Hello Gorgeous

Yes, I agree. My neighbour had just one grey for a number of weeks....a rescued ex-racer named Boofy. Boofy was very contented to couch surf all day, until his 'dad' came home. His present girl, Princess, is fine home alone but starts to get a bit restless towards the end of the day. But nowhere near distress. Again, depends on the dog but I've fostered a greyhound who literally slept for about 12 hours a day and didn't even realize I had left to go out for dinner and returned She was quite content to be on her own snoozing for long periods.

Now you've sold me on a Whippet There are two in the park (one absolutely gorgeous black one as well) and they're extremely gentle with other dogs, look so elegant and I love watching them run.

You are DEFINITELY not alone, I remember the first 2 weeks of raising a puppy on my own ... lord, I remember the feeling of wanting to give her to the next person who walked past and just scream "TAKE HER, TAKE HER!" All I can say is that it definitely does get better and to hang in there because within a month, you won't be able to imagine life without him

My parents would be putting ME on a leash if I simply ran off to any strange dog and threw my arms around it. My father was a registered Cocker Spaniel breeder though so I did have dog savvy parents and grew up with dogs around all the time OP, Emmy's too cute and white and fluffy! She's an instant kid magnet!

I occasionally get the wind knocked out of me when I'm sitting on the couch and one of the dogs decides a good place to snuggle up in would be my lap

You know, I've never ever had anal glands problems with any of my dogs ever before and I've never ever caught a fishy whiff either (now I'm curious, but I bet I'm going to regret saying that ) I'm surprised to see and hear more and more about dogs which get their anal glands expressed manually - a lot of my friends who send their dogs to the groomers get it done there.

I sympathize about the Melbourne weather. It's horrid and wet and cold lately Well done, Georgia!

Baking powder absorbs smells, maybe you could try sprinkling some on the spot and then washing it off? Since it's outdoors, I'm pretty sure the smell will blow away eventually but in the mean time maybe use air fresheners?

What happens during de-barking -- the vocal chord tissues are removed?

Why would BB be an expensive breed to care for and maintain? Crikey, I would hope that after having paid such a stiff price for a dog you should not have to continue walking around with your hand on your wallet all of the time and besides which, isn't that the whole idea of health testing? Bulldogs are sensitive to heat and to cold, so you can't just buy one and keep it outside in the garden when you're out as compared to other breeds. In summer I would think you'd have to keep the air-condition running for a very long time. I think the breeder I talked to mentioned that as soon as it gets hotter than 26 degrees, you need A/C on ASAP. They're also prone to hyperthermia and over-heating which could lead to death if not properly monitored. It gets expensive to have the air-conditioning or heater running a lot, and in Melbourne 40 degree heat, oh boy!

I agree. I sincerely hope (and believe) that if the situation were dire, an emergency service person would not put their own life at risk for an animal, and the sticker would be useful to account for animals after the situation has happened, or anything like that, instead.

I fostered a greyhound and too fell promptly head over heels in love! Such beautiful, graceful, elegant dogs. Plus, she was so easy to keep indoors because she learned toilet training within a day and slept for about 12 hours, heh. She was extremely observant as well and such a big sook, always rubbing up for a cuddle!

I used to have to walk around and around and around with the dog on lead in the yard before they'd finally poop. It takes a lot of time and patience, but they tend to get the hang of it after a few days

This all happened this morning about 10 minutes where I live, so it was pretty scary, but thankfully all seems back to normal in the CBD now

Oh, I love that second one! They look like kangaroos!