Her Majesty Dogmad

It's wonderful isn't it!

How terrifying for people and their pets who have every right to walk down the street without being under threat of attack. There are many nice natured dogs dying in the pound every day, there is a huge amount of effort going into saving what seems to be an aggressive dog.

I have used Rescue Remedy for mild anxieties, when new dogs arrive usually but I recently tried "Calm" which is made in Melbourne and sold by a few vets who support natural remedies and it seemed very effective - it's about $35 for a bottle. It's fantastic and a new vet I saw recently used a calming spray for a stressed cat I was helping to rescue that he examined for me. The effect was amazing - he'd simply sprayed it above the crate and the cat settled almost immediately.

Are you in Sydney? There is a vet at Menai who charges much less so that he can be sure that people get their dogs' teeth done.

Nothing would ease their pain but the offending dogs must be euthanased.

Would they be prepared to fly to Sydney to meet a dog or will they just wait in Brisbane? I know a rescue that has taken on some dogs that are probably going to be just what they want. I am awaiting more info.

Scumbag, there's no excuse - if you don't want your dog any more then you only have to go to the RSPCA, AWL or pound, no need to torture them. I hope he gets the just punishment, these people never do ...

Sorry, I found your post to be rather confusing. Are you saying that you haven't taken your dog out to meet other people and dogs for a year because he's too difficult to handle? If that is the case then he's going to be very excited by having another dog around. I think you need a behaviouralist or training for your first dog before you take on another. You don't say the reason you are buying a puppy - is it to keep your first dog company because you don't socialise him any more or is it for you?

It's much better than it was - it was related to years of not being treated for fleas, not fed properly and being kept outside. I've had quite a lot of dogs like this over the years and after a 2 months they are normally ready to start looking for a new home. I will take some pictures, she had a short coat on arrival and the owner said she'd never needed to be clipped. She also had bald patches - this is all just related to years of neglect, her coat has become glossy (albeit with some dry skin still going on) and is growing longer, bald patches have hair growing too ... It really is a joy to see dogs in such an awful condition start to look as they should. The mental traumas from their past will usually take longer. I will take some pictures in the next few days!

What a beautiful girl, hugs to you

I haven't Panto but willing to try anything! She's definitely improving, still quite itchy on her rear end underneath where the skin is still very dry.

Thank you fbaudry!!

Save Our Strays have a potential home for a Labrador - is anyone available to do a yard check in Neutral Bay, NSW please? Thanks in advance.

Just had a breakthrough - she put herself out for a toilet whilst I was home!! This little girl has refused to go outside alone so I've been having to carry her for the last 3 weeks or so and asking her to do a wee wee at the right times. If I wasn't with her she would immediately turn and come back inside, she's been so paranoid about being left outside I guess. She had another bath yesterday, she's still like a snowstorm, I've been using coconut oil but will switch to fish oil which is what I normally use, she's got one of the worst dry skins I've ever had.

There'a a massive problem in Cairns with dogs being stolen for fighting. I was there late last year and was horrified at what a number of people told me - dog owners and other people, about the problems in the area. This was in Cairns and quite a few of the different towns in FNQ. I wouldn't be sending a dog like Hugo to Cairns.

They are very smart dogs but not for a novice owner. I'd recommend you contact Jill at "JRT Rescue", she's a wealth of knowledge on the breed as a registered breeder and she runs JRT Rescue. I've got one - by accident but that's another story - she dug out of my yard 3 times in the first month or so and this is a very common behaviour by Jack Russells even when they are happy. Mine was digging out to get into my neighbour's yard where unbeknowns to me, they were trapping rats. I love their intelligence and feisty nature. You do have to be careful with them and their prey drive - most of them have it in one way or another. Mine hates cats but is wonderful with every other dog. She's also very growly which you also have to be careful with as it can be misinterpreted by people and other dogs! It's just her way, she's not nasty at all.

This is my beloved "Roly". He passed away at 18 years of age. He was some sort of Silky Terrier cross but was large for that breed at around 12 kilos. I think his longevity was definitely breed rather than care related - I'd only had him for 18 months, he arrived as an emergency foster, he was in very poor physical shape having been very neglected and living in a putrid place for a long time. He was almost bald on the body (due to years of infestation and poor housing), needed a dental and lots of tlc. His hair grew back within a few months. I fell in love with him and he stayed. He was the sweetest old man and for about the first year was able to do a good 20 minute walk every day which he loved. He was the cleanest and sweetest natured boy on the planet. For the last 6 months of his life he did slow right down, he started having digestive issues so went onto special food, didn't want to walk so far and his eyesight and hearing began to fail. One day I came home and couldn't find him, he was in the garden and he couldn't get up. I felt it was his time, my vet did tests but there was nothing to explain why he couldn't get up but I'd lost another elderly dog in the same way and it was time to let him go. I still miss him, I'm only sorry that he'd had to endure such long term misery and we only had 18 months together.

Can you get one of those extender leads so he can still run around but not be out of control? You wouldn't necessarily have to go to a dog park either.

I think once you surrender a dog it is best to just walk away for the dogs sake, it is not fair on either to want visiting rights especially if the dog has a new home. I have had people ask for this and I have said no as it can become messy if the person changes their mind and wants the dog back, and believe me this has happened, not to me but to others, and has been awful for the new owners. Best to walk away. Maree CPR Agreed - I always give the new owners the choice of meeting/staying in touch with the old owners and the answer has always been no. Unfortunately, to be kind to everyone involved, you must let go. I did come across one bizarre situation through a private rehoming on Gumtree. 2 purebred Whippets owned by a couple who broke up and couldn't keep them. One person advertised them saying he wanted to still maintain visiting rights once rehomed. They found a couple on acreage on the outskirts of Sydney who adopted the dogs. The arrangement was that as the original owner didn't drive, the new owners would drive the dogs into the city for the weekends, in the owner's unit (no mean feat in Sydney's traffic). After a year of this arrangement, the new owners contacted us at Iggy Rescue and described the dogs' behavioural issues, most of which were caused by anxiety. When I heard about the 'arrangement", I was horrified but also stunned that both parties had kept it going for so long. We found the dogs a wonderful home with fantastic owners where they eventually recovered and settled.

These owners should be banned from having another dog. Not the dog's fault at all, just cursed by having irresponsible owners who not only don't give a crap about their dog but really don't care how their behaviour affects other people. A recipe for disaster.

Why not go back to the original group you got him from?

None of us know how long we have when we take on a pet. People can die when quite young as the result of an accident. Cancer or other illnesses can strike at any time. Why single out people of a certain age and who you believe are at death's door as being irresponsible for wanting a pet? Have you ever heard of ageism? Younger families leave animals at the pound too. A pet can be wonderful company for someone living alone and can give them a reason to get up in the morning and to go out for a walk every day and help them to live a longer happier more fulfilled life. If I was to go out and get a pup tomorrow it would not be selfish ownership. I would be offering a dog a wonderful home and the dog would be enriching my life and I do matter and I am entitled to happiness just as much as the next person. That said I wouldn't want a pup though. I would prefer an older settled dog. I have had my share of pups and their destructive ways. :D 59 is so young. Whoever would think it remarkable that a 59 year old was getting a pup? Why on earth shouldn't they? :) I am not young myself and have many years of rehoming rescue dogs to all kinds of homes including to elderly people who've been turned down by other rescues simply because of their age - every application needs to be assessed for suitability, no matter what age. That said, I would not be rehoming a 2 year old to any of the 80 somethings that call and want that particular dog - unless they had phenomenal family backup on a daily basis, only then might I consider it and I'd consider it to be an adoption to the whole family so generally, the people that call don't even come close. Recently a group I work with took on a 6 month old puppy bought by an 84 year old who was lonely. Paid $1600 in a petshop and simply wanted the animal to sit on her lap. Shock horror, it was an energetic puppy that she couldn't cope with and for the 3 months or so that she had the dog, it wasn't housetrained, it never left the house because she was also disabled. That is just a drop in the ocean of rescue stories, it's not unusual. And I think at 89, you shouldn't be getting a kitten as my friend's mother had done. Perhaps an older cat would suit but there is also a time when people really focus on looking after themselves and don't even see anything wrong with their pets. Anyone who has animals should be making provision for them in case anything happens because I agree with you, anything can at any age, we can all hope for the best but once you are say, over 80 - you might need to be thinking that things are more likely to happen such as incapacitating illness or the most final thing. You may not be OK tomorrow, even though you are ok today ... I spent 6 years visiting someone in a nursing home who passed away aged 90. She'd collapsed at 84 and that was that, end of her mobility. I really don't think that is fair to a young dog or cat.

Why don't you contact the Samoyed Club? Best to go to shows and chat to breeders there. In NSW at least, there are often Samoyeds in rescue, beautiful dogs in need of a home.

I hope that i'll always be thinking of my pets first. Unless you have someone to take a pet on, then I believe you shouldn't be taking on pets that are likely to outlive you. As an example, a friend's mother passed away - at 93. Not really unexpected but I was totally shocked to see a Facebook request to find the 4 year old cat that she owned, a new home within a fortnight or that would be that. I'm sorry but I found that to be totally selfish, as much as I'm sure the kitten would have brought some joy for an older person, there was no one in the large family willing to take the cat on. Rescuers are always being asked to take on pets for people who've died and the family don't want the animal, or for people going into nursing homes. There are definitely genuine cases where things can unexpectedly go wrong and people aren't that old but a lot of it has been due to selfish ownership. I don't think 59 is too old - I just rehomed a puppy to a lady of that age.

thanks everyone. "Chloe" is a much happier little girl now, we've got some coverage over the bones and she's no longer desperately hungry, still keen but not frantic. She went for a longer walk yesterday (we've only done short walks due to surgery, her condition and her anxiety at being on the lead) and enjoyed it, she is getting better all the time. I was going to move her to a foster carer but they don't have any other dogs and she now plays constantly with all my dogs, so she's only going to find a new home with a playful companion.