Muttaburra

It's a nice thought Chewy, I know how much you helped with the fires in Vic, you do have a big heart. I understand the arguments too about questioning of putting it under the dogzonline umbrella and if that is appropriate. A very delicate situation. Does sound like adding on to an existing fundraiser might be the way to go, if anyone has a link.

Of course a 4 or 5 year old child (beyond (below) the age of reason) is going to respond with primal fear to a threat, pretty scary for anyone. All of this raises so many issues for me. Apparently, according to the mother of the tragically deceased child, she called for help from the dog's owners, to no avail, they did not physically intervene. IMO, you have these dogs, you have to be prepared to jump in at anytime. My question here is about the greatly revered quality "gameness" of certain breeds. Please get a grip, humans bred these dogs, oh yes for "gameness", but please ask yourself how far removed from nature is a concentrated "gameness", and isn't it just a human created quality that neither a wild canine or a domesticated dog would not normally possess, but for human meddling and interference in the breeding of dogs. Sorry folks, I am totally over it. Victoria is the home state of hunters, it's just a weekend sport for many amateurs, with their half-baked bred hunting dogs, (and many dogs deemed to be failures dumped in pounds and local shelters, many of which end up on death row,) oh how noble and courageous these animal abusers are.! the hunters. Every animal wild or domestic has a natural instinct for it's own self preservation, humans have intervened with the breeding of dogs to create certain dogs that lacks these instincts, this is a product of human ego, and yes as in the above quoted post, perhaps due to some kind of perception of a lack of self esteem. Something that I am tired of is the advocates of certain breeds who rail against the laws, but do nothing at all to tackle the low-life scum that give their favoured dog breed and exceeding bad name. Come on brave breed advocates, show your true mettle and take it to the streets. Professional (licensed) hunters are few and far between, so please don't use that as an argument, according these kind of hunters they are meticulously responsible.

Also in case it hasn't been mentioned, you might purchase a "show quality" pup, and to the best of the breeders knowledge the pup will turn out to be a good example of the breed. There is no guarantee though, and sometimes gumpy pups turn out to be better examples of the breed, while one carefully assessed when young to be "better" is not quite as good. I would imagine the showing process, training and presenting of a dog would provide some opportunity to see how the dog measures up in terms of response to training, and how well it ultimately conforms to the breed standard, etc. etc. Then if you decide to go on to breed your dog or bitch, you will have a good idea of what you might be aiming for in outcome according to your own aesthetics. Being involved in the dog show world also provides opportunity for mentoring and hopefully some good advice about pedigrees and lines that would produce favourable offspring for the dog/bitch which you choose to breed.

Follow the vets instructions, and give it time. You may need more anti-inflammatory medication if no improvement towards the end of one week. Resting really means resting and sometimes people crate their dogs in this situation. Soft tissue is cartilage, tendons and ligaments, all have a role to play in stabalising bone joints. The are diet supplements that can support cartilage. As for cause, sometimes like old human athletes, wear, tear and knocks to the joint will show up as arthritis when a dog gets old. Other things are weakening of the ligaments, again an issue with age and lower hormone levels. A weak ligament on one side of a joint will cause it to not stay fully located in the socket or groove and start to cause pain that way. If after the week there is no improvement at all, the vet might recommend x-rays to rule out other causes of the pain. Here are some useful pictures of dog shoulder. If it feels anything like my old knee joints, your dog is in quite a bit of pain, and should not be stepping up or down for as long as the vet says to rest it. Dog Shoulder Image Link The ramp sound like a good idea. Hope it gets better soon

Would rather see New York City spend all that money cleaning up its filthy restaurants and stop killing all the dogs in some of the pounds first. http://www.facebook.com/StopTheSlaughterAtNYCACC And interestingly they weren't the first think of DNA dog poo testing! Another low re-homing "shelter", Managing Director, Dr Graeme Smith, OAM, also had a preoccupation with the subject of DNA testing Dog Poo. Dog Poo Thing in Victoria full document Extract from above link

Wow, very fast too!

I have mixed feelings about this. Serial fence jumpers and escapees often get themselves in tight situations and are the kind of dogs most vulnerable to collar strangulation fatalities. Even when I leave my dogs in the car (in sheltered underground car parks) I unclip thier collars in case they catch it on something. Usually they are all curled up on the seats, but sometimes one has moved to the back seat so you don't know what they will get up to. There are break-free collars, but I don't know how fail safe they are. Anyway, maybe I will wait for a nano implantable version of a GPS trackable chip.

That kind of cough is one of the symptoms that Vets use to form a kk diagnosis.

Sorry don't know, you could also try some Manuka honey, can help lessen the bacterial load in the throat. Not as a cure but as support to whatever treatment vet is giving. Usually antibiotics.

Absolutely!

Claims that some "breeds" of dogs are hypoallergenic have been challenged by a new study. Certainly less shedding makes for lower volume of allergens, however it appears that the allergy is not to the fur. Link

It's a Staffy, it loves people, but not necessarily other animals. Best build a fox, other animal fence around your delicate areas. Management is the name of the game. Fox proof, - feral dog proof, be safe. Love the staffies but respect them.

I have a choice. My dog's don't. If I had to go without to pay for their care, I would do so. It's not always the ideal, hopefully we do our best, we take on the responsibility, of our animals, and in a perfect and functional world we follow it through. Let's pray for that.

Far from ideal, but sound like this poor soul needs some help, good luck to all concerned.

What's your question?

Calm down. Shore up your fences. Take it from there.

Breeding stock, doesn't worry me at all. As others have said, perhaps the template had a header labelled "products". Relax, find out the details and get back to here. Great to see you are vigilant about the terminology regarding dogs, "the price of freedom is eternal vigilance" I hope this is just what it seems, web based pigeon holing, nothing more.

My family is much the same, shaking their heads when I got 2 dogs, about vet bills etc. They have cost me little compared to what they give me. Anyway regards diet and "hunger". You could try bulking up their meals with pumkin, lots of fibre and few calories, very cheap too. Baked is good, gives more flavour. Also I found that processed bran was a good addition for hungry dogs needing less calories. Fills them up and is cheap. Perhaps remind those close to you, the way you care for your dogs and look after them, that you are a caring person and it is a sign that you will also care for your nearest and dearest if ever the time comes. It is hard with high rents to find affordable accommodation, if you can make it work where you are it is worth it. Parents will be parents, but maybe you have taken too many animals on in your situation? Are there other issues that haven't been discussed. Are the dogs causing some nuisance to your parents? Sometimes you have to have a thick skin. I hope you can communicate fully with those people you live with and negotiate a solution.

Here's a few links from my files saynotoanimalsinpetshops.com Say No To Animals In Pet Shops - ways to help petrescue.com.au abc.net.au story link www.news.com.au/heraldsun

It seems strange to me the complaint went to the RE, unless you are in a small country town, not everybody would know that you rent, or who the RE is. Anyway, sounds like malicious complaint. Ask the RE to take the name if they are contacted again, they don't need to disclose it to you, however they could check it against your information of the name of the person you think it is. Presumably they don't live that close to you, so shouldn't be bothered by your dogs?

Maybe he is becoming a hormonal teenager, hence other males will single him out, including your neighbours staffy especially with a female to guard, and other dogs will sense him too. If your dog is a Registered Pedigreed Purebred and you are keeping him entire in order to breed, you may need to make some compromises, build him a safe run and do a lot of extra training and socialisation with him. Having your dog desexed will help with hostilities from some other male dogs, but not all. This is a new phase so more training will be necessary, whether it is a behaviourist or general obedience in a group, depending on the severity, either can help. I have found "time out" to be very effective as you have discovered too, by putting him in laundry when he won't settle. That of course is a limited recourse, and the dog needs to be let out in 5 or ten minutes, and can't be locked away indefinitely as a solution. But if it works, keep it up.

I'm not going to dignify this sort of hyperbole with a response. Shooting the messenger rather than addressing the issue, typical of those insensitive to companion animal welfare. Working with a responsible surgeon capable of lots of procedures will do more for vets than one look and kill session at uni. Computer programmes exist to overcome these distasteful situations. Study them and learn. The Dr Mengele excuse that they were going to die anyway just doesn't cut it anymore. How we treat companion animals is a foretaste of how we treat each other. Is that another refugee camp we are building? Thank you. Don't forget Descartes. Often when folks say "this is the best way and the way it was always done" means it is the cheapest, least expensive and nobody has bothered to think outside the square. Particularly bothersome about the OP's post is the report of a lack of supervision. Supervised practical experience in real life situations, similar as to what is practiced in modern (human) Teaching Hospitals would be better, if perhaps more expensive and requiring a change in the Vet practice course.

Try a butcher that cuts his own meat/carcasses. Often in the freezer section you can find a choice of wild rabbit or raised meat rabbits. Maybe there was an underlying problem that was masked by the companionship and competitive eating while the other dog was with him. Whilst some dogs can be ok on the lean side, it is important that the dog eats and drinks reasonably well or other side-effects from non-eating can arise, such as kidney disease. Hope that you can isolate the cause on this. Perpaps you could try a hot water bottle or heat pad, or a warm fluffy toy for a while, if they slept together this might help.

I can't give a definitive answer on your particular dog with age considerations. However my own Jack Russell, a fairly long lived breed has in the last 12 months been boarded for short times with no obvious detriment. You could try and see how he goes for shorter periods before leaving him for the 3 weeks, or wait until your usual carers are again available. Suffice to say some kennels are better than others, do your research.

It would be a rare Staffy that is not really people friendly, so if your dog is people aggressive you have a big problem that will need a behaviourist and Vet assessment. There might be problems with dog aggression, especially if the Staffy regards the neighbouring property as part of it's territory. There is also the problem of a person getting injured trying to prevent their dog being attacked by yours. Many Terrier breeds prove to be houdini escape artists, determination and persistence is built into the breed, along with intelligence and curiousity and a desire to chase smaller animals. An enclosed dog run, some obedience training classes (local councils usually offer cheap ones) and socialisation under advisement from an experienced dog trainer, perhaps the one from obedience classes. No-one can really get away with not training a terrier breed of dog, also if escaping is a problem please ensure the dog is desexed.