mackiemad

towards burwood, near i think it's deakin uni there is the gardiners creek walking track (well it goes from toorak rd/monash intersection and just continues along gardiners). there is some nice bushy bits, some water that isn't too fast flowing like the resk of the channel and nice some spots around there, especially in gardiners reserve... so that was pretty non-helpful of me huh? ok, asked a family member - we think the reserve is closer to high street road (stupidest street name ever) than deakin/burwood hwy.

i often tell people who i meet with mini schanuzer's that theirs are too fat. (although i often ask if it is an older dog because it is carrying a few extra kgs, rather than pointing it out in a very direct manner) mine is lean, muscley, has a waist even with his coat and i can feel/count his ribs (though one can't see them). just because you buy a breed that isn't a working breed it doesn't mean they should be tubs of lard on legs. it makes me quite irate and i see it as cruelty to have an obese dog, after all, you are shortening it's life by allowing it to carry so much extra weight... i long since gave up trying to convince many labrador owner's that their dog is overweight, it doesn't help and they won't change their dog's exercise (or lack of it usually!) or diet.

i agree with molasseslass. call your council and not necessarily complain but mention the the neighbour has installed the device, and that you've asked him to turn it down but it hasn't solved the fact that your dog and the other neighbour's dogs bark at it and it distresses them. just be honest and say that your own dog's barking is frustrating you, that you are trying to deal with the situation but that you are worried for your other dog-free neighbours having to put up with the noise nd frustration. it sounds like an untenable situation and that someone has to give. calling the council and bringing it to their attention hopefully means that it won't be you who is the one to 'give' so to speak...

yeah schnauzer's can be barky/guardy. and yes standard schnauzers need secure boundaries and strong leadership - cos they're smart! but they are fab with kids (well all the ones i've known are) and they can be such fab dogs - really funny and really loving and loyal. they won't want to go home with anyone else at the dog park, but then i like that about them! lots of training involving the kids and they'll have a great dog for many years after all, you haven't experienced love until you've had beardy kisses!

lol! what a character dylan is! do pepper and tango sometimes join in his singing?

fantastic to hear your troupe is getting along well! and it think it is amazing how far along tango is coming, you must be chuffed to bits! as for rolling in unmentionables. my little mini schnauzer boy enjoys rolling in dead possums etc when he can find the,. but where we go some teenage boys occasionally hang out at night and, well... my boy loves rolling in their human poop parcels they sometimes leave about. :D

no it isn't giraffez. and there are a few threads on this food in the nutrition/health section- do a search and you'll find out a lot more. i was skeptical about this food, i have since trialled it with my mini schnauzer who has an intolerance (not allergy) to corn and who can be quite itchy and has a sensitive stomach. i have just ordered a 5kg bag of it so i'm obviously happy with it...

i'm happy to pay $65 for my mini schnauzer to be clipped to exactly how i like him. there are other places in my area that charge $60 but they decide what they want to do with his tail and they scissor off his moustache in a choppy way. i love my groomers, especially as my dog has a real fear of water. whilst i don't think he enjoys the groomers i trust these people and they actually know what they're doing, they take pride in their work and always tell me how he was and how his coat and ears are looking to them when i pick him up. so i reckon $50 for a clip, scissor, wash, blow-dry, ear pluck, nail clip and general skills that you provide i an absolute bargain! i tried doing my boy myself once, got hair everywhere and it was hell. i hated it with a passion. i love brushing him, i don't mind bathing him but clipping and scissoring was not fun so i'd prefer to pay someone to do it. it is a hard job and i don't envy you guys AT ALL!

spotted devil, i was about to say the same thing! pressure/release has brought some very negative training mehtods in the horse industries. in racing the use of the whip is under review but perhaps even more pressing is the issue of rollkur in dressage (or any flatwork with a horse), i suspect that rollkur and equine issues will feature more heavily in the training debate rather than canine methods and issues. also the use of spurs - well not the use of them but the increasing reliance on them, rather than using them as a back up to the forward aide of the calf. all to do with pressure/release being used wrongly. i could of course be completely wrong, but given the suspected psychological and known physical issues that arise from rollkur and its popularity due to some very well known international riders i think it is a fair assumption to think any discussion would be equine focussed...

there is some serious variation between the spaniels and the schnauzer. i have a mini schanuzer and though he will take as much exercise as i can give him, if i skip a day he is ok. i don't think, with the spaniel's you've selected being more drivey, that they would be ok to miss some exercise and may want more challenging mental stimulation. as a rule of thumb spaniels are more social with everything and everyone and schnauzers are slightly more reserved and tend to be more in love with their own people, if that makes sense? well, from my experience anyway. but on my mini, well i love him. he is good with other dogs, but will never be as social as most spaniels i've met because he is more focussed on his people. similarly he is a good alert dog, and he does bark, though he barks less than other mini schnauzers i've known. for a family environment i think the mini schanuzer is fab, ours adores our cats, and gets along with the young children in the extended family fine. he wants to be involved in everything we do, and if you socialise one well then they can be. he was very easy to train for toilet training and basic obedience and he loved the go at agility we did. you have to like grooming though, around this time of year when the grass seeds and burrs really get through his coat. and mine, though he has a kennel he uses, is an inside dog and i don't imagine he would cope being an outside dog at all. hope that helps, though more info on your family situation and lifestyle will elicit more detailed and helpful responses i imagine!

say yes to next time and then when you arrive sans dog say you were coming from somewhere and so couldn't bring the dog, somethig so it sounds like it was just not an option for whatever reason. if do that kind of thing enough times and you might be on good enough terms to try and educate them and help them out with their dogs a bit later on down the track?

for those that use/feed ACV, do you use the regular stuff from the supermarket or do you use the untreated stuff that one buys from health food stores and herbalists? i'm not sure if my dog will like it, but i'll give it a go. i certainly mix it in with all my horses and ponies feeds...and yet i never thought about it for dogs before, except as an arthirtis preventative when they're older!

poodlefan: i think corvus just meant 'good home' in the respect that they'd taken a lot of time to socialise and train the dog throughout it's life. not that it was a 'good home' and therefore deserved a good dog, hence why the animal was well behaved. and corvus did say in the first post it may be because it was 12 that it was a bit more mellow... keisha: it kind of sounds like what you really want is an aussie. if that is the case, then you can find one with lower drive and one that will suit you i would think by just having a good relationship with the breeder? ...unless i'm mistaken about the breed, and having only met a few and never owned one, this is a real possibility!

um, you're forgetting the piccies! congratulations on adding another wonderful addition to your family!

well, my boy has been on it (mixed in with his old pro plan sensitive) for a couple of days and i've never seen him so into his food. licking the bowl clean every night -and he isn't that food motivated. so far no issues on the other end either... though i am corssing my fingers cos he can be difficult. and i'm hoping that if i feed it long term he may be less suceptible to ear infections? so after my questions and scepticism i think i may be a convert cos my boy is loving it! but for a small dog i think the 20kg bag may be a bit too much for one purchase! 5 kg would be perfect - looking forward to them producing that sized bag!

my mini schnauzer gets itchy for a couple of days after he's clipped. and he is done every 3 months or so. it isn't their shampoo because they've changed it a few times to try and test if that is the cause. it doesn't seem to be the doggy cologne they can sometimes put on as they don't put it on him anymore at my ask. we are at a loss as to what causes his itching but for the three/four days after a clip he is an itchy little man! he gets plenty of oils and fish, his coat is fine, not dry or flakey...he just gets itchy for a couple of days? i think the price is very reasonable SnF. i pay around $65 every three months for a wash, nails, breed-specific clip, ears, scissoring etc for a small(ish, he's on the big side of the breed standard) dog.

could you put him down as a wire haired foxy cross? sounds like that may fit a bit better than an aussie terrier?

i second the tenterfield terrier but will also say perhaps a mini schnauzer? all mini schnauzer's that i've known are fab with kids and they are really companion dogs (though ratting is rad in their books too) and although i have a bigger one, many are quite small. but i'm not sure if they are lumped in with the poodles and the like because they need attention with their coat (though i only brush mine once a week, and get the burrs etc out of his coat most nights when he is on my lap). they can bark, but mine only barks when someone rings the doorbell

an animal is property under the eyes of the law. so if someone is allowed to photograph your car without notifying you then they can photograph your animal as well. whether or not they can do that i don't know - but 'thing' here should be replaced by 'property'. i imagine they can however. personally i don't have much of an issue with that, if you think they are dodgy and taking pics in order to steal then notify your police.

are they beautiful lilac burmese? :D they have lovely eyes and i love the pic of her stretching next to the lion! i currently have a red - i had a lilac as a child/teen but she was stolen (some people ) so treasure them- burmese really are the most awesome cats!

if my boy poops in the yard/garden then i know he isn't feeling well. he poops on walks and whatnot - saves them up for when he is off our property. something i personally appreciate! so the only time he poops in the yard is if he is feeling awful and usually that is if he is scouring for some reason (food intolerances). the cats however... the litter tray or on any bit of greenery or dirt or even in the middle of the garden path! *sigh*

very cute! love his spotty tongue!

i've always thought that a healthy dog's gut should be able to deal with bugs like salmonella. after all they are designed to eat food after burying it for a couple of days/weeks/months! but i've never gone out of my way to dis/prove that... i forgot to mention that i always keep a few tins of natures gift handy. if my boy is constipated then he gets a small tin with his dry mixed in-also if he isn't fond of eating in the hot weather cos the smell entices him.

not in vic. they get a certain amount of money that is put towards running the inspectorate - so cars, petrol etc the rest of their money is from public donations. and aside from the obvious fact that many of the dogs seem unconnected to each other in the video and the vid is from the uk: of course healthy dogs get put down in the RSPCA. some aren't suitable (agressive, seriously anxious/fearful, poorly trained 'guard dogs') and some sit in adoptions waiting for families that never come. sometimes because they are working breed or because they have behaviour problems like howling and escaping which ended them in there in the first place. if that stresses you out then you really don't want to know how many pet/stray/loose cats get destroyed. unless they are very smoochy and pretty and young they have pretty much no chance, even when they are given plenty of time, people don't want them. (yes i am connected to the rspca vic. i have said that before, i say it again. i am always upfront about that.)

my boy gets about 70 grams of tripe/offal/butcher's scraps or meat/sardines/ or a raw egg with half a cup of pro plan sensitive in the evening. unless he he gets training treats during the day in which case the kibble is reduced. if he gets a RMB (usually chicken, turkey or roo) during the day (3-4 times per week) then he only gets the kibble in the evening. he does however tend to 'clean up' after the cats if they don't finish their dinner within half and hour. they get canned fish (usually tuna) and half/half nutrience senior and original kibble. oh and when he visits the horses he consumes as much old horse poo and horse hoof trimmings as his stomach will allow. the fresh horse poo is more important for rolling in than eating...he doesn't visit the horses much anymore!