Simply Grand

Thank you thank you thank you Jed!! That would be fantastic! I'd love to bring them to meet your dogs and maybe see whether Saxon or Riley fits in better with them? When might I able to come? I'm totally flexible with times but the sooner the better :)

Thanks SL, I should have arranged before I left for them to stay with people I know down there until I found a house. Ah well.

He's very difficult to get along with Steph, he has very strong views on everything and no ability or inclination to understand that other people are different. He's also very strong on the principle of things so even though it would be practical and have little impact on the house crating the dogs at night on the tiled floor of the huge ensuite off my room is not ok because I was told they were not allowed inside. I fairly sure he wouldn't hit them because he does have some idea of how much the mean to me but I'm not 100% sure. Even if he just growled or yelled at them he'd scare them and they're already stressed with this set up. Saxon is really struggling, he's so attached to me and was with me all the time when I was at home for his whole life so far

Great minds Bertie, I'm literally just looking at house sitting sites. There are plenty of pet/house sitting jobs but I don't know if people would allow the sitter's own dogs. Maybe I can find something a bit rural where there's space. We did emergency boarding in certain situations at RSPCA ACT so I'll call Brisbane tomorrow and see if they could take them short term. Step dad came out to the dogs when they barked a bit at the neighbours arriving home at about 9:30 tonight not realizing I was out there with them. I don't know what he was going to do (I don't think he'd hit them) but I can see it coming to a head again pretty quickly!

That's a good idea DAF, I'll look into it. Thanks Mrs RB. It did cross my mind to go back! I cant afford that now either. I used all my savings to fix up the last house (had to replace some dog damaged carpet and blinds) and getting up here. I knew it would be an issue, why didn't I trust my instincts? Definitely think hard before deciding to stay with your mum!

Thanks Tatelina, that's fantastic!

Ok, scratch Don't Fret Pet, it's way more expensive than kennels so can't afford that!

Thanks for the comments everyone :) I've asked Troy to move the thread to General so more people see it. I'm going through job ads and applying for anything I might have a shot at so hopefully it won't take too long to get something! I will do a letterbox drop tomorrow, good idea mr. Their breeders would have been a great idea bjelkier! They are in Canberra and Orange so it would be along way to ship them for what I hope will only be a short time but I should have thought to send them to the breeders before I left Canberra then arrange to have them flow up. It didn't even occur to me! Denali, the 11th is much better than nothing if I haven't sorted anything by then :) A post on your FB page would br fantastic, it doesn't have to be a DOLer, just a dog lover! I've just thought of Don't Fret Pet and those other dog sitting services so I'll look into that as well. Poochmad, no friends up here in a position to take on a dog. My sister in Brisbane would normally take Saxon probably but she's in her last two weeks of work before mat leave and tired and stresses at the moment so can't do it now. Bertie, I'm looking for hospitality, admin or animal care work. I'd like to stay on the Gold Coast but would consider Brisbane for the perfect job. There was a live in kennel manager job that included a house on site that would ha e been great but they'd already filled it by the time I saw it and just hadn't taken the ad down. There seems to be plenty of work around on the GC, I just hope someone will employ me!

I just remembered this thread. 02dogs when are you looking for someone? Do you know how your girls are with other dogs being around? Is it just each other they don't like?

No, I asked. Step dad says I was told the dogs could not be inside. Thank you though the idea :)

As I predicted, and my mum insisted would not be the case, it is not working having my three dogs staying with me at my mum and step-dad's place on the Gold Coast while I look for a job and place to live I dithered and dithered about moving up in time to be with the family for Christmas but without having a job to go to but mum was really keen to have me here as we haven't had Christmas as a family for years, and it was logistically hard to get a job long distance as well as being able to start far enough in the future to give the required notice on my last house so I decided to arrive here on 23 Dec (now wishing I had made a different decision but too late). So we've been here a week and a half. Obviously nothing much has been happening over the holiday period so I don't have either a job or a house yet, though I am applying. The dogs are not allowed inside and have a run type area down the side of the house which is all concrete. The house next door is close to the fence and on Saturday the neighbours mentioned they were disturbed by the dogs making noise on Friday night. This was the night when Quinn had had an allergic reaction and after taking her to vet in the afternoon and getting her fixed up she puffed up again during the night. I was worried about her airway so I brought her in to sleep on the tiled bathroom floor with me (so she wouldn't get hair on the carpet). Apparently Saxon was upset that she had gone with me but he hadn't and was whinging and barking for ages. They have barked a bit at other times - they are barky dogs anyway, and they're not used to being outside on their own when people are home but I have citronella collars on Quinn and Riley which helps a lot, they are only barking at unusual noises and only a few barks and they are actually being remarkably good if you know how dogs are but the run area is all concrete, the houses are all big on small blocks so close together so the sound echoes and carries. The neighbours who spoke to mum were very nice about it apparently but they told mum that some neighbours might complain to council and she is worried about that, plus I don't have a good relationship with my step dad (silent tension that came to a head today) so I've been constantly stressed about anything the dogs do making him angry. I've also been spending hours out and about with the dogs as they are not allowed out of their run at the house and that is not all that conducive to getting a job/house as soon as possible They didn't flat out say I had to find somewhere else for the dogs right now but they need to know my contingency plan if I can't keep them quiet. I can't stop them making any noise while they are here and I'm not allowed to bring them inside or put them in the fenced area on the other side of the house that is bigger, grassed and edging onto the street. I just know there will be further issues with my step dad and his tolerance will be even less now that we've argued, and if any of the neighbours or god forbid council say anything else I'm not sure what will happen. I am completely kicking myself for getting into this situation and will always go completely with my gut on such things in future! But in the meantime I can't afford boarding for them right now (although will be able to when I get a job) if I can even find room in a kennel and I'm wondering if any DOLers in the area might be able to help with looking after one or more for a short time. I can't say exactly how long as it will depend on when I can secure a house but I can say I'm desperate to get somewhere and will be doing everything I can to find anywhere that will take the dogs. I will also happily move them into a boarding kennel as soon as I have funds and can find a spot. Dogs are (full disclosure): Saxon: 6kg Poodle x Malt (male) 5.5 years old Very people orientated, good with other dogs although can be snappy if approached by a dog when eating (has never escalated beyond growling and snapping). Will occasional growl/snap if he is accidentally stood on/hurt by another dog but again has never escalated beyond that. Occasionally takes offence at overly boisterous, "rude" larger dogs, particularly black ones - as in teenagers that bowl up and do the in your face, all over sniff greeting but is fine with "normal" dog behaviour and fine once he gets to know a dog. Likes cats but may annoy them by trying to play with them dog style, although would back down if the cat told him off. My cat never quite got up the courage to tell him off and just waited for me to save him but all the dogs went skittering when an overnight foster cat hissed at him from inside her crate. Likes all kinds of people, good with kids, although not used to spending large amounts of time with them so may need to be able to escape. Not officially crate trained but settles well into a crate when I've travelled with him or stayed with friends. Toilet trained and will hold as long as possible to go on grass although will go on concrete (or a leaf or a stick) if he absolutely has to. Riley: 7kg Sheltie (male) Nearly 4 years old Can be reserved with humans but some days decides he loves them, seems to be becoming much more people orientated of late and once he knows you a bit is super affectionate. Very soft natured so not suited to "harder" training methods or being shouted at. BARKY! He is seriously barky, the epitome of a noisy Sheltie. He is really good when wearing his citronella collar so as long as you keep that on him when you want quiet you shouldn't have a problem, I hope. I'm fine with it being on all the time if necessary. Can be reactive towards certain softer natured/less confident dogs that are younger than about 2 years old BUT he is definitely more likely to react when he is close to me so I suspect without me there he wouldn't have the confidence. He also knows the cue "be nice" and will do so then come to me for a reward (food/praise/pats). And once he gets to know a dog he is is fine with them even if he initially reacted. Finds kids to be aliens but is getting more comfortable with them with exposure and has some friends in gentle kids. The other day I pushed him a bit with a boisterous little boy who was being quite rough and persistent with him (Riley was sitting on a bench right up against me so I was ready to intervene at any moment) and although he was uncomfortable he showed absolutely no sign of aggression, just moved closer to me and would have run away if he could have. Having said that obviously I wouldn't want him pushed to see how much he'd actually tolerate! Cats - same as Saxon above. Not properly crate trained but slept in one as a puppy and would settle fine in one, however he's likely to pee on bedding if he needs to go. Would probably need to be outside unless you are willing to risk accidents (he's ok with me but I know him and when I see his very subtle signs I tell him "outside" and he'll wait for me to take him out. Would go well with someone with some Sheltie experience but would be fine somewhere else too. Quinn: 19kg Australian Shepherd (female) 3 years old Smart, curious, can be destructive if interesting things are left around but will not try to get through fences etc. Can and will open lever door handles, fridges and cupboards so would need to be kept away from any of those unless they have sturdy child locks. Loves people, loves kids especially but can be a bit rough and jumpy. She has become much much better with this but it has taken a lot of training. She knows the cue "stay down Quinny" and generally will when told but you have to keep an eye on her when she is excited. Great with other dogs but is a confident, entire bitch and will respond to aggressive behaviour from other dogs and will tell off other dogs if they push her on something she really wants. She really is very appropriate about it and will give off clear (in dog language) warnings and/or conflict avoidance signals before doing anything else. She would probably not be good with another similar dog though as neither would be inclined to back down IF something happened. As above with cats. Will bark at unusual noises and if she really wants to get to a human or dog to play but doesn't bark indiscriminately like Riley. She wears the citronella collar because he starts and she joins in. Toilet trained and will hold as long as she can, although if she really has to go she's been known go inside. (In my last place the yard was not secure so they were inside when i was out which is why Quinn and Riley will toilet inside sometimes. They had a pee pad area set up and would go there). They are pretty good dogs really and will respond to sit, wait, leave it, get down cues from people other than me. They are pretty adaptable. Would love to sleep inside and hang out with the people but are coping fine sleeping in a little area of the garage with the door open out to their run. They would cope actually outside if necessary if they had some shelter. They're respond well to consistency and will learn routines pretty quickly (eg. They stopped making any attempt to get out the gate when I leave them in their run within a couple of days of me telling the" "wait there" as I went out). They'd be ok either separately, in a pair or all together and with or without other dogs/animals. Diet wise they will be fine with whatever's easiest, no issues and will eat pretty much anything (Saxon at least if they are hungry enough) but I'm very happy to provide their food or money, whatever suits you. Obviously any vet expenses would be covered by me and if it becomes necessary I'd their provide flea/tick meds however I really hope it won't be two weeks! I'm happy to drive them anywhere within two hours or so if it means the "right" place for them and I'm happy to visit and exercise them as much as I can (distance/time when I start work permitting) or not if you prefer. So that's a massive post, sorry. Feel free to ask me any questions. Any help would be really really appreciated, I hate this situation but I don't know what else to do PS if someone has another solution, knows of a dog friendly rental or house sitting position I would also love to hear it :)

Thank you for the concern everyone :) She's looking good this morning, the swelling is pretty much gone. I still have her in the ensuite for now. Mum (and especially step dad) are really pretty adamant about no dogs inside so I don't think they'll be convinced to let them sleep inside, although if Quinn keeps puffing up they maaaaaaay let her sleep in the ensuite I suppose. I don't think there would be cane toads in the dogs' little area, there is a solid wall around the edge and we've added mesh to the gates to stop the little dogs getting through so toads would have to go to some effort to get in there, still when I get my own place I'll have to be aware of them! I'll have a look for green head ants too. Geez, it's a bit of a shock to the system moving up here, I was most worried about ticks and heart worm, which aren't really an issue in Canberra, but there are all these other things too!

Thanks gillbear, that's useful to know. My quick googling tells me the late stage may be more severe...or may not. Anyone awake and knowledgeable as to whether I should be with her for the next few hours in case her airway closes up? (Meaning I sleep outside or sneak her in?) Eta not to worry, I couldn't deal with the concern so she's in the ensuite where I can keep an eye on her :) She seems fine. Although she's panting very fast :/

Hmm, if he has injured the same claw a couple of times I'd be inclined to have it removed. 8 isn't super old for a jrt x staffy so unless he has issues with GA I'd be inclined to wait the few days, see what happens and if it hasn't fallen off do the surgery then. If it does fall off but the injury happens a third time I'd go with surgery then for sure. IME as a human nail things hurt!!

This afternoon I came home and went out to get the dogs to take them to the beach and Quinn's face was all puffed up. I took her to the vet, assuming an allergic reaction. The vet agreed it was probably a reaction to a bee sting or ant bite and have her an injection of antihistamine and one of cortisone. The swelling immediately started to go down and returned almost to normal but not quite. Since then (I saw her about 2:45, vet at 3:45, now 1am in Qld) she puffed up again about 9:30pm, went down again by about 10:15pm, was ok at 11:30ish when I checked her and is a bit puffy again now. Her breathing has appeared ok throughout and her heart rate and temp were ok at the vet this arvo. This hasn't happened before but we're staying with my mum having just moved to the Gold Coast and the dogs are in an outside run area with a sleeping area inside the garage. She hasn't had access to plants out there and I can't think of anything she's eaten that she hasn't had before. I can't see a bunch of ants or bees around their area, just a couple of cockroaches. Any thoughts on why she might be puffing up and going down again like this? I've been checking her breathing and responsiveness tonight to make sure I don't need to take her to the emergency vet but should I take her back to the clinic we went to today in the morning? There doesn't seem to be much point injecting her again as she was puffy again 5 hours after the injections tonight but I don't want to risk it if there might be something they can do tomorrow. Sigh, I've been lucky with her health wise so far, of course now I'm unemployed and staying with mum where she's not allowed to sleep inside with me something happens!

Yay chaostheory! Gosh I love Griffons! What great little dogs

Because absolutely you want a family pet to react like that to a child bothering it while it has a valuable resource if it happens to occur but you don't use a child to train it or push and push a dog to prove how much it will tolerate. Nor do you teach a child that grabbing at things in a dog's mouth is ok. Regardless of the danger, it's rude and I wouldn't want my child thinking it's appropriate to just take anything it wants. Teach the kid to cue the dog to 'give', teach to dog to 'give' on cue and not react badly if things go awry but don't encourage the child to harass the dog.

On my shopping list Staffyluv. The only biscuits I have in the house are Vita Wheat and Peckish Rice Crackers so guess what Danny's late night supper was. To be honest, I didn't see it like that at the time. In fact, I think he would be horrified to think he had been tactless or had caused offence. Yes, I didn't think for a moment he did either. Next time I see him I will investigate the vet's remark further. I probably wouldn't bother investigating the vet's remark further, I don't think it's a scientific diagnosis that turning down BBQ chook means anything! You know Danny better than anyone else, neighbour or vet. He's taking his meds and whatever you can get him to eat is good. Try Milk Arrowroots maybe with yogurt and honey to get something into him

Wow, I watched that with jaw dropped I can see why the parents were so impressed with the dog around the baby, and how they were trying to demonstrate sharing between the baby and the dog, and I even think it's unlikely that dog would snap at that child. What concerns me is the lack of understanding that they are impressing on the child that its ok to bother a dog when it has something. There's no way the child is going to be able to properly understand that it can do that to its own dog because they have a bond but CANNOT do that to other dogs because its really dangerous. There's also every chance that the dog will tolerate that from its own little human but not tolerate it from anyone else so I hope they don't take that to mean the dog is fine with ANYONE harassing it while it has a resource. Good on them for taking the comments on board and seeking advice

Fees have gone up since I left but yes there is a standard release fee for any dog whatever the time plus a boarding fee per day if the dog is there overnight or longer. I don't know why they bathed her but the charge wouldn't have been for that, it's to cover the time spent to scan the dog, check m/c registers, make phone calls, search lost lists, take photos, post found notices, kennel the dog and clean up and disinfect after it.

Agree with everyone else but all the factors being too much, and yes, take him back in a few weeks for a short, positive session but don't just let him play around, put him on the table and have the groomer do some pleasant but no nonsense handling and maybe trimming so he continues to learn that the groomers is not about playtime :) I don't think you've done any damage with the pigs ear at this early stage but strongly agree with TSDs advice about giving a reward after he's given you the desired behaviour. With my poodle x I started off giving him little pieces of cheese at intervals throughout his (short to start with) grooming sessions with pats, praise and a happy "all done" at the end. I gradually lengthened to grooming time and the intervals between rewards as well as only ever stopping when he was cooperating, not if he was fussing, and now at 5 he's just used to it and although he doesn't love it he tolerates grooming without a fuss. Small steps and you'll be fine :)

Hahahahaha, that's so weird! And cute.

Yes, agree. K, as long as she seems happy enough, if a bit perplexed, and the symptoms aren't worsening, I'd just keep monitoring her, as you've said.

Quinn's 3 and not puppyish at all but she still does all of the things listed above (except get an erection lol)! They grow up so quickly that the longer they seem puppy like the better IMO. I totally agree with CK about how they suddenly seem so grown up as soon as you see an actual puppy puppy :)

Funnily enough, none of them, even Riley Sheltie bark or make a fuss when I leave. I often do feed them their meal as I'm about to leave or give them something to do to keep them occupied but they're fine if I don't leave them with anything. It's when I come home that I was having problems. Riley would start as soon as he heard the car pull up then Quinn would join in until I got inside. Hence the bark collars. Jules, I totally sympathise with the stress factor! Since my neighbours complained I'm so alert to every noise the dogs make, day or night and I'm always ready to jump up and shush them or rush them inside and shut the door. I'm still assuming they are quiet or mostly quiet when I'm not home as I specifically asked the complaining neighbours to let me know if they were bothered any other times and they haven't but I still dread coming home to a note every day. I am starting to relax a bit now, but then I'm moving on Monday. We'll be staying with my mum and step dad for a while and that will be a whole new kettle of stress as I don't know what they might complain about with the dogs (they are not dog people)