference is for a male, no chance I'm gonna have an oops litter happening on my watch either - he will not be exposed to undesexed females until he has had his ability to breed curtailed, if ever. I have decided on a male for my next pup, as I've had many years of bitches, and have no desire to have many more... *grin*... males of the breed I like are usually a lot less narky... more doofus and lovable boofs in my experience. I've only ever personally come across one male of this breed that wasn't a cuddlebum, but to be fair he was old and had cancer... T.

Ummm... can we have names of your 2 dogs please? Oh... and we definitely need photos... you can't talk about GR puppies without photos here... it's a rule... *grin* T.

I think the older dog is most likely teaching the pup what her boundaries are. Pups will scream loudly and act like the sky is falling, but in most cases there are no injuries, and pup learns that certain behaviours will get a negative response, so they adjust their behaviours to suit. By grabbing pup and coddling her, then separating the older dog, you might not actually be helping puppy learn those boundaries. Maybe next time, just check that puppy isn't injured, and let her calm down by herself. I'd be making sure that older dog has a space that she can go to get away from puppy if she wants to be by herself, and just supervise them when they are together. If puppy starts being a bit over-excited and likely to annoy the older dog, YOU tell puppy to back off... I use the command "leave it" if I want the action to stop, or "gentle" if things are getting a bit excitable, but still mostly respectful... both dogs can learn both commands, so YOU are the one in control. Don't be fooled by the pup's screaming when she has been soundly disciplined by the older dog... this is normal, and how the pup learns what is acceptable or not to the older dog. By picking her up and cuddling her until she stops, you are reaffirming to the older dog that puppy is more important than her at this time, and could lead to the older dog actually resenting puppy. Above all, make sure that the older dog is still getting lots of your attention too... it's so easy to get sidetracked by the cute new puppy, and forget that the older dog needs your attention too. She has had you all to herself for 6 years, and she needs confirmation that you still love her just as much now there is a new dog to share you with. T.

300 dogs would need a decent team of staff to care for to the minimum welfare standards. If done properly, it is not unfeasible... technically... One would be concerned about dead rats in kennels if they had been poisoned by rat baits... the possibility of a dog ingesting a poisoned one would be a major health risk. asal makes a point regarding the fact that commercial breeding may be needed to service demand for pets if AJP proposed legislation is passed. The AR nutters don't seem to understand that the vast majority of pets found in pounds and shelters are NOT typically those bred by registered purebred breeders or even commercial breeders... overwhelmingly they are the unregistered and unchipped products of the backyard breeding "industry". Current AND proposed legislation does little to address that particular issue, even when advised of that fact by those tasked with policing that legislation. Another case of politicians needing to be seen "doing something" to address an issue, but failing to understand exactly what the issue is. T.

I think the sentiment is about projecting humanising qualities on our pets. T.

I don't know about the rotties needing a "strong owner"... I've had around 10 of them myself over the years (5 of them at the one time together), and I never had to establish that I was "boss". Mutual respect and love goes a long way methinks... and all of mine would happily stand between me and any perceived danger quietly observing but not reacting unless there was imminent threat (only ever happened once, and the dog stood her ground and saw off the threat without violence). T.

When I fostered wild born dingo orphans, it was abundantly clear that they are NOT like domestic dogs in any way, shape, or form. If fed a standard "complete and balanced" dog food, they developed squirty bums really quickly, and just didn't thrive like they should... the best option was a diet high in lean raw meats. Turkey necks, kangaroo of just about any cut, etc, worked best for fit, healthy, and active growing pups I found... Behaviourally, they were very different too... VERY smart (and cunning), very dextrous, and very inquisitive. They liked to "taste" everything new much more than domestic dogs too, including fingers and toes... lol! Somewhat more aloof and independent than domestic dogs also... they will do your bidding when and if it suits them only... *grin* With the crossbred dingo/dog pups, it was a lottery as to whether they inherited more traits from one side or the other... T.

We seriously need a Love button! Such gorgeous little dogs in an equally gorgeous setting... well done @Loving my Oldies! T.