aussielover

Apart from the shedding (whihc i agree can be quite bad!), I think a pug would be quite suitable. If kept to an appropriate weight (many aren't sadly) they should be able to be carried by a 10yo. They are pretty robust little dogs and the people obviously like/don't mind the squahesd in face look. A puggy and a boxer should get on pretty well i think. There is also the boston terrier (which comes in 2 sizes?), which may be suitable. The larger size is more robust but they can be trained reasonably easily, there are quite a few in our area and one of them in is mindy's puppy class and is really quite an obedient little dog.

I have heard they are VERY active and require a lot of mental and physical exercise. It is quite hard to think of a dog that is robust but can be carried around by a 10 year old! Esepcially a short haired one! Maybe a toy/mini poodle but I;m not really sure how you would classify the coat- it doesn't shed as much but is still high maintenance. mini schnauzer lakeland terrier Boston terrier West highland

I wouldn't allow any 10 year old to be in charge of walking a dog, they may well be able to manage their own dog, but a 10 year old isn't capable of dealing with any problems that may arise eg. another dog attacking. I think it would be a good idea to wait until the mother recovers before they get another dog. It is actually illegal in NSW

That rules out a JRT Now i am thinking maybe a pug?

Smooth coated JRT- very active and robust dogs.

That is alot! were there any complications during surgery? Apart from an overly long time to find the retained testicle - not that we are aware of. If they screwed something up, and are trying to palm off the extra costs on the owner - well thats highly unethical. This was a pure and simple money grab on an unsuspecting pet person bringing their first dog in to be desexed. I have consulted with a number of vets after this, and they are all shocked at the price. Believe me we will be pursuing this further. And in the future all our pet puppies will be coming back to our vets to be desexed. I feel sick that someone has been taken advantage of life this. Agree! Practices located in a higher income area will often charge more due to the cost of renting building space, higher maintenance costs etc but I've never heard of a castration going over $1000 unless there were significant complications. I hope you can resolve this, it is very embarassing and damaging to the veterinary profession if they are acting unethically

Barn laid eggs are from chooks who are able to move freely around a barn but have no access to the outdoors. http://www.hwag.com.au/barn-laid-eggs Free Range eggs are from chooks who are housed in a barn/shed but also have access to the outdoors for at least 8 hrs per day. http://www.hwag.com.au/free-range-eggs Barn laid eggs have their own problems as well. Though they are theoretically free to move around, the stocking density and numbers are often way too high (upto 3000), leading to problems such as fighting and canabilism as well as respiratory disease etc. Free range only means that they have access to an outdoor area, this might only be a small space, that not all birds can fit in at one time. Also some "free range" birds do not enjoy being outside as it is too stressful for them (they haven't been raised to cope with outdoor conditions). The only truly free range chickens are those kept in peoples backyards or farm hens, where they are kept in small numbers. I really think people should be more aware of how their food is raised and killed.

That is alot! were there any complications during surgery?

I don't understand why the vet hasn't taken the dogs into the hospital for close monitoring and cage rest, especially considering your girl is showing signs of illness. If we get any cases we transfer them to our 24 hr hospital where they will receive 24hrs care and observation and blood transfusions if neccessary. I can understand why you wouldn't want that particular vet to do blood transfusions (given the track record), but they can be life-saving when done properly and if you are prepared for an adverese reaction. Is there a 24 hr clinic that you have access to? Thinking of you and your dogs ETA: the skin not bouncing back indicates she is dehydrated. How is her gum colour? It sounds like she may be losing some blood. Maybe you should take her to the vet, she might need to go on fluids, especially if she is very flat otherwise. How is Indi?

Good Luck Lucy!

I would not tolerate a fussy dog in my home. My dog would be getting whatever food I want them to eat in a bowl for 15 minutes, if they hadn't eaten in that time it would be taken away, if the dog didn't eat for a day or two, well, so be it.... But that is just me... If you are able and willing to pander to their feeding habits, then I don't necessarily see it as a bad thing. However, keep in mind that if you ever have to board her or she has to stay at the vets for a long period of time, she will be very put out with the food on offer.

Was really tired this morning as puppy needed to go toilet at 1.30am. So this morning she did actually wake at a reasonably civilised time-7am I toileted her and popped her back in the crate (with an ecollar- she is still recovering from desexing). She was a good girl and went back to sleep and i also went back to sleep for about 1.5hrs (lucky me hey?) I was surprised she settled so quickly especially considering she hasn't been out much due to her desexing and is going a bit mad LOL Will take her for a short walk soon.

Thanks, I have tried talking with them, they weren't very receptive to my concerns just saying the dog and the cat would sort it out. They also seemed to indicate that they thought they had no responsibility to keep it contained. They are not very nice people and I am worried that if i piss them off too much (like taking the cat to the pound) they may retaliate and take it out on my dog.

We don't know what stage the treated dogs were at. If people don't know the dogs have eaten the bait or only seek treatment after they start bleeding it would be quite possible for them to lose them all. Even so, I'm surprised the vet would give such a poor prognosis to the OPs dogs who have been treated extremely early before exhibiting and clinical signs. We've successfully treated dogs that have already started haemorrhaging. If the animals receive a vit K injection and then daily tablets, in theory they should be ok (if they haven't lost tooo much blood in the first place). I would be keeping them crated or at least very quiet so they don't have any opportunity to start bleeding. Anyway fingers crossed for the OPs doggies

I could get a cat trap, but the only prob is that i sort of work at the pound (vet doubles as local pound), so might be a bit awkward. Will try the supersoaker. I can always use it to play with Mindy anyway.

If you really want her to eat kibble, only offer that. If she skips a few meals, don't worry about it, a healthy dog won't starve itself. But as others have said it is ok to feed RAW only and it would probably be around the same cost if not cheaper than feeding a premium dry food.

I don't understand how this can happen? Not nice. It comes in through open windows, even if they are only slightly open- you know what cats are like, they can squeeze through the tiniest space . Then it just sits on our stuff while we are out.

I honestly don't think dogs see us as other dogs. They have to respect us and follow our instruction of course but I don't believe we should attain "dominance" over them in the same way another dog would. Some dogs engage in dominant humping but i'm yet to see any trainer recommend that as a method of establashing dominance I think all dogs are different and some may require a firmer hand than others. For some dogs an angry voice is enough, some respond better to time outs/removal of attention and some do require physical correction (eg. ecollar, spray bottle etc). Some dogs will never challenge an owner even if they are allowed up on furniture or beds anytime and are basically allowed to do what they like. Some dogs will challenge if they are even allowed to walk through a door first.

If you not overly cost concerned, i would just find a vet that I trust. Does he have a usual vet that you're happy with?

One of our neighbours is letting their cat come into our yard. The problem is that the cat is aggressive and I'm worried it will hurt my puppy. She is good with cats and doesn't try to chase them, but she is not exactly scared of them either and has only been introduced to friendly ones. I can't leave her outside unsupervised in case the cat comes into the yard, it is quite territiorial and even had a go at me when i tried to shoo it away. A cat also comes in and out of our house in summer and puts its hair all over our furniture which would be ok, if my sister wasn't allergic to cats. I love cats and I even foster kittens (but they stay in my room) but it is very annoying that this person just lets their cat do whatever. Is there a law or something that says that people should keep their cats contained? I have mentioned that the cat was coming into my yard and harrasing me and my puppy but the owner just said they'll sort it out. Well I'm sure they would, but I think puppy would definitely come off second best I'm am worried it will scratch her eye or make her scared of cats, neither of which would be good. If my dog got into their yard and attacked the cat, i would be in a lot of trouble, so i don't see why the same doesn't apply to the cat owner what can i do?

What a good little boy! The breeder must have been doing some good groundwork work with him

That makes sense I agree you should probably go with the breeders recommendation, but maybe you should just check they actually meant 12 weeks not 12 months.

It is funny, my puppy has never shown any inclination to get stuff off the clothes line, even though she has had plently of opportunity. She's more interested in stuff that is in my hand

Yeah i agree 4 cups sounds like alot. what brand are you using? I have to feed my dog a bit more because she's on PAL due to some stomach issues (she seems to tolerate crappy food better lol) but when she was on premium, she was getting less. I'd say around 3 cups would be fine if puppy isn't getting bones or other food. That is what guide dogs has recommended for a 6 month old pup. I don't think you need to increase her food intake over then next few months. If anything i would be giving more bones.

That sounds reasonable to me for a dog of his size. It would be about the same in my area- though it is quite an expensive area.