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!

It's horrible how within the past few days, so many dog attacks have happened to DOLers. Maybe you could walk him with a friend or family member for the next week and carry a stick or an umbrella with you?

Oh no Poor baby can't seem to catch a break! Oh well, I'm glad you've got her now, yellowgirl, and I'm sure you'll give her the love and attention she requires.

I have been doing research on bulldogs for awhile now because I was considering one but settled on a Frenchie instead Puppies go anywhere between $3000-5000. A breeder told me the price was high because it's not a common breed and they don't have many puppies, plus most if not all births have to be done via caesarian as well. This particular breeder also told me that the most she's had in a litter was four, and she decided to keep 2 females for breeding because she doesn't like breeding the mature dogs as many times as other breeds. Also, I believe bulldogs are an expensive breed to care for and maintain, which may put off backyard breeders who breed for a quick buck and the general popularity of the dog as a breeding dog.

Oh, they are gorgeous puppies! I'll help spread the word around too.

I'm not sure what's the weight guidelines for pugs, but I'd recommend posting in the pug thread for advice

One of my favourite games is doing zoomies with the dogs (you get great exercise as well) and also generally when I'm lying on the sofa and they walk past, give them a little nudge, and then we'll begin another zoomie war again.

Oh yes, all the time! My parents' cats back home do it too!

double post!

I had the same problem with a dog, but he was blind so I think he was just trying to walk following my footsteps. I had him on a leash and just pulled him to the side whenever he did that and it did fix it a bit. Oh it's SO not fun when a dog steps on your slipper from behind and you both end up taking a tumble! :D

Feathers. I had a feather boa from an old Halloween party a few years ago and she just went completely bonkers. It was placed on the table and she barked at it for about 30 minutes, so I moved it, but she managed to get it down and ripped it to shreds. I came out of the shower to my ENTIRE room covered in feathers. And the usual de-fluffing of the soft toys too! She used to love ATTACKING her soft toys, ripping out all the stuffing, fling it everywhere (the further she manages to fling the better) and then leave the toy alone forever. She didn't seem to want to play with them or chew on them, that dog only had one purpose in mind and that was to cover everything in white fluff.