Her Majesty Dogmad

Have sent a pm to lovemesideways with Elly's suburb location, I hope it won't be too far away. Some more photos would really help! Fingers crossed that Elly will soon be free and living like a dog should - thanks so much to everyone for their kindness and support, Elly and her owners truly appreciate all the help and I thank you on their behalf.

Stupid moron, it's scary that she's reproducing .... zero concern for other people and their pets. Makes me very angry.

no heartworm - was tested and has had monthly protection for 2 yrs

I lost my beloved old Keeshond cross to lung cancer last Christmas, it was awful but this girl presents in a different way entirely. The next step is likely to be xrays I imagine. I just wondered if anyone had come across the symptoms before where it hadn't been heart disease and the dog appeared to be extremely healthy in every other way.

Awesome Rachel, thank you so much!

The back steps are under cover, she's tied to the balustrade presumably - none of it is good and I'm keen to move her asap. I'm investigating one avenue but am not sure if it will be OK and I'll also be advertising her and vetting any calls, I'll be honest about her and hopefully attract someone who can give her a loving home.

Thanks everyone. K9Angel - yes I think she is near you, she loved having us there for an hour. She is very strong, if you were to try and walk her you'd need somethign to keep control of her. I'm not advocating them but perhaps a choke chain or something, just remember that she has never been on a lead and you'd possibly do yourself an injury if you weren't careful. She loved being patted and fussed over and loves to play with a ball etc so if you were happy to go and visit, even that would be better than what she has now. Her young owner doesn't live there and the relative that does isn't interested so doesn't spend any time with her. Whilst this all shocks me, they never chose to have a dog - she was a birthday present - but could have easily taken her to the pound but they just want to see her in a nicer environment. I can pm the owner's no. to you.

I have a dog that I rescued a couple of years ago, she was in an appalling condition, one of the worst the vet had ever seen. She's most likely a Dachshund cross, she has a very thick coat that requires grooming. She has dry eye and a thyroid condition but was in good health otherwise. Due to her issues, she wasn't easy to rehome and a friend of mine loves her and looks after her for me, she's much happier there. She runs around and springs on all 4 legs at mealtimes, she appears to be very healthy. However, she's had a sort of cough when she gets up in the mornings, I didn't have that when she was here for 8 months. My friend is on acreage and she's been there for 18 months. We recently took her to the vet due to this coughing, to get her heart checked. Nothing was found so she was prescribed 2 weeks' worth of antibiotics in case of it being a chest infection. 2 weeks on, she is still coughing in the mornings. Has anyone else experienced this? If it's not a heart condition or chest infection, what else could it be? I've had a dog with a collapsing trachea and he coughed if he ate or drank and reverse sneezed a lot, this dog only coughs when getting up in the mornigns it seems. We are preparing for more investigations but I wanted to find out if anyone else had had this.

Whilst the fencing isn't great, there is no gate at all at the property. Elly was not a fence jumper before and I doubt that she'd start but most dogs would walk out of a wide gap ....

Elly is a 6 yr old German Shepherd cross located in Western Sydney. She has been living on the end of a rope for the last year, after a relationship breakup required a move to a location without suitable fencing. There is financial hardship involved and although Elly is fed properly with good quality food, she is extremely stressed and unhappy. She is never let off the rope apart from when her location is changed to the back steps which is where she sleeps at night. Elly has lived with another large dog for a few months and was fine. Due to her current situation, I would not recommend plunging her into a situation with another dog and I don't know if she would be good with small dogs - she needs some time and space to recover from this trauma. It isn't very fair to judge her in her current situation. She has never been walked on a lead or let into the house. Noone in the family has taken much interest in her but her owner has at least trained her to sit. I took a dog trainer with me to visit her and she recommended that whoever takes Elly will need to have some strong lead control as she is a large dog that is untrained on the lead but she was very responsive and intelligent so it would take some time and commitment and she would be a much happier dog. She is desexed and will be vaccinated before moving on.

I tried living in a unit with an Italian Greyhound I adopted, it was a disaster. I walked him 3 times a day but toiletting and separation anxiety became such major issues that I ended up either having to put him to sleep (rescue group wouldn't take him back, he was an abuse case so not easy to rehome) or buying a villa so I did that. He was much better when we moved and then I got him a friend. If I was ever to live in a unit I know much more about dogs now. I would go to a rescue group and talk to foster carers about whether or not their dogs were suitable, there are dogs that would be OK for a unit. I rescue IGs and whippets now and neither copes well being alone. I get calls from people with both types of dogs and they have to have a second dog or they start having issues with their dog - normally their 2nd dog has passed away and although they might not be ready for another dog yet, they can't cope with their dog's behaviours when left alone. The behaviours include being destructive, trying to escape, toiletting inside and barking. None of them good for a unit unfortunately. I'd recommend an older dog rather than a puppy with established behaviours. I have had many dogs over the last few years, both fostered and adopted and a number of them would have been fine for a unit, mainly the terrier types because they are super intelligent and make their own fun.

At the very least I'd be yanking any dog off that did this or yelling at you to do the same. That's if you were in the vicinity - far too many dog owners in the local parks here are far away gossiping and can't even hear the commotions that ensue when their pets are antisocial and badly behaved. How many times have you seen someone trying to get in the gate of a dog park being bailed up by a number of other dogs .... I've even got a friend who couldn't understand why her 2 large barking dogs at the gate were an issue, no she was busy catching up with others while other people were yelling at her dogs to get out of the way and their own dogs were normally terrified. Just not good enough. I don't understand why people have to be so selfish and stupid.

Your dog shouldn't be in a dog park I'm afraid, this type of behaviour is totally unacceptable and incites fights. Undesexed dogs, whether humpers or not, cause issues in dog parks. I don't go these days but have been and seen enough and worked with dogs long enough to know. Please desex your dog and train the dog in recall etc before taking into a dog park again.

I think it would be very hard having the two new dogs at one time, especially if neither has had much in the way of training before. The best thing you can do (I got this advice from an experienced behaviouralist and rescuer) when bringing a new dog home is to let it settle for a couple of weeks. During this time you don't pay too much attention to the dog, you establish a simple routine of walking/feeding etc. Far too many people want to make a big fuss of the dog because it's had no home before or a hard time etc and they want to take the dog everywhere and have everyone they know round to show them off. This is all VERY overwhelming for any dog and although some do manage, some also develop behavioural issues. Just like us settling in to a new job, so dogs need to settle in to a new environment. As for housetraining - I've trained a hundred or so foster dogs and many other people's fosters or new adoptee dogs with this method: HOUSETRAINING TIPS Ok - first thing to do is decide on the command (I call it “do wees”) you will repeat over and over. You have to really focus on the dog for about 2-3 days to be successful. You have a pocketful of special treats on hand all the time for the first 2-3 days. Walk the dog several times a day and every time the dog wees, you get very excited and keep saying “Good boy/girl, do wees, do wees” – give the dog treats every time. First thing in the morning, last thing at night and every time you see the dog eat or drink (both precursors to weeing) whisk the dog into the garden and repeat the command “do wees”. Get very excited and present treats every time dog goes. The dog’s aim in life is to please you. If the dog should have an accident inside the house – say NOTHING at all. The dog soon gets the idea that when he/she goes outside you are really, really pleased and he/she gets rewarded. NB: Please note that the smell of urine must be properly removed for any housetraining to be successful. There are products on the market such as “Urine Off” but they are very expensive. A mix of white vinegar and water is a much cheaper alternative and should work for tiles and other surfaces although you should always take care with wood etc. For carpet/rugs, I use either a mixture of Napisan/water or bicarb of soda and water. I completely soak the stain using a dab on technique with a cloth. When it is very wet, I use an old towel to soak up the excess moisture. Again, be careful on any expensive carpet/rug, I have never had any problems but I cannot guarantee any method here. Weeing on clothing is not unusual - my little buggers will do that if I hang it low enough and I've had one for 9 years, desexed the whole way so that's not the issue. He'll also wee in the house if it's raining or if I don't take him with me when he thinks he should be able to come along. I had to stop one of mine with the humping as well, I got advice from another rescuer to squirt him with water in the face and say "aaaaaaahhh" firmly and I only had to do it twice ...

He is a gorgeous dog, it's a tragedy that he would have lost his life and a tragedy that so many lose their lives needlessly. Often the only issue has been crap owners, rather than the dogs having issues. It is all about publicity and many rescue groups simply have no spare funds to get advertising. It's the advertising and publicity that has brought 200 potential owners for him. Thank God. I'm sure it will also help other dogs so this has saved more than 1 dog.

Poor Gus, lucky he's with you. Ticks are dreadful, thank goodness you got it.

Do y ou need some housetraining tips? I have a good method if you need it - kindness and reward!

Sorry but I think you still have some irrelevant questions in there - why on earth do you need to know what toys they play with??? The most important things to know are whether the parents/puppies are healthy and if the parents have stable temperaments. If you want to show a dog then you'll need a show quality dog. It is also good to ask if the dog is microchipped and housetrained. Why are you asking about chooks? Not many people have chooks and if you do and also plan on having the dog in the same area, many dogs will kill chickens, even in play. You can't expect everyone who is selling a puppy or a dog to be able to address every minute concern or eventuality that may come up during the dog's life. I'm also not sure what you mean about not wanting to buy from people who have litters for sale only - surely breeders are breeding a litter of puppies for sale to new owners? You wouldn't want to breed and keep all your puppies surely? Maybe you are meaning you want them to be rehoming them for show purposes? If someone asked me some of these questions about a rescue dog that I had living with me, I'd turn them down too because there is a huge risk my dog would be living a very challenging life with an owner who was obsessed with their every movement and I'd be concerned that if they made a "mistake" in the owner's eyes, there'd be consequences for the dog and the person who placed them in the home.

Your puppy is very young, it's like a toddler at that age - you do need to expect there will be accidents. I recommend you have a thorough read about puppy toilet training on the web, and what to expect.

One of my male friends has 3 fluffy dogs that are all high maintenance, he is separated from his last wife but he was always the dog enthusiast anyway. He takes fantastic care of the dogs, cleans their eyes every day, gives them medication and there's something about him that all dogs love. His were all rescued abuse cases (I found 2 of them in the pound on separate occasions and rescued/fostered them) and he has worked wonders with all of them. The most recent one was purchased in a petshop on a whim and then just left to fester for over a year in the backyard, only contact was when he had food thrown at him. He's still shy of some people and scared of men he doesn't know but his transformation is incredible. In this case, I'd report this man, there is simply no excuse to leave dogs like that. If you can't afford grooming, don't get a dog that needs it. Quite simple really. It makes me very angry when I see dogs that are matted like you describe. Renbury Pound in Sydney is full of them this week. Indeed, one was so bad they couldn't tell if it was male or female. At PAWS we get dogs who can't walk properly because their legs are matted together, even those who have maggots underneath all the matting and it goes on. Pretty much 99 out of 100 dogs that PAWS rescue that are the type that need grooming, come in hideously matted .. it is appalling and cruel.

Dr Harry used to sell a desensitising CD, which you use gradually. I have a storm phobic dog here, he will bark endlessly during storms which is not funny for me or the neighbours at 3am. My vet prescribes Xanax but because humans can take it, I'm only allowed to have a few tabs at a time, like 10 or something. Trouble is the recommended dosage has little effect on him. He used to be on the ACP but of course that makes them wonky for some time which isn't good. I don't know why a dog would permanently have to be on any medication in case of a storm, for me it sounds too severe a reaction not to be managed separately. I've heard mixed reviews on the calming jacket.

close the bedroom door ..... put up a baby gate ...... buy a dog crate (most dogs love them and that's what I do).

Shedding a tear for this wonderful, courageous old boy and you too Cathy. My heart goes out to you.

He starved his horses till they died and then fed them to the lions? What an evil b--tard. So many counts of animal cruelty, why the hell was this guy allowed to even have a guinea pig, let alone all these poor animals. I don't agree with normal citizens owning exotics because they can afford to buy them. If they don't have any specialist animal husbandry skills and a suitable environment which caters to all the individual animal needs then they shouldn't have them. Who knows what these poor animals endured and then they get shot? Perhaps it was a blessing but they all deserved so much more than what they got.

I have been told that in the new accomm, the dog would have to be outside permanently and there isn't much yard at all. Under the circumstances, I'm going ahead with rehoming, it's really the dogs I'm interested in helping anyhow. This may mean that the deadline I was given could be a little flexible but I'm hoping I will succeed before then. Here's a pic of the beautiful girl, thanks to Cockerlover!