Her Majesty Dogmad

I wouldn't do it, it would be horribly frightening for her and lengthy in duration. Are you moving house?

Great news and I hope someone has given these people some sound advice so that this never happens again.

Thanks for that link to Natural Pet Store, that's brilliant!

Panto has visited me tonight - it was fantastic to meet her at last - I'm normally just dropping off a car load of stuff at a collection point for her to take to the pounds and we've never managed to meet! Panto collected a small bag of leads, collars, brushes, food bowls etc which was unfortunately all I had at this point. I mustn't forget that I met the beautiful canine Panto as well! And Panto and Panto met the most beautiful tiny dog in the world - Gulliver !!

Poor little Coco, I'm so sorry to hear your sad news. Hugs to you. I know that my dogs are nearby, I think of the ones I have lost often. Coco will be by your side too.

What a fantastic organisation, they have achieved a great deal in the Cook Islands, very impressive. I'll have a look and see if I've got anything you can pick up Panto!

what sort of breed is the puppy?

What a beautiful dog, RIP Zephyr and hugs to you.

Sorry to hear your story, kidney disease is tough. I've only had one experience with kidney disease although I've lost a lot of dogs every year since 2007 (I adopt oldies) and that was an elderly dog I adopted from the pound. She had a mouthful of rotten teeth and the pre op blood tests also showed her kidneys were failing. My vet said she would only have a few weeks to live. I contacted the All Natural Vet at Russell Lea, Sydney to see if there was anything they could do for her. I hadn't expected too much, they do alternative therapies and I thought perhaps her last weeks would be more comfortable with certain supplements (she'd had terrible diarrhea previously). Anyway, they reviewed all the test results and prescribed some Chinese herbs. The change in this little girl was enormous - her hair started growing again and she looked much better, in a couple of months on the herbs. All in all, she was with me for nearly 12 months -always on the herbs and the special Hills Kidney diet - and got the most out of her little life. If I had the same diagnosis again, I would go for the Chinese herbs if the dispensing vets thought they would help. I know there are two vets in VIC that dispense them. In Sydney the ANV is the only place and consult is $250 plus the herbs but I've had amazing results in several cases and when things look hopeless, this is the way I would go. Best of luck, whatever you decide to do.

I've housetrained many dogs as a rescuer and foster carer and have my method typed out which I'll copy in a mo. Re changing a dog's name, it usually takes a couple of days. I normally write a few different sounding names that I like on a list and read them slowly to the dog. Might sound silly but sometimes you will see them really respond to one of them and that's the name they get to keep! If they've had a rough life beforehand, it's good to have a change. 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.

Hi Collie Angel - we have lots of dogs that don't make it onto our website as we have pre approved homes waiting for them. If you sister is happy to complete our form then we can have a chat about her requirements and hopefully match a dog. We have 2 or 3 Iggies in the pipeline right now.

Thanks Esky - you are a pal! My inbox also seems to be tiny in capacity!

Jules - will you please call me urgently? You will have many issues in this situation. One thing that requires urgent attention - your fence is not high enough. Iggies jump that height easily and also climb 6ft fences with no problem. I run Iggy Rescue with Indigirl and we are both experts on Italian Greyhound behaviour. I need to talk to you in person rather than on the forum. My no is 0422 498 960. I work so best to call me in the evenings. I can sometimes squeeze in a call at lunchtimes but my job is extremely busy these days so very hard.

Have you checked this is not a scam? To get you to part with money up front for an imaginary dog? by a guy that is probably in Nigeria? http://www.dolforums.com.au/topic/247883-is-this-a-scam/ lots of lovely dogs locally for you to check out face to face on http://petrescue.com.au Or is it Pound Rounds? Sounds like them.

Cost me $180 to fly a 7 kilo dog last year

Best to get a doggie door so he can get out when he needs to. Are you feeding him on a supermarket dried food? They often make dogs thirsty so if you've changed his diet to that or anything else, check the salt content. Naturally you should check to see if he has a urinary infection but it may well be something else. If you haven't removed the scent properly it can become a "peeing post" ... I use Napisan/water or vinegar/water. Going through gallons of it at the moment.

I tried pm'ing "esky" but she can't receive any messages. If someone knows how to contact her pls let me know! If anyone else is available to do a homecheck that would be great! Thanks!

As the OP simply will not listen to the best advice from very experienced dog people, I have another suggestion for her - return the dog to the breeder now because you really won't like the dog at all when it harms your cat. When that happens, do you know whose fault that will be? It won't be the dog's or the cat's - there's a clue. I don't advocate food aggression but as a responsible owner it is MY duty to ensure no one is harmed by it - but this has to be done by separating the dogs during feeding time. As for Juice's Bull Terrier, she's a wonderful example of the breed and I'm particularly fond of her, as I was of the last BT that Juice owned. As for rats, birds and blue tongue lizards - sadly my dogs have killed them all. I managed to find the last Bluey before they really hurt him - they are terriers, it's nature. As much as I hate it they are protecting me, just as the dog in this situation is protecting his food. I'm not about to put them to sleep for it or assume that I can train them out of it because it is their instinct.

I think before they start they need to work out what coat they will manage best. Poodles need professional grooming every 6 weeks. I wouldn't put a poodle into this home as they can be prone to separation anxiety - I just rescued a poodle and he's a noisy little guy ... (I do have other poodle experience). Do they want wiry / short easy care coat but probably shedding / fluffy - Malt etc. Once that is determined, then they can start looking.

I only tend to keep ones that have real health or behavioural issues that I can cope with but other people would find hard to manage. I have just kept a tiny 12 yr old because he's had a most terrible life, I've adjusted him to life inside a house and love and he's thrived on both. Had a nice potential home for him but I had several misgivings and decided that he's been through such a massive trauma - he was very sick and abused when I got him early Feb, that it would be more trauma to adjust to someone else's way of life. He may not have long left although I hope it will be a lot longer than that but he's very fragile and his terrible life is likely to catch up with him. And I should add that I love him truly, madly, deeply and would have broken my own heart if I thought that was what was best for him.

Toileting is the major issue in an apartment and barking from lack of stimulation. Best if they get an apartment where the dog can get out and pick a dog that will reliably cope with this so a dog in foster care with experienced rescuers who assess suitability OR have a dog that has been surrendered from exactly the same scenario.

I agree DD. Dogs are far more able to adjust than people generally. This was an extremely selfish act. There is probably quite a waiting list for guide dogs, I wonder what the organisation that trained this dog thought of it. Even if she was at the end of her guide dog career she was hardly old and deserved a new home if the family weren't able to keep her. There is no way in the world that I would abide by this request by any of my family, it's simply awful and involves the unnecessary death of a young dog.

Fantastic Emma - Kuringai needs a good CAM!!

I am not making out that entire dogs are monsters - not sure how anyone would read that into my simple statement that it is about the behaviours of BOTH dogs - the desexed and undesexed. I've worked in rescue (including pounds and shelters) for over 15 years. I've seen an undesexed male dog come into a shelter and be placed with other dogs. I've seen them brought to the dog park and be placed amongst other dogs. For the most part they were nice natured dogs - it was the other dogs (the desexed ones) that had a go at them. I've had a lot of undesexed dogs amongst my own dogs - waiting to get to the vet for all their work to be done. Some of my dogs have been fine with it, some of them haven't. When a bitch has come on heat, it has caused fights amongst SOME of my male dogs. I personally do look at individual cases but I certainly don't blame any rescue group who makes a policy because I know why it is. Just because someone has a show dog, it doesn't make them an expert either, they have got one dog that they show not necessarily years of experience with multiple dogs and multiple kinds of dog under all sorts of circumstances.

My heart went out to this poor chap, I have emailed Coolie Rescue but as anyone knows it is a huge call to consider what is a very disabled dog. Potential for rehoming is not great. He does look like a sweetheart, this is very heartbreaking and I was worried what could potentially happen to him. Heartless owners, giving him away with his special needs, they'd be all he's ever known.