kami

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I think that sounds just fine. The owners is trying to find responsible families, and is providing the pups with the basics the families need to get started. What really p's me off is people advertising free to good homes, or seeking free to good home puppies...can't help but put my social justice warrior hat on then....you just know the outcome might well be bad.

Sorry to hear that Teebs, personally I would find that more appealing in a pet carer. Well, wedding dilemma sorted! Huw Annie and I went and inspected cottage kennels and loved it. We have booked her into the main, but are considering upgrading her to the deck for part of her stay. Absolutely thrilled dogs there get 4 hours of run around time with other dogs, and she will share with another dog which is perfect. She probably won't want to come home! Thanks for all the suggestions, we can definitely sleep easily with this option.

Showdog that is exactly what made me go hmm. Something is not quite right here. I wouldn't let a strangers dog off the lead because I don't have that rapport and bond with the dog whereby I could expect it to come back!

I won't take her back there. We took her there for doggie daycare once (free voucher), and were disappointed as the staff said she hadn't been confident, so they let her pull on the lead to build her confidence (in response to me pointing out they should not let her pull them on the lead - which Annie was doing)!It took a couple of walks to fix that....

These are some great suggestions. The dog bloke does sound interesting. We are based in Moorabbin in melbourne so that could work potentially sounds also like a great option to sus out depending on cost. Christina we would would consider taking Annie with us, but would really like to have a pet free holiday so we can hang out, relax and enjoy our honeymoon without worrying about her need for a little while. She gets loads of stimulation and attention at home, and while we love her dearly, having some time away from our crazy shift worker lives without worrying about her needs would be a relief and a chance to relax.

Thanks cosmolo. I hadn't heard of them, but based on their website this could be perfect for Annie. Lots of things to watch and see, and a temperment matched buddy to hang with. As soon i have days off i think this is where i will be heading to inspect.

Not really, my fiancees best man we considered, but his mum is seriously unwell now so he needs to be there for her. Our friends that have dogs mostly have dogs that are D.A or reactive. Another friend who could potentially have, fractured her patella and tore ligaments in her knee when she tripped over Annie when walking our dogs together! Dogs can be a dangerous hobby...

Annie would be able to roll down a hill if she had her way :)

Yeah i will check that out with Keppala. We tend to feed her meals through puzzle balls/bobbers ect or training so she doesn't turn into a little fatty :)

Rebanne, we dont want them keeping up obedience work like heeling ect. And you are absolutely right that safety is hers, and our first priority Annie was a dog that cowered and flopped onto her belly when we first got her when anyone tried to touch her, with her tail in between her legs. I am nervous that a heavy handed approach could set her back in this regard.

Thanks for the feedback about Kepala, so far i think that will be the next place we check out. The idea of a family really appealed because Annie loves having a job, whether it is to sit, or drop and stay somewhere - being left in a run I am concerned will send her mad. She is only on her own for 4 hours a day here. I know every dog is special, but she has come so far, and I am frightened that being on her own for so long each day with minimal human interaction will send her bonkers. She doesnt just like people, she needs them. Here, she has the kong genius, and then her bobber, and other things to keep her occupied when we are busy.

Thanks kirty! Its strange though because her dog is a therapy dog and is lovely and calm. It makes we wonder if we are just being overprotective and jumping to conclusions.

Hello DOLers, Was hoping you could give advice as I am rather uncertain of which way to go? A few of you may have read my threads regarding Annie, my rescue dog. Well, the time has come for Annie's owners to get married! We would very much like to be able to do the traditional thing and have a honeymoon, and so have arranged pet boarding for our pet pigeon Bong Bong. We are having more difficulty arranging boarding for Annie, as we are conscious of making sure she goes into a safe yet stimulating enough environment, whilst still not losing all the hard work we have put into obedience with her. We also don't want her to regress with her separation anxiety. We have inspected Hanrob, but felt that she would absolutely hate being on her own in the kennel environment given her previous issues with seperation anxiety and biting her nails/feet. We are considering Keppala, it sounds less shelter like, and has good reviews on here. lastly, we have looked at using a local pet minder who is insured, and who has great reviews. We arranged to do a meet and greet, dogs got on quite well (except one tried to mount Annie...), however i have a few concerns: - the pet minders experience training dogs was using negative behavioural training when at dog obedience with her own dog. I am concerned that while she says she would use positive reinforcement, that it is something that takes time effort and experience to do properly. She said she doesnt give treats to her own dogs generally. I am greatly worried Annie could lose her confidence if trained negatively. - the yard had multiple vehicles and general stuff lying around (family of 4). Annie is a magnet for eating things she shouldn't. In the first few weeks we had her she ate cigarettes and chocolate and developed a taste for dog toxic plants. - she wanted to take annie off lead with her own dogs after stays with them for a week, which i was concerned about. Said she was happy to only take her onlead if i was worried about it, and use an enclosed park for the first few times. Annie is still learning the boundaries of being offlead, and i am afraid she wouldnt listen to someone new. She also herds other dogs if given the opportunity (i always get others permission to have her offlead before letting her approach others) Am i being overly cautious, or does this ring alarm bells for anyone? on the plus side, the family who would look after her seemed lovely, she loved the other dogs, and was good with their kitten. She got on well with the family members. We desperately want to do what is best for her while we have our honeymoon, with peace of mind that she is safe, and happy. Any thoughts or suggestions would be great! We just don't know what to do with her, and dont want to risky any steps back after how far she has come. Worst case if we cant find her someone/something reliable and trustworthy we will take her with us camping at pet friendly places, but are not super keen as this may be one of our only chances to have a holiday alone as a married couple for a while. Many thanks, Susie and Huw.

Thanks for all the positive feedback guys. It was so useful coming on here and being supported while we went through all the separation anxiety issues with Annie. Thanks for the tips with the vet stress magnet - we go armed with many treats to the vet and while she does get anxious, she has improved beyond belief. BC crazy, pete the pelican sounds so cute - i can just picture stella carrying him around in her mouth. You should post a pic if you have one :) A little mini update - Annie is a completely different dog (curled up on my feet on the bed as I type). She is calm and never howls or whines when she is in the crate - my partner can even leave her in the yard if he needs to go out while i am sleeping in the bedroom, and she doesn't howl or bark once. She carries her tail high and wagging when we go for walks, and can now be trusted off lead in an off lead park although we are still working on her off lead with other dogs (sometimes she wont recall back when she sees another dog, but will instead sit and wait for me rather than rush up towards them - which I think is a very good start for a dog that LOVES other dogs). She has become a pleasure to live with. A different dog. She is steadily improving with obedience training (2 x a week club training) and is now up to level 3 basic obedience (white). We could not be prouder of her. She has also: - snuck into the pantry to forage for food (busted) - found and ate a bag of doritos - eats any bird feathers around the house, but does not jump up or harass our rescue pigeon bong bong. All in all, she gives us so much happiness everyday (except, perhaps the mever forgotten day she pooped in my car when she was ill - my car is now the designated dog transporting car) :D Susie

I would like to share my experience with finding our rescue dog Annie who is a kelpie cross. We chose to get her from rescue because we felt that we would strongly like to get a dog from a place which rescued dogs from death row pounds. If you don't have a particular breed in mind I would highly recommend it. We approached finding the right dog based more on the dogs temperment when we met it than breed characteristics. We looked to find a dog which would have the right energy level for us as an individual dog, not as a breed. This we determined by meeting many dogs - we knew we wanted a submissive rather than dominant dog that was a people pleaser, rather than an overly dominant dog. It took some time, but after meeting dogs Annie seemed like the right 'fit'. Whilst a high energy breed she is much calmer than many other dogs of many different breeds we have met before and after adopting Annie. However, it took the help of a behaviouralist, ppl on dogzonline and lots of hard work on our behalf to get to this point. So my only main word of advice would be to ch oose the dog based on the individual characteristics you are after, and what their energy level as an individual dog is. Best of luck hunting for your perfect dog, and remember, if you get an adult rescue dog they may well test your patience to the point of wanting to return them in the first month, but it does get better! :)

Well, apparently loads of walks on the lead, lots of obedience work around the house, and Annie is a front runner on day one. I'm sure that doesn't predict success, but it was lovely seeing how engaged she was. The trainer was very pleased with how much we/she already knew, and while initially I found it a challenge having Annie pulling on the lead when surrounded by 50 dogs, I have some good strategies for next time :) she could sit, was nicely on lead in class, picked up watch me nicely, and came on recall to handler on lead every time :) Amusingly, she was intensely focused - because she is on steroids, and I wouldn't put the kitchen sink past her ATM! She was mostly well behaved - but it did make me laugh at her 'focus' which was largely driven by a voracious appetite. Lucky us for week 1 dog class. Now to maintain that for week 2.... Anyhows, dog obedience was so much fun. Susie, Annie and Huw.

Annie is two years old, and I admittedly.have only had her for two months. I wanted to make sure we put lots of time and effort into her so we have good foundations for the future. bought a ten metre long leash to use when training at the oval so we can practice sit, stays, and getting Annie used to coming back consistently in environments that are less familiar than my house/relatives houses (which she does effortlessly). I am probably not using the term heel correctly. Annie started pulling on the lead about a month ago, and we started stepping back, and saying heel and treating her when she returned to our left side. I figured heel essentially meant get your butt back over here :) she loose lead walks well now, has gone from being a shadow behind us to walking out confidently but not pulling (mostly). She has gone from being a tail between her legs to wagging tail as we walk. we try, and get her to heel on the lead as we figured that way we could progress it to off the lead. I think moorabbin should hopefully clear some stuff up for us, with basic obedience and where we are at. We do lots of positive reinforcements with treats (pats or food) paired with a yes. I think you are absolutely right about the distractions, she just cant focus when there are other dogs around, I feel this behaviour is worse because other dog owners keep coming up to us with their dogs, so Annie feels the point of the park is to meet other dogs, not work. We are taking the rest of the week off long line work, and will go back to basics for the moment until the big day on Sunday :) I am a little concerned that annie is too reactive (but in a happy, wants to just be all over the other dogs kinda way). She intensely stares down any dog she sees until she gets close enough to play. Thanks for your good advice tassie, i possibly am trying to do a little too much too quickly. Fingers x for our first class on Sunday susie

Hi there, Was wondering if anyone would have any pointers on long lead training? Annie the kelpie is doing very well on a short lead, so over the last few weeks we have begun working on the long lead to see if we can progress to the point where one day she can run free in a safe fashion. There are a number of issues I have identified for me and Annie so far: The bad: - Annie is far too focused on other dogs. Off leash dogs run up to her, and once they start playing, I might as well be talking to the wind. I take annie away at this point (sometimes i take too long to do so imho) to another party of the field, but essentially she loses all interest in training and just wants to play, and has difficulty refocusing. - Annie has an amazing capacity to hover on her back paws, which she uses to scope out whatever is happening in the distance. Whilst quirky, for my liking this is too similar to jumping up. She also will jump up at the end of the long leash when she is excited, at which point we firmly move in the opposite direction. - she still pulls too much for my liking (but only on long leash?) She has become very good at heeling to 'heel' on the short leash and often heels spontaneously. The good -she is getting much better at following me on the long leash, and is starting to heel on the long leash. - her recall is good - excepting dog situations as above. Recall is also a hazy when people keep making a fuss of her (apparently annie has the eyes that just say pat me - to everyone - which gets super tiring. I dont know how to say no to pats to people? - her drop stay and return is improving- she invariably comes back to me on long lead. Example is, annie sees an old man gardening when we come to street corner on short leash. Normally she sits spontaneously or with a little gentle reminder. Annie refuses to sit, old man stops gardening comes over, Annie runs over to old man, politely sits for pats from old man. I say thats enough, then ask annie to sit at street corner. Annie takes much longer than usual to sit. Old man consoles Annie over fence for leaving. Grrr. Do other people have these frustrating poorly timed situations occur? How do you handle them? I am tempted to get Annie a jacket saying leave me alone, I need space just so she doesnt think it is ok to go beg pats from every john dick and harry that wants to pat her (and interrupt training! Any how that is my dog related vent for the day. Its back to underdog for Annie and I, as I suspect we may be biting off more than we can chew at this stage. Positive news, Annie has all her paperwork and we start obedience training this week at moorabbin.

Thanks persephone, good to hear :) we are trying hard to learn/do as much as we can to make this a step in the right direction for Annie. The crate had a snap lock - which i assume I mistakenly didnt use - night shift brain? Either way, it was my fault, and ive been checking and rechecking when i lock it since - with no escaping kelpie - so far. So i put it to human error not super intelligent houdini like skills - unlike your Stella BC Crazy! What an amazing girl she must be :) does she wreck havoc when she escapes ? We had to take her back to the vet today (so far 8 liquid (definitely liquid) poos today, minimal water intake) but i rang ahead and informed them that she snapped at the vet last night and had had a bad experience. It went much better. We did sits, shake hands and drops for distraction and rewards (mostly pats because she hasnt been hungry) and when she got too stressed I walked her around quickly in the waiting room to try and refocus her. The vet was much better than the experience at the emergency vet, he explained how I could hold her for when he needed to examine her in a way that was both safe, and reassuring for Annie. Loads of pats and praise afterwards, and she even gave the vet a few licks. We didnt do anything invasive, he just assessed her hydration status, and felt her tummy (she has lost 1 kg over the last couple of days of her 20 kg). I was so happy he did not do anything more than that. Some antibiotics for a few days, and then some probiotics, and hopefully we can bid farewell to vets for a while - but to be on the safe side, I bought Pet Insurance today. Thanks for your thoughts guys, it really is helpful! Susie, Huw and Annie.

Well, not such a great update - Annie is feeling very sick and sorry for herself after eating a few things she shouldnt have this week. She somehow escaped the crate on her first crate time alone in the house, and managed to eat some chocolate and some cigarettes, necessitating two trips to the vet. This was followed on by a further visit to the vet after finding she had beheaded 3 dahlia plants, and developed nasty diarrhoea (liquid) for the last two days. Poor Annie - we are resolute that cigarettes, chocolate and sugar free gum are now simply banned in the house for her safety and our wallets. Luckily she didnt get her paws on any gum! This was unfortunately worsened when we took her to the emergency vet (she seemed unwell after a number of loose bowel motions)- she was very nervous from the start, and tried a number of times to bite the vet, and the vet nurse when they were attempting to take blood, give her an anti nausea med and check her temperature. Huw and i have never seen any aggression from her prior. Vets verdict after a blood gas was that she wasn't too dehydrated last night and we could take her home. Am a little nervous after seei ng her snap a few times at the vet. Should I be worried? I planned to inform her reg. Vet so we could come up with some strategies to work on minimising her her fear levels - she was out of her mind with fear, panting, licking her lips, pacing at the vets - never seen her like this, this was more like an acute panic state from my perspective. I thought we could start taking her to the vet for some positive associations with treats and pats from the staff, so Annie doesnt write off vets and vet staff as bad. And maybe this would.be a good use of alprazolam given she is super anxious at the vets? Any pointers and thoughts much appreciated. Much thanks Susie Huw and Annie.

Anyone aware of safety of trytophans with prosac? I did ask my vet, but as she seemed a little unsure of the medication (I'm a nurse, and I felt her answers were a little - sketchy) wanted to confirm the advice she gave to me - that trytophans are safe to give with prosac? I wanted to start Annie on some B12/trotophans to plan ahead for the time when she wont be taking prosac and alprazolam. I was concerned re:serotonin syndrome, but my own research has shown that in humans there is a low risk of serotonin syndrome in ppl taking 5htp with a low dose of anti-depressants. P.S dog calming music is doing wonders for annies crate training - would highly recommend it for night time use with anxious dogs. Thanks for your input! With much appreciation. Susie, Huw and Annie.

Haredown Whippets, we need vaccination papers to start formalised obedience group train at the lovely high fenced enclosed field around the corner. We have had success this weekend (mainly through a combination of a very lovely lady called Narelle from Fawkner Vet, and our own tenacity). The shelter hand balled us to the vet, who initially had no record of Annie being vaccinated or desexed there! (I was kind of err silently freaking at this point). As I was able to provide the microchip number to Narelle, she was able to track down Annie on the system, and our certificates are currently being sent out to us! Phew! A month of phone calls to the shelter, and one call to the vet clinic, and it is finally sorted :) The other worry, is that Annies microchip does not have any info on it in victoria - we will be heavily relying on the shelter to do their bit this time in transferring chip contact details as we suspect she came from NSW. Fingers crossed, because we have only 3 weeks left of registration extension the ranger gave us!! I feel strongly it will all work out somehow - but could have been much less worry and hassle for us if there were good communication between the shelter and the vet, and better after care for us.

=142944847&filters[recent]=1&filters[publicOnly]=1&sort=1&o=0"]annie looking comfy in her crate Some pics of Annie in her crate - she slept through on her own in the crate last night! Very proud! With no alprazolam on board. She loves her crate, and goes there when the central heating is on, and she is nervous. One issue we are having is Annie keeps.jumping up at Huw (OH), and licking him. She has no concept of 'thats enough' when it comes to Huw. This is particularly problematic atm, as Huw dislocated his knee two weeks ago. He cannot walk her, is on crutches, and since then Annie is becoming more attention seeking around him, and generally disobedient with Huw. She will disobey Huw, or be overly jumpy/licky, and then I will step in to reinforce the desired behaviour/correct the undesired one(she listens to me). Any pointers? Huw has emailed underdog and hopefully we can arrange another session with them for next week.