Stressmagnet

Cockers are big dogs in small pants. Ernie's mate Ollie bosses him round and has the heart of a lion. They rough house but mostly are content to play zoomies and biteyface.

Yes. It only needs to just cover the itchy bits - she doesn't need all that plastic. Not to mention the racket it causes smashing into doorways (ERNIE!!)

Oh god no. I hate these things. I've heard in here that there are softer ways to stop them biting and licking their wounds. Experienced DOLers??

Yeah to supervised play. Ernie is also a year old. However, I've taught him the command 'gentle' - it means nibble lightly at the treat in my hand; slow down and calm yourself and most importantly, play nice. He was taught this long before he met the little old gentleman Cav. Might be worth teaching?

Um. Just for future reference, exactly WHAT breed is Tempeh?

The Choc lab appears to be either female or has the tiniest dick a lab has ever been born with.

Ernie's best friends are a rambunctious American cocker and a sedate elderly Cavalier prone to wearing red knitted jumpers. He plays with them each differently - he's a loon with the cocker but very gentle and protective of the Cav. Makes me get why Labradors are such good family dogs.

I'm becoming very disillusioned with the RSPCA. Are they in someone's pockets?

My dog is a dag because not content with mere sticks - he hauls baby TREES out of the water; runs around like a loon then performs a cartwheeling high jump when the TREE gets stuck in the ground. Dear Maude Ernie, hope you've learned your lesson.

And you wonder why I don't want him on my bed?

Yup. Only I get HYUH-HYUH-Splat.

Yeah. My excess is 200 with an 80 payout. Last night cost me $300, today $130, so not sure it's worth it. I so love my Ernie.

My Ernie is the BEST DOG EVAH. 1. Vet said tho the gash is deep, it missed anything important - no stomach or intestinal damage. 2. He poked around in it (gag) with a cotton swab and said it will drain and heal just fine without stitches. 3. He gave me antibiotics and Ernie has to live in his crate for a week but will be fine. Total cost? $130 I swear I was blessed when j got that dog. Still need to file a claim but I'll wait till the follow up next week to make sure all is well. He was a very lucky boy.

Hmm. Right now all plans on hold as he's hurt himself. I'll see what the vet says and I'll try stern love NEXT week!

I'm hoping the vet will take ½ down. Otherwise, I'm going to just have to ask they suture it and hope to god there's no internal damage. But they flushed a litre of saline thru it last night. Surely they'd notice with all the poking around that it had hit something critical. The good news is that it missed the artery by about 3cm. I don't even want to think about it. He's reasonably bright, a bit sorry for himself but still waggy. I'm hoping the normal vet has some more reasonable options but he's not getting out of his crate except to pee this morning, just in case.

This makes me livid.

No credit card. Ok. Thanks for your answers. Not sure how I'm going to do this but I'm very grateful.

My boy was quiet when he came in tonight but I didn't think much of it until he jumped up on the couch and settled. He kept licking his belly and I had a look. A nasty 2cm gash pretty close to Mr Hapoy and too close to the femoral artery to think about. I took him to the after hours vet. She said he'd need surgery under a general which would cost about $900. I opted to have him injected with a painkiller, an antibiotic and have it flushed out and see my vet tomorrow morning ASAP (Tues). Questions: Can't they just flush it and stitch it? Why surgery?? How does pet insurance work? I have Comprehensive Insurance with Bow Wow Meow. The after hours vet filled in a claim form and gave it to me. I assume the vet tomorrow will do the same.' But... $900 will leave me with nothing in my account to live on. How quickly is the settlement process? Do vets do the claim for you (as in people) and you pay the excess? Or am I up for the whole shebang tomorrow? Poor boy. I cannot believe I didn't notice anything wrong until 9pm tonight. I feel awful. And I also feel like a shitty owner since I took the cheaper option tonight. If anyone can answer these questions, I'd be most grateful.

No he's not crated during the day. He goes for a 1-1 ½ hour walk with me after the girls get dropped at school. He romps with a bunch of his doggy buddies - racing in and out of the creek, playing grab the stick and zoomies - he's pretty tuckered. I usually don't leave till he's not interested in anything but my side. Then he's out in the garden till about 1, while I clean and comes in for 2 hours in his crate beside me when I nap. Then out for another 2 hours till dinner and in for the evening (around 4:30). I've tried him on my bed but he just won't settle and leave me alone. Which is why he's in a crate. I come from the 'whatever gets you sleep' rule of parenting and don't particularly care WHO sleeps with me as long as they don't wreck my sleep. Ernie reckons being on the bed just means he's closer to my face and I must want lovin'. Commands to 'settle' which he normally obeys - he's too excited to ignore; so I gave up, thinking he's still too young.

It IS a cold house but my bedroom is ok. But I snuggle under a doona and wear a Wee Willie Winky nightcap. The house can get really cold - we all wear dressing gowns and slippers once we get home. While he's not fat, he's not lean either - I reckon he could lose a kilo so I'd be surprised if he's too cold. But I put an extra large squishy pillow in his crate. He's got room to kick it away from him if is not what he wants. He MAY be in a little growth spurt so I'll give him a vanilla biscuit treat (about the size of a playing card) along with his Dental Stix and feed him a bit earlier. And today I bought earplugs. Edited to say: the crate is covered with a hideous cheap Snugglie blanket with arms thingy. It's nice and dark but I rejigged it so he couldn't see me. It's not in a draft at all.

Awesome!! Why didn't I think of this?!?!

Ok. Big snuggle pillow in his bed. Check. Gonna feed him at 4:30-5pm. Check. Gonna purposefully gather in the kitchen where he can see but is not allowed - for girls homework time and ignore his fuss. When we DO go into the lounge room we will NOT SMOTHER him with kisses (Miss 12) and I will NOT scratch behind his ears and rub his cheeks until he's been quiet. Ease back on the treat rewards. One Dental Stix at his bedtime Nd nothing else. Earplugs. I say again, earplugs. For a dog that has been brilliant overnight to go to demanding this kind of attention ALL the time? It's either I'm being played or he's noticed and is worried by the cast on my wrist. Either way, giving in is playing to insecurity or manipulation. I don't let my daughters get away with it, so why the dog? And he was incredibly needy in our walk today - rarely left my side to go play zoomies (once the initial first 15 minutes of mania wore off). That's unlike him to stick like glue - he checks in but normally he wanders and sniffs. I think it could also be about his age. He's grown a bit in the last month or so, he's barking at scary chairs in the oval and now this pitiful whining and sad eyes. if he was a teenage girl, I'd say it was all behavioural.

I'll stick another big cuddle pillow in his bed tonight and try feeding him earlier. He does get breakfast - I split his daily intake in two because otherwise he frantically gulps his dinner. I love him to bits but I agree, I think I might be getting played. I removed his wander round the bedroom privileges when he was playing at 2am - so I'm thinking he's just having a wee bit of a tantie. And the whining for company when he's on his bed and we are talking in the kitchen - that really has to stop. I'm thinking they are both related. Teenagers. Yuk. :D

He's got a couple of toys plus some chew toys in his crate. He's got a pillow in case he's just cold. If he whines and I ignore him, he keeps it up until I'm wide awake and there goes my sleep. My gut instinct is telling me that he's wanting attention given the way he rushes to the lounge room once we're done. But I'd hate to miss something medical; on the the other hand, I'm on a pension and if there's nothing wrong with him - I'll be mighty poor after a needless vet bill. Should I just stick ear plugs in tonight? Should I ignore his whining for attention or start teaching him that whining gets him nowhere? For example, I've been doing a 'UH UH!" when he fusses in the lounge room - but dear Maude my boy is persistent. Don't want to punish him for fussing if he really really needs to go out. When I take him out at 2an, it's pretty businesslike, I guess I do praise him and give him a quick cuddle - a habit from housebreaking times. (Plus he's pretty loveable). Maybe put on my robot face for a couple of days and pretend no feelings at 3am? I will point out - he's off to a mates while I have surgery and he'll be outside all night with his buddy dogs - so that might break him of this too. My friend is pretty matter of fact when it comes to her dogs - she's on a large property and they don't come inside. Might be a bit of a shock for my spoiled teenage boy. Ack! I hate not knowing whether I should take him to the vet or whether he's playing me -- like Miss 15.

I'm interested in the Newcastle one: [email protected]