Narcissa

Thank you very much! Yes, I agree - pet shops simply don't care, they don't even care where their puppies go to (she got this chihuahua puppy for her 2 yr old son...). If she were a real life "friend" and had told me of her intentions, I would have stopped her! A chihuahua for a 2yr old? Well, then again, the "breeders" here in Singapore sell all their puppies to pet shops. But what's done is done. She was refered to me by another person because after a while, you become known as the "cat person" or "dog person". And I get strange calls all the time, to ask for advice - I really should just direct them here instead!

These are pictures of the puppy: http://s731.photobucket.com/albums/ww317/w...=IMG_0747-1.jpg http://s731.photobucket.com/albums/ww317/w...nt=IMG_0749.jpg Does it look like stress to you? Apparently, the vet just gave her 3 doses of Revolution and sent her home. Now she's worried because the pet shops aren't helping her, and the doctors aren't telling her anything.

Thank you, will let her know immediately.

Hi all, I'm posting this on behalf of a friend who got a long-coated Chihuahua (3 months old) from a pet farm in Singapore. It's only a week and the dog has lost all its fur on the neck and chest area, to the skin. She said she has not applied any spot-on application, used a flea collar, changed her diet, sent it for a vacc jab. Pet farm doesn't care when she called them to ask for advice, simply shrugged her off as the dog is now her responsibility and told her it's normal because the Chi is simply changing coat... What are the possible causes?

Had a similiar incident happen to me years ago, except I had to pry the GR's mouth from the guy's arm. Long story - I was walking my beagle to the park, like every evening, and my neighbour/friend heard her dogs barking (saying hello, as I know them quite well) and she let them out, UNLEASHED, and shouted "Hey, I'm going into the shower, see you at the park!". By this time, her BC and GR have already raced to the park so I simply followed. A guy is walking up on the pavement with his Maltese and GR's ears prick up and for a moment, I felt kinda tense. The GR rushed towards the guy with the Maltese, and he instinctively picked the dog up in his arms. The GR lunged upwards, grabbed the guy's arm instead and was thrashing it about. The BC at this time was circling them and barking. I was so afraid, I didn't know what to do, so I pried open the GR's mouth. In hindsight, that wasn't very clever but thankfully, he didn't bite me. I was in shock for a long, long time. The guy was bleeding all over, my beagle was so frightened she hid in the bushes. I herded the two dogs home and they knew I was mad so they listened and I told their owner what happened. The guy took up a lawsuit against her for $10,000, and then I found out later that she directed it to me as I was the one responsible (being there). The guy dropped the charges when he knew I was going to be the one charged as he was unhappy with my "friend" and did not think it was my fault. Still, I think, under the law, I was liable for the guy's injuries. He lost his nerves in some of his fingers. The GR was then PTS

A DVD?!?! Seriously? Seriously! I expected her to come up with something better, just so I won't be seething so much! I have no words. I hope you told her she'd be collecting her dogs from the pound and paying the fine the next time.

Damn disgusting. Hate. Hate. Hate such people. RIP kitty. You lived a long, long life, and certainly deserved better.

I'm sorry you're so frustrated, and I can understand where you come from - I used to have a beagle I couldn't let out of sight or he'd destroying/eating something. Take a time-out for yourself. The only thing I know about detering dogs from digging a hole is placing their poop in it, but then they may find another spot to dig (in my case, he stopped completely after that one hole). There are these No-digging / garden-off type of commercial products - not sure how effective they are. Maybe someone here can help in this area. You sound really upset.

Just awful, I have no idea why no one could make that simple call to ASK for directions to your place if they had so much difficulty finding it (not roam around for 1.5hrs before getting there), or making that call to inform you that your pups have missed the flight. And getting flight details mixed up is just poor organisation. Hope the pups are okay. Must be frightful sitting in a hangar all day and night. I used JetPets and had no problems with them.

I second/third/fourth that - Ask him to get on DOL so he can read all the warm wishes for himself, and can tell us about his adventures with Saint/Hero/Dimples. :D Sometimes, you need a story like this to lift your day. Tapua, it was awfully considerate of you to send that care package - I love that cute Lab in the harness! It would definitely be a nice "tangible" reminder of what's waiting for him when he gets home safely. You've done a wonderful thing. GetWhippet is right - I'm sure his platoon mates will share his joy when poring over the photos of Saint (he's a big gorgeous boy, btw!), and giving name suggestions etc, and maybe, just maybe, for a little while, they forget about the war and their fallen mates. Thank him for all he is doing for his country - thank you, Andrew.

Sunnyflower - I am SOOOO sorry about Huntington's in your family, and the amount of work and heartache you have to go through because of it. I'm glad you're understanding of your sister's need to "recapture good memories", and am glad you're supportive of her getting a new pet. Her partner is also noteworthy as he is sticking with her through it all and keeping an eye on things. I know Huntington's can progress very quickly, let's just hope it won't get too disabling for your sister soon. She still has so much to live for. It is a consolation of sorts that you're cleared of it. Good on you to intervene with that Cameroon scam. I doubt your sister really knew what was happening, except that she was getting a cute puppy for $350. Please know that our thoughts are with you, and with your family.

You really need to flea bomb the house/yard - everything! Not just the dogs or the problem will keep recurring. Had a problem like this when my brother took his dog out (unprotected from fleas~) and came home and infested all the other dogs with it. Frontline worked for us, but no sunning of the bedding - it would actually help the eggs to hatch. Wash all their bedding, yours, and use some of your existing frontline solution, add it to some soapy water and clean all the floors (especially if you have wood floors) and skirtings. This was told to me by the store and it worked. Good luck!

I agree with everyone here. The puppy school sounds awful! Most places would even give advice on how to let a small dog socialise with other dogs without getting hurt (sometimes even keeping the pup on the owner's lap if all the others are big breeds and boisterous). It could seriously be hurt, and that is not "turning him into a sook". My Chi had an unfortunately playing accident with a Mini Schnauzer, and it caused him to limp for weeks. I would think that it may even cause your dog to be afraid of bigger dogs. As for the diet, well, just read the ingredients and go from there

Aww, so glad to hear you're doing well. I'm off to light another candle.

Such a beautiful story! And I love that vid, it made me tear a little. I'm so glad Dimples is going to have a great companion and vice versa. Would definitely like to see Dimples though! I understand the whole "bonding via pictures" thing - sometimes, even through a picture, you just "know". And that's the best reassurance that you've found the right one, somewhat like... Love.

You know, my beagles (now passed) ate poop for years, when I was living in Australia as a student. The male dog started first, then when I added the little girl, she picked up the habit. I bought all the stuff you spray on the poop to deter them, used citronella etc, and in the end was reduced to picking it up IMMEDIATELY so they won't eat it. It really grossed me out, especially when they come to give me kisses and I smell.. Poop Breath. They were on Pro Plan because the breeder insisted so we kept to the feeding plan (I was also less savvy about dog nutrition then). When I brought them home to Singapore, I switched foods and it stopped. Like a miracle. I was so shocked that I never thought about changing their diet to stop that habit before! It definitely gave me an idea for Pro Plan's new tagline: Dog Food So Good It'd Eat Its Own Shit.

All the time.

Wow, I've always wanted to do something like this, it's indeed very rewarding, and I'm big into animal volunteer work. I would love to hear of everyone's progress and experiences, challenges you face etc. Off to find a similiar program here in Singapore. Was only going to do Canine Good Citizen with Maxey, but I think I definitely want something a little more. My volunteer work has always centered around the animals' welfare, and I think I'll like to touch some people's lives too.

Perhaps you could pile the dogs in your car and go to somewhere more dog-friendly? What breeds are they? Any dog should be walking at least 30mins a day (I say this to myself all the time so I can actually lose some weight!), and it would be a fun activity for you and your dogs instead of being cooped up in the house? I'm sure they would love taking walks with you enjoying the sunshine.

Aww, I was rooting for you to get "Daisy", I'm sorry it didn't work out. But now that there's a potential boy in the future, what's going to happen to the name "Daisy"?! Maybe "Desi"/"Dessie"? haha

Some good suggestions here - I might do the sign saying "Dog recovering from kennel cough" hehe. I don't dare to make the owners unhappy as they can do nasty things to my dogs, or can be very rude to us. Maybe I am just the sort who's a little shy and want to avoid conflict. I know of one woman who does the same routine in the morning (no dogs, just her), standing outside my gate and scolding the dogs. I see her from the window pointing at them and yelling "shut up! stupid dog! you're so stupid! Irritating!" etc. I don't dare to go out and say anything! >< I know it's very lame but she lives right next to me and has never been friendly. I have a ] shaped yard - front, along the side of the house, and a bigger back yard. I keep them inside most of the time, except for toilet breaks, and evenings when the maid is doing the gardening and they like to be outside with her. Only one dog, the Chihuahua, can slip through the smallest of grills and gets access outside anytime he wants. He rarely barks though, but will join in if another dog starts first. So it's like a medley, one starts and the rest all follows. Sigh. Maybe I'll seal off the side yard so they only get an L shaped yard. But then they would just be barking inside the house lol, but it would definitely deter *some* dog owners from standing outside since they see no dogs at the gate I suppose. Thanks for the suggestion My dogs aren't aggressive and I don't mind them making a tiny fuss if they see someone outside (afterall, they're trying to warn us, yes?) and I definitely don't mind people walking their dogs past me - I have made some friends with neighbours with great dogs, and they walk by calling out my dogs' names and my dogs are totally cool with that. They don't make a peep if so, just happy to see a familiar face and want to sniff their friend. It's just the people standing there for quite a length of time with their dog lunging at the gate and barking and my dogs reacting, either inside the house or out. I totally accept this. I would even commend the owner for exercising such discipline with their dogs. Like I watched on Cesar Milan, once the walking dog is calm, all the rest are too. When I walk my dogs up and down the street, they don't bark at the others, and no one else does. It all makes for a nice, quiet walk In Singapore, all properties have gates/walls - I was totally surprised when I moved to Australia at 17 and realised people have beautiful lawns out in the open. It was a very pleasant surprise actually, I felt that everyone was so much more neighbourly. Having lived in Australia for 10 years, it's so odd being back here where people are not dog-friendly, and most places aren't - there is only ONE dog park in the whole country where dogs can run offleash. It's an entirely different culture, with NO dog/cat breeders, just pet farms. And we have many strays - so I work with TNR groups for cats and help with dog rehoming programs here.

Have done that, but the house has a length-wide glass panel sliding door, which leads to the patio, which leads to the porch. So the dogs would be just be barking inside in the house as they can see the owners with their dogs standing there. It's very odd behaviour I think. I've said Hello before, and they just stand there with a bemused look on their face because they think it's really cute that their dog is "acting so fierce" (not said to me, but to the dog "oh you're so fierce! look at you ooooo!"). I actually think some people feel that this is socialising their dogs. Think I will put up sign, but what should sign say??

Pookinuk has a flat delivery of $5, even to Perth, regardless how much you buy. I hated to buy Evo because it's only sold at PP, and it's terribly expensive. I find Evo in Singapore for SG$30! Artemis Maximal is a 6-star super premium food, though not Australian made. K9 Natural too, is as close to a raw food diet you can get with a dry - it's dehydrated raw, add water and serve. Also 6-star. Ziwi Peak is excellent too. Candidae, Natural Balace (the Dick Van Patten one!) and Eagle Pack Holistic are 5-stars. http://www.pookinuk.com.au/pet-products.asp?categoryID=10 http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/

I sooo know what you mean, Bindi-boo. I really HATE puppy farms and the BYBs that sell their puppies to all the pet farms in Singapore. People here don't know any better and think it's the only place they can get a dog. These dogs are made to reproduce over and over, artifically induced heat, and it sickens me to death. It is one reason why I avoid visiting China because I don't know what I'd do if I see dogs/cats in cages for eating!! It would be nice to see a "debate" or a "rebuttal" on TV regarding pedigree breeders, the work they do, the effort that goes into breeding, and the reality of puppy farms (breeding of DDs for the sake of looks, and the poor conditions~). I can only hope it does not deter the public audience from buying from a breeder because of Burke's advocation of puppy farms. How can they allow such an idiot to be on tv?!

Whilst waiting for more reno work to be done at the apartment, I've been staying in my parents' house where we keep all our rescues - 3 dogs + Maxey, 2 cats, 1 Amazon parrot. In the mornings and evenings, there are people out walking their walks and they pass by the house, see my dogs at the main gate and they stop there allowing their dog to bark with my dogs. This can go on for 10 minutes. I don't want to be rude (as they might be trying to be friendly) but they see my coming out to herd the dogs back inside and telling them to be quiet and yet they don't budge. In the meantime, the dogs are all so riled up, it's a feat for me to usher all of them in the house, and those that are in the house continue to bark anyway. Usually, it is so awkward, and I feel uncomfortable because they don't say anything to me (like, no "Hi, cute dogs" etc) at all. They are just STANDING THERE, with their dog going crazy standing up on the leash and lunging at my gate. I was afraid that a dog might poke its face in through the grills and get bitten (I have one aggressive Pom/Spitz - I think?) that I meshed up my gate. It is the continuous barking, especially in the mornings when I want to sleep in, that drives me crazy. It is not just one dog owner either - there are several, up to 5-6 times a day (great location I suppose, as I live near the beach). My parents even want to install an anti-bark collar on the most prolific barker (a Schnauzer/Poodle?) but I think that isn't fair. I don't think the zapping is very humane either. What do I say/do while still appearing neighbourly? I don't want my dogs poisoned or something... (happened to my Australian beagle years ago - RIP Chelsea girl - it was meant for another dog but beagles being greedy, she ate it and she died upon arriving at the vet). OT: She was a Clarion beagle, I don't see them on dol, have they stopped breeding?