tdierikx

3 more sleeps until he's home! Are we getting excited yet or what? T.

I'm sure pound and shelter workers (or vets and vet nurses) never thought as they were growing up "I want to have a job where I get to hold perfectly healthy and rehomable pets as they are euthanaised"... I've yet to meet one pound or shelter worker who thinks that part of the job is acceptable. Even in the pounds and shelters where they have many options in place (read working with rescue, foster carer programs, etc), perfectly rehomable animals are euthanaised - albeit on a smaller scale than the places without those extra options in place. Then there is the fact that some animals really can't or shouldn't be rehomed... in some cases it's actually kinder to euthanaise. T.

My eyes are leaking... Beautiful! T.

I think the reply was aimed at the "shelter manager" who wrote the original piece. The answer advised what management types can try to do instead of following the same old methods of reducing the numbers of animals in their care. The system can really only change from within - when people who work in that environment say "enough" and look into other ways of lightening their load (so to speak). There were some very good suggestions for certain types of action that really wouldn't cost them anything, and will get animals leaving rather than dying and having to be disposed of. Sure - the "blame" lies with owners who surrender or don't come to get their dogs... but there are other ways to deal with the situation of animals in pounds and shelters that have proven to be very effective when put into place. T.

It will be interesting to fid out whether she hits you up for the vet bill... especially if the cat needs expensive treatment... T.

The tests for small dogs are based on the greyhound's prey drive, not its defence drive. When a dog is acting aggressively through defence it will normally give the intruder an opportunity to retreat. When a dog is acting aggressively through prey drive there is no opportunity to retreat given to the intruder. I can't comment on what happened with this particular dog, but I agree that dogs that show prey drive towards other dogs are not suitable to be offered to the public as pets. All greyhounds need to be carefully tested for prey drive towards small dogs. If they fail, they are a liability, legally and socially, for the owner and for the group that sold it as a pet. Well met Greytmate... and that's why I leave the rescue of sighthounds to those who know what they are doing. I tend to stick with breed mixes that I understand better... T.

All of my dogs and my foster pups get taught "leave it" - often even before they learn "sit"... one of the most useful commands I reckon. T.

The most important thing to remember is that even though your beloved best mate is gone in the physical sense, they will truly live forever in your heart. Remember them well... T.

I'm not completely against BYB in and of itself - mainly because I feel that there IS room for mixed breed dogs in society... However - I'm not a fan of handing off a pup to the first person that comes along with the right amount of money. There are some BYB's out there who are a little more fussy about where their pups end up... and I think that we should be encouraging the people who breed one-off litters to make the effort to rehome them responsibly rather than throwing all that over-emotive shite at them. Abuse and denigration doesn't usually make converts to the cause if you will. T.

I might note that when my dogs caught the neighbour's cat, I was home and as soon as I heard the noise, I was out there like a shot and roused the dogs away from it - unfortunately one of my dogs had shaken the cat causing some nasty internal injuries that it ended up passing away from while the owner screamed and yelled at me for having "dangerous dogs" - OK they were 3 Rotties, but they were contained in their pen with 7' chain link fencing, and my yard also has 6' colorbond fences - the cat came into the dog pen! I was pretty darned distressed about the cat myself... no-one really enjoys seeing an animal suffering... but I can tell you that the neighbour's retaliation had me a hell of a lot more distressed, with one dog dead and another in hospital after being poisoned. I swear that if ever another cat comes on my property and the dogs get to it, I'm just going to bury it and no-one will be any the wiser. T.

Try to find the cat and seek vet treatment if you can... DON'T tell the neighbour anything unless you have found the cat and arranged for it's treatment first. If the cat dies from it's injuries and never comes home, then the neighbour will blame you and your dogs for it forever. My neighbour's cat got into my dog pen a few years back - I let them know of the issue and asked which vet they wanted me to take the cat to. Cat didn't survive, and neighbour started a campaign to try to have my dogs declared dangerous - and when that didn't work, she started baiting them. One of my dogs didn't survive the baiting, and another was hospitalised, but recovered. If your neighbour is likely to become volatile, don't say anything about the cat... T.

I actually agree with Clyde (shock, horror) - my own dogs who are great with other dogs large or small out in public, would probably do some serious damage to any dog that came onto our property uninvited. T.

I'd be doing up a stat dec and registering the chip numbers yourself with a Victorian registry asap. Neither dog's chip number is registered on ANY database right now, and you are not likely to get any of the paperwork from PR in any great hurry. Ina's new rescue can't rehome her until they are sure of her chip detail AND that she IS desexed - and until such is verified, they are using up a foster home that could otherwise have gone to a dog with all the correct paperwork, etc... T.

I'd say to put her urn wherever you are comfortable putting it. It really does come down to personal preference I've found. A freind of mine recently lost her heart dog, and she found great comfort when the urn was back home - she had her first good night's sleep just knowing that her girl was home again. T.

I have a friend who breeds and shows her Malts... T.

I'd be inclined to think that the paperwork for Ina and Lucky might not be forthcoming... the group that sent them to you aren't known for great follow through once they have shipped a dog interstate. It might be best if you arm yourself with a stat dec and register their chips with the state body yourself. You can't legally adopt them out or transfer them to another group without that paperwork being in order. Unless you have desexing certificates for either or both dogs, you can't just assume that has been done either - expecially considering the source of both dogs - you may need a vet to surgically explore them to prove it beyond a doubt. At the very least an ultrasound may show whether they have a uterus or not - if not, then the vet may need to open them up to check for same. Be prepared for some backlash from the group who shipped the dogs to you - they are known for becoming rather nasty with foster carers or adopters if/when the placement doesn't work out... and if you think what the people here are saying is mean/nasty, then you really don't want to be on the receiving end of a Pound Rounds onslaught... I'm pretty sure no-one here wants you to fail at your endeavour - but a lot of us knew there would be issues the minute you mentioned getting dogs shipped to you from Pound Rounds. As mentioned in a previous post in this thread, this forum is populated with many very seasoned rescuers... people who have done the hard yards and taken their lumps along the way, just as you are experiencing now. All of the advice given (even if it's been very blunt and seems to be nitpicking) has been aimed to try to actually help you NOT get into the situation you now find yourself in. Too many of us have picked up the pieces of failed Pound Rounds placements of late also... T.

I feed my rescue foster pups Royal Canin Puppy/Junior - and my current 15 week old foster failure (I adopted her) is on a mix of the Royal Canin Junior and Nutro Lamb and Rice Adult dry. From the look of her feet and how much she's growing, she's proably going to end up almost Ridgeback sized. She's doing really nicely on the food I'm feeding her so far. T.

LIKE! T.

How is Archie feeling this morning? T.

Keep an eye on him, and unless he can't keep down water, see how he is in the morning. Some pups can gt a bit dopey after their vaccs, but are usually fine by the next day. If he starts throwing up water or soft food, get him to a vet - if he's still lethargic tomorrow morning, take him to the vet. T.

Now where is the LIKE button?? T.

My dogs didn't do very well on Science Diet - and I had to feed them as much of it as a cheaper brand of food just to keep them on condition. I've now switched to Nutro - they eat less, poo less, and are doing great. Nutro is a bit expensive though. I used to feed my dogs Bonnie Adult Complete, and they all did great on it - and it's around $45 for 20kgs at Pet Barn. Not to mention that most dogs eat it quite happily. T.

I foster dogs for rescue... I have 4 dogs of my own - one from a FTGH ad, one from a BYB, and 2 foster failures. I have been to pounds and selected dogs that we could take on and find homes for... knowing full well what the outcome is for dogs not bought by the public, or taken in by rescue. I have held dogs that were unsuitable for rehoming to the public while they were given their wings - even though I had grown to care for them deeply and we had tried everything to try to make them rehomable. I have nothing but the utmost respect for the staff who work in pounds and the big shelters - their job isn't one that I'm sure they envisaged for themselves while growing up - but nearly every single one that I've met cares about the animals and does their best to try to help them find new homes, not to mention trying to make their stay in that scary environment a little easier to cope with. I have no bad feelings towards people who breed pedigreed or working dogs responsibly... in fact I'm getting really excited about my neighbour's new pedigreed puppy that is coming home this weekend... *grin* I know that there are way too many bleeding hearts out there who are doing their utmost to give all breeders a bad name... and there are quite a few of those types in rescue too I'm sad to admit. As for those kinds of ramblings posted by clueless people who really have no idea of reality... I just delete them. Stupid slogans like "don't breed or buy while shelter dogs die" don't do anyone any favours... *sigh* Enjoy your pedigreed furkid - you probably put a hell of a lot more thought into it's needs as well as your own when you decided to bring it into your life than most. T.

Most likely needs worming... What did the vet say? T.

I really don't know or can guess exactly what mixes of breeds may be in her... but whatever it is it's certainly a nice mix, don't you think? She hasn't been microchipped yet - will be happening soon - what do you think we should list her mix as? The chip forms only allow for 2 breeds in the cross... *sigh* She is also booked in for desexing on the 27th of this month... while she's still young enough to take it in her stride. I thought about leaving it until after her first season, but then I thought about the mess and confinement during a season, and decided I'd rather not go through that... *grin* T.