Staff'n'Mutt

Hope he's going to be ok. So damn scary

short answer, you can't. I purchased a dog last year almost to the day. I did my research in the breed we were interested in. Found someone sort of local who bred these dogs. I visited with them. Met the parents. Saw how the dogs were kept. Went to visit the pups spoke endlessly with the "breeder" very helpful very nice people. Eventually paid our money and took our pup home. Expected papers to arrive in the post. Papers did not arrive. Breeder did not return calls / emails. Pup wasn't a pure bred. Pup had extensive health issues. Pup was heartbreakingly pts earlier this year. Very very few of us "pet" buyers can tell who is and who isn't doing the right thing. Or even who is who they say they are.

I'm so sorry he's relapsed may this new course of treatments work and he spends many many more years with you all. I'll be keeping him in our thoughts.

I'd tell them to sod off but that's me not you. I have friends I have and will put our dog/s outside for as the wife is afraid of dogs and is a touch ocd about the whole animals inside thing. I put the dog out happily they however weren't rude or demanding and it was and is my call. These people are your family, only you know how close you are to them and how much that relationship means to you. If they are close to you and you value having their visit, try compromise if that doesn't work and they still demand more than you want to give, give them the number of a few hotels and let them have at it. As to house smells, ours smells of kids & frankly hubby's work boots and socks smell worse than the dog ever could. :laugh:

HEY NO running in the hallways!

beautiful beautiful dog

not sure I'd call it amaze but amuse now that's for us. Diva sits up and waves her front legs in the air until she gets pats be it with her butt on the ground a chair or our bed. We've got mangos dropping from our tree she brought me a mango when I was having a cuppa out the back a couple of days ago and I made a fuss of her as ya do, now she brings me mangos whenever she sees me sitting out the back with a coffee. She also has a zebra fetish my kids have a few different zebra toys they are the ones she takes off with out the back at a zillion miles an hour, doesn't kill them or rip them up but does the snatch and grab and if by chance I don't spot her mid bolt she'll do a lap around me with a zebra hanging from her mouth. So so many little things she does that makes the day so much more enjoyable for us all. :)

the website is looking good Rainy! Just a quick question, on the Agility page it has * Must be in Green class. but after a look I couldn't find what green class is?

hoping for a quick recovery and a good result on the lumps for your old girl.

poor Lily and Larry I'm sorry for your loss of your little mate.

yep my kids lick (they're just turned 4) it's a game they've made up probably from the doggy kisses they get. there are bigger fish to fry in the worry stakes in my world but I can understand other people not liking it.

such a pretty girl may you all have many many years together :)

such an awful end for the poor girl. I'm sorry for your brothers loss

yep Diva gives me kisses she's not at it 24/7 but she likes to snuggle up and give a lick or two. I don't share food tho coz chocolate isn't good for dogs :) either that or I'm just greedy. She gives the kids a lick now and then not often but sort of a in "I was just passing saw you there got a kiss in see ya"

painful isn't it. our girl has developed an allergy and we're in the process of nutting out what it's too. Good luck finding out what your girl is reacting too. Hope you get it sorted quickly :)

love all the photos have laughed out loud enough to wake the kids. 2 of BJ

when we pass a grade in Ob classes or finish an agility run and Diva hasn't just bulldozed her way through the jumps but actually jumped (don't care if she still knocks them down it's the thought that counts). going out and coming back to be told she waited on the mat at the front door for me (when hubby is home he lets me know what everyone's been up too). Diva kisses when I pick up the lead to take us for a walk or a workout of one kind or another.

hi BP, I'm sorry you and your beautiful girl are going through so much. I can't offer any input as to the medical side of things just wanted to say how sorry I am to read your girl's story. I hope she recovers well and lives a long happy life with you all.

Can't say I'm all for calling it the alpha role, But around here I"m boss. I am boss of the kids and I am boss of the dog. Just like with the kids, I'm responsible for her welfare. There are things I wont allow her to do like take food out of the kids hands while they are eating and things I allow like sleeping on our bed. I know this is calling for a site wide eyeroll but as He who can not be named for fear of imminent implosion, Rules Boundaries and Limitations. that I agree with, the rest of his methods meh.

oh the poor little sweetheart I'm so terribly sorry this has happened to you and her

I store them in an airtight container in the bottom of the fridge I sit them on paper towel in the container, they last us about 3-4 weeks . If you have a vacbag you can vacbag and they last for months.

:) na I am so far from offended I just had a vision of people who do Agility as a sport and then me and Diva lining up, it amused me Diva suffers from user error and is usually waiting for me at the next station. I try to run it but if it's not my unco action it's the left / right confusion we stumble with. I've been asked to join the novice category for next season but um yeah I think we'll sit that out and just do the training for fun. maybe the season after that if I can improve enough.

holy dog did you see us last week at training? she's fast and agile and I'm sort of blobby and clumsy? dagnabbit I'm the low potential of this duo. don't worry i'm not offended or having a dig but not all of us care a great deal about ribbons and titles it's about having some fun and for me ditching the hubby and kids for an hour or two here and there :)

BASIC DOUGH Dough: 280g flour 50 g butter 1 whole egg (crushed shell included) A couple of tablespoons of chicken stock (you could use water) A bunch of parsley chopped up fine'ish Garlic (only if I have some laying around) Mix the butter, egg and stock in a blender. put the flour on a board/work surface, make a well in the middle and pour the mixture into the well, add flavour (see below) and kneed well, adding more flour/chicken stock as necessary.Roll out and cut desired shaped and bake in the oven at 180 degrees for about 20 mins To this dough I've added (on seperate occasions not all at once even I have my limits :laugh: ) a large tin of sardines mushed up if adding this one I don't add the butter to the basic dough. left over vegies mashed up lambs liver swooshed through the blender (our coles sells these in packs of 3 I put the whole lot in) Chicken / Beef Ham / Bacon any left over meat if I'm adding leftover meat I toss in a handful of tasty cheese.

everything crossed Jasper keeps on getting better and starts eating on his own