Mrs Rusty Bucket

Kirsilin Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do and to hell with the rules and the risks... Glad it worked out for you. Middle of the night - in my experience - is when the worst drivers are out. The ones who drive like total lunatics, run through intersections without looking - because - there's no traffic - right?

Don't believe what PETA says - they don't want anyone to have a pet at all. From your puppy's point of view - what you're doing is outrageously cruel. But puppies (and children including teenagers) don't always understand what's in their best interests. Eg food choices. But I think your puppy is getting a great deal. If you don't work you can't feed and house your puppy and you are doing all the right things by way of exercise and training. Tho one thing - herding dogs are crap at knowing when to stop. Unless you make them - they won't stop. So my mum's rule of thumb she'd heard for puppy exercise was 5 minutes of exercise per month of puppy age so you don't risk damaging joints long term. So at 12 weeks old - that might be 15 minutes of exercise - not a "SOLID HOUR" ouch. I guess what I'd be looking to do is one to five mins of training then a bit of a play break then another training session then a bit of a play break then another training session - totalling about 15 minutes then snooze / calm time (or you can try training a sit stay - tho impulse control games do tire a dog's brain out - not sure if that's good or bad - think how you feel after an all day training session where you're learning new things you're really interested in). Impulse control games that aren't very physical (ie things you can do for the other 45 minutes)... collar grab game sit stay game drop stay game its yer choice and maybe a bit of perch work (body awareness games) Others might have some better informed ideas on this. Like where the balance is between exercise and best joint development.

Maybe the cops would have been fine with it. Unless they were the ones that had cleaned up a mess caused by someone else doing it and it going wrong. It was a routine thing amoung racehorse trainers... to exercise their horses on public roads. And I think there might have been a couple of bad accidents because of it. I know there have been quite a few bike+dog horror crashes where the dog has crossed the path of the bicycle and wiped everybody out or run into traffic and pulled the cyclist with them. The rule has the feel of coppers who have seen it go wrong saying - this should be illegal. The endurance club in SA routinely uses bikes and leads to train endurance with their dogs... So generally the cops don't bother with enforcing it. They've probably got more important / urgent things to do like chase ice cooks.

Onions make me and the dog farty. If you've put onions in the casserole - that would be enough.

Mostly - cows don't jump fences. However - she might be a roo or antelope or a possum. Possums are super destructive when trapped inside a house too.

Pirate video starring Barnaby and Johnny http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ok7unoIJ9dg

You might want to top your fences with rolly bits - unless she cleared it without touching the top - that would be harder - you'd need the cat hat man's floppy fence with overhang (on the dog side) to stop that. Dingos will go "foraging" any time their humans/pack are not home - because they feel the urge and it's "fun". My brother's dog would jump any fence if there was any thunder. My brother tried tying her up when thunderstorms were predicted to find her hanging by her neck - over the fence - still alive but that scared the crap out of him. He also tried building up the fence but that didn't work either. She could clear 2m easy when she was frightened.

What Danois said... I think it's legal to have dogs anywhere in the car except your lap - as long as they don't distract you. You can't have them in your lap or unsecured in the back of an open top ute. Anything in the back of a ute must be secured so it doesn't fly off if the ute comes to a sudden stop (accident). This is "Australian Road Rules" but there might be slight variation state to state. What a cop will do is claim your dog in your front seat is distracting you. Especially if - as soon as you wind the window down to talk to the cop - your dog runs into your lap to yell at the cop. If your dog is lying down across the back seat with a harness on and never moves - there's a chance the cop won't even notice you have a dog (my dog was not very protective in that situation - unlike another dog I used to drive round - I had to tie him up before I could wind the window down even tho he was on the back seat). Got no air bags in my car. I think there is a rule in SA at least that children must be 12 or over to travel in the front seat. Not sure if it applies if there is no back seat. When you come to a sudden stop - anything unsecured inside the car will fly forward - things behind you are more likely to hit you on the way through the windscreen than things next to you (side collisions excepted). And another annoying Australian road rule - you can't have a dog (or a horse or other animal) attached by a lead to the vehicle or a lead held by anyone in a vehicle (including on a bicycle) on any "road related area" which includes roads, footpaths and council bike paths. Sigh.

I think you would have to pay attention to what (some) dogs are allergic to. eg macadamias chocolate grapes tomatos onions avocado stone fruit etc. Mind you - every time I look up the list - different lists say different things. I found one that said no raw fish. What? I eat that? and no liver (not sure if it meant raw or cooked).

My evil hound just remembers and reuses what ever works. So when she starts yelling at me - I have to stop and think - "what am I rewarding by giving into this?" I think I know why she's so keen on walks at dinner time... cos of how many treats I dish out as we go along. Hmm... Need to rethink that too.

LG Oh Yucky... Has she got that acid reflux thing that is so dangerous for humans? Oh the horror. Vet said pumpkin is good for upset tummies, and mum says apple is good. I figure if I can stomach an apple when I'm feeling nauseous - there was nothing wrong with me really. Otherwise it acts as an emetic and that solves the problem but not the most comfortable.

Hmm, juicer - discarding pulp? I just heard on the health report that fibre (pulp) is really important especially if we want to reduce appetite, lose or maintain weight, and prevent diabetes and high blood pressure. http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/healthreport/low-gi-diets-may-add-risk/6443432#transcript

Lol at Grumpette My dog never gives me a chance when she gets the "blurg blurg"s It's Blurg-splat. too late.

No way I would subject my neighbours to what my dog thinks of being locked outside all night. And there's no shelter out there either. Click click click - time to book in with Gruflife for a claw trim. What really makes me awake fast is a very specific "I'm busting" bark - at the back door...

Maybe we need a calendar of imprudent dog photobombs... Some more here http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/12/dogs-photobomb_n_5290951.html

I do love an update. I think my insurance has a $200 excess - so for $130 I'd just be paying. I think you can get 80/20 insurance with a hollards backed insurance that has no excess but you'd want to check what your excess is before you go to the trouble of the forms. Good old Ernie...

Ok all the hollards backed insurances pay about 80% and you pay the other 20%. As for the surgery - I'm not a vet but I'm guessing it's gone deeper than a surface wound. Either that or the emergency vet wanted a general to do the stitches - which is understandable. I've just had two skin thingies off under local and the one the dermatologist stitched... was on my back so I couldn't see but there was a lot of pulling and pushing and prodding - which didn't hurt thanks to a generous dose of local but did freak me out. Wasn't expecting that (adrenaline surge). Hopefully your vet will be able to give a more considered explanation. Do be sure to write down every question you've got now - and take that with you. I tend to type them up and then sort into similar questions grouped together eg get the same question pop into my head with 20 different variations... Make sure you get your question sheet out and tick them off and scribble answers or you will miss some and still be freaking out. Speaking from experience.

I know. It's not safe to play with a penis if it's not yours... (ok there's no way to say that right).

My dog crate isn't big enough for me, but I could try setting up a tent...

I'd agree with that. The other thing that bothers me is leg cocking (especially inside), but I know you can train them not to do that and some females will do it too.

As an actual eating fish - a brown trout is really nice. Much nicer than a rainbow trout. and if you crapped a rainbow trout - maybe a visit to the doctor would be appropriate unless you had a thing for hundreds and thousands?

I've had this problem on and off with my dog. At the moment she's started from about 3:30pm - nag nag nag. I'm not sure if it's walk or dinner or she'd be happy with either as long as it's something... ideally both in that order. But dinner's not due till 6:30pm ish and she doesn't get a walk when she's cut her foot pad or it's raining (mutual dislike for this). And this doesn't stop her nagging. And the nag can get quite a bit physical... ie paws on my shoulders as I sit at the computer and yelling in my ear. Which is a good thing if I've forgotten something but a bad thing if she's just playing me. So sometimes I put her back on lead until she settles... I'm considering putting her in a crate (with covers) until the time is right. Sometimes she really does need a toilet break but is really hoping she doesn't have to do it at home (much prefers the local playground for this for some reason). PS just found out she'd rather have frozen food than wait for it to be defrosted... and now she wants the pasta water... sigh.

Lhok are you confusing a "brown trout" with a "blind mullet"? Seems the Dalmatians are allowed to keep their bits http://www.browntrout.com.au/products/6610-dalmatians-2016-square-12x12/categories:99-dog-breeds

So sorry nyssel It's usually the border collies that hold grudges for life, but repeating a bad experience doesn't help a dog get over it. In SA - dogs are not supposed to menace people through their fence. So here you could ring council up and ask them to investigate and ask the owner to keep their dog(s) away from the fence. Not sure about NSW but I thought it was similar. My dog is quite context specific about where she will display aggression to other dogs. At the beach we're fine. At new parks we're fine. At agility clubs - we're fine unless someone does something stupid and allows their dog to be right up against her crate but I'm more careful about that now. At our local park - any poodle cross that comes too close is in trouble. And no dog is allowed to walk down our street. So she does not get to be in the front yard without the lead on and she does not get to leave for a walk unless she's calm. Any aggressing as we go out the front door and she goes straight back in and I shut the door and start over. Works quite well and she's much better than she was, but I avoid triggers eg if there is a curly coat dog walking towards us up our street, I will go another way so she's not headed into a face to face meeting.

I got told to allow two weeks after the final shot for immunity to be built up. It's not instant. But it's not 4 months either. I don't know what would happen if they had the million paws walk in a known parvo area, or if someone brought a sick dog. I have seen some dumb things tho. Like someone taking their dog with obvious kennel cough out for a walk and encouraging it to say hello to other dogs at the park... and then saying 'the vet said it was a "doggy cold"'. Personally I don't go to things like the million paws walk because I have strong opinions about what good dog care looks like and very few people at those events can manage it. eg 1. dogs pulling on lead 2. dogs pulling on lead in choke collars fixed the wrong way - not that it matters when the dog is out the front and pulling. 3. dogs pulling in face halters - with their eyes practically bugged out of their sockets. 4. dogs emotionally overwhelmed with fear or aggression - not being given the space to calm down. 5. dogs crapping and it not being picked up (for various reasons). 6. dogs peeing on other people's stuff including street lights and club flood lights - they cost thousands to replace and dog pee buggers them. 7. people allowing their dogs to random greet without asking 8. people allowing their dogs to jump on everyone and dog. 9. people bringing bitches on heat... 10. people letting their dogs off lead and out of control in an on lead area. But the pulling on lead really gets me. My dog doesn't like it either. It's just a sign of so many bad things for us.