Akay

;) they are animals- not machines.. so they have all the wonderful and not-so-wonderful attributes ! Are all dogs animals or are some machines? I think mine might be a machine, how do you tell the difference?

Both Urine Free and Urine Off work extremely well. We had a puppy that made a mess of my bother's room because my brother wasn't noticing him coming in and weeing (don't ask) and it absolutely stank and I thought I'd have to replace the carpet. I sprayed it thoroughly with Urine off and the smell has now permanently been removed from the carpet and the underlay. I have also used both products on the outdoor area where my dogs wee when it's raining and it worked on that too. It's a pebbly concrete. I used Urine Free on very old stains as well and it either removed or lightened the yellow wee stain on the cream carpet. I did this after I steam cleaned as the steam cleaning didn't get rid of the wee stains.

Thanks for this info oakway. Much appreciated.

If the quote is from Melbourne to Adelaide that sounds like it could be high. If it's from Ballarat it's probably an ok price. I flew my 20kg dog from Broome to Brisbane unaccompanied late last year and it cost around $600 through jet pets. When I flew him from Brisbane to Broome early last year I lodged him at AAE myself (in a crate hired from dogtainers), at both Brisbane and Perth airports(I stopped overnight at Perth). I think you're best off phoning them yourself as I noticed one other time someone was asking about tranportation there were people on here stating things that were contradictory to my own experiences and the information given on the Qantas website. ETA: If your quote is from Ballarat (ie. car transportation from Ballarat to Melbourne airport) then it would cost quite a bit because when I hired dogtainers to drive my dog to Brisbane airport it cost $60 and we only live around 10ks from the airport.

awww she's so cute!! Willow suits her perfectly.

Is really is that simple. I got 6kgs off my dog by feeding him 2.5% of his goal weight. The only snacks I gave was a small liver treat or some carrot. I feed him raw: roo (low in fat) and a vege/cereal mix (vets all natural).

This was my thinking too. I'm sure on their bottle it says that it's no harsher than putting water on your hair (I have some in the cupboard I'm too lazy to look!). I was thinking of using it on my dog too as it's not doing well on my hair.

Yes, it's right to get that clear. I've also had trouble with a greedy dog and lamb flaps.

I agree, ridiculous. I never knew dogs had to have tags.... maybe it's time to update the act to get with the technology and state that dogs must have an identifier in the form of: a) tag b) microchip c) embroided on collar etc etc My dogs USED to have tags until the day the tag went through the gap on the seat of a chair from an outdoor setting and turned so it could not come back out and the dog was stuck. Wouldn't have been good if we weren't there, who knows what the dog would have done in fright (including trying to jump off the chair and potentially hanging itself). Now that I know the law I guess I could put a tag on for when we go out, but it doesn't help if they escape. That's why I think an amendment to the Act to get with the times is required.

If it were me I'd talk to her a bit, ask her his name, how old he is etc, then I'd ask something along the lines of whether he's having any troubles with his mobility yet. From this she'll either get what you mean or give you a look of "I don't know why you would ask that". And if I got that look I'd say "GSD's are prone to getting (whatever the disorder is) and it looks like (name of dog) has a touch of it". This should then lead into discussion about the signs he's exhibiting and then you can suggest that she get the dog to a vet for advice. People with knowledge about GSDs and this disorder/disease/syndrome might have better suggestions tho as I don't know much about the breed, I'm giving advice at an interpersonal conversation level :-)

You can't get an entire representation of dogs it's like TV and Radio ratings, you take a group of 1000 and there's an actual scientific calculation to determine these things. You can collect data that can be extrapolated to the entire population if it is collected from a random sample of that population. As Reverend Jo is saying, the sample of dogs in this study is not respresentative of all daschunds as it only samples those dogs that presented to the clinic, while excluding those that do not present. Therefore, these figures cannot be applied to the entire dachshund population. It may be possible, however, with a lot of time and effort to gain a more representative sample of the entire population, which enables researchers to make generalisations. You are right though, there are statistical calculations that help with this that tell you how big your sample needs to be and then there are calculations to determine whether certain findings are statistically significant or not.

Lamb necks are big and hard to get through so I don't think he'll try and swallow it. My dog is really greedy and gulps everything down but he takes a good half hour with a lamb neck. Where I get them they slice them down the middle.

Agree with lamb necks.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~No replies, I'll ask the vet next time I'm there ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

With regards to the Brisbane City council - In addition to restrictions on the times and length a dog can bark for, it is also stiputlated that it can also be considered a problem if the barking interferes with normal activity. For example, there's a dog near me that regularly barked throughout the night : 1am, 2am, 3am, 4am, 5am, 6am, so I was being woken up nearly every hour. The thing is, it was only barking for maybe a minute or two at a time (not the 3 minutes all the time), but because it was interfering with a normal activity (ie. my ability to sleep) it was deemed a nuisance and the council followed up on my complaint. The dog has been very well-behaved since the complaint. eta: I should say that the neighbours have been very well-behaved since my complaint!

I don't think you're giving up either. After my mum passed away last year I felt the need to have a companion dog. I brought home a puppy only a couple of months later and I just wasn't emotionally prepared for the stress that a pup causes. I have had a pup before and it did not feel like this, however, because I was grieving I just couldn't handle the stress of having something relying on me. I was not in the right frame of mind to give so much, I needed a dog to give a bit to me. I felt so guilty, ashamed, embarassed and I cried a lot. It didn't help when I explained the situation to the breeder just as I have done here and she gave me a lecture about how she doesn't like her dogs being shunted from home to home, she didn't even acknowledge what I had said about my mother. To this day I just can't understand how someone can be so lacking in empathy and compassion. Her reaction would have been the same if I had just said that I was fickle and just didn't like the pup. Anyway, I ended up getting a 9 year old rescue Cavalier and not once after I brought him home did I wonder if I had done the right thing. He is perfect for me. He has fit in so well, he's loving and affectionate, just what I needed. I thought at the time that the puppy was for me, but it just didn't work out. It's not until I got the Cav that I realised that this was the dog for me because everything was perfect. The point I'm trying to make, which is similar to what poodlefan said above, is that if the dog was right for you, you wouldn't be having these problems. When you get the dog that's right for you, it'll all be so easy. Please also don't underestimate the anxiety you might be feeling about your partner going to Afghanistan and how it might be making the situation worse, especially with how you are feeling emotionally. I think the pup will love being with this elderly couple. It's good that you get to meet them so you'll know how wonderful Harper's life will be. I think you should get another dog, you recognised you needed a companion and that hasn't changed. You just need the right dog and I do think this would be an older dog that suits your living situation better. You have not failed as a carer, you have not failed Harper, it's just not the right time for a pup.

I do have an issue with Staffies, but I do think it's founded where I live because there are a lot of rough bogans in my area who tend to keep them. If I was in a better area Staffies wouldn't be a problem as I've met some beautiful dogs that have been kept by lovely families. It's a real shame that rough men are attracted to them moreso than other breeds.

I have a chronically itchy dog and i have tried many, many shampoos, which just seemed to make him itchier. The best response I've had was the Vets All Natural Shampoo (completely free of chemicals). This helped his skin a lot. What seemed to help it the most was some Goats Milk Baby wash that I bought from Billy Goat Soap! Awesome. Apparently it puts a coating on the skin so helps with contact allergies. Even if that's not right it worked a treat.

You can get Vets All Natural Joint Guard and it is cheaper than sasha's blend and it does the same job. I get mine from Vet n Pet Direct. It's $48.50 for 500gs, which is a lot cheaper than the other two I see that are around $48 for only 250grams.

If you have a pet cafe near you buy their meal for pets... it's the vets all natural complete mix and roo mince. I also think that Pet Barn sells the vets all natural pre-mixed with roo meat as well.

We had two dogs PTS last year. The first one, Benny, was really quick, the vet had no problem with the veins. The second dog, Bronte, had right and left side heart failure and he went downhill extremely quickly. We had booked the vet to come to our house that afternoon to put him to sleep, but in the morning when he fell over and pooed himself we rushed him down because we knew he didn't have long and we wanted him to be out of his discomfort asap. The vet had a lot of trouble finding a good vein and because his blood pressure was so low due to the heart failure the fluid wasn't being taken up. I'm sure it took 10+ minutes, it was so very difficult to experience. The only thing that made it bearable was that the vet was very, very gentle and he aplogised and told us the problems he was experiencing. He looked very sad and disappointed himself having it take so long. Little Bronte was not at all upset with it as he seemed to be lying there quite comfortably. The vet was so gentle and didn't force anything. I do think if you have a very sick dog where there might be blood pressure issues then people should be prepared for it not going as smoothly as you would like :-(

x1

Qantass better update their website then! From the website: Animals that must be sent as freight to or from these airports: Pets are not permitted in the passenger terminals of the following airports either for departure or arrival: Adelaide, Alice Springs, Cairns, Canberra, Darwin, Gove, Hobart, Karratha, Perth, Port Hedland and Townsville. All permitted pets must be lodged at the Australian air Express freight terminal and you will be required to pay the applicable rate for the carriage of the pet. When pets are travelling to any of these destinations they must be collected from the freight terminal at the arrival destination. Contact Australian Air Express(AaE)* for information.

Have a read of this link Huski: http://www.qantas.com.au/travel/airlines/t...-pets/global/en

[Things Huski is Curious About: - What is the best airline to fly on when traveling with a dog? I've always flown Qantas and never had a problem. - How do I go about hiring an airline crate, I don't want to buy one as I won't use it enough You can hire from Dogtainers, when I flew from from brisbane I just went out the day before to dogtainers and picked up a crate. If you need to catch a cab, they can also come and pick the dog up and take it to the airport - If it's really cold when you are flying them, can you put them in a jumper or that not recommended/allowed? I don't think I would put them in a jumper. They may spend some time on the tarmac and if it's a warm day there could be issues. Something could happen with the plane and the airconditioning may not be working..... as far as I know it doesn't get any cooler or warmer than the cabin. - Assuming they fly without a collar on, do you take their collar and leash with you in your carry on luggage? I think mine flew with a collar on, i don't remember taking it off. But I definitely took the lead in my carry on luggage. - When flying with your dog, what doggy things do you pack to take away with you? Just the usual stuff they need on a daily basis - If you are flying with your dog, is it correct that they are classed as excess baggage? Does this mean you can still take a suitcase with you? You can still take a suitcase. I think that both sydney and Brisbane airports don't allow dogs in the terminal so you'll have to book through Australian air express and you'll have to drop the dog off there and pick them up there. The AAE offices are usually near the terminal. SORRY: CORRECTION HERE, I GAVE OUT THE WRONG INFO. DOGS ARE ALLOWED IN THE TERMINALS AT SYDNEY AND MELBOURNE, I JUST CHECKED. WHEN I WENT FROM BRIS I HAD TO USE AAE, BUT IT WAS BECAUSE I WAS GOING VIA PERTH AND THEY WON'T ALLOW DOGS. - Can you bring bedding to put in the crate with them? I don't want her sitting in a hard crate with no softness to sit on Yep, I put a small mat in the crate with mine. If you're worried about dehydration you can also get a water bottle and freeze it overnight and attach it to the cage the next morning with one of those ties. It can't be loose in the cage.