Her Majesty Dogmad

Definitely unacceptable behaviour and they shouldn't be left together unsupervised - you must put a stop to it asap. Sometimes people think it is OK because one dog doesn't fight back or try and stop the other dog from humping but it is not good. 5mth old puppy should be inside, safe. Staffies are phenomenal climbers so if she came on heat there could be some major problems. Any reason you can't get her desexed before she comes on heat??

Never feed your dogs bones together, it's a rule I live by and make sure one doesn't bury a bone for digging up when you are out. I don't feed bones at all. I don't feed mine dinner together either. Bones are often a cause of fighting in dogs that get on well together otherwise. Food can also be an issue but dogs go crazy for bones. As for playing rough, you actualy have to be careful that whippets don't get injured with such a thin skin. Some IGs are overly rough with play and they are similar breeds. Some dogs are just not suited to the dog park. Dog parks are quite unsafe anyway.

Poor Rex, glad you gave him a happy time at the end. RIP sweet boy.

He looks fantastic! Good work!

Nigh impossible to rehome a dog with any issues but blindness and deafness would be very unpopular. My mother adopted a 3 legged lurcher in the UK recently, she said he's perfectly normal and tells that to everyone that stops her to tell her what a marvellous person she is. She and I both wish people wouldn't be so silly ....

I don't know why it's been left so late but there is a couple of dogs needing to find somewhere for 2 weeks from next Saturday in the inner west. They don't want any housesitters but would like the dogs to go to an inside home to be minded. They are a Pom and a Shihtzu type and are housetrained boys. Can anyone recommend a dog minder in that area? Thanks!

Blind dogs can be snappy because they are frightened but you are sensible and don't grab them suddenly, rearrange furniture, leave things in the way etc etc. I have had a blind dog that I taught to get out of a dog door that I put lavender oil on and she smelt her way in and out ! Read it on the web. I also managed to rehome her - wasn't expecting to.

One of my dogs had something like that and the vet also thought spider bite. She was on antibiotics for a while but ended up having to have surgery ...

One of my dogs had something like that and the vet also thought spider bite. She was on antibiotics for a while but ended up having to have surgery ...

sorry computer issues

What a rare treasure you have loved and lost. The time we have with our beloved dogs is so short, never long enough. I am so sorry, he sounds like a truly divine boy. Hugs to you.

Have you tried putting something unpleasant tasting on the couch - someone remind me - I think it's Tabasco sauce. Very hot and dogs hate it, you only need a little bit and it would hopefully put him off doing it again.

I'd missed the part about them needing a mattress during the cold weather - they will need a lot more than that!! Far too cold in the ACT to have short coated dogs outside, esp at night. Surely there is somewhere like a garage at the very least? If not, you will need coats and very warm bedding. This of course is the old inside outside debate but the ACT is extremely cold, VIC is even worse. If you are cold then so is your dog!

Put a ramp up to the doggie door, not a big step but enough to trip over, non slip mats down and towels etc when it's raining.

I've been through this with a couple of old female dogs, one had kidney issues and the other had incontinence. Both went on meds and both had no more issues. Both were clean and housetrained girls so I didn't know what was going on at first. A visit to the vets and some simple tests will sort this out for you.

Is there some reason you can't use Advantage or Advocate? Don't buy anything from the petstore or vet unless you are desperate. Buy it online - compare the prices at www.pricelesspets.com.au (not the only online website) and you'll see what I mean. There are others such as Vetsproductsdirect etc etc. I'm in NSW and it takes only a couple of days to get stuff from Pricelesspets which is in Qld.

I never take dogs under 2 yrs of age because in my experience they are all pretty destructive. I had two girls under 2 here for a few months and although I walked them for 2 hours every day, 1hr each morning and 1 each night, they destroyed so much stuff it was unbelievable. One was a JRt cross and the other was a Papillon cross. They were the saem when I reehomed them but I had warned the new owners and they were prepared, they'd had puppies before. I currently have (never say never) a 1 yr old female here, she's a very abused dog, an Italian Greyhound cross. She's destroyed 3 dog beds so far and other things (she cannot be walked at this stage due to her previous mistreatment, I cannot get a harness on her). She's also got a fetish for my underwear - she climbs furniture to gain access to it and leaves it all over the garden. She's just had to go on Clomicalm to see if that helps and I think she's calming down a bit - it's not for the destructive part though but for her nervous behaviour. You've had some great tips here, the key to success is to give it quite some time and to remove anything you value, ie your other dog's things and just use cheap alternatives. With the two foster dogs I mentioned above, I'd just bought a new coffee table and they rebevelled the edges for me ... Oh the joys ... this is why I don't take the young dogs!

Needs reporting for sure. Owner is an idiot and it could have killed someone for God's sake and the poor little dog. Stupid, stupid woman. I would also have been inclined to have sent my mum home with the dog and done something to try and stop the loose dogs making a nuisance of themselves.

Utter scum, a person worth nothing in this life and a punishment that doesn't fit the crime. Poor Wags, there is NO EXCUSE.

The owner must know what his friends are like, I'd keep my dog out of harm's way. A colleague who shares a house with the owner and their dog told me that one of the owner's friends was giving the dog alcohol during a recent party. The dog was very sick afterwards but one of the other guests had really given the guest a piece of their mind when they caught them giving the dog alcohol. Lucky it wasn't fatal.

Not a good cross as they are so variable in the end result - ie not non-shedding and from what I've often seen, pretty full on dogs which often don't suit the owner. Cross breeding is never going to be that great an idea because you cannot predict which of the characteristics a puppy will inherit. I have a house full of cross breeds that I've rescued. One looks like a bit like a chi type but has legs like the JRT and you've guessed it - she's all JRT in nature. I was speaking to someone yesterday who'd gone to the same "breeder" to get her second dog - another Malt/Shihtzu cross. Just because these bybs are calling themselves "breeders', some people then think their dogs are purebred .... or becase a purebred female was bred with a purebred male (of another breed)and they've parted with a lot of $$ they have a purebred. WTF?

Pop to the chemist and buy some Rescue Remedy in drop form. You can put it in his water and either drop into his mouth or on his head, several times a day. It is harmless and if you read about it, helps anxiety, depresssion etc - it helps me when I lose my babies and it helps my dogs too. A groomer friend of mine always gives it to the dogs before she starts.

Sorry to hear about your dog, it's very young to have kidney problems as the prognosis isn't usually very easy to deal with. I'd recommend contacting the All Natural Vets at Russell Lea. Get your vet to fax them the blood tests etc. I rescued an old dog from the pound and she needed dental work urgnetly but pre op blood tests showed her to be in kidney failure. My vet put her on meds and special diet and said she would only have a few weeks. I rang the All Natural Vets and they said to get tests sent to them and they hoped to be able to help. They prescribed Chinese herbs and she really became very good on them with the special diet. I had her for 12 months until a stomach virus made her very ill and she was gone after a couple of weeks sadly. They are at Russell Lea (nr Drummoyne) and do evening and Sat appointments. Do apps by phone if you can't get there. It isnt cheap but it gave this little girl Pippa a happy 12 months during which time she ran around like she was a puppy. I would do it again for any of my dogs.

I doubt very much that a woman would have total control over 2 large dogs, it would be hard to walk them on the lead together I would imagine so perhaps she chose the easy option of going to a park with them rather than getting them properly trained so that she had total control over them at all times. There are far too many careless owners about that don't have their dogs under any form of control and just let them go in dog parks. Many people also stand there and do nothing when their dog attacks. IN this situation, I would prefer that these two dogs were euthanased and the owner banned from owning any more dogs. Dogs don't just kill each other, dogs can have scraps and nobody dies. Killing another dog is entirely unacceptable behaviour in my opinion and if one of my own dogs did this, they would be straight to the vet and that would be that. Maybe if your dog died in this manner, you might change your mind on what is acceptable punishment.