Kiramon78

The Army gets their dogs from public donation (surrendered - which Sarbi was along with her brother) they go to the rspca, pounds and through other rescue groups. The only criteria they have is fit, under 2yrs (but over 12mths) and have a high ball drive. Occasionally they purchase dogs from customs, guide dogs etc.. but rarely as they don't have a huge budget.

Sharpei x Husky - looked like a swollen faced husky, ACD x Chinese Crested (called Ren) - looked like a chinese crested, but where it had hair it was red cattle dog colour.

Yes and no. The more expensive ones probably also need to step up and educate clients as to why they feel it's important to give fluids & do more intensive monitoring, otherwise clients just assume you're a rip off when you charge more for "the same" surgery. Trouble is, it's hard to do that without knocking other vets & other practices, which goes against the code of professional conduct that vets are expected to adhere to. I very much agree. We recently had another vet (they went a got a second quote on a surgery) make the owner question why we did a GA on a small dog with a fractured leg to do x-rays and why we didn't just use sedation. (picture small bitey scared puppy with nasty femur fracture). Yes they did under quote us and yes the owner went there, but we know we did the right thing.

I have seen that in several practices too, and I hate it. It's just so risky. I get that some practices don't have a capnograph or even a pulse-ox, but they should all have a doppler, & really, how much effort is it to set it up and then take BP every 5 or 10 minutes to make sure everything is getting adequately perfused? You're right, more client education is needed as to why it is good practice to do these things, and why they are charged for. It's the cheap dodgy ones that are giving all practices a bad name. All our animals are given fluid therapy, iv cath etc.... I've been to some places that have one nurse doing reception & surg at the same time, hell I've worked in some and wasn't happy. I've also seen some done on cold benches with no iv access. It's definitely a 'you get what you pay for' world out there.

All animals undergoing an anaesthetic in our practice are placed on iv fluids regardless. If the animal is sick or compromised they may be placed the night before or continue after the procedure, in which case this is additional. They never cost $200! We offer pre-anaesthetic bloods to all our patients to give peace of mind, we recommend them to senior animals or ones that have been unwell. The hind dew claws I can understand as sometimes you don't see the animal until the morning of the procedure and again, it's offered, not pushed. We don't charge for different induction drugs either, all our animals are given an ace/meth premed and are given meth post-op if required at no additional charge. I get really frustrated when people say we are more expensive than XYZ down the road when we actually offer more than they do and like Rappie said in another post, have dedicated experienced & qualified nurses monitoring the GA with all the latest equipment. It's shocking to see that in this age, vet clinics still charge extra for fluids. I am proud of what I do and the way our clinic does procedures. I just wish people would compare apples to apples. These added extras is where the 'cheaper' clinics make their money.

That's beautiful photo, but these are her handlers medals. Amber will get her own from the Australian Defence Force Trackers & War Dogs Association when she returns. Unfortunately, they (the Australian Army) doesn't give service medals to dogs yet (hopefully that will change) as they don't recognise them as soldiers. They weren't even allowed to wear their medals on Anzac Day marching because they are not 'official' medals. I've got a photo of my husband's EDD's Afghanistan medal.

If you have some place to house your dogs, ie: crate or trailer, I'm happy to have house guests. Nepean shores wouldn't take our pets when we moved here.

Thanks Dandybrush - we had to do it early when our lovely girl Kira ate a mattress, pulled up the carpet etc.... now we have a 5mth old and the dogs are happy to be out of her way too, but still get to interact with her. I LOVE CRATES It also means that when we travel, our dogs are welcome with nearly all our friends and family as they can be there without taking over houses and are let inside if they are in their crates. Happy dogs, happy holidays and a very very happy home.

I have the largest possible crates I could buy and my two girls are in the family room when I'm out. Outside or in the family room when I'm home. We move alot, so this is something that's stable for them. Also, we can't alter the fences that much and one digs and the other jumps - as soon as the car leaves they'd be outta there. They love their crates and even when they have run of their half of the house, you'll find them snoozing in their beds. One I crate trained from a puppy, the other at about 2yrs of age due to trying to destroy everything in the house. I, like you, am too afraid they will be stolen or let out/get out if they are outside. It wasn't hard to get them crate trained, they get fed in there and they have doona's to sleep on

I can tell you that the Australian Army Explosive Detection Dog section will look at any dog with a high ball drive - as this is what they use as reward. They have had a few working kelpies go through training, but as they tend to be 'gun shy'. I have seen many BC x's and ACD x's go through as well as a few koolies. In saying that, there have also been a staffy x, a mastiff x and newfie x. They tend to go for the medium breeds as they have to carry them at certain times, and don't go for smaller breeds as they need to be able to jump up onto certain things at heights that would be far too much for a little dog. They take them at 18mths to 2yrs of age.

The Pines Pet Resort is one I would recommend. I put my 'girls' there a couple of times and they always came out happy, healthy and not really wanting to leave. They are popular and a little way out of Brisbane, but if you don't mind traveling for peace of mind, then this is the place. http://www.thepinespetresort.com.au/ This is their website. They did pick up and deliver to one of the vets on the north side of Brisbane for me too. Hope this helps.

RIP Herbie & Smithy - you both will be greatly missed. You made an awesome team. Lest We Forget.

One that always cracks me up is that SBT, AST & APBT's (actually any breed with a large skull) heads will get bigger once the skull splits and fuses back together larger - there are actually websites about this!!!

I could never give enough praise for The Pines Pet Resort. My dogs didn't really care that I left them and I was really happy with the 'reports' I got of the dogs daily routine when I got them back. They are up the coast a fair way from you (up near australia zoo) but I think they are worth the drive. They are booked out well in advance for all the major holidays, so get in quick if you have specific dates in mind

I'm also a vet nurse and have never taken a stray dog off someone unless it's microchipped, and this is only because there have been a few cases of the finder not wanting to return the dog, or trying to charge a fee. We only send to the pound as a last resort or to the RSPCA if the dog is hurt beyond first aid and rest. We DO however have a form, we use it for every animal (wildlife and such) coming in and being dropped off. 1. it helps us know what area the animal came from & 2. it stops the small amount of people who harass us for information beyond what we are legally able to tell them... ie: the animal has gone home... these people are usually looking for a reward or something. NEVER would I allow the staff at our clinic to take an animal that wasn't microchipped that could find a loving home (and someone willing to look for the owner). There is no law saying we have to either. I am VERY against BSL and believe EVERY dog deserves the right home and to be loved. I feel so sad for this poor little boy, and I have met many like him, but thankfully I have a great network of clients that are with me and willing to help look for a home. I feel sorry for your vet/nurses as if this is the way they are going - would they refuse to treat a PBT or cross if the occasion arised?? Equality for all dogs I say.........punishment for the owner!!! Oh and my friend has American Staffy's and had to actually get her pedigree papers to prove it to get her out of the pound otherwise they were going to have her PTS. She didn't even do anything!!!!!