Isabel964

I really feel for you. Your heart wanted to give a breeding bitch a home. I rescued a 4 month old kelpie- staffy cross that is now 7 months old. She would destroy a lot of things and it took me two months of solid effort to toilet train her. I thought it was never going to happen - but we got there. You'd think 4 months is very young but those early days and months without the right socialization and basics really affects dogs. Yours being 2 years ..... gosh much much harder. I wish you well and can not more highly recommend a very good behaviourust. We have come a long way but she is still destroying things though it's getting much better. Be careful with electric cords! I take my dog to a well reputed dog training centre Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights. It's helped a lot. Your dog needs to understand what is ok and what is not. Yours sounds like potential anxiety and that needs specialist advice.* You need to restrict what your dog has access to. Not the whole house, not yet. You would benefit from learning how to set boundaries with your dog. Crating. Use an iPad or phone to record your dog in the crate when you are gone. Then you can see if she does ok or if she is anxious and stressed. I've read that some dogs are fine in a crate for 8 hours. But if she is stressed that's no good. You might need to hire or buy a device that allows for longer recording time for this exercise. With my dog she mainly has rubber toys and long toys. They are made from certain material and help her up know what she can chew on. If you give your dog a wide range of toys made of a wide range of materials it may be difficult for her to tell what she can chew and what she can't. Don't correct/ your dog or tell her off for destituingvyhinfs unless you catch her in the act of doing it. I honestly know that you need a very good behaviourust. If you don't feel they are a match for your situation, try another ins. All the best.

Yes we've gone back to vet wrap after buying another set of boots to try. One of the ladies at Doggy day care though told my son when he picked her up today that the bandaging needed to go above the elbow. I'll call tomorrow because we find that makes it harder for Jinfi to move. That's why we just wrap the paw as high as the boot goes... A bit higher. She said she used to be a vet nurse and was quite insistent.. I'll give them a call tomorrow. Like Mac I have no trouble getting Jindi in the door of foggy day care. I suspect they might be extra caring of Jindii too as her condition deteriorates. She currently spends her day with the quiet dogs. I think lap and cuddle time is all the more forthcoming for westies because they are a great size and temperament for it :)

Thanks Trishm. The vet did that - the cotton wool between the toes. Well we took her for s walk in the boots Sat morning out in the footpath. She stumbled in them. Hubby said its ok, she just needs time to get used to them. But after ten minutes he was in tears. We don't think she will get used to them. It was just one of those times that the reality that put girl has limited time hit us square between the eyes. Since her condition is not stable, and will only deteriorate in this me I am thinking the boots aren't likely to be a workable solution. The stumbles have her landing on her chin - not nice, not good. Sounds like Mac had a lovely Doggy day care. I had no idea how wonderful these places are. Beautiful Mac, he had a good life. I keep forgetting to take photos because I am so focused on Jindi. I'll try to remember tomorrow when we give them another go. Also I don't know how to put photos up here. It used to be easy. Can we upload from our mobile phones!

Pets plus was really good. We did get boots- two singles for the front paws. It's all she had in Jindi's size. They fit perfectly and are size 1.75 - I think this is inches and measured by. width of the paw. This is them http://www.petsplus.com.au/ruffwear-grip-trex-dog-boot-set-4-red She does stumble a little in them. At times she does ok. Then she just stumbles and stumbles. Tonight we are leaving the boots folded in half between two armchairs to try to make them less 'stiff'. We will see if they works better tomorrow. This the thanks so much. Those socks look good but I just don't know how they would stay on, especially as she scuffs the top of them. We've decided that if the booties are not tolerable for her, then we can bandage the paw just for certain times - like doggy day care. The vet bandaged it yesterday and that works well. I think we can't leave the paw bandaged for long periods. I'm thinking just between 9-5 Tuesday's and Thursday's at Doggy play care. And just for 30 minutes on dog walks. I'm hoping this will be ok. Same for the booties. It will be the booties or the bandage. The vet gave us some crinkly stretchy tape. Thanks again for all your offers and kindness. It's so hard when one of our fur babies is terminally ill. I really appreciate your help and support. Hopefully Jindi has many months left. She was given 3 months in January and is still doing wonderfully well for the most part. I adore my Westie girl. She is just the sweetest gentlest loveliest easy-going adorable girl,

Thank you so very much, gosh you are all so helpful and lovely. Jindi ended up at the vet yesterday. We did use toddler socks and tape but they don't stay on with the way her foot drags. So they didn't stay on yesterday and she bled more after she damaged a nail badly while at dogdy day care. She just loves doggy day care. We go to Alpha - they are brilliant. Currently she is going twice a week because our 7 month rescued highly energetic kelpie cross is going for socialisation and other benefits (plus the kelpie pup Lucy is also going to Alpha training with me twice a week). Ive looked at all your suggestions and called Moorabin Petsplus. They have some in stock so we'll head down there and see what might work. Thank you once again. If I work out how to post pictures I'll get a photo to show you too.

Hey everyone, Jindi my darling little Westie, as some of you know has a tumour in her spine. Because tis compressing against her spinal cord in her neck, it means she her front right leg is scuffing. Iwe have limited time left with her Yesterday one of her nails got damaged and bled. I am using the Melbourne specialist vet centre, and today they said to get her boots for her front right paw, maybe for both front paws. Problem is they are hard to find. I found some at Pawz but they don't have the right size. and they have no contact number - just a PO Box in Brunswick. She is 1.9cm from bottom of big heel pad to tip of longest toe nail. We found some at Pet barn. Black and orange ones but she can't walk in them, they seem suitable for larger dog type paws and the lady said they were designed for dogs on working sites. There are some on the internet, but most are over seas. some look really great - rubber, easy to get on and stay on, protective. but how to get them in less than 2 weeks? Does anyone know a store in Melbourne that has different boots of different sizes for me to get some to try to find ones that she can use? I rang so many places today and went to three, but no luck. I will keep looking. Just thought Id post in case someone knows where does stock them I'm happy to courier some. I could express post some from anywhere in Australia. But I think I need to get a few different sorts - all that fit, to find out whats going to work. I'd do anything for Jindi. Im sure once I get more time to ring more places I'll probably find some on the weekend.

I agree with juice. Your Maine coon will likely adjust if you move the litter tray a bit. I know coonies can be big but I'm sure he can live with a smaller litter tray of space is an issue. You can try anyway. I also think that a vet check might be a good idea as mentioned earlier. Often a change in behaviour is an indication of something physical. Maybe your dog is fine but it will give peace of mind. And early detection of anything amiss can be helpful. Farm my experience your dog is at an age where it is good to be diligent with potential health matters. I think it's wise for cats and dogs to have full check up and blood work annually once they reach 10. Finally, all the best. Your dog is gorgeous. Hope it's all soted for canine, feline and human soon ????

Wow. What a beautiful girl and such a lovely name. She is one lucky girl. Having a puppy is so much work and it's crazy how much we forget and often it's a decade or a decade and half in between puppies. Enjoy your puppy, they grow up fast. Such a precious girl, huge congratulations on the newest member of your family.

When I moved from Perth to Melbourne I flew dogs and cats over. But that was a long time ago and I don't recall costs. Jetpets have a very good reputation from m what I know. One comment. Be aware of weather. I'm aware of some dreadful heart breaking heat issues including death where animals have been in hangers for too long on high temperature days. Id above booking flights in the hot months. Vets can advise on pros and cons of sedation or other options for nervous pets.

Ruthless leather - wow, love the sweetheart one. Just had to get back up off the floor where I fell after seeing the $192 price tag. I still want it though! Gorgeous!!

English Springer Spaniel. Wow, most beautiful. Just googled them. Very soulful faces. Puppies are adorable!!

Yrs it's all about getting them weather trained and not expecting it to happen without the training. Seems logical in hindsight. LOL Yes we had massive thunder in Melbourne a week or so ago. Didn't phase my kelpie baby at all - yay! William, dog obedience can seem chaotic at first - you're telling me!! That's exactly how I found last Sunday. But I also found it inspiring. I believe that dogs have the best quality of life when we make the effort to have them trained to be under our control and well mannered in varied circumstances. So I'm all in. Who knows, we may even do agility one day!!

So we decided to rescue when our dearly beloved most gorgeous special kelpie cross passed away in Feb/March this year after 15 magical years with us. I used pet rescue. We were open to a lot of dogs,not a specific breed or age. We wanted a dog that would like to live with our other dog who is very special adorable Westie, we were looking for a dog that was cat friendly because we also have two beautiful felines. We needed the dog to be child friendly because I have three nephews aged 4 months, 2 yrs and 4yrs. We ended up with Lucy, a 4 month Kelpue - staffy cross that was dumped in St Kilda, got a home then returned as not suitable. Then she came to us. We have had her a couple of months and she is adorable, a lot of work (!) and she was just meant to be for us - perfect girl. Going through the pet rescue website (which is great), the processes, all the calls and enquiries... looking back I have an idea. Would this be useful? What if there was a website where people looking to add a fur to their family could post about themselves and what they are looking for? Resue groups, foster parents and helpful people with time to do research could use it to match the people with dogs that need homes when they gave time. They can can then let the potential rescue family know about the dogs that needs a home - and this night increase the number of dogs rescued. There are a lot of puppies in stores. If we make it easier for people prepared to rescue to find a match, then maybe more rescues would occur. I don't know how to build a website. I don't know if I could do it. And it would need management to ensure its kept updated and families who find their match are then removed to avoid wasting the time of others. But I wanted to float the idea past you. If it's a good idea then that's a start. If not, then thats ok too.

Excuse the ignorance but what breed is an ESS?

Haha very true I'm sure. We've actually started at a dog obedience club. I did hire a trainer for two hours when I first got her but I want to take her training to the next level. We'll be there on that oval rain hail or shine every Sunday morning through winter.

Thank you for the helpful comments. I have found it very useful. Please everybody, be nice. Katen15 genuinely posted, and I don't think there is reason to not be nice. We are all here to help each other with our joint experiences and questions, and to share our joys and tribulations with our wonderful dogs. I can't only give access to to the laundry - well I could and it's s good idea, but my other dog has a tumour and her condition is deteriorating. Her quality of life is paramount right now - so I'll do more training of the kelpie. trye! I mainly walk my dog in dry weather, and so she is not conditioned or used to toiletting in the rain. We started at an obedience dog club last week and they train rain hail or shine every Sunday morning. I will also do walks with her in the rain :). And it was good to read how 6 months is still young and seems my expectations have been too high - of course she will still make mistakes and of course I have not conditioned her to go in the rain. I've learned heaps. Seens obvious now in hindsight :) I'll also get a kennel for the deck, for certain times - there are other benefits to this.

Lucy, our 6 month Kelpue cross pup we adopted through pet rescue, has been my most challenging dog to date to toilet train. It was as if she had been used to bring locked in a house and toileting on carpet was perfectly normal. She even avoided puppy pads, toileting Ng next them and never on them. But we got there and had no accidents for over a month. Lucy has access indoor and outdoor through a door to the deck & garden that is open and a doggy door via the laundry to the other side of the house. Today was wet and windy, and she did three lots of toiletting in the house. While the weather was a bit extreme, she could have just done it just off the deck where it's a bit sheltered... though would have been wet if raining at the time. She has been known to toilet on the deck, she could have done that. But no, she did it inside. I was at work. With winter coming and days of rain all day coming I'm not sure what to do. My other dog just goes out and gets a bit wet. Should I just get a kennel and leave her outside? I don't really want to do that. Any advice?

My dogs can go inside 24x7 and inside has central heating. They only wear coats on winter days for walks when it's below around 8 degrees. I have thin coats and thicker coats for them depending on how cold it is - coldest it gets when we walk in winter is around 3-4 degrees in the morning walks.

I have a lovely soft crate we got from Petban a couple of months ago. I don't know the brand but it has an expandable option that you simply unzip. When you unzip that left side s section unfolds open. I bought a sheepskin as the mat so it's pretty comfy! My dogs loves her All the best. I tend to agree that your dog will like whatever crate. Just make it comfy. Even the strong wire ones that look like a string cafe are good - your dog might like you to put a blanket I over it (except the entrance) to feel nice and safe and secure ... to make like a little personal cave type set up.

I went to Bunnings and got one of those clam shells to use as a sandpit for my two dogs. Bought sandpit sand for it, filled it up. Googled how to prevent cats using it as a toilet, but so many answers. Wondering if anyone has found something effective. Putting a cover on is one option that can work sometimes, but when we are out the sand pit will be available for the dogs to play in ..... and the cats to pee in. Are cats drawn to pee in the clean sandpit sand from Bunnings? Just wondering how big a problem this may be. I have two cats that are in at nights but out during the day.

Great thread - glad you got a good result. Thanks for sharing your learnings. Capping visits for chronic issues sucks - that is just unacceptable. I had three cats and two dogs and calculated about four years ago. that I am better off having the money in the bank. I will go several years or more with minimal vet visits and expenses, then I'll have a year with some significant expenses .... usually due to a chronic illness or elderly furmily member. If I had one or two pets, I'd probably use insurance.

Thanks. It is a bit of dilemma. And yes the dogs busting through the door can be a problem and apparently that's why the ones with the little clips to turn or other options to close them one way or both tend to be available in small sizes only. I think with the bigger dog doors, when newly installed the dogs would learn sometimes they are open and sometimes Mrs they are closed. I suspect dogs might only go pelting through them when they are used to them being open all the time. Maybe. Maybe this isn't the case for all dogs. I have decided to put a cat door in somewhere else as it seems my ideal solution is not practicle.

I'm looking to get a pet door in the laundry door for my cats and my dogs. My largest dog is expected to have a maximum shoulder height of 50cm - kelpie/staffy cross with small paws (currently 5 months old). Ideally I need a door that I can make enter only towards the end of the day because the cats need to be in at night. Enquiries I have made lead me to a pet door that is a flap, where you can close the flap by sliding a sheet of plastic down into the flap slot. Seems I am rather restricted because I don't have small dogs. Small dog doors seem to have the option I need. I did find the passport pet door from Australian Pet Doors which is electronic and expensive. But you can program it to allow pets in or out or certain pets in and so on. If anyone has experience with this passport pet door or any other option that may suit, I'd love to know. I'll probably go with the simple option at this point but thought I'd reach out here before I made a decision. .... just thought, if I change the wood laundry door to a glass door, does that increase my options? I'll need to look into that.

Thank you for posting about the nutrigel. My Kelpue who passed away at 15 years last month got so clever with medication over the years it became stressful towards the end for me. Nothing could hide the tablets - the stories I could tell would make you laugh. I now have a sick Westie and this info will no doubt come in handy.

I' have bees and wasps in my garden, I see two or three only a day but they hang out around the grass and I'm worried pbevofcthe dogs will eat or tread in one, or get stung. I've looked and listened for a hive or two but can't find any. I thought if I could find a hive or two - do wasps have hives? ... I could contact the council or sober be to remove it/them. Any tips on what to do? Is there anything u can do to deter the hers and wasps (yes weirdly I have both) coming in to my garden? My Neighbour has native trees and they may be just liking the flowers. But I can't see any hives. Do they hang around a long time or do they move on to other locations every few days?