kelpiecuddles

It's primarily beaches down here. I haven't come across any fenced dog areas

http://www.eurobodalla.com.au/dogs-on-beaches :)

Actually Florise no one has missed your point. No one is giving antibiotics without vet advice, they are simply saving unused ones in case a vet advises their use in the future.

Is it just me or does she seriously look like she's up to no good in that second last photo with the young fella in yellow LOL "Shhh she;s watching, act normal and pretend we weren't talking!"

Police dog handlers care very strongly for their charges and certainly don't set out to have them hurt or killed. Anyone who works in the emergency services does so at the very real risk of serious injury and while I understand that dogs don't have a say in their involvement that doesn't make them less cared for. Dogs are a valuable part of that team and their welfare isn't taken lightly, apart from the emotional attachment that handlers have to their dogs there is a huge financial outlay that goes with training one. Police dogs are SUPPOSED to be intimidating, they are a tangible threat of force that an offender can see in front of them that will likely seem more 'real' than a gun as it's moving, breathing and focusing it's sight right on them. I have no doubt that the use of dogs by the force has prevented the loss of lives that may otherwise have been taken when the police were forced to shoot a threatening person.

*Goes back to stalking borzoi people...*

You weren't visiting over the coast on the weekend were you Diva? There can't be THAT many borzoi owners around here LOL

OK, the rest can go then. Will have to find something else to use when we go walkies.

Is there still considered to be issues now? I got given a few packs of Jerhigh chicken treats and have been giving them to my girls without a thought, if there are potential issues I have no qualms about chucking them.

Lately I have come to realise that there is a huge divide in the doggy community in our area. There is definately a huge cohort of people keeping BYB bull and mastiff type breeds, mostly staffys and bull mastiffs and mostly lovely although a lot of them are the pig hunting types of people so there are a few questionable ones around. Sadly not many of these are particularly good representations of their breeds, which is a pity as there is certainly enough interest in them here to get a good cohort at shows and things if people sourced from responsible breeders instead. Then there seems to be a lot of rather unusual breeds around. recently I have met a soft-coated wheaten terrier, a gordon setter(owners were very surprised I knew what he was!), a borzoi, schipperkes and I chatted to some people who had a petite basset griffon vendeen, plus i guess i am in that category too having a basset hound(we always get lots of comments when out and about). I guess the two groups are somewhat representative of two of the major groups who live in this area, there are many places where it's cheap to live here and lost of low-income people reside and poorly bred bull breeds and their crosses seem to be sadly common in those areas and to a lesser degree smaller terrier type cross breeds and a few kelpie types. This area also has a large percentage of retirees and often the unusual ones seem to belong to them. We are what i guess would be classed as middle income and most of the people around us have things like labs, beagles, etc which are usually pet store or pound/rescue animals, we are fairly unusual amonst our group of aquaintances and most who i have spoken to about Josie exclaim in horror when i say how much she cost LOL. so there we go, I find it intereesting how much diversity there is across this region in breeds but at the same time in localised areas there is next to none...

Very easy to get almost any dog breed you wanted for breeding purposes if you don't mind being a little shifty about it. Unless breeders desex every pet home puppy before it goes they really have no guarantee that the person won't decide to breed from it. My basset comes from a fabulous breeder and wasn't desexed and I have no doubt if I wanted to I could find a pedigree poodle puppy from a great breeder that wasn't desexed and breed 'bassetoodles'.

I don't have any issue at all with breeders advertising anywhere they see fit but I like to see in the ad something that indicates that the pups are registered(and not just with the council!!) and something that indicates 'to approved homes only'. That tells me that the breeder is most likely looking for good homes and not just whoever is first with the money. As far as deposits I could only ever see myself accepting a deposit after puppies were born and I had a good idea of what would be available. i'm not sure if deposits would be more of an issue for breeders of breeds that are fairly common such as labs for example, because buyers may feel they have lots of options available to them. For those of us who keep less common breeds buyers may be more willing to wait as they would have realised going in to their search for a breeder that options were fewer and therefore they are less likely to disappear half way through the purchase process. I gave a deposit for my basset when she was about 4 weeks old from recollection.

I have antibiotics in my cupboard that are excess from when an animal has passed away or when a decision was made to change to a different drug and therefore there was a remainder, it's a side effect of caring for lots of critters including those that are in a bad way when you get them. I won't throw them away because while they are still in date my vet will just supply the extra needed to make up a course if that particular drug is needed again by one of my animals. Having medications in your cupboard doesn't mean you are using them irresponsibly but it might save me a few dollars if it is needed again. As for the actual topic it does sound like it could do with being checked by a vet and see what he says. Best of luck :)

It was fabulous! We didn't even know it was on, had the kids and the dogs in the car planning a day out at the park and heard it on the radio so figured we'd check it out. Just wish I'd taken a jumper as it was pretty breezy right on the river

Just wondering whether I saw any of you at the dragon boats today as there were a few lovely looking dogs around including a gorgeous standard poodle with a slight blue rinse, a GSP, plenty of small fluffies and a lovely big long haired sight hound which I only saw from the distance but think it was a borzoi.

Clyde maybe suggest to your neighbour that they try the RC Golden Retriever. Basically the same formulation but I was told by a customer today that the GR formula has a square pillow shaped biscuit which her dog doesn't scoff, she's used the lab one when she couldn't get GR and her retriever hoovered it straight down, the GR formula has corners so i guess it encourages them to chew it first, don't know why they don't make the lab that shape too!.

You know what i find protects them better, fine mesh nailed along the base of the fences and dug in to the ground. Cost me $50 for enough to do my whole fence line, much better than $2500 and it protects my kids without risking the dog!

If anyone can get her down the coast a little, say to Wollongong or similiar on Monday I don't mind temp caring for her and getting her to Goulbourn the following Sunday/Monday

The canned food isn't their usual diet though anyway so it possibly isn't agreeing with them, hence the smell. if they are used to eating people food then what you have cooked up is probably a fairly good, dog-friendly representation of what they are used to eating :)

I stayed at a dog show at Erskine park many years ago with some exhibitors, took my girl with me when i went to watch and it was fine but i wouldn't take a dog that was at all nervous or likely to drag at the lead wanting to say hello to every dog it sees. At that time she was very highly trained(mummy has let her get away with a lot in her old age LOL) and it was easy but i wouldn't take either of my current dog just to watch.

Oh yes, been there, done that, bought the t-shirt ;)

Maybe jemapelle. I didn't realise I had another DOLer so close :D It's one that starts with T and the have another in town owned by the same

:D

Luckily I have a few options available to me here so I'll have a chat to a few and make some decisions with what i do, there are more options for vets than there are for food shopping! The one I have been going to is the most convenient but it's not the best service i've had and the prices are middle of the road so it's no real issue to go elsewhere.

I agree OSS. But at the same time if i have made a clearly thought out and considered statement as to why i am following a particular course of treatment with my dogs I don't think it's her place to basically talk down to me as if I'm going to kill my dogs. It may be that I choose to go elsewhere next time as a result.