Little Gifts

Jed I know someone in Brisbane who used to breed Cav's and who knows you or knows of you. I will email her now and check if she can assist as if she was I know she would be happy to care for your dogs as long as was needed. I know she broke up with her partner and moved so that may be the only reason she can't. Will PM you when I hear back from her.

This is a fantastic milestone! Go Tammy!

My young staffy girl Stussy is a toy lover. If I am having a bad day and am lying down with the doona pulled over my head hoping the world will just leave me alone she will jump on the bed with her fave toy of the moment and drop it onto my chest. It's so beautiful that she senses I need cheering up. My sister's husky cross Wolf has a terrible habit with poor Stussy. They start playing and Wolf grabs Stussy's inner back leg and flips her to the ground. If any of you have been to a rodeo it is the trick jackaroos use with poddy calfs to bring them down. Then when Stussy is down Wolf just looks around like "What? I aint done nothin!" And my oldest staffy Ricky has always had a thing for licking ears - inside and out, dogs and cats, she can go for half an hour on each ear easy. Why you would want to clean out someone else's ear is beyond me. She makes their ears so wet they can hardly stand up under the weight of all her spit. We all avoid her kisses afterwards!

Katie I always adored Harry's toothy face and could see how much he and Lola loved each other. He was a special boy. You let him go with love and when it was clearly his time. I am sorry for your loss but you did the right thing by Harry and that is what matters most. Alyson

Mine doesn't involve poo but as a toddler my favourite 'toy' was our dog Chimmy. No idea what breed he was but he was face to face with me so obviously he was of the short legged variety. Anyway I used to sit on the back steps gumming my vegemite toast and without fail Chimmy would steal it and make me cry and mum would rouse on me and tell me not to sit there where he could get it. One day I got angry about the loss of my uneaten toast and bit Chimmy on the ear. Chimy turned around and bit me back. Apparently mum came out to the back door and we were both sitting there crying.

I ordered some dog tees. They took ages to arrive and I rang and was advised it was a stock issue. Probably about a month before they arrived and then one was the wrong size so I had to send it back and wait for the replacement another couple of weeks. The guy was very apologetic each time I rang but I want internet purchased goods to arrive within a 5 working day period or I may as well just go to the shop and buy them. So I wont use them again.

Quick you just reminded me - my naughty girl also ate a couple of used tampons (my sister's) quite recently but she chewed them first so they came out ok.

My sister has taken the idea/info to Dreamworld staff and she is going to collect donations and make up as many boxes as she can with them. I'd rather spend money on this than for Christmas presents for family and friends!

How my staffy girl made it to 3 is a miracle. She likes the regular items like the stuffing from pillows and doonas and my ear plugs but she has eaten a whole pack of contraceptive pills, a 6 month supply of heartworm/worm tabs, some anti depressants, several cd's and dvd's and parts of their cases, parts from a wire basket, a mobile phone, jars and jars of vaseline, numerous tubes of lip balm, loads of tissues (mainly used) anything with plastic on it stupidly left outside the back door (think handles of washing baskets) and one of those energy saving light bulbs. My vet is horrified. I'm horrified. The dog doesn't seem to care and so far it has all safely come out one end or the other. She is of course a lot better now and my house is like fort knox. Whenever she is too quiet we always run and check and usually she has something in her mouth - it's where she puts everything she can find.

Ozstar is the blue in frenchies a health issue like in staffies? This fella is a real cutie but I'd hate to think he might have health risks associated with his prettiness.

I found the missing moles on my staffy! Phew - I didn't want to be left out!

I just got back to work after a few weeks holiday and sent the info around. So far 10 people want to help make as many packages as we can and another workgroup is going to do their own. I'm going to the post office today to buy our boxes. I'm so proud of everyone here for wanting to get involved as I harrass them all the time to fund raise for rescue so you think they would be sick of me!

I can only find one on either side and one underneath on my staffy girl so maybe she's not even a dog? I'm serious here - I can only find 3! Maybe they were surgically removed to confuse me or it is a secret staffy club conspiracy.....

i don't think it is so much that they are missing out on stuff as much as it is about people back here in aus thinking about them, a package at christmas for a soldier who has no one thinking of him/her at christmas would surely cheer some one up who is in such a god for saken place, some one taking a little time out of their life to think of someone else makes that someone else feel quite special - even if it is a complete stranger. thats how i feel about it anyway, so many other posters obviously feel the same way, would you not feel special to wake up one day and have someone deliver to you for no other reason than "because they could" a hamper full of stuff that you never asked for, stuff to spoil yourself with??? There would still have to be soldiers not lucky enough to have someone at home willing and able to send them surprise packages and I would assume that the soldiers already receiving stuff from home will be less likely to take one of the boxes we send anyway. It is the gesture that says we are thinking about them as well as the contents inside the box. I am going to try and make mine more festive now so it really is about spoiling someone. Or I might do something silly like say "There was a christmas raffle at work and you won it!" or do a 12 Days of Christmas kind of thing. I'm sure they will be well fed on Christmas Day but I'd like them to open up these boxes and go "OMG! Look at what someone has sent me!" Even if they don't use all the items they can swap or give them away.

Melz I was thinking about your last lot of questions. In our household we have a husky/shep cross bitch of 7. She came to the house with my sister who has her very well trained and responsive. But this dog thinks it is her role to discipline the other 2 dogs (as well as friends dogs when they are all together). We call her the fun police because she is always trying to stop play between the other two and if the younger one is playing by herself tries to stop that as well. She does other things like stopping the dogs from moving through doorways or up the stairs or from getting on the furniture without permission. She basically makes a high pitched bark noise and kind of snaps at them (but doesn't connect with them) and then looks to us (for praise or ????). Whenever she does it we correct her calmly, remove her from the situation and encourage the other dogs to continue playing. It has never escalated anything between any of the dogs but we feel it is not her role to discipline the others - it is ours. It is like she is dobbing on them for doing something she doesn't feel is right. Given I own dogs as pets and not for breeding or any other purpose, if I had to keep dogs seperate from each other to avoid the fights and injuries then I would have to rehome the dog causing it to an only dog home as obviously the environment I could offer it was not right. It would break my heart to do it but I think it would feel that I was failing it otherwise. But that is just me - I know there are others (like tdierikx) who have the strength and skill to manage it.

My two staffy bitches would fight until someone gave in and unfortunately for one of them to give in it would only be because they were seriously injured. I usually don't go mad on either dog. I immediately seperate them. I check the most injured one first simply cleaning up their wounds and seeing if vet treatment is necessary. Then I do the same with the other. I don't talk to them during this. Once I am satisfied that they are both ok physically and have both gone back to their usual calm selves I simply open the doors and release them into the main part of the house with everyone else. They usually go to each other and sniff each other and then lie with each other calmly. We have never had a situation where a fight has started again quickly after a previous fight. I am also like Erny though - I am the top dog in this household. I don't mind my dogs on the lounge or bed but if they want up they only get it when I say it is ok. They only get special treats and toys when I say it is ok and I give them out in the order I want to based on how well they are behaving and what we are doing. In relation to meals though we have a routine that works well and it is linked to how fast they all eat. The slowest has her bowl down first then the next fastest, etc. That way they finish at the same time and go out to toilet afterwards. If the young one is showing any signs of mania in her eyes while I am preparing dinner then I stop and go and do something else. And we have also done gesture eating for all the dogs and topped up the youngest ones bowl while she was eating so she can see that food comes from me - not the other dogs. We follow a similar thing with visitors. The young girl gets very worked up with excitement at the front door when someone she loves arrives and I will often shut the door again and send her away if she is struggling to behave. She calms down and can come and greet whoever it is with some control otherwise she would be snapping at the others and jumping over them to get closest, which is not acceptable to me. Basically I don't want any of the dogs to see themselves as higher than the others. I am the top and that should be all that matters to them. Our routines are about keeping things calm rather than reinforcing one dog over another. The other thing we will be starting soon is seperate one on one exercise/walks. Play is often only with the younger dog (the others are not into toys) but we have always walked and exercised them together and with other dogs we know. As the old girl can't walk as far now and wont use her dog pram we are going to try seperate walk times and see if this upsets or alters anything. I'm hoping it might reinforce that I am the one to look up to.

Lana I think you have to trust what you know about your dogs to date. You can't predict or prevent everything. The only other issue we ever had was a rescue staffy and her litter who took a disliking to a particular female pup. I was wanting to keep the pup but given I'd already determined the mother would stay with me that pup was rehomed. She never hurt the pup but growled at it to stay away from her. So now to have a 3 year old desexed staffy bitch who is a little unpredictable is a bit of a shock, but the issues showed up when she was about 6 months old so we have worked on managing them. She generally is very social with other dogs and people and incredibly cuddly but there is something inside her that causes her to lose the plot if she feels she is not getting her share of something or if she gets overly excited. I see it in her face and have to caution her immediately to make her refocus. And even after the fights she and the older dog will lie next to each other sniffing each others wounds so I know it isn't a true hate fest. The test for us will be after the old girl passes on as we will attempt to go back to fostering but only younger males. If she remains the same then we will know it is an ongoing problem and not related to a specific dog.

Don't some of our core body muscles go a bit lax with age causing incontinence? Maybe it is the same with dogs? While sleeping everything just kind of loosens up and if a bit of poop is hanging around in there it just kind of rolls out while they sleep? If they were awake they'd be more concious of it I guess?

Yep, that is a wonderful idea and I'm going to spread the word through my workplace to do something as well. They will only send to the soldiers as I figure us DOLers will cover the dogs. This is a practical way of showing our support. I for one have no real idea of how hard it is for them over there and what they do without.

I have 2 desexed SBT bitches. Once the youngest one hit sexual maturity she kept challenging the older girl. Their last fight was only about a year ago and even though the older girl is now over 16 the young one still never got the upper hand on her. It is the worst experience trying to seperate 2 dogs neither who are prepared to give in. I just crash in a heap afterwards and have had some finger injuries from trying to seperate them. As we have 3 bitches in this house we got a behaviouralist in and we are fully aware of the signs of a fight from the young one and get her under control immediately. Injuries since we had the behaviouralist in have been very minimal but before then they would both have pulpy lips and ears from biting and shaking each other. Just awful. And they are fine together most of the time - they groom each other and sleep together but if the young one thinks the old one is getting something she isn't she gets on the defensive and it can be on. She has tried the same thing with the husky for the same reasons but with all the hair she never gets a hold and the husky just retreats to safety so we get things under control very quickly. I have to wonder what role us humans play in this though because we have never come home to evidence of a scrap. Surely if it was a straight dominance issue they would fight while we were absent as well?

Micro suede here too. I hate chunky/heavy furniture and have not personally found leather to my liking in the hot QLD weather. I used to have a fabric 6 by 6 foor corner lounge and the toenails tore it to pieces (then someone started eatng the foam out of it!). I bought 3 x 6 foot lounges in an almost navy blue color from Super A Mart. They also fold out to be very comfy double beds for our frequent visitors. We have a white staffy, a black staffy and a husky/shep and I simply vacuum the lounges and wipe them over with a damp cloth and they look new again. Had them a year now and they always have dogs on them but no holes or stains. Each one cost me $299.

I think that's really sad but of course I appreciate that a lot of people hate spending money on their pets and aren't regulars at their vets so go on about the cost. Hey if they took some preventative measures for their pet from the get go then maybe they wouldn't have expensive vet bills! I personally have never felt over charged or that my concerns weren't treated as valid. I get follow up phone calls, I know all the staff and they know me and I know them. They always squeeze me in if I feel it is urgent and they will give me over the phone advice and let me pick up medication (that the dogs have had previously) without another appointment. That's a lot more than I get from my own doctor who I have been seeing for the past 10 years! So Vetrg - thank you for all you do. There are those of us who really appreciate the efforts of a good vet and their staff.

Mine both sleep on the bed with me but mornings can start differently. If my sister goes to work before me then she opens my door and her big hairy beast come and sleeps on the bed with us till it is time for my alarm to go off. Then she is all business, getting the other two off the bed and out of my room ready for their morning toilet break. then all into the kitchen where they can watch all the exits in case I try and sneak out of the house without giving them breakfast (which of course never happens). Some mornings my old girl wakes between 4 and 6 and decides she's awake for the day. Usually she does this when she has kept me awake all night wanting to get on and off the bed for a drink or toilet break (she has dementia). So these days the younger one (usually under my doona fast asleep) and I usually groan and try and ignore her as best we can while she walks all over us, tries to make us play, licks us, barks at us and is generally a pest until we get up. Whilst I do scream at her to leave me alone she is deaf so it makes no difference! Then other days it is the young girl who decides I should be up (those days I don't have work and would like a sleep in). She has been known to sit on my chest (18kgs), lick my face, scratch the doona off me, bark at me, whatever it takes. Then once I give in and wake up she flops herself over my body and wants either chest or inner thigh scratches. I only know which by her back legs kicking me in the relevant direction. If I don't properly commit to morning scratches and start falling asleep again she pokes or licks my face. Then once I am out of the bed she and the older girl play fight until I open my door and my sister's dog comes in and rouses on them for being 'naughty' and drives them out for a pee. I wonder why I'm tired.....

My young staffy girl has been out of sorts all day and hasn't eaten or drunk anything despite my efforts. I've been checking her for a stomach upset, temp, tick, gums, bowel blockage and got no indicators of anything specific. Then she started to tremble and get all clumsy on the floor so I raced her to the vet. Of course by the time we got there the fact she had her walking harness on and had been for a car ride pepped her right up! My vet is hilarious and such an animal lover herself. I have been seeing her for 22 years now and she has no filter on what she says - if you've been a bad owner you hear about it! I once got in a lot of trouble when she found a flea on one of my dogs! So she checked Stussy over for all the usual suspects and there were indications of a temp and bladder infection so out she went with me to try for a pee sample. We walked and chatted and walked and chatted but no pee. In her german accent out the front of the vet she is going "Go wee wees dahling!" Stussy was very upset to be going back into the surgery so she gave her some treats while we discussed what to do. Then Stussy started carrying on like an evil witch in a forest. It got worse when we went back out into the waiting area to pay the bill because another dog was there. So my vet just comes back out, taps me on the shoulder and tells me to pay next time I'm in so I can get my sick girl home and calm her back down. What a sweetheart! Mind you I spend so much money there I have a VIP card so I guess she knows I'll be back for something else and paying the bill any day now!

I've just come back from an emergency trip to the vets myself but our outcome was good. I'm so very sorry you had this horrific experience with your lovely boy and I hope he pulls through and you find out what caused it. Even if they can't find a bite mark I think they can tell from how the dogs body is reacting. My vet just did those checks on my dog (gums, lymph nodes) but said there were no signs relevant to a tick or a snake bite. I would also think the symptoms of a snake bite would show up fairly quickly as it moves through the blood stream. I've had 3 spider bites myself and with the worst one the affect happened within minutes in the local area and not long after throughout other areas of my body. I'll be sending healing thoughts Chase's way. Poor bubba.