Whippetsmum

I think this is more than a dog related issue- a barking dog will deter some people, but not those who are determined. Even if your dog barks, these people know by now the dog won't do anything else. At best, the dog is only good for barking when you are home, nothing to stop them when you're at work. Take a nice photo of your dad's friends for the police, they could already be known. If they are up to no good, they won't like a photo being taken at all. Second, you are already feeling threatened as you say you have no idea if these people will retaliate, is there something you haven't mentioned to the Police? You can take the next bit or leave it, it's up to you of course, and I don't know your dad, just whaht you have said yourself, and I'm not trying to scare you: You seem to be saying you are worried that Dad's judgement may not be up to where it should be. It seems this is ringing an alarm bell for you. Have you talked about this concern with your dad and his GP? What I would worry about if it were my Dad or Uncle etc is if these scammers are taking Dad down to the bank, then they have crossed a line, one that most people would reaonably see. Would your Dad have been able to see this previously? If he can't see this and especially if as a younger man he wouldn't have fallen for this, at least have a chat with his GP.

Quick- Greyghound patterns....befire tehy disappear again http://files.gpa-mn.org/files/coat_pattern.pdf PM me if you want me to copy and post the knitted pattern I have

I have a knitted pattern and some stuff from Greyhound Manor- a hooded hound coat as well as other stuff. I can try and PM you if I can work out how to attach the file.

Glad you are all OK. If my dogs are with me, I always get between them and the other dog. If I was on my own, I feel a bit safer, as it's only me i have to worry about not my dogs. If I was on my own, I'd do what others have , said, stand my ground or advance a step, telling them to Get Home (not cause they know what I mean, but dad always said that to dogs in a stern voice and that's all that comes out of my mouth. I had 2 Border Collies go at us Friday night and had 2 dogs with me. I faced my dogs into a retaining wall with me between them and the Borders. The 2 Border Collies meant business, I don't know why they were so aggro, but they were launching themselves at us and snapping. Luckily there was a lady, her adult son and teenage son where we were cowering in their driveway. They were all yelling at the 2 dogs to get lost/go away and had to resort to kicking them and hitting then with a broom. This might have made the dogs more excited, not sure. We all caught our breath as they bolted up the road 100m or so, and then they came back again. This time I got bundled into their garage and they fended them off again. I'm calling council Monday morning to make a report, the family don't know the dogs but council may be able to track them down. These dogs were so brazen, and persistent, coming at us aggressively from the get go. They didn't get to do any damage- this time. Had it not been for that family, it would have been very different.

Is he trying to get you to play? The digging action, especially if he's almost in a drop position and barking excitedly at you reminds me of how puppies try to get someone to play. This site describes some of the play invitations dogs use: http://puppies.about.com/od/PuppyPlaySports/a/How-Puppies-Play.htm

On the Dept of Local Govt website for NSW, it says if you want to stop cats coming into your yard get a dog.... http://www.dlg.nsw.gov.au/dlg/dlghome/documents/Newsletters/cainfo11.pdf People can discourage cats from coming into their yards by: owning a dog; using deterrents; hosing any cat that enters the yard. Doesn't say what happens when the dog follows local govt advice though.

The clause about unreasonable aggression.....wouldn't that just that be dragged out if for example, a child jumped the fence and got mauled, rather than if a cat made a poor judgement? The dog was being a dog. Where do you draw the line, what if a rabbit wanders in to say hello, or a guinea pig or pet rat? My dog caught a budgie and killed it, but the budgie like the cat in question shouldn't have been in the dog's yard.

TLC, I think you may have to spend the day catching up on sleep and cuddling your pack, they could be very sooky today. I hope everything's better. PS: I know what you mean about scratching, if it was an itch and you scratched the dog, they woud be relieved, and calm down. I it's not itchy, they continue to be restless.

I am already a Dogs NSW member, dogs resistered with council, the dogs see their vet more than I see my GP I don't have any plans to breed my girl at this stage, and in reality probably won't ever. Still, I'd like to have the option. More importantly, I would like to be able to choose my breed and not be damned to designer dogs. I don't want to have a life without dogs, but I can see that in my later life, I may have to choose to be dogless, as I could never have a DD,they will be the only dogs that can be bred, as it will be prohibitive for ethical family breeders, show breeders, non commercial entities to breed dogs. If this legislation gets up, and we can only buy from puppy mills, they wouldn't be dogs as we know it, the DNA would be there, but they would be hollow copies of what dogs should be- damaged by the way they are legally kept. This legislaton seems to normalise battery farming of dogs, so long as you have a license and the money to build the pens, get their jabs etc. There are enough behaviural studies on animals that show long term clinical settings as proposed are damaging to the dogs wellbeing and behaviour. Imagine the behaviour problems with puppies reared in boxes for the first 6 weeks, penned in a petshop for a few more weeks and then trying to integrate into family homes- never hearing a vaccum or a TV, lawn mower, washing machine, they's be anxious in such foreign surrounds, destructive, not have a clue about people. If that's the only way dogs will be bred, the dumping and surrender rate will sky rocket, as the pups will never have been socialised at the most basic level, and buyers will not keep them. Dogs have been bred for centuries to be around people, the RSPCA wants to erase this. If you're not a puppy farmer, but have a litter, one minute the bitch is a family member the next she's turfed into the yard in a cold pen when she's most vulnerable- that's cruelty. The legislation seems to make it OK to house dogs in concrete runs for their life, breeding, not being part of a family and not being able to do what dogs like to do, digging, laying in the sun, chewing things, running just because they want to, and not during an allocated exercise time- it's Ok as long as it's making money for someone, a pet shop, the people collecting license fees etc. Animals in pet shops are stock/commodities, and I don't agree with that at all, I want it stopped (but not all dog breeding stopped) I hate pet shops,I saw a van this week stuffed with cages full of pups in the car park. The pet shop girls were choosing who to literally load into their trolley- serioucly, a supemarket trolley they dumped the puppies they selected into the trolley and pushed them to their next cage. 1. How do we respond to this document, other than by the RSPCA link which I would worry would be censored, is it through local members, has anyone drafted a tenplate reponse that we could send to politicians individually? 2. Can anyone who can follow this document explain at what point this legislation would come into force, e.g. if I have one entire bitch, and she had a litter would it apply? If I had a show dog and a show bitch both entire, would I be subject to the housing requirements, or could my dogs remain as family members, sleeping on the lounge or in their comfy crates? I am concerned that my girl would by law have to be housed in a concrete pen outside if she had a litter, she (and I )would not cope with this at all. She is a dog, but a family dog, and I would like to think if we ever had pups, they would be home reared, not treated as battery animals which seems to be what this legislation is both trying to avoid, yet inadvertantly supporting.

Pain/discomfort. My boy got something stuck in his throat, a bit of gristle from some small brisket bones, he behaved similarly. your boy may have had a bit of bunny going down a bit wrong even in he chewed it, maybe a bot of rib went sideways or the foot. Like a bit of indigestion maybe. PS no more brisket for mine

In class a dog peed on his owner, he was out of control and she was useless. Personally, I wanted to shake her and yell "wake up, your dog is out of control", but peeing on her was much funnier, I can't fault that dog's comic timing. He was definiately saying "She's clueless and I'm in charge, don't talk to her!" He was right, he was in charge, she was useless and I would have got more sense out of him. He must have said something on their way home, cause she's not been back since.

My boy wanted to join in with your two....air snapping at the laptop

I have a 5 year old and 2 year old. Things are going OK most of the time, but some things I should have considered more were: Will you be able to walk both together? Will you be able to walk them individually at other times? What happens if the 2nd dog bonds to the first more than you? Can you provide individual time to each, play time in the back yard for example, how do you stop one from monstering in on the other's time and play? If there is a peronality clash between the 2, will the breeder rehome the newbie (wasn't an issue for mine)? Practicalities to consider: being able to feed the 2 seperately, and having seperate zones for alone time for each dog to be away from the other when need be, as well as managing seperate training times.

It's not exact, i was there for the AWhippets Monday, started at 1.30. At teh same time the French Bulldogs started in teh adjacent ring. Whippets were still running an hour after the French Bulldogs.

Just noticed an add for a robot vac on the bottom of the page....is this coincidence or some sort of plant (conspiracy theories anyone?)

I borrowed one from a friend, but it seemed like the bit underneath (plastic) could scratch the timber floors, how low do they go? The other thing I wondered about was emptying......if it takes itself back to recharge, does it turn off when full? I'm not sure if it would have enough capacity to do our floor area about 50m2 (with 2 Whippets and a teenage boy dropping stuff all the time)

I agree, at 13 or 14, he's probably not wanting to "play" with Zorro, but he may not have been up to mischief either. Maybe he was trying to find somewhere he wouldn't be disturbed, a sneaky smoker maybe, or just had enough and wanted some time alone? Might have been hiding from parents, or needing space to cool off etc. He wouldn't admit to any of those things if confronted though.

I hadn't seen that particular article, but had heard of the condition. I thought, probably wrongly, that there were some serious health implications for that mutation.

Dog sounds like it was scared by the strangeness of the whole situation- noise, crowd, strange animals, owner etc.

My son and my Whippets are alike in a few ways, but I do know the difference between a child and a dog. They all sprawl on the lounge, leave bits of food on the lounge, expect to be fed when it suits them, hover around the fridge, look through shopping bags when the groceries come home, have their beds tidied for them, and demand my attention when it suits them. They all occasionally get told off, obviously it does nothing for the dogs- if they rip up a ball of wool, they are being dogs, it doesn't stop me from saying "why would you do that?" or "He/She's been naughty- it's different to me saying my son's being disobedient or naughty, he has a capacity for reflection/ theory of mind that enables him to say to himself, "If I do this, she will be upset". They all look at me confused when I'm crying if I'm upset, and all treat me the same, they are inquisitive about what I'm doing (what's that weird wimpering noise? Oh, nothing imoportant, get back to snoozing, XBox, chewing or whatever applies) I treat them alike in some ways, they are all spoiled, I get them all things that they don't really need, or perhaps want, but that they will enjoy. e.g. The dogs got new toys to rip apart at Easter, the boy got Eggs to rip apart. They all get dragged in for medical attention even if they don't want to, and I make them all do their homework- agility/school/ obedience etc and I don't ask any of them if they want to. They are all cuddly when it suits them- like now it's getting colder- my son can't be bothered hunting out a jumper, and the dogs can't be bothered covering themselves with their blanket- or can't find their blanket because son has borrowed it. I don't call my dogs children, they sleep in the garage overnight, get put in the yard during the day, get to do doggy things like eat grubs from the lawn, chase birds etc. Sometimes, referred to as Fur Kids or my babies- especially when I'm sentimental- son gets called a baby to, he's nearly 12! I do love my dogs, different to loving my son. I miss my dogs and my son when I've been out all day, but I know they don't spend the day wondering when I'm getting home-especially my son.

Latest post by OP above First post by OP: "Our new adopted child will never go to a vet" I know this is a really hard time, it's an anniversary of a very sad heartfelt loss for the OP. OP, are you now saying you will take your new little friend to the vet? If so, that's great, shop around for a vet that you can trust, the same as you would look for a doctor for yourself. Please don't rule out a vet because they don't quite "get" your views at first. So long as your vet and their staff have a love for animals, compassion, are skilled in what they do, and you can talk to them about your dog's health needs openly, and have your questions answered, it's a starting point. Over time, the vet may come understand exactly how you view your little one. My own vet is vey compassionate, caring and I trust him 100%, but he wouldn't refer to his patients as children, but he does understand how important all my animals are, have been and always will be for me. I do hope that you find a clinic that you can trust, I am so greatful that I have found a vet I can trust. (Sorry, i don't know how to get 2 quotes so I copied text from one post)

Savic make one with a sloped back for hatches.

I bought a pretty collar for my girl at the Sydney Pet Expo this year, a light pink leather collar- she's a delicate Fawn Whippet and pink suits her, so I was pleased to find this collar. This was not a "cheap" collar, but from a very reputable seller, I don't think pink is their usual thing though, they are usually selling darker leathers in more natural colours for the larger breeds, the craftsmanship of the collar is otherwise fantastic, good stitching and fixtures etc. My problem is that the pink is rubbing off, and leaving the darker leather underneath exposed. The collar is only a few weeks old. Is this normal? Has anyone had better experiences with coloured leather collars, do all coloured leathers do this? Are the coloured leathers only meant for a dress collar rather than an everyday collar? Thanks

I'm really sad for the loss of a young dog, and understand how hard it is when you don't know why the dog was ill. I'm going to be cruel to be kind OP, what you are planning is wrong and irresponsible- possibly because you are still grieving, possibly you feel guilty, and regret the choices you made. We can't go back and undo things we have done, we all have something we would change if we could. You can change the future and build a relationship with a vet so that you can trust them in an emergency, and your beautiful Percy won't have to suffer. If I never took my animals to the vet, Phoeebe would have died at 12 weeks- she died at 18 years; Celeste would have died at 6 years- she made it to 21; Sasha would have died at 4- she made it to 14; My precious 2 year old would have died at 10 weeks. I would have died from the guilt and shame of ignoring my pets needs- I could not live with knowing I hadn't cared enough to look after them. If you spend time developing a relationship with a vet while your Percy is in good health, you and the vet will know each other better and be able to communicate better in a serious situation. I've now known my vet for over 20 years, he explains everything, we have had open discussions at every point that a serious illness has cropped up, I can ask him if it's time for my elderly animals to leave, and I trust his responses. Because of the relationship we have built up, I trust his judgement, if he was a stranger, I wouldn't. Our now 2 year old girl was gravely ill a few weeks after we got her, I thought she would never recover, and I asked him if PTS was the kindest thing, he said no, he was confident that he could manage her, and would tell me if this opinion changed. After a few days of TLC at our vet, she was fine, If I hadn't been through serious illnesses with my other animals with the same vet, maybe I wouldn't have trusted his decision that my now 2 year old would pull through. We are still not absolutely sure what caused the 2 year old's illness when she was a pup, but by careful management of symptoms, she pulled through. If I hadn't taken my old cat to the same vet a few weeks later, with similar symptoms, she wouldn't have made it through, we now suspect both had giardia, as we have recycled water and had a fish pond that both drank out of. My elderly cat has now passed away, but through age, not a treatable infection, we wouldn't have had the last 2 years with her without my vet. If we stopped taking our animals to the vet, we may not have prevented our other dog ( a strong adult) from eventually becoming ill with the same bug, we cleaned out the pond, filled it with fresh watre and covered it to prevent the animals drinking from it. I have now said goodbye to 3 elderly animals, all my "babies" in the care of my regular vet, I have never seen any of them suffer, it's always something I struggle with, but I know that my vet would let me know if I was being selfish and ending things too soon, or if I was selfish in making them stay longer. My vet never rushes me out, he let me stay nursing my poor cat long after she was gone.... he had known her as long as I had, since 8 weeks old.

Poor dog.... On Google Earth, Booral looks semi rural, lots of bush, could there have been an issue with stock, e.g. the dog may have been worrying horses etc? Nasty business, but the owner seems a bit irresponsible. If they moved in 6 weeks ago, they've had 6 weeks minimum to figure out something to keep the dog contained, if they bought the house they had at least the settlement period to organise quotes for fencing, if they built they would have had longer still to sort it out. Presumably, the neighbours have had to put up with the dogs roaming for at least 6 weeks When we moved house (only suburbia), the dogs had to stay in the garage as we assumed they could jump the fence which was only 1.2m, they only had supevised yard time for about 6 weeks- not at all ideal, but the alternative was missing dogs, or dogs hit by vehicles. Edit for spelling