Chris the Rebel Wolf

I probably would have rear ended somebody in my horror.

Meg... lol lol lol! James and I had such a laugh looking at this. My comment was 'This is what happens when you love your dog more than your money - note the custom cabinet of this shiny new spa, and who is using it? The dDane :D Here's my waterbaby Zeke enjoying one of our frequent days at the beach. Paddling: Ocean + palm frond = love Zeke's wisdom: always shower off the salt water after a trip to the beach :D

Seems lower than low to take away the companion of a homeless man when he has so little already... Even if Bull was muzzled, his owner was clearly concerned about doing the right thing. I would be very interested to her about the details of the complaint made; my suspicion is it may be somebody who doesn't like the idea of homeless people and was hoping to stir up trouble.

I really appreciate all this input, I am learning lots about a breed I didn't know much about Roova, thankyou for that website, also very informative, I will most certainly pass that along if I get the chance I am hoping I see this family at work again now to see how it turns out and offer updated advice... sometimes it is frustrating working in a pet shop, you always wonder what this person or that person decided!

I've never cut Zeke's nails in eight years. We have always done a little road walking a few times a week - there is a great abandoned road a street away we use currently - and this with being an outdoor dog sees them stay at a manageable length I would cut myself if I had to. I do bird nails all the time though, since I offer to do it for any of my customers who ask!

I use Aloveen conditioner, just a small amount rubbed dry into the coat... lovely smell if they're getting a bit 'doggy' but not yet time for a bath. Zeke gets it a bit since I only bathe and shampoo him once every few months, often I put some on before we go visiting so parents/friends aren't put off by his doggy smell!

Aha, now that is exactly the sort of excellent thinking that I really was looking for with this thread as well. Because I work in a pet shop and sometimes only have a minute or more of a customer's attention before they are gone, I try to be careful in what I say. If I carelessly said ;Oh you ought to pay $3000' - that doesn't offer anything. If I say something like what you've just said there Alyosha, phrased so simply but effectively, without being rude at all, just matter of fact... that is the point I want to get across. Thankyou for putting my much vaguely thoughts so well! Thankyou everybody for your input. As I said I fully understand the registered/backyard benefits but this is more about getting a customer, in a short time, to consider the same thing. Like you Gecko I've seen advertised byb for 800ish from time to time, and with such a huge jump it is easy to see why Joe Blogs would buy the third of a cost one without thinking ahead. Some people do look more at the immediate picture not the big picture, or the dollars they have in their pocket, not what they might spend in the future. The way I see it... Fair enough if you don't have the money for a more expensive breed right away, but if your heart is set on a particular breed, start saving... that's what I'm doing for my next dog

When I was a child, I lived with my family on a boat. The nomadic lifestyle and small space shortage as well as keeping track of children while at sea convinced my parents not to bring a dog into our lives, which was fair enough. That though, did not decrease my love or longing for one. While it was not to be that I could grow up with a dog, one still held a special place in my heart. Husky was a Golden Retriever I met while our boat was docked at our usual marina. His owner had a boat there too, and Husky came to visit every week or so. I soon made the acquaintance of both he, his owner and her other dog, Border collie Maggie. Though both owner and Maggie were nice, I was too shy to say more than hello, and it was Husky became special to me. "Husky's here!" my mum or dad would call, and I would race on deck and look down to see wagging tail and smiling Golden face. We would roam the docks together, you were so fascinated by the fish everyone used to hand feed. I would hold an old piece of bread while you stared with complete captivation at the flicking fins and tiny splashes. You were never silly enough to jump in after them; nor did you never paw or nose at the surface to get at the fish. It was just the watching that fascinated you so. When all the stale bread was gone we ran up and down the docks, or played under the hose. Once your owner let me give you a proper bath with some doggy shampoo; it was the first dog I ever bathed; you sat patiently and smiled and wagged as you always did. I remember how excited I was when I would stop, and ask you to sit, and you always, always did, well trained gentleman you ever were. Nothing could be more incredible to a dog-crazy child than getting a dog to sit when you asked them to! How many, many hours we spent together on those docks. Not once did you ever loose patience. Not once were you anything but your friendly, well-mannered, sweetheart self. The last time I ever saw you, I had grown up a little bit. Your visits weren't as frequent now and I was in my last year of primary school. It was raining, and mum was about to drop me off at school. I ran up the bridge connecting the dock to the land, and there you were, sitting under the shelter at the top. A skin condition had taken up over half of your once-lovely golden fur and left angry red patches behind. But still, you wagged and smiled, though you never moved, as if the effort of walking down the gentle slope you once raced up and down, had become too much. I had but a few brief moments to stroke your soft head, to kneel beside you and hug you, to understand that this was our goodbye. I knew it then, young as I was, that the look in your lovely brown eyes was that of a dog who had lived a long, full, and happy life. A life that was coming to an end. It has been almost a decade and a half since that goodbye. I know you have passed over the bridge now, but you have not been forgotten. Last night I dreamed of my boy Jayne, who passed on earlier this year, running over the rainbow bridge at the heels of a faithful golden figure. I know you still visit me in spirit, now looking after my Jaynedog the way you once looked after me. Husky, you were the one to teach a little dog-crazy kid what it was all about. You showed me what it was to love a dog and be loved unconditionally in return. Though you never belonged to me, a piece of my heart belongs with you forever. Thankyou, Husky. I'll always love you.

How big is the dog? That beats the 5 kilos of mince and a bottle of cod liver oil, a friend's 20kg dog ate. *snortlaugh* That's him in my signature, 27 kilos. He's a lab cross, so that's what did it. Never trust a lab with food! Prior to this happening, when Zeke was still a puppy, I happened to have a bag of Bonnie given to me and stored it in another bucket with a handle still on it. Mum woke up at two in the morning and though she saw a black dog jumping the fence and trotting over the (fortunately empty) road holding the handle of the bucket in his mouth. Naturally she thought she was dreaming and went back to sleep. We found out the next day, the neighbour's black lab Bob had come over to visit and left with Zeke's bucket of food! He was fine by the way, he had a more castiron stumach than Zeke, we estimate he ate nearly ten kilos. He didn't accept any more food for the next two days apparantly! Though I am happy to report Bob's family built him a much bigger fence and he is now safely contained.

Woot for Titan, what a smart little guy! Michele Crouse may be my hero. "It doesn't matter if they have a 2-pound Chihuahua or a 200-pound mastiff" - Thankyou. Thankyou thankyou Michele, I fully 100% agree.

I spoke to a customer recently who is looking for French Bulldog, and when I directed to Dogzonline (as I do for all my purebred seeking customers) he said he had looked into breeders, and been quoted prices at $3000. The price alone had turned this family off, though as usual I went into my 'Health/temperment testing, peace of mind' etc speech, I can personally understand a person of a moderate budget baulking at a price tag so high when the option to buy one from the paper for under a thousand is there. Because I'm completely unfamiliar with this breed I wanted to ask here - is this around the going rate for registered and papered French Bulldog? Or could this have just been one price example and there is some variation? While I'm familiar with the differences between backyard and registered, and I've read several threads on the topic recently, it still affects me, as I see people from all walks of life looking into dog ownership on a day to day basis.

I never have any problems with Comfortis and I've tried every product out there to compare over the years. I never see a single flea on Zeke, get gets it year round, and we visit lots of highly flea prone areas

Seven kilos of Eukanuba. In one sitting. Broke into the bucket that had it in... yeah, got a storage container after that!

Heartguard isn't my preferred product because it only covers two of the intestional worms - go for Interceptor instead, which does all thr intestionals and heartworm too, and stick with frontline if it works for you Btw Advantix is only dangerous to cats if they lick the wet patch it leaves behind, which can take 1-2 hours to fully dry in thicker coated breeds. Once it dries and is absorbed, safe for cats

Just out of a matter of interest, the article doesn't mention if the kids did speak to the owner about patting the dog at all. The seven year old at least, since he began patting the dog first, may have asked 'Can I pat the dog' and been told yes. Weather the owner was standing right beside them by the time the little girl hugged the dog, or was still ten meters away, if she hugged him and he turned and snapped it would have been hard to prevent with no leash. Not saying that is what happened but we're only getting a small fragment of the story, obviously. It could be fault on all parts, though to me letting your dog around offleash around houses and entering a house, the most fault is right there. Feel sorry for the Border, he's as much a victim as the girl. Also agree with those who don't agree 'timid' is the right word for a Border, I wouldn't use that descriptive for any of those I have met.

Yes, I enjoy it. I love being out and about with Zeke, I love the outdoors, feeling the breeze after a day inside at work. We love the beach most, where Zeke can swim and I feel most at home

My pick has to be the merlin... that is a most amazing shot, though there are many lovely ones and I can't imagine the difficulties in picking the winners. The monkey is ultra cute, and the polar bear made me laugh. It makes me sad to see the pelicans, though. I certainly am happy to see them being helped, but I don't really advocate snapping pictures of then during this time, it seems to be just another stress when they have gone through so much. I suppose I am just sad they ended up covered in oil in the first place, that the prescient exists for this photo.

Fleas look like tiny little crawly black things. It is often easier to spot flea 'dirt' which is like little reddish brown specks, which is the flea poo, this collects in the hair. You can use frontline with Sentinel is you pot adult fleas, but it shouldn't be necessary to use something that is a long term flea treatment. Frontline is a continuous killer, stays in the coat, keeps on killing fleas for one month. It would be easier to use a spray, wash or the capstar tablets which are quiet cheap for if you spot adult fleas.

Tick collars work fair to decently unless they are getting wet a lot. The more the collar gets wet, the faster the powder wears out. They are not my favourite means of tick prevention, I prefer the spot ons, since collars are unsightly, my dog swims and gets wet every day, and the powder does not always distribute evenly.

While I agree this new owner was severely lacking in several areas before buying her dog, it's important to get this sort of message out to the public. People must be aware of what they are buying, in this case obviously it did not happen.

Harder to spot, I'd say. Cats aren't as audible as dogs; 100+ dogs and pups all barking would attract attention eventually, wheras the cats if all kept inside might not be noticed by a casual passer by. I can't imagine the state the house would be in with that many cats, but still. Glad these cats have now found an end to their suffering, poor things. That's no way for any animal to live. I notice there is no mention yet of any punishment for the hoarder? It surprises me that 'poor socialization' is mentioned in this article as something the cats were suffering from. Don't think I've ever read that in a dog based news story.

If you are worried about frequent dosing M&G, the concentration required for spot on products is massively higher than the dosage for oral products, due to the fact it has to be absorbed through the skin. Especially since every heartworm prevention outside the injection is monthly, I don't consider it a huge leap to do intestionals monthly also. Personally I would rather see my dog cleared of any parasites they have picked up monthly, and place some amount of trust in a company I've researched and questioned. The way I look at it, I can't go through life suspicious of every drug company, I have to make the best educated decision for my dog and my situation, so that's what I do. If it emerges that the safety trails were not as described to me, or that the consumer was being lied to about safety, I would be furious and outspoken, for sure. But that's just my personal opinion

If the stance is on cruelty to animals, even a legal puppy farm could be affected by the new legislation, and hopefully the more puppy farms - illegal or legal - who are caught doing the wrong thing, the more public pressure to get rid of them altogether there will be. I certainly hope no breeder doing the right thing by their dogs will be affected by this.

Heard rumours of this at work a few weeks back, saying much the same thing. A shame for those who use it.

Poor dog and owner. Mining their own business at home and get attacked, that's not on. From the perspective of the article, that's one of the most poorly written pieces I've come across. It strikes me as horrible callous to refer to 'The dead dog's owner' is disgusting. That link reveals more, the owner had asked several times for the dogs to be restrained better, and had even complained to the council about them. Stupid, irresponsible owner has now cost this poor guy the life of his staffy. I have a lot of respect for what this guy is saying - he's not baming the breed, he says they can be good dogs but they need to be contained, and that he legally wants justice. Way to go Joe, while nothing can bring back your staffy, at least you can help ensure nobody else looses a pet to these dogs.