Little Gifts

I do it, but only with dogs who indicate they are struggling to keep themselves warm. I don't think foster boy Albert had ever worn a coat before and to be honest he seems to have a thick enough coat, but he's quite unsettled when he is cold. He started with a single layer one, and currently a double layer one. It was 0 degrees with very high winds last week and he wore his coat solidly for 3 days. If I tried to remove it he growled at me! So I monitor the weather and him and respond accordingly!

What a fantastic idea! I've had one with CCD (passed just shy of 17) and one with Sundowners (passed at 15.5). Both were staffords and very engaged in life right until their time came. I never thought of starting new challenges with either and was all about just maintaining things at a comfortable level for them, so I'm keen to do things differently next time based on this.

Getting his exercise in today! He's got another meet and greet tomorrow. Bit scary because she is from Canberra and he'd be a long way away if the adoption trial didn't work out. If he sabotages this meeting I think my sister and I will be having the serious conversation about foster failing him. He's been here so long now, even though we are not a perfect match I can't imagine him not being here. It's just getting harder for all of us I think.

Time for an Albert update. He's been here 4 months now and has had numerous meet and greets. These meetings started out well but as time goes on he doesn't connect with anyone and show his loving self to them - just all manic energy to drive them off! As time goes on I think it will get harder for him, and my sister and I will have to have a serious conversation about whether he stays here permanently. It's not that we don't love him but his fear of other animals and young age mean we've got years of isolation from all the things we love (fostering, having a house full of dogs, pei catch ups for instance). He's also very strong with high energy and still pulling, despite the halti. Both my sister and I have gummy wrists and are getting older and there have been a couple of instances of being pulled over (but not losing control of him). So not ideal but obviously we love him and love all the other stuff he brings to our lives. The rescue thinks/hopes the right person will still come along and he will be his best self for the person he wants to impress (have seen it before multiple times with the breed). But I'm starting to think he has made his choice whether we like it or not. So we wait....

Interesting info about that council, T. Could be wrong but I would like to think their cat containment by-laws are another strategy to reduce cat ownership issues in their LGA. They probably had no idea how many pet cats were even out there until they started the free program. Containment has been law for decades up where I live but still there are deceased cats on roads and stray/lost ones ending up in the pound, so it never fully fixes a problem. Few people register their cats up here (unlike dogs) and the cost of desexing remains a factor in people ensuring that cute kitten they got off someone for cheap doesn't have kittens of its own. I also feel the cost of living crisis is really impacting not only people keeping their pets, but the number of foster carers and adopters that are out there for all these animals. We have to humanely reduce the numbers needing assistance in the first place.

https://theconversation.com/how-to-cut-stray-cat-numbers-in-a-way-that-works-better-for-everyone-229291?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR22IsPbHxiL0O9mzfteKcfSxQHN7tmMvCmoIuqJGU5GoJ9K7lDLscS6nhM_aem_Afp5jjKMTkccLmKNGvPVjVM9il0l0B435xpaVVA43JE4owBhE3yMhDVl4bpFm5Ki8Cw5KtCfz-P1Qn4zMaFJt5Rg

I've had a few grass eaters and they only eat specific grass and it has to be tall and whispy stuff, not the mowed lawn type. I've seen them snuffle around looking for the type they are after.

I had a stafford who was bullet proof but then developed anxiety when her hearing suddenly went. Her eyesight was also diminishing with age and she went from a dog who liked to be loved kind of roughly to one who didn't want to be touched for fear of being hurt. Then she developed Sundowners too. It was a lot for her and us to deal with. Our interactions with her changed as soon as we realised - very gentle touch and cuddles. She went on Antinol Rapid (which helped her joint discomfort) and we minimised her ability to hurt herself jumping up and down off furniture (I ended up with a ramp at the end of my bed and a baby rail down one side so she had to use it. We also started making and giving her Golden Paste, which I feel also assisted. We developed big gestures to get her attention in the yard (still had an issue with alarming her to wake her). We tried an adaptil plug in the wall and then a collar but ended up using Vetalogica calming chews which worked best for her. It helped the wandering and panting reduce in the early evening. The other thing we did (recommended for doggy dementia) was get a blue light for the base of the ramp at our bed. It stayed on all night (didn't have any worries sleeping with it on) and it helped keep her settled at night. These are just some basic changes we made that worked for us. We've got a great vet so had they recommended something (medication) I would have tried that too. The doggy dementia FB page I found was really helpful too. It must be hard for them when everything starts changing and they don't know how to tell us.

I know when Jonah's dad took him on his outback adventures he had a tracker on him. Imagine trying to find a red dog amongst the red earth. PS DW's photo, not mine.

Well that's another kick in the guts or that industry.

I'm on a couple of Simple Savers type pages and pet care is a big topic right now. The good news is many people are telling others that cheap dog food is false economy because of the potential health effects (and then vet costs) but also because you have to feed your dog more for them to feel full and then they poop most of it out anyway. They been offering other ideas for making your own and having a good balance for your dogs. Same with people food. People are encouraging others to find ways to still have a balanced food intake rather than eating cheap and nasty carb laden diets. So many people who have never struggled before suddenly finding their income no longer covers everything. I'm glad I've still been living like a pauper.

Last night it was cold again and Albert was in a coat with a blankie over him. He totally melted into a Cold Coma and first his legs and then his bum fell off the chair. I tried to push them back up but it was dead weight. Took this funny photo of him suspended in limbo by his coma. Took the blanket off and it roused him back up on the chair again. He's such a weirdo! But still very cute. And still waiting for his forever home.

It was chilly here last night so we stuck one of Jonah's old coats on Albert. Not sure he's ever worn a coat before because he was initially trying to get it off. Didn't take long though! He slept like a log (with a blankie on top of course).

Some dogs are crazy agile! But I would have a heart attack if I saw that!

We go to meet ups at dog parks and that is pretty much the only time mine have ever gone to one. I walk close by my dog with the leash around my neck. Off leash and dog park should not equal 'free for all', with owners sitting looking at their phone while their dog goes crazy out of their eye sight. If my dog shows signs of discomfort it is leashed and removed from that group of dogs. Simple. We just go to another empty section of park for a sniff instead. So my advice is follow your dog during their park visit and really watch their behaviour. They can get overstimulated and you will be able to see when they are reaching that point. You leash and remove as soon as you start seeing it, even if that means leaving the park altogether. Even social dogs can get too much of a good thing.

Just terrible. Like a dodgy shelter or puppy farmer.

Yep I'm with you there T! Good breeders know these things about their pups and match them with the right family. Shitty breeders just say which one do you like the best, give me money and its yours, so new owners have no idea if they are a suitable match. And that's why you get so many surrenders when they hit their terrible teens. I've never yelled out the name of a dog as much as I have Albert. He will chew on and try to swallow anything. Often he'll come running by with something in his mouth he knows he shouldn't have simply for the attention. We are still trying to get him to understand he can get the attention he needs in other, better ways. Add to that he has lost eyesight because of neglect for a medical condition and someone has let this poor young dog down terribly.

Adding to what Schnauzer Max said you've also got a lot more people backyard breeding as a side hustle with certain breeds and colours and they are just moving those pups on quickly with no socialisation or training. All the dogs we have fostered recently have been 1 - 2 years old and had zero leash skills. 2 were/are also reactive to other dogs (one due to limited eye sight). People are getting these cute puppies without any training or socialisation and the problems just increase as they get older and stronger. They think they naturally know how to leash walk and behave when off leash with other dogs. We had one who never seemed like he'd even been in a vehicle before. Whether it is laziness on the owner's part or a lack of of knowledge about what can be achieved with training, too many dogs are deteriorating in backyards and then surrendered as too much or problematic for the owner. Very sad and not their fault.

It's been raining constantly up here and 'someone' has been going stir crazy without his walks (he did make us walk him one day in the rain even and poor D fell over and did a mud skiddy!). Today there was sun and mischief! PS He's had 2 lots of people interested in him. One has a housing issue and the other an unexpected health issue. So sad for him but maybe something will still work out with them.

I'm going to share that on FB Boronia!

My current foster boy Albert is only listed for $350 for a purebred pei who has had his entropian surgery done. Because of how sick he was initially they started a Go Fund Me for him (which I've never seen them do before). I know his vetwork has cost at least $5,000.

Mr Personality is already on Pet Rescue! https://www.petrescue.com.au/listings/1031018

Albert had a photo shoot this morning for his adoption photos. He had a quick bath early this morn so I took one just before with his bow tie on and again just after (in his watermelon bandana). In between? Well he got over being asked to do things cute and got into the frog ponds and covered with mud. Little monkey!

Another option is one of those light weight walking poles. You can buy them at places like Anaconda. Also good for bush walks!

We've got some ignorant arseholes around us. Current foster boy is dog reactive (due to limited vision for such a long time and feeling at risk). Someone down the end of the street has their dog loose in their garage all the time. It rushes out and he calls it back but one day a time will come when his dog does not pay attention to the owner's command - I can just feel it. So we can't walk down that end of our street or poor Albert will just get distressed not knowing if it will attack or not. Two days ago we went in a normally safe direction and there are new tenants with a dog just wandering around out the front. My sister stopped as soon as she saw it and the owners told the dog to go into the yard but didn't shut the gate behind it so it came rushing out again and right in Albert's face and my sister got pushed to the ground and hurt her shoulder. Even worse there were multiple adults there and they just meandered slowly over to grab their dog saying 'oh he's friendly!' like that is the only thing that matters. Albert got quite anxious and they had to return straight home. He hasn't wanted to go for a walk since. Honestly why is it so hard to leash your dogs when they are outside your house or yard? They can still have an excellent outing on a leash, whether they want to let off some steam or they want to waddle and sniff. You can even put a long line on them for a swim. It's just laziness, selfishness and maybe some ignorance on the human's part. You are sharing a space and other humans and dogs are entitled to feel safe too.