Skruffy n Flea

thanks y'all for the replies it certainly was an interesting experience and thankfully, it was over in a day --- they normally roughhouse several times throughout the day with there being an even 'top dog' balance but byron was almost relentless in his pursuit! oh, and i neglected to mention that byron did the ole air hump too i've never witnessed him doing that before! becks, bella didn't appear stressed by byron's attention and given she is top dog, i deferred to her but kept a close eye on them all the same ;) tdierikx, i did wonder about the perfume but they've both worn that scent before --- your story about the rotti and the special shampoo made me giggle... sammy, he is quite aloof with strange dogs, rarely approaching them and the only time i did see him show interest and it was in a playful way, it was with another little dog he's come to know at the dog park --- he certainly doesn't assert dominance :p t-time, i have to admit that the zoomies that afternoon were most entertaining, particularly when the kitty decided to get involved dogmad, under any other circumstance, i most certainly would put a stop to such behaviour but this episode seemed to be directly related to being groomed noisymina, your post made me laugh crazycresties, when i risk life and limb to return bobbie [10 mo kitten] to safe ground, bella shows her displeasure by humping bobbie bobbie just lays there and takes it but perhaps in time, bobbie will exact certain revenge having endured such humiliation again, thanks to everyone for the replies --- and i had a good chuckle to boot!

'allo i had my two swfs groomed today and even before leaving the salon, bryon just hasn't left bella alone --- well, they're both sleeping now BUT from about 3pm today 'til say 10 pm tonight, byron just could not keep his thrusting hips to himself! every time bella moved, he was on her; left side, top side, back side!!! i have to say that i've not seen his lippy that much in one day as i have in the 12 months since we adopted him! OH tells me that he doesn't think it's dominance one wee bit; that it's most definitely sexual!!! really!?!? is this normal behaviour for a freshly groomed 3 yo [desexed] male dog?!? bella most certainly is a looker and yeah, she smelled purdy but DAMN, byron just wouldn't, NAY couldn't leave her alone! any advice dolers!?!?

yup, i agree too with noisymina --- he could very well have sensed something was happening in the lead up to your trip. anxiety tho can have a pretty big impact on a dog --- and a cat --- and getting them settled from any sort of 'out of the norm' upheaval can take some time for them to recover! mid-september 'til mid october, my household had many different things happening; from the dogs being kenneled [never been kenneled before] to different and strange yet friendly peeps staying at the house followed then by a short stint with us at a dog-friendly [yet not] farm --- i swear neither of my dogs ate a day's ration during that whole time and even now [a month later] i still have my battles at feeding time. so, i'd bet anxiety might be playing a part in this behaviour --- that's my opinion at least good luck wags; i hate it when my dogs don't want to eat what i'm offering them --- it makes me feel inadequate

thanks for your replies! firstly, neither bella nor byron have heavy coats nor do they have what i'm told is a secondary coat and they shed very very very little and secondly, i brush [with 3 different brushes] weekly; a rubber mit, followed by a soft brush and then pins --- every so often i'll back brush with a slicker !?? [wirey yet softish] brush they both have long-ish hair: bella's being medium length wire-ish [is that the right spelling?!?] hair, byron's longer but straight and parted in the middle we've had some pretty interesting weather lately and even tho i reckon we're in for a mild summer here in sydney, i didn't want my dogs feeling 'it' SO they were both given a groom today and i hafta say, i already miss their fluffy selves further to that, mother nature pissed on us today, making it likely to be the coldest day in november in recorded history *spits* irrespective, it will likely be sweltering heat in the next day, week, month and so then i will feel vindicated *punches air* i was assured by the groomer that come winter, their coats will be well on the way to full length and THAT is what i wanted i had bobbie [the torbie] bathed today as well she smells just as gorgeous k, so now to tin tax... irrespective of how great they all smell, feel to the touch and what that does for our environment, is $146 for a bath, nail trim and cut [for two] PLUS a bath and nail trim [for one] a lot!?!? in the off season [ie, every 3 months], we only do a bath, face and butt trim for the dogs and nail trim for all 3 = $107.50 ... bella and bryon won't be getting another total body job 'til next november but i think bobbie would do well being bathed every 3 months! so, every 3 months = $118! in the off season! is that reasonable!??! byron has always had itchy skin and i think him now having a close cut may have exacerbated that condition --- i used a wet towel and wiped him over [particularly his under parts] then applied some aloveen conditioner and that seems to have calmed him down and he is now sleeping peacefully bella too is scratching a wee bit more but it doesn't seem to be to the same level as byron they are both paying particular attention to their respective bare bits and butts! i hope it will pass in the next day or too, otherwise i'll be on the phone with the groomers on monday for an explanation and perhaps some remedy! i should bare *no pun* in mind that this is the first time i've had either of them trimmed [i don't know about byron's previous life tho, but most definitely i do with bella]... there is more to this topic than meets the eye but i shall save that for another thread i am keen to explore and take on the self-groom role! oh, back to my questions please refer bolded bits above srsly, thanks for your input edited to correct formatting

hello :D it has come the time that my two dogs [swf] be clipped and it will cost $55 per dog... i anticipate that, given their particular coat, i will not need to clip again until summer next year... what is your experience?

so far so good --- i was in touch with sherel just a few nights ago to let them know that with our upheavals, we hadn't been able to trial black hawk effectviely BUT over the past 2 weeks, it would seem that the little of black hawk i had introduced to their diet and now in a more concentrated effort over the past week at least i have already started to notice a difference... i am glad to hear that black hawk comes in smaller packages --- i have 2 swfs :D

i'm thinking you need to impress upon your friend that dogs are pack animals and this continuing disconnection is very much confusing her dog because it doesn't know where it belongs [did someone say that already!??!] do what you can because your friend is being non compos mentis and that puts her dog at grave risk...

my boy byron: nickname yoda:

i must add too that me coming to and reading the news forum is BIG for me :D

reading the last few posts determined that i need not read the other thread :D

i know you said toowoomba, but if all else fails, i could accommodate for a few short months :D

i had to google PBGV = Petit Basset Griffon Vendeen and OMG! what a gorgeous dog! i don't have unusual looking dogs altho i do think byron looks somewhat unusual --- his vet said the other day that he looked x'd with a tibetan spaniel! idk really :D but he is most certainly gorgeous

WHy would you own a STORE thats sells animals if you didn't care about making money? I don't own the store but it was brought as an investment for a friend from their father. she is unable to change the name of the store either she looked into it. her cages are always clean, animals rotated and removed out the back , clean water etc. she makes more money from the sales of other items and there was a few months their where her cages were empty so yeah its not always about the money, your friend needs to consult a lawyer If she owns a PP store chances are its a Franchise so she wouldn't be able to change the name, with or without a lawyer. ... yup! totally accept that BUT a corporate lawyer can have her 'out' of that franchise and 'in' her own by a few strokes of a pen --- i've seen it happen.

WHy would you own a STORE thats sells animals if you didn't care about making money? I don't own the store but it was brought as an investment for a friend from their father. she is unable to change the name of the store either she looked into it. her cages are always clean, animals rotated and removed out the back , clean water etc. she makes more money from the sales of other items and there was a few months their where her cages were empty so yeah its not always about the money, your friend needs to consult a lawyer

sorry moosmum, that link didn't work at all so let me fix it here: click here then type 'dogs' in the search box. that'll reveal a list of archived newspaper articles that are date referenced. again, good luck :D

i did a search for 'dogs' on the 'times of london' archive site and found this list. if the page doesn't load just click your browser's refresh button and then click 'retry' on the dialog box that then appears on your screen. you need to subscribe in order to gain access to any of the archives. there is also a 'contact us' link on the bottom left of the page. i don't know if i've been of much help but i would certainly love to read the letter that was credited with bringing the practice almost to halt over night. good luck moosmum :D

bella, my first ever dog, has been exposed to as much as we could possibly expose her to, thanks largely to DOL, cesar and of course the interwebz --- from our perspective, unless she alerts us to something new, there isn't very much at all that makes her feel uncomfortable... byron is a whole 'nuther kettle of fish but i've taken the same view --- and now there is also bobbie, my foster fail kitty! byron had an issue with a wind storm back in about july this year and i've worked with him to allay his fears to the point now that he no longer shakes nor pants --- he does however still grow velcro! these past few months have been interesting weather-wise so i've been mindful to expose byron and bobbie to whatever the weather was doing. mid to late this arvo we had a cracker of a storm here, starting with a light but loud sprinkle of rain but about a half hour or so later the hail hit --- bella was fine, interested and sniffing the little rocks of ice hitting the ground but byron stood stock still in the middle of the back room, looking up at me while bobbie arched her wee body as the hail stones fell and bounced around the tiles... the hail turned into really heavy rain; loud heavy rain with thunder and lightening and this even drove bella back into the house but byron and bobbie started acting erratic, bryon looking to hide and bobbie just darting about, unsettled. so i grabbed some treats; a great distraction for the dogs, and i rattled bobbie's lil treat pack too --- suddenly, their attention was diverted... i took them all out on the back patio, put the dogs thru some paces, treating them, and dropped some of bobbie's treats on the tiles for her to enjoy and i'm happy to report that for the 10 or so minutes we spent out there on the patio, with the weather delivering heavy, loud rain, claps of thunder and sheet lightening, both dogs and the cat were distracted enuf to ignore what mother nature was handing out it might not have entirely cured byron's and bobbie's distress but i know i've gone a little way further to making their life a wee bit less distressing. rome wasn't built in a day

um, aren't they the same thing!?!? the one in our garden was stumpy tailed with a blue tongue! Possibly - but the way I know them is I refer to "Blue Tongue Lizards" as being the ones with a tail. And I refer to those who have a stump as the "Stumpy Tail". . Someone else would know better than I, I'm sure :D k, so i googled blue-tongued lizards [aka skinks]! and then i googled stumpy tailed lizards! and it's likely the one i had in my back yard was the bob-tailed blue tongue aka shingleback but aka bob-tailed lizard, sleepy lizard or stumpy-tailed lizard wow! i did not know that! EFS

what's the bolded word hi yes, it is as ATG said: srsly = seriously viz lolcats it's also another form of shorthand that i've learned over the years, taking copious handwritten notes and that style is essentially taken from grieg [i think it was called and used in america] as opposed to pitman, which is a series of strokes, lines, dots and dashes.

um, arent't they the same thing!?!? the one in our garden was stumpy tailed with a blue tongue!

i found a bluey some weeks back but thankfully my 2 swfs didn't know what to do with it --- i knew what to do; call my OH! but he was at work and i decided to lock the cat inside and take the 2 dogs for a long walk --- that gave bluey time to extricate hisself :D kitty likes to chase and take hostage the wee skinks i think they are --- i find them on the floor in back, upside down, dead :rolleyes: i hate that these wee guys have to suffer and as i scoop 'em up i very gently with a finger massage it's heart --- it'll scare me shitless if i ever brought one back to life! i grab a teaspoon and dig a wee hole in the front garden, bury 'em there, say a few words, curse kitties the world over

hello :rolleyes: my friend's long-standing fear had, over the years since her childhood experiences with her neighbour's german shep, become a healthy respect for dogs so that she was quite okay with dogs, but just not comfortable sharing space with dogs, of any type or size. she avoided dogs. my friend's long standing fear had dissipated to the extent that she was okay to give this dog, a german shep, and its handler a wide berth. my use of the term long standing fear in my related post was lateral in that as a child she'd been terrorised by a german shep --- she harbours ill-feelings about german sheps BUT when dealing with dogs, any dogs in general, she separates herself and gives them wide berth. she said she was cautious and that she felt somewhat afraid as she passed by them and the fact that she was watching the dog in her peripheral vision would confirm that. her wound will heal so the biggest thing now for my friend is that from a very young age, she felt terrorised by a neighbour's german shep and now, having put those fears to the back of her mind, those things that caused her fear when she was a child, came back in a lightening flash when none other than a german shep lunged and srsly bit her while she was out jogging in her neighbourhood. it's the darndest thing!

thanks for the replies --- i'll past that along to my friend :rolleyes:

And I'm sorry SnF. I feel as though I am just "raining on your parade" so to speak, as I've been contrary to each of your thoughts in your two related threads. nah, no biggy erny; it makes for interesting discussion and generally we learn a little bit more about stuff

LMS - There is nothing to say that the dog-handler wouldn't have. Perhaps there was too much adrenaline and too little time before SnF's friend left the scene for clear thinking to reign. i should have mentioned that erny; the handler, once she'd reeled in her dog promptly left, leaving my friend to manage on her own...