Daisy

If your parents won't let you have a new puppy inside the house in Melbourne in winter, I don't think you should get the pup! It would be way too cold for the poor little mite outside. It maybe able to sleep outside when it gets older, but not a little baby puppy in the winter. Invest in a crate, they are invaluable when you have a pup. The pup will be able to sleep inside without making any mess (well they will make mess but it will be easy to clean up in the crate). I am involved in dog rescue and have had up to 16 dogs at a time here and have fostered a few puppies. The little puppies always sleep inside in a crate. The crates also come in handy if you want to allow your dog to have inside time when it is older, but don't want it getting into mischief. It also provides the dog with its own space, somewhere to go to when it wants time-out, it is like a safe place for the dog. To make it that way you must never put the dog in there for punishment, and make it cosy and inviting. Feed the doggie treats when it is in the crate and put some toys in there, maybe a cover over the top for warmth and security. (A proper fitted cover is best, I have tried draping a sheet or blanket over the crate and some naughty puppies manage to get hold of them and pull them in through the bars).

Very sad stories. Sometimes it is not always the owners fault I guess. My mum and dad had a very spoiled and much loved little dog, who had a very thick coat. He was about 14 years old, arthritic, and going deaf and blind. My mum had bowel cancer, and was in and out of hospital for a very long time, and was very very sick. She had noticed her little dog was limping, but she had to go to hospital, and dad took her and they stayed there for many hours waiting for her to get admitted. When dad got home it was very late at night. The next day he noticed the little fella was still limping and seemed off colour. Afte going to the hospital again, dad took Charlie to the vet. The vet discovered a very bad infection under the hair. He suggested it could have been caused by an insect bite! Because of his age and the severity fo the infection, Charlie was given his wings. My parents were absolutely devastated and blamed themselves, but mum was so very very sick at the time, I tried to reassure them that Charlie had had a very good and long life and that they had given him a loving home. RIP Charlie

You must have small dogs!! With my dogs and fosters (lately 12-13 dogs here, mostly large - greyhounds, wolfhound, mastif/dane crosses) I go through almost two large bags of Bonnie a week. I can get it for work at a small discount but it is still $30 a bag. One of my dogs gets Supercoat because he has a sensitive tummy and actually does well on this. I have noticed that the price of the 8kg bag just keeps going up and up though. Started feeding him on it a couple of years ago and it was $15.95 a bag, latest price hike has brought it up to $20.95 a bag - which is a bit rich i thought! They also get chicken frames occasionally, when I can get a bulk lot cheap, and I get bags of bones from the butchers, found one that does reasonable size bags for $2. And sometimes have tinned food mixed with the kibble - I never buy it but sometimes get it donated. With the number and size of the dogs I have it is not cost or time effective to try and feed a BARF diet unfortunately.

RIP sweet Thomas

Not meaning to be rude, but I am just wondering why bringing him inside at night is not an option? Dogs are pack animals, and really prefer to be as close to their humans as possible. He would be quieter and more settled inside at night, and also more comfortable in extreme weather. I may be wrong but I don't think Miranda was suggesting crating him outside, but rather bringing him inside and using a crate if you don't want him to have the run of the house.

Easy solution - let him sleep inside - try the laundry if you don't want him in the other rooms.

So sorry Fifi for your loss. Run free together you lovely smoochers

Can't wait to see the pics My greyhound has a blackdog martingale too, I really like it, but will be ordering him a Mr Woof one for special occasions

If you are looking for a fancy martingale collar take a look at this link, they are hand made in Australia http://home.alphalink.com.au/~mrwoof/ I bought a standard collar from them for my wolfhound, and am saving up to get a martingale for my greyhound (they are not really expensive, I am just poor ) Here are some photos of Bree wearing her new collar http://forums.dogzonline.com.au/index.php?...451&hl=bree It is beautiful, but I don't leave it on all the time (as it is too pretty to get wrecked lol!)

Hah! I was meaning to ask Fiona where Jonah had gone! Hw wonderful he has a home with a DOLer, now you will be able to keep us up-to-date with photos! You are very lucky, I met him while he was at Fiona's, and he is just gorgeous!! Are you calling him Jonah or has he had a name change?

I don't have any advice, sorry, Ijust want pics

Goodbye Shadow, a great old girl with a lot of character. Run free at the bridge, no more limping. Sincere condolences to Paula and Harry and the furkids

Oh no! I am so sorry! I can't believe Pyro is gone! I remember his baby pics! You must be devastated. I don't know what to say except I am so very very sorry for your loss.

Oh Stormy I am so so sorry for your loss. RIP Beau

RIP little chooky

poor harvey

Woohoo she ate a whole thigh fillet! She didn't want to have anything to do with the boiled rice though. Finally my girl is back, she has been bouncing around wagging her tail, so good to see after the poor sad thing of the last few days.

I was wondering about that Tassie, will try cooking some for her tonight.

Dashed into Woolies and bought some chicken thigh fillets. Bree was happy to see me when I got home, up and wagging her tail. I gave her one thigh fillet, didn't want to overdo it. She took it and licked it and carried it around in her mouth for a while but didn't eat it I took it back and cut it up into tiny pieces, and hand fed it to her. She actually swallowed a few pieces, then was taking them from me and dropping them on the floor. But this is a good sign, will try to feed her some more this evening

Bree was much brighter and drinking a lot this morning, but still refusing food. I am going on my lunch break now, off to buy some yummy chicken and then home to check on her and see if I can tempt her to eat. If she will not eat today I will take her back to the vet.

As the weather has cooled off this evening Bree has brightened up a bit, she drank some water on her own,has not vomitted again, and is out in the backyard at the moment enjoying the cooler air. I will be keeping a close eye on her and if i don't think she is improving she will be back to the vet tomorrow. If she is not drinking well I think they should put her on a drip.

Bree, my 9 month old wofhound, is very sick She was lethargic and off her food on Friday, and yesterday wouldn't drink either. I was going to take her to the vet yesterday but they are flat out with a bad outbreak of parvo, so after chatting with them on the phone kept her at home and kept trickling water down her throat and kept her cool. She vomited a couple of times, just watery liquid. And at 2am she had a bout of diorrhea, very dark brown but did not look like blood. I took her to the vet this morning and she has a high temperature and is a bit dehydrated (no wonder!). She is now on antibiotics, and the vet gave her an injection to stop her vomiting, and I have some Lactaid to help rehydrate her. But she is still really flat and has vomitted again this afternoon I think I will take her back to the vet tomorrow if she doesn't pick up overnight. She hasn't eaten anything since Thursday, and I am worried about her hydration too. She has spent all day lying on the bathroom floor. Poor baby

Fifi we have only been to 4 lessons I wasn't planning on dragging her along forever, especially as she really doesn't seem to enjoy it much. I really am happy with her as a companion, she is an excellent dog in so many ways ;)

I have no intention of doing trials or competition, I just want a well-socialised, well-behaved pet She is very well-behaved around me and other people, but can be a bit snappy with new dogs, so I guess I wanted to take her to training to help with her socialisation, and also to know that I can control her if a sticky situation arises. When I say snappy, she has had a go at a few new fosters, so I take the introductions very slowly now, and only allow her to interact with new dogs under close supervision, and usually after about a week she is fine with them. On the occasions she has 'had a go' she has never drawn blood, and if I can grab hold of her collar I can easily pull her off. I am sure if she was really serious I wouldn't have a chance of stopping her. Sometimes if I notice her growling at another dog I can tell her to stop and she will. But sometimes her reaction comes too fast and I have been unable to stop it before it escalates. Ideally I would like her to accept new dogs easily (I am prepared to be careful about introductions though), and if something did start, I would like to be able to call her off with a verbal command. Do you think I am asking too much?

When she is with me she is very laid back, quiet and gentle. But I do see another side of her when she is playing with other dogs. She likes to wrestle vigorously and is very vocal, sounds like Chewbacca from Star Wars