meggie

My rescue boy came with this English padded leather whippet collar: Lined Whippet Collar - Styles WP2 from: http://www.hideandcollars.co.uk It's wearing very well with the occasional wipe of Dubbin. Sure my girl would be happy with the Swarovski crystal model, but not likely now the dollar's dropped ...

Not uncommon for whippets to dislike being alone in the back yard, especially a new baby. They do like to be with their people. I have never had a pup alone though, so not an expert. Mine have a doggy door which suits my velcro rescue boy as he wants to be with us in the house or outside with our other whippet. Doggy door so he is not locked outside might be the solution for your boy too. Suggest you ask in the whippet thread: http://www.dolforums...things-whippet/ Look forward to seeing pics - such lovely little dogs. ETA: Meant to ask about how housetrained he is. Mine were pretty reliable by 4 months.

Haven't had to worry about out of hours ops, TG, but out vet charges $200 for an after hours (which includes Sundays) call out. Only time I've had to call at night, the on call vet talked me through the likely cause for free. Since I'm happy with their services, & they're local, no intention of looking elsewhere.

Zebra stripped polar fleece for new winter blankets. Already in use & since I hadn't got round to hemming them before they were underneath, I probably won't.

Must be the season for wandering pigs: http://www.bordermail.com.au/story/1484330/rogue-pig-still-on-the-loose/?cs=11 Hope it survives.

I fluked two child size bean bags for $15 each in Spotlight sale a while ago. With navy polar fleece cover & cotton lining, perfect for whippets. Have just bought 3m zebra stripe polar fleece to make two new blankets for this winter, so they're set now.

Ooops, mucked up my reply. Cavstar, no, we didn't change Sam's name as we were happy with it. His previous owners had already changed it to Sam from Sky & he'd adapted. I can see dogmad's point about a new name & a new life, but Sam didn't have a troubled past. He had been shown as a pup, then rehomed to the country where he took to killing the neighbour's chooks, so he was rehomed again to us - in chookless suburbia. dogmad, thanks for those tips on housetraining & especially the cleaning up. I always forget what's the best method, so will print that post.

My whippets have Wolf's Den coats. Can recommend them - warm & hardwearing. Plus, with the zip on the back, my girl can't undress herself just because she feels like it.

My rescue whippet wasn't toilet trained at a year - he hadn't been an inside dog before. We just did the usual puppy training routine of taking outside regularly & praising when he performed. Only one accident & completely house trained in less than a week. The older ones definitely learn faster.

And this is the tragedy that can happen even if a dog is not deliberately left in the car: We'll miss his leap onto the bed to nose out company This week was his tribute to Darcy. So sad, but so honest and open about what happened. I cried when I read it. R I P Darce

At least those techniques use sweetness & charm .. . My dear departed Stafford, Rowdy, used to go & get her lead when she thought it was time & drop it in front of me. And she'd be giving me the hard stare. No sublety there. A rescue girl, she liked her routine. Only stopped when the lead hooks were put up so high I still have to stand on my toes to reach them. She'd stand by the door instead.

Yes, Albury has an airport, but Wodonga has to share it. Virgin cut back from small jets (Embraers?) to smaller still turbo prop planes again last year, so that may be why they don't handle animals -if they ever did.

If it weren't for the fact we were at a friend's place & not the vet's today, you could be describing my very sociable Twiggy's behaviour. She's sure everyone wants to be friends with her, but does show a little more restraint than she used to. My boy, on the other hand, sits quietly in the background batting his eyelashes & waiting to be noticed. Oops - typo.

Haven't tried strawberries on mine, but Sam is very fond of mulberries - picks the lower ones while the birds & I fight for those higher up. Twig has more exotic tastes. She chomps through the cape gooseberries, cheerfully spitting out covers & stones. Thought I heard somewhere that avocado is not good for dogs either.

Well, our first parcel finally arrived today. Order was placed 19/10 as soon as I saw their email. The 19-squeak rabbits are a great hit here, but rest is staying away till Christmas ...

Well, I just went back for a 2nd round, mainly for relo's planned new puppy's presents, to find the list for free shipping had shrunk dramatically. Managed to get some Kong stuff for him/her & stocked up on the replacement squeakers that I missed 1st time round.

I have two different ones for my whippets - happy with both. Walkeez from Clean run (when they had free shipping of course) which fit OK. Their everyday ones are Weathabeata which came from the Horseland sales, are very soft & also fit reasonably. Easy to get in & out of too. http://www.cleanrun....product_id=1699 http://www.horseland...ness-black.html Moved to a harness for walking as well as in car ages ago, after Twig caught me unawares & managed to slip her martingale collar by jumping madly up & down when she saw a little friend across the road before I did. Just missed being squashed under a Landcruiser. She wasn't fussed or more than bruised, but I think the shock shortened my life.

Yes - rabbits with 19 squeakers! Ours are in the pipeline. Twig will be so pleased on Christmas Day! She loves her Skinneez & spends ages making them squeak, but the last lot are finally wearing out.

You 2 Mels were on my kudos list... along with Tim V, Michelle W, Jacqueline D, Nathan, Tabby the vet... the wonderful B. Russo... and Angie who nearly got lost in all even tho' she sensibly described how she got a p/b puppy. All those people did the world of animal welfare proud. I agree with minimax that all the issues & the rate at which subject matters switched without any definitions or depth...would have confused the general public. Which maybe shows how far away from the general public all those issues are. But that show is better than nothing...and highlights the need to get lots more in-depth info to the public. Exactly, mita. I agree that show was a start, but somewhat confusing &, to me, distressing. Would have been better IMO if it had been divided into rescue matters with a separate programme on dog breeding, puppy farming, responsible ownership, etc. 300 breeding dogs in one place! OMG! Thanks for the on-the-spot background, Mel. Interesting & useful. Shame we can't see the programme uncut. Might make more sense. Was appalled to realise that neither of my two rescue dogs, a maltreated Stafford, Rowdy, my dear departed special girl, and my current whippet, Sam, would have passed the RSPCA temperament test. Both great dogs though they had their flaws - Rowdy couldn't cope with dogs larger than her, especially, for some unknown reason, labs, so she had to have a go, but we worked around that. Sam had to be rehomed after killing chooks, so we don't keep chooks in our secure backyard. I'd rather have him. I had 10 happy years with Rowdy & hope for that with Sam too.

How true! The price of a friend's 'groodle' would have paid for my two whippets.

Quite agree, Ams. I have a whippet who had to be rehomed (through our local dog rescue) after he started killing his previous owners' neighbour's chooks in the country. He came to live in town & has settled in fine as a house dog. We have chooks nearby, but since my backyard is well fenced he hasn't caused any problems. He is a delightful dog & a great companion to me & my other whippet. It would have been a real shame if he had been PTS or, worse, shot by the neighbour for doing something that comes naturally to a whippet. Killing stock is another matter.

Interested to read all the comments. Whippetwear has been well recommended to me by people who have it. Was told it's not cheap, but is great quality & also she is very helpful. Heard there is a local assistance whippet who has a specially made one-off fluoro work jacket from Whippetwear. My two have Weathabeeta raincoats, as does the old Staff boy. All wear size 50 cm. to get the length. Does the job, but I would not buy any other Weathabeeta for whippets as I agree material is a bit stiff compared with polyfleece, etc. Mine also have double thickness Wolf's' Den jackets which are good as they fit well & zip up the back. Means Twig can't undress herself as she is fond of doing (with her teeth). No Velcro stops her. Still, she has learnt, finally, she's warmer with a jacket on in winter. For knockabout home wear, I have fiddled with Kwiksew 3076, a pull on pattern. Made some with sleeves, some without. Lengthened the back to cover their bony little bums. Took some amending to get it cut right for Sam who is also inclined to wee down his leg when he's not aiming straight ahead at his jacket. Joys of boys ...

My Stafford is 11 & the whippet girl who came to keep him company after my special Stafford girl went (at 15) is 2 1/2. We added a rescue whippet (now 3) 16 months ago. He had been shown & came with impeccable manners, apart from his propensity towards chook killing. Never intended to have three, but he fitted in straight away. It works well as the whippets have livened the old boy up - he really pined for Rowdy - and the two young ones are great company for each other. Can tire each other out while the old boy snoozes after brief play. These may well be my last dogs because of some health problems, so it's good that the whippets are of a similar age & I hope they have a long life together.

Hard to believe they are the same miserable dogs we saw recently. They look so much better & happier. Fantastic progress! Congratulations to you all, &, especially to Ella. I am just back from an unplanned o'seas trip & hopped on to check the boys' progress. Can't believe the difference in the latest pics compared with those first ghastly ones on Iggy Rescue site. Hope all goes as well in the future.

OMG! Those poor maltreated dogs! And here was I thinking Sam & Twig were hard done by for having had to have several stints in the kennels lately. No way . We have donated to Iggy Rescue for them too. Best of luck. Don't think they could be in a better place right now.