Alkhe

I know someone who uses a dog pram as her dog has bad hips and gets sore and tired easily. She still loves to get out and about though. It's not because the owner treats the dog like her child, she just doesn't like her dog being in pain. Some people are quite rude to her about it when out and about but really it is the kindest thing for the dog who just loves people patting her and going on outings. I have another friend who has 6 little dogs and they go walking every evening. As the dogs are all at various stamina levels they go in the pram as they start to tire and the remaining dogs still get their longer walks. It works well for them but she said they do get strange looks! I have even see one of her dogs ask to go in the pram as she got tired, very cute, puts her front paws up and waits to be lifted in once she has had enough of walking I totally agree. Just because a dog can't walk very far doesn't mean it can't get some enjoyment and stimulation from going outside in a stroller! I'd definitely do it. There's a woman in my area with three little dogs, 2 of whom are very old and frail. She has a customised shopping trolley/cart thing that they sit in. It's briliant :)

I don't really have any.. it's pretty much the only area of my life where I don't. Sometimes I think about getting my little poodle to an obedience title, but .. I just don't think it'll happen, and I don't really mind either.

I've just started reading the report - from the first 5 pages I'm really, really pleased. The four points below encapsulate some of the most significant problems with the current Victorian legislation. It's great to see them actually recognised explicitly.

Oh no :( I really hope you got to pick him up tonight..

Ohhh congratulations CC and Violet! Soon you're going to get RSI from typing out all those titles :laugh:

It's no different to any other kind of insurance though. If you don't end up needing it, it's a con - you fork out thousands over the years and would have been better saving your money. But if you DO need it and it enables you to give your pet expensive and life saving treatment that would be unavailable to you otherwise, then it's an absolutely worthwhile investment. Of course it would be great if everyone could keep their own buffer fund or special savings account. That's also true for any other kind of insurance, but people tend not to do that. If you can, good for you. But most people aren't disciplined enough to put away money every week or month or whatever, and trust themself not to touch it. I don't think taking out insurance and thinking of it as a value for money thing is the right way to look at it. It's far better to think of it as a safety net. That's the way I approach it, and the reason that I have it. It's a great safety net that I hope to god I never have to use, but I'm happy to pay to ensure that I don't have to make a difficult decision based on money that I can easily avoid, by having insurance.

It might be good to find a rescue that has a trial period, and a policy of taking the dog back if it's not working out for some reason. I personally wouldn't adopt from a rescue organisation that didn't ask me a lot of questions first - I don't mean a full on interrogation, but I wouldn't take a dog from somewhere that was thrusting it at me and happy for me to take it, without wanting to know about my dogs, our house, their routine, etc. The group that I intend to foster for soon ticks that box, and I'm sure are accused of making it too hard for people to rescue, sometimes. But that's not necessarily a bad thing ;)

God I don't even know you but I've been worrying about your doggies since I saw this thread - SO SO glad they're ok! :thumbsup:

Regarding his food intake, is it possible that he needs or wants something less "bone-y" than chicken necks at night? Perhaps try giving him something a bit softer, like chicken meat or some mince? If that's stupid advice, someone correct me! I just wouldn't have thought that chicken necks every day would necessarily be the best thing .. ?

Some rescues will only rehome where they can meet the adopters and do house checks, too :)

If you don't have any luck with any of those, Pug Rescue (Vic) is a great rescue, but don't rehome outside of Victoria. They may be able to put you in contact with counterparts interstate though :) ETA - www.pugrescue.org.au

There were a couple of Sibes in the Melbourne Central one a few weeks ago too.

Teebs, you did everything you could for him. He knows that. RIP Atlas, you are so loved. Please look after yourself, I am so so sorry for your loss

This is good feedback, I'm with Real but never had to use it (thankfully) so glad they haven't been knobs when it comes to paying out. Yep - compared with some horror stories I've heard about medibank, Real seems to be brilliant.

I'm with Real Pet Insurance - can't fault them so far. I can't remember exactly but I think I get back 80% of everything claimed. I've only claimed once, and I received payment within 2 working days or something ridiculously quick. There were no problems with the pay out, and it came much sooner than they had told me it would. I also just got a $50 cheque in the mail for having been with them for a year, even though I claimed in that time! As with any other insurance, it's not worth it until you need it, in which case it's brilliant. I personally am really happy to pay for it, because I know it means I'm never going to have to make the kind of devastating life or death call based on my ability to pay. For me, it's really a safety net so that if something really bad happened and my dog needed thousands of dollars of vet treatment, I wouldn't have to weigh up whether I could pay it or not, and make my decision on how to treat her based on that.

It's so hard to know when to trust advice you're given and when to seek a second opinion, especially if you're dealing with something uncomon or that you've never heard of before. I'm really glad you've found a vet that you're comfortable with and whose advice you trust - stick with them! I've got a great one too and I'm so thankful. Until meeting them I'd never had the kind of genuine trust in a vet before, so I'm more than happy to recommend them to people seeking second opinions, or who need to have a good experience with a vet! Even the locum vet they had in the other day was good Anyway - glad to hear that things are under control, and I'm really sorry that you felt attacked by people here. There is a lot of good advice and experience on this forum, but it can definitely be a bit in-your-face at first! Stick around though, there are lots of really lovely people here, and I'm so glad I found this forum. I'm a far better dog owner because of it :)

Which area in Vic are you in? Perhaps people could suggest a good vet for you to see. I'm in Brunswick and am happy to suggest a vet in this area, who I trust and will continue to go to.

I also know of somebody looking for a poodle. They are a long time client of my groomer, and have one poodle already. If none of the above arrangements work out, let me know:)

I've followed Ned's story since the very first thread, but haven't posted - I'm just so so glad that things turned out the way they have. It might have been a rocky road, but kudos to all of you lovely folk who worked to hard to get Ned to a safe place.

I found mine by chance, they just happened to be the closest to me when I had a foster dog that needed to see a vet really quickly. I keep going back because that first time, they didn't know me, or the dog, but the vet I saw was extremely knowledgeable and stayed 30 mins after the clinic closed to treat him, and would have stayed even longer had he needed to go under general. I then got him home and had to take him back straight away, and she then stayed even LONGER to re-dress his foot. They charge a lot, and I could get much cheaper care at any number of places, but I completely trust them. They are dedicated and knowledgeable, make my dogs feel at ease and are brilliant with follow up care. I have seen a few vets at the same practice, and don't mind which one I see for general things like vaccinations, but do have 2 that I would ask for by name if I had a more "difficult" thing to ask about.

Aww, such gorgeous pics! I love the middle one and bottom left ones - someone knows she's a spoilt girl :D And her little bows!

I would also suggest boy, but if you are desperate to have another girl, as others have said, you could make it work. These things always depend on the individual dogs in question, and the existing pack dynamics, but my opinion is that you will have a better chance of having a peaceful pack if the 3rd dog is male. It doesn't mean it will be perfect, or that it wouldn't be perfect with a girl - the odds just seem better with a boy :)

Run free beautiful girl, it was a pleasure to have met you when I did. My thoughts are with you Nicole - I know we've only met once but you and Charlotte keep crossing my mind, and my boyfriend Dase was also devastated when I told him, and he passes on his condolances too.

Charming! What the hell is wrong with people? sitting on the wall at the bottlo - where they drinking by any chance?? idiots either way.. (and a poofer lesbian mmmm) Yes.How did you guess? Most days, there is always men sitting drinking on the wall outside.Most are ok but some heckle passerbys so I now avoid walking by. Ahhh, the joys of walking past bottleshops! My partner was walking my toy poodle the other day, and some guy yelled out "f*ck off you little jumper wearing fa****". Dase often gets weird comments, being a big guy with a tiny poodle, but it's not often that Maggie gets called a f*****, and to my knowledge she's never yet been called a "jumper waering f*****". There's a first time for everything, eh?

:laugh: that's amazing!!!