Her Majesty Dogmad

I've spoken at length to the owner, she's only had the dog for a week but he's not getting along with her dog being only a puppy. Someone is comign to look at the dog and I've gone through all the scenarios of what/how to rehome a dog appropriately. The lady also has my phone no/website address as I have people waiting and that of Whippet Rescue in QLD who also have a waiting list. I've done all I can at this point.

You could donate them to Save Our Strays up at Londonderry, not too far from you?

We buy quite a few tags at a time with "Iggy Rescue" and our mobiles on them. We used to send dogs off with them as they go on a trial period for 2 - 4 weeks, depending on the dog/situation. We've only ever had 1 dog returned in the last 3 years and very few tags unfortunately. I now remove the Iggy Rescue tag and replace with a plastic one which I write on with the dog's name, my phone no and the new owner's no and ask them to get a new one made at the end of the trial period. The plastic tag is pretty ugly so I'm sure most owners would definitely be buying a tag asap.

A good website is crucial, our foster carers have come through our website. we don't use Petrescue very often and don't have any other means of advertising. We also specialise in a breed though so it is definitely more predictable when it comes to what the dogs will be like.

I've been unable to get a confirmed ID from a DOL member I pm'd but the dog looks like a bear coated Shar Pei to me. He's in West Wyalong Pound - is there a Shar Pei Rescuer that can help ID him and hopefully assist?

I'd say it's possibly linked to the weather? Mine have been busy going inside a lot in the last two weeks and they are housetrained. If you haven't removed the smell properly (for the dog's nose) then some dogs will keep going over the same place again and again. White vinegar and water or Napisan and water will do the job. Just keep going with the toilet training again, I'm sure it will be OK but having a puppy around might set him off again ...

Very sad for you all. Take care of yourself.

They could also take him to a shelter such as AAPS - why not get their no and talk to them about their options in the nearby area. I'm in Sydney and no good with the geography of VIC.

You can email via Gumtree ads and ask for a phone no. Maybe be a bit proactive and get the info and contact Staffy Rescue in VIC direct. It's high risk for this dog that he'll end up in strife - he must be in a lot of pain plus he's not desexed. I hate to imagine his fate unless someone responsible steps in.

Some of my housetrained dogs are going inside - the weather has caused them to do this. Start again with toilet training, little puppies take a long time.

Poor little puppy. I've just had a dog with Demodectic Mange, he was OK after 3 months but if you got this puppy for showing then it would be high risk. I'm not sure if it is genetic but you'd have to wonder if any of the other puppies had come down with it as well.

I'm almost 100% sure that GTE only pick up from Sydney on a Wed. GTE do pick up from the Renbury area - I boarded a dog at the Rossmore vet which is just down the road from RF and GTE collected from there. I turned up a day early (a Tuesday) to meet GTE and had to board him for the night at Rossmore vet! They also pick up from other places such as West Pennant Hills, Richmond etc but all on a Wed.

Go Norman!!

I agree, Dogmad. If I cannot bring my dog to improve from and of discomfort via natural methods, I would (albeit as judiciously as possible) use chemicals to stop the horrible and continuous agony. yes Erny, agony is right ... we can fix it as owners, so many things in life we can't fix but this ain't one of them. $5 per month on the 1st of every month, will do it.

I had a dog with IBS, until he stayed off meat completely he kept having bleeding and gastric episodes. It finally got diagnosed by an endoscopy after carefully following months of different diets etc inc chicken and rice of course. He ended up on the Hills Science Ultra ZD diet and a medication called "Salazapyrin" which worked for him. we tried two other medications before that but they didn't work. When he was having episodes - usually if he picked up some discarded meat that I didn't spot first (think Maccas etc), he had another medication which I used to crush up and give him with a syringe as he wouldn't eat anything. It was a human medication for ulcers - recommended by the vet. He also had Slippery Elm in some meals as well. He was Ok to have tuna once a week - not much, I was very nervous of setting him off. He also enjoyed things like sweet potato, yoghurt, cottage cheese, anything to give him a bit of a break from just dried biscuits although you can now get the food in canned form.

FLEAS, FLEAS, FLEAS. Whenever I have anyone tell me that their dog doesn't have fleas but I can see it scratching away - guess what? It has fleas. As a responsible owner, you need to use flea prevention and not let your dog get like this. It does annoy the crap out of me as someone who rescues dogs from the pound, they are ALWAYS covered in fleas and have suffered flea irritation for many years quite often. Untreated, apart from the soreness and irritation, it leads to baldness and finally elephant textured skin. Yes, I've seen it all. The most common place for the flea irritation to start is the end of the back/tail. There's no excuse for letting animals suffer with fleas for the sake of $5-10 per month. There are cheap websites where you can order online - it is much more expensive to buy in a vet or petshop but honestly, if you can't afford this you shouldn't have a dog. People also tell me they don't like to use chemicals, I understand but who wants to see a dog like this and who wants a house, garden, car full of fleas? I just met 4 rescue dogs thsi weekend, they came from a very cold place with frost now that it's winter and guess what? They all had FLEAS....

Indigirl and I very much appreciate the wonderful work Ella has put in to bring the boys to the point they are at now. Ella has been extremely supportive of us in other ways as well, can't thank her enough. She's a real treasure!

Always happy to help. I'm hardly "body slamming them off a cliff" as you suggest. But the death/serious injury of dogs in foster care or when inappropriately rehomed does bother me a great deal and SOME of those people who are responsible for that, have not learned a lesson nor do ask/seek want any assistance. I don't mind other people rescuing, it's not a competition but I do mind when a dog suffers, in any way.

I can't speak for other people but I spent 3 yrs volunteering each weekend (1.5 full days) and during the week at the Animal Welfare League where I learned more about dog behaviour, only ever having owned one dog and living with/looking after friends' dogs since I was a child. I then started volunteering for Doggie Rescue and worked at their shelters for 9yrs, including in the kennels. It wasn't until after 2 very intensive years that I felt comfortable to take on a pound dog that I assessed. I have spoken to many dog trainers and behaviouralists over the years, have researched and undertaken dog training etc. No formal qualifications yet. I have learned from others and from practicing what I have been shown by qualififed experts. I've got formal qualifications/work experience in Human Resources inc counselling, interviewing skills and these have been of great use for the voluntary role at DR as it included rehomings as well as foster carer management. And I'm still learning ...

T - foster carers aren't running a rescue. Many foster carers are average dog owners, many have problems and that's why if you run a rescue and have foster carers rather than just do it all yourself, it's a lot of work. I did run Doggie Rescue's foster program (about 50 carers and ever changing dogs) and have foster carers now. They might have owned a few dogs in their life - 1 at a time - they might have fostered a couple of times, this in itself is not normally sufficient to run a rescue group or make decisions. If you ask a lot of people they can't deal with "onlead aggression" from a small dog, many can't deal with a dog who cocks it's leg when it first arrives. I've had one carer at DR who used to ring me several times a day for about 2 weeks whilst the new foster dog was settling in (had about 5 dogs over 2 years) - reporting all sorts of abnormal behaviours (in their opinion). Many people get told by friends that these behaviours mean a dog should be put to sleep ... We would have mass and most likely needless euthanasia if many normal dog owners were trying to run a rescue.

I do hope Rescues seek a professional assessment in that case, before dumping dogs back at the pound or killing them left, right and center. After all, Rescues should be giving these dogs their best chance at life, and I'd find it highly unethical to be abandoning/killing them without professional assessment. Quite. That's what a reputable rescue would do but they should also have a vast amount of experience before setting up a rescue, it's not something the average dog owner should be doing.

Black/tan can be quite a few dogs but I was thinking standard Dachshund cross however I prefer to have a good look at a dog from all angles and assess their behaviour as well before I take a guess just based on colouring. Sadly there are so many unscrupulous people out there and some of them have 2 different crossbreeds bought from petshops and mate them. The results are a very mixed dog whose parentage is impossible to guess. Try Brush Farm - great obedience classes and another my friend recommends is over at Homebush on a Sat afternoon but I don't ever like heading that way these days due to traffic .. took me 2 hours to get home the other week from there.

Any reason why you can't get a dog door? Mine all use the doggie door and go and sun themselves on a nice day but in winter, wet or just cold weather, they are inside. Right now, we have the reverse cycle aircon timed to come on in the afternoon, just for their comfort!!

As for rescue groups taking dogs from the pound, you should temp test them first as far as possible but in some cases, certain behaviours can show themselves once they are in foster care. At whichever point - pound or foster care - as a rescuer you either report the behaviour to the pound and say the dog isn't fit for rehoming or once in foster care, you put to sleep. I've looked at the type of dogs this particular group takes and they appear to be a lot of large cross breeds, some with Staff/Mastiff in. If you weren't sure about a dog's temperament then it would be very stupid to pass it on. I recently came across a small breed rescued by a group in Sydney that I would have recommended be put to sleep, it is vicious and a high risk dog, i'd say it will probably ruin the owner's lives - how cold they ever go anywhere and leave this dog in care for instance? Having people round is very difficult. There is a difference between dogs who are fearful of people and will hide away and those who are actively aggressive and seek to attack people or other animals.

I know this is probably a necessary evil - but it makes me sick all the same, poor dogs. :cry: Not according to this and similar articles. I think if you Google on the subject you will find, at least in the US and UK, canine blood donors are well looked after. The vet that took the particular Greyhound for this purpose had kept him for 4 years but he told me what is normally done with them when the trainer gives them to a vet for blood donor purposes. The owner is surrendering the dog in these cases, as dogs who can no longer or are no good for racing. I actually rescued the dog - the vet wanted the dog gone so I found the dog somewhere to go. Sadly he had a condition called "Pannus" which is easy to spot if you know about it - the vet must have known. That wouldn't have killed him but it does require medication. He didn't have a nice life at the vet either, he lived in a shed at the back with a concrete car space in front and slept on old sacks, didn't even have a coat ... I won't go on but I don't have anything nice to say about this particular person and have since discovered other things. Greyhounds are used as blood donors as are other large breeds. Greyhounds are also used for research in Universities etc. They are nice natured and calm, won't bite or panic when needles are stuck in them and other things are done. Beautiful dogs who continue to suffer all sorts of things in this greedy world.