kazads

I have had little to do with them at all except when I adopted our gorgeous Great Dane Nala from them in December. I must say that everything I saw during my visits there seemed all above board and as Nala was very thin at that time, they were feeding her extra to try and get some weight on her. Now, the only reason I went there was for Nala specifically - I saw her on the Great Dane Rescue site and as she was local thought she was worth a look. I fell in love with her, was not able to get her out immediately and asked if they could hold her and they said yes, and that I could visit anytime with her during opening hours. She is now a much loved part of our family. I would not have not adopted her because she came from the RSPCA. I also think that not all RSPCA's operate the same and some are better then others.

This is why I choose to spend more time with my precious dogs then humans......

Well said - I completely agree

How wonderful - I wondered about these two and I am so pleased they are back together again.

The smell is nothing I have ever smelt before. I have a Great Dane who has issues and I have to express them every 4-6 weeks. Takes me days to work up to it.....

I have one of these too. My great dane fits through fine and she is 32" high.

I must say that the beach this happened at is usually fantastic and we have never really had a problem before with any of our dogs or other people using the beach. I have a 12 month old Boxer that just loovveesss the beach and is a maniac for the first few minutes - most people laugh and think she is adorable. Most people also think Nala is adorable and we constantly have people coming up to us on the beach asking about her and giving her a pat. She loves the attention. But come tourist season and it all goes down hill. I have heard stories of people kicking dogs because the dog comes within metres of their precious child, when in fact the dog was sniffing the ground and paying no attention to the child. All this on the same off-leash beach. Yes, big dogs do have a reputation but I have encountered more aggressive SWF's then larger dogs in my 33 years on the planet. Nala has had SWF's snap at her for no reason and she pays them no attention but rest assured, Nala would get the blame if she retaliated because of her size.

Sorry, but if they are dog fearing people then they should not be on a leash free dog area of the beach. Why is that my problem if they choose to put themselves into a situation they can't handle All she had to do was move 200 metres to her left and she would encounter no dogs at all. OH did leash Nala and moved away from the lady immediately - but if you knew my husband you would also know that he does not tolerate idiots.

We suffer so much in our area during School holiday periods it is not funny - tourists, idiots, hooligans..... I can't wait for school to go back so all these out of towner's and imbeciles can leave town! I look at poor Nala and can't believe anyone could call her vicious

And then the tourist become seachangers and you'll be dictated by them, and they'll change the place into the place they had to get away from. Oh dear god, I so hope not

What a terrible, terrible story.... no words can describe the disgust I feel for the human race after reading this

So, my hubby had our Great Dane, Nala, at the dog beach this afternoon. This particular beach is very popular with tourists as the local caravan park back's directly on to it. Anyway, Nala was having a great time and loves running in the water. She was running in the water near some kids - was paying them no attention and doing her own thing. A women on the beach yelled out that "such a vicious dog should not be on the beach". My husband asked why she thought it was vicious and she replied that it was wearing a muzzle. Nala was not and has never had to wear a muzzle but walks on a halti and my OH had left it on her even though she was off lead. He corrected her and told her it was a halti, not a muzzle, and she proceeded to yell at him that she was ringing the council and reporting Nala to them. OH had enough at this stage and told her to Fxxxk off to a non-dog beach (200 meters up the beach) if she does not like dogs. Other people saw the altercation and were gobsmacked. One couple had their gorgeous, friendly doberman, who normally runs the length of the beach off lead with them, on lead because people on the beach had complained it was running off lead. Both that dog and ours would not hurt anyone and all of Nala's interactions with the dogs and people on the beach today were perfect. My feeling is that as long as you have your dog at an off leash dog area and under affective control (which Nala was - as soon as the women started yelling, OH called her straight to him and she came immediately, she was not harrassing the kids or anyone), then there should not be an issue. Surely people using off lead dog beaches have to expect to encounter dogs off lead? Locals around here seem to be getting sick of being dictated to by tourists....

The whole thing is terrible and such a shame - I can tell you that I would never leave behind my pack.

No, don't wash either unless they are due for one and that would be once every couple of months. My boxer gets drenched at the beach as I swear she is in love with the waves so at the most I would hose her down, which she loves. The dane would not get any wash down or bath unless she was due for one.

My OH loves our girls - we have been married for 12 years this year and have yet to have kids so our dogs are our family and always will be. Nothing will change when kids come along. WE have three girls - a boxer (nearly 1), a great dane (nearly 2 - adopted from RSPCA about 5 weeks ago) and a rotty x dob (12 years old and coming to the end). My OH makes sure that he says goodnight to our old girl as he says he never knows when she may not wake up and wants to make sure he has done the right thing by her ;) It is funny because the boxer is mine and his is the great dane on paper - but I must say that the boxer is daddy's little girl and the dane favours me. It is so funny , the boxer and dane will move heaven and earth to find the opposite parent. But they both also love the other so it is all good. OH walks the dane and helps pack their feed (had 80% done when I got home tonight). At frustrating moments when he would normally be yelling and screaming, he is laughing because one of them is slobbering in his face. They may not be human children but my gosh, they bring so much joy that they may as well be

Fantastic news - win win all around

Hi Sheridan, width of the super large is 38.5cms, it is 50.5cms high. Karen

I just ordered a super large Pig in Mud door at Bunnings yesterday - $399. Pretty good price I thought, as PetBarn are selling the same things for $570. You have to place a special order and wait 7 - 10 days before you can pick it up from store, but well worth it at that price!

Unfortunately no matter where I throw the ball / frisbee / stick, she takes it straight back to the waves - lets just say her concept of fetch is not 100%. We also do not use tennis balls - the balls we use do not absorb water but alas, Bella does have a habit of 'dunking for apples' and shoving her entire head under the water to blow bubbles. Gotta love 'em By the sounds of everyone's responses, all is normal so I feel very relieved. Thanks all

Hi all My little Boxer, Bella, loves the beach and the surf. She plays with her ball in there, other dogs, chases sticks etc.... She obviously swallows a fair amount of sea water during her shenanigans as she has runny (what I call) sea water poo every time without fail after a visit to the beach (sometimes even during ). When she goes to the toilet it is literally water, with some foamy stuff as well towards the end. It is also rather explosive ;) I have done some reading about how it can cause dehydration etc... but she always drinks fresh water and we take some with us to the beach too so she always has access to clean water. I would hate to not be able to take her to the beach because of this as she loves it so much and always has the best time. Does anyone know if this could potentially be dangerous? She is fine otherwise, except for these explosive, runny, watery, frothy poos Thanks

My boxer makes me laugh every day - some of the things she does! I never have a camera handy for half of them though.... Flying Leap One false move little one.... My head is stuck

Well, old girl has high white blood cells, with high liver and enzyme activity. Vets don't know what is wrong - Full pathologic report will be available tomorrow and we will go from there. My little Bella has a fungal skin infection (the vet thinks) so will know if treatment if working in a week. Thanks for all the well wishes Karen

Cali had to have a blood test and results will be in tomorrow night. But now, my little boxer might have skin cancer and she has to go to the vets herself tomorrow for a biopsy. What a terrible couple of days - actually, this year has been crap!

Thanks JulesP. She managed to eat two chicken necks a moment ago which is good. No vomit thus far. Will see what the vets say tonight. :D

So chicken necks, her fave, were a no go and she vomited twice last night - clear and frothy. So will be ringing the vets this morning and off to see them with her tonight. I forgot to mention in my original post that I got a tick off her a couple of days ago - I think I got it all but will get the vet to check anyway. Her vomiting may be due to the tick, but it doesn't really explain her reduced eating habits over the last few weeks though. I will be a worried mum today :D