Dxenion

That is wonderful news! Now you just have to survive the nervous wait until your baby arrives

We have one for our thunderphobic 11 year old GSD girl. No prepatory work, just put it on her and shook our head in amazement at the difference it made. Used it about 4am this morning. Java woke me up trying to get on the bed, wide eyed and panting rapidly due to the thunder. I got up, grabbed the shirt, put it on her tightly (looks like an overstuffed sausage) and then went to the kitchen for a drink. I was only gone about 30 seconds but in that time she had completely calmed down, had put herself back to bed and was nearly asleep. Worth it's weight in gold for us.

After a two year world wide search, I found our baby boy in Sweden and picked him from the many videos his breeder sent us. It was a further 12 weeks until I got to meet him and he was definitely worth the wait. He just had his first birthday so I made a video of his journey. I think the Savage Garden song 'I Knew I Loved You' sums it up quite nicely.

To set up the scene: OH was lying on the lounge at one end watching TV (and not paying attention to the dog), I was in another room, the TV remote was on the lounge (opposite end to OH). We figured out afterwards the game he devised to earn himself some treats. The dog quietly grabbed the remote without the OH looking and brought it into me. I rewarded him with a treat and then cued him to take it out to the OH. OH rewarded the dog and threw the remote down the other end of the lounge again. Dog waited until OH wasn't looking, grabbed the remote and brought it into me. This game continued until I went out to the OH to ask him to stop sending the dog in with the remote and busted the dog about to take it off the lounge again. Cheeky bugger had us both feeding him treats for about 10 minutes!

We had a 2007 Territory and traded it in on a Nissan Pathfinder. Aside from being unhappy with the car, we found Ford's customer service to be shocking. The Territory is a heavy car and heavy on fuel. It's also not great offroad if you happen to suddenly find yourself on a sandy track while trying to get from a rest stop campground back to a sealed road. It's a comfortable ride, especially for long trips but it does feel it if you load it up. The diesel pathfinder is a 4WD as opposed to a Territory AWD. Much better on fuel. All the seats fold flat and it fits a double air mattress in perfectly which our four large dogs appreciate on long hauls. The new ones also have duel aircon, a real plus for the dogs in the back. Back of a Pathfinder with all the seats folded flat, a double bed air mattress and four very comfortable dogs: Pathfinder loaded to the gills only added 2 litres per hundred kms to the fuel economy on the highway:

Discovered this one last night. When left to their own devices, two of our four furkids were busted on doggiecam doing this: Definitely quirky given that instead they could've done normal doggie things like chew on furniture, destroy a book or two or raided the bin.....

:D TACT has arrived in Perth! Thank you to all who made this happen, special cheer for SnT!

Would this help? No collar required.

We had a Toledo and had lots of problems with water spray coming up through the door vents. So much so that if it looked damp on the road, we hung a towel between the door and wire to trap some of the spray. In the end, we used to travel with the dogs in the car and our gear in the trailer. As it was a design issue, there was nothing we could do except sell it and never buy a trailer with downward facing vent panels again.

This is from Victoria Stilwell's FB page:

The number one guideline for all service dogs (guide, hearing and assistance dogs) is that they must not show any signs of aggression. This is the link to the Victorian State Legislation covering guide and hearing dogs and guide and hearing dogs in training which have full rights of access under state law. http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/vic/consol_act/daa1994163/s7.html Megan, privately trained service dogs are not required to be accredited in Victoria. There is state legislation protecting the rights of access for a person accompanied by an assistance dog in accommodation, but in all other areas assistance dogs are covered by the federal Disability Discrimination Act 1992.

PM sent

These are some legislative references for you: NSW Companion Animals Act 1998 states that an Assistance Animal is defined under the federal Disability Discrimination Act 1992 Section 9 Paragraph 2. For your purposes, the applicable reference under Paragraph 2 is Point c: http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/dda1992264/s9.html In NSW, the dog does not need to be accredited for public access. Having estabilished what is defined as an AD under the DDA, the NSW Companion Animals Act Part 6 Section 59 states: http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/consol_act/caa1998174/s59.html Also under Part 6, Section 60: http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/consol_act/caa1998174/s60.html Now, it is important to be aware that service providers have the legal right under DDA Section 54A Paragraph 5 to ask: http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/dda1992264/s54a.html This means that the person with a disability handling the dog will need to be able to prove that the dog is an AD and is trained for public access. There are a number of ways you can do this. Hope this helps.

Ours use stuffed squeaker toys to turn our lounge/ kitchen/ backyard into a sheep shearing shed too. You oughta see what they did to a futon mattress - they must've thought all their stuffed toy wishes had come at once! I heard about Invincibles snakes which have squeakers in them that keep squeaking but have no stuffing. Bought a 6 squeaker version. Although it did take them 3 months of (semi) supervised play, they methodically dismembered the snake from the tail up. The squeakers really do keep on squeaking even when punctured, but not when the ends of them get chewed off. I collected the body parts as they were destroyed and finally threw out what was left of the head not long ago. They looked so sad at the demise of their favourite toy so I bought them another one. Once again, I am their favourite human but I'm not sure I'm so popular with my neighbours....

Our 11 year old (12 in December) GSD desexed female has just been diagnosed with a pea sized perianal adenoma. The vet believes it is benign but said it was very uncommon in desexed females. Has anyone had any experience with one on a bitch (especially an elderly one) and were there any post surgery problems?

This is the reshot photo - a much better result thanks to all your advice.

Great idea! Just not sure our property manager would see it that way though Seriously though, they're not even keen on 10cm of star picket above ground with a plastic safety cap on top. Something about asthetics.... It's part of the reason we are looking for 4 unobtrusive ones. The Leerburg design is something they'd be happy with. Just trying to locate one in this country so I don't have to sell a kidney to pay for the postage on four large Leerburg ones.

Thanks for the suggestion. Unfortunately they're only rated for dogs under 45kg (3 our ours are very close to that) and because of the dome design with the bit out of the top, they can't be mown over.

I'd like to place an order for a male and a female white toy German Shepherd please (the same size as a toy poodle). I only want the non shedding, no bark, hypo-allergenic, no dig variety that requires no exercise thanks.

Count me in, I'll help wherever I can. I'm supposed to move to VIC at the end of the year for the OH's work. Guess who's having an extended stay in WA now while the OH goes ahead without us? Neither of us are willing to put our dog's lives on the line.

I'm not a breeder (yet) but I know a few that have had dogs returned. PP you've asked why money is such an issue and why the contract states that if you were unable to keep her, she is to be returned to the breeder free of charge. Breeders may be subjected to council restrictions on the number of entire animals (breeding stock) they are allowed to have on their property. When this dog is returned, it may need to be temporarily housed elsewhere (usually at considerable expense) until there is room at the breeders. This might not be the case with this dog's breeder but it is a cost that has to be factored in. When taking the dog back, there are financial costs of health checks, vaccinations (if proof cannot be provided), worming, heartworm, flea and tick prevention treatments, grooming, the cost of addressing any behavioural issues etc Then there are the rehoming costs. If this dog is not a puppy, it may take longer to rehome as people are generally not interested in older dogs. This means additional advertising costs and the costs to feed this dog. Also, this dog is now older than when you got it and in harsh reality, unless it is titled or has some other sort of significant qualification, it is worth less now than what you paid for it. Why should a breeder give you a full refund for a dog that may no longer be worth $2500? Also while the dog is waiting to be rehomed, an ethical breeder will take the time to continue with it's socialisation program and to give it quality attention (to keep it mentally healthy). If the breeder already has their hands full (and most are non stop busy with care and training of their dogs), then someone will need to be hired to ensure this dog gets the mental stimulation it needs and deserves. When you factor in all of the above, it adds up to a lot of money. That is why some contracts state to be returned free of charge. While you don't get back the money you spent on this dog, the breeder is legally contracted to take it back which costs them a lot of money and time (and time is money). So on the surface it may seem to be about the money but in reality, money gets the dog the physical, psychological and physiological things it needs to ensure a top billing of health and the best possible chance of being rehomed. Edited to add: Further to this there is the initial cost of the dam, educational costs associated with the research of the potential sire for any health issues, genetic anomalies, progeny data. Then once the sire is decided upon, the dam's breeder has to pay stud fees. Sometimes there are additional charges for frozen semen, manual collection and artificial insemination and these costs skyrocket if the semen has to be imported. Then before dam and semen get together there are (usually multiple) hormone tests to determine the optimal time for mating. In many cases the dam is transported to the sire for mating so you possibly have flight and boarding costs too. Now lets say the mating is successful. There will be vet costs associated in confirming this and at least one ultrasound (all costs). During pregnancy, the dam will need additional supplements and probably increased diet - more costs. If not successful, the breeder will have to wait until the next season (therefore incurring all the mating costs again). There may be fees associated with finding out why it wasn't successful as well. Now we approach birth. The dam may experience delayed labour or labour may stop after one pup which is an emergency trip to the vet. Murphy's law just about guarantees this will be in the middle of the night (when vet fees are cheapest - not). The breeder will hope that a simple injection will speed the process, otherwise you are looking at vet intervention and possibly even a C section. By this point the breeder's credit card will be screaming from abuse! The pups (fingers crossed more than one) arrive. They may need assistance to start breathing, especially after a protracted labour - more fees. The dam and pups are now home and doing well (fingers crossed). Mum definitely needs more food now and the breeder hopes like heck all the pups are feeding, otherwise it's bottle feeding. Formula costs, equipment costs, time off work (or may have to hire help) for round the clock care. The pups are now at the stage of transferring to solid specialised food. More costs. Then there's vaccinations, worming, tattoing (for some breeds), microchipping and ANKC registration. If environmental and socialisation training hasn't already commenced, it should about now. More time and costs ensuring each pup gets the best mental and physical introduction to the human world it will be living in. The pups are close to being ready for their new homes. Introduce advertising fees, time spent on the phone answering all manner of calls from prospective buyers as well as continuing training not just the pups but the other dogs as well. The time has come for the pups to go to their new homes. After they've left and some sense of sanity has returned, the breeder sits down, tallies up the costs divided amongst the pups and will most probably just break even or have a loss. Then those that are a registered business have GST and tax to pay as well. All those breeding costs are divided up amongst possibly 6-8 pups. Suddenly $2500 doesn't seem quite so expensive. Add more $$ (feeding, vaccinations, medication etc) if you purchased an older dog. In summary, the cost of bringing a pup into the world and raising a healthy well adjusted bundle of happiness to 8 weeks, then the cost the breeder will incur should that pup be returned for rehoming leaves the breeder a long way behind the eight ball. It really is unreasonable to expect a refund, given the costs and approx 5 month endeavour the breeder undertook to produce just one litter. It's a very long post but I hope this helps you to understand why your contract states return free of charge.

Thank you for all your suggestions. We are actually after one with a flat head so that it can be pushed flat to the ground for mowing over. At the moment we have permanently installed small star pickets which although do the job of temporary tethering when we are out the front, they are a hassle when mowing and when not in use can be a trip hazzard. The search continues......

Leerburg has these metal stake outs but the postage to Australia for four of the large ones is frightening. Does anyone know of a similar product in Australia. I am not after the spiral ones.

.................. ....................... ........................... ............................. ........................... ....................... .................. A round of applause!

Money transferred and email sent (and PMed before I read the post about not PMing). Thank you for organising this, it is really appreciated.