Her Majesty Dogmad

I don't like it but would rather keep a dog alive than have to euthanase due to noise problem. A friend of mine was finally given that choice a few years ago with her two dogs - there had been constant complaints, she didn't hesitate as she loved them and didn't want to lose them. I adopted an older dog that had already been debarked, it hadn't been done well and he coughed every time he ate or drank but he lived to about 16 and it didn't bother him, he still barked but it was a huff sound. If you have to do it, get it done by the best qualified vet.

Dominance?

Please get your vet to check his teeth as infection from untreated teeth can cause heart disease and other ramifications for his health. It's a sore subject with me - I rescued a purebred dog last year and 2 days later he died - aged 5, from untreated dental infection. Apart from the fact that he was in agony, when my vet tried to remove his teeth (and all of them needed to come out), his jaw crumbled so he was euthanased under anaesthetic. By the time I got him, the infection had run rampant and pus was coming out of his eyes and his ears/whole head were in pain. This is an extreme but I recently looked at a friend's dog aged about 12, he was having trouble eating and he stank - smell was coming from his mouth. When I asked about it, she said the vet had recommended a dental but she was too afraid to put the dog under anaesthetic. Apparently the vet had recommended it 2 yrs before. I told her my story and begged her to go back as they have light anaesthetics these days so suitable for older dogs. She took him back and he had 22 teeth out, he's a different dog now - he's so much happier. Ever had toothache yourself - off you go to the dentist and get it fixed. Now imagine having it in 22 teeth and having your pain ignored for 2 years? One tooth can be bad and cause all the trouble. I have a 16 yr old dog here, he's had 2 dentals within 4 months and each time has needed teeth out - the state of his teeth changed within 4 months requiring the second surgery, none of us could believe it.

It's just about making a very careful match. If a dog is in foster care, the foster carers will know its habits and needs and whether or not it gets under the feet etc. I'd say what would give your nan most pleasure is having a companion to sit next to her on the couch rather than completely on her lap - that's something to think about as well. I have a set of stairs for the old dogs to get onto the sofa. Someone does probably need to help with keeping the dog clean and free from fleas etc on a monthly basis, many elderly people can't do all of that. I have rehomed to people of this age but they did have family back up, however I will also take a dog back should anything occur and noone can have the elderly person's dog in the family. I should also say that I would never rehome a young dog to this situation - not fair on either party. The question to ask is if your nan is capable of permanently caring for a toddler? I suspect the answer would def be "no" so a puppy/young dog is completely unsuitable, you need to match energy levels for it to work. There are some difficult situations - last week I was approached by some very elderly people known to a friend, asking for a young dog. I explained the above and apparently the husband is dying, they just lost an elderly dog and will not consider an old dog in case something happens. I understand why but it would be very hard for a young dog with people on walking sticks really. A slightly mature chihuahua could be a possibility I guess.

Poor little echidna, they are beautiful little souls who don't bother anyone. Utter scum, they are dangerous, what a scary world we live in.

The Furminator is the answer! You can buy them in the vets for lots of money or go on ebay and get much cheaper. The only thing is they have a blade in so you can overuse them and end up with a bald dog!

Guilty of not going through 5 pages but as a rescuer, I will tell you that pounds are full of purebred pomeranians and most of them are matted through and through. Good homes that will keep the dog for the whole of its natural life and will keep the dog in good health and properly groomed are very, very rare. When rehoming any dog (inc puppies), it isn't about selling the dog to the first seemingly nice people that come your way. Why not you may wonder? Well, because they may intend to be taking your little puppy Pom and using it for back yard breeding with their maltese or their foxy. And this is why we euthanase over 150,000 dogs every year in Australia. Because there are FAR TOO MANY dogs being produced. PM me if you must or call me - happy to have an in depth and explanatory conversation with you at any time.

Last Christmas I rescued a dog from the pound that must have been from a back yard breeder. Not only was she in a horrific state, but for several months (until I got her out of the habit with kindness and encouragement) she would spin around and immediately eat her poo. Apparently if they are used for breeding constantly (as my vet thought she had), and if they are not let out of their cage etc, they learn to keep it clean for the puppies by constantly eating poo. She took many months to get out of the habit, the RSPCA euthanase these dogs because it's so hard to retrain but she's a very happy girl now. She will return to poo eating if she gets very stressed though. A few of my other dogs over the years have enjoyed dried up old poop at the park from time to time - gross but nowhere near as ghastly as the rescue dog above.

Don't know but there should be, some of the tethers I've seen are as lethal as not being tethered. Can't believe people can be so cavalier with the safety of their animals.

So sad for you, what a beautiful friend she was.

Unbelievable, I feel sick to my stomach and this person is walking round in our society??? WTF? When will they make the punishment fit the crime, this person is evil and dangerous to everyone. Pure scum. I'd like to beat the crap out of him until he had to be put down. He deserves nothing less.

So sad for you all, RIP sweet Jake. He knows you loved him very much and it was all a terrible accident that noone could have foreseen.

My recommendation was to get a second opinion, especially when your vet says they haven't saved any dogs at all from this situation. When my boy was released (still on a drip) from the emergency centre, they told me to take him to a normal vet. I rang around (I was new to the area) and one vet had the honesty to tell me that if I left him with them or another normal vet, he'd probably die. They rang ahead and made an appointment at the Vet Specialist Centre for me and he spent two weeks in there, being closely monitored the whole time. They told me he wasn't out of the woods when they released him but to take him home, keep him quiet and peaceful and give him the Vit K every few hours - I had to enlist the help of neighbours as I worked full time and this was required for 2 months I think. He made it through thank God although he was never the same again, healthwise.

Definitely not many of the breeds already mentioned. I'd be looking at cutting down on the shedding types for one thing, it's just more work that you don't need! I'd pick a wiry terrier and having owned a Lakeland - I wouldn't go there. I'd be looking at a Cairn or a Welsh Terrier, I've met excellent examples of both breeds living with children and mixing with other dogs. The other thing I would say is that a puppy of any breed is hard work! I would also worry about the Boxer situation as well and def would not leave a child to be responsible for a dog in any way, especially not walking though.

I got myself a cat hating terrier, the cat stopped coming in and killing birds but was free to roam in the night fighting with other neighbours' cats and making my dogs bark. Luckily most of the nuisance cats have now gone - killed on the road or moved away.

Get a cat trap!

I spoke to a lady at the dog offleash park last week, I've got a young foster dog that needs a bit more of a run than my other dogs. I don't normally go as I find them a real worry. I'd been lucky the week before, my foster had a good run round with a French Bulldog and it was good fun for her so last weekend, same park, I thought we'd do it again. She's a terrier cross that runs like the wind, unfortunately a beagle female and a large dog started chasing her and the beagle was nipping her - she started to scream as she got more and more frightened. This was dangerous because it can lead to all the dogs in the park taking up the chase and she becomes "prey". The beagle's owner was hopeless and I managed to stop it myself but I'm not a normal dog owner, many wouldn't have realised there was an issue and they wouldn't have known what to do. I myself had been distracted and hadn't noticed my own dog in trouble, the park was full of large dogs, not many small and a lady came in with a chihuahua and two small terrier dogs. She was moving all over the park - this was not a great idea becuase the large dogs were running round and nearly knocked me over - I was concerned for her chihuahua who was petrified. The poor little thing kept laying down every few feet and waiting for the large dogs to sniff her and hopefully move on. I spoke to the lady for a while and told her that it was very unsafe for her to take such a tiny dog into this park at that time. I told her that there have been many deaths in dog parks but you don't hear about it very much. Our shire has one of the worst dog attack statistics in Sydney which was in the paper last week. She seemed to think that all the dogs were "nice" and that her dog was fine because "she just plays dead" - I said no that isn't the case and it isn't fine, your little dog is petrified and don't bring her again - this wasn't the first time. Even a Jack Russell can kill your dog but she could break her back or have other serious injuries being in amongst such large and active dogs. I won't be taking m y foster back.

I spoke to a lady at the dog offleash park last week, I've got a young foster dog that needs a bit more of a run than my other dogs. I don't normally go as I find them a real worry. I'd been lucky the week before, my foster had a good run round with a French Bulldog and it was good fun for her so last weekend, same park, I thought we'd do it again. She's a terrier cross that runs like the wind, unfortunately a beagle female and a large dog started chasing her and the beagle was nipping her - she started to scream as she got more and more frightened. This was dangerous because it can lead to all the dogs in the park taking up the chase and she becomes "prey". The beagle's owner was hopeless and I managed to stop it myself but I'm not a normal dog owner, many wouldn't have realised there was an issue and they wouldn't have known what to do. I myself had been distracted and hadn't noticed my own dog in trouble, the park was full of large dogs, not many small and a lady came in with a chihuahua and two small terrier dogs. She was moving all over the park - this was not a great idea becuase the large dogs were running round and nearly knocked me over - I was concerned for her chihuahua who was petrified. The poor little thing kept laying down every few feet and waiting for the large dogs to sniff her and hopefully move on. I spoke to the lady for a while and told her that it was very unsafe for her to take such a tiny dog into this park at that time. I told her that there have been many deaths in dog parks but you don't hear about it very much. Our shire has one of the worst dog attack statistics in Sydney which was in the paper last week. She seemed to think that all the dogs were "nice" and that her dog was fine because "she just plays dead" - I said no that isn't the case and it isn't fine, your little dog is petrified and don't bring her again - this wasn't the first time. Even a Jack Russell can kill your dog but she could break her back or have other serious injuries being in amongst such large and active dogs. I won't be taking m y foster back.

Hugs to you, what a terrible situation to be in and while you have other worries. Really hope things start going upwards from here.

My dog was deliberately given rat poison by a neighbour when I was at work one Friday. He seemed off colour that night and didn't eat. Next morning the same and vomited some brown stuff that smelt like poo so we went to the vet. Diagnosed as a stomach virus and given an antibiotic injection. Brought him home and he begain to vomit copious amounts of blood so I rushed him to an emergency vet (a Sat afternoon) and he was put on a drip for 2 days. They discharged him on the Monday with pneumonia - I was horrified but they said take him to your own vet. I didn't know where to go as I'd only just moved to the area. Luckily, a vet rang ahead and made an apointment for me at the Vet Specialist Centre. He was admitted and kept in there for 2 weeks, on a drip and Vitamin K. He was released and wasn't 100% but was on Vitamin K for 2 months. He was an amazing dog who'd come to me after surviving terrible cruelty. I felt hopeless that I hadn't been able to protect him against such malice. He was a fragile Italian Greyhound and he survived, it was a miracle. I really hope that your dogs will be OK, they may not have had much at all, keep the Vit. K going and get a second opinion from a specialist.

These things can happen at the drop of a hat, glad you got her to the vets straight away and that she'll be fine!

I always find agitation occurs amongst my other dogs when one passes away, I usually own around 4 or 5. I presume it is something to do with the pack order, it passes in a week or so.

Totally against the law to allow kids to walk dogs alone and I cannot believe what sort of moronic parents they must have!! Two large dogs like that? No way could a kid hold one, let alone two. Disgusting and terrifying. Your puppy is a little too young to be going to a dog park as well, it's risky for one so young.

I sat with a group of work colleagues tonight and explained some of my last rescues in detail. They are staggered by the amount of time and money required to rescue and the amount of dumpage and death in Australia. I also told them that I was on the way home last Sunday night when I saw a notice threatening that a dog was off to be euth'd the next day as the owner no longer wanted it. I made some calls, local, mobile and interstate, sent some emails and about 1.5 hours later, success. The dog was going to be safe. No I didn't have any vets bills on this occasion but there will be an increased phone bill and my lost 1.5 hrs (this is a drop in the ocean with rescue work) however I was just happy to have helped the dog.

I'd also suggest that puggerup might like to do some research. Have a look at Renbury Farm's website - check out just how many dogs are already desexed (very few) and look at their fee structure and see how adopting from that pound works. I think you'll find that their charges are comparable with most of the NSW rescue groups.