kirsty79

This is a time I have been dreading for the past couple of years. I was hoping she would go peacefully in her sleep. The kids are on holidays as of next week and have asked me to wait till then so they can say goodbye with me. a couple pics of Gemma Puppysniffer you old girl is gorgeous Leanne ps sorry to high jack the thread Leanne - Gemma is beautiful!! Got to agree with puppy-sniffer - no botox for Gemma, those droopy wrinkles are gorgeous! Fred (my other younger dog) is a basset hound. They are my weakness No need to apologise for hijacking the thread!! - it's good to know other golden oldies with problems have made it to such a fantastic age. It gives me hope that Jess is just perhaps having a bad time at the moment but will continue to be in our lives for a lot longer. She is booked in to the vets for 6.30pm tomorrow. Paws crossed

Gorgeous :rolleyes:

Hi Leanne, I am so so sorry to hear about your old girl. I can't begin to imagine how terrible it must be for you. I can't even stand to think about losing one of my two - it has me in tears every time. I know the time will come, but if I am brutally honest, I don't know how I will cope, I'm just not that strong. I know I will be a mess. I can't offer any comforting advice as I haver never been in your situation, just know that you are in my thoughts and prayers at this very difficult time. Kirsty

I know what you mean Vickie. I have been rather sooky with Jess recently, spoiling her, and giving in when she wants to get on the sofa - anything to keep her happy and her tail wagging! It breaks my heart when she is standing around looking confused.I just really hope I'll be able to make the right judgement and decision if needs be. Have done the questionnaire from the link given and it states she is in the "at risk" bracket Off to make a vets appointment now.

Thanks everyone for your advice Puppy Sniffer - That is exactly how I wanted to word it!! It’s like she is going somewhere but then forgets where she is going and why. Like, she has woken up, thought to herself she should go to the bathroom, but then forgets when she gets outside and just comes back. She also wanders around the house a lot as if she is trying to decide where to sit down but is getting confused. And she definitely has started hovering. How do vets test / diagnose dementia? What does the medication do?

Hi All, I really hope someone can offer me some advice about my old girl. Jess is 12 1/2 , loves her walks, is happy to play fight with my 4 yr old basset and most days has a happy wagging tail! However, over the past couple of weeks she seems different. Firstly her food. She loves her food as much as the next dog, we feed her dry biscuits and a breeders choice dog patty twice a day. She starting leaving some in her bowl and not finishing it, so we stopped giving her the biscuits thinking maybe we were overfeeding her slightly, so just giving her the patty breakfast and dinner. That was ok for a few days, now the past couple of days she has started leaving some of the patty. She is eating but nowhere near as much. She has no treats or anything else between these two meals. Also, she has started losing control in terms of the toilet during her sleep, not pee but poo. Next is her panting, lots and lots and lots. The only time she doesn’t seem to pant is when she is sleeping. And lastly, she was pacing. She kept getting up, going to the back door as if she needed to go out, we opened the door, she’d go out wander about, stand as if she was straining to hear something and then come back 5 minutes later. She must have done this about 6/7 times. She seemed stressed about something? I don’t know if I should be concerned or if I’m overreacting or if maybe its signs of old age?? She went to the vets approx 2 months ago, got a clean bill of health (also had some minor blood tests to check if everything inside was in working order and got the ok) Can anyone help / offer advice or have you experienced this first hand? Thanks

Thanks to the horrendous amount of rain we had recently in Brissy, my garden has sprouted weeds left, right and centre, there is virtually no grass left, and it's a fair sized garden. Problem is - there are ALOT of bindi's and the spikes are coming out. I want to put down weed killer asap, and read weed and feed is ok for pets as long as you let it dry, then the next day after buying it (before I put it down) I saw Jessie munching on some grass and thought - surely that is going to harm her whether it's dry or not because it's been absorbed in it? Can someone please tell me if it's ok to use, and if not, any recommendations as to what is safe? Thanks

A former show horse has died after being stabbed and scalped in Melbourne at the weekend. The 15-year-old mare was found dead in its paddock on Oherns Road, Epping by its owner on Saturday afternoon, police said. The dappled bay thoroughbred, named Cachet, was stabbed multiple times in the neck and back, while her mane and some skin was cut off. Experts told police the horse would have been in extreme pain as it bled to death. Police believe the horse was killed sometime on Friday or Saturday morning. The 49-year-old owner from Mill Park had kept the horse in the rented paddock for about a year. Police are investigating the case of animal cruelty and are calling for anyone with information to contact Crimestoppers on 1800 333 000.

I couldn't have taken it to a vet or shelter next day -it was a weekday, I'm up at 5.30am, leave for the City at 6.30am and don't return until 18.30pm. What on earth would I have done with the dog all day? I am from the UK and have no family or friends over here to assist. I'm in a brand new job - I've been in two weeks, there is no way I could have called up and said I was going to be late / faked illness, I'm on a probationary period. In addition, my two furkids would have known there was another dog there - in another room or in the yard and got distressed - Jessie has only just started coming out of her shell again since she got attcked by another dog just 4 weeks ago. Dogs are not allowed inside our rental property so only option might have been the garage - which has a loose sliding door into the kitchen which even my daft basset hound can open with his nose. Even so, we need access in and out of the garage in the evenings- its where our fridge freezer, bins and washing machine are The choices you mention weren't options for me unfortunately.

XXX the call centre operator you spoke to is actually a volunteer. We are forced to rely heavily on volunteers and some of them simply don’t have the training of our paid staff. Having said that, what he said is basically correct. We have one ambulance that has to cover an area from Caboolture to Beenleigh. As you can imagine this makes dealing with emergencies in different parts of Brisbane at the same time basically impossible. We have a 1300 ANIMAL emergency number that was set up so we put the caller in touch with the nearest wildlife carer. With domestic animals and livestock we try to enlist the help of the Police, the DPI or the Council. We simply don’t have the resources to attend to every animal in the greater Brisbane area. Sometimes those other agencies go out of their way to be helpful. At other times they don’t and this is particularly true of the BCC. No doubt XXXX could have explained the situation much better but to be honest, unless the ambulance was close by (and it wasn’t) there was nothing we could have done. We firmly believe that it’s the people who need licensing, not the animals. Media And Community Relations RSPCA Queensland

Does anyone know if its ok for me to post the reply I received from the RSPCA?

Thanks I was wondering if perhaps I was wasting my time, and then thought, even if I am, I've tried. I will let everyone know when I get a response. I look at all the wonderful rescues the dolers do on here and it restores my faith that there are people that care. P.S. Thanks Cody - even though I didn't know for this time, useful to know for future, even for my furkids. I didn't realise there were any nearby vets open till that late!

Thank you for everyone's kind words. I felt awful and couldn't stop myself imaging what might happen to the dog. I would have taken him to the vets but by the time I got off the phone to the RSPCA (which was what I thought the right road to go down) they had closed. I wish now I'd just taken him to the vets straight away. If they could have taken him and assisted, would they not have said on the phone though? Instead they gave me the RSPCA's number. Anyway - an update. I wrote a complaint and sent it to RSPCA Qld, Moreton Bay Council Animal Dept, the Mayor, and my local Councillor . Already had reply from Councillor stating it has been passed to the Mayor who will respond. The Mayor's PA has confirmed receipt and stated he is looking into. Confirmation of receipt from Council and RSPCA. We shall see! Will keep you posted :p

I've pm'd you. Hope it helps

So, last night OH and I got back from work, after an hour commute on the train like everyone else, exhausted after a long day at work. We noticed a stray dog running around the train station car park (peak hour with approx 200 cars in it) which is also next to a busy main road. It was black with GSH in him I think, extremely thin, terrible coat condition and suspected fleas as he was scratching horrendously. Sooooo friendly, came bounding up to me, tongue lolling out and tail wagging, and promptly sat down for ear scratches. He bounded off again (wouldn’t keep still for me to hold on to) and kept approaching lots of other commuters. He would wander and follow them to their cars. To my shock, everyone ignored him. One man tried to check for a collar, but upon seeing he didn’t have one, just walked off. He followed one lady to her car, she jumped in and reversed out of her parking space almost hitting him. I had to frantically wave and shout at her to stop otherwise she would have hit him. Clearly no one else was going to do anything, so I rang my usual vets for advice. They gave me the number for the local RSPCA centre. After 15 minutes on hold I finally got through to a guy who asked if the animal was hurt, I said I wasn’t certain but I didn’t think so, so he said well we can’t do anything, we could only come and get him if he is hurt (that’s after 15 minutes on hold listening to them offer assistance for lost or found animals). I was so angry but clearly not going to get anywhere. He offered no advice whatsoever. He said he could give me a local council number but they’d be closed and the nearest one open that he had was the Gold Coast. I rang off and decided to call our local police station. The dog was a hazard – he had almost been hit by vehicles and at one stage had jumped onto the train tracks. After again “please select option blah blah blah” and sitting on hold, I got through. I was told that they are extremely short staffed, had no available cars and they wouldn’t be able to send someone out, and that actually, they were Petrie Police Station and Narangba isn’t in their jurisdiction (10 minutes drive apart). He asked if I could take the dog home, to which I explained , no we already have a max of two dogs, one of which is fear aggressive of other dogs. He then offered me the number of Moreton Bay Council animal department. I said not only did I not have a pen on me but I was almost out of credit on my mobile. He said he’d ask someone to call me. 10/15 minutes later they did and said the ranger was on his way, had been given my details and that he’d call if going to be delayed. Phew! Sigh of relief. In the meantime, two vile teenagers turned up shouting “hey, you found our dog”. I explained the ranger was on his way – they would need to speak to him because: a. The dog had no licence. b. He was entire c. He was neglected and in poor condition, with a large lump on his stomach d. Was abandoned by them at the station (they admitted) whilst they caught a train to see friend and then came back and hour later The kids went on to explain that a friend of theirs had found the dog two weeks ago, but decided he didn’t want to keep it anymore and so had left it with them. They had no money to feed or care for it and didn’t see overly fussed about doing so. As they stated “they ain’t paying any money for it”. By now, almost two hours have passed of standing at the train station, in the dark, our own dogs at home alone. I decided to retrieve the rangers number and find out how much longer he thought he’d be. I explained to him about the kids turning up, and his response was “well, I’m going to be quite a while so you may as well just let them take the dog”. It turns out the ranger wasn’t even on his way and hadn’t even been given my name and number, just told a stray dog was at the train station. I explained the condition of the dog and he said well if I come and get it he is just going to be put down anyway. I asked what about the fact that the dog isn’t licensed, he said, oh well, we’ll catch up with them eventually. I said, but the kids can’t afford to look after him, get him registered, desexed,any vet care or anything and he said well if they say the dog is theirs, there is nothing legally we can do and we should let the kids take him. I walked away in tears. What the hell has happened to the world? When did people become so cold and uncaring? More importantly, how did the very people who are meant to care about animals welfare and are even PAID to assist, not give a rats ass. I’m devastated and I know in my heart that dog is not going to have a happy ending...... Can anyone tell me what else I should have done?

Better to avoid it in the first place. If you know a fight may break out in a certain situation I think it's a good idea to keep them split up in that situation so they can't argue. Would one be comfortable in another room while meals are being prepared? Crates are a good, safe way of keeping everyone out of each other's faces. Possibly, but that's not to say that is why the fight broke out. Might just have been the smell of the raw because it smells good, or it could have been something unrelated, even. Who knows? Presumably other people might know the answer to that. I've seen it happen once after 2 years of social harmony. Don't rush to put your feelings onto her, I think. Wait for her to tell you if she needs her confidence restored. If you think she does, it would depend on how she was behaving as to what you might do. Probably a professional would be able to give the best advice on that. Absolutely. Now I know there might be an issue, definitely feeding in separate rooms, however I think I preparing whilst in separate room would be a great idea Jessie seems ok (probably just me fussing) she is snoozing on her bed.I'm probably more upset than she is!

Different breeds, different needs but a loud noise (drop a pot next to them) will often work. If not, go straight to intervention, one person grab each dog by the backlegs and lift up. Yours are Bassets aren't they? In this case, perhaps lifting by the backlegs could be a bad idea. Tipping a bowl of water over their heads helps for many breeds. Physically dragging dogs away from each other can often make a small bite into a long tear if one dog has hold of the other. Do NOT put your hands anywhere near their teeth! IMO - no. Does it take Fred longer to finish his raw food - if so, definitely feed them apart in separate areas. Yes - except it won't be out of the blue - there will have been something that you have missed which started it. I would just let her interact with Fred without any food or toys being present, no favouritism, no making them come together for group cuddles. She is much older than him isn't she? If so, I would have a full physical, dogs will sometimes get very touchy with each other if one is unwell or ''failing'' Have a shot of something yourself, or hot tea if you must - a fight is always a good way to get the heart rate up Thanks Sandra It all happened so quickly I didn't have chance to think of what to do! But definitely going to be more prepared in the future! I think the loud noise would definitely work with my two. To break them from certain antics I clap my hands and that seems to work. I didn't think they'd be "smart" enough to distinguish they were getting different food but OH seems convinced. Its not like one was being fed and the other wasn't? But there was lots of noses in the air sniffing. Definitely takes Fred longer cos atm he is getting raw bones etc, so definitely going to continue with separate rooms for feeding. At a loss as to what I've missed. although I'm learning so much all the time. Can't say there has been anything that sticks out, apart from the fact Jessie attacked another dog completely out of the blue last weekend (have already posted re it and awaiting blood tests to see if underlying illness or if I need to get a behaviourist). Very odd behaviour for her and it was Fred (the basset) that instigated it tonight). Jessie is a senior at twelve (you've got a good memory!) went to see the vets at the weekend and the vet is concerned with her back legs. Very stiff and she seems uncomfortable. Could she be giving off a "cranky" vibe even though she didn't start the tussle tonight? Lol. Just sitting with a glass of wine.

Hey everyone, As some may know I have been on Dol recently getting advice for improving Fred's diet. We had previously tried raw diets for Fred and Jessie, but it did not agree with Jess (she was being sick) and at 12 years of age we decided to leave her diet as it is. She is happy and healthy. However, Freds itching has spiralled out of control. So, after a weekend of shopping for bones and raw food we fed the new food to Fred yesterday and jess had her usual. All good. Same this morning, all good. Then tonight, we went to prepare the food and the next thing we know, the dogs are attacking each other Thankfully neither were hurt bar a tiny scratch on Jessie's nose, but I have a few questions. 1. When this happens, how do you stop the fight? OH physically stopped it - too physically if you ask me. 2. Are Fred and Jessie smart enough to realise they were being fed different meals and each or one wanted what the other was having? We were feeding approx 2 metres apart but after the fight we fed them in separate rooms. 3. Is it more common than I realised for two dogs that have lived happily together for 17 months to out of the blue have a fight like this? 4. Lastly, what can I do to help restore Jessies confidence. She was attacked by another dog at the vets one month ago, and now this, I just cry thinking about how confused she must be. Thanks

Whole fish such as whatever you can buy and whatever is a sensible price for you Yep - bones and all. Personally if I had a dog with issues I'd use a white fish rather than an oily one but as you boy's fine with canned sardines (isn't he?) that shouldn't be a worry. Anything raw (so not smoked fish) is fine. Mine don't like salmon heads (too many eyes mummy ) but many do. Egg - raw and the whole thing including the shell. Stick the dog outside and hand him the egg - great entertainment for people and dog. Can't help with the sweet potato/pumpkin, I don't use it - but I'd say at a guess cooked and mashed would help fill the gap (which is all it's for) Entire raw egg including shell ;) What is it that is so good for them in an egg?

Roo bones (meat on for preference) and whole fish if you've decided to go with the roo & fish. The thing is dogs can't break down the cell walls in vege so unless it's crushed for them they can get very little out of it, which is why people say pureed. I know some vege cell walls break down when cooked but I couldn't even begin to figure out which ones. Basically 2% of his body weight per day is about the right amount of food and it doesn't have to include any starches/carbs if you don't want it to. Personally I'd ditch the pasta/rice/grains immediately and if you really want to "bulk up" his meals - not that a roo tail needs all that much bulking - then give him sweet potato or pumpkin but you just never know, it could be the vege causing the problem if it's not a new thing to him. Give him bones of a type that he can consume completely so this all depends on the dog. Yep, what Sandra said Try roo tail or roo spine bones and (if your dog will eat it) whole fish. If you need to feed canned fish then sardines and mackeral are your best bet. Roo is pretty lean so you can get away with feeding a bit more than some other meats. If this were my dog I would try something along the lines of; roo tail or whole fish for breakfast (around 40-50% of daily allowance), then for dinner roo meat or fish (40% of daily allowance) with pureed raw veg (approx 10-20% of daily allowance) -say pumpkin/sweet potato mix to start with, then perhaps add a bit of greens as you go, one thing at a time. If he was acting like he was starving I'd up the veg so that he feels a bit fuller. I'd then look at adding things like natural yogurt and perhaps some omega oil after a few weeks to see if he tollerates them, maybe some offal or eggs too (again- one at a time and slowly). Then if that's all good start with other meats -one week at a time- to work out where your issue is. Just my 2 cents worth. Thank you Sorry - more questions ;) - whole fish? Such as? and what about the bones? The sweet potato or pumpkin - does that need to be pureed or cook? And lastly, the egg - is that raw and both the white and yolk?

Roo bones (meat on for preference) and whole fish if you've decided to go with the roo & fish. The thing is dogs can't break down the cell walls in vege so unless it's crushed for them they can get very little out of it, which is why people say pureed. I know some vege cell walls break down when cooked but I couldn't even begin to figure out which ones. Basically 2% of his body weight per day is about the right amount of food and it doesn't have to include any starches/carbs if you don't want it to. Personally I'd ditch the pasta/rice/grains immediately and if you really want to "bulk up" his meals - not that a roo tail needs all that much bulking - then give him sweet potato or pumpkin but you just never know, it could be the vege causing the problem if it's not a new thing to him. Give him bones of a type that he can consume completely so this all depends on the dog. Thanks Sandra, that was really helpful

I wouldn't give rice or pasta on an elimination diet. Grains themselves could be the cause of his itchiness. And I could be wrong (I've never done one) but isn't the idea to introduce a novel protein source for a period of time (at least a week or two) then to add in one new thing at a time (slowly) to work at what is causing the problem? I would think that if you've only been feeding it for 5 days that you should only be feeding ONE protein source -ie roo + perhaps 1 bland filler -ie sweet potato or pumpkin. Why do you feel that you need to bulk up the diet at all though Is your dog over-weight or used to having larger meals than what you are feeding? If his weight is good and the meal sizes are okay then I'd simply be feeding meat and bones for now (single protein source if it's an elimination diet) and perhaps adding a small amount of pureed veg if needed for fibre (starting with only one or two types of veg at the most for now, you can increase the variety later on if you need to/want to) Hiya, It said to stop all beef,chicken and lamb and use one or two novel ones as the meat in his meals (Fred has never been fed roo or fish) and then after three weeks to reintroduce the usual meats one by one to see which could be the problem. I guess I felt the need to bulk because at the moment it looks like mostly what he is getting is just veggies – he must be starving! I’ve been alternating between a tin of tuna or roo mince to go with the veggies and pasta and it seems so very little? Fred is definitely a good weight – no excess at all. What should I be feeding in terms of meat and bones if I need to avoid beef/chicken and lamb for now? And sorry if it seems a silly question, but I’ve noticed a lot of people state pureed veg – why pureed? Not just raw or cooked? Any advice would be appreciated

I'm so glad of this post - it couldn't have come at a better time! My two have always done well on tinned and kibble, about 7 months ago I tried improving their diet (chicken necks, fresh bones / meat etc) but it didn't agree with Jessie and we resorted back to the usual. However, Fred the bassets skin has taken turn for the worse. He is constantly itchy. So I decided to leave Jess on what works (she is 12) but I am revamping Fred's diet. I found an "elimination diet" online and thought I'd give it a go to see if possible its a food allergy thats making him itchy, but I think I might be getting it wrong now! It stated to cut out the typical meats (Beef, chicken, and lamb) and to introduce roo and fish. Then to bulk up the meal with fruit, lots of veggies and small amounts of pasta / grains. I've only been doing this 5 days so too early to notice a difference but I'm wondering if I should be giving pasta or rice at all? And if I don't what do I bulk his meal up with? He is 27kg and eats a fair amount and now I feel stumped for food that will fit in with this trial?

Thanks everyone. Have decided to get a vets opinion / tests first before going down the behaviourist avenue as suggested. It was so incredibly out of character, I'm more convinced there is perhaps an underlying reason

Question: Can dogs become more dog aggressive with old age? Or, can a dog become dog aggressive after being attacked by another dog? The reason I ask is Jessie is 12 and yesterday, completely out of the blue (or so it seemed to me) out on our walk, she yanked her lead from my OH’s hand, pegged it across the street and threw herself at a staffy. She had it by its neck and had to be pulled off by OH. Its completely out of character and really scared me. Jessie is not only old, but one of the sweetest dogs I have ever met. Previously she has barked at other dogs but her tail was always wagging and I just assumed she wanted to play? Have I got this seriously wrong? Then about 3 weeks ago we had to take her and Fred to the vets and upon leaving, a beagle attacked her. He nipped her a few times but no blood and she gave out as good as she got. Either way, we are seeking a behaviourist / trainer to help us, but I was just wondering what could have caused this sudden change?