Animal House

Fingers crossed it isn't anything serious Jules, how worrying.

I agree with the others, it's the breeders loss. Alwyn is gorgeous! I'm sure the 4 weeks will fly and you'll be in puppy heaven, lucky guys.

I just cancelled my Pet Plan policy. Just can't justify the dollars per month (cut my car insurance to basic as well), and they have lousy customer service. I rang them to cancel my policy, got someone who could barely speak English and was told to e-mail them to cancel it, and they practically just brushed me off then and hung up. Bloody rude. That was 2 weeks ago, I e-mailed them my policy details and requesting cancelling, and have heard nothing back. Bad customer service.

Beautiful rose, are you using your new camera now Persephone?

A lovely tribute to Gizmo.

Wow, wow and more wow. I love macro shots, and these are really brilliant! You are all very talented. :D

Anyone who thinks they can take an animal off the street and keep it without notifying anyone needs to be told it isn't right, which is what people did. In both of her threads. (not sure if it even sank in) Nothing bitchy about it. I'd sure as heck want my (collarless) dog or cat to be handed in. Not silly at all, far too many dogs have died/been strangled/hanged by their own collars getting caught up in things, particularly a number of members on here.

Sounds like you've come up with a good plan. Ears for decoration, love it! I'm sure someone will give her a good home. I'm sure Digby will appreciate your full on attention. Love the ear decoration comment too.

Bullshit. So every person who loses an animal is not responsible? Big difference between doo gooders and people who think they don't have to abide by the law.

Umm... Isn't the first basic rule of pet ownership to keep those pets safe and make sure they are tagged and have a collar on them? If my dog went missing he has a dog tag a council tag a microchip and I can guarantee no one would ever think he's abused. I see your point and again if it was an older cat fine I totally would be out there with poster and all, but the vet said this is a stray, no chip and obviously hasn't been socialized with humans by the eating habits it must have been feeding on carcasses and it was in no condition to be given to a shelter who Im pretty sure would have put him or her down... I'm just making sure this kitty goes to someone with experience who can socialize and train and find a good home... That so wrong? Seriously? Dogs, cats and kittens get lost everyday, not because all their owners are morons who don't care about them, accidents happen, dogs escape as do cats. And I never have collars/id tags on my cats (its dangerous IMO). My dogs are collarless when left home alone, as they can strangle themselves if their collars get hooked tangled. They wear them when we go out for walks. In the eyes of the LAW, you must notify council (your in Qld?) to let them know you have found a kitten/cat/stray whatever. COUNCIL LINK

Get a cat trap, most councils have them. If she's been around for years, then she's just added a possible hundred or so kittens (because her kittens will have kittens, etc etc) to the ever increasing homeless/feral population. Did you at least let the council know you had found a kitten?

How do you know it isn't someones pet? That mother cat could be lost as well, (some people steal cats and then dump them many suburbs away) please at least ring your council to let them know you have the kitten. No one is asking you to throw it out on the street, but I'm pretty sure your Rottie will see this kitten as something to eat (going by your previous post) so please take the kitten/and or /ring a shelter as well.

I'll be the downer on all the fun. I'd be supervising them both, you have a kitten whose bones aren't as strong as your puppy (who is a large breed). The kitten can also damage your dog during rough play (cat bites/scratches contain a lot of bacteria) You have a pup who will grow into a big dog, so I would stop him NOW from playing with your cat so roughly. Teach the pup that the kitten is not a play toy, and that they can play together without going crazy. It's probably fun to watch now, but having a full grown dog running around doing the same thing is a recipe for potential disaster. Have him on a leash when they play so you can control the interaction and stop it from getting rough. He will learn pretty quickly if you step in and stop the rough and tumble bits. Always start out as you mean to go on. :D

I wouldn't do it, 2 pups are hard enough, 2 deaf pups would be very hard, 2 working dog deaf pups at the same time? No way. Wait and get your older rescue dog, I think getting a dog that can hear you would be best, you can at least get that one's attention if they were both hooning around and you needed them to stop. Edited to make sense.

I think people are just very passionate about getting it right from the start and want to pass that advice on. No one wants to see the original poster being given cruddy advice, and then later on you have a dog who is going to toilet in its crate, and possibly have multiple problems from being given wrong advice, or for ignoring the good advice from people in the know. If that makes sense. Anyway, not all breeders are registered, and not all registered breeders are reputable, so perhaps the breeder was in one of those classes, I really can't fathom why they would think a Staffy suitable for an apartment, but there you go. As has been mentioned by several people already, the pup should NOT toilet in his crate, please take it outside (or to a designated indoor doggy toilet in the laundry if thats all you have in an apartment) a couple of times a night and give praise etc when the pup does the right thing by weeing there. Then straight back to bed/crate. Also, just wanted to mention in case you weren't aware, please make sure the pup doesn't come into contact with other unvaccinated dogs and places like parks etc (Parvo can live for years in soil) until fully vaccinated as well (you did mention you had taken it to the park and its going to be going to work with your hubby).

Lilli has great advice, I'd be exploring it all thoroughly and go from there. Good luck with it all Jen, it must be hard when you hear scary stories about dogs over there. (and pet dogs at that). Be sensible, do all the right things and I'm sure all will go well.

I dont let my dog play with other dogs, I belive to much can go wrong...in I'm conditioning my dog to be totally alloof to other dogs and people apart from me and my family. Can I ask why?

Thanks for the link, will be good for the cats too.

Squeeee, look at his widdle face. Congrats on your new addition, what do the big brothers and sisters think of him?

I'm really sorry Jules, what a shock. RIP Brock.

Buy one of those powerful water blaster thingiess that kids have, fill it with water and some vinegar (or lemon juice) and squirt the dogs/cats that come into your yard. (don't aim for their eyes). I'd also tell the R/E agents that dogs are coming into your yard and bailing you up, that's not on.

Sorry to hear about your pup getting sick, but glad she is on the mend. Can you make sure that she cannot get hold of any poison (or baited mice) in the future too? Probably best to speak to the treating vet about her legs as well. And there is no such breed as a mini lab, your dog is a crossbreed, so you could just say Lab x.

Run free Cordelia.

Is it for breeding? Your a breeder/showie aren't you?

Just wanted to say please be very careful if anyone (friend of a friend, neighbour, stranger, whoever) says they will take the dog on, as they could be wanting a dog for fighting (yes, it still goes on) or for backyard breeding, as she hasn't been desexed (yet). Backyard breeders don't care about the dogs temperament (eg that she attacks others) because they are only interested in the money they could make from pups.