Dxenion

I have a pup coming into EC 21 January and have spent the last 3 weeks trying to find pet friendly accommodation nearby for 2 adults and 3 GSDs that will be allowed indoors. I will be visiting the pup 4 times a week from 5 Feb when we arrive in Sydney until 20 Feb when he comes out. I am looking for somewhere close that isn't going to kill me in taxi fares to and from EC. Any recommendations will be appreciated.

Oh wow! How much did it cost??? (LOL at "lofabed"....cute ) The lofa was only $899 Canadian but with transport, customs, GST etc it ended up costing $2000. The fitted cover for the mattress was $400 which was hefty but we figured that it would pay itself off in the long run. If we had shopped around, we probably could've got the cover cheaper but it was custom made by a local business and he came out to the house 3 times - once to measure it, secondly to match the colour of the material and to check his measurements and the third time to deliver and fit the cover. I thought that was great service and we got to support our local community. Too bad we couldn't find an Aussie manufacturer who was interested in making or modifying their own futon product to what we wanted. That is why we ended up getting it from a manufacturer in Canada as they only make lofas - exactly what we were looking for. We bought the furkids a lofa because it takes up less room than 4 large dog beds and they used to slinky up onto our lounge anyway. Figured the easiest way to get them off our lounge was to get them their own! It takes seconds to convert to a lounge if we need it and when we take off the cover (and doggy smell), it makes a very comfortable guest bed. The OH and our 3 GSDs have crashed out on it together more times than I can remember. We bought a Smart Ramp Jr so that our oldest girl can get up on the lofa easily and she now spends most of the day snoozing on it. With all this activity, the cover gets a thorough workout yet it still looks new. Best dog product investment we ever made.

We got a local business to make a faux leather fitted cover for our furkid's lofabed (cross between a lounge and a futon sofa bed). We wanted a cover that goes on and off like a fitted sheet. Being faux leather, it is more durable than material and has waterproofing qualities for those wet dog days. It's simple to wipe clean and fur doesn't stick to it. Also as it's got fitted elasticated corners, it stays on no matter how enthusiastically our dogs jump onto it and it's a cinch to take off if we need it for guests. It was a bit of an investment but it's now 12 months old and still looks like new, despite the best efforts of 3 GSDs and one OH.

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Thanks for that information. I found the link and printed off the page. I'll now present it whenever I meet someone who's unsure of the rules. It's one thing to politely educate food businesses on the laws relating to Assistance Dogs but sometimes you can see in their eyes that they're wondering if you're telling the truth. It would certainly help to be able to give them a copy of the Standard to ease their mind that by letting you in, they are not breaking the law.

Hi to all, Found this thread when I was looking for something else. What a wonderful place to share the excitement of waiting for a new family member. We're waiting on our first White Swiss Shepherd Dog pup to join our family of three GSDs. He's coming from Sweden and the wait has been horrendous! We picked him out at 5 weeks old. He's now 8 weeks old and we still have another 8 weeks until we bring him home. Although he'll have to spend 30 days in quarantine, we can visit him 4 times a week. We've never imported before and it's a daunting process. I'm so scared of something going wrong with the paperwork and bloodtests etc that AQIS will send him straight back. We are working with an exporter in Sweden who has sent puppies to Australia before and that helps. So far the pup has been microchipped, vaccinated and bloodtested and we are waiting on the results of the MDR1 test. I received the import permit today and booked a space for the pup in quarantine. I'm waiting for a call back from AQIS because they listed his breed as a White Swiss Sheperd. Yes I know that is a spelling mistake and technically not the full name of the breed and I'm hoping they can either correct it or confirm in writing that it will be ok. I've heard that things like this can cause the import to be rejected and sent back. The breeder we're getting him from has been absolutely fantastic! She's sent photos and heaps of videos which were both a help in selecting the pup and so that we can see him growing up. She's been wonderful in getting him used to his travel crate and giving him alot of positive new experiences. We've sent her a bedsheet and a toy with our scent on it for the breeder to introduce to him a few days before he flys out. Although they may be destroyed by AQIS on arrival, we are hoping that when we meet him, we'll smell familiar. Has anyone else used this method? We are nearing the end of a two year search for a short coated pup with the right temperament and these last 8 weeks are going to give me an ulcer - I can just feel it!

Thank you to all who have contributed here. We will take the matter to the coucil and all of your views on the subject will be included in our submission. The boat ramp is a new one with very little boat traffic and the flow of water past it ensures that it stays clean. We wash the dogs when we get home as well. We use the boat ramp mainly for access reasons as all of the nearby beaches are not dog friendly and the couple that are, are not wheelchair accessible. I just want to reiterate that we have not used the area since the signs went up and have no intention of using it for the very reason many of you have stated here - those who deliberately flaunt or ignore the rules (no matter how legally ambiguous the rule is) end up making things more difficult for responsible dog owners. Access is hard enough now and our group wants to approach this in the right way so as to not make things even more restrictive. Our group is more than happy for the beach on one side of the ramp to be allowed to continue as a leash area, so that other beach users can use the beach without having to share it with dogs and their owners. We do find it odd that dogs are not welcome, but horses (and their dung) have no restrictions. Yes 20 minutes to another beach (in normal circumstances) is not anywhere near as far as some people have to travel so I do consider myself fortunate there, however transport is an issue which highlights why it has upset so many people when they suddenly closed this beach. I thank you for your responses.

I raised this issue after a discussion with a number of local dog owners who are upset over the placement of at least 10 of these signs just in the last couple of days at one particular beach access point. The question was raised (and actively debated) on the legality of the wording as 'not welcome' does not legally equate to 'not allowed', therefore you could have a dog on the beach as it doesn't legally say you can't. It was also debated that the boat ramp is not part of the beach but a feature over the beach (a ramp built over the shore to allow the movement of a boat to and from the water) - a valid point raised by a law student. It certainly got us all thinking because the ramp is a separate structure, governed by separate legislation and laws for the one in question do not restrict access to dogs. Therefore technically, if the dog is on or swimming over the boat ramp, it is not technically on the beach. Yes there are other dog beaches but it is frustrating to have the one at the end of your street suddenly closed to dogs, necessitating a 20 minute drive to the nearest one with access for a person with a disability. I am hoping that others around Australia may have come across this particular sign and can advise if they had any issues with the council when their dogs have been on the beach or a boat ramp and if so, what did they do about it. Felix, I appreciate your input and agree with you that on the spot, I would probably lose the argument with the Ranger but if I took the fine to court to challenge the wording, I think I would be onto something. I haven't taken the dog since the signs went up but would like to think that if the council didn't want dogs on the beach, they would put up signs saying 'your dog is not allowed on this beach' to remove any ambiguous meaning.

We live in the Rockingham Council (south of Perth) and have noticed signs going up all over the place stating "Your dog is not welcome on this beach. On the spot fines of $100 apply". The sign features a picture of a dog inside a circle with a red line through it. Apart from the fact that I feel the wording is quite rude, how would the council enforce it? After all, it is saying your dog (not cat, horse or any other animal you chose to bring to the beach - and yes I have seen someone take their cat for a walk on the beach!) is not welcome - it doesn't say your dog is not allowed. I'd be interested to hear if anyone received a fine on a beach with the sign and challenged it on the above grounds. I'd also be interested to know if swimming a dog back and forth along a boat ramp would be considered as the dog being on the beach?

Over here in WA, the dog act states that a dog running towards you can be considered as an attack. One of our dogs has been attacked three times in a public area by dogs not on a leash (twice as we walking on lead down the middle of a quiet street). The attacking dogs in each incident were off leash and not under effective control of the owner and in every case, the owner said to us afterwards that their dog had never acted that way before. It's no consolation considering that in each event, the actions of the irresponsible owner (not keeping their dog on a leash and under effective control), left me standing with a bleeding dog that got such a fright he evacuated his anal glands. As a result, our dog is now fearful when other dogs run up to him and only intensive positive reinforcement behaviour training over 4 years has lessened the chances of a fear aggression response (ie get the other dog before it gets me). Our dog is nearly 5 and we will have to deal with this for the rest of his life. One of our other dogs was also attacked by an off leash dog when she was 6 months old. She's 11 years old today and still has issues. I now have to make a split second judgement call about the possible intent of every off leash dog heading in our direction whilst controlling our own dog's response. It seems that so many people are ignoring the leash signs or the law stating that the dog must be under effective control that we have resorted to one of us playing at the park with the dogs (on lead) whilst the other acts as a lookout for any other dogs in the area. It's a stressful way to live and deprives us of the joy of being together with our dogs. Whilst it frustrates me how restrictive dog access now is in public spaces, I respect the leash laws as my dog has been physically and psychologically injured three times because the other dog's owner didn't keep their dog on a leash. I think that the best environment for happy natured dogs to enjoy greeting and playing with other dogs is in a doggy day care centre. Everyone who attends the centre is fully aware of the rules and in general, only well socialised dogs are allowed in the group play sessions.

He's a White Swiss Shepherd Dog from Sweden. Photo courtesy of the breeder of our pup age 7 weeks. Found out some more information this afternoon from a very helpful breeder/ exhibitor and international IPATA pet transport agency in Perth. They advised us that another way from Sweden to Perth is to use Thai Airways and go through Bangkok. They said that Bangkok had excellent pet transit facilities, the trip takes less time and is a more direct route. They also advised that for insurance, ring a few brokers (she sugested Ford Kinta or Shadworth Insurance Brokers) and ask for Marine Cargo insurance. The broker can quote you from door to door for an agreed amount but be prepared for a hefty bill.

As she likes the cane lounge so much and I guess remodelling the front curve would detract from the looks and structural integrity of the lounge, why not try raising the lounge legs up on blocks. If you make a three sided frame that the lounge feet sit on (maybe sink a small hole into the wood frame that the feet will sit in, it will raise the height of the lounge, wont detract from it's looks and still give your dog a familiar secure place to retire to. As she grows, you could raise the height of the frame which will still ensure the lounge is functional but will give her more space. If she ever decides to move into other housing, you just take the lounge off the frame to return it to normal.

We are about to import a pup and have been discussing whether to get travel insurance for him. If the worst was to happen, no amount of money could ever replace the dog (especially as it took 2 years of searching to find a pup with the temperament we're after) but we're looking for a broker who would cover the agreed value. Importing a dog is proving to be a very expensive exercise and not one we could repeat without financial compensation. A google search, calls to a few pet health insurance brokers and a couple of travel agents has drawn a blank. Does anyone know of a company that offers this service? We are using a well respected import company to handle the whole process and they've assured us that despite the stories out there about dogs dying in the crate (usually when transiting through Singapore) they have never heard of it happening. They don't offer insurance but assure us that the vet checks and comfort stops enroute as well as the training of airport ground handling staff will mean that junior will get here safe and well. Any advice will be appreciated by this new mum to be.

We use a DAP diffuser religiously on one of our GSD boys. Very long story short, partly due to his genetic makeup, partly due to three incidences where he was attacked by another dog (a story for another thread) and partly due to a move to a house with dogs on all sides (never had dogs around us before), one of our boys became very stressed in the backyard if left alone (he's fine inside alone or anywhere with us). We tried all of the usual training techniques to calm him and stop him reacting to any noise. Whilst it worked while we were in the yard with him, when he was in the yard without us the stress induced behaviours started up again. Of our three GSDs, he was to only one to experience this stress and display symptomatic behaviours. As we couldn't remove the source of the stress and that it only occured when he was outside alone, we decided to try a 6m x 3m pen inside the garage which would give him a safe place inside but still restrict his access to anything that could harm him. We built the pen in the garage and started to feed him his favourite bones in there. The idea was that he loves bones, would associate the pen as a great place to be (he responded very well to crate training as a pup) and that the garage would be a dark safe place. We put the tv on for him and then set up the camera to record his reactions. I had also ordered a DAP diffuser and was waiting on delivery. The first time we left him in the garage (with the other two dogs) he ate his bones but the ears were twitching at every sound. He'd jump up, bark at the sound and stand erect until the source of the noise was gone. He'd lay back down with his bone but repeated this behaviour at every noise. His body language indicated that he was constantly wired. A few days later the diffuser arrived and we plugged it in, not expecting much of a reaction...... The next day we set up the same situation as the previous day (same time of day, length of time gone, same bones, same companions), then went out and left the camera running. Had I not seen it with my own eyes, I would not have believed it. The difference was like night and day. He settled down with his bone but unlike the previous day, from the first minute his whole body seemed relaxed not poised to respond. His ears would rotate towards a big noise (like chatty kids walking past) but he only paused chewing momentarily before continuing. It was like flipping a switch! The diffuser is recommended for indoor use as the scent flows to the floor and I would personally recommend that for a double garage sized area to either leave it on for about 6 hours before you need to use it or plug it into an extension cord and put it on the ground near the pen/ crate for a better effect. Thanks to the actions of three irresponsible dog owners, we now need to practice and constantly reinforce positive alternative behaviour training whenever he sees a new dog and am always working on confidence building exercises. He may never be fully able to relax in a backyard surrounded by neighbouring dogs but with the aid of training, positive reinforcement and the DAP diffuser, at least if I have to leave him at home for a short time, I know he wont be further stressed by the experience. Would highly recommend the DAP diffuser in the right situation.

Our GSDs have Perla plastic dog beds with a custom fitted faux leather memory foam mattress. The faux leather is very easy to wipe clean and the Perla beds provide an enclosed space low to the ground. The beds are available in a number of sizes to suit everything from a Tea Cup Poodle to a Great Dane. Our 11 year old girl has a bit of arthritis now and this bed/ mattress combination keeps her comfortable. Our youngest seems quite comfortable too!

Please count me in. The action of irresponsible dog owners have caused lifelong psychological trauma to two of my dogs and it seems only that only the physical injury is recognised when claiming damages against the irresponsible owner.

We regularly purchase products from them but I've always phoned my order through. Super fast service, honest advice and goes that extra mile if you need more product information. The delivery fee is very reasonable too.

We had 4 GSD until our oldest passed away at 13 yrs 8 mths. About to get another pup (glutton for punishment). We found it was easier (and cheaper and took up less room) to buy one faux leather covered lofabed (cross between a lounge and a futon sofa bed) rather than 4 individual dog beds for our lounge. The same went for the outside kennels which they rarely used anyway. When we had four smaller kennels, we often found multiple dogs in the one kennel - crammed but happy as they preferred to be together. When we had to replace the kennels, we got one larger kennel and all four now occupy it at the same time very harmoniously. It's certainly easier for us to find a space for one large kennel vs four individual ones. They have their own plastic moulded beds with a custom fit faux leather mattress in our bedroom. We drew the line at sharing our bed with them - there is just not enough room for four GSDs and two humans in a queen sized bed! Leashes, collars and harnesses tend to muliply anyway and once you're happily co-existing with two large dogs, adding a third or fourth isn't that much extra work. The extra hair at shedding time is a story for another day! Disposing of the waste produced by four dogs was sorted out with the purchase of a worm farm. As long as the dog waste is the only food the worms get, they quickly adjust to their new diet and process it as per normal. We've found that having more dogs actually makes our food bill cheaper. We bought a 500 litre chest freezer which meant that we could take advantage of bulk meat and bone order discounts. Even super premium biscuits and dried treats are cheaper per item when bought in bulk. Bulk shampoo is cheaper too. The annual vet bill increases with each additional dog but on the flip side, we've been able to negotiate a fairly substantial discount when we get the annual vet check, C5, heartworm, 12 month supply of worming tablets and flea/tick treaments for all four dogs at the same time. It's still works out to the cost of a small car but we weren't ever able to get a discount when we had just two dogs. Having four GSDs in surburbia tends to get you noticed more and because they are well behaved, we've found that people love to interact with them. I once found myself unexpectedly part of a photo shoot when I was standing with our four dogs outside a bookshop in the Fremantle Markets waiting for the OH to come out. A group of overseas visitors descended upon myself and the dogs. Turns out they all wanted individual photos of themselves kneeling next to the dogs (owner not included......). OH reckons I should've put a hat out on the ground! Then there was the time a lady chased our car in a taxi as she wanted to say hello to the dogs (she was missing her dogs back home in England)....... Exercising 4 GSDs becomes interesting though. It is an experience to watch the faces of passersby as you walk four GSDs down the footpath - people tend to cross the street when they see you coming! We've found that human leadership is very important and to ensure that you are numero uno to every dog. Obedience training is a must and so is socialising every member of the pack with other dogs. Two out-of-control large dogs is a sad sight - four would be just plain dangerous. In our council, you have to apply for a permit to keep more than two dogs and it varies between councils on how they assess the application. Some councils require a letter from you which is then discussed and decided on at the next council meeting. Our current council charges a $55 application fee. The ranger then interviews you, inspects the dogs, inspects your home, interviews every adjoining neighbour and then makes a recommendation to the senior ranger. It's a thoroughly nervewracking experience! For me, there is no joy greater than seeing our four GSDs romping off leash through the surf just being dogs (on an signposted leash free beach of course). Giving four large dogs a bath is infinitely more interesting than two though - especially when they all want in the bath at the same time!