Mrs Rusty Bucket

So does that mean the anti nausea medication is working? And new food that doesn't have any of the bad memories of tummy upset that all the other food has? Gotta be good.

I'm with PIA This year's annual premium (November 2014) is 444.42 it has $200 per condition excess (ie no claiming unless it's over that) and 80% cover up to $15,000 (per condition - and both eyes (or anything else she's got two of) count as one and not sure if that's a life time limit or an annual one) So I'd have to have a vet bill over $250 before claiming would be worth while - but I'm good with that. What was weird - medibank private offered me a significant discount on their policy but it was still significantly more expensive. also if I fed different breeds eg she's currently Australian Heeler x but cattle dog x, blue heeler x etc all get different quote amounts. Ie the drop down list had about six different variations on cattle dog x and 6 different prices. Bit hard to play that game with a vizsla tho. I originally took PIA up because Choice recommended it but my first renewal (no claims ever) went up by over 60%. I was shocked but I paid because I could not get a better deal elsewhere - they were all just as bad. If I do need to claim - I've got no idea how easy they will be to deal with. I do know I will be phoning first and asking how much I will get back - and recording that call.

VIP Gourmet Chicken roll - I thought they came in two sizes - 1kg and 3kg... I guess that's still huge for a dog that eats a teaspoon full of whatever at a time.

I think the definition for water proof is you can drop the device in a bucket of water and it keeps working... But you can't take it to 10m on a scuba dive. So is that water proof enough?

Mine does. It's very funny. She also uses her tail to cue belly rubs from me... Depending on what's at stake - is how much effort she puts into it.

Love these photos. I think Brembo and the dinosaur bone - needs his own thread and a caption competition. Tho the face does say it all... "mine, all mine"

OMG DDD cicada in the bed - prehistoric monster bugs - give me the creeps (yes I think living in NZ or Albany West Oz is hard)... I was boiling apricots and sugar today - and noticed a giant flying shiny black weevil bug thing in my chimney vent. It's got a little bit of flywire over it to stop dirt and bugs coming onto the cooking area but... obviously this thing was big enough to push its way under. About the size of a big olive. I put it outside. Really did not want that in the jam - so good save I think. I did water the garden but it was too hot at 7am to be walking anywhere. Sigh. Hope the injection works.

DDD Someone just posted on another forum that they got their old dog enthusiastic about food again by feeding a dog roll from coles called VIP Gourmet Chicken. The enthusiasm for that one has lasted more than one day. I can't see any good reason for it based on the ingredients but old dog - why not. http://www.vippetfoods.com.au/Gourmet-Chicken-1kg/0,2745,14532,00.html Might be worth adding to the rotation - freeze what doesn't get eaten in single serve sizes...

I think the usual ethos of the people in the CFS or equivalent is if a fire breaks out on your neighbours place or the neighbours neighbours place - you go help fight it. Because if everyone pitches in they have the best chance of stopping the fire and saving the most ground possible. Unfortunately that means some CFS volunteers lose their own house when the fire does something unpredictable. I'm not even entirely sure that all of them would have stayed home if they knew it was coming for their place, depending on what else was at stake (eg the local village hospital and patients at Gumeracha). I'm pretty sure both kennel owners if they had any idea the fire could travel as far and in the direction it did - they would not have gone. It's not like any of us can remember when the fire went from Sampson flat to Tea Tree gully in an afternoon any time before. Probably hasn't ever happened before. But we're in a decade where every year sets a record for hot and dry.

Powerlegs that description reminds me of something evil my mum used as medicine on us kids - called Kaolin - was as much fun as drinking clay slurry. she also recommended apples (containing pectin) for settling an upset tummy - my experience was if I could keep an apple down - nothing was wrong. Otherwise it acted as an emetic and then I felt a bit better - even tho I deeply hate throwing up. DDD If he liked icecream yesterday but got the tummy wobbles - he's going to remember that when he sniffs the icecream today. Hence me thinking try something completely different (eg rotate through what you offer like toys to keep them novel) something like the beef stock or vegemite tea (no dairy). Hope the nausea meds stay down and work.

Hi DDD If you can get the anti-nausea injected and it lasts a day - then he might be able to keep the tablet form down. Hopefully the vet would have some better idea but it's sad they didn't see the upchucking of the anti nausea coming. I think peanut could trigger and up chuck cos it is so fatty but was surprised that the stuff in water got the same treatment. I'm guessing one of your other critters got the first tablet? Or maybe a mouse. Good luck to it - they do love peanut butter (tho they have to fight the ants for it at my place). Sorry about the green hair - I lost track of what page I was on. On my computer - the hair on the top of your head is reflecting the colour of some green thing above your head. But I will stop digging now.

The kennels in the ACT that got burnt (separate fire to the big 2003 fires), the guy who ran that - was a fire fighter - the fire was "over there" not burning towards his place so off he went... and then the wind changed. And he didn't have enough time to get back and save all the dogs. Saved some but couldn't save all. I think, until you're in it - it's hard to believe how quickly and unpredictably a fire can get out of hand. Personally I think fires are extremely dangerous - I am happy to learn from other people's mistakes in under estimating the danger and be overly paranoid. But 10 evacuations a year because of catastrophic fire declaration days for nothing - would not help. You can't wait until a fire breaks out - on the catastrophic day like last Friday - you won't have time should the wind go in your direction. One of my cousins - knows if a fire breaks out in Harden (NSW) - it's only a matter of time before his back paddocks get burnt out. So he has time to get all the stock off and down to an area where the fire is less likely to go and is better protected (has water and fire fighting equipment). He can also tell the local version of CFS where to set the back burn lines if they don't know already. So some kinds of fires are predictable. But ones like the ACT 2003 fires are not. They make their own weather, and they blast embers 100s of KM ahead of the main front - starting new fronts. Bare paddocks of dust burst into flame as anything organic explodes. We're lucky with this one that it's not on the back of several years of no watering the garden water restrictions and drought. But we haven't had proper rain since August. Expecting some Thurs/Friday. Which will probably make a mess, and hopefully will help contain the current fires tho it might start some new ones (thunderstorms). This is what can happen on a catastrophic day when everything goes wrong: http://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/stories/3774941.htm

Gawd - don't suppose you could move back again. Nev Allen might have some helpful suggestions. He runs Border River Pet Resort http://www.borderriverpetresort.com.au/ And breeds border collies. I like his training suggestions. Hope you get your independence back real soon. I've been thinking about doing a house renovation - getting plans done and etc. And Mum has suggested I move in with her while it's being done but I think that might be just a wee bit more stress than I can handle.

sunsets are always prettier when there is dust or erm - ash - in the air. I love the outback ones cos they get a green and orange stripe in them. The bushfire one is Awesome and Glorious. I got some weird sunsets visiting NZ - completely shades of white and grey and blue because there was no dust. I want to join in - because I need to remember to point my camera at beautiful things more often. My aunt (RIP last May) and uncle's garden at Mt George SA. I've snipped it for easy computer net upload.

pity about the gingernut biscuits - my greedy hound does stupid things in hopes of some of those. Glad you've got something to try for the nausea. Maxolon worked for me... So many drugs make me feel ill especially the pain killer ones (eg codeine - which goes one better - I throw up).

I'm one of the ones who has trouble resisiting big brown eyes - even tho I know it's bad. I feel cruel withholding a treat from a dog that wants it - so yes - feeding the dog makes me feel better. But I know better, I also know how bad it is to reward a begging dog. I try to premack my dog asking... and also supervise the giving of treats. Because I know other people feel cruel if they have to turn her down. But I can help reduce that bad feeling for them by taking my naughty dog away. Strange how we don't feel the same way about human beggars. The best I can do for them is feel I'm glad they're not using a gun to take my money. Sometimes I give them something and sometimes I don't. Mostly I don't because it means digging in my bag but if it's handy then sometimes I do. Sigh. If I thought my dog risked death from cadging treats - I wouldn't let her.

You can also donate to the CFS Foundation - they help the members and families of fire fighters who are harmed or killed in the line of duty. Several have lost their homes this time around. And fairly recently in a different fire - one was killed. http://www.cfsfoundation.org.au/ But I also second donating to the red cross. I do love how various forms of social media are linking people who want to help - with people who need it.

essential dog Do what you can to stop your dog saying hello to other people and dogs and especially to stop any kind of mooching. For distraction proofing, get friends to carry safe treats - so there's the smell - and maybe do some handouts to their dogs. My dog can spot a treat handout across an oval even when it's too far to smell it. But the safest options might be a lead and a muzzle - some muzzles are better than others and most people (but not toddlers and their sleep deprived parents) will avoid letting their fingers anywhere near a dog wearing a muzzle. You can train a dog to enjoy wearing a muzzle - especially if it means a walk.

My sister did this too with a kelpie x. The dog was in a shady place and all the shop keepers knew her - but she stayed there for hours because my sister forgot. I've forgotten that I didn't take the car and walked to the car park where it wasn't - or that I did take the car and I've gone home on the bus. Same with the treadley and the bus. When my mum has something for me to take home - I have to attach my keys to it so I can't leave it behind. I think with the baby - maybe putting the work security pass or handbag or briefcase with the baby seat might help. Ie you can't get those things without reaching around the baby seat - you might notice the baby in there?

I think the other use is to grind them up and sell in "chinese medicine" and similar. The velvet - furry stuff - is highly prized for that but the deer antler I've got doesn't have any of that. My sister in law likes deer antler - the full set of horns as household decoration - so she would take quite a few if she had a source. Can't be that hard to get - they're feral down the Coorong way and in the Brindabellas.

I think from now on - my dog will be first out of the car no matter how inconvenient that is. Hopefully she will get used to the idea.

I met a dog down the beach that was wearing a bright yellow harness like an "in training" harness. the dog came up to me (and my treats) and asked for one, and because it did that - I didn't give it anything - ie not rewarding mooching, tho my dog gets rewarded all the time. If people ask - I tell them to make her work for the treat but they don't understand until I show them how many tricks she can do. The best I get is they ask for a sit. She usually does a paddle dance...and gets the treat Anyway - then I actually looked at the harness and what was written on it - "Please don't feed me" - in BIG Letters. And then I had a chat with the owner because it was just my "don't reward the moochers and ask before giving another dog a treat" habit. And she said her dog can get anaphalactic shock from eating off the restricted diet. WTF - I could not imagine anything worse than causing the death of someone's pet by giving them a treat at the beach when they came up and asked for it. And if it was my dog - there's no way I'd let her approach anyone for treats or forage if she was likely to die from anything. There's still the risk of fish hooks and puffer fish death at the beach but I'd have a chance to stop that. Actually I really must make more of an effort to stop her mooching and foraging (picnic raids). It can suck the joy out of a beach walk. at the moment - she just goes on lead until she's out of the no response zone. So conclusion - the biggest sign might not work if you still let your dog go mooching and begging.

Pretty sure Ness knows more about it than anyone http://www.cvm.umn.edu/vbs/faculty/Mickelson/lab/EIC/bordercollieEIC/home.html It's more related to exercise than air temperature. I read somewhere that it is related to the inability to remove heat from the muscles ie some component of the muscle and blood supply system is missing (genetic) - and that's the bit that facilitates heat removal from exercise. Just not sure how to google what I vaguely remember about it.

My dog wants to go out and sunbake (43'C). I'm setting a 2 minute limit. She looks grumpy about it.

My dog - she's 22kg ish - she gets dinner at around 6:30pm ish maybe... but she gets yogurt for breakfast and something small at lunch (when I'm home). And her dinner is reduced size accordingly.