Mooper

The very same. Rest in peace, Sarah. I'll never forget your beautiful face. Gosh, a year goes by quickly!

Rest easy and pain-free, sweet old man. No doofus could do laps of the coffee table quite like you.

Yay, Ivan!

Hi petmezz I don't know if the details are current, but at the bottom of this Earthdogs page there are contact details for the Canberra & District Sporting Terrier Club. I found the club's website here. Maybe they would be the best port of call?

:rolleyes: What wonderful news! cavNrott, thinking of your Sophie ...

RIP Sonar, you handsome fella.

Cougar has always had such a lovely face, smiling out at us through DOL. I'm sure he's still smiling now, thanking you for letting him go when the time was right. Take care of yourselves :rolleyes:

A lot of ladies at sheepdog school down here use and recommend the A1 aluminium whistle from the Sheepdog Shop in the UK.

Rest in peace, Rex. Never was a dog loved more than you, buddy. Run free Sorry for your family's loss, KW

Oh no :D Navarre's puppy pictures are forever etched in my mind as favourites here on DOL. May he remain a puppy forever at the bridge

That's a great Christmas present! :rolleyes: Give Flash a gentle cuddle for being such a clever girl

Oh, Dru, your family has been in the wars this year I have everything crossed in the hope that George doesn't have a mast-cell tumour. Jack had a grade III MCT removed from his right side near the waist in October, I think it was, and we haven't seen any new lumps or bumps yet. They got clear margins, but that seems to be very rare for a grade III so it's not all over yet. He didn't show any other symptoms, though -- no change in coat, energy levels, drinking, no gunky eyes etc. Just a lump that had been there for ages, unchanged, which we thought was a fatty lipoma :rolleyes:

I hope the news comes back as an all-clear :rolleyes: I guess with Christmas the pathology labs may be shut down for a bit? But hopefully you'll hear back within a week.

What Staffyluv said Get it checked, and go from there. You, too, ruthless! Jack's fur is every bit as thick as Ivan's I'd be betting, and they had no problem getting enough material to diagnose his little lump (about the size of a standard button). Best to be sure...

Good luck with it, Tess

Oh no! How horrible for you all. I hope Ellie's recovery is swift, and know that you did the right thing. Cleo had a happy home with you.

What a sweetie Rest in peace, Sophie.

I love that picture of Max, Tess! Just awesome. What a great dog. Thinking of you, Springergirl.

One of my parents' dogs is scared of the extractor fan in the kitchen. After much thinking, we traced it back to the fact that whenever Mum burns to toast (frequently :p) she turns on the extractor fan and usually the smoke detector goes off regardless. It's the most odd association, but it's all we could come up with. They've desensitised him by turning the fan on for brief periods, with treats in-hand, and rewarding him for calm behaviour. At first, the rewards were immediate. They gradually lengthened the time over which he needed to remain calm, then gave him a reward. And now he's apparently no longer bothered by the fan. Could it be some link like that? Has Gomez ever burned himself on the oven door, been near a saucepan lid when it dropped, got his tail caught in the dishwasher door as it closed ... ? Or is he making a comment on your cooking?

Muttly, I use a Coat King on Jack and it strips out soooo much of his massive undercoat. It's definitely worth a try. He looks almost sleek when it's all done and is certainly cooler for it in summer.

It's just not right. Max was too full of life to be gone. He'll always be one of my favourite DOL pooches. Rest in peace, sweet boy. May there be many possums for you at the bridge.

Sending healing wishes to Flash. I hope she recovers from the surgery quickly, and lives on well beyond her prognosis. I've joined the Canine Cancer group that dogbesotted mentions above. There is *loads* of information there. I haven't had time to dig through it all just yet myself :D But the point is that you're not alone.

It sounds like you and Perry are making some great progress Keep up the tough love. Don't fall for Perry's persuasive, glistening eyes! Jack, as you know, regularly tries to push the boundaries. He's a bit slow at picking up on the "game over" concept if he doesn't accept my rules, but even he gets there in the end

I disagree, Nekhbet. I'd rather not put the dog through surgery unnecessarily. For only a small outlay and a short vet visit, the lump can be tested and could come back as being normal. Then there would be no need for surgery. If the lump is nothing to worry about and, as I think you're suggesting, the vet opts for surgery Bron&Doris will be up for ~$800 of vet bills and at least a full day at the surgery, and will have a sore and sorry dog with stitches to look after thereafter. The less traumatic option for the dog is surely the fine needle aspirate first, then surgery only if necessary?

*phew* Clover! Bron and Doris, i'm a convert to getting lumps checked. We ignored a lump on Jack's side for what must be a couple of years. It didn't grow or change in any way that we noticed, yet it turned out to be a grade III mast cell tumour. All gone now, thank goodness. I'm not saying that's what Doris has! The vet is right that you won't know its nature fully unless it's removed. But it can be tested in-situ in the first instance. Particularly as you mention that the lump has changed. From my reading of veterinary journals, dogs from about 8 years of age should *always* have their lumps aspirated and sent to the cytology lab for tests. Please insist on getting it done. I think it cost us somewhere around $100 for the consult and pathology, but if the lump is nothing to worry about, it's cheap peace of mind. Fingers crossed for a good result!