Seren

Hi Sheridan, All I can say is Go for it.... when I got my Holly 2 years ago we had already planned on getting another pup and had tracked one down but further away than we expected... I let Holly settle in for 10 days then we went and picked up Lace... Travelling home at first we had them in separate crates but they cried to be together so much we stopped and put them in the same crate... they curled up together immediately and went to sleep until we got home. They were never parted - even when they were desexed the vet laughed that she ended up putting them into the same cage until pickup time as they just wanted to curl up together. I found that potty training 2 of them was no different to training one.. they were probably a bit quicker... (I have had many other pups over the years)... Sadly we had a farm accident when they were 14 months old and we lost little Lace. Holly was inconsolable... and so was I.. So for Holly's sake we bought another puppy... a 9 week old boy ... Holly has such an amazing temprement she took to Harry straight away and mothered him... I am so relieved that I took that plunge and got another puppy after losing Lace... it helped us heal in a sort of a fashion but I will never get over losing Lace.

Today marks the awful day one year ago whne I had to say goodbye to you sweet Angel Lace.... So many tears and the heartache is still so raw.... I have accepted that I will never be the same again.... Hey Baby you are so so special - I want you back here right by my side again... Love you always Lace Talina and Holly sends you her love and your new brother Harry Felix does too....XXXXX God I miss you Angel

Yes!! Agreed Steph M and Her Majesty Dogmad.. I just spoke to them on the phone and said "GET REAL - you know deep down you are feeding her wrong! S-i-law if you keep doing this you will KILL her!!" They are taking her back this morning to vet as he has found a dense section on the ultrasound or something.. I said to S-i-law it could well be an obstruction of cooked indigestable food from you sneaking her food over Xmas!! I didn't pull any punches with him because my daughter knows damn well better than to feed junk food to dogs! It gets me so irrate - they do it then cry when things go wrong! If it turns out to be an obstruction I hope the Vet tells them what to feed her over new year and onwards.. I have always spaced out chicken legs to Holly as I always feel they are too much thicker bone in ratio to meat if fed constantly... oh well, I will try to find an article to send to son-in-law so he knows I am not just making it up. Thanks Her Majesty I will text to daughter to buy some turkey and do a stew for her... Maybe this thread should have been titled "How do you get through to thick ppl about feeding dogs..." Sorry I just do run out of patience now that this obstruction has unfolded... no wonder the poor baby is vomiting

Hi, Firstly hoping you all had a very Happy Christmas! This problem is on behalf of my daughter.. She is a rescue Rough Collie from a puppy farm (but Heidi looks more of a Sheltie X to me..??) Well when daughter got Heidi she was very thin and ate well. Nearly 2 years on and she is now finicky and vomits up to 3 times during the night nearly every night. She sleeps on daughter's bed so daughter can monitor her. When they visit here she eats well with my 2. I told daughter maybe not so much bone and keep the meals small and often. I don't know if that is the right advice. Heidi seems to vomit up a lot of chicken bones (daughter was feeding chicken legs) so maybe more meat than bones?? Also I have to admit here that son-in-law cannot be TOLD NOT to feed her junk food that he is eating.. chips etc.. There in lies the problem I feel... maybe too much rich food on her tummy that was starved for the first 2 years of her life? But I am wondering if I have maybe missed something. She has been Vet checked yesterday (of many times).. and the Vet said "she has digestive issues and also anal gland problems. And feed her early in the evening to try to have her stomach emptier at night". Thanks for reading...

Yes, go with the angels little Blue-eyed Caillie... You have been very loved and missed by the sounds of it Hoping that you are now playing on 4 strong legs of youth XXX

"Lots of people talk to animals" said Pooh, "Not that many listen though" That's the problem Harry thought about his hip this morning - must have got stiff through the night. But after he got going and went out to have a walk around he wanted some food. I waited until he showed that he wanted something to eat this morning so I didn't start 'hounding him to eat' again. He is a slow eater, but he happily had a nice sized breaky at his own pace. He lay down next to Holly but showed her he didn't feel like playing. Holly is so happy that we have "happy back here", she is a really sensitive girl and goes into her shell if there is any upsets. It is so good to see little Harry happy again too! Yep, you do have to listen to them and I learned yesterday that it isn't always what it appears... It is so good to be able to come in here and have help.. Thanks so much everyone once again (And I completely ignored my neighbour who said "Oh you always have your dogs to the Vet"....) And post script .... Daughter and son-in-law just arrived with their dog Heidi. Daughter said "Welcome back Harry!" They all went crazy-so-great-to-see-you-again as they always do and I had to hold Harry from doing his mid-air antics. Daughter (teacher) and her hubby have gone off to the farm to help Hubby for a few hours, but the dogs have all settled down again... they just love having Heidi visit. Heidi loves being out in the country as well, city girl that she is.... Just smiled that Harry had to have the last say before they all settled into the shade... little boys lol :laugh:

why don't they have a 'like' button on here - they do on FaceBook....

Well, guess who has mowed through a lamb shank (taken off him after he had a chew on the bone for a while), followed me in and sat at the fridge door so I gave him a lamb neck (thanks The Spotted Devil I went down and got some to have ready)... then tonight he came in and backed up for some chicken meat in a chunk, a chicken neck and then some Royal Canin biscuits... Then went out and happily took in the views off the porch. He is hovering around again now so I might offer him some supper later if he still seems to be wanting something more. I cannot believe the difference in this poor kid... thank goodness I haven't scarred him for life by trying to force him to eat these last few days... I will always remember that this boy doesn't eat if he is in pain.. thank goodness his big teeth are almost completely through now. When I go to Toowoomba next I will get some turkey wings and necks for him to try Persephone. The great thing is if they don't take his fancy good little HolDol is happy to have them for her dinners... she is a real Lab loves her food whatever it is.

I have just spent some time reading over a lot of posts and realise just how much we love our furbabies past and present. I want to light a candle for all of us who know the pain of losing our furchildren.. And from what I have read that is ALL of us... we feel the pain and hurt because we love them so much. Reading through everything I realise just how much support I have been given in here and I want to thank everyone and tell everyone who feels sad for their little Angels that I am thinking of you all as well. Hugs to everyone today

So sorry for your loss Huski.. It is hard to lose a furbaby when you have loved them for so long.... RIP sweet little Cherry now an angel

Scootaloo my heartfelt sympathy to you in losing your little Man.. How heartbreaking for you; and I know what a shock it is to lose a young gorgeous dog... Words aren't enough really to express the loss when they are still so young RIP sweet little Robo.. and maybe you have buddied up with a little Golden named Lace..

Just checking if it is okay to give raw lamb shanks?? Or are they too splintery?? Harry keeps smelling up at where I had put them on the bench

Well so now I know. I take Harry to the Vet with what I think is an eating problem and Rob says it is something completely different! When I walked Harry in Rob studied how he was walking and said "This pup is Lame!!" He went over him and found he is so tender in his right hip and down his leg, and he has swelling in his left hock. I thought back and yes - Holly rammed him on Friday when they were playing and Harry went and sat under the tree for a while. I feel like a totally bad mother! I thought he was walking like that because he was not eating, and he wasn't playing because he felt sick.. I got it wrong. Rob went through all the notes I wrote and went over Harry and said , He is lean but not thin by any means. He looked at how I had put his weight and age down and said he has been growing well and steadily and to stop worrying about him being picky - I will be glad of it as he gets older. He went over him a number of times and each time came back to the hip and leg. He gave him an injection for the pain and inflamation and tablets and will check him in a weeks time. If he's not happy then he is going to x-ray him. As he said with the breed it is better not to take chances. (Whole different thread there - he talked to me about Lace's hips as well. He didn't treat Lace or see her X-rays but he had heard about her.) If I am worried in the mean time I have to bring Harry in. He said his gums and inside his eyelids are fine, well pink and not a worry. He offered to do blood tests if I wanted but I thought maybe go with the leg injury. He said if he is in pain and a sook he probably won't eat. And he could see that when he was teething was the time he started becoming really finicky with his food - didn't like chewing on sore gums? I bought some lamb shanks on the way home. Harry gave the bag a good long sniff. Is it okay to feed lamb shanks to him?? Or are they too splintery?? Yeah I cannot get over that I have been up the wrong tree

Thanks again you are all so good to me! I actually managed all his food diet pretty well down pat and have his weight each week/fortnight as he has grown.. I could pretty much align the food fed with his age even.. and also how he ate well when I first got him then teething and onset of eating problems... Persephone, he has been Milbemax Heartwormed all on the right ages and all documented I rang the herbalist and she gave me the list of ingredients but he only had 2 doses (Friday night and Saturday morning then I stopped it) she used to be a Vet Nurse and her hubby is a Vet - she said get him checked out too The darn breeder hasn't answered my calls or emails... and I haven't been sent his CCC papers (limited reg) I have just jotted down all that you suggest the Vet check and do - bloods/urine etc... I love this little guy... thanks so much everyone again... I am off to town now with Harry and will get back to you when I return..

Thanks so much everyone for your support and ideas and not the least your encouragement to Relax with him and enjoy. I left him with an assortment of things as you said persephone and I decided to put him out in the run that he likes to play in (large outdoor run with play things in it that they go in at will to play in during the day). But he curled up and slept the whole time. Holly was sitting outside 'talking' to him and he growled at her. It was no where near the food so he wasn't protecting his food - showed no interest in it at all. I gave him a new toy as well (I will get some Nutrigel today - I could have smeared some onto it).. but he just mouthed it and then used it for a pillow. Holly destuffed hers as usual but he did nothing to his. Hubby went in and was nursing him and we looked in his mouth and his gums are pale, well paler than Holly's. So I have made an appointment with the head Vet (I have to wait until he finishes surgery). I think I need to rule out if he is sick or not. He had a few licks of water but I thought I should add some raw honey to the water.. I don't know anymore. Bring on 11.30... and hope that Rob doesn't have a bank up of surgery this morning. I the meantime I am writing down everything I have fed him since I got him for as far as I can remember.. most of the things Holly is now enjoying so I still have the packets etc here...

I'm afraid I know very little of the Govt side of animal welfare issues. But surely any Laws that do exist that are not used to their full extent cannot be classed as "Laws". I have followed a few cases where the dog owner has been convicted but gets a woefully inadequate sentence, no proper follow-up checks are done and they are back in business with new dogs (if the original ones are lucky enough to be removed) within weeks/days of their court appearance. The very same happens with horse owners in abuse cases. RSPCA have their hands tied in many cases that are reported because of loopholes found the ithe existing Laws. I know that the Laws that are being discussed don't necesarily refer to animal abuse cases, but at the end of the day that is the part I find so distressing.

There is nothing said because there are no plans to shut down puppy farms. They will be allowed to flourish under any government & sell to pet shops to meet demand as long as they adhere to the current codes of practise that governments decree. Licensed by councils, registered as a business & kept in approved size cages as long as they obey the "rules" in theory they will be permitted. The animal cruelty laws do cover everything already, they are just either not caught out or the laws are not used or applied correctly. The deterrent is probably the $30 fee per dog which will not affect volume farming of dogs.

Thanks so much everyone, I didn't realise how much I have been bottling up inside me about Lace... It was like I had been trying to put my feelings for how much I miss her on hold. I miss her so much, I miss how she used to go out early in the morning and get all wet on the grass then come in and wake me up and wonder why I would be saying "Don't jump on the bed".. I miss Lace so much. I love Harry to bits, but I wish she were here. I am going to start a book about her today. Just write in it as the time goes on as I remember all the things she did. Feeling lost again this morning about her

I have been trying to read up about this but there seems to be nothing said about how they will actually shut down the puppy farms, methods of reporting puppy farmers and deterrents etc. Animal cruelty laws need to be looked into in a huge way I think.. Just my thoughts.. I don't know if they are relevant (I am referring to the blatant farming where it is very obvious that the dogs are not being given Vet care and there are a number of mixed 'popular' breeds)

Thanks LisaCC, Feeling tired and defeated this morning because soon the battle will start again trying to make him eat something. He looked up at me from his bed just now and wagged his tail then rolled over in submissive manner - is that what we have come to? I have tried dropping chicken, just offering the fish based food. I have tried yoghurt and so many things to see if I can get him interested in eating. I wish I had started writing down what I have tried to see if there is a pattern. He did have unformed bowel motions when he was on chicken alone but when I added biscuits he was okay. The herbal nutitionist I have consulted over his itchiness (on his back and in his armpits) has suggested a no red-meat diet. I will ring her this morning and ask about lamb. I was going to offer bones today in the hope he will eat something off them, but the Vet said that he shouldn't be given bones more than 3 times a week.

Thanks aliwake, yes, I am at home most of the day so he gets offered food 3 times a day and if he won't eat at 6 in the morning I keep trying as the morning goes on, but he sees the dish and ducks under the stairs where I can't get to him. I will try the probiotics but.. Gruflife he has a 20 month old mate, Holly who is absolutely wonderful with him. But he just stands and watches her gobble her food and when she tries for his as well and he just lets her butt in on his dish. I have tried making him jealous but he just gazes at me and Holly as if it isn't about him... He can see the things we throw for him, he can answer to his name when it suits him, and he smells all around the woodheap for mice and seems normal like that. Also he is intelligent not dopey - he will hunt out toys in a game of hide and seek the toy which makes him think. He plays well with Holly and any other dog we have visit and is happy to trot along on the lead and looks around him with interest on walks.... He is a dream child in every way except eating.. it is a nightmare. Other than that he is the best behaved pup I have ever owned. He has a beautifully balanced walk/trot/run compared to our other Golden, but I am going to google for a chiro round here and take him anyway because I know with my horses it was easy to miss something that a chiro could pick up easily. That is worth while for sure, thanks.

This one is frustrating me as I have never had a pup so hard to feed. Harry is 20 weeks old and has always been slow to eat but when he was teething he got into the habit of not trying to eat unless I tempted him. I've had him to the Vet and he told me Harry is healthy but lean. He suggested trying him on a few different foods but that seems to have made him even more picky. He has also been changed off red meat to see if it will settle his itch. This morning I had a 'win' - he ate half a cup of the new dog biscuits (Holistic Anchovy and Sardine mixed with the Royal Canin that he is coming off), but tonight nope wouldn't even try it. I managed to get him to eat about half a cup of chicken mince then he ran off and wouldn't come back. Even when he was eating beef he would eat about half a cup of it then clamp his lips shut and roll over. I have tried leaving the food for 10 minutes then removing it, but he just walks off and will go for over a day without eating unless I put some in my hand or toss it in front of him to get his attention. He doesn't get food rewards during the day.

Wow, thankyou so much everyone.. It has helped to clear my head reading what you have written. I have written the things down Icthyosis - not classic symptoms of it and Holly is itching too Grass - as Powerlegs said, that should start on the feet/belly etc Mites - ruled out by skin scraping Both pups are itching the same way So I have to face it - I would be very silly not to suspect that a flea has bitten them and made them itch. Or as hubby suggested could a mozzie have got to them. But mozzies - ? mainly in the ear area maybe?? So I am going to treat them topically for fleas because it sure won't hurt. I will also go through their diet, that is the other thing they have in common. I am going to see if I can find the list of ingredients in Royal Canin. I read about a grain free kibble that some ppl use that I will google. I trimmed both of their fur away today so I could get it dry in there and get ointment on without it going gluggy. I am going to buy and brew up some Calendula Tea. I will hunt up that thread on it now Yonjuro thanks.. And yes persephone lol I will dodge the swinging hand

Thanks so much for those beautiful words Di, Yes - even coming in here today was hard. But I'm glad that I did. I had shut myself off from things to try to feel okay about it all. But Harry is a very cute little fella.. he snuggled into my heart without making a ripple. I know that Lace is still there too, he just made room for himself. If Lace helped to guide him to us, she made a splendid choice. Harry is quite different to her, maybe to look at because they are both Goldens, and he just loves to sit like she did and have his chest rubbed looking so solemn and wriggling forward if you stop.. Lace used to do that too. But he doesn't destroy things like Lace did.. she was such a busy cyclone always into mischief and sorry when she was roused at. Harry is very placid and doesn't chew things other than his own toys. I have felt guilty. I would never have had Harry if Lace had lived. But now that I have read what you wrote Di, I feel that I can move on. I am besotted with Harry.. he is just adorable.. he looks up and his little ears fall back and he smiles... It must be a Golden thing to do. I wasn't looking to buy the day we went to have a look at Harry's litter. But he kept plopping himself onto my foot and then when I sat down he clambered into my lap and went to sleep. Every other litter I had gone to look at I would just cry and walk back to the car because there wasn't one like Lace. I wasn't intending to buy a boy... lol Harry said Yes you're buying me... Holly was so lonely by herself. We tried to be more to her but she was so dependant on having a doggy mate as well she got very depressed. She loves Harry and they lay together like her and Lace used to. Yep, I feel so lonely for Lace at times but when Harry trots in with his teddy for a game it makes me smile again. I still love Lace as much as I ever did. I just have to love her in Heaven now. Thanks again , thankyou for sharing about Tip and Jingo. I appreciate it very much.

Nackers I have a 19 week old Golden pup. This is 'second time round' for me and with my first one I was told that they can be gently exercised up until 1 and 1/2 yrs old but not exerted for lengths of time as it tells on this breeds joints when they are older. I sometimes break up the game young Harry is having with our older dog Holly (20 month old) as I worry he is running too hard for his little joints. We take him for a walk around the block twice a day but don't leave him off lead out of the yard yet as he isn't so good at recall and would run off I am sure. We have a half acre yard and I have my friend's dogs over to play and Harry has learned to socialise like that, but first up he was also a bit shy of dogs other than Holly. Doggy play dates seem to be the best way to go I think. Our first Golden, Lace, was an utter destroyer of everything nailed down and not! She chewed holes into the walls at night time and pretty much was a demolition team all in one. I had no idea they aren't all like that. Harry is the total opposite. He chewed up a toilet roll once so far but usually runs to us with anything and "tells on himself" without doing the item damage. Such a dream child he is! On toys.. Lace destroyed even toys marked for 'strong chewers'. Harry plays constantly with his teething rings from K9 Pro - his very favourite is a teething chew shaped like a wishbone. It says that when chewed it gives a chicken flavour. He also has a long rubber toy with bulbs on the end that have bells in them.. It is roughened rubber and very tough wearing - Holly (20 month old pup) has a chew and cannot destroy it. They are the 2 main ones that he constantly selects from his toy box. They were excellent for when he was teething recently. If I find him with something he shouldn't have I take it out of his mouth saying "No" and give him one of his toys and say "Yes"... I don't know if he understands but he is quite happy with the trade. He also has a selection of ropes all different lengths and textures (none long enough to get caught around his neck but) and he trails them around hoping someone will have a tug game with him. Stuffed toys - I haven't found one that Holly won't sneak outside with and destuff, and Harry has quickly found how to do the same thing - squeakers and stuffing all over the yard. So I limit soft toys to ones that have very little stuffing in them or take out the stuffing before giving them to the pair of them. They have a dangly octopus that they love playing with and they haven't managed to destroy it. But I am always on the lookout for new things for the pair to play with also.