JayGee

I'm so sorry for your loss. I could hear your total love and devotion in the words that you wrote. He looked like a beautiful whiskery boy. He was lucky to have you in his life as well. ????

Go Benny :thumbsup: I think we need a pic. I noticed that I started this thread in November last year, so Danny keeps on surprising me too. I have to remind myself that he is very old and, like all oldies, has good days and bad days. I re-read all the comments in this thread and there seems to be concern that I “do the right thing” by Danny. There is no way in the world, I would allow an animal of mine to suffer because of MY feelings. In every action and every thought, my prime and only concern is for the welfare and happiness of my dogs. I have pics of young Benny on my phone, will try and put up tomorrow DD. He still chases his ball, and has his little walks. We all love him dearly and hope he will go on and on. He's just had a heart murmur picked up, so hoping that won't be an issue. About doing the right thing.....DD, I've been following your posts with your littlies for years, you have always put your dogs first. It's funny how attached we get to a dog that we have never met. ????

DD he is the most adorable little man, he reminds me so much of my Aunt's boy, Benny, who is also 17. Those little greying chops are so sweet. We have been saying for about three years that this is Benny 's last year, and he keeps surprising us. I hope little Red Man keeps surprising you.

The difference is that this is this vets ONLY service. She doesn't do anything else, no general check ups, no broken bones, she doesn't even have a clinic, she only does at home euthanasia. As much as I can imagine, this could be a fabulous service for some, I found the fact that Jeddah was so familiar with our vet, that it touched me to see how happy she was to see him, on the day of her passing. I'm sure she would not have been as comfortable with someone who wasn't actually treating her. Her comfort and happiness, made all the difference on the day.

Our Vet does this too. It's actually more than just doing the procedure, it turned out to be the most beautiful passing I have ever experienced with any of my animals.

It's the Buy Sell or Swap pages that really upset me. Trying to give dogs away.....If anyone suggests a Rescue Group, or make sure the dog is desexed before re homing, it becomes a nightmare. I find I'm steering clear of anything that can upset me these days. I'm living in my own bubble.

denali, thank you for the link, much appreciated. I tried to digest it tonight, will have another read tomorrow, when it my make more sense to me. The picture that you also posted is gorgeous, and how I perceived they should look.

Can I ask, as someone who has absolutely no idea, why these changes came to be? It's always been a breed that my husband would dearly love to own. We just didn't go down that path due to my allergies, and their shedding. But I was hoping one day, maybe.

You are a wonderful owner, so pleased you are reaping the rewards with Nellie now. I hope he continues to get stronger and stronger.

I'm so sorry that you have lost your precious Anna, gillybob. She was one lucky dog to have found you. XX

My heart goes out to you gillybob. Will be thinking of you and Anna. ♡

wow...how did you manage this?...did you step on it or sit on it?.....I had Redbacks crawling over my hands and Huntsmen dropping from the ceiling on my head (when I tried to remove them), but I never got bitten. I heard that white-tailed spiders can be a little bit nasty...and of course the funnel webs, but I actually never saw a funnel web spider here in the Illawarra. We get heaps of them here and nasty is an understatement. They're easily the most aggro spiders I've ever come across and they seem to enjoy hanging out in places you might need at night- I've found them on the bathroom floor, on the towel rack in the bathroom, in the kitchen sink, wandering up the hallway and even in one of the dogs' bowls. They're not the sort of spider you can trap under a glass and take outside, either. The last one I saw, it ran up the hallway at me with its front legs and fangs up, presumably not for cuddles. I threw a shoe at it to buy myself some time and retreated for the flyspray. The only good white-tailed spider is one that is buried under a foamy pile of Mortein. I'll stick to the huntsmen.. That is terrifying. I've been bitten by a white-tailed in bed (I guess the little bastard was hiding under my pillows, the bite was on the back of my head ) and I can assure you, it does not tickle. The bite site itself didn't look like much- sort of like a very small pimple- but it was swollen and very sore for several days. I now make a habit of wearing socks around the house to protect my feet, shaking out bedding and not walking into dark rooms. Huntsmen creep me out but I'd take them over white-tailed spiders any day :/ Interesting that you should mention that Maddy. Someone I know was bitten on the nose while sleeping, she thinks the white tail was in the mask of sleep apnoea machine. Very painful and took ages to heal.

She was lucky for 12 years, she died at 13.5 years from cancer, not a snake bite....which was always my greatest fear. So this high pitched bark was not just a random moment here and there. We get a lot of snakes here. I wish we could have trained her out of this behaviour. But, in saying that, I'm also not comfortable having snakes close to the house. We always check the pool before diving in....that's another great snake trap, particularly the skimmer box!

Maxiewolf, a doberman is just so damn fast. Not sure if it's the terrier in the original breed, or just that protect the family at all costs, attitude. We live in a heavily visited snake area. It does worry me, and we keep the grass short. Our current dobe pup has not seen a snake as yet, that we know of anyway. Our neighbour told me of a large brown that she saw enter our yard a few weeks ago. So, I'm currently on snake watch at the moment. Hope it was just passing through. My old dobe had a particular bark for snakes, but she was always quicker than me. I was worried that our young dobie would think a snake as a good game. But reading your experience makes me wonder if they have an inbuilt danger alarm?

Our old dobie girl was a shocker for killing snakes. We have a creek and bush at the back of our house, so have always had an issue with snakes. She was so fast, that we never had time to intervene. Even as she was aging, I was worried that a snake would be her undoing. She had the shake technique, killed them instantly.

Just beautiful! I have been following Benny's story since you adopted him. He is the image of our old girl Sheila, who passed away 2 years ago. Your dogs have a fabulous life! ♡

Could you do immunotherapy for your dog allergy? It's been great for my grass and dust mite allergies, but they aren't so bad as to need an epi pen. I've been promising myself I would do this for years! My biggest scary allergy is bee stings. I really should get my act together and follow this up. I think you just get used to being allergic. Thank you for the reminder, I do get complacent.

My heart goes out to you. I've always loved your photos. ♡♡

Lovely little tacker.

I am allergic to cats, dogs, horses, bees......I carry an epi pen. I'm also an asthmatic whose favourite drug is an antihistamine. My eyes close over with much dog cuddling and I can't breathe. But, being the fool that I am, I still pat dogs everywhere. I just can't touch my face until I scrub my hands. I get hives from dogs. BUT, interestingly, I knew a lady with a poodle many years ago, and never had an allergic reaction to that dog. It is the only time I could spend hours with a dog, and not have hives or reaching for the Ventolin. Now, I've only trialled this on one poodle! I own a doberman, she's a real snuggler. I just wash my hands a lot, vacuum regularly, change her crate bedding twice weekly, and we get by. Everyone's allergies and degree of reactions are going to be different. But, if it were me, I'd try out a poodle.

This made me laugh, I have a Ragdoll who doesn't know she could jump over a baby gate. Sits behind it and yowls her head off. But she can jump from the ground up on to the ironing board, which is way higher than a baby gate. Fortunately, she is pretty. :)

Ive never replied to a thread on here so hope Im doing it right... I normally "sit on my hands" when I read comments on here but reading 'Willem's comment that the owner of this dog "needs some credit for raising such a fine dog" and assuming that because the dog was lovely, friendly and happy with MonElite, meant the owner was possibly a "good guy and loving owner" (my words) finally made me get off my hands.. About 10 years ago we rescued a dog who was being beaten by its owner. We tried RSPCA first but all they did (to be fair it was in NZ and not australia) was go to the house and check on the dog which at the time they went there, was in a kennel and had water so they werent interested any further. Thru perhaps "devious means" (they were selling their house and had an Open Home which I went to solely to see the dog) I went there and discovered that the reason the dog was laying in his kennel was because he could not get up!! I was so upset that that night I sent my husband around to the house with a story that I had seen the dog, fallen in love with him (all true) and would they be interested in selling him to us emphasing the fact that they were moving and it would be easier for them. His answer to my husband? "Yea you can just have him - I was just going to take him out in the bush and shoot him anyway" !! Even after all this time it still makes me cry to think about this beautiful dog and what was done to him - when my husband got home with him that night, myself and our two boys sat on the floor so as not to scare him and that beautiful dog slowly hopped in to a house he had never been in before on 3 legs dragging his shattered hip and leg behind him and went to each person with a loving lick of hello and then curled up as best he could on my knee (I was cross legged on the floor). He had been beaten soo badly and thrown against a fence (his crime? Going near the babies nappies that were on the floor!) and not for the first time but even the vet the next morning said he simply didnt have an aggressive bone in his body. So 'Willem', dogs know when they are with someone who will not hurt them and they enjoy that small "time of freedom and joy" but their happy demeanour at that time certainly does not mean that they are not treated badly or abused when they are with the owner. Going on MonElites description of how the dog acted when the owner arrived I would totally agree with her assumption and I really hope there is some way that that poor dog can be helped before it could be too late. My story did not have a happy ending - the beautiful boy we rescued was so badly beaten the vet couldnt put his shattered hip and leg back together and because his other back leg was weak from old fractures amputation was out of the question. Kazzs, your story does have a happy ending. That lovely dog finished his days feeling safe, loved, and surrounded by people who loved him. You are special.

Isabel, yes blubbering mess here too. But in saying that, I think you can make sure that the passing is beautiful, with lovely memories. Speak to your vet who will be caring for your pets. Ask how he/she euthanases, will they come to your home so that both you and your pet are in a safe, familiar environment? Does the Vet have any holidays coming up so that you know if they are going to be available when you need them, or do you need to form a relationship with someone else at the practice? We had the most beautiful experience last year when my old dobe had cancer. We had a good relationship with both partners at the Clinic. When the time came, we discussed the process, he told our old girl he was going to give her the best party drugs. Having been through the experience before, I felt that we coped better being at home, rather than the clinic. I am still thankful for our Vet making it an occasion. She went to sleep with her favourite ice cream, happy. I wish you and your family all the best, will be thinking of you.

Good descriptions ! When our pups are a few mths old they start to lean one way or the other ...if they're yappy and forceful and really energetic ..they may well enjoy yard/truck work . If the are more the 'thinker' ..and a stayer, not a sprinter .. paddock work might be just their ideal. Our yard dogs do work independent to a degree ..they sometimes will need to 'back' sheep 50 metres or more go into a shed .. sort the sheep out so they run freely into whichever yard is open ..then , as they come back ..just make sure the flow continues . they may also be in charge of 'keeping sheep up' ..patrolling the rear of a large yard ( with maybe 1,000 sheep or so) ..every so often , jumping up, or standing on hind legs just to check on 'the boss' ..and what's happening - so they know whether to increase or decrease pressure ..to grab a lie down in the shade ..or a splash in a trough ... paddock dogs here are worth their weight in dog bikkies!! paddocks here can be thousands of acres in area ..with fences few & far between . Often a good pair of dogs is left with a mob of sheep - headed in one direction , while the boss goes searching for stragglers, or goes to open a gate , etc... paddock dogs also need to be quick thinkers... to get the message across to whichever herd animal keeps trying to 'break out' ..and there is always at least one ..., to steer the mob in a given direction ..and to just adjust speed /stop 'traffic jams' ... A good paddock dog can just trot along for hours , all the time keeping his/her mob heading where they're supposed to , with no mutiny ...OR they can also HOLD a mob in a small area when needed ...a couple of dogs are great at this ..one each side ... and just keep the sheep to a certain area ... very fine control needed.. Paddock dogs need to chase/apprehend stragglers/ boofheads...and our dogs now have learned to work feral goats ... once again .. the gentler dogs are not use with goats ..goat dogs need to have almost 'no brain no pain' attitude ..and be very forceful indeed ..Goats have NO idea about being herded/yarded...and when one mixes different goat families - well , it's like oil & water Goats are family oriented , and mobs often do not mix easily ... The poor dogs have to work SO hard ! Does this help? As a city person, I really enjoyed reading this explanation. So informative and really interesting to see how your dog's work. Thank you Perse.

I noticed my elderly uncle was like this with ageing. Not a dog I know, but he seemed to be cold and dressed that way, even on quite warm days. I think it was a circulation issue with him, so dogs may experience something similar with ageing. I hope you have no more shaking or discomfort for your oldie.