coogie

Oh, he looks so much better Ams! He is such a sweetie.

We are with Petplan and have the platinum dog policy for both of ours. Issy was diagnosed with luxating patellas and hip displasia, she has so far had surgery to both her right hip and knee. They have covered all except the excess - $100.00. She was in the emergency centre overnight which they also covered. They are always helpful and have paid promptly, I think one of the best things about them is their lifetime cover for a condition, up to $20,000.00 a year every year. They don't exclude further treatment but rather continue to cover ongoing conditions which has been a godsend for us. They also cover physio and I think the physio has really helped her recovery. The premiums are pretty hefty as ours are a "select breed" but I think considering the service and the fact that they have paid with no quibbling each time makes them value for money. The amount they pay does decrease by a percentage after the dogs turn 7 so if you have a very long lived breed that might be worth considering? Even if we had put away an amount per month there is no way we would have guesstimated enough to cover what has been a sad reality for Issy. She is up to nearly $10,000.00 and at some stage will need her other leg done and possibly a revision of her knee surgery after her leg realigns following the hip work. Maybe you could narrow it down to a couple that you like and then go over the fine print with a fine tooth comb?

It's beautiful Newfsie.

North Brisbane Pet Resort have a Golden Paws Lounge service especially for littlies, I have to say we have never used the service as our two are too big, friends have used it for their very small dog and were happy - maybe you could google for reviews or other DoLers might have used them. They collect as far as Noosa. North Brisbane Pet Resort

Sorry Kirty,I didn't mean to imply the condition is a myth - just that often with Pei there is the perception that you have to constantly wipe their wrinkles - that is not generally true.

This is a myth. The wrinkles move with the dog so it is not like dirt is getting trapped anywhere. Shar Pei do get a lot of skin complaints, but it has nothing to do with wrinkles and more to do with breeding. +1 for this Cat, we have 2 Pei and their skin issues are not related directly to the wrinkles at all. Our boy has some skin issues but other than a couple of weeks in the height of Summer when he does suffer it can easily be controlled with diet and a good flea and bath routine. We never wipe their wrinkles, just their drooly, messy mouths after eating and that is mostly to save the couch! No idea about the other breeds though.

Everyone is already madly spreading the word through their various networks,it does worry me she will get under the radar somewhere but we have posted to fb as well as . If people are willing they could share the link? If you google her name it will come up. I have also emailed Trading Post but doubt there will be much they can do. Thanks to all who are helping spread the word.

Our Shar-pei has had patella surgery so I agree it is not limited to small breeds. I see you are in Brisbane - there is a fabulous physio who practices out of UQ,Issy has been seeing her since her recent hip operation (she also has hip displasia). I only wish I had known about her earlier.She is very good - I'm not sure about posting her details here because of rules about advertising but am happy to send them if you pm me;or if anyone knows if it is ok to post them let me know and I will put them up. You need a vet to refer you but she will take referals from any vet.

Rainy does your local rubbish tip have a recycling area? We have one near us and it is a goldmine for very inexpensive heavy duty materials like the concrete reo panels Christina mentions.

As of today Narelle/Michelle/Jess is at it again! I will leave it up to the owner of the rescue if she wants to give more details but she is at work and will not have access until later. Thank goodness for DoL - the dog she was enquiring about is a beautiful old soul and does not need any messing about.

Thank You!

I would really like the link please Puppy_Sniffer, it looks great.

I agree about products being misleading,I always read the packaging regardless of what we are giving them and am sometimes very surprised by the stuff in them. They don't have these very often, and after a choking incident with a bone (luckily they never have anything like that without constant supervision) they now have bones even less often. They have a very balanced diet so I am comfortable with the treats they do get,depends on the dog I guess but most "treats" give them upset stomachs so aren't really a treat for them or us cleaning up afterwards!

Probably depends on brand etc but if you look on Veggie Pet's website it gives the following composition for their veggie ears. I love the hedgehogs and crocs as well. Composition Raw Protein 1.5 % Raw Fat/Oil 3.2 % Fibre 8.3 % Raw Ash 0.6 % Moisture 7.0 % Ingredients: Wheat starch, glycerine, vegetable fibres, lecithin, natural colourings and flavourings. Google also lists a few, we started feeding them because the normal ones always seemed to give our dogs the runs.

Have you tried Natraspray? Always been happy with them but I think there are different franchises depending on where you are. Could be why you did not get many replies SammieS. We are slightly North of the city and have used them several times.

Don't know about anyone else but I love seeing pet resumes,once had one "signed" by the dog by way of a pawprint. They had gone to a lot of trouble which did make me think they would make an effort with the property. They took a property a bit nearer the city in the end, but I would have been happy to rent them ours. They did agility mostly.

I think part of the problem is if you have a bad experience as a landlord you quickly discover taking tenants from hell to court to recover costs just ends up costing you more,both financially and emotionally. Bonds are a joke, if the tenant decides to have a little rental holiday at the end of their lease by the time you can do anything the bond is owed in rent and there is nothing left to cover damage/cleaning/fumigation. There is very little help for landlords and the perception seems to be you have the money for an investment property so you can afford to suffer the bad tenants and the bills they leave behind.We have worked so hard to hang on to our investment that it makes my blood boil when I see comments like "just take them to court". It really isn't that simple. I agree that kids can be just as destructive as dogs but usually kids don't crap all over the carpets and speaking from personal experience I would rather fix holes in the walls and doors than attempt to clean up rooms full of poo. Property managers appear to be reluctant to list people on the register that exists for bad tenants, when I have pushed for this and questioned their reluctance I have been told "if you do that and they can't find another property you will have a terrible time getting your property back" So the problem is passed to the next person,the one time I insisted it be done the property manager said I had a lot to learn and took things too personally. She suggested I was too emotionally attached to the property and needed to learn to step back! She was not the one who subsequently spent thousands of dollars and three solid weeks of back breaking work to sort the property out. (She is also no longer the manager of the property). It would be great to see a register of really good tenants along side the really bad ones, it could list whether they had pets,how they left the property etc - unfortunately no doubt privacy laws would prevent this.We try hard not to exclude anyone based on stereotypes - when my dad left my mum she was a single mum with four kids and dogs. We struggled a great deal financially but we always paid the rent on time and usually left the properties in better condition than when we arrived, it has been a massive shock to the system to be on the other side of the fence and see what happens when you are unlucky enough to get a bad tenant. I have posted of our worst experience in the renting with dogs thread so won't bore everyone with it again, we still allow pets but I go over each application with a fine tooth comb and ask that the new property manager sees the animals the tenants list on the lease beforehand. Our current tenants seem lovely - so my faith is slowly being restored.

RIP Bean, run free. Damn those pesky toads.

So happy to see this. Glad he is home safe.

Shared and emailed,will also forward to Pug friends.

I really hope you find him soon - if you do get a facebook page up please post a link so we can share as far and wide as possible. Sending all possible good vibes.

Good news, he looks so happy in that picture Staffyluv, fingers crossed he gets a great home whoever you (he) pick(s).

I wouldn't get our two routine bloods every year, if they appeared healthy & fit I would possibly go every other year (although this has never happened so far as they have needed some treatment each year)! I don't however understand why you would opt not to have bloods done if they are going under anaesthetic - knowing that not having the bloods and fluids could potentially have an adverse impact on the outcome/recovery. To me having pre op bloods is about preparation for any invasive procedure where they need an anaesthetic - I know people throw around the phrase "routine surgery" but to me any surgical procedure must carry risks and I would like to know they are minimised beforehand where ever possible,rather than being treated reactively if something goes wrong. Our vet recommends them and so we go with their recommendation, we may be plain lucky but I don't get the feeling our vet is out to make money with "extras" . I think trust in your vet is possibly the key?

You can be evicted for having a concealed dog(s) under general breaches - the amount of time you are given to vacate would depend on the breach in Qld. If you are in arrears in rent for example, it is 7 days before you can send a breach notice, seven days for the tenant to remedy and then if they don't it is 14 days after you get the notice. General breaches are usually around 1 months notice. We have always allowed pets at our rental,money has never been the deciding factor,rather number of people,pets, references etc. We get to see all the applications that pass the property manager checks and referencing. Sadly not all property managers are honest and we have had some shocking experiences. Tenants are not always honest about the number of pets either , which is a major problem here because the number of dogs allowed depends on the size of the property - not sure if this is true in other states. We had one tenant who ran foul of the council after complaints from the neighbours,they had stated they had two out door dogs. They had 5 dogs -all indoors as well as out, the dogs barked incessantly and fouled the carpets in every room. (We don't stipulate indoor or outdoor as I figure it depends on the owner and the breed), we do ask that in addition to the usual carpet cleaning they get a professional pest controller to spray when they leave. Anyway back to the tenants from hell -the yard was full of poo and the flies and smell was horrendous. The neighbours asked them a couple of times to sort it out, reported them twice to the property manager and then finally rang the Council - it got very messy and eventually they had to leave - they left owing rent and the house was in a shocking state,the bond did not even come close to covering the repairs,fumigating and cleaning and combined with the bills and the loss of rental income whilst it was all sorted out, we very nearly lost the house. Needless to say we got rid of the property manager along with the tenants as we had received reports saying all was fine when the filth in the house was clearly months old - I now insist on any pets being listed on the lease, proof of registration of any relevant animals with the Council within a reasonable time of them moving in and an undertaking to maintain the yard in a reasonable (poo free) state. I am past caring if the property managers think I am picky and obsessive and find most decent pet owners would do most of the things we ask anyway and so don't see it as unreasonable. I don't ever want to say no pets but came pretty close after this little episode,luckily our current tenants(and pets) are lovely. I guess my point after all that rambling is I would do a resume for the dogs, I am always impressed when people go to a bit of trouble and certainly here the owner does get to see all the applications and choose the tenant.

Thinking of you and Zedley today.