tdierikx

Sometimes it's kinder to end their obvious suffering... T.

We used to have a pet store in my suburb that used to let people take pups home for the night... I did it quite often - and only ever bought one of them... *grin* Nowadays, I'm much more aware of how easy it can be for a young pup that hasn't been fully vaccinated to pick up something really nasty... and wouldn't advocate for anyone to be participating in such a scheme... I get all the puppy loving I need now from fostering them for rescue instead. T.

I'm a bad owner... I don't give my dogs heartworm prevention, and I only worm if/when I see the obvious signs of them having worms. I also will only treat for fleas if I see one on any of the dogs. I don't live in a tick area. T.

Nup, we use a form as first point of contact, a dedicated volunteer who handles the email hello's and everyone gets a response. All applicants and all dogs are individuals: & viewed as such. Good homes who don't suit the dog or have missed out are recommended to another rescue. We did "rethink how much workload we were taking on" and oddly enough people like bosses and family, eventually get very tired of rescue taking over. Really fed up in fact. So there has to be a line. My line is not having my phone number on the internet. Not being the first to cop a gobful because someone wants their old dog taken away asap or to get a dog out under our clause. & I think you'd agree T, my people skills are somewhat ok. lol. But nobody is born a rescuer/public relations expert, it's a constant learning curve. I've actually just had a look at your adoption webform, and it's a whole lot less intrusive than many I've seen out there... AND it has plenty of other information that lets a prospective adopter know where they stand. So, actually, your group has obviously thought a lot about the way the form was designed, and what it was designed to do - and I bet it works well. ... and for the record, I KNOW your communication skills are exceptional... *grin* T.

He's certainly a cheeky sod DD... but too pretty to be mad at, right? T.

I have 3 dogs that like eating poo... and they will regularly go out for a midnight snack, then come back inside and burp on me... nothing like a poo-breath burp in the face to wake you up from napping on the couch... eeewwww! T.

Biggest pro for early desexing is that the little darlings don't seem to notice that they have had surgery - up and wanting to play almost as soon as they have woken up from the anaesthetic... As for the health concerns both for and against - they are both equally worrying, so I'd be going with my gut on what you think is best for your dog. T.

On the other side of the coin is exactly what the article says happens - people go out to a pet store, the internet, or breeders (of all types) to source the pet they want. We can't make it too bloody hard for anyone to adopt our charges - it just makes them go to other sources for a pet instead - we need a fine balance to make it all work for all involved. T.

Feedback - both good and bad - needs to be delivered with some finesse... most people don't like being told no with little (or what they deem to be insufficient) grounds for their "rejection". T.

I actually spoke to a person who said it was cheaper to let their dog wander and be taken to the pound for 2 weeks than it was to board same dog if they went on holidays... I definitely had to hold myself back from saying what I thought about that... I just reminded them of all the diseases that a dog can pick up in the pound and hoped they at least had the dog's shots up to date... Some people just don't look at their dogs the same way that we do... more's the pity... *sigh* T.

I find that just talking with prospective adopters tends to give a much better idea than any application form process. I've looked at a few adoption application forms out there, and have found many of them to be somewhat intrusive and can be daunting for prospective adopters - that's why we don't have a form, but ask people to actually call us about any dog they may be interested in. We seem to be able to find decent and permanent homes for most of our charges (very few returns) with our procedures/processes. Sure, we get our fair share of people who may not be suited to the particular dog they are calling about, but we can suggest/show to them other dogs that may be a better fit. It's fairly rare that we get a potential adopter that isn't suited to any dog available - but we have knocked back one or two who really would have been suited to a stuffed toy instead of a real dog... *grin* The trick is in the communication and time spent making sure of the adopter's expectations - then matching them to a dog that they can live with. If you don't have the time to talk to adopters, and are using an adoption form to "weed out timewasters", then maybe a rethink of how much workload you are taking on is in order. A big part of rescue is about communication - if you don't have any people skills at all, then you really aren't going to get far. T.

My adults are on 1 meal a day - which usually happens when I get home from work. Puppy gets 2 meals - one as I leave for work, and one when the others have theirs when I get home from work. On the weekends, puppy gets her breakfast at the same time as most mornings, and they all get fed in the afternoon sometime when I feel like feeding them... *grin* T.

Raise the water bowl off the ground a bit - so that they can still reach it to drink, but not low enough for them to pee in... T.

... in rescue, I may not see many "well bred" dogs - but I've been around a bit longer than the past 5 years (which is only how long I've been in rescue)... I'm not just the sum of my rescue involvement you know... *grin* T.

I would have thought temperament would have fallen under the 'standard' category? Just out of curiosiyt- which breeds do you think could use 'a little tweaking'? Some of the brachy breeds spring to mind... Then again, I'm a pet owning person, and not interested in showing... or breeding for that matter. I'm not trying to start an argument - just voicing an opinion about MY OWN preferences is all. T.

Some standards for some breeds could do with a little tweaking - so breeding to a standard sometimes isn't all it's cracked up to be either... but a dog with a great or predictable temperament is one that most people would prefer for a companion animal, yes? A really well bred dog will have big plusses in temperament AND conformation. T.

Stunning photos of a stunning dog... I really love the one of him in full stretch - what gorgeous condition you have him in... T.

I foster rescue pups for nothing... *grin* However, if we get new owners who are unable to take their pup at the time of adoption, I charge them $10/day for "boarding" - and the money goes to the rescue as a donation. This is mainly due to the fact that while an adopted pup is staying at my place, I may not be able to have more pups in my care for the rescue. I haven't had any complaints from adopters about the "boarding" fee either... in fact, I've been offered more for the "service"... Quite frankly, you are going to have a young pup in your care over the Christmas period - a time when you probably will have to curtail your own celebrations in order to be available to feed and toilet the pup at regular intervals at the very least... no going out carousing until all hours of the evening, etc... $12/day is VERY reasonable I think! T.

If the pup has Coccidia, the sooner it's treated the better... however, Coccidia and Giarda can have similar symptoms, so a fecal float may be the go to make sure that your pup doesn't have either bug. I recently had an unwell foster pup that had Coccidia - we treated with Baycox (used off label in dogs as it's actually for pigs - dosage is 0.1ml per kg of pup weight) - feeding human grade chicken mince alternated with a high grade premium puppy kibble saw her start to thrive nicely. Once she was gobbling down the kibble with as much gusto as the chicken mince, the mince was slowly withdrawn from her diet. T.

For just worming for intestinal worms, we use Fenpral or Canex tablets broken into the correct sizing/dose for the weight of the pup - it's relatively easy on the gut compared to some of the other products out there. If you are looking for the all-in-one treatments, then Sentinal Spectrum appears to be an effective treatment. T.

Steve posted about it closing down back in November... http://www.dolforums.com.au/topic/243657-mdba-pacers/page__p__6025696#entry6025696 T.

Run free Sally... may you live long in the hearts of those who met you... Big hugs and kudos to you crickets for being the one to give Sally the dignified send off she deserved. T.

Only 2 weeks to go until he comes home... YAY!!! Have you noticed how time seems to fly... unless you are waiting to pick up a puppy and bring it home? T.

I've seen - and adopted out to a lovely home - a Maltese/Staffy... think Staffy size and shape, with wispy hair... it actually worked quite nicely for the dog in question, but it wouldn't be a mix I'd be wanting to try myself... errr! T. ETA: gremlins - I meant "wouldn't" be a mix I wanted to try

Dropped by the vet clinic our rescue uses on my way home this arvo... and they were prepping for a Caesar on a Staffy bitch... and it wasn't a rescue dog getting rescue rates... gonna cost the owner a pretty penny... Really though, unless they are doing the right thing and breeding to further the Stafford breed itself, we actually have way too many Staffy's out there IMHO. If breeding is done right, then you might get lucky to break even on a litter of 8 or more after all the expenses to get them to 8 weeks of age and adoptable. T.